Chapter 321: The Temporarily Added Special Exam
At the beginning of February, private points were deposited into everyone's accounts right on schedule. With Class D's score sitting at 248, each student received 24,800 private points. For an average high school student, twenty-odd thousand points was more than enough for monthly living expenses.
Hachiman glanced at his anonymous account. The 600,000 points from his long-term contract with Class C had arrived punctually. He had to admit, when it came to paying up, Ryuen Kakeru never dragged his feet.
Including his previous savings, Hachiman's current private points had surpassed the 20 million mark! In other words, if he wanted to, he could transfer to Class A at any moment.
He had essentially achieved the ultimate goal of the vast majority of students at Advanced Nurturing High School while still in his first year.
'How boring...'
The school—a major social experiment project involving government-corporate cooperation—was only at this level?
Hachiman suddenly began to understand Nagumo Miyabi's psychological state. Having "cleared the game" so early, Nagumo had nothing to do but find ways to amuse himself.
This was also why Nagumo had challenged Horikita Manabu across grade levels.
For Hachiman, his biggest source of entertainment now was getting Nagumo Miyabi expelled!
Then again, when did he become so aggressive? He was supposed to be a lowly Class D student.
Hachiman watched his classmates. They seemed to be discussing Valentine's Day, which was coming in mid-February. People had been thinking about this since January, only showing restraint because of the exam atmosphere. Now that exams were over, these guys couldn't hold back.
"Valentine's Day... must be nice."
"Sudo, you're not actually expecting someone to give you chocolate, are you?"
"Wh-what? Is that not allowed!?"
Sudo Ken's face flushed bright red, looking like an embarrassed schoolboy. This muscle-brained simpleton was unexpectedly showing the shy side of a young boy.
"Give it up, Sudo! There's no way anyone is giving you chocolate!" Okita Kyosuke mocked.
Although Sudo's reputation had improved following his stellar performance at the sports festival, his actions in the first semester had truly alienated people. His personal evaluation in the class was still roughly equivalent to a pebble on the side of the road.
However, as the saying goes, "every pot has its lid." There really was someone who liked Sudo's type.
Hachiman rested his chin on one hand, entering "Human Observer" mode. He noticed that while Sudo and Okita were talking, a girl's gaze would occasionally steal a glance toward Sudo.
It was Onodera Kayano. Hachiman's only impression of her was from the first semester's PE class. To prepare for the upcoming deserted island exam, the PE teacher had required all students to learn to swim and held a race with private points as rewards.
Onodera had taken first place in the girls' division, leaving the self-proclaimed athletic Horikita Suzune with a look of frustration.
It made sense for the athletic Onodera to take an interest in a fellow athlete like Sudo.
'Therefore, you foolish Okita—Yamauchi 2.0—Kyosuke, the one who won't be receiving a gift on Valentine's is you!'
"Kushida-chan will give everyone chocolate, right?"
"Even if it's not 'true feeling' chocolate, I'll still be so happy!"
The boys looked expectantly at Kushida Kikyo, the class "Angel."
"Hmm~ I'll make a big batch of 'obligatory' chocolate for everyone~~" Kushida smiled with narrowed eyes, looking like a holy angel.
Only Hachiman, who knew her well, was aware that this woman was probably cursing them out internally! To maintain her "angelic" persona, Kushida kept up her fake smile.
"I wonder who Kushida-chan's 'true feeling' chocolate will go to..."
"Shut up! Who asked you?!"
The boys suddenly became emotional, dragging the person who spoke away to give him a "beating." Immediately after, several subtle glances simultaneously shifted toward Hachiman.
Sourness permeated the entire classroom! Hachiman could only keep his eyes on the floor and his mind at peace.
"Ehehe~" Kushida smiled without saying a word, which was equivalent to a tacit admission.
Seeing this, the boys' faces fell one by one: "Actually, suddenly I don't feel like celebrating Valentine's..."
'These guys have such weak mental fortitude.' They clung to unrealistic fantasies only to be instantly crushed by the massive gap of reality.
The heat of the discussion among the girls was no less intense.
"I'm going to hand-make pure chocolate for Satoshi-kun~~" Shinohara Satsuki declared with the excitement of an innocent young girl.
'This woman is a lost cause...' She was completely under the spell of Kyoka Suigetsu.
Even if the people in Class D were stupid, most could see that this was obviously a "honey trap" set by Class A. Yet Shinohara was fully immersed in her dream of dating a handsome guy.
As the classic saying goes: You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.
"Chiyoko, who are you planning to give chocolate to?"
"Could it be you're secretly giving it to Hirata-kun?"
"No-no way! Hirata-kun has violent tendencies and is emotionally unstable. I don't like him anymore!"
That's a lie! Hachiman couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Based on his observations, a significant portion of the girls still loved looking at Hirata Yosuke. Even though Hirata had covered for Yamauchi's group and used force to coerce unity—doing plenty of things to lose points—he had one merit that outweighed all his flaws: he was handsome!
Women are so shallow. As long as someone looks good, all other flaws can be selectively ignored! Hachiman felt the same way about this.
'I, wearing glasses, am somehow ranked #1 on the 'Most Desired Boyfriend' list!'
Hachiman was truly at a loss for words.
The class's entire focus was on Valentine's Day in the middle of the month when Chabashira-sensei walked into the room in her familiar high heels.
Hmm?
Hachiman's ears twitched. He keenly sensed something unusual from the slightly heavy sound of her footsteps.
"Hello, Chabashira-sensei~"
"You look very serious. Could it be that Sensei has someone to give chocolate to as well?" "Hahahaha~"
Facing the students' teasing, Chabashira Sae did not smile. An ominous feeling immediately sprouted in Hachiman's heart.
'No way, right? Another new event?'
The last exam had just finished; couldn't they let everyone relax for a bit longer?
Chabashira's exceptionally grim expression was finally noticed by the students. Gradually, the noisy classroom fell silent.
"Chabashira-sensei, has something happened?"
Horikita Suzune, who still held expectations for the class, was the first to ask. Chabashira didn't answer immediately. Instead, she scanned the entire class with a complex gaze. The tense atmosphere made everyone in Class D turn somber.
"I am now going to announce a special exam..."
The words immediately triggered a violent reaction from the class.
"What?!"
"Another special exam?!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"The forest exam just ended, didn't it?"
"This is way too much!!"
As everyone knew, special exams often came with the risk of expulsion. They had just survived the forest exam and avoided the crisis of being kicked out. For a new crisis to arrive so soon, naturally, everyone was indignant.
"Protesting is useless.
This is a special exam added temporarily by the new Acting Chairman."
Chabashira Sae replied in a dull voice.
Obviously, as a homeroom teacher, she also strongly resisted such an unreasonable addition. Unfortunately, rank suppresses everything; a lowly staff member naturally couldn't resist the absolute authority of the school.
"New Acting Chairman? Who's that?"
"A temporarily added special exam? This person is a dog!"
The Class D students cursed in righteous indignation. Hachiman frowned.
He had heard some rumors in the Student Council about the Chairman being taken away for investigation. He only knew that an Acting Chairman had been parachuted in from the outside.
'Could it be that man?'
Hachiman immediately thought of the middle-aged man he had met, whom the Chairman had respectfully called "Ayanokouji-sensei." That old man looked powerful at a glance. If nothing else, his status as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's father was enough proof that he was bad news.
Ignoring the curses, Chabashira turned and began writing on the blackboard.
[In-Class Voting]
"The theme of this exam is voting?"
"Voting for what? Choosing the 'Triple-A' student?"
"Shut up, you idiot!"
The confused Class D students didn't feel a huge sense of crisis yet.
"The content of this special exam is very simple. It won't test your academic ability, nor your physical strength, and it has nothing to do with teamwork.
This is an exam that everyone can handle easily." Chabashira Sae tried to ease the psychological pressure.
However, in Hachiman's eyes, this was clearly the calm before the storm.
"You only need to write your classmates' names on a piece of paper. The voting is anonymous...Don't worry...The expulsion rate is less than 3%."
Chabashira spoke evasively, as if she were running away from the topic. What was the point of this self-deception? Eventually, they would have to face reality!
Hachiman saw through the essence of this exam in an instant. The so-called "expulsion rate of less than 3%" meant that 100%, one student would be expelled during this exam!
"What do you mean the expulsion rate is only 3%? I don't get it..." The Class D students were indeed confused. With their intelligence, they couldn't understand it in such a short time.
"Why!"
Hirata Yosuke suddenly stood up from his seat, staring at Chabashira Sae with a dark expression. "Does someone have to be expelled?"
"What's wrong?"
"Is Hirata going berserk again?"
Most of Class D hadn't reacted yet, merely finding Hirata's sudden outburst frightening.
"Hirata, sit down first.
I will now explain the rules of the exam." Chabashira Sae let out a long sigh.
She was afraid that if she told the truth all at once, Class D would immediately explode and refuse to listen to the rest of the explanation.
"Starting today, you have five days.
You must evaluate your fellow classmates.
Then, you will choose three students you believe deserve praise and three students you believe deserve censure.
On Saturday morning, you will send the list to the designated exam email."
Hearing the specific process, everyone looked at each other. This special exam was even more abstract than previous ones. Just voting and that's it? Any fool knew it wouldn't be that simple.
Chabashira paused for a moment, letting the not-so-bright Class D students digest the information. Then she continued: "As for the results of the vote, the student who receives the most 'praise' votes will receive a special reward.
[Protection Point]
The student holding this can exempt themselves from one expulsion penalty caused by failing an exam."
As soon as she finished, the class was shocked. This was indeed something new! Facing a risk of expulsion in every special exam, a [Protection Point] was equivalent to a "revival coin" in a game!
"It looks like you all understand the value of this special reward." "Exempting an expulsion costs 20 million private points. Calculated this way, a [Protection Point] is equal to 20 million!"
In almost an instant, Hachiman thought of how to use this reward. A person holding a [Protection Point] could launch a suicidal attack to snipe a student from a rival class!
'Damn! That's way too wicked!'
Is this new Acting Chairman toxic? Adding such a disgusting special exam feels like it was designed specifically to expel a certain person!
"Protection Point, that sounds pretty good!" The Class D students had not yet realized the severity of the situation.
'They really don't learn!'
Don't they know that the higher the reward, the heavier the punishment?
"The student who receives the most 'censure' votes will be expelled."
Chabashira Sae delivered this cruel answer in a heavy tone.
"Huh!?" The Class D students finally realized the truth, their faces turning to masks of horror.
Thud! Hirata Yosuke kicked over his own desk, roaring with rage: "Are you kidding me?!
Voting for expulsion... do you even know what you're saying!!"
Forget Hirata; even Horikita Suzune couldn't accept this.
"Such an outrageous exam completely defies logic!"
A normal exam, whether testing academics, physical strength, or unity, always has a standard. Voting is based purely on personal will. It's like Socrates in ancient Greece, dying by a "democratic" vote.
"Chabashira-sensei, I have a question." Unexpectedly, the one who stood up to ask this time was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
"If the number of praise votes and censure votes point to the same person, can the [Protection Point] be used to exempt the expulsion result?"
'Trying to find a bug?'
It seemed the survival instinct was strong! Hachiman gave him a thoughtful glance.
"Ayanokouji, you have a good imagination." Chabashira Sae gave him a meaningful look. "But I regret to tell you—no."
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