Looking at it this way, it really wasn't her doing.
And Classmate Katsuragi couldn't bring himself to make Classmate Kamuro take credit for something she hadn't done, so there was nothing he could do but sigh softly.
Since the next class was math, he might as well take out his textbook.
Meanwhile, over in Class 1-C.
Shirogane Miyuki sat at his desk, with a Point Card resting on top of it.
Some of the students around him watched with curiosity. They'd heard from their upperclassman, Tachibana Akane, that Shirogane had been rewarded by the school with an anonymous Point Card for reporting a rule violation.
The Point Card held 30,000 Private Points. All he had to do was scan it with his phone to transfer the points to his Student ID.
"Beep!"
"Would you like to top up or transfer points?"
The Point Card was somewhat unusual. It seemed that you could use it not only to withdraw stored points, but also to store the points on your Student ID.
It was like a portable storage device, similar to a USB drive. The difference was that a USB drive stored other kinds of data, while a Point Card, as the name suggested, stored Private Points.
But...
What was curious was how this thing had come to exist.
Did that mean a student might acquire a huge amount of points, find it inconvenient to keep them on their Student ID, and store them this way instead?
But why would it be inconvenient to have points on your Student ID?
Shirogane couldn't help thinking of the expensive voice recorder he'd seen at the Electronics Store.
"I didn't expect you to be such a model student."
Classmate Ryuen suddenly spoke up.
Uh...
Only after hearing Ryuen speak did Shirogane look over.
There seemed to be a hint of mockery on Classmate Ryuen's face. Still, it was understandable. Shirogane had reported a shop clerk to the school for breaking the rules, yet he himself had recorded a video of Ryuen fighting and used it to threaten him.
So how could a student like that be a model student in the truest sense?
Classmate Ryuen was the first to object.
"I think the students in Class A already know the truth about this school. They used points to get the information from the third-years," Shirogane said. "And their class is different from ours. Their overall quality is higher, too."
Ryuen frowned.
Damn.
Did that mean he had to finish pulling the class together in the next few days?
Otherwise, even if they learned the truth about the school in advance, they wouldn't be able to seize an advantage in the first month.
Still, there was something appealing about taking a class of deadbeats like his, defying the school's history, and turning them from the worst into the best.
Ryuen had always liked a challenge.
PS: Today's update is here! You know what I'm going to say, right?
Please, data, tips, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets—anything!
Gah!
Chapter 25: Sakayanagi Arisu Wants an Assistant!
After Shirogane told Classmate Ryuen that Class A had used points to learn the truth about the school and the rules for this month's evaluation, Ryuen began working hard.
He started picking fights with Albert, the dark-skinned guy in their class who stood two meters tall.
Shirogane understood. Ryuen probably wanted to beat Albert in front of the class.
Albert was the strongest-looking person in the class and seemed the hardest to deal with. If he resorted to violence, he'd be difficult to handle.
But what if Albert followed Ryuen?
Then Ryuen wouldn't need to beat everyone into submission. He'd only need to win one fight to establish his authority.
Still, defeating Albert wouldn't be easy.
Albert was mixed-race and could only understand Japanese. But he usually spoke English.
On top of that, Albert had trained in boxing, and the result was obvious.
After agreeing to fight, Ryuen skipped class the next day.
He didn't come back until the following afternoon. He picked on Albert again, and Albert agreed to fight him once more. Ryuen lost again.
Normally, after losing fight after fight, Ryuen should have given up.
But that wasn't how things played out.
"Ryuen's a freak."
That sort of comment soon began making the rounds.
During lunch, Ryuen followed Albert to the cafeteria and attacked him while he was eating.
Then, during PE, Ryuen followed Albert to the bathroom and even ambushed him while he was using the toilet.
He was determined to make Albert submit by any means necessary.
And the results were obvious.
When the PE teacher announced that the students were free to do as they pleased, Ryuen was already cheerfully leading Albert away.
Unable to put up with the constant harassment, Albert chose to submit.
"Do you have PE this period, too?"
Shirogane had been given free time as well, but he was different from the other students.
He knew his own limits. His stamina was decent, and he could just about manage running, but his coordination was poor. After being dismissed, most students borrowed equipment and played games like tennis, volleyball, and ping-pong.
With his lack of coordination, Shirogane was actually worse than most students at those activities.
So when everyone else went off to play, Shirogane chose to go off on his own.
He took a pocket-sized English dictionary from his pocket.
That's right.
His idea of free time was memorizing English vocabulary.
But just as he was about to settle down and study quietly, he noticed a girl sitting in the shade at one corner of the field.
She was exceptionally cute, with delicate features, pretty eyebrows, and beautiful, straight silver hair. Her skin was pale, almost sickly, perhaps because she hadn't exercised in a long time.
Unlike Class C, the students in her class hadn't been given free time yet.
They were running laps around the field, following the teacher's instructions.
And in the middle of all that, she was sitting alone in the shade.
There could only be one reason: her health kept her from taking part, so all she could do was sit there.
"Hmm?"
The girl, who had been sitting quietly by herself, looked up.
"So it's Classmate Shirogane," she said casually. "I'm waiting for a poor soul whose sympathy gets the better of him."
That was a strange way to put it.
But she probably meant someone who'd feel sorry for her and offer to help.
"You know my situation," Sakayanagi Arisu continued. "My physical condition makes it impossible for me to take part in PE. Even in my everyday life, although I can manage the basics on my own, I still need an assistant."
An assistant.
That meant more than just helping with the occasional visible task.
It might even involve private things, like helping her bathe, fetching water, or running errands.
"Aren't there already students gathered around you?" Shirogane said. "You could choose a girl from your floor—"
"Better no one than the wrong one," Sakayanagi said. "I need someone I think is suitable."
Uh.
In other words, she didn't think any of the students following her were good enough.
She had high standards.
"Then do you have anyone in mind?" Shirogane asked.
They were in different classes, for one thing. And even if he and Sakayanagi were in the same class, he couldn't help with the private things a girl might need assistance with.
Shirogane simply couldn't do that kind of work.
How was he supposed to help Classmate Sakayanagi take a bath?
"Normally, I might hire someone and pay them some points," Sakayanagi said.
Oh.
So she'd use money to persuade someone.
"But I don't think she's the type you can win over with money alone," Sakayanagi said. "So I've decided to try another approach."
"She might even do it for free."
Hmm?
So she did have someone in mind after all.
And that was a bit much. What did she mean, she'd offer to pay, and if the other person refused, she'd get them to work for free?
Shirogane had heard Narration System describe Sakayanagi as a little devil.
And now, this really did seem like the sort of thing a little devil would do.
Still.
Classmate Sakayanagi wanted a little helper around the house.
So, as Sakayanagi Arisu watched in confusion, Shirogane turned away and seemed to take out the notebook he carried with him. He quickly wrote something in it.
Was he going to study even during PE?
But Sakayanagi had guessed wrong this time. Shirogane had been about to study a moment ago, but now he was simply chatting with the Narration System.
"Will Sakayanagi Arisu find a suitable assistant?"
[She will, as long as you don't beat her to it, Shirogane.]
Hmm?
That was a strange way to put it. What did it mean, as long as he didn't beat her to it? Did that mean he could steal Sakayanagi's prospective unpaid assistant?
"Is it someone I know?" Shirogane continued writing.
[Yes. You've already met her.]
He'd already met her? That was broad. It was already the fifth day since enrollment, so even Shirogane had seen more than thirty girls.
Though he'd only actually spoken to a few of them.
Wait.
Shirogane suddenly thought of someone.
"Is it the girl with long purple hair I saw at the Electronics Store? The one wearing two hair clips?"
[She's added another hair clip recently.]
The Narration System replied.
That pretty much confirmed it. The girl Sakayanagi wanted as an assistant was the same one Shirogane knew: the girl who seemed aloof and withdrawn.
Shirogane also noticed that the PE teacher for Class A had let the students do as they pleased. Among those dispersing, he saw a tall girl with long purple hair apparently heading toward the shade. She seemed lost in thought, but halfway there, she suddenly looked up, and Shirogane noticed her gaze.
To his surprise, the girl froze for a moment, then turned and walked away in the opposite direction.
Before you continue