What Is Amasawa Yuto's Goal

The information Class B purchased from Hoshinomiya-sensei included:

1. This school ranks classes by ability. Ultimately, only students who graduate from Class A can enjoy the "100% employment/college placement" promised in the recruitment slogans.

2. Each class starts with 1000 points. If students engage in behavior that violates school regulations (violence, tardiness, skipping class, disrupting order, etc.), the corresponding class points will be deducted.

3. Class points are refreshed and personal points are distributed on the first of every month. The amount of personal points distributed each month = Class Points x 100.

4. Class rankings change according to fluctuations in class points. If Class B's points surpass Class A's after the monthly refresh, Class A will drop to Class B, and Class B will be promoted to Class A. The same logic applies to other classes.

5. There will be comprehensive exams for all subjects during midterms and finals. If a student fails any subject, they will be expelled. The passing grade is half of the class average for that subject (rounded up).

6. Spending 20 million personal points can negate one expulsion penalty or allow a transfer to any other class (within the same grade level).

Upon learning this information, Ichinose immediately mobilized everyone to follow student protocols and avoid point deductions.

Knowing they weren't among the most elite, most of the students in Class B felt a bit dejected, but they quickly pulled themselves together under Ichinose's encouragement.

At the very least, they all loved their current class and deeply respected Ichinose Honami.

After school, Kanzaki called out to Ichinose, and the two began a discussion.

"What do you think, Ichinose?" Kanzaki's expression was very grim. Although his face was always gloomy to begin with, it seemed even more overcast now.

Ichinose looked worried. "I originally thought I could spend a pleasant three years with everyone, but I never expected these kinds of rules. Thinking back to when I first received my admission letter, I was so happy, thinking I could finally start over. It seems it won't be that easy to enjoy the benefits of graduation after all..."

If Amasawa Yuto or the leaders of other classes were here, they might have noticed the "start over" that Ichinose had let slip.

But seeing that Ichinose wasn't talking about the same thing as him, Kanzaki quickly interrupted her. "No, I'm talking about Amasawa's actions. Don't you think he might have known about these rules all along?"

"Eh?"

"He wasn't willing to listen to the information Class B paid for, yet he was willing to help Class B negotiate a 500,000 point discount. The only way to interpret that is that he was helping Class B, and without asking for anything in return. But is that really the case? It must be because he had already obtained this information through some other means."

"Some other means, you mean?"

"I mean obtaining this information without having to spend so many points."

"That's impossible, there shouldn't be any such method. Even if there were, so what?"

"If that's the case, Amasawa's position changes," Kanzaki said seriously. "Think about it, Ichinose. Amasawa knew there was a way to get this information without spending points, yet after the KTV session that day, he tricked us into spending 1.5 million points to buy information that could have been obtained otherwise. If that's the case, his goal was to deplete the points in Class B's possession!"

"No, Kanzaki-kun's reasoning is wrong." After thinking it over, Ichinose shook her head. "If Amasawa-kun's goal was to deplete Class B's points, there would be no need for him to go out of his way to help us negotiate a 500,000 point discount. Wouldn't it have been more beneficial to his goal to just let us spend the full 2 million points?

Furthermore, if Amasawa-kun knew the rules, he would naturally know that once we learned them, we would retain more points in the first month. With 40 people in the class, just 200 extra class points would allow us to recoup that 1.5 million within three months. Letting us get hit with massive point deductions in the first month would be the best way for them to secure their position in Class A, wouldn't it?"

Ichinose's rebuttal was logical and well-founded, leaving Kanzaki speechless for a moment. "This... this can't mean he was specifically helping us, right? What benefit would that have for them in Class A..."

"That's it, that's it exactly!" Ichinose seemed to have caught a sudden flash of inspiration. "Kanzaki-kun, we shouldn't be operating under the assumption that Amasawa-kun's actions are for the sake of Class A. Have you forgotten? The current power holders in Class A are Katsuragi-kun, followed by Sakayanagi-san. I don't think Amasawa-kun cares much about graduating from Class A."

Ichinose recalled the bus ride at the start of the school year; Amasawa-kun's family was the famous Amasawa conglomerate.

Perhaps for the students of Class A, graduating simply meant using their graduation privileges to secure a position at one of the enterprises under the Amasawa umbrella.

"Are there really students who don't care about graduating from Class A? If you can't graduate from Class A, you don't get the graduation privileges. Wouldn't that mean these three years were a waste?"

Although Kanzaki Ryuji said this, he was actually one such student himself. His family owned the renowned Kanzaki Heavy Industries; he was a standard second-generation wealthy heir, though he hadn't told anyone in the class.

"Maybe his family background is very good?" Amasawa-kun hadn't publicized his identity, so Ichinose didn't point it out. However, she didn't yet know that the Kanzaki Ryuji standing before her was also a hidden wealthy heir.

"At the very least, if that's the case, Amasawa's actions become understandable. He must be trying to prove that the class leaders lack the ability, so he can take their place."

If Class A failed to pull ahead of Class B in points after a month, or was even overtaken by Class B, the questioning of Class A's leadership would surely come down like an avalanche. At that point, the leaders would inevitably be forced to step down.

"Hmm... that's a possibility too. But, Kanzaki-kun, why can't we just imagine Amasawa-kun as a genuinely good person?"

"You're being too naive." Kanzaki blurted out, "He could use the same methods on Class C or Class D, couldn't he? If that were the case, everyone would know the rules, and we would have no advantage at all."

"No, that won't happen. Amasawa-kun will only do this kind of thing for Class B."

"Is it because Class B poses the greatest threat to Class A?" Kanzaki asked.

"That's not it..." Ichinose wore a somewhat helpless smile. "It's because only Class B can scrape together 1.5 million points."

Kanzaki had a sudden realization, feeling a pang of regret that he hadn't thought of such a simple logic himself.

Ryuen, the dictator of Class C, was a prickly thug who was impossible to negotiate with, and Class D was a complete mess. Only Class B was capable of pooling those 1.5 million points.

"If no one is willing to take the first step of trust, how can we ever understand each other?" Ichinose clasped her hands together over her chest, as if in prayer. "Amasawa-kun is a good person. At least, that's what I believe."

Judge by actions, not by intentions. Who knows if he'll help Class B next time? Kanzaki wanted to say this, but he didn't want to refute Ichinose too harshly. After all, Ichinose was the one suited to be the leader of Class B; he himself could not shoulder such a heavy responsibility.

He could only say, "Then please don't forget, if we want to rise to Class A, we must defeat him head-on."

That was right. No matter how friendly their personal relationship might be, once they carried the fate of the entire class, they could not be swayed by personal emotions.

"Don't worry, Kanzaki-kun. For the sake of everyone in the class, I will definitely work hard to reach Class A. Let's all work hard together, the entire Class B!"

"Yeah, let's work hard together to reach Class A, Ichinose."