September 1st, 7:40 a.m.
Three layers of people had already gathered around the bulletin board on the first floor of Advanced Nurturing High School's Academic Building. It was neither the list of cross-class groups nor the special exam groupings, but the class adjustment notice for the new semester. During summer break, the school had made minor adjustments to certain classes based on the previous semester's class point rankings and final special exam evaluations. The changes were small, but every shifted name was like a stone cast into still water, stirring waves of hushed discussion among the onlookers.
Kanzaki Toru stood at the edge of the crowd, taking a photo of the notice with his phone and zooming in to examine it. There were even fewer changes to Class D than he had expected—Sudo Ken, Ike Kanji, Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, and Yukimura Teruhiko had all remained in Class D. An additional note followed Horikita Suzune's name: "Special Assistant to the Student Council, responsible for reverse evaluation of Old System clauses." Sakagami had nominated her as a student representative at the end of last semester. This semester, she had formally entered the Student Council structure, though her class affiliation remained unchanged. Shiina Hiyori's name was also in Class D, with the note: "Library Administrator and Old System Clause Indexer." Ishizaki Daichi's name had moved from Class C to Class D. His note contained only one brief line: "Transferred to Class D upon personal request and with the consent of both homeroom teachers, following an outstanding cross-class cooperation evaluation."
Kanzaki Toru's gaze lingered on Ishizaki's name for a beat. Last semester, in an empty classroom on the third floor of the Old School Building, Ishizaki had placed a sports drink beside the expired bottle and said, "For the last lesson, I brought