Classroom of the Elite Vol. 1 Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Group of Failures, Second Attempt

The fragrance of the first tea of the season is now in the air. I hope all of you are doing well.

A month and a half since the start of school. I spent every day carefree.

"Excuse me, can you hear me? Is your head ok?"

She hit my forehead with her palm, and I rubbed it in pain.

"You don't have a fever, huh."

"I don't! I was just lost in thought."

I remembered how we reached this situation, and I involuntarily sighed. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to cooperate with her.

Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk.

At the time, I agreed to help to cheer her up, but thinking back on it, it's really not like me to accept.

"So, Mr. Strategist. What should I do?"

"Well… of course, we need to persuade Sudou-kun and the others to participate in the study group again. To do that, you'll have to grovel at your feet, begging them to join."

"Why do I have to do that… In the first place, you're the reason there was a fight."

"The true reason is that they didn't want to study. Don't mistake that."

This girl… Does she even want to help them?

"It's impossible to gather them again without Kushida's help. You know that too, right?"

"… I know. I guess we'll have to make some sacrifices."

Looks like she doesn't want to be involved with Kushida in any way possible. Even though she wasn't happy about it, she agreed since it was an emergency.

This is the best compromise possible for someone like Horikita who doesn't want her close.

"Alright, go and quickly get her to work with us."

"Me?"

"Of course. You formed a contract with me. Since you agreed to be my workhorse until we reach class A, you have to comply."

I don't remember making that kind of contract.

"Here, look at this written contract."

Wow. It had my name and even my seal.

"You'll be charged for document forgery, you know."

Giving up, I walked away from her. Horikita tidied up her desk and faced Kushida.

"Kushida-san. I want to talk to you. If possible, do you want to eat lunch together?"

"Lunch? It's strange to be invited by Horikita-san, but sure."

Even though I was nearby, Kushida didn't waver at all. She quickly agreed. Kushida then walked towards the school's most popular Cafe Pallet.

It's the place where Horikita got mad at us because we made up a lie and called her out.

Horikita paid for Kushida's drink. Of course, I paid for my own.

Taking the drink with a smile, Kushida sat down in a seat. We also sat down in front of her.

"Thanks. What did you have to talk about?"

"I'm making a study group to help Sudou-kun. Can you help us one more time?"

"Who are you doing this for? Is it for Sudou-kun's sake?"

Kushida also recognized that her request wasn't purely altruistic.

"No, this is for me."

"Is that so. Horikita-san, like usual, acts for yourself, huh."

"Will you not help people who don't act for their friends?"

"I think you're free to think however you want. However, I wanted make sure that you wouldn't lie, so I'm happy that you answered honestly. Ok, I'll help you out. After all, we're classmates, right? Ayanokouji-kun."

"Y-yea. Please help us."

"I want to ask you directly, though. It's not for your friends, not for the points, but rather, you want me to help so that we can reach class A, right?"

"Yes."

"That's, that's unbelievable… isn't it impossible? Oh, I'm not trying to call you stupid. But how should I say it… more than half the class has already given up, you know?"

"Is it because the difference between our class and class A is too big?"

"Yea… Honestly, I don't know if we can catch up. I don't even know if we can get any points next month. I feel disheartened."

Horikita hit the table with a clang.

"I'll absolutely do it."

"Ayanokouji-kun, are you also aiming for class A?"

"Yes. He is my assistant in reaching class A."

You made me an assistant without my consent…

"Hmm… ok. Let me help."

"Of course, that's why we're asking in the first place."

"Not that, I want to join you guys in aiming for class A. Not just the study group, but I want to help with everything else you'll be doing from now on."

"E-eh? But…"

"Then do you not want me to help?"

Kushida looked at Horikita with widened eyes.

"Fine. I'll formally ask for your help again if this study group goes well."

That was her reply. Even though Kushida probably had something in mind, Horikita decided to let it go for some reason and let her join.

After receiving an affirmative reply from the usually stubborn Horikita, Kushida jumped up in excitement.

"Really!? Yay!"

Looking truly happy, she cheered in delight. This appearance of hers is also cute.

"Best regards again, Horikita-san! Ayanokouji-kun!"

She extended her left and right arms towards the two of us.

Feeling a bit confused, both Horikita and I shook her hand.

"However, I don't know if Sudou-kun and his friends with agree to join again."

"Yea. In the current situation, it certainly looks difficult."

"Well then, can you leave it to me once again? I can do at least this much after joining you guys. Ok?"

I felt overwhelmed at the pace Horikita and Kushida were moving at.

As if she was about to leap into action immediately, she took out her phone. Soon after, Ike and Yamauchi came over with ecstatic expressions. As soon as they saw me and Horikita, they looked at me as if they were saying, "You really told her about the chat!?". Well, it's convenient, so I'll just stay silent. Their feelings of guilt will probably be effective in getting them to agree.

"Sorry for calling you two out. I have, or rather, Horikita has something to ask of you two."

"W-w-what, what is it? What do you have to do with us?"

What an overreaction… They backed away in nervousness.

"Do you two have any plans to join Hirata-kun's study group?"

"Eh? S-study group? No, we didn't want to join because he's too popular… We're going to cram the day before the test. It's worked since middle school."

To Ike's words, Yamauchi nodded two, three times. They seem to have somehow managed by cramming last-minute for the past few years.

"That kind of thinking suits you two. However, the probability of getting kicked out of school is pretty high right now."

"You're the same as ever, whatever that means."

Sudou appeared while scowling at Horikita. Looks like Sudou was also caught in Kushida's trap.

"The one who should be the most worried is you, Sudou-kun. You look like you have absolutely no worries about dropping at of school."

"You already knew that. If you're not careful, I'll beat you up. I'm busy with basketball right now. It'll be good enough to study right before the test."

"C-calm down, Sudou."

Ike tried to calm down Sudou, as if he didn't know what he said in the chat.

"Hey, Sudou-kun. Won't you try studying one more time? You can probably barely pass the test by cramming. However, if it doesn't work, you won't be able to play basketball here anymore, you know?"

"That's… but I don't want to receive 'charity' from this girl. I haven't forgotten the words you threw at me the other day. If you're going to ask, apologize first. With sincerity."

Sudou declared that, showing hostility against Horikita. Personally, I think that even though he feels that it's dangerous to not study, he was more insulted by her words about basketball.

Of course, Horikita wouldn't apologize so easily. There's no one that would openly brag about having been wrong with their own mouth.

"I think you are wrong, Sudou-kun."

"What!?"

Instead of apologizing, she only added more fuel to the fire.

"However, our antipathy for each other is only trivial in this situation. I will teach you for my sake. You will study for your sake. Is that bad?"

"Do you really want to move up to class A? To go as far as to invite me."

"Yes. Otherwise, who would choose to be concerned with you?"

At Horikita's blunt words, Sudou got more mad.

"I'm busy with basketball. Even before a test, the others don't take a break in order to study. I can't afford to fall behind while I'm off studying."

Having predicted that Sudou would say such words, Horikita took out a piece of paper and showed it to him. It was a detailed schedule until the day of the test.

"At the last study session, I learned that regular method of studying didn't work for you. None of you understand the basics of the topics. It's like taking a frog and introducing it to the ocean. The frog doesn't know where to start. Also, I understand that taking time away from your hobbies adds to your stress. Therefore, I thought of a plan to address that problem."

"What kind of sorcery is this? If there is such a plan, tell me."

Both studying for tests and club activities can coexist. Believing that there was no way for that to be true, Sudou laughed with his nose.

"We have two weeks from now. You will start studying every day during class as if you'd die tomorrow."

At first, I didn't understand what she was saying. Everyone was confused.

"Usually, you three don't work seriously during class, right?"

"Don't decide that on your own."

Ike objected.

"Then, are you diligent during class?"

"… No, we aren't. I do nothing until class is over."

"Right? In other words, you spend six hours a day just idling. Even outside of the one, two hours available after school, there is a ton of precious time being wasted. We must take good advantage of this time."

"Certainly… in theory that would work, but… isn't that kind of absurd?"

Kushida's worries are spot on. It's because they can't study that all the time during class is wasted.

If they can't even stop themselves from talking during class, I don't think they'll be able to understand any of the problems by themselves.

"I can't keep up with the material covered during class."

"I already know that. So, we'll use all the free time we have and have a small study session."

Horikita then turned to the next page. It had a full description of what we would do.

In summary, it's like this. After first period, everyone will meet up and discuss what they didn't understand. In the ten minutes of break, Horikita will then teach what they didn't know.

And then the whole process would repeat for the next period. Of course it's not as simple as it sounds.

However, since they can't keep up with the lesson, it may be difficult for them to be able to understand in that short time.

"W-wait. I'm confused. Is this possible?"

Ike also recognized that this would be a hard task.

"Yea, isn't it unreasonable to think that you could teach us in just 10 minutes?"

"Don't worry. During class, I'll make sure to get all the answers to the every question. And then Ayanokouji-kun and Kushida-san will teach you guys one-on-one."

If it's like that, I guess there is a chance that everyone can understand in just 10 minutes.

"You two, if it's just explaining the answers, you can do it, right?"

"But… I still don't think it's possible in that amount of time. Studying is hard, so I don't know…"

"The content covered in a single period is surprisingly small. It's only 1 page of notes, or at most about 2. And the material concerning the test only takes up half the page. Anyway, if the time isn't enough, we can always use the lunch break. I'm not saying I want you to understand the material. I just want to make sure that it's in your head. The important thing is to make sure that you pay attention to the teacher's voice and the letters on the blackboard. Just forget about taking notes."

"Are you telling us not to take notes?"

"Trying to memorize the question and the answer is surprisingly difficult while taking notes."

Certainly, that might be true. By focusing on taking notes, valuable time is wasted.

At any rate, it looks like Horikita doesn't want to use any after school time.

"Just try it out. You can give it a run before you refuse."

"… I still don't want to do it. I want to spend my time differently than someone who studies 24/7. Also, I don't think I'll be able to study with an cheap trick like that."

Horikita thought of the plan while considering the three of them, but Sudou still did not agree.

"It looks like you're misunderstanding the fundamental concept here. Cheap tricks? There's no such thing. There's no way but to spend your time and study carefully. That's not only for studying, but also for everything else. Or are you saying that there are cheap tricks and shortcuts for basketball?"

"Of course there's no such thing. Only after you practice and practice do you get good."

Realizing what he said, Sudou inhaled sharply in surprise

"It's absolutely impossible for people who don't have the ability to focus. However, you would pour in all of your energy in order to get better at basketball. Even if it's only a fraction, use some of that energy for studying. In order to continue playing basketball at this school. So that you don't get kicked out."

It was a really small one, but Horikita unmistakably offered Sudou a small compromise. He hesitated.

However, his pride got in the way. No matter what, he would not agree.

"… I still won't participate. Thank you for being more civil, but I still can't agree."

Sudou tried to leave without ever having sat down, but Horikita stopped him.

If she let this chance go, there probably wouldn't be another opportunity to form a study group. Normally, I wouldn't have said anything, but I guess I have to pitch in and help here.

"Hey, Kushida. Do you already have a boyfriend?"

"Eh? Ehh? I don't have one, why are you asking me out of the blue?"

"Then, if I get 50 points on the next test, will you date me?"

I stuck out my hand.

"Ha? What are you saying, Ayanokouji!? Date me! I'll get 51 points!"

"No, no, me! Date me! I'll get 52 points!"

Ike quickly responded. And then Yamauchi. Kushida quickly recognized what I was trying to do.

"E-embarassing… I don't judge people by their test scores, you know?"

"But they want a reward for doing well. Look at their enthusiasm. If there's such a reward, they'll probably try even harder."

"W-well, how about this? I'll date the person who gets the highest test score… I like people who work hard to achieve something they might not even like."

"Woahhhhh! I'll do it! I'll do it!"

They were all breathing heavily in excitement. I called out to Sudou.

"Hey Sudou. Are you going to do it? This is your chance."

It's a bit different than saying "Do you want to date Kushida?"

I have a rough understanding of Sudou's character. In a situation like this, it's hard to get him to participate. So, I have to find a compromise in order to get him to join.

"… A date, huh. I guess it's not bad. Seriously, can't help it… I'll participate too."

Sudou turned and replied in a small voice. Kushida let out a sigh of relief.

"Keep in mind, boys are simpler creatures than you might think."

I welcomed Sudou to the group after saying so to Horikita.

1

The reunited study group began, and it started off pretty smoothly.

Of course, no one really found studying fun or was really delighted to be studying, but everyone worked hard so that they wouldn't have to drop out of school. The stupid trio, unlike their usual selves, frantically repeated the problems on the blackboard, twisting their necks as they tried to understand. Sudou occasionally was on the brink of dozing off, but for the sake of becoming a basketball pro, he just barely stayed awake during class. He was earnestly chasing after a far-fetched dream that some people would laugh at. Most of us first-years, who had just only gotten out of middle school, didn't have any dreams yet. Many have only briefly thought, "What will I be when I grow up?", but nothing more. In comparison, Sudou, who's already working towards his dream, is a praiseworthy person.

Anyway, how does this school even define and measure ability?

At the very least, it's not measured only by academic ability.

That's obvious when you see that Ike, Sudou, and I were all accepted.

If you're admitted for something other than your academic ability, though, you have to make sure to never get failing marks. Or at least, that's what it seemed like to me.

If the system itself isn't a lie, then there aren't many possible answers.

Or are they making difficult problems for Ike and Sudou so they can overcome them?

That question arose in my mind. Well, it probably doesn't have such a simple answer. Both the lessons and the small test are harder than what Sudou and the others can solve.

After the morning classes ended, Horikita looked down at ther notes with a small nod. It looks like she's satisfied with the notes she took.

Even if it's teaching the stupid trio, Horikita will definitely do her best to create the best results. It's only natural because she wants to improve the class' score and raise the ability of the students.

However, we're not aiming for full marks. All we want is for Ike and the others to pass.

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Ike and the others ran for their lives. Lunch is 45 minutes long. After eating, it was promised that everyone would meet in the library for 20 minutes to study.

At first, we planned to study in the classroom, but since it would be noisy, it was decided that we would study in the library so that we could concentrate better.

However, I think that the real reason was so that Horikita could avoid Hirata. Hirata's group usually discusses study methods for after school during lunch. If we were nearby, we would probably be able to overhear everything they say. She probably doesn't want that.

"Horikita, what are you doing for lunch?"

"Well—"

"Ayanakouji-kun. Do you want to eat lunch together? I have no other plans today."

Kushida suddenly jumped into my vision.

"Oh, sure. Then do you want to eat with Kushida too—"

"See you later. I already have plans, so excuse me."

Getting up quickly, she left the classroom by herself.

"Sorry, Ayanakouji-kun. Was I… a bother?"

"No, no, it's fine."

Kushida looked at Horikita's back and waved "Bye bye~".

Was this planned out? After discovering her secret the other day, I feel like Kushida is trying to keep track of me more blatantly. Even though she said she believed me, anyone would be scared that I might tell someone.

In the end, we ended up going to the cafe to get lunch. When the two of us arrived at the cafe, I was overwhelmed by the number of girls there.

"What is this, there are so many girls…"

More than 80% of all the students were girls.

"It's not really a place where boys eat."

The menu was filled with items like pasta and pancakes, which girls would like, but athletic people like Sudou would only complain that the portions were too small. The only boys here were riajuus and playboys. They were either sitting with another girl or multiple other girls.

"I think the school cafeteria is better after all. I feel uncomfortable."

"You'll get used to it. Koenji-kun comes here every day, you know? Look, he's over there."

Kushida pointed towards a large table with a lot of seats around it. I could see the figure of Koenji surrounded by girls.

He has his usual self-important attitude.

I seemed to never see him around lunch time; is this where he always went?

"He looks popular. Those girls are all third-years."

Kushida is also surprised. I could overhear some of the conversation between Koenji and the senpais.

"Koenji-kun, say 'aah~'"

"Haha~! Older girls are definitely better~"

Without feeling timid in the presence of third-years, he ate his meal practically glued to the girls.

"That guy, he's really something…"

"It looks like his name has been talked about here and there."

I see, are those girls doing it for the money?

"What a sad world we live in."

"Those girls are only being practical. You can't afford to eat with only your dreams."

"Would you do that too?"

"I like to dream more. You know, someone like a knight in shining armor?"

"A knight in shining armor, huh."

We found seats as far away from Koenji as possible.

"How about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Do you like someone like Horikita-san?"

"Why'd you bring up Horikita?"

"You're always with her. Isn't she cute?"

Well, I do think she's cute. Only the outside though.

"Did you know? You've been drawing attention from the girls for a while. You were even on the ranking list that the first-year girls created."

"Attention. Me? And what kind of ranking…"

It looks like I was rated by the girls when I wasn't aware.

Is it the same kind of ranking that the boys did with the girl's breasts?

"How many kinds of ranking would there be? The ikemen ranking? The wealth ranking? The grossness ranking? And the—"

"… You can stop. I don't want to know anymore."

"It's fine, it's fine. You were ranked fifth on the ikemen ranking. Congratulations! By the way, first place was Satonaka-kun from class A. Second was Hirata-kun, and third and fourth were both boys from class A. I feel like Hirata-kun got a lot of points because of his looks and his character."

As one would expect from the star of class D. He was noticed by the girls in the other classes too.

"Is it ok for me to be happy about this?"

"Of course. Oh, but you were also pretty high on the gloominess rankings too."

"Let's see…"

I looked at the phone. There were several lists of countless boys.

There was also a disturbing ranking titled, "Ranking of boys who should die". Let's say I didn't see that.

"Are you not happy? You're ranked fifth."

"It would be different if I cared about being popular, but I don't really feel anything."

In fact, I don't remember ever having gotten a letter with a heart seal on it from a girl.

"Are a lot of people participating?"

"Yea. There are a lot of people who participate, but I don't know the total vote tally. The people who comment are also anonymous~"

In other words, it's not very reliable.

"Anyway, I think you're at a disadvantage. I think you're definitely someone worthy of being an ikemen, but you don't stand out like Hirata-kun. You're not particularly smart, athletic, or well spoken, so you're missing something, you know?"

"That, that killed me…"

That's just saying that I have nothing appealing about me…

"S-sorry. I probably should've held back."

Kushida reflected on her harsh words.

"Um, during middle school, did you have a girlfriend?"

"Is it bad if I didn't?"

"… So you didn't. Ahaha, it's not particularly bad."

"Rankings, huh. If boys did the same thing, what would the girls think?"

"Think of them as horrible human beings?"

Even though she was smiling, her eyes weren't. Well, that's to be expected. If the boys ranked the girls on cuteness or ugliness, they would definitely object. That's already one double standard between girls and boys. Anyway, Kushida has been interacting with me normally. I thought she would act differently after I found her on the rooftop.

"Hey. You don't have to force yourself to talk to me, you know."

"No, no, it's not forced. I find talking to you fun."

"Well, didn't you say that you hated talking to me?"

"Ahaha, I did, didn't I. Sorry, sorry, those are my true feelings."

… No, I'm hurt because those are your true feelings. Even though she's putting on that smile, she hates me. That's the worst.

"Actually, the reason I invited you to eat lunch with me was to keep an eye on you. I'm just asking, but if you had to choose between Horikita-san and me to be your ally, who would you choose? Would you choose me?"

"I'm no one's ally or opponent. I'm neutral."

"I think there are matters that can't be avoided by just being neutral. It's fine and all to oppose war for example, but you'll be wrapped up in it at some point, you know? If Horikita-san and I fought, it would be nice if you cooperated."

"Even if you say that…"

"Keep that in mind. I'm expecting you to help me."

"Expect, huh. If you ask me to help, I'd think that the first thing you should do is explain the situation."

Still smiling, Kushida shook her head no.

"No, the first thing is to make sure we trust each other."

"Yea, I suppose."

Both Kushida and I don't really understand each other too well.

Sometime down the line, when we trust each other more, I may be able to understand Kushida better.

2

One minute later than we had promised, we all met in the library.

Everyone was ready to take notes and was waiting to start. There were also a lot of other students that were currently studying in the library. From first-years to third-years, everyone was making an effort to study.

I could tell with a glance.

"You're late."

"Sorry, we were a bit late because it was crowded."

"Did you two eat together!?"

Ike asked us, feeling suspicious because the two of us came together.

We did indeed eat together, but I don't think we should say anything here.

"Yea, we did. We had lunch together."

Like I said, you didn't have to say that… With a disgruntled expression, Ike glared at me. As if he saw me as his rival. Without looking at me, Horikita continued to talk.

"Hurry up."

"… Ok."

I quietly sat down and took out my notes.

"I thought I would need more help, but geography is surprisingly easy."

"Chemistry's also easier than I thought."

Ike and Yamauchi spoke up.

"That's because there's a lot of memorization problems. Subjects like Math or English have questions that you can't answer if you don't have the basics."

"Don't let your guard down. There might be current events on the test."

"Current… events?"

"Current events. Events in politics or economics that may have occurred in recent years. In other words, there might be questions that cover material not in the textbook."

"Ugh, that's foul play! Doesn't that make the scope of the test useless!?"

"That's why you've got to study everything."

"I suddenly hate geography…"

Of course, current events questions may appear on the test, but I think it's something we can ignore for now.

If you worry too much about things that might not even be on the test, you'll miss the important parts.

"Shouldn't we hurry up?"

As the conversation keeps going off-track, precious time is wasted.

"Yea. We're currently behind because a certain person was late."

"… Are you still hung up on that?"

"It's a problem for everyone. Well then, who's the person who came up with inductive reasoning?"

"Um… it's that guy we learned last class, right? Uh…"

While thinking over the answer, Ike spun his pen around.

"Oh, it's that guy. His name made me really hungry, so I remembered."

"Francis Xavier!… or something like that, right?"

Sudou wasn't able to recollect the correct name.

"I remembered. It was Francis Bacon!"

"Correct."

"Yes! This is definitely a perfect score!"

"No, not at all…"

If we continued at this pace for the next week, desperately studying, everyone would probably pass.

"Everyone, just take care of your health. We don't have much time to study."

Kushida also understand that there was practically no room for error this time around.

"It's ok, it'll be fine if it's these three."

"As expected of Horikita-chan. It feels like you're trusting us!"

I think she was trying to say that "Idiots don't catch colds", but whatever.

"Hey, be quiet over there. Your yapping is loud."

A student nearby paused studying and looked at us.

"Sorry, sorry, I was too loud. I was happy since I got a problem right. The person who came up with inductive reasoning is Francis Bacon, you know? I won't forget since I learned it once~"

Ike said while laughing in joy.

"Huh? … By any chance, are you guys in class D?"

A group of boys nearby all looked at us all at once. At their reaction, Sudou bristled up in irritation.

"So what? So what if we're in class D. Do you have any problems with that?"

"No no, we don't have any problems with that. I'm Yamawaki, in class C. Nice to meet you."

Yamawaki looked at us while laughing.

"Well, how should I say it… I guess it's good that this school divides classes by ability. That way I don't have to study with people like you guys."

"What!?"

The one who bursted out in anger was, obviously, Sudou.

"You're just getting mad at the truth. If we fought inside of the school, I wonder which class' points will be deducted. Oh wait, you don't have points to start with. Thing is, you'll probably get expelled, you know?"

"You wanna fight? Bring it on!"

Sudou's outburst attracted the attention of the others in the quiet library.

If this situation becomes worse, the teachers will probably find out about it.

"He's right. If you create a disturbance, we don't know what'll happen. You should keep in mind that getting kicked out is really possible. And I don't mind that you're badmouthing us, but you're in class C, right? It's not really a class you should brag about."

"There seems to have been some kind of calculation error between classes A to C. But you guys are on a whole different level."

"What a nice way to put it. The way I see it, every class but class A are just bunched up together."

Yamawaki stopped laughing and glared at Horikita.

"For an inferior product that doesn't have a single point, you're saying some cheeky things. Did you think you can say anything just because you look cute?"

"Thank you for your words that have no logical connection to the topic. I was never self-conscious about my appearance until now, but I feel uncomfortable being praised by you."

"Tsu!"

Hitting the table, Yamawaki stood up.

"H-hey. It's dangerous for you to start since others will hear about it."

The other class C students tried to hold Yamawaki back, tugging at his sleeves.

"For the next test, if you get a failing mark, you know you have to drop out, right? I'm looking forward to seeing how many people will drop out from your group."

"Too bad for you, but no one will drop out from class D. Before worrying about us, why don't you worry about yourselves first. If you're not careful, you might fail, you know?"

"Kukuku. Fail? Stop with the jokes."

"We're not studying so we can avoid failing marks. We're studying to get better scores. Don't lump us in with you guys. Also, being happy over knowing Francis Bacon is; are you sane? Why are you studying things that aren't even on the test?"

"Huh?"

"By any chance, do you not even know what's going to be covered on the test? This is why you're the inferior class."

"That's enough out of you."

Sudou lost his temper and grabbed Yamawaki by his collar.

"H-hey hey, you're really going to use violence? You'll be deducted points. You ok with that?"

"We don't even have any points to lose~!"

Sudou drew back his arm. Ah man, is he really going to knock him out?

I should really stop him. I pushed back my chair to get up—

"Ok, stop, stop!"

A girl called out.

Sudou stopped at the unexpected new character.

"Hey, you're not a part of this; don't interfere."

"Not a part of this? I'm trying to use this library, I can't just overlook this disturbance. If you really wanted to hit him, can't you do that outside?"

(Illustration: https://imgur.com/cNNFlcA)

At the blonde girl's reasonable words, Sudou let go of Yamawaki.

"And you guys, aren't you provoking him too much? If this continued, do you think it would be fine if the school got word of this?"

"S-sorry. We didn't mean to do that, Ichinose."

Ichinose. I remember hearing that name before.

Oh, it was the student in class B who was talking to Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"Hey, let's move. If we study here, we'll become stupid too."

"Y-yea."

Yamawaki and his group of friends left the area.

"If you guys are going to keep studying here, keep it quiet."

At those words, I gave a small nod, feeling admiration at her gallant form.

"Unlike Horikita, she keeps order to this place, huh."

"I wasn't trying to create a disturbance. I was just saying the truth."

Saying the truth caused the disturbance, though…

"Hey… That guy said that this wasn't on the test… right?"

"… What does this mean?"

We exchanged glances.

The material that Chiyabashira-sensei would be on the test was the Age of Exploration.

We all definitely made sure to write that down.

"Doesn't this mean that each class gets a different test?"

"That's unlikely… the test should be same for everyone in the grade."

As Horikita said, all the problems on the test should be same for the five main subjects.

Otherwise, the effect of our grades on the points becomes unclear.

By any chance, was class C informed of a change to the test before anyone else?

Or was class D the only one not informed…

From the unexpected new information, we couldn't help but be confused.

What if different topics were tested on the history portion of the test between the classes?

… No… if only the history portion was different, it would be really weird.

But if the whole test was different…

This whole week of studying would become wasted time.

3

It was ten minutes before the end of lunch. All of the members in the study group packed up and headed towards the staff room. In any case, we can't proceed until we make sure we know what's covered on the test.

"Sensei. We have something we want to confirm quickly."

"That was quite an entrance. All the other teachers are surprised."

"Sorry for intruding."

"It's ok, but we're in the middle of something. Keep it short."

She kept writing in her notebook, continuing her work.

"Last week, when you told us what was covered on the test, did you make a mistake? A little while ago, class C students told us that their test was different."

Without batting an eyebrow, Chiyabashira-sensei listened to Horikita. Then Sensei, who was listening in silence, suddenly stopped moving her pen.

"…The topics covered on the test were changed last Friday. Sorry, I forgot to tell you guys."

"What—!?"

After writing down the new scope of the test on a piece of paper, she ripped the page and handed it to Horikita. The textbook pages on the paper were all material we had already covered, and Sudou and the others hadn't learned the material.

"Horikita, thanks to you, I noticed my mistake. Thanks to the rest of you too. Later then."

"W-wait a bit, Sae-chan-sensei!? Isn't this way too late?"

"No, I don't think so. If they study for the next week, everything will be fine, no?"

Without any second thoughts. Chiyabashira-sensei tried to get us out of the staff room. However, no one moved.

"Even if you guys refuse to leave, nothing will change. You understand that, right?"

"…Let's go."

"B-but Horikita-chan! I can't agree to this!"

"As Sensei said, staying here would just be a waste of time. We should just start anew and study the revised material."

"But still!"

Turning her heels, Horikita left the room. Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi all followed, albeit reluctantly. Chiyabashira-sensei didn't even glance at us as we left. She didn't even say sorry for her mistake. Above all, I thought the other teachers would've said something after that incident.

Even though it was a pretty serious mistake for a homeroom teacher to make, there was no response from anyone else. My eyes then met with Hoshinomiya-sensei for a moment. With a small smile, she waved at me.

Well, I guess that's a response. However, I don't think that she just "forgot" to tell us about the test.

Walking out into the hallway, the bell for the afternoon classes rang.

"Kushida-san. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I want you to tell the rest of class D about the changes to the test."

With that, Sensei handed Kushida a piece of paper.

"I'm ok with it, but… is it fine for me to do so?"

"You're the best person to ask here. Also, it's impossible to take the test without knowing what it's about."

"Ok, I will inform everyone about the change."

"By tomorrow, I'll make sure to revise our study plan as well."

Even though Horikita was pretending to be calm, I knew she was feeling slightly anxious. Our frantic studying the past few days are now useless. Also, we only have about a week left until the test.

However, the biggest worry was Sudou, Ike and Yamauchi's motivation.

"Horikita. I know it'll be hard, but I will rely on you."

Sudou bowed to Horikita.

"I… starting tomorrow, will take a break from club activities for a week. Will that work?"

"…That's…"

Considering that we only have a week left, it's a very reasonable decision.

Even though it was the best possible thing she could ask for, Horikita couldn't immediately accept.

"Is that really ok? It'll be hard, you know?"

"Studying is difficult, right?"

Broadly grinning, Sudou patted her shoulder.

"Sudou, are you serious?"

"Yea. I'm really annoyed right now. Both at our homeroom teacher and those class C punks."

I guess you could call this a blessing in disguise. Because of this difficult situation, Sudou is starting to give studying a chance. He probably felt that he wouldn't pass if he didn't try harder. Sudou's new motivation seems to have set something off in Ike and Yamauchi.

"Can't help it, guess we'll try harder too."

"Alright. If you guys have prepared yourselves for it, then please cooperate with me. However, Sudou-kun—"

Horikita brushed off Sudou's hand from her shoulder.

"Don't touch me. If you do it again, I won't show any mercy."

"…You're not cute, woman…"

"We'll absolutely do well!"

"Me too!"

Kushida, also feeling motivated, stuck out her first.

"Ayanokouji-kun, you too!"

"Huh? No, I'll—"

"By any chance… did you give up?"

"…I'm thinking about it…"

"You already promised to work with me. Did you forget?"

Horikita kept an eye on me after hearing me.

"I'm not good at teaching. People are good and bad at some things, right?"

Honestly, in terms of teaching others, Horikita and Kushida are better than I am.

Also, I'm not someone cut out to teach.

"No, your test scores aren't that good, right?"

"There's not much time, so I think it's better for Horikita and Kushida to teach together, rather than doing separate one-on-one sessions. Also, there's something I'm worried about."

"Worried about?"

The events that just happened in the staff room are too serious to overlook.

4

When it was lunchtime, I got out of my seat with a goal in mind. Then I headed to the cafeteria.

"Where are you going?"

After having noticed me rush out of the classroom, Kushida followed. Stopping in front of me, she leaned over and looked up to me.

"Because it's lunch, I thought I would go to the cafeteria."

"Fuun. Is it fine if I go with you?"

"It's fine, but you have a lot of other people you can ask too, you know."

"Even though I have a lot of friends I can eat with, you have no one. Also, although you would usually talk to Horikita-san first, you didn't say anything today. Didn't you say yesterday that you were worried about something in the staff room? What was that?"

As usual, Kushida was listening to the surroundings; or rather, observing her surroundings. Honestly, I thought it would be annoying if someone was always, but I think it's fine if it's Kushida. I only got to know her secret by chance. I won't do anything bad.

"I can tell you, but will you promise not to tell anyone else?"

"Keeping secrets is my strong point!"

We made our way to the cafeteria. Before long, we entered the confusion of the cafeteria and got to the meal ticket machine. After buying a ticket for two portions, I moved away from the ticket vending machine and didn't line up at the counter. From there, I looked at the fingertips of the students who were buying their food.

"What is it?"

Kushida looked at me in curiosity.

"There is a possibility that this will lead to an answer to what I was concerned about."

I looked at all the students who were buying lunch. After about 20 students, I found my target student. The student bought the meal and walked over to the counter with heavy steps.

"Alright, let's go."

"What? Ok."

Quickly exchanging our tickets for meals, I walked over to the student and sat down.

"Um, excuse me. You're… a senpai, right?"

"…Huh? Who are you?"

Quietly looking up, he looked at me, uninterested.

"Are you a second-year? Third-year?"

"Third year. You're a first-year, huh."

"I am Ayanakouji-kun of class D. Senpai, you're also in class D, right?"

"…What does that have to do with you?"

Kushida looked at me in surprise, asking "How did you know?"

"Because he was restricted to the free meal. It's not very tasty, is it?"

Senpai was eating the free vegetable meal.

"What the hell, making me feel annoyed."

He tried to get up with his try, but I stopped him.

"I have something to ask you. If you listened to me, I would show my gratitude."

"…Gratitude?"

My small voice was lost in the confusion of the cafeteria.

The nearby students were also engrossed in their conversations with friends.

"Do you still have the problems on the midterm from your first semester? Or if you know someone that has all the previous test problems, can you let us know who he is?"

"Hey, do you even understand what you're saying?"

"It's not anything surprising. I don't think it's against school policy to use old test problems to study."

"Why are you asking me?"

"That's easy. I thought it would be easier to cut a deal with someone without points. Honestly, the free vegetable meal isn't that tasty. Of course, things are different if you actually like eating that meal. What do you say?"

"…How much?"

"10,000 points. That's as far as I can go."

"I don't have any of the problems, but… I know someone who does. If you want to ask him to help, you need at least 30,000 points."

"30,000 is way too much. I don't have that kind of money."

"How much do you have, then?"

"…20,000 points."

"Then 20,000 points… No, 15,000 points will do. Nothing less."

"15,000 points, huh…"

"If you would go as far as to ask a complete stranger about past problems, you must be really desperate. After all, the school expels everyone who fails. I've already lost a lot of my friends."

"I see. …Ok. I will pay 15,000 points."

"Then the deal is good. Of course, you'll have to pay in advance."

"I don't mind, but if you go back on your word, I won't forgive you. I'll make sure you get expelled."

"…Fine. I don't want any bad records. If rumors pop up that I ripped off a kouhai, I probably won't be forgiven."

"Now then, senpai, since I will pay you 15,000 points, can you give me a freebie? I want to see the answers to the mock test."

"Alright, I'll include that. Well, I think that whatever you're trying to do is useless, but sure."

It looks like senpai understood what I was thinking.

"Thank you."

The senpai quickly left his seat. I guess he didn't want to be noticed.

"H-hey, Ayanokouji-kun… Was that… was that really ok?"

"There's no problem at all. The transfer of points is allowed by school rules, so there aren't any violations."

"That's fine, but isn't it dishonest to get past year's questions?"

"Dishonest? I don't think so. If the school didn't allow it, there would've been something in the rules. Also, I confirmed another thing when I was just talking to the third-year senpai. It looks like these kind of transactions aren't that strange."

"Huh…?"

"He wasn't particularly surprised, and he quickly agreed to listen to my proposal. It probably isn't his first time negotiating. He has not only the answers to the midterms, but even the mock test. There's no mistake."

Her eyes were spinning in astonishment.

"Ayanokouji-kun, you were really different. I was surprised."

"It's just insurance to make sure that Sudou and the others don't get expelled."

"But this might turn out to be useless. Past questions are past questions, right? This year's test may be completely unrelated."

"The problems may not be exactly the same, but there will definitely be some similarities. The last mock exam gave me that hint."

"Hint?"

"You noticed that there were really hard problems along with easy ones, right?"

"Well, yea. Those were the last problems of each section. I didn't understand those questions at all."

"When I looked into it after, those were problems that second-years and third-years were learning. In other words, they don't expect first-years to be able to solve those problems. Isn't it useless to throw in those kind of unsolvable problems? They're probably there for a reason other than to actually test us. If the problems on the mock exam were the exact same as previous mock exams, what would happen?"

"…If I saw those problems, I would be able to ace the test."

The same thing is applicable to the midterm.

Soon after, I got a message from the third-year senpai with an attachment. It was the old tests.

First, I checked the mock test. The key question is, are the last three problems the same?

Kushida also tried to look at my phone.

"Are they? Are they the same?"

"It's completely identical. The problems, sentences, and all the words are the same."

"That's amazing! If we showed this to everyone, it would be an easy success! Don't show it to only Sudou-kun, but everyone else too!"

"No, we won't show it to Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi yet."

"W-why? You went as far as to use so many points."

"If they hear that these are the test questions, they'll lose all motivation and focus. Above all, overconfidence is the biggest problem. The midterm may not be the same as the mock test; there's a possibility the problems are different on the midterm."

It's essential to keep in mind that these old tests are insurance.

"Then what are you going to use them for?"

"Release these problems the day before the test. Then we tell everyone that these problems are roughly the same as this year's test. What would everyone do then?"

"That night, everyone would try to memorize the problems!"

"That's how it is."

The students who are don't understand the basics probably can't memorize all the problems in a single day. But, it's not difficult to understand the problems beforehand. We're not trying to get the highest score possible on this next test. We're trying to avoid failing. If we ask for too much, the plan might fail.

But with this, we can probably get everyone to pass in class D.

"Hey… When did you think to get these old tests?"

"Since we learned that the test was different. However, I had an inkling that the old tests might be similar ever since the midterm was mentioned."

"Eh!? T-that early!?"

"When Chiyabashira-sensei first mentioned the midterm, she was speaking in an unusual manner. Even though she knew Sudou and the other's grades and attitudes, she spoke with absolute confidence. In other words, she confirmed that there was a surefire way to save them."

"Is that… the old tests?"

The reason why Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi were all admitted to this school, despite their academic ability, must be connected to this somehow. If they can't get good grades by studying hard, this is a sort of escape route for them. In other words, it's possible for everyone get near perfect scores by getting the old tests. That's how I understood it, at least.

"…Ayanokouji-kun, you're really observant, aren't you?"

"I'm just being cunning. I didn't think that I could pass the midterm without any help anyway. I was looking for a way to reliably pass."

"Fuun."

As if she had something on her mind, Kushida had a mischievous smile.

"I have a favor to ask. Could you say that you got the old questions? Say that you got the old tests from a third-year senpai that you get along with."

"I'm fine with it, but… are you really ok with that?"

"I like to avoid trouble, after all. I don't want to stand out. Also, our classmates trust you. It'd be a lot better for you to tell everyone else."

"…Ok. If you say so."

"Thanks. I don't to stand out unnecessarily."

"Well then, let's keep this a secret between us."

"Yea, that sounds good."

"Don't you feel like there's some kind of trust between us when we share this kind of secret?"

"Well, dunno. I hope so."

"Thanks."

Kushida curtly replied. I don't know what her thanks was exactly for, though.