Result

The next day.

As soon as Ichinose entered the classroom, she headed straight for Miyama Saku's seat, not even having time to take the backpack off her shoulder.

"I didn't expect you to sing so well, Miyama."

Miyama Saku had been staring out the window in a daze. When he heard Ichinose call him, he merely turned his head and glanced at her.

"It was alright."

After finishing that song yesterday, he had casually made up an excuse and slipped away while everyone was still recovering. He had left with remarkable decisiveness.

He had grabbed his bag and pushed open the door. By the time Shibata Hayate finished changing the song on the screen and turned around, Miyama Saku was already gone.

Ichinose leaned against the desk and looked at him, clearly dissatisfied with his perfunctory response.

"You ran pretty fast yesterday."

"I had something important to do. That's normal."

"Heh heh." Ichinose clearly did not believe him, but she did not intend to dwell on the matter.

"Come to think of it, Miyama, since you sing so well, do you practice often?"

"No. I just learned some vocal techniques before."

Ichinose thought for a moment. Just as she was about to ask Miyama Saku for singing advice, footsteps sounded from the front door.

Shibata Hayate strode in, waving in their direction the moment he entered.

"Miyama! Why did you leave first yesterday? I wanted you to sing another song."

"I forgot something important."

"That's too bad."

Shibata Hayate walked to his seat, tossed his backpack onto the desk, and wore an expression full of regret.

"That's too bad. After you finished that song yesterday, Asako didn't request another one. She just sat there eating fruit. I wanted you to sing another song and see if we could force Kanzaki up there too."

Ichinose chuckled beside them and swallowed the words she had been about to say.

Today was also the day the midterm results were announced.

It had to be admitted that the school's efficiency was astonishing. The score sheets had been posted the very next day after the exam.

Class B's overall results were fairly impressive. According to the rules, the average score across all subjects divided by two was the passing mark.

It seemed that the study sessions organized by Ichinose had truly worked. Compared to the previous quizzes, Class B's scores had improved significantly. Aside from Miyama Saku, none of the other students had deliberately lowered their scores to reduce the passing threshold.

Miyama Saku had controlled his scores perfectly. His average was sixty-six points, above the passing mark for each subject in this exam. He was quite satisfied with that result.

His scores were not too high, placing him firmly in the middle of the class.

He had balanced every subject with extreme precision. None stood out, and none dragged him down. His report card was like one that had been carefully calibrated—flawless, yet incapable of drawing any unnecessary attention.

Himeno Yuki's scores had also risen considerably compared to before, but the increase was similarly restrained and not outrageously noticeable. It seemed she did not want to attract too much attention either.

Although every student in Class B had successfully cleared the passing mark this time and no one had fallen behind, everyone still unanimously decided to continue the study sessions led by Ichinose.

"We've got nothing better to do anyway." Shibata Hayate was the first to state his position, bracing an arm against his desk.

"If anyone holds us back on the next monthly exam, I'll be the first to laugh at him."

"You only got fifty-six in math this time. You weren't much higher than the passing mark yourself. How are you in any position to talk about others?"

Shibata Hayate choked on his words. He opened his mouth but could not find a rebuttal, then finally snorted and turned his face away.

Kanzaki Ryuji spun the pen in his hand once and continued, "The study sessions will be twice a week, with one extra session when exams are close. I'll organize a collection of incorrect questions. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me anytime."

"No problem!" Ichinose clapped her hands with a smile.

"Then it's settled. Same time, same place. No one is allowed to be absent!"

Miyama Saku sat at his desk, listening to the noisy discussion around him as his fingers lightly tapped the tabletop.

He had originally thought that everyone would go about their own business after the exam. Unexpectedly, this group had become even more united because of it.

Because no one in the class had been expelled for failing the exam, Class B's overall atmosphere remained fairly friendly.

Class D.

After speaking with Miyama Saku in the alley, Suzune Horikita had taken Ayanokoji with her to find an upperclassman from Class D.

From him, they obtained last year's second-year midterm and quiz papers, confirming that the papers Miyama Saku had given her were genuine.

The quiz papers from last year also revealed a crucial piece of information: this midterm's questions were highly likely to be exactly the same as last year's, because the quiz questions had been identical as well.

After discussing it, they decided that once the exam drew closer, they would have Kikyo Kushida distribute the questions so the Class D students could memorize them together.

Until then, they still had to hold study sessions for the students with poor grades.

Unfortunately, someone still failed by a single point.

At the podium, Sae Chabashira looked down at the Class D students. Her expression remained as indifferent toward the class as ever.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to do this well."

"Your efforts deserve praise, but..."

She turned toward the blackboard. The posted sheet of scores was densely packed with everyone's names and marks. Sae Chabashira raised her hand, chalk between her fingers, and forcefully drew a glaring red line above one name.

"You failed, Sudo."

The class, which had been immersed in the joy of scoring highly after memorizing the exam questions in advance, fell silent in an instant. The entire classroom became deathly quiet.

"What the hell? Why did I fail?"

Ken Sudo, the student who had failed, immediately rose from his seat. His chair scraped harshly against the floor.

He questioned Sae Chabashira at the podium with a face full of disbelief, his voice carrying a trace of agitation and unwillingness.

"Your English score on this midterm was thirty-nine. The passing mark for English this time was forty. It's that simple."

"Wasn't the passing mark thirty-two?"

Before Sudo could begin arguing, Yosuke Hirata spoke up first.

Sae Chabashira's gaze swept over Yosuke Hirata, then across the entire classroom, before finally returning to Ken Sudo.

"Who told you that the passing mark for the midterm would be based on the previous quiz?"

Those words completely cut off what Yosuke Hirata had been about to say.

"The passing mark is determined by this exam."

"What a shame. One point short."

Sae Chabashira folded her arms and looked at the Class D students, seemingly waiting to see whether they would do anything about it. After a long while, when the classroom remained completely silent, she continued.

"Although we haven't known each other long, thanks for the effort."

"After school, come submit your expulsion application. Make the most of the time you have left at this school."

The classroom fell quiet.

"Wait, is there really no room to make this right?"

Yosuke Hirata stood up. As the leader of Class D's boys, and because of what had happened before, he did not want to watch a classmate be expelled just like that.