October 1st.
Houtarou returned to class.
Yesterday, he went back home. Due to his superpower issue, he didn't stay home for the entire vacation, but discovered his sister had briefly returned before leaving again for her travels.
She really is a free spirit.
Nevertheless, Houtarou found the gift she had left behind.
Despite knowing he was under the full boarding system at Advanced Nurturing High School, she still left a note and birthday present as usual.
The gift was a cowboy hat she had specifically brought back from her travels.
Houtarou spent a moment examining himself wearing the hat in the mirror. It didn't suit him very well, but since it was a gift from his sister, he kept it anyway.
With his sister away, he stayed home and enjoyed a good, long sleep.
He arrived at school that morning.
When he sat in his seat, he noticed his desk had already been wiped clean. Class A students were practical that way.
"Oreki-kun seems like he hasn't fully woken up yet…"
The girl sitting next to him was the one speaking.
Class A was divided into three factions: the steady Faction of Kōhei Katsuragi, his own neutral "Houtarou Faction," and the aggressive Faction of Arisu Sakayanagi.
Next to him sat the leader of the Arisu Faction, Princess Arisu herself.
Today, she wore white ankle socks that revealed a section of her snow-white calves. The look was somewhat refreshing.
Over the past month, Arisu had cycled through various legwear—from garter stockings to pantyhose, knee-high socks to mid-calf socks, and finally to ankle socks. She'd tried black stockings, white stockings, and red stockings before settling on white.
Though cute girls look good in anything, he thought white stockings suited her best.
For Kikyō, black stockings would be more suitable. Kei could pull off red stockings. Suzune never varied from her pantyhose.
As for Honami, though he'd only seen her in white ankle socks, Houtarou imagined white over-the-knee socks would look quite enticing on her—full of appeal, as it were.
Realizing he was thinking about strange things, he quickly replied to Arisu, "I probably wasn't used to the different bed, so I didn't sleep well."
Actually, he'd gone back to his familiar bed at home and slept very comfortably. That's why he overslept.
However, Arisu didn't understand. After all, since that day, she had never experienced what oversleeping was.
"But now that students have returned to the classroom, it also means the beginning of a new semester," she said.
Yes. The current date is October 1st.
The school vacation has ended, and all students have returned to class.
Because it's the 1st, at 7 o'clock, everyone's student ID promptly received Private Points transferred from the school.
Houtarou received three transfer messages.
『205,100 Points have been credited to your account!』
『Sender - XF10001』
『1,000,000 Points have been credited to your account!』
『Sender - Unknown』
『Note: Monthly allowance!』
『1,000,000 Points have been credited to your account!』
『Sender - Hiyori Shiina』
The first and second transfers were already familiar, but the third was Points transferred from Kakeru's class collection.
During the Sports Festival, Class D violated the rules and was reported by Houtarou. To prevent expulsion, they agreed to pay 10 million Points as settlement.
Their class didn't have that much money at the time, so they signed an IOU. Now they still had 1 million left to repay.
The final payment came from Hiyori. This confirmed what she had told him: Kakeru from Class D had resigned as class representative. He'd given up, and she had taken over.
This meant she would focus solely on Points.
"This semester, Class A needs to pay attention to Class D," Houtarou said after some consideration.
As a Class A student, he felt it worthwhile to contribute to his class. He thus warned Arisu.
"Class D students will change their strategy next semester. Class Points are no longer important to them, so they'll care more about Private Points."
This assessment was based on Hiyori's statements and his prediction of her actions.
Without Kakeru, Class D would be like a body missing an arm. The students would fall into chaos. Hiyori couldn't control them since she had no capacity for violence.
However, she would likely first secure Points to guarantee the students' living conditions. Unable to use force, she would instead try to win over her classmates.
Then she would use every possible method—passing special exams and selling Points—to achieve her goals.
The strategy was clear: quickly accumulate Points, then wait for graduation to exchange them with the school for cash.
Making money and graduating would be a worthwhile high school experience.
Given his experience, Houtarou knew that when money was the goal, people often resorted to questionable methods.
"So Kakeru still wants to do something?" asked Kōhei from Arisu's right side. "But according to our information, he rarely leaves his dorm. And when he has appeared recently, he's been notably cold and distant."
Houtarou: "…"
Arisu: "…"
"?" Kōhei suddenly sensed he had stumbled into an awkward conversation.
He quickly returned to his seat.
At that moment.
"Good morning, everyone."
Their teacher Tomonari appeared at the classroom door.
"First, I hope you all had a pleasant vacation. As you can see from the Private Points you received, you won the pairing exam at the end of last semester. And..."
He wrote the new semester's starting Class Points for all four classes on the blackboard, along with the point gaps between them.
「Class A: 2051 Points」 {Houtarou}
「Class B: 920 Points」 {Honami}
「Class C: 530 Points」 {Suzune}
「Class D: 520 Points」 {Kakeru}
"Well then…" Kōhei, having recovered from his earlier awkwardness, asked, "The special exam announcement that happens on the 1st of each month—is it today as well?"
"Yes," Tomonari replied. "In this school, special exams occur every month, and I hope you're getting used to that. Now..."
He paused before explaining the rules.
The first exam of the new semester was straightforward. The test would cover the upcoming month's class material.
Five subjects would be tested: Physics, Mathematics, English, Chemistry, and Biology.
Rewards depended on class average scores. Classes averaging 80 or above would receive the maximum 100 Class Points. Those averaging between 60 and 79 would receive 50 Class Points. If any student failed, no Points would be awarded, and that student would face expulsion.
"Also, this exam will definitely cover material from the new textbooks you've just received," Tomonari added.
The implications were clear.
Houtarou rested his chin on his left hand.
To analyze it simply, some of this school's special exams allowed students to purchase past papers.
But now, they had received new edition textbooks being used for the first time this year. This meant buying past papers was no longer an option, and exam topics would depend entirely on their teachers' planning.
This meant only one thing—a true test of ability. Students would have to rely on their own efforts.
The first written exam after enrollment had tested students on old questions, teaching them to think flexibly and adapt.
But now, with no past papers to buy and no student-created questions, the school was sending a clear message: despite the unique rules here, students still needed real academic ability.
Simply trying to game the system wouldn't work.
On this point…
"This exam shouldn't be a problem for us in Class A," Kōhei said.
Yes. Even Masumi, who had taken Rokusuke's classes, felt reassured. This was the confidence of Class A students with their strong academic foundation.
Now they were just focused on securing the maximum 100 Class Points reward.
But for other classes, this would be a nightmare.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
In Class B.
"Testing the first month's class content, huh…"
In Honami's class, students listened to the exam rules explained by their homeroom teacher, Chie.
As usual, rules were announced on the 1st, and exams would be held near the end of the month, around the 27th. This time was no different.
However, the exam period would be longer. They would need to take exams over two and a half days: the 27th, 28th, and 29th.
Most students in the class had decent academic abilities, though not exceptional, and a few students were lagging behind.
But that was okay.
"Let's organize a study group," Honami said.
No one objected. In fact, Class B had many well-behaved students who actually felt more pressure with exams that could be manipulated through loopholes.
They preferred challenges that had no shortcuts and relied solely on effort.
So Class B students saw the second semester as full of opportunities. They hoped all the special exams this semester would test their real abilities.
⍟⍟⍟
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