The Expensive Price

With only three days left until the midterm exams, the evening air in the Class B dormitory was filled with the aroma of cooking and the distinct smell of ink from review materials. Shimiya Kuki and Ichinose Honami sat across from each other at the small dining table, having dinner together.

Ichinose picked up a piece of tamagoyaki with her chopsticks, taking small bites while blinking her big eyes at Shimiya across the table. Her tone carried concern: "Hey, Kuki-kun, you've seemed really busy lately! Besides tutoring the class, I feel like there's something else going on?"

Shimiya Kuki ate quietly, his movements uninterrupted by her words. He simply gave a faint "Mm" in response: "It's fine." His voice was steady, betraying no emotion.

But Ichinose's observation skills were sharp. Over the past month, Shimiya had indeed been busier than usual. During the day, he precisely tutored several classmates weak in science subjects—including the hardworking Shibata Kaede—and after school, he was often nowhere to be seen, like a precision gear spinning at high speed on an invisible track. His schedule was airtight, but Ichinose could sense a deeper drain beneath that calm exterior.

The next day at noon, after the teacher-student meeting.

The door to the teacher's office was gently knocked on. The one who opened it was none other than the Class D homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae. She wore her usual indifferent expression that screamed "keep away," a dark suit skirt, and eyes as sharp as a drawn sword.

"You're Shimiya from Class B?" Chabashira Sae's voice had no fluctuations as her gaze swept over Shimiya, scrutinizing him. "Looking for Hoshinomiya?" She clearly recognized this Class B student from their brief exchange.

"Yes, Chabashira-sensei." Shimiya Kuki gave a slight nod, his tone as calm as ever. "I have some business with Hoshinomiya-sensei."

Chabashira Sae said nothing more, stepping aside to let him in without looking back as she called out into the office: "Hoshinomiya, someone's here for you."

"Coming, coming~!" With a voice that was a bit too cheerful, Hoshinomiya-sensei "trotted" over like a gust of wind. She was wearing a beige knit top with a skirt today, and her eyes lit up the moment she saw Shimiya. Without any hesitation, she spread her arms wide, grabbed one of Shimiya Kuki's arms, and hugged it tightly against herself.

She turned to Chabashira Sae, puffing out her cheeks in an exaggerated "food guarding" pose, making "huhu" sounds: "Saezu~! Don't you dare get any bad ideas about my Kuki! Or I'll be very, very angry!" She deliberately dragged out her tone, but there was an imperceptible vigilance in her eyes.

Chabashira Sae couldn't even be bothered to lift her eyelids. She just shot Hoshinomiya a cold glare with those "knife eyes" that could freeze the air, her tone dripping with unconcealed annoyance: "I have no interest in your class's affairs." With that, she walked straight back to her desk, as if one more glance would be a waste of time.

Hoshinomiya made a small face at Chabashira's back, then let go of Shimiya, grinning as she pulled him along: "Alright, alright, Kuki, let's talk somewhere else! How about the counseling room from last time?"

Back in the familiar counseling room. Hoshinomiya-sensei sat lightly on the edge of the desk, swinging her legs, her face once again wearing that seemingly never-fading, carefree smile: "Alright, Kuki came to see me specially—is there something important? Or do you need my help? Hmm~" She tilted her head playfully, raising one finger. "As long as it's within the rules, I'll help you out! As for things that aren't within the rules..." She winked slyly, lowering her voice with a coaxing tone, "...it's not completely impossible either, as long as we're careful! (≧ｗ≦)"

Shimiya Kuki stood before her, ignoring her "hints" entirely. He got straight to the point, his voice deep and clear, cutting directly to the core: "Sensei, you emphasized before that failing any major subject in the midterm or final exams would result in a compulsory withdrawal penalty. That's one of the school rules."

Shimiya Kuki paused here for two seconds, then continued asking: "In that case, if a classmate unfortunately faces this situation and is judged for withdrawal... is there some way to offset this punishment?"

The smile on Hoshinomiya's face faltered for a moment, then brightened again, but the investigative meaning in her eyes clearly deepened: "Eh? Why is Kuki suddenly so concerned about such serious school rule enforcement details? Everyone in the class is working hard—no one should end up in that situation, right? Is Shibata-kun making you worried? Sensei thinks that if he just gives it a final sprint, he'll have no problem passing the exams, okay?" She tried to find a clue on Shimiya's calm, unwavering face.

However, Shimiya Kuki merely looked back at her calmly. Those deep light blue eyes held no emotional waves, nor any intention to explain. He stood like a silent mountain, simply waiting for an answer.

Seeing the youth's excessively calm, even somewhat cold gaze, Hoshinomiya-sensei's smile finally faded bit by bit. She lightly jumped off the desk, stood up straight, and clasped her hands behind her back. The teasing and laziness that usually lingered around her instantly dissipated, replaced by a rare, near-solemn seriousness. She narrowed her eyes slightly, carefully, almost scrutinizingly, sizing up Shimiya.

"...Kuki," Hoshinomiya's voice lost its usual lightness, becoming deep and clear with a note of gravity, "you coming to ask me this question... really surprises me a little." She deliberately emphasized "this question."

"Then, Hoshinomiya-sensei," Shimiya Kuki's voice remained steady, as if asking about a formula, "what's the answer to this question? Can you tell me?"

Hoshinomiya Chie stared at him for a few seconds, as if confirming the weight of his question. Then, she slowly extended her right hand, raising two fair fingers, displaying them clearly and steadily before Shimiya. Her expression was unusually solemn, her eyes sharp, as if revealing a buried taboo.

"Twenty million personal points." She enunciated this astronomical figure word by word, her gaze locked onto Shimiya's eyes, allowing no evasion. "A one-time payment of twenty million personal points to the school can exempt a classmate from withdrawal due to any reason." She deliberately stressed the words "any reason," her gaze blazing. "This is the only 'exemption' path allowed within the school's rules." She paused, observing Shimiya's reaction, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible probing: "How about it? This number... is it quite surprising?"

Shimiya Kuki's reaction was disturbingly calm.

His expression didn't change at all, not even his breathing pattern was disrupted. In those deep eyes, there was neither shock nor fear, not even a single ripple. It was as if he had just heard a number he had already confirmed, a weight he had anticipated.

"No," his voice was as steady as stating an objective fact, "it's a very reasonable price. About what I expected." He gave a slight nod, his tone as natural as confirming the next day's class schedule: "Thank you for the answer, sensei. Then, I'll take my leave for today."

With that, without any further questions or hesitation, he turned and prepared to leave the counseling room.

"Eh?" Hoshinomiya Chie was momentarily taken aback by his overly flat, almost indifferent reaction, then quickly switched back to her smiling demeanor, as if the earlier gravity had never existed. She waved her hand, her tone becoming light and skipping again: "No, no, no~ Kuki is too formal! Answering a student's questions is a homeroom teacher's duty! And besides..." She watched his straight back as he was about to open the door, a shrewd glint flashing in her eyes, her voice carrying a sly tail, "...even if you hadn't come to me, with Kuki's abilities, you probably could have dug up this answer from other 'special channels,' right? Sensei has great faith in Kuki's skills~"

Shimiya Kuki's hand on the door didn't delay at all, as if her pointed last words were just air. He pulled the door open, stepped out sideways, and didn't look back, leaving only a calm, straight, unwavering silhouette.

The counseling room door closed softly, sealing off the inside from the outside.

The smile on Hoshinomiya-sensei's face receded like a tide. She slowly walked back behind her desk but didn't sit down, instead leaning against its edge, her gaze deep as she stared in the direction Shimiya had left. In the depths of those always-smiling eyes, there was now only pure, as if discovering a rare prey, investigative curiosity... and an irrepressible interest.

She unconsciously tapped her fingertips lightly on the smooth desk surface, producing faint "tap, tap" sounds. Staring at the closed door, she murmured to herself, her voice as light as a sigh but carrying an unmistakable playfulness:

"What an... increasingly interesting little one." There was no hint of a teacher's concern in her tone, only anticipation for his future. "Class A... doesn't seem so far away anymore?"

Twenty million personal points—a number enough to make any student despair, an expensive price tag that could buy back a withdrawal fate for "any reason"—had been casually revealed. Shimiya Kuki left calmly, as if he had merely confirmed a parameter he had long known.