Classroom of the Elite: After the Intel Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me! 26

"I knew it would end up like this..." Shimizu Akira, sitting at his desk, rested his forehead in one hand and let out a helpless sigh.

To be honest, he had anticipated this result; he wasn't even the slightest bit surprised.

For the people in this class, who would be willing to cough up 25,000 private points for no apparent reason?

What's more, this was a decision made unilaterally by Chabashira Sae.

Of course, whether the class fees could be successfully collected from the other 39 people had absolutely nothing to do with him.

After all, Chabashira Sae had already personally handed the full one million points into his hands.

But then again—

This move by Chabashira Sae was truly brilliant. She actually had those two serve as deputy class representatives to collect the class fees on her behalf.

She really had it all calculated.

As a teacher, it was indeed inconvenient to intervene directly in the collection of class fees.

"Everyone, please calm down and listen to me!" Hirata Yosuke raised his voice, attempting to quell the commotion in the classroom.

He cleared his throat, his tone sincere and firm.

"Let's make a hypothesis: what would happen if we didn't have this information?" He looked around at his classmates. "If people continue to skip class and violate school rules, by the beginning of next month, our class points might be down to two or three hundred, or even lower."

The classroom gradually quieted down, and the students began to seriously consider this possibility.

"But now it's different!" Hirata's voice was infectious. "It's only been a week since school started, and we've already grasped the key rules. As long as we avoid making mistakes, we could very well maintain seven or eight hundred points by the end of the month!"

He paused, letting the number settle in everyone's hearts. "More importantly, in the early stages of the school year, whichever class can establish a points advantage first will be able to take the initiative in the upcoming competition. Buying this head start for one million points is absolutely worth it!"

Kushida Kikyou added at the right moment: "Besides, this fee isn't actually much when split among everyone. Isn't it a very cost-effective investment to trade 25,000 points for the tens of thousands of private points we'll receive every month for the next three years?"

Rustling whispers began to fill the classroom, and the expressions of many students had already softened.

"I object!" It was Karuizawa Kei again. She played with her fingernails and laughed, "You honor students can say that easily! But for those of us who don't have many points to begin with, 25,000 is an astronomical figure! My points have very important uses!"

A flash of displeasure crossed Kushida Kikyou's eyes, but she quickly replaced it with a gentle smile: "Karuizawa-san, I completely understand your thoughts. How about this! I'll give everyone some time to prepare; just hand in the points on time after school tomorrow."

Hirata took over the conversation at the right moment: "Students who are truly having difficulties can discuss it with me privately. I can lend some points to them, but the spots are limited—only two or three people at most."

Horikita Suzune crossed her arms, her cold gaze sweeping over the clamor in the classroom.

(One million points for this level of information... it's practically dirt cheap. Why do these guys keep complaining?)

The incessant complaints around her hit her nerves like a blunt instrument.

(It's a complete waste of my time...)

(The very existence of these people is lowering the standards of this school.)

Suddenly, her fingers froze in mid-air.

(Wait... 25,000 points?)

(I remember... in my account... I seem to have less than 10,000 points left.)

046 Beware of Nagumo Miyabi

Just as Shimizu Akira stepped into his dorm, his phone vibrated.

The screen displayed a message from Chabashira Sae:

[Chabashira Sae: From now on, if you discover information beneficial to the class, you can contact me directly or inform those two deputy class representatives. As for the reward... you name your price.]

[Chabashira Sae: Have those two collect the class fees, and I will provide the corresponding reward through the budget allocation.]

[Chabashira Sae: A fair trade, right? Now you should be willing to contribute to Class D, right?]

The corners of Shimizu Akira's mouth curled upward. This homeroom teacher was much shrewder than he had imagined—at least she understood the trade-offs better than most of the students in Class D.

He tapped the screen quickly to reply:

[Shimizu Akira: As expected of Chabashira-sensei, this proposal is indeed brilliant. Speaking of which... has sensei successfully led her own class to Class A?]

After the message showed as read, the other party replied quickly:

[Chabashira Sae: ...No.]

[Chabashira Sae: Shimizu, you still haven't answered my question directly.]

Shimizu Akira stared at the screen and pondered for a moment.

[Shimizu Akira: Deal. As long as the reward is reasonable, I am very happy to engage in this equivalent exchange.]

He truly had no reason to refuse.

All along, the reason Shimizu Akira was unwilling to contribute to Class D was simple—no one likes to be a sucker who does thankless work.

And now, the equivalent exchange scheme proposed by Chabashira Sae perfectly resolved this contradiction.

Since he could receive a corresponding return for his efforts, he was naturally willing to cooperate.

[Chabashira Sae: By the way, Shimizu, in your opinion, who is more suitable to be the class representative, Hirata Yosuke or Kushida Kikyou? Which person is more conducive to the development of Class D?]

Seeing this sudden inquiry, Shimizu Akira's fingers hovered over the screen, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.

Why would the homeroom teacher be asking for his opinion? And on the decision of a class representative, no less?

[Chabashira Sae: As long as you provide an answer, I will give you an additional piece of important information regarding the second-year students.]

Shimizu Akira was taken aback. Although Chabashira Sae usually appeared lazy, she always kept her word.

Since she had offered information as an exchange, it would certainly not be an empty promise.

Shimizu Akira's fingers paused on the screen for a moment before he slowly typed out a line: [My answer is—neither of them is particularly suitable to be the class representative.]

He thought for a moment and added: [Why must we be so fixated on the title of class representative? Class A is also led by Katsuragi and Sakayanagi, and it runs just fine. Why not simply leave the position vacant and have them compete based on actual contributions—whoever does more for the class serves as the class representative for the following month.]

In fact, this management style was common in the workplace—intentionally leaving a promotion position vacant could stimulate an employee's competitive spirit.

In his view, maintaining a healthy competition between Hirata and Kushida was the best way to keep the class dynamic.

[This avoids excessive concentration of power while continuously mobilizing their enthusiasm.] He concluded, [Compared to a fixed candidate, a dynamic competitive mechanism might be more suitable for the current Class D. And in my opinion, perhaps Horikita Suzune will also become one of the leaders in the future.]

The phone screen remained silent for a long time, so long that Shimizu Akira almost thought the conversation had ended, before Chabashira Sae's reply finally arrived.

[Chabashira Sae: Horikita Suzune? Based on her? I haven't seen any changes in her yet.]

[Chabashira Sae: ...Sometimes I really wonder if you are actually a high school student...]

[Chabashira Sae: To think you would use workplace management logic to analyze class issues...]

After another moment, a new message popped up:

[Chabashira Sae: ...But it is indeed a good plan.]

[Chabashira Sae: Class D will be implementing this plan moving forward.]

Shimizu Akira vaguely sensed that he was manipulating the entirety of Class D from behind the scenes.

After all, even his homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, was seeking his advice.

However, since the other party had promised an equivalent exchange of information, it wasn't a loss.

Shimizu Akira: So, where is your information of equal value?

Chabashira Sae: ...In the second-year Class A, there is a person named Nagumo Miyabi.

Shimizu Akira frowned, not expecting her to suddenly throw out someone else's name.

Shimizu Akira: So, what does this have to do with me?

Chabashira Sae: Think about it carefully... how did you obtain that information?

Shimizu Akira replied nonchalantly: I bought it from a senior in the second-year Class D.

Chabashira Sae: The entire second year is currently under the control of Nagumo Miyabi, and Class D is no exception. He issued a strict order—forbidding any second-year student from violating any school rules, and selling information is one of them.

Shimizu Akira: The reason?

Chabashira Sae: It's simple. Violating school rules results in a deduction of class points, and a decrease in class points... means the personal points they can "tribute" to Nagumo each month will also shrink. That is his logic.

Chabashira Sae: So, I am now very curious, how exactly did you manage to buy this information under Nagumo Miyabi's control?

Shimizu Akira's mouth opened slightly as he suddenly understood.

No wonder that senior had specifically emphasized that she was "short on points lately" during the transaction.

Thinking back now, that was clearly a hint that she was taking a risk under Nagumo Miyabi's ban.

—He had likely stumbled upon a massive bargain at the time.

As expected of someone specifically marked by the information system.

Chabashira Sae: Don't overthink it. The current Student Council President is still in office, and Nagumo Miyabi, as the Vice President, is currently focusing his energy on dealing with classes other than the third-year Class A. I am just giving you a heads-up; there is a high probability that he has completely ignored you.

Shimizu Akira read this message twice.

—Nagumo Miyabi is actually the Vice President of the Student Council?

This discovery left him deep in thought.

Since they are both in the Student Council, Horikita Manabu should know this person very well.

But on second thought, as an ordinary freshman like him, he probably didn't even qualify to enter the other party's line of sight.

In the power structure of the Student Council, the Vice President is second only to the President.

"Right now, I probably don't even count as a minor character in his eyes."

Just as Chabashira said, Nagumo Miyabi is currently busy expanding his influence among the third years.

How could such a big shot have the time to pay attention to a newly enrolled freshman?

"Speaking of which, it's about time." Shimizu Akira looked down at his phone screen, which showed it was now 7:10 PM.

He pulled up today's information interface and read the third piece of information again.

[Information 3: Tonight at 19:55, Horikita Suzune will suffer physical punishment from Horikita Manabu behind the freshman dormitory.]

"Perfect... I can meet that Student Council President." Shimizu Akira thought to himself, "To be safe, I'll also take the opportunity to ask him about that Nagumo Miyabi."

047 Horikita Suzune: So, all my points went to Shimizu Akira!

Horikita Suzune lay quietly on her bed, refreshing her point balance interface once again.

"9900 points..."

She stared at the number on the screen, repeating it in a low voice as her brows furrowed involuntarily.

She had to scrape together 25,000 points by the end of school tomorrow—this figure weighed on her heart like a heavy stone.

With her current balance, she was still far off.

Furthermore, even if she managed to scrape enough together, she still needed to reserve a portion of points to cover her daily expenses.

In fact, although Horikita Suzune came from a wealthy background, she had developed thrifty habits from a young age.

Since the start of school, she had deliberately avoided purchasing expensive items, always seeking out more cost-effective alternatives.

There were no designer stationery items in her locker, her uniform was always kept neat, and she never bought unnecessary casual clothes on a whim.

Even when dining at the cafeteria, she would carefully calculate every expense to ensure her points were spent only on the most essential things.

Yet, even so, the current shortfall in points still made her feel a hint of anxiety.

"My points... where exactly did they go?"

Horikita Suzune gently bit her lower lip, her fingertips sliding rapidly across the terminal screen to pull up her detailed transaction history.

Fortunately, every expenditure had a clear record, and she decided to carefully check them from the beginning.

The first day of school—

Because she had deliberately streamlined her luggage, she had been forced to purchase a large number of necessities: shampoo, laundry detergent, a washbasin, toothpaste... plus the cost of three meals a day. These were unavoidable expenses, totaling 3000 points.

Balance: 97,000 points

The second day—

A bottle of mineral water, three simple hairpins, and her daily three meals.

Expenditure: 1500 points

Balance: 95,500 points