I went to class as usual, and lunchtime came soon enough.
Ichinose Honami swaggered up to the classroom door, peeking inside as she searched for me.
The moment she spotted me, she waved and called out.
"Akasaka!"
Everyone in Class D turned to look.
I couldn't help covering my face with my hand.
Oh, come on! You came to find me in front of everyone like that? Couldn't you use a little common sense? Seriously!
I had no choice but to get up, grab Ichinose, who was still standing there dumbly, and hurry out of there with her.
"Huh?"
Ichinose let out a cute little sound, but I didn't have time to listen!
The most important thing was to get out of there as fast as possible.
I could guess how they'd talk about me once I was gone, but it didn't matter. I was only doing this to earn points. They could say whatever they wanted.
Sure enough, not long after I left, Class D erupted.
Especially the Clown Trio: Ken Sudō, Kanji Ike, Yamauchi Haruki, and the others.
Since Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had made a male friend, he hadn't ended up hanging around with them like he did in the original story.
The thing was, ever since that friend had left that day, he hadn't spoken to Ayanokoji again.
Akasaka Ryunosuke had to go to the Student Council after school, so he couldn't commute with Ayanokoji. That had left Ayanokoji, who wanted to make friends, troubled for quite some time.
He'd even considered whether he should find a different friend.
Ken Sudō, Kanji Ike, and Yamauchi Haruki watched helplessly as Akasaka led away a girl so beautiful she seemed unreal, right out in the open.
The three of them gritted their teeth in frustration. Yamauchi Haruki was especially indignant.
"He's not even as good-looking as me! How'd he manage to score a girl that beautiful?"
"I refuse to accept this!!!!"
Everyone...
Even the stone-faced Ayanokoji couldn't help silently complaining to himself.
Sure, Akasaka isn't exactly handsome, but he's still better-looking than you, right?
How do you have the nerve to say you're more handsome than him...
The class had been whispering about how Akasaka had gotten involved with a girl from another class.
But Yamauchi Haruki's outburst drew everyone's attention to him instead, and they couldn't help looking disgusted.
Yamauchi Haruki had indirectly helped Akasaka avoid the commotion.
Horikita Suzune merely frowned and said nothing.
What did it have to do with her? As long as they didn't disturb her studies, she didn't care. She wasn't the sort to gossip or badmouth people behind their backs.
Horikita stood up, glanced around at her classmates, and left for the cafeteria after muttering, "How boring."
Her words immediately got on everyone's nerves.
"What's Horikita acting so high and mighty for? Who does she think she is?" Karuizawa Kei muttered unhappily.
The other girls in the Gyaru Group showed their displeasure, too. Only one of them refrained from joining in on the criticism.
She wasn't a real gyaru. She'd only pretended to be one so she could find a group to fit in with and avoid standing out.
That girl was Matsushita Chiaki.
Matsushita toyed with her phone, but her gaze remained fixed on the direction Akasaka Ryunosuke had gone. Curiosity showed in her eyes.
"Interesting... Akasaka Ryunosuke, huh? Looks like I should keep an eye on him..."
Meanwhile...
Akasaka Ryunosuke, Ichinose Honami, and Kanzaki Ryuji were there. Even Hoshinomiya Chie had come.
I gave Ichinose a questioning look. Ichinose Honami seemed to understand what I meant and hurriedly explained.
"This is my classmate, Kanzaki Ryuji. He didn't feel comfortable with me meeting you alone to make a deal, so he came along."
Ichinose sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
Kanzaki Ryuji greeted me and introduced himself, too.
"Hello, I'm Kanzaki Ryuji. Ichinose from our class is far too trusting, and I wasn't comfortable leaving her alone with a strange man, so I came along. I hope you don't mind."
He made it sound like a question, but he was really staking his claim.
He was warning me not to have any bad intentions toward Ichinose, like taking advantage of her.
To be honest, I had no such plans for now.
I was only here to make money. At the moment, all I cared about was cash. If it meant earning a profit, I'd do whatever it took...
After greeting Kanzaki Ryuji, I studied the boy in front of me.
Kanzaki Ryuji was one of the central figures in Class B. He had the best grades and athletic ability in the class, spoke calmly and reservedly, and was very friendly toward others. He often acted together with Ichinose.
He was highly capable and had a real chance of making it to Class A. There might even be an opportunity for us to work together in the future.
I quietly committed him to memory, then glanced at Hoshinomiya Chie, who'd come along to watch.
"What are you here for?"
Hoshinomiya cheerfully raised a hand. "Me? I'm here to watch the fun. Besides, I'm a little worried about our Shiho."
With that, she cuddled up against Ichinose Honami.
Both women were well-endowed, and they were pressed together enough to distort their chests.
The two boys watching—Kanzaki and me—both instinctively looked away, only to sneak glances back.
Men were just that honest.
Ichinose was embarrassed, too, and hurriedly pushed her teacher away.
"Teacher, please stop. You're making this awkward."
"Hehe, Shiho's embarrassed. But you're right—we have something important to take care of."
Hoshinomiya Chie immediately turned serious, her manner completely different from before.
"Little Akasaka, as the homeroom teacher of Class B, I have the right to supervise this deal. Besides... you need a witness, and I'm the best person for the job."
Hoshinomiya Chie spoke with pride as she pulled a contract out of her little bag. There were two copies.
I felt a little speechless. "Do you teachers carry contracts around everywhere? You can just pull one out anytime, anywhere."
Despite what I'd said, I took the contract and read it carefully to make sure there weren't any tricks.
After all, this was money. Cold, hard cash.
There'd been plenty of contract scams back in my previous life. This might be honest Japan, but it was still best to be careful.
I'd been burned by those damned contracts before...
Seeing how cautious I was, Hoshinomiya pouted in displeasure. "What? Do you think I'd tamper with the contract? I'd never do that."
I pushed up the nonexistent glasses on my face. "Sorry, Teacher Hoshinomiya, but checking the contract is necessary. It's just a precaution. I hope you understand."
After checking the contract and finding nothing wrong, I handed it back. "So, can we make the deal now?"
The three of them sat up straight and nodded.
Hoshinomiya explained the contract's terms in detail.
"In short, Akasaka Ryunosuke will provide information, and Class B will buy it for one million points. To confirm that the information is accurate, we'll wait until the first of next month, which is Point Issuance Day."
"If the information checks out, the one million Personal Points will be transferred to Akasaka Ryunosuke on the first of next month, and the deal will be complete. Does that work for you, Akasaka?"
I shook my head to show that I had no objections. It was perfectly reasonable. How could they pay before confirming whether the information was true?
I shook my head to show that I had no objections.
"Great!"
Hoshinomiya weighed the documents in her hand, then passed a pen each to Ichinose and Akasaka. "Please sign. The contract will take effect once you've both signed."
Neither of us objected. We signed our names and added our fingerprints.
Hoshinomiya Chie took the contracts, checked them, then returned one to each of us.
Ichinose and I took our copies and put them safely in our bags.
Now I had to tell Ichinose what information she'd paid a million points for.
"This school's system is based on competition between classes."
"I'll keep this brief and skip the fluff."
"Class A is the best. The order below it is B, C, and D. Class D is the worst."
Ichinose Honami quickly raised her hand to interrupt me, looking puzzled. "You say Class D is the worst? But you're in Class D, and you've already figured out something we couldn't..."
I was clearly annoyed at being interrupted. "Ichinose, please don't interrupt while I'm speaking. Thank you."
"Oh..."
After I snapped at her, Ichinose's mood immediately sank.
Hoshinomiya quickly spoke up to reassure her. "Shiho, Akasaka is different. He joined the Student Council just two days after enrolling."
"He's the first person at This School to join the Student Council only two days after enrolling, so he's not someone you can judge by ordinary standards."
Hoshinomiya kindly explained things to Ichinose, while also hinting that Akasaka Ryunosuke was no ordinary person. She hoped Ichinose would get along with him instead of turning him into an enemy.
Ichinose Honami, who would become Class B's leader in the future, wasn't stupid. She could understand the implication. She was just a little naive, not foolish. She immediately got Hoshinomiya's meaning and stopped interrupting, listening patiently instead.
The information that followed concerned all of Class B, so she couldn't afford to take it lightly.
Seeing that, Akasaka nodded with satisfaction and continued explaining what he knew about the school. Ichinose Honami took out a small notebook and wrote everything down, afraid she might miss something important.
I told her almost everything I knew, though I kept a few things to myself. Still, I'd at least given them their money's worth.
I explained the competition between classes, how the first month's evaluation was tied to the school's standards, and how each class didn't receive a fixed 100,000 points every month. Instead, their points were determined by the competition between classes.
Every class started with 100,000 points, or 1,000 points, in the first month. Once that month's evaluation was over, the standings would be reassessed.
If they wanted to get ahead of the other classes, they needed to build a lead during the first month, while everyone was still on the same starting line.
If they couldn't open up a gap in the first month, catching up afterward would take a great deal of effort.
After listening to my explanation, Ichinose pressed a hand to her lips, looking troubled as she thought it over.
"So the classes are competing against each other."
"The simplest and most direct way to get ahead is to do well in the first month—ideally, without losing even a single point."
"It's only the fifth day, and we've already learned this. Surely it's not impossible for us to surpass Class A."
Kanzaki nodded in agreement. "Ichinose is right. This month is our best chance to get ahead of Class A. Maybe we really can..."
I hurriedly cut them off. I couldn't help admiring them; Class B was so much better than Class D... I was almost envious. Still, I had to pour cold water on their hopes.
"You're underestimating Class A. They won't be easy to deal with."
"If my guess is right, someone in their class has already figured out that the classes are competing."
"Judging by how well-behaved they've been in class these past few days, and how they collect everyone's phones before lessons, I'd guess they figured out the school's secret on the second day."
Everyone looked surprised, especially Ichinose Honami, who raised her hand again to ask,
"Akasaka, how did you find all this out?"
I didn't answer Ichinose's question. Instead, I looked at her as if she were an idiot.
Ichinose tilted her head cutely, confused.
Kanzaki hurriedly explained. "Ichinose, he must have some way to get this information. Even if you ask, he won't tell you."
Kanzaki explained to Ichinose helplessly.
Ichinose looked embarrassed and sat back down, indicating she wouldn't interrupt again.
Of course Akasaka had a source of information: his undercover agent in Class A, Kamishiki Masane. He'd learned all of this by contacting him on his phone.
Still, Class A really was impressive. Going by the original story, where they'd only lost 60 points, they'd be incredibly hard to catch.
In the original story, Class B had scored around 650 points. Even with the information in advance, they probably wouldn't catch up.
In the first few days after school started, everyone had been on the same starting line, and they'd all lost at least a few points.
Even if Class B got the information early, holding on to 900 points would already be quite an achievement. Surpassing Class A would be very difficult—almost impossible—unless I stepped in...
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Akasaka. It was as if he'd thought of some brilliant scheme. He covered his face with one hand, wild with delight.
That was it! I could use this to strike another deal with Class B and earn a huge number of points.
I'm a genius!
Ichinose Honami watched Akasaka, who had one hand over his face and was wearing an Uchiha Laugh. Worried, she quietly spoke to Teacher Hoshinomiya beside her.
"Um, is Akasaka okay? Why's he laughing to himself like that?"
Hoshinomiya was at a loss, too.
Could there be something wrong with this kid's head?
Before you continue