Result

"What are the opinions of the two teachers?" Manabu Horikita looked toward the two teachers who had remained silent since the deliberation began.

"Let's leave this matter for the students to decide. What do you think, Takeda?" Upon hearing the Student Council President's inquiry, Chabashira offered her opinion before looking at Takeda, who was sitting on the other side.

"I agree with Chabashira's sentiment." Takeda nodded, indicating his concurrence.

"Then I shall announce the results of the deliberation. Before that, however, I must ask if both parties are willing to reach a private settlement," Manabu Horikita said before announcing the verdict.

"I hope you all think this through carefully, because if we proceed with the results of this deliberation, Sudo Ken will be suspended for one week, and both Kushida Kikyo and Nomura will be fined 10,000 Private Points."

Sudo Ken's punishment was due to the fact that while he did engage in violent behavior, there was no physical injury to personnel nor any significant property damage, resulting in only a one-week suspension.

As for the punishment for Kushida Kikyo and Nomura regarding the buying and selling of exam questions, since such behavior had never been reported in previous years, there were no precedents to reference; this level of penalty was determined by Manabu Horikita himself.

"Please consider this carefully," Manabu Horikita said, his tone carrying a warning. "The midterm exams are in three days. If you are suspended at a time like this..."

Sudo's simple brain began to process this. "Does that mean I don't have to take the exams?"

"If you are absent from an exam due to disciplinary action, your score will be 0," Manabu Horikita added, further warning him. "In other words, you will be directly expelled."

"What! How could I possibly accept something like that!" Sudo stood up directly from his seat. He had worked so hard to get into this school, and he had even been scouted by the basketball club and had a chance to become a regular player—how could he possibly be willing to be expelled at a time like this?

"And what about you?" Manabu Horikita looked at Nomura.

"100,000 points each. Only then will I agree to a settlement," Nomura took a deep breath and stated his conditions.

This was the fundamental reason he had cooperated with Sawahara to carry out the plan: poverty. As a student in Class 3-D, he had basically given up on moving up a class, and coupled with the meager Class Points, he had very little money in his hands each month.

As long as he could get such a large sum of Private Points, he didn't care about losing face; after all, being broke was even more embarrassing, wasn't it?

"How is that possible? How could we possibly come up with that many points!" Sudo looked at Nomura angrily. How could he possibly produce that many points? His points had been almost entirely used up in the first month.

"..." Kushida Kikyo wore a troubled expression. "100,000 points... could you lower it a little?"

She was also in a difficult position regarding this condition. Because she had many friends, she had significant social expenses, and since Class D hadn't received any points this month, her own balance was basically exhausted.

In fact, she even felt it would be better to just let the verdict be carried out. After all, according to the ruling, she would only have to pay a fine of 10,000 points, and since Sudo would be expelled, she could just push all the blame onto him once she returned to class.

It was just that Sudo was right there, and the Student Council President and the teachers were present as well, so she didn't want to expose that side of herself.

Fight, you two, keep fighting. As long as the settlement doesn't go through...

Where in this world is there any true angel? It is nothing more than a disguise...

"No, it's 100,000 points each." Nomura gritted his teeth, refusing to budge.

Senior, I must warn you first. If you really do this, do you know the price you will have to pay?

What price? Are you planning to take a cut?

No, I have no such intention. It's just that as a third-year student, being bullied by a first-year student will likely lower your reputation significantly among the third-years, and even the second-year students will look down on you.

Ha, haha, it's not like many people in Class D are looked up to anyway.

Besides, after this incident, you'll basically have no chance to sell old exam papers in the future. In other words... the seniors who originally collected those papers might end up becoming your enemies because of this.

So...

I must get enough points.

Holding onto this thought, he would never make the slightest concession on this condition.

"If you don't agree, then just get expelled."

"Damn it, I agree. 100,000 points, right? I'll give them to you later, okay?" Sudo gritted his teeth and said, "But this matter has nothing to do with Kushida, right? Whether it was losing my temper or using violence, I did it all. If you have a problem, come at me."

He didn't want to be expelled. He wanted to graduate from this school and become an excellent basketball player.

He wasn't smart, but he finally realized that the guy across from him was just trying to take advantage of the situation to extort them... but he was the one who did wrong, he was the one who cursed, and he was the one who didn't listen to advice. It had nothing to do with Kushida, so he had to take responsibility for this himself.

He didn't want to become an irresponsible jerk like his parents.

"No, it won't work. It's 100,000 points each, 200,000 points in total." Nomura hesitated, but still didn't back down.

"Don't push your luck, you bastard!"

"It's okay, Sudo-kun," Kushida spoke up. At this point, it was impossible to simply abandon Sudo. If she remained indifferent while Sudo was acting like this, her "little angel" persona wouldn't hold up.

"If I hadn't asked Sudo-kun to go with me, this wouldn't have happened. I also have a responsibility."

"But we can't come up with that many points all at once. Can you give us a few days' grace?"

"Phew, fine." Nomura breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, he had been quite worried about Sudo's attitude just now. If he couldn't pull off the extortion, he would have had to pay a 10,000-point fine himself. Fortunately, it was finally settled.

"But we have to sign a contract. The points must be transferred before the midterm exams."

"Then, since both parties agree to a private settlement, this deliberation ends here." Confirming that both sides had reached an agreement, Manabu Horikita brought the deliberation to a close.

After the deliberation ended, it was almost two o'clock. Because of this matter, Manabu Horikita hadn't had time to eat lunch. Just as he was planning to head to the cafeteria, he saw a message pop up on his phone.

Good afternoon, President.

Judging by the time, the deliberation should be over by now. Are you interested in having a chat with me? At the same cafe as last time.

The message was sent by Sawahara, and it was timed perfectly; it was clear that the other party had received word that the deliberation was over and had sent it at this exact moment.

It was as if he were bluntly making it clear to him that this matter had something to do with him.

Manabu Horikita picked up his phone and replied with only one word.

Fine.