Unexpected Gains

How exactly could one manage to deduct more class points?

Hoshino racked his brains, but he couldn't come up with any particularly effective strategy.

He had already done what he normally should have, but Hoshino had no real confidence in whether he could actually drain the class points dry. Feeling somewhat troubled, he wandered near the dormitory building. The sky had long since turned dark; in the distance, there were only rows of bright streetlights, and occasionally, the chirping of crickets could be heard.

"Sigh..." Hoshino sighed helplessly.

After walking for a long time, he felt a bit thirsty, so Hoshino approached a nearby vending machine. After taking out his phone and paying the points, a can of coffee dropped down.

With a "clack," Hoshino picked up the coffee, took a large gulp, and sat down on a nearby bench, feeling satisfied.

"Uh... hey, Ryuen, aren't you afraid I'll report you and get you expelled for this?..." Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice drifted over, accompanied by the sounds of punches and kicks.

It seemed like something incredible was happening. Hoshino's brain went into overdrive, and he instantly understood what was unfolding in the corner of the building behind him. But wait, Ryuen? This was getting interesting!

Hoshino stood up on tiptoes, quietly approached the corner, and peeked out slightly. Several familiar figures were surrounding a boy with bruises on his face. The boy's glasses had fallen to the ground beside him, showing signs of damage. Hoshino silently took out his phone...

"Kaneda, are you going to submit to me?" Ryuen grabbed the collar of the boy slumped on the ground and glared fiercely into his eyes.

This chuunibyou-esque line almost made Hoshino laugh out loud; Ryuen was just too hilarious!

Although Hoshino had anticipated Ryuen's "tyrant" tactics, he hadn't expected to run into them in practice. Based on Ryuen's demeanor a few days ago, Hoshino had assumed he had already completely mastered the class!

There was no way to stay out of this now. Hoshino felt a bit helpless.

If it hadn't happened right in front of him, that would be one thing, but since it was happening right before his eyes, both reason and principle dictated that he had to step in.

"Tap, tap--" Hoshino deliberately made his footsteps heavy as he slowly walked out.

Ryuen and his group all turned their gazes toward him, and Ishizaki, standing to the side, still had a panicked look on his face.

"Yo, Ryuen, long time no see! What are you guys..." Hoshino pretended to have just discovered something shocking and took a half-step back in surprise.

"Damn it, it's you..." Ishizaki wavered for a moment, then clenched his fists.

"Kid, stop acting! Looks like I have no choice but to make you shut up!" Ryuen stood up and gave a subtle signal with his eyes to the dark-skinned giant standing to the side.

"I advise you not to act rashly!" Watching the giant approach, Hoshino waved the phone in his hand and retreated a few steps, feeling somewhat vigilant.

"Heh, you still want to try and fool me?..."

"...Kaneda, are you going to submit to me..." The voice coming from the phone interrupted Ryuen.

Ryuen was gambling, and he knew deep down that the guy in front of him wouldn't have shown up without being prepared, but he had clearly lost this bet.

"...Name your price!"

"Hm? What?"

"Stop pretending, name your price!" Ryuen spat out impatiently.

Come to think of it, there was a use for this? Hoshino was a bit surprised: "For real?"

"..."

"Boss Ryuen, this..."

From the first time he met Hoshino, Ryuen had felt that this guy was difficult to deal with, but he hadn't expected to be disgusted by him at this stage.

As for Hoshino, he was still immersed in the ecstasy of actually being able to trade for points, though he immediately thought that Ryuen didn't seem to have fully mastered the class yet...

"How about a flat rate of 500,000 private points?" Hoshino hesitated for a moment before asking tentatively.

"...You really know how to open your mouth wide! ...Fine, but you must delete that video..."

This price was still within Ryuen's psychological expectations. While 500,000 was a lot, it wasn't unacceptable, though he was quite annoyed.

The reason Hoshino asked for 500,000 was based on the bet with Sakayanagi. He had tried it out, not expecting it to actually succeed. It seemed 500,000 really wasn't that much?

"It's terrifying that these leaders can just pull out 500,000 so easily..." Hoshino muttered to himself.

"Sure, but you should call it a day for now, right? Transfer the points to me, and I'll delete it!"

"...Hmph, I need some time. If you don't delete it or if you leak it beforehand, don't blame me!"

"Please be quick about it!"

Ryuen glared fiercely at Hoshino and walked slowly past him. Ishizaki and the dark-skinned giant exchanged glances before hurriedly following Ryuen out of the corner.

"Are you... okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you!" Kaneda, leaning against the corner wall, slowly pulled himself up with the help of the wall and bent down to pick up his glasses. Fortunately, the lenses only had a few scratches and weren't shattered.

"No... I didn't really do anything..." Hoshino didn't step forward to help Kaneda; he just stood where he was, feeling a bit ashamed.

Hoshino's reason for stepping in wasn't purely altruistic; there was some selfishness involved, so he wouldn't accept Kaneda's thanks.

Although they weren't in the same class, Hoshino was quite repulsed by this kind of violent behavior. Fortunately, this violence was just a means to rule the class; if it were simple bullying, Hoshino would have had to "go down with them"!

"Hurry back and get that treated! There should still be someone in the infirmary, right?..."

"Right!" Kaneda leaned against the wall and walked shakily out of the corner...

Hoshino turned around, watching Kaneda walk out of his line of sight, then leisurely walked over to the bench and sat down, picking up the coffee he had left there earlier!

After an incident like this, Ryuen would likely be even more cautious from now on and wouldn't let him find an opportunity so easily!

In that sense, his plan to cause a major conflict with Class C had effectively gone down the drain.

The bet with Sakayanagi would really have to be left to fate, but at least getting 500,000 in compensation from Ryuen meant it wasn't a total loss.

Hoshino slumped on the bench, his fingers rhythmically tapping the coffee can as his gaze drifted into the distance.

"The night is truly beautiful!" Looking at the starry sky that complemented the school's beautiful environment, Hoshino felt his body and mind relax.