Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Vol. 2: Chapter 1.2 - A Tool from the Inside

"Clarifications, is it?" he asked.

"Well, if it's going to be an inconvenience for you, then please forget I asked."

"Ah-haha. It's quite alright, Ayanokouji-kun. Please tell me your inquiries."

I took another sip of my tea before heading on to my first question.

"Earlier, you said that "you made sure I was admitted" if I pass the entrance exam and interview. I found that strange and incredibly incoherent. Even if you're the chairman of the school, you shouldn't be able to influence the admission of a student if their enrollment was solely based on their entrance exam and interview. That is, unless, they didn't really matter in the first place."

"So you're saying that I was lying about the entrance exam and interview-- that all I needed were my own words to get you admitted? Well, I can understand that. After all, you're a special kind of student."

"It's alright if you don't want to confirm it."

"No, it seems like you already believe it to be the truth, so I'll just admit it. You're right, Ayanokouji-kun. Your entrance exams didn't really matter. When I saw your name in the list of enrollees, I made sure that you can attend this school," he sighed. "It's not like you weren't qualified, anyway."

"Thank you."

"Hahaha, no need to thank me now. I wouldn't neglect your desire to study here just because your origins are different from that of normal people."

"There's one more thing, chairman."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I may be a special case... but the matter of my admission here isn't really special, wasn't it?"

"What do you mean?" He cocked his head.

"A lot of students- no, all of the students in this school were already pre-determined to get admitted, is what I'm trying to say."

After hearing my words, the chairman's eyes narrowed, but his smile didn't break.

"Do you have some evidence to back this claim up?"

"I was placed in Class D, which was deemed to be the collection of defective students. I've always wondered why this type of class existed. This school is popular throughout the entire country and a lot of capable students enroll every year, numbering hundreds, if not thousands, or even tens of thousands," I explained. "However, the population is always 160 freshmen students per year, and I'd believe said system if all of them were the most capable 160 students that have passed both the entrance exam and interview. After attending this school for the past three months, it was pretty obvious that this wasn't the case at all."

The chairman continued listening to my explanation.

"I have classmates with academic abilities so low that average junior high school students would score better than them in our previous midterm exams. Their entrance exam results should've been at the bottom of the barrel, so how were they admitted if their chances of enrollment relied on it? The interviews, perhaps? I have a classmate who wore his personality like a hat. He was a destructive and violent student with little to no patience. His interview results should've been disastrous. Of course, his academic abilities were also atrocious. The only thing he had going for him was his superb athletic abilities."

"Then, wouldn't you conclude that we took note of that and allowed him to pass?" he mused.

"That statement only strengthens my argument. Apart from the mandatory medical tests that we needed to take in order to apply, there weren't any exams involving physical abilities. Your statement also implies that this school and their previous schools were in some sort of contact. After all, you wouldn't normally know much about a student's full capabilities and school history based on their application papers alone."