Legal Score Manipulation / The Result Was Still Just Short-So What Now?

"Then I'll be frank, is doing this really the right thing to do?"

The hierarchy here is extremely strict. Even between seniors and juniors who have little interaction, the juniors have a natural reverence for the seniors.

Sakayanagi Arisu's actions just now were undoubtedly a classic case of insubordination. Isn't she afraid of being retaliated against by her seniors?

"Why should I be afraid? They should be the ones afraid of me now."

Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't quite understand Kamuro Masumi's thinking. Although there were distorted hierarchical relationships in this society, she was the one who held the "truth" in her hands now, so why should she be afraid?

She emptied the remaining Private Points of the three lower-ranked classes in the second year using Betting Agreement, and Miyabi Nagumo's joint savings were also temporarily depleted by the Open Conspiracy she provided. The second-year students now have no extra Private Points to use for causing trouble.

Although it won't be a long time, at least this semester and next semester, the second-year students shouldn't have the energy to interfere with the first-year students' exams.

"Besides, don't you find this situation quite exciting? It's more enjoyable than petty theft, isn't it?"

Kamuro Masumi: "..."

Undeniably.

Nothing unexpected happened afterward. Hoshino En continued her ordinary daily life, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka successfully helped Horikita, allowing the trio to catch up on their studies.

Three days before the exam, Kushida took out the exam paper, disguised it as practice questions, and distributed it to everyone in the class, arguing that he had gone to great lengths to make sure everyone did a good job on the practice questions.

Kushida Kikyo: Hoshino En always says I'm stupid, but I'm not stupid at all. Most of the time I'm incredibly clever!

Then, on the day of the exam, when the test papers were handed out, almost everyone in the class showed a surprised expression, followed by intense elation.

Some people even disregarded the Matoba they were still taking an exam and cast grateful glances at Kushida Kikyo.

"Quiet."

Chabashira Sae, who was in charge of proctoring the exam, spoke up to quell the commotion in the class, but she was also puzzled.

Although she could get the old questions from the older students, she didn't deliberately conceal the change in the exam scope because there was a special joint exam for second and third graders this time, and it was unclear whether she could return before the first-year Midterm Exam. Nor did she intentionally try to lead or pressure Horikita and Ayanokoji to think in that direction.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that Class D has already received the old exam papers.

Such a tactful method couldn't have been Hoshino En's idea. Did Horikita do it? Or did Ayanokoji secretly play his role?

She glanced at the restless students and followed their gaze to Kushida Kikyo, who was basking in the jubilant looks of the crowd.

Is it her? Kushida, the one with the dark past?

Chabashira Sae was a little surprised.

She had initially considered using Kushida to lead the class, but her past scandals were too serious—although perhaps even worse than Hoshino En's, Kushida posed a greater threat to the group, so she didn't consider her.

Moreover, from her perspective, this child is a bit slow: his vision is limited, his abilities are lacking, and he is not up to the task.

But now it's her who's resolving the class crisis... Has she misjudged again?

After the exam, the top students relaxed, while the struggling students celebrated wildly around Kushida Kikyo.

Against this backdrop, the lone wolves stood out, such as Horikita Suzune Hoshino En, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Horikita, aren't you upset?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Horikita Suzune, who was sitting alone in her seat studying, and asked.

"Feeling wronged? Why should I feel wronged?"

Horikita Suzune didn't look at him, but kept staring at the English notes on the table, preparing for the upcoming English exam.

"Huh? But didn't you put in a lot of effort to teach them? And you even came up with many of the correct answers to those practice questions, yet they're only thanking Kushida and ignoring you. Don't you feel bad and wronged?"

He was referring to those three idiots who refused Hirata's tutoring and were then "saved" by Horikita. Without Horikita, even if they had gotten the practice questions, they wouldn't have looked at them afterward.

From the perspective of an ordinary person, there is nothing wrong with his idea.

However, Horikita Suzune is clearly not within the category of "normal people".

"I tutor them for my own sake, not for their gratitude."

She answered in this way, neither humble nor arrogant.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 79, Section 74: Legal Point Control

Because there was no expectation of gratitude, there was no risk of breaking down one's defenses or causing distress.

Although Horikita Suzune herself doesn't hold such pessimistic and conservative views, but rather the far worse one of [not considering others as her own kind], that's the essence of her behavior.

Swollen?≯Turn:∩private8¨$#zero≈ Kiyotaka: "..."

Oh, I see... It seems Horikita's talent is much better than I imagined.

And... sure enough, this idea of treating everyone else as a tool is normal; it's abnormal for someone like Yuan to [not care about anything, and not care what happens].

And at this moment, our [abnormal] classmate is --

Unknown number: [This credit is yours; this is your reward.]

[Personal account XXXXXXX received: 100,000 points.]

Hoshino En: "..."

Wow, who's the kind soul who sent him money? And 100,000 points at that!

Judging from the content, it should be related to the Midterm Exam; judging from the wording... it must be A-Sho.

Let's verify this.

He sent a message to Shiina Hiyori.

Hoshino En: [Shiina, did A-Sho get my number from you?]

Not long after, the other party sent a reply.

Shiina Hiyori: [Yes, and Ryuen's expression was strange at the time, as if he was very unwilling, but also helpless.]

Oh ho, I knew it!

But why would he send money? They're not even related. Usually, wouldn't he just take advantage and leave?

Wait... reluctant? Helpless??

Hoshino En suddenly thought of something.

That guy... could he really be...?

With Shiranami Chihiro leading the way, he can't help but overthink things. Besides, A-Sho is always with Albert, which makes it seem like... ugh~

He quickly sent a message to the number he had just called.

Hoshino En: [A-Sho, I'm not gay, and I don't pick up soap, we're impossible!] Rin

Unknown number: [I am not ***!!!]

Hoshino En: "..."

It seems it really is A-Sho, and he genuinely doesn't seem to have any other intentions. That's good, that's good.

However, he wouldn't accept money from someone with unclear origins without merit, as that would be a trap.

Therefore--death

Hoshino En: [Why did you suddenly send me money?]

Ryuen Kakeru: [Of course it's payment! You guessed right this time... But don't think that just because you helped out this time, I'll go easy on you later. You'd better wash your necks and wait!]

[Once we deal with Sakayanagi, you'll be next!]

Hoshino En: [Eh~ no way, I give up then, but please don't stare at my butt...]

Ryuen Kakeru: [Shut up!!]

After sending that message, he remained silent. No matter how much Hoshino En harassed him, he didn't say a word, and there was no "read" message displayed.

Are you really angry?

Seeing that A-Sho was no longer making a move, Hoshino En put down her phone for the time being.

Then, he noticed that Ken Sudō was frantically memorizing his English test paper.

While Yamauchi, Ike, and the Failing Group were all cheering for Kushida Kikyo, this guy was still studying frantically all by himself.

Didn't Kiyotaka say he and Horikita had already sorted things out? How come there's still one left?

He looked past Sudo and towards another corner of the classroom, where he saw Horikita Suzune studying diligently while Kiyotaka chatted with her.

What are they doing? Don't they care whether Sudo lives or dies?

So he went over and joined them.

What are you talking about?

"What are you doing here?!"

However, before Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Horikita Suzune, who had just been reading, immediately turned to look at him.

Hoshino En: "..."

Why are you reacting so strongly? I didn't do anything to you.

Although he's been surrounded by admirers since coming to this school, often getting into misunderstandings with many girls, whether intentionally or unintentionally, shouldn't Horikita Suzune be one of them!?

"What exactly did Chabashira-sensei say to you that day that made you so hostile towards me?"

Horikita Suzune did not answer, but stared intently at him.

Her gaze made Hoshino En feel uncomfortable, and he quickly moved to the other side of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, using his body to block Horikita Suzune's view.

"Kiyotaka, Sudo is acting strangely; he doesn't seem to have memorized the English test paper."

He gestured with his chin toward the other side of Horikita Suzune and spoke to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka followed her gaze and saw Ken Sudō, who was studying diligently at a table across from Horikita Suzune.

Without the help of those practice questions, relying solely on his own abilities, Ken Sudō would have had a very difficult time passing... no, he would have had a very difficult time even getting a passing grade.

"In other words, he risks failing."

"That's right, so I think we should do something."

Hoshino En didn't say anything definitive, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already guessed his purpose.

The passing score for the last quiz was around 32 or 33 points. This isn't a consistent number; it might be related to other indicators—like half the average score.

"You mean you need me to control the score?"

"Of course! But you just need to maintain a safe score of 50. Horikita is the real problem. With her abilities, if she goes all out, she could probably raise the class average by 2 or 3 points compared to when she was controlling her score."

"Since you want to help them, then at least make the final cleanup as perfect as possible."

After explaining what had happened, Hoshino En returned to her seat, never looking at Horikita Suzune again.

Although it's unclear what kind of stimulant Chabashira Sae gave Horikita, since Kiyotaka wanted to cultivate her, having a goal was actually a good thing for both of them.

He decided to ignore it for now, figuring that given Horikita's straightforward personality, she wouldn't come up with any effective countermeasures anyway.

Before the English exam officially began, he sent another message to Kushida Kikyo.

Hoshino En: [Kushida, try to get at least 50 points on the English test later, otherwise some people will fail.]

[Afterwards, your grades will be unusually high, and your good friends will definitely ask you why. You can use this opportunity to further enhance your reputation as a struggling student and improve your standing in the class.]

To shut her up, Hoshino En directly recounted the benefits that followed.

Shortly after he sent his second message, he received a reply from Kushida Kikyo saying "I agree."

Then, the English exam began.

Seeing the questions on the test paper that matched the practice questions, everyone in the class smiled with excitement, except for the tall, irritable guy sitting next to Hoshino En.

The English exam passed with great anxiety for Ken Sudō, but subsequent exams seemed to be much smoother.

Soon, the two-day Midterm Exam came to an end.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 80, Chapter 75: The result was still a little short, so what should we do?

On May 28th, students from all classes gathered again in their respective classrooms.

It wasn't about attending classes—after the Special Exam, all classes would have the remainder of the month counted as a holiday—but rather about hearing that reassuring news.

When Chabashira Sae walked in with five report cards listing everyone's scores in each subject, most of the students in Class D held their breath.