Ayanokoji Kiyotaka

After arriving at the student cafeteria with Ayanokoji, Konoe found himself unsure of what to eat.

The cafeteria offered a dazzling array of dishes, making it difficult to choose.

"There are quite a lot of options, aren't there? Even the pickiest person could find something here, right? What do you want to eat, Ayanokoji-kun?" Konoe asked.

"I'm not particularly picky, I can eat anything. Why don't you choose, Konoe-kun? I'll just eat the same thing as you," Ayanokoji replied casually.

Extremely Spicy Beef Curry Rice. Not only was it the spicy flavor Konoe liked, but more importantly, there were very few people in line.

Konoe led Ayanokoji toward the curry rice. "Is that okay? Can you handle spicy food, Ayanokoji-kun?"

Seeing Ayanokoji nod, Konoe said no more.

After they sat down at a less conspicuous table, Konoe got to the point. "Speaking of which, Ayanokoji-kun and I took the same bus to school. It feels quite fated."

"It does, now that you mention it," Ayanokoji said, taking a bite of his food. He paused before taking a second bite.

Konoe took a bite and looked surprised. "This is surprisingly good. The beef is so juicy, and the curry is flavorful and spicy, with a distinct beefy taste. The spices don't clash with the chili either."

"Mhm."

"I spoke with Chabashira-sensei yesterday about a few things, and I think I can tell you about it."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Basically, I have two theories. The first is that the amount of points distributed each month is based on student evaluations."

Logical, Ayanokoji thought. If they give out 100,000 points every month, and there are twenty-five students per class, with four first-year classes, that's 300 students in total. The school would be footing a bill of 360 million yen annually. Even with official backing, that's a difficult budget to manage.

"The second theory is that we're currently undergoing some kind of assessment, perhaps a comprehensive evaluation. I'm not sure about the exact deadline; it could be ten days, or it could be exactly one month, since the points are updated monthly."

"...Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't it be better to tell Hirata-kun about this information?" Ayanokoji asked, confused.

"I'll tell him too, but I felt it was more important to tell you first. You've probably noticed something yourself, haven't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have helped Sudo-kun clean up yesterday."

"That was just..."

"No need to explain. I think I can understand you. I also prefer to avoid trouble, but when the fire starts to reach my own doorstep, things change."

"What do you mean by that?" Ayanokoji asked, looking up. His perception of Konoe had completely changed.

"You probably heard clearly at the convenience store yesterday, didn't you? The reactions of the second-year upperclassmen when they got into that dispute with Sudo-kun, especially their evaluation of Class D."

'Flawed goods,' 'witness hell.'

Ayanokoji looked at Konoe in silence as he continued.

"Is it possible that all of us in Class D are the bottom twenty-five students based on our entrance evaluations? And the subsequent assessment evaluations will affect the points we receive each month. If the evaluation is on an individual basis, it's one thing, but what if it's a collective class standard... And with 100,000 points a month, the convenience store even has free goods... Then the difficulty of the assessment..."

Ayanokoji now understood what Konoe meant. Most of Class D students had been overly boisterous in class these past two days, in other words, they hadn't been very disciplined.

This school was covered in surveillance cameras, and the classrooms had them too. If this was an assessment, the school might evaluate students based on their usual behavior, and that evaluation would then affect the points distributed.

And judging by the second-year upperclassmen's reactions during the convenience store incident, even if Class D didn't have a competitive relationship with other classes, there was an unwritten hierarchy. This made it highly likely that the assessment would be evaluated based on the class as a whole.

"So, I plan to gather more information to verify this. While I'm giving Hirata-kun the information, I'll also try to build rapport with the key figures in our class. After all, this school doesn't seem simple, and you don't want to get caught in the crossfire, do you?" Konoe said, speaking words that were somewhat against his true feelings. He was a person who disliked trouble, and while building rapport with classmates was fine, he felt verifying the intelligence was unnecessary.

Ayanokoji remained silent for a moment before asking a question that concerned him more. "Is this kind of thing common? Competition between classes."

"It's probably quite common, I think. I suspect it might have something to do with the homeroom teacher's salary and bonuses. I've heard things before about student performance affecting teacher evaluations," Konoe replied after a few seconds of thought.

"Then why doesn't Chabashira-sensei just tell us directly?" Ayanokoji asked the obvious question. If there was competition between classes, then the homeroom teachers must also be in competition.

"Chabashira-sensei was probably under a gag order or something." Konoe recounted his conversation with Chabashira-sensei from the previous afternoon to Ayanokoji. "This is probably part of the assessment."

"...You should have agreed. 800,000 points." Ayanokoji sighed.

"Huh?"

"800,000 points sounds like a lot, but it's not unobtainable. And this might be the only chance to get concrete information," Ayanokoji replied.

"So, you'll help, then? With dealing with this assessment. My main concern is not wanting this month's 100,000 points to become 50,000 next month," Konoe said, looking at Ayanokoji expectantly.

Ayanokoji found that reason very relatable. He felt like he had just heard something similar: humans, once they experience a comfortable life, cannot easily abandon it. A decrease in living standards can be a significant mental blow.

"I can only say I'll do what I can within my abilities. What are your next steps?" Ayanokoji asked calmly.

"First, I'm going to try and build rapport with Hirata-kun and Kushida-san in our class and tell them this information. Then, I'll try to sell this intelligence to the other classes," Konoe stated his true intentions, which was indeed what he planned to do.

"I suggest you only tell Hirata-kun. After all, Kushida-san has a wide circle of friends," Ayanokoji said, implying something.

Konoe thought for a moment and nodded. It was true; if he told Kushida directly, the information might very well be made public.

"I understand. I won't tell Kushida-san, but I originally wanted her to go and verify the information with the second-years, as she seems well-suited for that kind of task."

"Well, there's no need to rush, is there? It's only the second day. I think it's better to observe first. Also, I suggest you don't sell the information to Class C; it's best to only sell it to Class A," Ayanokoji replied.

Konoe considered this for a moment and nodded. While the starting points were important, giving one's competitor more leverage carried a certain risk. The reason he could sell it to Class A was that Class D currently had no competitive relationship with them.

"Ayanokoji-kun, thank you for your advice. By the way, what do you plan to do next?"

"I plan to observe the situation first. Maybe I can gain a few reliable helpers along the way," Ayanokoji said after finishing his curry.

"That sounds good too. Please take care of me from now on. I'll be a while longer, so perhaps you should head back first?" Konoe said cheerfully.

"It's I who should be asking for your guidance. There's nothing I need to do urgently back there, so I'll wait until you're done," Ayanokoji replied, his voice as flat and listless as ever.