Just then, a slender figure suddenly rose from her chair. It was Horikita Suzune.
Ever since she had heard Hashiba Hikaru introduce himself, she had quickly realized that the answer she had been pondering for the past few days was definitely connected to him.
Hashiba Hikaru, Classmate Hashiba, the observers—all the information suddenly clicked into place.
"Oh? May I ask who you are?"
The boy's lips curved into a smile. He hadn't expected Horikita Suzune to be so perceptive. Perhaps there was another reason she'd been assigned to Class D.
The Ensemble Drama of Class D, Part Two
When the black-haired girl with the cold expression stood up, everyone in Class D was surprised. They never saw her stand up and speak in front of the class. Had she somehow realized something was going on?
"Horikita, did you figure something out?"
As soon as Horikita stood, Kushida turned to her with a worried look and asked, "Can you tell everyone?"
"Hashiba." Horikita ignored Kushida, who was looking at her, and stared straight at the boy at the podium with her icy eyes. "What are you after? Please get to the point."
Ever since she'd discovered the two observers, the girl hadn't stopped thinking. If they cared so much about Class D's point consumption, then their goal definitely had something to do with Private Points.
And this student from Class B, Hashiba, who had suddenly shown up today, was probably the one organizing those observers—the person issuing all the orders.
"Very well. I won't keep it from everyone."
Hashiba Hikaru still wore a gentle smile. Now that someone had figured it out, he'd been spared quite a bit of trouble.
The other students in Class D were baffled. They didn't like how Horikita usually wore a scowl as if someone owed her money, but after hearing what she'd just said, they were all wondering what it meant.
After all, Private Points were the school's currency. Everyone cared about them.
"Hashiba, what was that important matter you mentioned earlier? Can you tell us now?"
Although Kushida Kikyo had been rebuffed by Horikita Suzune, her expression hadn't changed. She still looked like a girl concerned for her class as she pressed the boy for an answer.
"Yeah, Hashiba, just tell us. If it really is that important, I'll encourage everyone to cooperate with you."
Hirata Yosuke, Class D's leader, looked serious. As a role model for the class, he'd realized from Hashiba Hikaru's explanation that what the boy was about to say might be important.
He'd mentioned points, which meant this matter would affect everyone. They had to take it seriously.
"Here. Hirata, you can hand these out so everyone in Class D can take a look." Hashiba Hikaru passed over the stack of printed contracts in his hand with a beaming smile. "I'll continue once everyone's read them."
At the boy's words, Hirata and Kushida immediately stepped forward to take the contracts from him. The moment they read the text, both of their expressions changed.
"This is..."
"A confidentiality agreement? The school has hidden rules?!"
Hirata was shocked after reading the contract. He'd never imagined the school had something like this. It seemed the students in Class B had known about it for a while, and they'd come today to sell them the rules.
"Honami, so this is what you came here for today?"
Kushida's pretty face was full of surprise. She looked at the pink-haired girl standing beside Hashiba. The girl simply smiled and nodded at her, then said gently, "That's right. But don't worry too much, Kushida. I can assure you this is a fair deal. We bought the hidden rules ourselves, and now we're simply making use of them again."
"Hirata, let's hand out the contracts first, then hear what everyone thinks."
After realizing Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami's intentions, Kushida became very proactive. As Class D's little angel, she was a woman of action.
"Understood."
Though his mind was full of questions, Hirata had also realized what the two students from Class B were after: selling the rules to everyone in Class D. The contract was the crucial proof.
Before long, everyone in Class D had received a printed contract. Their expressions varied, and each person had different thoughts.
"One million points? Are you out of your mind?!"
Yamauchi Haruki, who'd already been in a bad mood, shouted as soon as he finished reading the contract. "Are you trying to scam us?"
Kanji Ike, who was often with him, quickly chimed in.
"That's way too expensive! What hidden rules? Do we really have to buy them?"
"I'm not handing my points over to strangers. I've got club activities to attend. I don't have time to listen to you spout nonsense!"
The red-haired athlete spoke rudely. He'd only stayed because he wanted to do Hirata a favor. Now that he'd seen this so-called contract, he understood that they'd come to sell some hidden rules.
Sudo didn't care about any of this. He just wanted to hurry to the Basketball Club. The upperclassmen valued him, and the club was the most important path toward achieving his dream.
"Hirata, I'm leaving. I won't take part in this plan. Do whatever you want!"
After saying that, Sudo didn't hesitate for a moment. He grabbed his sports bag, opened the back door of the classroom, and walked out.
After he left, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, who'd spoken earlier, also wanted to go. They picked up their bags, ready to follow him.
But just then, Kushida Kikyo called out to stop them.
"Yamauchi, Ike, you really don't want to?" The short-haired girl gave them a lovable look. After reading the contract, she'd quickly worked out how the rules would be sold. If the price was one million, each person in Class D would have to pay 25,000 points. The more people who joined, the less each would have to pay, and vice versa.
"Well... Kushida, it's not that I don't want to join, but this is way too expensive."
When Yamauchi was addressed by Kushida Kikyo, the popular beauty in their class, he hesitated. But his expression was awkward as he replied.
It had only been a week, but he'd already spent more than 60,000 points. If he had to pay more, he wouldn't have enough for later.
"Could you wait a little longer? I'll ask Hashiba more questions. If the hidden rules they have are really important, I hope everyone can contribute to the class together."
At Kushida's words, some of the Class D students who'd also been thinking of leaving hesitated. After all, the girl was quite popular in class. Everyone trusted her, as well as Hirata.
"That's right. Hashiba has only told us that he knows the rules. Whether we should buy them depends on whether he can show us he's acting in good faith. Can everyone wait a little longer?"
Hirata smoothly picked up the conversation. He looked at the smiling boy and asked seriously, "Hashiba, how did you get these hidden rules? Could you explain it to everyone?"
"Sure."
The boy's gaze swept over everyone in Class D, then fell on Horikita Suzune, who'd just finished speaking and sat down. She held the contract in one hand and her phone in the other, her pretty face set in a grave expression.
"I can tell you that we got the hidden rules by buying them from a teacher. The price was three million points." Hashiba Hikaru held up three fingers. He'd told this lie so many times that he remained calm. "That's why we've come to sell you the rules, and the price is only one million."
"As for why we've set the price at one million, you can work it out for yourselves. There are four classes in our year, after all."
The boy smiled, looking perfectly relaxed. Convincing Class D wasn't as troublesome as convincing Class A. The most important thing was persuading them to pay.
At his side, Ichinose Honami added, "Besides buying the rules, we also had the contract printed by a teacher. It bears the school's seal, so you can be sure we aren't lying."
"You can take a closer look before deciding whether or not to buy the hidden rules."
At this, everyone in Class D immediately looked at the seal at the bottom of the contract. It was indeed the same as the one on their Acceptance Letters, making the two students' claims much more credible.
Hirata and Kushida, standing nearby, immediately understood why Hashiba had set the price at one million. He was planning to sell the rules to all the other classes and then recover the points his own class had paid.
"Well? What have you all decided?"
Hashiba Hikaru knew that Class D's students were nowhere near as capable as those in Class A. But the leaders, Hirata and Kushida, were clearly tempted. As long as the two of them could influence everyone's decision, there was a chance of getting those points back.
All he had to do was give them a push at the right time and close the deal.
"Don't let me down, Kushida."
Hashiba Hikaru looked at the short-haired girl beside him, who wore a serious expression. Since she shared some traits with Ichinose, this was the perfect time for her to shine.
The Ensemble Drama of Class D, Part Three
In the Class D classroom after school, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami stood at the podium, waiting for everyone's answer.
"If it's one million, then each person needs to pay 25,000 Private Points," Hirata began persuading his classmates. "If these hidden rules really are important, I hope everyone can chip in."
"But Sudo's already left." Ike glanced at the empty seat behind him and asked, "Are we supposed to pay his share too?"
"It shouldn't matter if one person is missing. The rest of us won't have to pay much more."
Kushida Kikyo was extremely enthusiastic now. She addressed the Class D students who usually trusted her. "After all, Hashiba's class paid three million to buy these rules, which means they must be very valuable. Think about it: if we can buy them, they'll definitely be useful to us."
"That makes sense... If it cost three million, everyone in Class B must've had to pay a lot of points."
"But how can we be sure this guy's telling the truth?" Yamauchi remained deeply suspicious, as if he were coming up with a plan on behalf of the class. "What if we pay him and the hidden rules turn out to be 'don't be late for class' or 'don't leave early'? Wouldn't we have been scammed?"
"Yamauchi's got a point. They're from another class, and today's the first time we've met them."
The students in Class D kept changing their minds. They were already easily swayed, but more importantly, they didn't want to spend their points. Sure, 25,000 was only a quarter of the 100,000 they'd received at the start of the school year, but who wanted to hand over money that was already in their pocket?
Watching the students in Class D discuss the matter among themselves, Hashiba Hikaru felt a little annoyed.
Only now did the boy fully understand why these people had been assigned to Class D.
They were selfish, for one thing. Worse, someone was deliberately arguing against the proposal and dragging the whole class down. A group that couldn't even recognize the value of the rules really was a dump.
"Don't be like this, everyone. If the school really does have hidden rules, we need to know about them." Seeing how reluctant everyone was, Hirata spoke with a hint of urgency. "Didn't Horikita just say that the school has a lot of free services? That means there must be people who can't afford food. Don't you want to know the truth?"
"This is so boring. I'm not interested in waiting around with you any longer. Someone's waiting for me."
Just then, a muscular man with long blond hair stood up from his seat. He had red eyes, and his face wore a look of disdain.
"Koenji, what are you doing?" Hirata immediately called out.
"I have no intention of wasting my precious points on these rules. No rule could possibly restrain someone as perfect as me. Ha ha ha!"
The man Hirata had called Koenji laughed out loud. He picked up his bag and started to leave, but after taking a few steps, he turned back to look at Hashiba Hikaru, standing at the podium.
"Boy, your name is Hashiba Hikaru, right?"
"That's right. What can I do for you, Koenji?"
"I'm rather interested in you. Would you be willing to work for me in the future? I'm the only son of the Koenji Conglomerate. I'll make sure you're well rewarded."
Though he was supposedly trying to recruit the boy, the blond man still had a look of absolute arrogance on his face, as if that attitude had seeped into every inch of his skin.
"?"
There were people with backgrounds like that at this school?
Hashiba Hikaru was slightly taken aback by the offer, but he quickly smiled and replied, "Thank you for the offer, Koenji, but I'm afraid I'm not interested. Sorry."
"Very well. We'll meet again, and perhaps you'll have changed your mind by then."
Faced with the boy's direct rejection, Koenji's expression barely changed. Still wearing the same self-important look, he turned and strode out of the Class D classroom.
"This..."
The Class D students had already learned over the past few days that he was arrogant, so nobody tried to stop him.
"Have you shown us all the good faith we could ask for, Hirata? It looks like your classmates have no intention of agreeing to this deal. Do you have anything to say?"
Hashiba Hikaru swept his gaze across the Class D students sitting below, their expressions all different. He wanted to provoke Hirata a little more and see what kind of person the class leader really was.
"Please don't rush us, Hashiba. I'm sure everyone will agree."
After hearing the boy's explanation, Hirata understood how important the hidden rules were. If they were worth three million points, and they could buy them for just one million, then it was definitely a good deal.
"Can you trust me?" Hirata Yosuke walked to the middle of the classroom, looking anxiously at his classmates. "I became our class leader because I wanted to help everyone and make sure we could enjoy a wonderful high school life."
"Now that Hashiba has shown us that this school really does have hidden rules, why shouldn't we agree? Does nobody care about this at all?"
"We don't yet know what these hidden rules mean, but I believe Hashiba isn't a scammer. He's willing to tell us about the rules his class bought. Why would we refuse? Don't any of you trust me?"
Though he was trying to persuade everyone, Hirata didn't want to be too forceful. That was simply how he did things.
As soon as he finished speaking, a girl stood up.
She had a high ponytail and a pretty face, and she looked confident. Her uniform jacket was open, and she wore bracelets in different colors. She looked very stylish.
"I trust Yosuke. I agree to pay my share."
After she finished speaking, several other girls chimed in. "We trust Hirata, too. We're willing to pay."
"Thank you, Karuizawa." Hirata looked at Karuizawa Kei, the first to speak, feeling touched.
Karuizawa?
Was she his girlfriend?
Hashiba Hikaru, standing at the podium, was curious. He looked a little more closely at the girl with the high ponytail. She was indeed beautiful, and she seemed well suited to Hirata.
"That's right. I believe Hashiba, too. If they spent three million points to buy the rules, that means they must be important."
Kushida seized the opportunity to keep persuading the others. Though her opinion of Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami had changed completely, she felt that if they could get the school's hidden rules for just 25,000 points each, it was fine to agree. She didn't usually spend extravagantly.
"Are you willing to trust me? Let's pool our points together."
After Kushida Kikyo said this, the classmates who were close to her were also tempted. As Class D's most popular student, she could certainly influence many people's decisions.
"But I'm running low on points. Can I pay a little less?"
Before you continue