Transaction Successful

Kazehara Tetsu raised one finger.

"First, could the teacher please point out whether there is a single rule in the school regulations that explicitly prohibits a student from 'purchasing a Deduct Points Service'?"

Majima Tomoya's expression turned grim.

He knew, of course, that there wasn't.

Because no one with a normal brain circuit had ever thought to create such a rule.

"Since it's not explicitly prohibited, then by the rules, it is 'tacitly permitted.'"

Kazehara Tetsu continued, raising a second finger.

"Second, does my behavior cause any adverse impact on the school's public order or educational environment? Tell me, if I change a classmate's score from 100 points to 99 points, aside from altering that number, will it cause the teaching building to collapse? Will it incite a riot among students? Will it damage the school's reputation?"

"All it affects is that individual student's ranking—just a number."

"Finally, and most crucially..."

"Is there any difference in essence between 'Add One Point' and 'Subtract One Point' as transactions? No! They are both acts of 'using Personal Points as a means of payment to modify a numerical value in the school's database.' They are completely equivalent, two transaction modes that are inverse operations of each other. Since the school permits one, then by logical rigor, there is no reason whatsoever to prohibit the other."

Kazehara Tetsu looked at Majima Tomoya and delivered his concluding sentence.

"I'm not exploiting a loophole. I'm discovering and following the logic within the rule system you uphold. If you deny the 'reasonableness' of my actions under the rules just because they 'seem malicious,' then what you're doing is precisely negating the principle of 'rules above all.' You would turn the school's system into a joke of rule by personal whim, a farce of human governance that can be interpreted arbitrarily."

In the office, a deathly silence fell.

Majima Tomoya slowly sat back down in his chair.

He fell completely silent.

He found himself utterly unable to refute this student's twisted logic from any angle of the rules.

Because this student understood the cold, distorted "truth" of This School more deeply than he himself did.

Nearby, Hoshinomiya Chie had completely forgotten the coffee in her hand.

She stared at the boy speaking so eloquently before her, a novel light flickering in her eyes—a mix of astonishment.

This boy... was a monster.

A true monster wearing the skin of a student.

He wasn't just using the rules; he was deconstructing them, playing with them.

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

After a long while, Majima Tomoya squeezed this sentence out from his throat.

He didn't say yes, and he didn't say no.

But the very fact that he asked this question meant he had, to some extent, tacitly acknowledged the "possibility" of Kazehara Tetsu's theory.

"Class 1-A, Sakayanagi Arisu."

Kazehara Tetsu spoke the name without hesitation.

"The subject is Mathematics. Score, subtract one point."

Hearing this name, Majima Tomoya's pupils sharply contracted.

If it were aimed at another class, he might have understood it as malicious inter-class competition.

But... targeting his own class, and one of its elite members, Sakayanagi Arisu?

What was the reason for this?

Personal grudges?

Or some deeper meaning he couldn't grasp?

Hoshinomiya Chie's face also showed an extremely vivid expression.

She seemed to finally catch a whiff of something unusual—the complex entanglements of adolescent boys and girls—and the gossipy fire in her eyes blazed.

"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 was watertight. "Besides, I'm merely purchasing a service that complies with the rules. As for my motive for purchasing this service, it doesn't seem to fall within the scope of what the teacher needs to review."

Majima Tomoya's chest heaved.

He felt his dignity as a teacher steadily eroding.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"One last question. What about the price?"

He stared at Kazehara Tetsu. "Since this is a 'custom service' not clearly defined in the rules, how should the price be calculated?"

He tried to use "price" as a final barrier.

"Since 'Add One Point' costs one hundred thousand points, then for 'Subtract One Point,' I'll also pay one hundred thousand points. That's the fairest way, and it saves the teacher from having to report to higher-ups, isn't it?"

Kazehara Tetsu said with a smile, as if those one hundred thousand points were nothing but an insignificant string of numbers.

He had anticipated every possible obstacle Majima Tomoya might raise and cleared them all in advance.

He even thoughtfully saved Majima Tomoya the trouble of reporting upward.

Majima Tomoya stared at him for a long time, finally squeezing out a single word from between his teeth.

"...Fine."

He pulled out his teacher terminal and opened an operating system for backend permissions—one he had almost never used.

Kazehara Tetsu also took out his phone.

With a faint "beep," his Personal Points instantly decreased by one hundred thousand.

At the same time, a transaction confirmation notification popped up on Majima Tomoya's teacher terminal.

Staring at the cold, emotionless text on the screen, Majima felt as if he wasn't conducting an educational task, but completing some filthy, shady under-the-table deal.

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

"Thanks, Majima-sensei."

Kazehara Tetsu stood up, the polite smile returning to his face. "Then I won't disturb your work discussion with Hoshinomiya-sensei."

He gave a slight bow, turned, and walked out of the office.

The door clicked softly shut.

Silence once again filled the office.

After a long while, Hoshinomiya Chie set down the now-lukewarm coffee cup on the desk with a soft clink.

She looked at Majima Tomoya, still sitting there. The playful smile on her face had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented gravity.

"Hey, Majima-kun."

Her voice had dropped, much lower now.

"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 madman."

"Spending one hundred thousand points just to make Classmate Sakayanagi lose one point..."

Hoshinomiya Chie murmured to herself, trying to grasp the motive behind such an act.

"How terrifying... Has the internal strife in Class A already reached this level?... Majima-kun, your days ahead probably won't be easy."

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

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