Crowdfunding One Hundred Thousand

Sitting calmly in his seat, Shinjo heard his name called from the podium and quickly responded:

"What is it, Chabashira-sensei?"

"I heard that you were the one who obtained the past exam papers from the upperclassmen?"

Shinjo could tell that Chabashira was simply trying to find a way to save Sudō, so if that was the case...

"Uh, that's right. But come to think of it, it's actually my fault. A senior tried to sell me the past papers a while ago, but the price of 50,000 points was simply beyond my means... If I had 50,000 points, perhaps Sudō-kun wouldn't have..."

Upon hearing this, the corner of Chabashira Sae's eye twitched involuntarily.

[You really have a nerve asking for so much... but fine, as long as you can contribute to the class, 50,000 points is nothing.]

"I understand. This isn't your fault, Shinjo."

As she said this, Chabashira nodded solemnly at Shinjo, signaling that she accepted the offer.

Well, since that's the case, the deal is done.

Suddenly!

Shinjo tapped his forehead as if he had just remembered something important, and he quickly stood up again to ask:

"I've got it! Sensei!"

Chabashira Sae watched expressionlessly as Shinjo put on his little performance.

"Sudō! I have a way to keep you from being expelled!!"

"Really?! Shinjo-kun?!"

The person who reacted the most wasn't Sudō, but Hirata, who had been feeling quite dejected just a moment ago.

[This guy really cares about his classmates. Even though Sudō has embarrassed him in public several times, he's still willing to go this far... It's truly remarkable.]

"I remember Chabashira-sensei saying that in this school, points can buy anything, right?!"

"Points? But what does that have to do with the current situation..."

Fortunately, there were still smart people in the class. With just a slight hint from an outsider, Horikita immediately realized what was going on.

"You mean we can use points to buy the score Sudō is missing?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room erupted in an uproar.

Clearly, they hadn't realized points could be used this way, but it sounded perfectly reasonable.

"Chabashira-sensei! Is that really possible?!"

Hirata asked Chabashira impatiently for confirmation, and the light instantly returned to the eyes of the previously desperate Sudō.

Chabashira Sae feigned indifference as she replied:

"Theoretically, it is possible. However, if you want to buy the one point Sudō is missing, it will cost 100,000 private points. Can you come up with that?"

Sudō's mood sank again, his emotions riding a roller coaster of highs and lows. How could he possibly come up with that many points?

But why would he need to worry about such a thing?

Hirata immediately leveraged his status as the person everyone in the class looked up to:

"Everyone! Let's help Sudō-kun! I hope everyone can chip in a few points to help Sudō-kun get through this crisis. We are partners, after all!"

Kushida Kikyo followed up by putting in a good word for Sudō:

"Hirata-kun is right! Sudō-kun is our partner in Class D, after all, and he really is different from before! The current Sudō-kun is hardworking and serious; he is an indispensable member of our class!"

Led by the two core members, many students expressed their willingness to lend Sudō the points.

Horikita and Ayanokōji were even more generous, contributing 30,000 each.

"Um... Sudō-kun, Megumi and I used our points to buy the past papers and the answer key, so..."

Shinjo tactfully expressed his own lack of funds, and Karuizawa, who was standing beside him, quickly withdrew her intention to donate a few thousand points.

After all, the contributions of these two were obvious to everyone, so no one would say anything even if they didn't donate.

Instead, Sudō kept thanking Shinjo. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have passed his other subjects, let alone the fact that the method to save him was also Shinjo's idea.

"Shinjo, and Karuizawa, you've already done so much for me, what more could I ask for? Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"And thank you, Ayanokōji and Horikita, for spending so many points on someone like me... And Hirata, Kushida, and everyone else... I... I really... Please rest assured, I will never cause trouble for the class again, and I will pay back the points I owe everyone as soon as possible!"

As the saying goes, a man doesn't shed tears easily, unless he has reached the depths of sorrow.

Watching his classmates put aside their past grievances to pay for him, the softest part of Sudō's heart was deeply touched.

Chabashira Sae looked at the tight-fisted Shinjo standing in the crowd and couldn't help but click her tongue.

[This kid gets all the benefits, and Sudō even has to be grateful to him...]

Soon, the 100,000 points were crowdfunded, and Sudō successfully remained in Class D.

Seeing that the dust had finally settled, Shinjo breathed a slight sigh of relief. Fortunately, there were no unexpected incidents during this time.

To give a simple example, if he could buy back the one point Sudō lost, doesn't that mean someone else could buy enough points to make Sudō fail again?

Perhaps if they operated that way, a single point might not be worth one hundred thousand, but it wouldn't be exorbitantly high either. If Ryuen really came over and was willing to spend a large sum of money just to force Sudō to drop out, that would be the real problem.

"Um, since we're safe this time, should we hold a..."

"Oh! We definitely should hold one, right~!"

Hold what?

A grand celebration party, of course~!

After class, the members of Horikita's study group gathered once again to discuss the arrangements for the celebration.

Kushida Kikyo made the suggestion, Ike and Yamauchi chimed in, Sudō felt that he absolutely had to celebrate his narrow escape, Horikita flatly refused, stating she had no time, and Shinjo said that since he had been invited, he had no choice but to go.

(Ayanokōji: So, what about my opinion?

Everyone: That's not important at all!)

"Cheers!!"

Since they couldn't drink alcohol, they decided to just drink their fill of fruit juice!

"So, why are we holding this celebration in my dorm room?"

Ayanokōji expressed his deep confusion, and he was even more concerned about how these people managed to barge into his room without his permission.

"But if not your room, then where? You aren't planning on going to the girls' dorms, are you? Just so you know, the three of us have rooms that are a complete disaster; even if we cleaned them up, it wouldn't be possible to get them spotless in a single day."

"Then what about Shinjo's place? He should have his room kept in order, right? After all, he has a girlfriend."

Shinjo spread his hands innocently:

"Why would you assume a girlfriend would definitely help you with housework? Besides, while my room isn't exactly messy, it certainly isn't as empty as yours."

Because he had a habit of buying all sorts of strange and novel items, Shinjo's room was also piled high with cardboard boxes.