"Uh... Hamaguchi, if you ignore the lyrics, the melody is actually pretty nice, huh?" Shibata said to Hamaguchi with an awkward laugh.
"Yeah, Byakuya sings pretty well, too. If you ignore the lyrics..."
With the whole room feeling a little awkward, Ying finished his song. Seeing everyone staring at him in complete silence, Ying figured they must have been stunned by his godlike singing voice. He couldn't help grinning.
Ichinose sensed the mood was off and took the lead in praising Ying. "I never expected Byakuya to be not only smart and handsome, but also a pretty... good singer!"
"Really!? I thought you might not like this kind of song, so I'll sing another one!" Ying eagerly offered.
"No need!" everyone shouted in unison.
Ying: ...
"Byakuya... have some water and take a break." Kanzaki was at a loss with his seatmate. Byakuya clearly had plenty of talent, but he kept acting so bizarrely.
After the gathering broke up, Ying was just about to head back to the dorm, take a nice shower, and have a cup of warm milk when Ichinose called out to him.
"Um! Byakuya, I'll transfer the points to you." Ichinose showed him her terminal, which displayed a whopping 2.7 million private points.
Only then did Ying suddenly remember that. He quickly waved his hands and refused. "Sorry, Ichinose. I forgot to tell you. I'm not short on points right now, so there's no need to trouble everyone."
Ichinose tilted her head, clearly unable to understand why Ying, who had spent all 100,000 points, wasn't short on points.
Ying sighed, opened his terminal, and showed Ichinose the screen displaying the 1.15 million points he had.
Ichinose covered her mouth, plainly shocked. Where had he gotten so many points? Had Byakuya done something illegal?
Seeing Ichinose's expressive face, Ying hurriedly explained how he had gotten the points, afraid she might misunderstand.
"So Byakuya used the information he bought from Hoshinomiya-sensei to play a game with the second-years, and that's how he got all those points?" Ichinose pressed a hand to her chin, apparently wondering whether their class could also use the information to earn points like Ying had.
"Yeah. I think Class B could sell the information to students in the other classes and make a lot of money," Ying said casually.
Ichinose was even more surprised. Did Byakuya know what she was thinking?
"Though we can't let every class buy the information with points. We'll have to set some limits." Ying figured that if too many people found out, the information would lose its value and wouldn't sell for many points. Also, if students from the other classes learned that they had sold the information to everyone in the year, they might all turn against them.
But Ichinose clearly wasn't thinking along the same lines. They couldn't buy it with points? Did that mean they could trade in some other way? And they couldn't trade with every class. If they sold the information to everyone in the year, Class B's advantage would be greatly diminished, so they'd have to choose only a few classes. But Class A and Class C were both strong rivals of Class B...
"I get it! Thanks, Byakuya. I'll make a deal with Class D!" Ichinose said excitedly.
Ying: Class D? But would those people really cooperate? I remember there are quite a few students like Koenji in that class. They might not make much money from it.
"Um... Ichinose. Making a deal with Class D might not be as beneficial as you think. I'd suggest making a deal with all three classes, but be careful about the price." If they were selling to all three classes, they obviously couldn't charge too much. That was what Ying thought.
Ichinose thought it over, then smiled at Ying as if she'd suddenly understood. "Byakuya, thank you! I know how to make the most of this information now! See you tomorrow!"
"Oh... okay." Ying watched Ichinose walk away. Hopefully, she wouldn't charge too much for the information.
Ichinose: Byakuya really is amazing. He thought of using the existing information to keep all three classes in check. Class B can profit from it, and the information gap can be kept under control. We're lucky Byakuya is in Class B.
The next day, Ying arrived in the classroom bright and early and began reading his textbook.
"Uh... wait, I've nearly finished the whole textbook. How come no one else is here?" Ying shook his head and walked over to the window, looking out at the sky, which was just beginning to turn pale.
"Huh? Byakuya!? What are you doing here?" Shibata stood in the classroom doorway holding a bottle of milk, staring at Byakuya in surprise.
"What do you mean, what am I doing here? I should be asking where everyone else is! It's nearly dawn. Why hasn't anyone come to class yet?" Ying stared at Shibata in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? Class starts at 8:30. It's only 6:30 now. I just came to drop some things off before going to morning practice. Are you going to practice too?"
"Wha... what!?" Ying stared at Shibata in disbelief. He hadn't listened to the teacher explain the schedule yesterday, so he'd played it safe and followed the schedule from his old high school. And now he was being told he'd gotten up three hours too early?
Ying was numb with shock. With a schedule like this, could college students really study properly?
"Hey, why are you spacing out this early in the morning? I'm going to practice. Want to come with me?" At some point, Shibata had changed into his sportswear and was inviting Ying along.
Ying figured he had nothing else to do, so he went to work out.
"Today at 5 p.m., the club orientation will be held in the First Gymnasium. Students interested in joining a club, please gather in the First Gymnasium. I'll repeat that. Today..."
A cute woman's voice came over the PA system.
At noon, while eating a luxurious, extravagant lunch, Ying suddenly heard the school announcement. This was that scene, wasn't it? The famous moment with Student Council President Horikita.
"Byakuya, is there a club you want to join?" Kanzaki asked Ying, who was deep in thought, while eating the standard student lunch.
"Of course! Ying's going to become one of the school's star soccer players with me!" Shibata chimed in from beside them, also eating the standard student lunch.
"Sata, I don't remember saying I'd join the soccer club with you." They said that friendship between boys was simple. After one morning practice session together, Ying and Shibata had already become close friends who could talk about anything.
"Huh!? Why not? You really like sports, don't you? You looked so relaxed at practice this morning. You must have been the star athlete at your middle school, right? You're definitely joining a sports club," Shibata said.
"What!? Byakuya's good at sports too?" Hamaguchi and Beppu exclaimed from nearby.
Ying chuckled to himself. Sure, the system had given him this incredible athletic ability, but now it was his own skill too. A real expert had to be modest at a moment like this.
"Not at all, I only know a thing or two. I never achieved anything remarkable. I was just mistaken for Bolt when I ran, called Messi when I played soccer, hailed as the boss when I played basketball, and mistaken for Sasuke when I went out. Nothing worth mentioning."
"You're that good!? How do you do it?" Shibata's eyes seemed to sparkle.
"Heh, it's simple. I've been eating fast food for so long that I die fast."
Shibata: ?
Before you continue