Classroom of the Elite, It's Not About Meritocracy, It's About Me Ruling the World! Chapter 12

It's over, it's all over.

Could it be that Kijima Tsukur is actually planning to toy with her?

If she stays here any longer, she'll definitely be ruthlessly toyed with by Kijima Tsukur; she has to find a way to refuse as soon as possible!

"So, you aren't approaching me out of personal feelings, but rather chose to contact me for some specific purpose."

Kijima Tsukur stroked his chin, his other hand unconsciously fiddling with a Rubik's cube.

"We've known each other for less than two days and haven't even spoken a word. The only thing I can think of is the strength I displayed yesterday, just like how Sakayanagi behind me issued a challenge because of it."

"The question is, what do you hope my strength can do for you?"

Kijima Tsukur tapped his right index finger against the Rubik's cube, feeling a slight obstacle.

"You sought me out during the break and had Sanada leave his seat; you were deliberately showing me your ability and value."

"This implies you want to get on good terms with me and want to cooperate."

Hearing this.

The attention of those in Class A was inevitably drawn to him, and the looks they cast toward Hashimoto Masayoshi revealed a sense of contemplation. Could there be some hidden expert in the class?

Then, Kijima Tsukur's next sentence made people feel a sense of dread.

"People only think about cooperation for the sake of some goal!"

"But with no further information at the moment, we have no need for cooperation."

"That leaves only a few possibilities!"

"First, you possess other intelligence that led you to judge that it's best to cooperate with someone powerful, yet even that is a bit strange."

"Regardless of what the intelligence is, there is no need for you to lower yourself like this; pursuing maximum benefit through an equal relationship is the norm."

"So, it must be the second one."

"Your purpose in approaching me isn't cooperation, but playing the pig to eat the tiger, wanting to make a move on me? But I see you aren't even as good as Sakayanagi; I don't think you have that kind of courage, nor do I think you'd be a match for me, which makes this even more puzzling."

Hmm???

Behind him, Sakayanagi Arisu raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by "not even as good as Sakayanagi"?

She had originally thought Kijima Tsukur was just arrogant and full of himself, but she hadn't expected him to actually look down on her this much.

Yoshi!

She, Sakayanagi Arisu, loved making moves on guys who were full of themselves.

She had originally just wanted to kill some time and tease Katsuragi and Kijima Tsukur a little, but now she had decided that she must thoroughly trample this arrogant guy.

She had to make Kijima Tsukur crawl at her feet and beg for mercy!

"So, I'm more inclined toward the third."

Kijima Tsukur stood up, leaned forward, and moved close to Hashimoto Masayoshi, his pitch-black pupils staring into the other's eyes.

"The problem lies in your personality. You are a person with limited ability who loves to scheme. You think you have a clear understanding of your own strength, so you don't aspire to an equal status; you only hope to attach yourself to the strong to share in the benefits."

"Even without a goal, you would still scheme. Scheming isn't a goal; it's more like your life creed. People like you could betray anyone at any moment..."

Hearing his words, the people around them couldn't help but frown.

Even if they couldn't analyze things theoretically like Kijima Tsukur, many in Class A actually felt that Hashimoto Masayoshi was likely a person who excelled at scheming.

It was intuition!

Taking a person's appearance, speech, social style, personal temperament, and so on.

Summarizing all of these and basing it on their past experience, they could all make a preliminary judgment.

For example.

Is this person introverted or extroverted?

Are they rational or emotional?

Are they steady or exaggerated?

Do they love cleanliness, and so on.

Most people could make some kind of judgment.

And the first impression Hashimoto Masayoshi gave people was that he was frivolous, and combined with his outstanding social skills, he gave off a shrewd impression!

One could say he was good at scheming, and being good at scheming wasn't necessarily a problem!

However, being good at scheming and making scheming one's life creed were two completely different concepts.

Simply put, those who are good at scheming still have a certain bottom line, while those who make scheming their life creed definitely have a lower bottom line and could betray at any moment.

Slander...

Hashimoto Masayoshi really wanted to say that, but he knew what Kijima Tsukur said was the truth.

He did indeed treat scheming as his life creed, and he didn't mind it being seen by Kijima Tsukur, but the problem was that pointing it out in front of so many people in Class A was just too embarrassing.

Wouldn't everyone now think he was a petty person who loved to scheme?

Although he admitted that Kijima Tsukur was right, Hashimoto Masayoshi didn't consider himself a villain; after all, if there were benefits to be had, why would he ever betray anyone?

He had never thought about hiding his own intentions either.

To be this honest and still be misunderstood as a villain was, to some extent, a bit uncomfortable.

"Kijima-kun... isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? I admit..."

"No need to explain."

Before Hashimoto Masayoshi could explain, Kijima Tsukur stood up and said indifferently:

"I don't dislike people who are keen on scheming, because you will always make the most advantageous choice for yourselves, which makes you incredibly easy to understand."

"The most crucial thing is that people who are keen on scheming generally adhere to the philosophy of value exchange; there's no need to consider emotional issues, and there's no psychological burden when using you. I like that very much. Now then."

As he spoke, Kijima Tsukur walked over to Hashimoto Masayoshi, pressed his left hand onto his shoulder, glanced at him, and said flatly:

"Since you are pinning your hopes on the strong, don't tell me you haven't prepared the corresponding chips, or I'll have to re-evaluate your value, Hashimoto!"

"Right now, everyone has the same amount of points since enrollment, so the only thing of value is information. Speak..."

"What kind of information do you want to offer to seek my protection?"

Chapter 10: Sakayanagi Arisu's Dream

"Uh..."

Hashimoto Masayoshi's expression was somewhat complicated.

He had indeed gathered some information, and he had originally intended to tell Kijima Tsukur everything without reservation to earn a favor from him.

He hadn't expected Kijima Tsukur to see through even that!

Now that it had been pointed out to his face, rather than earning a favor from Kijima Tsukur, it felt more like he was showing off his capabilities to seek protection.

He wasn't an equal partner, let alone a close ally.

Instead, it felt more like he was a subordinate of Kijima Tsukur...

Hashimoto Masayoshi was naturally a bit uncomfortable, but on the other hand, he was also a bit excited.

He naturally wouldn't give the information to Kijima Tsukur alone; he had also given it to Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei.

However.

Only Kijima Tsukur had judged this from just a few expressions, and had even seen through his true nature.

Of course, Perhaps Sakayanagi or Katsuragi had also seen it, but they hadn't been as blunt as Kijima Tsukur.

But this also demonstrated Kijima Tsukur's strength and his confidence in his own abilities.

That was enough!

For Hashimoto Masayoshi, As long as he could achieve his goal, it didn't matter what the other person's personality was, nor did it matter what kind of relationship they had.

Just as Kijima Tsukur had said, Hashimoto Masayoshi would only act for himself and would always make the choice most advantageous to him.

Therefore, Even if it was a bit awkward, or even a bit shameful.

He still wore a smile so frivolous it made people suspicious, and praised him.

"Impressive, as expected of Kijima-kun. Actually, I asked some upperclassmen yesterday and discovered that several classes might not even have 40 people!"

As soon as these words were spoken.

Class A immediately fell into a commotion.

The enrollment guide stated that the school admitted 160 students every year, divided into four classes; how could the number of upperclassmen not match up?

If it were just someone dropping out due to illness, it would be normal, but looking at Hashimoto Masayoshi's demeanor, the number missing was more than just one or two.

"Oh? How did you find out?"

Kijima Tsukur stood beside Hashimoto Masayoshi, more concerned with the authenticity of the information.

He glanced at the people in the classroom; Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi looked calm, as if they had known about these things for a long time.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. I believe everyone here should have some doubts about this school. There shouldn't be any idiots who can calmly enjoy the school's benefits, right?"

Seeing the grave expressions of those in Class A, Hashimoto Masayoshi spread his hands and said helplessly:

"So, after I returned to the dormitory yesterday, I got to know quite a few upperclassmen under the guise of visiting, and then hoped to introduce girlfriends to each other under the guise of a mixer, so that we could all have girlfriends."

"Then a few upperclassmen made a snide remark like 'The numbers probably won't match up' or 'Hashimoto, you're probably going to be left behind as a single guy'."

"When I asked again, those upperclassmen seemed to realize what they said and indicated that if I wanted to dig for information, I should use points."

"I asked about the price, and guess how much they asked for?"

"3 million!"

Hashimoto Masayoshi held up three fingers, and the people in Class A became even more agitated.

Judging by the current situation, 3 million is clearly not a price one person can pay; it would at least require the resources of an entire class.

"Hashimoto, stop beating around the bush. What exactly is going on?"

"Of course I don't have that many points. They're probably just asking for the moon and expecting to negotiate, but even if I did have them, I wouldn't intend to pay that amount."

Quite a few people nodded in agreement.

Since the upperclassmen know, it is only a matter of time before the lowerclassmen find out this information as well. As long as one remains cautious, it is not worth spending points to purchase it.

More importantly, one can already deduce quite a bit just from this information alone!

"Therefore... I have a guess."

Hashimoto Masayoshi turned his head to look at Kijima Tsukur beside him and smiled:

"This school holds various exams at irregular intervals, and those who fail are forcibly expelled by the school. This is the only way to explain why there are fewer people in the upper grades."

"For a school that gives out 100,000 points for free every month, I don't think the exams will be as easy as simple written tests or physical fitness assessments."

"Kijima-kun, what do you think of the value of this information?"

The implication was clear.

If the school holds exams that result in expulsions, he wants Kijima Tsukur to help him out.

Of course, Hashimoto Masayoshi had also shared this information with Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi, and now the whole class knew about it; he was simply showing off his own capabilities.

He possessed superior initiative and knew how to use the pretext of a social gathering to get information out of the upperclassmen, which provided some guarantee of the information's authenticity.

It was just that his style of doing things was a bit frivolous.

Many of the girls looked at Hashimoto Masayoshi with a hint of disgust.

Although they knew Hashimoto Masayoshi was likely just talking casually to build a rapport with the upperclassmen, it still sounded unpleasant to the girls.

"No problem... I suppose it is valuable information."