"So..." Ichinose deliberately paused, then wrote four characters on the blackboard in chalk: Special Exam. "The second part of the plan is the Reward Operation for Special Exams."
At the mention of rewards, everyone in the class perked up again. They still remembered how the school had rewarded Hashiba Hikaru with 500,000 Private Points that morning.
"The rules are simple. According to Hoshinomiya-sensei, we'll be taking part in school-organized Special Exams frequently in the future. Each time, classes will be rewarded based on their rankings."
"So far, we only know that Class Evaluation Points will be one of the rewards, but there may be others, such as Private Points."
"And the reward system is..."
Ichinose Honami suddenly turned and pointed at Hashiba Hikaru beside her. Everyone followed her gesture and looked at the boy.
"Me?"
Hashiba Hikaru looked puzzled. Weren't they discussing the rules? Why had she brought him into it?
Ichinose Honami winked at him with her pretty eyes and said brightly,
"For example, because Hashiba exposed the school's rules this time, our Class B earned 100 Class Evaluation Points, and Hashiba also received 500,000 Private Points."
"The reward system in the Point Collection Plan is this: if a student helps the class during a future Special Exam and achieves an outstanding result..."
"Then that student won't have to hand over half of their Private Points that month. They can keep them all," Ichinose Honami explained to everyone. "After all, their contribution benefits the entire class, so they deserve the protection against expulsion."
"So that's how it works. If you stand out enough in a Special Exam, you can benefit from insurance against the threat of expulsion in the future and avoid handing over your Private Points?"
"That's right." Ichinose Honami nodded. "As for how we decide whether someone contributed during a Special Exam, we'll discuss the criteria together. That'll be fairer."
Once Ichinose had explained the reward system, everyone in Class B understood it immediately.
Hashiba Hikaru had come up with the rule that morning, and it was simple to put into practice.
If they wanted to slack off, they could simply hand over half of their Private Points each month. But if they worked hard and helped the class earn Evaluation Points in future Special Exams, they wouldn't have to pay any Private Points and might even earn other rewards.
After all, everyone was working together to collect the 20 million points. Anyone hoping to receive an Expulsion Exemption had to pay a price.
"Exactly." Ichinose Honami smiled brightly. "What does everyone think of this plan?"
Chapter 20: Information About Class C
After Ichinose Honami had finished explaining all her plans, she glanced around at her classmates. Before long, responses rang out around the classroom.
"I agree!"
"This is a great plan. There are benefits and drawbacks, so we can all devote ourselves to helping the class."
"Yeah, the rules sound fair. Everyone can understand them."
Once everyone in Class B had grasped the point of the reward system, they quickly reached a consensus. Nobody wanted to lose out. If they wanted to use the expulsion protection the class had pooled together with a clear conscience, they had to either contribute points or help the class.
"Great. Thanks for your support."
Ichinose Honami bowed to everyone in Class B, then walked over to Hashiba Hikaru.
"Thank you, Hashiba. With these two plans, I'm sure no one in Class B will be expelled!"
Seeing the relief on the girl's face, Hashiba Hikaru nodded along with her.
"I think so too. Thanks for all your hard work, Ichinose."
"They were your ideas, Hashiba. I'm only putting them into practice." Ichinose Honami's pretty face took on a hopeful expression as she murmured, "If only we could always..."
"What was that?"
Hashiba Hikaru hadn't heard her clearly, but just as he was about to ask, a new prompt suddenly appeared on the System Bar and caught his full attention.
[Both plans you devised to help Class B have won your classmates' approval. Ichinose Honami trusts you even more. Ichinose Honami Stock Price rose by 10 points. Current stock price: 120]
Across from him, when Ichinose Honami heard the boy's question, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She realized she'd almost blurted out that she wanted Hashiba Hikaru to stay by her side forever, and hurriedly explained, "If you didn't hear it, never mind. It wasn't important anyway."
"Hashiba, can you dismiss everyone now? They need to get started, don't they?"
"Right."
Hashiba Hikaru didn't dwell on whether he'd missed something. He was satisfied with seeing the stock price rise, so he smiled and stepped back up to the podium, speaking loudly to everyone.
"That's the end of today's class meeting. You can start carrying out my plan and go wherever you've decided."
"Remember, don't let anyone find out about our plans."
"Got it. Don't worry, Hashiba!"
After Hashiba Hikaru announced the meeting's end, the students of Class B began leaving the classroom in groups. They found classmates they knew, formed small teams, and discussed which places they'd chosen.
There was no need for Hashiba Hikaru to assign every detail of these arrangements. He had no intention of planning every single step.
He wasn't the parent of everyone in Class B, and his classmates weren't helpless babies. They were all fairly capable.
Once almost everyone had left, Hashiba Hikaru glanced at Ichinose, who was still in the classroom. Several girls had gathered around her, apparently discussing which shampoo was best.
Hashiba Hikaru had no interest in that topic, so after walking over to say hello, he left the Class 1-B classroom.
He still knew far too little about the school, so he planned to take a walk around campus and gather some information.
The day passed quickly. When Hashiba Hikaru returned to his dorm, exhausted, messages kept popping up on his phone.
He opened them and found that most were from the Class B group chat. Everyone was actively sharing information, including things they'd seen that day.
"Isn't this pretty nice?"
After saying that, the boy lay peacefully on his single bed. Using his brain so intensely for the past two days had been exhausting. He hoped it wouldn't make his hair fall out.
At the thought, Hashiba Hikaru's mind stirred, and he opened the System's Trading Shop. Lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[Stock Analyzer: 1000] [Bow: 2000] [Piano Performance (Beginner): 150000] [Basketball (Expert): 200000] [Intelligence: 500000]
According to the System's rules, the items in the Trading Shop refreshed once a month. The Stock Analyzer could be bought multiple times, but every other item could only be purchased once.
"Looks like I can put off everything this month except the Exercise Booster. Intelligence is important, but it's way too expensive. Five hundred thousand!"
After buying the Exercise Booster yesterday, Hashiba Hikaru had 169,000 System funds left. There were only a few things he could afford in the shop, so he quickly closed the System page.
"Whatever happens, I have to hurry up and find new stocks."
Hashiba Hikaru thought it over quietly. The price of the Ichinose Honami Stock he'd bought was steadily rising. As long as he stayed aligned with Class B's overall goal of climbing the rankings, its price shouldn't run into trouble anytime soon.
After using the Exercise Booster to deal with his most urgent problem—his physical stamina—he wanted to get more skills or attributes through the System's Trading Shop. That was the only way he could give himself an advantage in the class competition ahead.
"I'll try my luck tomorrow. Maybe I'll come across a new stock."
Looking forward to finding a new stock, Hashiba Hikaru went to sleep early. He still had to get up early for a run the next day.
After finishing his workout the next morning, Hashiba Hikaru took his breakfast and walked into the Class B classroom. He found that, just like the day before, his classmates all turned to look at him as soon as he entered.
Seriously, what was it this time?
"Hashiba, we've got a problem!"
As soon as one of the students saw Hashiba Hikaru walk in, he called out to him anxiously. It seemed to be the boy he'd asked to look into Class C the day before: Beppu Ryota.
"Beppu, what happened?"
"I followed your plan yesterday and went to the volleyball club to talk to Oda Takumi. I found out something really important."
"What is it?"
After Hashiba Hikaru returned to his seat, he listened carefully to what Beppu had learned.
"Oda said they still haven't decided who their class leader is, but there's a dangerous guy trying to unite the class. He's about to succeed."
"Dangerous?"
Hashiba Hikaru's expression changed. He immediately pressed him for details. "What do you mean by dangerous?"
"Oda said there's a student in their class called Ryuen Kakeru. He's using violence to force everyone to vote for him so he can become the leader of Class C, and he's already secured some of the votes."
"?"
Violence?
At that word, a flash of insight crossed Hashiba Hikaru's mind. He suddenly realized he might have made a serious mistake.
Whenever he made plans, he built them around his preconceived assumptions. He'd thought that students admitted to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School would all follow the rules.
But if someone refused to play by the rules—even crossing the line—then all their plans would need to be adjusted immediately. Otherwise, things would surely go wrong.
"I see. Put that way, this really is a problem."
Hashiba Hikaru's expression turned grave. If the future leader of Class C was someone who loved using violence, they would have to reassess the situation.
"Beppu, don't panic yet. This information is important. I think we need to discuss our approach to Class C again."
"Let's wait until everyone's here."
"All right."
Chapter 21: How to Break the Deadlock
Once everyone in Class B had arrived, there was still some time before class. Hashiba Hikaru immediately called over his deskmate Ichinose and the few classmates who had been the first to join his plan.
They included Kanzaki Ryuji, Shibata Sou, and a few girls. Everyone gathered around, looking serious.
They'd heard about the situation in Class C too, and knew Hashiba Hikaru would likely need to adjust their plans.
"You've all heard Beppu's information, right?" Hashiba Hikaru held a ballpoint pen and wrote a single word in his notebook: violence.
"Yes. I've heard a few things as well." Kanzaki Ryuji looked at Hashiba, his voice tinged with distaste. "I heard that the boy called Ryuen used violence against a classmate on the first day of school."
"Honestly, how could someone like that get admitted here with us?"
Ando furrowed her pretty brows, clearly disgusted by the use of violence. The girls beside her nodded in agreement.
"Whatever the case, one thing we know is that this boy named Ryuen doesn't follow the rules." Hashiba Hikaru paused, a sharp glint in his eyes. "If he dares to use violence to unite his class, he may do all kinds of things we'd never expect."
Violence on campus wasn't unusual. In fact, the ivory tower of a school could itself create incentives for violent behavior in certain circumstances. They were all teenagers, and when tempers flared, anything could happen.
"Yes, that's what I thought when I heard about this too." Ichinose rested her chin on her hand, worry showing in her blue eyes. "If we sell the rules to Class C, something even worse might happen."
"I agree."
Hashiba Hikaru was of the same mind. From what they'd heard, Ryuen had already tried to use the most straightforward method—violence—to unite the class on the very first day. If he learned the school's Deep Rules, it might trigger even more violent incidents.
After all, the rules Class B had bought for two million points were quite detailed. They included information not found in the Student Handbook, such as how to form contracts and the different ways Class Evaluation Points could be deducted.
"I think so too." Shibata, who hadn't spoken until now, scratched his head and offered his analysis. "If that guy Ryuen learns the school's Deep Rules, he'll definitely use violence to threaten ordinary students into working like oxen and horses for him."
"Isn't that just bullying? That's awful!"
The girls immediately took the same side. After thinking it over, everyone turned to look at Hashiba, who was deep in thought.
"Hashiba, what should we do? Should we continue with the plan to sell the rules?"
When everyone looked his way, Hashiba Hikaru rubbed his chin, then drew a box around the word violence he'd just written.
"What's this...?"
As his deskmate, Ichinose had naturally seen what Hashiba had written. She leaned over and asked, "Hashiba, have you already thought of something?"
"A little, but I still need to confirm some information."
Hashiba Hikaru looked up and called out, "Beppu, come over here."
When the other students in Class B had seen Hashiba call over Shibata and the others, they'd understood he was probably coming up with another plan. They'd pretended to focus on their own tasks, but had really been paying attention to him the whole time.
"Sure, Hashiba."
Beppu Ryota hurried over at once. Shibata then offered him the chair he'd brought over.
"Beppu, you said Ryuen hasn't completely taken control of Class C yet, right?"
"That's right. Oda said Ryuen uses violence in class, but he doesn't always win. There are people who can beat him."
"Oh?"
Everyone became interested at once. Even the girls who hated violence looked excited.
"Tell us more."
Before you continue