A Million Points

After school, Hoshino arrived at the library early. His answer was already correct, which basically put him in an unbeatable position. All that was left was to wait for Sakayanagi's answer.

Hoshino was a little anxious. After all, he might be able to win five hundred thousand points, and that was bound to get him excited. He held a book in his hands, but his thoughts had long since wandered elsewhere. Instead of sitting down to read as usual, he stood beside a bookshelf, casually flipping through the books while keeping the entrance and elevator in plain sight.

After what felt like ages, Sakayanagi finally arrived, more than an hour later, with a follower at her side. Looking closely, Hoshino realized it was Kamuro!

I wonder if I'll get the five hundred thousand? Hoshino was a little excited. The moment he saw Sakayanagi, he put the book back on the shelf and quickly went over to her.

"Oh my, Hoshino-kun, are you in such a hurry?" Sakayanagi asked with a mischievous smile, raising a hand to hide her amusement.

Kamuro, standing beside her, eyed Hoshino thoughtfully, finding the situation a little strange.

"Are you that confident, Hoshino-kun?" Sakayanagi asked as she entered the elevator.

"I wouldn't say I'm confident... It's just that the stakes are so high, so naturally I want to know the result as soon as possible," Hoshino said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"What about you, Sakayanagi? How confident are you in your guess?" Hoshino asked curiously.

"That's hard to say! But I have a feeling I lost," Sakayanagi replied after thinking for a moment, giving an answer that caught Hoshino off guard.

"Is that so?" Though he was surprised, Hoshino kept his expression neutral.

"Do we still need Hoshinomiya-sensei here to witness it?"

After stepping out of the elevator, Hoshino and the others went to Sakayanagi's usual seat. Once Sakayanagi sat down, Hoshino tentatively asked her.

"Wait! Don't announce the results without me! Honestly!"

Hoshinomiya-sensei slowly emerged from a corner no one had noticed, looking a little pouty and displeased.

"Little Hoshino, little Sakayanagi, you mustn't jump the gun!"

"All right, all right. Let's have the teacher reveal the answers now." Hoshino had no patience for more banter with Hoshinomiya-sensei, so he got straight to the point.

"Honestly, little Hoshino, you're so inconsiderate!... Fine! Let's start with little Sakayanagi's answer. She sent me 'point to point,' and her class had 940 Class Points. Little Hoshino's answer was zero, and his class had zero Class Points too. So little Hoshino won this time. Congratulations!" Hoshinomiya-sensei looked a little displeased, but still announced the results. She took out her phone, brought up the two messages, and showed them to the pair.

"You..." Kamuro stared in shock. Sakayanagi had actually lost!

"Congratulations, Hoshino-kun!" Sakayanagi showed no sign of disappointment or discouragement. Instead, she smiled with interest.

Is this girl really a sadist? Hoshino muttered to himself.

"So, when will the points..." Hoshino rubbed his hands together as he approached Sakayanagi, looking every bit the shrewd businessman.

"Right now, if you like! Hoshino-kun, let's exchange contact information." Sakayanagi took out her phone and looked at him.

"Sure, sure!" Hoshino was thrilled. He was about to receive five hundred thousand Personal Points!

Truthfully, he had still been nervous right up until the results came in. After all, this was Sakayanagi! She might pull off some unexpected twist at the last minute. Thankfully, everything had gone smoothly!

"By the way, Hoshino-kun, your class really managed to get zero points! You must have had a rough time. Why not come to Class A?"

"Hmm..."

Sakayanagi was quite the schemer! Hoshino rolled his eyes.

Still, Hoshino was tempted. After all, it seemed impossible for Class D to overtake the other classes at this point! The points they received each month were pitiful, too.

"Can we still change classes? Doesn't the rule say we have to stay in the same class for all three years?" Hoshino asked, surprised.

"That's only under normal circumstances. There's also a rule that lets one person transfer classes if certain conditions are met!" Hoshinomiya-sensei joined the conversation, bringing up a rule Hoshino hadn't known about.

"???" Hoshino looked at Hoshinomiya-sensei in confusion, then turned to Sakayanagi.

If Sakayanagi had brought it up, she probably knew what the conditions were.

"Twenty Million Personal Points! That's what it takes to transfer!" Sakayanagi seemed to understand Hoshino's confusion.

"Uh... Hey, Sakayanagi, do you have Twenty Million Personal Points right now?" Hoshino asked in disbelief.

"I don't!"

"..." Hoshino was at a loss for words. Was she dangling an impossible promise in front of him?

"There's always a way, Hoshino-kun! As long as you want it!"

"..."

That settled it. Sakayanagi was planning to get him to do it for free! Good thing he hadn't fallen for it.

"Little Hoshino, you could come to Class B, too! Ichinose in our class is a real beauty!" Seeing Sakayanagi recruit him, Hoshinomiya-sensei couldn't sit still either.

"...Huh? Hoshinomiya-sensei, are you Class B's homeroom teacher?" That was the most unexpected thing Hoshino had heard all day.

"Huh? You didn't know, little Hoshino?..." Hoshinomiya-sensei was stunned, and her smile vanished. Hoshino suddenly felt a heavy pressure in the air.

"...Hoshino-kun, you had the guts to approach Hoshinomiya-sensei without knowing anything? I admire your courage!" Sakayanagi looked amused.

"...I thought all the teachers who weren't homeroom teachers were neutral. This school has so much money, after all." Hoshino awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

He was genuinely surprised that the school had managed to cut costs in such an inconsequential area.

"I can't believe you managed to beat Sakayanagi!" Kamuro said, sounding exasperated.

"Well... To be honest, I wasn't sure. I'd just noticed that rule-breaking seemed pretty common, and even Chabashira-sensei said our class was an unprecedented Class D! I was just taking advantage of people's assumptions. I got lucky, that's all!"

Looking at the extra five hundred thousand points on his phone, Hoshino felt almost giddy.

Oh, right! Ryuen hadn't sent over his five hundred thousand points yet! He'd have to remind him soon. Hoshino suddenly thought of Ryuen.

"So, in such a short time, I've suddenly become a millionaire? This school is terrifying." Hoshino had an unreal feeling about it all, and couldn't help marveling at the school's generosity.

"It's been a long time since I felt this way!"

"...No, I already told you. You didn't really lose to me. You were just lucky!"

"Hoshino-kun, you're wrong about that! If I failed to anticipate something like this, that was my mistake. I can't shift the blame elsewhere."

Hoshino was a little surprised. He turned to look at Sakayanagi and suddenly thought she really was quite impressive. At least, he didn't think he could be so gracious in defeat!