The quick-witted students immediately came up with the idea.
"That's right. The school's reward this time is an additional 100 Class Evaluation Points for Class B. If we don't lose any points, each student will receive an extra 10,000 Private Points next month. Isn't that great?"
"That's wonderful!!!"
"I knew it was right to trust Classmate Hashiba. That means his plan..."
Now everyone had joined Hashiba Hikaru's twenty-million-point plan. By next month, these 100 Class Evaluation Points would directly translate into 400,000 Private Points. No matter how you looked at it, it was an unexpected windfall.
"Classmate Hashiba's personal reward is 500,000 Private Points." Chie Hoshinomiya smiled as she looked at Hashiba Hikaru and asked, "You can check your Student ID and see whether the points have come through."
"Okay."
Hashiba Hikaru glanced down at his phone. Sure enough, the number of Private Points in his account had changed.
[Student ID] [Name: Hashiba Hikaru] [Student Number: S01T004617] [Gender: Male] [Personal Account: 536000]
The Student Council President really had been quick. It hadn't even been two hours since they parted, and he'd already kept his promise.
What an incredible guy.
Now that this matter was settled for the time being, it was time to formally draw up a Point Collection Plan for Class C. Hashiba Hikaru took out his notebook, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
Collective Action in Class B
After Chie Hoshinomiya announced the school's reward, the classroom buzzed with excitement for a while before finally settling down. Everyone knew that fierce competition between classes lay ahead, but thanks to Classmate Hashiba's outstanding performance, Class B had started with an extra 100 Class Evaluation Points. It was practically a dream start.
"All right, class is starting. Please take out your English textbooks."
Once the excitement had mostly died down, Chie Hoshinomiya let the smile fade from her face and got back to her duties as a teacher.
The first day's lessons weren't especially difficult, and the students in Class B studied hard.
Hashiba Hikaru had repeatedly stressed the importance of not breaking school rules and losing Class Evaluation Points, so the classroom maintained a serious atmosphere of study, with everyone doing their best.
The afternoon classes continued until the teachers announced that school was over.
The students could spend the remaining time at club activities, or head back to their dorms to rest if they didn't belong to a club.
But after the teacher left, not a single student in Class B moved. They were all waiting for one person to step up and announce his plan.
"Let's go, Ichinose."
Hashiba Hikaru gently called to Ichinose Honami, who was sitting beside him. During the break, they had discussed some of the finer details of the plan and reached an initial agreement.
"Okay, Classmate Hashiba."
The two walked up to the podium together, and the classroom fell silent. Every student turned their full attention to the front.
This was Class B's first meeting to plan a collective action, and it was important to everyone.
"Then I'll explain the first part of our collective action plan."
Hashiba Hikaru nodded to Ichinose beside him. They had already divided up the work: he would mainly be responsible for drawing up and overseeing plans for class competition, while she would handle collecting and managing Private Points.
"First, let's talk about the phased point-collection plan I proposed yesterday."
Hashiba Hikaru carefully explained his plan, writing each step on the blackboard as he went. The students listened attentively.
"Our deal with Class A is done, and everyone has signed the contract. So I believe they won't risk expulsion by breaking the rules.
"Next are Classes C and D. My initial thought is to collect points from Class C in a week, so we'll need some of you to find out more about them.
"Does anyone know students in Class C? Please raise your hand."
"I do."
The speaker was an ordinary-looking boy named Beppu Ryota.
"Classmate Beppu, how do you know students in Class C?"
"Yesterday, I looked at the club recruitment flyers on the bulletin board and decided to join the school's Volleyball Club." Beppu still seemed a little uncomfortable under the gaze of his classmates as he explained slowly. "I met another new student at the Volleyball Club's recruitment booth. It turns out he's Oda Takumi from Class C."
"So you both joined the Volleyball Club?" A hint of approval showed in Hashiba Hikaru's eyes. He nodded and said, "Good. I'll leave this to you, Classmate Beppu. You can learn about Class C by chatting with him."
"But don't rush things. Just ask about their class's current situation and who they've chosen as their leader. We can gather more information later."
Beppu Ryota took the assignment seriously and replied in a firm voice, "Understood. Leave it to me, Classmate Hashiba."
"Of course, I can't leave this entirely to Classmate Beppu. If any of you have a lot of friends, you can make use of your connections too. It would be especially helpful if you know anyone in Class C."
"Getting information from several sources is the only way to make sure it's accurate."
"Understood. Please continue, Classmate Hashiba."
Everyone in the class took his words to heart. Some began thinking about whether they knew any students from Class C.
"Next is gathering information about how they spend their points." After finishing his plan for learning about Class C, Hashiba Hikaru turned to another matter.
"We don't yet know how the students in Class C will spend the 100,000 Private Points they receive in their first month. If they don't have any points left when we approach them to sell the rules, that'll be a problem. And we need to pay attention to the same situation in Class D, too."
"My idea is for the students in Class B to work in groups and visit places where students often spend time each day, gathering information and then compiling it."
"How should we go about that? Could you explain in more detail, Classmate Hashiba?"
Someone raised a hand with a question.
"It's simple."
Hashiba Hikaru picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a few key locations on the blackboard: family restaurants, cafés, karaoke bars, clothing stores, and electronics shops.
"Yesterday, when I ate with some of our classmates, I kept an eye on Keyaki Mall. These five places get the most foot traffic, and there are always lots of students there."
"What you need to do is go to these places and observe how students from Classes C and D spend their money."
"But it's only the second day of school. We don't know them yet. How can we tell which students are in Class C and which are in Class D?"
At that question, Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly, then picked up a stack of papers from the podium. He'd gone to ask Hoshinomiya-sensei to print them during lunch: the First-Year Student Roster.
The roster included each student's enrollment photo and basic information.
Of course, this information hadn't been free. Hashiba Hikaru had bought it from Chie Hoshinomiya for 100,000 Private Points.
It wasn't very expensive, considering there were only 120 first-year students. Anyone who was good at talking to people could learn everyone's name and class without too much trouble.
"This is the First-Year Student Roster I bought from Hoshinomiya-sensei. It lists everyone's name and photo, as well as their class. Everyone can have a copy."
"Great! Now we don't have to worry about not recognizing them."
"Did you spend points on this again, Classmate Hashiba?"
"That's all right. Didn't I just get a reward from the school?" Hashiba Hikaru nodded to Shibata and continued explaining the plan.
"You can form your own groups and decide which areas each group will cover."
"The point of gathering information isn't to follow anyone around. You only need to find out what they buy and what their spending habits are like."
"Then bring all the information to me. We'll set aside a week for this. I'll compile everything during Friday's homeroom period, and then we'll decide what to do next."
At this point, Hashiba Hikaru's tone turned noticeably colder. He looked at everyone in Class B and spoke in a firm voice.
"This operation is different from our deal with Class A. I want everyone to take part and contribute to our class."
"More importantly, don't forget why we're doing this. We absolutely can't let our plan get out. Even if you can't get any information, don't do anything unnecessary that might make them suspicious."
"Does everyone understand?"
"Understood. We'll do as you say, Classmate Hashiba."
"Please trust us, Classmate Hashiba."
"That's right. I can keep my mouth shut. I definitely won't let anything slip."
The students began responding loudly, promising not to leak any information.
"Good. That's everything for my plan. Next, Ichinose will explain the point-collection plan."
Insurance Against Expulsion and Excellence Exemption
When Ichinose Honami took the podium after the boy, the students felt the atmosphere in the classroom lighten. After all, Hashiba Hikaru had barely shown any expression while explaining the first plan, and his final words had even carried a hint of a cold warning.
Ichinose Honami, the class's most popular, angelic girl, always wore a gentle smile that made people feel as if they were basking in a warm spring breeze.
"Now that Classmate Hashiba has explained his plan, it's my turn."
Like Hashiba Hikaru, Ichinose picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard.
"Since everyone has joined Classmate Hashiba's twenty-million-point collection plan, we need to set up a detailed system for managing Class B's Private Points."
"What kind of system, Ichinose?"
"Please be patient. I'll explain exactly how the points will be used." Ichinose Honami divided the system into two parts on the blackboard.
"The first part is a policy of halving Private Points. Since our goal is to collect twenty million points to prevent any of our classmates from being expelled in the future, I'd like everyone to hand over half of their monthly Private Points to me after they receive them."
"Everyone has to contribute. Classmate Hashiba and I will also hand over our share. We won't use these points for ourselves, and you're welcome to keep an eye on us."
Ichinose Honami's gaze swept over the class. Collecting everyone's points was a risky plan. Even though they had all eagerly joined Hashiba's plan, their trust in one another was still far from strong enough for them to ignore their own interests.
Even if they trusted Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami, they were bound to feel resentful when half the money they received each month was taken from them.
It was unavoidable.
That was why Hashiba Hikaru hadn't wanted to involve everyone right away. After all, getting everyone to set aside their own interests would be a lot of trouble.
But now that they had come this far, they had to steel themselves and see it through.
This was also a conviction Ichinose Honami held deeply. That was why she had asked Hashiba Hikaru to let her announce this part of the plan.
At the podium, the pink-haired girl watched as her classmates' eager expressions gradually turned uncertain. She quietly clenched the hand resting on the podium, her fingernails digging into her palm despite herself.
"What does everyone think?"
Ichinose added one more question, but the classroom remained quiet, and the mood seemed rather tense.
Though everyone had agreed to the plan, they hadn't expected to have to hand over half their points every month. They were now considering what to do.
Just then, someone stood up and called out, "I agree with this arrangement. As long as we follow Classmate Hashiba and Classmate Ichinose's lead and make sure we don't lose Class Evaluation Points, we'll still have plenty of points left each month."
"Don't forget, Classmate Hashiba just earned Class B an extra 100 Class Evaluation Points. If we can keep that advantage, we might get more than 100,000 Private Points every month in the future."
"Giving up half would be fine, wouldn't it? What do you all think?"
The student who stood up to speak was Shibata Sou. He was good-looking, and his cheerful, sporty personality made him quite popular in Class B.
"I agree. Aren't we the ones who'll benefit from this plan in the end?"
The girl who spoke up this time was Ando Sayo, who had organized the group meal the day before.
After giving Ichinose at the podium a reassuring look, she urged her classmates, "After all, none of us can be completely sure we won't be eliminated in the class competition ahead, can we?"
"Everyone is paying points now so that if any of us face expulsion in the future, we can use the fund to protect ourselves. It doesn't matter who it is."
"It's like buying insurance, isn't it?"
Kanzaki Ryuji found a chance to join in and turned to the others. "Everyone contributes a little, and everyone has an equal chance to avoid expulsion."
After several influential students in the class had helped make the case, the students in Class B began to consider whether the plan was practical. A few minutes later, they agreed to it.
"I agree. Besides, I trust Classmate Hashiba."
"Let's do it this way. Starting next month, half of the Private Points we receive will be deducted and given to Ichinose. I think she can look after them for us."
Seeing the tense mood in the classroom relax, Ichinose Honami let out a sigh of relief. Her clenched little fist relaxed as well.
Hashiba Hikaru stood silently beside her. Since he had left the entire point-collection plan in Ichinose's hands, he didn't want to do anything unnecessary that might affect her thinking.
The road ahead might be full of obstacles. If she couldn't handle this much pressure, she had no business being the class leader.
"All right. That's the first part. Now I'll explain the other part of the point plan."
A gentle smile appeared on Ichinose Honami's face as she drew everyone's attention back to her.
"The second part is about rewards. After all, if we have to hand over some of our points every month without any alternative arrangement, wouldn't that be unfair to everyone?"
Before you continue