Several days had passed since the end of the final exams.
Time entered March, and very little remained of their lives as first-year students.
First Year, Class B.
Hikigaya walked into the classroom as usual.
"Hikki, good morning~"
"Oh."
Feeling like he might be a bit impolite, Hikigaya added a word for asakura mako and the others.
"Morning."
"As I thought."
Watching Hikigaya return to his seat, Okakura Asako said excitedly:
"It's so great that we started the study group; Hikki's grades have made such progress."
"Indeed, thank you."
Speaking of this, a smile couldn't help but appear at the corners of Hikigaya's mouth.
Just yesterday, the school announced the results of the final exams, and his math score had achieved a historic breakthrough.
He actually scored a historic high of fifty-five.
Moreover.
Over several small quizzes, his grades had shown an upward trend.
So it couldn't be said to be because of luck.
In that case.
He could relax a little bit.
After all, there were still five points he could continue to squander; what a wonderful thing.
"No need."
Asakura mako waved her hands repeatedly: "I also improved my Japanese score by three points thanks to Hikki's help. It's really great."
"You all are so amazing."
Hikigaya looked back at her.
It couldn't be helped; every time asakura mako and Kobashi Yume sought him out to chat in class, there were always one or two people who liked to join the conversation.
Over time.
Shiranami Chihiro, who had a good relationship with mako, naturally joined in.
"That's not the case."
mako quickly stroked her small head, a gentle smile on her face.
"Little Chihiro, haven't you always been working hard? Besides, your sports score this time is already much stronger than at the start of school."
Watching this scene, Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion—could she please stop stroking Little Chihiro's head?
It felt like Little Chihiro was the mascot of Class B.
Of course.
Her grades weren't bad.
She always hovered around thirty-fifth place, but she was never at risk of failing; she was "weak" in a very average way.
But if one were to talk about growth over this past year.
It was also something that couldn't be helped.
After all, even Kobashi Yume and the others in the "Wool Group" spent most of their time chatting, let alone the large-scale study groups on Ichinose's side.
Even if everyone just said one sentence.
It would probably be a never-ending chatter.
Being able to stay in place already showed that they were working hard in private.
Furthermore.
Regarding staying in place.
Hikigaya felt he had no right to judge others; it was as if he had lost a year of time, with his grades showing zero change.
Being able to maintain a fifty-point "don't cause trouble" passing line.
That was already very good.
Just then.
The bell for class rang.
The few of them quickly quieted down to wait for the lesson to begin.
A moment later, the sound of high heels clicking approached from afar, and Hoshinomiya Chie walked into the classroom.
Hmm?
Hikigaya frowned.
Hoshinomiya had actually changed her usual style; she walked into the classroom with hunched shoulders and a guilty look, as if she couldn't wait to run away.
Is this... a possession?
"That... Hoshinomiya-sensei... did something happen?"
"Wooo~"
Hoshinomiya Chie let out a pathetic whimper:
"If I say it, you guys can't blame me, okay~"
"It's okay, did Hoshinomiya-sensei run into some trouble? You can tell us, and everyone will help out."
Ichinose and the others showed brilliant smiles; they really had no way to deal with this cute homeroom teacher.
"Then I'll say it..."
Hoshinomiya Chie's eyes were hesitant:
"The final special exam of this academic year will be held on March 8th. This is the same as what I told you yesterday. Once this exam is over, you will be considered to have completed the promotion to the second year. This is the custom."
"And then? Hoshinomiya-sensei, don't keep us in suspense~"
"However, today's situation is a little different from last year."
Hoshinomiya Chie said in a low, apologetic voice:
"Because there wasn't a single dropout after the final exams, the school has decided to hold an additional special exam starting today."
"..."
Ichinose and the others just listened silently and nodded.
If it was just an exam.
They were already prepared; it was just adding one more test. They would continue to work hard; any exam would do.
Only Hikigaya was somewhat dissatisfied, but he didn't say much.
After all.
A "corporate slave" had absolutely no right to refuse; since the school wanted to test them, they had to accept it. Dammit, they were going to encroach on his private time again.
"Only by passing this special exam can you take the special exam on March 8th."
Hoshinomiya Chie placed both hands in front of her chest, her two index fingers poking each other.
Looking exactly like a child who had done something wrong.
"It's just that there will be a three percent expulsion rate..."
"Huh?"
The pupils of Ichinose and the others shrank, and Kanzaki and the others couldn't help but stand up.
"Teacher, what does this mean? An exact three percent expulsion rate... doesn't that mean one student will inevitably be expelled?"
"Is that what it means?"
Class B immediately fell into a state of chaos, and Hikigaya also frowned.
Although it sounded low, it could indeed be understood as a certainty that one dropout would appear. This was completely different from the style of previous exams.
In the past, no matter how difficult it was.
The school wouldn't block all paths; as long as you worked a bit harder, there was always a chance to stay.
Rather.
In the past, the school was quite lenient—just like the forest camp, the school was very accommodating and preferred for no dropouts to occur.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei, can you give us a detailed explanation?"
Ichinose also asked nervously.
"Ah~"
Hoshinomiya Chie held her small head and shook it, letting out a pained cry.
"Teacher can't do anything about it either! It's all that new Acting Director Tsukishiro who insisted on adding this exam. Teacher already tried very hard to argue against it, but there really was no way..."
"..."
Watching the scene on the podium, Hikigaya's mouth twitched.
Teacher.
Can you please stop acting like a spoiled child.
However.
It seemed that Hoshinomiya had also done her best in her own way.
Unfortunately.
This was clearly a case of a new official lighting three fires upon taking office. An instructor like Hoshinomiya, who was a subordinate, had no power to refuse.
"Um..."
Ichinose and the others also felt somewhat helpless: "Then Hoshinomiya-sensei, please first explain what kind of exam it is."
"This exam is called 'Class Vote'..."
Hoshinomiya Chie squatted on the podium, her finger drawing circles on the floor looking extremely aggrieved:
"The school wants to ask you to evaluate your classmates over the four-day period starting today. Then, you choose three students you think are worthy of praise and three students you think are worthy of criticism. Additionally, you choose one student from another class you think is worthy of praise, and you will vote on Saturday, the day of the exam."
"Sounds quite simple?"
Kanzaki frowned.
Three praise votes and three criticism votes within the class, plus one praise vote for another class; it didn't seem difficult.
"However, Class B doesn't have anyone who needs criticizing."
Ichinose knitted her beautiful brows; to her, every companion was a precious existence.
But if such an exam had to be held.
When the time came, everyone could only be forced to give evaluations against their conscience.
"Yeah."
Hoshinomiya nodded aggrievedly:
"The content of the exam is very simple."
"But this exam is mainly to solve the problem of 'nobody dropping out.' The reward aspect is quite excessive."
"Every praise vote and criticism vote will cancel each other out. If someone receives ten criticism votes and twenty praise votes, after offsetting, it becomes ten praise votes."
"Finally, for the person who gets first place in praise votes, the school will give a reward under a new system called 'Protection Points.'"
"Protection Points are a right that can nullify an expulsion penalty in case you receive one, but these points cannot be transferred to others."
Upon hearing this.
The people in Class B couldn't help but feel tense.
Such a reward could not be considered small; if used properly, it was worth as much as twenty million points.
But everyone knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.
A reward like this would surely correspond to a very severe punishment.
"And the punishment?"
Ichinose and the others immediately had a bad feeling.
Feeling everyone's gaze, Hoshinomiya Chie felt a bit guilty.
"The person in last place will be expelled."
"Wait a minute."
Kanzaki and the others immediately grew dissatisfied: "Just because there were no dropouts, you're holding such a forced exam to make someone drop out? This is too unreasonable, isn't it?"
"Wooo..."
Tears welled up in Hoshinomiya Chie's eyes: "Teacher can't help it either! We should quickly think about what to do, shouldn't we?"
No.
Since when did it become "we"? You are the teacher; how can you say "we" with the students.
Hikigaya sighed helplessly in his heart.
Since the school was holding such an exam, as a "corporate slave," he could only helplessly accept it.
"That... indeed..."
Ichinose frowned in thought: "Although it's hard, if we unite to control the votes so that students only receive an equal number of praise and criticism votes that result in zero, then wouldn't it be that no one becomes last place?"
"That won't work."
Hoshinomiya Chie shook her head with teary eyes:
"For this exam, if they don't let us select a 'first place and last place,' it won't be established."
"Even if it just happens that there's a tie for last place, the winner and loser will be decided by a special method prepared by the school, which I can't tell you at this stage."
Hoshinomiya Chie pointed at the surveillance camera above her head, looking very aggrieved: "Not to mention intentionally controlling the vote counts."
"This..."
The faces of Ichinose and the others immediately stiffened.
In that case.
Other than selecting a dropout, they seemed to have no other choice.