I had already suspected that the teacher might be involved, so I had been keeping an eye on her all this time without going to see her.
As for Ryuen Kakeru...
Although their homeroom teacher hadn't said it outright, Ryuen Kakeru understood that everything Kageya Shinjitsu had said was true.
In the end, this so-called deal was naturally settled.
But Ryuen Kakeru still drove a hard bargain.
The amount wasn't six million points, but four million.
"You'd better think this through. You've seen what our class is like. It'll take a lot of effort to convince them, and if I can't, convincing me won't do you any good."
Ryuen Kakeru was confident, but he still used that as an excuse.
That was also why Kageya Shinjitsu nodded, though he added a small condition.
If necessary, they would say the amount was six million points. At the very least, Classes A and B couldn't find out.
The four million points would also be paid over three months. Any delay would incur heavy interest.
With Ryuen Kakeru's efforts...
The first two million points were handed to the notary, Sakagami Kazuma, with another million due the following month.
As long as the difference between Class D and Class C's scores was confirmed next month, those points would go to Kageya Shinjitsu.
They didn't even care whether information had leaked to Class D. All that mattered was that Class D could pull ahead in points next month.
"Now that the deal's done, you can tell me why you're collecting points, right?"
Ryuen Kakeru hadn't forgotten to ask what this guy was after.
"Didn't the teacher already remind us? Points can buy things available at this school. So, with that in mind, it'd be easy for me to switch classes, wouldn't it?"
"Two million points would let me transfer to another class. I could even become a student in Class A."
Kageya Shinjitsu said it plainly.
There was no need to hide it.
Ryuen Kakeru didn't look at Kageya Shinjitsu. Instead, he turned to their homeroom teacher.
She didn't react at all. From that understanding between them, he knew it was true.
"Looks like you made your choice a long time ago. Well, good luck with that."
"Why not transfer straight into our class?"
Ryuen Kakeru invited him.
He seemed sincere.
"I can even help you scrape together the points."
"I worked my tail off to earn enough points to transfer from Class D to Class C. Do you think I'm crazy?"
Kageya Shinjitsu looked at him skeptically and shot back.
There's always some troublemaker trying to get me.
Two million points. It wasn't twenty thousand. Was he joking?
"If your class has a chance of moving up to Class A, I'll consider it."
"Just you wait. I'll make sure you come over willingly when the time comes. By the way, what are you planning to do about those two classes ahead of us?"
Ryuen Kakeru asked curiously.
"If they find out we've already made a deal, that'll be a big problem, won't it?"
"We'll see what happens. If it works, great. If it doesn't, so be it. I'll do what I can and leave the rest to fate."
Kageya Shinjitsu seemed completely unconcerned.
Ryuen Kakeru didn't believe him at all.
He was certain Kageya Shinjitsu had already prepared everything.
In Ryuen Kakeru's eyes, Kageya Shinjitsu was already a man who'd stop at nothing.
He must have had some scheme to deal with Classes A and B.
But Kageya Shinjitsu had no intention of explaining.
Now that the deal was done, he didn't linger. He went off to persuade the next big spender.
If he could persuade Classes A and B...
Then, even if he got the same deal as with Class C, he could earn at least twelve million points in total.
He'd already reached halfway toward his goal of twenty million.
If he joined the Student Council later or found a way to make money, he still had a chance.
[New author, new book, fifth update. It's a niche topic, so the stats depend on everyone. If the numbers look decent, I'll finish writing it. If you're enjoying it, please show your support in the comments. "Please subscribe," "please send flowers," "please tip," "please bookmark," "please vote monthly."]
Chapter 23: Ichinose, the Angel
"Teacher, you really kept us in the dark."
"Couldn't you have explained it more clearly? We had to spend points to find out."
"You took so many points from us, and now we have to hand them over. Those guys are probably going to complain again."
In the office, after Kageya Shinjitsu had left, Ryuen Kakeru turned to their homeroom teacher.
"Just do your best."
She didn't deny it. That was as good as an admission.
Sakagami Kazuma hadn't expected anyone in this year's class to learn the truth so early.
And they hadn't even bought the information directly.
"I'll make sure they attend class. I hope we don't lose too many points."
"That guy's a sneaky bastard. Sooner or later, I'll make him cough them up."
Ryuen Kakeru's goal wasn't just to push Class D down.
Now that he knew how this school worked, his target was Class A.
At the very least, he couldn't let the classes ahead of them pull too far away.
After leaving Class C, Kageya Shinjitsu soon ran into the angel of Class B, Ichinose Honami.
She had agreed to meet him. Although Ichinose Honami was surprised, she had still been gracious about it.
At first, she'd thought he might confess to her or something, and that had made her nervous. But after hearing what Kageya Shinjitsu had to say, her expression changed.
"Are you sure this is okay?"
They were classmates and teammates, weren't they? Their class competition hadn't even started, and already there was a traitor ready to sell out the class?
"Ichinose, whether I'm okay isn't something you need to worry about. What you need to think about now is whether you'll accept my terms."
"You want to graduate from Class A with your classmates, don't you?"
Kageya Shinjitsu didn't care about her concern. He got straight to the point.
"What if I refuse? Would you still go through with it?"
Ichinose Honami asked, staring straight at him.
She wanted an answer.
"I would. It's inevitable now," Kageya Shinjitsu replied.
He had already made a deal with Class C.
Class D could only end up at the bottom now.
Besides, he didn't think Class D would avoid the bottom even without him.
Whether he did anything or not wouldn't really make a difference.
He was just going to stab them a few more times at a crucial moment to make sure Class D was finished.
"So don't think this is happening because of anything you've done. It's ordinary competition, and the school allows it."
"Class D and Class B are rivals, Ichinose. You should be thinking about how your classmates feel."
"But still..."
Ichinose Honami was terribly conflicted...
The points were a minor issue.
But she couldn't bring herself to make this kind of decision...
"Ichinose, you don't want your classmates to suffer because of a decision you made, do you?"
"If your decision causes Class B a major loss, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Even if you dropped out to atone, you still wouldn't make up for what your classmates lost!"
"You should know that this school's point-penalty system has no such thing as atonement."
Seeing Ichinose struggling with her decision, Kageya Shinjitsu spoke slowly.
"If you can't make up your mind, why not ask your classmates?"
"..."
Ichinose Honami really wanted Kageya Shinjitsu to calm down and stop saying such strange things. It was easy to get the wrong idea, especially when the two of them were standing there alone together.
But when it came to this, she still couldn't make the decision by herself.
Even though the class had entrusted so many points to her.
After hesitating for a moment, Ichinose Honami decided to call over a few people. She didn't choose to agree like Ryuen Kakeru had.
But she didn't tell everyone, either. She just gathered a few classmates.
Before long, more students from Class B had arrived.
When he heard the news, Kanzaki Ryuji of Class B stared at Kageya Shinjitsu in shock.
Then, before long, he agreed.
"If we can really confirm it with the homeroom teacher, I think it's worth doing."
"Even if it's Class D, keeping another class from interfering with us is a good thing."
"But that's too much!" Ichinose Honami said.
She was clearly against it.
"I think it's fine, too..."
"This has nothing to do with us. Rather than saying we're doing it because of them, you could say we're paying protection money and an information fee."
More students from Class B spoke up one after another.
They had their own ideas. Most of them were quick-witted to begin with, which was why they'd been placed in Class B.
When he heard them speak up, Kageya Shinjitsu knew the deal was done.
As long as enough students in Class B agreed, persuading Ichinose Honami would be easy.
"Ichinose, do you really think he'd say all this without having a backup plan?"
"If we refuse but Classes A and C agree, I think he'll come after us next."
"And he could even use the idea of coming after us as a bargaining chip to persuade Classes A and C."
"He might even trick Class D into attacking us."
"Ichinose, we're the ones in the same class. The people in those other classes are the same. If there's a conflict, if we're competing, do you think they'll trust their own classmates or us?"
"I didn't know before, but now I want to tell you: I want to become a student in Class A, and I want everyone in our class to become students in Class A."
Standing in front of Ichinose Honami, Kanzaki Ryuji spoke with earnest conviction. His eyes shone as he looked at her, making her too nervous to meet his gaze.
In just a few days, they had already grown very close. Their class was arguably the most harmonious in the entire first year.
Before you continue