"Yes. And several of Class D's ruling figures already know how strong Hoshino-kun is. You can't sit back and do nothing anymore, pretending it has nothing to do with you. So please take over Class D as soon as possible, and then let's have a proper fight!"
"You say that as if you've already taken control of Class A, you sadistic, S-and-M-loving, awful fake little girl!"
"Isn't it only a matter of time? Besides, mere verbal attacks can't hurt me anymore."
"..."
Meanwhile, over at Class D's table for eight—
"So the exam was Hoshino-kun's idea!"
Kushida Kikyo's Friend Group and Hirata all turned to look at the person in question.
It seemed she hadn't told her classmates about Hoshino-kun.
"Well... Hoshino-kun said he didn't want to draw attention to himself, so he specifically told Ichinose and me to keep it a secret."
Kushida had no idea how many curses she'd muttered under her breath, but she still put on a considerate smile and tried to laugh it off.
"Look, Hoshino-kun doesn't talk much with people in class, either. He's clearly a socially anxious tsundere. I couldn't force him to accept everyone else's thanks, could I?"
Her explanation made sense, and the rather guileless members of the Friend Group immediately believed her.
The members of the Empress Group, however, didn't care.
"That guy... I thought he was with Karuizawa, but I never imagined he'd be fooling around with other girls here."
Shinohara Satsuki bit into the freshly grilled meat in her hand, glaring at Hoshino En.
And not only was he surrounded by girls, he even had a pretty classmate grilling meat for him. He was acting as if Karuizawa didn't matter at all!
If Matsushita Chiaki hadn't held her back, she would've gone over to yell at Hoshino En the moment his group walked in.
"Actually, the petite girl arrived first. Strictly speaking, Karuizawa is the third party here."
Matsushita Chiaki explained the situation to Shinohara Satsuki, who didn't know the details. If they started accusing him, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on—and they'd only cause trouble for Karuizawa.
"But the silver-haired girl must have come later, right? He'd rather bring someone from another class who came later than Karuizawa. Isn't that awful?"
"Uh... is it possible he invited Karuizawa, too, but happened to be coming with this classmate, so they came together?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Sato Maya joined the fray, too.
"That guy's sneaking around behind Karuizawa's back. Otherwise, why did he look so panicked when he saw us?"
Hoshino En: Actually, it was because I saw A-Sho and Katsuragi. You, Hirata, and Kushida don't count.
"If he really hasn't betrayed Karuizawa, then I'll..."
Sato Maya looked at the things on the table, then picked up her glass.
"I'll eat this glass!"
But as soon as she made her "solemn oath," a familiar voice sounded beside them.
"Are you... having some kind of party?"
The three girls looked up and found themselves face-to-face with Karuizawa Kei, who was still wearing her school uniform.
Oh, she really had shown up.
The same thought crossed all three of their minds.
The girl with the high golden ponytail glanced at their group of close friends, then at Hoshino En, who was surrounded by girls. In the end, she promptly chose to sit beside Kamuro Masumi and start grilling meat with her.
The three girls fell silent.
"Sato, how are you going to eat that glass? Want me to grill it for you?"
Mori Nene, who was busy battling the meat on the grill, delivered the final blow to Sato Maya.
Sato Maya: "..."
"My, my. It seems Hoshino-kun has trained her well. My Kamuro is still a step behind."
"Don't compare Karuizawa to Kamuro. She's much smarter than Kamuro. Here, Karuizawa, try this."
Hoshino En passed the grilled meat Kamuro had put on his plate to Karuizawa Kei, who had arrived later.
"Oh... yum~ Kamuro, you did a great job grilling it!"
"Well, Sakayanagi has me running around all day. You get used to things when you do them often enough."
"I see. Hoshino-kun doesn't trouble me much. I'm the one who's always troubling him."
Could she actually be bragging?
Watching Karuizawa Kei worry over the fact that she wasn't being "ordered around," Kamuro Masumi gave her a dead-eyed stare.
She got to enjoy being fed by her "master" and receive his help, yet she didn't have to serve him... Damn it! She had it so much better than Kamuro.
A moment ago, Kamuro had even felt pleased by Karuizawa's compliment. Who the hell was supposed to be comforting whom here?!
Watching Kamuro Masumi's expression swing between pleased and devastated, Sakayanagi Arisu had to admit that Hoshino En had a point.
Kamuro might have the edge over Karuizawa in academics and physical ability, but she was too straightforward and too foolish. In a contest of wits, she couldn't compete with Karuizawa at all right now.
If Karuizawa hadn't deliberately shown her a weakness just then, Kamuro would've been the kind of fool who got swindled and then helped the swindler count the money.
"All right, Hoshino-kun. Now that everyone's here, it's time to talk business, isn't it?"
She set down the carbonated water, of which she'd drunk a little over half, picked up her cane again, and gazed at Hoshino En with a smile.
"I imagine Katsuragi-kun and Dragon Boy want to hear the real reason, too."
At that, the Katsuragi Group and Ryuen Kakeru immediately perked up. Now they were getting to the main event.
Hoshino En had already given them reason to be wary, so they didn't dare take this lightly.
"Business? I think we should wait until Ichinose gets here. The class representatives from Classes A, C, and D are all here. Wouldn't it be unfair to leave her out?"
Hoshino En used the cold carbonated water to keep himself alert. His showdown with Sakayanagi that afternoon had taken too much out of him.
"Also, you can hang up on Ichinose now. She should be here soon."
"...You really can't be fooled, can you?"
Sakayanagi Arisu took her phone from her pocket. The screen showed "Call in progress," and the person on the other end was Ichinose Honami, whom she'd targeted that afternoon. Judging by how long the call had lasted, Ichinose had been eavesdropping for quite a while.
Then she hung up.
"But after the heated argument we had this afternoon, how did you realize I was on the phone with her?"
"While I was comforting her this afternoon, you were typing. Then her phone happened to vibrate. Most of the students from Class B were there, and I couldn't think of anyone besides you who would message her."
"She's the class representative of Class B, after all, and a kind Archangel, too. She's a perfect first 'friend' for someone like you, who's never been to school or made a friend before. So you two must be on pretty good terms, right?"
"I am quite interested in her."
First Semester of First Year
Chapter 43: Author's Note
The book is going to be paywalled. I have to admit, I'm a little excited.
I didn't write this book to make money. If I wanted to earn money, I feel like Tomato would be a better place. It's free there, so readers can take a look without spending anything. I think this book would be pretty readable there.
The main reason is that I was hooked on Classroom of the Elite fanfiction for a while. I read two or three books, then realized I couldn't find any that really appealed to me, so I decided to write one myself. And that's how this book came about. You can think of it as me indulging myself. The plot is full of things I think are fun to read. If they're not to your taste, you don't have to force yourself to suffer through it with me. I know how bad my writing is.
Next, I'd like to address a few questions about the story.
1. Why do the third-years have so many points?
This was my mistake. I started writing on a burst of enthusiasm and didn't think it through. I made a few minor adjustments along the way, but later I felt this would allow the protagonist to earn enough points early on to have the freedom to withdraw whenever he wanted, so I stopped making changes. You can just assume the school's challenges weren't difficult enough before, and that the students took a loss in their first year, so they worked hard to improve in their second year and ended up with those results in their third year.
If you think I'm making things up by giving them too many points, then consider it my fault. I accept that. Orz.
2. About the protagonist's characterization.
At first, I didn't think much about it. I just went with the parts I thought would be fun. Chapter 1 didn't even explain the protagonist's background. At most, it established that he "considered himself ordinary" and was "self-disciplined"—if you came over from 7 Points, you should know the original title was Classroom of the Elite: The Ordinary Person's Self-Discipline. The story has already caught up, and it's all in the free chapters, so there's no need to look for it. Besides, it seems to have already been taken down.
But later, I realized that wouldn't work. The protagonist seemed too invincible, so I added some flaws and family background to his monologue in the library. The two sides feel noticeably disconnected, so I'd like to apologize again here. Orz.
Incidentally, you can think of the protagonist's personality as "chuunibyou" at its most extreme. That doesn't mean he's especially capable or that he's read the script.
3. Confusing character perspectives.
This book doesn't stick to the protagonist's perspective. It sometimes switches to other characters' perspectives, and it mixes "I" and "he." That's because my previous book, which was also my first, was a watch-along story with character interactions. It had the original cast of Honkai and Star Rail, plus some Fate characters—a lot of people—and it ran for more than 1.5 million words. I haven't managed to change my habits yet.
4. The story is progressing too slowly.
That's my fault. I'm sorry. Orz. But I can't fix it right now. I need time to learn, and I haven't had any lately.
If I really wanted to speed things up, I feel like I could finish the story in two or three chapters. So if I have even less time later—because I'm graduating and need to prepare for an internship, a graduation project, and my thesis—and have to drop the story, I'll explain the general plot before I go. I hope it doesn't come to that.
Finally, thank you to Uchiha Psychopath for your support. You've followed the story all the way from 7 Points to Hedgehog Cat, giving me the passion and motivation to keep going. I'm truly grateful!
Tomorrow's update will be delayed. I'll post again once things settle down, probably around noon.
First Semester of First Year
Chapter 44: Chapter 041: Information Revealed by the Quiz Questions
Soon, Ichinose Honami arrived at the corner.
"Are you... having some kind of party?"
She couldn't help asking the same question when she saw the surreal scene.
There was one table for each of the "core members" of Classes A, C, and D. Then there was Hoshino En's table, where the "strategists" of all three classes had gathered.
"Hoshino-kun, did I do something to upset you? Is that why you joined forces with Ryuen-kun, Katsuragi-kun, and Hirata-kun to ostracize Class B?"
She looked at Hoshino En sadly, seeming so pitiful that she might burst into tears at any moment.
All Hoshino En could do was frantically wave his hands and clear up the misunderstanding.
"No, no! Your Class B was having a celebration of its own, wasn't it? I couldn't exactly bring them over to your class to freeload off your food!"
"Besides, the other three tables really were just a coincidence. Who could've known everyone would suddenly want yakiniku today, all come to the same restaurant, and then happen to end up in the same corner? I really wasn't trying to leave your class out."
"Anyway, sit down first. Let's talk business."
He led Ichinose Honami to a seat beside Karuizawa Kei.
The Katsuragi Group and Ryuen Kakeru: "..."
After all that waiting, they were finally getting to the point.
This guy was taking forever. They'd only just finished eating, but now they were hungry again.
"Waiter, sorry, could we get some more food—"
Both tables were full of guys, and they'd finished everything they'd ordered earlier. As for Class D, few people knew how to grill, and most of them were girls, so they still had plenty of food left.
"My, my. It seems our 'audience' can't wait any longer."
Sakayanagi Arisu snatched a piece of freshly grilled meat from Hoshino En's chopsticks and took another sip of the carbonated water on the table, egging him on.
"Go on, Hoshino-kun. Tell us the real reason you waited for me at the library today."
Her behavior drew a warning look from Ichinose Honami, but after what had happened that afternoon, she didn't dare say anything.
"Let me ask you something first. You all had a test this week, right? The monthly quiz that 'was only for reference and wouldn't appear on your report cards.'"
Although his meat had been stolen, Karuizawa Kei was still feeding him. He even had time to feed her and Shiina Hiyori, who had been working hard at the grill, as he asked.
"Our Class C took it today. It was four questions per subject, twenty questions in total."
Shiina Hiyori was the first to answer.
"The first few questions were fine, even a little too easy. But the last three were particularly difficult, especially the math question."
Ichinose Honami chimed in.
"Our Class B took it today, too. The question types and number of questions were the same as she described."
In other words, that exam hadn't been set by that unpleasant teacher alone. It had been given to the entire year.
"Hmm... I see. That confirms it."
Since the scores wouldn't appear on their report cards, the exam served no purpose. With so many questions that were too easy, it couldn't even measure the students' academic ability. Yet the school had still made them take it. That meant the purpose of the exam was to let the students experience taking it.
"Sakayanagi, by the way, did your Class A take it today, too?"
Hoshino En looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, but she didn't say anything. She only smiled.
Before you continue