Even though I'd already read her file...
"I actually think it's perfectly normal that you didn't notice, Gen-chan."
Hoshinomiya-sensei sat beside him and comforted him.
"Isn't that why you were placed in Class B, too?"
That was right. Uesugi Gen had been placed in Class B because he'd been out of school for a long time. The only difference was that he had a private tutor at home, so it didn't matter whether he attended school or not.
In a way, the two of them had quite a lot in common.
Uesugi Gen casually explained,
"I was out of school for a long time because, honestly, I only needed a school record to prove I'd attended. My family had invested in the school, too, so whether I went or not was entirely up to me."
"But I never thought to question why Ichinose had been absent for so long. What a mistake."
A model student who came to get him every day even when he skipped class had a record of being absent for a long time herself. Just thinking about it made something seem off.
Something must have happened before that to cause Ichinose's long absence, which in turn had shaped her into the person she was now.
Then Uesugi Gen looked up at Hoshinomiya and said seriously,
"Hoshinomiya-sensei, could you help me find the most detailed background report from when Ichinose enrolled? I want to find out what really happened."
Since it wasn't in the enrollment records he'd seen, he'd have to keep digging.
Hoshinomiya tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"That shouldn't be a problem, but getting access to that detailed background report will cost quite a few points. It includes things like personal information, after all."
"If I remember right, Gen-chan, you're out of personal points. Want me to cover it for you?"
"Oh, that? Don't worry about it, Sensei."
As he spoke, Uesugi Gen took out his phone, logged out of his account in front of Hoshinomiya, and signed into another one. Then he showed her the screen.
30 million!
Hoshinomiya's pupils contracted slightly. Even she was startled by the number. It was far higher than the record for the most personal points held by any student at the school.
"Gen-chan... you..."
Hoshinomiya-sensei looked at Uesugi Gen, seeming unsure what to say. As a homeroom teacher, she knew all too well that 20 million points were enough to graduate from Class A.
"Relax, Hoshinomiya-sensei. Between you and Mashima-sensei, who looks like a corporate wage slave, I like adorable Hoshinomiya-sensei more."
"Besides, I'm not really interested in graduating from Class A. The school just gave me these 30 million points as a reward."
This time, it was Uesugi Gen's turn to reassure Hoshinomiya.
Hoshinomiya blushed and lightly swatted him.
"Don't talk to your teacher like that."
"Leave this to me. I'll request access to Ichinose's background report from the school right away."
Hoshinomiya-sensei patted her chest as she promised.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Hoshinomiya-sensei."
Uesugi Gen made his request solemnly.
After realizing something was wrong, Uesugi Gen had become unusually serious. He wanted to find out what had caused Ichinose's long absence.
If the school's background report didn't have the answer, he'd have to ask Hoshinomiya-sensei to investigate outside the school.
He couldn't leave the school himself, but Hoshinomiya was different. Though there were restrictions, a teacher could still leave.
If they still couldn't find anything, he'd use the Uesugi Family's influence...
"I'll cover whatever expenses come up during the investigation."
Uesugi Gen picked up his phone and was about to transfer money to Hoshinomiya.
"No, no, I'll take care of the expenses. I've been a homeroom teacher for a long time, so I've managed to save a little."
"Think of it as your reward for making that deal with Class D."
Hoshinomiya waved her hands repeatedly, refusing Uesugi Gen's money. Then she seemed to remember something funny and covered her mouth as she laughed.
"I heard that when the people in Class D brought back the news that they'd signed a contract with us, the whole class went wild."
Uesugi Gen looked a little embarrassed.
In a way, it was pretty impressive that Horikita Suzune had managed to save those people despite how much she disliked them.
Meanwhile, in Class D.
"What kind of joke is this? Why should we give up a condition in the next Special Exam to save these three losers who can't even pass? And those 1.9 million points aren't a gift—they're a loan!"
Class D's top student, Yukimura Teruhiko, angrily pointed at the Heaven-Defying Trio, who were hiding behind Hirata.
"Hmph! How utterly unbeautiful. Hirata BOY, I never agreed to spend my own points to save such unbeautiful people. How tragic."
Koenji Rokusuke admired his reflection in the mirror, speaking to no one in particular about how beautiful he was.
"Exactly, Hirata. We only agreed to go out and borrow points. We didn't agree to this condition."
At the same time, the rest of the class hurried to voice their objections.
Horikita Suzune then walked to the front of the classroom, scanned her classmates, and spoke in a calm voice.
"Wasn't I clear before? Until we understand the details of the class competition, we can't know whether having fewer students will put us at a disadvantage in the class battles."
"If things have come to this, then in the end, it's because you all recklessly broke the rules during the first month."
"..."
"Beep beep beep..."
Horikita Suzune's lecture set the Class D students off, and Hirata Yosuke couldn't stop them.
Kushida Kikyo trembled all over as she covered her mouth, looking incredulous.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had his mouth hanging open, as if he'd just seen something extraordinary.
Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, watched what was happening in her class and felt a little regretful. If only she'd told her class the passing criteria sooner.
After all, she wanted to rise to Class A, not watch Class D fall apart.
She'd assumed that Hirata Yosuke would naturally come to her for help if he couldn't borrow enough points.
Then she could have used the opportunity to put forward her own demands.
She hadn't expected Hirata and the others to get the points today—and from the class of Hoshinomiya Chie, the teacher she found most troublesome.
They'd even agreed to a condition. She couldn't imagine that Hoshinomiya Chie's class, which was hostile toward her, would ask for something trivial.
But it had come to this, and Class D couldn't keep falling apart. They'd finally gotten a class with a chance of rising, and if things kept going this way, it would all be over.
Class D's Fighting God—Yamauchi Haruki
Inside a karaoke room at Keyaki Mall.
Ryuen Kakeru looked at the three people kneeling in front of him in disbelief.
"So you're saying he beat you up, but all you got was a few scrapes?"
The three underlings from Class C knelt in front of Ryuen Kakeru and replied sheepishly,
"Ryuen, we didn't want this to happen. We thought we were acting pretty well. He even believed he'd really beaten us up. Who knew he was so weak? He punched us for ages, but we barely felt a thing. We did threaten him before we ran away, though."
That was right. Class C had decided a long time ago that Class D was their target, and they'd kept their eyes on the hot-tempered Ken Sudō.
But for some reason, Ken Sudō had recently become as meek as a quail. Even when the Class C students deliberately tried to provoke him, it had no effect.
In the end, Class C couldn't find a chance to make a move, so they had no choice but to look for another target.
Yamauchi Haruki, who used to hang around with Ken Sudō, naturally caught their attention.
After watching him for a while, the Class C students realized that this bully who picked on the weak, ran his mouth, and easily got carried away was undoubtedly the best choice.
So, once they'd found their new target, the Class C Trio decided to gang up and put on a show for Yamauchi Haruki.
They'd find a spot without cameras, pick a fight with him, and then pretend to lose.
After all, Yamauchi Haruki wasn't built like Ken Sudō, who looked strong enough to take on three people. If all three of them went at him at once, he might run off before they could even start.
So, to make their frame-up look convincing, the Class C Trio first sent the one who looked weakest to provoke Yamauchi Haruki. To make sure Yamauchi Haruki would strike, the weakest one dropped to the ground as soon as he touched him.
Once Yamauchi Haruki, a bully who picked on the weak, realized he could handle the guy easily and started hitting him, that one would pretend to be knocked down.
Then the second one would start fighting him and pretend to be beaten, and finally, the third one...
Then all three would challenge Yamauchi Haruki again and pretend to be beaten a second time.
Once Yamauchi Haruki's confidence had swelled, the three of them would get back up and lead him under a security camera, so it would record evidence of him beating them up.
Finally, they'd threaten him and run away...
At first glance, their plan wasn't exactly flawless; it was full of holes. And yet it should've worked fine in practice. Everything had gone smoothly at first, but in the end, something happened that they'd never in a million years expected.
Yamauchi Haruki, who looked like an ordinary guy, had thrown a bunch of wild punches without managing to hurt them at all. They couldn't feel a thing.
And after punching for a while, he'd actually exhausted himself. With no other choice, the Class C Trio had used 120% of their acting skills to pretend they were injured and run back.
Looking at the Class C Trio, who had nothing but a few scrapes, Ryuen Kakeru sighed and turned around.
If they hadn't actually been hurt, a medical examination the next day would expose them immediately. The school probably wouldn't believe them, either.
"Albert."
"Okay, boss!"
A muscular Black man stepped out from behind Ryuen and responded in a deep voice.
He cracked his knuckles and strode straight up to the Class C Trio.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he punched them in the face. Their agonized screams soon filled the karaoke room.
A few days had passed since Class D and Class B signed their contract.
With Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, personally stepping in to take their side, she'd managed to pull the class back from the brink of an explosion.
Although the Class D students were furious with Horikita Suzune and Hirata Yosuke for signing the contract without permission,
there was nothing they could do to undo what had already been done.
After all, Hirata had gotten the consent of the vast majority of the class before going out to borrow points.
There was nothing they could do about it, but by now, everyone in Class D was fed up with the Heaven-Defying Trio...
Ken Sudō was one thing. Lately, he'd stopped dozing off and talking in class, so it seemed he was making a real effort to improve.
But the other two had started getting carried away as soon as they learned they'd escaped expulsion.
Yamauchi Haruki stood beside Kanji Ike. He seemed to be talking to Ike, but he was speaking loudly enough for the whole class to hear.
"Hey, Ike. I might've awakened a superpower or something..."
Kanji Ike mocked him.
"No way, Yamauchi. Superpowers don't exist. Come on, don't joke around."
Ignoring Kanji Ike's ridicule, Yamauchi Haruki bragged loudly,
"It's true! Lately, I've noticed I've suddenly gotten really strong. Maybe I could take that guy Sudō down without breaking a sweat."
Yamauchi Haruki had started provoking Ken Sudō without any warning.
Ken Sudō stood at his desk, listening to Yamauchi Haruki's taunts. He gripped his pen tightly, then finally unclenched his fist. After that, he continued reviewing his schoolwork as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"Come on, don't joke around. How could someone your size beat Sudō? You can't even beat me."
"It's definitely true! Yesterday, three people from Class C came to provoke me, and I... I took all three of them down without breaking a sweat!"
Yamauchi Haruki's voice echoed throughout Class D.
Horikita Suzune sat in her seat, staring blankly at Yamauchi Haruki. The moment she heard him say he'd driven off the Class C students, she'd already more or less guessed what had happened.
Before you continue