Hirata's Invitation, Back in the Eye of the Storm

The cruel facts left some of the "honor students" unable to see any hope of turning things around.

"There... There is a way, of course."

Seeing that even the students at the top of the class seemed ready to give up, Chabashira Sae hurried to add,

"The school will hold Special Exams from time to time, giving you a chance to earn Class Points. If you gain an advantage in these exams, you can build up points little by little. Even Class D might still have a chance of reaching Class A in the end."

At that, the "honor students"' eyes immediately lit up.

Chabashira Sae: "..."

Phew. Thank goodness I managed to talk them down.

"Then, Chabashira-sensei, when's the next Special Exam?"

Kushida Kikyo asked eagerly.

She already knew that the Midterm Exam paper Hoshino En had given her was probably the Special Exam. But how could she miss a chance to win over the whole class?

That Hoshino En was so inconsiderate. She and he were sneaking off to "meet" every night, and he'd still given Hirata all the credit!

...Could he really be more interested in guys? Wasn't Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Ryuen Kakeru enough for him? Now he had his eye on Hirata Yosuke, too?

Ew~

"It's the Midterm Exam this month. You'll be tested in five subjects over two days, the 26th and 27th."

The "honor students" wore excited smiles at the news.

They'd thought this strange school would come up with some strange exam. Turns out it was just a written test!

"Oh, right. There's one more thing."

Seeing that they'd regained their confidence, Chabashira Sae took a sheet of paper from the lectern as if she'd just remembered. She used a magnet to pin it to the blackboard as well.

"These are your quiz scores from last month. Quite a few students did well, but most of you are below average for the year. And—"

She took out a red pen and drew a line across the scoresheet. Exactly seven students' names and grades fell below it.

The others didn't understand what they were looking at, but the seven students below the line suddenly had a bad feeling.

"According to school regulations, if anyone fails a formal written exam, even in just one subject, they'll be expelled—even if they're short by only one point."

"Huh?!"

Seven students, including Kanji Ike, Yamauchi Haruki, Ken Sudō, and Sato Maya from the Empress Group, cried out in shock.

In other words, they were now facing the threat of expulsion!

"Hmph. That's what you get for not studying properly."

Yukimura Teruhiko, whose excellent academic ability made him look down on students who struggled, pushed up his glasses and delivered a cutting remark.

Seeing how confident he was, Chabashira Sae added,

"Also, unless the Special Exam rules state otherwise, any student who's expelled—for any reason—will cost their class 300 Class Points."

Of course, that was a lie. The truth was that "except where a Special Exam specifically states otherwise, the points deducted for an expulsion depend only on the reason for it." There was no mandatory deduction of Class Points.

Chabashira Sae said this purely to pressure the "honor students" of Class D. She hoped they wouldn't look out only for themselves and ignore everyone else's fate. She really wasn't suited to pure "encouragement-based education."

And the results proved that this tactic worked very well.

"Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—!!!!!"

Except for the ever-calm Koenji Rokusuke, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and Hoshino En, everyone else—whether they were good at studying or not—let out a cry loud enough to echo through the school building.

Koenji Rokusuke: How unsightly! You all~

Hoshino En: They really do suit this expression better. Their confidence a moment ago was painful to look at.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: ...So noisy.

Had Class D been scared out of their minds? Why were they yelling in broad daylight?!

Next chapter got a little too exciting to write, orz, orz, orz, orz, orz, orz, orz, orz, orz

First Semester of First Year :

Chapter 56: Hirata's Invitation, Back in the Eye of the Storm

After the class meeting ended, Class D was thrown into confusion by the truth about the school.

But before they could think about what to do next, they were more worried about how to get through the month's meals. 3,000 Private Points wouldn't cover an ordinary high school student's energy needs for a month, and they couldn't enjoy two good meals now and then spend the rest of the month eating the Vegetable Set Meal.

So Class D looked like this today: even after classes ended, nobody chatted as usual. The classroom was full of students working out how to get enough to eat.

Some, like Shinohara Satsuki from the Empress Group, went straight to the class's outcasts and asked them for "loans." Others, like Kushida Kikyo from the Friend Group, gathered their "friends" to buy ingredients together and cook for themselves to save money. Still others, like Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, hurriedly sold the latest game consoles they'd bought just a few days earlier at a discount... There was a little of everything.

Honestly, they were perfectly capable when they put their minds to it. If they'd shown this kind of initiative sooner and used it where it mattered, they wouldn't be struggling over Private Points now.

At last, lunchtime arrived. But aside from a few fools who hadn't planned ahead, everyone chose to eat the school's free Vegetable Set Meal. Until their monthly income was enough to cover the basics, they were better off saving their points for emergencies.

To avoid looking out of place, Hoshino En bought one to try, too. Honestly, aside from being undersalted and rather bland, it wasn't bad.

But if he ate that for a long time, the problem wouldn't just be the taste; it wouldn't provide enough nutrition, either. For someone like Hoshino En, who exercised every day, that was a serious concern.

He could eat more than usual; exercise would help him turn those nutrients into something useful. But he absolutely couldn't eat less. A shortage would seriously affect his condition.

He'd make do for a few days, then return to his usual diet from last month once his classmates had calmed down.

For now, he'd make up the difference in the evening.

After finally finishing lunch, he returned to the classroom. Hirata Yosuke seemed to have something to say again. He was going from student to student, apparently hoping to discuss something.

But it had nothing to do with Hoshino En. He needed to take a nap. In the afternoon, he still had to exercise, teach Karuizawa to study, and read with Shiina. He couldn't afford to run out of energy.

So he put his head down.

Before long, however, the sound of a heated argument woke him.

"...Do whatever you want, but don't drag me into it. Got it?"

It was Ken Sudō, the tall boy sitting next to him.

Hoshino En pinched the bridge of his nose to clear his head, then looked up.

It seemed Hirata Yosuke had gotten under Ken Sudō's skin. After making what sounded like a warning, he stormed off.

His behavior naturally earned the hostility of the other students—not just because Hirata Yosuke was popular, but also because of his usual rough and domineering manner.

If only he'd be a little more levelheaded.

Hoshino En glanced at his "retreating" back and sighed regretfully.

Unlike Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, who thought they were clever but were just idiots, Ken Sudō was one of the few "genuine fools" in the class—and a "fool" with a particular talent.

In Hoshino En's eyes, he and Kushida Kikyo were the same sort of person: both had strengths that set them apart, both had fatal flaws, and both were pretty stupid.

He wouldn't say he "liked" him all that much, but he didn't dislike him, either.

With proper guidance, he might turn into a decent person.

...Huh? Wait! Why was he thinking that?!!

Hoshino En startled himself.

Was constantly guiding Kiyotaka making him develop the habits of a "Pedagogue"?

...It actually seemed kind of interesting—the feeling of twisting someone else's life... It was every bit as thrilling as deduction!

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Just then, Hirata Yosuke came over after striking out once more with Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Hoshino, could I bother you for a moment?"

"...Oh! What is it, Hirata?"

Hoshino En looked up at Hirata Yosuke, who had come to stand beside his desk, and asked.

"Well, everyone in the class is short on Private Points right now, so I'm planning to discuss ways of dealing with it with them after school. Also, quite a few people are in danger of failing this month's Midterm Exam, so I'd like to talk about that after school, too. Your grades are in danger as well, aren't they, Hoshino? I hope you'll join us. What do you say?"

Hirata Yosuke's smile was infectious, and he struck just the right balance between kindness and pleading. If he hadn't practiced it deliberately, then he must be like Kushida Kikyo and Ichinose Honami—someone born with the sort of "affability" that could make a living for him.

He'd also come up with a good reason. Because he'd noticed something strange about the exam, Hoshino En had deliberately gotten a few questions wrong in the end to keep his score at 50. That was indeed dangerously close to failing.

But he'd already explained how to handle the exam yesterday. Hirata probably wanted him to stay for the discussion about Private Points.

Unfortunately, he didn't need the points himself, and he had no interest in helping the rest of the class. So Hoshino En wouldn't accept Hirata's invitation.

But he wouldn't reject Hirata's request bluntly, the way Ken Sudō had. That would cause him trouble, too.

So he replied,

"I'd like to, but I have swimming club activities, so I'm sorry..."

"You can take time off from club activities. Is there really anything more important than the class being in crisis?"

A girl following Hirata immediately challenged Hoshino En before he could finish his excuse.

"Ken Sudō used club activities as an excuse just now, too. So how are you any different from him?"

Her words were aggressive, but if you listened closely, you'd realize they were nonsense. She was simply taking Hirata Yosuke's side without thinking.

She was also trying to paint Hoshino En as a villain who put his own interests above the class's well-being, even though she herself benefited from his help.

Disgusting.

He'd just been woken up. The only reason Hoshino En hadn't snapped was that he knew he shouldn't be sleeping in the classroom in the first place. But now some mindless idiot was in his face again.

Had he not put Chabashira Sae in her place this morning? Was that why these people thought he was an easy target?

He recognized the girl, too. She was one of the girls who clung to the Empress Group, often spending time with Shinohara Satsuki and Sato Maya. She even dared to look down on the delinquent girls in Class C.

Tch. Did she think living at the top of the social ladder meant she could treat everyone else however she pleased?

"Hirata, is this what you mean by 'unity and harmony'? Disguising 'self-interest' as 'the greater good,' then using it to pressure individuals into giving up their own interests for the so-called 'good of the group'?"

Hoshino En ignored the girl, who might as well have been an extra, and looked straight at Hirata Yosuke.

There was no point reasoning with someone that thoughtless. Better to pin her misbehavior on Hirata and leave him to deal with it.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

His words immediately made the extra girl bristle, and she demanded an explanation.

Hirata Yosuke's face darkened at what he'd said, too.

But he still tried to explain.

"Hoshino, that's not what I meant. I..."

"I know you didn't mean it that way, but that's what it feels like to me."

Hoshino En cut him off.

"You brought along a 'friend' who attacks people indiscriminately to approach classmates who don't know you well. What are you trying to do, Hirata?"

His final sentence was loud enough to drown out the classroom's whispers. Everyone looked over, whether they were the Friend Group discussing specific plans, the Empress Group helping one another come up with solutions, or even Horikita Suzune, who usually acted as if everyone else were invisible.

"Have her play the bad cop and offend your classmates, then you play the good cop and win them over? Anyone who won't bend, like Sudō, gets branded a 'heretic' and put on trial by the whole class? What are you trying to do—turn the classroom into your personal dictatorship?"

A "dictator" was the sort of person everyone rejected, no matter the time or place. But Hirata's good reputation meant few students looked at him strangely. Instead, they all turned to Hoshino En and tried to talk him down.

"Hoshino, Hirata isn't like that. Did you misunderstand something?"

"Exactly. Hirata's always helping us, and he listens seriously to what we have to say and helps resolve conflicts. How could he possibly be like that?"

"Hoshino, are you just jealous that Hirata's more popular than you, so you're making things up about him?"

"..."

Apart from the handful who were just watching, almost the entire class started "greeting" Hoshino En as one. At first they tried to reason with him. Then some people began making malicious assumptions and taking advantage of the situation. It was a complete mess.

Watching everyone attack him, Hirata wanted to explain, but the extra girl beside him kept him from speaking with all sorts of unreasonable arguments.

She even gave Hoshino En a mocking look from Hirata Yosuke's blind spot.

Hoshino En: "..."

You've chosen death!

Only after they'd talked themselves out and the classroom had almost fallen silent did Hoshino En reply,

"What are you all thinking? Of course I'm willing to trust Hirata."

He meant it. As long as you didn't cross one of his lines, Hirata was even more reliable as a companion than Kushida.