Someone else.
Third-Year Class C, Yukinoshita Hachiman, had 1.2 million Private Points confiscated.
As for Senior Yukinoshita from Third-Year Class C, he was the Sakayanagi Faction's trading partner for purchasing information about the school.
There was nothing more to say about that.
But Miyabi Nagumo had had 300,000 points deducted...
"Actually, I was quite sincere," Senior Nagumo said. "The last time I came to your class, if you'd admitted that you were involved in reporting Shirogane-kun, Junior Kamuro..."
"Your class could still have received a 50-point bonus to its class evaluation score."
"Can you still admit it now?" Yahiko, who was following behind Katsuragi, couldn't help interjecting.
Katsuragi-kun had told him to keep quiet all the way here, but he couldn't hold back any longer.
Because this was a chance to widen the gap.
Class A currently had a class evaluation score of 924, while the class Shirogane belonged to had become the new Class B, with a score of 735.
The gap between the two classes was less than 200 points. But if Classmate Kamuro could get 50 points, their class would once again have a commanding lead.
To him, Classmate Katsuragi was the one who could lead the class. Sakayanagi had indeed given their class an advantage, but she was too aggressive. What's more, the people on Sakayanagi's side seemed to take it for granted that they should pay tribute to her, while Katsuragi-kun, the leader of the Katsuragi Faction, completely disagreed with that approach.
At most, he asked everyone to contribute 25% of their points as a reserve fund for dealing with exams.
That was the kind of leader people could rely on.
"About that—" Senior Nagumo had just started to speak when a rather sweet voice came from nearby.
Sakayanagi had finally turned her gaze away from the bulletin board.
"I don't think that's necessary," Sakayanagi Arisu said. "If you quibble over 50 points, then when you face the Special Exams ahead, you'll be constrained by every little point."
"Sooner or later, that kind of behavior will cost you dearly."
In other words, they'd be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
"Besides, if you're so keen on these 50 points, can I take it that your ambitions are just that small?" Sakayanagi said.
"You, Sakayanagi!" Yahiko couldn't hold back at her provocation.
"Wait, Yahiko." Katsuragi raised a hand. Yahiko was good in every way and supported him, but he was too quick to lose his temper. "When Senior Nagumo brought up those 50 points, did he mean that Classmate Kamuro could get the bonus even if she hadn't been involved in reporting Shirogane-kun?"
"In other words, you could get points by distorting the facts?" Classmate Katsuragi asked.
"I didn't say that outright," Nagumo said, spreading his hands.
But if he hadn't said it outright, he'd said it indirectly.
So Nagumo was passing a message to Katsuragi and Sakayanagi. Apparently, there was no need to be too honest at this school.
Just as expected.
Nagumo had come to give them a tip-off.
He'd made his point clear enough, and Katsuragi looked at the notice on the bulletin board.
Second-Year Class A, Miyabi Nagumo: 300,000 Private Points deducted.
Miyabi Nagumo was a member of the Student Council, its Vice President, and a senior. Although he was only a second-year, he was familiar with the school's rules. It was strange for him to be so openly called out and criticized.
He'd just warned the younger students that they didn't have to be so honest. Did that mean that even if he broke the rules, he could easily talk his way out of it?
But the fact was, he'd still had Private Points deducted as punishment.
So...
"Senior Nagumo, could the 300,000 Private Points you had deducted actually be..." Katsuragi recalled some things Nagumo had said when he came to Class A to find Classmate Kamuro.
Those words seemed to have been a warning. They'd also helped them, having learned about the school's information in advance, confirm that what they'd heard was correct.
"Heh. Looks like you've given it some thought."
"I have high hopes for you," Miyabi Nagumo said.
He'd spent that money, after all, so naturally he hoped to see results.
Unfortunately, he'd gotten nowhere with the super-cute Sakayanagi just now. She'd ignored him outright.
So he'd had to turn to Kamuro, Sakayanagi's little lapdog.
But she'd ignored him too.
She was just as cold as she'd been the last time. A whole month had passed, and she hadn't changed at all.
Just as he was beginning to feel displeased, Katsuragi Kohei showed up. And now, Katsuragi-kun seemed like a promising prospect.
How nice.
He understood the effort Nagumo had made and recognized the experience he'd shared with them.
"This is boring," Sakayanagi said dismissively. "The four classes are ranked in descending order of strength."
"Class A already has the advantage, and now it's getting additional information too."
"School life is becoming even more tedious." Sakayanagi spoke.
"Sakayanagi." This time, it wasn't Yahiko who looked over at her, but Classmate Katsuragi.
That was why he thought Sakayanagi was so dangerous.
Far too aggressive.
After all...
Just look at her. She was complaining that her class had become too strong and had too much of an advantage.
"It seems you have a lot of complaints about me, Katsuragi-kun. In that case, I'll leave this month's Special Exam and next month's Special Exam to you." Classmate Sakayanagi said. "I won't interfere."
At noon, Sakayanagi had gone to Class B and told Shirogane about the 20 million she'd heard from the president. She'd also given Shirogane-kun a task worth 20 million points: defeat Ayanokoji-kun.
But Shirogane-kun hadn't given her an answer right away.
What's more, according to the information Sakayanagi Faction students had gathered by following him, Shirogane had gone to the Student Council at that time.
Fearing the Student Council President, the students who'd followed him hadn't gone any farther, so they couldn't obtain the information immediately.
But clearly, even though Senior Nagumo, a Student Council member, was there, he'd gone straight to a Soccer Club activity. Then, when he saw them arrive, he'd jogged right over. He'd said plenty, but he obviously couldn't offer anything of value.
That irritated Sakayanagi.
Still, the news hadn't come too late.
Because...
The next morning, as all the students were getting ready to attend homeroom, they were told to gather in the Gymnasium.
The explanation was that the new list of Student Council members would be announced today.
P.S. First update! I'm still a few thousand words short, so the fourth update will probably be over an hour late.
P.S. Please give me your monthly passes! I'm shouting it loud and clear!
If I Were President, I'd Invite Classmate Sakayanagi to Be My Vice President!
All the students were told to gather in the Gymnasium.
For the first-years, it had only been a month since the opening ceremony, so they were familiar with the place and made their way there without trouble.
Still, this time they felt a little more pressure.
The last time they'd come here, only the first-years had been present. Now, the whole school was there.
They also understood why the class names had been posted along the marked-off spots at the front of the Gymnasium.
The school had anticipated that there would be all kinds of assemblies where order would need to be maintained.
This month, two pairs of first-year classes had swapped places.
They were First-Year Class B and First-Year Class C. At the head of First-Year Class B's line stood a boy with a haughty expression.
He was acting like he owned the place, but the tall, dark-skinned boy behind him was intimidating, so although the students around them were curious, none of them approached.
"Damn you, Ryuen."
Of course, there were also people who wanted to pick a fight with Ryuen.
They were students from the Class D area. But even the Class D students didn't choose to confront Ryuen right now.
The older students were surprised too.
They were rarely asked to gather at a time like this. Did that mean there was something important to announce?
Was there something important they needed to announce?
It was probably the appointment of the new Student Council members. At that thought, a student from Second-Year Class B straightened up a little.
Just like the opening ceremony, this assembly had been called by the Student Council. Only Student Council members and the homeroom teachers from each class had attended. None of the school's senior administrators were present. It showed just how much freedom the school gave its students.
"I'm a little nervous."
In the Class 1-C area, the students stood in orderly rows, boys beside boys and girls beside girls.
A timid-looking girl spoke to Classmate Ichinose.
There had been no Behavioral Standards Exam this month, and the Student Council President hadn't officially begun speaking yet, so the students were free to chat.
The girl talking to Classmate Ichinose had light green hair and seemed somewhat shy. She looked like a little bird that was still too afraid to leave its parents and live on its own.
This was Shiranami Chihiro.
She was introverted and a little timid, which made people want to protect her, so the students in her class looked after her.
Shiranami seemed to get along well with Classmate Ichinose. She appeared more at ease when she was with her.
To Ichinose, Shiranami looked small and delicate, reminding her of her younger sister. So Ichinose didn't mind acting like an older sister to her.
Of course.
Ichinose would help any of her friends if they ran into trouble or had something troubling them.
She was simply that kind of person.
"Today, the Student Council should be announcing information about its new members," Ichinose said.
"Then congratulations, Classmate Ichinose," the girls around them said, joining in.
It was clear how popular Ichinose was.
The previous night, Classmate Ichinose had told the class group chat that she'd joined the Student Council and been appointed as a Disciplinary Committee Member. The position wasn't high-ranking, but everyone had experienced how strict and severe this school was.
So, regardless of the position, simply getting into the Student Council was already quite an achievement.
Especially since they'd heard that Classmate Katsuragi from Class A had gone to the Student Council too, but his application to join had been rejected outright.
For the students in Ichinose Class, who'd been at odds with Class A the previous month, this was a delightful turn of events.
"Tch!"
A sound came from the line next to Ichinose Class.
It was Ryuen.
Although they'd now moved up to Class B, that same unpleasant atmosphere still wafted over from the neighboring class.
Normally, Ryuen was a former Class C student. He'd learned the truth about the school the previous month, so it stood to reason that he'd target Class B, the class above his, if he wanted to climb higher. But he hadn't.
For one thing, the previous month's exam had tested behavioral standards. If his hostile actions were exposed, he might lose a large number of points.
Then all his effort to bring the class together would be meaningless. He might even lose so many points that he'd forfeit any chance of climbing higher.
Ryuen liked excitement, but he didn't want that much excitement.
So he'd chosen to do nothing.
Besides.
He didn't think he needed to make a move himself.
Class C had targeted Class B because it was the class above them. But there was someone who would be wary of Class B.
The students in Class A.
Sure enough, at the end of the previous month, Ichinose Class had suddenly gotten caught up in a brawl with Class D students and lost a large number of points.
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