Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 141: Sakayanagi – Because I Didn’t Participate in the Exam

On the ship.

The 37 students of Class D were enjoying the ship’s facilities, completely at ease.

However, since it was still the exam period, the exam results were being broadcasted in real-time on the televisions in the rooms and public areas.

In the dining area, Shiina was seated—not alone, but accompanied by Kaneda, Ibuki, Albert, and Ishizaki Daichi.

Hmm.

As part of Ryuen’s small group, they were closely following the progress of the exam.

“Even though we got 0 points, signing a contract with Class A means our class didn’t really lose out,” Kaneda said as he adjusted his glasses.

After returning to the ship, he had rested, gotten a massage, and even applied bandages, so the marks from his beating had disappeared.

“Ryuen agreed to take 1.2 million private points from Class A every month and distribute 800,000 to us.”

“That means we’ll at least have enough for basic living expenses,” Ishizaki commented.

“But there’s still something to look forward to,” Kaneda continued. “Ibuki and I completed our mission. Just like you analyzed, Shiina, Class C’s leader was Koenji.”

“And Ryuen also mentioned he would gather information on Class A’s leader.”

“So this time, Ryuen is confident in earning 150 points.”

“300 points for living expenses, 150 class evaluation points.”

“This is a huge success! From now on, it’s time for our class to rise!”

Click click—

Meanwhile, Shiina stirred her coffee with a spoon and let out a soft sigh.

“Shiina, what’s wrong?”

“I actually wanted to tell you all this morning,” Shiina Hiyori said. “But seeing how excited you were, I didn’t want to ruin the moment, so I let you enjoy it a little longer.”

“?”

Everyone turned to look at Shiina Hiyori in confusion.

She had fair skin, long silver hair, and a naturally elegant, bookish aura.

She was also considered the class beauty.

Her academic ability was outstanding, and even Ryuen consulted her for advice at times.

So, she was one of the sharper minds in Class D.

But now, what was Shiina talking about?

“I actually saw Koenji Rokusuke this morning.”

“……”

Koenji Rokusuke.

Class C’s leader.

Class C had occupied a huge number of checkpoints, so as long as someone guessed their leader, Class C’s points would be reset to zero.

That would mean they lost everything in this exam.

But now—

Had Koenji returned to the ship?

“Wait, you’re saying Koenji Rokusuke went back to the ship? And in the morning?”

Kaneda pushed up his glasses in shock. “What the—?!”

A terrible thought crossed his mind.

“Then… does that mean Koenji is no longer Class C’s leader?”

Ordinary students couldn’t withdraw from the exam at will. If they were found to be physically unwell, they’d be forcibly removed.

And since Koenji was the leader, it should have been even harder for him to leave.

So now that he was on the ship, that meant…

He was no longer Class C’s leader.

“This is impossible! I took a picture of Koenji swiping his card. The leader card had his name on it!” Ibuki quickly said.

“I was also wondering why he was here,” Shiina continued. “But one thing is certain—Class C would never let go of such a huge lead in points so easily.”

“So, maybe… they found a loophole.”

“And just now… I figured it out.” Shiina pointed outside. “Look over there—”

She was pointing toward the outdoor swimming pool.

By the poolside, a tall, muscular, broad-shouldered boy with golden hair and red eyes stood but didn’t enter the water.

Everyone knew him.

It was none other than Koenji Rokusuke of Class C.

Koenji was a narcissist.

On the ship, he loved swimming, sunbathing, and relaxing.

After swimming, he never dried off properly, which annoyed the staff.

Everyone had seen this scene before.

But this time—

He wasn’t going into the water?

“His left leg!”

Kaneda suddenly noticed something strange—Koenji’s left calf had three sets of bite marks.

Each bite mark had two black dots.

Three sets meant six black dots.

And bites with two marks…

“He got bitten by a snake,” Shiina said.

“But his physical endurance is insane. How could he get bitten?”

“And not just once—but three times?”

“So…”

“I think he used this as an excuse to return to the ship,” Shiina explained.

“If you get bitten by a snake, you’re considered injured and in need of urgent medical attention, so you have to return to the ship. It’s an uncontrollable factor.”

“That means—the rule that a leader can’t be randomly switched was broken.”

“Then… Class C is going to win!”

“And if Ryuen guessed Koenji as the leader, he loses 50 points!”

Kaneda wasn’t exactly dumb.

Maybe he was a bit behind someone like Katsuragi, but now he understood—

Since Koenji was already back on the ship, Class C had changed their leader.

And Ryuen probably didn’t know yet.

“That’s about right,” Shiina nodded.

“So if Ryuen locked in Class C’s leader—he would only end up with 50 points.”

• Guessing Class A’s leader: +50 points
•
• Guessing Class B’s leader: +50 points
•
• Wrong guess for Class C: -50 points
•
Total: 50 points.

“…Just 50 points, huh.”

It should have been 150 points from guessing three classes correctly.

Dropping to 50 points—a huge disappointment.

But still somewhat acceptable.

Just then, the TV screen in the dining hall lit up.

It was broadcasting Teacher Majima announcing the results.

“Last place—Class D, 0 points!”

“……”

???

Class D’s students froze in shock.

Because—

Zero points?

Not even 50 points?!

Of course not.

“Third place—Class A, 70 points!”

Even Class A’s score was a mess.

Meanwhile, at the school—

10:30 AM.

Student Council Office.

It was Saturday.

Most students had the day off, so only Student Council members were working.

But today—

The Student Council had an unexpected visitor.

“Sakayanagi, why are you here?”

At the Vice President’s desk, a handsome blond boy suddenly spoke up.

It was Nagumo Miyabi.

The Sports Festival was happening next month.

Since it was being jointly organized by the Student Council and the school, the workload had increased significantly.

Naturally, Nagumo had to come and help out.

A week ago, because of Sakayanagi’s unauthorized actions, Nagumo had been warned by Horikita Manabu.

So now, he wanted to show a more diligent and dependable side in front of Horikita, to earn some extra credibility.

That’s why he came to work overtime on a Saturday.

But—

He had barely finished two documents when he noticed someone at the entrance of the Student Council office.

A cute-looking girl holding a cane in her left hand.

It was Sakayanagi Arisu of Class 1-A.

The lone girl left behind in the first year.

“I’m here to get the first-hand results of the exam,” Sakayanagi said.

Oh?

Nagumo rubbed his chin.

That made sense.

Today was the announcement day for the first-year’s uninhabited island exam results.

And since Sakayanagi couldn’t participate due to her physical condition, she had been left behind.

But as a first-year student and an A-Class member, it was reasonable for her to want to know her class’s results.

“Then you’ll have to wait a bit,” Nagumo said.

“President Horikita is at the Chairman’s office.”

“The exam results will be sent there first, so you’ll have to wait until he returns.”

Right now, Horikita Manabu wasn’t the only one missing from the Student Council.

Even Tachibana Akane wasn’t around.

The only ones here were Nagumo, an accountant, and an errand staff member.

But these two people had already been bought off by Nagumo with money.

So there were some things he could say freely.

“Sakayanagi, I’ll admit—you’re quite capable,” Nagumo said.

“I even think you have the potential to become Student Council President. I could fully support you.”

“But not for the next election—for the one after that.”

“In other words, I’ll take the presidency first, but I’ll only serve for one year. After that, I’ll personally name you as my successor.”

“Oh.”

Sakayanagi remained polite.

She immediately understood—

Nagumo wanted an alliance with her.

But she wasn’t interested.

If Nagumo fully supported her, she could definitely become President.

But—

She had 100 votes from the third-year students.

And she could still get votes from third-year A-Class.

Her own A-Class would definitely support her, and she could buy some votes from Hikigaya’s side.

Her chances of winning were already very high.

Why should she wait an extra year?

So she simply curled her lips—a look of disdain.

“……”

Nagumo.

As the saying goes, “One does not strike a smiling face.”

But Sakayanagi Arisu wasn’t smiling at all.

She was even looking down on him.

Nagumo knew it immediately—

Sakayanagi was scoffing at his offer.

In other words—

He needed to increase the price.

“As long as you agree to withdraw from this election for student council president,” Nagumo said, “I can offer you an additional 15 million private points.”

“15 million, and if you add another 5 million to it, that makes 20 million. Even though you’re currently in A-Class, this is a school where class competition is fierce, so being in A-Class alone isn’t guaranteed to secure your position, is it?”

“So, this is me giving you a guaranteed chance to graduate from A-Class,” Nagumo said.

“…” Sakayanagi.

15 million.

Then, adding another 5 million would get her 20 million. With that amount of points, she could survive in the school and, when it’s time to graduate, use the points to switch classes. No matter which class A-Class was at that time, she could ensure her A-Class graduation.

It was tempting.

But.

“20 million,” Sakayanagi Arisu said.

“You’re too greedy.” Nagumo said. “You know that in this school, points are everything, and 20 million isn’t a small amount. It’s not so easy to get.”

“Is it difficult?” Sakayanagi said. “If I can make other classes earn points for me…

Heh.

So this is why you’re aiming for third-year.

Using third-year C-Class and D-Class as your ATM machines.

Nagumo thought to himself. But outwardly, he said, “At most, 15 million. That’s all I can offer for now. And this is the total amount of points that the entire second year has gathered.”

“15 million isn’t enough to sway me.” Sakayanagi said. “But I’m not an unreasonable person.”

“Since you, Senior Nagumo, can directly allocate 15 million, have you considered making that money grow?” Sakayanagi asked.

“Hmm?”

“The way points are acquired in the school is by class evaluation scores, and additional rewards from exams. However, everyone in this school uses points as currency.”

“So, have you considered acquiring points not just from the school?”

“But from the staff or teachers in the shopping district?” Sakayanagi continued.

“The school doesn’t allow part-time work.” Nagumo immediately replied.

After all, as a high school student who enjoyed part-time work, he had considered this idea.

If the school allowed part-time jobs, and if he could control the second-year students, he could have all of them take part-time jobs, occupying various positions, and then take a commission from their wages.

That would be great, right?

But no, it wasn’t possible.

“Of course, part-time work would be prohibited.” Sakayanagi Arisu said. “But I think it can still be manipulated. For example, by using points to buy the right to do this prohibited act.”

Oh.

I see.

I don’t believe you for a second.

What’s your game, making him earn money?

Nagumo didn’t believe that Sakayanagi Arisu would be so kind-hearted.

But, points were still the most important thing.

Although it was prohibited, it wasn’t explicitly said that it couldn’t be bought off.

So, buying the right to work, and then getting second-year students to take part-time jobs might be possible.

But.

He wasn’t fully convinced.

Because.

The school’s area was limited, and there were a lot of shop assistants, so there weren’t many part-time job positions. Even if there were positions, second-year students might end up earning points from the part-time jobs, and Sakayanagi Arisu could then encourage them to rebel against him.

So, this seemed like a plot.

Nagumo felt that he had already seen through this seemingly sweet but actually terrifying junior.

But.

Having second-year students earn money through part-time jobs wasn’t necessarily a good thing. However, if they all formed a mutual interest group, like opening a shop together, they could earn points, and there would be no worries about them using their money to rebel.

So, maybe it could be manipulated.

And at this moment.

“What are you discussing?” Horikita walked in from the door, followed by Tachibana, the purple-haired secretary.

“Sakayanagi, the results for the first-year uninhabited island exam have come out.”

“The performance of your class…” Horikita looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, but seemed to pause for a moment.

He hesitated to speak.

“It must have been terrible.” Sakayanagi Arisu said indifferently. “I already anticipated this, so whatever the score, I won’t be surprised.”

“You have no confidence in your class at all.” Horikita said, but then shook his head.

“This time, the performance of A-Class wasn’t great.”

“However.”

“This time, the performance of C-Class…” Horikita paused here.

“It was incredible, wasn’t it?” But Sakayanagi Arisu completed his sentence. “They even achieved the highest score in the history of the uninhabited island exam, right?”

“How did you know?” Tachibana also looked over.

Since she had accompanied Horikita to the principal’s office, Tachibana already knew the exam results.

The results were so exaggerated that even Horikita confirmed them twice before he was sure there were no issues.

“Because I didn’t participate in the exam.” But Sakayanagi Arisu calmly said.