A Monster's Influence: Route C

Chapter 16

Ayanokouji's POV

Time had flown by since I had arrived at Advanced Nurturing High School, and thus the start of the next month began. And with it came the chaos. Manabe had been blowing up my phone with a barrage of panic-ridden text messages, realizing she received significantly less than the full amount our class was distributed at the beginning of last month. It was honestly impressive that the stream of texts has been going on for seven minutes straight. I couldn't really get a text in to reply to any of her questions, so as a man of efficiency, I cut my losses and absentmindedly read her texts during breakfast.

When I arrived at the classroom, it seemed like many of my classmates were in hysterics as well, some of them kneeling because they completely spent their private points on lavish possessions such as jewelry and clothes. It was honestly surprising that we even received private points at all, given the behavior of my classmates during class and on campus. There were some incidents between my class and Class B under the orders of Ryuuen. I wondered if there was any class that hadn't received private points at all. Nishino and Tokitou looked grimly at each other and me before nodding, thankful for the warning I gave them on the first day and that they kept in mind to save a significant sum of private points.

Our class had received 49,000 private points in total, which was still enough to live off of in a month, provided that we were frugal in our spending. Unless you were careless with your points, you could still live comfortably, but I guess my class had acclimated to such an extravagant lifestyle.

*rrrring*

The morning bell rang, signaling the start of homeroom as Sakagami-sensei strutted into the classroom. He seemed to pay no heed to the rumblings happening in the classroom, simply setting down a stack of papers on his desk. He picked up the clipboard from the stack of papers, dutifully writing down numbers on the board.

Class A: 940 cl

Class B: 650 cl

Class C: 490 cl

Class D: 0 cl

Hmm... I suppose the amount of private points distributed correlates with whatever cl meant. That meant Class D surprisingly had worse behavior than my class despite the incidents they had caused. Just how degenerate and pitiful was that class? Were they the sort of people that man warned me about associating with? Maybe they were the weirdos that wanted me to rearrange their guts. They probably wanted me to kill them to spare them from their pitiful lives. How wasteful. They needed to be disciplined so they could become functioning members of society.

"Hello, class," sensei nonchalantly greeted us, "I hope you are doing well today. I have written down the class point totals on the board. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah?!" one of my classmates exclaimed, baring his teeth, "Where the hell are the rest of our private points? I thought we were supposed to be given 100,000 points every month!"

"Excuse me, Kondou-san," sensei spoke calmly, "I have never stated as such. I clearly stated that private points will be distributed at the start of every month and that you were distributed 100,000 points that month. Now, are there any relevant questions?"

Ryuuen rose his hand and asked, "Will you tell us how we lost 51,000 points?"

"There were a total of fifty-five absences and late arrivals, and one hundred eighty-six incidents of talking or using a cell phone in class. There were also some minor disputes between members of our class and the other classes. It is an understatement to say there were a few infractions over one month. In this school, your class's results are reflected in the points that you receive. This school operates under government supervision and boasts a high rate of advancement into higher education and the workforce. In order for you to receive those benefits, you have to reach Class A and maintain that position by the end of your senior year. In three weeks, you will take the midterm exams. If you fail any exam, you will have to drop out. If that is all, you may spend the rest of homeroom as you would like," sensei finished, promptly leaving the classroom.

The class seemed ready to erupt again, but Ryuuen rose from his seat and swaggered to the podium before slamming his fists on top of it, gathering everyone's attention.

"Alright, you chucklefucks. Shut up for a minute and listen to what I have to say. It seems like you didn't get my warning into your thick skulls. We have been evaluated negatively in the eyes of the school. Shiina. Kaneda. Oda. Suzuki. Sonoda. Isoyama. Nomura." Ryuuen listed seven of the top ten scorers academically, "The seven of you will hold optional tutoring sessions in the library for two hours, rotating each day of the week. The rest of you either attend the sessions or study on your own time, am I clear?"

"Yes, Ryuuen-san," the class collectively groaned.

"I'm not responsible if any of you dumbfucks fail any of the exams when I provided you all a way to study. However, if any of you flunk out, Albert here will beat your ass for good measure. Maybe then you'll learn to not be a dumbfuck in your next school. Am I fucking clear?"

"Yes, Ryuuen-san."

Ryuuen left the podium and sauntered back to his seat before chatting with Shiina. The class had calmed down considerably compared to how they were earlier in the morning, having gone back to their regular conversations.

"Ne, Kiyotaka," Nishino began, "Are you gonna take part in any of the sessions?"

"Yeah," Tokitou interjected, "You're in the top ten, so I think you'll be fine on your own. Takeko and I will probably go during the weekend sessions, preferably with Shiina-san or Kaneda-san. Shiina-san seems nice enough and Kaneda seems like he's a capable enough tutor. We'd ask you, but you're probably gonna have your hands full with Manabe. Hands full of what, I wonder," he teased.

"What do you me—" I started before I was pounced on by Manabe, who began hugging my arm.

"Kiyotaka-kun, let's study together, yeah? I totes need your help! You're in the top ten academically, so I know you're like, super-duper smart. Can you please teach me?~" she pled with puppy-dog eyes. If I wasn't raised in the White Room, I probably would have been moved, but alas, I must decline in order to spend my free time rel—

"I'll buy you ice cream and that box of chocolates that you like."

"Done deal. Sorry Takeko, Hiroya, she took the only spot available. It seems you'll have to be tutored by one of those seven tutors."

"Pfft, haha okay. You two have fun," Takeko snickered while Hiroya smirked, "We'll get dinner later at six at LUV DRUNK, yeah?"

"Of course."

I relaxed as I listened to my friends chatting while my class waited for the next period to start.

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A short and quick one before my one-week hiatus. Bye.