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

After he finished speaking, the students responsible for gathering intelligence on Class D began to stand up one by one. They held various recording tools in their hands—some had notebooks or planners, while others simply used their phones—but the result was the same regardless.

When they began to read out their findings, everyone in Class B immediately realized that the situation was far from optimistic.

To say nothing of the entire class, at least half of the students in Class D were extremely extravagant when it came to spending their points. Aside from students like Yamauchi Haruki, who spent 30,000 points on a new handheld console in the very first week, there were also girls who spent their points on cosmetics and private clothing. After all, girls love to look beautiful, and it was naturally more comfortable to wear their own clothes when moving around the school outside of class hours.

"That concludes my findings."

By the time the last student responsible for Class D sat back down, Hashiba Hikaru had just stopped his pen on the podium.

"..."

The boy looked at the records in his hand. He had never expected the situation to be this explosive once all the intelligence was compiled; it had far exceeded his initial predictions.

"I believe everyone has heard what the students responsible for gathering intelligence on Class D had to say. The situation in Class D is dire."

Hashiba Hikaru turned around and began writing the data he had recorded onto the blackboard. "We originally intended to approach Class D to trade for one million points, but it seems there are many students in Class D who are quite spendthrift."

"It hasn't even been a week, and based on the data we've observed, the total points held by Class D have already been depleted quite rapidly."

"Therefore, I don't think we can afford to wait any longer. I plan to head to Class D this coming Monday to trade for the rules," Hashiba Hikaru said persuasively, his tone impassioned. "If we continue to wait, we might not even be able to recover a million points."

"What does everyone think?"

Chapter 37: Ichinose's Plan

After Hashiba Hikaru proposed his plan to the students of Class B, everyone began to respond from their seats.

After all, the students weren't stupid. Knowing full well that Class D had no intention of saving their points, they realized that if they kept waiting, they might truly fail to recover any points at all.

"I agree with Hashiba's idea. I didn't expect those guys in Class D to be so extravagant," Shibata said loudly, clearly shocked by the intelligence he had just heard. "They actually spent that much in just one week? Good grief."

"What did you expect? That's why they were assigned to Class D. They really are the worst class."

"I think so too. They must have had a lot of Class Evaluation Points deducted over the past few days anyway. It's perfect for Hashiba to go collect the points this coming Monday."

"Agreed."

Seeing that everyone was in favor of his decision, Hashiba Hikaru had intended to summarize the plan immediately, but remembering his promise to Ichinose yesterday, he quickly changed his tone.

"Alright, since everyone agrees, let's put it to a vote," the boy said, looking at everyone in the class and explaining carefully, "I think that from now on, whenever we in Class B formulate a plan, we should hold a vote. It can only be officially executed when the 'yea' votes outnumber the 'nay' votes."

"This way, we can better account for everyone's inner thoughts, pool our collective wisdom, and ensure that our plans have everyone's approval."

"That works."

"Let's vote, then."

Although the students were a bit puzzled as to why he wouldn't just execute the plan directly, no one was going to oppose Hashiba Hikaru now. Since he had brought it up, they might as well go along with it.

"Ichinose, could you please tally the votes?" Hashiba Hikaru looked at Ichinose beside him with a smile.

She certainly knew why the boy had said that. As a wave of warmth washed over her, Ichinose Honami nodded firmly and began to count the class votes.

"Those in favor of Hashiba's proposal, please raise your hands."

Ichinose assumed the aura of a class leader and presented the first voting agenda to the class.

The next moment, everyone in Class B immediately raised their hands. No one was going to voice a dissenting opinion at this time; it was merely a formality.

"38 votes in favor."

The girl announced lightly, "Then we shall proceed according to Hashiba's plan on Monday. Thank you all for your support."

"Understood."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded to the side and began to move on to the next stage of the plan.

With the intelligence gathering for Class D concluded, it was now time for Class C.

Although they had just dealt a heavy blow to Ryuen of Class C not long ago, they still needed to track the point consumption of the rest of the class to ensure their plan didn't veer off course.

"Now, let the students responsible for Class C begin reporting their intelligence one by one," the boy continued, instructing his classmates.

When they began to tally the point consumption of the students in Class C, everyone clearly felt it was much better than Class D. Although there were still a few big spenders, they were generally few and far between.

When the last student finished reporting their intelligence and sat back down, Hashiba Hikaru stopped his pen.

It had to be said that despite being only one rank apart, the students in Class C were at least a level more frugal with their points than those in Class D.

"I believe everyone just heard the intelligence reports," Hashiba Hikaru said with a smile on his face. "The students in Class C aren't spending their points too heavily."

"Does Hashiba intend to wait a bit longer?"

Someone asked from the floor. After all, if Class C's point consumption wasn't high, waiting a few more days might allow more of their Class Evaluation Points to be deducted.

"But I recall that Hashiba just got three people from Class C suspended, didn't he?" a more perceptive student said, offering their analysis. "That should have resulted in a significant deduction of Class Evaluation Points, right?"

"That's correct."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded. According to the first version of the plan, he had intended to go to Class C to sell the rules after a week, but he hadn't expected Ryuen's violent behavior to disrupt that rhythm.

Now that three of their students had been suspended, they must have had Class Evaluation Points deducted. Even if their current point consumption was low, there was no harm in going early to avoid any complications.

"Let's change our approach. After we finish recovering the points from Class D next week, we'll head to Class C next," the boy said, adjusting the plan—it was all the same anyway. "We'll recover all the points from both classes within the week to avoid any unexpected situations."

"Agreed."

"I support Hashiba's arrangement. Once our point recovery plan is fully completed next week, everyone will be able to relax a bit more."

"Alright then, Ichinose-san, let's proceed with the vote."

"Mm-hmm."

Having gone through the process in the previous round, Ichinose Honami was now experienced. She faced her classmates for the second vote, and the result remained unchanged: 38 votes in favor.

"So, that settles everything regarding the plan for next week," Hashiba Hikaru began to summarize. "When we go to Class C and Class D to sell the rules next week, it will still be Ichinose-san and myself handling it. Does anyone have any objections?"

"No objections, I trust you both!"

"That's right, Hashiba-kun and Ichinose-san are the representatives of our Class B; I'm sure they'll be able to successfully collect the points."

After everyone joined the 20-million-point dropout insurance plan, they all understood that the more points stored within the class, the better, as it would provide greater security for everyone.

Therefore, they were very supportive of the plan to sell the rules and had great faith in the capabilities of Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami.

"Ichinose-san, why don't you summarize this class meeting?"

The boy winked at Ichinose beside him, signaling that this was her time to shine.

"I understand." A soft smile appeared on the pink-haired girl's face as she swapped places with Hashiba Hikaru and stepped onto the podium.

"Everyone, tomorrow and the day after will be the first weekend since we enrolled. Everyone has worked hard these past few days," Ichinose Honami said softly, her gaze sweeping across everyone in the classroom. "Hashiba-kun has already finalized the plan for next week, so there's no need for everyone to continue gathering information. Please get some good rest this weekend."

"Let's balance work and rest, and then give it our all next week!"

"Understood!!!"

"If Hashiba-kun or Ichinose-san need anything, you can message me directly. I guarantee I'll be there whenever you call."

"Me too, I'm free all weekend."

The class meeting came to an end amidst the enthusiastic responses of the students. Tomorrow was a day off, and the students of Class B were very happy—after all, who doesn't like a holiday?

Just then, Ichinose suddenly leaned into Hashiba Hikaru's ear and said:

"Um, Hashiba-kun, I'm planning to go see Kushida-san tomorrow. Would you like to come along?"

"?" The boy looked at her sideways.

"Since we're about to go to Class D to collect points, wouldn't it be better to do some homework in advance? Kushida-san has a great relationship with everyone in Class D, you know."

"I see. Please, by all means, take me with you."

This was exactly what he needed; Hashiba Hikaru had been worrying about how to make contact with Kushida Kikyo. She was a high-quality stock that had just hit the market, and he had to secure her this time!

Chapter 38: Is Kushida Kikyo a Little Angel?

When Saturday arrived, Hashiba Hikaru did not slack off on the exercise routine he had been sticking to for the past few days. Since there were no classes, he returned to his dorm to shower immediately after his one-hour run, then sat in his chair waiting for Ichinose to reach out.

The two had already agreed yesterday that the girl would meet with Kushida Kikyo from Class D today. Although the other party had only chatted with Ichinose a few times, given that they were both masters of social interaction, they had quickly become good friends.

After Hashiba's "talk therapy," Ichinose had become exceptionally proactive in executing the class plan. She intended to chat with Kushida and take the opportunity to understand the current situation in Class D, so she called Hashiba along to prepare for their visit to Class D next Monday.

"Beep."

As Hashiba Hikaru was idly flipping through a book on his desk, his phone chimed with a text message notification.

"Hashiba-kun, I've already met up with Kushida-san. We're at the cafe in Keyaki Mall; you can come over now."

"That was fast."

The boy checked the time on his phone; it was only nine o'clock.

He could understand why Ichinose Honami was in such a hurry, but why was Kushida Kikyo on the other end being so cooperative? It was the first weekend of the school year—didn't she want to sleep in a little?

He really didn't get it.

However, since he had received the text, Hashiba Hikaru didn't hesitate. He immediately left the dorm. As the place with the most foot traffic on this artificial island, Keyaki Mall had become very familiar to the boy after a few days of exploration.

Including the various shops and restaurants selling food, Hashiba had visited most of the stores and tried them out briefly. He wasn't a strict completionist, but there was no harm in experiencing more.

After walking to the cafe in Keyaki Mall, Hashiba Hikaru saw that curvaceous figure through the glass. Opposite her was Kushida Kikyo, who seemed to be talking to Ichinose about something, her expression very happy.

When the boy approached, Ichinose Honami spotted him immediately.

"Hashiba-kun, good morning."

"Morning, Ichinose," Hashiba Hikaru greeted her before turning to the short-haired girl opposite and saying, "Good morning, Kushida-san."

"Mm-hmm, good morning, Hashiba-kun. Little Honami told me yesterday that you were coming too, which really took me by surprise." A soft smile hung on Kushida Kikyo's pretty face, making her look quite approachable.

Hashiba pulled out a chair and sat down next to Ichinose Honami, a look of curiosity on his face as he asked Kushida Kikyo: "Why? Does Kushida-san not welcome me joining you?"

"Of course not. I just thought that if it were a weekend gathering, Little Honami would prefer to spend time alone with Hashiba-kun and wouldn't call me."

The girl with short brown hair curled the corners of her mouth, her gaze sweeping over the man and woman in front of her.

With her incredibly wide social network, she knew of a rumor circulating in Class B: that the two leaders of their class, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami, might be dating.

Topics about romantic relationships between boys and girls were very popular among high school students, so Kushida was a bit curious. She wanted to gather more information to bolster her own social standing.

"Kushida-san, what are you talking about!"

Hearing the other girl's teasing, Ichinose's face turned beet red. She snuck a glance at the boy's expression beside her and stiffly changed the subject: "I called you out today because I have something important to ask."

"What is it?"

Kushida's gaze remained somewhat ambiguous, her red eyes scanning Hashiba Hikaru, who had remained silent, as if wondering what his purpose was for tagging along.

"It's about matters within the class," Ichinose Honami, as the initiator of today's gathering, wanted to take control of the conversation's rhythm. "Didn't Kushida tell me earlier that the class leaders of Class D are you and Hirata? So, there are some questions I'd like to ask you."

"You've remembered it wrong. Our class leader is Hirata, and I'm just his assistant," Kushida smiled slightly, indicating that she only did some minor work.

"I see. What I actually wanted to ask is how to coordinate the situation between classmates."

Over the past few days, under the influence of Hashiba Hikaru, Ichinose Honami had learned some techniques for using empty talk—basically mixing truth with lies and blending them together, while maintaining a sufficiently sincere tone so that the other party would believe her.

In any case, she and Kushida had only just met, so the other party might not necessarily be able to judge certain lies; the main point was still to probe for information about Class D.

"Although the students in our Class B appear united on the surface, sometimes they still quarrel fiercely when they encounter certain problems," a look of worry appeared on Ichinose Honami's pretty face. "Sometimes even my persuasion is useless, and they still aren't willing to reconcile."

"Didn't Kushida say that everyone trusts you very much? Are there any techniques to achieve that?"

"So that's what you were worried about, Honami," the smile at the corners of Kushida's mouth grew even brighter as she spoke gently to Ichinose. "Actually, I don't have any special techniques. Sometimes, when I encounter everyone having a conflict, I can only rely on speaking soft words to get everyone to make up."

"Speaking soft words? What kind of situation is that? Could you describe the process of how you handled a certain matter?"

"Alright then, I'll tell you about it."

Kushida Kikyo nodded and began to recount a simple example.

"For instance, there's Sudo in our class. He really loves playing basketball, and with his decent talent, he has now been selected as a substitute for the Basketball Club, so he has to go to training every day."

"Uh-huh, and then?"

"But he doesn't seem to like studying very much. Sometimes he doesn't even do his homework, and since he's also quite fierce, everyone is afraid to persuade him," Kushida Kikyo recalled slowly. "So, I stepped forward and called over Yamauchi and Ike, who often hang out with him."

"I mobilized them to persuade Sudo that he must submit his daily assignments, as that would be better for his participation in club activities."

"I see," Ichinose nodded in deep agreement, a look of admiration for the girl appearing on her face. "It's about using a roundabout way to get him to accept your suggestion, right? This method is really good, and it won't make the other person feel resentful. As expected of Kushida, you're truly amazing!"

"It's nothing like that. I just hope that everyone in the class can get along well. After all, we'll be in the same class for three years, and it's my wish that we can all become good friends."

There was a look of longing on the short-haired girl's face, and combined with her innocent and flawless pretty face, it was hard not to feel a sense of affection for her.