Contracts, the Source of Power

Inside the classroom.

Silence fell.

Before long, someone voiced their opposition.

"Wait, Prince Brother does make a good point, but... right?"

"Yeah, that's all just your speculation, Prince Brother, isn't it?"

"The teacher hasn't confirmed any of this... right?"

"Exactly. Even if it's true, there's no need to hand our points over to someone else. We can just keep them ourselves."

"Right. We can use them when we need to."

"Right?"

Everyone looked around at one another.

They seemed to be trying to rally others to their side and get more people to agree.

Even if they were going to save their points, they'd feel safer keeping them in their own hands. Why should they hand them over to Prince Ganlongdao for safekeeping?

No matter what, they didn't want anyone touching their own interests.

And yet.

Unexpectedly, the first person to speak out against the idea was... Kaneda.

"I think..."

Kaneda looked back at the class. "Prince Ganlongdao has a point. Perhaps we really should entrust some of our points to someone we can trust."

"Huh?"

Several girls immediately glared at Kaneda. The guy was practically a class traitor.

"Kaneda, you idiot, what are you talking about? Weren't you the first to object?"

"Heh."

Kaneda pushed up his glasses and glanced at them, sneering.

"Save them yourselves? What a joke. I don't think you have that kind of self-control. You'll probably spend all your points within a month. I doubt you'll have a single damn point left after three years."

"What did you just say?"

The girls were furious, their eyes turning cold as they stared at Kaneda.

Quite a few boys felt awkward too.

Only a few people had enough self-control to restrain their own desires.

Those nice clothes and game consoles were like handsome men and beautiful women stripped bare, constantly tempting them. Even the strongest willpower would eventually be worn down by desire.

If they were left to save their own money, they'd end up with nothing!

When problems came up, the students who'd dutifully saved their points would be forced to pay more. In the end, such unfairness would only drag everyone down together.

When it came to this bunch of good-for-nothings who didn't study or plan for the future, Kaneda knew them all too well.

Of course, everything he said was true.

Unfortunately, being that blunt would definitely cost him his chances of finding a date on campus.

"Heh."

Ignoring the cold stares around him, Kaneda glanced at the people who seemed hesitant and explained:

"Pooling our points will definitely help us deal with future risks. Even if this all turns out to be a misunderstanding, we can just return everyone's points then. So I agree with pooling them and entrusting them to someone we can trust."

"The problem is..."

As he spoke, Kaneda glanced at Prince Ganlongdao, his expression complicated.

"Ganlongdao, you're clearly talented if you can see through these rules, but why should we hand our points over to you? I propose that we entrust them to someone more trustworthy."

Before anyone knew it, Kaneda had stopped caring that Prince Ganlongdao wanted to collect their points.

After all, this would benefit everyone, and it would make it easier for him to have the freedom to choose his career. He naturally wouldn't object to something that helped him.

But in his view, the others were merely unable to save their points because they lacked self-control. Prince Ganlongdao, on the other hand, might just make off with them.

"Such as?"

Prince Ganlongdao looked at him with amusement.

It was only the second day of school.

Who was there to trust?

It couldn't be himself, surely. Fortunately, Kaneda wasn't so full of himself as to suggest that. He simply frowned without replying.

Of course, Prince Ganlongdao understood their concerns.

"In that case, let's add another condition."

Prince Ganlongdao nodded, then turned to look at the group who had objected earlier.

"Every month, you can choose someone you trust to check with me on the points. If I've used any without permission, I'll withdraw from school immediately."

"Sakagami can witness this!"

"That should settle it, right?"

"That works."

Kazuma Sakagami nodded along, then added for Kaneda and the others:

"You can also ask Ganlongdao to write up a contract. You can think of it as something like an agreement. It'll be valid with the Student Council and the school, too."

"Really?"

Kaneda and the others were stunned.

They hadn't expected the school to have rules like that. If so, they could make all sorts of agreements through a contract, even without the school present.

Meanwhile.

Prince Ganlongdao raised an eyebrow.

In this context, putting the school and the Student Council on the same footing meant Sakagami was hinting that the Student Council also had the authority to arbitrate.

This teacher really was something.

Prince Ganlongdao looked at Kaneda and the others.

"Well? What do you think?"

After thinking it over, Kaneda couldn't see any problem with it.

He nodded.

"I have no objections, but we need to sign a contract. If you use any points without permission, you'll withdraw from school of your own accord."

"What about everyone else?"

"Wait..."

"I'm in."

Before anyone else could speak, Ibuki Mio said impatiently:

"Just hurry up and get it done. I want to go back."

Pooling their points would benefit both the class and the individual!

As long as there was a reasonable system of oversight, Ibuki Mio had no intention of refusing.

The ones who still wanted to object were basically just short-sighted people who wanted to indulge themselves.

"If Prince Brother's the one holding on to them, of course I'm in."

"Me too!"

Ishizaki and Albert both stood up as well, and Shiho Manabe reluctantly agreed.

Seeing that, the others couldn't really say anything more.

Even the two biggest troublemakers, Kaneda and Ibuki Mio, had no objections. The others naturally didn't dare to object again.

"Ahem..."

Just then, Kazuma Sakagami cleared his throat a few times, glancing at Kaneda and Ibuki Mio before coughing again.

He was obviously trying to hint at something.

Unfortunately, the two of them didn't pick up on it at all.

Prince Ganlongdao did, though.

However, a hint at a time like this...

The information must have something to do with the contract.

Since Kazuma Sakagami was hinting at Kaneda and the others, the information would benefit them more. Prince Ganlongdao had no reason to make trouble for himself.

He'd ask about it later.

"Kaneda, have you made up your minds?"

Seeing this, Kazuma Sakagami felt a little helpless. It really wasn't easy to find someone as clever as Prince Ganlongdao.

"Yes, we've decided."

Kaneda lifted his chin slightly, looking rather proud.

"Don't worry, teacher. I ranked tenth in the year on the entrance exam. He's not good enough to play word games with me. Everyone can check it over, too."

"..."

Kazuma Sakagami's mouth twitched.

He was just a book-smart idiot.

A lot of the time, he couldn't even get information across when he tried.

With that, Kaneda placed the contract he'd written in front of the class.

Party A: Prince Ganlongdao

Party B: All members of Class C (including Prince Ganlongdao)

First: Of the points distributed by the school on the first of each month, Party B will keep thirty thousand for living expenses. Any amount above thirty thousand will be handed to Party A to hold in safekeeping as class funds for shared expenses.

Second: Any shared class expenses must be approved by more than half of the class.

Third: Each month, Party B may select one representative (excluding Prince Ganlongdao) to check the class funds' income and expenses with Party A. If Party A is found to have used any class points without permission, Party A (Prince Ganlongdao) will voluntarily withdraw from school.

"It looks fine to me."

After looking it over, the people around them nodded one after another.

Prince Ganlongdao glanced at Kaneda too. The guy did have some ability.

Based on the information they had so far, Kaneda had written a fairly airtight contract, with almost no loopholes to exploit.

But Prince Ganlongdao had never planned to exploit any loopholes, let alone misuse the class's points.

He wouldn't stoop to something that shameful.

As the heir to the underworld, Prince Ganlongdao had never lacked money.

So he understood this very well:

Once money accumulated to a certain point, it was just a number.

Money wasn't what mattered most.

What mattered was—

the power to allocate resources!

The power to allocate resources was the true source of power!