Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Aia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 6
Author Note:
Even though there were already many who read my writing, I still couldn’t believe that people find it interesting, but thank you very much.
I’m honored by the number of comments given. I really appreciate it.
May.
Today was the day for comparing answers.
It was the day when every class was shocked by the class point system.
Mashima-sensei immediately put up the printout with the number of points for each class.
Class A – 900 points
Class B – 820 points
Class C – 490 points
Class D – 0 points
The class erupted into chaos. Only Arisu-chan and I were calm.
After that, there was a detailed overview of the class point system and the private points that would be transferred every month: it was 1 class point equivalent to 100 private points.
In addition, they explained the graduation benefit given only to Class A; that the number of points transferred every month could change; and that Class A was a group of excellent students.
I already knew them all from my knowledge of the original story.
There was also an official explanation about the special accommodations arranged for me and Arisu-chan, alongside the reason people couldn’t contact us until now (to keep the secrecy of the class point system).
“I will now post the result of the quizzes. Everyone, confirm your score on your own.”
With the general explanation concluded, Mashima-sensei posted a new printout.
Having looked at the results, it seemed I got around mediocre 60s in every subject. Not only were there questions I didn’t understand, but the last three difficult questions were also left untouched.
Well, I guess that was the extent of my academic ability.
Arisu-chan had scores in the 80s in all subjects, thus marking her as a competent student.
You heard that right, it was in the 80s.
She clearly didn’t go all out.
I remembered seeing, after the math test, that she left the first question blank, so I did expect it would end up like this… but it seemed like she did it on every test.
I decided to set aside wondering why she did so for later.
“I think this has nothing to do with you as people since all of you are competent students in academics. But keep in mind that for the tests from now on, a student who fails to reach a passing grade for even a single subject will be immediately expelled. Please never think of this as someone else’s problem to bear.”
Mashima-sensei said his last words and left the classroom.
Reactions after homeroom were mixed.
There were those who were proud of the excellence of Class A and ridiculed Class D for scoring 0…
But the most prolific opinion was about how Class B would be a strong opponent.
Of course it was. The difference in class points was only 80. It was a difference that could easily be overcome with a single exam. Katsuragi, who was already fortifying his position as the leader, concluded that Class B would be an immediate rival.
I knew well that “that wasn’t the case.”
It was only May, and the difference in points shouldn’t be that close. Something strange was clearly going on. However, Class A students had no way of knowing that. They simply accepted that Class B was a rival that could threaten their position.
B was excellent, an opponent they didn’t want to lose against.
C wasn’t even considered an opponent.
D was a group of defects that weren’t even worth being taken seriously.
Such was the atmosphere in the class. Perhaps it was a stronger, and more successful, unifier compared to the Class A in the original story… but this group was easily caught off guard.
In addition, ignoring the fact Class B had abnormally high points, Class A had fewer points than it had in the original story.
Especially with their attitude, they were quite lax in the latter half of April. Nobody came to class late, but there were those who didn’t pay attention to the teacher and looked at their terminals instead, and there were those who dozed off in the afternoon.
Perhaps this was the side effect of the class becoming a single faction.
For better or worse, Katsuragi was a kind-hearted man, and there were students like Totsuka who clung to him. But there were people who found his ‘go team!’ aspect annoying and treated them coldly.
To put it bluntly, though, those students who clung to Katsuragi had a bad attitude. Katsuragi didn’t openly berate them either, probably because he was afraid of losing their support. Katsuragi was afraid that a rival leader candidate would emerge and use the students’ dissatisfaction with him to form a new faction.
Which is exactly what the girl that sat next to me could do.
If Arisu-chan came forward to battle over the class leadership, people who were already dissatisfied with Katsuragi would secede and join the Sakayanagi faction.
However, that was just a what-if scenario.
Nobody else came forward to lead, so there was no way an anti-Katsuragi faction could be formed.
This very fact would have a great impact on the future of the class.
And the fact that all of this was according to Arisu-chan’s plan was known only to me, Ayanokouji…
And another student outside Class A.
“As I explained previously, based on the class evaluation, the points transferred each month could change. You can also expect that your behavior during class will be evaluated.”
“Hoeeh~”
This occurred during a holiday two weeks after school began.
The three of us went to a deserted café.
We went all the way here to have a confidential conversation.
“Honami-san is our friend, so you’re a special case, okay?”
“Thank you, Arisu-chan.”
The girl’s name was Ichinose Honami.
She was the girl who was considered the leader of Class B.
We were getting close to her recently.
At first, we just visited Class B to introduce ourselves. Then, we got closer through our conversations. In the meantime, we also introduced Ayanokouji as our friend and built a close relationship with her.
The one called Kanzaki looked puzzled at the sight of students from another class entering Class B, but since we clearly had no ill will, he didn’t speak out about it.
However, I could tell that he was a competent man. Perhaps he felt something off at Arisu-chan’s attitude.
The combination of both Honami-san’s extremely affable personality and Arisu-chan’s speaking skills, however, crushed his suspicions.
Now, Kanzaki took the initiative to talk to us, and we were now close enough to be acquaintances.
By the way, Arisu-chan called her ‘Honami-san’ as if it was the most natural thing to do, but it was only because Arisu-chan suggested that we refer to each other by name instead of surname.
I had been watching Arisu-chan for many years, but it was the first time she’d ever acted like this, so I was surprised.
Actually, wasn’t it the first time she referred to someone by name other than me?
She clearly had some sort of hidden intention.
Perhaps there was a need to get along well with Honami-san as much as possible to achieve that goal.
Arisu-chan just told Honami-san everything about the class point system.
Everything, including the reasoning behind the conclusion and whatever Ayanokouji investigated.
Even though she didn’t tell anyone else in Class A, Arisu-chan revealed all this to Honami-san without hesitation.
“I don’t mind you telling your classmates to improve their behavior during class, but can you keep it a secret that you heard it from me? Please treat it as something that you managed to find out on your own.”
“For some reason, it makes me feel bad… Next month, it will be like, ‘It’s all thanks to me!’ right?”
“Fufu, that will be fine.”
Arisu-chan smiled after taking a sip of cocoa.
As a result, from next month onward, Honami-san would become an unignorable presence in Class B.
It went without saying. From the other students’ perspectives, not only did she have her initial popularity, but she also had Arisu-chan’s level of intelligence. It was normal for them to be under the illusion that Honami-san was an extraordinary person. In a sense, perhaps she could be considered more of a dictator than Ryuuen.
The problem was that I still had no idea what Arisu-chan was trying to achieve.
“About… Arisu-chan’s goal. Can you tell me about it?”
As expected, Honami-san became timid when she asked. I can’t read Honami-san’s thoughts, but she must have considered Arisu-chan as ‘someone I shouldn’t have as an enemy.’
“Let’s see. I will tell you, eventually, but let me keep it a secret for now. Don’t worry, whenever I have information that would be advantageous to Honami-san, I will talk to you about it as much as possible. Just like today.”
“…What should I do in return?”
“I’m not asking for anything. Us getting along from now on is enough.”
“Even if you say we get along, I can’t do anything in return…”
Where did Arisu-chan benefit when she did something like this?
Honami-san had her doubts and asked the same question. She knew that she had no idea what Arisu-chan got from imparting all that information, so she could be considered a competent person. But Honami-san just happened to be too good of a person.
Since Arisu-chan insisted on hiding it, Honami-san couldn’t ask further. That was Honami-san’s flaw.
…Actually, I might have looked at Honami-san a little favorably, because of this.
Her circumstances overlapped with my previous self.
For her little sister, she shoplifted, but couldn’t endure the guilt of doing so, and ended up refusing to leave her own room in the past. Although the root cause was poverty, it was hard for me to consider that as something I should be concerned with.
However, it was still something she struggled with. I just happened to be aware of it due to my knowledge of the original story, and she was nobody but a friend I made recently.
I could separate things that much. I had no idea what Arisu-chan wanted from Honami-san, but I had no intention of interfering with her strategy.
In the first place, it would be difficult for Honami-san to graduate as Class B had to turn the situation around. Her personality was ill-suited with the policy of this school.
It might sound irresponsible from a third-party opinion, but I think she was better off enrolling in a normal high school if she could afford it.
True, she lacked the choice because of poverty, but that’s also why she couldn’t afford to be expelled.
And if possible, I would like to avoid her expulsion.
I was just an ordinary man who had no intention to enroll in this place and had no influence to change anything.
I was sure I could do nothing and had no intention to insist on something and shoulder that risk.
The one who could do something like that was Arisu-chan.
And everything was according to Arisu-chan’s will.
Even though it was irresponsible of me, I could only pray that Honami-san had a better future in store for her.
We stood after concluding the meeting.
Honami-san said nothing and handed the receipt to the clerk.
“Please let me pay the bill. As expected, I feel bad not doing anything.”
Well, the information she received was worth several times over the food bill after all.
Since such a thing was given for free, I would do the same if I was in her position.
“I will pay for myself, okay? I haven’t really done anything impressive, so being treated seems wrong.”
“No, don’t worry about it.”
As she said that, Honami-san hastily finished the payment.
“Thank you very much, Honami-san.”
“That’s my line… I really don’t have to do anything?”
“Yes. Please just put it to effective use.”
“Okay… I-if you have any trouble, don’t hesitate to let me know, alright?”
Honami-san had a complicated expression on her face.
For someone that was as good as her, who received something without giving anything in return, this would be unexpectedly hard. I didn’t have such manners and just appreciated the things given to me, but I guess a good person felt stressed over that.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Perhaps that was what Arisu-chan was aiming for?
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