Chapter 20 – Class D in chaos

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"Those disgusting jerks from Class C, I won't let them off!" Sudo, still easily infuriated, kicked a desk in rage and grabbed his chair, apparently heading out to confront Class C.

"Pfft!" Ike, his desk mate, accidentally suffered from Sudo's action, as the kick made the desk slam into his back, causing him to lean forward onto his own desk.

Horikita quickly reacted, "Wait! If you go like this and cause violence, you'll be expelled!"

"Violence? What if I am violent! Damn it! The answers were wrong! We were tricked by Class C! Fooled completely! The answers were incorrect, so we will definitely fail! We were going to be expelled anyway!"

Sudo, in his fury, wasn't listening to anyone: "Since we're going to be expelled either way, might as well take those jerks from Class C down with us!"

"Hey! Sudo!"

"Don't be rash!" The rest of Class D tried to stop Sudo from causing trouble in other classes.

Although their class points had already been reduced to zero, no one dared to make a scene at this time. They all tried their best to stop Sudo.

Horikita realized that mere reasoning wouldn't work, so she tried a different approach, "Wait, Sudo! There's still a chance, we can prevent your expulsion!"

"What chance! Don't think about deceiving me again! Class C fooled us! You think I'm stupid and want to continue the deception?!" Sudo yelled, frustrated, as his classmates grumbled about his arrogance.

Horikita persisted, "I'm not deceiving you! Even if the answers are wrong, if we just score a bit lower, isn't that enough?!"

"The passing mark is half the average score, that's the school's rule. So, if those who are good at studies control their scores to lower the passing mark as much as possible, then you guys still have a chance of passing. Although I don't know how likely that is, at least there's a chance."

"If you go to Class C now and cause trouble, you'll be 100% expelled with no other option!"

Sudo paused, unsure, looking at Horikita with a face that couldn't hide his reluctance, "Really?"

Horikita seized the opportunity to address the whole class, "I know my request is somewhat unreasonable."

"I might not be able to ask everyone, but could you possibly score a bit lower? This way, Sudo, as well as Ike and Yamauchi, might avoid expulsion."

"You can rest assured, just aim for around 50 points. No matter what, the passing mark will definitely be below 50, and there's no risk of expulsion."

Horikita's idea was inspired by her deskmate, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. On the surface, Ayanokoji seemed unremarkable, always listless, but Horikita had seen his entrance and baseline assessment scores from the class teacher.

He scored exactly 50 in each subject, alarmingly balanced. Also, he answered difficult questions correctly and easy ones incorrectly, indicating he was deliberately hiding his abilities.

Realizing this, Horikita had the idea for the whole class to control their scores.

Implementing the plan was tricky. Most Class D students had average grades. They couldn't risk scoring too low and falling into the abyss of failing.

They could only rely on a few students with good grades. But good students usually wouldn't want to deliberately score poorly, as they often have a bit of pride.

So when Horikita made her request, she clearly stated it was 'unreasonable', but she still hoped everyone would agree.

A particularly sunny and friendly-looking boy responded first, "No problem, I'll aim for 50 in every subject and ensure Sudo and the others don't get expelled!"

Class D's angel, Kushida, also stood up, worried, "Everyone, please help and score lower, we can't let our classmates be expelled."

With someone leading the way, especially someone as popular as Kushida, several top students enthusiastically agreed, "Since Kushida asked, we will definitely score lower!"

"Yes, Kushida, we will listen to you!"

Seeing everyone willing to help him, Sudo was somewhat moved and awkwardly set down the chair he was holding. However, just as things seemed to be heading towards a harmonious resolution, a jarring comment shattered the facade of class camaraderie: "Boring."

The students of Class D had various reactions: disbelief at someone going against the class's unity at such a critical time, anger wondering who would speak so insensitively. Did they not care about their classmates' fate?

Looking back, they saw a blond, muscular man, lounging back with his hands behind his neck, watching the drama unfold with amusement.

"Koenji! What do you mean by that?" Sudo couldn't contain his anger, especially since he had always found Koenji too pretentious.

Koenji Rokusuke, a member of Class D, was known as an oddball in the class.

Apparently, he was the son of the renowned Koenji conglomerate. It was a mystery why someone of his status chose to attend this school.

Koenji was also exceptional in academics, scoring perfect in every subject, and physically robust, far surpassing any gym trainer in appearance.

However, his personality was problematic; he was self-centered, only following his own concept of "beauty".

He acted without regard for others, only considering whether something fit his own definition of 'beauty'. If it did, he would do it; if not, he wouldn't.

Koenji, unfazed by Sudo's angry questioning, replied with a dismissive smile, "Don't you understand, red-haired boy?"

"I mean, deliberately scoring poorly is so ugly, completely uninteresting. I refuse to partake in such a boring act."

Sudo's anger flared again, wishing he could smash his desk into Koenji's arrogant face.

Horikita scolded Sudo, trying to calm him, "It's okay, even if Koenji scores full marks, it won't significantly affect the average."

"As long as everyone else scores lower, we still have a chance to save you! Don't do anything rash now, understand?!"

Perhaps due to Horikita's stern tone, or realizing he couldn't physically best Koenji, Sudo grudgingly returned to his seat, kicking the desk again in frustration.

Ike, sitting in front of him, suffered another desk attack, covering his back in pain, lamenting his bad luck for being seated in front of such a classmate.

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