The Power-Based Supremacy Classroom Backed by Black Technology Chapter 26

"Not at all. I genuinely have no interest in rising to Class A—I can guarantee I'm not lying about that." Shuichi Kanda spread his hands.

Then Horikita shifted her gaze to Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

"I don't want to either."

And then...

"Ow, ow, ow..." Kiyotaka dodged to the side. "Why am I the only one getting a chop to the head?"

Damn it, you got hit and you're dragging me down with you? You bastard, Ayanokoji!

But Horikita showed no intention of striking Shuichi Kanda.

"His frail body couldn't withstand my chop."

Right, right, right—just don't hit me.

Huh?

The more I think about it, the more something feels off.

Are you implying I'm a weakling in a roundabout way?

Damn you, Horikita Suzune! Just as rotten as Kiyotaka Ayanokoji!

Still, Shuichi Kanda didn't argue back—what if he actually got hit?

Aside from Kamuro, no one's ever laid a hand on me yet!

"Then I really appreciate that."

Shuichi Kanda finally couldn't help but retort.

"But since you want to rise to Class A, do you think the three of us alone can get Class D up there?

That Sudo guy, as idiotic as he is, said one good thing: even if you improve yourself, it's useless if the class as a whole keeps losing points.

So what you need to do isn't to win over the students who don't lose points—it's to first get rid of the ones who will cost the class points.

Whether you make them reform or find a way to get them expelled, that's what you should be doing now."

Once you achieve that, then you should consider how to win over the students who can earn points for the class.

But if you expelled all the point-losing students beforehand, congratulations—you've unlocked a difficulty even more hellish than the current one, because you might lose a lot of students who could have scored points for the class.

To catch up to Class A, you first need to stop the class from losing points, and then start gaining them.

If she couldn't even figure out these two points, Shuichi Kanda wouldn't choose to help her.

Ah, it's been ages since I talked this much in one go—I'm exhausted, and my throat's dry.

Chapter 45: Horikita, Congratulations—You're About to Eliminate a Student Who'll Cost the Class Points

While Horikita was lost in thought, Shuichi Kanda slipped away and snuck back to the classroom.

As for Ayanokoji, he didn't care—if he wanted to leave, he could manage it easily; a mere Horikita couldn't stop him.

In the classroom, the honor student group led by Hirata was tutoring the students in batches on the material covered in the upcoming midterms.

Shuichi Kanda wasn't part of it—not only because he didn't know most of the class, but also partly due to his poor health.

Plus, he used the excuse of needing tutoring in social studies to dodge the issue, and Hirata didn't push it.

During study sessions, the classroom wasn't quiet; it was mostly filled with arguments, as the top students explained various concepts to the weaker ones through discussion.

That's also why Hirata didn't choose the library—it wasn't allowed there.

Looking at the chaotic classroom, Shuichi Kanda had no good solution. Truth becomes clearer through debate, and learning is similar—rote memorization alone can't match the sparks of discussion.

But was there something weird mixed in here?

Ike and Yamauchi definitely weren't studying hard, right? Whatever, that's their business—if they want to slack off, let them, as long as they don't bother anyone else.

Near the end of the study session, Hirata sent a group message to everyone in the class except Sudo, Horikita, and those who had already received points, giving each 1,000 Private Points.

"Good work."

After the session ended, Hirata came over to Kanda, looking a bit tired.

"No, as long as everyone passes the midterms, it's worth it."

"That's impossible—Sudo didn't come."

At that, Hirata gave a bitter smile. He didn't want to see Sudo expelled, but he also didn't want to force him to attend the study session.

And it wasn't like attending guaranteed passing the exams—they were just doing their best to increase the students' chances.

But Shuichi Kanda thought that if they studied hard for just these two or three weeks, even if it was only during class and the two-hour study sessions afterward, they wouldn't fail.

Why?

Because the knowledge in Japanese high schools was really sparse compared to his previous life's high school, and the passing score wasn't sixty—it was half the average score.

What did that mean?

In other words, the passing grade wouldn't exceed 50 points at most.

At that level, for high school students in their prime learning years, it should be a piece of cake, right?

Ah, sorry—it should be fine as long as you actually study.

At least Shuichi Kanda had never scored below 50 in his previous life.

And so, under Hirata's proactive efforts, the study group went smoothly. Over the next few days, the students in the failing group gradually felt knowledge filling their empty shells.

Even Ike and Yamauchi seemed to be buckling down and studying these days. But the only problem remained with Sudo.

Ever since the study sessions started, that guy had never shown up. A week had passed now, and he still left right after school every day.

"Congratulations. You're about to eliminate the first factor that'll cost your class points."

After school on Friday, as Shuichi Kanda packed his bag to leave, he said this to Horikita Suzune.

He planned to skip today's study session because he had to return some books.

After a few days of reading, he'd basically grasped the middle school social studies material. Since these things usually weren't tested in high school, he just needed to know the basic content from the books to avoid misreading questions.

Horikita Suzune naturally understood what Shuichi Kanda meant. She then turned her gaze toward Sudo, who was already shouldering his bag and getting ready to leave.

But what did Shuichi Kanda's words just now mean? Was it mockery, or genuine congratulations?

She couldn't quite decide.

Forget it, I'll just follow my own pace, she thought, vaguely sensing that it wasn't yet time to let Class D's students drop out.

So she shifted her gaze to Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who was still sitting in his seat.

Saturday morning, Shuichi Kanda planned to slack off a bit. The cramming over the past few days had left his brain feeling bloated, so he wanted to relax first.

But given his physique, engaging in sports-based entertainment wasn't really an option. So he'd go to the library to cultivate his mind instead.

The Devotion of Suspect X

A full-length mystery novel by Japanese mystery writer Keigo Higashino. He had always heard of its reputation, but this was his first time reading it.

With anticipation, Shuichi Kanda opened the book. After reading two chapters, he felt a bit speechless and flipped back to the table of contents.

Right, the book had nineteen chapters total. So why did the first two chapters directly reveal who the culprit was, the process of the crime, and the outcome of its execution?

Was this really the work that won the highest literary award, the Naoki Prize, and the Honkaku Mystery Award?

For a moment, Shuichi Kanda had his doubts. But trusting in Keigo Higashino, he kept reading.

However, the more he read, the stranger it felt. Had he picked up a fake book? The first two chapters had clearly spelled out the murderer's identity, yet when the police investigated later, the murderer had a perfect alibi?

What the hell?

Just as Shuichi Kanda was about to continue reading, a reminder from beside him forced him to stop.

"Kanda-kun, aren't you going to eat?"

Turning his head, he saw Hiyori Shiina's flawless face looking at him curiously.

"Eat?"

Shuichi Kanda paused, then pulled out his phone to check the time.

12:58

"Yeah, it's time to eat. I'll come back this afternoon."

With that, he closed the mystery novel he'd been about to keep reading and prepared to put it back on the shelf.

"Kanda-kun, do you like mystery novels?"

"Sort of. Exercising the brain once in a while keeps it from rusting."

Shuichi Kanda didn't feel any aversion toward Hiyori Shiina. Though she sometimes lacked a sense of boundaries, she was still a beautiful girl.

"I see." Hiyori Shiina nodded in understanding. "But Kanda-kun, is it really okay for you not to review for the exams? I remember you were still catching up on middle school social studies before."

"Oh, that. I've already memorized it all."

It was Hiyori who'd helped him find the middle school social studies textbooks before—just a week ago.

"No way? You memorized all of it in just one week?"

Seeing Hiyori's surprised expression, Shuichi Kanda felt he might have overdone the act.

"It was all stuff I'd learned before, so I was just reviewing."

"Is that so? But last time, Kanda-kun seemed like he didn't even know the most basic geography."

Why does this girl have to be so persistent?

In truth, the reason he'd memorized everything so quickly was thanks to the system's new black tech released in May—Memory Candy.

After eating one, it drastically enhanced memory for a short period. The duration varied by person, but it wouldn't be less than an hour.

Looking at the large amount of candy in that cheap plastic bucket, Shuichi Kanda hesitated briefly before popping one in. In just one night, he'd memorized all the social studies textbooks and even the current first-year high school materials.

"By the way, I'm heading to the cafeteria for lunch. Shiina-san, want to come along?"

"I've already eaten."

Too bad. His first invitation to a beautiful girl for lunch had failed. It felt a bit awkward.

As the title says:

Because the data isn't great, I'm starting from zero. Every 100 monthly tickets = +2000 words, every 1000 recommendation votes = +2000 words, every 5000 in tips = +2000 words, every 50 blade coins = +2000 words.

From now until the day the novel goes on sale, with a baseline of three chapters per day, that should be around the 5th or 6th—next Tuesday or Wednesday.

On the day of release, the baseline is ten chapters, which is 20,000 words. Bonus chapters from the event are separate.

So I'm off to write. Let's all do our best together.

Chapter 46: You Called Me to the Bathroom to Eat?

After lunch, Shuichi Kanda returned to the library. He took the book from Hiyori Shiina and started reading again, finishing it in one go.

Closing the book, Shuichi Kanda let out a long breath.

So that's it. No wonder it's called "Devotion." It means sacrificing yourself for the one you love, doesn't it?

Tetsuya Ishigami—incredibly brilliant, yet incredibly foolish, but still admirable.

When the final truth was revealed, Shuichi Kanda felt his scalp tingle, and at the same time, a deep shock ran through him.

Tetsuya Ishigami had calculated almost every variable, but he overlooked one thing: the human heart. Love makes people lose reason, and that's why he ultimately fell short.

At that moment, Shuichi Kanda even wondered: what if this guy came to this school? If it were him, even those wastes in Class D probably couldn't hold him back.

"What a terrifying guy."

"Terrifying? Are you talking about Ishigami, Kanda?"