Horikita Suzune looked up at her brother and Shirogane, confused. "This morning, Chabashira-sensei explained the rules for the test and mentioned that this month is the usual written test. I think every new student has to go through a behavior test in the first month and then take this test."
"I see."
Manabu went quiet again, like he was thinking about something.
But this time, Shirogane didn't need any help to guess what was going through his mind.
It was almost certain now—the Class D teacher had done something wrong, and maybe Horikita's sister had been dragged into it.
So his poor sister—if she were outside the school, he'd be worried but unable to help. But now that she's here, surrounded by all kinds of people watching her, that's a different kind of stress.
Manabu pulled himself together and looked seriously at Shirogane.
"Even though you're in a different class from Suzune, you've picked up on things pretty quickly."
That was his way of admitting the "regular test" was real.
Normally, a teacher wouldn't mention it, but clearly Class D's teacher broke the rules. And Shirogane probably guessed that but wasn't fully sure, so he brought up the term "regular written test" to test Manabu's reaction.
"Then, President, do you know when the regular exams first started?" Shirogane asked.
"Around twelve years ago," Manabu said.
"This school is fifteen years old. The first three years didn't have proper rules or systems. It took those three years to build what we have now."
"And I'm the 15th student council president," he added.
"I see." Shirogane nodded. "Then, President Horikita, what version of the textbooks were those students using twelve years ago? Was it the third edition—the earliest one still kept in the library? We're using the seventh edition now."
"..."
Manabu didn't answer. Shirogane really wasn't going to let anything slide.
But Manabu understood why he asked. Shirogane had probably already figured out what "regular test" really means.
"Regular" means following the past.
So the first-month behavior test and this written test—they've both followed the same rules since twelve years ago.
From twelve years ago until now, the test papers haven't changed. But the reward for getting the full 100 class points has changed.
At first, students had to average 90 points in every subject to get the top reward.
Later years lowered it—first to 85, then 80. And in the past two years, it dropped again: now a 70-point average is enough to earn the top reward.
The reason the required scores kept going down is simple—the textbooks didn't keep up.
So this year's freshmen are dealing with the same issue.
They were still using the same set of test papers from twelve years ago.
If you take the test without knowing that...
Then even though the full score for that paper is 100, under the current curriculum, if students don't study the old materials, the most they can get is about 70.
So—
Even if students in Class A approach the test seriously, they still won't be able to get the highest reward.
And for the new students, this is the second big wake-up call.
The first one was the rules test they had to take without knowing anything about the school. The second is this written test, now that they know what the school is really like.
If they still look at this school's exams the same way they would a normal school, they're going to suffer for it.
The school designed it this way on purpose, hoping that once students hit a wall, they'll finally start thinking.
And the result—
Right now, Yuki Shirogane (白银御行) has already thought of finding the version 3 textbook that matches the test paper from twelve years ago.
No one knows how he got the wording "standard exam" from Suzune, but the fact that he made this connection is already pretty scary.
Because—
The school wants students to learn how to think, how to adapt. That's what they're really testing.
Each special exam forces students to think more and more, with more depth and flexibility.
Being able to adapt.
Starting with one kind of test approach, then expanding to multiple methods, and finally, being flexible enough to come up with the best way to handle the exam.
That's what growth looks like.
And it's something you can only really understand once you reach your third year.
But the class rep he chose isn't just walking down the same road anymore—she's already started to run.
"Twelve years ago, the students used the version 4 textbook," Horikita Manabu said. "But if you're the only one reviewing that version, you still won't be able to handle this test properly."
"But from your reaction," Shirogane replied, "this just proves that this written test for new students is yet another one of those special exams the upperclassmen already know about, right?"
"If it follows the same pattern, then maybe that means there's another way to solve it."
"For example, if it's a 'standard' test, then maybe the word 'standard' means it hasn't changed at all over the years."
"So maybe the test questions are from an older version—and maybe the entire test paper has been passed down exactly as it was?" Shirogane said, his eyes locked on Horikita Manabu.
Horikita Manabu was clearly a bit shaken.
This Shirogane kid never plays by the rules.
"I may be your senior, but there are a lot of things I can't talk about."
"Especially since my position doesn't allow me to give too much away."
In the end, Horikita Manabu chose to stop talking to Shirogane and looked over at his sister.
"Suzune, I'll allow you to stay in school this year."
"But you need to grow. And the growth I want to see isn't just you taking Class D up to Class C. What you need is…"
Horikita Manabu didn't seem to have fully figured it out yet.
Because if she really takes Class D to Class C starting from zero points, that would still be amazing.
But—his sister had already been misled by Shirogane, was being watched by her classmate Kushida, and on top of that, had a homeroom teacher breaking the rules.
Clearly, if she keeps going down the D-to-C path, it'll just make all the people who want to use her think, "She's perfect, so easy to work with. I haven't even tried to trick her yet, and she's already moving forward on her own." And in her rush to move up, she might even do something foolish.
After thinking it through carefully,
"What you need is someone who can help you."
"You can't survive in this school on your own, so you need to learn to recognize your own weaknesses and find people who can support you."
"In short, go make some friends, Suzune."
Make friends?
Horikita's little sister looked at her brother, a bit stunned.
Just a moment ago, she thought she had heard Classmate Ayanokouji and her brother talking about the usual written tests.
She also overheard something about differences in textbook editions.
So, does that mean this written test... actually has some issues?
Could it be that the test is based on older material? But this school is already known for being strange, and Horikita Suzune has already had her expectations turned upside down. Trying to handle this place with normal thinking might only backfire.
So if the questions are from past tests... does that mean the upperclassmen have already taken the same ones?
She was already thinking about that just now—trying to figure out how to earn points for the class.
And yet, her brother suddenly tells her to go make friends.
"Something like that—" Horikita Suzune thought.
"Don't assume it's easy. What I'm saying is you need to realize you can't do everything alone. You've always understood what it means to be proud and stand apart."
"You're following in my footsteps, sure. But do you really think I don't have a single friend?" Horikita Manabu said.
"Uh... brother, that's not what I meant—" Horikita quickly backed down.
"Forget it," Horikita Manabu changed his mind. "Making friends in Class D is way too hard anyway."
As the student council president, and from what he already knows, Horikita Manabu doesn't believe there are any truly kind and decent students in Class D who'd be good friends for his sister.
"So what you need to do now is, just make sure you don't get expelled."
In the end, Horikita Manabu lowered the bar.
Not getting expelled—that would be a success.
…
And so, after being given the simple goal of just staying in school, Horikita Suzune left quietly.
Meanwhile, Classmate Ayanokouji walked over to the vending machine and ordered a bottle of water.
Beep!
Ayanokouji scanned the code.
"Want one too, President Horikita?" he asked.
"My feelings are complicated," Horikita Manabu answered, dodging the question.
But Ayanokouji could understand how he felt.
In just thirty minutes, Horikita Manabu had changed his expectations for his sister three times.
From
"Suzune should drop out,"
To "Suzune should lead Class D to Class C,"
Then "Suzune should make a friend and understand the value of relying on others,"
And finally, "Just don't get expelled, and that's good enough."