Former Class A, First Year.
The atmosphere in the classroom was unusually heavy.
The reason was simple.
It was because of yesterday's announcement from their homeroom teacher.
They—students evaluated by the school as "top-tier"—had suffered defeat in the very first monthly exam and fallen to Class B.
In front of them, their teacher had removed the "Class A" sign and replaced it with "Class B."
It was an unbearable humiliation.
According to their homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomoya, there had never been a precedent of Class A falling in the first month.
Just like Class D getting zero points, they had made history.
Grim expressions appeared on almost every student's face.
Even though more than 80,000 personal points had been credited to their accounts yesterday, no one could feel happy.
Whether it was humiliating or not was already secondary.
What mattered most was that the graduation privilege they had thought was guaranteed had been lost so easily—by their own hands.
"..."
Someone say something.
Many students had this thought in their hearts.
Someone needed to stand up.
Someone needed to take responsibility for this result.
In this class, only two people could do that.
Sakayanagi Arisu.
And Katsuragi Kōhei.
Both were outstanding leaders, with natural charisma that made others want to follow them.
Everyone believed that under either of them, the class could stand at the top.
As a result, in just one month, the class had split into two major factions.
The Sakayanagi Faction.
And the Katsuragi Faction.
In this heavy atmosphere, the first to take the initiative was a member of the Sakayanagi faction—
Hashimoto Masayoshi.
With his slightly long hair slicked back, looking more like a delinquent than an honor student, Hashimoto stood up before class.
"Yesterday, everyone must've reflected on things after going home."
"No matter who you are, you should've done your best and fulfilled your duty as a student."
He looked around the room.
"Logically, we shouldn't have lost so many points."
"And we definitely shouldn't have fallen to Class B."
"…What are you trying to say?"
A man who lacked any elite aura, yet had somehow been admitted to this class, spoke up immediately.
He was Tozuka Yahiko—Katsuragi's most loyal follower.
"The school's evaluation can't be wrong."
The bald-headed Katsuragi Kōhei spoke calmly.
"You're implying that the fault lies with us."
More precisely—
With Katsuragi's side.
"Then what? Are you saying the fault lies with our little princess?"
Hashimoto raised an eyebrow and shot back.
"You're the one who kept insisting on being conservative and retreating again and again whenever other classes provoked us, right?"
"Our little princess didn't do anything. She let you take command."
"And this is the result we got."
He spread his hands.
"Looks like you didn't protect much, did you?"
Tozuka clenched his fists.
"—You!"
Katsuragi shook his head and stopped him.
"..."
He took a deep breath and swept his gaze across the class.
The atmosphere was already terrible.
If he kept confronting Hashimoto like this without backing down, it would only get worse.
They had already failed once.
Right now, what mattered was restoring morale.
Even if he had to take responsibility himself, it didn't matter—as long as the class could recover.
So, Katsuragi stood up.
"I won't deny that we failed this exam."
"But Hashimoto, you should remember—the gap isn't that big."
890 and 840.
Only a difference of 50.
Something they could catch up to easily.
"But that 'small gap' is exactly why we fell from Class A to Class B, isn't it?"
Hashimoto sneered.
Katsuragi nodded lightly.
"You're right."
"So, until the next exam, we'll follow Sakayanagi's instructions."
"Katsuragi?!"
Tozuka and several others cried out in shock.
Giving in this fast?!
Katsuragi shook his head.
"I have my reasons."
He had always been conservative.
While Sakayanagi was aggressive, he focused on stability.
As long as they avoided mistakes, they wouldn't lose.
He had believed that from the beginning.
Make more moves, make more mistakes.
Make fewer moves, make fewer mistakes.
As long as they did their part well, their superior student quality would keep them on top.
He still believed in that principle.
But now, after taking the wrong first step, he couldn't afford to stay conservative anymore.
Conservatism only worked when you were already in first place.
When you had no one above you.
Now that they had fallen, it no longer applied.
"At the next exam, prove yourself, Sakayanagi," Katsuragi said.
Only then did Sakayanagi Arisu smile faintly.
"Alright. Just watch."
Soon, the class bell rang.
The teacher entered.
Despite their fall in ranking, their discipline hadn't declined.
The class returned to studying.
Before long, the break bell rang.
Hashimoto, who had just challenged Katsuragi earlier, immediately turned around and spun his chair toward Sakayanagi.
"Little Princess, Little Princess."
He put on a flattering smile.
"I'd say taking down Katsuragi counts as a big contribution, right?"
"Yeah, asking for rewards myself is kind of shameless, but…"
"Considering how hard I worked, I deserve something, don't I?"
"..."
Sakayanagi didn't even raise her head.
She asked calmly,
"Points? How many do you need?"
Hashimoto waved his hands frantically.
"No, no, I don't want personal points."
"Um… I just want to ask…"
He looked around carefully to avoid others' attention and lowered his voice.
"Little Princess, are you… actually gay?"
"I won't tell anyone. Just tell me quietly, okay?"
The moment the word "gay" came out—
Sakayanagi's calm expression froze completely.
She really wanted to curse someone.
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