Chapter 49: Absolute Gap
'Is this the best we can do?'
Hikigaya looked at the blackboard. The scores were set, and now all they needed was to calculate the average to determine the passing line.
As Hikigaya was thinking this, the sound of high heels echoed from the hallway.
"Everyone, take your seats."
As usual, Chabashira stood at the podium, arms crossed, expressionless.
Kushida raised her hand, eagerly asking: "Sensei, did anyone in our class fail?"
Chabashira glanced at Kushida, then turned her gaze to the blackboard.
"Your average score is 42. Dividing that by 2, the passing line is 21."
"Congratulations, no one in this class is getting expelled this time."
Chabashira put down her pen, and the classroom erupted with cheers from Ike, Sudo, and Yamauchi.
Hirata let out a relieved sigh. Not just him—when they first heard the plan, everyone thought it was impossible. But succeeding felt utterly unbelievable.
No one sabotaged it; everyone followed the plan.
Chabashira stood at the podium, watching the cheering Sudo and others, then slowly clapped, eyes closed.
The sound wasn't loud, but it quickly silenced the class.
"I don't know how you came up with this method or how you executed it, but clearly, you successfully completed this exam without losing a single classmate. Obviously, this was the right choice. However…"
"This is just the beginning. The school will have even harsher rules next time. You understand that, don't you?"
Saying this, Chabashira gave Hikigaya a meaningful look. Horikita, who'd been watching Chabashira's gaze, followed it and looked at Hikigaya beside her.
'She figured it out…'
Before Chabashira could continue, Horikita stood up with a serious expression and said: "Next time, we absolutely won't use this method again. We'll use our own abilities to ensure everyone in the class passes."
Horikita's cool demeanor, like it came with a buff, instantly drew the attention of Yamauchi, Ike, and Sudo.
'Man, that was way too cool.'
Hearing Horikita, Hirata stood up in support: "Yes, Sensei, next time, we'll all pass the exam together, for real."
'What a beautiful vision.'
Chabashira just kept looking at them, then gave a teasing smile.
"Honestly, I'm really surprised you made this choice…"
"That's all for the class meeting."
As Chabashira left, the classroom's atmosphere grew even more fervent. Though the class points didn't increase much in this exam—since their total score wasn't great—being in Class D meant they were at the bottom anyway, so it didn't matter much.
Instead, Sudo, Yamauchi, and Ike passing the exam increased their individual points significantly.
In short… this was fine. A simple, peaceful three years.
[Sakura Airi: "Everyone passed the line? In a different way… That's… that's incredible."]
[Shinohara: "Yeah, the class points we gained this time definitely aren't as much as we have now, but since we already have 97 CP, no matter what, we've closed the gap with Class C to some extent, right?"]
[Yukimura: "No, no, you're underestimating Ryūen's Class C. With his terrifying methods, they'll probably catch up to Class B soon."]
[Hirata: "Yukimura's right. Whether it's Class B or C, the gap with us is too big. We need to focus on ourselves first before we can close that gap."]
[Everyone understood Hirata's words, but in this merit based school, continuing like this would only widen the gap.]
Outside in the hallway, Class A's two faction leaders, Sakayanagi and Katsuragi, stood together, unusually.
Class A: 1004 CP
Class B: 663 CP
Class C: 492 CP
Class D: 140 CP
Katsuragi, arms crossed, analyzed the grade's class point rankings with a serious expression.
"Class C's points went up. It must be Ryūen's doing again. That man needs to be watched."
Meanwhile, Sakayanagi glanced at the rankings expressionlessly, then seemed to lose interest, lost in her own thoughts.
In Katsuragi's mind, though their philosophies differed, as members of Class A, they had to plan for its future.
For Sakayanagi, everything was just so boring. No matter how strong the lower classes got, they couldn't defeat her. That was why she was in Class A.
If there was one thing that interested her, it was becoming Hikigaya's one-of-a-kind friend.
She turned, using her cane to support her frail body, limping back toward the classroom.
"So boring…"
Meanwhile, Hikigaya sat in a corner of the classroom, checking the latest class points on his phone.
"Our class only has 140 class points? Well, that's about as far as we can go for now."
Hikigaya knew how much effort everyone had put in to reach this point. Compared to the start, things had improved immensely, but for Horikita beside him, this was likely a hard result to accept.
At that moment, Horikita was muttering to herself…
"Class A has 1004 CP… even Class C has 492 CP…"
Though the gap was huge, there wasn't a trace of giving up on Horikita's face. Instead, it strengthened her resolve to reach Class A.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Under Horikita's warning tone, Hikigaya realized he'd been lost in thought, his gaze fixed on her face.
Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt Horikita's cheeks were slightly red, as if touched by the sunset.
Hikigaya turned away, lowering his head, and said calmly: "Honestly, aiming for Class A is a bit unrealistic. The gap between us and them is almost tenfold…"
( End of this chapter)