Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima-sensei, continued writing.
Class 1-B: 710 points
Well, that was a reasonable score. According to the homeroom teacher, Class A students averaged over 800 points at the end of the first month, while Class B students scored between 600 and 700. So this number wasn't surprising.
Mashima-sensei kept writing.
Class 1-C: 503 points.
That meant they'd lost almost 500 points in their first month. And the number did seem to confirm that Ryuuen had only gotten the information in the past few days, so his class had already lost a lot of points.
That gave him a reason to target Class A now, with his own score so low.
Katsuragi thought it all made sense.
Then Mashima-sensei continued writing.
Next was Class 1-D.
"Actually, I think Class D is the one we need to watch out for," he reminded Sakayanagi Arisu. He hoped she wouldn't set herself against him. Class A already had the upper hand, having crushed Classes B and C. If they started fighting among themselves and let the other classes catch up, it would be unbelievably stupid.
Class 1-D: 1
Right.
Homeroom teacher Mashima had written the number 1.
Katsuragi frowned. It started with a 1?
All four classes had started with 1,000 points. If Class D's score started with a 1, that meant either they hadn't lost any points or they'd had some chance to earn more.
So...
Damn it.
Was Class D actually the best class?
And if Class D had started with 1,000 points, wouldn't Class A fall in the rankings at the end of the first month?
As he wondered about that—
"Is it 100 points?" Sakayanagi Arisu asked.
Her voice was clear and melodious, and her guess immediately made Katsuragi Kohei realize something.
That was right.
The information they'd obtained indicated that most students in the original Classes A, B, C, and D had been assigned according to merit. Although some outstanding students had ended up in other classes, Class A still had the advantage overall.
In other words, even if someone in Class D had been clever enough to figure out the school's true nature, the class still had plenty of dead weight. So it might not have 1,000 points—it could have 100.
If it was 100, then Class A was safe!
But as everyone watched, Mashima-sensei seemed to frown, too. He erased the 100 he'd written and replaced it with 0.
Class 1-D: 0 points.
"Class 1-D's class evaluation score is zero points." Seeing the score the teacher had finally written—the sign that he was done—Sakayanagi Arisu turned to Katsuragi. "Katsuragi-kun, what was it you said we should watch out for?"
Watch out for Class D, which had scored zero?
Not only had they scored zero, but Ryuuen's claim that he'd sold him information was probably a lie, too.
If Class D had gotten the information in advance, how could it have ended up with zero points?
Mashima-sensei had probably written 100 at first because he assumed that was around what a Class D from previous years would score. Maybe 100 or 200.
Who could have known it would turn out to be zero?
"No, forget I said anything." Katsuragi had meant to warn his classmates to watch out for Class D, but now it looked like Class D had zero points.
And he was supposed to tell the students to be wary of a class that had lost all its points in just a month?
And he'd made a point of warning Sakayanagi Arisu, too?
Katsuragi felt his standing in Sakayanagi's eyes would plummet. She might decide he wasn't up to the task and take over the entire class herself.
"That's the current class evaluation score for each class. The midterm exams will also be held at the end of this month." Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima-sensei, spoke without wasting a moment. "The school will award up to 100 class evaluation points to the class with the best results. Anyone who fails will be expelled. So pay attention in class and study hard."
In other words, the class evaluation points awarded for future exams would most likely be nowhere near as high as the 1,000 points they'd received in their first month.
So Class A was still safe. For now, the only class they needed to worry about was Class B.
After his emotions had been put through the wringer, Katsuragi Kohei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
[10,000 Private Points have been deposited into your account. Transfer sender: Ryuuen Kakeru, LY10340545. Current balance: 385,556 Private Points.]
Nakano Yuu checked his phone after a transfer notification suddenly popped up.
The notification was accompanied by the familiar sound of 10,000 points arriving, like a payment alert from Alipay.
Nakano Yuu noticed the students around him looking over.
Or rather, in a class this strapped for cash, most of them had no allowance this month and could only rely on whatever they'd managed to save last month.
Fewer than half the students had more than 10,000 points.
So the sound of 10,000 points being deposited really stood out.
"Thanks, Horikita-san. Now I can cover this month's living expenses," Nakano Yuu said at once.
In other words, Horikita-san had just transferred him 10,000 points?
The students around them looked away.
Right.
His own balance was practically empty, but surely some people had a few points left. He could borrow from them.
So when Chabashira-sensei gave them the rest of homeroom to themselves, the students immediately started borrowing money.
It went something like this:
"I'll put up my PSP as collateral. Just lend me 30,000 points. What? You only have 20,000 left? That'll do, too."
"Kushida-san, could you lend me just 2,000 points? Please. I'll ask other people, too."
"Thanks, Kushida-san..."
And so on.
The 10,000 points that Nakano-kun had received quickly stopped attracting attention.
Horikita Suzune turned to him as soon as he said that.
She knew very well that she hadn't transferred him any money.
"It was from that sucker from before," Nakano Yuu said. "And he included a note with the transfer: 'Katsuragi from Class A asked me why we targeted them. I told him a Class D student sold me the information.'"
Nakano Yuu thought it over before continuing. "I guess someone from Class C sold my information. Talk about passing the buck."
"But whatever. I was bound to run into Class A sooner or later." Nakano Yuu spread his hands with a helpless shrug. "We'll be here for three years. It's not like we can avoid each other."
??
Horikita Suzune had no idea what he meant.
But that didn't stop her from realizing that Nakano Yuu had just used her as cover.
After school, though the students had been shocked by what they'd learned that morning about the school's true nature, it didn't seem like a big deal to Class D.
At least, nobody chose to drop out at a time like this. So Hirata didn't need to pressure everyone into staying.
After all, even if they had no living allowance this month, tuition was free—and would stay that way for all three years. No other school outside could offer them that.
What's more, the dorms were exceptionally well-equipped.
So there was no need to drop out.
Besides, Chabashira-sensei had said it wasn't just last month; every month from now on, as long as classes were in session, they'd have a Special Exam.
This month's Special Exam would be a written test worth 100 points.
It was only 100 points, but earning them would still mean an income going forward.
If they earned 100 points this month, then another 100 the next, wouldn't they soon be making 20,000 a month... yen?
That would be just enough to get by.
And there was more.
Kushida had discovered something unexpected: the school offered humanitarian aid to students with no points. Both the school cafeteria and the convenience store provided free items.
The cafeteria served free meals, while the convenience store supplied basic necessities.
So they could still get by at this school.
That was why a lot of the students headed to the cafeteria for a free meal after school.
Only some of them went, though. They'd tried the food at lunchtime, and it had been truly awful. Those with points tried to avoid it, while those who could cook planned to use the free ingredients to make their own meals, like Horikita-san did.
There were as many ways of coping as there were students, and everyone had found the lifestyle that worked for them.
For Nakano Yuu, it was simple. After eating with Horikita-san in the cafeteria, he took her to the supermarket to shop.
They'd already bought most of the things they needed during their first month at school, but Nakano Yuu still had a few things to pick up.
Before, he'd had only 100,000 points and had spent a lot on food. Now that he had plenty of points, he could replace some of his things with better ones.
As soon as they entered the supermarket, Nakano Yuu noticed Horikita Suzune was shopping, too.
She said she usually cooked for herself these days, so she often needed to restock ingredients.
She also needed to pick up a few household items, such as toilet paper and milk.
"Or did you expect me to take you back and then come all the way here again by myself? I think that'd be a hassle," Horikita Suzune said.
She clearly knew that she was still being paid by a classmate. The fee was 1,000 Private Points, which wasn't much, but she still had professional standards.
And she didn't want to waste too much time, either.
Her daily routine had been very regular for the past month. By this time of day, she was usually in her dorm room studying.
"Mm... Do whatever you like," Nakano Yuu said.
How should he put it? Nakano Yuu thought Horikita Suzune was probably the kind of person who'd be good at running a household.
After they'd finished shopping, it was already past seven.
But—
"Let's get a cup of coffee and take a break," Nakano Yuu said. "You've had a long day, too. The shopping street is more than ten minutes' walk from the dorms, so we might as well rest first."
He thought Horikita Suzune might refuse, so he added, "Of course, I'll pay you for this time, too—at a rate of 1,000 points an hour."
"You know you can't find work in this shopping district anywhere but with me, right?" Nakano Yuu said.
When you put it that way, it was easy to get someone to do what you wanted.
Horikita Suzune's expression seemed to turn a little resentful.
But it made sense. The class couldn't provide her with points for now, and as an ordinary high school student, she could think of one other way to get some: a part-time job.
Unfortunately, when they'd gone to the convenience store and supermarket earlier, the employees had already given them the answer.
No.
They wouldn't hire students.
And the school wouldn't let them pay students, either. She was finally old enough to work, but she couldn't get a job, so she had no normal way to earn points.
And so Horikita-san had no choice but to sit down obediently.
Before you continue