Of course, that was only natural.
Still, Shun Aragaki felt that this alone showed why she had been placed in Class D.
What did she mean by, "How could I possibly have been put in Class D with these people?"
Her social skills were unbelievably poor. Couldn't she see that everyone else in the class was practically glaring at her?
"Do you think you're so capable that you should have been placed in Class A, Horikita?" Before Horikita Suzune could respond, Shun Aragaki continued, "Let's assume that's true. But the school gave all four classes a thousand Class Points, so everyone started from the same place."
"Besides, since Advanced Nurturing encourages competition, the four classes should be roughly equal in ability, at least to some extent. Whether they can actually put that ability to use is another matter."
"School started a week ago, and our Class B has already figured out all sorts of hidden information about the school. What have you been doing this past week, Horikita?"
That single question left Horikita Suzune speechless.
What had she been doing this past week?
She had paid close attention in class and spent a great deal of time studying after school... At any other school, she would have been the model student every teacher loved. But at Advanced Nurturing, simply being an exemplary student in the ordinary sense was nowhere near enough.
She wanted to say that she had noticed all the strange things about the school on the very first day. But it was true that she had done nothing about them. She had simply regarded them as quirks that set Advanced Nurturing apart from other schools, taken note of them, and then gone right back to immersing herself in her own world.
"Looks like Horikita has nothing to say, either. Then allow me to offer a friendly hint."
Shun Aragaki thought it over. The people in Class D seemed so unreliable that even if he gave them an exam topic, they might still find a way to lose all their points by next month. He might as well give them a morale boost.
"In the school's eyes, Classes A, B, C, and D are capable of competing against each other. That means it wouldn't make sense to put all the best students in Class A and all the worst in Class D. A competition with such a huge gap from the start would be meaningless."
"You can look into the current state of the second-years. After a year of competition, Class 2-A and Class 2-B have switched places in the rankings. By next month, something similar might happen among the first-years."
"Class rankings aren't set in stone. In theory, the school should have placed a few promising students in every class to lead it forward. Unfortunately, I haven't seen anyone like that in Class D. At this point, it's fallen to an outsider like me to shatter your illusions."
Shun Aragaki said it with a hint of regret.
He had left out a few conditions, but he could guarantee that none of what he said was false. Koenji Rokusuke, at the very least, was one of the strongest students in the entire year. The problem was that the people in Class D couldn't make him take them seriously.
Besides Koenji Rokusuke, if Kushida Kikyo and Hirata Yosuke didn't have their secrets exposed, they could serve as capable assets in any class.
As for everyone else, it was hard to say. He had only been observing them for a day, after all; he wasn't skilled enough to uncover everything about everyone in Class D.
Still, at Shun Aragaki's explanation, the people in Class D all relaxed. Quite a few of the more self-satisfied students even wore expressions that said, "So that's how it is."
They probably all thought the school had deliberately placed them there as promising candidates.
The clearest example was the cool, long-haired girl standing right in front of him.
Once she heard about the promising candidates, she accepted that this was her role without a second thought. Then, from the position of Class D's leader, she immediately challenged the person she saw as her greatest rival:
"If only one class can be the ultimate victor, then Class B and Class D are rivals too. I don't believe you'd tell us the school's secrets just because each of us pays five thousand Private Points a month. Surely it would benefit Class B more to let Class D keep losing points and widen the gap between our classes."
No matter how much she regretted having done nothing before, Horikita Suzune had to admit that Class D was the one benefiting from this deal.
If the people in her class were allowed to do whatever they wanted for a month, they could easily lose all their points next month—not just five thousand Private Points.
And that was exactly why Shun Aragaki's decision made no sense. He had given up the chance to eliminate a competitor, all for a mere two hundred thousand Private Points a month, and handed over such valuable information. Was he an idiot?
The thought flickered through her mind, then Horikita Suzune dismissed it.
As arrogant as she was, she wasn't stupid enough to believe that Shun Aragaki, who had gathered so much important information, was an idiot.
So he must have some scheme!
"Why help Class D?"
Shun Aragaki pursed his lips. He couldn't exactly say that he was worried they'd hit zero points and take all the other classes down with them, so he tossed out a plausible-sounding excuse.
"Simple. It's just a matter of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Class A and Class C are our direct rivals. If Class D is finished after the first month, then we'll have to fight a two-front war."
"Besides, you've already lost plenty of points this week. Giving you some support now will let you keep drawing Class C's attention, and you'll earn some Private Points to cover the cost of the information. It's a win-win."
Shun Aragaki made it sound so casual that anyone could hear how little he thought of Class D as a rival.
But the facts were right there. Even Horikita Suzune, who thought highly of herself, could only accept his explanation. In the end, she gritted her teeth and shot the calm Shun Aragaki a threat: "You'll regret it when we defeat Class C!"
"Whatever makes you happy." Shun Aragaki brushed off Horikita Suzune, then ignored her increasingly icy expression. Instead, to everyone's surprise, he turned his gaze toward the Three Idiots in Class D.
"Yamauchi and Ike, your talents have amazed me. How about I give you each a hundred thousand Private Points in exchange for a deal?"
"Huh?!" The class chorused.
Most of Class D cried out in astonishment. Shun Aragaki's offer was simply too absurd.
Even Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike looked around at each other. Once they realized he really was talking to them, they both wore smug expressions.
"Ha ha ha! Someone finally sees the talent of a genius like me!"
"Another hundred thousand Private Points! The latest game console, here I come!"
Shun Aragaki smiled meaningfully.
Sometimes even trash could be useful, as long as you put it in the right place.
43. I'd Rather Overestimate an Idiot's Intelligence
"Ha ha ha!"
Once they'd left Class D, Chie Hoshinomiya could no longer hold back. Clutching her chest, she doubled over with laughter.
"Little Aragaki, you're so mean! You actually sent those two jokers from Class D to Class A and Class C to cause trouble."
She had been teaching at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School for several years, but even among all the Class D students she had taught in previous years, she had to admit that students like Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike were in a league of their own.
It was a real blessing for Sae Chabashira to have the chance to teach those students!
She could easily imagine the looks on the Class A and Class C homeroom teachers' faces when they discovered that tomorrow, each of their classes had acquired one of these two prodigies.
At that moment, Shun Aragaki was calmly examining the new entries on his status panel.
[Achievement completed: Revealed the school rules to the first-year Class D in advance. Source Power +2.] [Achievement completed: Temporarily transferred one student each to first-year Class A and Class C. Source Power +2.] [Source Power: 10 → 14 (current rate: 3 → 4 units gained per month)]
The people in Class D seemed to have an unusually abundant supply of Source Power. If he got the chance, he could mess with them a few more times.
And Source Power was meant to be spent. Without hesitation, Shun Aragaki invested another four units in [Erudition]—
[Erudition Lv. 3 (1/4) → Erudition Lv. 4 (1/5)]
As he felt his mind growing clearer, Shun Aragaki silently savored the pleasure of getting stronger step by step. If other people hadn't been around, he would have struck a pose right there and then, completely lost in the moment.
A level-four skill had already reached the heights an ordinary person could attain after a lifetime of hard work. For him, it had taken only a few investments. As expected, having a cheat ability was the way to go.
Just then, Shun Aragaki felt someone touch his cheek and turned in confusion.
Chie Hoshinomiya poked his cheek with her index finger, making an adorable pout. "Little Aragaki, you're really no fun. You've got such a lively, cute beauty right here with you, and you still zone out whenever you feel like it. Were you thinking about some even prettier girlfriend?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! There can't be any girl at Advanced Nurturing who's cuter or prettier than me!"
Shun Aragaki ignored his homeroom teacher's self-satisfied remarks. Instead, he took out his phone and opened the student profile screen. Of the nine Transfer Tickets displayed there, he had used two. He had also just spent the two hundred thousand Private Points he'd collected from Class D.
Private Points weren't particularly meaningful to him compared with Source Power, but he had to admit that spending money like water was a bit of a hassle when his income was limited.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd worried about money since crossing over. He could only hope this investment would be worth it.
He wondered how the leaders of Class A and Class C would react to the surprises he'd sent them.
"Little! Aragaki~"
Chie Hoshinomiya's voice had taken on an almost ghostly, resentful tone. She grabbed Shun Aragaki's arm, half her face seemingly swallowed by shadow. She looked like a completely different person.
"Little Aragaki, I'm glad you're helping squeeze Class D, but is it really enough to make them pay only five thousand Private Points a month? Couldn't you have asked for more?"
She had wanted to say this while representing the school and witnessing the contract, but the school prohibited homeroom teachers from interfering directly in the students' competition. Shun Aragaki had ignored her pointed looks, too.
Now there was no one else around, and the teacher who held a grudge against Class D's homeroom teacher couldn't resist demanding an explanation from her student.
But Shun Aragaki responded with a look that said she was an idiot.
"Do you think people with the caliber of Class D are ready to hand over more Private Points for rules that might not even be useful?"
Even with the school guaranteeing the contract, Shun Aragaki didn't think those slackers in Class D could weigh the pros and cons clearly. There were plenty of people in this world who refused to believe something until it was too late.
If the price went beyond what most of Class D considered reasonable, every one of them would be an expert at playing dead.
And if no Private Points came in next month? Well, next month hadn't arrived yet!
Five thousand Private Points per person per month was already Shun Aragaki's estimate of the most the contract could fetch, with Kushida Kikyo, Yosuke Hirata, and the few Class D students with any ambition pushing for it.
Even at that low price, he hadn't been confident they would agree.
He didn't dwell on it. After living two lifetimes, he knew that even family members didn't always understand one another, let alone a group of oddballs the school had deliberately recruited.
To be honest, he even wondered whether, if Class D really did fall into the zero-point abyss, these people could come up with the Zero-Point Strategy.
But he wasn't going to gamble on it!
Never mind whether Class D had any hidden powerhouses. The important thing was that if even one student among the first-years—or even the upper-year students—had that idea, they could use a zero-point Class D to cause all sorts of trouble.
For a simple example, Class A could spend some Private Points to have a few Class D students show up on the way to school and delay Class B students by asking them for help with their studies. Then everyone would arrive late together.
It was hard to say whether the school would patch that loophole. But even if it could, the school would only step in to change the rules after confirming that the other three classes had all lost a significant number of points and had no way to fight back.
Otherwise, if the school didn't even care when Miyabi Nagumo openly led the other classes in exploiting exam loopholes, why would it care about this kind of unconventional competitive tactic?
In the end, this school was simulating society. And the Zero-Point Strategy was hardly unheard of in society. If you pushed your opponent into a corner and left yourself no way to respond, wasn't it only natural to get hit back?
"...Little Aragaki, you've thought this through way too thoroughly."
Chie Hoshinomiya gave the student in front of her a complicated look. He was still just a young man who had only recently started high school, wasn't he? Why did he seem more worldly than she was?
"I'd rather overestimate an idiot's intelligence and waste a little effort than assume everyone is an idiot!"
Shun Aragaki was unfazed by Chie Hoshinomiya's gaze. "You can say I'm projecting if you want. All I know is, if I find a potential problem, I'll eliminate it immediately. I won't leave my enemies any openings!"
He'd done the same thing when he restricted the Board Chairman last time, and again by supporting Class D this time.
He'd never stake his victory on his opponent's stupidity!
44. Class C's Absurd Situation
"Little Aragaki..."
Chie Hoshinomiya hesitated, then finally offered a single comment. "You seem a little obsessive, teacher thinks."
"I don't deny it. So what?"
Shun Aragaki was unmoved by his teacher's teasing.
His difficult life as a wage slave in his previous world had taught him that he wasn't a genius who could adapt effortlessly to any situation.
So even after gaining a cheat ability in this life, he still preferred to close every loophole and have everyone compete head-on with their true abilities.
There were surely people in the world smarter than him, and underhanded schemes weren't his strong suit. But in a direct confrontation, he was absolutely confident he could stand up to anyone.
If it came to it, he could always use the Source Power he'd saved for emergencies!
"Fine. Little Aragaki, you have your own way of doing things. As long as you keep Class D under your heel, teacher will go along with anything you say."
Chie Hoshinomiya acted cute as usual, gazing at Shun Aragaki with a bright smile, as though he were the only person in the world.
The boy thought she was fake, but even he had to admit she was pretty.
"If possible, I still hope you'll spend a little more time on the students in your class."
"Instead of focusing only on suppressing Class D, don't you think it'd be more fun to steal the Class A spot Sae Chabashira wants so badly?"
Shun Aragaki had no opinion on the old grudge between Chie Hoshinomiya and Sae Chabashira. As long as she fulfilled the basic duties of a homeroom teacher, that was enough. Keeping Class D in check was simply a convenient part of class competition.
A spark flashed in Chie Hoshinomiya's eyes. Steal the Class A spot before Sae Chabashira could claim it?
That would be so much fun! She could hardly wait to see it happen!
Then, as Class A's homeroom teacher, she'd be able to tease Sae Chabashira to her heart's content.
"Oh, no problem! Whatever you say, Little Aragaki, that's what teacher will do. Just don't disappoint me!"
Seeing Chie Hoshinomiya's attention so easily redirected, Shun Aragaki nodded to himself. He was beginning to understand how to handle his homeroom teacher.
Whatever the case, as the homeroom teacher of Class B, it was outrageous for her to keep focusing on the last-ranked Class D, even neglecting her own class's desire to rise to Class A.
In Shun Aragaki's ideal scenario, Class D—the gathering place for defective products—would have a high class score, but each student would receive only ten or twenty thousand Private Points a month.
As for anything more, they could use it to thank him for supporting Class D.
Dropping their score to zero would be of no benefit to Shun Aragaki.
But there was no point in letting them earn too many Private Points each month, either.
Before you continue