Shiro POV
Three weeks had passed since the entrance ceremony. It was now our fourth period, which was Mashima-sensei's class. As soon as the bell rang, Mashima-sensei walked into the noisy classroom.
Shiro: 'Seriously, what's with the perfect timing?'
Tomonari: "Good morning class. Today's lesson will be a bit more serious than usual."
Masayoshi: "Huh? What do you mean by that, sensei?" Hmm, this is new.
Tomonari: "It's the end of the month, so we're going to have a short test. Please pass these to the back." He handed out the papers to the students in the front row. I took a test sheet and passed the rest at the back. It contained questions in the five main subjects. With only a few questions per subject, it really was short. No one seemed to have a problem with it, considering they all were paying attention in all classes.
Tomonari: "Keep in mind that this test is just for future reference. It won't be reflected in your report cards. There is no risk involved, so don't worry. Of course, cheating is prohibited." Why did he say it like that? He didn't need to say that since only general grades were reflected in your report card. However, the way he told to us implied that it would be reflected in some other way. Well, no time to worry about that now. If this did not affect our report card, then there was no need to be so cautious. As soon as the pop quiz began, I scanned the questions. There were four questions per subject, for a total of twenty. Each question was worth five points, for a total of one hundred points. Most of the questions were extraordinarily easy, to the point where it was almost a letdown. In fact, the questions seemed to be about two levels less difficult than the ones on the entrance examination. It appeared far too easy. However, just as I thought that, I reached the end of the test. The final three questions were an order of magnitude higher in terms of difficulty. The final math problem couldn't be solved without complex formulae.
RS(Random Student): "No way. These questions are seriously way too hard..." These questions couldn't be geared toward a first-year high school student. The final three questions were clearly of a different quality than the others, so they might have been put on the test by mistake. Even though the results wouldn't be reflected in our grades, what in the hell were they evaluating with this?
Shiro: 'Well, let's ace this exam.' Mashima-sensei monitored us. As he slowly patrolled the classroom, he kept a watchful eye to dissuade us from cheating. I quickly glanced at Arisu, who was confidently doing the test. Her pen danced across the paper as she filled in all of the answers. It looked like she was easily going to get a perfect score. I continued staring intently at my test until the bell rang.
(Timeskip)
It was now May 1st. Mashima-sensei entered the classroom once homeroom began. He was holding a rolled-up posture. His expression was very stern this time.
Tomonari: "Good morning class, your morning homeroom is about to begin. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions? If so, now is the time to speak." He appeared totally convinced that the students had questions they wanted answered. Immediately, several students raised their hands.
Masayoshi: "Sensei, was Takahashi-kun's theory true?" He had a rather serious face as he asked this. He normally was a laid-back guy. It was sort of entertaining to hang out with the guy.
Tomonari: "And what theory might that be, Hashimoto-kun?" He asked. It's clear he is resisting the urge to smirk.
Masayoshi: "About the points. We received less than 100,000 points. So is it true or not?" He pressured. After a bit of silence, Mashima-sensei started to laugh loudly. He was clearly amused by the situation. When I checked my balance this morning, I saw that I had 99,000 points. At that moment, I immediately knew my theory was true.
Tomonari: "Haha, you are right. Everything was just as Takahashi-kun had theorized. That includes the hierarchy as well. So congratulations on staying in Class A." He removed a white rolled-up poster and spread it out. He stuck the poster to the blackboard with some magnets. The students stared at the poster.
Masumi: "Are these...the results for each class?" She tentatively took a guess. She was right. Class A through Class D were listed. To the side was a row of numbers that went up to a maximum of four digits. Class D had zero. Class C had 490. Class B had 900. And at the top was Class A, with a total of 990. In this case, 1000 points would mean 100,000 yen, wouldn't it? Every class had apparently lost points.
Tomonari: "You did a good job while staying almost perfectly behaved. No Class A had ever kept this amount of Class points in the history of the Advance Nurturing High School." So they really were called Class points huh? Moreover, it seems that we were the best Class A this school has ever seen. Now that's interesting. However, what I didn't expect was that Class D had 0 points. Just how defective and problematic were they to receive such a score?
Shiro: 'They really are the lowest of the bunch.'
Tomonari: "Now then, I have one more bit of news to share with you all." He stuck another sheet of paper up on the board. It listed the names of everyone in class. A number stood next to everyone's name.
Tomonari: "These are the results of the short test that you took last week." With a few exceptions, everyone had a score that was above 60. Arisu had a score of 95 while I had a perfect score. The average score seemed to be 85. The lowest score was that of Yahiko, who had a score of 53 points.
Tomonari: "I'm glad that everyone did not get a failing grade. However, you should know that if your grade is lower than the required amount from now on, you shall be expelled. In this test, the threshold was 32 points, which you all passed successfully." The class erupted in chaos upon hearing this. The rule is a bit too harsh, at least for the other students. We definitely have to be careful from now on.
Tomonari: "Moreover, you cannot regain lost points by simply behaving better. You will have to gain them by scoring well on exams or by defeating other classes in different competitions. Finally, your midterm exams are in three weeks. Please think things over, and be careful not to drop out. I have confidence that you can find a way to avoid getting red marks on your report cards. If possible, challenge yourself to act in a way befitting a skilled individual." He then exited the classroom. The class immediately erupted in chaos once more.
Arisu: "Fufu, now that was certainly interesting. Don't you agree, Shiro-kun?" Not really, I had actually anticipated almost all of this.
Shiro: "Well, the failing grade part and the class competition part were certainly interesting. Other than that, I found it all boring." I replied. Hashimoto then suddenly ran towards me.
Masayoshi: "Hey prince, how the hell did you get a 100!? Not even Princess was able to get such a score!" He asked hysterically. Apparently, he suddenly started calling me Prince and Arisu Princess since last week for some reason.
Shiro: "Yeah, I was actually homeschooled and taught this stuff, so I already knew how to solve those questions." Everyone except Arisu and Katsuragi seemed to be awed by what I said. Arisu then got up from her seat and headed to the podium. Once she was behind the podium, she faced the whole class with her smug expression. Though, I wonder what she exactly wants to say to all of us.
Arisu: "Hello, everyone. As you know, we might have to battle other classes to keep our top spot as Class A. So that's why we need to be united under one leader. Do you all agree?" To this, everyone nodded. Ah, I see what she's trying to do.
Shiro: 'Wanting to become the leader I see. How clever.' Well, Arisu does have great leadership skills. If she becomes the leader, this class will definitely benefit a lot. I could become the leader myself, but I have no interest in leading a class.
Arisu: "That is why I wish to be the leader of this class." This caused an uproar in the class. Some people were agreeing with her while others were not. Katsuragi then stood up from his seat and directly faced Arisu.
Kohei: "Hold it, Sakayanagi. While I respect your intellect, I'm afraid that intellect alone is not enough to become a leader. A leader must know exactly when to act and where. They must also take the strengths and weaknesses of their comrades into account while making a decision." He countered her by reminding her exactly what is required of a leader. I'm impressed. I didn't know that Katsuragi knew so much about being a leader.
Shiro: 'Okay, that was a lie. I already knew about Katsuragi's leadership skills.' Anyway, while he is certainly right about what he's saying, Arisu already has taken all that into account.
Arisu: "And what are you exactly trying to achieve, Katsuragi-kun?"
Kohei: "What I'm saying is that instead of you, I believe that I am more qualified to be a leader." I knew it. However, I say that Arisu is a more suitable leader than him.
Kohei: "This is why I wish to be the leader of this class!" He announced to the whole class. Many people agreed with Katsuragi while others did not. Morishita Ai then suddenly stood up and said something that surprised me.
Ai: "I believe that Takahashi Shiro should be the leader instead."
Shiro: 'Excuse me?'
Ai: "He was the one who figured out the S-System so quickly and told us about it, which is also why we received so many points, even if they still aren't a complete 100,000. I believe that out of all of us, Takahashi-kun is the most qualified for the job." To this, almost everyone agreed, to my surprise. Oi, I don't want to become a leader.
Masayoshi: "She's right, the Prince should be nominated as the leader instead." *Sigh*, how troublesome.
Shiro: "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I have no interest in leading this class. Besides, these two are far better in leadership than me." Many may disagree, but I personally don't have any experience in how to lead a team, let alone a class.
Masayoshi: "Come on, Prince! There's no one more qualified than you. After all, you're literally our savior."
Shiro: "I doubt that. Even if I hadn't told you about the S-System, you all might've still behaved so well that we wouldn't have been demoted at all." I tried to reason but the rest weren't budging a bit. Eventually, I was saved by the ringing of the bell.
(Timeskip)
It was now lunch break. I headed to the cafeteria and got my lunch. I was sitting by myself when suddenly Hashimoto sat right beside me.
Masayoshi: "So Prince, do you finally plan on being the leader or not?" Is this guy seriously not over it yet?
Shiro: "Like I said before, I have no interest in becoming the leader."
Masayoshi: "Oh come on! There's no one better than you in this!"*Sigh*, how troublesome. As if to fuel the fire, both Arisu and Kamuro arrived here as well.
Arisu: "What are you guys talking about?" She asked while sitting opposite us with Kamuro beside her.
Masayoshi: "I was trying to convince him to become the leader but he won't budge!"
Shiro: 'You're the one who's not budging.'
Masayoshi: "Don't you agree with me, Kamuro? He should be the leader." I could see that Arisu was getting a bit frustrated by this talk.
Masumi: "Do whatever you want." She replied coldly. Thank you for not supporting him.
Arisu: "Shiro-kun. If you don't wish to become the leader, then tell us who should be the leader; me or Katsuragi-kun?" Hmm, well to be honest, I have no interest in participating in the future civil war that Class A will face. However, I do have a plan to prevent the civil war. But for now, let's answer Arisu's question first.
Shiro: "That is-" Before I could speak any further, the speaker suddenly rang.
Speaker: "Ichinose Honami, Katsuragi Kohei, Takahashi Shiro, and Tsubaki Yuki. Please head to the student council office immediately." As the speaker let out those words, I realized why Yuki and I were called. It's about time I...
Shiro: 'Learned whether I'll be in the student council or not.'
____________________________________________________________________________
(2094 words)