Never Abandon, Never Give Up

As the bell rang, Sae Chabashira packed her lesson plans with an expressionless face and left the Class B classroom.

She needed to go back and take another good look at the files of the students in Class D.

Class B was strong, but she was still unwilling to give up just like that.

After watching her leave, the eyes of the Class B students immediately converged on Makoto Nishikado.

Honami Ichinose and Ryuji Kanzaki took the lead in gathering around Makoto Nishikado, while the others waited curiously for his explanation.

"Ximen-kun, were you testing the school's rules? Could you explain in detail?" Ryuji Kanzaki asked respectfully.

Makoto Nishikado's strength was far above his own, and Ryuji Kanzaki felt nothing but admiration for him.

"Yeah, and you even spent your personal points just now..."

As Honami Ichinose spoke, she looked up at the security camera in the classroom.

The shady deal between Makoto Nishikado and Sae Chabashira had all been captured by that camera.

Judging by Sae Chabashira's attitude, was this kind of transaction actually permitted by the school?

"Alright, I'll explain slowly. I gathered quite a bit of information during my time out."

Makoto Nishikado first took a slow, unhurried sip of water.

He had a lot to say next.

"The first piece of intelligence concerns the first-year students: the students in Class A are all listening attentively, about half of the students in Class C are not, and only a few individual students in Class D are paying attention."

Makoto Nishikado summarized the scene he had witnessed.

The disparity was so obvious that everyone present understood immediately.

"You mean the four classes are divided based on individual ability?"

Ryuji Kanzaki frowned deeply.

Being assigned to Class B made him feel a slight sense of irritation.

But it frightened him even more.

If people with the abilities of Honami Ichinose and Makoto Nishikado were assigned to Class B, were the students in Class A all monsters?

He found it hard to imagine that a school could have forty students stronger than those two.

If Class A was truly that powerful, and if competition between classes really existed, could they even win?

Or rather, did the competition itself have any meaning?

"Don't forget, the school evaluates a class as a whole; it doesn't necessarily mean that the students in Class A are all the most outstanding."

Honami Ichinose noticed Ryuji Kanzaki's unease and spoke up to soothe him.

As an archangel with off-the-charts Affinity, she had already become friends with some students from Class A by the second day of school.

Based on her observations, Class A as a whole wasn't that terrifying.

"The second piece of intelligence is also about classroom discipline: the Class D students in both the second and third years are all listening attentively, and even those who don't understand are pretending to listen."

Makoto Nishikado continued to provide information.

He knew that every move he made in the school was being watched, and he had specifically focused on the performance of the two Class D groups just now.

"Will the school deduct points for not following discipline?"

Combining this with the information he had already obtained, it was easy for Ryuji Kanzaki to reach this conclusion.

After speaking, he couldn't help but glance at the camera in the classroom.

That thing was truly like a death warrant.

"If there are no surprises, failing to follow discipline results in a deduction from the amount of personal points received each month."

Honami Ichinose made the same judgment.

Even for the students of Class B, it would likely be difficult to maintain classroom discipline at all times.

Given the quality of Class D, only by deducting the personal points used for living expenses could both year-groups of Class D be kept so docile.

If she wasn't mistaken, the monthly points issued to those two classes had already been reduced to a level where it was difficult to maintain daily life.

"The third piece of intelligence: except for Class A of the third year, every other senior class has had students drop out."

Makoto Nishikado delivered the most bombshell piece of information, then watched the system notifications.

Makoto Nishikado's breath hitched as he watched.

Was this news really that shocking?

He was getting ten-fold critical hits wholesale!

"People are actually going to drop out? I want to graduate with everyone!"

"No, we cannot afford to lose a single person in Class B."

"Makoto Nishikado, what should we do?"

Previously, the students of Class B watching from the sidelines had been able to remain calm.

They had merely been onlookers, leaving the responsibility and right to question things to Honami Ichinose and Ryuji Kanzaki.

But at this very moment, they could no longer stay composed.

Under the leadership of Honami Ichinose, Class B had become a unified whole, completely unable to accept the reality that someone might be expelled.

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

"Everyone, don't panic. Isn't there a class that has remained intact? That is our goal."

Honami Ichinose hurriedly stood up to soothe the surrounding students.

She felt the same way as everyone else; she had no intention of giving up on anyone.

Under her reassurance, the morale of Class B quickly recovered.

"..."

Ryuji Kanzaki crossed his arms, offering no opinion on Honami Ichinose's choice.

He also agreed with the philosophy that the class should be united, and he did not want to see anyone expelled from the class either.

However, with seven out of the eight upper-grade classes having suffered expulsions, he was not nearly as optimistic.

In a moment of true crisis, he dared not say that he would give his all to protect a student facing expulsion.

Given the education he had received since childhood, he found it easier to accept the philosophy of "giving up something to gain something else."

Moreover, according to the school's classification, people like them could only be assigned to Class B.

With the overall strength of the first-year Class B, could they really guarantee that everyone would graduate smoothly?

"Have you all decided? Trying to perform your best in the competition while also wanting to ensure no one gets expelled is bound to be very difficult. Do you all have the resolve to face such hardships?"

Makoto Nishikado asked with a smile, receiving a unanimous answer.

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

"Everyone in Class B must stay together."

"Makoto Nishikado, tell us what to do, and we will definitely work hard."

The students of Class B had no desire to see anyone in their class expelled.

"You are all truly greedy, but I like it."

"Then, from now on, this will be one of our main strategic guidelines. If Class A can do it, there is no reason why we can't achieve the same if we unite."

Makoto Nishikado felt joyful at the determination of these little angels.

If he were being rational, he would also think that letting one or two people be expelled would be more conducive to the class leveling up.

But he liked Class B; he loved this atmosphere of never abandoning or giving up on anyone.

Besides, he had a system; why shouldn't he dare to be a little greedy?

"Makoto Nishikado, do we need to pool our private points to exempt ourselves from the penalty of expulsion?"

Honami Ichinose asked, her eyes filled with even more approval as she looked at Makoto Nishikado.

After today's turmoil, she no longer had any doubts about Makoto Nishikado's character or ability.

Makoto Nishikado: "It will definitely cost private points. How many points do you think everyone should contribute?"

Honami Ichinose: "How about thirty percent? Everyone still needs to live, after all."

Ryuji Kanzaki: "It would be best to use a tiered system. If the points received in a month are sufficient—for example, if we still get one hundred thousand next month—then we should collect seventy percent, leaving just enough for living expenses."

Makoto Nishikado: "Then let's compromise at fifty percent?"

Class B students: "Fine, fifty percent it is!"

These students of Class B truly had the resolve to protect their classmates.

Seeing them be so decisive, Makoto Nishikado didn't stand on ceremony either.

"Since that's the case, Honami, you are responsible for collecting everyone's private points as the Class B fund, and the accounts will be made public to everyone."

"Set aside a portion for me so that I can use the private points to test the school's rules."

"Finally, keep the information I told you today confidential. Do not tell students from other classes."