Suzune Horikita's Counterattack

Damn it, the god of internal strife...

However.

Hirata Yosuke and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji frowned to themselves.

They wanted to learn those communication skills, too.

Whether or not they could make Sudo and the others listen to them was beside the point. At the very least, they could learn how to communicate with them.

And the fact that Kijima Tsukur had mastered the art of communicating with Sudo and the others in such a short time showed just how skilled he was.

However.

Neither Hirata Yosuke nor Kiyotaka Ayanokoji would ever be able to master this skill.

Because

neither of them could ever genuinely respect Yamauchi Haruki and the others.

What Kijima Tsukur was actually using was a gambling technique—

self-deception.

A masterful technique of deception!

At the gambling table,

no matter what kind of customer they were,

everyone could feel welcome in the casino, as if they had found their closest family.

At that moment.

Even Sudo Ken and the others could feel that they were being treated with tremendous respect.

Simple conversational techniques—

even Kiyotaka Ayanokoji could manage those.

But his subtle facial expressions and changes in tone couldn't make people feel respected.

That was also why Yamauchi Haruki and the others found it so hard to accept him sincerely.

The Three Idiots could become friends, while Kiyotaka Ayanokoji struggled to fit in. A person's instincts were a sensitive weapon!

However, at that moment,

Yamauchi Haruki and the others looked at Kijima Tsukur as though they were looking at family!

Horikita Suzune's Counterattack

"The terms of the deal are simple."

Noticing the faintly displeased looks Yamauchi Haruki and the others were giving him, Kijima Tsukur kept them in suspense:

"If you agree to one condition, I can give you between ten thousand and thirty thousand Personal Points every month."

"Eh?"

As soon as he said that,

quite a few people in Class D froze.

After all, plenty of students in Class D were short on Personal Points.

Although Hirata Yosuke had told them the truth on the third day, many people still held on to doubts or hoped things might work out.

In fact,

there were plenty of people like Yamauchi Haruki who had already spent most of their Personal Points in the first three days.

"Um... Kijima-kun."

A brown-haired girl stood up. The way she addressed him immediately made them seem much closer, and her voice turned especially sweet:

"Are you saying you'll lend us Personal Points?"

"What's the condition?"

Yamauchi Haruki looked excited.

That showed just how desperate these people were.

By the end of April, they'd already been reduced to eating vegetable set meals and using one-hundred-yen juice for flavor.

"I'm not lending it. It's free."

Kijima Tsukur raised a hand and took a stack of A4 papers from Yamamura Miki. Smiling at the girl, he said:

"Everyone who signs this contract will receive between ten thousand and thirty thousand Personal Points from me every month."

"As for the terms, to put it simply..."

"The Personal Points you receive from the school each month will be transferred to me, and then I'll redistribute them."

"Huh?"

At that,

Yamauchi Haruki and the others couldn't sit still. They stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Why should we? Why should we transfer our Personal Points to you? We wouldn't get anything out of it!"

"Exactly~"

"You're just giving us our own money. You're trying to get something for nothing. We don't benefit at all."

"Do you think we're idiots!?"

Kanji Ike and the others looked annoyed. They weren't stupid; there was no way they'd agree to those terms.

"Of course not. I know perfectly well that you're not easy to fool."

With that, Yamauchi Haruki and the others immediately fell silent, puffing out their chests proudly. Kijima Tsukur smiled and explained:

"What I mean is, whether Class D has zero Class Points or a thousand, I'll give you ten thousand to thirty thousand Personal Points every month. If your Class Points stay below three hundred, I'll keep giving you money."

"Hm?"

At that,

Yamauchi Haruki and a few girls were stunned.

Class D currently had exactly zero Class Points, and might well stay that way for several more months.

Did that mean

they could get thirty thousand Personal Points for free, without giving up anything?

"Wait, wait..."

Just then, Kanji Ike looked wary.

"Everyone, don't let him trick you. It's like a salary. He says ten thousand to thirty thousand Personal Points, but when the time comes, he'll only give you the minimum. He's not going to give you thirty thousand."

"..."

Yamauchi Haruki and the others broke into a cold sweat. They'd almost been tricked. They looked at Kijima Tsukur.

"I... Of course I knew that. Don't think you can fool us with some cheap trick."

"That's a misunderstanding."

Kijima Tsukur shook his head helplessly.

"I just don't want you to slack off because you're getting these free Personal Points. As long as you attend school and take your exams as usual, I can guarantee that you'll get the maximum of thirty thousand Personal Points each month. We can put that in the contract, and you can even let your homeroom teacher decide whether I've kept my word."

"Hm?"

Hearing that,

Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike, and the others exchanged glances, and began to waver...

Th-this was almost too good to be true.

No matter how many Class Points they had, they didn't have to do anything special. As long as they went to school as usual, they'd get thirty thousand Personal Points each month.

They'd received a hundred thousand Personal Points before,

so thirty thousand didn't seem like all that much.

But now their Class Points were at zero. Surely this was better than getting nothing, right?

They could even leave the final say to their Class D homeroom teacher.

They took a step forward, and Kijima Tsukur stepped back.

He'd even made them wonder if they really had been judging him too harshly...

"Um..."

Just then, the brown-haired girl raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"My name is Sato Maya. Kijima-kun, we're not suspicious of you. It's just... why are you being so good to us?"

"Didn't Hirata tell you?"

Kijima Tsukur smiled at them like a gentle spring breeze. "My goal is for everyone to graduate together from Class A. It's only natural that we help one another."

An angel!

Class D had Kushida, a little angel,

Class B had Ichinose, a great angel,

and now Class A had one, too? Michael!

Whether they believed him or not, they still had to take the benefits.

"I don't mind."

"I agree, too."

"This couldn't have come at a better time. I ran out of points last month. I'm in a real crisis now."

For a moment, Sato Maya, Yamauchi Haruki, and the others were all excited. They said they were willing to sign the contract. If there were points to be had, why not take them?

On the other side,

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji expressionlessly glanced at Horikita Suzune beside him.

He wondered if she'd noticed.

If even one person agreed to the contract, it would all but guarantee that Class D could never rise to Class A. It would mean a collective defeat.

Fortunately, Horikita Suzune had noticed.

"Sigh... This is unbelievable."

Just then, Horikita Suzune glanced at Sato Maya and the others.

"Are you all idiots?"

"Huh?"

Sudo immediately looked displeased and glared at her. "Horikita, what do you mean by that? Are you looking down on us?"

"I'm not looking down on you. It's just a fact that you're being stupid."

Horikita Suzune spoke as though she were simply stating the truth, then turned to Kijima Tsukur.

"Just think about it. Why would anyone give you Personal Points for no reason?"

As she spoke, Horikita Suzune stood up and fixed her cool, beautiful eyes on Kijima Tsukur.

"His goal is simple: to destroy Class D's motivation. Just imagine that your Class Points rise above three hundred. You'll have to hand over all the Personal Points you earn from then on. You'll definitely lose the motivation to keep raising your Class Points, and you can forget about reaching Class A."

"S-so that's it..."

Yamauchi Haruki was stunned. He looked at Kijima Tsukur.

"Kijima, that was your real goal, wasn't it?"

"Sigh..."

Kijima Tsukur sighed helplessly.