SWNOVELXO Chapter 91
Chapter 91: The Failures
“Ha~”
After escaping from the teacher’s office and returning to the classroom, Hachiman finally let out a sigh of relief, and at the same time, he gained a new understanding of the competition at this school.
It wasn’t just the competition between students and students, or between classes and classes; it seemed that even teachers were engaged in a similar competition.
Hachiman suddenly felt a sense of dread. Although teachers were prohibited from interfering in students’ matters, it wasn’t necessarily an absolute rule. Some subtle actions could be ignored, or they could even indirectly hint at students through subtle suggestions.
Chabashira-sensei was the perfect example. If that were the case, then her previous small actions made sense, but wasn’t it a little extreme?
“Looks like I need to be more careful in the future. I’ll need to consider this factor going forward.”
“Hi… Hi-ki…kigaya-kun, are you alright?”
Suddenly, a weak voice from the side startled Hachiman.
“Sakura?”
Hachiman was taken aback, then turned his head and looked around, eventually realizing that the girl was speaking to him.
It seemed like this was the first time Sakura had actively spoken to him in the classroom, which made Hachiman even more surprised.
Seeing Hachiman’s shocked expression, Sakura blushed, quickly lowered her head, and began regretting her impulsive words. “Oh no, oh no, I shouldn’t have said anything, should I?”
So embarrassing, +1, +1, +1, +1.
The girl shrank into herself and started trembling. Hachiman was about to speak but stopped himself, feeling strangely sad. “Am I really that scary?”
And… what’s up with Horikita today?
Since entering the classroom, Hachiman had noticed that Horikita’s gaze had been constantly focused on him, as if evaluating him.
“Hey!”
With little time left before the exam, it seemed that the “ice queen” Horikita could no longer hold back.
“I’ve told you countless times, my name is not ‘Hey!'”
Hachiman, still lost in his sad thoughts, wasn’t really paying attention to her. “If you have something to say, just say it already.”
“You!”
Horikita glared at him, on the verge of snapping, but remembering how she had just been ‘taught a lesson’ by Hachiman not long ago, she instinctively held back.
“Hachiman, have you heard any rumors?”
“No, I don’t care about gossip.”
Horikita took a few deep breaths, constantly telling herself to “hold it in, hold it in.” “It’s about the upcoming midterm exams. Apparently, a rumor started circulating around the first years since last night, saying that if you achieve excellent results, you’ll receive individual points as a reward.”
Hachiman raised an eyebrow. So that’s what this was about? He had just learned of it from Haruno last night, and now Horikita was bringing it up again. Hachiman immediately understood the problem and had a rough idea of what Horikita meant.
“It looks like you understand, so I don’t need to explain further.”
“…”
Hachiman noticed something on Horikita’s face, like a look of “just as I thought.”
Hey, Horikita, don’t just make assumptions on your own!
…
“No one is avoiding the exam. It looks like everyone’s here.”
Chabashira-sensei walked into the classroom with her usual expression, revealing a somewhat ambiguous smile. Of course, Hachiman noticed that the moment she entered the classroom, her eyes immediately fell on him. That was definitely not a good omen!
“Compared to last month, you’ve made a little progress. So, does anyone have anything to say?”
“Everyone in the class has been studying hard for the midterms, so we’ll all pass the exams smoothly!”
Hirata, as the class leader, spoke first, and his words were filled with confidence.
It wasn’t just Hirata—most of the other students in the class had expressions of confidence, too. Even the monkey duo, who had been nervous up until yesterday before school ended, were now holding their heads high, looking extremely smug. They had even boasted that they would get full marks. Really… wishful thinking!
“This midterm exam, and the final exam afterward, as long as there are no failing grades, I’ll take you all on vacation this summer.”
Chabashira-sensei on stage suddenly spoke up.
“Eh? Vacation?!”
“Really? Finally, we won’t be stuck in school anymore!”
“Yes, it’s a dreamy vacation on a small island surrounded by the azure sea.”
Chabashira-sensei answered.
As soon as the words were spoken, the students below instantly erupted in excitement, especially two monkeys, who even let out a few excited monkey calls, which was rather difficult to ignore.
However, Hachiman noticed something unusual. The usually cold, indifferent teacher, who typically ignored the students, was suddenly so warm and proactive today?
After the brief interruption, Hachiman entered the first midterm exam of the Advanced Nurturing High School.
“Just as I thought.”
The midterm exam paper was almost identical to the exam questions that Kushida and others had shown him yesterday. It wasn’t almost the same; it was exactly the same!
Hachiman was speechless about the school’s approach. This midterm exam seemed to be designed to assess students’ thinking and observational abilities through a “hidden option” of the exam questions. However, to Hachiman, this seemed somewhat backward.
It was like teaching a child how to cook. The focus should be on what level they can reach and continuously improve, not on telling them it’s okay if they don’t know how to cook because there’s instant noodles, pre-made meals, or even takeout. Isn’t that a joke?!
So even though the test questions were identical to the exam questions given by Kushida, Hachiman didn’t show any happiness. Instead, he felt disgusted and miserable!
Sure enough, in this school, there are solutions within the rules, as well as solutions beyond the rules. So, when they advocate for supremacy of power, does that mean they are just teaching how to “manipulate the rules”?
It really was dirty and realistic, just like society.
For most of the students like Hachiman, they could only passively accept it, just like right now.
…
The five subjects of the midterm exam passed in the blink of an eye, and then Hachiman spent a fulfilling weekend staying in his dorm watching tokusatsu and Pretty Cure. When Monday arrived, everyone in the classroom couldn’t wait for the results of the midterm exam to be announced.
Chabashira-sensei, while putting up a poster with the grades on the blackboard, sighed and said, “It seems like you all did put in effort last month, which is why you managed to score so highly. The scores for Japanese, Social Studies, and Mathematics are all tied for first place, and over 10 students even achieved full marks. This truly exceeded my expectations.”
It was unclear whether the smile on Chabashira-sensei’s face was genuine admiration or sarcasm, but when Hachiman heard that many students had scored full marks, even Horikita showed a hint of unease.
“I’ve done everything I could. Now, it’s up to fate,” Hachiman sighed inwardly.
After hearing the results from Chabashira-sensei, most of the students in Class D looked extremely happy. Even Sakura showed a joyful and excited expression. It seemed that the pressure of being expelled for failing the exam had motivated many students.
However, there were exceptions. For example, a certain red-haired boy looked extremely nervous as he awaited the results of the final two subjects to be announced.
Chemistry and English. Most of Class D’s students had also achieved excellent results in these subjects. Although none of them scored full marks, most of the students scored over 80, with only a few around 60.
But… there was one very noticeable score starting with a 3. Sudo Ken, English, 39 points.