Classroom of the Elite, After the Intel Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me! 23

Shimizu Akira admitted it without a second thought, "...Yes."

Since the other party had already spoken to this extent, there was no need for him to lie intentionally.

"Shimizu-kun, you must be the first person in Class D to discover those hidden rules. So..." She straightened her expression, "I am considering appointing you as the class representative. What are your thoughts?"

"With all due respect, I refuse." Shimizu Akira's answer was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Chabashira Sae raised an eyebrow slightly: "Reason?"

"Because—" His voice was very calm, "I don't want to be a blood bag."

In the first month of school, Class D's class points ended in a miserable "zero"—the gap between them and the other classes was like a chasm.

Shimizu Akira calculated secretly that if he took on this hot potato of a class representative position, he would likely be dragged to his death by these classmates who couldn't be helped.

"So... is this the reason you chose to hide the information from the whole class?" Chabashira Sae looked at him thoughtfully.

Suddenly, she changed the subject: "Then what if... I force you to lead Class D on the condition of your expulsion?"

"..." Shimizu Akira's gaze swept sharply over the homeroom teacher, "I'm afraid this doesn't comply with the school's rules, right? After all, the principal's goal is to cultivate students who possess 'talent'."

As he spoke, he calmly pushed Horikita Suzune half a step forward: "Furthermore, this is the younger sister of Horikita-senpai. Do you need me to contact the Student Council president right now and report this... somewhat foolish threat of yours?"

He hadn't been hearing rumors about the Student Council for nothing these past few days; the power of the Student Council president was even greater than the authority of the teachers.

Horikita Suzune was slightly stunned upon hearing this, and then she shot a cold glare at Shimizu Akira—this guy actually dared to use her as a shield without permission.

But she still lifted her chin and spoke in an indifferent tone: "...Chabashira-sensei, with your seniority, you shouldn't be making such a foolish decision."

"The Student Council president... is your brother?" Chabashira Sae's gaze shifted between the two, and she suddenly realized, "So that's it... The surname Horikita is indeed rare."

"...I didn't really intend to threaten you." Her tone softened a little.

In truth, such a thought had indeed flashed through her mind—but on second thought, in this era, a high school transfer was hardly a catastrophic disaster.

What's more...

She observed Shimizu Akira's reaction calmly.

This was nothing more than a carefully designed probe, just like a chemistry teacher using reagents to test a student's ability to respond to a situation.

As a result, the other party's reaction was indeed about what she had expected.

Chabashira Sae tapped her fingertips on the desk: "If I say... I want to buy the class information from you for 1 million points, on the condition that you share this information with your classmates—what do you think?"

Shimizu Akira was stunned.

This proposal itself was shocking enough, but what surprised him even more was the person who made it.

This homeroom teacher, who had always been slacking off, was now taking the initiative to intervene in the information war between classes? This was completely different from her usual image of "letting things take their own course."

"Is the teacher... suddenly interested in class competition?" Shimizu Akira narrowed his eyes slightly, "Actually willing to spend 1 million points?"

"Don't look at me with those eyes." Chabashira Sae replied coldly: "Just like you, I don't intend to be a sucker either."

As she spoke, she pulled a document out of her bag, her slender fingers tapping lightly on the paper: "After all, this is strategic information for the whole class. I will hold a class meeting tomorrow. 25,000 points per person; of course, I will pay your 25,000 points out of my own pocket. The condition is simple—" Chabashira Sae paused, "Just reveal the news 'inadvertently' to Kushida Kikyou or Hirata Yosuke. Or you can just say it yourself! I only allow one of you three to reveal this information."

"How about it?" Chabashira Sae leaned forward slightly, her fingertips tapping the desk, "You get the reward you deserve, and the whole class pays the price they should, without you having to step forward yourself."

A faint, imperceptible smile curled the corners of her mouth, "From any angle, this is a fair trade, isn't it? As long as you agree on the spot, I will immediately transfer the 1 million points from my account to you."

Shimizu Akira's gaze lingered on his phone for a long time; the string of numbers glowed coldly on the screen—a full 1 million points, obtained so easily.

He rubbed his chin lightly, calculating the gains and losses of this transaction in his mind.

Information exchanged for 10,000 points had turned into 100 times that in the blink of an eye; no matter how you looked at it, it was a profitable deal.

He had originally been worried about whether those people in Class D would obediently hand over their points, but he hadn't expected Chabashira Sae to pay the full amount directly.

—In other words, she intended to step forward herself to be the "villain" and collect the 25,000-point "information fee" from everyone in the class.

(Wait, can teachers openly collect class fees? What if other students report her?)

"...Deal." He finally nodded, "It is indeed a fair and reasonable trade."

Chabashira chuckled and neatly put the document into her drawer: "A wise choice. Then, I look forward to your good news."

After the two finished the transaction, Chabashira Sae suddenly turned her head, as if she had only just noticed Horikita Suzune.

"Almost forgot..." She tapped her fingertips on the desk and turned to Horikita Suzune, who had been standing quietly on the side, "Tell me, what do you want to ask?"

ps: Tomorrow's update will be at 2 AM on Monday, but I will release 10 chapters at once to boost the ranking.

041 Who should I tell the information to?

"Then I'll be blunt. Why was I assigned to Class D? My entrance exam scores should have been very good! Shouldn't I have been assigned to Class A?"

"Why do you rate yourself so highly? Where does your confidence come from? Based on social skills alone, you are the worst in Class D! There is no mistake in the class assignment—because your ability only qualifies you to stay in Class D, you are a defective product!"

Horikita took half a step back and said coldly: "Regarding whether I am suitable... I will verify it with the school myself."

"Be my guest." Chabashira Sae sneered and flipped through the roster on her desk, "But before that—" Her fingertip tapped heavily on a certain name, "Why not ask your amazing older brother first? Horikita Manabu."

Chabashira's voice suddenly softened, but it cut through the air like a dull knife, "In his first year, he gained the support of the vast majority of students and became the first student in history to be elected Student Council president as a first-year student." She suddenly slammed the roster in front of Horikita, "The current you can't even reach the shadow of who he was back then."

The page of the roster that was opened happened to be a group photo of the Student Council members, and Horikita Manabu was standing in the center of the photo.

Shimizu Akira noticed Horikita Suzune's breathing hitch for a split second—the way she stared at the photo, it was as if she wanted to burn a hole right through that badge.

Chabashira Sae suddenly relaxed her tense shoulders, a hint of listlessness seeping into her tone: "However... it's not like you have absolutely no chance of promoting to Class A. As for the... specific details—"

Her finger suddenly pointed toward Shimizu Akira, who had already reached the door: "Go ask him. After all, the other 39 of you have already paid the information fee in full."

She waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.

At this very moment, Shimizu Akira already had one foot out of the office—the 1,000,000 points were safely in his pocket, and he walked away with crisp, decisive steps.

Rapid footsteps sounded from behind, and Horikita Suzune's figure was soon walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

"You..."

"Let's talk while we walk."

The operational logic of the S System wasn't actually that complex—when he first heard about these rules, the setting of Baka and Test immediately surfaced in his mind.

A similar class ranking system, and the same competitive mechanism that allowed for those below to challenge those above.

But the key difference was that the criteria this school used to judge students were clearly not as simple as just academic performance.

(What exactly is the standard for class placement?)

This question still hovered in his mind.

But from the lecture Chabashira Sae had just given Horikita Suzune, at least one thing was certain—social ability held a significant weight in the school's evaluation system.

The description "the person with the worst social skills" sounded a bit cruel.

Yet, it unexpectedly revealed the operating principles of this school.

Here, a genius who excelled in only one area while working alone might actually be judged by the system as a "defective product."

Now that he thought about it! Perhaps Class D wasn't the class with the worst overall strength after all.

"..."

After hearing the information from Shimizu Akira, Horikita Suzune's expression turned somewhat unsightly, and she turned away in silence.

She didn't even ask any questions—such as the critical issue of whether Class D still had a chance to promote to Class A through subsequent performance.

However, Shimizu Akira completely understood her feelings—when one learns that their own sibling had already led Class A to the top of the Student Council at the same age, such a disparity indeed takes time to digest.

Come to think of it, Yukinoshita Yukino also had an older sister she had always wanted to catch up to.

They were just too similar!

(But then again...)

His thoughts turned to the task Chabashira Sae had entrusted to him.

Shimizu Akira took out his phone and scrolled through his contact list, finally hovering between two names—Kushida Kikyou and Hirata Yosuke.

The 1,000,000 points had already been collected, and since he had taken them, he had to deliver; that was the law of equivalent exchange.

"The homeroom teacher really has a sharp eye for people..." Shimizu Akira couldn't help but mutter.

Chabashira saw things very clearly; the current Class D was essentially held together by these two people.

Kushida used her astonishing affinity to win people over, while Hirata used his innate leadership skills to unite the class.

As long as the information flowed into the hands of these two, it would spread throughout the entire Class D within half a day.

Shimizu Akira locked his phone screen and rested his chin on his knuckles, rubbing them gently.

Judging by the frequency of their conversations, Kushida Kikyou was undoubtedly the more suitable candidate.

That girl, who always wore a sweet smile, often took the initiative to find him to discuss matters regarding Horikita Suzune.

She checked in with him at least two or three times a day, guaranteed.

But deep down, she was truly a girl who wore a mask; her way of relieving stress was to kick doors and curse.

(By comparison...)

Hirata Yosuke was upright to the point of being dazzling.

As a fellow male, Shimizu Akira did indeed appreciate this kind of consistent character.

But the stiff expression the other had shown when seeing those two messages earlier still made him furrow his brows as he recalled it.

A model student like Hirata, who excelled in both conduct and academics, logically shouldn't have ended up in Class D—unless his file hid some unknown shadows, some fatal flaw that even his perfect facade couldn't cover up.

After all, Chabashira Sae had once said that everyone in Class D was a defective product.

However, the most pressing matter right now was creating an anonymous secondary account.

He had to act with caution—if the jealous classmates in Class D discovered his true identity, it would inevitably lead to unnecessary trouble.

Although Shimizu Akira didn't fear direct confrontation, he preferred to avoid extra complications.

What's more, with this secondary account, he could conduct trades with other classes without anyone being the wiser.

After much deliberation, creating this hidden persona was an absolute necessity.

However, Shimizu Akira soon realized a problem—all student accounts were strictly bound to personal identity information.

In other words, to remain completely anonymous, he had to find a way to obtain another legal identity.

He contacted his homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, directly: "Teacher, does the school have any anonymous transaction accounts?"

Chabashira Sae's reply was crisp and decisive: "No. All point transactions are under the school's surveillance."

"As long as I can hide it from the other students, it doesn't matter if the school knows," Shimizu Akira insisted.

Chabashira Sae was silent for a moment before sending a message: "You can open a second sub-account using your real ID for a fee of 10,000 points."

"Deal." Shimizu Akira completed the transfer without a moment's hesitation.

Almost instantly, the information for a brand-new account was sent to his terminal.

Although it was still linked to his official ID, the balance of this new account showed zero—like a blank canvas, waiting for him to splash his schemes across it.

So, who should he share this information with?

042 I want to tell Kushida from Class D an important piece of information

At night, the emergency lights in the school corridor cast pale, sickly halos into the darkness.

Kushida Kikyou stood before the iron door leading to the rooftop, her school skirt swaying with her violent movements.

"Horikita... Horikita... Horikita!"

Each time she spat out that name, her kicks grew heavier.

The metal door emitted a dull thud, sounding exceptionally harsh in the silent corridor.

"Die... die... just die already!"

Her voice was squeezed through her teeth, her sweet tone now twisted into a hideous cadence.

"It's like this again today... always like this!" Kushida Kikyou tilted her head back, growling at the mottled ceiling, "What right does that pretentious woman have to look at me like that? What right does she have to ignore me? Is winning a swimming race supposed to be such a big deal?"

"Yamauchi Haruki... Ike Kanji... they were looking at me with those lecherous eyes again today!" She chewed on these two names as if tasting something disgusting, "If it weren't for maintaining my persona, I wouldn't even bother with you! You two pieces of trash with nothing but filth in your heads, why don't you just go home already!"

She gasped for air, her breathing ragged.