Chapter 13: Class D: Speedrunning Poverty Any%

As soon as Kure Ragna finished speaking, a seductive yet imposing figure appeared at the classroom door and walked in without hesitation.

"At first, I thought this entire class would be filled with naive idiots who actually believed the school was generous enough to hand out 100,000 yen per student each month just for them to sit back and relax. But it seems there are at least a few with functioning brains."

Unlike her expressionless demeanor from the previous day, Chabashira Sae had a slight smirk on her face today.

However, it was a sneer.

She stepped to the left side of the podium, standing opposite Yukinoshita Haruno, who remained on the right. Though she seemed like she had something more to say, her gaze eventually shifted toward Kure Ragna instead.

"Speaking of which, how did you know I was right outside the door? I made sure to walk in without making a sound."

"Ah? Oh, I didn't hear anything. The classroom was just too noisy..."

Kure Ragna casually glanced at the newly replaced black flat heels on her feet. As expected of a homeroom teacher—her basic skills were sharp.

"Then how did you figure it out?" Chabashira Sae asked, slightly intrigued.

"The scent of your perfume."

"...What?"

"The moment you stood outside, the fragrance drifted into the room," Kure Ragna said, pointing toward the door.

"You could tell just from that?" Chabashira raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.

"Not just the perfume itself. Everyone has a distinct scent, even when using the same fragrance. Your perfume mixes with your natural body odor and other lingering smells. For example, yours has—"

"Enough. Any more and you'd be bordering on harassment."

"Alright, I'll leave it at that."

As their exchange came to an end, Hirata Yosuke stood up, his expression serious.

"Chabashira-sensei, is what Kure Ragna said just now true?"

Chabashira Sae glanced at him, the amusement fading from her face as her voice returned to its usual cold tone.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"N-No..."

Hirata hesitated, while Chabashira continued.

"I originally planned to reveal this information at the beginning of next month, but this guy managed to piece it together from a few words I let slip this morning. Otherwise, I would have loved to see the dumbfounded looks on all your faces when reality hit you later."

She picked up a piece of chalk from the podium and turned to the blackboard, writing down two terms: Class Points and Personal Points.

"Listen carefully. In this school's S-System, the number of personal points you receive each month is tied directly to your class points. For instance, at the start of the year, every first-year class is given 1,000 class points. This translates to 100,000 personal points per student, which is what you received yesterday."

She paused before delivering the bad news.

"However, whenever a student in your class breaks school rules or regulations, class points are deducted accordingly. And when class points decrease, so do the personal points distributed next month."

After letting that sink in, she pulled out her phone, unlocked it, and checked something. Her lips curled into a smirk.

"Right now, your class points stand at... 942. That means you've already lost 58 points. The breakdown? Fifty-three cases of students using their phones or chatting during class, and one case of tardiness. Pretty impressive—losing over five percent of your class points on the first day. The other classes must be laughing at you right now. If this continues, you'll have nothing left by the end of the month. Then you can all look forward to living off fresh air and good intentions."

"It's not impossible to survive on leaves and bark until you're ninety..."

Kure Ragna pinched his nose, throwing in a dry joke.

The next moment, he felt a light tap on the back of his head.

"Be warned—damaging school greenery also results in point deductions."

"Damn, they don't even let you eat leaves..."

"Relax, it's not like you'll actually starve," Chabashira said mockingly.

"If you've been to the mall, you should've noticed there are free daily necessities available. The cafeteria also serves a free mountain vegetable meal. Not the best, but enough to keep you alive."

Her expression darkened.

"Of course, eating that meal every day might attract unwanted attention. You might even become the target of ridicule and exclusion. Whether you can handle that is another question."

Her words cut deep, especially for high school students just stepping into adulthood, where self-esteem meant everything. A heavy silence filled the room, with most students looking pale.

After a long pause, Hirata finally found his voice.

"But if this is the system... why didn't you just tell us from the start?"

"Does something like this even need to be explained?"

Chabashira cut him off, her tone sharp.

"Do I need to remind you not to be late? Not to use your phone in class? Not to talk during lessons? These rules have been drilled into you since elementary school. Did you all just forget basic common sense?"

Hirata faltered. The logic was irrefutable, and the expressions of the other students soured.

"But it's not entirely hopeless, is it?"

The voice that broke the tension belonged to Yukinoshita Haruno, who had been silent until now. She stood up and addressed the class.

"At least we know now. We still have 940 class points left. As long as we remain careful, we can—"

"And what good would that do?"

Chabashira interrupted again.

"You think your class is the only one being careful? Just checked the current standings—aside from Class C, which lost five points due to absenteeism, Class B and Class A still have a perfect 1,000 points. Tell me, how do you plan on competing with them?"

A smirk crept onto her face.

"And what's with those expressions? You seriously didn't know?"

She let out a low chuckle.

"Fine. I'll give you another free piece of information. Listen carefully. This school's supposed '100% employment rate' only applies to students who graduate from Class A. If you graduate from Class B, C, or D, it means nothing. If you want to secure your future, your only option is to reach Class A. And to do that, your class must hold the highest class points in your grade. Understand?"

Her gaze shifted meaningfully toward Yukinoshita Haruno, her smirk widening.

"And just so you know—throughout this school's history, no Class D has ever risen to Class A."

A tense silence filled the room.

For a moment, Kure Ragna could've sworn he saw Yukinoshita Haruno's entire body tremble.

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