Chaos in Classroom of the Elite: Class 1-C

As the autumn winds swept through the streets, scattering golden leaves that symbolized the cyclical nature of life, the current decay only served as a prelude to the rebirth of spring in the coming year.

Time marched on, finally reaching December. On this day, the Workplace Special Exam was officially declared over—though, in truth, it had ended much earlier.

At the Gourmet Street venue, the results had long been decided. No matter how hard the second-year students tried, they ultimately ended up working for Ichika Ichinose's class. This led to Ichinose's class achieving a score far ahead of all the second-year classes.

As for the eel farming site, there was little to say. It remained closed and under investigation, leaving Sakayanagi's class, Class D, and others with nothing to do. These classes, like Yukio's class, spent their remaining time idly, enjoying themselves.

Lastly, Takahashi's Yukata Shop had undergone a dramatic reversal in public opinion. Coupled with AN High School selecting it as a site for the Special Social Experience Program, it gained significant fame and saw a surge in orders—but a sharp decline in workload.

The previously fulfilled orders weren't as Takahashi had dramatically claimed—demanding employees work overtime and burn the midnight oil. Instead, they were simply completed using inventory that had been stored in the warehouse. The warehouse fire had only consumed some raw materials.

The large orders received afterward were delayed due to the need to repair the production facilities, meaning neither Yukio's class nor the third-year students had any work to do. With nothing productive to occupy their time, they could only wander around.

Under these circumstances, Ichinose's class was the only one busy with work across the entire school. For everyone else, regardless of year level, it was as though an early extended holiday had been granted.

This inevitably led to widespread recognition of Horikita Manabu's defeat at the hands of Yukio. In this cross-grade exam, the senior students were utterly routed, while the first-year students achieved an overwhelming victory.

Even Horikita Manabu, the great hope of the senior grades, and Class 3-A, their last bastion and pride, were swept aside like autumn leaves in the wind. Yukio's efforts relegated them to second place in the project rankings.

When the news spread, the senior students were collectively shaken. No one could believe that someone as outstanding as Horikita Manabu had failed to defeat Yukio.

But when the details emerged—the tearful fire incident video and Karuizawa serving as an accelerant to reignite the buzz—it became clear. While the average viewer might not understand these nuances, how could the students of AN High School fail to grasp them?

Upon realizing the terrifying effectiveness of Yukio's strategy to reverse public opinion, the senior students admitted that Horikita Manabu's loss was not unjust.

It wasn't that Horikita was incompetent; it was that his opponent was simply too difficult. Yukio's methods not only overturned the public opinion but even made use of Horikita's own project plan. If any other senior had been in Horikita's place, they would have suffered the same crushing defeat.

This led the senior students to marvel at how exceptional this batch of first-years was. Even with such significant disadvantages, they managed to overwhelm the more experienced seniors.

The seniors began to take the first-years far more seriously, revising their condescending views of their juniors. They wholeheartedly recognized the capabilities of the first-years and resolved to exercise extreme caution in future cross-grade special exams.

As various discussions gradually subsided toward the end of the exam, the seniors shifted their focus to preparing for the next special exam and improving themselves as much as possible in the meantime.

In this mindset, all the students finally gathered in December on the open ground outside the hotel, awaiting the broadcast of the Workplace Special Exam results.

After a brief moment of static, the broadcast was adjusted, and the clear announcement of the results reached everyone's ears: 

"The Workplace Special Exam has officially concluded. The rankings for each project group and class are as follows: 

[Yukata Project Group:]

1st Place: First-Year Class A (Yukio's Class) 

2nd Place: Third-Year Class A 

3rd Place: Third-Year Class B 

4th Place: Third-Year Class C 

[Eel Farming Project Group:]

1st Place: First-Year Class B (Sakayanagi's Class) 

2nd Place: First-Year Class D 

3rd Place: Third-Year Class D 

4th Place: Second-Year Class D 

[Gourmet Street Project Group:]

1st Place: First-Year Class C (Ichinose's Class)"

2nd Place: Second-Year Class B

3rd Place: Second-Year Class C

4th Place: Second-Year Class A.

[Current Overall Rankings for First-Years:]

- Class A (Yukio's Class): 2090 Points

- Class B (Sakayanagi's Class): 1480 Points

- Class C (Ichinose's Class): 1290 Points

- Class D (Matsushita's Class): 270 Points

This outcome was entirely expected by all the students present, with nothing surprising about it. The first-years dominated every project group, securing first place across the board, followed by the higher years in the lower ranks. 

The only unexpected result was the performance of Second-Year Class A. No one anticipated that without Nagumo, their class would fall so far, dropping to the bottom of the rankings—performing even worse than Second-Year Class C. 

While the higher-year students were solemn about the results, the first-years were far more exuberant. As soon as the rankings were announced, they waved their arms in celebration and began cheering enthusiastically: 

"We won! We really won! Yukio-san, time for another celebration feast!" 

"This time, we've truly hit the jackpot! Over 2,000 points for our class! That's 200,000 private points per month!" 

"Hahaha, being with Yukio-san for so long, we've gotten used to having celebration feasts after every special exam. I feel like it's becoming a habit!" 

"We're first! First place! That's 500 class points! Amazing, Ichinose!" 

"Yes! Let's celebrate with a big feast back at school, just like Yukio's class!" 

"Incredible, Sakayanagi! Who would've thought that filing a report would actually secure us first place? I doubted it at first, thinking we might lose to Class D, but that was so wrong. We really should trust in your abilities." 

"Not bad at all! Even though we're in second place and only got 200 class points, at least we're not struggling anymore! Thanks to Matsushita, we don't have to eat free vegetable meals anymore. When we get back, I'm going to order ten dishes in the cafeteria!" 

"What's there to celebrate? Sure, we got 200 class points, but the other three classes all secured first place in their groups, earning 500 points each. The gap between us and the top classes has only grown wider!" 

"Come on, Horikita, don't be such a buzzkill. Really, I'm begging you, just stop talking. Matsushita, don't mind her. Come on, everyone, let's take a group photo!" 

The lively and chaotic chatter echoed throughout the open space. Some were ecstatic to the point of madness, others were shouting about feasting, and some were already looking ahead to future challenges. 

Though it all seemed disorganized and unruly, the delighted expressions of the teachers watching from the sidelines told a different story. To them, this was the unique vibrancy of youth that could only be found at AN High School…