"Actually..." Yōsuke said, "Please teach us how to pass this exam."
I see. So that's why he came.
Houtarou looked at the seat next to him, where Kikyō maintained her little angel appearance after being invited out.
It seems Yōsuke hadn't revealed his true purpose to her in advance.
But if she's willing to help him with this favor, then she probably discovered the secret of what's in Yōsuke's heart.
Houtarou doesn't really understand Kikyō. She always maintains her little angel image, using her approachability to quickly close the distance with others, becoming someone they trust, and then extracting the secrets in their hearts.
Is doing something like this fun?
Houtarou finds it troublesome. Gaining someone's trust means entering the realm of true friendship.
A true friend is like the relationship between Rio Futaba and Sakuta Azusagawa in the light novel he read, right?
But even as a true friend, Rio found it annoying when the protagonist came to her with all his trivial problems. Eventually she split into two people — The Scientist Rio and The Gyaru Rio.
So becoming a true friend requires consuming a lot of emotional energy, and puts pressure on the heart.
And then there's Kikyō's state of kicking the railing.
Houtarou doesn't think this kind of behavior is interesting; it seems more like a pathological state. But now it's time to deal with this "everybody's guy".
They are currently at Miyabi's coffee shop, and Yōsuke is making his request.
"So, the study sessions in your class aren't going smoothly?" Houtarou asked.
"Yes." Yōsuke nodded, "It's difficult to coordinate everyone. Although about a dozen students don't need to attend the study sessions, when we asked them to provide one-on-one tutoring, they refused. And some students with poor grades feel they can't improve without specialized help."
Oh. I see.
So he wants to organize one-on-one tutoring?
But studying is one's own responsibility — why would you need one-on-one help? If it were Houtarou, he wouldn't want it either.
And importantly, some people can be helped, while others don't need to be. Those requiring help have already been selected by Rokusuke.
In this situation, it's quite bold for students with poor grades to make such demands.
However…
"There is actually a plan for everyone to pass." Houtarou said, "And that's to give up this exam's reward."
"That's…" Yōsuke seemed somewhat hesitant.
Hmm. This exam's school reward is a maximum of 100 Class Points. And although Yōsuke's classmates have Private Points, those aren't truly theirs. So everyone can get 0 from the school.
They need to pay special attention to this special exam.
But if they give up the exam reward, then next month everyone's living expenses will still be 0.
This is a dilemma.
"Then, if we give up the reward, can everyone pass?"
But Yōsuke is a young man who considers everyone. His bottom line is that his classmates won't lack anything.
Given this situation:
"There is a plan." Houtarou said, "You know the situation of the students in your class. Promotion to Class A is basically hopeless, so the school will likely turn a blind eye. This allows you to adopt a rather unique approach."
He noticed the little angel Kikyō looking over with interest.
Even the coffee shop owner, sitting in the corner and listening to their conversation, glanced their way curiously.
Houtarou explained what he had in mind.
"You remember the exam rules, right? If the class average score is 80 or above, you get the maximum reward of 100 Class Points. If it's between 60 and 79, you get 50 Class Points. Failing means expulsion and no Class Points awarded.
These rules relate to having all students pass while achieving a certain average score. But remember — the average score is calculated for each class individually, not across all classes." Houtarou paused, "You understand how class averages and passing scores are calculated, right?
The class average is the sum of everyone's scores divided by the number of students. And the passing line is simply that average divided by two. This means the score threshold can be controlled. If everyone gets a score of 5 or 10, then everyone is guaranteed to pass.
Taking it to the extreme, even if everyone scores 0, both the average and passing line would be 0.
However, this carries some risk — a score of 0 could be interpreted as either all pass or all fail, which might challenge the school's bottom line.
So it's best to avoid that extreme; instead, have everyone aim for 5 or 10 points, which anyone can achieve."
"Is that really possible?" Yōsuke's eyes widened in surprise, "I'll need to think about this carefully."
Indeed, it required careful consideration.
But implementation would be difficult.
If this were Class A, Class B, or even Kakeru's class, the students could be reliably disciplined.
Suzune's classmates, however, were different.
Many would worry about betrayal. Some would inevitably break the agreement, scoring higher than agreed. This would raise the passing line, causing those with genuinely low scores to fail.
So while this was technically a plan, it lacked practical value — more of a strategy to placate Yōsuke than a real solution.
After Yōsuke left, a handsome young man with blonde hair and an athletic build approached their table.
"What an interesting idea." He said.
This was Miyabi, who had been in the shop the entire time.
Houtarou realized he had been listening to the entire conversation with Yōsuke and the others.
And now, Yōsuke had left, but Kikyō hadn't. However, Miyabi had already given up pursuing the girls around Houtarou. So he came over to greet him directly.
"I think the students in my class might not need to study so hard after all." Miyabi said, "Or I could borrow this plan for myself. After all, controlling scores like this might not be possible for other classes, but my second-year class can certainly do it."
In other words, half a semester had passed, and this guy was still effectively the controller of the second-year students.
Now, with a difficult exam ahead and no alternatives, the second-year students were studying diligently.
However, during a recent phone call with Nazuna Asahina, he had confirmed that losing his position as Vice President of the Student Council, combined with his strategies during this period, had weakened his ability to intimidate others.
So the situation wasn't great.
This score control plan could be valuable to share. A large portion of students in Classes C and D were underachievers, making the strategy particularly useful for them.
"So does Nagumo-senpai want the school to dislike you even more?" Houtarou said, "The school decided not to allow shortcuts this time because they want students to study hard and arm themselves with knowledge. Are you really going to oppose the school on this? I'm afraid it will only confirm their view that you're a pest."
Damn!
Miyabi instantly felt annoyed.
Actually, he had become more cautious lately. After being called out by Houtarou previously, he hadn't excessively demanded Class Points from the school during several special exams.
The current Class Points for the four second-year classes stood as follows:
「Class 2-A: 2000 Points」
「Class 2-B: 900 Points」
「Class 2-C: 700 Points」
「Class 2-D: 500 Points」
He had barely maintained his class's advantage while slightly reducing the points of other classes, bringing them more in line with first-year point values.
This was his show of goodwill to the school after taking control of the second-year.
And after all that effort, he was still being treated as a pest?
While stewing in this bad mood, he noticed Houtarou standing up.
"Nagumo-senpai, I'm a bit curious."
Hmm?
"How many Points have you collected in your private account?"
Miyabi: "...??"
Damn! You're not allowed to be curious!
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