May 25th, Monday.
Class 1-A classroom.
The results of the Midterm Exam were to be announced today.
The homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomoya, stood at the podium,
his expression as serious as ever,
but on closer inspection, the tight corners of his mouth seemed slightly more relaxed than usual.
In his hand, he held a freshly printed list of exam results, still faintly smelling of ink.
"Now, I will announce the scores and rankings for this Midterm Exam."
Mashima-sensei's voice was steady and powerful, breaking the silence of the classroom.
He didn't elaborate further,
turning directly,
and posting the long list on the classroom blackboard.
Instantly,
all the students' eyes focused on it,
and an uncontrollable stir rippled through the air.
The list, from top to bottom,
clearly itemized each person's name, scores for each subject, total score, and class ranking.
The students of Class 1-A
quickly found their places on the list.
Nervousness was quickly replaced by a little joy.
The overall scores were as stable and excellent as ever,
failure rate: zero.
No one was expelled.
This was a testament to Class 1-A's strength and a basic requirement.
However,
as everyone's eyes involuntarily looked towards the very top of the list,
a kind of almost "taken for granted" exclamation quietly spread through the classroom.
The top-ranked position,
that name was without suspense—
Sakamoto.
After the subject score columns, a striking "100" was uniformly marked.
Perfect scores in all subjects.
Again.
However,
after Sakamoto's surname,
the name column was blurred.
It seemed to be due to uneven toner during printing or a machine malfunction,
forming a small, light gray ink smudge that just happened to completely cover the name.
It was like a deliberate blank space,
or an accidental joke.
Darn it! Not again!
Morishita Ai stomped her foot in annoyance, staring at the ink smudge.
Why did the printer have a malfunction specifically in this spot!
The school is too careless!
I really want to know what Sakamoto-kun's name is!
This was a long-unfulfilled wish of hers.
A few low chuckles came from around her.
Everyone seemed to be used to this.
Sakamoto's name,
just like him, always remained shrouded in a veil of mystery.
Mashima-sensei's gaze also swept over the top of the ranking list,
and a rare, undisguised look of admiration appeared on his serious face.
He cleared his throat,
his gaze falling on the figure sitting perfectly straight by the window.
"Sakamoto."
"In this Midterm Exam, you have once again achieved excellent results with perfect scores in all subjects. You have maintained Class 1-A's top standard and deserve praise."
This was extremely high praise, carrying significant weight.
The eyes in the classroom
instantly turned in unison towards Sakamoto.
There was admiration, envy, and also a sense of routine.
Under everyone's gaze, Sakamoto stood up unhurriedly, bowed slightly, and said, "Thank you for the compliment, but I'm not worthy. I merely did my duty as a student."
His tone was calm, his posture elegant, as if achieving such astonishing results was truly a trivial matter to him.
Mashima-sensei nodded, signaling him to sit down.
This kid… perhaps he really can become one of the most outstanding students in this school's history.
At the beginning of the semester, I even thought he was just a show-off, but now it seems I misjudged him.
—
Class 1-B.
When homeroom teacher Sakasue Kazuma posted the grade sheet on the bulletin board, the students below were noticeably more nervous than those in Class A.
After a flurry of whispers, when they saw their scores and rankings, most people's faces showed an expression of relief.
The overall impression of the grade sheet, of course, could not compare to Class A's uniformly high scores.
There were only a few top performers, with most people's scores densely distributed in the upper-middle range.
But the key was—
Failing list: Empty.
No one was expelled.
For the former Class C and the relatively weak Class B, this was undoubtedly a huge victory.
In the back row of the classroom, Ryuuen Kakeru scanned the grade sheet, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.
He had gambled correctly.
Although the school had temporarily changed the exam questions, his two-pronged strategy of emphasizing "solidifying fundamentals" and "extracting key points" had clearly worked.
These idiots finally didn't disappoint him.
He could feel that among many students in the class, the way they looked at him, besides the usual fear, now held more genuine conviction and even gratitude.
An invisible cohesive force, named "personal adoration," was quietly growing in this class.
On the podium, Sakasue Kazuma watched the students' reactions, then glanced at the composed Ryuuen in the back row, a subtle hint of satisfaction also appearing on his face.
—
Class 1-C.
"Everyone—you were truly amazing!"
Homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya Chie looked at the grade sheet, her face beaming with undisguised joy and pride, and announced in a sweet, loud voice, "Everyone passed! And the average score is very, very high! If we keep this up, overtaking the classes ahead of us is just around the corner!"
Below the podium, the students of Class C also radiated confidence and fighting spirit.
Their grades were generally excellent, a result of their strict self-management and collective effort.
Ichinose Honami, standing in the front row, turned around at the opportune moment to face the whole class, a warm and infectious smile on her face:
"Everyone, this is the result of our collective effort! Let's keep it up; our goal is not just to avoid expulsion, but to reach even greater heights! Go for it!"
"Oh—!"
A chorus of enthusiastic responses rang out below the stage.
Fighting spirit, as if tangible, burned in the classroom.
—
Class 1-D.
When Chabashira Sae walked into the classroom with the grade sheet, the expression on her face was rare, even something the students of Class 1-D had never seen before—a faint trace of relief.
She posted the grade sheet, her gaze sweeping over the nervous faces below.
"The midterm exam results are out."
"Congratulations. Everyone passed, no one was expelled."
"Whoa—!"
Instantly, a huge cheer and sighs of relief echoed throughout the entire Class D classroom.
Especially the idiot trio sitting in the back rows, who were so excited they almost jumped out of their seats.
They survived!
However, Chabashira's tone immediately shifted, her gaze sharpening and accurately directed towards a certain direction.
"But, don't celebrate too soon."
"Some students are just hovering around the passing line, barely making it. If you don't take it seriously next time, expulsion slots are always ready for you."
Everyone knew where her gaze was directed.
At the very bottom of the grade sheet, those few names and scores were simply too conspicuous.
Especially in English, the remarks section clearly stated:
Passing line: 40 points.
And Sudo Ken's score in that column was:
41 points.
Sudo Ken looked at his score, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Only he knew how lucky he was.
English was his most dreaded subject, and he hadn't reviewed English the night before the exam.
He had practically put all his hopes on the "past exam papers" Kushida had given him.
In the exam room, when he found that all the questions had changed, he almost despaired.
He had relied entirely on the remnants of knowledge forcibly instilled into his brain by Horikita during the study group, guessing and bluffing his way through the paper.
41 points.
One more point would have been a waste, one less point would have been a breakdown.
This was less luck and more Horikita Suzune's study group saving his life.
Ike's score was also similar, barely scraping by, but at least he was safe.
Yamauchi Haruki, on the other hand, surprisingly managed to get into the middle of the class, which was quite unexpected.
After the dismissal bell rang, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom.
The idiot trio looked at each other again and, by unspoken agreement, walked towards Horikita Suzune, who was organizing her notes alone.
"Hey, Horikita…"
Ike Kanji scratched his head, his tone awkward, "This time… really, thanks."
Yamauchi Haruki, for once, wasn't being playful:
"Thanks to you for making us study… otherwise, we would have really been screwed this time."
Sudo Ken also mumbled an addition:
"…Thanks."
Horikita Suzune looked up, gazing at these three awkward guys thanking her, her eyes lingering on their faces for a moment.
The tightly strung chord in her heart finally relaxed a little.
An indescribable sense of accomplishment quietly arose.
Her efforts… it seemed they really weren't in vain.
They really had changed.
"It's good that you passed."
She suppressed the emotions in her heart,
His tone was flat, but no longer cold.
"But you all heard what Chabashira-sensei said. You might not be so lucky next time. Take care of yourselves."
The trio mumbled a response,
and turned to walk away.
However,
in another corner of the classroom,
Kushida Kikyo's impeccable sweet smile stiffened for a moment when she saw the idiot trio walk towards Horikita again to thank her.
Her gaze darkened slightly, and her fingertips unconsciously tightened.
But soon,
that abnormality was perfectly concealed by her,
and her smile became bright and harmless again.