Rules = Knowledge = Goods, But Pay Attention to the Shelf Life

Inside the cafe, Tennoji Kaede, Shiina Hiyori, and Ibuki Mio were confronting and conversing with three students from Class D.

Since Ayanokoji had been added to the opposing side, turning it into a one-man, two-woman setup, Kaede naturally couldn't fall behind. Thus, he had also called his two good friends over.

"Hidden Rule?"

It was Horikita who voiced the question, and without pausing, she continued addressing Kaede, "Before we begin our discussion... please allow me to apologize to you."

"Oh? I don't recall Classmate Horikita ever doing anything bad to me."

Horikita Suzune: "Since we are having a conversation, we should state our names. You already know my name... It was my mistake a few times before, I hope you can also tell me your name."

"..." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was speechless from the start.

Wasn't Horikita, this interesting tool, too outrageous?

She came over for a trade without even knowing the other party's name?

What if the other party signed a fake name on the contract later, and she would just go along with it?

Ayanokoji had met Tennoji Kaede when he got off the bus upon enrollment.

Later, at the Classroom Assignment Billboard, he spent some time memorizing all the first-year students' names.

However, he hadn't been very active for the past half month, so he hadn't fully recognized all the classmates outside of Class D yet.

"That doesn't matter. Anyway, the two classmates beside Classmate Horikita have known me for a long time. Speaking of which, the four of us are quite fated, we were all on the same bus..."

Kushida was trying hard to suppress a laugh, while Horikita's face was quite grim. She had only just remembered the unfortunate incident of them all being on the same bus.

"Well, anyway, my name is Tennoji Kaede. I look forward to working with you."

For now, just educating the flawed Horikita like this was enough.

"Let's get back to the main topic. I'm sure everyone has had doubts or concerns about the unreasonable aspects of this school, right?"

Kushida Kikyo said, "Yes, 100,000 points per month. I think it's a bit too fantastical."

Kaede nodded and turned his gaze to Horikita. After thinking hard, she said:

"This school spoils its students too much. Not only do they not discipline us during classes, but they also provide free supplies. It's as if they anticipated students running out of points. And the free wild vegetable meals in the cafeteria, I tried ordering one, and honestly, the taste was very ordinary."

"Regardless, you've observed more carefully than the average person." Kaede nodded in approval.

Horikita was slightly annoyed. Tennoji's condescending tone was truly unpleasant.

"I can tell you one thing clearly now, Horikita. After careful thinking, you were assigned to the weakest class, Class D. This is an undeniable fact."

Tennoji Kaede crossed his arms and rested his chin on them, silently observing the changes in Horikita's and Kushida's expressions.

Horikita seemed about to speak, but Kaede tapped his index finger on the table, took out a contract, and preemptively handed it to Horikita.

"This is a contract I had Teacher Majima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher of Class A, guarantee a couple of days ago."

"If you want to understand the hidden truth of the school and the reason why you were assigned to Class D, then sign it. Otherwise, you can prepare to have a friendly chat with Classmate Kushida, I'm in a hurry and won't be able to accompany you."

Horikita took the contract and, after reading it, summarized the following points:

1. Horikita Suzune guarantees to transfer 30,000 points to Tennoji Kaede every month until the end of the first year. 2. Tennoji Kaede will inform her of three hidden rules of the school. 3. Guaranteed by Teacher Majima Tomoya, Tennoji's side's bargaining chip is accurate and at least equivalent in value, and Horikita's side cannot breach the contract after receiving the chip.

"Alright, you should have finished reading the contract. Actually, you've already made a profit, Horikita, because I've already clearly told you that you are a true Class D student."

"If you believe me, there's no need to sign this contract; if you don't believe me and want to know the reason, then one of these three rules is the reason you were assigned to Class D. I'll also give you two additional prizes that will definitely be useful for your future life in Class D."

Tennoji Kaede sighed. This deal was truly a loss for him. He was getting something for nothing, only extracting a tiny bit of value from Horikita. He was definitely losing out, though it was interesting.

"Alas, you're essentially spending a mere 360,000 private points to buy my three carefully considered hidden school rules..."

"Horikita, do you dare to buy it?"

Horikita Suzune looked at the contract and fell into deep thought.

"Um..." Kushida Kikyo suddenly said weakly, "Besides the one specifically told to Horikita, can I also buy the other two?"

"Of course, you can. But please don't rush, Classmate Kikyo. This transaction is specifically prepared for Classmate Horikita. We can discuss it another time."

Tennoji Kaede wasn't worried that Kushida would suspect him of knowing her secret. After all, he had already pointed out that everyone in Class D had a Personality Flaw, so it was understandable for Kushida to be worried.

However, everything was already arranged. It just depended on whether Horikita would take the bait.

And as for the current Horikita, she was indeed still too naive.

"Classmate Horikita, what is your answer? To be honest, I'm actually allocating the value based on the rule of 600,000 reward I mentioned last time, 120,000 per rule. It's really cheap."

Horikita said, "In that case, then just sell me the one related to myself."

"Classmate Horikita's ideas are always good, but unfortunately, they are all like reflections in water. My answer is naturally no."

Bundled sales were invincible.

Tennoji Kaede stopped speaking, waiting for Horikita to give her real answer.

"...I'll buy it." Horikita gritted her teeth, like a gambler who had lost everything.

Beside her, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lowered his gaze. He recognized the legitimacy of this contract.

He wasn't sure how much Class D's points would be reduced at the beginning of next month.

But with everyone currently having 100,000 points, even if it dropped to 10,000 later, using the future 360,000 to exchange for three pieces of information that could stop losses was merely a month's living expenses for the entire class.

Depending on the content of the information, it would definitely not be a loss for Horikita.

But for himself, it was a definite loss.

Therefore, Ayanokōji also hoped that Horikita would sign this personal Contract and then use the information to exchange for class status, which would then allow him to control her.

"I've confirmed the Contract. Now let's exchange contact information. I'll forward those three rules to you. You can confirm them on the spot. I hope you won't act impulsively."

"..." After signing the Contract, Horikita felt a great sense of relief. Now, she just wanted to know the real reason she was assigned to Class D.

"Please confirm, Horikita-san."

Horikita Suzune quickly confirmed on her terminal:

1. Future exams will assess teamwork ability in addition to knowledge and physical fitness. Therefore, Horikita Suzune, who lacks this ability, was assigned to Class D;

2. After enrolling in Advanced Nurturing High School, any student who fails any subject in midterms or finals will be expelled;

3. Each month after enrolling in Advanced Nurturing High School, classes whose students' comprehensive abilities do not meet the standard will have a portion of their monthly point rewards deducted.