Class Vote (continued)

After Kei Karuizawa finished writing the list and left through the back door, Shuichi Kanda was allowed to enter the classroom through the front door.

Upon entering the classroom, Shuichi Kanda took a ballot sheet. The sheet was divided into two parts, top and bottom, with the top part further divided into left and right sections.

Without much thought, he wrote down the names [Akito Miyake Kushida Kikyo, [Akito Miyake], and [Kei Karuizawa] in the Appreciation Vote section.

The three candidates for criticism were already decided: Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike, and Hideo Sotomura.

Shuichi Kanda has no intention of interfering in the war between Yamauchi and Ike, so he'll just give each of them one critical vote.

As for the Appreciation Vote from the other class, Shuichi Kanda wrote Kamuro Masumi's name on it, just as planned.

There are forty students in Class C. After the first student writes their name and hands it to the teacher in charge of the exam, the next student waiting at the door enters the room, and so on. This way, some time can be saved.

Meanwhile, the teachers administering the exam will record the students' names in real time on the computer.

Even so, it still took more than an hour for forty people to complete the form, since some people would still hesitate even now.

However, because the votes were counted in real time, and there were students who needed to withdraw from the school later, Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom not long after the voting was completed in Class C.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. The results of the Class C voting exam are now being announced. Everyone, return to your seats."

Although most students in Class C weren't too worried about being expelled, everyone was still curious to see who would actually be expelled.

Is it the pond, or the Yamauchi? Or perhaps Ayanokoji, or the Sotomura?

Chabashira-sensei observed all of this without saying anything, and simply began reading the results with a blank expression.

"There were no ties for first place or last place in this exam, so there is no need for a second exam."

"Then I'll start by Appreciation Vote the top three with the most votes. The third place is— Hirata Yosuke."

This was not surprising, although Hirata did not directly participate in the exam, his previous contributions to the class were evident to all.

There are three votes for Appreciation Vote. Besides the one vote that Shuichi Kanda reserved, it wouldn't be surprising if someone wrote Hirata Yosuke's name on the other two votes.

"Next, second place goes to Kushida Kikyo."

Shuichi Kanda wasn't surprised by this; after all, he was Kushida. Even though he had been deceived by Yamauchi before, his defection yesterday still garnered a lot of sympathy from the students in the class.

After all, he's a good kid who knows his mistakes and can correct them.

"Finally, the first place goes to... Shuichi Kanda, with thirty-seven votes."

Shuichi Kanda clenched his fist and gently raised it in greeting. The result wasn't particularly surprising; the students in the class were focused on the last-place student—who would be expelled?

"Next, we will announce the three candidates who received the most criticism votes."

Chabashira-sensei's words became serious, and the students in the class also became a little nervous.

Although most students thought it couldn't be them, well... what if it was?

"First up is third from last, with negative 18 votes, Hideo Sotomura."

After Chabashira-sensei finished speaking, Hideo Sotomura, visibly froze for a moment, and then tears streamed down his face.

"I'm sorry, everyone. And thank you. I promise I will never do anything harmful to the class again."

Third, since there was no tie, it was certain that the Sotomura not drop out of school because of this exam, which explains why they were so excited.

However, the students in the class clearly weren't paying attention to him; instead, they continued to stare at Chabashira-sensei.

"Teacher, what happened next?"

"Don't rush," said Chabashira-sensei calmly, before continuing to announce, "Second to last place, Kanji Ike, -35 votes."

The classroom fell silent. Then Chi's expression became excited, but he knew that his status made it inappropriate to be too boastful, so he remained silent.

"So, who's in last place...?"

The students in the class all turned to look at Yamauchi Haruki.

"What are you looking at me for? I'm definitely not going to be last. Sakayanagi- chan promised to Appreciation Vote for me!"

Yamauchi also sensed something was amiss, but he still believed that Sakayanagi wouldn't abandon him.

"I'm sorry, Yamauchi, you're in last place with a negative 37 votes."

"... Huh?" Upon hearing this answer, Yamauchi was completely stunned.

"In other words, you are the student who received the most criticism votes, with a total of thirty-seven criticism votes. It's truly a pity."

Seeing that the Yamauchi a daze, Chabashira-sensei seemed afraid that he had not explained clearly enough, so he simply explained in detail.

This guy only got thirty-seven votes! Two people didn't vote for him? Were they Ike and Sudo?

No, Ike definitely voted against him. So, did Sudo not only not vote against him, but actually Appreciation Vote him?

So, on Ike's side, Sudo must have also cast Appreciation Vote. However, it's clear that there was another person who supported Ike; that person cast a vote of criticism for Yamauchi but Appreciation Vote for Ike.

Therefore, Ike received only 35 votes, while Yamauchi received 37 votes, winning first place.

To Shuichi Kanda's surprise, Hirata also voted against them.

That's right. In Hirata's view, he should treat everyone equally, so he dealt with both of them the same way.

"Thirty-seven votes?! How could there be so many?!" Yamauchi couldn't help but shout.

"A lot? Not necessarily. You've aroused the indignation of all the students in the class. In my opinion, thirty-eight people voted against you, and one person Appreciation Vote for you. Do you know who that person is?"

"That's not what I meant! Why, why? Did you forget to count the Appreciation Vote from Class A?" At this moment, Yamauchi was concerned about why he hadn't received the Appreciation Vote from Class A.

"Don't you understand? You didn't get the Appreciation Vote from Class A. Think about it, who isn't in the bottom three? You know, the Sotomura only have eighteen criticism votes. Don't you think that's not enough?"

What do you mean?!

"It's very simple. Although you and Chi received nearly two-thirds of the criticism votes in the class, there is still one-third left, which is more than forty criticism votes."

But the eighteen criticism votes from the Sotomura are less than half. So, according to our policy, where do you think the remaining twenty or more criticism votes should be placed?

After Shuichi Kanda finished speaking, the students all looked at the expressionless boy who had been sitting silently in his seat.

"That's right, the remaining twenty-odd criticism votes should be with Ayanokoji, but even though he had more criticism votes than the Sotomura, he didn't end up in the bottom three. What does that mean?"

This means someone Appreciation Vote for him. And since most of the Appreciation Vote in our class went to me, Kikyo, and Yosuke, this guy's Appreciation Vote must have come from another class.

"I've already arranged the Appreciation Vote for both Classes B and D, so there's only one explanation: the Appreciation Vote on Ayanokoji's person came from Class A."

After analyzing the situation, Shuichi Kanda turned to Chabashira-sensei and asked, "Chabashira-sensei, could you please announce Ayanokoji's vote count?"

Chabashira-sensei glanced at Shuichi Kanda, then at Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, and slowly announced, "Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, after deducting the criticism votes from the Appreciation Vote, has a total of 7 votes."

This proves that, although the exact number of votes is unknown, there is no doubt that Shuichi Kanda's analysis was correct.

Seeing that the students had no more questions, Chabashira-sensei stepped forward, preparing to take Yamauchi to complete the withdrawal procedures.

"No! Why! Why do I have to drop out of school!"

Yamauchi shook off Chabashira's arm as he approached.

Seeing Yamauchi's expression, Ike seemed to have vented his anger, while Sudo remained silent. He had given both Yamauchi and Ike his Appreciation Vote, but unfortunately, Yamauchi was still inevitably expelled.

"Why, why, why! Why?! Why is there such an absurd exam? Why do I have to drop out of school because of this absurd exam?!"

"What you think is your freedom, but this decision cannot be reversed, Yamauchi."

"It's so noisy! So noisy! So noisy!!!!"

Yamauchi began to scream hysterically.

"Oh, right! Teacher, could you please ask Sakayanagi? She promised me she'd Appreciation Vote for me! Breaking a promise isn't allowed, is it?"

Glancing at Yamauchi, Chabashira asked, "Do you have any evidence that you made an agreement?"

"We made plans! In a karaoke room! I asked her!"

Chabashira-sensei nodded. "So, it was just a verbal agreement. If that's all, then I'm sorry, although I really want to believe you, it can't serve as evidence."

"That's too much! That's absolutely outrageous!"

"Yamauchi, it's time to leave the classroom. No matter how much you make a fuss, it won't change anything. You're free to think what you want, but this decision cannot be reversed, Yamauchi."

Chabashira-sensei was getting a headache from this guy's noise and reached out to pull him away.

But Yamauchi gripped the table tightly, shouting, "That's too much! That's too much! How could I possibly admit to something like this!"

"So, until the very end, you were such a pathetic, ugly, and irredeemably flawed product? How awful."

Yamauchi's rational nerves snapped due to Kouenji's instigation and provocation. He grabbed the chair he had just been sitting on and charged toward Kouenji.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Yamauchi's sudden action surprised all the students in the class. If he had landed a real blow, Koenji would have been seriously injured.

If it were someone else, he probably would have really beaten them, but unfortunately, his opponent was Koenji.

So, under everyone's gaze, Kouenji easily grabbed the back of the chair, then reached out with his other hand and effortlessly pulled Yamauchi in front of him.

"You've shown murderous intent towards me, so you won't complain even if I retaliate, right?"

No one in the class had ever seen Koenji's expression before, and when faced with Koenji's imposing aura, Yamauchi's expression froze.

"This concludes the..."

Seeing that something was wrong, Chabashira-sensei tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Koenji snatched the chair from Yamauchi's hand with one hand and threw Yamauchi away with the other, where he landed on the concrete floor behind the classroom.

However, Koenji seemed to have exercised restraint in his actions; although Yamauchi would suffer, he shouldn't be seriously injured.

"Alright, that's enough."

When Kouenji was about to take further action, Chabashira-sensei immediately spoke up to stop them, but this worry was clearly unnecessary.

Koenji gently placed the chair down, then smiled slightly, "I was merely acting in self-defense, Teacher."

Chabashira-sensei sighed and walked to the back of the classroom, "Don't make any more trouble. I'll pretend I didn't see what happened earlier; it's for your own good."

At the same time, the classmates also showed disgust, for secretly filming the girls' changing room, betraying the class, and even fighting with classmates.

Noticing the expressions on the students' faces, Yamauchi finally broke down in tears.

However, Yamauchi, who did such a thing, does not deserve sympathy.

Under the guidance of Chabashira-sensei, Yamauchi stopped resisting and left the classroom.

After Chabashira-sensei and Yamauchi left the classroom, Shuichi Kanda immediately went up to the podium.

"Yamauchi was expelled because he did something wrong, not because we forced him to, so I hope you don't feel guilty. Besides, even if he drops out, he will go to another school to complete his high school studies; I've already asked Chabashira-sensei about that."

Although the students felt they had gotten their revenge, they were the ones who forced Yamauchi to drop out. To prevent them from feeling guilty about it in the future, Shuichi Kanda comforted them.

"Also, thank you all for trusting me and casting your Appreciation Vote. I promise that as long as you follow my instructions, I will lead you all to Class A."

Since he had received benefits from the class, Shuichi Kanda still had to offer a token expression of gratitude.

Sure enough, Shuichi Kanda's two sentences immediately diverted the students' attention, making them no longer feel guilty about Yamauchi's withdrawal from school.

And so, the exam for Class C came to an end. As for the three remaining candidates for withdrawal, the students of Class C had no interest in them at the moment.

Shuichi Kanda didn't mention their matter either; they could talk about it later.

Meanwhile, the exam results for classes A, B, and C have also been released.

In Class A, as the bell rang to announce the exam results, Mashima also stepped into the classroom.

This man, who usually remained calm, had no particular thoughts on this day.

No, it should be said that he decided to stop thinking about it so much.

This is his fourth year as a teacher at this Advanced Nurturing High School.

He witnessed many students drop out and leave.

"Now, let's announce the results of the additional Special Exam. First, the student who received the most Appreciation Vote..." As she said this, Mashima glanced at Sakayanagi with a slightly complicated expression, then looked at Kamuro, "Seventy-five votes, Kamuro Masumi."

When the result was announced, even the usually composed Sakayanagi was momentarily stunned, and then subconsciously looked towards Kamuro.

Kamuro was also completely bewildered, because Shuichi Kanda implementing this plan.

Not only the two of them, but even the other students in Class A seemed to have no idea that the Protection Point for Class A would actually fall to Kamuro Masumi.

"Next... I'll announce the names of the students who received the most criticism votes. I think you all know that the students whose names are called will be expelled. After that, pack your bags and come to my office."

There was neither cheering nor noise.

The students in Class A simply waited quietly for the moment when the names of those dropping out would be announced.

"--The student who came in last received twenty-eight criticism votes; his name is..."