Buying the Rules

"Clap, clap."

Two crisp claps rang out, cutting through the noise in the classroom. The bald boy walked up to the podium, standing tall with an air of calm authority.

"Everyone, quiet down for a moment and hear me out." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable force.

Seeing that someone had finally stepped forward to take charge, everyone wisely fell silent. Rather than arguing aimlessly, they might as well hear what someone else had to say—especially this bald boy, who looked like he knew exactly what he was doing.

Down below, Sakayanagi Arisu rested her chin on her hand, her cane propped beside her swaying gently. An intrigued smile played in her eyes as she looked at Katsuragi Kohei on the podium, as if she were appraising an interesting object.

Once everyone had quieted down, Katsuragi Kohei continued, "Rather than arguing like this without getting anywhere, why don't we all introduce ourselves first? That'll give us some time to think about whether we should spend Points to buy the rules."

He paused and rested a hand on the edge of the podium, his tone brisk. "I'll start. My name is Katsuragi Kohei. I look forward to working with you."

After his brief introduction, the classroom fell silent for a moment. Then, one after another, people began to stand.

"My name is..."

"Pleased to meet you..."

Names rang out one after another. Uesugi Hara rested his chin on his hand and quietly matched each name to a face. Whether he'd need that information later or not, it couldn't hurt to remember it.

Soon, it was his turn.

Uesugi Hara stood up lazily, his tone laced with a casual, teasing edge. "Uesugi Hara."

He glanced around at everyone and added with a smirk, "I know a little about a lot of things, don't have any particular hobbies, and I do like money."

A few people below him chuckled, but he changed tack, putting on a serious expression. "Of course, if anyone needs help with anything, feel free to come to me."

He paused, deliberately emphasizing the second half. "As long as you can afford the Points."

The classroom's laughter grew louder. Beside him, Kamuro Masumi rolled her eyes and muttered, "All he ever talks about is money."

Uesugi Hara acted as if he hadn't heard her and sat back down, though he was already thinking: Better to establish a reputation as someone who likes money. It'll make things easier down the line.

He didn't care what other people thought of him. After all, most of the people who mocked or looked down on someone for "loving money" had never experienced being so poor they couldn't afford a meal.

Uesugi Hara's fingers tapped absently on the desk as his thoughts drifted back a few years. Back then, he could barely scrape together enough money to buy a loaf of bread. If he hadn't occasionally "borrowed" some cash from the local street thugs to get by, he'd probably have ended up a starving ghost in some alley.

People who'd once been poor were always more attached to Points—the sort of thing that could buy them a more secure life.

As he was thinking, it was Sakayanagi Arisu's turn. She stood with the aid of her cane, her smile graceful yet sharp. "Sakayanagi Arisu. I'm delighted to become your classmate, and I look forward to getting along with everyone in the future."

After speaking, she glanced over at Uesugi Hara, who returned a bright, cheerful smile.

"Now that we've all gotten to know one another a little," Katsuragi Kohei said, drawing everyone's attention back to the podium, "we should discuss whether to spend Points to buy the rules."

He paused and looked around the room. "Split among fifty people, the 500,000 Points comes to just 12,500 per person. I'm sure everyone here can afford that."

"Also, based on what we just learned, next month's Points distribution clearly won't be a fixed 100,000." Katsuragi Kohei's reasoning was sound. "If our class's Points can change, the other classes' probably can too. What does that mean? It means there may well be competition between classes, and the core of that competition is very likely to be Points."

His tone grew more emphatic. "In that case, learning the rules in advance would give Class A an advantage right from the start. In the long run, spending this little to gain the initiative will absolutely be worth it. After all, none of us wants to watch the other classes seize the advantage while we're left reacting helplessly, do we?"

His reasoning was clear, and he directly highlighted the importance of having an information advantage. The discussion in the classroom gradually quieted, and many people looked convinced.

Uesugi Hara nodded inwardly. The bald guy knew how to get to the heart of things. He'd laid out the pros and cons clearly, and his argument was much more convincing than Uesugi Hara's offhand remark about splitting the cost.

He glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu. She remained as composed as ever, as though she'd expected this outcome all along. Kamuro Masumi furrowed her brow and considered it for a moment before giving a quiet "Mm," apparently persuaded.

It looked like there was no getting around spending those 500,000 Points.

But that was fine. Uesugi Hara wasn't the sort to care only about immediate gains, either. It was better to learn the rules early than to be caught off guard later.

A small number of students did look reluctant. They probably thought 12,500 Points could buy plenty of things, and that spending them on such "intangible" information wasn't necessary. But with Katsuragi Kohei's clear reasoning and the momentum of the class as a whole, no one voiced any further objections.

One after another, everyone opened their Terminals and transferred their share of the Points to Katsuragi Kohei. As the numbers on their screens went down, some people sighed softly, while others looked thoughtful—apparently, like Uesugi Hara, they felt the investment was worth it.

Uesugi Hara looked at the 87,500 Points left on his Terminal. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to last him a while. He looked up at the podium, where Katsuragi Kohei was checking the transaction records with an expression as solemn as if he were handling some major deal.

But what Uesugi Hara found strange was that Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't stepped in to take charge at all. She'd been the first to spot the loophole in what Mashima Tomoya had said, and had even been the one to ask the price. Given how she seemed to have everything under control, she should have taken the lead.

Did she think Katsuragi Kohei wasn't a threat?

He couldn't figure it out.

After Katsuragi Kohei transferred the collected 500,000 Points to Mashima Tomoya, his Terminal soon vibrated and displayed three messages.

He glanced at them, then looked up at everyone and read each one aloud in a solemn tone:

"First—the individual Points you receive are determined by your class's Class Points. Each class starts with 1,000 Class Points. Individual Points = Class Points × 100."

The classroom immediately broke into understanding murmurs. No wonder they'd received 100,000 in the first month. One thousand multiplied by one hundred came to exactly that amount.

"Second, the school has Special Exams, and Class Points will increase or decrease based on the results."

Katsuragi paused, then read out the final message, the most surprising one of all:

"Third—you are currently taking your first Special Exam."

"What?!"

"Right now? When did it start?"

Gasps erupted at once. Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. No wonder Mashima Tomoya had seemed strange from the very beginning.

So, noticing the loophole in a teacher's words and using the rules you already knew to negotiate for rules you didn't—that could count as a shortcut, couldn't it?

After all, while most people were still celebrating their initial Points, someone had already found the edge of the game's rules.

A small price had bought them a chance to tear through the fog and get ahead.

It seemed this school wasn't as straightforward as it looked.