Now she had been forced to become Sakayanagi's Puppy. In a way, she could also be considered Sakayanagi's right-hand woman.
And the fact that her dorm room had originally been right next to Sakayanagi's had also made it more convenient for her to run errands for the other girl.
It made her feel as if the sky were about to fall.
Still, Kamuro thought things were even riskier with Nakano Yuu. Sakayanagi had suddenly taken it into her head to bring her here today to meet Nakano Yuu, but Nakano's acting had been so convincing that he seemed to be meeting her for the first time.
He had completely hidden the fact that they had been in contact before.
Wasn't that terrifying too?
In that case, all she could do was honestly play the role of a spy.
Kamuro suddenly felt that her future school life might not be very pleasant.
Still.
There was something they needed to pay attention to right now.
Sakayanagi had said that since the school had announced rules that prioritized ability, unlike those at ordinary schools, there wouldn't be ordinary exams like the ones at other schools. So even this written exam might have some kind of trap hidden in it.
And so.
That was why they had come to look for Nakano Yuu.
Now that she'd gotten the exam papers, she should just go memorize them.
Kamuro thought this with complete honesty.
Meanwhile.
When Nakano saw the luxurious meal Kamuro had brought him, he was in a good mood. The meal's extravagance wasn't just about the price; it even included dishes he liked. So he opened his contacts and called Ryuen.
Not long after he finished eating, a student who looked like a delinquent ringleader, with distinctive red curtains of hair, came over.
It was Ryuen Kakeru.
A tall, burly boy who looked like a bodyguard followed behind him. He was the half-breed in Ryuen's class named Yamada Albert. He stood 190 centimeters tall, but had now been reduced to Ryuen's bodyguard.
With Albert following him around, Ryuen looked even more like a delinquent ringleader.
"So, what did you want with me that you had to call me out here?" the other boy asked.
It wasn't anything major.
He just wanted to ask whether Ryuen had finished collecting the protection money from his class and hadn't spent it yet.
But Nakano obviously wasn't going to put it so bluntly.
"What do you think about the midterm exams?" Nakano Yuu asked.
"..." Ryuen. "You mean that failing the exam gets you expelled, right? Your grades are 95 in every subject. I know you're impressive, so did you call me out here just to brag?"
Well.
This was probably the kind of conversation—and mutual suspicion—you'd expect between a poor student and a top student.
Nakano understood how Ryuen felt. And since he was about to take the points Ryuen had only just finished collecting, he was feeling particularly generous.
"I have an idea about this Special Exam."
"And that idea..." Nakano Yuu paused for a moment. Then he looked at Ryuen, who was still standing. "How many points are in your private account right now?"
"..." Ryuen.
"..." Ryuen.
Two million. Looks great!
"I got some special information. The written portion of this Special Exam isn't an ordinary exam either."
"It tests old questions, so buying exam papers from upperclassmen is the real way to pass."
"And I'm not asking for much. I'll just take the points in your account, minus 30,000."
"That price is already very cheap," Nakano Yuu said.
The boy with the red curtain of hair was still standing there, his face stiff.
Ryuen knew he liked to laugh and make fun of people, but right now, he couldn't laugh at all.
This guy—this guy had already been at the school for two months. Everyone knew the school's rules, and yet... and yet he was still trying to sell him information.
But Ryuen had his pride.
He'd probably realized that Nakano Yuu was treating him like a fat sheep to be slaughtered, but was he really going to let himself be led to the slaughter so easily?
"How do you know we can buy the exam papers?" Ryuen asked.
"It's simple," Nakano Yuu said. "I went and counted the second- and third-year students in Classes C and D. Quite a few of them are still here. They haven't been eliminated in large numbers, which means they haven't been expelled in one written exam after another. So how do they avoid getting expelled? By studying hard? Everyone knows Class D is packed with poor students, so they must have some unconventional methods."
"So we can't treat this school's written exams like ordinary written exams."
"Your class also announced that this written exam can earn you a maximum of 100 points in class evaluation points, right? Why is it that you can earn a maximum of 100 points, instead of saying everyone just needs to pass to earn the full 100-point reward?"
"So this exam requires thinking outside the box if you want the highest reward," Nakano Yuu said.
"..." Ryuen listened to Nakano Yuu's explanation and silently closed his eyes. "Heh."
He finally laughed.
But it wasn't a mocking laugh. He was annoyed.
"I admit what you're saying makes sense. But..."
Ryuen's eyes seemed to glint. "Nakano Yuu, you bought the exam papers you're holding from upperclassmen, didn't you?"
"That's right. I bought the exam papers I'm holding from upperclassmen," Nakano Yuu said, sounding completely frank.
His frankness gave Ryuen a strange feeling, but he quickly replied, "Then I can buy the exam papers from upperclassmen too, can't I? That way, you won't be the only one with them."
"Of course you can," Nakano Yuu said. "But if the school finds out you're doing this and someone reports you, your class evaluation points will be deducted."
Then, seeing Ryuen's expression darken, Nakano became even more candid.
"Don't worry. I recorded our conversation just now. I'll report you."
"Even if I can't follow you around and catch you in the act of buying the exam papers, I have that recording of our conversation. All I have to do is wait until your class gets a good score and earns a reward close to 100 points, then report you. That'll basically prove that you bought the exam papers in advance," Nakano Yuu said.
Shit.
Ryuen's expression changed instantly. He suddenly felt that there was something wrong with this guy. Every time, Nakano managed to make his scalp tingle.
Ryuen lowered his head and thought it over quickly. He realized that Nakano was right.
Why was Nakano Yuu from Class D acting so cocky and trying to take all the points he had?
This was probably why.
Class D had zero points. With zero points, there was nothing left to deduct even if they broke the rules.
That was why this guy had no fear.
For the first time, Ryuen realized that having a low class evaluation score might not be entirely bad. It opened up a much wider range of options.
Still, he wouldn't be stupid enough to deliberately lower his class's evaluation score. After all, the maximum reward for this exam was only 100 points. If their score dropped, how many exams would they have to go through to get it back up again?
It wasn't worth it.
"Then what if I ask students in your class to buy the exam papers from upperclassmen? Your students are short on money, right? A few tens of thousands of points would be enough to get them to handle everything."
"Then you'd be the ones who get reported and lose points."
Ryuen's lips curled up again. This time, he was smiling mockingly.
"Then we'll have to use Plan B," Nakano Yuu said without haste. "A week before the exam, I'll make the papers I bought from upperclassmen public and spread them throughout the school."
"Once that happens, the school won't test old questions anymore."
"What's the point of testing questions that have already been leaked?"
"So, Ryuen, what do you think your class will do then?" Nakano asked calmly.
"..." Ryuen.
Then everyone would be screwed.
Ryuen's Class C was packed with poor students, and Ryuen himself didn't have good grades. What about Class D?
Nakano Yuu's Class D would probably be in a bad state too. They'd probably have some students expelled.
"Of course, if it really came to that, we could still salvage the situation," Nakano Yuu said. "The passing score is half the class average. If everyone gets the same score—well, I mean, if everyone follows the rules and only answers the multiple-choice questions, and everyone fills in only A or B, then we can make sure everyone's score is the same."
"Then we might guess a few answers correctly, so everyone would get a few points."
In other words, they could control their scores to make sure nobody got expelled.
Indeed.
That was a way to pass safely.
But it would also mean giving up the chance to earn a class evaluation reward of close to 100 points.
Ryuen had learned from his homeroom teacher, Banjo, how the scores for this exam would be divided up. The class had to avoid any expulsions to earn a class evaluation reward.
Then, if everyone's average score across all subjects was at least 50, the class would earn a 50-point evaluation reward. An average of at least 70 would earn 70 points. And if everyone's average was above 80, the class would earn a 100-point evaluation reward.
Having already been burned once, Ryuen had realized that Nakano Yuu hadn't come here simply to sell exam papers. This guy was here to charge him hush money again.
If the exam really tested old questions, as Nakano Yuu said, and Ryuen got the papers from upperclassmen, he was confident he could make every student in his class get at least 90 points. Then the top reward of 100 class evaluation points would be all but guaranteed.
There were plenty of benefits to earning 100 points.
1. They could increase their class evaluation score, which was crucial to their class ranking.
2. The school would deposit living expenses into every student's account based on the class evaluation score multiplied by 100.
At 100 points multiplied by 100, that meant an extra 10,000 points. With 40 students, they would get an extra 400,000 points per month, worth more than 10 million points over three years.
If they followed Nakano Yuu's plan to scrape by with controlled low scores, the reward for this exam would be zero.
They would be wasting an opportunity to earn points safely in this exam.
At the same time, he'd gotten some very troubling news from his homeroom teacher, Banjo. If a student voluntarily withdrew, the class would lose 300 class evaluation points. If a student was expelled through an ordinary exam, the class would generally lose 100 points per expulsion, unless the rules specifically stated otherwise.
So.
This school was messed up.
His class only had 503 points. They couldn't afford a blow like that.
Having thought it through, he'd made up his mind. A mere 800,000 points was nothing compared to getting 100 class evaluation points for free. It was completely doable—more than that, it was a bargain.
But.
[Name: Ryuen Kakeru Student ID: ST1045666050 Class: Class 1-C Gender: Male Private Account Points: 825,156]
When he thought about how those points were about to be wiped out again, he glared at Nakano Yuu in fury.
Five minutes later, Nakano's private account had successfully passed the two-million-point mark.
Ryuen's furious expression wasn't pleasant to look at, but his points were certainly tempting.
Hello, Nagumo, second-year senpai!
Since a returning customer had come calling, Nakano's points had smoothly passed the two-million mark.
Before you continue