"What Kouenji-san said is basically correct. The truth is laid out before you, yet you don't even have the courage to accept it? This month, your points are zero."
Chabashira-sensei's words caused everyone clinging to a last shred of hope to collapse.
Thud!!
A muffled thud, like a clap of thunder, drew everyone's attention.
Sudo slammed his fist on the desk.
"Why are only our points zero? Sensei, don't you think you should give us an explanation? Don't you feel ashamed that only your students have zero points?"
Amane's eyes widened.
She hadn't expected Sudo, a muscle-bound man, to be able to speak so clearly and logically.
Because Chabashira-sensei's explanation was too shocking, everyone had overlooked one question: if they had zero points, how did that zero come about?
"You want an explanation, do you? No problem, I'll give you one right now. Listen carefully! Since the start of school, there have been a total of ninety-eight instances of tardiness and absence, and three hundred ninety-one instances of private conversations or phone usage during class. Is that not enough?"
Sudo saw that Chabashira-sensei had actually given him detailed data, and he was momentarily speechless.
Being late, leaving early, and playing on his phone—wasn't that his daily routine?
He had never expected that these would become deductions from class points.
"Chabashira-sensei, are there specific deduction standards for these items?"
Horikita's emotions had somewhat calmed. She knew that the current situation was irreversible. All she could do now was try to avoid future point deductions. As long as there were detailed deduction standards, most people would likely choose to comply for the sake of their points.
"Horikita-san, do you have no common sense? In a company, does HR assessment tell you the contents of the assessment in advance?"
Chabashira-sensei said mockingly.
"But this is a school, not a company. The school's approach is a bit too strict."
Horikita's rebuttal received support from Hirata-san.
"Indeed, like this situation now, suddenly leaving everyone in Class D unable to cope with their future lives, while it might encourage discipline, forced acceptance is far less effective than finding ways to guide everyone to correct their mistakes."
Hirata-san paused and looked at everyone with gentle eyes. He was now speaking on behalf of all the students who would be struggling with points this month, even though a considerable number of these people disliked him.
"Furthermore, I can't imagine that students who can't even secure their livelihoods would have more inclination to focus on their studies."
Hirata-san's tone was somewhat sad.
Unfortunately, Chabashira-sensei had seen such situations many times. Even the most emotional words would not cause any emotional fluctuations in Chabashira-sensei. The first time she encountered such a thing, she might have been a little moved. Now, she was so numb that she found Hirata-san's words utterly ridiculous and childish.
"Let me answer you individually. First, Horikita-san, everyone will eventually enter society. No matter how outstanding and excellent you are on campus, society is the most accurate detector. The school's purpose is to send talented individuals who can adapt to society, not to send out failures."
After Chabashira-sensei finished speaking, she didn't even glance at Horikita. Her gaze immediately turned to Hirata-san.
"Hirata-san's words are somewhat laughable. You say it affects studying... Do those who usually don't study actually study properly? Also, as for your daily life, you can rest assured. The school has enough free supplies to sustain your lives. As long as you want to live, you will absolutely not starve to death."
After Chabashira-sensei finished speaking, she walked back to the podium. She propped herself up on the podium with both hands, looking down at everyone below, her expression full of expectation. She was anticipating whether anyone else would ask such a ridiculous question. The Class D students were unwilling to accept reality, struggling like pitiful wretches.
Amane glanced at Horikita, who had returned to her seat. Horikita's expression wasn't very good. Clearly, she also realized that no matter how hard she tried, the outcome wouldn't change. But... was this enough? Amane felt it wasn't. Some things had to be said now. This was also the task Horikita Manabu had entrusted to her: "Let Horikita Suzune witness her own insignificance."
Amane raised her hand again.
"If you can't hold it in..."
"Chabashira-sensei, I'd like to ask if our class assignments are random or if there's a pattern?"
Amane's words immediately drew Horikita's gaze.
"It should be random assignment."
Horikita didn't know why, but she started to feel uneasy. To dispel this feeling, she spoke up, answering for Chabashira-sensei.
"It seems someone has already figured it out, huh? That's right, the class order is linked to individual ability. The excellent ones are in Class A, and you are merely flawed, defective products."
No sooner had Chabashira-sensei finished speaking than a boy wearing glasses shot up to his feet.
"How can that be! I cannot accept the school's class assignments like this. I want to apply for the school to re-evaluate me personally."
Amane had no impression of this boy. She had originally wanted to ask Ayanokoji, who was also a boy, but when she turned around, she saw that Ayanokoji also had a confused look on his face. Uh... perhaps asking Ayanokoji about the names of his classmates would be a rather difficult task, because Ayanokoji's social circle might only consist of the few of them.
"What can you do if you don't accept it? Do you really think this class point ranking isn't enough to prove superiority or inferiority? Well then, I'll show you another document."
Chabashira-sensei then attached another piece of paper to the blackboard, also secured with magnets. The first half was names, and the second half was numbers. Anyone with a slightly normal intellect should be able to guess what it was.
"I don't need to say more about these, do I? Excluding the few at the front, most of the scores are around sixty, and Sudo even scored an incredible fourteen points. If this were a real exam, seven people would have been expelled right after the start of school."
Chabashira-sensei's words exploded like a bolt from the blue.
"Chabashira-sensei, what are you talking about? I've never heard of this school having a rule about expulsion!"
Yamauchi cried out anxiously.
"Oh? Did I not mention it? In this school, if you fail one subject in either the midterm or final exams, you will be expelled. Taking this exam as an example, anyone who scores below thirty-two points will be expelled."
On Chabashira-sensei's paper, there was a shocking red line. The list below it contained exactly seven names—students whose scores were all within thirty-two points. Among the seven, the highest score, Kikuchi, was only thirty-one points.
"So... Yukimura-san, do you understand now why Class D is the worst class? And what does that make you, who were assigned to such a class? Calling you 'defective products' is already being generous. Here, strength determines everything."
"Newbies, welcome to a school where meritocracy rules."
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