First-Year Class D: 0 Points!

That immediately made Nakano think of the word "pet."

"School's over. Aren't you going home, Sakura?" Nakano Yuu asked.

"S-S-School's over? Ah, yes, I'm going home right now!" Sakura seemed startled and hurriedly began fumbling with her things as she packed her bag.

"..." Horikita.

Horikita Suzune realized this was Nakano's mischievous streak. He was probably teasing Sakura.

She had no interest in this sort of hormone-fueled game between adolescent boys and girls.

Still, she wasn't going to interfere.

As long as he didn't come to her asking her to date him, she really didn't care.

Horikita Suzune thought coolly.

P.S. Please give me stats, please give me stats, please give me stats.

Chapter 009: Class 1-D, 0 Points!

Time quickly passed, and May 1 arrived.

For the new students, it had just been a month since they started school. But for the students of Class D, things were different.

When they'd started school the previous month, Chabashira-sensei had said that at seven o'clock on the first of every month, the school would deposit that month's living allowance into the students' Private Points accounts.

But—

Quite a few students reported that they hadn't received any points at all.

"Could something have gone wrong?"

"Maybe the school's finance department is closed today. I know, I know—my dad's paycheck was late once because someone in finance was on maternity leave."

"Ah, I don't know how long it'll be delayed. I'm counting on this month's living allowance to get by."

"I only have ninety Private Points left in my account."

"I still have 300 points."

"I have eight!"

The students started talking among themselves.

"What a lively bunch." Nakano arrived in the classroom. It was only 7:45, but it seemed the entire class had already arrived.

That morning, he'd checked his phone at seven and confirmed that, indeed, he hadn't received anything.

But he wasn't surprised.

If anything, this was the true state of the class.

"I'm in a bad mood." The black-haired girl sitting next to Nakano Yuu seemed even more aloof than usual.

She probably thought she'd been foolish.

Although most of the class thought the school's finance department had made a mistake, she knew better. The information she'd bought from Nakano Yuu at a high price a few days ago had come true.

It was all true. The school had given them an initial rating of 1,000 points when they first arrived.

Their living allowance—and even their class ranking—depended on that rating.

And the fact that they hadn't received any living allowance today meant their initial 1,000 points had been completely deducted.

Since they'd lost all their points, there would be no new income this month. They might not receive any next month or the month after that, either. After all, the students in their class were what they were.

That made the 80,000 points she'd saved earlier all the more important.

But now, her Student ID Card had only 1,798 Private Points left. That was nowhere near 80,000—and even that amount had been given to her by Nakano.

So Horikita was now shaken by the loss of her 80,000 points.

But Nakano wasn't a monster. He wouldn't rub salt in her wounds while she was upset.

So he turned to Sakura Airi, who'd also arrived early that day.

Sakura really was deliberately making herself look plain. She had two large, fluffy pink braids and wore glasses, but a closer look revealed that her hair was actually quite smooth, and her glasses were only non-prescription. Once you got used to the look, she was rather cute.

Was that the charm of a print model? She really was quite pretty.

"Sakura, have you run out of points? I can lend you 30,000," Nakano Yuu said.

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

It wasn't because she was shy or timid. She was worried the other students might hear.

After all, plenty of them had just complained that their living allowance hadn't been deposited this month or that they had hardly any points left. Some even had only eight. If Nakano Yuu offered to lend her points, other people would definitely come to him for help.

Mm.

What a well-behaved girl.

If Nakano had only pitied Sakura or thought she was a little cute, now he was thinking it would be nice to have a little pet.

That was what he was thinking, but he noticed Horikita Suzune's gaze from the seat beside him. It could've pierced right through him.

It was as if Horikita Suzune had seen through his ulterior motives.

"Don't worry. I won't use your points to lend money to anyone else," Nakano Yuu said.

"..." Horikita Suzune.

Horikita Suzune spoke stiffly. "The points are yours now, so what you do with them is up to you."

"Well—"

You may say that, but you definitely don't feel that way.

You probably even think that going shopping with me after school and using your money to hire me to carry your bags would be a sad thing.

Though that's exactly what I'm planning.

Nakano Yuu remembered that she'd said she had good athletic reflexes, so she should be able to carry a few bags.

Still—

Name: Nakano Yuu

Student ID: ST1045666090

Class: Class 1-D

Gender: Male

Private Account Points: 375,556

Being considerate, Nakano opened the Student ID Card information on his phone.

The points listed under the private account section could be used as money.

But—

"This is..." Horikita Suzune had the same screen, so she knew exactly what it was. She couldn't have mistaken it, could she? Nakano Yuu hadn't just swindled her out of 80,000 points—he'd swindled a total of 370,000 from her. No, since he'd spent money these past few days, he might have swindled a total of 380,000 Private Points!

Horikita couldn't help but be shaken by that.

After school, she might have to work for Nakano Yuu for 500 or 1,000 Private Points.

And this guy already had that much to his name?

"Of course, I earned it by selling information about things that were about to happen," Nakano Yuu said. "And for now, just keep your head down. The homeroom teacher will be here soon."

"She probably isn't in a good mood, either," Nakano Yuu said.

"..." Horikita Suzune.

Horikita understood, of course. Everyone's living allowance was zero, which also meant their class rating was zero. They were first-year students, yet in a single month they'd managed to take the class rating that was supposed to last all three years from 1,000 to zero. She could imagine how their homeroom teacher must feel.

She was probably furious.

And it seemed their words were about to be proven right.

They didn't have to wait long.

Knock, knock, knock—

Just then, the sound of Chabashira Sae's high heels rang out. She walked in holding a rolled-up sheet of paper that looked like a poster.

As far as looks went, Chabashira was dressed in a professional outfit, wearing her hair in a stern-looking ponytail and a pair of heels that clicked against the floor. What caught Nakano Yuu's eye, though, was her black stockings. That was a kind of charm only adults had.

But Chabashira herself was expressionless.

"It's time for homeroom. Get your asses back in your seats." She glanced at the disorderly classroom, and her first words were an outright scolding.

Almost everyone could tell that their homeroom teacher was in a bad mood. She wasn't exactly warm and friendly at the best of times, and she rarely showed any emotion, but today she was especially intimidating.

She seemed like the kind of teacher who was hard to deal with.

"Teacher, didn't you say we'd get a living allowance every month?"

"Why hasn't it been deposited yet? It's almost eight!"

"Did something happen with the finance department?"

Even so, someone couldn't hold back. It was Yamauchi Haruki. After a month, his 100,000 points had dwindled to eight, so he was the person who needed points the most!

He desperately hoped there was even the slightest chance the school had made a mistake.

"..."

Chabashira Sae closed her eyes.

But Yamauchi's outburst spoke for the whole class.

Everyone was hoping the teacher would say it had been a mistake.

But think about it for a moment. If the school really had made a mistake, would the teacher have walked in looking like that?

Nakano Yuu watched the students and immediately spotted one clever person: Kouenji Rokusuke, with his handsome blond hair. He was always carefree in class, just like Nakano Yuu. Even during lessons, he treated the time as his own and did whatever he pleased.

Sometimes Nakano Yuu slept, while Kouenji took out a mirror and comb to admire himself.

With his muscular, athletic build, some students called him Beautiful Brother. Others just called him Koenji.

Even now, Koenji was casually yawning, as if the situation didn't affect him at all.

"You haven't received your living allowance?"

After a brief pause, Chabashira-sensei set down the rolled-up paper she'd brought in. Her lipstick was red—bright, yet at odds with her cool demeanor. "You're all such foolish people!"

She seemed to be laughing in anger as she said something a teacher shouldn't say, a smile on her face.

Over the past month, she'd never let a class run late. She rarely asked questions, and she'd only spoken harshly once. She'd never singled anyone out.

But now—

She'd insulted the entire class.

Every one of them was foolish? What gave her the right?

"You think the school made a mistake by not depositing your living allowance?" Chabashira Sae said. "You were late or absent more than 78 times over the past month, talked during class 288 times, used your phones to chat 1,403 times, kicked and broke nine trash cans on campus, littered 303 times, and even broke a camera once. You're all completely useless!"

"W-What do you mean?"

Even the slowest students could tell something was wrong, and Yamauchi looked completely stunned.

"When school started, didn't I already tell you?"

A scrutinizing sneer tugged at Chabashira Sae's lips.

"This is a school where ability is everything! Here, your entire class's grades and evaluation are reflected in the points deposited every month. After reviewing your conduct, the school has decided you've lost the 100,000 points you should have received."

"That means the points deposited into your accounts this month are zero."

"S-So does that mean we'll be completely broke from now on?"

Yamauchi kept diligently playing the fool. When he heard Chabashira Sae's words, he shouted as if he were the only one who understood what was going on, his face blank with shock.

"W-What is this..."

Behind Yamauchi, Kanji Ike clenched the game console in his hand. A powerful wave of regret suddenly washed over him. He'd spent 40,000 points on that console. If he'd been at home, he definitely wouldn't have bought it. But he'd assumed the school was paying, so he'd bought it without a second thought. And now... now he'd have no living allowance this month!

"Chabashira-sensei, the school... the school never told us anything like this..."

"If... if someone had told us about it, even just hinted at it, we wouldn't have acted so recklessly if we'd been given an explanation..."