In the quiet office, Chabashira Sae crossed her shapely legs, clad in black stockings, and studied the personal file in her hands with a troubled expression.
Jingu Byakuya: average grades, ordinary athletic ability, and striking good looks.
Former only son and first heir of the Jingu Group.
Had an ambiguous relationship with his homeroom teacher in elementary school and was involved with several girls in middle school.
Currently being raised by a mysterious person; other information unknown.
Chairman Sakayanagi had given her this file and repeatedly warned her that Byakuya had a special status and must not be provoked.
Of course, there was nothing particularly intimidating about Byakuya's identity based on this file alone.
Even if he'd once been someone of high status, that was in the past. Now that he'd fallen from grace, he could still be beaten up like anyone else.
There might have been other reasons Chairman Sakayanagi treated him with such seriousness.
After all, he was the heir to a former major conglomerate. The fact that another family had managed to destroy it showed just how powerful those people were. And now, the heir who was publicly known to be alive was still out there. Could that really be possible?
Wouldn't they be afraid he might rise again?
She knew that the backgrounds of these major families were extremely complicated. Even if a family disappeared for a time, no one knew how many powerful figures connected to it might still be hiding in the shadows.
It was impossible to wipe them all out; doing so would shake society to its foundations.
And the heir, the most important figure of all, was still alive and well. Perhaps his backing was... even deeper than that of his enemies.
Thinking of this, Chabashira furrowed her brows deeply.
She hadn't expected the chairman to drop such a ticking time bomb into her class.
Perhaps the chairman was willing to take him in because he and that person were related in some special way.
Sigh.
Just then, there was a knock at the office door.
"Come in." Chabashira put down the file and took a sip of coffee.
The person who entered was Horikita Suzune, one of her students.
To be honest, Chabashira thought highly of her. She had excellent grades and was athletic, had been one of the top students at school since childhood, and was also Horikita Manabu's younger sister.
If handled well, she could be a major force in helping the class rise.
Although Chabashira thought highly of Horikita Suzune, she still had to put pressure on her in front of the others. Anyone could see that the girl was quite arrogant, and that personality was no virtue—it was the biggest obstacle to her growth.
"Is something the matter?" Chabashira asked coolly.
Horikita looked displeased, and her eyes held a trace of anger as she stared at Chabashira.
"Teacher, I'd like to ask you about how the school assigns students to classes."
"Oh?" Chabashira glanced up. Horikita had figured out what made the school different after only a week. Chabashira couldn't help but think even more highly of her.
"Why didn't you tell us at the start of the school year that Class D was the worst class?" "Why did you lead us to believe there was no point in saving our points, and that we should spend more?" "Teacher, are you a spy for another class?"
The three questions in a row made Chabashira frown.
"Horikita, let's take it one at a time. First, the school never said Class D was the worst. At least for now, all the classes are equal."
"You mean Class Points," Horikita interjected.
"You even know about that?"
"Someone I know told me. Never mind that for now. What about the second question?"
At first, Horikita hadn't understood. But after Chabashira's hints, she'd figured it out. According to Byakuya's analysis, each class had a score based on its Class Points, and every class started with the same amount.
That was why Chabashira had said they were "equal" for now.
At least until the points changed, Classes A, B, C, and D didn't mean anything on the surface.
"As for the second question..." Chabashira tapped the desk with a finger. "I merely gave you a casual reminder. What you do is up to you. Besides, even if I did do that, I haven't broken any school rules. What are you going to do about it?"
"..."
For the first time, Horikita realized that the teacher who seemed so cold was actually this shameless.
"As for the third question, even if I became a spy for another class, I wouldn't gain anything from it. In fact, if you all study hard, I'll get a bigger bonus. I'd be happy if you took your studies seriously. But just look at how you act in class, and how the other classes act. Would it make any difference whether I said anything or not?"
"That's them. It has nothing to do with me," Horikita said coldly.
"If the people in charge all thought like you do now, they'd have been ousted long ago," Chabashira said scornfully.
Horikita glared at her, wanting to argue, but she couldn't think of anything to say.
The people in charge?
Did Chabashira want her to lead the class?
"Go back. If you only came here to vent your frustration at me, then you've succeeded. You can leave now."
"Hmph!"
Horikita turned and left.
She'd been venting, but her expression was still dark, and she was also worried.
What if my brother finds out...?
It wasn't just a matter of disappointing her brother. If people found out she was his younger sister, how could she show her face at this school?
The younger sister of the best student council president in history was in Class D? If that news got out, it would surely tarnish his reputation.
She didn't want to disappoint her brother.
But she couldn't think of anything she could do. Even if she revealed the information to her classmates, they... probably wouldn't listen to her.
Unless—
Someone suddenly came to mind.
Kushida Kikyou...
If it was her, the other students in the class would probably be happy to believe her.
And Kushida had also been trying to get close to her...
As if she'd made up her mind, Horikita's furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
After school, Kushida accepted Horikita's invitation. The place the two had agreed to meet was...
"Why is it my room?" Byakuya leaned against the bed, looking at the two of them in confusion.
Unfortunately, no one answered him, so he could only go back to reading the novel in his hands.
It seemed to be Horikita's first time visiting his dorm room. She looked around.
Kushida had been there once before, but she'd been kicked out after only a few minutes and hadn't had time to look around properly. This time, she curiously glanced from side to side and even lifted the blanket, trying to see under his bed.
He slapped her hand away and said irritably, "There's nothing you want to see."
"What is it?" Kushida blinked like a curious child, looking completely innocent.
"Nothing."
"Okay, let's get started." Horikita had seen that there was nothing worth looking at and that his room was even cleaner than hers, so she said, "Kushida, I asked you here today because I want to tell you something very important. You see..."
Horikita didn't feel like beating around the bush. In fact, she was in a hurry. The sooner her classmates learned this, the more points they could earn.
When Horikita finished, Kushida asked in surprise, "Are you sure this information is true?"
"Yes. It's not that easy to hide something like Class Points. The school is trying to keep them secret, but it's easy enough to investigate if you're determined."
For example, you could post false information online claiming that it would increase your class's points. If anyone clicked on it, even if the information was false, as long as they didn't deny that Class Points existed, it would be easy to make the deduction.
Then you could buy information from students in other years about how many Class Points their classes had. Since that information wasn't worth much, it wouldn't cost many points.
Horikita showed her the information on her phone about the Class Points of Class 2-A.
"1,030?" Kushida tilted her head.
"That's right." Horikita nodded. "Based on my guess, one Class Point is worth 100 personal points. Each of us received 100,000 points at the start of the school year, so we should have started with 1,000 Class Points."
"I see." Kushida nodded. "But, Horikita, why are you telling me something so important? Do you trust me that much?"
"No. Actually, he figured most of this out. I'm just the one who told you."
Horikita pointed at Byakuya, who was reading on the bed.
Byakuya put down his book and said, "I was just making a guess, and I don't even know if I'm right. You're the one who actually figured it out, Horikita."
"Oh, I see." Kushida walked over and took his hand, looking at him with admiration. "Jingu-kun, you're so smart! You can figure out so much just by guessing!"
"It wasn't just a guess..."
"That makes you even more impressive. Jingu-kun, you're so modest, nothing like the other boys in class~"
Watching the slightly infatuated look on Kushida's face, he felt goose bumps rise all over his body.
If he hadn't known what Kushida was really like, he might have believed her.
Still, this was an opportunity.
"Horikita, I have something important to discuss with Kushida. You can go back for today."
"Something important?" Horikita narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously. Then she glanced at Kushida. Kushida didn't deny it, and her face was a little red, making Horikita's expression even more peculiar.
Could those two have something going on?
But...
It had nothing to do with her, and she didn't feel like getting involved.
Still, she was a little annoyed. She'd been the one to invite Kushida over, so how had she ended up being the outsider?
Even though she knew the information had basically nothing to do with her, she couldn't help glaring fiercely at Byakuya before leaving.
Before you continue