Hush Money

"Tch... What a pain." He muttered under his breath, with a hint of almost tsundere irritation he hadn't even noticed himself. Opening his umbrella, he stepped into the rain too.

Back in Dormitory 307, Toudou Shizuka set his dripping umbrella by the door and placed Sakura's freshly made cookies and the photograph on the table.

He picked up the photograph and studied it again. A-grade composition and Light and Shadow Capture... If he could master that, then combined with his Observational Skill, it would be an absolute asset for Information Gathering and assessing situations. Her affection was at 45 Points, still some way from the 60 Points needed to unlock High Trust, but hope had already been kindled.

He had just sat down to test the new Voice Recorder when his Personal Device suddenly chimed—a crisp notification. It wasn't a text message, but a deposit alert from his Private Points account.

He opened it, and his pupils instantly contracted.

[ Kōdo Ikusei High School Private Points Account Notification ]

[ Sender: Anonymous (Teacher Account—Special Allowance) ]

[ Amount Deposited: 200,000 Points ]

[ Note: Information Provision Reward. ]

Two hundred thousand points!

Toudou Shizuka understood at once. Chabashira Sae's doing. This wasn't an official school Reporting Reward—no such system even existed—but hush money and a thank-you from the Class D Homeroom Teacher, paid out of her own pocket—or, more accurately, the Class Secret Fund.

He was being rewarded for providing "information," and even more for keeping his mouth shut and knowing where to draw the line. The huge sum silently confirmed that their deal was done and drew the boundary once more: they were even, and neither should bother the other.

Seeing his balance soar from over ninety thousand points—after the Sakura Incident reward and Daily Accumulation—to nearly three hundred thousand, Toudou Shizuka felt conflicted. It was undeniably a huge advantage. He could buy high-end equipment from the shop or even stockpile key resources for future Special Exams.

But the cold, anonymous note also constantly reminded him of the chilly relationship between himself, Chabashira Sae, and Class D—a relationship built on self-interest and intimidation.

[Simulation Points +10 (Receive and Confirm Key Resource Injection). Current: 95 Points.]

He had plenty of Simulation Points now.

With 95 Simulation Points, he was just short of being able to buy either [Dynamic Vision (Fine-Tuning), 120 Points] or [Pain Attenuation (Slight), 80 Points].

Shiranami Chihiro's affection had also steadily climbed to 32 Points—not far from the 40 Points needed to unlock B-rank Information Synthesis Ability. Kanzaki Ryuji was at 38 Points, with a target of 45, and Ichinose Honami was at 35 Points, with a target of 50.

Everything was moving in the right direction.

He opened the System Interface and scanned the High-Value Targets. His gaze settled on the Class A characters.

(In response to readers' feedback, the following two characters have been partially weakened, though they're still strong.)

(Notes will also be added to the earlier chapters.)

[Target Scanned: Sakayanagi Arisu (Updated)]

Strategic Layout and Game Theory: A-rank (downgraded from S-rank)—among the best of humanity, but not at the very top

Psychological Analysis and Manipulation: A-rank (core skill)

Information Gathering (Efficient and Covert): A-rank

Leadership (Controlling): A-rank

Basic Physical Fitness: D-rank (significant weakness)

[Affection: 0 (No Interest)] — to unlock any skill, affection must be ≥??? (extremely high requirement)

Sakayanagi's skills had been weakened? Toudou Shizuka stirred slightly. It seemed the system had adjusted its characters for balance. Her S-rank Strategic Layout and Game Theory had been lowered to A-rank—still top-tier, but not unsurpassed—which made it slightly easier to obtain, even if it was still an absurdly high hurdle.

He looked at the Class D list.

[Target Scanned: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka (Updated)]

Combat Skill (Military-Grade Mixed Martial Arts): S-rank (unchanged)

Tactical Analysis and Planning (Real-Time): S-rank (unchanged)

Intelligence Gathering and Counter-Reconnaissance: A-rank (downgraded from S-rank)

Psychology (Application and Manipulation): A-rank (downgraded from S-rank)

Disguise and Stealth: A-rank

Physical Fitness (Overall Limit): A-rank

Learning Ability (Theoretical Absorption): A-rank

[Affection: 0 (No Interest)] — to unlock any skill, affection must be ≥??? (complicated)

Ayanokouji's skill tree had been pruned too. His Intelligence Gathering and Psychology had dropped from S-rank to A-rank, weakening some of his "inhuman" qualities, but his two core S-rank skills—combat and tactics—remained, along with his powerful fundamentals. His threat level was still off the charts, especially with his 0 affection and the question mark requirement.

Toudou Shizuka closed the System Interface and leaned back in his chair. With two hundred thousand points at his disposal, he had more choices. Should he buy a talent right away to strengthen himself, or keep saving for something more substantial he might need in the future, such as a higher-tier talent or special item from the Talent Shop?

B-rank Information Synthesis Ability was within reach through Shiranami Chihiro. Should he focus on raising her affection?

Rain pattered steadily outside. He picked up one of Sakura's freshly made cookies. It still had that simple, sweet buttery aroma. The sweetness on his tongue, the photograph of the resilient little flower in his pocket, and the cold two hundred thousand points in his account strangely blended together.

His "soft heart" had brought him a connection, but also potential trouble—Sakura's rising affection meant more attention and the possibility of getting entangled.

"Manipulating" Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira, had brought him resources and leverage, but had also made her wary and drawn an unknown gaze—reflected light on the rooftop.

He opened the recording function on his Personal Device and began recording an "everyday" audio diary about his recent observations around campus, things he'd seen in the clubs, and classroom news. It was all trivial, ordinary content, like a normal student's journal.

But under the control of Thought Acceleration, the intonation of certain keywords and the rhythm of his pauses carried coded information that was difficult to notice. This was a test of the new device and a way to develop a new, covert habit of recording information.

When he finished, he encrypted the recording and saved it under the filename "Daily Record—Rain Sounds."

After that, he picked up the photograph of the Little Flower in the Rain and looked at it again. That fragile yet stubborn white stood out against the gloomy background.

Sakura Airi's voice seemed to ring in his ears once more. "I think... I think it looks just like..."

Toudou Shizuka let out a quiet breath and carefully tucked the photograph into a thick reference book. He adjusted his glasses, his gaze once more calm and sharp as it settled on the device screen displaying his points balance.

Points, skills, affection, potential allies and enemies, the unresolved gaze watching him... The board was still complicated. But right now, S-rank Combat Skill surged through him, Thought Acceleration sharpened his mind, and Deep Sleep gave him its restorative power. He had two hundred thousand points in his pocket—and in his heart... there also seemed to be a faint glimmer, quietly kindled by that little flower in the rain, called "protection."

He opened the shop, his gaze wavering between [Dynamic Vision (Fine-Tuning), 120 Points] and [Pain Attenuation (Slight), 80 Points]. In the end, his fingertip settled on the latter.