Never Abandon, Never Give Up

When the bell rang, Sae Chabashira gathered her lesson plans without a change in expression and left Class B's classroom.

She needed to go back and take another good look at the Class D students' records.

Class B was strong, but she still wasn't ready to give up just like that.

After watching her leave, the Class B students immediately turned their attention to Makoto Nishikado.

Honami Ichinose and Ryuji Kanzaki led the way, gathering around Makoto. The others also waited curiously for him to explain.

"Makoto, were you testing the school's rules? Could you explain in more detail?" Ryuji asked respectfully.

Makoto was far more capable than he was, and Ryuji admired him.

"Yeah, and you even spent some private points just now..."

As Honami spoke, she glanced up at the camera inside the classroom.

The camera had recorded Makoto and Sae's shady deal in full.

Judging by Sae's attitude, did the school allow this kind of transaction?

"All right, I'll explain everything. I got quite a bit of information while I was out."

Makoto took a leisurely sip of water.

He had a lot to say.

"First, some information about the first-years. The students in Class A were all paying attention in class. In Class C, about half weren't. And in Class D, only a few students were paying attention."

Makoto summed up what he had seen.

The contrast had been so obvious that everyone understood.

"Are you saying the four classes were divided according to individual ability?"

Ryuji furrowed his brow.

Being placed in Class B annoyed him a little.

But more than that, it scared him.

If people as capable as Honami and Makoto had been placed in Class B, were the students in Class A all monsters?

He could hardly imagine there being forty students at one school who were better than the two of them.

If Class A really was that strong, and the classes really were in competition with one another, could they win?

More importantly, was there any point in competing at all?

"Don't forget, the school evaluates each class as a whole. It doesn't necessarily mean that every Class A student is the best."

Honami could see Ryuji's anxiety, so she tried to reassure him.

With her sky-high Affinity, the big-hearted angel had already made friends with some Class A students on the second day of school.

From what she had seen, Class A as a whole wasn't that formidable.

"Second, more about classroom discipline. The second- and third-year Class D students were all paying attention. Even the ones who couldn't understand the lessons pretended to."

Makoto continued with his report.

He knew the school was monitoring his every move, so he had paid particular attention to the two Class D classes.

"Will the school deduct points if we don't follow the rules?"

Taking the information they had already gathered into account, Ryuji could easily reach that conclusion.

When he finished, he couldn't help glancing at the classroom camera.

That thing really was like a death warrant.

"Unless there's something unexpected, failing to follow the rules will reduce the number of private points we receive each month."

Honami came to the same conclusion.

Even the Class B students would find it hard to maintain classroom discipline all the time.

Given the caliber of the Class D students, the only way to keep both classes so well-behaved was to deduct the private points they relied on to cover their living expenses.

If her guess was right, the monthly points given to both classes had already been cut to the point where daily life was difficult.

"Third, aside from the third-year Class A, every one of the other seven upperclassman classes has had someone expelled."

Makoto revealed the most shocking piece of information, then checked the system's notification.

Makoto's breath caught.

Was this news really that shocking?

He was even getting tenfold multipliers in bulk!

"Could someone really be expelled? I want to graduate with everyone!"

"No! We can't afford to lose even one person in Class B!"

"Makoto, what should we do?"

Until now, the students who had gathered around had managed to stay calm.

They had just watched, leaving the responsibility and right to ask questions to Honami and Ryuji.

But now, none of them could stay calm.

With Honami leading the way, Class B had become a close-knit whole. They simply couldn't accept the idea of anyone being expelled.

Not one of the forty students in Class B could be left behind.

"Everyone, don't panic. One class has managed to keep everyone. That's our goal."

Honami quickly stood up to reassure those around her.

She felt the same way as the others. She didn't intend to give up on anyone.

Her words soon restored Class B's morale.

"..."

Ryuji crossed his arms, offering no opinion on Honami's decision.

He agreed that the class should stand together, and he didn't want anyone to be expelled either.

But with seven out of eight upperclassman classes having had someone expelled, he wasn't nearly as optimistic.

If a real crisis came, he couldn't say for sure that he would do everything in his power to protect a classmate from expulsion.

The way he had been raised made him more inclined to believe that you had to give something up to gain something else.

Besides, according to the school's placement system, the students in this class had only been good enough for Class B.

With Class B's overall ability, could they really guarantee that everyone would graduate?

"Have you all made up your minds? You want to do your best in the competition and also make sure no one gets expelled. That's going to be hard. Are you ready to face the challenge?"

Makoto asked with a smile, and everyone answered as one.

"I don't want anyone to be expelled!"

"Not one of us in Class B can be left behind!"

"Makoto, just tell us what to do. We'll do our best!"

The students in Class B didn't want to see anyone expelled.

"You're all so greedy. I like that."

"Then this will be one of our main strategies from now on. If the third-year Class A can do it, there's no reason we can't, as long as we stand together."

Makoto was delighted by the little angels' resolve.

If he were being rational, he would agree that expelling one or two people might make it easier to get the class promoted.

But he liked Class B. He liked this spirit of never abandoning anyone and never giving up.

Besides, with a system at his disposal, could he really afford not to be a little greedy?

"Makoto, do we need to pool our private points to avoid the penalty for expulsion?"

Honami asked. She looked at Makoto with even more admiration now.

After everything that had happened today, she no longer doubted Makoto's character or ability.

Makoto said, "We'll definitely have to spend private points. How many do you think each person should contribute?"

Honami said, "What about thirty percent? Everyone needs money to live, too."

Ryuji said, "A sliding scale would be better. If we get enough points in a month—for example, if we get another hundred thousand next month—we should contribute seventy percent and keep only enough for living expenses."

Makoto said, "Then how about we compromise and go with fifty percent?"

The Class B students said, "Sounds good. Fifty percent!"

The Class B students really were determined to protect their classmates.

Seeing how quickly they had agreed, Makoto didn't hesitate any longer.

"In that case, Honami, you'll collect everyone's private points and manage them as Class B's fund. Make the accounts available for everyone to see."

"Set aside some of it for me, so I can use private points to test the school's rules."

"Finally, keep the information I told you today confidential. Don't tell students from the other classes."