I continued observing students as they bought lunch sets from the ticket
machine. After I'd observed about twenty students, my target appeared. He
purchased his meal ticket and walked to the counter with heavy, plodding
footsteps.
Ike: Ayanokoji's perspective again huh.
Sotomura: But of course, as I said I believe he is the main prota-
Ike: Yeah yeah we know you don't need to say it twice.
(Was he jealous? Why would he, ohhh Kushida's with me)
"Okay, let's go," I said.
"Hmm? Okay."
We quickly exchanged our tickets for our meals and sat down in front
of the heavy-footed student.
"Um, excuse me. Are you an upperclassman?" I asked.
"Hmm? Who are you?" The student regarded us calmly, a look of
complete disinterest on his face.
"Are you a second-year student? Third-year?"
"Third-year. Let me guess, you're a first-year?"
"I'm Ayanokouji, from Class D. You're also in Class D, aren't you?"
Kanzaki:How did you know?
(He's getting more and more nosy) He was eating the free meal.
"What's that got to do with you?"
Kushida looked at me with surprise, as if asking, "How did you
know?"
"Because he's limited to eating the free meals. It's not very tasty, is
it?" I asked. He was eating the free vegetable meal set.
"What do you want? You're really irritating." He took his tray and
made to stand, but I stopped him.
"I want to ask you something. If you listen, I'll show you my
gratitude."
"Gratitude?"
The cafeteria's hustle and bustle drowned out my voice. The students
were all engrossed in chatting pleasantly with their friends.
"Do you still have the problems from the midterm test from the first
semester of your first year? Or, if not, do you happen to know someone from
your class who does?"
"Do you even understand what you're asking?" he said.
"It's not particularly strange, is it? I didn't think it was against school
rules to study using old test problems."
Hashimoto:(So he really is something huh) How did you know that king?
Horikita said something about that a while ago and i connected the dots. It was kind of a coincidence.
Horkita: (He really plans on using me as cover through all this? Will he still help the class after all this?)
Sato: Wait why did he call you king Ayanokoji-kun?
Oh, it's just a stupid joke between us forget about it.
Koenji: Oh is that right T rex -kun, I don't know about that.
Some of the boys that were at the pool at that time start laughing, which confuses the girls.
Girls: Why are you laughing? What do you mean T-rex?
It's nothing you have to worry about, really it's embarrassing you don't wanna know.
Ryuen: Oh, you're embarrassed huh Ayanokoji. I find that hard to believe.
Girls: But what doe-
Kituh: That's enough, I'll show that later, maybe depends on my mood.
"Why are you asking me?"
"That's simple. I believed I'd have the highest chance of success if I
worked with someone who doesn't have any points. Honestly, that free
vegetable meal doesn't look good. Of course, things would be quite different
if you actually liked eating the vegetable set. What do you think?"
"How much are you going to pay?"
"Ten thousand points. That's as high as I'll go."
"I don't have the old test problems, but...I know someone who does. If
you want him to help you, though, you're going to need to offer at least
30,000 points. If you've got that, you're fine."
"I'm afraid that 30,000 is a no-go for me. I don't have that much."
"How much do you have?"
"Twenty thousand."
"Then 20,000... no, 15,000 should do. Nothing under that."
"15,000, huh?"
"If you'd go so far as to ask for old test problems from a stranger, then
you must be pretty desperate, huh? Well, the school will mercilessly expel
any student who gets a failing grade. None of my classmates are even here
anymore."
"I see. I understand. I'll pay the 15,000 points."
"Then we have a deal. Of course, I'll have to ask you to transfer the
points in advance."
"Fine, but if you do anything to stab us in the back, I won't forgive
you. Even if you're an upperclassman, I'll do anything and everything I can
to make sure you're expelled."
Hasebe: Wow, scary Kiyopon, since when were you so gutsy?
It wasn't like that, if he scammed me then i could have ruined his reputation and maybe make it a big incident with the school.
"You're a freak. Fine, I get it. Besides, when you transfer points,
there's always a record of it. If rumor spreads that some first-year students
ripped me off, it'd look bad."
"All right then. Since I'm paying you 15,000 points, can you toss in a
little bonus? I want to see the answers to the surprise test that we took after
being admitted."
Ike: guys aren't we missing the point, didn't Kushida get us the midterm test, what does this mean?
Kushida: Oh well, If i may Ayanokoji-Kun, (she looks at me with a fake smile) Ayanokoji asked me to give them to you as he didn't want any attention.
Matsushita:(This has to prove it, he really is the mastermind)
Kei:(Mouuu, how cool are you going to be Kiyotaka, now all the girls are going to fall for you)
Sato: (I knew it, Ayaonokoji-kun is a great person, i wonder why he hates attention so much)
"All right. I'll toss that in, too. I think that your concerns are pointless,
though." It seemed he understood what I was after.
"Thank you very much."
After we made our deal, he quickly left. He probably didn't want to be
noticed.
"Hey, Ayanokouji-Kun? What you did just now. Was that really okay?"
Kushida asked.
"It's no problem. School rules allow point transfers, so there was no
violation."
"You might be right, but isn't getting the old test problems cheating?"
"Cheating? I don't think so. If the school didn't allow it, they would
have outlined it in the school rules, to begin with. Also, I felt more confident
after seeing that third-year student. That is to say, it's not unusual for students
to barter points like this."
Ike: How do you even know this stuff?
(Should i use Horikita as a cover, using her as a cover may work for now, but if what I'm thinking of will be shown later, that cover will backfire, I guess if they're going to learn about everything I'll just tell the truth for now, but what should i do when they see the other videos about me.)
"Huh?"
"My request didn't particularly surprise him, and he accepted quickly.
This probably isn't the first time he's negotiated like this. Not only did he
have the answer sheet for the first-year midterm exam, but he also had the
answer sheet for the mock test we took after being admitted. If he saved
those, it's clear why."
Kushida's eyes widened in shock.
"Ayanokouji-kun, what you did was unexpectedly daring."
"It's just a bit of insurance to prevent Sudou and the others from
getting expelled."
Ike/Sudo: Thank you for that Ayanokoji.
Class D failures: Thank you Ayanokoji.
Sakayangi: (fufu, O Kawai Koto) Luv me sum Kaguya Sama
"But, if the old test answers are useless, then it will have been for
nothing. I mean, the past test questions are old, aren't they? They might be
completely unrelated to what's featured on this year's test."
"The problems may not be exactly the same, but there will definitely be
similarities. I noticed a hint on that last mock exam we took."
"A hint?"
"You noticed the really difficult problems alongside the simple ones,
right?"
"Yeah, I did. The final questions, right? I didn't understand them at
all."
"I did some investigating, and I found that those questions were on the
second-and third-year students' tests. In other words, a first-year student
generally wouldn't understand how to solve them. Wouldn't it be pointless
for the school to purposefully throw us problems we can't solve? Those
questions aren't there simply to measure our academic ability. Now, suppose
that the problems on the mock test we took were exactly the same as the
problems on the old mock test. What would happen?"
"If I'd seen the old test, I would have been able to answer every
question," she said.
The same thing would likely apply to the midterm exam as well.
Shortly thereafter, that third-year student sent me a message with an image
file attached. It was the old test questions.
First, I checked the mock test. The key was whether or not the last
three problems were the same. Kushida must have been curious as well,
because she drew closer and tried to peek at my phone.
"Well? Well?" she asked.
"They're the same. Every single word is identical. The test from that
year and this year are exactly the same, in every way."
"That's amazing! So, if we show this to everyone in class, that would
mean an easy victory! We should show this to all of our other friends, not just
Sudou-kun!"
"No, we'll hold off. We won't show it to Sudou and the guys yet."
"Wh-why? You went to all of the trouble of using up so many of your
points for this!"
"If they learn that the old test questions would be effective, their
motivation to study would go up in smoke. We need to be wary of
overconfidence. After all, even though the mock tests were identical, it's
possible that the questions featured on the midterm this year might not be the
same as last year's."
These old test papers were insurance.
"Okay, then how will you use them?"
"I'm going to release them on the internet the day before the test. We
tell everyone that the problems from the old test are generally the same as the
ones on the new. Then what do you think will happen?"
"That night, everyone will be hunched over their desks, frantically
trying to memorize all of the problems!"
"Exactly."
The students with a poor grasp of the basics probably wouldn't be able
to memorize everything in a single day. However, we weren't shooting for
perfect scores this time around. The crucial thing was to avoid failing. If we
got greedy, we might end up digging our own graves.
With this plan, we could probably get everyone in Class D to pass.
"When did you come up with the idea to get the old tests?" she asked.
"I considered it when we learned that the test material was going to be
different. However, I had a hunch back when they first told us about the
midterm exam."
"Huh?! Way back then?"
"There was something very peculiar about the way Chabashira-sensei
told us about the test. As our homeroom teacher, she had a clear
understanding of everyone's grades and academic performance. Despite that,
she seemed absolutely certain when she told us that there was a way for us to
pass this test. In other words, she indicated that there was a surefire way for
us to save everyone."
"And that's...the old test papers?"
"This might be related to why Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi were
admitted to this school despite being academically poor. Even if they
couldn't get good grades by studying ahead, perhaps there were other means
of addressing the problem, a backup plan they could use to avoid expulsion.
This meant that it was possible for anyone to get a near-perfect score if they
could get the old test papers. That's what I took from the situation, anyway."
"Ayanokouji-kun, you really are an incredibly observant person, aren't
you?"
(Everyone was silent, the atmosphere tensed up again. I guess i did something abnormal there, I should just stay quiet, Maybe they won't ask questions for once.)
Katsuragi: Your thought process is something else. You really are smarter than you appear to be.
Kanzaki: He's a danger to our class Ichinose you can't deny this now.
Ichinose: Why? I always knew he was more than he let on, and he knew that I knew. He's helped me and our class multiple times, he's not our enemy Kanzaki.
"I'm just cunning. Besides, I didn't believe that I could pass the
midterm without some help. I was just looking to make things easier for
myself."
Horikita:(Playing dumb as usual)
Kei:(WHY does Ichinose keep defending him, you better not be smitten in love with him Ichinose.)
"Hmm." Kushida grinned like some gears were turning in her mind.
"I have one more favor to ask. Could you please tell everyone that you
got the old test papers, Kushida? I want you to say that you got them from a
third-year student you're close to."
"That's fine, but...are you okay with that, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"I like to avoid trouble. I don't want to stand out. Besides, our
classmates trust you, Kushida. I think it would be better if you told them."
"I understand. If you say so, Ayanokouji-kun."
Hirata: Kiyotaka-kun you shouldn't have worried about that, we would have believed you.
Thanks Yousuke, I just didn't want any of the attention.
Ike: You really are weird man, who doesn't want attention and popularity.
(Oof, being insulted by Ike several times is not easy even for me)
"Thanks. Don't say anything else, though. We need to avoid drawing
too much attention."
"Okay, we can keep this secret between us."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."
"Don't you feel that a strange bond of mutual trust forms between
people, who share a secret?"
"I don't know about that. I sure hope so."
"Thank you," replied Kushida.
I didn't really know what she meant by that.
Ike:What did you mean by that Kushida?
Kushida: ( U nosy perverted ugly lil b*tch) I was just happy that i became friends with Ayanokoji-Kun.
"Wh-where are you going, Ayanokouji?"
"Bathroom."
With that, I exited and quickly made my way toward the faculty room.
I wondered if Chabashira-sensei had already arrived. As I thought that, I
caught her staring out the window into the first-floor hallway, almost as if she
were waiting for someone.
Hoshinimiya-Sensei: Oh, Sae-chan, Ayanokoji again? Ara-Ara what are you planning with him this time.
Sae-Sensei: You can clearly see he approached me on his own this time, don't make things up.
"Ayanokouji, hmm? Class will begin any minute, you know," she said.
"Sensei. Would it be all right if I asked you one question?"
"One question? Is that why you went to the trouble of chasing after
me?"
"I'm curious about something."
"First it was Horikita, now you. What in the world is it?"
"Do you think that today's Japanese society is fair?"
Sakayanagi: What interesting thoughts you have Ayanokoji.
(She's really enjoying this huh)
It's something i used to think about a lot when i was a loner, nothing interesting behind it.
(That should keep the questions at bay for a while)
"What an incredible change in topic. So sudden, too. Is there some
special meaning behind this question?"
"It's very important. I would like your opinion."
"If you're asking for my personal opinion, then, no, of course not. The
world isn't fair, not even the slightest bit."
"I see. I feel the same way. I think that equality is a fiction."
"So, did you chase after me merely to ask that question? If that's all,
then I'll be going."
"One week ago, when you told us that the test's material had changed,
you also said something like 'I forgot to inform you.' Because of that
forgetfulness, we were notified of the change one week after the other classes
had already been informed."
Class D: Yes, Sae-sensei was very cold back then.
"Yes, I said as much back in the faculty room. What of it?"
"Every class got the same questions, the points were reflected in the
same way for everyone, and every class faced the same threat of expulsion.
However, Class D was compelled to test under unfair conditions."
"Are you saying that you can't accept what happened? But it's an
excellent example of how unfair the world is. In fact, you could call it a
microcosm of our unfair society."
"Certainly, society is not equal, no matter how idealistic you try to be.
However, we are human beings, living things that can think."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that we should strive for equality. At least a little."
Koenji: Haha T-rex-kun, what interesting thoughts you have.
(I could see a lot of shocked faces from class D, i suppose seeing Koenji not talk about himself more than once in the span of minutes was quite shocking, is everyone after me today?)
"I see."
"Whether or not you truly forgot to tell us, or if it was an intentional
slip, isn't really the issue. The fact remains that one person is now being
expelled from this school because of those unfair conditions."
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"That's why I'm here. I would like to undertake the appropriate steps
to meet with the school, the direct cause of this inequality."
"To tell them you disagree?"
"I just want to confirm with the appropriate people that they believe the
school made the correct judgment."
"That's unfortunate. What you've said isn't wrong, but I can't allow
you to do that. Sudou will be expelled. That decision cannot be overturned at
this stage. Give up."
She'd ignored my point, but her words remained logical. As I'd
anticipated, her words always held some hidden meaning.
Ike: How do you even, WHAT?
Horikita: Is it that surprising, didn't i tell you that Ayanokoji was smart and i told him to hide his ability?
"You said it 'cannot be overturned at this stage.' Which means there
may be a way to overturn the decision."
Katsuragi: ( He really wasn't kidding, he actually made Ryuen step down? Just who the hell are you Ayanokoji?)
Sotomura:( OP Mc as predicted, but I wonder, will he have a harem or just one main heroine. This is getting exciting.)
"Ayanokouji, I personally hold you in rather high regard. I've thought
so since assigning this test. Obtaining the old test problems was certainly one
correct solution. Such a notion goes beyond the range of what many would
have considered. Furthermore, you distributed the old test problems to
everyone in class and raised the average scores. I have to praise such a logical
decision. Honestly, you did very well."
Ike: Even if he's been hiding his talents, why does Sae-sensei praise him this much, I mean Sae-sensei shouldn't you be talking about Horikita?
Most of Class D agrees.
Ayanokoji group: You guys are shaming him while seeing that he's been helping the class all this time behind the scenes, what the hell do you want from him.
Shinohara: It's just that if he's so great, he could have shown his full abilities from the beginning, and maybe we could have been at a higher class by now.
Horikita: That's enough, as I said keeping his ability hidden was part of my plan and that's it.
Kushida: But he was hiding his abilities before he even knew you, aren't you just covering up for him?
(..., go on Horikita, this is what I've raised you for, as i nudge her slightly without anyone looking.)
Horikita: Do you really think, that I would let Ayanokoji slack off? You think I would learn that he's been hiding his true abilities and let him get away with it? Of course not, I made him work for me relentlessly behind the scenes as a part of my plan. And as you can see I'm slowly making him show his abilities like getting a 100 on that math test.
Everyone was silent after that, no one could argue with that logic, especially since they heard me in my thoughts calling Horikita the devil, and me saying that she makes me work too much.
"Kushida was the one who obtained the problems and distributed them.
I didn't really do anything."
"I understand why you don't want word to get out, but don't forget that
there are senior students, too. I already know that you contacted a third-year
student."
Apparently, my actions were more conspicuous than I'd thought.
"However, despite your bold move in obtaining those questions, you
made a mistake in the end. That's why your plan failed. If Sudou had
memorized the material more thoroughly, he wouldn't have failed in any
subject, right? Honestly, why don't you just give up and let Sudou get tossed
out? Wouldn't things be easier in the future?"
"Honestly, you're probably right. However, I decided to lend a hand. I
suppose it's too early for me to give up. I've one thing left to try."
I took my student ID card out of my pocket.
"What are you planning?"
"Please sell me one point that I can apply to Sudou's English test."
Literally everyone: WHAT?
Sakayangi: (Wouldn't expect anything less from you)
Ryuen:(My heart is aching, I will devour you Ayanokoji, just wait.)
Kei:(Mouuuuu, my boyfriend's the best. If they keep showing him, everyone's gonna fall in love with him, this is bad, maybe we should announce our relationship now.)
Ichinose:(He really is something else, his classmates seem to look down on him, maybe i could get him to our class, wait what am I even thinking.)
Hiyori:(My book buddy really is smart, so he really did change Ryuen.)
"............"
Chabashira-sensei's eyes widened, and then she laughed loudly.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a rather interesting idea. You really are a
different kind of student. I never imagined you'd try to buy points."
"You said so the day we were admitted, didn't you, sensei? You said
that we can buy anything with our points. The midterm test is just one more
'thing' at this school, after all."
Random Students: Now i feel dumb, it was in plain sight all this time.
"I see, I see. You certainly could view it that way. However, do you
even have enough money on hand to afford it?"
"Well, how much does one test point cost?"
"Now, that's a rather difficult question, isn't it? I've never been asked
to sell test points before. Let's see... Seeing as how this is a special occasion,
I'll sell a test point for the exceptional price of 100,000 points."
"You're cruel, sensei."
Class D: Sensei that was cruel
Sudo: Wait how did you manage to save me? There's no way you didn't use one point, did you?
When I said Horikita saved you, I wasn't lying.
Everyone at this school had spent at least some of their points.
Absolutely no one had 100,000 to spare.
"I'll pay, too," someone said behind me. When I turned, I found
Horikita standing there.
"Horikita..." I said.
Sudo: SUZUNE! Thank you for saving me, you too Ayanokoji.
"Heh. Just as I thought. You two are interesting."
Chabashira-sensei took my student ID card. Then she took Horikita's.
"Fine. I accept your deal. I'll sell you one point to apply to Sudou's
test, taking a combined total of 100,000 points from you both. As for the
matter of Sudou's expulsion, you can inform the class that's no longer the
case."
"Is that okay?"
"You promised to pay me 100,000 points. There's nothing more to be
done." Chabashira-sensei seemed simultaneously exasperated and amused.
"Horikita, do you understand how talented Ayanokouji is? At least
somewhat?"
"I wonder. When I look at him, all I see is a disagreeable student."
Hirata: That's quite rude, don't you think Horikita?
Horikita: It was in the past, I've changed my way of thinking.
Class D: Yeah that's right, Horikita's our leader now!
"What do you mean, 'disagreeable?'" I asked.
"You get low scores on purpose when you could easily score higher.
You were the one who came up with the idea of getting the old test problems,
but you gave Kushida-san the credit. You were even crazy enough to buy test
points. I don't think that you're special or just deviate from the norm. I think
you're disagreeable."
Kushida: But still you were a bit too mean Horikita.
Horikita: I know I was, but the past is in the past.
Kushida:(tchhhh, you b*tch, die you little cow, and Ayanokoji's a bigger problem than I thought, this is getting troublesome)
So, she'd heard how I got the old test questions, too.
"Perhaps the pair of you really can reach the higher-level classes,"
Chabashira-sensei said.
"I don't know about him, but I most definitely will."
"No one from Class D has ever been promoted before. The school has
already labeled you defective and will coldly toss you aside. How will you
accomplish your goal?"
"If I may, sensei?" Horikita unwaveringly returned Chabashira-
sensei's gaze. "Honestly, maybe the students in Class D are defective.
However, that doesn't mean they're trash."
"What's the difference between a defective product and trash?"
"The difference is paper thin. However, with repairs, a defective
product may become a superior article."
Class D was oddly surprised by that, I guess they took that as motivation?
Ryuen:Kuku, what wise words from a pathetic leader.
Sudo: OY, shut your mouth Ryuen.
Horikita: Sudo that's enough, It doesn't matter what he says.
"I see. When you say it like that, Horikita, I admit it sounds oddly
persuasive."
I shared that opinion, and found Horikita's words to be quite
meaningful. Horikita, who had previously looked down upon others and
thought of them as baggage, was changing. Of course, nothing was that
simple. Though you could just barely glimpse the change from the outside, it
was actually a major transformation. A faint smile appeared on Chabashira-
sensei's lips, as if she also had noticed it.
Horikita: (So he's been helping me all this time to grow into a leader for our class, is that why he doesn't take the lead and has been using me? Just for my benefit?)
"Well, I look forward to seeing what you do next. As your homeroom
teacher, I'll be sure to watch over you with great attention and care."
With that, Chabashira-sensei headed toward the faculty room, leaving
the two of us in the hall.
"Well, let's head back. Class will be starting soon," I said.
"Ayanokouji-kun."
"Hmm? Oof!"
Horikita chopped me in the side.
Ike: Hahaha, man you guys sure are close, it's like Horikita's a tsundere that likes hitting her boyfriend.
Sudo glared angrily at Ike, while Horikita readied her compass making Ike move as far away from her while muttering apologies.
Horikita:(He's not right is he, I don't hit him cus I like him or anything, I just enjoy making him suffer obviously as if that pervert would be right about something ever in his life)
4538 words, damn this chapter was kinda boring to write, reactions were kinda dull and short I know , don't kill me, I'm tryna upload daily, and I have so much homework alright I'ma die. And I'm tryna figure out how I'm gonna take the story if he transfers classes and if he gets a harem cause I got no idea how I'm gonna write that so cool. As always feedback/criticism.