Classroom of the Elite, Kusuo Saiki

Kusuo Saiki had been secretly observing Ryuen Sho and Kikyo Kushida, but they didn't seem to have taken any special actions during this time.

Two weeks passed quietly, and the midterm exams arrived as scheduled. There were four major subjects, all of which would be completed in one day.

"The midterm exams have officially begun. I hope you understand the importance of this exam. Anyone who fails will be expelled. Please don't forget this."

Inside the classroom, Chabashira Sae looked at the group of students in front of her with a smile.

Starting with the midterm exams, anyone who fails the official exams will be expelled. Since the school was founded, there has never been a class initially assigned to Class D that has managed to have no students expelled after the midterm exam results are released. Although I don't know how you guys got to Class C, I know very well that you've always just been a bunch of defective products. Unless you can get to Class A, you're all just a bunch of trash.

Whatever methods you use, let me see what kind of results you can achieve in this midterm exam.

Chabashira Sae then began distributing exam papers to her students. Saiki Kusuo glanced at the exam questions and found that they were almost identical to last year's. If they reviewed according to the pre-existing questions, they should be able to achieve a decent score.

However, it cannot be said that Horikita Suzune's book club was ineffective—at least Sudo Ken and others were able to understand some of the questions.

Kusuo Saiki did not rush to write, but listened carefully to the thoughts of those around him.

I understand this question, and I know the answer!

'This is something you can definitely be proud of.'

At this moment, Takeru Sudo had an incredibly excited smile on his face, even happier than when he scored thirty points in a basketball game. This was one of the few times he was able to understand the exam questions. He raised his head and looked at the others present with an incredibly confident gaze. Seeing that the others were also writing furiously, he then filled in his answers as if he were in complete control.

I need to get a decent grade... Only then will at least the Kushida-kun in my dreams accept my confession.

'You could be even more successful.'

Meanwhile, Kanji Ike was also writing furiously, trying his best to prove his worth.

Kusuo Saiki then observed the situation of the others present and gained a basic understanding of the difficulty of the exam, roughly what kind of score he should get.

He originally planned to continue to achieve a mediocre score, just like before. However, Kusuo Saiki quickly recalled what Suzune Horikita had said earlier. If he didn't get a high score in mathematics, she might cause him a lot of trouble.

'I need to get a decent score in math... My ranking will fluctuate a bit, but that's fine. It'll allow my scores in other subjects to drop slightly, so that while my overall score remains in the middle, I can avoid arousing suspicion. If I consistently get mediocre scores, Ayanokouji and Chabashira-sensei will definitely continue to harass me.'

With that thought in mind, Kusuo Saiki changed a few answers.

......

The day after the exams, during the first period of the morning, Chabashira Sae walked briskly into the classroom with her report card in hand.

'He arrived at the classroom a minute earlier than usual and seemed to be in a good mood—which means our class's exam results should be pretty good.'

Kusuo Saiki thought to himself.

The exam results are about to be released!

Takeru Sudo wore an eager smile; this was the first time in many years that he had been so looking forward to the exam results.

[My previous dreams were all about learning related knowledge points. If I can have dreams like that every day, I won't have to worry about exam results at all!]

I won't help you anymore.

[Maybe I can do even better than Horikita this time.]

'It seems your recent studies have left you somewhat disoriented?'

"The midterm exam results are out!"

Chabashira Sae posted the report cards for each subject on the blackboard, and the last report card recorded the total score of each student.

The moment the report card was released, Kusuo Saiki instantly knew his grades: he was in the top quarter of the class in math, but in the bottom quarter in English.

'This resulted in discrepancies in the rankings of several subjects, but the overall score remained in the middle range.'

Kusuo Saiki nodded in satisfaction. He had successfully passed the final exams, avoiding both trouble and too much attention.

On the other side, Takeru Sudo looked at the report card with surprise in his eyes.

What?! I think I did pretty well on the test, why am I still last?! The test must have been graded wrong!!

Chapter 48: What kind of crisis will follow after the midterm exams?

Why am I still ranked last?! Why?

'Because you've only narrowed the gap between yourself and normal people.'

Kusuo Saiki silently echoed Ken Sudo's confusion.

Although Takeru Sudo made rapid progress during this period, his original foundation was still too weak.

However, even though he came in last place, Sudo Takeru still achieved a very high score for himself, or rather, the overall score for the class was quite good.

I felt like I should have gotten into the top ten on this exam! I clearly remembered all the formulas!

'You were as excited as when humanity first discovered fire, weren't you, discovering which formulas could be used to solve these problems?'

[I tried so hard... how come I'm still last?!]

'What exactly have you been trying to do? It feels like I'm the one who's been trying.'

Kusuo Saiki felt somewhat helpless, but through his recent mental activity, he sensed that Ken Sudo seemed to have some ambition, which could be considered progress.

[But the average score this time was 65, which is not bad!]

'As if I hadn't said anything.'

Kusuo Saiki shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze to Kiyotaka Ayanokouji on the other side, who was also quickly observing the class's grades.

Horikita is indeed number one in total score. Saiki's results are a bit surprising. His math score is in the top ten of the class this time, but his English is near the bottom... His total score is almost the same as mine, still in the middle of the class. Is he manipulating his score? Or...?

No matter what score I get, you'll still doubt me, right?

"I must say, your exam results this time were a pleasant surprise."

"Tea Pillar Sae said with a smile."

[I didn't expect these underachievers to achieve such results; it's actually quite good. Although they're currently in Class C, they were initially ranked as Class D at the beginning of the semester—a class like that has never achieved such scores before; they're almost on par with Class A.]

[Everyone passed, which is surprising—even Sudo and his buddies got a passable score.]

Did someone do something? Did they completely understand the school rules?

"It seems that you guys, who were initially considered defective by the school, have at least proven your worth."

"Chabashira-sensei!"

Just then, Yosuke Hirata raised his hand.

"what happened?"

Chabashira Sae narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze fixed on Hirata Yosuke, as if she had guessed what he was thinking.

"Since you say our exam results were okay... then has our class ranking improved?"

Yosuke Hirata asked with great curiosity.

Upon hearing Hirata Yosuke's words, Chabashira Sae's face revealed a cold smile:

"Although your exam results were not bad, you've gotten a little too cocky, haven't you? Do you want to be promoted to Class B so soon? You're not good enough yet!"

Chashu Sae immediately wrote down the points each class had in this exam on the blackboard.

After this exam, excluding Class A, Class C gained a lot of points—but the points from the midterm exam don't account for a large percentage, and besides, there was already a gap between their class and Class B, so they still couldn't surpass Class B.

However, it must be admitted that the gap between Class C and Class B has been further narrowed.

Looking at the numbers on the blackboard, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He noticed that the number of points obtained by Class D was almost the same as that of Class C.

[Class D got about the same number of points as us... Does this mean their scores on this exam weren't that much different from ours?]

Based on the previous class rankings, Class D's average academic ability shouldn't have been particularly high, but this time they achieved similar results to us, who had access to last year's exam questions.

Does this mean that Class D, like us, obtained the previous year's exam questions? Did they discover it themselves—or did someone in our class tip them off?

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's reasoning speed is very fast, but at this point he only believes that such a possibility exists, without any substantial evidence.

Kusuo Saiki knows the whole truth.

His gaze shifted to Kikyo Kushida, who was chatting with her classmates about the midterm exams, seemingly oblivious to everything.

However, for Kusuo Saiki, if Kikyo Kushida only informed Class D about the existence of last year's exam questions, it would be a good thing in a way, as it would slow down their class's progress a little.

They already have Class D as an enemy, and if they continue to rise in the rankings, they will definitely make even more enemies.

However, if Kikyo Kushida and Sho Ryuen's actions affect Kusuo Shiki in the future, he will not stand idly by.

"Stop smiling, this is just a midterm exam."

Chabashira Sae then took down the report cards and scanned the entire class, observing their reactions.

"After that, you will have many, many more exams to take."

[These guys aren't academically strong on average, so there's only one possibility for them to get these scores: they got the exam papers in advance, just like the previous quizzes—]

However, this method will soon become ineffective.

[Because the exams you're about to take won't have any practice questions to refer to, and they won't be simple tests of academic ability anymore.]

'Oh dear, it looks like there's going to be a lot of trouble ahead.'

Kusuo Saiki shook his head slightly, hoping that nothing unexpected would happen in future exams.

However, only Kusuo Saiki knew what Chabashira was thinking, while the other students present were thinking about other things.

[This time's results... still not enough to surpass Class A? If this continues, the gap will only widen! It seems we need to add more talented people to the book club in the future.]

'Please, I'm begging you.'

Everyone did pretty well this time, let's have a celebration party tonight.

'This kind of thing is really pointless, and even if you guys are going to do it, please don't do it in my dorm room...'

Let's continue holding it in Saiki's dorm room!

'You, do you have mind-reading abilities?'

.....

And just like that, another month slipped away quietly.

Chapter 49: A Test from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka