?The first month of school passed by like it was the wind, and the students of ss D were as lively as ever. How could they not be? Today was the day where they will get their monthly allowance of 100,000 points and go back to how they were enjoying their lives when they started going to this school.


    "They sure are excited today," Kiyotakamented from where he was as he chose to observe his ssmates. There was never a quiet day in this ssroom because of things like these.


    "Why wouldn''t they be? It''s the first day of the month. The school will be sending 100,000 points to our ounts, and that''s something that a lot of them were waiting for," said Suzune, who was also observing the ss like him, which was a bit strange.


    Normally, she would read a book instead and choose not to concern herself with ss matters.


    Kiyotaka turned to her. "That''s the strange part, though. When I checked my point bnce this morning, I didn''t receive a hundred thousand points. I remember it was only about 9,000 points that got sent to me."


    Like his ssmates, Kiyotaka also looked forward to receiving 100,000 points from the school, just not to the extent as them. However, when he woke up, there wasn''t any. The only amount he received was 9,700 points, which was strange.


    "So you noticed it too?" Suzune looked at him in return as their gazes locked. "I think I actually received the same amount as you."


    "If that''s the case, then the same must go for all of our other ssmates. They either didn''t notice or they thought that they would receive the rest today," Kiyotaka concluded. "What do you think about this situation?"


    "I''m not sure..." the girl muttered as she was in deep thought. "But I have a feeling that we won''t be receiving any more points today."


    "Is that so?" he asked, the curiosity present in his voice. "Assuming Horikita is right and that we won''t be getting any more points from the school, then it would make sense why the cafeteria offers free food for the students. It''s for those who no longer have any points left in their student ounts. But why would the school give us less than 100,000?"


    It didn''t take long before the morning bell rang, signaling the start of their ss. Everyone immediately went back to their seats after hearing it and not long after, Chabashira-sensei walked inside the ssroom. She looked more stern than usual and it was starting to scare some of the students.


    "Hey, uh, sensei? Did your menopause start or something?" Ike joked in an attempt to brighten up the situation, but all it did was cause a big wave of nervousness to wash over his ssmates. There''s no doubt that he only made the situation worse by saying such a thing to their teacher, of all people.


    "Before we start our homeroom, does anyone have any questions they want to ask? If so, now is the time to ask them." Thankfully, it didn''t seem like Chabashira was affected by that remark from Ike. She still looked serious, though, and right after she invited her students to bring up any questions that they might have, several of them raised their hands.


    "Uh, sensei? I checked my point bnce this morning... but I only got about 10,000 points, I think? Are we going to get the rest of our 100,000 pointster today?"


    "Yeah, the same happened for me, actually. Is something wrong with the app, Sae-chan-sensei?"


    "I already exined this before, didn''t I? Points are distributed on the first day of every month. Points have already been given to the students for this month hours earlier. And I can assure you, there is nothing wrong with the student ID application."


    "Eh? But only 10,000 points got deposited to my ount..."


    Hondou and Yamauchi looked at each other, as they wondered what was going on. Ike was the same,pletely different from his boisterous self a while ago. Everyone else only looked on, torn between feeling confused and nervous about this.


    "Are you idiots really that dumb?" she red harder at her students, even causing some of them to shrink in their seats.


    "D-Dumb? How?" Hondou repeated her words stupidly.


    "All right then, I''ll exin it once again. In a way that your small brains can understand," she sighed.


    Taken aback by her words, Hondou couldn''t do anything but sit down and remain silent.


    "Points were deposited to each and every student ount in this school. There is no chance that we have forgotten anyone in this ss. To think otherwise is an insult not only to me, but to the whole school as well."


    "We heard you, Sae-chan-sensei, but... we still didn''t get our 100,000 points?" Yamauchi asked, beginning to look irritated.


    Meanwhile, Kiyotaka was in deep thought. If their teacher was telling the truth, and she probably is, then Suzune was right. They already received their allotted points for this month, and they wouldn''t be getting any more. This creates another question, though.


    Why did they only get a fraction of the 100,000 points that they received during their first day here?


    "Hahaha! I see now. That''s how it works, eh, sensei? I have figured it out," Koenji''s voice boomed across the room, gaining everyone''s attention easily.


    "Huh?"


    Koenji leaned back against his seat, as he rest his feet on top of his desk. "It''s simple. Our supposed points for this month have indeed been given to us. However, it is not the amount that you expected. We have only received a total of 9,700 points, a fraction of the supposed 100,000."


    "Wait, what are you talking about? Sae-chan-sensei said that we''d get 100,000 points every month—"


    "I don''t recall ever hearing such a thing," Koenji smirked. "Or were you simply not listening during our first day here?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "The hell did you just say?!"


    Chabashira quickly intervened before an argument could take ce. "While he has an attitude problem, Koenji is not wrong. It''s utterly disappointing that almost no one noticed the hint I gave you. How deplorable."


    And with that, the ssroom descended into chaos over the issue of points.


    "Sensei, may I ask a question? I''m afraid I still don''t understand," Hirata raised his hand. Even now, when the ss was about to fall apart, the young man took initiative for the sake of his ssmates. "Can you please tell us why we only received a fraction of the 100,000 points? We won''t understand otherwise."


    The rest of the ss nodded, agreeing with him.


    "A total of 62 absences andte arrivals. 287 incidences of talking or using a cell phone in ss. Those are quite some numbers over one month. In this school, your ss''s results are reflected in the points that you receive. As a result, you nearly wasted all of the 100,000 points that you should have received. Be grateful that you even received a few points at all."


    Chabashira-sensei mmed her palms down on her desk and red at everyone there


    "Nearly wasted, huh? I guess all we really got was 9.7% of the 100,000 points that were supposed to be deposited to our ounts," Kiyotaka thought as he analyzed the situation in his mind. "Since she''s keeping track of the offenses that wemit instead of ignoring them, this also means doing inappropriate things inside of the ssroom and students'' behavior are factors in determining whether we''ll keep our points or lose them."


    "I should have exined this all to you on the day of the entrance ceremony. You were this close to being evaluated as nothing more than fodder," she exined further, emphasizing her point with her fingers.


    "Chabashira-sensei, I do not recall hearing you exin that to us before—"


    "What is this? Are you saying you are incapable of understanding unless it''s exined to you detail by detail?" The woman cut him off.


    Yosuke''s calm look started to fail him as frustration began leaking out. "There was never any exnation about reducing our points. If those were exined beforehand, I''m sure we would have avoidedmitting any offenses that would result in losing our points."


    "Is that your argument, Hirata? Tell me, then. Were you not taught in elementary school or junior high about the consequences of beingte or talking in ss? I''m sure that in all of your years in going to school, you learned about the basic things to do and not to do while inside a ssroom. And now you''re saying that you didn''t understand because I didn''t exin it to you? I''m afraid your argument is wed, Hirata."


    Yosuke couldn''t say anything this time, because he knew that he was caught in a tight spot. On one hand, he knew that it was to be expected for a student to behave properly and at the same time, he didn''t want to let his friends down.


    "If you had simply acted like proper and behaved students, then your points would have never dropped. As I said, consider yourselves lucky that you even received some."


    Still, no one dared to speak out against her, especially after that perfectly sound argument. Everyone was aware of what bad behavior is and what it could bring. Most of them simply didn''t know how much of a big deal it would be.


    "Did you honestly think you''d receive 100,000 points every month with no strings attached? At the most prestigious high school in the country? This ce is dedicated to training gifted people, not for children who cannot even rely on their ownmon sense."


    "She makes a good point. There''s no way that the government could give 100,000 yen to every student in this school on a monthly basis, since Chabashira-sensei said that 1 point is equal to 1 yen. That''s not even counting the upperssmen..."


    pαndα,noν?1,сoМ Kiyotaka could have figured this out a lot sooner, but he didn''t bother putting the extra effort in doing so. Plus, he couldn''t exactly put his information-gathering skills to the test when he was already preupied with another problem the whole time.


    Even though Hirata looked agitated himself, he still maintained his calm demeanor. "Well then, could you at least exin to us how points can be added or deducted, sensei?"


    "I cannot tell you. The teachers are not allowed to disclose how we evaluate the students. It''s like with any other organization. When you enter apany, it''s thepany''s choice whether or not to tell you how it evaluates its employees. That being said, I''m not cruel, and I''m not giving you the cold shoulder. As a matter of fact, you''re all so pathetic that I''ll give you a piece of advice."


    "You''re already being cruel, sensei..." was the collective thought in most of the students'' minds.


    "Let''s imagine that you stop beingte to ss and being absentpletely. Even though no points will be deducted from you this month, that doesn''t mean you will receive any higher than 9,700 either. But if you fail to behave yourselves, you might just end up getting no points at all."


    Instead of something that would give them hope in this predicament they have found themselves in, Sae''s words bore the opposite effect on her students. Those who thought they could improve their situation by fixing their bad behavior had their hopes dashed right away.


    At that moment, the bell rang.


    "Looks like we spent too much time yammering. I hope you understood the gist of it, because now we''re switching to our main topic for the day." As she said those words, she then brought out a white rolled-up poster and attached it to the ckboard so that everyone could see its contents.


    ss A - 890


    ss B - 650


    ss C - 490


    ss D - 97