As the word "expulsion" was brought up once again, not only did Haruki Yamauchi feel a heavy sense of oppression, but more than half the people in Year 1, Class D also began to feel anxious.
No need to mention Haruki Yamauchi's case.
No matter how hard they tried, it would be difficult to raise a score from the failing line—already hard to even reach—to a passing level within this month.
However, there were still a large number of students in Year 1, Class D who were barely hovering around the passing line.
They passed this time, sure, but would they definitely pass next time?
Not necessarily.
These people felt the same immense anxiety at the mere mention of expulsion.
As Natsuki Subaru's words fell, the atmosphere in the entire class suddenly became oppressive.
"Tch…"
It seemed Natsuki Subaru had hit a sore spot.
A girl with honey-colored long hair, seated slightly ahead, let out a dissatisfied sound.
This was Kei Karuizawa, another female leader in Year 1, Class D besides Kikyō Kushida.
"You don't have to talk like that just because you have good grades, right?"
"Yamauchi did bring it on himself, sure."
Kei Karuizawa pouted and complained softly.
"But talking about expulsion right in front of everyone is just piling on the gloom. It ruins the mood for the whole day."
As a poor student herself, Kei Karuizawa's grades were only slightly better than Haruki Yamauchi's, but not by much.
These past few days, she too had been anxious about the possibility of expulsion due to failing. Natsuki Subaru's earlier words to Haruki Yamauchi had clearly gotten through to her.
"Exactly, Kei-chan."
"The atmosphere just got even worse…"
A girl sitting not far from Kei Karuizawa chimed in with her own complaint after hearing Kei Karuizawa's gripe.
This was Maya Satō, one of Kei Karuizawa's good friends in Year 1, Class D. She usually dressed in a similar gal style and was a core member of the gal group led by Kei Karuizawa.
Her grades weren't great either—slightly better than Kei Karuizawa's, but still short of passing.
These past few days, she had been attending Yōsuke Hirata's study sessions with Kei Karuizawa, feeling immense pressure about the midterm exams.
"But, Maya-chan."
"Where do you think Natsuki gets all those personal points from?"
Kei Karuizawa didn't dwell too much on the topic of expulsion and instead turned to Maya Satō with keen interest.
She had heard about Natsuki Subaru's extravagant spending these past few days—every meal started at least at two thousand personal points, and apparently not just lunch; dinner was the same level.
And it wasn't just occasional; supposedly, it was like this every day.
If Natsuki Subaru had been doing this since the start of school, the initial 100,000 personal points wouldn't have lasted at all. And judging by Kei Karuizawa's own spending habits, food and drink were only a small part of daily expenses.
Natsuki Subaru surely had other expenditures too.
Given that, the personal points he had on hand must be no small amount.
"If it was just the initial 100,000 points from enrollment, there's no way he could keep spending like that and still have any left now."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard too. They say Natsuki-kun spends four or five thousand personal points a day just on meals."
Maya Satō perked up at Kei Karuizawa's words.
"Kei-chan, earlier Kōenji-kun said Natsuki-kun earned resources through his own 'wisdom,' right?"
"Is there some way in this school to earn extra personal points that we don't know about?"
At this, a look of longing appeared on Maya Satō's face.
If possible, she wanted to live as freely as Natsuki Subaru. These past few days of mountain vegetable set meals had nearly made her puke; she'd even lost several kilos.
"There definitely is."
"Otherwise, where would all those personal points come from?"
Kei Karuizawa unconsciously twirled her long hair, her eyes flickering.
If Haruki Yamauchi hadn't already made a move, Kei Karuizawa might have wanted to borrow some personal points from Natsuki Subaru herself.
Just not as extreme as Haruki Yamauchi.
However...
Looking at Haruki Yamauchi's current awkward predicament made Kei Karuizawa hesitate.
Natsuki Subaru had maintained an unusually mild and polite attitude from start to finish, but Kei Karuizawa could sense he wasn't as easygoing as he seemed.
'Should I go find Natsuki Subaru on the sly?'
The thought made Kei Karuizawa's heart beat a little faster.
Honestly, she had been in a real pinch lately.
She had borrowed some personal points from Kikyō Kushida to get by, but without any incoming personal points, it was still tough.
As the center of the class's gal group, maintaining her 'flashy' and 'generous' image was crucial, and personal points were the foundation of it all.
Most importantly, Kei Karuizawa absolutely could not lose this layer of 'flashiness.' Without it—without being at the center—she would revert to her old self.
'But...'
'What if Natsuki Subaru treats me like he did Yamauchi? What then?'
Just imagining being ruthlessly exposed—or worse—in front of her friends like Haruki Yamauchi right now filled Kei Karuizawa with instinctive fear.
Any budding intentions quickly deflated.
"Never mind..."
"Natsuki seems like a really troublesome guy..."
After hesitating for a while, Kei Karuizawa leaned back in her chair with some disappointment.
Maya Satō was a bit curious but, seeing Kei Karuizawa say that, nodded along.
"Yeah, yeah, Natsuki-kun does seem kinda hard to approach..."
In Maya Satō's view, after Haruki Yamauchi had said all that, a normal person would lend a little. But Natsuki Subaru spoke mildly yet stood his ground unusually firmly.
Not the pushover otaku type she imagined.
...
Haruki Yamauchi didn't push any further.
Instead, he slunk back to his seat dejectedly. He knew full well that after Natsuki Subaru and Rokusuke Kōenji's handling, his reputation in the class had completely tanked.
Though it wasn't great to begin with.
With the arrival of homeroom teacher Sae Chabashira, everyone pretended to be very attentive and the lesson began.
___
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