The class bell rang.
Chabashira Sae walked in slowly, holding a poster tube in her hand.
Her expression was still cold as ever.
But compared to her usual "like someone at home just died" face, there was an extra layer of seriousness today.
"Teacher, don't tell me your period didn't come or something—?"
Iké Kanji shouted loudly, saying something perfectly suited to his level of stupidity.
No one paid him any attention.
"We will now begin the morning assembly," Chabashira said calmly, ignoring him as usual.
"Before that, if you have any questions, ask them now."
As soon as she made that announcement, the noisy classroom erupted with the same question:
"Where's the money?"
Wasn't it supposed to be 100,000 points every month?
Wasn't it supposed to arrive on the 1st?
Why hadn't they received a single point?
No matter how many times they asked, Chabashira gave the same answer:
"The points have already been transferred."
The students lowered their heads and looked at their terminals.
No change.
Then they looked back up at Chabashira's firm expression.
And fell into confusion.
"But… it's really not there…" a student named Hondou said helplessly.
"…Sigh."
Horikita Suzune, who had been lying on her desk, finally couldn't take it anymore.
"The points were sent."
"They weren't delayed."
"The school didn't make a mistake."
She turned her head slightly to breathe more easily, speaking weakly to end this unbearable farce.
"It's just that… with our evaluation, we got nothing."
After saying that, she buried her head in her arms again.
"..."
"..."
"..."
After her words faded, D-Class fell into dead silence.
"W-Wait… you're joking, right…?" Iké said in a trembling voice.
Yamauchi Haruki panicked and jumped up.
"Saeda-sensei, say something! Tell everyone Horikita's wrong! Say it's just a delay!"
"There's no way… no way we'd get zero…"
If there was no 100,000 points…
"…Is it because of the conduct exam?"
Hirata Yousuke rested his wrists on the desk, fingers interlocked tightly.
You could tell how much force he was using.
Chabashira raised her eyebrows and nodded.
"Yes."
"Hahahaha… 'evaluation,' what a cheap trick."
Kouenji Rokusuke arrogantly put his legs on the desk and stared at her.
"So, Teacher… you deceived us, didn't you?"
Deception.
Fraud.
After learning today's truth, this conclusion was inevitable.
Chabashira had tricked them.
"You took our money, but deliberately withheld the most important information."
"You hid the real price behind the word 'evaluation.'"
He shook his finger.
"That's not very nice."
At this moment, Kouenji neatly organized the blame and pointed it straight at Chabashira.
Like sheep finding a leader, the class immediately followed his lead.
"Yeah! You took our money!"
"Why didn't you just tell us directly?!"
"Why say it only affects evaluation?!"
"I refuse to accept this! Refund us!"
Voices erupted one after another.
When their own利益 were involved, respect for teachers vanished.
All that remained was self-interest.
They wanted to protect themselves.
"Didn't I already say on entrance day that this school evaluates students by ability?"
Chabashira sneered and spread her hands.
"And this time, you got 'zero.'"
"That's all."
"I clearly told you this was a conduct exam."
"I clearly told you it would affect your evaluation."
With a loud slap, she pasted a sheet showing the four classes' points on the blackboard.
Her face was full of disbelief.
"Why could the other classes understand…"
"But you still acted so recklessly?"
She truly didn't understand.
She couldn't comprehend how this D-Class could be this bad.
When she first saw the result—zero—she didn't believe it.
She thought there had to be a mistake.
After all, they had spent 200,000 points to confirm the exam.
They knew it was about conduct.
How could they still get zero?
So she questioned it.
And then she saw the evidence.
Every deduction.
Every recorded action.
Surveillance footage played clearly on screen.
There was no room for doubt.
D-Class was zero.
…That was why she was furious.
How could they be this useless?
"Impressive."
"You've created the worst D-Class record in history."
"Being your homeroom teacher is truly my honor."
She raised her hand and spoke with blatant sarcasm.
"—"
Most of the students were speechless.
"…So this is what he meant…"
Looking at Chabashira, listening to her words, Satou Maya finally understood Asakusa's question.
She murmured:
"How many of those dragged down are actually innocent…"
Innocent or not…
That question was cruel.
Of course she didn't want to be labeled trash either.
She was in D-Class too.
How could she accept this?
She bit her lower lip.
A long-lost feeling of frustration welled up.
Was she innocent?
Not completely.
Talking in class.
Being late.
Leaving early.
Playing with her phone.
She had done all of it.
But… everyone else was doing it too.
If you wanted to fit in, how could you refuse?
If you acted like Horikita, you'd just get isolated.
What was she supposed to do?
Once trapped in the mud…
The more you struggle,
The deeper you sink.
"I can't accept this, Chabashira-sensei."
Hirata took a deep breath.
"No matter what, you hid the fact that evaluation would affect our points."
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