Chapter 219 Matsushita Chiaki: Shimizu Akira is Class D's Heavy Hitter!
She, Matsushita Chiaki, had always held a dream—to enroll in a top-tier university overseas, join an embassy, and eventually shine at the United Nations.
However, this once-firm dream had shattered completely within a few days of starting school. The school she attended was Advanced Nurturing High School—here, only Class A students are granted the freedom to choose their future paths upon graduation, with the school providing full resource support. Students from other classes receive no extra help from the school and must navigate their futures entirely on their own.
In other words, if she wanted to realize her dream concerning the UN, she had to be in Class A by the time she graduated.
Logically, with such a goal, Matsushita Chiaki should have been more proactive in contributing to the class. She should have stepped up to take on leadership roles and exhausted every effort to rise to Class A.
Unfortunately, she was assigned to Class D—the weakest entity among the four classes, packed with a collection of problem students. There was Koenji Rokusuke, who followed his own whims and looked down on everyone; Yamauchi Haruki, who was useless at everything but bragging; and Sudo Ken, a hothead who only knew how to solve problems with his fists and lacked any flexibility.
She had even sought out an upperclassman to investigate, only to be told more discouraging news: since the school's founding, it seemed no class had ever successfully climbed from Class D all the way to Class A by graduation.
Naturally prone to avoiding trouble and hating tedious chores—and wanting no part of class power struggles—she lost all motivation. Thus began her current state of "lying flat." After all, if they were in a Class D with no hope of promotion, why waste effort on a group of problem students?
She was, if nothing else, a realist. Since it would likely be a futile effort and high expectations only lead to greater disappointment, she figured it was best to simply be herself, hide her true capabilities, and avoid trouble. This was the safest choice.
However, the class development in the first month completely exceeded her expectations. By purchasing information and utilizing surveillance footage, the class managed to secure a whopping 530 Class Points. Seeing Koenji's selfishness, Yamauchi's bragging, Sudo's impulsiveness, and Ike's heckling, Matsushita had mentally prepared herself for the worst—thinking that 100 or 200 points would have been a decent result.
Who could have guessed they would end up with 530? This number, far exceeding her expectations, sparked a sliver of hope: maybe this Class D really did have a chance to reach Class A?
Starting from 530, the gap between them and the other classes didn't seem as vast as she had initially thought.
Even so, Matsushita didn't intend to step up and work for the class. Regardless of how her mind wavered, her personality was fundamentally "not suited for taking the lead." That was an unchangeable trait. Consequently, she naturally reached a different conclusion:
'Can't I just find a "leader" in the class who can get things done? That way, I don't have to step out personally, and I can still ride the class's coattails to Class A, right?'
The moment this thought surfaced, the problem that had long bothered her seemed to resolve itself. For her, this was the "optimal solution" that perfectly fit her personality. Why wouldn't she do it? She could avoid being dragged into troublesome class affairs while using someone else's strength to move closer to her dream.
She began mentally cataloging the class: Hirata Yosuke was reliable and wanted to unite everyone, but he was too soft and lacked the "grit" to hold his own against rivals from other classes; Horikita Suzune had leadership and was decisive, but she was too obsessed with "correcting problem students" and lacked social skills, making her an unlikely candidate to lead a charge to Class A.
As for Kushida Kikyo, her social skills were impeccable, and she could manage relationships inside and outside the class smoothly. However, she lacked decisiveness and tended to waver during critical moments. More importantly, in Matsushita's view, Kushida's "raw ability" simply wasn't up to par—she didn't have enough power to truly take the lead.
Besides Hirata, Horikita, and Kushida, were there any other candidates in Class D fit for the role? The answer was yes.
Two candidates stood out: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Shimizu Akira.
In fact, since the first month, Matsushita had been vaguely keeping an eye on these two, feeling they weren't as simple as they appeared. She couldn't quite explain why; perhaps it was because they both emitted a similar "scent" to her own—the smell of someone deliberately concealing their brilliance and avoiding the spotlight. As the saying goes, "those who hide their light are naturally drawn to each other."
Sure enough, when the second month's exam results were released, her gut feeling was completely validated! Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's transcript was absurd—he had scored exactly 50 points on every single subject!
Looking at that transcript, Matsushita felt he was treating everyone else like fools. This wasn't a normal exam; it was a deliberate manipulation of scores! Who on earth scores exactly 50 points in everything? Even if one wanted to hide their strength, they wouldn't make it so glaringly obvious.
Even when she wanted to hide her strength, she carefully controlled her scores to hover around an average of 60: Japanese, Math, English—the scores would fluctuate randomly
between 60 and 70 so as not to look too conspicuous. But Ayanokouji had practically written "I am hiding my strength" across his forehead by getting all 50s.
As for Shimizu Akira, he seemed equally "off the charts" in Matsushita's eyes. His scores weren't necessarily earth-shattering at first glance—a 100 in Math and a 98 in English. But the key was the test itself.
Matsushita remembered clearly that those papers featured knowledge points that shouldn't appear until university! Even though she had pre-studied the entire tenth-grade curriculum, she was helpless against those advanced questions.
She liked to manipulate her scores, and she was used to keeping them in the 60-70 range, but she knew better than anyone: score manipulation is "knowing how to do it but choosing to get it wrong," whereas facing advanced questions is "not knowing how to do it at all." There was no comparison. The fact that Shimizu could get near-perfect scores on a test filled with university-level content proved his raw intelligence far exceeded that of an ordinary high school freshman.
What surprised her even more was that Shimizu had joined the boxing club! According to her friend Karuizawa Kei, Shimizu's fists were also incredibly formidable. To score high on advanced tests and show such strength in the ring—he was the perfect balance of pen and sword.
Thus, very early in the second month, Matsushita had established a clear ranking in her mind: Shimizu Akira was her "Primary Candidate for Leader," and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was the "Secondary Candidate."
Because of this, when Karuizawa and Hasebe Haruka had their dispute, Matsushita had intended to step in for her friend, only to find that Shimizu had the same idea.
They had been in sync. Thinking back to the first month, when she had tested Shimizu's preference for a leader by helping him with a trivial favor, it seemed like a small, quiet step toward "picking a side."
In fact, she had already helped him twice without even realizing it! That was why, after speaking with him that day, she had specifically mentioned it was the "second time"—a subtle reminder that she wasn't following him for no reason.
But who could have guessed that today, she would see her "Primary Candidate" directly give an order to the "Secondary Candidate," Ayanokouji!
Events had unfolded so far beyond her expectations that Matsushita forgot she was supposed to be hiding. Her surprise overwhelmed her caution, and she instinctively jumped out from the shadows to ask her question. From her perspective, if even Ayanokouji obeyed Shimizu so readily, wasn't Shimizu's path to becoming the true leader of Class D practically guaranteed?
Shimizu didn't pay much attention to these details. He only saw the girl before him resting her chin on her hand, her eyes glazed over, clearly lost in thought.
"Matsushita-san, did you need something? If not, I'll be heading out." Shimizu spoke politely. He had a lot to do this morning and didn't want to waste time standing around.
"Oh! Right, I'm sorry!"
Hearing Shimizu's voice, Matsushita snapped out of it, her cheeks flushing slightly. She belatedly realized she had been daydreaming about "leaders" for quite a while, wasting both their time. He was supposed to go hunting—that was serious business! If she delayed him, would Class D even have BBQ tonight?
What made her even more relieved was that after she jumped out without warning, Shimizu didn't interrogate her for eavesdropping; his tone remained polite.
Thinking this, her impression of him improved further.
He was truly a good guy—composed, never putting on airs or acting cold in front of girls, and always keeping a respectful distance. These traits might sound common, but the number of boys in their grade who actually possessed them was very small.
"Shimizu-kun, what do you think about Hirata Yosuke being the Leader for this island exam?" Matsushita composed herself and asked.
"I think he's very suitable. There's probably no one in Class D better for the job right now." Shimizu answered without hesitation.
After yesterday's class discussion, Class D had indeed confirmed Hirata as the person to coordinate the class's direction.
Of course, this was partly because Kushida hadn't volunteered. In Shimizu's eyes, Hirata was "Leader" in more than just name. Over the past few months, Hirata had done more for the class than even the socially gifted Kushida—from mediating minor student disputes to coordinating major plans, he was everywhere. There was no issue with him being the Leader. In fact, even the highly demanding Horikita Suzune hadn't raised any objections.
Matsushita pursed her lips, her eyes brightening as she pressed further: "Shimizu-kun, after this island exam is over, would you be interested in being the Class Representative? Given your current prestige, I'm sure everyone would easily elect you."
Her mind was sharp. She had seen the scene last night where almost the entire class sided against Yamauchi. Shimizu hadn't said much, but everyone's stance clearly favored him; nearly half the class could be considered his supporters. At this rate, becoming the official representative would be a natural progression.
"Sorry, I have no interest in that for now," Shimizu refused flatly.
"Eh?! Why not?!" Matsushita blinked, her persistence showing through.
Shimizu's lip twitched as he thought to himself: 'Why is she so stubborn today? She's like a detective.' He paused, finally offering an explanation: "No particular reason. It's probably similar to why you feel the need to manipulate your scores."
His desire to avoid being the representative stemmed from the same place as Matsushita's score manipulation and Ayanokouji's 50s—he didn't want to be too conspicuous or tied down by endless chores. It was much more peaceful to act on one's own without being bound by trivial matters or having to accommodate others.
At these words, Matsushita's fingers instinctively twisted her hair, and her cheeks burned even hotter.
Shimizu had seen through her act all along! That statement was a classic case of "seeing it but not exposing it."
But it made sense, didn't it? She was a "lazy fish" trying to avoid trouble, yet here she was chasing after him asking why he wouldn't be the leader. In his eyes, her questions must have lacked a leg to stand on, making her feel quite embarrassed.
But she had her own little scheme: even a "lazy fish" wants the class to reach Class A! If they found the strongest, most reliable leader, wouldn't Class D's chances skyrocket? Then she could just ride the wave and reap the benefits without doing any work. That was the perspective of Matsushita Chiaki, the realist.
"Shimizu-kun, I really bothered you today and wasted your time!" Matsushita quickly apologized. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she added tentatively, "By the way, just a quick question—has Chabashira-sensei said anything to you recently?"
"Hm? What do you mean? Did she say something to you? Are you saying it has something to do with me?" Shimizu frowned, his voice full of confusion.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Matsushita realized she had been too abrupt.
She waved her hands in a panic, her tone flustered.
"Cough, cough... nothing! Just pretend I didn't ask! Anyway... Shimizu-kun, you should go! Don't let me keep you from your hunting!"
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