Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist

"It's almost mealtime, but I feel like I can't eat anymore."

Kushida Kikyo: "..."

I don't get it either—weren't they just arguing a moment ago? How come now they've got this paired-off vibe?

"Karuizawa-san, what do you think... Karuizawa-san?"

She looked toward Karuizawa Kei at the diagonal seat, only to find her staring blankly in Hoshino En's direction, lost in a daze.

Karuizawa Kei: "...Ah!"

"Ku, Kushida-san, what's the question? What's wrong?"

"Karuizawa-san, are you okay? You were spacing out just now."

Wang Meiyu asked with concern.

"No, no... I'm fine..."

Even as she said that, Karuizawa Kei's gaze never left Hoshino En's direction.

Even if she temporarily pulled her eyes away because someone asked her something, she quickly turned back.

The other three: "..."

That doesn't look like "fine" at all.

If you really like him, just go snatch him up—don't be afraid of that Sakayanagi Arisu...

No wait, she's the Chairman's daughter, with a huge background.

I see, Karuizawa-san, you must have realized that, so now you're "enduring humiliation" for the greater good? How inspiring!

No wait, hold on—aren't we overlooking something important?

"Um, about that 'Behavioral Norms Exam' you mentioned earlier—what exactly is that? Our class hasn't received any such notice."

Though she was equally concerned about Hoshino En, and now also about Karuizawa Kei, who was focused on Hoshino En, Ichinose Honami quickly latched onto the key point.

"If it's called a Behavioral Norms Exam, why would they send out a notice? The test subjects can only show their true reactions when they're completely unaware, not a cookie-cutter performance."

Seeing that Sakayanagi Arisu across from her didn't stop him, Hoshino En didn't bother hiding anything.

"But... that's just your speculation, isn't it? You have no proof that such an exam really exists."

"Then take it as my conjecture. Besides that, do you have any other questions?"

"Of course. Second question: 'In the first month of the first year, the maximum gap is only 1,000 points'—how did you come up with that number?"

Hoshino En didn't answer directly.

He pulled out his phone, opened the photos he'd taken earlier in front of the three grade-level bulletin boards, and showed them to Ichinose Honami.

"Look, these are photos of our school's bulletin boards for all three grades. There's something that both the second and third years have, but the first year doesn't show."

"Is that... Class Points?"

"Exactly. I checked the convenience store before—there are monthly-limited daily necessities and ingredients there. That means the school has already accounted for students having no Private Points to use, so the monthly Private Point changes are a fixed, correct rule."

"And the Private Points each person gets per month, I suspect, are tied to these Class Points. The second and third years' Class Points are mostly in the hundreds to thousands, while we freshmen all started with a uniform six-digit 100,000 points in the first month. So I guess the conversion rate between Private Points and Class Points is 100 to 1—meaning for every Class Point a class has, each person in that class gets 100 Private Points per month."

"Assuming that guess holds, then working backward from the Private Points we received, each first-year class should have a uniform 1,000 Class Points."

"But now, our first-year Class Points haven't been posted. Do you understand why?"

Ichinose Honami fell silent. The answer was simple, and the other party wasn't hiding it—she connected the dots immediately.

"Because... we're in the middle of an exam, and the scores are changing every moment, so they can't be accurately published, right?"

"Correct!"

"Then, third question: Why do you say Class A students are better than Class B? If every class starts with 1,000 base points, shouldn't the class assignments be random? At most, they'd be manually balanced so each class's overall strength isn't too different."

"That's my personal judgment. I have no proof to back it up. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Of course."

After hearing Hoshino En's analysis and reasoning, Ichinose Honami had already affirmed his ability. Since he made that judgment, he must have his reasons.

From a class standpoint, she didn't want to believe such an unfounded conclusion, like with the Behavioral Norms Exam earlier.

But from a personal emotional standpoint, she really wanted to trust this person—this benefactor who had extended a selfless hand to her.

"Then, my personal judgment is—temperament."

"Huh?"

The three D Class members, left out: "...Ha?"

"I mentioned before, after the homeroom ended, I walked through the entire first-year building. At that time, I saw the situation in each class—"

"Class A, though divided, had everyone seeking a leader they recognized. They have strong initiative—that's the hallmark of elites: having clear goals and persistently working toward them, not drifting with the tide."

"Next is Class B, your class. Your class achieved unity through your personal charisma. But in that situation, your words become their dogma. They believe in you without question and won't challenge your judgments—even if you're wrong, no one corrects you, and afterward, no one even holds you accountable. That's where your class falls short of Class A."

"Then Class C. I looked at Class C—aside from a small handful, the rest are basically delinquents with little interest in studying. They can't be unified through solidarity because most are too dense to understand reason; only violence can force the unwilling to submit. But that has its drawbacks—their academic ability is too weak. If the school throws a few high-difficulty written exams at them, they'll naturally get weeded out. Class A and Class B don't have that weakness."

"As for Class D... I can't quite figure it out. It's too chaotic—all kinds of people there, and I still see no hope of unification."

"Saying that when you're also in Class D yourself—are you sure that's okay?"

"Regarding Hoshino-kun's conclusions, I can vouch for them."

As Ichinose Honami was deep in thought, Sakayanagi Arisu added her own supplement.

"Hoshino-kun's conclusions are basically accurate, and the class assignments are exactly as he described—Class A is the best, Class D the worst. But Class D doesn't just contain defective products; it also has flawed goods—people with strong abilities who were thrown straight into Class D because of problematic or stained past records."

"Someone like Hoshino-kun, for example. Otherwise, with his abilities, he'd absolutely be Class A material—there aren't even many in our Class A who can match him."

"But you..."

"My intel is confirmed correct, because our Class A bought it from the teachers with points—a full two million, you know."

Atmosphere Group: "..."

Well, if that's the case, there's nothing to be done about it.

"And regarding class competition. Only Class A students at graduation will be recognized as Advanced Nurturing graduates, eligible for any further education or employment they choose. Students from other classes will be given the credentials of ordinary high schools."

Class D trio: "..."

Damn it, this school is way too shady! This is fraud!

"By the way, Hoshino-kun, I have another piece of intel—about class advancement."

After enjoying the startled expressions of the little kittens nearby, Sakayanagi Arisu turned to Hoshino En, speaking as if coaxing him.

"Aside from winning the class competition, there's another way to move up to Class A: spending 20 million personal points to jump solo to any class you want."

"Hoshino-kun, would you like that? I could pool points together to cover that amount for you."

She smiled sweetly, making it hard to refuse her offer.

But Hoshino En wasn't the type to throw caution to the wind for a pretty face.

"Class A is a huge trap, so I'll pass. Besides, the way this school is set up, they clearly want to see competition between classes—everyone growing under pressure. If you just buy off strong students from other classes like that, the lower classes can't compete with Class A at all."

"The lower classes would lose hope of advancing and just slack off; without the desire to move up, Class A students would also grow complacent. That doesn't align with the school's goals. They'd definitely find ways to stop it."

"I don't want to go against the school—it'd be too much trouble."

His words left Sakayanagi Arisu stunned for a moment, as if she hadn't considered that angle.

"I'd like to say you're overthinking it, but hearing your analysis, it does seem to make some sense."

"Looks like we have no choice but to tear each other apart, huh, hehe~"

She was clearly getting excited.

Hoshino En: "..."

"If by the time we're third-years and your class is still Class A, then even if you don't offer points, I'll save up and jump to Class A myself."

"But I really didn't know about that matter you mentioned. Still, the reason I think this way—that's also a piece of intel."

He turned his phone around, showing Sakayanagi Arisu the same photo he'd shown Ichinose Honami.

"Take a close look at the class points for the second-years and third-years. There's something off about them—an anomaly."

[Class 2-A: 1800 points] [Class 2-B: 900 points] [Class 2-C: 800 points] [Class 2-D: 600 points] [Class 3-A: 1950 points] [Class 3-B: 1650 points] [Class 3-C: 1000 points] [Class 3-D: 900 points]

Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."

"Compared to the third-years, the second-year scores are too neat, and the point gaps are strange—like they've been artificially controlled."

"Exactly. So I suspect the Representative of Class 2-A has the entire second year under his thumb. Every exam is just him redistributing class points. But that means the lower classes have no motivation to compete for Class A, and Class A doesn't need to think about dealing with other classes. The whole second year won't improve at all over the next two years—they might even regress. That definitely doesn't meet the school's requirements."

"So this senior from Class 2-A, having pulled off the feat of controlling an entire grade, is probably being eyed by the school, holding a high position in the Student Council, and might even become Student Council President someday. But he won't keep that seat long—the school will move against him."

"Not to mention, this afternoon outside the convenience store, I saw three upperclassmen provoking a hot-tempered guy from our class. Third-years about to graduate and preparing for further studies or jobs wouldn't have the time for that—they're definitely second-year seniors."

"And with the Behavioral Norms Exam in effect, not only have the teachers been given gag orders, but the second- and third-year seniors have also been silenced. Yet they still came to provoke, even leaking a bit of intel."

"To pull something like that despite the ban, it's not a spur-of-the-moment provocation—someone's pulling the strings behind them. In other words—"

"That second-year senior isn't satisfied with just controlling the second year anymore. He's trying to reach into the first-years too, right?"

Sakayanagi Arisu followed Hoshino En's line of reasoning, finishing his thought.

But there was no panic on her face—only the eager look of someone who'd spotted prey.

Yes, Hoshino En had seen that same expression on her face before—back when they'd run into each other in the Special Building, and she'd recognized him as the one scouting info outside Class A's door. The way she'd sized him up then was just like this.

Hoshino En: "..."

Let's offer a moment of silence for that senior in advance.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 13 – Round Four, Conclusion

Ichinose Honami had mostly sorted out the other matters, but one thing still eluded her: "Why would you tell us the information your Class A paid points to obtain?"

If Classmate Sakayanagi hadn't spoken, Class A could have used that information gap to pull ahead first. No matter how much she might clash with Class A's other leader, she wouldn't just throw class interests aside, would she?

"You're mistaken, Ichinose-san."

Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze never landed on Ichinose Honami. She stared at the coffee cup before her, counting the ripples stirred by the caffeine, an unfathomable smile on her face.

"I said nothing, Wu. It was Hoshino-kun who saw through the truth of the school, San, and shared that information with your Class B, Si. I merely [happened] to accept his invitation to come here, and [coincidentally] overheard his analysis for you. Whether you know the truth or not has nothing to do with me."

"Besides..."

Sakayanagi Arisu turned to Hoshino En, her curved brows meeting his clear gaze.

"Rather than the exam, what I want to know now is—Hoshino-kun, why were you placed in Class D?"

"Don't you already know? I have a shady past from middle school."

"A shady past you can say out loud isn't a shady past anymore."

Hoshino En: "..."

He understood her intent.

"You want to hear a story?"

With all that free time, he might as well do something else—this wasn't how you waste time!!

"Mm-hmm."

She nodded quickly, her playful motion paired with an adorable expression, utterly charming.

"Acting cute won't work. After learning about your sadistic nature, who would still take you for a sweet little girl?"