Chapter 328

He had no idea that things would affect him, and he was not prepared to pay any money.

Of course! He's the only son of the Koenji Zaibatsu, the sole heir to the zaibatsu!

He wouldn't care at all if they talked about evaluations or anything like that.

So, something this interesting is definitely worth watching!

He not only wanted to look, he wanted to open his eyes wide to see!

Unfortunately, the tense standoff lasted only a moment, and the anticipated fight never began.

Asakusa Toru took a small step forward, tiptoed slightly, and leaned close to Hirata Yosuke's ear.

"Junior high school, friends, bullying, suicide."

Four keywords, eight words, an incredibly precise statement.

This caused Hirata Yosuke's face to instantly lose all color.

This is a shadow he can never escape in his entire life.

Why would he say that?

The man in front of him was not any of his junior high school classmates, yet he accurately described his trauma.

... Although his fellow villagers probably all know about the violent incidents he caused, the root cause, the few words that run deep in his heart, are absolutely impossible to know easily.

I...

"Do you want everyone to know your true nature? To know that Hirata Yosuke is actually a coward who would stand by and watch his friends die, simply because he's afraid of being bullied himself, allowing his friends to be bullied step by step until they commit suicide?"

He was still talking.

"To put it bluntly, you don't really care about your so-called classmates. Whether you protect them or not makes no difference to you. You're just delusional, trying to prove that you were capable of taking action back then through such actions."

"But the more you prove it this way, the clearer it becomes that 'you didn't actually do anything' is the real fact, isn't it?"

"That's enough. No one needs you to use them as a substitute for your own atonement."

One sentence after another, one sentence after another.

The cold words and the sharp, pointed silver knife pierced the heart of this hypocritical vampire, whose darkness made him unable to face the sunlight.

No... I'm not, I'm not...

Trembling, she wanted to back away, resisting and trying to wave her hands. For a moment, the face of the man in front of her seemed to overlap with that of her friend who had committed suicide.

Then.

"Okay, transfer the money."

It shattered instantly.

... He wasn't my childhood friend.

Instead, it was that scoundrel who blatantly stole all the class's money.

I should resist him; I stood up for him precisely to resist him.

But, but...

"Bite."

My hands started moving unconsciously.

"Yes, I received it."

Asakusa Toru nodded with a smile, then looked at the others.

After glancing around and exchanging glances with everyone, Asakusa Toru said softly:

"Going through them one by one is too much trouble. The rest of you, please line up and come up to the stage. I will check and verify everyone's payment."

"But don't rush, don't cut in line, it will be your turn eventually."

This time, no one voiced their opposition or resistance.

Beneath the queue led by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was paying, and with Karuizawa Kei silently refusing to be the one to stand up for the girls, the situation was quite different.

One after another.

As the queue gradually decreased, the funds in Asakusa Toru's Personal Terminal gradually became abundant.

Although the initial joy of receiving 100,000 points turned into a huge drop of 10,000, the fact that these Private Points, which they didn't actually hold for very long, actually made the classmates feel much better.

At least for now, they are not showing much resistance.

Chabashira Sae remained silent and let things go; she truly hadn't expected Asakusa Toru to be able to accomplish something so smoothly.

If they were truly that powerful, wouldn't it have been better to use force to control them from the start and enforce discipline?

She couldn't understand.

But...

There is one more person.

There's another guy who definitely won't get paid.

Koenji Zaibatsu, heir to the Koenji Rokusuke.

As the last person completed the transfer and the queue disappeared, all eyes finally turned to Koenji Rokusuke.

This muscular blond man was already quite conspicuous, especially as everyone gradually moved forward with the queue, yet he continued to nonchalantly fix his hair in front of his Personal Terminal's front-facing camera.

Many people are looking forward to it.

You either hope he'll resist, or you hope he'll stumble and fall.

No one believed that Asakusa Toru would let him off alone.

Because this is the last thing you should do.

Indeed, Asakusa Toru would not let Koenji Rokusuke.

"Oh, so after defeating the entire class, I'm the final boss I have to face?"

As he watched Asakusa Toru walk down from the podium and arrive at his seat, Koenji Rokusuke spread his arms wide.

"But unfortunately, I will not submit to you, even if you seem to have defeated many people. I will never be defeated."

He continued talking to himself, glancing around at the gazes that filled him with anticipation, tension, and amusement, before bursting into laughter.

"Hahahaha, it seems you don't know me well enough, young ladies. My name is Koenji Rokusuke, the only son of the Koenji Zaibatsu, and a man who will one day shoulder the responsibilities of Japan society!"

As expected, as his words resounded, those around him began to whisper among themselves under astonished gazes.

"Hey, hey, hey, that Koenji Zaibatsu?"

"Why is he here, and in Class D no less? Didn't that guy say class rankings are linked to evaluations?"

"You can tell at a glance, they're just rich kids or something."

However, unexpectedly, the admiring glances that would normally garner upon mentioning his name and introducing himself turned slightly into disdain.

Hmph, as expected of a bunch of ignorant fools from Class D, they don't know how to appreciate beauty.

Never mind, compared to those guys.

The man in front of me is more important.

This has really piqued my interest after a long time.

"Really?" He spoke softly, his manner identical to when he treated Hirata Yosuke. He closed the distance and began a devilish whisper, "You entered university with a responsibility, you entered university with a mission."

"The collusion between conglomerates and politicians is so obvious that any overt contact would be a weakness. That's why you enrolled here. The reason you chose Advanced Nurturing over Shuchiin is precisely this. From beginning to end, you had only one purpose in enrolling: to become the bridge that allowed your father and the person behind this school, the one from Kijima, to have a seemingly natural meeting."

"So you don't mind being assigned to Class D; in fact, it might even serve as a form of disguise."

Asakusa Toru's words made Koenji Rokusuke's previously beaming expression turn ugly. He had only intended to hear what profound opinions this guy had for him, but having his purpose exposed so bluntly right from the start was truly embarrassing for him.

What made him even uglier was what came next.

"But none of that matters. What matters is that you are the sole heir to the conglomerate, a member of the upper class's second-rate elites. Even being assigned to Class D cannot change your inherent value and status."

"So here's the question: if 'Koenji Rokusuke' were forced to drop out of school like a stray dog by a bunch of useless Class D students, what would people around him think? What would they say? And where would you, the heir to the Koenji Zaibatsu, be placed?"

This is a threat.

Do you think I can't do it?

Koenji was about to put on a cold smile and retort, but suddenly, out of nowhere, a memory, whether it existed or not, came flooding back.

It has appeared.

Next, I will announce the results of the supplementary Special Exam.

'Last place should have gone to Kanji Ike, who garnered thirty-five Criticism Vote.'

Unfortunately, he transferred to another class.

'Therefore, the order is postponed, and you are last, Koenji Rokusuke.'

"The results are correct, and the school will allow a revote, so although it's regrettable, please withdraw from the school."

The classroom of Class D, non-existent memories, a tense atmosphere, and a confident smile playing on my lips.

Then, the result, which left smiles frozen, was announced.

An utterly ugly protest? A completely unattractive denial of the outcome?

The truth is, he, Koenji Rokusuke, was tricked by these guys he once completely looked down upon, like a dead dog.

He dropped out of school on the spot.

Koenji Rokusuke: "...?"

The fleeting memory vanished in an instant, and my thoughts involuntarily returned to reality.

The man in front of her had just threatened her.

And this memory...

Is it an illusion? A hallucination? Or... a warning?

Koenji Rokusuke was unaware of this, but he suddenly realized that he could no longer open his mouth to utter a rebuttal.

Side Story: Classroom of the Elite 5 - Everyone Scores Zero

We've collected most of the money.

Asakusa Toru 'Personal Terminal balance also reached 3.61 million.

The welfare fund, as a safeguard, and the discipline given to these Class D scumbags, are sufficient.

Next, it's time to issue more detailed commands.

"Whoa, you're still here?"

However, before that, Asakusa Toru, who had returned to the podium, looked at Chabashira Sae, who was still standing to the side, with an extremely obvious look of disdain.

"Do homeroom teachers really exist? Just watching students do things that seem like bullying other students, just witnessing students stealing money from other students and doing nothing at all?"

Although it might seem a bit subtle for him to say this himself, Asakusa Toru really didn't expect Chabashira Sae to go to this extent.

He really deserves applause.

Chabashira Sae: "..."

What exactly do you want, buddy?

Do you want me to stop you? Do you want me to report you to the school? Or do you want me to use my authority as the homeroom teacher to reprimand and order you around?

She had been standing by and doing nothing, but she still ended up getting slapped.

Thankfully, she's not a dog, otherwise, she'd be furious.

But precisely because she wasn't a dog, but someone who needed to consider things like saving face, she couldn't remain silent at this moment.

"I won't interfere in matters between students."

She said it expressionlessly.

"Ha, that sounds nice." Although he scoffed, Asakusa Toru didn't press the issue further. Instead, he picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a line of large characters on the blackboard, "'Zero Point Plan'. Under this name, I need to explain the class's future strategy in advance."

"No opinions are allowed, only execution is permitted."