Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist
Author: Huang Yinya
Synopsis:
As everyone knows, "a little sister, a house, and two busy parents" are usually standard fare for a protagonist, but Hoshino En didn't see it that way.
A father he'd never met, a selfish, jealous mother, a little sister who still needed constant care, and him, under crushing pressure.
—He didn't think he was the protagonist, sweating through a rosy youth. He was just a mediocre nobody, a background character.
Mediocre. That was the label he gave himself.
One day, he received an acceptance letter from Advanced Nurturing High School.
It was a school backed by the government, and he was just a mediocre nobody. So it was perfectly reasonable to accept the offer and go without putting up a fight, right?
As a background character, keeping away from the protagonist's main storyline and enjoying his own mediocre life was perfectly reasonable too, right?
As a mediocre person, studying hard, improving himself, and supporting some people he liked along the way was also perfectly reasonable, right?
"So, could you all stop now? I don't see what there is to fight over."
Sakayanagi Arisu, Ichinose Honami, Karuizawa Kei, Shiina Hiyori, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Kushida Kikyo, and Ai: "No way!!!"
Hoshino En: "..."
Did something weird get mixed in with this group?
First Semester of First Year:
Chapter 1: Mediocre, Welcome to Advanced Nurturing
In March, as the cherry blossoms began to bud, Hoshino En received an acceptance letter from the high school.
Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Although it had "Tokyo" in its name, it was actually a national school, reputed to have a 100% rate of advancement to higher education and employment.
What was more, the school operated as a year-round boarding school, yet tuition, room, and board were all free. It was popular with students from all over the country, and applications poured in every year. It was said that more than ten thousand students applied.
Because of certain experiences in junior high, Hoshino En had accepted the principal's recommendation and chosen this school for his "rosy" high school years.
Of course, he didn't believe a word of the benefits listed above.
Claims like a hundred percent advancement and employment, and free tuition and room and board, all reeked of a scam. There was no such thing as a deal that good.
So—
"Hello? Yeah, that's right, the acceptance letter came. Did you get yours?"
"You didn't? Okay, got it."
"It's fine. There's still some time before classes officially start. With your abilities, getting into a high school with a high deviation score won't be hard."
"Yeah, I got in, but I think there's probably a catch. Worst case, I might not be able to contact the outside world for all three years."
"Exactly, so I'm going to top up three years' worth of phone credit in advance. Don't lose this number. I'll call you when I get out."
"See you."
—That was why he'd asked a good buddy his age, whom he'd met while studying alone at the city library, to apply to the school with him.
Like Hoshino En, his friend was a top student with excellent academic ability. The difference was that his friend was an otaku who loved all things anime, while he was a withdrawn young man with few friends.
Hoshino En had the advantage in physical fitness, since he exercised regularly. But the entrance exam involved written and oral tests, not physical ones, so in terms of their qualifications, the two of them were evenly matched.
And yet, of the two with similar abilities, only Hoshino En had been accepted. That showed ability wasn't the only requirement for admission. There had to be other factors at play.
Aside from ability, the only difference between Hoshino En and his friend was that his friend hadn't received a recommendation from the principal.
From that, he could draw the following conclusion: Advanced Nurturing High School recruited students based on recommendation letters from junior high principals around the country. The interviews and written exams were just a smokescreen meant to throw people off.
The more he thought about it, the heavier his heart grew.
He'd agreed to accept the principal's recommendation last December. Three months had passed since then. If Advanced Nurturing really did admit new students based on recommendation letters, that was more than enough time for the government-backed school staff to dig into his past.
They wouldn't just know what he'd written on his application. They might already know everything he'd ever done, and how he was likely to react in any given situation.
In other words, the school had already figured out his personality.
This was bad.
Though he had mixed feelings, Hoshino En hadn't refused the offer.
The school was backed by the government. If he suddenly said he wasn't going, he might end up on some government blacklist. His life would be over.
Besides, even if the school's claims might have been false advertising, he'd been a top student in junior high. Surely the principal wouldn't screw him over that badly.
Well, he was already committed, wasn't he?
April 1, the day the cherry blossoms bloomed.
According to the student handbook that had arrived with his acceptance letter, he could bring only the standard-issue school bag, provided by the school to carry essential stationery. With nothing else to his name, Hoshino En arrived at the bus stop that led to the school.
He boarded the bus once it had come to a stop. Since it wasn't one of the last stops, there were quite a few empty seats.
But since it wasn't the first stop either, several students dressed like him were already aboard.
One was a blank-faced boy with brown hair parted down the middle.
The other was a cold-looking girl with waist-length hair, earnestly reading a book even on the bus.
They sat in the two seats at the front of the back row, one on either side of the aisle. They stood out quite a bit.
The rows behind them were filled with students wearing Advanced Nurturing High School uniforms.
The single seats near the front were already occupied by adults in business attire.
That left only the deliberately reserved "priority seat" and one other place to sit.
Hoshino En walked up to the blank-faced boy and gave him a slight nod. "Excuse me."
Blank-faced boy, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."
"No problem."
He shifted his legs aside so Hoshino En could get to the empty window seat.
Hoshino En sat down, and the bus pulled away.
Cherry blossoms fluttered outside the window, but their destination was clear: an artificial island facing Tokyo across the sea.
No wonder they didn't charge tuition. With facilities like these, the school would have cost more than some private schools for the wealthy if they did.
At least this confirmed his theory.
His gaze wandered over the scenery outside as he sighed inwardly.
At this rate, they really wouldn't be allowed to leave whenever they wanted during their three years of high school.
There really was a catch.
The bus passed one stop after another, picking up more students along the way.
A tall, broad-shouldered man with slicked-back blond hair firmly claimed the priority seat.
A pretty girl with short brown hair had to stand because there were no seats left.
Of course, none of that was what Hoshino En cared about.
What he cared about was this: they were almost at the bridge to the artificial island, so why weren't any of the adults getting off?
The student handbook said new students had to arrive at the bus stop before nine and take a designated bus to school.
In other words, school was the only destination on this route.
That made the adults with briefcases, constantly checking their phone screens, seem suspicious.
Why weren't they at work at this hour? What were they doing taking up seats on a "students-only" bus?
Unless this was their "job."
Hoshino En looked out the window. The enormous artificial island was drawing closer, and the bridge leading to it was just ahead.
Before they reached it, he spotted the last bus stop.
Well, time to see if his deduction was right...
The bus stopped, and the front and rear doors opened.
But nobody got off. All the adults sat quietly in their seats.
What was more, an elderly white-haired woman slowly climbed aboard through the front door, leaning on a cane.
But this was clearly the last stop before the artificial island, and there were no seats left.
With the priority seat occupied, she had no choice but to stand.
A long silence spread through the bus. Nobody was willing to get up and offer her a seat.
Hoshino En: "..."
"You've got to be kidding me. It's that bad?"
He couldn't help muttering under his breath.
His deduction had been right, but the school seemed even more heartless than he'd imagined.
His voice was quiet, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, sitting beside him, heard him clearly.
He glanced at his classmate, confusion flickering in his golden eyes.
What was wrong?
Was he surprised that no one had given up a seat for the elderly woman?
Although he didn't know much about common courtesy, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka himself had no intention of giving up his seat.
Could this classmate, who looked difficult to get along with, actually be a genuinely nice guy?
Just as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had predicted, the "nice guy" sitting beside him stood up and gave his seat to the elderly woman leaning on her cane.
"Thank you, young man."
"It's no trouble. Don't worry about it."
Leaving his bag on the seat to hold it, Hoshino En walked over to the elderly woman and helped her slowly to the seat. He settled her into it, then picked up his bag and stood beside the aisle.
He'd even helped her all the way to the seat. This classmate really was a good-hearted person.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka reached his conclusion.
Making friends with someone like him should make high school life pretty pleasant.
All right, he'd talk to him after they got off.
Was Hoshino En a good-hearted person?
Of course not. He couldn't even guarantee his own safety right now. How could he possibly have spare time to worry about others?
He'd simply judged that this was probably a test, so he'd filled in the answer while everyone else left it blank.
Even if he hadn't spoken up, surely one of the adults occupying a seat would have offered theirs.
So why shouldn't he take the free points and the positive impression?
Standing beside the aisle, Hoshino En was just to the left of the rear door.
Through the glass, he could see Advanced Nurturing High School right before them.
Phew—
Goodbye, my freedom.
When the bus came to a stop and the doors opened, Hoshino En was the first to step off.
Bag in hand, he slowly walked through the gates of Advanced Nurturing High School.
Welcome to my now pitch-black high school life.
First Semester of First Year:
Chapter 2: Let's Have a Blood-Pumping Self-Introduction!
Since the student handbook he'd received in advance had listed his class assignment, Hoshino En avoided the usual school scenario of jostling with a crowd to check the class lists.
Following the map in the handbook, he found his assigned classroom, Class 1-D. A seating chart listing all the students had been posted on the front door.
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