Sae Chabashira slowly put down her phone, her fingertips drumming on the office desk. The resolution came faster than she had expected. From discovering Koenji Rokusuke's score had been maliciously lowered to the school providing a solution, less than half an hour had passed. The staff involved were immediately fired, the whistleblower received 50,000 points as hush money, and Koenji's class assignment remained unchanged.
"As I thought," she snorted, tossing her phone onto the desk. After teaching at this school for eight years, she knew its operating rules all too well. All students were labeled during their entrance interviews: Class A was for the carefully selected geniuses, while Class D was for the abandoned "defective products." 160 spots, 160 pawns. From the moment the classes were divided, their fates were sealed. In this school, the only ones who could truly achieve the 100% advancement rate were always the chosen elites of Class A.
Chabashira suddenly looked at the Class D roster, focusing specifically on Kiyomizu Akira's admission file.
[Academics: E-]
[Judgment: B]
[Intelligence: E-]
[Physical Ability: A]
[Cooperativeness: E-]
Sae Chabashira's finger paused. The data on Kiyomizu's ability assessment was unremarkable. Aside from his slightly above-average physical ability and judgment, all other categories were marked with a glaring "E-". With such scores, being assigned to Class D should have been a given.
But the articulate manner in which the boy had spoken just now stood in stark contrast to this evaluation report. She quickly unlocked her phone, found "Kiyomizu Akira" among all the friend requests, and sent one without hesitation.
"Interesting," a cold smile touched her lips.
The school administration had just emphasized on the phone that the class division rules were a secret known only to a few high-level staff. Therefore, it was impossible for an interviewer to have said, "A conceited student like that belongs in Class D."
"So, was this Kiyomizu-kun deliberately lying to test me?"
Chabashira's gaze fell back on that perfectly low-scored evaluation. Perhaps this whole report wasn't motivated by a sense of justice at all, but was a carefully designed probe. That boy had likely already seen through the reality of Class D as a "receptacle for defective products."
Sae Chabashira's fingertips tapped gently on the desk. "I see..." she muttered, a playful curve forming on her lips. Kiyomizu's later question about the student council probably wasn't just simple curiosity—he was looking for evidence to verify his suspicions about the school's distorted rules. After all, in a school that preached "meritocracy," the position of student council president was always reserved for the best.
Manabu Horikita, the most outstanding student council president in the school's history, was unsurprisingly from Third-Year Class A. The two pieces of information the boy had probed for were enough proof: Class A represented the elite, while Class D was the dumping ground for those the school deemed "defective." Had he really figured all that out and come to test her less than a minute after her speech?
"Could it be... that this year's Class D... actually has a chance..." Her voice, for a rare moment, held a trace of uncertainty. In her eight years of teaching, she had seen many classes, but she had never encountered a student who could see through the class division rules on the very first day of school. Even in Class A, such students were few and far between.
"Ha! This year's Class A is really something!" a deep male voice suddenly interjected. Tomoya Masaki—her old colleague and the homeroom teacher for Class A—was leaning against the office doorway, his sturdy frame blocking most of the light.
Sae Chabashira glanced up to see a rare look of amazement on Masaki's face. "That Arisu Sakayanagi in my class," he said, rubbing the stubble on his chin, "I had just finished explaining the school rules when she caught up to me and deduced the truth about the merit-based class division and the point system perfectly." He shook his head. "In previous years, some students found out, but it was always through analysis and tips from upperclassmen. For someone to piece together the whole truth just from my brief words, she's the first."
"She also said she was going to the convenience store to 'confirm a few things'!" Masaki scratched his head, a hint of confusion in his voice. "She's probably looking for those free supplies, right?"
Sae Chabashira was all too familiar with the "special benefits" hidden in the corners of the convenience store—relief items the school prepared for students in financial difficulty. When she was a new teacher, she had witnessed many Class D students relying on those supplies to get by. But to deduce this arrangement without even setting foot in the store?
Sae Chabashira quickly looked through Arisu Sakayanagi's file. It showed near-perfect scores—except for physical ability and cooperativeness, every category was marked with a prominent "A." A monstrous student like that was almost guaranteed to become the undisputed leader of Class A in the future.
"Can he win?" she suddenly thought of Kiyomizu Akira again.
To graduate perfectly, one had to reach the throne of Class A. In other words, Kiyomizu would have to defeat Arisu Sakayanagi in this cruel competition.
...
When Kiyomizu Akira stepped into the convenience store, it was already crowded with excited new students on a shopping spree. Figures moved between the aisles, carrying baskets filled with snacks and daily necessities. It seemed the initial distribution of 100,000 points had indeed loosened everyone's wallets.
However, after scanning the shelves for a while, his eyes finally found a special section in a corner labeled "Free to Take."
Various daily necessities were neatly arranged on the shelf—band-aids, notebooks, shampoo, and even simple toiletry kits. A sign next to it clearly stated the rule: "Limit of three items per person per month."
He watched quietly for a moment as a few upperclassmen approached. They looked weary, expertly grabbing a few necessities from the shelf before leaving in a hurry.
(It seems running out of points is a real possibility... Otherwise, these upperclassmen wouldn't be in such a tight spot on the first day of school.)
Kiyomizu narrowed his eyes, having already reached his conclusion.
"Excuse me. You've been observing ever since you entered the store, yet your gaze has remained fixed on the free supplies area... You must have also seen those seniors from Class D. It seems you, like me, have seen through the truth of the point allocation, haven't you?"
A probing voice suddenly came from his side. Kiyomizu followed the sound. A silver-haired girl was leaning on a cane beside the shelf. The pure white bow tie contrasted with her almost translucent skin, making her look like a finely carved ice sculpture.
At that moment, her playful eyes were watching him with great interest.
-------
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