In mid-October, the atmosphere inside the gymnasium was solemn and grave.
Today was the Student Council's transition ceremony. Student Council President Horikita Manabu finally laid down the heavy burden on his shoulders.
The one taking over from him was that yellow-haired second-year vice president—Nagumo Miyabi.
"...I promise to break the stale traditions and shackles of this school."
Standing on the podium, Nagumo Miyabi wasn't just stiffly reading from a script. He leaned forward slightly with both hands on the edge of the lectern, his ambitious eyes scanning the entire student body below, his voice impassioned and inflammatory.
"True meritocracy shouldn't be restricted by the framework of classes! The capable rise, the weak fall! Even underclassmen, as long as they have the strength, can step on the heads of their seniors! This is the new era that I, Nagumo Miyabi, will bring to you!"
An uproar broke out among the students. Some were excited, some were worried, and others watched coldly from the sidelines.
"What a... troublesome case of second-year syndrome."
Natsukawa gave his assessment inwardly.
This kind of radical reform would inevitably shatter the existing balance, making this school even more chaotic and cruel. However, to him, as long as it didn't affect his life, it didn't matter.
After the ceremony ended and the crowd dispersed, the era of Horikita Manabu officially came to a close, and the curtain rose on the era belonging to Nagumo Miyabi... Time soon reached late October.
Not long after the midterm exams ended, before the students even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, a new trial arrived one after another.
Chabashira Sae stepped into the classroom in her high heels, her face still wearing that same inscrutable expression.
"Not a single person has been expelled from this class yet, which is rare for Class D, and I am happy for you. But do not be careless. Next, we will conduct the second semester's final special exam—Paper Shuffle."
"Paper Shuffle?"
The students looked at each other, confused by this unfamiliar term.
"To put it simply, this exam will use a 'partner system'," Chabashira explained. "The entire class will be divided into pairs, forming a community of shared destiny. The combined score of the two people will serve as the final evaluation standard."
"There are a total of 8 subjects, each with a maximum score of 100 points, making the combined maximum score 1600 points. There are two red lines for passing."
She wrote the two criteria on the blackboard.
"First, the combined score of the two people for the same subject must reach 60 points or more. If even one subject falls below 60 points, both people will be expelled."
"Second, even if they pass every single subject, if the total score of the two people across all 8 subjects is lower than the passing line set by the school, both will likewise be expelled."
"Ex... Expulsion?!"
This familiar and terrifying word threw Class D into a panic once again.
"And both people get expelled together? That's way too unreasonable!"
"If I get stuck with an idiot partner, wouldn't I be dead?"
Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki were already clutching their heads and wailing; they clearly had enough self-awareness to know they were the 'idiots' who might drag others down.
"Teacher!"
Hirata Yosuke raised his hand and asked the question everyone was most concerned about.
"May I ask how these partners are decided? Can we form teams freely, or..."
"It is neither free teaming nor complete assignment."
"The distribution of partners will be designated by the school."
"A 'mini-test' will be held next week. The school will pair you up based on the results of this mini-test. Of course, the results of this mini-test will not be included in your final evaluation for the semester, nor will they have any impact on your private points. It doesn't matter what score you get."
Hearing the words 'it doesn't matter,' most of the class breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Chabashira's next words made the atmosphere tense once again.
"However, the reason this exam is called 'Paper Shuffle' is because the true core lies in—the exam question creators."
Chabashira Sae's gaze swept across the class.
"The questions for this final exam will no longer be created by the school, but by you students yourselves, to test other classes."
"Huh? We make the questions ourselves?" Ike Kanji looked bewildered. "Then can't we just make them as difficult as we want?"
"There are restrictions, of course. The questions must be reviewed by teachers, cannot exceed the curriculum, and must have a solution," Chabashira explained. "But this is still a contest of'spear' and'shield'."
"Each class needs to nominate one class as an 'attack target'. If the nominations overlap (for example, A nominates B and B nominates A), the duel is established. If there's a conflict, it will be decided by drawing lots."
"Finally, we will compare the 'total score the opponent gets on the questions the attacker made' with 'the total score you get on the questions the opponent made'. The class that wins in terms of total score will directly seize 50 Class Points from the losing class."
"In other words, this is a zero-sum game of direct point seizure."
"Seize 50 points?!"
As soon as this rule was announced, everyone's eyes changed.
If they could win, they wouldn't just get the school's reward; they could also directly weaken their opponent—a 100-point swing! For students hungry for points, this was undoubtedly a massive temptation.
Chabashira watched the fighting spirit gradually ignite in the students below and said calmly:
"I'll give you one week. Decide which class you want to 'attack' and submit your application. Now, class dismissed."
...After school, Keyaki Shopping Center, Palette Cafe.
The environment here was elegant, making it a good place for students to chat and gather after school.
At a round table in the corner, Horikita Suzune, Hirata Yosuke, Kushida Kikyo, and Karuizawa Kei were sitting together.
"The rules for this exam are simple, mainly divided into two parts: 'defense' and 'offense'."
Horikita Suzune held a cup of black tea, her sharp gaze fixed on the notebook in front of her.
"First is defense, which is how to ensure everyone passes the school's passing line and avoids expulsion."
"Regarding this, the mini-test Ms. Chabashira mentioned is the key."
"This school never does anything meaningless. Since they've arranged an exam and specifically emphasized the 'partner system', the only purpose for this supposedly meaningless mini-test can be..."
"To determine the distribution of partners?" Hirata reacted quickly, immediately picking up the thread.
"Exactly." Horikita nodded, her eyes turning sharp. "If it were random distribution, the risk would be too high—it would be pure gambling. Although the school is strict, its purpose is to evaluate ability, not a simple game of luck."
"So, there must be a certain rule."
Kushida Kikyo rested her chin on her hands and blinked: "Then what would that rule be? By student ID number? Or by grades?"
"The most logical one should be 'complementarity'."
Horikita Suzune took out a napkin and drew a line on it, marking the highest and lowest points.
"To maximize the overall pass rate of the class, the school will most likely adopt a 'high score carries low score' model. That is, the first place pairs with the last place, the second place pairs with the second-to-last... and so on."
"I see!" Hirata realized. "That way, they can ensure every pair's average score is above the passing line, giving the students with poor grades a lifeline!"
"But if everyone scores about the same, or if the score ranges are too concentrated, then many cases of 'tied scores' will appear. Once scores are tied, the school will likely resort to random distribution. In that case, the element of 'luck' would be too great."
"To eliminate this uncertainty, we need to manually control the scores."