The End of Class D's Ensemble Drama / Class D After the Rules Are Revealed

When Yamauchi Haruki saw that, after Hirata and Kushida had repeatedly emphasized the point, more and more of Class D had agreed, he realized he was indeed a little short on points. With an awkward expression, he could only say, "I've spent quite a bit lately..."

"That's all right. I'm willing to contribute more points to make up the million!"

Horikita Suzune, who had been quietly observing the class's movements, suddenly spoke up. She had been thinking about the words she'd heard earlier in the cafeteria.

"Every student in Class D is trash."

She couldn't stop wondering what hidden rules the school had. She didn't mind contributing more points. Horikita Suzune just wanted to know the answer.

"Thank you for your support, Horikita!"

Hirata immediately expressed his gratitude. He hadn't expected Horikita, who was usually so aloof, to step forward and support the class at a time like this.

The other students were even more surprised. All eyes turned to Horikita Suzune, and astonishment showed on every face.

Standing nearby, Kushida saw their expressions, and a flash of disgust crossed her eyes. Hashiba Hikaru, who had been watching her closely, naturally caught it clearly.

After Horikita Suzune spoke, the boy had secretly watched the expression of this Class D angel. Sure enough, he'd seen it.

It seemed the system's judgment had been right. The relationship between those two was definitely complicated.

That matched his initial guess: Kushida Kikyo would be the best person for Hashiba Hikaru to test stock-price fluctuations on.

Chapter Forty-Five: The Class D Ensemble Cast, End

After Horikita Suzune spoke up, Hirata and Kushida began collecting points from the Class D students sitting at their desks. During the process, Hashiba Hikaru also emphasized that he wanted everyone to sign a contract forbidding them from reselling the rules.

As they contributed points, some Class D students looked awkward. They'd spent far too many points, and could probably only come up with ten or twenty thousand. They couldn't pay twenty-five thousand all at once.

Hirata hadn't expected his classmates to have spent their points so quickly. It had only been a week, yet several students couldn't even come up with ten thousand.

About ten minutes later, Hirata had collected more than seven hundred thousand Private Points. That was already most of the points they could spare. Students like Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike had agonized over it for a long time before contributing ten thousand between them, saying that was their absolute limit.

Hirata Yosuke was dissatisfied, but he couldn't bring himself to force them to show him their phones. He could only trust that they really didn't have enough points.

"Hirata, how much are we still short?"

Kushida took out her phone. Neither she nor Hirata had transferred their points yet.

"More than two hundred thousand."

Hirata checked the points on his phone. The classmates who hadn't paid yet included Kushida, Horikita Suzune, and the boy sitting next to her, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Horikita, about how many points can you contribute? I'm planning to put in fifty thousand."

Hirata was just as careful about spending points. And, as the class leader, he felt it was his responsibility to contribute more.

"I'm willing to contribute fifty thousand too. It's a bit much, but if it helps our classmates learn the hidden rules, we can always be more frugal from now on."

Class D's angel, Kushida, wore a gentle expression. The boys watching her cheered again and again, praising how amazing she was and how willing she was to make sacrifices for the class.

"How much are you still short?"

Horikita Suzune pulled out her phone. Her life that week had been quite simple. With almost no social life, she had spent points only on three meals a day and ordinary necessities.

So she still had plenty of points on her phone—more than ninety thousand. If needed, she was willing to pay over half of them.

"We're short by 152,000. Wouldn't that be asking too much of you, Horikita? Maybe we should think of something else."

Hirata glanced at the points on his phone, looking somewhat reluctant.

"It's fine. There's still one more person, isn't there?"

Horikita Suzune looked at the inconspicuous boy beside her. He held his phone, his expression calm.

"Hirata, I haven't paid my points yet."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka opened the Private Points screen on his phone and said evenly, "If we're short by 152,000, I can contribute eighty thousand. I don't have many expenses in my daily life anyway."

The number displayed on his phone was about the same as Horikita Suzune's. After just one week, he too still had more than ninety thousand Private Points.

"Then I'll contribute 72,000 and make up the difference."

Horikita glanced at the boy sitting beside her, a little surprised that he still had so many points.

But she was surprised, not concerned with how he lived. Right now, the only thing she cared about was the exact content of the hidden rules.

Once the two of them had transferred their points, Hirata finally had the full million. He went over to Hashiba Hikaru and told him that he'd finished collecting the points, so the boy could reveal the hidden rules to everyone.

"No rush. Everyone still needs to finish signing the contracts first, Hirata." Hashiba Hikaru smiled warmly. "We're planning to sell the rules to three classes, so of course we need to prevent you from reselling them. It's just a precaution."

"Please remind everyone to sign. Oh, right—weren't there two students who left?"

The boy suddenly remembered Sudo, who'd left early, and Koenji, who'd tried to recruit him. He added, "They're part of your class, so you're free to tell them the rules."

"But they also have to be prevented from trading the rules a second time. Could I leave that to you to supervise, Hirata? I trust you."

"...Please don't worry, Hashiba. I'll honor the contract. I'll handle Koenji and Sudo, and I guarantee they won't break it."

"Good."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded lightly. He wasn't particularly concerned about that extra condition.

One of those two practically wore his contempt for everyone on his face, acting as if he looked down on the whole world. The other had a short temper and seemed ready to hit anyone who annoyed him.

People like that were unlikely to sell the rules for points. Besides, Hashiba Hikaru had thought of a second precaution. B Class had discussed a plan to collect all the points within that week.

Now that they'd spotted this loophole, they had to pick up the pace. After finishing the collection from Class D today, it would be best to go to Class C tomorrow.

Once they'd collected all three million points, they could do whatever they wanted.

After all, Hashiba Hikaru had only had two goals from the start: collect the points and deduct the Class Evaluation Points of Classes C and D. What he'd seen and heard in Class D today had satisfied him. Given Class D's overall quality, they would probably lose quite a few Class Evaluation Points this week.

And there was no need to mention Class C. Three students had been suspended all at once. Maybe the rankings of those two classes would change next month. That was something to look forward to.

A little while later, all the Class D students had signed the contracts and handed over their points. There was no point in backing out now.

"Then, Hirata, please transfer the points to Ichinose beside me. She's our class leader."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled at the pink-haired girl next to him. As B Class's current point bank, Ichinose had more than a million Private Points on her phone.

"Huh? Isn't Hashiba the leader of B Class?"

Hirata looked extremely surprised. From what he'd seen today, he'd assumed that the handsome Hashiba was the one leading B Class. After all, he was the one who'd been controlling the situation.

"Don't overthink it. It's no big deal. You can think of me as Ichinose's assistant."

Once Ichinose Honami gave Hirata her account ID, he cooperatively transferred the points to her.

"Beep."

"They've been transferred, Hashiba."

When she saw the extra million in her account, Ichinose Honami's face bloomed with a brilliant smile. Happily, she held her phone up to Hashiba Hikaru so he could see it.

"Good, I see it. We're one step closer to our goal."

Hashiba Hikaru met the girl's eyes. He was referring to B Class's plan to collect twenty million points, but Hirata and Kushida, standing nearby, thought he meant their goal of selling the rules to three classes.

"Mhm!"

The pink-haired girl smiled brightly and stood beside Hashiba Hikaru. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, looking like a perfect couple.

This sight caught the attention of the Class D students, who were curious about the relationship between the two. A handsome young man and a beautiful girl standing together made quite a striking pair.

"Now that the points have been transferred, I'll fulfill the terms of the deal and tell everyone the hidden rules of this school." Hashiba Hikaru remembered what had happened in Class A and planned to hand over his notebook and leave.

But just then, Kushida Kikyo suddenly reached out to stop him.

"Hashiba, since everyone's here, why not explain the rules to us directly?" The short-haired girl had a pleading look on her face.

"If you let us explain them, we'll need time to understand them first, and there could be mistakes. Could I ask you to explain them directly?"

Ichinose Honami had thought she could leave with Hashiba Hikaru, but then she heard Kushida speak. A displeased expression immediately appeared in her beautiful eyes.

"Um... I don't mind."

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the System Panel. He remembered the expression on Kushida's face when the Class D students had looked at Horikita Suzune earlier.

This was a good opportunity.

[Purchase Kushida Kikyo Stock?]

[Kushida Kikyo Stock is fully invested in.]

[Current Kushida Kikyo Stock holdings: 5000]

As a high-quality stock with an initial price of 10, Kushida Kikyo was someone Hashiba had to cultivate properly. He would build a trusting relationship with her starting right now.

After buying the stock, the boy met the anticipation in Kushida Kikyo's lovely face and smiled warmly at her. Then he turned to look at everyone in Class D.

"Everyone, please pay attention. I'm about to explain the hidden rules of this school, so don't get distracted."

Chapter Forty-Six: Class D After the Rules Were Revealed

After agreeing to Kushida Kikyo's request, Hashiba Hikaru glanced at Ichinose, who didn't look happy, then hurried over to explain, "It's all right, Ichinose. The rules aren't complicated, so let's wait a little longer."

"...All right."

Since the boy had already accepted the arrangement, Ichinose Honami didn't want to openly show her displeasure toward him. Besides, she'd already received the points. She could wait a little longer.

"Heh, then I'll start explaining. You spent points to buy these rules, so listen carefully. Don't waste your money."

Hashiba Hikaru cleared his throat and picked up a piece of chalk to explain the rules to everyone in Class D.

"First, let's talk about the S System. The teachers should have told you about it when school started, right? Private Points in the S System are the money you can use at school."

The boy wrote the information on the blackboard, then looked at Kushida Kikyo. "The first rule is called Class Evaluation Points. They're directly linked to each person's Private Points. Kushida, how many Private Points do you have left? Could you tell us?"

"Me?"

Kushida glanced down at her phone and answered quickly, "I have a little more than twenty thousand left."

"Good. Let's use twenty thousand as an example." Hashiba Hikaru wrote the number 20000 on the blackboard, then addressed the students in Class D. "Class Evaluation Points are reflected directly in the Private Points distributed each month. The ratio is one to one hundred."

"For example, Kushida's twenty thousand Private Points represent 200 Class Evaluation Points. Does everyone understand?"

"So the free meals and free items in the supermarket that Hashiba mentioned earlier are related to this?" Kushida immediately asked.

"Exactly. You're very perceptive, Kushida." The boy smiled as he praised her. He was trying to build her goodwill anyway, and kind words cost nothing.

"Class Evaluation Points are always changing. When school started, every class had 1,000 Class Evaluation Points, so the points everyone received in the first month amounted to one hundred thousand."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled at everyone in Class D and spoke in an even tone. "If something causes your Class Evaluation Points to be deducted, then the Private Points you receive next month will change accordingly."

"If our Class Evaluation Points go down, we'll receive fewer Private Points?"

"What?"

"That can happen?"

After hearing Hashiba Hikaru's explanation, Yamauchi Haruki's expression immediately darkened. He'd been counting on next month's one hundred thousand points to pay back the people he owed.

As soon as this rule was revealed, the classroom in Class D erupted into noise. No one had expected the hidden rule to be like this. If they didn't get one hundred thousand Private Points in the future, wouldn't their quality of life plummet?

"Hashiba, could you explain exactly how Class Evaluation Points are deducted?" Hirata's expression was grave. He looked at the boy and said solemnly, "This is very important to us."

"Don't worry, Hirata. I took your money, so of course I'll tell you everything. Don't be in such a hurry."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled and addressed the students in Class D. "The ways Class Evaluation Points are deducted are simple. You've all spent years at school. Don't you know what you're not allowed to do?"

"For example, using your phone during class, passing notes, whispering to each other, or being late or leaving early. All of those things will cost you points."

"What?!"

At this, some students' expressions changed on the spot. Their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, was very lax about managing Class D. She'd never cared about their behavior in class, and even if they broke the rules right in front of her, nothing happened.

"How many points will we lose?"

"Have we already lost a lot? What are we supposed to do?"

Seeing everyone grow worried, Kushida had an idea and immediately turned to the boy standing at the podium. "Hashiba, if Class Evaluation Points can be deducted, can they also be increased?"

"Of course."

Hashiba Hikaru nodded and looked at the short-haired girl, whose face was full of concern. Whether she truly cared about the class or not, her expression certainly earned her a lot of points.

"The school wants the classes to compete with one another, so it'll arrange many Special Exams in the future."

"The rules of each Special Exam will be different. They'll be the students' most important battlegrounds. If you perform well in a Special Exam, you'll have a chance to raise your Class Evaluation Points."

A faint smile curved the boy's lips as he started dangling a carrot in front of the students in Class D. He didn't think these people would be able to manage it anyway.

"If your Class Evaluation Points rise above one thousand, the points you receive next month won't be limited to one hundred thousand. You'll get even more money."