The Price That Must Be Paid, 9.5 Million Personal Points

"Horikita, are you trying to use private points to buy test scores?"

Sae Chabashira raised an elegant eyebrow, a hint of expectation appearing in her otherwise scornful gaze.

"You said at the start of the term that points can buy anything in this school, so surely that must include exam scores, right?"

Horikita Suzune's eyes were resolute.

As her words fell, the students of Class D felt as if they had been struck on the head with a hammer, unable to process the information for a moment.

Points can buy anything... is that how that statement is meant to be interpreted?

"Are you serious?"

Someone in the class subconsciously blurted out their confusion.

"If this actually works, then doesn't it mean it wouldn't matter if we scored zero on our exams?"

"No... the point is that if this works, no one will have to drop out."

"What does their expulsion have to do with us? We aren't even close with them."

"Come to think of it, our class points dropped to zero last month because of these guys, right?"

Applying makeup in class, chatting, playing on phones, skipping class, arriving late, leaving early...

The people who failed the exams were the very same ones who had the most disciplinary infractions last month.

Especially the trio of idiots—Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi. Sitting in the back row, their chatter was loud enough for even those at the front of the classroom to hear.

Even though they had reined it in slightly this month, they still talked loudly during lessons.

If they could use this opportunity to get rid of these dead weights, the rest of the class would be overjoyed.

"Teacher, what is your answer?"

Seeing the female teacher on the podium remain silent, Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow, feeling a surge of nervousness.

She was only acting on Ayanokouji's speculation.

To be honest, she had no confidence in the claim that "points can buy anything."

There is too much false advertising these days.

Especially at this Advanced Nurturing High School where they were currently enrolled.

They claimed that students would enjoy the best benefits upon graduation, only for them to find out after enrolling that only students who graduate from Class A have the freedom to choose their career paths.

Even though the teacher had said on the first day of school that points could buy anything within the school, who could guarantee there wasn't some exaggeration involved?

"Horikita, it seems you don't have much faith in your own theory either."

Sensing the hesitation in the black-haired girl, Sae Chabashira placed one hand on her hip, a playful smile appearing on her face as she said, "However, rest assured, your guess is correct. Private points can indeed be used to purchase midterm exam scores."

As soon as these words were spoken, the already restless Class D erupted into a commotion.

"We can actually buy scores?"

"Then what was the point of me studying so hard all month? This isn't fair!"

"Everyone, be quiet!"

Sae Chabashira shouted to silence the restless students, her beautiful brows tightly knit.

I really don't understand these guys.

They are still obsessing over fairness at a time like this.

They can't even grasp the most obvious priorities.

"Haa..."

Horikita Suzune let out a soft sigh, then fixed her beautiful eyes on the teacher standing at the podium. "Chabashira-sensei, since my guess is correct, can you tell us the price in points?"

"Well," Sae Chabashira paused, then continued, "This is my first time selling scores to students."

"Let's set the price at 100,000 private points for 1 point."

The airy words landed on the impoverished students of Class D like Mount Tai.

"100,000 private points for just 1 point?"

"That's way too expensive!"

"Come to think of it, how many points are they short by, anyway?!"

Noticing the students' confusion, Sae Chabashira thoughtfully wrote the passing scores for each subject on the blackboard, then listed the failing students and the point deficit for each subject in a table.

"Sato, Hondo, Shinohara, and Inogashira failed mainly in History, each short by 10 points."

"Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi failed every single subject. Sudo was even 10 points below the passing mark in English. Just those three alone are short by 85 points."

"The total is 95 points. As long as you pay me 9.5 million private points before school ends this afternoon, no one will be expelled."

Only 9.5 million?

The students hadn't expected such cold words to come from the teacher's mouth.

They had only received points from the school in the first month, and the entire class had only received a total of 4 million private points.

Even if they hadn't spent a single point since the start of the school year, it still wouldn't be nearly enough to pay the private points required to prevent their classmates from being expelled.

"To think the gap would be this large..."

Looking at the points needed on the blackboard, Horikita Suzune's delicate brows trembled, unable to believe it.

She had originally assumed that as long as they could use private points to buy points, they would be able to resolve this crisis smoothly.

She had never expected the cost of the points to be so high.

Why didn't the school just go out and rob someone instead?

"Teacher, isn't the amount of private points required to buy points too high?"

The class's most beloved, sunny boy, Hirata Yosuke, stood up. "This is simply not a figure we can afford."

"Too high?"

Hearing Hirata's questioning, Sae Chabashira acted as if she had heard a hilarious joke. "You are studying at the top high school in the country, enjoying the highest quality education available. Not only is tuition free, but even housing and utility costs are covered. If you perform well, you even receive tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand, in pocket money from the school every month."

"If it only cost 9.5 million yen to attend this school, there's no telling how many parents across the country would sell everything they own just to get their children in."

"Not to mention, this 9.5 million is to save seven students. Divided among each student, it averages out to less than 1.36 million per person."

"You are the ones getting a massive bargain."

After being told this by Sae Chabashira, the students who had previously thought the price was too high fell into silence.

Expensive?

How was it expensive?

Rather than questioning the school's high asking price, they should reflect on whether they had been studying hard during this time.

After mocking the students in the class, Sae Chabashira's gaze landed on the black-haired girl.

Horikita Suzune was seen slightly lowering her head, appearing somewhat discouraged and dejected.

It seemed that even Horikita felt the class had no way to use private points to save the students facing expulsion.

"Is this the end of the line?"

The look in Sae Chabashira's eyes as she watched the girl held a hint of disappointment.

As a teacher, she naturally knew more information than the students.

The private points required to purchase points were not strictly fixed at 100,000 private points for 1 point.

100,000 private points was merely the standard price set by the school administration.

The minimum could actually be reduced to 10,000 private points for 1 point.

This was only valid for this specific midterm exam.

But that would be enough.

If Horikita Suzune and the others continued to fight for it, there would be hope to save the students facing expulsion.

Even if they couldn't save everyone, they should at least be able to save some.

Due to school regulations, Sae Chabashira could not proactively explain to the students that the price could be lowered.

She could only wait for the students to take action themselves.