"Spent 20 million helping someone transfer classes?"
Yuki Himeno gasped, wondering if she'd heard wrong.
At the start of the school year, she'd heard that Dokuho Kouya wanted to move up to Class A on his own.
But transferring classes to reach Class A required 20 million personal points.
Even if everyone in Class A pooled their points together, it would take five months to gather that much.
So even though everyone knew Dokuho Kouya was very capable, his classmates hadn't taken him seriously. Deep down, they didn't believe he could do it.
Yuki Himeno was no exception.
But now, hearing what the student council president said, she knew she'd been wrong.
The boy who'd just praised her for being so kind had secretly amassed an enormous number of personal points long ago.
And it had taken him only a single month!
"Dokuho, is that true?"
Yuki Himeno gazed at the boy beside her in disbelief, hoping to hear him deny it.
"The student council president is right."
Dokuho Kouya nodded and said calmly, "This afternoon, I found a third-year student from Class C and gave him 20 million personal points to help him move up to Class A of the Third Year."
Dokuho Kouya's tone was calm, as if he were talking about something trivial.
But when the girl heard him, her heart grew unbearably heavy. Her pretty face lowered, and her gaze dimmed.
She'd been wrong.
On the way back to the dorms, when they'd talked and Dokuho Kouya had asked her to give Ichinose some advice, she'd thought he cared about his class and still wanted to stand with them through thick and thin.
But now she knew she'd been wrong.
He didn't need the class's help at all to graduate as a Class A student.
He probably hadn't spoken to her because the class's situation would affect his own interests, but out of something akin to "pity."
"Why would you do that?"
While Yuki Himeno was silent, another girl's puzzled voice rang out.
Horikita Suzune didn't show the weakness she did around her brother. Her gaze was unwavering, her tone icy as she said, "If you have 20 million personal points, why not save them to move up to Class A yourself instead of giving them to a third-year senior?"
She didn't doubt what Dokuho Kouya had said.
Or rather, she didn't doubt her brother, Manabu Horikita.
If Manabu Horikita said Dokuho had 20 million points, then Dokuho definitely had 20 million points.
But precisely because she believed him, she found it unbelievable.
What kind of person would foolishly give away their own points?
He was just like that idiot on the bus before the school year began, who'd paid someone to give up their seat.
Wait.
Wasn't it the same person?
Realizing this, Horikita Suzune's expression turned strange.
Could the person standing before her actually be an idiot?
Horikita Suzune didn't say it aloud, but anyone could read it on her face.
"Horikita, there's something I should remind you of." Dokuho Kouya's lips curved slightly, and he wore a faint smile. "I'm already a Class A student."
Horikita Suzune paused.
That was right.
When she'd run into Dokuho at the convenience store last month, he'd been in Class B.
But after the special exam, Class B had staged a comeback and become Class A.
That meant Dokuho Kouya, who'd originally been in Class B, was now a Class A student.
"Did you make Class B into Class A, too?" Horikita Suzune narrowed her eyes, her ruby-red gaze fixed on him.
As far as looks went, he was definitely the most handsome person she'd ever met.
Yet she never would have guessed that he was so capable.
Not only had he gathered 20 million personal points, he'd also led his class to Class A.
Horikita Suzune had great confidence in her own abilities, but after seeing what Dokuho Kouya had accomplished, she had to admit that he was a formidable opponent.
Hearing the black-haired girl's question, Dokuho Kouya's eyes lit up. He felt a little excited.
Hey.
That was a great question.
He'd been waiting for a chance to tell the viewers about all this.
"I didn't realize your memory was so poor, Horikita."
Dokuho Kouya looked at the girl calmly. "We met at the convenience store on the first day of school, and I told you about the school's hidden rules."
"On the second day, I told my class about the hidden rules I knew. Once everyone learned the truth, they all started following the school rules and studying hard, so we managed to get 980 Class Points."
"To be honest, I was a little surprised, too."
Dokuho Kouya folded his arms, looking puzzled. "I'd clearly warned you that the school had hidden rules, yet Class D still ended up with zero points."
"Horikita, did you not tell your classmates about any of this?"
"If everyone in Class D had realized that the school wasn't as simple as it seemed, they would've been more careful about their behavior. They wouldn't have ended up with zero points."
At that, Horikita Suzune's expression darkened, and she said unhappily, "Why should I tell the others in my class? Whatever happens to our Class Points is their own fault. It has nothing to do with me."
She'd figured out on her own that the school might have hidden rules. Why should she share that with everyone else?
"Unbelievable."
"Didn't you just tell your brother you could reach Class A? If you don't share important information with your classmates, how are you supposed to get there?"
"Little Suzune is adorably clueless."
"Money Brother is so devious. He's the one who caused Class D's Class Points to drop to zero, but he's dumped all the blame on Horikita."
"Horikita's partly to blame, too. If she isn't good at gathering information, she should've asked the others in her class to do it."
"She found out on the first day of school, then did nothing for the entire month. She's no better than the other students in Class D."
"Money Brother can barely keep a straight face."
After hearing Horikita Suzune's response, the viewers chimed in with their comments.
Dokuho Kouya's lips really did twitch, as though he were about to laugh out loud.
But he'd only wanted to laugh because he'd seen the viewers' comments.
Horikita Suzune's response hadn't made him laugh.
But Horikita Suzune didn't see it that way.
"What are you laughing at?"
The black-haired girl knit her lovely brows and glared at Dokuho Kouya, her pretty face turning angry.
"Suzune, stop embarrassing yourself."
Manabu Horikita sighed and told his younger sister to be quiet.
"Brother, I..."
Horikita Suzune wanted to argue back, but when she met her brother's gaze, she lowered her head, hurt, and fell silent.
Once his sister had finally quieted down, Manabu Horikita breathed a sigh of relief. Then he continued speaking with the first-year boy. "Dokuho, could you explain why you did that?"
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