Horikita Suzune Must Be Pushed into the Pit

As Class D was thrown into an uproar by Kouenji's words, their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, finally cast a cold gaze upon everyone present.

"Although Kouenji's attitude is problematic, what he said is indeed true. Honestly, after giving so many hints, only a handful of you were able to figure it out on your own. It's truly pathetic."

"…Sensei, may I ask a question? There's something I don't understand."

Unable to hold back in response to Chabashira's indifferent tone, Class D's leader, Hirata Yousuke, stood up and spoke. "Please tell us the reason we weren't given any points. Otherwise, we won't be able to accept this."

Hikigaya could sense Hirata's intentions. He wasn't asking to protect his own points but was concerned for his classmates, who were beginning to feel anxious.

He really does have the makings of a leader, Hikigaya thought to himself. But unfortunately, most of Class D wouldn't appreciate his efforts.

While Hikigaya was silently observing the class, Chabashira began to speak again in her cold, emotionless tone. "Tardiness and absences, totaling ninety-eight times. Private conversations during class or using your phones—three hundred and ninety-one instances. All of these are mistakes you committed within just one month."

"In this school, class performance is directly reflected in your points. As a result, all the points you were supposed to receive—100,000—were wiped out. That's the simple truth."

"On the day of the entrance ceremony, I believe I made it clear that this school evaluates students based on their abilities. And this time, your evaluation is 'zero.'"

"That's all there is to it."

"…"

Chabashira's words, delivered with the utmost calm and cruelty, plunged the students of Class D into silence.

The room fell into a deathly quiet.

While Hikigaya felt a strange satisfaction at the outcome, the sound of a pencil scribbling broke the silence.

He turned his head and saw Horikita Suzune calmly jotting down the numbers of tardiness, absences, and private conversations mentioned by the teacher.

Is she planning to use that information to analyze the situation?

As expected of Horikita, Hikigaya thought. She was the one he believed had the potential to lead Class D in the future.

In fact, Hikigaya had already conspired with Chabashira to push Horikita into the position of class leader. Now seemed to be the time to make that happen.

"Sensei, I don't remember receiving any explanation about this…" On the other side, Hirata Yousuke, unwilling to give up, continued to speak on behalf of the class, challenging the homeroom teacher who represented the school.

"What? You can't understand unless it's explicitly explained to you?"

Chabashira's demeanor remained completely unfazed by his words. Her expression was as cold as ever, almost terrifyingly so.

"Of course! We were never told that our point allocation would be reduced," Hirata said, grasping at straws. "If we had been properly informed, no one would have been late or talked during class."

Seeing Hirata, who thought he had found an opening, Chabashira responded with a calm, almost indifferent smile.

"Hirata, your words are truly remarkable. It's true, I don't recall explaining the exact rules for point allocation… But tell me, have you never learned not to be late or talk during class in elementary or middle school?"

"You must remember, right? Yes, during the nine years of compulsory education—being late or talking during class is bad. You must have heard that so many times by now. If you had simply done what was expected of you, at the very least, you wouldn't have ended up with zero points."

"You're just first-year high school students. Did you really think you'd be able to use 100,000 points every month without any restrictions? And in a school established by the Japanese government to nurture exceptional talent, no less? If you had used common sense, you'd realize that's impossible. Why did you ignore such obvious doubts?"

Hirata Yousuke's resistance was destined to fail.

Because, at its core, this was a battle between students and the rules set by the school administration. And students, being the weaker side, had no means to win.

Realizing this, Hirata looked frustrated but quickly steeled himself. His eyes locked onto the teacher's, filled with resolve.

"Then, at the very least, tell us the details of how points are added or subtracted so we can use them as a reference for the future."

"This is impossible. The details of the personnel assessment, in accordance with the school's rules, cannot be disclosed. It's the same in society—when you step into the workplace, whether or not the specifics of a personnel review are shared with you is up to the company."

Chabashira Sae's face curled into a sadistic smile, one that sent a chill down the spines of the Class D students.

"However... it's not out of hatred that I'm being so cold toward you. The situation is just that bleak, so I'll give you some good news. Even if you start improving your attendance or stop chatting during class, the class points will remain at zero next month, just like they are now."

"Because only by raising the class points will you be granted any points for distribution. In other words, from this point forward, it doesn't matter if you're late or absent."

"How does that sound? You won't lose anything by keeping that in mind."

What kind of twisted school is this?

Seeing the confusion on the faces of most of the students in the class, Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a deep disgust for the school's cruel and warped nature, a feeling so strong it made his skin crawl.

This is truly a meritocratic nightmare...

Meanwhile, Horikita Suzune stood frozen between comprehension and confusion. Her complex expression showed she hadn't fully grasped the meaning behind Chabashira's words.

"Is the homeroom teacher deliberately saying all this to crush our motivation to improve classroom discipline?"

She could only understand the most superficial layer of it, believing that Chabashira was simply trying to suppress the enthusiasm of Class D students who were attempting to better themselves, hoping that those who wanted to improve their punctuality and participation would lose heart.

However, such an interpretation was just a kinder, more optimistic view. The true ugliness of this world often hides in far darker places.

In order for Horikita Suzune to become someone who could truly carry the flag of Class D in the future, Hikigaya decided to speak up: "I don't think that's exactly what Chabashira-sensei meant."

"What did you say?"

Surprised that Hikigaya would contradict her, Horikita's brow furrowed slightly. Previously, when Hikigaya had predicted that the class points were at zero, she no longer looked down on his dead-fish eyes, but now she was perplexed.

"If that's not the case, then what is the homeroom teacher trying to say?"

Seeing her pure, naive expression, Hikigaya hesitated slightly, feeling reluctant to shatter her innocent view of the world.

Unfortunately, given that he had already formed an unholy alliance with Chabashira Sae, he had no choice but to push Horikita into the fire.