Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 5: Chapter 1.2 - Class 1-A's Plan

"Firstly, we must address our main problem." Horikita started off with the thing that's been weighing on everyone's mind. "For this sports festival, we'll be teaming up with Class D. In other words, Ryuuen-kun's class."

A lot of my classmates looked anxious. Some of them instinctively gave me a glance. Of course, I plan to do nothing but sit back and watch for now.

"That bastard..." grumbled Yamauchi.

Ike looked pretty pissed, as well.

"No way in hell I'd cooperate with that guy," said Ken.

"I understand that this will be a team battle, but this is Ryuuen we're talking about." Akito backed him up.

He was usually quiet in these kinds of discussions, but considering our partners for the sports festival, he didn't hesitate to say what he was thinking.

"Frankly speaking, I don't think it's possible to work with him, too. In all likelihood, Ryuuen-kun might even do something to trip us up, even though we're in the same team," Horikita sighed. "But we can't make hasty decisions. For now, it's good that this was brought to everyone's attention. We'll continue discussing this topic after getting a feel for what they want to do."

"For now, why don't we talk about the direction we wanna go to for this sports festival?" asked Hirata.

"Have fun and win!" yelled Ike.

"Having fun is easy, but winning is a hard goal even if we don't try to have fun," explained Horikita. "There are the test point rewards, but winning can earn you some private points, as well. Is that what you're talking about with having fun, Ike-kun?"

Horikita had easily seen through their motives.

"Well, yeah! Having additional points will boost our class's economy, right?"

"Yes, you're right. But here's the kicker. Do you think you can win?" she asked.

"W-Well, who knows? Miracles happen all the time, right?"

"I'll participate in all of the Recommended Participants competitions. If we do that, I'm sure we'll win," Ken proposed what seemed to be a good idea. The class agrees with him, too. 

"Wouldn't that dampen the chance for others, though?" asked Yamauchi.

"Obviously, but doing so would help our class win in the long run. I'm your best bet in taking home the victory for this."

Ken didn't excel in academics. In fact, he was incredibly bad at it. He may have been making a lot of progress as time goes on, but the sports festival is where he can really shine.

"It would be great if the class could win, but I get where Haruki and Kanji are coming from," said Miyamoto.

Hondou nodded in agreement.

"I can obviously understand the merit of gaining private points, but there's a huge dent in your argument. If our class was running low on private points, then I might've considered your suggestion. But over the course of receiving six months' worth of allowances from the 1st of April to the 1st of September, each Class A student should've had a grand total of 520,400 private points. We are in no way lacking in terms of individual budgets. I haven't even distributed the rewards from the Zodiac Exam. There's no reason for us to prioritize those who can't secure results," explained Horikita.

"Well..." The four of them can't really say anything back. Our classmates seemed to be on Horikita's side, too.

"Unless of course, that's exactly the case. Are you guys running low on private points?"

"What-? No. I still have a lot-- like 200,000..." replied Ike.

"Are the three of you the same?" She looked at Miyamoto and the other two.

"Uhh, yeah... Kinda..."

The private points we gained on September 1st were 121,200 private points. That means over the course of five months, Ike and his friends only had about 80,000 left from a grand total of around 400,000... They sure spend a lot.

The class gave them weird looks after hearing that. I also noticed that some of the girls had nervous expressions. Maybe they've spent a similar amount. Well, it was easy to get carried away when you have this much money, so it's not like I can't see where they're coming from.

"If you have any other suggestions that can enhance our chances, then feel free to speak." Horikita didn't wait very long before continuing. "Hirata-kun and I have a very orthodox plan which should be good both on paper and in practice. Since there are no events involving technical knowledge and skills, we'll be stacking the most athletic individuals for the Recommended Participants competitions. Of course, stamina would be a problem, so we'll carefully take that into account as the days go on."

Technical sports like basketball weren't included in the competition. Anyone could play and win in any of these events as long they're athletic enough. In other words, Horikita and Hirata want to brute-force their way to victory, with Ken spearheading the charge. It's a simple yet extremely effective plan.

"For those who don't have the best athletic abilities, we can try to prevent your overall scores from plummeting by assigning you to a specific Recommended Participants competition, which is the Scavenger Hunt." Hirata tapped that certain part of the handout.

"Since your participation in the All Participants competitions is mandatory, you will lose to more athletic students and your scores will inevitably suffer. Participating in the Scavenger Hunt should help, even a little," said Horikita.

"But I think it'll be alright. We still have a month to prepare for this. If everyone trains properly, your results will surely improve," he encouraged.

After the two of them finished their briefing, it was finally time for our second homeroom.

"Now that everyone has a general idea of how our class will tackle this event, we'll continue with the specifics at a later date." Horikita brought the discussion to an end.