Ken Sudo, Failed

The next ten-plus days passed in a flash.

During this period, Chihaya Rei spent his days training Karuizawa Kei and visiting the library to read with Shiina Hiyori, becoming increasingly familiar with her.

Chihaya Rei felt that if things continued this way...

Would the two of them end up being book buddies for life?

It wasn't until the last Friday of late May that the three grades of Advanced Nurturing High School welcomed their midterm exams.

After the weekend, Monday arrived in the Class D classroom.

Today was the day the results would be released.

Since June 1st—the day private points for the new month were distributed—was only two days away, the school would update class points based on the midterm results this month to avoid affecting the point distribution for the following month.

The current atmosphere in the Class D classroom was filled with a relaxed and cheerful vibe, without a hint of tension or worry.

And why wouldn't it be?

After all, this was an exam with all the cards on the table.

Not only had everyone memorized the answers in advance, but on the day of the exam, they discovered that even the order of the questions was identical to the test papers they had obtained beforehand.

There was no reason for anyone to fail.

"Hey, Sudo, why are you keeping your head down and not saying anything?"

Ike Koji turned around to look at his friend, Ken Sudo, sitting at the desk behind him with a teasing expression.

"Are you worried about your scores? Oh, don't worry, it'll be fine!"

Ken Sudo, who had been looking down with a grim expression and feeling genuinely anxious about his English subject, finally smiled after hearing Ike Koji's reassurance.

"Yeah, I should be able to pass. I wrote down everything I remembered."

"Hahahaha!"

Yamauchi Haruki laughed loudly and leaned in toward the two of them.

"Sudo, there's nothing to worry about. I only memorized the answers a few days before the exam myself. Just think, once the points come in a few days, I can finally eat something good."

"You're right," Ken Sudo nodded.

"..."

Chihaya Rei glanced at the three of them indifferently.

Seeing the clearly worried expression Ken Sudo had worn earlier, he understood that Sudo's English was likely finished.

Before long, Chabashira Sae, dressed in a black formal suit, walked into the classroom carrying several A4 sheets of paper.

Standing at the podium, she swept her gaze over all the students in Class D, then the corners of her mouth curled up as she sighed.

"You really have made me look at you in a new light this time."

"It seems our grades are decent."

"Teacher, hurry up and announce the results!"

Many students in Class D were impatient.

Chabashira Sae didn't waste any time; she spread out the posters in her hand, which clearly recorded the scores for every subject for each individual.

"Japanese, Mathematics: everyone passed."

"Sociology, Chemistry: everyone passed."

Chabashira Sae raised her voice as she announced the results, simultaneously posting the corresponding score sheets on the blackboard so the students could see their own grades.

Most of the scores on the sheets were in the eighties and nineties, with only a small number in the fifties or sixties.

Upon seeing this, cheers erupted throughout the Class D classroom.

Even though the method used to pass the exam wasn't exactly honorable, everyone was happy to see such good results!

Everyone passing meant no one would be expelled, and it meant they would receive 100 class points.

Keep the music playing, keep the party going!

"Finally, English..."

Chabashira Sae paused mid-sentence.

She didn't immediately announce that the whole class had passed; instead, she posted the English score sheet on the blackboard first.

This unusual behavior made some students realize that something was wrong.

Students like Horikita Suzune, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and Hirata Yousuke took note.

Chihaya Rei also kept his head up, focusing on the scores on the blackboard.

His gaze locked directly onto the scores of the last few people on the English score sheet.

Yamauchi Haruki, 49 points.

Ike Koji, 48 points.

Sudo Ken, 39 points.

Seeing that the English scores for the three members of the Black House remained unchanged from the original story, Chihaya Rei immediately understood.

In the original timeline, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had Kushida Kikyo provide the answers to the students of Class D only a few days before the exam.

However, due to the butterfly effect he had brought about, Sakayanagi Arisu had delivered the answers to Class D during the very first week this time.

Receiving the answers early meant that the students of Class D had more time to memorize them.

Naturally, those who spent more time memorizing the answers would see their scores improve.

The class average score had risen as a result.

But one point was crucial: not all students in Class D would spend more time memorizing the answers just because they had received them early.

For instance, people like Sudo Ken, Ike Koji, and Yamauchi Haruki had barely bothered to cram the answers until the exam was imminent.

That was why the scores they achieved were no different from the original plot.

"Click!"

While thinking these thoughts, Chihaya Rei's movements were not slow in the slightest; he used his phone to take a photo of the English scores.

This photo would prove to be very useful later on...

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Some of the surrounding students noticed Chihaya Rei taking pictures.

But no one paid it any mind; after all, some people liked to keep a record of their exam results, so taking a photo to save them was a perfectly normal thing to do.

Horikita Suzune, however, frowned slightly, looking at Chihaya Rei with a puzzled expression.

She felt that things were not that simple.

Since the scores for this exam were all based on copied answers, recording them was clearly a task of little significance.

Yet, for the moment, Horikita Suzune could not fathom what Chihaya Rei was thinking.

While Chihaya Rei was doing this—

"In English, someone failed."

Chabashira Sae spoke in a low voice, her gaze fixed directly on Sudo Ken, who was sitting near the back door.

"The person who failed is you, Sudo."

Huh?

Is it... me?

Sudo Ken stood frozen for a few seconds as if struck by lightning; only after coming to his senses did he hurriedly look up to find his score.

When he saw his English score of 39 points on the last line of the grade sheet, Sudo's eyes widened.

"Teacher!"

Sudo stood up from his seat in a panic, his desk and chair creaking loudly from the impact.

He clenched his fists with immense force, his voice shouting out in a fluster:

"Is this English score not enough?"

39 points—this score was higher than his English score on the last quiz, yet this time, Chabashira Sae had declared it a failure.

Chabashira Sae seemed not to notice Sudo Ken's panicked state, merely sweeping a glance at him with a calm, emotionless expression:

"I told you, didn't I? The passing grade for a single subject at this school is half of the class average."

"The average English score for your entire class this time is 88 points, so the passing grade is 44 points."

Chabashira Sae said coldly.

She gave the impression that she was simply completing her duties in a formulaic manner.

Chabashira Sae turned around, picked up a red pen, and drew a red line under Ike Koji's name.

It was clearly visible that on the English grade sheet, only Sudo Ken's name sat below this stark red line.

"Your score is only 39, which is 5 points short of the passing line. It is a pity, Sudo; you are the only one who failed English, so..."

Chabashira Sae's gaze locked directly onto the rigid Sudo Ken as she said ruthlessly:

"Sudo, you are expelled."

Chabashira Sae's words were not just for Sudo to hear; the rest of the students in Class D naturally heard them as well.

Many were left dumbfounded by this.

How could you still fail under these circumstances?

They looked at Ken Sudo with complex expressions, secretly feeling relieved that they weren't the ones who had failed.

Koji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi, in particular, both wore expressions of relief on their faces.

Their own English scores were only slightly above the passing mark.

"No, I don't want to be expelled!"

Ken Sudo's face flushed red. He grabbed his hair in disbelief, shaking his head from side to side, before finally looking at Sae Chabashira with a face full of helplessness, pleading:

"Teacher, please give me another chance! Next time, I'll definitely pass next time..."

Faced with Ken Sudo's struggle, Sae Chabashira simply walked down from the podium with an expressionless face and said:

"Failing the midterm exam means expulsion; that is the rule I told you all about."

"Come to the office before school ends this afternoon to process your withdrawal."

After saying this, Sae Chabashira turned to leave the classroom.

Seeing this, Yousuke Hirata hurriedly called out to stop her:

"Teacher Chabashira, is there really no other way?

If there is anything we can do to let Sudo stay, please tell us!"

Sae Chabashira stood in place as she listened, but without answering Yousuke Hirata, she left the classroom.