Horikita Manabu picked up the chalk and wrote six names on the blackboard.
They were: Sudō Ken, Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji, Hondō Ryōtarō, Sakura Airi, and Ichihashi Ruri.
As soon as the list was announced, many faces broke into relieved and happy smiles.
Only six expulsions out of fifteen students—for Class D and the nine who narrowly survived, this was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.
But joy and sorrow are never shared alike.
For every person celebrating, there was another in despair.
Sitting in the back, Airi froze completely upon seeing that she was still among those to be expelled.
She first looked up at her own name—"Sakura Airi"—staring back at her from the board in stark white chalk, then lowered her gaze to her phone, its wallpaper a photo she'd taken on her very first day here.
She was being expelled.
A sense of unreality washed over Sakura Airi.
Helplessly, she scanned the faces around her.
She saw many of the spared students cheering openly.
Even Kushida wore a smile. They had avoided what would have been a devastating blow to Class D, paying only the smallest price.
Everyone was celebrating.
No one cared about the deadweights who were about to be expelled.
Suddenly, Yamauchi shot to his feet.
"This isn't fair! Why them? Why do they get to stay while I have to leave this school? It's just not fair! I haven't even shown what I'm capable of… I'll complain—yeah, I'll file a complaint! You're definitely targeting me!"
Snot and tears streaming down his face, Yamauchi let out a hysterical roar.
The class fell silent in an instant.
Horikita adjusted his glasses.
He had seen right through Yamauchi's true nature back during the conference—his expulsion came as no surprise.
What he hadn't expected, though, was for the boy to break down so pathetically at a time like this.
"Filing a complaint is your prerogative. Before that, however, you must complete the expulsion procedures…"
"I'm not doing any expulsion procedures! How dare you expel me when I haven't even shown my true potential!"
Yamauchi continued to rage.
Seeing that Yamauchi's fragile ego had already shattered, Horikita had no intention of continuing the conversation.
He turned his attention to the other expelled students.
"Aside from Yamauchi, do any of the rest of you have questions? If so, I will answer them now."
Ike Kanji shrank a little under Horikita's gaze, but still raised his hand.
"You, there, at the end."
"Is there… really no other way? I really like it here. Even with zero points, it's fine—please let me stay! Everyone, I'm begging you, please help me ask for another chance! I know I've done some things wrong before, but I promise, I'll change completely from now on…"
"That is not possible."
Horikita gazed down with something close to pity at the sniveling wreck before him.
He understood how these people felt.
Had they been his own classmates, he might have softened. But his current role was Student Council President—he was here to announce the school's decision regarding the failing first-year Class D students.
"Please, don't do this! I'm begging you! Everyone, please give me one more chance, okay? I'll study seriously from now on… Waaah—"
Ike broke down into messy sobs.
Not a single person in the class spoke up to plead on his behalf.
Even Hirata could only shut his eyes in anguish, trying to escape the scene.
Just like last time.
He had no grounds to object. In fact, Horikita had informed him of the outcome in advance, precisely to prevent him from doing anything rash.
He'd even let Hirata review the exam papers. After checking them, Hirata had confirmed that under the new grading system, these six truly were at the very bottom of the class.
That stripped away any excuse he might've used to defend them.
These weren't expulsions decided by a class vote—these students had been judged by the school as having no value, based on their own performance reflected plainly on the exam papers.
This wasn't an exam where expulsion was inevitable…
It's just that these individuals had all failed to seize their chance.
Even with the answers laid out before them, they had still been careless. Expulsion was the only outcome left.
"So what if you're expelled? Why's a grown man crying like that? So embarrassing."
Satō's taunt made several people frown.
Sure, everyone thought Yamauchi and Ike were acting shameful.
But they were being expelled—was it really necessary to mock them like that? Sudō's incident was still fresh in everyone's memory.
Yet some people never seemed to learn.
"What? Did I say something wrong? Huh?!"
Crash!
A chair flew from the back of the room and struck Satō squarely on the head.
She and her desk crashed to the floor together.
"Yamauchi! What do you think you're doing?!"
Chabashira Sensei rushed over to check on Satō while shouting angrily at Yamauchi.
"It's her! It's because of her that we're being expelled!! A bitch like her doesn't deserve forgiveness!!"
Every word Yamauchi said made sense to Chabashira in isolation. But strung together like that, she couldn't make any sense of his meaning at all.
Beside him, Ike quickly waved his hands at everyone.
"H-he's the one who threw it! I had nothing to do with it…"
"Committing an act of violence right in front of me?"
Horikita stepped down from the platform and walked steadily forward.
Yamauchi, now frenzied, snatched up Ike's chair and swung it at Horikita.
In response, Horikita shot forward and locked his hand around Yamauchi's throat.
Yamauchi's arms immediately went limp, and the chair clattered to the floor.
Then Horikita released his grip.
Still defiant, Yamauchi lunged forward, trying to bite him. Horikita met him with a swift, sharp backfist straight to the bridge of his nose.
Yamauchi collapsed, knocked out cold.
The Class D students stared in shock.
They hadn't expected this seemingly refined Student Council President to be so skilled in a fight.
"As part of the Student Council, one must learn some means of self-defense."
After speaking, Horikita glanced at Akane.
Akane immediately rushed out to call security.
Two brazen acts of violence in a single month.
The school was likely to crack down heavily on this sort of thing from now on.
Horikita scanned the room.
"The decision regarding these expulsions is final and irreversible. No matter how hard any of you try, it is impossible to achieve an outcome where not a single person is expelled."
After speaking, Horikita let his gaze linger meaningfully on Horikita Suzune and Ayanokōji Kiyotaka in the corner—as well as Amane, who had, at some point, fallen asleep at her desk.
He hoped they understood.
If anyone in Class D could still work a miracle, the candidates would undoubtedly come from among those three.
If those three joined forces…
Perhaps Class D really could one day rise to Class A.
But it seemed Amane didn't have much interest in climbing to A.
So…
Whether the outcome of this exam could be different in any way rested entirely on his little sister, Horikita Suzune.
If it was his own sister… she ought to understand his intentions.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.