Classroom of the Elite: Standing Firm in Class A — Chapter 54

Chapter 54: A New Month

Kaedehara Tetsu felt as though a rogue background process had been permanently installed into his daily routine—a glitch he mentally dubbed the “Morishita Ai Observer.”

It was a program that would pop up at any given time, in any given place, entirely devoid of warning. Ever since that unilaterally declared “girlfriend relationship” had been established between them, Morishita had truly taken her self-appointed career of observation to the absolute extreme.

She would materialize by his side like a phantom. Whether he was quietly eating his lunch in the cafeteria or browsing the aisles at the convenience store, she was simply there. She rarely spoke, nor did she go out of her way to disturb his activities; she would just stand close, staring up at him with those wide, curious, unblinking eyes.

Over the past few weeks, Tetsu’s attitude had gradually shifted from initial exasperation to a kind of tacit, dry cooperation. He would occasionally toss out a casual thought or a calculated answer in response to Morishita’s wild, highly imaginative questions, feeding the observer just enough data to keep her entertained.

Just like that, time slipped away quietly, and the calendar turned to the first day of June.

The morning sunlight already carried the distinct, heavy hint of early summer heat, spilling through the tall windows of the classroom and painting the desks in a warm gold.

The first bell of the morning rang for homeroom.

Mashima Tomoya strode into the Class 1-A classroom the exact second the chime ended. He carried a thick, nondescript folder under his arm. The moment his imposing figure crossed the threshold, the scattered, low-voiced conversations buzzing across the room vanished into absolute silence.

Mashima walked straight to the lectern. With a sharp slap, he dropped the folder onto the wooden surface. Skipping any unnecessary preamble, he pulled a freshly printed sheet of paper from the stack, turned his back to the students, and efficiently pinned it to the center of the blackboard.

“These are the final settlement results for last month’s Class Points,” Mashima announced, his voice carrying its usual strict weight.

On the white sheet, the latest point totals for the four first-year classes were clearly listed for all to see.

Class A: 1020

Class B: 745

Class C: 550

Class D: 90

“Oh, another hundred points gained. Not bad at all.”

“To be expected, I suppose. After all, our average score on the midterm exam was the highest in the entire grade.”

“But look at Class B, they’re catching up fast. They only scored five fewer Class Points than we did this month.”

A low murmur rippled through Class A. Most of the elite students remained perfectly calm, treating their position at the top of the hierarchy as a natural given. Their discussion quickly pivoted from their own success to analyzing the shifting gaps between the lower classes.

“Only five points more than Class B. The school’s grading criteria really are mercilessly strict.”

“Well, Class B worked incredibly hard this time around. I heard Ichinose Honami organized a highly efficient, massive study group, and almost everyone in her class secured high scores. It’s only normal they’d get a result like this.”

While the others chatted, Hashimoto Masayoshi leaned back in his chair, his sharp gaze falling to the two numbers at the very bottom of the list.

“Hey, tell me…” Hashimoto’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a casual, probing weight that successfully drew the attention of the students sitting around him. “Don’t you guys think the points for Class C and Class D are a little strange?”

“Strange? What’s strange about it?” a nearby classmate asked, tilting his head in confusion. “Those two classes did poorly on the exam and got fewer points. Isn’t that just basic logic?”

“No, look closer.” Hashimoto pointed a lazy finger toward the blackboard. “Class D, 90 points. That score actually makes sense. Even though they had students fail the midterm exam, they managed to save them at the last second by pooling their Private Points to buy test marks. Because of that, they avoided any dropouts.”

He paused, a sly smile touching his lips. “The real focal point is Class C. That score is very interesting. Theoretically, their academic ability should be roughly on the same level as Class D, maybe slightly higher. And since they didn’t have a single failing student, their class performance should have been significantly better. But in the final settlement, they suffered a massive drop.”

His clear, methodical analysis instantly drew everyone’s attention to the overlooked detail.

“You’re right, Hashimoto makes a good point. Class A had a higher average than Class B and gained five more points. Class B was higher than Class D and also gained a proportionate amount. The S-System clearly uses a tiered reward structure based on exam rankings.”

“If that’s the case, Class C and Class D had similar grades. Even if there was a gap in their test scores, it shouldn’t be nearly enough to result in such a massive deduction for Class C. Could it be that someone in their class violated the school rules and triggered a severe penalty?”

“Very likely. I’ve heard rumors that those guys in Class C, operating under Ryuuen Kakeru’s leadership, have been acting more and more arrogant lately. It wouldn’t be strange at all if they got heavily penalized for getting into physical conflicts with other students.”

As the students chattered away, tossing out various theories, Tetsu felt a gentle, deliberate pressure against his spine.

Poke.

It was the tip of a ballpoint pen. He didn’t even need to turn around to know exactly who was sitting behind him.

“Kaedehara Tetsu, what do you think?” Morishita Ai’s flat, inquisitive voice drifted to his ears.

Tetsu’s gaze remained fixed on the blackboard ahead. He rested his chin on his hand, not bothering to turn his head.

“It’s an inevitable result.”

“Inevitable?”

“It isn’t because Class C’s midterm grades were too poor,” Tetsu murmured, his tone calm and laced with a dry, knowing amusement. “Rather, it is the necessary tax that must be paid for the ‘unification war’ currently taking place within their ranks.”

“Unification war?”

“For a class to pull together and act as a single entity, there are generally only two effective methods.” Tetsu kept his voice low, meant only for the observer behind him. “The first is the path Ichinose walks in Class B. Relying on overwhelming personal charisma and absolute kindness to make everyone willingly follow her. That method is highly stable and generates zero internal friction.”

He smiled faintly. “And the second… is the path Class C has chosen. Using the most direct, brutal violence and fear to crush all dissenting opinions into dust.”

“What Ryuuen requires is absolute obedience. In the process of achieving that dictatorial goal, ‘friction’with his own classmates, and even small-scale physical’conflicts,’ are completely unavoidable. Every single one of those violent actions is recorded by the school’s hidden cameras, converted into negative behavioral metrics, and ultimately reflected as a massive deduction in their Class Points.”

Morishita fell silent. The pen retreated from his back as she seemingly began to process and digest this new data.

Up at the lectern, Mashima tapped his knuckles lightly against the wooden desktop.

“Quiet.”

With that single, commanding word, all the whispering in the classroom was instantly extinguished.

“Regarding the reasons for the fluctuations in each class’s points, there is no need for you to waste time speculating,” Mashima said, his stern gaze sweeping across the room. “What you need to do is ensure that Class A maintains its absolute lead next month.”

He adjusted his glasses. “Additionally, there is one more thing that needs to be announced.”

The students straightened in their seats.

“The school has decided to organize a luxury cruise ship trip during the upcoming summer vacation. It will host all First Year students.”

That single sentence acted like a spark dropped into a powder keg, igniting the atmosphere in the classroom far more effectively than any dry discussion about points ever could.

“A cruise ship trip?!”

“Are you serious? And it’s entirely free?!”

“Wow! That’s amazing! We actually get to go have fun on the ocean!”

Enthusiastic cheers erupted across the room. For these teenagers in the prime of their youth, trapped within the strict confines of the academy, nothing was more alluring than the promise of a trip filled with endless sunshine, white beaches, and the open ocean.

Mashima watched the group of elite students instantly devolve into a frenzy of excitement, but he made no move to interrupt them.

“Homeroom is over.”

With that parting sentence, he turned and walked out of the classroom, leaving the cheering students behind.

Everything looked like a dream-like benefit. A perfect summer vacation with absolutely no strings attached.

But Tetsu simply watched the door close, a cold, calculating light flashing in his eyes. In this school, there was never such a thing as a free lunch.

The destination that luxury cruise ship was heading toward was by no means a vacation paradise.

It was simply the transport vessel taking them straight into the jaws of the next Special Exam.