Scheming in the real world? I can also do a little.

It could only be described as an average level.

This made things difficult for Ibuki Mio, who was skilled at sports, with swimming being one of her strengths. The result? She had to rack her brain to find ways to let Ryuen Shoko win.

Regardless of whether others knew she was throwing the race, Ryuen Shoko certainly couldn't know.

Therefore, her arm strokes were incredibly... sluggish. The sight of a professional trying so hard to act like an amateur was something even the teacher couldn't bear to watch.

"Your class is..."

"Teacher, don't mind it, don't mind it. Just leave it be, just leave it be."

Hoya Chukai felt helpless as well, but what else could he say? Ryuen Shoko's status could not be shaken, so she absolutely had to win the championship.

The teacher had nothing more to say. He had originally thought that using S-Points would boost motivation, but looking at it now... sigh.

"Please don't mind it either. After all, as long as it's a competition, she basically has to win the championship. My class has its own internal circumstances; I am truly sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine. Alright, don't say any more... By the way, there won't be any issues with the boys' side, right?"

"No, no, of course not."

Hoya Chukai answered with a smile. He didn't have to worry much about the boys' side.

Indeed, unlike the girls' side where the lack of effort was obvious, the boys' side was truly competing based on their own abilities.

But the winner wasn't Albert, but Ishizaki Daichi.

Heaven knows why that big, dark-skinned guy was so bad at swimming. His doggy-paddle style made Hoya Chukai struggle to keep from laughing out loud.

No wonder Ryuen Shoko didn't want everyone to see that she only knew how to doggy-paddle; it really was an ugly sight.

In the games he played, none of the many characters swam with a doggy-paddle; they either used the breaststroke or the freestyle.

Being third among the boys, Hoya Chukai didn't feel any shame. He was just a strategist, and it was perfectly normal for a strategist to be unskilled in martial arts, right?

He wasn't some Kong sage, a representative of immense strength and prowess; he was still quite weak.

"Then, that's it for today's physical education class. Dismissed."

"Oh ho~"

After the PE teacher announced the dismissal, everyone looked at Ryuen Shoko, and seeing she had no further proposals, it meant they could finally go home normally today!

Especially the boys, who were as happy as little wild horses, darting away in a flash.

"Ah, how happy."

"Perhaps. Are you heading back to the dormitory in a bit?"

"Yes, Big Sister, any other instructions?"

"Buy some beer on your way back."

"Ah, this..."

Great, this young lady was going to the dormitory again.

Oh well, let it be. He had already "benefited" quite a bit today anyway, so he'd just consider it as getting on the bus before buying the ticket.

Sighing, Hoya Chukai took a proper shower, changed his clothes, and strolled back to the dormitory.

Naturally, there were shower facilities in the swimming center. After all, the water in the pool wasn't just ordinary water, so it was best to rinse off after swimming. However, everyone was eager to get home, and there was hardly anyone who took a proper shower like Hoya Chukai, making him the last one to leave the swimming center among the boys.

He had originally planned to shower back at the dormitory, but since Ryuen Shoko was going there, he had better get cleaned up first.

Otherwise, what could he do? Go shower and leave Ryuen Shoko waiting outside? She would kill him.

This woman was definitely not a little white rabbit but a female hooligan; if she decided to barge into the bathroom while he was showering, there would be nothing he could do.

Perhaps she might even "take" him right there? Why did he feel a little excited thinking about that?

It was an illusion, all an illusion. He, Hoya Chukai, was a gentleman; how could he possibly do such strange things?

After coughing twice, Hoya Chukai walked slowly along the road.

The swimming center was a fair distance from the dormitory, and the commercial street was right in the middle.

Looking at this dazzling array of shops on the commercial street, Hoya Chukai couldn't understand what this high school was trying to do.

The entire academy only had about 500 students; how could this whole setup possibly break even?

Could it be that because it was a public institution, they were just trying to embezzle money?

Looking at this public academy, Hoya Chukai had sufficient reason to believe that this was just a place for those officials to siphon and launder money.

A 100% graduation or employment rate was a great gimmick to give the academy enough reason to apply for funding from above. The higher-ups would provide the funds, which would then be spent within the academy—part of it on normal construction, and the other part siphoned off.

This way, even if someone came to audit the expenses, there would be justifications. Look, building a school on an island was a huge construction cost, then look at this commercial street, another huge cost, and the monthly "scholarship" (the S-Points) for students was also a huge expense. After all, setting aside the issue of S-Points, just giving students points every month that could be used for regular shopping was a significant expenditure.

But this expenditure was very calculated. For example, when students used these points to consume, the actual cost to the academy was just the wholesale price, but they could report the retail price. The gap in between could be used for money laundering, and then by inflating sales figures, they could directly prove that a large amount of money was spent on costs. A government-supported school was the best choice for money laundering and embezzlement.

With corrupt officials from top to bottom, what could he possibly do to fight them?

Well, none of this had anything to do with Hoya Chukai; he just needed to enjoy his time here.

If this were a normal high school, he would have to worry about part-time jobs, but here, the fact that money was automatically provided every month meant he didn't have to worry too much about income—it was just the expenses that were a headache.

Besides, there was one more thing: the need to earn money was becoming imminent.

He knew that Class D would have zero income next month, and that would be the moment he could manipulate Karuizawa and Kushida in the simplest way possible. Why? Because he had points.

He could even boldly speculate that if the girls in Class D, who only knew how to spend, spend, spend, found themselves penniless next month, would his offering a little bit of incentive promote the development of the adult industry?

In China, this would naturally be illegal, but in Japan, it was hard to say.

No, a person still needs to have a bottom line; he couldn't do something like that.

Hoya Chukai eventually abandoned this fantasy; after all, the school would not be happy to see such a scene. But he truly needed a sum of money to "buy" the loyalty of the two girls, so he really did need that money.

He would have to find another way to make the plan work. Albert, the rest is up to you.

Inside Hoya Chukai's brain, he began to frantically conceive how to proceed with the next step.

Chapter 46: Strange, Where Is Everyone? (Mid-Autumn Festival Bonus 8/8)

"Hoya-kun, long time no see~"

"It hasn't been that long..."

In the supermarket, Hoya Chukai ran into Ichinose. It was a genuine coincidence; he hadn't calculated this.

But her appearance was truly like someone delivering a pillow just as he was getting sleepy; she could really do him a huge favor.

"But since you're here, I need you to do me a favor."

"Another troublesome guy?"

"You could say that, but this time I don't need you to take action; I need someone else."

"Tell me."

"Shibata Sou."

In the scheme Hoya Chukai designed this time, the target he chose was Shibata Sou.

Shibata Sou was the male version of Ichinose... the youth version. Aside from being just as "kind," he was inferior to Ichinose in every other aspect. That was why Hoya Chukai had set his sights on him this time.

Of course, it wasn't to bully this little angel, but rather because he needed him to be his blade.

According to the plan, he would need both human and material evidence, so having the little angel serve as the human witness would be perfect.

The little angel was cute, kind, and wouldn't lie, so he would definitely say exactly what he saw. Not knowing the truth, he would surely share the same hatred as Albert, and his attitude would influence the attitudes of the audience.

Therefore, Hoya Chukai needed to borrow him to help act as this witness.

Besides that... he always felt that the big, dark-skinned Albert was a bit pitiful. He was introverted and shy, and because of his physique, he easily scared others. He truly hoped this big guy could have some sincere friends instead of always following Ryuen Shoko around as a bodyguard.

"Shibata-kun, sure, that's easy. But what do you want to ask him to do?"

"It's like this. I have a classmate named Yamada Albert. You should have an impression of him, right? The burly one, all in black, who looks like he's not someone to mess with."

"I know him, what about it?"

"Let me tell you a secret, actually..."

Hoya Chukai leaned into Ichinose's ear and whispered the truth about Albert to her.

"Eh???"

Ichinose was incredibly surprised. She never expected that the fierce-looking Albert was actually an introverted, shy boy?

Are you... are you sure you didn't get the wrong script?

"So, I hope a classmate can help him become a bit more cheerful. But you should know the situation in my class; it's completely different from your class, which is full of little angels. I thought if people from your class were willing to interact with him harmoniously, perhaps it would make him more cheerful."

"Actually, we aren't as excellent as you say, with the 'little angel' stuff and all."

Being praised as a little angel made even Ichinose shy. Sincere compliments are sometimes harder to handle; they felt they had only done trivial things, but in the eyes of others, they had done great deeds.

As expected, Class B really had no threat. How many in the little angel group could actually fight? Kanzaki Ryuji? He was basically just the tallest among the short.

He reached an agreement with Ichinose easily. To be honest, Hoya Chukai was absolutely certain that forming an alliance with Class B was a great thing.

They were so useful as allies.

Willing to give without asking for return—honestly, even Hoya Chukai felt a bit of guilt in his heart for scheming against a little angel this time.

Setting aside the messy thoughts, Hoya Chukai walked slowly back to his room after buying his beer.

Then he saw Ryuen Shoko waiting impatiently at his door.

"How did it take so long just to buy some beer?"

"Hey, I ran into Ichinose. I just happened to use her to complete Plan A; the third step can be considered to have made progress."

Speaking in a code only the two of them understood, Hoya Chukai opened his dorm door and placed the beer on the table: "What else does the Boss want to eat?"

"What to eat isn't important. You, give me the spare key to your room."

Every dorm had three keys: one for normal use and two spares, just in case a key was lost.

Besides that, the dorm manager also had a spare key. He didn't know what the school was thinking, having so many keys.

"A spare key? Alright, let me look for it."

He should have kept the spare key in his nightstand. He realized now that his last sanctuary was gone.

He took out the spare key and placed it on the table, then saw Ryuen Shoko rummaging through the refrigerator for food with her butt poked out.

Mm, what a nice view.

Because she wasn't crouching but leaning forward, her skirt, which wasn't very long to begin with, revealed her fair, shapely thighs. At that moment, Hoya Chukai wished the skirt were even shorter so he could catch a glimpse of something a bit more private.

Ahem, ahem, sorry, sorry, my inner pervert is acting up again.

"Boss, what are you looking for?"

"How come there's barely any food left in your fridge?"

"Well, obviously. You were here yesterday, don't you know what's in there? Just tell me what you want to eat and I'll go buy it."

Opening his phone and seeing his point balance starting with an 8, Hoya Chukai couldn't help but sigh.

It had only been a little over three days, and over ten thousand points were already gone. Even though he'd managed to get ten thousand points from Ichinose, he'd spent almost all of it rewarding a group of people.

He'd also spent quite a bit over the last two days. He hadn't bought any luxury goods, but he'd paid for the beer out of his own pocket, covered the dinner with Ayanokoji, and paid for the things he bought for Ryuen Shoko yesterday. He realized that whenever they went to the supermarket, he was the one footing the bill.

Things couldn't go on like this.

It was only his fourth day at the academy, yet he was already worrying about running out of points. As expected, even after transmigrating, he was still a "moonlight clan" member who spent every cent he earned.

"Just buy whatever you think is good. Get some snacks to go with the drinks. Seriously, how am I supposed to drink without any food?"

"Alright, alright. I'll smash some cucumbers for you first, then I'll head out to buy the rest."

"Fine, go ahead and smash them."

Ryuen Shoko, who was currently occupying the fridge, casually handed a cucumber to Hoya Chukai. She then grabbed a tomato and started munching on it without even washing it.

Forget it, do whatever you want, your highness.

Hoya Chukai skillfully went to the kitchen, quickly smashed the cucumber, placed it on the table, and then headed out to the supermarket.

What kind of snacks go well with alcohol? First, peanuts, and since Ryuen Shoko had been munching on sunflower seeds yesterday, she probably liked those too, so he'd buy some of those as well. He grabbed some vegetables and a few soy-based snacks.

After thinking about it, he also bought some potato chips and a few other small snacks. When he used to drink with others, he liked having things like smashed cucumbers and potato chips; chatting while drinking was quite a pleasant way to pass the time.

Finally, he bought a pair of slippers. Ryuen had told him to buy new ones, but then she'd taken over his own pair. He didn't want to wear those slippers that were two sizes too small anymore. This time, he specifically bought a larger pair so that Ryuen wouldn't try to occupy these ones too.