In Classroom of the Elite, My Love Stock Market Only Wants a Full Position Chapter 10

Horikita Manabu suddenly felt that he had underestimated the underclassman before him; the boy's sharpness far exceeded his expectations.

"Why would you pose such a question? I want to know your perspective."

He did not respond directly to Hashiba Hikaru's inquiry, choosing instead to throw back a question of his own.

"It's simple," Hashiba Hikaru shrugged, explaining slowly, "Since this school claims to be a place where ability is everything, the Student Council, which controls the student body, must surely possess immense power."

"Such power can touch upon every aspect of daily life at the school, and can even influence the competition between classes."

"And then?"

Horikita Manabu crossed his arms over his chest, wanting to hear what kind of analysis he could offer.

"But at the end of the day, the power of the Student Council is not infinite. It is the school rules that grant the Student Council its authority, and above the school rules are the leaders of this school, or rather, the School Board."

"Since you said I am the first person in over a decade to discover the Deep Rules of this school, then surely the school administration must have learned about it the moment the teachers received the points transferred from our Class B."

"Based on my hypothesis, since the school designed the puzzle, it would naturally provide a certain level of reward to those who reveal the answer; that aligns with the operational logic of a school."

"I see."

Horikita Manabu nodded slightly after hearing the boy's explanation, then countered, "So you believe that I was sent by the school to give you a reward, and that the content of that reward is an invitation to join the Student Council?"

"Yes."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded. This was the answer he had arrived at in the shortest possible time; after all, the Student Council President would not take the initiative to seek out a freshman. If it were the school's intention, an invitation would be a logical explanation.

"Did I guess correctly?"

"Unfortunately, despite your analysis being quite sound, you guessed wrong."

Horikita Manabu's gaze was like lightning, locking onto the boy's face as he replied, "The decision to invite you to join the Student Council was mine, not the school's."

"..."

"Then, if I guessed wrong, could Horikita-senpai clear up my confusion?"

Hashiba Hikaru met Horikita Manabu's gaze without a hint of hesitation.

"Very well, then I will tell you a little more. The power of the Student Council does indeed come from the school, but the power of the Student Council President is not limited to that."

"The school did indeed decide to grant you a reward because of your outstanding performance, but I am the one who wants to invite you to join the Student Council."

"Originally, the school's reward was to add 100 points to Class B's Class Evaluation Points and transfer a sum of Private Points to you, but I withheld them." Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his tone appearing calm, "That is the answer you wanted."

"I see."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded. After quickly assessing the risk of offending the Student Council President in his mind, he spoke again.

"Then, could I ask Horikita-senpai to give me the original reward?"

A cold glint flashed rapidly in Horikita Manabu's eyes as he asked coldly, "You are unwilling to join the Student Council?"

"Yes. If I have more free time, I would prefer to spend it on myself rather than contributing to the students of this school."

"Very well. I will give you the full reward today."

After giving Hashiba Hikaru a long, deep look, Horikita Manabu prepared to leave without a trace of lingering attachment.

But just then, the boy suddenly called out from behind him, "Horikita-senpai, if I wanted to join the Student Council, what should I do?"

"..."

Horikita Manabu's footsteps paused slightly, then he turned around and glanced at Hashiba Hikaru.

"You are even greedier than I imagined, though in this school, that is not a bad thing."

"I can't help it. There are too many things I want, and since I'm not very good at resisting temptation, I've just gotten into the habit of thinking this way."

"If you want to join the Student Council, you can write an application and submit it to the Secretariat of the Student Council."

After saying this, Horikita Manabu strode away, leaving Hashiba Hikaru standing there in deep thought.

"The Student Council, huh?"

He rubbed his chin and mused, "I get the feeling that this Horikita-senpai's attitude is a bit strange. If he really wanted to invite me to join the Student Council, why would he test me?"

"If I chose to join the Student Council, could he really have withheld that reward?"

Unable to figure it out no matter how he thought about it, Hashiba Hikaru shook his head and whispered, "It seems my understanding of this school is still too shallow. For now, I can only keep this doubt in my heart."

Afterward, he bought a bottle of water from a vending machine, took a few sips, and returned to the side of the track to continue running; after all, he had not yet completed his one-hour quota.

Meanwhile, back at the Student Council Activity Room, Horikita Manabu walked through the door and was immediately greeted by a girl with purple hair, her hair tied into two cute buns.

"President, did your morning training end early today?"

"Yes."

Horikita Manabu handed the towel in his hand to the girl and reached out to pick up the bag on the table; he also needed to return to the dormitory to shower.

"Did you meet that student, Hashiba, whom you mentioned yesterday?"

The purple-haired girl was named Tachibana Akane. Like Horikita Manabu, she was a third-year in Class A and currently served as the secretary of the Student Council.

"I did."

"What did you think of him?" A hint of worry appeared on Tachibana Akane's face, "Can he compare to Nagumo?"

"Heh," Horikita Manabu suddenly chuckled softly, looking toward the girl beside him and saying, "Do you think Nagumo will be able to discover the school's deep rules on the very first day of school?"

"This..."

"Although I only chatted with him briefly, I have already confirmed his talent," Horikita Manabu paused, the boy's words seemingly echoing in his mind, "If one were to face Nagumo... I cannot rule out the possibility that he might win."

"Really?"

A look of surprise immediately appeared on Tachibana Akane's face. One must know that the Nagumo they were speaking of had already consolidated all the second-year students and possessed vast resources, forcing even Horikita Manabu, as the Student Council president, to take his existence seriously.

"Let us wait and see, Tachibana."

"Remember to keep an eye on the Secretariat's membership applications at all times. If you see his profile, notify me immediately."

"Yes, President."

Chapter 17: The School's Reward

After finishing his morning exercise, Hashiba Hikaru's body was thoroughly soaked in sweat. He wiped the sweat from his face and then stared at the system panel before him.

[Exercise time of 60 minutes met, exercise record complete.]

[Exercise Booster in effect, exercise goal 1/30 completed.]

"Finally, a good start."

Hashiba Hikaru took a deep gulp of water. After finishing the plastic bottle, he reached up to brush his hair, which was obstructing his vision, to the right, and then returned to his dormitory.

By the time he finished showering, it was already eight o'clock. Hashiba Hikaru thought about whether to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, but after a moment's consideration, he decided to settle for some bread from the vending machine instead.

He still needed to adapt to the exercise plan he had just started, not just in terms of scheduling, but also the rhythm of his body. To shake off the state of laziness that had persisted in this frail body for over a decade, he would need to be persistent.

After gnawing on his bread and entering the classroom for Class 1-B, Hashiba Hikaru discovered that the students were actually quite present; only a few seats were empty.

When the boy's figure appeared, everyone's gaze turned toward him, and both boys and girls began to greet Hashiba Hikaru one after another.

"Good morning, Hashiba."

"Morning, Hashiba."

"Good morning, Hashiba."

Hashiba Hikaru maintained a smile and responded to his enthusiastic classmates one by one. However, when he sat back down in his seat, he found that his classmates had already crowded around him.

"This is?"

The boy was confused, unable to understand the current situation.

At this moment, Ichinose, who sat next to him, began to explain the situation to Hashiba: "It's because of that plan of yours from yesterday."

"You mean the point collection plan?"

"Yes. After we parted ways yesterday, the students in the class were all asking what we had specifically discussed," Ichinose Honami said, feeling a bit embarrassed, as she hadn't notified Hashiba Hikaru in advance. "I couldn't withstand everyone's pestering, so I took the liberty of telling everyone about your plan."

"That's right, Hashiba! How could you? Such a great plan is something we should all join!"

"To protect our classmates from being expelled, I am willing to contribute my strength. Let me join too, Hashiba."

"Exactly, we in Class B are a whole; we must advance and retreat together!"

The students who had crowded around expressed their stance loudly one after another. Everyone wore an expression that suggested they wouldn't give up unless they were allowed to join, leaving Hashiba Hikaru somewhat dumbfounded.

The boy's original plan had been to win over popular students in the class to join his group, then exert influence to pass it on to the rest of the class, further completing the integration and control of Class B, and finally have Ichinose Honami take the lead in proposing the plan to collect everyone's points.

But he hadn't expected this "absurd" plan to receive the approval of the entire Class B so quickly. It seemed they had already reached a consensus and were just waiting for him to make the final decision.

"Does everyone really trust me?"

Hashiba Hikaru's expression was somewhat solemn as he scanned everyone in the classroom and said slowly, "Twenty million points is not a small amount. If everyone joins, the points you can use in the future will be significantly reduced."

"We've all decided. As long as Hashiba and Ichinose are the ones in charge of the class, we will all trust you."

"Yes, we all believe that with your help, Hashiba, Class B will definitely be able to gain an advantage in future class competitions."

"If I have to hand over my points to Hashiba, I don't mind living frugally every day."

The one who said this was a playful girl. She stared intently at Hashiba Hikaru's face and even gave him a wink.

"Don't refuse everyone's good intentions, Hashiba."

At this moment, Kanzaki Ryuji, who was standing nearby, saw that the boy remained silent and spoke up to persuade him: "For the next three years, all of us in Class B will be tied to the same boat. Since everyone believes in your ability, you should go ahead and do it."

"Kanzaki is right," Ichinose Honami added immediately afterward, "Since none of us want anyone to be expelled, if we all unite and work together, won't we be able to collect points faster?"

Seeing that everyone's attitude was so firm, Hashiba Hikaru nodded after thinking for a long while.

The reason he had been hesitant was that this plan required collecting a portion of the students' points. Was it really that easy to take money from other people's pockets?

But now that everyone was showing such enthusiasm, he might as well go with the flow. If he encountered problems, he would find a way to solve them then.

"Alright, I agree with everyone's idea. Since that's the case, the group I created will just be the class group. Let's add everyone in; it saves the trouble."

"From now on, if anyone has anything to discuss, you can communicate directly through the group chat. It will be more convenient for information to be passed between classmates."

"Great, add me to the group quickly!"

"Me too!!!"

Just like that, everyone in Class B joined the group Hashiba Hikaru had created yesterday. He also took the opportunity to change the name to Class 1-B Communication Group, but Ichinose felt the name didn't sound good, so it was later changed to Class B Family, and that was that.

Once everyone had happily joined the group chat, it was exactly time for the first period, which was Chie Hoshinomiya's class.

As the stylishly dressed young teacher walked into the classroom, everyone noticed the bright smile on her face.

"Ms. Hoshinomiya looks really happy. Did something good happen?"

A student spoke up to chat with her; after all, having spent yesterday together, everyone knew that this beautiful homeroom teacher wasn't stuck-up and could be chatted with quite easily.

"That's right, something wonderful happened, and... it has to do with Hashiba-kun."

Chie Hoshinomiya's gaze turned once again toward the boy sitting in the middle of the classroom. Upon hearing this, a look of realization instantly appeared on his face; it seemed he had already met with the Student Council president.

"Eh, it has to do with Hashiba-kun!"

"What is it?"

The students' gazes gathered on Hashiba Hikaru once more, and Honami Ichinose, sitting nearby, also cast a curious look his way.

Faced with this situation, the boy had no choice but to stand up and explain to everyone: "It must be the reward from the school arriving."

"A reward!!"

"What kind of reward?"

Hearing this word, the students of Class B became even more excited. Everyone wore a look of curiosity, staring at the boy's face, eager to know what the answer was.

"Ms. Hoshinomiya, please don't keep us in suspense, explain it to everyone," Hashiba Hikaru said, spreading his hands. "I don't actually know what the specific reward is."

"I can do that."

The smile on Chie Hoshinomiya's face didn't fade in the slightest as she explained to the class.

"Because Hashiba-kun helped everyone uncover the school's special rules yesterday, the school has decided to grant a unique reward to Class B and to Hashiba-kun."

"Really?"

"Class B gets a reward too? Could it be... Class Evaluation Points?"