Mission Accomplished!

With less than three weeks until the midterm exams, students from every grade were taking advantage of their lunch breaks and after-school free time to study or preview material in the library.

"Man, thank goodness for Kushida-san's help with my studies. You're a lifesaver!"

Ike Kanji said with a grin, happy not only to be improving his lackluster academic performance but also to be getting up close and personal with the grade's most popular girl, Kushida Kikyo.

He was starting to actually enjoy these daily tutoring sessions.

"If you could just pay attention in class, Ike-kun, the pressure during these makeup sessions would be a lot lower, you know."

Kushida Kikyo pointed out Ike Kanji's shortcomings with surgical precision. In the past, she wouldn't have said anything about it, but now, she wanted to make some changes.

"I'll try, I'll try..."

Ike Kanji laughed it off, never actually committing to whether he would pay attention in class in the future.

Kushida Kikyo even found herself wondering if he would be able to understand what the teachers were saying even if he did pay attention.

The tutoring over the past few days had been focused on cramming the necessary basics, and the improvement in the group had been nothing short of rapid.

"Knowledge is actually secondary. Just like how many people ask themselves what the 'derivatives' they learn in math are actually useful for in real life,"

Sakayanagi Arisu spoke up leisurely, holding her ever-present small cane in her hand.

"But the study habits cultivated during daily schooling can fully exercise the brain, allowing people to face the challenges of surviving in society with greater ease."

"Sakayanagi-san is absolutely right!"

Kushida Kikyo praised her, and she was being sincere; she hoped that Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki would take those words to heart.

"(ˉ▽￣~) Hmph~~"

Sudo Ken scoffed with disdain; he hated being lectured by others.

"You're going to suffer greatly in the future with an attitude like that."

Seeing Sudo Ken's dismissive attitude, Kamuro Masumi couldn't help but speak up to rebuke him.

Before the latter could even respond, a familiar voice drifted over:

"Oh my~ I'm actually quite surprised to hear that coming from Kamuro-san~"

"Mind your own business!"

Kamuro Masumi sounded quite flustered and annoyed.

"Isn't that exactly how you're acting toward Sudo-kun right now?"

Sakayanagi Arisu twisted the knife.

Kamuro Masumi fell silent; she felt like Sakayanagi Arisu was her natural-born nemesis.

"Yo, looks like you guys are getting along quite well."

Since the study session was just about over, Makoto came over to say hello.

Beside him were Honami, whom Sakayanagi and the others were familiar with, along with a few other students from Class A and Class B.

Correction: The only one from Class B was Kanzaki Ryuji.

He intended to use this opportunity to scout for information on the other two classes.

"Isn't this our busy bee, Makoto? What brings you to visit us?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's first sentence choked Makoto, who retorted with a dark expression:

"Isn't this the young lady Arisu? What wind blew you into this school? Oh my~ I'm afraid this place isn't big enough for such a high-and-mighty personage as yourself."

Sakayanagi Arisu's smile froze instantly, and seeing this, Kamuro Masumi shrank back silently.

"Alright, alright." Honami stepped in to smooth things over. "I've already booked a private room. Why don't we all go together and celebrate passing the midterm exams in advance?"

The celebration was a pretext; creating memories was the real goal. Those who joined would only be those who were confident in their own abilities... right?

"If Kushida is going, then I'm going too!"

"+1"

"Then I'll go too."

The number of people suddenly ballooned. Honami's expression didn't change; these people weren't from Class A, and if they wanted to join, she wouldn't stop them. She'd let their own class leaders deal with the headache.

"Let's head out."

The group marched toward the private room, and the students from Class D were moved to tears at the sight of the long-lost dream life.

"We're back, we're finally back!"

"Yeah, this is the kind of life I wanted!"

The smile Kushida Kikyo was maintaining on her face grew awkward. They had to remember they were here to get a free meal, and to be talking so loudly and carelessly—honestly—

It was so embarrassing!

"Is this how you interact with students from other classes?"

Kanzaki Ryuji pushed up his glasses with his index finger, his face full of skepticism.

Was this really the school life of competition between the four classes, ABCD, that he had imagined?

"Otherwise, how are we supposed to get along? Aren't we all at the same school?"

Makoto upheld the belief that everyone was equal, or at least, he didn't care about such trivial matters.

He was referring to the cost of this meal.

Private Points and Sakura Coin had a 1:1 conversion rate, much like mobile payments in his previous life.

The numbers displayed on a screen and the heavy weight of cash in one's hand had the same purchasing power, but they felt completely different.

It was easy for people to overlook their true value.

Gathering 20 million Private Points would guarantee a spot in Class A upon graduation...

To put that another way, If a person earned 20 million Sakura Coin over three years, that would be equivalent to an annual income of 333,000 Dragon Kingdom currency, or roughly 28,000 per month.

For a student to achieve this, they had already proven their worth.

Graduating in Class A should have been a matter of indifference to someone like that.

Without any accidents, such a person would likely thrive no matter where they went.

"It seems I still have a lot of room to grow."

Kanzaki Ryuji sighed, then followed behind Makoto.

"What are you doing?"

Feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, Makoto covered his vital areas.

"Just borrowing your reputation to snag a free meal... why are you putting your hands there!"

Kanzaki Ryuji pushed Makoto into a seat with a dark expression, right next to Honami.

He was, of course, aware of who Makoto's girlfriend was.

Then, he plopped himself down on the other side of Makoto.

"Is this Makoto's friend from Class B?"

Honami asked, leaning to the side.

"Yeah, I bought him off with 7,000 points earlier, so he's my friend now."

"Mm-hmm... wait, what?"

Seeing Makoto speak with such conviction, Honami cast a suspicious glance at Kanzaki Ryuji.

She suspected that this was an actor Makoto had hired.

Wait! Would anyone be so blunt about admitting they hired an actor?

For Makoto... that was actually a real possibility!

"While it's true I accepted your 7,000 points, you were the one who shoved them at me voluntarily, weren't you?"

Kanzaki Ryuji defended his reputation.

"If you think of me as that kind of person, I'm leaving right now."

"I'm sorry!"

Makoto apologized with lightning speed, a smooth combo that made Honami unable to help but cover her forehead and sigh.

Is that really how you make friends...?

Still, at least he finally had one.

It really is tough for Makoto...