Classroom of the Elite: Houtarou Oreki

"As long as the other classes learned the truth about the school, they would realize how important Points were. Not only would their own classes gain very few Points, they would also have to keep sending them out. They would make a decision immediately."

"So."

Oreki showed Nagumo Ryuuen's transfer.

"The Class C students have collectively withdrawn from the shop-opening plan."

"So all the Points they had already paid count as breach-of-contract compensation and belong to me," Oreki said.

Nagumo's eyes widened.

Huh?

Was that how it worked?

That was how it worked.

Points were important, after all. No class would accept having to send a large number of Points to another class every month.

The first-years were still new students, full of drive. They did not want to become deadweights.

So once the class representatives were chosen, they would definitely terminate this agreement.

So this had been Houtarou Oreki's goal from the very beginning?

"..." Nagumo.

"..." Nagumo.

Damn.

Were first-years' money really this easy to swindle?

Nagumo suddenly felt that he had missed an opportunity.

And Houtarou Oreki, wasn't he a little too terrifying?

He had treated his classmates like ATMs from the very beginning.

Nagumo himself had only realized later that he could fleece the school.

"And then."

Oreki looked at Nagumo Miyabi again. "I didn't come to the Student Council today because I wanted to open a shop."

"I came to thank Vice President Nagumo for letting me discover a way to earn five million Points in three days."

"Heh—" Nagumo burst out laughing.

Nagumo's Doubts: Houtarou Oreki, Whose Side Are You On?

Nagumo burst out laughing.

"Five million in three days."

"Indeed, based on what you just described, you've done quite well at gathering Points."

"But five million in three days? You might as well rob someone."

"The first-years have already been stripped clean by you. Who are you planning to strip next?"

"Are you planning to strip the second- and third-years? Let me make this clear first: not a single one of my second-years will let you strip them," Nagumo said.

Those words carried another meaning as well.

His intention represented the intentions of the entire second year.

Was this pressure and resistance from an entire grade?

"Then let's wait and see," Oreki said. "By my estimate, around half of the second-years under you, Senior Nagumo, will side with me."

"..." Nagumo.

Nagumo straightened up and stared into Oreki's eyes.

"Interesting. Are you provoking me?"

"Would you like to make a bet?" Oreki looked at the number displayed on his Student ID Card.

Nagumo Miyabi glanced at it.

He instantly felt nauseated.

Oreki's Private Points account showed 4,231,100 Points.

Even for Nagumo Miyabi, that was an amount that made him need to take a deep breath.

After a full year, his class had only accumulated eight million in class funds. Then four million had gone into opening the shop, followed by loans.

The remaining four million was used as class funds.

As for his own personal nest egg, he currently had only around four million.

And yet.

Houtarou Oreki, this guy... hadn't he just enrolled?

In less than two weeks, he had accumulated as many Points as Nagumo had saved in an entire year?

That made it even more disgusting.

And the other party's plan had actually used the name of Nagumo's shop to swindle those Points.

So.

Why had no one told him that first-years' money was this easy to swindle?

If it was possible, he should have swindled them first.

He had an actual physical shop, so he could have collected Points from the first-years. Without knowing the rules, the new students would definitely have agreed.

Then, once they learned the exam rules.

For the benefit of their own classes, they would definitely terminate the agreement on their own.

So this was money for nothing.

It was guidance from an upperclassman aimed at first-year newcomers.

And yet...

He had failed to seize that opportunity.

"My Student ID Card is still short by three hundred thousand Points before it reaches a peak."

"I hope Senior Nagumo can make up the difference," Oreki said. "Make it an even 4.5 million."

The system had just issued a new Hidden Quest—Protecting Flowers.

Extinguish Nagumo Miyabi's arrogance.

At the same time, Oreki had wanted from the beginning to collect five million Points in a short period.

After all.

Among the students who currently possessed Points.

The new students, aside from Class D, had no money left.

So he had to raise his sights. The upperclassmen still had savings.

However.

If the system quest had not appeared, Oreki probably would not have actively approached Nagumo.

But now he had no choice but to approach him. That meant one extra layer of trouble, so naturally he had to charge some compensation.

Thus, Oreki proposed a bet to Nagumo Miyabi.

If Nagumo lost, he would give Oreki three hundred thousand Points.

"Hehehehe..."

Nagumo Miyabi laughed loudly. "So you want to fleece me too."

"But as your senior, it would be rather unreasonable for me to refuse you like this."

"So," Nagumo said, "I can give you the chance. But what if you can't do it?"

Although seeing Oreki's account had made him feel sick just now.

He had not lost.

After all, once half a year passed, he would receive half of a shop's profits.

For example, even if the final class competition fell apart, if he could still receive one million Points from the shop every month, then over the remaining two years, he could scrape together twenty million and graduate as Class A.

So he stood at a level where he could not lose.

At the same time, as the representative of the second year, he also received fixed Points paid separately by every class and every student.

Thus, Nagumo Miyabi's life was quite comfortable at the moment. All he lacked was the position of Student Council President to secure his status.

From Oreki's direct visit to the Student Council to see Manabu Horikita, it was almost certain that Oreki belonged to Senior Horikita's faction.

So.

Having confirmed that Senior Horikita would not nominate him for the next Student Council President position, he would take it himself.

So.

He would first cut off this Houtarou Oreki, the outside support Senior Horikita had brought in.

Nagumo thought to himself.

So he added, "If you can't do it, I won't bully you."

"For this entire year, even if President Horikita invites you, you are not allowed to join the Student Council," Nagumo Miyabi said.

"That..." Oreki seemed to pause.

"Can't do it?" Nagumo seemed to smile.

So that was indeed the case. Senior Horikita wanted to pull Houtarou Oreki into the Student Council, likely to use him to restrain Nagumo.

Senior Horikita had moved far too quickly.

Though their contact had been brief, Nagumo recognized Houtarou Oreki's insight, decisiveness, ability to understand rules, and ability to use them.

If used well, he would make a good chess piece.

But unfortunately.

Nagumo believed that if he became Student Council President, Oreki would not be able to join.

There was another reason he felt threatened.

The girls in his class had recently been chatting about how new students had arrived, and how several of this year's new boys looked rather good.

And yet.

Despite having a handsome and capable guy like him in their class, those girls had turned a blind eye to him.

It was simply outrageous.

Among them, his childhood friend Asahina had mentioned a name.

Houtarou Oreki.

Asahina seemed to find that junior cute, and she had even shared Oreki's photo with everyone.

Hey, whose childhood friend were you?

That was why Nagumo had seemed somewhat wary today.

It had not reached the point of being romantic rivals, but was this junior Oreki going to retreat already?

That disappointed him a little.

However, he saw Junior Oreki shake his head. Then, for once, he smiled.

"Then I may have to disappoint you, Senior Nagumo."

"I fully intend to win those three hundred thousand Points."