Looting a Burning House, Then Buying Time

As the words reached his ears, Ike stared blankly at the boy before him, his expression one of confusion.

Nonsense, if I could stay, wouldn't I want to!

He thought this to himself, but wanting to leave a good memory for the classmates he'd spent over two months with, he smiled and said:

"Of course I don't want to, but there's no helping it, what's done is done..."

As he spoke, his face was once again clouded with dejection.

Ayanokoji furrowed his brows; why had this guy resigned himself to his fate so early?

I was actually thinking of coming to fish you out of this.

He suddenly recalled the cry for help Ike had directed at him during the last swimming class, which seemed just as fitting for today.

"Give me over twenty thousand points every month, and I'll handle this matter for you."

Ayanokoji said heartlessly, his extortionate behavior carrying a hint of overbearing dominance.

What a scumbag!

"Huh?"

Ike let out an exclamation. It wasn't that he was pained by the imaginary points—he didn't even have five thousand to his name right now—but rather that he was shocked by Ayanokoji's sudden, wild claim.

"Ayanokoji... are you alright?"

"I know you want to comfort me, but jokes at a time like this aren't funny."

Ike said with a look of resentment, barely managing to squeeze out a smile.

"I'm not joking with you. Take out your phone and give it to me."

Watching Ayanokoji's indifferent and ruthless expression, Ike seemed to catch a glimpse of sincerity in his eyes. He swallowed hard, pulled his phone from his pocket, and handed it over.

"You really didn't cheat, right?"

Ayanokoji asked calmly while scrolling through the information.

"Of course not! I stayed up all night memorizing the answers; that was all my hard work. Besides, no matter how stupid I am, I know what taking out a phone during an exam means."

Ayanokoji was speechless; and yet, you couldn't help but take it out anyway.

Even though he knew there were objective factors involved.

His hand swiped across the screen for a moment before stopping on an anonymous number. Ayanokoji's eyes flickered, as if he had found the answer he was looking for.

The next second, he repeated in a deliberately emphasized tone: "Well? Do you accept? Hand over twenty thousand points or more every month, and I will let you stay."

"You have no other choice now."

After listening, Ike stared at him blankly for two seconds. From Ayanokoji's hollow eyes, he seemed to see a trace of determination, and for some reason, a thought suddenly solidified in his heart:

This time, Ayanokoji will really save me!

"I accept! As long as I can stay, I accept!"

Ike Kanji finally said with certainty.

Ayanokoji nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave to handle the business, but he paused to add one more thing:

"You must keep this matter a secret. If it leaks out, then there will be no need for you to stay at this school."

The cold tone sent a chill down Ike's spine. Looking at Ayanokoji's back, he felt a deep sense of dread, and a few beads of cold sweat rolled down his back.

"I... I understand."

Ike said with a slightly trembling voice, looking like a wronged little wife.

Ayanokoji felt a bit nauseated and quickly retreated from the scene.

He left just in time to save his lunch.

On the rooftop of the school building.

Chabashira Sae stood before the wire fence, looking at the scenery outside with a deep expression, smoke rings drifting from her head.

A moment later, Ayanokoji appeared.

Hearing the footsteps, the teacher, Chabashira, did not turn around, only saying calmly: "Speak. What business do you have bringing me up here?"

Teacher Chabashira, surely you aren't unaware that there are no cameras here?

Looking at the haughty female teacher in black stockings, a strange scenario suddenly crossed Ayanokoji's mind, but fortunately, his self-control was strong enough.

Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have had a good time.

"Teacher, I remember you saying earlier that anyone who uses a phone during an exam without special circumstances will be treated as cheating. Is that correct?"

Heh.

Chabashira sneered and said slowly: "That is indeed the case. Are you trying to say that Ike's actions were due to special circumstances?"

"Yes," Ayanokoji said flatly.

"Then let me make it even clearer for you." Chabashira Sae exhaled a smoke ring and continued, "Special circumstances are merely a prerequisite. Even if Ike took out his phone due to special factors, as long as he cannot prove that he didn't look at the content inside after taking it out, he cannot prove that he didn't cheat. In other words..."

"Whether he cheated or not doesn't depend on him, but on how the school views the matter, right?"

Ayanokoji interrupted, his tone as flat as usual.

Under normal circumstances, the burden of proof lies with the accuser; for instance, if A believes B committed murder, A must provide evidence of B's crime, rather than forcing B to prove their innocence.

However, that premise assumes A and B are equals, which the school and Ike are not; whether Ike can stay depends entirely on the school's evaluation of his value.

In other words, if Ike were an honor student, or even just an average student, the school might consider his potential for growth and think twice before processing his expulsion.

But unfortunately, he is a bottom-tier student through and through, sitting at the very bottom of the food chain in this meritocratic school.

Therefore, even if he was forced to take out his phone due to external factors, the school has sufficient grounds to convict him.

A single sentence—"You have no value to remain here"—would be enough.

It sounds absurd, but in this classroom of meritocracy where survival of the fittest is the fundamental tone, this is the truth.

And in the future, more people will inevitably be eliminated for failing to demonstrate sufficient ability.

Ayanokoji understood this clearly; in this exam, the original intention behind Ike taking out his phone was irrelevant—what mattered was the school's perspective.

"Oh? Even knowing this, you still want to protect him?"

Chabashira's tone softened slightly, as if she were starting to take an interest in the matter.

"Chabashira, I recall you saying that points can buy anything, right?"

Ayanokoji didn't even bother with the honorific for his teacher.

"?, That is indeed the case. Do you have some clever idea?"

"I want to buy a period of time, a delay for Ike Kanji's expulsion."

Ayanokoji said decisively.

"Oh? Heh, interesting..."

The corners of Chabashira Sae's mouth curled upward, her interest in the boy growing.

She turned around slowly: "Are you trying to use time to change the school's value assessment of Ike, and thereby change the fact that he is to be expelled?"

Ayanokoji nodded silently, as if telling her that she had guessed his thoughts.

But whether that was truly the case, only he knew.

"Since the school's rules are fixed, then my using points to buy time should also be permitted, right?"

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, you really have given me another surprise." Chabashira finally revealed a faint smile, then slowly stated a figure: "500,000 private points. I will apply for him to remain at the school under observation for three months."

Hearing this, Ayanokoji's brow twitched, his pupils dilated slightly, and his face shifted from its previous calm to reveal a hint of shock:

500,000?!

Damn it!