Chapter 46: Unexpectedly Smooth Progress
[Yukinoshita stood up abruptly, crossing her arms and saying to Hikigaya with a sarcastic tone: "Well, well, I never thought Hikigaya-kun would become so popular. First that Sakayanagi girl, now Kushida Kikyo, and even Horikita Suzune obediently following you. Quite the charmer, aren't you?"]
[Yuigahama: "Yukinon… you…"]
[Prompted by Yuigahama, Yukinoshita realized her outburst was inappropriate in front of so many people. She slowly sat down, but her gaze remained fixed on Hikigaya.]
[Hikigaya tried to retort: "It's just a video… really, just a video. How could I be this popular?"]
[Hikigaya wasn't sure what he was afraid of, but if he didn't say something now, the relationship they'd just built might collapse instantly.]
[Hayama, observing their expressions, stepped in: "Yeah, I don't know what's going on, but Hikigaya's right here in front of us."]
[Miura, hands on hips, looked at the video in confusion.]
["It's not like it's staged, right…"]
[Hikigaya: "Pass! I'm not capable of pulling that off. Just being in front of a camera would make me feel uneasy."]
[Isshiki, quick-witted, jumped on the topic: "Yeah, I've never seen Senpai take photos. Are you against it or something?"]
[Hikigaya: "I just think it's unnecessary and troublesome. Not exactly against it. Oh, and there's another reason…"]
[Hikigaya slowly pulled out his phone, and the reason became clear instantly…]
[It was a flip phone, so even if it could take photos, the pixel quality would be awful.]
[This kind of phone was probably only good for sending text messages.]
[Yuigahama looked at Hikigaya's phone, sighed helplessly, then suddenly laughed.]
[After all, the Hikki in her memory was always like this. The boy in front of her hadn't changed because of the video.]
[Isshiki put her finger to her lips, tilting her head slightly, looking at Hikigaya with a puzzled expression.]
["Senpai, you're really smart, but with such average science grades, isn't that dangerous in that school?"]
[Before Hikigaya could respond, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama let out relieved sighs, as if they'd won something. The others looked at them, confused.]
[Yuigahama and Yukinoshita knew. Though his science grades were low, it was simply because he didn't want to study. In that environment, since he'd already started borrowing science books, his grades would likely skyrocket.]
[That explained their expressions.]
[After all, they'd learned this through their growing closeness with him.]
[When Isshiki asked, Hikigaya would surely reply: "Science can just explode."]
[Hearing this, aside from Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, the rest of the Service Club showed terrified expressions.]
[This guy was definitely weird.]
"Everyone, this is the result Kushida and I compiled after analyzing everyone's error and accuracy rates from past quizzes. With this, our final average score is around 64, and the passing line is about 32."
Hirata stood at the podium, posting Hikigaya's work—sleepless nights of calculations—on the blackboard.
This data came from analyzing each person's specific scores. Only by pinpointing everyone's performance could they accurately control the passing line and ensure Sudo and the others scored above it.
Fortunately, with Hirata and Kushida as the class's pillars, no one raised objections yet, but something felt off…
Hikigaya sat in the corner, watching the eerily quiet classroom where no one voiced dissent, feeling it was unrealistically smooth.
The two explained the plan on the blackboard, and Class D had no objections. Then… they distributed notes specifying each person's assigned sections.
Sotomaura Hideo: "Does this mean we're lowering the class's average score… Is that really okay?"
As expected, something like this was bound to happen. Asking the class to score within a set range was a bit much.
But Hikigaya had anticipated this. As long as Hirata followed the plan, there'd be no issue.
However… before Hirata could speak, Yukimura, the class's top scorer, stood up.
"The rules for every exam are clear, and this one's no different. Since it's not tied to points, I think this plan is fine."
Takeru Akito: "Exactly… Not just this exam, but every future exam not directly tied to points. Losing someone near the passing line would widen the point gap with other classes. For Class D now, that's definitely not good."
Wang Mei-Yui, head lowered, mumbled: "Sudo used to be annoying, but seeing him work so hard now, I feel the same… No matter how you look at it, letting him get expelled now would be a huge loss."
Matsushita Chiaki: "Yeah… that's right."
With the top students having no objections, the lower-scoring ones didn't dare object either.
Hikigaya looked at the current Class D, letting out a sigh of relief.
He had a last-resort backup plan, but… this development was beyond his expectations.
'Looks like Class D isn't that hopeless after all…'
'Though Class D is still far behind the other classes, Horikita, your goal is getting closer.'
Hikigaya turned to glance at Horikita beside him, only to find she was already looking at him.
( End of this chapter)