A Deal with Majima-sensei

Time flowed back to the night before the results were announced.

The night was deep. Most students had already returned to their dormitories, leaving the teaching building in utter silence. Only the sensor-activated lights in the corridor flickered on and off as someone walked by.

In the teacher's office, the lights were still on.

Knock, knock, knock.

A series of knocks sounded.

"Come in."

A steady male voice came from inside.

The door opened, and a figure stepped in.

There were only two people in the office.

Majima Tomoya sat behind his desk, organizing a thick stack of documents. The coffee cup in front of him was still steaming.

Beside his desk, Class B's class advisor, Hoshinomiya Chie, leaned against the table, holding a cup of coffee that also seemed to belong to Majima Tomoya. A lazy smile hung on her face as she chatted about something.

Her tight professional attire accentuated her mature, curvaceous figure, forming a stark contrast with Majima Tomoya's rigorously stiff suit.

Seeing that the person entering was Kazehara Tetsu, the stern expression on Majima Tomoya's face didn't change at all. He simply paused his movements.

"Kagihara, it's this late. What's the matter?"

Hoshinomiya Chie also turned her head with interest. Her eyes, which seemed capable of speech, unabashedly looked Kazehara Tetsu up and down.

"Sorry for interrupting the two teachers' two-person world," Kazehara Tetsu said as he casually closed the door, seemingly oblivious to Hoshinomiya Chie's slightly teasing gaze.

"Kagihara, you sure know how to joke. Majima-sensei and I were just having a normal work discussion," Hoshinomiya Chie said with a light laugh.

Majima Tomoya steered the conversation back on track. "Go ahead. What exactly do you want to see me about?"

Kazehara Tetsu walked over to his desk, pulled out the chair usually prepared for visiting students, and sat down.

"There's one thing I'd like to 'trade' with you, sensei."

"Trade?"

"I want to confirm the specific details of the rule about using personal points to purchase scores in exams."

The moment this question left his mouth, the air in the office instantly turned somewhat delicate.

A flicker of barely noticeable doubt passed through Majima Tomoya's eyes.

Students who requested to purchase scores—there had been occasional cases in the past of those who discovered this option.

But Kazehara Tetsu...

A student who scored perfect on quizzes and was locked in for a perfect score on the midterm—what was his intention in asking about this?

"Kagihara?"

Hoshinomiya Chie tilted her head, an exaggeratedly surprised expression on her face. "Don't tell me you messed up on this midterm? Oh my, this is huge news. The genius of Class A actually needs to use points to save face for once?"

Her tone was filled with the gleeful mockery of someone who just wanted to watch the world burn.

"You misunderstand, sensei."

Kazehara Tetsu smiled and shook his head. "I'm very confident in my results this time. I came to see you about something else."

He paused, then threw out a question that caught Majima Tomoya completely off guard.

"I'd like to ask you for some advice. At this school, how many personal points does it cost to purchase one point of an exam score?"

Majima Tomoya's movements froze.

He looked at the student before him with a scrutinizing gaze, examining him thoroughly.

"If you want to add one point, it costs one hundred thousand points. That's the price for an emergency remedial measure activated for students who 'fail,' and it requires review by the school authority," Majima Tomoya gave the official answer in a serious tone. "Kazehara, I don't know what your purpose is in asking this, but I must remind you: the school's rules are not a game for you to exploit."

"I understand." Kazehara Tetsu nodded, ignoring his warning.

Then, he shifted his tone.

"Since the price for 'adding one point' is one hundred thousand points, then..."

A smile appeared on his face—one that made Majima Tomoya feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"...what's the price for 'subtracting one point'?"

"Subtracting a point?"

A look of bewilderment appeared on Majima Tomoya's face. He even wondered if his ears were malfunctioning.

The smile on Hoshinomiya Chie's face also froze. Her hand holding the coffee cup stopped mid-air, and her eyes were filled with giant question marks.

A student comes to a teacher, claiming they want to use points to "subtract" a score?

This had already exceeded the scope of anything they could understand in their careers as educators. It sounded like an absurd joke taken to the extreme.

Majima Tomoya felt like his hearing might be off. He even wanted to dig at his ear. "What did you say?"

"I said, I want to purchase a service. To subtract one point from a certain student's score in a certain subject."

The air in the office froze instantly.

Majima Tomoya had seen all kinds of students in his many years as a teacher.

But he had never seen, nor ever imagined, that someone would make such a... vile request.

"Kagihara, are you joking?"

"Teacher, do I look like I'm joking?"

"Preposterous!"

Majima Tomoya slammed his hand on the desk, standing up and glaring down at him in fury. "The school tacitly established the 'Purchase Score' rule to give students who've gone astray a chance—not to be a tool for someone like you to satisfy your own dark psychology!"

This was the first time he had ever lost his composure and shown such anger in front of a student.

Yet, facing his rage, Kazehara Tetsu remained calm.

"Majima-sensei, please calm down."

He waited until the other's breathing had steadied a bit before speaking slowly.

"I understand your anger. But anger doesn't solve problems. How about we discuss the 'reasonableness' of this matter?"

"Reasonableness? Is there any reasonableness to such behavior at all?!"

"Of course there is."

"The school rules clearly state that Personal Points held by students can be used to purchase anything within the scope permitted by the rules on campus. Correct?"

Majima Tomoya's brow furrowed deeply, but he did not refute it.

"Then let's analyze this. Is an 'exam score' considered a 'commodity'? I believe it is."

"Because you just told me yourself that the price for 'Add One Point' is one hundred thousand points. Anything that can be given a clear price tag, regardless of its form, is essentially a tradable commodity."

Majima Tomoya's lips moved as if to argue, but he found himself unable to speak.

Because Kazehara's logic was built on the very rules the school had established.

"Since we've confirmed that 'scores' are a commodity, the next step is to discuss whether my 'purchase behavior' falls within the 'scope permitted by the rules.'"