Classroom of the Elite: Houtarou Oreki

Then if he found a few more suckers in the next round, he might reach 100% progress outright.

"President Horikita, I can accept your proposal, but can you transfer the 1.2 million Points for taking care of your sister over the next year to me in advance?" Oreki said.

"Probably not." Manabu Horikita refused. "At most, I can give you another 500,000 in advance."

"I have other uses for my Points as well," Manabu Horikita said.

Oh.

His class evaluation score was clearly around 2,600, which meant he could personally receive 260,000 Points from the class every month.

Yet he hesitated over using 2 million.

So his class was strapped for cash too.

There were plenty of places that needed Points.

And if they needed that many Points, then either the exams were troublesome enough to require buying scores, or there were people in the class who needed Points to save themselves.

So Class 3-A was not all that... outstanding.

Oreki immediately lost interest in Class 3-A.

It was like... Manabu Horikita carrying a whole bunch of deadweight by himself.

"Then let's start with 500,000. Transfer the rest month by month afterward."

"However, I don't need the full amount afterward. Half will do. You can transfer the other half to Horikita Suzune," Oreki said after thinking it over.

"Transfer it... to me?" Horikita Suzune had already been left completely bewildered.

Was her brother entrusting her to Oreki for him to take care of?

Wasn't that...

a little too exaggerated? Their classes were different, after all.

Still.

It was true that she had been stripped down to zero Points.

So Horikita remained silent.

"After all, Horikita is already at zero Points. And I think Class D's Points next month will be tight too—perhaps they'll drop straight to zero."

"And in the exams afterward, you might be able to earn points, but you probably won't be able to keep them," Oreki said.

"..." Manabu Horikita.

"..." Horikita Suzune.

Horikita Suzune had wanted to argue. She was still in Class D, so even if the class faced an exam, she could still contribute.

But since her brother said nothing, she chose to keep quiet.

"Fine, then. But why are you reducing your compensation?" Manabu Horikita adjusted his glasses.

"I have an older sister too, so I suppose I understand the feelings between siblings," Houtarou Oreki said.

Actually, he didn't.

His sister was so outstanding that she constantly surprised him as her younger brother.

Of course, he was also helpless when it came to her love of teasing him.

He thought of his sister as something like a tiger.

So discovering that Horikita's brother was actually a loyal dog made him feel rather refreshed. He did not want such a proper, admirable sibling relationship to disappear.

After transferring the other 500,000 Points, Manabu Horikita prepared to leave.

And while the other party was making the transfer, Oreki realized that this Student Council President was quite wealthy.

His account held a full 45 million Points.

Of course.

Teacher Majima had said that, in the school's history, no student had ever accumulated 20 million Points.

Which meant.

There was a strong chance that Manabu Horikita's 45 million had been pooled by his class.

It did not belong to him alone.

Most likely, on the first of every month, the school deposited Points into everyone's personal accounts, after which the Class 3-A students voluntarily deducted part of their Points and handed them over to him, allowing him to handle various exams and arrangements.

It was like a class fund, used for class matters.

That meant his original guess had been right: Manabu Horikita's Class A was having a difficult time.

They basically relied on him to plan and manage everything.

Yet even so, they had maintained their position in Class A for three years and held a class evaluation score of around 2,600. That was genuinely impressive.

However.

The Student Council President had also said that he possessed extremely high authority.

So.

In a school where points reigned supreme, everything had a price!

What exactly could the Student Council's authority do, and how much could it do? That was tempting.

"According to our agreement, I've already given you 500,000 Points. From now on, I'll pay you another 50,000 Points every month."

"But I won't take advantage of you over this difference."

"I can give you the position of Student Council secretary."

"And while I remain Student Council President, I will not accept membership applications from first-year students."

That was what the Student Council President said.

It showed just how important the positions in Manabu Horikita's Student Council were.

However.

Since he was using it to offset money, he was practically authorizing Oreki to sell the position.

As Class A students, they probably all wanted to join the Student Council.

But unfortunately, Oreki did not.

The Student Council in this school possessed extensive authority, which also meant it involved a great deal of work.

As far as Oreki was concerned, he did not do things that were unnecessary, and anything he had to do would be kept as simple as possible.

All he needed to do now was accumulate Points.

So he would most likely sell this position.

Still.

He admitted that Manabu Horikita was formidable.

Oreki already knew this was a school where ability reigned supreme.

But Manabu Horikita was teaching him another way to cash in. A Student Council position could be sold to someone who needed it.

I see.

Manabu Horikita had dangled a big carrot in front of him.

That was, if even one Student Council position could be sold, then if Oreki became Student Council President, wouldn't every position other than Student Council President itself be worth a fortune?

So Manabu Horikita was tempting him to aim for the position of Student Council President.

And that also meant that, as a third-year, Manabu Horikita must have had problems with the candidate he had chosen as the next Student Council President.

"Your brother is really troublesome," Oreki could not help saying.

"Hm?"

Horikita Suzune did not understand.

"..."

Oreki glanced at Horikita Suzune.

She was probably the most beautiful girl he had seen so far.

Her waist-length black hair fell over her back and shoulders. On the right side was a small bow tied from a white ribbon, along with a long, thin braid.

Her waterfall-like black hair carried a faint lily-like fragrance, probably the scent of shampoo.

Long eyelashes, alluring orange eyes like a fox's, and delicate features.

She seemed especially poised whenever she maintained her usual elegance or cold aloofness.

But the timid little-sister side she showed now, after her brother had just left, made her somewhat cute.

However.

Being pretty was useless.

This school was not a place where one could live off one's face.

"Did you bring all your daily necessities?" Oreki asked.

He had actually thought of the relief the school provided for students without Points.

But the school surely had not considered the possibility of a freshman reaching zero Points immediately after enrolling.

And students were required to live in the dorms.

Wasn't that torture?

And judging from his own dorm room, even bedding had to be bought separately.

So Horikita Suzune probably did not have any of that.

"Beep! Your account has received 100,000 Points."

However, Horikita Suzune's phone vibrated.

It was a transfer notification, with an option for voice alerts and another to turn them off.

She had not turned off the voice alert, or perhaps she had never expected anyone to transfer Points to her.

And the sender was her brother.

Horikita's Brother had thought everything through.

"I only received some of the free daily necessities," Horikita Suzune said.

Though she was completely confused, since her brother had transferred money to her, it meant he had agreed to let her remain at the school.

Moreover.

She wanted to prove that she was not trash, so she had to stay at this school first and show what she could do.

"Also, don't forget what my brother said about taking me along when you do things," she added.

With that, Horikita Suzune parted ways with Oreki.

She seemed to be heading toward the Shopping District.

She was probably going to buy the daily necessities she needed.

However.

"..." Oreki.

He had already understood Horikita Suzune's flaw. This girl perhaps did not know how to get along with people.

And Horikita's Brother probably understood that clearly as well. That was why he merely hoped Oreki would take Horikita Suzune along when doing things, so his sister could broaden her horizons.

Whatever.

He did not particularly need Horikita Suzune tonight.