Protection Points—at least Kaoru had never heard of them from upperclassmen.
According to Mashima Tomoya's explanation, they were clearly a powerful tool against expulsion.
They could only be used by the individual and could not be transferred to others.
Even with such restrictions, it was still an astonishing reward.
Kaoru couldn't help but think that if the school's reforms were like this, it might not be so bad.
With special rules and the upcoming OAA, the reforms proposed by Nagumo indeed felt like they leaned toward a meritocratic individualism.
In addition to the first-place winner in Praise Votes receiving Protection Points, the last-place student in Criticism Votes would naturally face corresponding penalties.
"Since the essence of this additional exam is that none of you have been expelled so far, I believe you should understand what the consequence of ranking last is."
Mashima looked at each student and, under the uneasy gazes of some, calmly uttered a chilling words.
Expulsion.
"This is the result for the last-place student, so please consider your votes carefully."
Mashima added, "Though I doubt any of you will take it seriously."
"Ex... expulsion!?
"Compared to some people's panic, Katsuragi wore a peculiar expression.
Having understood Mashima's hint, he silently raised his hand.
"Katsuragi-kun, do you have something to ask?" Mashima's expression remained unchanged.
Katsuragi immediately responded, "Can the remedial measure mentioned earlier be used?"
At this, the entire class simultaneously turned their gaze toward Morishita Ai.
The intense stares made her slightly uncomfortable, though she understood their meaning.
Mashima finally revealed a faint smile, recalling Chabashira Sae's grim expression in the office.
"Yes, but there's a slight change in the price."
The homeroom teacher explained, "Considering this is an additional exam, the school has removed the 300 Class Points threshold for you. In other words, you now only need to pay 20 million Personal Points to save the expelled student."
The remedial measure originally had two thresholds - Class Points and Personal Points.
The temporary removal of the Class Points requirement was the result of negotiations between the homeroom teachers and the acting chairman.
However, such details couldn't be shared with the students below the podium. Most probably didn't even know the chairman had been replaced.
"We currently have 31.03 million Personal Points."
Morishita Ai's tone was calm, as if she were merely stating how many bread rolls they had to eat.
Even knowing they had been saving Personal Points, Mashima couldn't help being surprised.
Such an exaggerated amount accumulated in just one year.
Maintaining this state, Mashima suspected this year's Class A might have no expulsions until graduation.
Even Horikita Manabu's class had seen several students drop out midway.
"Hahaha, this exam is useless against us!" Totsuka Yahiko laughed unrestrainedly.
His laughter instantly dissolved the tense atmosphere in the classroom.
Even the usually invisible Yamamura Miki breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was almost terrifying. So we just need to spend 20 million to pass? Doesn't that mean our class can completely ignore this exam?"
"Fortunately we saved our points!"
"Excellent! We're getting a Protection Point for free!"
Instantly, Class A of the first year was filled with cheerful laughter.
Indeed, there was no helping it - theirs was the only class in the entire grade that could produce 20 million Personal Points in one go, allowing them to completely disregard this additional exam.
At this moment, other classes were likely suffering and lamenting.
However, Kaoru felt somewhat conflicted.
Ichinose Honami didn't have that many Personal Points.
Her class would inevitably face the most difficult decision since school began.
No matter who got expelled, it would be painful for her.
He checked his phone - his personal balance was reassuring and could definitely help, but he didn't know if she would accept it.
Setting aside Class B for now, Class C should be fine.
Since Manabe had aligned with him, Kaoru had been careful about her conduct, advising her to avoid conflicts within her class.
His reasoning had been simple - given Manabe's impulsive nature, he worried she might be targeted in exams.
So far, Manabe and others had faithfully followed his advice.
As Mashima Tomoya said, this completely anonymous voting process was perfect for backstabbing.
Nominally called Criticism Votes, it was essentially Ostracism—the entire class would decide who to exile.
The lesson from history is that people tend to write down the names of those they dislike, resulting in unpopular individuals with poor reputations being particularly vulnerable.
Thus, Kaoru wasn't just worried about Manabe; students like Horikita Suzune, Sakura Airi, and Karuizawa Kei were also at risk.
"While I understand how you feel, please quiet down. I still need to explain the rules of the special exam."
Mashima suppressed the class's commotion and continued writing the rules on the blackboard.
Rule 1: Praise Votes and Criticism Votes influence each other. The result is calculated as Praise Votes minus Criticism Votes.
Rule 2: Students cannot vote for themselves, whether with Praise Votes or Criticism Votes.
Rule 3: It is strictly prohibited to vote for the same person multiple times, or to abstain or leave ballots blank.
Rule 4: The exam will repeat until both a first-place and last-place student are determined. The last-place student will be expelled.
Rule 5: Each student must cast one mandatory Praise Vote for a student from another class.
...
In simple terms, Praise Votes can offset Criticism Votes.
For example, ten Praise Votes offset five Criticism Votes, resulting in a net score of five points.
The final outcome depends on who has the highest and lowest scores.
Naturally, the results cannot be identical.
If Praise Votes and Criticism Votes completely cancel each other out, leaving scores at zero with no first or last place, the school will continue voting according to Rule 4.
Even if there are multiple first-place students, the voting will continue.
This was a forced expulsion exam—either one person gets expelled, or the class meets the remedial threshold.
There was no third option.
This was a critical moment where every student, except those in Class A, faced a major decision.
At this thought, many turned eager eyes toward Sakayanagi Arisu and Morishita Ai.
Morishita Ai tilted her head slightly.
She could understand why Sakayanagi Arisu received such attention—after all, it was Sakayanagi who had emphasized the importance of Personal Points back then.
But why were they looking at her? She hadn't done anything noteworthy.
Unaware that her image had transformed into a walking treasure vault, where even slight movement seemed to produce the clinking sound of gold coins.
A sound like angels singing.