The Fastest Person in the School to Go Broke

"Ying, you mustn't say things that lead to misunderstandings next time. You really gave me a scare, you know."

"Yes, I am terribly sorry."

Inside the office, Hoshinomiya was reprimanding Ying in a tone that sounded nothing like a scolding. Ying maintained a perfect 180-degree bow, apologizing incessantly. Standing to the side, Kanzaki covered his forehead with his hand, sighing repeatedly.

"You're lucky you're a cute student of Class B, or if another teacher or student had seen that, you probably would have been expelled on your very first day."

"Yes, I am terribly sorry."

"You said you wanted hidden information that only teachers know, so why couldn't you just ask directly? You had to use that fishing-like phrasing—I really almost thought you were a bad kid, Ying."

"Yes, I am terribly sorry."

"However, seeing as your apology is so sincere, I won't pursue this any further."

"Yes, I am terri... thank you very much."

"As for the hidden information, the school's minimum price is 50,000 points, but as a symbolic punishment for a naughty boy like you, I'll sell it to you for 100,000!"

Upon hearing this, both Ying and Kanzaki straightened their backs instantly, expressions of shock on their faces.

Ying: You're robbing me!

Kanzaki: To think one could actually purchase such valuable intelligence with points!

After Ying finished paying the points with a look on his face as if he were about to cry, Hoshinomiya teased him about his balance hitting zero and began explaining some of the hidden intel, such as the rules for class assignments, class competition, and how class points are inextricably linked to personal points.

Kanzaki was deeply shocked by the revelation and immediately turned serious; he was determined to share this information with the rest of the class as soon as possible.

Ying, however, only felt that his losses had been maximized. He had known this information in his past life, and in even greater detail. Not only had he been caught by Hoshinomiya, but he had also lost his entire fortune. He wanted to cry, but for the sake of his persona, he couldn't!

After bidding farewell to Hoshinomiya, Kanzaki and Ying walked out of the office.

"Byakuya, would you like me to transfer 50,000 personal points to you? We can consider it a joint purchase."

"Good... no need." A master does not accept handouts. Ying could only refuse with tears in his heart.

"Are you sure? You'll need personal points for daily necessities and meals, right?" Kanzaki looked at Ying with concern.

"It's fine. I'll use the free defective items from the store for daily necessities, and I'll grab free meals when I eat. If it really comes down to it, I'll borrow from you then." Ying rejected Kanzaki again in a voice devoid of emotion; his heart was already dead.

"Alright, if you need anything, just ask. You don't even have to pay me back, as long as it's not too excessive."

Ying wiped away non-existent tears and said with emotion, "Kanzaki, you really are my good brother!"

Kanzaki sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, we need to hurry and meet up with Ichinose and the others. We can't keep them waiting too long, and we need to tell the whole class about this news."

"Huh?" Ying wore a blank expression.

Seeing this, Kanzaki guessed that Ying hadn't listened to Ichinose's speech again, so he helplessly repeated the news about Ichinose inviting the whole class to a gathering.

Ying nodded as if suddenly enlightened. This was indeed something Ichinose would do, but then again, riddle-makers never fit in with the crowd.

"But my situation is a bit special. If I don't hurry to grab the free daily necessities, I might get beaten to them. So, please apologize to the classmates for me, Kano." Having said that, he walked forward on his own, ignoring Kanzaki.

Kanzaki sighed inwardly, thinking that being broke wasn't easy, and decided he would have to be frugal in the future.

"Um... Kanzaki, which way is the store?" Ying hadn't even lasted two seconds before returning; he simply didn't know the way.

Kanzaki could only point the way for Ying again, speechless, and told him he could check the school map on his student terminal.

After parting ways with Ying, Kanzaki suddenly sensed something was off. If Ying didn't even know where the store was, how did he know there were free items inside? Could he have deduced the school's operational model just from the information Hoshinomiya gave him earlier? That couldn't be...

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also chose to browse the convenience store and discovered his seatmate, Horikita Suzune. The moment Horikita saw Ayanokoji, she furrowed her brows. To build a better relationship with her, Ayanokoji began chatting about the items in the store, like instant noodles and facial cleansers. Later, to change the subject, Ayanokoji noticed a strange section.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

"Free...?"

Horikita also found it unbelievable and began observing the goods.

Daily necessities like toothbrushes and adhesive bandages were stuffed into shopping carts labeled [Free], with a proviso attached stating [Maximum of three per month]. The area clearly radiated a sense of anomaly.

"This must be what the school provides for those who have overspent their points..."

"Excuse me, let me through, thanks."

Just as Horikita was about to voice her hypothesis, a black-haired student from the same grade walked over and began picking out these free items without a word. When that black-haired student saw the [Maximum of three per month] sign, he audibly clicked his tongue, which made Horikita frown.

Ayanokoji recognized the black-haired student as the one who had asked him a strange question that morning. Seeing that he hadn't appeared in class afterward, it seemed he had gone to the wrong classroom that morning. However, he also became curious as to why this strange student was picking out free items. He was almost amused by his own thoughts; after all, speculating on the thoughts of a weirdo was, in itself, quite weird.

"Excuse me, why are you picking out free items? The school should have just issued 100,000 points, right? It's impossible to have spent them all so quickly. There's no need to use these free, defective items just to be frugal." However, Horikita didn't know what had happened that morning, so she expressed her confusion directly to Ying.

While picking out a toothbrush, he replied to Horikita in a voice of utter despair, without even looking at them: "Yeah, you're right. Even though 100,000 points were just issued, why would they be spent so quickly? What exactly did I buy? I didn't buy anything at all... why?"

Horikita furrowed her brows. Was this person being rude, or was he just talking to himself?

"Shut up! Wait a second! I'm looking for it!"

The sudden, loud voice drowned out the peaceful background music and echoed throughout the convenience store.

Horikita and Ayanokoji were quickly drawn to the sound of Sudo's argument and walked over. Horikita ultimately concluded that Ying was just an incompetent student who had squandered his 100,000 points the moment he received them.

After picking out his free supplies, Ying walked out of the convenience store and happened to run into Sudo arguing with three second-year students. Ying suddenly remembered that in the original story, Sakayanagi Arisu had bet against a senior from the chess club and earned a large amount of personal points. Could he also fleece these three seniors? Hehehe! I really am a genius!

After those three seniors left, Ying hurried to catch up with them.

"Wait a second! Seniors, please stop!"

"Hmm? Why is there still a first-year here? Do you want to taste a fist? Get lost already! Stop bothering us!" As he spoke, the senior in the middle gestured with his fists a couple of times.

"Heh, if you seniors aren't afraid of being deducted class points or getting expelled for punching me, then I'd love to taste it."

These words couldn't help but startle the three seniors; had he already grasped the rules to this extent just after enrolling?

"I want to play a game with you seniors. The game itself will hold the same weight as a contract, and anyone who quits halfway will be expelled. You seniors will ask me ten questions about this school, and you must already know the answers to this information beforehand. If I can't answer, I'll transfer ten thousand points to each of you. If I do answer correctly, you will each transfer me the equivalent of the school's selling price for that information. How about it?"

The three seniors exchanged quiet glances and, believing it impossible for Ying to know all the information, agreed to the game.

"Fine, then go ahead and ask." Ying said with full confidence. Although the information Hoshinomiya had given him was pitifully scarce, the original Ying considered himself to have read the source material thoroughly.

"Then... first question, how many second-year students are there in total right now?"

"Let's go find a teacher to draw up a contract for an IOU later; I'll definitely pay it off before next month."