"Because you mentioned it before, so I ordered it on my own. Do you not like it?" Ichinose Honami asked softly.
Asakusa Tetsu reached out and touched the glass of the matcha parfait, then shook his head.
"No, it's not that."
He didn't really have any food taboos.
It was just… a bit too cold.
If he ate something like this in the afternoon, would he still be able to eat dinner later?
Thinking that, he lifted his head.
Then he saw Shirahama Chihiro happily eating her strawberry parfait with a blissful expression.
…Well, if they liked it, then it was fine.
But—
"Why are you two having parfaits too?" he asked, looking at Kanzaki Ryuuji and Shibata Sō.
Shibata put another spoonful into his mouth and laughed.
"Isn't it nice to have something sweet once in a while?"
"Besides, today's the first, right?"
Unlike Class D, which had received a zero evaluation, they had gotten the points they deserved.
"…It's just too sweet," Kanzaki muttered quietly.
Raising her spoon high, Shirahama Chihiro said,
"It has to be sweet to be good!"
"Alright, let's put desserts aside for now," Ichinose clapped her hands together.
"Let's get back to the main topic."
"The midterms. What are we going to do?"
Like Class D, Class B's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, had come to their class at the same time and announced the same results.
Class D had zero points.
And Class B—no, now it should be Class A—
Class A had 890 class points.
The former Class A had dropped to second place with 840 points.
Class C kept its position, earning 750 points under Ryuuen's high-pressure rule.
To put it simply, the gap between the three classes wasn't very large.
Logically speaking, even if they had known about the special exam in advance, it should have been difficult to surpass the original Class A.
But—
Sakayanagi Arisu was a monster in internal battles.
And Ryuuen had obtained information from Asakusa early.
With Sakayanagi's deliberate restraint and Ryuuen's calculated attacks, this outcome was only natural.
The reason the gap hadn't widened much was simple.
Yamauchi was too timid.
The behavior exam recorded everything under the cameras.
Trying to harass or provoke Class A would inevitably lower one's own class evaluation as well.
It wasn't impossible to fake being a victim—those cheap tricks were Ryuuen's specialty.
But this was the first month.
Everyone was still testing the school's limits.
How much harassment was allowed?
How far could attacks go?
All of that needed experimentation.
Considering his control over Class C wasn't yet stable, Ryuuen didn't act too aggressively.
Instead, he went in a roundabout way and approached Yamauchi Haruki.
He got close to him.
Put an arm around his shoulder.
Promised him money.
Turned Yamauchi into a pawn to attack Class A and drag Class D's score down as much as possible.
Unfortunately—
Even after taking the money, Yamauchi was still Yamauchi.
He skipped classes and did some small-scale harassment.
If not for Sakayanagi's deliberate leniency, the original Class A would never have fallen.
As for why the former Class B, despite not being harassed, still only got 890 points…
Asakusa skipping class on the first day cost points.
After the information was released, classmates needed time to calm down from their excitement.
In a month, it was impossible to make zero mistakes.
All those little deductions added up.
This result was already quite satisfying.
As for Class C—
Even without covering the cameras on the first day, their baseline quality was low.
Getting 750 only meant Ryuuen's pressure was strong enough.
But after this special exam, they would likely relax.
…Of course, none of that mattered to Asakusa.
Class points.
Class A.
None of it affected him.
If he weren't pretending to be a normal student, he wouldn't even bother staying here.
But while killing time was fine…
Celebrating loudly with everyone else?
That was hard.
He couldn't empathize.
So he clapped along halfheartedly with a few equally awkward classmates, then slipped out once things cooled down.
Officially, he went out to "clear his head."
In reality, he went and scolded Horikita Suzune.
Then gave her a task.
Then went back to class.
Whether she accepted it or not, he didn't care.
He'd said his piece.
After that, most classmates also refocused.
Even though the behavior exam was over, the school would still evaluate class attitude.
They just wouldn't use cameras like magnifying glasses anymore.
The excitement of moving up faded quickly.
And for most students, the real headache was—
The midterms.
Fail, and you're expelled.
Their class wasn't as dangerous as Class D.
Most students were above average.
Only a few hovered near the line.
So only a minority were worried.
For example—
Despite pretending to listen seriously for a month because of Ichinose's warning, while actually daydreaming the whole time—
Only today realizing she might be expelled if she failed—
Shirahama Chihiro.
"From the quiz averages, the passing line is half the class average, right?" Kanzaki said while stuffing more dessert into his mouth.
"In that case, if everyone controls their scores and lowers the average, wouldn't it be fine?"
"No," Ichinose shook her head.
"Everyone's grades reflect their effort."
"And Hoshinomiya-sensei said these results also affect class points."
"She said everyone would get rewards if we pass, but high and low scores still matter."
"Mhm, so Shirahama, you need to work hard," Shibata nodded.
"You too!"
They had gathered here this afternoon to save "Private Shirahama."
But while Asakusa should have joined the discussion…
He hadn't said a word.
His gaze was fixed on someone in the distance.
A fragile-looking silver-haired girl.
What a coincidence.
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