"All right, Kato, let's hurry and take our seats!"
Horikita gently pulled her hand free from Kato Megumi's, looking a little embarrassed, and sat down.
Kato Megumi stubbornly sat down beside her anyway, then wrapped her arm around Horikita's again, acting extremely affectionate.
Horikita was at a loss.
She really had no way of dealing with Kato Megumi, but she didn't dislike the feeling, so she let her do as she pleased.
For the first time, Horikita Manabu's usually stern face broke into a relieved smile. Unfortunately, it lasted only a moment, and no one noticed except Akasaka, who had been staring fixedly at him the whole time.
Akasaka rolled his eyes again.
Ultimate Sister Complex. Hopeless.
Soon, the second round of their contest with Class C began.
Ryuen shoved his hands into his pockets and, looking thoroughly annoyed, propped his feet up on the table without the slightest concern that he was in the Student Council room.
At that moment, the only person in the Student Council room was the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu. Horikita had arranged it that way on purpose, so he could secretly back Akasaka up and coordinate their efforts from within and without.
Put simply, he and Akasaka were in the same boat. For the sake of his younger sister, he had to help the other boy.
And in return for helping his sister, the other boy had asked him to provide assistance by bending the rules for him.
Everything depended on having connections.
Without someone backing you, even getting anywhere was difficult.
That was the clever part of Akasaka's plan.
He had used Horikita Manabu's younger sister to force the Student Council President onto the same ship as him.
If Akasaka got into trouble, the president's rule-bending would be exposed too.
At best, he'd be removed from his position as Student Council President.
At worst, he'd be expelled.
So Horikita Manabu really had no choice. The moment he helped Akasaka, he had already...
Sakamaki Kazuma, Ryuen's homeroom teacher, saw his student propping his feet up on the table and quietly reminded him, "Put your feet down, Ryuen! This is the Student Council, not your personal fiefdom."
Faced with his teacher's warning, Ryuen humored him and lowered his feet.
After all, this teacher had helped him take control of the class quickly. He could at least show him a little respect.
Horikita Manabu raised a hand slightly to quiet everyone. Then he inserted the USB Drive Akasaka had given him into the computer and played the footage on the screen reserved for Student Council use.
It showed Ryuen Kakeru setting up Class B's Totzuka Yahiko.
Ryuen immediately knew who was behind this.
He glared furiously at Akasaka Ryunosuke, pointed straight at him, and cursed, "You fucking son of a bitch! You—&&..."
Akasaka picked at his ear, clearly not listening.
He spat dismissively and spread his hands, utterly unconcerned.
"Can't we talk this out reasonably?"
"Our deal was about Yamauchi. That matter's already settled."
"Now we're talking about Class B's Totzuka Yahiko. This has absolutely nothing to do with what happened before."
"So quit cursing at me. I won't listen even if you do."
With that, Akasaka stuck both middle fingers in his ears, making it clear he wasn't listening to a word.
Ryuen Kakeru was so angry he laughed.
"You even meddle in Class B's business? You really are a busybody."
Akasaka immediately objected.
"Hey! You can't put it like that. If there's money to be made, it's my business."
"Sure, this is Class B's problem, but I can use it to earn some extra money. That makes it my business."
Akasaka's shameless declaration left everyone present stunned.
Especially Ayanokoji.
[This guy... he really does love money more than life itself.]
Ayanokoji couldn't help thinking that, and once again reaffirmed his resolve to use the other boy as a tool.
The guy was just too useful.
He had brains and knew how to get things done. Ayanokoji didn't need to worry about him at all; he could just leave him to his own devices...
If he ran into danger once in a while, Ayanokoji could step in and help. Otherwise, he barely had to lift a finger. Where else could he find such a useful tool?
Ayanokoji was starting to fall for Akasaka.
Of course, he didn't mean the person. He meant the handy tool...
Despite Akasaka's shamelessness, Ryuen had no way to deal with him.
The other boy had video footage and irrefutable evidence. There was no way to cover this up, so Ryuen could only swallow the bitter pill again and hear what Akasaka wanted.
Akasaka quickly named his price.
"Twenty million Personal Points, and we can settle this privately. Otherwise, Ryuen and the six other accomplices involved—seven people in total—can all get expelled!"
Faced with Akasaka's outrageous demand, Sakamaki Kazuma gritted his teeth in fury.
It was obvious the boy was targeting him. He was the only one who could come up with that much money, which was why the Student Council had summoned him here. What a move!
It was hardly the sort of thing you'd expect from a student.
Not only was it fast and precise, it was ruthless and vicious.
Sakamaki Kazuma clenched his fists. He strongly suspected the boy across from him had calculated exactly how much money he had.
Because he had precisely 21.2 million Personal Points in his wallet. There was no way that was a coincidence.
That kid was in the Student Council, so he must have known Sakamaki had been at This School for five years.
He also had an unmentionable arrangement with the homeroom teacher of the current Class A. It was about getting promoted to a higher class, so don't get the wrong idea.
So the other boy must have found out his exact salary through Hoshinomiya, then roughly calculated that he had around twenty million Personal Points. What a ruthless move!
He was really going to drain him dry, leaving him with only a little change. Ruthless!
But on the surface, Sakamaki Kazuma put on a kindly expression and said, "Let's talk, Akasaka. There's no way I can come up with twenty million Personal Points. Can you lower the price?"
Akasaka lounged with his legs dangling, clipping his nails with a nail clipper. Without looking back, he said, "Then get ready for them to be expelled, Mr. Sakamaki. If I remember right, each expulsion costs three hundred Class Points."
"About seven people were involved this time. After all that, you'll probably drop to Class D," Akasaka said with a teasing smile.
Sakamaki Kazuma's mouth twitched. The other boy was right. He had no room to haggle; all the leverage was in Akasaka's hands...
Sakamaki Kazuma sighed.
"I understand... I'll pay the twenty million Personal Points. You'll leave our class alone, right?"
After saying that, Sakamaki Kazuma's straight back slumped a little, as though he'd aged ten years.
After all, that was five years' worth of wages. Five years! It was like he'd worked for nothing, but he had no choice.
The other boy had enough evidence to convict them. Even if Sakamaki tried to argue, it would be useless.
And it was obvious the Student Council President was on the other side too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to preside over the meeting alone. He was clearly there to favor Akasaka.
With every direction leading to a dead end, it was better to accept it honestly and get it over with.
Sakamaki Kazuma let out a long sigh.
He couldn't believe a student had put him through so much. Had he gotten lucky and happened to record the footage, or had he planned this all along?
If it had been planned, then the kid was terrifying. He would have had to stake out the place a month in advance. Sakamaki hoped the kid had simply gotten lucky, not that he'd planned it.
If it was the latter, he might as well surrender now.
This kid was already beyond the reach of ordinary people...
Before you continue