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At 8:30 AM, Chabashira finally entered the first-year Class D classroom. Her gaze specifically swept over Akira before she lightly tapped the podium with her fingertip. "The morning assembly will now begin. Before we start, does anyone have any questions?"
The classroom was silent, and most students tacitly shook their heads.
"Hmph—" Chabashira let out a light laugh. "Of course, you've all already figured out the S-System completely."
She suddenly held up the folder in her hand. "You did well this time. Last month, you both bought information and rented surveillance equipment. Thanks to these two measures, there were a total of twelve late arrivals and absences, eighteen instances of whispering and using mobile phones in class, plus other violations outside the classroom... In the end, first-year Class D's class points are five hundred thirty points."
The classroom immediately erupted in an uproar.
"Wait! Didn't we rent surveillance? How could we still be deducted points for being late or absent?" Yamauchi suddenly stood up, shouting with a bewildered expression.
"Exactly! Weren't the surveillance data deleted? How could playing on our phones in class still be discovered?" Other classmates also chimed in.
Chabashira coldly scanned the restless classroom, crossing her arms. "The surveillance authority was indeed yours last month, but couldn't the school authorities save the first week's surveillance data in advance? Use your brains."
"What?!" Yamauchi's eyes widened exaggeratedly. "Then what was the point of us spending so many points to rent surveillance!"
Chabashira impatiently tapped the podium. "That's your business, don't ask me! Can't you think for yourselves?"
She changed her tone. "One of the main purposes of today's class meeting, the first thing, is to let you see how big the gap is between Class D and the other three classes." With that, she took a magnet from her pocket and slapped a class report card onto the blackboard, reading out each class's current points. "Class A currently has nine hundred fifty points, Class B has seven hundred ninety points, Class C has six hundred forty points, and Class D has five hundred thirty points. In other words, Class D is still the lowest-ranked class! Even if you try your hardest, you can at most follow behind Class C, let alone Class B and Class A."
Akira raised an eyebrow slightly.
Class A remaining at the top was expected, and Class B and Class C's points had also increased significantly, each gaining over a hundred points.
It was almost exactly as he'd predicted.
"How are the other classes' scores so high too?"
"Did they also discover the hidden rules?"
"That's impossible! We even used surveillance equipment, how could we still not win?"
Chabashira coldly scanned the restless students, a hint of mockery appearing at the corner of her lips. "Don't be naive. Do you think you're the only ones who can play clever tricks? The people in other classes aren't fools either."
"Moving on to the second matter, last month's monthly exam results are out. To be honest, your scores are terrible, one could say they're appalling!" Chabashira paused briefly, then continued to post another report card on the blackboard. "You should already know that if you fail even one subject in the midterms or finals, you'll be expelled, right? As for this exam, if it were the midterm exam, all students who scored less than thirty-two in Japanese Language would be subject to expulsion. However, I didn't expect there to be so many people! It truly is a result fitting for you defective products!"
"Finally... the third matter... this month, we need to re-elect a class representative! Whether Kushida continues or someone else is chosen, you decide!"
"In any case, if you don't want to be expelled, then study hard for the next three weeks, at least to get through this midterm exam." After saying this, Chabashira turned and walked out of the classroom.
As soon as Chabashira left the classroom, Class D immediately erupted into an uproar.
"What's the deal with the surveillance?!"
"Kushida-san... this is completely different from what was said initially..."
"What does 'defective products' mean? Does that mean class assignments weren't random at all? This might explain why Class A has the highest class points."
Kushida and Hirata, standing in the center of the classroom, exchanged helpless glances.
The well-intentioned lie woven to maintain class morale now seemed so pale in the face of the iron-clad report card.
This boomerang had, after all, come back to hit them.
Akira paid no attention to the commotion in the classroom.
He walked straight to the podium, his gaze fixed on the exam report card on the blackboard.
'Since things have come to this, I should first look at the exam results.'
There were five subjects in this school's exams: Japanese Language, Mathematics, English, Sociology, and Chemistry.
Akira carefully examined the report card and found that the top students in the class generally met his expectations.
Horikita, Koenji, and Yukimura's scores were particularly outstanding, with all subjects above ninety points, firmly securing positions in the top five of the class.
However, as Akira's gaze continued to move down, two unusually striking scores caught his attention.
Ayanokoji's scores in all subjects were uniformly fifty points, for a total of two hundred fifty points—while Matsushita was slightly better, maintaining around sixty points in each subject, for a total of exactly three hundred points.
'Is this a joke? One two hundred fifty points, one three hundred points?'
'Ayanokoji! Your deliberate score suppression is too obvious, you're not even trying to act anymore, are you!'
'As for Matsushita... although she's a bit stronger than Ayanokoji, it's only marginally stronger!'
'Are you two so blatantly manipulating your scores?'
Akira's lips twitched uncontrollably, and he couldn't help but look back at the two of them.
Ayanokoji remained quietly seated, seemingly noticing Akira's gaze. He subtly scratched his head, displaying an embarrassed expression of having "failed the exam."
Matsushita, on the other hand, was mixed in with Karuizawa's small group, smiling and saying that she'd "barely passed."
This deliberate mediocrity made Akira find it quite amusing.
However, he no longer had time to continue complaining about the two's acting skills, because the report card on the podium finally showed his own section:
Mathematics: 100 points
English: 98 points
Sociology: 91 points
Chemistry: 93 points
Japanese Language: 29 points
This score firmly placed him in the top ten of the class.
The top ten of Class D, though it didn't really mean much.
Aside from the red flag in Japanese Language, all other subjects yielded excellent results.
Being first in both Mathematics and English was no surprise to him—these were skills he'd mastered in his previous life's work, and handling high school exams was certainly achievable.
Chemistry, as a science subject, also didn't stump him, a former science student. As he reviewed more deeply, dormant memories gradually awakened, and solving problems naturally became second nature.
As for Sociology, it was mostly objective questions relying on rote memorization, plus a few open-ended short answers, which also put no pressure on him.
'But this Japanese Language score...'
Akira looked at the glaring "29 points" and rubbed his temples helplessly.
'As expected, I still can't do it?'