Chapter 048: Shiina Hiyori: An Open Scheme, So Terrifying!
Currently, every student in Class C harbored intense hostility toward Class A.
If Class A hadn't repeatedly reported Class C's fighting incidents to the Student Council, the school wouldn't have discovered their private brawls, and their Class Points wouldn't have been wiped clean.
What made everyone feel even more frustrated was that, as a group of delinquents and "gyaru," they had unknowingly acted as model students for half a month.
To them, it was sheer torture.
Therefore, "Class A is truly evil"—that was the consensus in everyone's hearts.
This was a fact, but... was it the whole truth?
Sakagami-sensei had previously revealed that, aside from Class A's reports, the direct cause for Class C's point deduction was that someone had exposed the entire process of Class C's fighting directly under the surveillance cameras. Faced with such ironclad evidence, the school could not ignore it regardless.
Thus, their points were slashed away.
However, was this really the work of Class A students?
Reporting to the school under the cameras and then running to the Student Council to file another complaint—a double blow to Class C. This was clearly intended to make Class C lose points on behavioral norms while receiving extra punishment from the Student Council. It was a move designed to kill Class C off entirely.
And Class C had indeed died a miserable death.
But it raised some doubts. Specifically:
Would Class A really "value" Class C so much?
Shiina Hiyori frowned slightly, her slender white fingers unconsciously twirling a strand of her hair.
She thought to herself: A mere Class C probably isn't qualified to make Class A go to such lengths.
If the one viewing Class C as a thorn in their side wasn't Class A, could it be Class D? She immediately shook her head, dismissing the idea. No, impossible. Class D was rotten to the core. Class C's zero points were the result of being reported; Class D's zero points were because they were simply worth zero.
The two cases were fundamentally different.
Eliminating the possibilities layer by layer, the only one with such foresight—and perhaps even a sense of crisis regarding Class C—was undoubtedly... the class positioned directly above Class C: Class 1-B.
Almost at that exact moment.
The image of a boy with signature dead fish eyes flashed clearly in Shiina Hiyori's mind.
Thinking about it this way, one would realize it was exactly because Hikigaya, representing Class B, came to negotiate with Ryuen that Ryuen began using violent means to integrate Class C. It could be said that without that process of violent consolidation, Class C wouldn't have lost so many points.
The so-called "alliance" might have its uses. But compared to this month's written exam involving expulsion—where the maximum reward is only 100 evaluation points—the first special exam after enrollment (the behavioral norms assessment) could deduct points by the dozens or hundreds. Clearly, weakening a competitor's strength at the very start was the optimal strategy.
So.
Did Hikigaya-kun... immediately think of taking a knife to Class C on the 11th day after enrollment, right after learning the school's truth on the 10th?
So what exactly did he do?
He merely told Ryuen the truth about the school and the contents of the behavioral norms assessment.
The norms required all students to be self-disciplined, which Class C was destined to fail at. Therefore, unified management was necessary, and unified management required violent consolidation.
Thus, Class C's zero points were a result the opponent had predicted—or perhaps even personally facilitated—from the very beginning.
"..." Hiyori pursed her lips, a flash of unspeakable shock and fear crossing her eyes.
This thought made her feel so terrified that she ultimately didn't voice it aloud.
However.
Now that Ryuen had obtained this old test paper, it was worth utilizing properly.
Yet, if one were to speculate about Hikigaya-kun using this logic, did his proactive proposal of "exam cooperation" constitute another open scheme?
But currently, Class C truly had nothing left for others to plot against. Causing a major problem now that would lead Class C to hostilely obstruct Class B in future special exams wouldn't be a good thing for Hikigaya-kun.
So Class C was tentatively safe for now.
"I understand," Shiina Hiyori nodded slightly, her tone calm.
"I will be responsible for filling in the answers for Math, Chemistry, and Physics."
"I'll take the other two subjects." Kaneda pushed up his glasses, accepting the task concisely.
"Good," Ryuen decided immediately, his lips curling into an arc of total control.
"Then Ryuen, should we have the class start studying too? Like Class B's study groups, just as a smokescreen?" Ishizaki Daichi leaned forward, asking in an inquiring tone.
"No." Ryuen refused flatly, crossing his arms with a look of disdain.
"Study? Study what trash books? I'm not going to touch that crap!"
He waved his hand dismissively with absolute finality.
"If those idiots in class feel they have to rely on studying to pass, they'll start whining again. We want them to experience that as long as they trust me unconditionally, they can pass easily and smoothly!"
I see.
It seemed Ryuen truly knew how to grasp people's hearts.
However.
Hiyori thought to herself.
'If Hikigaya lied to you, you, who aren't studying at all, will go down with the rest.'
But considering the class competition would last until the 3rd-year Class A graduated, and there would be many future special exams requiring cooperation, betraying them now would mean losing all credibility for next time.
Moreover, for this exam, there was a specific strategy even if one had the leaked papers.
Because the passing mark was determined by the class itself.
From the papers they had, 80% were multiple-choice. As long as the class planned uniformly, everyone could choose the same option for all multiple-choice questions (e.g., all select A, or B, C, D) and then leave the long-form questions blank. This way, everyone's scores would be identical, and no one would face expulsion for failing.
Such a thing would be difficult in an ordinary class, but in Class C—which had achieved strict control through violence over the last half of the month—it was entirely possible.
.
-
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On the other side.
Hikigaya had a total of three sets of old test papers. He had Ichinose take one back and gave one to Ryuen; he now had one left in his hand.
In this way, out of the four classes, three already had the old questions.
Only Class A was excluded.
Class A could ensure passing even without the papers.
However, if they didn't get the papers, Class A would lose the opportunity to gain the 100 evaluation point reward for a perfect class pass.
Come to think of it, did he really need to specifically attack a certain class during this exam?
The senpais viewed this exam as a welfare benefit—the best time to get points and living expenses from the school.
It was not a wise move to give up 100 Class Points when there was a chance to get them.
In class competition, the point gap is important, but if all classes gain points, the relative gap between the class ranks remains unchanged.
Thus, the guarantee he gave Ryuen was no lie.
Therefore, it might be necessary to invite Katsuragi out for a talk.
But.
Class A had a dual-representative system. Katsuragi was the steady type who wouldn't strike proactively. Even if left alone, he wouldn't cause much damage.
The one who truly had the ability and the desire to cause trouble for everyone was someone else.
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