Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Because I went to the karaoke yesterday, I figured that I'd spend this day resting inside my room. Well, at least that's what I initially planned to do. I was wrong. 

"Why did he even call for me...?"

"To be honest, I have no idea."

Horikita and I wore our uniforms as we walked on school grounds. The sleeves of my blazer made my arms sweat beads. It felt extremely uncomfortable.

That said, Horikita led me towards a room for a certain club. From what I've heard, it seems like the Student Council Office is currently under renovation, so moving to a temporary location would make a lot of sense.

"Tea Ceremony Club, huh?" I commented.

"I heard they were stationed in the Floral Arrangement Club until yesterday," added Horikita.

*Knock*

"Come in."

I opened the door for us after hearing confirmation from the guy himself. He sat on a chair behind a school desk. It felt kinda weird given how I usually saw him seated behind an office desk.

"Tachibana, go brew some tea for them."

"Yes, President."

Secretary Tachibana got to work as she went behind a small curtain separating the room in half.

"Have a seat, you two."

"You're being strangely hospitable. What are you up to this time?"

*Clutter*

After uttering those rude words, I could immediately hear some mess behind the curtain.

"Tachibana, is everything alright?"

"Y-Yes, President! I apologize for my carelessness!"

"Be mindful. The members of the Tea Ceremony Club were kind enough to let us borrow their room. It would be shameful if we caused any amount of damage to their equipment."

"Yes, I'm very sorry!"

Horikita Manabu fixed his glasses before turning back to us.

"To answer your question, I'm not necessarily planning anything. I called you here with regards to your recent achievement as the freshmen year's new Class A." He then looked towards Horikita. "Congratulations. As the Student Council President of this school, I've acknowledged your efforts."

"Nii-san..."

"I can't deny that results are results. What your class has achieved is nothing short of a miracle." He narrowed his eyes before continuing. "However, I hope none of this gets to your head."

"That much is obvious, Nii-san... We will not get conceited."

"Hmph."We", huh? Suzune, how confident are you that you represent your classmates?"

"That's..."

He instantly dismantled Horikita's composure. Horikita Manabu knew his sister more than anyone else. He knew that this was nothing but a temporary feat.

"I don't think underestimating us is a good congratulatory speech, you know?" I chimed in.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not underestimating your class's "potential". But everything else is still subpar compared to what is required from a stable Class A. You're the first-ever Class D that rose to Class A— in one semester, no less. Questions are bound to rise."

His evaluation was on point. As a fellow freshman, I sincerely think that the likes of Katsuragi or Ichinose's classes are still leaps and bounds better in terms of overall merit.

"What types of questions?"

"There are lots of different questions that could be asked, but given your current progress and achievements, there's one question that stands out." He gave me an extremely sharp look. "Who was responsible for this?"

Horikita looked at me with a slightly anxious expression.

"I may have had a hand in the Island Exam, but Horikita was the MVP during the Zodiac Exam. The credit can't be all mine."

"Is that really the case, though? Let me ask you, Suzune."

"I..."

Of course, she won't agree with me. I made Horikita realize how inferior she was compared to the other leaders. Given how sharp she is, she must've felt that I did something in the background during the Zodiac Exam, too. She may have been the MVP on the surface, but her intuition is telling her that I might've used her as a pawn once again.

"Putting the special exams aside, the main feat that solidified your position could be traced back to the very first day of school."

"You're talking about me buying the explanation for the S-System, right?"

"Naturally. You see, the school's unique system didn't have its own culture back then. Even after revealing it, competition remained tight. However, because of the obvious stigma and prejudice brought on by the class hierarchy, none of the lower classes managed to win in the end. Some Class Cs made it to Class B, but not a single Class D managed to overtake any higher class," he explained. "This gave birth to the current discriminatory culture that's been around for a decade or so. I'm sure you've heard of the term 'defects' thrown around here and there. As time passed by, the defeat of the lower classes had become more set in stone. Because of the class hierarchy, the difference in morale between the lower classes and upper classes had always been day and night. That's especially hard to fix when most students hailing in Class D are flawed, immature children who can't think past their own foolish desires."

The elder Horikita stopped talking and took a sip of his tea. He must've felt that the situation on the other side of the curtain has been settled.

"The tea is ready. Please, have some."

As expected, Secretary Tachibana came back to serve us some tea.

"Thank you," said Horikita.

"Don't mind it," she replied with a smile.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Her smile turned into a frown before looking away.

The difference in treatment here is quite evident.

"Nii-san... May I ask why you're telling us all of this?"

"I'm just opening your eyes to the truth. 290 points, 260 points, 180 points, 110 points, and so on— those are some examples of the amount of class points that past Class Ds initially had. They were the ones who went through the process normally— the ones who stayed ignorant to the truth until the 1st of May," he said. "Meanwhile, your class started with a good 720 class points boosting you all the way to Class B after the first month. This shook the school, and your adviser was even investigated for foul play. It's only natural that the one responsible for this abnormal situation... is an abnormal person himself. Do you get what I'm saying, Suzune?"

"If Ayanokouji-kun didn't make Chabashira-sensei explain the S-System to our class, the likelihood of us still being Class D even after the Zodiac Exam would be very high. That's what you're trying to say, right, Nii-san?"

(Note: Suzune is using very formal language in all her lines with Manabu.)

Matsushita, Horikita, Kikyou, and even Hirata have consulted this theory with each other, including me. Our educated guess told us that there was a good chance for our initial class points to drop all the way down to zero if it weren't for that purchased explanation. With that in mind, the amount of class points that we have would only amount to 492 even after winning both the Deserted Island Exam and the Zodiac Exam. Being almost 200 points behind Ryuuen's 690, we would still end up as Class D after the first semester.

"Well, figuring out that buying intangible things with points isn't something that a normal person would think about right after coming to this school. From the marketing to how the school presents itself, every student would've been successfully manipulated into having materialistic thoughts. I'm not just crediting Ayanokouji for overcoming the school's very first test. This also goes for both Katsuragi Kouhei and Sakayanagi Arisu."

"940 points... Was there any other Class A in the past who had the same or more amount of class points as them after April?" asked Horikita.

"No. This year's Class 1-A set a record."

Horikita had a subtly graver look.

"Nii-san... How did your class do back then?"

"You're curious about that? How unnecessary." The elder Horikita fixed his glasses as he answered. "When we were freshmen, our Class 1-A managed to hold on to 920 class points."

Meanwhile, Secretary Tachibana nodded with a bright smile on her face.

"So you figured out the System, too, huh?" I commented.

"More or less. Fortunately, I didn't have to sacrifice any of our points to convince the class. As you've seen from the past rankings, the previous Class A was the same. It clearly showcases the difference in fundamental maturity between classes." Horikita Manabu ended with a sigh. "Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"Yes..."

The elder Horikita turned to me once again before changing the topic.

"After checking the files of your first special exams, a development has got me intrigued. The sudden turn of events led me to suspect that you're planning to step down, Ayanokouji."

"So you figured even that out, huh...? Well, it's not like I was hiding it. You're right that I'm no longer the leader of Class B... or rather, Class A. Everything is now in Horikita's hands, along with Hirata and the others."

"I see. You're not the first person I've associated with who just wants to live a normal high school life in this school. I suppose I can understand where you're coming from."

Secretary Tachibana smiled bitterly after hearing those words.

"Students from your class?"

"Yes. They don't care too much about the class competitions, but they're competent enough to not be a burden. I hope you're planning to do the same. It would be shameful if you were reduced to being dead weight."

"I don't plan to become a freeloader. If everyone in the class hates me for it, then I'd be getting the opposite of a peaceful life."

"A peaceful life, huh? I suppose that's true," he smirked meaningfully. "That's all I wanted to say for now as the Student Council President and a fellow representative of Class A. You're dismissed. Tachibana, kindly escort them out."

"I understand."

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While Horikita and I were walking through the hallways on our way to the teachers' faculty, her phone suddenly made a sound.

"It's a message from Hirata-kun. He's with Kushida-san and they want to talk to me about something. Apparently, it's urgent."

"Ohh... That means you have to go now, right?"

"Here, Ayanokouji-kun. Please send these additional reports to Chabashira-sensei in my place." She handed her folder to me with an apologetic expression. "Well then."

And just like that, Horikita was gone. I headed towards the faculty room all by myself.

As I turned towards the last corner, I accidentally bumped into another student.

"Oh, sorry."

"Ah, no. It was me who was careless—" Both of us instinctively apologized before recognizing each other's faces and voices. "Eh, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Ichinose?"

"Hey! Do you have some business with your adviser?"

"Yeah, how about you?"

"Oh, Hoshinomiya-sensei called for me, but she told me that I'll hear the specifics from the student council."

Apparently, the reason why she had to visit the teachers' faculty was so Hoshinomiya-sensei could inform her about their new temporary office.

"Alright, I'll go now. Let's hang out sometime during summer, okay?"

"Sure."

And with that, I gave my report to Chabashira-sensei.

I was curious as to what Ichinose's business was. Horikita Manabu once said that he didn't find any of the first-years to be particularly impressive, so calling for Ichinose now would be a bit strange.