"This will definitely be on the exam. Free points—who wouldn't want those?"
With less than two weeks until the midterm exams, this was already the third time Mashima Tomonari had said something like that in class today. His teaching style, much like his first impression, was rigorous and meticulous. Yet, all the students in Class 1-D could sense it: Mashima was starting to get anxious.
But it wasn't the anxiety of impending failure. Rather, it was the kind of urgency where he wished he could pour every last bit of knowledge directly into the students' heads.
"If everyone listens seriously and focuses on review, passing is within reach for each of you."
He took a sip from the tea cup he had brought and rested his hands earnestly on the podium.
Although Mashima had yet to fully come to terms with being reassigned to the struggling Class 1-D, he had gradually begun to accept the fact: these thirty-plus students in front of him were now his students.
Once he adjusted his mindset, Mashima also started shifting his previously strict teaching style from Class A. Recognizing that these were fundamentally weaker students, he began from the basics, using plain and even overly simplistic explanations to carefully build their understanding from the ground up.
He also narrowed down the exam coverage to the smallest possible range. Frankly, if students just memorized everything he outlined, passing the test wouldn't be all that difficult.
As their homeroom teacher, Mashima's efforts did inspire some of the students. And under their influence, even the more laid-back ones began to study—if only to go with the flow.
This was helped by the fact that Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji were both suspended at the moment.
Kitagawa Ryo spun his mechanical pencil with practiced ease while observing the class atmosphere.
Although Class 1-D was full of flawed students, that didn't mean every single person was a total failure. Extremes like Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji were rare. Just like in society, the majority of people fell into the "average" category.
And in this class of forty, over half were just that: average students.
Not completely checked out, but not trying hard either. Not aspiring to move up classes, but also unwilling to be expelled.
They would sway with the prevailing wind, going wherever the classroom atmosphere pushed them.
Unlike the version of Class 1-D from the Karuizawa Kei simulation, this current one had evolved. Kushida Kikyo had moved to Class A, but Ichinose Honami had taken her place and arguably done better. Horikita Suzune had transformed herself. Destructive influences like Koenji Rokusuke, Yamauchi Haruki, and Ike Kanji were now expelled or suspended.
Even the homeroom teacher had changed from Chabashira Sae to Mashima Tomonari. Just thinking of that time Chabashira gave the class the wrong exam content made Ryo cringe. But surely, she wouldn't pull such stunts again in Class A.
Ryo reached into his desk drawer and touched a file—the answer sheet for the midterm exam, obtained through a deal with upperclassmen.
In the previous simulation, he had used that very answer sheet to deal a critical blow to Class 1-D.
The most straightforward option would be to release the answers the day before the exam. That way, he could maintain the class's motivation while ensuring everyone passed.
But a more strategic move would be to leak rumors that Class 1-D had given up on the midterms, luring Class A or C into a betting agreement on the exam results. Then he could crush them using the answer sheet.
Either way, he would eventually need to go public with the answers.
Propping up his head with one hand, Ryo watched Mashima passionately explaining basic English grammar at the podium.
One of the front-row girls, a Chinese exchange student named Wang Mei-Yu, was attentively listening. Likely thanks to her strong early education, her English was excellent.
Seated next to her, a bob-haired boy named Okitani Kyousuke was mindlessly doodling. From the way he fidgeted, Ryo could tell he was struggling to resist the urge to take out his phone.
Ryo didn't know every student in the class, nor did he care to. To him, exams—and the attitude students brought to them—were the fairest measures.
Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji were familiar cases, both planning to drop out from the start.
As for the rest...
With a "click," Ryo capped his mechanical pencil just as the bell rang.
He would leave the rest to the midterm exams.
-------------------------------------
"So, Ryo, you're not planning to release the answer sheet for the midterm?"
"Yeah. Let everyone take the test with their own abilities."
During lunch break, Kitagawa Ryo casually responded to Ichinose Honami's question while eating his homemade bento on a courtyard bench. Horikita Suzune sat quietly on his other side, also eating her own lunch. All three of them belonged to the self-catering faction. Since Sakura Airi had maxed out her cooking skills in desserts only, she and Sakayanagi Arisu had gone to the cafeteria together.
"But if you do that, students with weak fundamentals who actually tried hard might still fail..."
"And do you think if I publish the answers, that ratio will be better than the number of D-Class students who didn't study but pass just by using them?"
"Besides, if there really are students like you said, I'll step in."
Ichinose paused and then quickly understood what Ryo meant.
"You're talking about the scores from the last quiz, right?"
"Yeah. Including Yamauchi and Ike, seven people in D-Class scored below the passing line. And you know them better than I do, Honami. You can tell who genuinely tried and who didn't."
Ryo turned his head slightly and smiled. Ever since they opened up to each other, he had unconsciously started relying on and trusting her more.
"You can be the one to judge. I trust you."
"Got it. No problem."
Ichinose could hear the emotion in his voice. She was still kind but no longer the girl who desperately saw herself as her classmates' guardian, willing to do anything to prevent someone from being expelled.
Thinking about her past self made her cheeks flush slightly with embarrassment.
If she could meet that version of Ichinose Honami again—the one who agreed to date someone for four million points just to protect a classmate from expulsion—she would have a lot to say.
She stole a glance at Ryo's lips.
Like how kissing someone you like can actually feel like the happiest thing in the world.
Not the twisted satisfaction of seeing others smile.
But a moment where reality blurs into something faint and dizzying, where breath and warmth intertwine in comforting embrace.
Horikita closed her lunchbox lid, resting her head on one hand as she glanced at Ichinose, who was gazing at Ryo with certainty in her violet-red eyes.
Something must have definitely happened between them during that competition trip.
"Ryo, how's midterm prep going? Our Class B is totally ready to beat Class A this time."
Karuizawa Kei bounded over proudly, practically announcing Class A's downfall.
"I'm ready to cling to Kei's legs!"
"..."
By the time they noticed, Sakayanagi Arisu was already standing behind them. Horikita scooted over to make space.
"Finished eating already?"
"Yeah, didn't have much appetite, so I came back early."
Arisu leaned on her cane and slowly took a seat next to Horikita.
"Sounds like you agree with Ryo's decision."
"If you mean not releasing the answer sheet, then yes."
Horikita sensed something hollow in Arisu's gaze. Back in their first month, Arisu had been so active that even Ryo suspected she might compete with Ichinose for the class leader role.
But since the start of this month, she had seemed listless, uninterested in anything.
Still, Horikita was well aware of Arisu's health issues. With the familiarity of an older sister-in-law, she leaned in slightly and asked,
"Not feeling well lately?"
"..."
Arisu hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Not enough to affect daily life."
Watching the others still discussing midterms and clearly not paying attention to their conversation, Arisu rested her head on her hand and murmured lazily,
"Do you remember what Mashima-sensei said before the midterms? That if we passed both the midterms and finals, the school would take us on a free summer vacation to a private island?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"Then you must've realized it too. There's no way this school would take us on a peaceful, free vacation."
Arisu rested her cane across her lap, her pale legs swinging gently above the ground.
"A special exam."
"Yeah. A special exam."
"But it's one that has nothing to do with me."
Waves, beaches, cruise ships.
These words were alien to Sakayanagi Arisu, ever since the day she was born.
The only time she secretly took a train to the beach and tried walking on the sand, she ended up watching helplessly as the pure white sunhat her father gave her was carried away by the wind—swallowed by the vast ocean.
-------------------------------------
"Borrow points from me?"
In the student council reception room, Student Council Vice President Nagumo Miyabi folded his arms, scrutinizing Ayanokouji Kiyotaka across from him. The boy had contacted him out of the blue after school, and the first words out of his mouth were about points.
"Ayanokouji-kun, I do think highly of you, but you haven't exactly shown outstanding ability."
"Of the two names I gave you on that list, Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu, it doesn't look like you've dealt with either."
"If Vice President Nagumo is confident he could expel both the student council president's own sister and the chairman's daughter within a month, maybe I'd think more of you too."
Nagumo was annoyed by the reply, but his self-control was sharp. He soon flashed a grin and said,
"That's not the attitude of someone asking for a favor."
"To me, this is just a fair transaction. There's no such thing as one party begging."
"But I hold the leverage. That already makes it an unequal exchange."
Nagumo stood and leaned in close to whisper in Ayanokouji's ear,
"I don't know what your background is, but at the very least, here at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School…"
"Boring."
Ayanokouji sighed. He had researched this vice president beforehand. Despite just holding a student council role, Nagumo was already surrounded by a flurry of rumors about his personal life.
Ayanokouji didn't particularly care how many girls Nagumo had gossip linking him to. But now that they were meeting face to face, it became clear that Nagumo's ambitions were constrained within the boundaries of the school.
And he couldn't even manage the student council properly.
Ayanokouji had initially intended to join the student council himself once he realized its strategic importance. But it seemed Kitagawa Ryo had been faster, having already placed both Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu within its ranks.
If not for that, he wouldn't have even considered cooperating with someone like Nagumo.
After some back-and-forth bargaining, Ayanokouji finally managed to gain something of value.
"Summer vacation... deserted island survival, huh?"
-------------------------------------
[Sakayanagi Arisu's mental state has shifted. Her life trajectory is beginning to change.]
[Recommended: Player should proceed to complete Chapter Four soon.]
[Chapter: Sakayanagi Arisu's Spring Wish]
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