Classroom of the Elite, Starting with a Zero, I'm Just Going to Coast Since I Know the Plot!

This immediately made Nakano Yuu think of the word "pet."

"School's out, aren't you heading back yet, Sakura?" Nakano Yuu asked.

"S-s-school's out? Ah, um, I'm leaving right away!" Sakura seemed startled, hurriedly scrambling to pack her bag in a panic.

"..." Horikita.

Horikita Suzune realized this was just Nakano Yuu's twisted sense of humor; he was likely just teasing Sakura.

She had absolutely no interest in this kind of hormonal play between teenage boys and girls.

However, she wouldn't interfere either.

After all, as long as he didn't come to her looking for romance, she truly didn't care.

Horikita Suzune thought coolly.

ps: Please support with data, please support with data, please support with data.

Chapter 009: Class D, First Year, 0 Points!

Time quickly arrived at May 1st.

For the freshmen, this marked the end of their first month since enrollment. But for the students of Class D, it was a different story.

As Chabashira had mentioned during enrollment last month, the school would deposit the monthly living expenses into the students' private accounts at 7:00 AM on the 1st of every month.

However.

Many students reported that they hadn't received any points at all.

"Could something have gone wrong?"

"Maybe the school's finance department is on holiday today? I know, I know—my dad's salary was delayed once because the payroll staff was on maternity leave."

"Ah, I wonder how long the delay will be. I'm counting on this month's allowance to survive."

"My account only has ninety private points left."

"I have 300 points."

"I have 8!"

The students began to discuss the situation.

"Quite lively, isn't it?" Nakano Yuu arrived in the classroom. It was only 7:45 AM, yet it seemed every student in the class had already arrived.

He had checked his phone at 7:00 AM that morning and confirmed that, indeed, nothing had been received.

However, he wasn't surprised.

Or rather, this was the true nature of this class.

"I'm in a bad mood." Sitting next to Nakano Yuu, the girl with straight black hair seemed to radiate an even sharper aura than usual.

She was likely feeling foolish for her own actions.

While most of the students in the class assumed the school's finance department had made a mistake, she knew better. The time-sensitive information she had purchased from Nakano Yuu at a high price a few days ago had become reality.

Everything was true; the school had initially given the students 1000 class points as a starting balance.

From there, living expenses and even class rankings were determined by the total of these points.

The fact that no living expenses were received today meant that the initial 1000 points had been completely deducted.

And because they were wiped out, there would be no new income this month, and potentially none for the next month or the one after that. After all, the caliber and quality of the students in this class were plain to see.

Therefore, the 80,000 points she had saved up previously had become incredibly important.

Yet, her student ID now showed only 1798 private points remaining. Compared to 80,000, the gap was massive. And that was only because of the charity Nakano Yuu had shown her.

Thus, Horikita was currently feeling quite emotional over the 80,000 points she had lost.

Nakano Yuu wasn't a monster, so he wouldn't rub salt in her wounds while she was feeling down.

So, he turned to Sakura Airi, who had also arrived early today.

Sakura was indeed intentionally trying to look unattractive. Although she wore her hair in two fluffy, oversized pink braids and sported glasses, a closer observation revealed that her hair was actually quite smooth, and the glasses were merely non-prescription frames. Once you got used to seeing her like that, you'd even find her quite cute.

Was this the charm of a gravure model? Her looks were certainly quite high-tier.

"Sakura, have you spent all your points? I can lend you 30,000." Nakano Yuu said.

"C-can you?" Sakura seemed surprised, but she quickly lowered her voice.

This wasn't out of shyness or introversion, but rather a concern that the surrounding students might hear.

After all, many students had just been complaining that their monthly allowance hadn't arrived or that they had very few points left—some even had only 8 points remaining. If Nakano Yuu started this, others would surely come to bother him for help.

Hmm.

What a good girl.

If Nakano Yuu had only felt sympathy for Sakura, or even just thought she was a bit cute, he now felt that it would be nice to keep a little pet.

Even as he thought this, Nakano Yuu noticed a piercing gaze coming from his neighbor, Horikita Suzune.

It was as if his wolfish ambitions had been seen right through by Horikita Suzune.

"Rest assured, I won't lend your points to anyone else," Nakano Yuu said.

"..." Horikita Suzune.

Horikita Suzune said in a stiff tone, "Since the points are already yours, how you use them is your own business."

"Well—"

Even though you say that, your true feelings certainly aren't like that, are they?

You probably even think it's a miserable affair that I'm asking you to go shopping with me after school today and using your money to hire you to carry my bags.

Although that is indeed the case.

Because Nakano Yuu remembers her saying that she has great athletic ability, so carrying a few bags should be fine.

However.

Name: Nakano Yuu
Student ID: ST1045666090
Class: First Year, Class D
Gender: Male
Private Account Points: 375,556 points.

Nakano-kun considerately opened the digital student ID information on his phone.

The private account column can be used as money.

But.

"This is..." Horikita Suzune has this interface herself and knows exactly what it is, but she couldn't have misread it, could she? Nakano Yuu didn't just swindle her out of 80,000 points; he currently has a total of 370,000. No, wait, since he's been spending money these past few days, he might have swindled a total of 380,000 private points!

Noticing this result, it was impossible for Horikita Suzune not to be moved.

Because after school, she might have to work for Nakano Yuu for a mere 500 or 1,000 private points.

And yet, this guy has already amassed such a fortune.

"It's obviously from selling time-sensitive information," Nakano Yuu said. "Also, you'd better behave yourself for now; the homeroom teacher will be here soon."

"She's probably in a bad mood, too," Nakano Yuu added.

"..." Horikita Suzune.

Horikita-san naturally understands that everyone's living allowance being zero also means the class evaluation score is zero. As freshmen, to have the class evaluation score—which is supposed to last for three years—drop from 1,000 to zero in just one month, one can imagine the homeroom teacher's mood.

She is likely to be extremely displeased.

And as if to verify their words.

Not long after they waited.

Thump, thump, thump—

At this moment, the sound of homeroom teacher Chabashira Sae's high heels rang out. She walked in holding a rolled-up piece of paper that looked like a poster in both hands.

In terms of looks, Chabashira-sensei's professional attire, her stern expression, her ponytail, and the clack-clack sound of her high heels were all striking, but what caught Nakano Yuu's eye were her black stockings—that was the charm only an adult could possess.

It's just that Chabashira's entire face was expressionless.

"It's already time for homeroom; why haven't you all scrambled back to your seats yet?" She glanced at the messy classroom, and her opening words were incredibly fierce.

Almost everyone knew that the homeroom teacher seemed to be in a bad mood. Although her attitude was usually average and she rarely showed much expression, today was truly terrifying.

She looked very much like the kind of homeroom teacher who was not to be trifled with.

"Teacher, didn't you say we would get our living allowance every month?"

"Why hasn't it been deposited today? It's already 8 o'clock!"

"Is there something wrong with the finance department!"

Even so, someone couldn't hold back. It was Yamauchi Haruki. After a month, his 100,000 points were down to just 8, so he was the one who needed points the most right now!

Therefore, even if there was the slightest chance the school had made a mistake, he hoped it was true.

"..."

Chabashira Sae closed her eyes.

But the voice Yamauchi raised represented the thoughts of the entire class.

Everyone was waiting for the teacher to say it was just a mistake.

But if you think about it with a normal brain, if it were really a mistake, would the teacher appear with such an expression?

Nakano Yuu observed the students in the class and immediately spotted a smart one. It was Kouenji Rokusuke, who had beautiful golden hair. He was usually very free-spirited in class, just like Nakano Yuu, treating class time as his own to do as he pleased.

Nakano Yuu would sometimes sleep, while he would busy himself with a mirror and a comb, admiring his own vanity.

Coupled with his burly and muscular physique, some students in the class called him Beautiful Brother. Of course, others just called him Kouenji more normally.

And right now, Kouenji was still yawning casually, looking completely unaffected.

"You didn't get your living allowance?"

After a pause that seemed to last a second, Chabashira Sae set down the rolled-up paper she had brought in. Her lipstick was a vibrant red, yet she exuded a cold, detached aura. "You are all such a bunch of fools!"

She seemed to be laughing out of sheer exasperation, uttering words that a teacher shouldn't say with a smile on her face.

For the past month, she had never once run over her allotted class time, rarely asked questions, and had only spoken up once, never saying anything harsh or singling anyone out.

Yet now.

She had insulted everyone in the room.

All of us are fools? On what grounds!

"Do you think it was a mistake that the school didn't deposit your living expenses?" Chabashira Sae said. "Over the past month, there have been 78 instances of tardiness or absence, 288 instances of private chatter during class, 1,403 instances of sneaking onto your phones to chat, 9 instances of kicking school trash cans, 303 instances of littering, and one instance of damaging a security camera. You really are good for nothing!"

"W-what does that mean?"

Even the most oblivious person sensed that something was wrong, and Yamauchi looked as if he had been scared witless.

"I should have told you all back at the start of the term, shouldn't I?"

A cold, scrutinizing sneer played on the corners of Chabashira Sae's mouth.

"This is a school that prioritizes merit! In this school, the performance and evaluation of the entire class are reflected in the points deposited every month. The result of the review is that you have lost the 100,000 points you were supposed to receive."

"In other words, the points deposited for you this month are zero."

"D-does that mean we'll be penniless from here on out?"

Yamauchi continued to diligently play the role of the clown. Upon hearing Chabashira Sae, he shouted loudly as if he were the only sober person in a room of drunks, his face blank with shock.

"W-what is this..."

Sitting behind Yamauchi, Ike Kanji gripped his game console tightly. He was suddenly overcome by a wave of intense regret. Buying this game console had cost him 40,000 points. If he were at home, he certainly wouldn't have bought it, but he had assumed the school was footing the bill and had purchased it without hesitation. And now... now, he would have no living expenses for the month!

"Chabashira-sensei, the school, the school never told us about this kind of thing..."

"If, if someone had told us about this, even if it were just a hint, as long as we had been given an explanation, none of us would have been so reckless..."