Classroom 1-A—or rather, the class that would now have to get used to being called Class 1-B—was as silent as a grave.
Their homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomonari, stood before the chalkboard, a piece of chalk still lingering in his hand. The solidly built man, who usually radiated an aura of absolute composure, now stared at the board with an unreadable expression. A mix of shock, disbelief, and a hint of humiliation was hidden beneath his stoic facade.
On the chalkboard, the numbers were displayed clearly, serving as an undeniable verdict.
New Class A: 985 Points
Class B (Us): 946 Points
"Sensei..."
Katsuragi Kohei's deep voice broke the silence. The bald-headed student stood up, his face rigid. "Is this a system error? We followed all the rules. We maintained order. How is it possible that we... dropped in rank?"
Mashima turned around slowly. He set the chalk down.
"The system is never wrong, Katsuragi," Mashima replied, his voice heavy. "946 points is an exceptionally high score. In previous years, this would have been enough to secure the top spot by a margin of hundreds of points."
Mashima let out a long sigh, his eyes sweeping across the classroom.
"The issue isn't your failure. It's the anomalous success of another class. Class B—now Class A—managed to achieve a score of 985. That means they made practically zero mistakes for an entire month."
Katsuragi clenched his fists on his desk. "Impossible... Ichinose Honami does have a good reputation, but that level of perfection..."
"Fufufu..."
A soft, elegant laugh emanated from the front row. All eyes turned to the petite girl sitting with a walking cane resting beside her desk.
Sakayanagi Arisu was laughing. It wasn't a hysterical laugh, but rather an amused one, as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Sakayanagi," Katsuragi reprimanded. "What's so funny? We just lost our status as Class A."
"That's exactly what makes it interesting, Katsuragi-kun," Sakayanagi twisted her body slightly, her intelligent eyes gleaming with profound interest. "This school... turned out to be far more entertaining than I expected. I thought it would be a boring game of chess where I simply had to move the pieces according to procedure. But look at this..."
Sakayanagi pointed at the chalkboard—not at their class's score, but at the numbers beneath it.
New Class C: 910 Points
"Look at that," Sakayanagi said softly. "The class that was supposed to be a 'dumping ground', the class filled with defective products... they got 910 points. They are only 36 points behind us."
Katsuragi's eyes widened. He had been so focused on their fall that he missed that terrifying fact. Class D—now Class C—was right on their heels.
"Who..." Katsuragi muttered.
"Mashima-sensei," Sakayanagi asked, her smile widening. "Be honest, you're surprised too, aren't you?"
Mashima gave a stiff nod. "I didn't expect this year's Class D to possess... military-grade discipline. Their homeroom teacher, Chabashira, must be grinning from ear to ear right now."
"How delightful," Sakayanagi tapped her finger against her chin. "There's another player on the board. A player who knows how to manipulate the rules from day one."
In her mind, Sakayanagi immediately replayed the memory of the entrance ceremony. She recalled a certain name with interesting data on her father's server. And she remembered a face that had smiled at her in a peculiar way.
Koroizumi Seiji.
"Welcome to a delightful hell, everyone," Sakayanagi whispered. "Starting today, we are the challengers. And I can't wait to crush them one by one."
While the atmosphere in Class A froze over, the mood in Class 1-B—now officially Class 1-A—felt like a spring festival.
Hoshinomiya Chie, their homeroom teacher, was doing little hops at the front of the classroom with a beaming face, though a glint of wariness lingered in her eyes.
"You guys are amazing! You're incredible!" Hoshinomiya exclaimed, hugging herself dramatically. "We are Class A! We beat Mashima-kun's class! Kyaaa~ Sensei is so proud!"
The students cheered with joy. They hugged each other, laughed, and celebrated the success of the "class savings" and "collective discipline" strategies they had implemented.
However, amidst the uproar, Ichinose Honami remained seated calmly, though a relieved smile adorned her pretty face.
"Ichinose-san!" Several of her classmates swarmed her. "Your strategy worked! If you hadn't warned us to be frugal and mind our manners, we would never have gotten 985 points!"
"That's right! You're the best leader!"
Ichinose shook her head gently, remaining humble. "It wasn't just me. This is all of our hard work. We created value together, and the school recognized it."
Hoshinomiya walked over to Ichinose's desk and leaned in. "But Honami-chan... there's one thing that gives Sensei the chills a little."
Hoshinomiya's voice dropped, causing the circle of students around Ichinose to fall silent.
"Look at the old Class D's score," Hoshinomiya pointed at the whiteboard with her marker. "910 points. Sae-chan's class... that class of defectives... they are only 75 points away from us."
Hoshinomiya bit her lower lip. Her rivalry with Chabashira Sae had been ongoing since their own school days. She knew how desperate Chabashira was. Seeing Class D shoot up like a rocket made her instincts scream danger.
"How is that possible?" whispered Kanzaki, Ichinose's right-hand man. "Class D is usually full of troublemakers. Who could possibly rein them in?"
Ichinose Honami smiled. A smile full of understanding.
"I'm not surprised," Ichinose said calmly.
"Eh?" Hoshinomiya blinked. "Do you know something, Honami-chan?"
"There's someone in that class," Ichinose replied, her gaze distant, recalling the figure of the young man who had taught her that stealing a hairpin was "bad math" and that entrepreneurship was the way out.
"Someone who taught me that if you need money, you have to create value," Ichinose continued. "He's in that class. So, it's only natural that they'd rise up."
Hoshinomiya narrowed her eyes. Honami knew someone in Class D? A boy? This was crucial information.
"What's his name?" Hoshinomiya pressed.
"It's a secret," Ichinose winked, then stood up. "Everyone! Don't let your guard down! We are now the school's number one target. Starting tomorrow, we have to work twice as hard to maintain this position. Sakayanagi-san's class and... my friend's class, will definitely be coming after us."
"Yeah!!!" the class cheered, their spirits blazing under Ichinose's positive leadership.
Deep down, however, Ichinose made a promise. Koroizumi-kun, I've proven that I can lead in my own way. Now, let's see who can create greater value.
If Class B was a party and Class A was in shock, then Class 1-C—which had officially plummeted to Class 1-D—was a disaster zone.
Sakagami, their homeroom teacher, stood there looking exhausted. He wasn't angry. He simply looked resigned, as if he had expected this to happen the moment he saw the student roster for his class.
On the chalkboard, the numbers were written in an imaginary red ink in the eyes of the students.
New Class D: 490 Points
Half of their points had gone up in smoke. 51,000 yen lost per person.
"Damn it!"
A desk went flying, slamming against the back wall of the classroom with a deafening crash!
The more cowardly students shrank back in their seats.
Ryuen Kakeru stood at the front of the class, his breathing slightly ragged. He was the one who had kicked the desk. His wild eyes swept across the room, glaring at his subordinates one by one.
"490 points," Ryuen hissed. He let out a dry, chilling laugh. "We've become trash, huh? We're the 'defectives' now?"
"T-this is your fault, Ryuen!" shouted a foolishly brave student. "You were the one who told us to do whatever we wanted! You're the one who caused all the trouble!"
Ryuen casually strolled over to the student.
Thwack!
A clean punch to the jaw sent the student sprawling to the floor.
"My fault?" Ryuen stepped on the student's chest, glaring down at him with a predatory gaze. "No. This is an investment."
Ryuen looked up, meeting the eyes of Sakagami, who merely let out a long sigh at the display of violence.
"Sensei," Ryuen called out. "The original Class D... how many points did they get?"
"910 points," Sakagami answered flatly. "They moved up to Class C. They were exceptionally disciplined."
"Disciplined..." Ryuen spat on the floor. "Boring. So they played at being good little kids, huh?"
Ryuen removed his foot from the student's chest and walked back to the podium, shoving Sakagami aside as if he were the teacher.
"Listen up, you pieces of trash!" Ryuen shouted. "We've hit rock bottom. We lost our money. But do you know what the perk of being at the bottom is?"
Silence.
"We have no baggage," Ryuen's smirk widened from ear to ear. "We can do whatever we want. We can play dirty. We can drag everyone at the top down into the mud with us."
Ryuen stared at the chalkboard, picturing the faces of the other class leaders. Sakayanagi, the crippled genius. Ichinose, the kind-hearted hypocrite. And Horikita... along with the faint shadow of someone standing behind her.
"Class D moving up to C," Ryuen muttered. "That's not normal. Someone is pulling the strings over there."
In the back corner of the classroom, Shiina Hiyori slowly closed her mystery novel. She wasn't bothered by Ryuen's violence, nor was she surprised by the drop in points.
She simply stared at Ryuen's back, then shifted her gaze out the window.
Koroizumi-kun, Hiyori thought to herself. Your class moved up. You must have worked hard. 910 points... that's a very rational number.
"Oi, Hiyori!" Ryuen called out roughly.
Hiyori turned her head slowly. "Yes, Ryuen-kun?"
"You're smiling to yourself. Do you know something about that Class D?"
"Perhaps," Hiyori answered mysteriously. "I was just thinking that the library will be an interesting place to look for answers."
Ryuen clicked his tongue. "Whatever. Starting today, our strategy changes. We aren't going to chase points by acting like model students. We're going to get points by squeezing the other classes dry."
He stared at the chalkboard one more time.
Class D: 490.
"Enjoy your thrones for now, Ichinose, Sakayanagi," Ryuen whispered. "Because I'm going to burn the very stairs you climbed on."
Sakagami gathered his files. "Do as you please, Ryuen. Just don't get expelled. It seems... this school is going to be incredibly chaotic this year."
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