Volume 1: Final Chapter.

Today is Thursday after school. The day before the exam.

After Chabashira-sensei finished class and left the room, Kushida walked to the front of the classroom.

Everyone remained seated, their eyes fixed on her. In her hands, she held more than three dozen slips of paper. They were copies of the old exam, but I wasn't sure if they were mine or Ayanokōji's.

"Everyone, before you leave, would you mind listening to me for a moment?"

Naturally, everyone in the classroom began to murmur their agreement and allowed Kushida to continue. Even Sudō stopped and listened.

No one in their right mind would refuse Kushida's request. Well... maybe just Horikita, but I don't think it would be a smart move on her part after Kushida helped her with the study group.

"I know you've all been studying hard in preparation for tomorrow's exam. I have something to help you. I'm going to hand out some practice papers."

Kushida began distributing the questions and answer sheets to everyone in the first row. Naturally, those in the first row, after receiving their sheet, passed the remaining sheets back to their classmates.

Yōsuke passed the remaining sheets to me when he was done with his part. I accepted the leftover sheets and quickly glanced to see which ones I should keep.

When I had my portion, I passed the remaining sheets to Sotomura, who accepted them immediately.

"These are..." I heard a surprised Matsushita say under her breath.

"They're test questions," I finished for her.

Matsushita looked at me before narrowing her eyes.

"You don't seem surprised."

"I am surprised, believe me. I'm curious to know how Kushida got them. This is a completely unexpected turn of events," I replied, but it seemed she didn't believe me and regarded me suspiciously.

Well, I guess it was entirely normal for her to be suspicious. Kushida and I had grown closer since I confronted her about her past. She always came to my room to vent her frustrations, so us being close was completely natural.

I could feel the stares from several guys as Kushida and I spoke in public, but I didn't care.

As I read the contents of the sheet, I realized it was the same exam I had stored in my room. So, I didn't need to keep a copy that I already had, but I had to do it for appearances.

"Test questions... Did you make these, Kushida-san?" Horikita was also surprised.

"Actually, these are problems from an old exam. I got them from a third-year senpai last night."

"Problems from an old exam? Huh? Are these questions really valid?"

"Yes. Two years ago, the midterm exam had almost the same questions as this set of problems. So, if you practice, I think we'll do better."

"Wow! Really? Kushida-chan, thank you!" Ike hugged his test with happiness.

Everyone else was also surprised by this turn of events and began praising Kushida as a goddess. Obviously, Kushida had a genuinely happy smile on her face.

Matsushita glanced at me out of the corner of her eye as she read the contents of the sheet. She wasn't going to let it slide, was she?

With a sigh, I took out my phone and sent her a message telling her to meet me in my room later because I had something to tell her. But I told her I had to do a few things first, so I'd let her know.

I blame Ayanokōji and my knowledge of the future for this.

At least with that message, she'd stop being so obvious. If Matsushita kept glancing over, then Yōsuke and Karuizawa would realize something was going on between us.

After a few minutes, the whole class started to leave in a good mood, but I stayed distracted, looking out the window, exactly at the birds on the tree.

I could feel someone staring at me as if they were waiting for something. I glanced over my shoulder to see what it was about. I could see Kushida and Horikita talking while Ayanokōji watched as a bystander.

I tried to check my memories to see if the light novel said anything about that. A brief memory came to mind.

Was this the part where Kushida told Horikita she hated her, right? Should I interfere? No, I think that would be imprudent of me, and besides, it wasn't my business.

With a sigh, I approached them, contradicting my own logic.

"Hey Kushida, want to walk to the dorms with me?"

"Oh, Nakatomi-kun. Sure! I was just about to leave."

Horikita gave me a glaring look for rudely interrupting their conversation.

I looked at Kushida in silence, who was packing her textbooks and notes into her backpack.

"Nakatomi-kun, can you give us a moment? I have something to tell Kushida-san."

I looked at her for a few seconds before conceding. "Alright, but can you give me your contact information, Horikita?" I asked.

"My contact information? What do you need it for? I can't see any reason why you would want my contact information. So, why?" Horikita questioned me.

I couldn't tell her I wanted to befriend her because she would immediately reject me. I wasn't looking to befriend Horikita, but having her contact information could be quite useful.

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, you owe me a favor, right? When I know what I'm going to use it for, I'll send you a message. I hope you'll respond when I do."

Horikita sighed. "Fine. I'm not one to break my word. Just don't send me a message unless it has to do with something school-related. I'm not interested in wasting time on other things."

Horikita wrote her contact information on a piece of paper before handing it to me.

"Don't worry, I won't," I promised. "Before I go, Ayanokōji, can I have your contact information?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Oh, sure." Ayanokōji took out his phone so we could exchange information. We didn't take long to have each other's information.

"I hope we can be friends, Ayanokōji," I said before offering a handshake, which Ayanokōji quickly accepted.

Ayanokōji nodded in acknowledgment of my words.

Before leaving the room, I glanced back at Kushida one last time.

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​I had been waiting for a few minutes near the stairs to leave the school complex. My back was against the wall my arms were crossed and my eyes closed.

"Nakatomi-kun, are we going?" a voice spoke to me, prompting me to open my eyes again.

Kushida was looking at me, smiling, but that smile didn't reach her eyes. I could tell she was somewhat frustrated.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes. You don't need to worry," Kushida dismissed me.

With that, we both left the school complex. We walked in silence. The atmosphere was quite uncomfortable because Kushida was in a bad mood.

"Did you tell her?" I asked, breaking the silence after taking a deep breath. Our walk didn't stop, and no one could overhear our conversation.

"Tell her what?" Kushida looked at me with frustration. Even as she maintained her facade, I could tell.

"To Horikita. That you hate her, I mean."

"Did you overhear our conversation?" She asked, glancing at me.

"No, but you just confirmed it for me," I said, smiling slightly.

I wasn't lying. It was the truth; I hadn't overheard the conversation Kushida had with Horikita, but it was a bit suspicious to know it, and Kushida realized it. But she didn't say anything to me.

"You'll help me, won't you? Nakatomi-kun," Kushida instead asked me.

"Yes. I told you, didn't I? If Horikita tries something against you, I'll defend you... Anyway, why did you tell her you hate her? I thought it would be better if she didn't know?"

"She caught me. It didn't matter if I pretended or not. Horikita-san is quite sharp. So, I'm not surprised she saw through me, my true feelings to some extent."

"You're getting close to Horikita because you're worried she might know about you, aren't you?"

"Yes..." Kushida responded.

"I hadn't told you before that Horikita isn't interested in you. She's a person who cares about no one but herself. She only helped Sudō and the others because it benefited the class. Nothing more and nothing less."

"I know that! But it still bothers me not knowing. I want to be sure Horikita-san doesn't know about the incident at my old school," Kushida said sharply, and quietly.

"You won't be at ease until you know, even if I tell you that Horikita isn't interested, right?" I asked.

"No!"

I sighed wearily. "Fine. I'll find out if Horikita knows about you. So, don't do anything reckless again."

"How do you plan to do that?" Kushida asked me.

"Isn't it obvious? I'll use the favor to create a scenario where I can get information from her. Without Horikita suspecting my true motive."

"I see. Then I'll leave it to you, Nakatomi-kun."

"Alright. Just calm down, okay? There's no need for you to stress out. I'll tell you the truth as soon as I know it."

Kushida bit her lip thoughtfully before conceding with a sigh. "Okay. Thank you, Nakatomi-kun."

"No need to thank me. We're allies, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose we are," Kushida lightly nudged me in the ribs.

A snort escaped my mouth. We walked in silence without saying anything to each other. Then, I remembered I needed to do one important thing before returning to the dorms.

"Hey. Can we stop by the vending machine? I feel like having a Coke," I asked.

Kushida shrugged without saying anything.

I'll take that as a yes.

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After we bought the drinks, I purchased all the Coca-Colas from the vending machine. Kushida obviously looked surprised.

I told her that my favorite drink was Coca-Cola and that I didn't want to go back several times to the machine just to buy more. I gave Kushida a drink, which she gladly accepted.

A few moments later, we entered the dorms and went our separate ways. I didn't encounter anyone I knew on the way, so I quickly entered my room once I opened the door with the access card.

I took off my shoes, then went to the fridge to store the drinks. I turned on the air conditioner as I took off my jacket along with the tie and hung them up.

I sat on my bed as I wrote a message before sending it.

Contact: Chiaki Matsushita.

[I'm free. You can come to my room if you want. 4th floor, Room 338]

[Alright, I just want to ask you some things] Chiaki Matsushita.

[Why do you want to know more about me?]

[I want to know more about you. You don't usually talk much about yourself, you know? So, it's completely normal for someone to be interested in you] Chiaki Matsushita.

[I don't think anyone is interested in a guy like me. No one has asked me anything about myself so far]

[Well, that's because no one has asked you directly] Chiaki Matsushita.

No one has asked me directly? Does that mean other girls are curious about me, but no one dares to ask me questions? Or is she telling me that no one has asked me directly because no one is interested?

Anyway, I don't think I have anything interesting to say about myself. I'm not a good conversationalist, so I have no idea what traits attract a girl to a guy.

What do they want to know about me anyway? That I'm a loner who likes to play video games? Or that I'm an avid reader of fanfiction? I don't think girls would be interested in that. Maybe some of my classmates think I like boring things because I'm quiet and mature in the way I behave with them.

But even I have my childish moments, where I'd be embarrassed if anyone saw me acting that way. Unless our bond is quite close and comfortable. Of course. Even then, I have my limits for fooling around.

[I don't understand what you mean. But I'll take it as a good thing]

After a few moments, the doorbell of my room rang. With a sigh, I got up from my bed and walked to the door to open it.

"Ah. Matsushita, come in and please close the door"

"Thank you, Nakatomi-kun"

Matsushita thanked me as she took off her shoes before closing the door.

"Umm... you can sit on my bed if you like," I gestured to my room.

Matsushita nodded before sitting down and crossing her legs. My eyes wandered from her chest to focus on her legs, then to her feet. I couldn't notice much of Matsushita's backside without looking suspicious, but Damn... she has nice legs, especially those beautiful thighs, they looked pretty good. And her chest isn't bad either.

(Image)

No! Focus, Nakatomi, focus!

"Would you like something to drink, Matsushita? I have Coffee, Tea, and Coca-Cola," I emphasized the last word with a playful tone in my voice. Matsushita raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment.

"Tea, please"

I didn't drink much tea, but I had bought it just in case someone visited my room. Not that anyone had, the only one who entered my room was Kushida. But hey! You never know who might come.

Once I made the tea, I handed it to Matsushita. Then I sat on my chair while holding my refreshing drink.

When I opened my can of Coca-Cola, it made the typical sound when a can is opened.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about? I mean, you've never come to my room to keep me company before, so..."

"First of all, thank you for the tea, it's quite good. But I'm just curious if you were the one who got the old exams and gave them to Kushida-san to distribute."

"Why do you think it was me?" I asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Well, you've gotten closer to Kushida-san lately, and you didn't show any reaction when Kushida-san started distributing the old exams. You have a plan, don't you? So that no one gets expelled from school."

"You're overestimating me. I don't have any plan in motion. Sure, Kushida and I have gotten closer lately, but that doesn't mean I'm the mastermind, you know?"

"Please, don't play dumb. You were the one who told Hirata-kun about us studying the wrong problems, right? I had discussed with the girls that it was strange that you had attended that day at the library, but after that time you didn't go to anymore. I wondered why"

"I see. So you figured it out. Can I ask how?"

I realized that it probably didn't make sense to play dumb with Matsushita; it was clear that she would realize it when it turned out to be elusive.

"So you're admitting that it was you?" Matsushita asked me with a sly smile.

"Yes. So, will you tell me how? You came to realize about that fact?"

"Well... Karuizawa-san commented on something that she found strange. When you went to talk to Hirata-kun in the library, she noticed that you handed him a piece of paper. It turns out that same paper was the topics you had to study"

Well, that complicates things a bit. I just hope not many people have noticed this fact.

I sighed as I pinched my nose. "How many know about this?" I asked.

"Well, I was only talking to Satō-san and Karuizawa-san. So, they are probably the only ones who know or have a suspicion for now," Matsushita replied.

That was a relief. I don't want to be found out right now, at least I want to last until after the zodiac exam. If I can, I wish for much longer, but I knew that some people would start to suspect. It was inevitable.

"What about Sudō?" I commented to Matsushita.

"What about Sudō-kun? I thought he was studying in the study group set up by Horikita. The whole class saw them studying, I can say they've worked hard to at least not fail," Matsushita gave me a confused look.

"I know Sudō has worked hard enough to pass the subjects, but the problem lies in the English subject. He's not so good at it... I mean, I really want to make sure he can pass it, but I'll still have to do something to make sure he doesn't fail, and I need your help."

"I see. Even if you think Sudō-kun might pass the subject, it would be better not to risk it. But how do you plan to help him?" Matsushita asked me curiously.

"By intentionally lowering my grades. Remember our teacher told us that the passing grade was 32 on the mock exam, right?" I asked her.

"Yes, I remember, but what does that have to do with..." Matsushita's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what I was trying to say. "You're saying that the passing grade wasn't something set by the school, but it was derived from our class's average grades."

"Exactly, the average score on the mock test was 64.4. Dividing it by two would be 32.2 points to pass the exam," I replied.

"That means it was higher than 32, But the passing grade was 32, so if we remove the decimal point, it would be 32," Matsushita commented as she looked at me. "So if we lower our class ranking scores, then we can also lower the passing grade average for the subjects."

"Exactly. But you're mistaken about one thing. They don't remove the decimal point. The school rounds up the average score. That means if we score, let's say, for example, 32.6, then the passing grade would be 33 points," I explained.

"You're quite sharp. But why do you think it's rounded up? It could be that they just remove the decimal," Matsushita said.

"That could be the case, but in mathematics, usually when you're asked to get the results without a decimal figure, you get 45.6 as a result. What do you usually do?"

"Round it up to get 46," Matsushita quickly replied, understanding my point.

"Exactly. Even if the school doesn't round up and just removes the decimal point. It would be better for us to use rounding, right? Let's say for example Sudō gets 39 points on the English exam and the passing grade is 39.6. What do you think would happen?"

"If the school removes the decimal, then Sudō-kun would barely pass, but if the school rounds up the result then..."

"Sudō would fail. Because the passing grade wouldn't be 39 points, but 40, due to rounding," I finished explaining.

"But wouldn't it be better if our classmates knew about this? We could lower the passing grade to make sure no one gets expelled," Matsushita commented.

"Negative. Remember sensei said we can earn up to 100 points, because of the partial exams. So if most of our classmates intentionally lower their grades, that means we can earn fewer class points," I replied.

"I think I understand, but how many do you want to intentionally lower? If you lower your grades too much, you might be at risk of expulsion," Matsushita commented.

"That's true, but the maximum passing grade you can get is 50 points. And for that to happen, we would have to score 100 points in all subjects, and it would have to be all students. Something impossible for Class D. Not even with a God's miracle could we get a perfect score," I said.

"Then let me help you too, it would be better if we could lower the class average grades, even a little, to make sure no one gets expelled and affects our class," Matsushita offered her help.

I gave her a thumbs up to show that I agreed with her before taking the last sip of my Coca-Cola.

"Damn it... it's all gone," I muttered dejectedly.

I placed my empty Coca-Cola can on the table before looking out the window, thinking about the class points we could get. I remember that the class points for June weren't shown in the light novel (aside from mentioning that Class D had again 0). So, I'm somewhat worried about what might happen to those 78 class points.

Well, there's no point in worrying about it now, besides, I'm getting hungry, as it's getting late. So, I'll take the opportunity to eat while I drink another Coca-Cola.

I glanced at Matsushita, who was deep in thought as she held the empty glass in her hand, slowly swirling the ice inside and swinging her leg.

"Hey Matsushita, do you want to eat something? I'm a bit hungry, so I'm going to cook," I said.

"Home-cooked food made by you? Sure, I'd love to try it," Matsushita smiled at me.

I returned the smile before walking to the kitchen. It wasn't a bad day overall, even if Matsushita found me out. It was nice to have someone to talk to on these boring days.

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May 29th, Friday.

"Good morning, Class D," Chabashira-sensei smiled at the rigid appearance of everyone. "It seems there are no absences. Everyone is here... This will be your first hurdle to stay in school. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Everyone has been working their hardest over the past few weeks, Chabashira-sensei. I don't think anyone in our class will fail," Yōsuke commented.

"Hm, seems like you're very confident, Hirata," Chabashira-sensei's smile didn't change, instead she nodded in response to Yōsuke's answer.

All the students also had a confident look. Arranging the exams and tapping them against the desk, Chabashira-sensei passed them out. The first period is social studies. I guess you could call it the easiest test of all the subjects.

If anyone fails here, then God help them. Because the other exams were much harder than the previous ones.

"This midterm exam will be the basis of your academic studies. After taking this, you'll have your final exams in July. If no one fails the midterms, then the school will reward you with a nice vacation during the summer break."

"Vacation?"

"Yes, a dream vacation on an island surrounded by bright blue sea," Chabashira-sensei responded.

If...

A "survival" summer vacation really sounds pleasant, I thought sarcastically.

"What's with this pressure...?" A voice I didn't recognize murmured. But I was sure it was one of the background characters.

A smile crossed my face. Chabashira-sensei took a step back from the obvious pressure exuded by the students... mostly coming from the guys.

"Let's all do our best!" Ike shouted.

"Yes!"

I chuckled to myself as I shook my head, because the class morale increased two or threefold, all thanks to Ike's misguided enthusiasm.

Matsushita looked at me with a raised eyebrow, as if she was impressed by something. Even Karuizawa gave me a look I couldn't read. Did I do something?

Anyway, Social Studies, Chemistry, Japanese, Mathematics, and English, that was the order of the subjects we would take.

It was a bit strange from my perspective because in my country the subjects didn't really change. Or rather, in the school I went to, they didn't change. It was always the basic subject for the curriculum.

But in high schools in most Asian countries, they change their curriculum every semester, because that's how they operate.

In no time, the exam papers were handed out to everyone. And with the teacher's signal, everyone started at the same time.

I instantly scanned the paper to see if it was the same as the previous ones.

Alright, the questions are identical to the old exam questions, I thought with a small smile.

There was no difference between the questions. If my classmates memorized the answers correctly, then everyone could get a perfect score in all subjects. I looked to the side and saw Matsushita looking with a smile. We both nodded.

I just hoped we could rack up more points for our class.

I glanced around the classroom to see how my classmates were doing. No one was confused or impatient, which meant everyone had studied properly.

Great! It was time to tackle my exam.

Time passed and we finally finished our Mathematics exam. The students could finally take a break.

Everyone in the class started gathering with their respective groups; I could see from the corner of my eye that Kushida, Horikita, Sudō, Ike, Yamauchi, and Ayanokōji were gathering in one group.

The girls who were in Yōsuke's study group had gathered to talk about how they did on the exam. Azuma, Ishikura, Shinohara, Karuizawa, Matsushita.

Meanwhile, I approached the study group I was placed in when I went to the library that day. Mii-chan, Inogashira, Maezono, Satō, and Okitani. Although they now had Ichihashi Ruri added to their group, because Kushida was in another group.

"How did everyone do?" I asked them as I gestured to greet them.

"I-I think we did well, Nakatomi-san. The exam questions helped with a lot of questions. So, no problem," Inogashira replied.

"Yeah! I thought Math was going to be the most complicated subject to pass. But I'll probably get more than 85 points or more. The study plan you gave us, Nakatomi-kun~ along with your explanations made it a lot easier," Maezono replied with a smile.

"I have to agree. I couldn't memorize all the math questions, but even knowing that. I can be sure I'll pass Math. I also have to thank you, Mii-chan, if it wasn't for your study plan in the other subjects, I'd be in trouble! So, thank you!" Okitani thanked both me and Mii-chan.

"True! Mii-chan and Nakatomi-kun helped us a lot. If you had taught me differently, I might have had a lower score," Ichihashi said.

Our eyes turned to Satō, to hear her response.

"I-I'm sure I'll pass. I admit I'm not one of the best academically, but I probably got a good score in all subjects," Satō reassured us.

I gave her a thumbs-up as I smiled. Making Satō look away.

Still with the thumbs up, I pointed to myself. "I'm sure I'll pass all the subjects too. By the way, thanks for teaching me English, Mii-chan. Your explanation along with the questions Kushida gave was a godsend."

Then after that, I raised both hands to high-five with my group. We all started high-fiving each other. Even the shy Mii-chan and Inogashira made the gesture.

"Now it's just the English subject left. Are you all prepared?" I asked them once we had finished our little celebration.

"Yes. Mii-chan has prepared us for this moment. I'm ready!" Okitani exclaimed as she dramatically threw a fist in the air.

The rest of our group nodded enthusiastically as they smiled. Everyone was absolutely ready to take the English exam.

Unfortunately, I would have to lower my grade intentionally to have an extra safety net for Sudō. I wasn't sure if I was going to get the same score as the light novel or if I was going to get a better score than that.

When the bell rang, the exam began. While everyone else was solving their exams, Sudō was having trouble with the exam, occasionally banging his head, but then he would make a gesture as if he remembered something before writing on the paper.

I looked down at my exam paper as I drummed my fingers on my left desk. With my right hand, I held my pencil as I twirled it with my fingers.

Let's see... How much should I get?

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​After the exam ended, I approached where Mii-chan and Inogashira were talking. When I got closer, I greeted them and they returned the gesture. Then I gestured for the other people in our group to come closer.

We all gathered around.

"Do you guys want to go to lunch at Keyaki Mall? Don't worry about using your points. I'll treat," I asked, feeling generous.

The whole group looked at me in surprise.

"Really? Wow- Ouch!" Okitani was about to cheer but was interrupted when she received an elbow from Maezono. Causing her to grab the affected area.

"Are you sure? I don't want to refuse, but we also don't want you to spend too many points," Maezono commented.

"Yeah, Nakatomi-san, I don't think it's necessary. We can also pay so you don't spend too much," Inogashira said.

Mii-chan nodded sheepishly in agreement.

I sighed. "Look, I understand you're worried about my private points. But you guys have worked hard so you deserve it, Plus I still had plenty of points left. Since I'm quite thrifty."

"Alright, if you insist," Ichihashi said.

Once the whole group had accepted my invitation, Mii-chan's group cheered happily after our midterm exams. All we have to do now is rest quietly while we wait for the results.

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June 1st, Monday.

Finally, the day of the results arrived.

As I entered the classroom, Chabashira-sensei looked around surprised. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the results of the midterm exams.

"Sensei, I heard that the results will be released today, but when exactly?" Yōsuke raised a question.

"No need to be so excited about it, Hirata. You probably passed."

"When will they be announced?"

"Hmm, well. I was supposed to show you the results in the classroom later, but getting to it now instead of later isn't really a bad idea."

It seems Chabashira is in a better mood than usual.

Chabashira-sensei took out a poster and stuck it on the board. When she looked back at us, Chabashira-sensei had a satisfied smile.

"Honestly, good job. I didn't think this class would do well. There were more than a few of you who got a perfect score in all areas."

The students around me started celebrating their grades, but I knew there could be a student who might have failed, so I quickly looked for it.

Sudō's first four scores were between 65-70 points. Sudō's English grade was 44 points.

"Hell yeah!" Sudō cheered after seeing his scores.

Sudō had the lowest score in English, but his scores were much higher than his simulated test results. After doing some calculations, the passing grade must be 43 points. Sudō barely passed the subject by just 1 point.

Therefore, there was no red line on the paper. Matsushita and I looked at each other and sighed in relief. Yōsuke was grinning from ear to ear as he watched our classmates celebrate.

Yōsuke looked at me and nodded in thanks. I gave him a thumbs up.

"You see that, Sensei? When we set our minds to it, we can do it!"

Ike had a triumphant smile.

"Yes, I acknowledge it. You did well. However, Sudō passed by the skin of his teeth. If he doesn't want to be expelled in the next June exams, then he'll have to work harder."

Chabashira-sensei wrote a formula on the board.

The class was surprised when Chabashira stepped aside so everyone could see what she had written.

She wrote [85.8/2=42.9]

"The last test, and this test as well, each class has a passing grade set. And that grade was half the average," Chabashira explained.

"What? But I thought the passing grade was 32 points," Sudō said, sweat on his forehead. Although he seemed relieved to have passed, Sudō was confused.

"When did anyone say the passing grade is 32?" Chabashira-sensei responded.

The whole class went from being excited to an uncomfortably silent state, for my taste. Chabashira deliberately killed the mood of happiness.

"The passing grade for this exam is 43. Which means you could have been expelled with a grade lower than 43. So, Class D. I hope in the next exams no one gets expelled."

No one said anything when they realized how serious the situation could become. If everyone had the mindset that the passing grade would always be 32 points, then there could be serious consequences for the students.

That's why Chabashira-sensei crushed our illusion early.

"As no one has a question, then-"

Before Chabashira could continue with the other class announcement, Horikita raised her hand. In her unusual life, Horikita had never voluntarily commented during class.

"That's unusual, Horikita. You're raising your hand. What's your question?"

"I calculated the average of the simulated test at 64.4. Dividing it in half, you get 32.2. In other words, higher than 32. Despite that, the passing grade was 32 points by removing the decimal point. I want to know why the passing grade is 43 points, instead of 42 points."

"I see. Well, let me tell you one more thing. Unfortunately, there's an error in your formula. Instead of removing the decimal point, we round up the tests. The last test rounded to 32, and this test rounded to 43."

Horikita didn't say anything, instead she just clicked her tongue, annoyed at having been wrong.

"Well then since no one has questions, let's move on to the next topic: Class Points for June."

As the atmosphere in our class turned somber, I pulled out my phone to check my private points.

115,345 PPt.

I have more private points because I made bets with upperclassmen. It wasn't that difficult to earn points when people were desperate to gain points through deceit.

I chuckled amusedly. My act of being a rookie idiot in betting games earned me some private points. I didn't intend to gamble, but I did it because Sudō was at risk of expulsion.

I couldn't know if I was going to fail by one point or two, but it turned out it wasn't necessary. So, good for me. Now I have credits on my "credit card."

Anyway, back to the topic.

This month we only received 5,500 private points. That meant instead of gaining class points, we had lost class points. Because of this, the class morale plummeted.

For this reason, I was silently glaring at the idiots who had caused us to lose points with disguised fury.

Chabashira placed another paper on the board.

Class Points (June):

Class A: 910 cl (-30)

Class B: 568 cl (-82)

Class C: 410 cl (-40)

Class D: 55 cl (-23)​

I sighed in relief. I thought we were the only ones losing points, but it seems we're not the only ones affected. All the classes lost points so that's a good thing.

After mentally calculating the deducted points in each class, I realized that in terms of points lost, our class had the least amount of points lost.

Anyway, how did Class B lose so many points? They're the ones who have the best sense of unity, so losing class points for misconduct in class seems a bit absurd.

I think I read about this, but I barely remember. All I know is that Class C had something to do with the points loss. It was mentioned in one volume, although I don't remember which one.

"Unfortunately, despite all the efforts you put into this exam, it's not enough. You may have improved in behavior compared to before, but it seems you're still quite foolish if you thought doing things discreetly wouldn't affect you."

Chabashira-sensei, after congratulating us for passing our May exams, began to mock us for our faulty thinking.

"The points you could have gained from the exams went down the drain, due to the points loss you had because of your behavior. But you should be glad that this time you're lucky. All the classes lost points this month. Class B is the most affected."

I looked at Matsushita, who had a thoughtful look at what sensei had just said. I couldn't prevent us from losing points. Although I didn't understand why my classmates did things discreetly when they knew we were being monitored. But well, there are always idiots in the world.

At least now I have Kushida and Yōsuke supporting me. So, I'll talk to them to control the class so that next month we don't lose any points.

Regardless, we've overcome the first obstacle. No one was expelled and we have the least amount of points lost, so it was a good outcome.

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End of Volume 1.

Author Note:

There are a couple of things I would like to address regarding the light novel.

First of all, I want to address the class points. In the light novel, we are told that all the students in the school take a quarterly exam at the end of each month.

Chabashira-sensei states that, in Volume 1. Before the students of class D take the final exams in May. In which she tells us:

-- "If no one fails on this midterm and the finals in July, everyone will get a summer vacation."

The class points for June are not really shown in the novel (other than explaining to us that Class D had 0 points again. We learn this in volume two, in Ayanokouji's thoughts.

-- There are two types of points; the one at the end is listed as "cl". It stands for "class", and it lists how many points the class has. It isn´t what everyone individually has, but rather, the points the class itself has. Next to our class, class D, it showed that we had "0 cl" since June. In other words, we don´t have any points. Another type is "pr". It stands for "private", and it shows our individual points.

So I had to create my own class points for the month of June.

Class A: 940 (+94) (-124) → 910 ↓30

Class B: 650 (+90) (-172) → 568 ↓82

Class C: 450 (+85) (-125) → 410 ↓40

Class D: 78 (+86) (-109) → 55 ↓23

First, the reason they gained 86 points can be done in two ways. First, using the overall average, which is 85.8 rounded up to 86 class points. You can also do it using the passing grade, 43 + 43 equals 86. Why is it added twice? Well, remember that the overall average was divided by two and rounded up to 43.

I also want to tell you that you can get more than 100 points in the exams. Well, for you to understand, you have to read the line that Chabashira-sensei presents us in Volume 2:

-- "It's too soon to celebrate. All the other classes saw a similar increase in their points. We haven't closed the gap at all. This could just be a reward that first-year students receive for passing the semester. Each class has gained at least 100 points."

They don't confirm anything about how much the reward for passing the semester might be. But I want you to know that this line might interfere with the class points regarding July.

I also looked up on Internet-chan: how many semesters are in Japan, and when they start and end.

-- School Calendar: For most elementary, junior high, and high schools, the school year in Japan starts on April 1st and is divided into three terms: from April to July, from September to December, and from January to March.

I'm still not sure how I'll interfere with the rewards, but I'm telling you this so you understand the idea.

Now I'm going to explain the reason why you lost class points. In case you're wondering, the significant decrease in Ichinose's class was probably caused by "the problem" that Ryuuen created for her class.

Ichinose mentions it in Volume 2, after they save Sakura:

-- "To tell you the truth, there was a dispute between the students of Class B and Class C previously. That time, however, the school didn't get involved. Someone named Ryuuen-kun was the mastermind behind that.

"Ryuuen? I don't recognize the name."

"That's because he hasn't found any reason to reveal himself yet. There's no reason for you to know him."

Ichinose, who always looked so bright, now seemed gloomy and somber.

"I'm very wary of all the first-year students here. I think he made Sudou-kun seem like a liar, and he instigated the dispute with Class B for his own interests. He's a formidable opponent."

"When Class B had problems, did you manage to find a peaceful solution?"

"Somehow, yes. However, if you look at it as a game, I can't say if I won or lost... Anyway, I think because what he devised was easier to see through this time, I've started to understand how this school is structured. You should be careful."

Ryuuen mentions it in Volume 11 during the selection exam:

-- "Remember when we first entered the school, when I made some arrangements to attack Class B?"

"...When you tried to blame them?"

Under Ryueen's orders, there was a dispute against Class B, trying to provoke guilt.

To confirm each class's potential, Ryueen caused a great uproar.

It was one of those events where Ishizaki had trouble with Sudou and Ryueen secretly contacted Katsuragi.

"And how did it end?"

"It had no effect. That class has had a strong sense of unity from the beginning, hasn't it?"

"Yes. They have more unity and cohesion than any other class."

Anyway, I based that on the class points for June for Class B.

For the other classes, I based it on the fact that: Sakayanagi's class (current volumes) had a reduction in points due to the internal rift they had from having two class leaders at the time. Ryuuen's class, despite having his class led by a dictator, has several people in his class who still oppose him, and Class D... well, they're idiots.

Second, the results of Class D for the May test:

(Imagen)

As you can notice, the average is different compared to the canon of the light novel, which was 40 points to pass. Let's remember that Nakatomi solved the problem of the topics they should study. Therefore, Class D had much more time to study and get a better score.

You can also notice that the study group Nakatomi was in performed much better compared to other study groups. That's because of the collaborative effort of Mii-chan and Nakatomi to teach the other members.

Another thing I want to point out is that since Class D had more time to study, the three idiots were more prepared for their exams. Therefore, Horikita wasn't forced to lower her scores in English or, in other words, didn't intentionally lower the points.

One last thing, the names I added to the story, replacing the unnamed characters are:

Shione Togawa and Kobayashi Satomi. These names I added are not canon in the light novel.

I also want to mention that I added names to some characters who only confirmed their last name. For example, we were only given Maezono's last name. But since I added a name, now it's called Maezono Tanaka.

I think that's all I want to clarify. So, I thank each and every one of you who expressed praise for the story. I love you all, guys and gals.

By the way, finding the fragments of the novel was a bit complicated, at first I wanted to screen the paragraphs, but being Spanish and it was much easier to find them in my native language, since in English it was very difficult, so I took the decision to translate them and tried not to modify it when translating it.

This marks the end of Volume 1. Thank you for reading, everyone.

Looking forward to Volume 2! XD