COTE- The best detective has to study???

Chapter 9: Meritocracy?

Third period, history. Chabashira-sensei's class. I entered as soon as the bell rang, signaling the start of the class. However, the students' attitudes didn't change.

Chabashira: "Everyone, quiet down. Today's class will be more serious."

Ike: "What do you mean, Sae-chan-sensei?"

Chabashira: "It's the end of the month. We'll have a short test. Pass these to the back." She handed out the papers to the first row. Eventually, the test reached my desk. The exam had several questions from each of the 5 main topics.

Ike: "Eh, I haven't heard anything about this. I don't want to take it."

Sae: "Calm down. This test is just for future reference. It won't affect your grades. There's no risk, so relax. However, cheating is, of course, prohibited."

I guess it's time, right? Surprising everyone who saw me snoring, I stood up and stretched in front of everyone. I grabbed the sheet and started reading it; what stood out the most was the low level of almost all the questions, except for the last ones, which were quite challenging.

— No... Why are these problems so difficult?

I suppose it's a good way to separate academic abilities; a person with very good academic ability should be able to solve at least 1 out of the 3 questions. Although, looking at my classmates... I doubt there are more than 4 people who will score over 89 points.

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The morning bell rang on the first school day of May. Shortly after, Chabashira-sensei entered holding a rolled-up poster. Her face is always stern and serious.

Ike: "Sensei~, are you going through menopause?"

Chabashira: "Alright, the morning class is starting. Any questions before we begin? If there's anything on your minds, feel free to speak."

Immediately, several people raised their hands.

— "Um, I checked my points balance this morning, and no points were deposited. Wasn't it supposed to be provided on the first day of the month, every month? I was impatient because I couldn't buy the juice I wanted."

Chabashira: "Hondou, I explained this before, didn't I? Points are transferred to students' accounts on the first day of the month, every month. They were transferred without any issue this month too."

Hondou: "Uh, but... I didn't get any points."

Hondou and Yamauchi exchanged looks. Ike was too surprised to notice their appearance.

Chabashira: "Are you really this stupid?... Edogawa-Kun, you can stop pretending to sleep now."

*Ranpo gets up upon hearing his teacher's voice. He stretches and lets out a loud yawn, dusts off his clothes slowly.*

Ranpo: "No, I'm not asleep, Chaba-Sensei~... I suppose you want me to answer their questions for you, right? Although, I have to agree with you, Sensei. Isn't that right, Koenji?"

Koenji: "Indeed, they're quite stupid. I have no idea how they're considered normal students with how foolish they are."

Hondou: "Stupid? What?"

Chabashira: "Their attitudes are terrible, but what they're saying is on the right track. Not many people seem to have noticed my clue. How sad."

Hirata: "Sensei, may I ask a question? I still don't understand. Please tell us why we didn't get any points. If that's not possible, we'll never understand."

Ranpo: "Ughh, they're so desperate... We didn't get any points because of our horrible behavior. Every infraction we committed throughout the month was deducted from the initial 100,000 points."