A Classroom of the Elite: After the Intelligence Update, They All Want to Win Me Over! Chapter 49

"Thanks." Shimizu Akira took the tissue and wiped his hands, then picked up another piece of freshly grilled meat. "But seriously, the meat you grill tastes way better than mine."

Horikita Suzune gave a soft snort, but the tongs in her hand moved of their own accord, laying a few more slices of meat on the grill.

Now everyone in Class D owed me points

Shimizu Akira patted his round belly, feeling that he'd eaten a little too much this time.

There was no denying that Horikita Suzune was good at grilling meat.

The meat had just the right amount of firmness without being too tough to chew.

Only then did he realize that, apart from the plate he'd clumsily grilled at the beginning, Horikita Suzune had cooked almost everything else.

Shimizu Akira's gaze drifted around the restaurant.

At the other tables, the boys were all eagerly serving their female companions. It really was unusual to see a pair like them, with the girl doing all the grilling.

What bothered him even more was that Horikita Suzune seemed focused entirely on grilling and had barely touched her own food.

"Let me take over. You should eat something too." Shimizu Akira reached out naturally.

Horikita Suzune's movements visibly paused. Her fingers tightened slightly, then relaxed, before she handed him the tongs. "...All right."

Shimizu Akira caught a fleeting trace of reluctance in her eyes.

The discovery surprised him. So even the seemingly aloof Horikita Suzune could feel reluctant over something this small?

Just as I thought...

Shimizu Akira chuckled to himself.

His initial impression had been right. Horikita Suzune might seem haughty, but she was especially considerate toward people she approved of.

That was gap moe for you.

"By the way..." Shimizu Akira casually turned the meat over as he spoke. "Would it be all right if I just called you Horikita from now on?"

He'd been using an honorific all this time, but he felt they'd grown much closer.

Horikita Suzune was nibbling on her grilled meat. At his question, she lifted her eyes.

She paused as if deep in thought, then said, "...I'll allow it."

The dinner ended up costing Shimizu Akira nearly eight thousand Private Points.

As they paid at the register, Horikita Suzune gave him a probing look, seemingly astonished that he'd spent so freely.

Shimizu Akira simply completed the payment as if nothing were out of the ordinary, ignoring her subtle reaction.

During the meal, his phone screen had lit up again and again as several important messages came in.

Student Council President Horikita Manabu had sent a notice: Classes A, B, and C had officially signed surveillance-system rental agreements with the Student Council.

The attached breakdown of Class Points transfers showed that, after deducting the five-percent fee, the deal had earned him 8.55 million points. Of course, that included the 1.2 million points Shimizu Akira had put in himself.

Adding the 160,000 yen he'd already had, his balance now stood at 8.71 million points.

He certainly wasn't short on points anymore.

However, this seemingly effortless windfall had actually depended on his clever use of the school's surveillance equipment.

He knew better than anyone that an opportunity like this was rare. If it hadn't been the first month of the new students' enrollment, when Class Points mattered enormously to every class, the deal would never have gone so smoothly.

His phone vibrated again. Three messages arrived in quick succession from the leaders of different classes:

Ryuen Kakeru: Why are all the surveillance recordings from the first week blank?

Ichinose Honami: I've received confirmation of access.

Sakayanagi Arisu: The first week's data has been wiped so thoroughly. What exactly did you do?

Shimizu Akira's fingers hovered above the screen for a moment before he simply logged out of the temporary account he'd registered.

Let the three of them figure it out.

The deal was already done, anyway.

He wasn't a customer service representative for Taobao. He'd never promised any after-sales service.

Shimizu Akira glanced at the message on his phone again.

The message from Student Council President Horikita Manabu was brief and to the point:

Horikita Manabu: Kushida Kikyou of Class 1-D has applied to pay the 3 million points this time with a school loan. What do you think?

Shimizu Akira furrowed his brows slightly and quickly typed a reply:

Shimizu Akira: President, could you explain the specific loan policies?

Horikita Manabu's reply appeared quickly:

Horikita Manabu: The Student Council assesses each class's Class Points based on the performance of previous classes, then sets the corresponding loan terms. The loan amount will be forcibly deducted from students' Private Points next month. This policy was originally created to promote products such as phones and cameras. The school considered it an educational exercise in social practice and incorporated it into the official system.

Shimizu Akira thought it over briefly before asking another question:

Shimizu Akira: Does Class D really qualify?

Horikita Manabu's reply was detailed and professional:

Horikita Manabu: All classes meet the basic requirements. Based on the first-month performance of previous Class D cohorts, their average Class Points were 350, corresponding to a loan of 1.4 million Private Points per class. Given the special circumstances of this surveillance-equipment rental, the Student Council has raised the assessment benchmark for this loan to 500 Class Points. On that basis, Class D can borrow a total of 2 million points this time. (Next month, each student will have to repay 50,000 points.)

Shimizu Akira immediately spotted the key issue:

Shimizu Akira: But I need 3 million.

Horikita Manabu: There's next month, too. If that's not enough, we'll keep deducting points. There's a five-percent interest charge every month, anyway.

Shimizu Akira pressed further. "Then what if that class's Class Points drop all the way to zero?"

Horikita Manabu's reply carried a hint of meaning: "Don't worry. In the school's history, no class has ever received zero points for three consecutive years."

Shimizu Akira understood at once. It seemed the school had quietly built in a safety net so that no class would actually be allowed to collapse completely.

After all, the school was trying to select better people for society, not make students live on dirt for three years.

Horikita Manabu sent him another option: "You can also refuse the loan and sell the surveillance equipment directly to the school. The buyback price is 400,000 per unit."

"I'll accept the loan." Shimizu Akira made up his mind almost without hesitation.

He calculated silently: given the current situation, there was no way Class D would end up with zero points.

The points deducted during the first week were beyond recovery, but with the surveillance equipment and their advance understanding of the rules, he conservatively estimated they could get at least 400 Class Points this month.

If they couldn't even manage 400 Class Points, then some people in Class D really would be beyond saving.

Shimizu Akira carefully read the installment repayment plan Horikita Manabu sent him:

Horikita Manabu: Repayment plan:

Second month: Class D repays 1.8 million points (45,000 Private Points automatically deducted from each student per month).

Third month: Class D repays 1.2 million + 60,000 (five-percent interest) (31,500 Private Points automatically deducted from each student per month).

"So everyone in the class owes me points? That's kind of interesting. I've become the creditor of 39 people."

Looking at the repayment plan, Shimizu Akira suddenly realized there was a problem—as an "ordinary student" in Class D, he'd have to share the repayment just like everyone else.

He'd have to contribute 75,000 Private Points toward the class expenses.

But 75,000 points were just a drop in the ocean compared to his eight-million-plus balance.

Hello, classmate. I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C.

Horikita Suzune was just about to discuss tutoring with Shimizu Akira when both their phones vibrated at the same time.

"Kushida says everyone in the class should gather in the classroom..." Horikita read the notice softly.

"Let's go. There's probably another important announcement." Shimizu Akira gave her a look, and the two of them hurried toward the classroom.

The cafeteria wasn't far from the Class D classroom. They were back in less than five minutes.

The classroom gradually filled up.

Kushida Kikyou put on her signature sweet smile and clapped her hands.

"Everyone, I've worked out a way with the Student Council to cover the 3 million points. They've offered us a special loan service, and based on their estimate of our Class Points next month, we passed the assessment."

The murmurs in the classroom gradually quieted, and everyone listened closely as Kushida explained.

"Simply put, we can use next month's Private Points in advance to cover this expense." She looked around the classroom, her tone light and cheerful. "So in May, everyone will have to pay 45,000 Private Points, and in June, 31,500 Private Points, of which 1,500 is additional interest."

"I can live with that."

"Based on how our class has been doing, we should get seven or eight hundred Class Points next month, right? We only have to pay half, so we can clear the debt in two months. No problem!"

Most of the class readily agreed.

Kushida Kikyou added with a sweet smile, "But everyone has to sign in person. Otherwise, the Student Council won't approve the loan."

As she spoke, she took the contract from the Student Council and began making her way around the classroom.

Every student cooperated and signed their name.

When she reached Shimizu Akira, she leaned forward slightly and handed him the papers and a pen. "Shimizu, you're the last one~"

Shimizu Akira took the papers, his gaze casually skimming the page. Since he sat toward the back, it was already densely covered with his classmates' signatures.

These are all the classmates who are about to owe me money...

Now I have to sign my own name too. Does that mean I'll owe myself money?

I'll never be able to repay Shimizu Akira for all he's done for me.

The amusing thought made him shake his head.

He signed his name briskly and returned the papers to Kushida.

With signatures from the entire class, Kushida Kikyou slowly left the classroom.

Shimizu Akira and Horikita Suzune walked into the library side by side.

They strolled down the aisles between the shelves, eventually finding a quiet study area deep inside the library.

Several rows of long wooden tables stood neatly arranged, with a friendly reminder tacked to each corner: "Discussion Area—Please Keep Your Voices Down."

"Shimizu, go find a junior-high Japanese textbook first," Horikita Suzune said softly, taking a brand-new hardcover book from her schoolbag and sitting down at one of the tables.

Shimizu Akira happened to catch the English title on the cover: And Then There Were None.

He raised his brows slightly. Wasn't this one of Agatha Christie's classics?

He remembered the groundbreaking story: ten people trapped on an island, dying one by one under mysterious circumstances... As the originator of the locked-room mystery setup, it had inspired countless works that came after it.

From Detective Conan to The Kindaichi Case Files, and even Ryukishi07's Umineko When They Cry, the influence of that classic could be seen everywhere.

Shimizu Akira noticed that at some point she'd stopped calling him the stiff "Shimizu-san" and switched to the more familiar "Shimizu-kun."

The small change stirred something in him, but seeing her cool, unapproachable expression, he decided to pretend he hadn't noticed.

If he pointed it out, Horikita would probably go right back to acting distant, and their tutoring session would be off.

His gaze swept over the library's spacious interior again.

The design really was distinctive. In addition to the traditional reading areas, there were several semi-open study spaces.

Not far away, a few upperclassmen sat around a table, quietly discussing an assignment.

The library at this fully enclosed school was truly enormous.

Books of every kind were neatly arranged by category, from basic textbooks to specialized works.

That made sense. On a campus almost entirely cut off from the outside world, the library was naturally the most important source of knowledge.

Shimizu Akira walked over to the service desk and asked the librarian, who was sorting through books, "Excuse me. Which section has the junior-high Japanese textbooks?"

The librarian, a kind-looking woman wearing round glasses, looked up and pointed to the southeast corner. "The third row of shelves in Section D. They're sorted by grade and subject."

"Thanks." Shimizu Akira walked past several tall bookshelves.

He stopped in front of a shelf labeled "Junior-High Textbooks."

Detailed Explanation of Modern Japanese Fundamentals, Introduction to Japanese, A Detailed Guide to Grammar... All kinds of textbooks were neatly arranged on the shelves.