Bargaining

Soon, it was time for classes to end. I stood up, ready to head to the Student Council.

I paid no attention to the other students' hostile, hateful looks. Those losers weren't worth my attention anyway. I just had to focus on doing my own thing.

I picked up my bag and got ready to leave.

Kushida started to get up too, hoping to try and make nice with me, but Karuizawa Kei stopped her. "What are you doing, Kushida? Why bother with someone like him? We should just ostracize him."

Seeing that, Kushida had no choice but to put her little plan aside and chat with Karuizawa Kei. "Karuizawa, I'm sure there's been some kind of misunderstanding. Akasaka... probably isn't that kind of person."

"Seriously? Kushida, you're still sticking up for him? You really are such a do-gooder!" Sato Maya complained as she played on her phone, calling Kushida a do-gooder.

Kushida just smiled and said nothing.

Meanwhile.

Akasaka picked up his phone and sent the President a text, saying he had something important to take care of and would be late. The President quickly replied, "That's fine," and said he understood, but that I'd have to stay late to finish the work I'd missed.

As a former corporate wage slave, Akasaka quickly agreed to the President's terms. He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed to Teacher Hoshinomiya's office.

Meanwhile, Horikita Manabu glanced at the message on his phone and sighed. But if he wanted the person in front of him to help his younger sister, he had no choice but to put up with this for now.

The vice president, Miyabi Nagumo, hadn't seen the person who was supposedly able to join the Student Council in just two days, since Akasaka had been late both days. It was a shame. Judging by how things were going today, he probably wouldn't see him again.

Nagumo got up to leave. He didn't want to spend so much time on a guy. He could put that time to better use finding a couple of pretty girls.

Seeing Nagumo get ready to leave, Horikita Manabu nudged his glasses up and reminded him, "Nagumo, you can leave early, but don't neglect your work."

Nagumo waved a hand. "Don't worry, President. I'll take the work home with me, so you don't need to worry about it."

Nagumo flashed a mysterious smile.

The Student Council didn't require anyone to do their work there. Nagumo often used that as an excuse to leave, then took the work home and spent Personal Points to get someone else to do it for him.

Someone like Nagumo, the undisputed leader of the second-years who ruled over Classes A, B, C, and D, certainly didn't lack the points.

He'd rather pay someone to do the work than waste his own time on it. He'd much rather go on dates with pretty girls and chat with them.

Nagumo soon left, leaving only Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane behind.

Tachibana Akane felt a little excited. She'd get to be alone with the President again today.

Meanwhile, Akasaka Ryunosuke had already arrived at Hoshinomiya's office.

Hoshinomiya had been waiting for a while. As soon as she saw me, she pulled out a chair and invited me to sit. Her obsequious behavior made me rather curious.

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, did you take the wrong medicine today? Since when did you get so good at reading the room?"

I sat in the chair Hoshinomiya had pulled out for me. She rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm just eager to make a deal with you. Hey, you're not pulling my leg, are you? You really can get Class B promoted to Class A?"

Her tone was unusually serious.

I crossed my legs and answered in a calm, relaxed tone. "We're going to sign a contract in the end anyway. You don't need to worry that I'll cheat you, do you?"

"You've got a point." Hoshinomiya immediately went back to her usual self, smiling as she leaned closer until her face was right in front of mine. I still didn't so much as bat an eye.

She might have been a woman in her thirties, but she'd clearly taken good care of herself. With those big, sparkling eyes, flawless skin, and a stunning figure, no one would believe she was in her thirties. They'd probably believe she was twenty-two...

I stared openly at Hoshinomiya. She didn't seem embarrassed; if anything, she looked rather pleased.

After all, girls naturally liked to look beautiful. If a guy stared at her, it proved she was attractive. At the very least, she was still a gorgeous woman in her twenties.

Once Akasaka had finished sizing her up, he quickly looked away and got down to business. "Teacher Hoshinomiya, what did you want to talk to me about? You mentioned getting promoted to Class A earlier. Are you hoping to make a deal with me for one million Personal Points?"

Hoshinomiya nodded at Akasaka's question. "That's right. I do want to make a deal with you, but I'm curious. Can you really pull it off?"

"Whether I can or not, all you have to do is pay. Leave the rest to me."

Hoshinomiya propped her chin on her hands, elbows on the desk. "But I'm not entirely convinced. Could you tell me the details of your plan? That way I'll have some idea what to expect."

I shook my head. "Sorry, but I can't do that, Teacher Hoshinomiya. To be honest, getting promoted to Class A will definitely involve some shady business. It wouldn't be wise to let other people know, so I hope you understand."

"All right..." Hoshinomiya pouted. Since she couldn't get the details out of me, she had no choice but to give up.

"If you really do have a way to get Class B promoted to Class A, then we can make a deal. But about the price..."

Hoshinomiya waved a finger, preparing to bargain. "You know our Class B has already gotten the information, and the gap between us and Class A can't be that big. Isn't one million a bit much?"

When I saw Hoshinomiya trying to bargain, my heart gave a painful jolt. Every cent she knocked off the price was money out of my pocket. How could I possibly agree? I immediately objected.

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, you need to understand that without my help, even if you got the information ahead of time, it'd be very hard to catch up to Class A."

"During those first few days of school, everyone was on the same starting line. From what I've learned, Class A started taking action on the second day. They put their phones away in class and listened carefully. It's clear that after that, they were unlikely to lose any more points."

"But you didn't start until the fifth day, after you got my information. The gap between you may not be huge, but it's not insignificant either. I think one million is a perfectly reasonable price."

Hoshinomiya held up five fingers. "Five hundred thousand. Not a point more."

I hurriedly held up nine fingers. "Nine hundred thousand. Not a point less."

Hoshinomiya looked speechless. "You only took off ten thousand? What difference does that make?"

"Of course it makes a difference!" I answered solemnly. "With ten thousand, you can buy, uh... you can buy..."

Damn it, I'd forgotten this was Japan, not the Dragon Country. Ten thousand yen probably couldn't buy anything. Back home in the Dragon Country, it could buy a steamed bun and a packet of pickled vegetables—enough for lunch.

I fell silent, unable to come up with a good excuse.

Seeing that, Hoshinomiya tried bargaining again. "Five hundred and fifty thousand."

Akasaka tried to raise the price again. "Nine hundred and ninety thousand. That's my bottom line!"

"Six hundred thousand. Not a point more."

"You're so stingy, Teacher! I hope your future son is born without an asshole!"

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, that? It means you'll only have sons who don't have, uh..."

"What did you say, you little brat? How dare you curse my future son with no asshole!"

Hoshinomiya sprang to her feet and slapped both hands on the desk. The carefree look vanished from her face, replaced by a demonic, ferocious expression. "Three hundred thousand!"

Akasaka nearly broke down. "Why did you lower the price!!!"