Once the story index dropped, Asakusa Tetsu became noticeably dispirited.
But he still had to make something up for today's diary. After all, he had already decided that no matter how low the story index was, he would make one last attempt.
So… what should he write?
Considering that he had already spoiled this special exam, and that later developments still seemed too far off and lacking in immediacy, after thinking it over, Asakusa Tetsu felt it would be best to pick someone and "grill" them.
However, when it came to choosing a target, he found himself a bit indecisive.
He wouldn't mess with Sakayanagi Arisu for now. Horikita Suzune also needed a break. He had already talked about Kushida Kikyo before.
He had milked Class D's "god-tier" characters twice and squeezed the "little princess" of Class A once. If he wanted to keep things balanced, this time he definitely had to talk about someone from Class B or Class C.
Class B was full of little angels, sure, but… if he thought about it carefully, there were still plenty of things to talk about.
For example, the godlike Kanzaki Ryuji, Lady Hiyori whose role was unclear, the yuri-blossoming Shiranami, and Watanabe, who seemed to have a lot of scenes later on but left no concrete impression when you tried to recall him.
As for Class C, there was no need to say more—Ryuuen himself was the biggest source of entertainment.
Decision made.
He would talk about Ryuuen and that traitor who somehow popped up later without any warning.
Of course, before that…
He still had to attend class.
As a student, he had to fulfill his duties and deal with this first-month exam that recorded every single detail and deducted points accordingly.
...
Student Council.
Time ticked by steadily.
Although a recruitment announcement had been made yesterday, after Asakusa Tetsu's big commotion, most people who had a realistic understanding of their own abilities gave up on joining the student council.
By the time work hours were almost over, only one person—Katsuragi Kohei from Class A—had come forward to express interest.
He was interviewed on the spot, but unfortunately, despite being from Class A, he didn't quite match what the current student council president, Horikita Manabu, was looking for.
"...That guy from yesterday didn't come?" Horikita Manabu suddenly asked Tachibana Akane beside him as he glanced at the clock, which was nearing quitting time.
Tachibana Akane gently shook her head.
"No."
No matter how many times he asked, the result wouldn't change.
The door that had never opened.
The clock hands turning endlessly on the wall.
Everything was telling Horikita Manabu one simple fact.
—He had been stood up.
…No, thinking about it carefully, "stood up" might not be entirely accurate.
Because Asakusa Tetsu had said he would come visit the student council office "next time."
But he never said when "next time" would be.
"..." Horikita Manabu fell silent.
When the hands reached the end, he finished his remaining work and stood up.
There was no point deceiving himself.
He had been stood up.
Arguing over the definition of "next time" was meaningless. The fact was, he didn't come.
"Um… President." Seeing him stand, Tachibana Akane quickly tidied up the documents on the desk and asked softly, "The secretary position is still vacant…"
There were too few applicants.
If no one came on the first day, it would probably be difficult to find anyone willing to join later.
"Quality over quantity," Horikita Manabu said calmly. "If there's no suitable candidate, leave it vacant."
The student council only welcomed those with ambition.
He had said that yesterday.
...
Compared to the past two days, Class A hadn't changed much.
In Class C, Ryuuen was still trying to win over Albert Yamada.
As for Class D…
They should have awakened by now.
Sakayanagi Arisu's arrival and departure changed nothing. To Class D's students, it was merely a small interlude.
Though they had speculated about her relationship with Wang Meiyu, what mattered more to them now was the exam information they had bought from Chabashira Sae for 200,000 points.
"Behavioral Conduct Exam."
Any improper behavior would result in point deductions, and so far, they might already have lost over a hundred points.
It sounded nerve-wracking.
It sounded terrifying.
Exams instinctively made students shrink back, let alone this kind of silent, hidden exam.
"Th-Then, um, Sensei… if we lose too many points… what happens?" A girl raised her hand nervously after swallowing. "Will our parents be notified?"
After nine years as students, they all knew the usual consequences of failing.
Apart from notifying parents, nothing much happened.
In Class D, students who had never failed were few, and those who frequently passed were just as rare.
But Advanced Nurturing High School seemed different.
"Notify parents? No, we won't," Chabashira Sae raised an eyebrow.
They would lose money.
But the 200,000 points only covered the explanation of the exam rules.
As for what the deductions really meant, that wasn't something she needed to explain.
Don't blame her for being heartless.
If they wanted to rise to Class A, this was the bare minimum.
For the current Class D, 200,000 points was already their psychological limit.
Any more, and it would exceed what they were willing to pay.
Even now, on the third day when information was rapidly depreciating, it would take at least 500,000 points to lay everything out clearly.
That was a number they would never pay.
So in a sense, Chabashira Sae felt she had already done her best.
She had lowered the price from 500,000 to 200,000, while cutting out some expensive but unnecessary information to reduce their burden.
Even without knowing how the results affected class points, once they knew an exam existed, they should have restrained themselves.
Although she had observed Class D for three days and mostly figured out their habits, she still didn't think they would be so hopeless as to ignore deductions even after knowing they were being tested.
In all her years of teaching at this school, she had never seen defects of that level.
If such people really existed…
She was quite curious to see them.
"We won't notify parents. You won't be expelled. The only thing that will change…"
Looking down at her students, Chabashira Sae spoke softly.
"…is the school's 'evaluation' of you."
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