In Classroom of the Elite, My Love Stock Market Only Wants to Go All In

"Hello, Kushida-san."

The boys sitting at their seats immediately greeted Kushida Kikyo. She truly possessed a stunning face; standing next to Ichinose Honami, they were almost indistinguishable, both being top-tier beauties.

When it was Hashiba Hikaru's turn, he had just finished his greeting when a new message popped up on his system interface the very next second.

[Ding! Kushida Kikyo stock is now live!]

[Current share price: 10]

[Total shares issued: 5000]

"!"

Seeing this notification, Hashiba Hikaru's expression shifted. After waiting for several days, he had finally discovered a new stock, and this time, the boy was extremely satisfied.

To think it was another stock with an initial price of 10; this was the most ideal target for a full-position investment.

"Hashiba-kun, I heard you're Ichinose-san's assistant. You must be very capable."

Kushida, sitting opposite him, didn't know what was going through the boy's mind; she was simply following her usual habit of asking questions to try and build a rapport.

"Not at all, I'm just doing some minor work for the class." Hashiba Hikaru shook his head slightly. He scrutinized the short-haired girl across from him; her expressions and movements appeared completely natural, clearly marking her as someone highly skilled at socializing.

"Hashiba-kun is so modest, even though I often hear your name from little Honami."

It seemed Kushida Kikyo and Ichinose Honami were very close, even using nicknames for each other.

"I don't think so, Kushida-san, don't talk nonsense!"

A blush flew across the pink-haired girl's small face. She hurriedly patted Kushida's arm and said to Hashiba Hikaru, "Hashiba-kun, we've already paid the bill, we can go now."

"Yeah."

After everyone walked out of the yakiniku restaurant, since it was still early, they planned to continue wandering around Keyaki Mall. Hashiba Hikaru had no objections, so he followed behind the group.

With the addition of Kushida Kikyo, the group size became seven. As an acquaintance of Ichinose, she naturally blended into the group's atmosphere.

Coupled with the girl's keen ability to read the room, it didn't take long for her to become familiar with the students from Class B.

A social butterfly?

Hashiba Hikaru, who had been observing her the entire time, left this as his first basic impression in his heart.

However, she was a student in Class D, which meant she had been judged by the school as being in the lowest tier, yet the impression she gave was completely the opposite.

It seems this person isn't simple either.

Hashiba Hikaru silently observed every move the short-haired girl made. Her initial share price of 10 was indeed very tempting to the boy, but he would have to carefully plan how to approach her.

Chapter 35: Horikita Suzune's Discovery

When the alarm clock by her bedside let out its first ring, Horikita Suzune sat up from her dormitory bed without the slightest hesitation.

Next came changing clothes, washing up, and tidying herself.

The girl stood in front of the mirror and straightened her long black hair. Her beautiful, peerless face was devoid of any expression. This was her first week of dormitory life at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, and her class was Class 1-D.

The past few days of school life had not put Horikita Suzune in a good mood, because things here were far too lax.

Not only did they distribute 100,000 yen worth of living expenses to everyone in the class on the very first day of school, but the teachers had no desire to manage the classroom order; they didn't care whether students passed notes or played on their phones during class.

As soon as the bell rang, they would leave right on time, not even staying for an extra second.

This situation left the strictly self-disciplined Horikita Suzune very dissatisfied. She believed that this school, where her brother attended, should be excellent—boasting the most perfect advancement and employment rates—so how could it be so indulgent toward the students' behavior?

But even after seeing her classmates acting as they pleased, Horikita Suzune, who had always been a loner and had no interest in socializing, had no intention of meddling in these trivial matters. It had nothing to do with her anyway.

After entering the classroom in the morning, the atmosphere in the class remained the same as before. Everyone had no intention of focusing on their studies; the girls huddled together to discuss fashion and pop culture, while the boys either discussed games or loudly told vulgar jokes.

Horikita Suzune could feel the gazes of some people landing on her after she walked into the classroom, but she didn't care in the slightest. After sitting back in her seat, the girl began to take out the books she had borrowed yesterday to read.

Sitting in the seat next to her was a boy with delicate features named Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had once been on the same bus as Horikita Suzune, and the two had even had a conversation.

However, Horikita Suzune had quickly forgotten that conversation. Her goal in coming to this school was to track the most important target in her heart; others would never be on her mind.

After school, the black-haired girl headed to the cafeteria alone to eat. Just as she was holding the food she had chosen and preparing to enjoy it, she felt a prying gaze.

But after Horikita Suzune looked left and right, she didn't see anyone strange in her field of vision. The students in the cafeteria were either eating at their seats or queuing for food.

Am I just overthinking it?

After putting her doubts aside, Horikita Suzune chose a relatively quiet corner to start eating. Just then, she heard a faint discussion coming from the two boys sitting diagonally in front of her.

Although they were eating, they were actually holding notebooks in their hands, as if they were recording something.

"How is it going, Tsube-kun?"

"It's already recorded. Sotomura from Class D has been choosing the 2,000 yen pork cutlet set for lunch these past few days, and he buys two juices of different flavors after finishing his meal."

"I see, this guy really knows how to enjoy himself."

"Hey, isn't that Yamauchi?"

"What about him?"

"That guy is a notorious big mouth. I chatted with him a few times and got quite a bit of information."

"Ninomiya-kun... you didn't do anything unnecessary, did you?" The boy called Tsube said with a warning tone, "Did you forget Hashiba-kun's orders? Don't ever do anything that would arouse the other party's suspicion."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Tsube," the boy named Ninomiya said with a relaxed, easygoing tone. "He's just a student from Class D; how could he possibly have such sharp instincts? I just struck up a casual conversation about video games, and he opened up to me in no time."

"I see. Just make sure you don't act on your own again. Be careful not to interfere with Hashiba's plans."

"Relax, relax."

Ninomiya shoveled a few bites of food into his mouth, but his gaze never once left Yamauchi Haruki, who was sitting ahead of them.

Horikita Suzune, who had overheard their conversation, felt a flicker of suspicion cross her face. She couldn't fathom what these two boys were doing—could they possibly be monitoring someone?

Yamauchi Haruki and Sotomura Hideo were both students in Class D, so Horikita Suzune recognized them.

"Their division of labor is clear. Even while eating, they haven't stopped watching their targets," Horikita Suzune thought, her expression turning grave. "It sounds like they're carrying out orders from someone named Hashiba, and they seem deeply concerned about his plans."

"Strange guys..."

Just as Horikita Suzune was mulling over her discovery, she suddenly saw Ninomiya's expression shift. He immediately leaned toward the boy beside him and said loudly, "Hey, Tsube, look at that. Is that the latest handheld console in Yamauchi's hand?"

"...Yeah," Tsube replied, his own expression darkening as he heard the comment. "I recall that console costing thirty thousand, doesn't it? That guy really is reckless."

"What a moron!"

The relaxed look on Ninomiya's face vanished, replaced by a scowl. He turned to Tsube and said, "We have to report this to Hashiba tomorrow. I knew it—the students in Class D are all trash. To think they'd spend their Private Points so lavishly when school has barely even started!"

"You're right. If they blow through all their points, it's going to cause major problems for Hashiba's plan."

The two boys exchanged a look, their expressions shifting into something subtle, and before long, they both stood up and left the cafeteria.

Sitting behind them, Horikita Suzune's beautiful face turned as cold as frost after hearing that exchange.

From those few sentences, she had extracted several key pieces of information.

Their surveillance was aimed at tracking how others were spending their Private Points.

The target of their surveillance was Class D.

The students of Class D were considered "trash."

This information made Horikita Suzune deeply uneasy. She couldn't understand why these two boys would say such things, and she immediately began to link it to the situations she had observed in her own class over the past few days.

A theory began to take shape in her mind, but since she didn't know where to start investigating, she decided to keep the discovery to herself for the time being.

Besides, she didn't even know which class these two boys belonged to.

However, if she had seen someone monitoring her classmates, it was highly likely that someone was assigned to monitor her as well. Perhaps the feeling of being watched she had experienced earlier was from that very person.

Horikita Suzune decided to be more vigilant from now on. After all, the word "trash" was something she found utterly unacceptable.

As someone who held firmly to her own principles, Horikita Suzune would never allow herself to be labeled as such. She had to get to the bottom of this!

Chapter 36: Truly a String of "Good News"

When Friday arrived, Hashiba Hikaru woke up early for his morning exercise, just as he had grown accustomed to doing.

Over the past few days, he had slowly begun to find his rhythm. Although it was still somewhat grueling, the benefits of the exercise were already becoming apparent now that he was used to the sweating; his posture had straightened, and he felt more energetic than before.

After showering and arriving at the classroom for Class 1-B, Hashiba Hikaru walked in while still finishing a piece of bread. But the moment he stepped inside, a familiar sensation washed over him.

Don't tell me... is this happening again?

"Hashiba!"

Someone immediately called his name from inside the classroom, causing the boy's previously relaxed expression to collapse instantly.

"What is it?"

Three times now—three times. So, what new intelligence has been brought back? Can't I just have one quiet day?

Hashiba Hikaru looked at the two students staring at him. They were two boys named Tsube and Ninomiya, whose task, it seemed, was to monitor the students of Class D.

"We discovered some very important intelligence yesterday regarding Class D," Ninomiya said, looking somewhat nervous. He pulled out his notebook and held it toward Hashiba Hikaru. "While I was monitoring Sotomura from Class D yesterday, I ran into another student from that class I happen to know, a guy named Yamauchi Haruki."

"And?"

"I saw him holding a brand-new handheld console. You need thirty thousand points to buy that at the electronics store."

"?"

Hashiba Hikaru's expression shifted upon hearing this.

Thirty thousand?

Doesn't that mean this student named Yamauchi has already burned through nearly a third of his points?

School hasn't even been in session for a week, and this guy is already spending so recklessly. Does he actually think he's going to get another hundred thousand points next month?

"Is that the only discovery? Anything else?"

"We have the spending habits of Sotomura and Ishikura recorded here as well. The amount of points they burn through every day is quite significant."

Ninomiya and Tsube hurriedly handed their notebooks to Hashiba Hikaru. The more he read, the uglier the boy's expression became.

He realized he might have overestimated the students assigned to Class D. His original plan had been to wait half a month before going to Class D to collect points, but if the class was full of students like this, it was possible that by then, there wouldn't be a single cent left to collect.

"Truly... a string of 'good news'..."

I just finished dealing with the issues in Class C; I didn't expect the next disaster to be in Class D.

Looking at it now, Class A might have been easier to handle, though that could just be a matter of timing. After all, on the first day, everyone still had their points in hand.

Rubbing his temples, Hashiba Hikaru told Ninomiya and Tsube to return to their seats for the time being. The homeroom period was in the afternoon, and after taking stock of everything regarding Class D today, they had to make decisions immediately, or else the points would be impossible to recover by then.

"Hashiba-kun, are you alright?"

Seeing the boy's complexion looking rather poor, Ichinose, who sat next to him, leaned over and said gently, "Are you worried about the situation with Class D?"

"Yeah... I suppose so. I'm afraid today's homeroom meeting is going to give everyone quite a shock."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded slightly. After looking over the notes from just a moment ago, he finally understood why these students had been assigned to Class D.

The morning classes passed quickly, and the customary homeroom meeting followed the end of the first period in the afternoon. When the stylishly dressed Chie Hoshinomiya walked into the Class B classroom in her high heels, the students all realized that the critical moment had arrived.

This was the first homeroom meeting since the start of the school year, and also the moment for the first plan under Hashiba Hikaru's arrangement to be reviewed.

The first half of the homeroom meeting consisted of the teacher summarizing the week's study life and announcing upcoming study tasks or school activities. Once these procedures concluded, Hashiba Hikaru saw Chie Hoshinomiya looking in his direction.

"Alright, the first half ends here. Now it is time for the class leader's segment. Ichinose-san, please come up."

Chie Hoshinomiya wore a gentle smile as she looked at the pink-haired girl who had been elected by everyone as the class leader. After she stood up, Hashiba Hikaru followed suit. Everyone in the class understood that only when these two were together could they be considered the true leaders of Class B.

"Everyone, you should have all made some progress on the plan announced a few days ago. The review process is being handled by Hashiba-kun, so let's welcome him." Ichinose Honami smiled at the boy beside her, signaling for him to take the stage and begin the review.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

The class immediately began to applaud, everyone being very supportive.

"Understood."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded. This had been agreed upon from the start, so he didn't hesitate at all as he stood in the very center of the podium, his gaze sweeping across everyone in the classroom.

Upon seeing the boy stand on the podium, the atmosphere in the class instantly tightened, and everyone's expression turned serious.

"Because I just received some intelligence regarding Class D, the first topic for today is the point collection operation against Class D," Hashiba Hikaru glanced at Ninomiya, who was sitting in his seat, and instructed, "Will the students responsible for Class D please stand up one by one? Tell everyone what you have discovered, and I will take notes as I listen."

"Let's begin!"