When I got to the classroom, I sat down at my desk.
As expected, everyone around me was talking about the incident with Sudo.
Apparently, they hadn't found any witnesses, so the investigation would continue after school today.
But none of that mattered to me.
My mind was still on what had happened during lunch—just three minutes ago, near the stairs, I'd accidentally groped Ichinose.
Luckily, it had happened just before homeroom, and there had only been one witness. Unfortunately, that witness had been the Student Council President.
Now I'd been ordered to report to the Student Council Room during lunch.
Honestly, it was suffocating. Why did the only witness have to be the Student Council President? Ichinose hadn't been angry—in fact, she'd apologized to me—so I probably wouldn't be punished, but I still felt just as miserable.
As I sighed to myself, the chatter around me suddenly grew louder.
"Ahh, why couldn't I have been in Class A? If I were, I'd definitely be enjoying school life right now!"
"I wish I could get into Class A too. Then I could buy all the stuff I want."
Listening to their complaints, I could only think that the people saying this were either idiots or had gotten into trouble in middle school, just like me. Come to think of it, Hirata and Kushida had probably gotten into trouble back then too. Although we'd been here for less than three months, those two would probably be just fine even in Class A or B.
"If only there were some secret trick to getting into Class A instantly!"
"Ike, the good news is that there really is a way to change classes instantly."
Our homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, had entered through the front door and answered Ike's mutter.
"Come on, you're joking again! Who'd believe that?"
"It's real. This school has a special system in place."
I already knew the teacher wasn't making it up.
"T-Teacher, what's this special method...?"
As soon as Ike asked, the whole class turned to look at Chabashira-sensei.
"I told you during the opening ceremony, didn't I? At this school, you can buy anything with points. In other words, you can change classes by paying with your personal points."
If you could buy exam scores, then changing classes was only natural. The price, however, was absurdly high.
"No way! How many points would you need to save up to change classes?!"
"Twenty million. Work hard and save up, Ike. Once you have enough, you can go to the class you want."
The astronomical figure sent the classroom into an uproar.
"Twenty million points is impossible!"
Ike's complaint drew a chorus of jeers.
"It's true that you can't do it through ordinary means. But this is a privilege that lets you change classes without conditions, so the price is reasonable. If it were ten times cheaper, Class A would have more than a hundred students by the time you graduated, wouldn't it?"
If it were two million, I could move up to Class A next term.
"Um... has anyone ever successfully changed classes before?"
"Unfortunately, there's no precedent. Even if you started saving Class Points from the day you enrolled, you could only earn 3.6 million at most in three years. There's no way to afford it through normal means."
"Then how is that any different from it being impossible...?"
"It's nearly impossible, but not absolutely impossible. That distinction matters, Ike. For example, if Hikigaya had managed to save nearly two million in just three months by all sorts of means, then getting into Class A would be a real possibility."
"Could you not call me out like this?"
"You're always unusually eager when there are bonus points up for grabs in class. It's too late to play dumb now, isn't it? The teachers' office has been discussing the possibility that Hikigaya might buy his way into another class."
This was bad... It was true that whenever a teacher offered bonus points for answering a difficult question, I went all out.
On top of that, if I agreed to join the Sakanayanagi Faction, they'd provide financial support. At that point, moving up to Class A would be all but guaranteed.
Amid the commotion, Horikita raised her hand. "May I ask what the record is for the most personal points ever held by a student?"
"Good question, Horikita. Three years ago, a student in Class B managed to save up twelve million."
"T-Twelve million?! And he was in Class B?!"
"But he was expelled for fraud."
"Fraud?"
"He specifically targeted first-years and cheated them out of their points."
I'd read about that on the school forum. The school had tightened its oversight afterward and warned us not to do anything shady.
"So we can only compete through our classes' total scores, by being honest?"
Horikita reopened her book, but reading during homeroom wasn't exactly appropriate.
"By the way, none of you have earned points through club activities."
Chabashira-sensei added this out of the blue.
"What's that?"
"You're awarded personal points based on your contributions to your clubs."
The class broke into a commotion, but the system was real. Even if you didn't join a club, winning a competition or earning a national qualification could get you Class Points and personal points. I remembered someone getting points after building a robot and winning a competition.
"You can really get points for doing well in a club?!"
"That's right. The other classes should have explained this."
No, they should have made sure you understood it.
"That's not fair! If you'd told us earlier..."
"You think joining a club is just for fun? Do you think you can achieve something just by messing around?"
"Well, sure, but... there's always a chance, right?"
Ike might have thought so, but there was no chance in hell. If earning points were that easy, there wouldn't be any students who didn't belong to a club.
While I was thinking about all that, homeroom ended and our first lesson began. But my mind was still on what had happened during lunch and the sensation of accidentally touching Ichinose's chest.
I'd ended up with a nosebleed, so the teacher told me to rest in the infirmary, saying she wouldn't report it and cost our class points if I had a valid reason.
But once I got to the infirmary, the school nurse, Hoshinomiya-sensei, teased me too. What a terrible day.
Several hours later...
"...That's the whole story. So this incident was purely accidental, and Hikigaya-kun was not at fault."
In the Student Council Room, Ichinose explained everything to Student Council President Horikita. The president gave a slight nod.
"I see. We reviewed the security footage, and it confirmed that the incident could have been an accident. And since Ichinose, the person involved, has said as much, the Student Council has no grounds to punish Hikigaya."
Phew... Judging by the way she said that, she probably wasn't going to do anything to me.
Just as I was secretly relaxing, President Horikita summed things up.
"This incident is ruled innocent. However, Hikigaya, even if it was an accident, it could still be seen as misconduct by a third party. Be more careful going forward, and accept guidance when necessary."
"Understood. Thank you very much."
I bowed in thanks. It was such a relief to be cleared...
"Well, we'll be going now. I'm terribly sorry for troubling you."
Ichinose said this and began to bow as she prepared to leave. I was bowing along with her when—
"Hikigaya, stay."
President Horikita called me back. Huh? She wanted me to stay behind alone?
Honestly, I really didn't want to, but it was no use arguing.
"...All right. See you later, Ichinose."
"Ah, okay. See you... Excuse me."
After Ichinose left, only President Horikita, the secretary, Tachibana, and I remained in the Student Council Room.
"Um... is this still about what just happened?"
"That matter is settled... Tachibana, the secretary position is still vacant, isn't it?"
"Yes. The first-year student from Class A who applied a few days ago was eliminated in the first round."
"I see. Hikigaya... if you're willing, I can offer you the secretary position."
...Huh?
"P-President, are you serious?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"N-No, of course not. If that's what you want, President, I have no objections."
It seemed Tachibana was one of those people who put the president above everything else. But...
"Please don't joke around. You know the rumors about me, right?"
The rumors about me becoming some girl's live-in son-in-law and all that. The president had probably heard them too. In a way, I was even more famous than she was.
"Those stupid rumors aren't worth mentioning. What I'm interested in is your remarkable insight."
"My insight?"
"There's a member of the Chess Club in your class. I know you figured out the S-System before May and immediately came up with a countermeasure."
Ah, I see. It wasn't surprising that she knew about me, then.
But...
"I'm sorry, but I have to decline. Unfortunately, I have some unpleasant memories involving the Student Council."
In my second year of middle school, I'd gotten dragged into a troublesome request involving the Student Council. After the school trip, I hadn't had the energy to do anything. I'd let the matter go, but the person who'd asked me for help hadn't gotten the outcome they wanted, leaving me with some awful memories.
Tachibana gasped at my answer.
"Whaaat?! You're turning down the president's offer?!"
"I'm really sorry, but I can't accept this one... Besides, wouldn't Ichinose be a better choice than me?"
"Ichinose was eliminated in the first round."
Ichinose? That was unexpected. Did this school have a different way of selecting Student Council members?
In that case...
"I see. Then there's a boy in our class named Ayanokoji..."
"Hmm. Ayanokoji is also under consideration. If you turn me down, I intend to speak with him too."
When I brought up Ayanokoji, the guy in our class who seemed the most unfathomable to me, President Horikita nodded. That guy hated attracting attention, so how did he know all these famous people?
"I see. In any case, I have no intention of joining the Student Council. I'll take my leave."
I bowed one last time and left the Student Council Room. I felt like I was about to collapse.
Ever since I enrolled at this school, I hadn't had a single peaceful day...