Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist

Hoshino En: "..."

"For heaven's sake, how did you score so neatly? No wonder Chabashira Sae has her eye on you!"

"With a test like that last quiz—just one paper, one score—it's fine to control it into a neat number. But with a comprehensive exam like this, multiple tests and multiple scores, if you still make them all that tidy, even an idiot would know something's up."

Hoshino En: [Kiyotaka, listen to me. From now on, don't make your scores so neat in exams, and don't control them too regularly. Make them messy. For example, if you get 50 in Japanese, then get 53 in math; if you get 57 in English, then get 51 in social studies... something like that.]

[In short, don't make your results look so "pretty"... No wonder Chabashira Sae has her eye on you: a big shot who can freely control scores—who wouldn't be baffled by that!]

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: [...I can brush it off by saying "it's all a coincidence."]

He tried to make up for his mistake.

Hoshino En: [What coincidence is that neat? Besides, if you deliberately get easy questions wrong while answering super hard ones when controlling your scores, it'll just highlight how sly you are. You can't explain that with "coincidence."]

[Anyway, if you don't want to cause yourself trouble and still want to maintain your "ordinary person" persona, then stop doing this.]

Meanwhile, in the counseling room separated from the break room by a single wall, Chabashira Sae finally found Horikita Suzune's five entrance exam papers from the mountain of scrolls, along with the interviewer's evaluation of her.

"Horikita Suzune, your entrance exam results are exactly as you judged: among this year's 160 first-year students, you achieved the excellent result of tying for third place in the grade. There were no particular concerns in the interview either—the evaluation was very good."

"Thank you. Then—why?"

"I've said it before, haven't I? In this school, 'excellent people' go to Class A, while 'defective products' are thrown into Class D. Do you think you're excellent?"

"Of course!!"

"What's your reason?"

"Reason... didn't I just say it!? My entrance exam results..."

"That only proves your academic ability is good. But when did 'good academic ability' become synonymous with 'excellence'?"

"Th-this is common sense in society."

"Pfft hahaha—"

Hearing this, Hoshino En couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

Seriously, how is this person so amusing? "Common sense in society"? This society isn't that simple.

The wall between the break room and the counseling room was as thin as paper, so his laughter naturally reached Horikita Suzune and Chabashira Sae.

"Who's there?"

"...Hoshino, I believe I said that if you made a sound, you'd be expelled immediately?"

Called out by name, Hoshino En naturally had no intention of hiding any longer. He led Ayanokouji Kiyotaka out with him.

"Hoshino? Ayanokouji?"

Seeing the two emerge, Horikita Suzune also realized something—Chabashira Sae seemed to have anticipated she would come to question her, so she had these two "ambush" her here in advance.

"Let's set aside whether you have the authority to 'order' my expulsion. Even if you did expel me, I have ways to make Class D collapse before I leave—at least to the point where it can't recover for a semester or two. Then your wish to 'take Class D to Class A' should be shattered, right?"

Leaving the amusing person aside for now, Hoshino En looked at Chabashira Sae, his gaze unwavering.

Of course, "making Class D collapse" was just him bluffing. To achieve it, he'd first need to break Hirata, removing the class's "mediator"—that wasn't hard; his weakness was obvious.

Then he'd need Karuizawa or Kushida's help—with their authority, they could stir up conflict between the boys and girls in Class D, creating a rift that would be hard to repair quickly. For example, setting up Yamauchi or Ike, or any boy in their "flirtation group" besides Kiyotaka, with the victim being Sakura Airi, who had no sharp edges, was weak and easy to bully, but had top-tier looks and figure.

If the whole process went smoothly, it wouldn't even take two hours for Class D to completely split—until someone capable stepped up or Hirata recovered, the class would stay broken.

But Hoshino En didn't think Kushida would help, even if he threatened her with leverage. Same for Karuizawa—he didn't think she'd give up the reputation she'd worked so hard to build just to carry out his revenge plan. That would easily lead her back to her middle school state.

So, he was really~ really~~ really~~~ just bluffing, okay!

"Besides, it's only been a month since school started. Even if I were expelled, with my grades, I'd just be changing nests to survive—no different from now."

"I wouldn't lose anything, but you'd have to waste three more years dragging along a broken Class D. Who comes out ahead in this deal? So hard to guess~"

Eavesdropper No. 1 Honami: "..."

She was a bit confused. Hoshino-kun's threatening words were something she rejected, but it seemed Chabashira-sensei had threatened him first, and he was the victim.

So whose side should she take?

Eavesdropper No. 2 Chie: "..."

Little Sae, you're still thinking about "overthrowing your superiors," huh...

No can do, Little Sae. Little Sae should rot together with the worst Class D... How could I let you leave me behind and find your own salvation?

Something with higher priority appeared, and her attention instantly shifted away from Ichinose Honami.

Eavesdropper No. 3 Masumi: "..."

Damn, is Hoshino really picking a fight with the teacher? And the homeroom teacher who can easily make things hard for him?

Did my "jinx" really come true?

Eavesdropper No. 4 Arisu: "..."

She was currently composing a message to her father.

If the Class D homeroom teacher wanted to use power to bully people, then let her see whose "power" was greater!!

However, before she could click [Send Message], she received a message clearly typed blindly by Hoshino En (with typos).

Hoshino En: [Don't tell the parents yet, she wouldn't dare do anything to me. Watch me crush her.]

That made sense—since Hoshino-kun dared to say that, he must be confident.

Guess I'll wait and see for now.

Chabashira Sae: "..."

Just like during homeroom, she fell silent again.

This Hoshino En... was too much.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 62 - Chapter 058: It's Because You're Like This That It's So Funny!

"Don't make that face, Chabashira-sensei."

Watching Chabashira Sae, who was at a loss for words and stuck in a bind, Hoshino En found it ridiculous.

You started this fight yourself, but the moment things didn't go according to your plan, you didn't know how to back down and needed someone else to give you an out... Have some limits to your assumptions.

"As long as you don't pin strange ideas—including what happened this morning—on me and cause me trouble, I won't mind your little schemes."

"Maybe later, if I feel like it, I'll even help you achieve your wish!"

"...Don't be so arrogant. This school isn't as simple as you think."

After a long pause, Chabashira Sae finally spat out that line, clearly taking the out Hoshino En had offered.

Honestly, why was this teacher so difficult and troublesome?

"That's not your concern. I've never hesitated to assume the worst in others, and that includes this school."

"Back to the main topic—why did you call me and Kiyotaka here and make us eavesdrop on your conversation with Horikita? I skipped today's Swimming Club training for this!"

At that, Chabashira Sae's expression improved slightly, as if she'd regained some home-field advantage.

But before she could speak, Horikita's question rang out first.

"Chabashira-sensei, why did you do this? And Hoshino-kun, I don't think there's anything funny about what I said earlier. Apologize!"

Earlier, separated by a wall, Hoshino En could only hear her confident voice; now he could also see the expression on her face—one without any doubt or confusion, only anger at the fact that she had been [laughed at].

Then, Hoshino En laughed even harder.

"Hahahaha—it's, it's because you're like this... that it's so funny! Hahaha—"

He propped one hand on the Counseling Room table, laughing nonstop until his face nearly cramped.

In Hoshino En's view, truly capable people, when hearing negative evaluations from others, immediately reflect on their own actions and judgments—because they know they aren't infallible, that they have flaws, and that some might be fatal blind spots invisible from their own perspective.

After analyzing themselves inside and out, they judge whether the evaluation is genuine or just pressure from the other party: if it's the former, they humbly accept the lesson and correct the flaw later;

If it's the latter, they refute it on the spot, pressuring the other party back with the same method—but they don't get angry. Anger is being at odds with yourself, an improper emotion that grieves your loved ones and delights your enemies.

Compared to [anger], seeing the other party pressured into discomfort is far more beneficial to mental health.

But Horikita Suzune, who prided herself on being [destined for great things] and believed she deserved to be in Class A, was different. She didn't even think about it, instead generating [anger] and hollowly demanding an apology from Hoshino En?

Come on, that made it even funnier!!

The quiet Counseling Room echoed with Hoshino En's laughter, and Horikita Suzune's body began to tremble under the [sound waves]—not from fear or instinct, but from [anger].

"You—"

"Enough, Hoshino. Stop laughing."

Just before Horikita Suzune completely exploded, Chabashira Sae stepped in, blocking the black-haired girl's only outlet for venting her fury and indirectly stopping Hoshino En's antics.

"Haha, cough cough... Fine, fine, I'll stop. My cheeks hurt from laughing."

Hoshino En rubbed his face, easing the soreness in his facial muscles.

Chabashira could have stopped him from the start, but she waited until he was nearly cramping up to speak—wasn't she still using him to pressure Horikita?

Tch, pressuring people while wanting their help—this woman's heart was black! Blacker than his!!

And she was so awkward; if she kept talking, who knew how long this conversation would drag on?

So, he stepped in.

"Chabashira-sensei, since you don't want to say it directly, let me guess: you went through all this trouble to gather the three of us today because you want to spur Horikita into uniting the class, then have me and Kiyotaka act as her [Heng and Ha Generals], and finally achieve your long-held wish. Am I right?"

Chabashira Sae: "..."

Things weren't going her way again, so she fell silent.

This person really didn't think things through!!

Instead, Horikita Suzune immediately retorted.

"How could a class full of [defective products] possibly earn more points than Class A? That's impossible no matter how you think about it!"

"Your guess is completely wrong. I won't lead a hopeless class like that."

Her tone was decisive, looking utterly unafraid.

Hoshino En had seen many people like this—leaving no room for retreat, going all in at once—and in the end, they usually [reluctantly] accepted the reality they had initially rejected.

"But this is the only path you can take—if you want to become a student of Class A and not embarrass Horikita-senpai, then [unifying the class and aiming for promotion] is actually the fastest option for you."

For someone as antisocial as her, earning 20 Million Private Points on her own was nearly impossible; probability-wise, it was less likely than class competition.

Hoshino En's well-intentioned reminder didn't make it into Horikita Suzune's ears or settle in her heart. She only caught one thing from what he said.

"You... you know my brother?"

She was like a cat with its neck seized—her small mouth slightly open, eyes wide and stunned as she stared at Hoshino En.

"We've only exchanged a few words in private, nothing close to a deep friendship. But he did tell me that his little sister has been a great disappointment to him, and he hoped I could give her a good thrashing!"

"Horikita, tell me—someone whom the entire school recognizes as the most outstanding student council president has personally admitted is a disappointment. Why does she think she's so excellent?"

The flame that had just been burning in Horikita Suzune's heart was instantly extinguished.

Not only extinguished, but she plunged straight into an emo state as cold as an ice age.

This guy's weak point is pretty obvious too.

"Enough, Hoshino! If you keep this up, I'll really have you expelled!!"

Seeing Horikita on the verge of collapsing completely, Chabashira Sae immediately stepped forward in agitation and shouted at Hoshino En.

What she wanted was to provoke Horikita, to push her forward—not to break her backbone and leave her utterly defeated!

"Always threatening with [expulsion]—don't you have any other tricks, Chabashira-sensei? That's no fun at all!"

But Hoshino En was done playing along with her.

He retrieved the camera from the left breast pocket of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's uniform and played the video he had just recorded—thanks to the fact that he really hadn't been able to hold back earlier and had laughed quite brightly, Chabashira Sae and Horikita Suzune had completely missed the extra camera on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's chest. The footage of that scene—[a teacher issuing a vicious threat to a student]—was captured with perfect clarity.

Chabashira Sae: "..."

You... what the hell...

The expression on her face fully reflected the panic and shock within her heart. Seeing her like this, Hoshino En felt a sense of [relief], but also a touch of helplessness.

"If you want to provoke Horikita into shouldering the class, that's your business. But don't casually trouble me or threaten Kiyotaka. Otherwise, this video will end up on the desks of the Student Council and the Chairman. At that point, not only will you never achieve your wish, you might even lose your position as a [teacher]."