A Good Show

Horikita followed Chabashira, and the two left together.

Another good show was about to begin, and Suzuki Tsubame had no intention of missing it.

Ayanokoji watched the direction they had left in, deep in thought. After considering it for a moment, he silently followed them as well.

Chabashira skillfully opened the rooftop door.

She took out the cigarettes she carried with her and lit one without a word.

Horikita Suzune frowned at the sight but said nothing.

Only after Chabashira took a few puffs did their conversation officially begin.

"Chabashira-sensei, I'll get straight to the point. Why was I assigned to Class D?"

Chabashira Sae turned to look at her and shook her head.

"I thought you'd ask about the bet first."

That was indeed what Horikita wanted to know more about right now.

After the Class Points were announced, she had sensed that something was wrong.

After thinking for two seconds, Horikita Suzune stubbornly said,

"The terms of the bet were to rise to Class A this month. I still have time."

A cornered beast would still struggle, let alone a person.

Chabashira Sae understood her current feelings very well.

Horikita was much like her. She herself had once been the same, foolishly believing that she could accomplish everything alone.

But unfortunately, that was impossible in reality.

"If you want to rise to Class A, there are currently only two methods. The first is what I said in the classroom just now. For the second, you can spend one million points to buy the information from me."

Chabashira Sae took two sharp drags and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Horikita was choked by the secondhand smoke and took a step back.

Because she had vaguely realized the importance of Private Points, she had been extremely frugal last month.

Even so, she only had around 96,000 points.

She had not expected that information on advancing to Class A alone would cost one million points.

"Suzune, if there's something you want to know, why not just ask me directly?"

"Given our relationship, I'd definitely tell you everything I know."

Suzuki Tsubame stepped onto the rooftop from behind the door as well.

Rooftop culture was practically a household concept in this country.

Things like hypnotist teachers appeared in all kinds of local film and television works.

Horikita looked at Suzuki Tsubame's smiling face with a hostile expression.

"You already knew about the Class Points, didn't you? You deliberately misled me into signing that contract?!"

Suzuki Tsubame did not want to discuss that issue. He had indeed had an ulterior motive, and he did indeed crave her body.

But if he admitted it just like that, wouldn't he look like some sinister, scheming bastard?

"What are you talking about, Suzune-chan?"

"I only found out about the Class Points from an upperclassman a few days ago."

"We're both freshmen. How could I possibly figure out all the rules in a single day?"

Suzuki Tsubame calmly defended himself, looking utterly sincere.

"Enough. Stop wasting time on meaningless topics. Suzuki Tsubame, I want to know what your next plan is."

Chabashira sounded impatient.

She had no interest whatsoever in their childish little bet. All she cared about was whether her class could rise to Class A.

Class A's performance had even made her uneasy. It was not as though no class had ever broken 1,000 points in the first month before.

But those classes had only increased by a dozen or so points. This was the first time there had been such organized and disciplined point gains.

That meant someone had appeared in Class A with both extraordinary insight and execution.

Was it Sakayanagi or Katsuragi, or perhaps...

Suzuki Tsubame ignored her reaction. To put it bluntly, the class was not important to him. His goal was to train Horikita Suzune.

"Suzune, let me remind you of something. If you spend twenty million Private Points, you can transfer to any class you want."

His words were nothing short of shocking.

"The starting points of all four classes only add up to sixteen million! Twenty million? How is that even possible?!"

Horikita's vision went dark. Turning 96,000 into twenty million in one month—did he take her for some kind of gambling god?

"We can discuss the bet in private later."

"Let's talk about your plan first."

Chabashira Sae looked displeased. How did he know about class transfers? What exactly had he done over the past month?

It would be a lie to say that she had not been keeping an eye on him.

Other than the classroom and the Dormitory, Suzuki Tsubame had spent all his time in the Gymnasium this past month.

Logically speaking, the upperclassmen should have kept their mouths shut. The punishment for leaking information was severe.

"Don't be so anxious, Chabashira-sensei. Isn't our class's current situation pretty good?"

Suzuki Tsubame looked extremely confident. Even Ayanokoji had been able to turn things around in the original story, so there was no reason he could not do the same with Future Sight and the system backing him up.

Suzuki Tsubame casually waved his hand, his expression composed.

Too bad he did not have a feather fan. Otherwise, he could have gone with, "Fan in hand, silk headdress on his head—while chatting and laughing, every class turns to ash."

"Zero points are both a disadvantage and an advantage."

"Judging by the current situation, we're at the bottom and desperately short on points."

"But that is only the surface. Class D's overall quality was never as high as the other classes'. Precisely because we're at the bottom, the other classes have even less reason to target us. And because we lack points, everyone can focus more on studying and training."

"We only need to hold our position and wait for the right opportunity."

Put simply, Class D no longer had any Class Points left. Even if the other classes targeted them, it would not accomplish much beyond being annoying.

On top of that, everyone had very few Private Points left, so they could no longer spend all day indulging themselves in luxury and entertainment. Instead, they could settle down and quietly build themselves up.

"Isn't that just another way of saying we shouldn't do anything?"

Chabashira Sae replied calmly,

"Shouldn't we take the initiative? Class A has strong momentum right now. Aren't you afraid they'll use this chance to dominate the entire first year?"

She was worried that the first year would eventually become like the second year.

In Suzuki Tsubame's view, that question was both a test and a probe.

He did not believe Chabashira was unaware of Class A's situation. Leaving aside Ryuen and Ichinose, Sakayanagi Arisu was no pushover either.

It was impossible for Class A to conquer the first year at this stage.

"Chabashira-sensei, your concerns are unnecessary."

"From what I understand, Ryuen of Class C controls his class through violence."

"Class A cannot dominate the entire year at this stage."

At the club introduction meeting, word that Suzuki Tsubame had carried Sakayanagi Arisu away in his arms had spread like wildfire.

Although the two had not met again afterward, Chabashira had inevitably become wary of him.

He could not reveal that he knew Class A's current situation. Otherwise, Chabashira Sae might suspect him of colluding with the enemy.

After all, he had seen through the rules right after school began, and Class A had coincidentally obtained so many points.

When all the coincidences piled up, they stopped being coincidences.

Chabashira Sae folded one arm across her chest and stared intently at Suzuki Tsubame in silence for a long time.

Only after the cigarette in her hand burned out did she speak again.

"As long as you know what you're doing."

"I hope you understand what you should do and what you should not do."

Suzuki Tsubame gave a noncommittal laugh and brushed Chabashira off.

After Chabashira left, only Suzuki Tsubame and Horikita remained on the rooftop.

That was, if Ayanokoji behind the door did not count.

"Suzune, I won this bet, didn't I?"

Horikita turned her head aside and ignored him for the moment. She was thinking of a way to deal with the bet.

It seemed there was absolutely no hope of rising to Class A this month.

If she came up with some excuse and brushed aside the stakes... that should work.

"You're thinking about whether the school will punish you for breaking the contract, aren't you?"

Suzuki Tsubame asked with a smile.

Horikita's pretty face reddened. She had indeed been thinking about that just now.

Although breaking the agreement would damage her reputation if word got out, compared to the stakes, her pride... seemed insignificant.

Of course, that only applied if the school's punishment was light.

Judging from her reaction,

he had probably guessed right.

Suzuki Tsubame gave her a simple reminder.

"Private agreements can be broken without any consequences."

The implication was that a contract witnessed by a teacher fell under the school's supervision and jurisdiction.

Hearing that, Horikita's beautiful brows furrowed tightly.

"Suzune, what are you worried about?"

The question stunned Horikita for a second.

Then, with a dark look on her face, she said,

"A pubescent boy like you gets leverage over a beautiful girl his own age."

"I only need one second to guess what you want to do."

Suzuki Tsubame was amused by her words.

Then he looked over her lovely figure.

Her face was beautiful, her waist slender enough to grasp in one hand, and her body radiated youthful vitality.

Her most striking feature was undoubtedly her long legs—round, straight, and surely wonderful to the touch.

"If it's that kind of thing, I think... even an eighty-year-old man would have the same thoughts as me."

"After all... you admitted it yourself. You are a beautiful young girl."

Men remained boys until they died.

In the real world, who would not want to hold a stunning beauty like Horikita Suzune and kiss her senseless?

"Heh, I knew you were human trash."

For some reason, when he said those words, Horikita Suzune actually felt relieved.

"Though I really don't want to hear you say that."

"But... there's nothing we can do about it, right?"

Suzuki Tsubame spread his hands with an unconcerned expression.

The conversation was nearing its end. Suzuki Tsubame deliberately did not bring up anything about maids or the like.

For now, the two of them were getting along fairly well.

The contract was only insurance. Suzuki Tsubame's goal went far beyond her body alone.