There had been students in previous years who discovered the rules.
But timing was key—discovering them too late was meaningless.
Even if they discovered them, it was just as futile if they weren't willing to share them with the whole class.
What's more, getting every student in the class to strictly follow the school rules was difficult to begin with.
Those three hurdles alone were enough to weed out 99 percent of the students.
And his Class A had handled all three almost perfectly.
With two leaders, Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei, holding down the fort,
he felt certain of victory this time.
In all his years of teaching, this was the first time he'd dared make such a claim in the second week of the school year.
"Hmph! Isn't that how Class A always is? A dazzling start, followed by a miserable finish. The school year's only just begun. The real battle is still ahead!" Sakagami Kazuma pushed up his glasses and snorted.
"Oh my, what a coincidence! Students in our class just discovered the hidden rules, too~" Hoshinomiya Chie said with a bright smile.
"W-What... How did you manage that?" Sakagami Kazuma was genuinely shocked this time.
It was one thing for Class A to discover the rules, but how had Class B managed it, too...?
Hoshinomiya Chie smiled without answering, then turned cheerfully toward Chabashira Sae beside her. "Come on, Chabashira, quit pretending~ Your Class D must've spread the news long ago, right?"
Chabashira Sae merely shot her a cold sidelong glance. "...You talk too much."
Her offhand reply made Sakagami Kazuma's expression turn sour in an instant.
Class D... knew, too?!
The ones most on edge were naturally the students in Class C, who were still completely in the dark.
In previous years, Classes A and B usually sat together, while Classes C and D sat together.
Someone from Class D must have secretly told me the hidden school rules. Those 80,000 points were well spent!
But Sakagami Kazuma quickly regained his composure.
He was actually quite confident in his class.
He especially admired one of his students, Ryuen Kakeru.
In the strictest sense, they were both the sort of people who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
If Sakagami hadn't tacitly approved, Ryuen wouldn't have become the leader so quickly.
So he picked up his phone and immediately sent Ryuen a text.
Sakagami Kazuma: Ryuen, how has the class been doing lately?
Hoshinomiya Chie unconsciously hummed a little tune, her gaze occasionally drifting toward Chabashira Sae, who stood not far away.
(Oh, Chabashira, Chabashira...)
(Our class owes it to that Shimizu student of yours that we managed to get the information so smoothly this time.)
(If not for him, I wouldn't have zeroed in so quickly on that second-year student who was running out of points...)
That was right. Hoshinomiya Chie knew full well that she had deliberately approached Yamamura, a second-year student.
After just a few exchanges, Yamamura's evasive answers had confirmed that Shimizu Akira already knew all the hidden rules.
A plan had quietly taken shape in Hoshinomiya's mind.
But the school rules were absolute: teachers weren't allowed to interfere with students' actions.
So she'd spent 80,000 Private Points to make Yamamura swear to keep quiet.
The deal made it perfectly natural for Yamamura to "happen" to get in touch with Ichinose Honami.
Thinking about the wonderful expression Chabashira Sae might make when the truth came out, Hoshinomiya Chie's lips curved up in a smile, and a light, cheerful hum escaped her.
(Those 80,000 points were really well spent!)
On Thursday morning, Shimizu Akira returned to the dorm after finishing his physical training.
His sweat-soaked workout clothes clung to his back. Just as he reached for the bathroom doorknob—
[Bzz, bzz] His phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
The name flashing on the screen made his eyebrows rise: Ichinose Honami.
"Shimizu!" The woman's voice came through the phone. There was a hint of hesitation in it, but she sounded mostly resolute. "You did it, didn't you?"
Shimizu Akira's breath caught, and his fingers tightened slightly around the phone.
(What does she mean?)
The first thing that flashed through his mind was his secret alternate account.
(Did she... find out?)
(Did the million-point transaction expose me?)
(How could that be...? How did she find out?)
(Could she have worked out my real name from the "Yueqing" ID?)
But Shimizu Akira quickly calmed down and asked evenly, "What are you talking about, Ichinose? I don't understand."
"That 1.3-second pause just now was awfully suspicious~" Ichinose's amused voice came through the receiver. "So it really was you!"
"..." Shimizu Akira's expression turned conflicted.
"You were the one who told Yamamura to approach me, weren't you?" Her voice suddenly brightened. "You're... surprisingly considerate, Shimizu."
Instead of the accusation he'd expected, she'd said something entirely unrelated. Shimizu Akira was momentarily stunned.
(Yamamura? That second-year student from Class D who sold information?)
His tense shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly. At least his cover was still intact.
"Sorry, I really don't know what you're talking about." This time, he was genuinely confused.
"Heh~ Are you still going to play dumb? You know..." Ichinose's voice carried a hint of amusement. "On the second day of school, weren't you the one who took me to meet Yamamura?"
"That's true." Shimizu Akira admitted it cautiously.
"Then..." Her tone suddenly turned serious. "Shimizu, you must've bought the hidden rules from her, right?"
Shimizu Akira froze.
(What's going on...?)
(Why does the usually mild-mannered Ichinose sound like a different person today?)
(She's far too perceptive for her.)
He weighed the pros and cons.
Since she'd already seen through so much, deliberately hiding it would only come across as disrespectful.
"...That's right," he finally admitted frankly.
"I knew it..." Ichinose's voice quivered with sudden understanding. "So you deliberately arranged for Yamamura to approach me and sell me that information at a low price?"
Shimizu Akira suddenly understood what was going on and seriously explained, "It really wasn't me."
(I see...)
(Someone deliberately spent points to have Yamamura approach Class B...)
(And I met that information broker with Ichinose last week...)
(No wonder she got the wrong idea. It's quite a coincidence.)
He heard the faint rustle of fabric on the other end of the line. "Shimizu... It really wasn't you?"
"Knowing what I'm like," Shimizu Akira said, tapping the receiver with his knuckle and producing a crisp sound, "if I really wanted to help, I'd just tell you the answer directly. Why go through all this trouble and have a third party handle it?"
The other end of the line fell silent for a long time. Only the faint crackle of static could be heard.
Just as Shimizu Akira's thumb was about to slide over the hang-up button, Ichinose suddenly chuckled. "I knew it... It was you after all, Shimizu."
"It's simple," she said, her voice suddenly brightening as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon. "The four classes are all rivals. You want to keep your distance, but you can't help reaching out to lend a hand—so you chose this roundabout approach, didn't you?"
(What is with this girl? How can she come up with an explanation that actually makes sense?)
Shimizu Akira rubbed his forehead, letting out a helpless sigh.
He'd explained it so clearly, yet her thoughts were like a pair of tangled earphones, stubbornly winding back to the start.
But then again, from Ichinose's perspective, that theory did seem reasonable.
After all, every clue pointed bizarrely toward him. It was almost as if the coincidence had been carefully arranged.
"Don't worry, Shimizu..." Ichinose's voice suddenly softened, a playful lilt at the end. "I'll treasure this secret forever."
"This will be a promise just between the two of us... Hehe."
"Without your help, Class B would've been at a disadvantage during the first month of the new school year..."
"...Please accept these 80,000 points. It's not much... but when I get my points next month, I'll keep making it up to you."
"Well then—" Her speech suddenly quickened, sounding a little rushed. "Goodbye, Shimizu."
Before he could respond, the call abruptly ended.
Shimizu Akira stared at the words "Call ended" on his screen, then glanced at the 80,000 points she'd immediately transferred to him.
For the first time in a while, he fell into a long silence.
After being saddled with blame so many times, he'd never thought he'd wind up taking the credit for something good.
(Seriously! What kind of idiot does a good deed and doesn't take credit for it?!)
Kamuro Masumi: Eating the free set meal? Spend my points instead.
After returning to the dorm, Shimizu Akira took a long, satisfying hot shower.
After changing into his crisp school uniform, he sat alone in a corner of the cafeteria, chewing on his free breakfast.
80,000 points—yet again.
Including Ichinose's transfer this time, the most outstanding girls from all four classes had somehow all been connected to him by this strange number.
Oh, right! There was also Chabashira Sae's one million points.
Of course, given her age, she could hardly be called a beautiful young girl.
"My current balance is 1.37 million points..."
Shimizu Akira stared at the number on his phone and murmured to himself.
He'd already earned 1.37 million points in less than two weeks since the school year began.
He had no idea how much the other students had in their accounts, but it was undoubtedly a fortune for an ordinary high school student.
Still, these were only points that could be used within the school. They couldn't be used in the outside world.
Besides, he couldn't touch the money for now. It was meant to rent the surveillance equipment.
From today on, he had to keep a strict handle on every expense.
For this morning, he'd make do with the free breakfast.
Speaking of which, he still hadn't heard anything from the Student Council president since they parted yesterday.
But that was understandable. They'd only reached an agreement last night; he couldn't expect her to finish the job right away.
Besides, the president had made it clear that she'd have an answer by the end of the school day on Thursday at the latest.
He only had to hold out for one more day!
Once he got through this meal, he wouldn't have to scrimp and save like this anymore.
"Wow, you're really scraping by."
A woman's voice, tinged with disdain, suddenly came from above him.
Shimizu Akira snapped out of it. His gaze landed on a pair of long, shapely legs.
He looked up and saw Kamuro Masumi holding a tray and gazing down at him, her eyes full of unconcealed contempt.
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