Transaction Successful

Kazehara Tetsu raised one finger.

"First, please point out whether any school rule explicitly prohibits students from 'purchasing the Deduct Points Service.'"

Majima Tomoya's expression darkened.

Of course he knew there wasn't.

No one with a sound mind had ever thought to make such a rule.

"Since it isn't explicitly prohibited, then by the rules, it has tacit approval."

Kazehara Tetsu continued, raising a second finger.

"Second, will my actions have a negative impact on the school's public order or learning environment? If I change a student's score from 100 to 99, will that cause the Teaching Building to collapse? Will it incite a riot among the students? Will it damage the school's reputation?"

"The only thing it affects is that student's personal ranking—a number, and nothing more."

"And finally, the most crucial point..."

"Is there any difference, in terms of the essence of the transaction, between 'adding one point' and 'subtracting one point'? No! In both cases, Personal Points are used as payment to alter a value in the school database. They are entirely equivalent, inverse forms of the same transaction. Since the school allows one to exist, then, from the standpoint of logical consistency, there's no reason to prohibit the other."

Kazehara Tetsu looked at Majima Tomoya and delivered his final conclusion.

"I'm not exploiting a loophole. I'm identifying and following the logic of the system of rules you uphold. If you reject the 'legitimacy' of my actions under the rules just because they 'look malicious,' then you're the one denying the principle that 'the rules come first.' You'd turn the school's system into a joke, something steeped in arbitrary rule by individuals and open to interpretation based on personal likes and dislikes."

A deathly silence fell over the office.

Majima Tomoya slowly sat back down.

He was utterly speechless.

He realized that there wasn't a single aspect of the rules from which he could refute this student's twisted logic.

Because this student understood the cold, distorted "truth" of this school even more deeply than he did.

Beside him, Hoshinomiya Chie had completely forgotten to drink the coffee in her hand.

She watched the boy speak so eloquently, her eyes glimmering with a mixture of astonishment she had never felt before.

This boy... was a monster.

A true monster disguised as a student.

He wasn't just taking advantage of the rules. He was deconstructing them, playing with them.

"...Who do you want to deduct points from?"

It was a long while before Majima Tomoya finally managed to force the words from his throat.

He hadn't agreed, but he hadn't refused, either.

But the very fact that he'd asked meant he'd already accepted, to some extent, the "possibility" of Kazehara Tetsu's argument.

"Class 1-A. Sakayanagi Arisu."

Kazehara Tetsu gave the name without hesitation.

"The subject is Mathematics. Subtract one point."

At the name, Majima Tomoya's pupils contracted sharply.

If it had been a student in another class, he might have understood it as vicious competition between classes.

But... why target Sakayanagi Arisu, one of the best students in his own class?

Was it a personal grudge?

Or was there some deeper meaning he couldn't understand?

Hoshinomiya Chie's expression was just as colorful.

It seemed she'd finally caught a whiff of something unusual—the complicated entanglements between young men and women—and gossip-fueled flames blazed in her eyes.

"What happened between you and Sakayanagi?" Majima Tomoya pressed.

"I'm just playing a fun little game with Classmate Sakayanagi, Majima-sensei."

Kazehara Tetsu's answer left no opening. "Besides, I'm only here to purchase a service that complies with the rules. My reasons for purchasing it don't seem to fall within the scope of what you need to review, do they?"

Majima Tomoya's chest heaved.

He felt his dignity as a teacher steadily eroding.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"One last question. The price?"

He stared at Kazehara Tetsu. "Since this is a 'custom service' that isn't explicitly covered by the rules, how should the price be calculated?"

He tried to use the "price" as his final line of defense.

"Since 'adding one point' costs 100,000 Points, I'll pay the same 100,000 Points to 'subtract one point.' That's the fairest option, and you won't have to ask your superiors for special approval, right?"

Kazehara Tetsu said with a smile, as if 100,000 Points were nothing more than an insignificant string of digits to him.

He'd anticipated every possible obstacle Majima Tomoya might use against him and cleared them all away in advance.

He'd even thoughtfully spared Majima Tomoya the trouble of reporting it to his superiors.

Majima Tomoya stared at him for a long while, then finally ground out a single word.

"...Fine."

He took out his teacher's Terminal and brought up a back-end operating system he'd barely ever used.

Kazehara Tetsu took out his phone as well.

With a faint beep, his Personal Points instantly dropped by 100,000.

At the same time, a transaction confirmation appeared on Majima Tomoya's teacher's Terminal.

Looking at the cold, emotionless words on the screen, Majima Tomoya felt as if he wasn't carrying out an educational duty at all, but completing some filthy, under-the-table deal.

And he himself was the accomplice taking money to get things done.

"Thank you, Majima-sensei."

Kazehara Tetsu stood up, a polite smile returning to his face. "I'll leave you and Hoshinomiya-sensei to your work, then."

He bowed slightly, turned, and walked out of the office.

The door closed softly behind him.

Silence returned to the office.

After a long while, Hoshinomiya Chie set the now-cold coffee on the table with a soft tap.

She looked at Majima Tomoya, still seated where he was. The playful smile had vanished from her face, replaced by a gravity she had never shown before.

"Hey, Majima-kun."

Her voice, too, had grown much lower.

"I take back what I said earlier. That kid in your class isn't a monster."

Majima Tomoya looked up at her.

"He's a lunatic."

"He spent 100,000 Points just to make Classmate Sakayanagi lose one point..."

Hoshinomiya Chie murmured, trying to understand the motive behind the act.

"That's terrifying... Has the infighting in Class A really reached this point?... Majima-kun, I'm afraid things won't be easy for you from now on."

"This isn't infighting... It's more like a game." Majima Tomoya shook his head.

"Everything Kazehara Tetsu does serves only his own will and amusement."