"Teacher, may I ask a question? I still don't quite understand." Hirata Yosuke raised his hand. He was not concerned about his own Private Points, but was speaking up for his uneasy classmates.
"Please tell us why no points were distributed. Otherwise, we can't accept this."
"There were ninety-eight instances of tardiness and absences in total. There were 391 instances of private conversations during class or mobile phone use. Those were the foolish things you did in just one month."
"At this school, class performance is reflected in points. The result is that you gave back all one hundred thousand points you should have received. It's that simple." Chabashira Sae explained with mechanical coldness. "I should have made this clear on the day you enrolled: this school measures students by ability. Given your performance this past month, receiving an evaluation of '0' is hardly surprising."
Below the podium, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned his head toward Horikita Suzune. Horikita held a pen and wrote down everything Chabashira Sae said in her notebook.
"Chabashira-sensei, I don't recall us being informed about this..." Hirata Yosuke had not even finished speaking before Chabashira Sae ruthlessly cut him off.
"If no one explains it to you, you can't understand it at all?"
"Th-That's not it. We were never told that the points deposited into our accounts could decrease. If we had been told from the beginning, no one would have been late or chatted during class like this." Hirata Yosuke continued to argue his case. Even he felt his argument lacked conviction, but thirty-nine Class D classmates stood behind him.
"Hirata, what you're saying is truly strange. I certainly never explained these things, but don't be late for class, and don't chat privately during lessons. Didn't you learn that in elementary and middle school?"
"You've only just entered your first year of high school. Did you really think you could spend one hundred thousand every month without any restrictions? And at a school established by the government to educate exceptional talent, no less? Don't you have any common sense?"
"..." Faced with such undeniably correct words, Hirata Yosuke could find no angle from which to refute her. Still unwilling to give up, he met Chabashira Sae's eyes. "Then please at least tell us the specific criteria for point increases and decreases... so we can use them as a reference going forward."
"That's impossible. Just as with personnel evaluations, whether a company tells you the details of its employee assessments is up to the company. Under school regulations, these criteria for increases and deductions cannot be disclosed." A faint smile appeared on Chabashira Sae's face. "I'm not doing this because I hate you. Seeing you all so miserable, I'll give you some good news."
"Even if you improve your conduct at school—or rather, even if you never arrive late or lose focus again—your points will not increase or decrease. In other words, the points deposited next month will still be zero. Conversely, it's fine if you keep being late or absent."
Hirata's expression darkened further.
That explanation had completely backfired. Any classmates who might have intended to improve would probably have their resolve greatly weakened after hearing that.
"Chat time is over." As the bell marking the end of homeroom rang, Chabashira Sae took out a poster tube and displayed the results for each class.
"These are... the results for each class." Horikita Suzune hesitated as she looked at the string of numbers on the blackboard.
"They're too neat." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke softly. Using the Class Points of the other three classes, the two quickly worked out that the initial number of Class Points had been one thousand.
After displaying the data, Chabashira Sae continued. "You spent your first month doing whatever you pleased, and the school does not intend to deny you that. But in the end, the consequences return to you in the form of deducted points. Look at the other classes. They all received enough points to live on for a month."
"How can this be happening...?" Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, and the others wailed. "How are we supposed to survive without points?"
"Why are the Class Points so drastically different?" Hirata asked in confusion. Leaving aside Class A's 980 and Class B's 950, even the closest, Class C, still had 490 Class Points.
"Do you understand now why you were assigned to Class D?"
"What? Weren't we assigned to Class D at random?" A confused voice rose from below.
"This school assigns classes according to the students' level of excellence. The most exceptional students go to Class A, while the useless ones go to Class D. This is common at schools outside as well—the difference between advanced classes and regular classes." Chabashira Sae paused before continuing. "Simply put, Class D is where all the bottom-rankers gather. In short, every one of you is the worst kind of defective product."
At those words, students with excellent grades, such as Horikita Suzune and Yukimura Teruhiko, froze. That reason for the class assignments must have dealt them a heavy blow.
"Even so, you are the first Class D in the school's history to give back every last Class Point in the very first month. I'm almost impressed that you managed to reach this level." Chabashira Sae deliberately clapped her hands, the sound echoing through the deathly silent classroom.
"So, as long as our Class Points are zero, we'll keep receiving no points?"
"Yes. But the dormitories are free, and the cafeteria and convenience store have free products as well, so you don't need to worry about dying at school."
That was hardly comforting to the Class D students. After enjoying an extremely luxurious lifestyle during their first month, making them endure the next three years would be quite difficult.
"So that means our Class D will be looked down on by the others from now on?" Sudo Ken kicked the leg of a desk with a BANG. He finally understood why the upperclassmen had made those expressions when they heard on the first day of school that he was from Class D.
"What's this? So you're someone who cares about his pride, Sudo."
"You..." Veins bulged on Sudo Ken's forehead, and he looked ready to rush forward and hit the teacher at any moment.
"Class Points are not merely related to the number of points deposited each month. These points directly determine the class rankings." Chabashira Sae pointed at Class A's 980 points. "For example, the current Class A with 980 points was originally Class B. They lost fewer points than the original Class A during the first month, accomplishing the feat of overtaking the higher-ranked class in their first month and making school history."
"What is worth mentioning here is that someone in the original Class B figured out all the school's rules on the second day after enrollment. That was why they were able to overtake Class A." Chabashira Sae left it at that and put up another poster.
"Next, I have something unfortunate to tell everyone."
"This is a class with a lot of idiots, but as high school students, you should be able to understand what these numbers mean."
Before you continue