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★★★
"Among them, I not only discovered that a student from Class D stole the exam paper, but that paper was also distributed by the other party to all the students in his Class." Hachiman said.
"You are truly bold." Horikita Manabu said.
Then he closed his eyes.
"President!" Akane Tachibana looked at him.
Because she had already felt the pressure from Hikigaya's report.
As a Third Year, she naturally knew what was going on with the so-called stolen exam paper.
But.
If Hikigaya's request was not accepted, but he said that Class D students had distributed the stolen exam paper, which meant that as long as the real exam arrived and the paper was found to be the same as the stolen one obtained by Class D students, then Hikigaya and his group could continue to argue on the grounds of unfairness.
They might even question the School's fairness.
And these were all things that Horikita Manabu, as the Student Council President, did not want to see.
But what if his request was accepted?
Then the "stolen" exam paper for the First Year would have to be abolished.
So, the current First Year would have to rely on themselves to take the exam, and… perhaps a large number of them would be expelled.
And this was something that neither the School nor the Student Council wanted to see.
Therefore.
This was a difficult problem.
"President—" Nagumo looked at Horikita Manabu.
"Nagumo, what do you think should be done?" Horikita Manabu retorted.
"Me?"
This was a First Year matter and had nothing to do with the Third Year.
"I think if someone makes a mistake, then it should be handled fairly."
"Moreover"
Nagumo Miyabi said, "First Year students have just enrolled, so they don't quite understand the School's rules yet."
The meaning of this sentence was that First Year students were less likely to know about taking old exams and trying to cut corners.
So even if they took the exam seriously, they could still pass.
It seemed so.
But.
Horikita Manabu glanced at Nagumo.
Because if it was truly handled, the School would be forced to change the exam paper, and with time being tight, there was simply no time to create a new one.
Of course, it was also possible to create an extremely simple paper that everyone could pass.
But such an extremely simple paper would cause them to lose face.
Therefore.
The School would be in a difficult position.
But.
To Horikita Manabu, he felt that Hikigaya was not the kind of person who would be so serious about such a matter, which meant that he might want to… do something through this incident.
Because.
The Class with the worst academic performance was Hikigaya's Class.
If the School reissued the paper, how could they ensure that a large number of students in his Class would not be expelled?
Thus.
Horikita Manabu said.
"I will handle it impartially."
…
Horikita Manabu would handle it impartially.
And here in Class D of Grade 1.
Forty students were all in the classroom.
And it was Class time.
It was almost time for the written exam.
Because time was tight, everyone was diligently memorizing the answers.
And this was thanks to Ryuen's efforts.
The students of Class D obtained information from the loose-lipped Class C, learning that their Class surprisingly had an upcoming exam paper.
Rather, it was surprisingly old questions that were being tested.
And upon hearing about this… Ryuen immediately arranged for people to verify it.
And after verification, he immediately bought the paper.
However, Ryuen did not distribute it immediately, but only started giving it to everyone yesterday.
His explanation was that if it was given out too early, they wouldn't take it seriously, so he planned to do a last-minute cram session.
And because the Class evaluation point had returned to 0, many actions no longer mattered.
So now, the Teacher was lecturing, but the students were not paying attention, instead memorizing the paper.
Ryuen was the tyrant of their Class, using violent means to control the Class after enrollment.
Although many people were unconvinced, and even felt that Ryuen's discipline was too strict.
Especially last month, because he agreed to Class A's request to lower Class B's Class evaluation point, Ryuen used fighting and violence.
The explanation was that if it could be effective in Class D, then it could also be applied to Class B.
And the price for doing so was also beautiful: Class A would pay them a total of 800,000 personal points each month, which averaged out to 20,000 points per person.
Equivalent to 20,000 yen.
It was still spendable if one was a little frugal.
So, this kind of thing could be done.
One should know that they had only been enrolled for six days, and then nearly 400 Class evaluation points were deducted.
So most people did not think they would have any points left after the end of the month.
Then the private points given by the School according to each Class would certainly not have much left.
So, finding Class A as a meal ticket until graduation was excellent.
All the students agreed.
And the result was tragic.
Not only did Class A's meal ticket fly away, but the Class evaluation points were directly deducted by 400 points.
And then, for the remaining 200 points this coming month, they still had to constantly restrain themselves?
That kind of thing was very uncomfortable.
Ryuen chose to be casual, so their Class's Class evaluation point directly returned to 0.
There was nothing to say about this.
And now, what needed to be considered was the upcoming written exam.
If they failed, they would be expelled.
However, Ryuen obtained the exam papers from the Third Year, and also learned from the Third Year that it was a School tradition for the entire School to take a set of papers passed down from many previous generations in the second month of new student enrollment.
In other words, this exam could be a shortcut.
For their Class, which was full of academic failures, it was truly wonderful.
And now.
What they were probably thinking was that since they already had zero points, it didn't matter what they did during Class time.
So, let's quickly do practice problems.
The old exam paper probably had 10-20% of content beyond the syllabus, but the remaining 80% was fine for most people.
Even those with poor academic performance only needed to memorize half of that 80% to pass.
And they were all multiple-choice questions, which made it even less of a problem.
There were still three days until the exam.
So, even just a quick glance, passing would not be a big problem.
Of course, the premise was that this exam would indeed be this paper.
Because the School actually condoned leaking and selling exam papers, which was a bit exaggerated.
This School was indeed very strange.
And while thinking this.
"Based on the categories of reactants and products and the number of substance types before and after the reaction, chemical reactions can be divided into four types: combination reaction (A + B = AB), decomposition reaction (AB = A + B), displacement reaction (A + BC = AC + B), and double displacement reaction (AB + CD = AD + CB). This is a mandatory exam point, students should remember it well."
The Chemistry Teacher was lecturing on the key points of the exam on the podium, but few students were listening.
Accompanying the Teacher's lecture, the corridor outside suddenly became noisy.
"What happened?"
The student sitting by the corridor window looked outside, and others also looked over curiously.
And the Chemistry Teacher just sighed, then continued lecturing on his own.
He was just a teaching Teacher, not a Teacher.
Therefore, he had no responsibility or obligation to manage these students.
He taught his lesson, and the students played their games.
It had always been like this.
"It's the Student Council President."
Manabe Shiho, who was near the front door, exclaimed, "The Student Council President is walking towards our Class!"
"Really?!"
"The Student Council President, what is he doing here?"
"Could something have happened?"
The students of Class D became noisy once again, completely forgetting that it was still Class time.
"Student Council President?"
Ryuen, who was sitting further back, frowned.
Because it was Class time, what was this Student Council President doing here?
But.
"Knock knock—"
A knock sounded, and Horikita Manabu stood at the door, his right hand lightly knocking on the door.
And the Chemistry Teacher of Class D looked over, and only then did Horikita Manabu push up his glasses and say, "Excuse me, Teacher, I'll take two minutes of your time."
"No problem."
The Chemistry Teacher quickly moved aside, looking somewhat flattered.
He was just an ordinary Teacher, while the other party was the Student Council President.
In this School, the Student Council President's authority was undoubtedly beyond the imagination of ordinary students.
And this scene, falling into the eyes of the students of Class D, made them look at Horikita Manabu with even more reverence and awe.
Although they slacked off in Class, were late or left early, and didn't listen carefully, they dared not confront the Teacher directly.
"Students of Class D."
Horikita Manabu walked onto the podium, followed by several tall students who looked like Third Year students.
Besides them, Akane Tachibana, the secretary with the purple bun, also followed Horikita Manabu as usual.
"I received a report that someone stole the exam papers."
Student Council President Horikita Manabu's gaze swept around, and his words alone shocked everyone, making the students of Class D instantly flustered, twisting their bodies as if sitting on pins and needles.
Of course, they hadn't stolen anything.
However, they indeed had exam papers in their drawers or backpacks!
And, each person had a copy!
"Damn…" As the mastermind behind obtaining the papers, Ryuen now had a terrible thought.
His mind was sharp, and he instantly reacted.
He realized how bad the current situation was.
But.
"It seems the report is true."
Horikita Manabu took in the expressions of everyone below, his gaze calm, and slowly extended his hand, saying faintly, "I don't want to search your backpacks and drawers, so that student over there, please bring up the exam paper on your desk."
"Eh…"
Immediately, everyone in Class D instantly looked in the direction Horikita Manabu pointed.
There, was a seemingly frail short-haired girl named Rika.
When the Student Council President asked for the exam papers, she quickly, startled and panicked, tried to cover the paper on her desk with a textbook.
"Th-this is review material, not an exam paper!"
Rika, who was originally timid, instantly panicked and hurriedly tried to strongly defend herself.
Horikita Manabu, however, just gave a look to a few boys beside him.
Those boys nodded, then walked towards Rika, intending to take the paper.
Manabe, who was sitting behind her, seemed to want to stop them, but she timidly remained in her seat.
"Bang~"
Horikita Manabu took the exam paper from the boy's hand, glanced at it briefly, and instantly confirmed that it was definitely an exam paper, exactly the same.
Horikita Manabu expressionlessly flicked the paper with his hand, casting an oppressive gaze towards Rika.
"Where did you get the exam paper from?"
"N-not me who stole it!"
Rika became even more anxious, almost crying, and explained flusteredly, "It was Ryuen, Ryuen brought it."
"Whoosh~"
So everyone's gaze turned to Ryuen.
It was indeed Ryuen who brought the papers, but.
Such a thing shouldn't be directly admitted at such a time, and Rika, your statement is problematic.
The Student Council President received a report that someone stole exam papers, but Ryuen's papers were bought from the upperclassmen.
Therefore, the two are different concepts.
However, under such great pressure from the Student Council President, no student could remain unshaken.
"Who is Ryuen?"
Horikita Manabu, however, paid no attention to the details and asked directly.
"I am."
Ryuen already knew that this time he had capsized in a ditch, so he admitted it generously.
Horikita Manabu glanced at him and said directly, "Class D stole exam papers, deducting one hundred Class evaluation points. Of course, you have already become 0 points, so the Class evaluation points will not change."
"But.."
Horikita Manabu continued, "As the instigator, you will be deducted five hundred thousand personal points and receive one demerit. The five hundred thousand points deducted must be repaid within this semester, otherwise, you will be expelled. In addition, anyone with more than three demerits will be directly expelled."
…
The Student Council President went to Class D to catch those who stole the exam papers.
This news quickly spread.
But before the students could verify it, they heard the School broadcast.
Horikita Manabu's voice came from the broadcast equipment in each Class.
"Due to a major exam paper theft incident involving First Year students of this School, this exam paper is invalidated, and the School will use Version B for the exam."
"Class D of Grade 1 is suspected of stealing exam papers and cheating, deducting one hundred Class points. The directly involved person will be deducted five hundred thousand personal points and receive one demerit."
One hundred sixty First Year students sat in their respective Class classrooms, looking up at the loudspeaker above the blackboard.
From the loudspeaker, the voice of Student Council President Horikita Manabu was heard, along with the results of the handling of this incident.
Then.
"W-what does this mean?!"
For the students in Class C, today was only 3 days away from the midterm exam.
Logically, Hikigaya had promised to give everyone the papers purchased from the upperclassmen for 100,000 points tomorrow.
But now the situation is… they won't be taking that paper?
Huh?
"Hikigaya!"
Since it was break time, Hirata immediately left his seat and walked over to Hachiman.
As the Class's adhesive, the Classmates had also undergone over half a month of tutoring.
They had made some progress.
But many students' academic abilities were still not good enough and required exam papers to pass.
So, listening to the announcement now, does it mean that the old questions will not be tested?
"The theft of exam papers is probably just a pretext." Hachiman said.
"Because no one would be so foolish as to directly steal papers from the office now. So it's probably that Ryuen's purchase of old questions was reported."
"In other words, Version B of the exam will be used now, so the previous one cannot be used, right?" a female voice interjected.
This was Horikita Suzune.
Horikita Suzune always seemed very imposing when she wasn't facing her brother.
But now.
There was a slight regret.
Because.
The papers they had painstakingly worked on were discarded.
"It should be like that." Hachiman said.
"Because the Student Council will directly announce this matter, it shows the School's level of importance regarding this matter. So the old questions should no longer be tested."
"After all, it has now been exposed that Ryuen Class knows the exam questions."
"And if other Classes don't do well later and cause a fuss, then neither the School nor the Student Council will look good."
So what should the students of Class C do?
If there are no papers, then there are still a group of students facing the risk of possibly failing.
After all, they have only been studying for a little over ten days, and it's impossible to make rapid progress during this time.
On the other side.
Class A of Grade 1.
"Ryuen is up to some small tricks again, isn't he?"
Totsuka Yahiko, Katsuragi Kohei's follower, said, listening to President Horikita's voice from the loudspeaker.
"But he also bore the punishment himself." Katsuragi said.
"So, how could Ryuen be so unwise?"
"After all, they are just Class C students, not to mention they have now fallen to Class D." Totsuka Yahiko said.
"And now, since the old questions cannot be used, it is an opportunity for us in Class A."
Is it an opportunity?
Yes.
Horikita Manabu has already said that the School will use Version B for the exam.
Then, they will have to follow the normal exam rules, and for Class A, everyone's academic ability is good, they are all top students.
So if they take the exam with their true abilities, then Class A should be able to get the full 100 Class evaluation points as a reward.
But.
Is that really the case?
A girl with long purple hair and a hair clip, whose face showed no smile and always looked tense, was unimpressed.
Because.
The School had not prepared any Version B exam papers at all.
It was just a coping statement.
So, the real exam paper should be the one Sakayanagi Arisu had given out, the one she received yesterday and had already started memorizing.
Most of the students in the Class were top students, so there shouldn't be much to worry about, but it was precisely because these people were all top students that it was disgusting.
Because the average score of top students is very high.
At the same time.
The passing line is also very high.
It made her feel uneasy, but now she felt relieved.
Thinking this, she looked at Sakayanagi Arisu in the front seat.
Sakayanagi had her elbows on the desk, and a smile on her face.
Right.
This guy, she's probably going to challenge the Student Council during lunch break.
And in First Year Class B.
"We were truly saved by Hikigaya." Ichinose said.
Because they had also obtained the papers that Horikita Suzune and her Classmates had filled out.
Not only did they get the papers for free.
Then they were told that it would be best to distribute them to their Classmates as practice material three days before the exam.
They were told that they were worried that distributing them to Classmates in advance might lead to some unforeseen changes.
Otherwise.
If the old questions were distributed in advance, then as soon as the Student Council President brought people, they would surely be caught red-handed.
Just like Ryuen Class now.
Therefore, Ichinose felt somewhat lucky.
But.
"Then, is there a possibility—" Kanzaki said.
"Is it Hikigaya… Hmm… We can't speculate like that. Because it wouldn't benefit them either."
Kanzaki's brows furrowed, but he quickly smoothed them out.
Completely unaware that he had dismissed a correct answer.
....
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