Kushida Approaches Again

Looking at the student ID in his hand, Hoshino saw that less than 60,000 points remained. Perhaps because he had just enrolled, expenses were higher than he had imagined, though they were still within a manageable range.

However, Hoshino felt the situation was far from optimistic. Only half of the first month had passed, and he couldn't even see any hope for the next month. The situation in the class was dire; too few people were attending classes normally. Many were doing their own things, and if not for the teacher on the podium, Hoshino had no doubt they would have flipped their desks over.

Hoshino had no heart left to doodle or slack off. If things continued this way, he would likely fall into a "financial crisis" soon. Just based on everyone's behavior since the start of school, Hoshino didn't feel he could persuade so many people, leaving him feeling somewhat helpless.

The literature teacher on the podium continued to lecture as if no one were there, completely indifferent to what the students below were doing—whispering, playing on phones, reading manga, or even laughing out loud... Hoshino suddenly stopped feeling guilty about his own slacking off when he first enrolled.

Come to think of it, that unremarkable "poker-faced" student was sitting in the last row by the window! His desk mate was a very pretty girl, though she looked a bit unapproachable.

Hoshino didn't dare to be too brazen, only pretending to stretch his neck to take a quick look back. The two of them were among the few students in class who were actually listening, and for now, they didn't show any unusual behavior.

With nothing worth noting, Hoshino stopped wasting his attention on the classroom and began to focus on the problem of earning points.

This school basically had every shop and shopping street one could need, and the quality of goods was decent. After all, a school like this wouldn't allow dangerous vendors inside, so the idea of opening his own shop wouldn't yield much profit. After all, Hoshino was just a student; it would be hard to compete with the vetted, high-quality vendors provided by the school. Ruled out!

Since there were vendors, there should be a shortage of part-time labor. Hoshino had noticed that while regular shops were fine, the larger stores weren't very efficient, often having long queues for checkout. With a bit of negotiation, finding a part-time job shouldn't be difficult, but wouldn't that be inefficient? After all, the monthly allowance was 100,000 points; Hoshino couldn't imagine a typical part-time job reaching that level. Still, it was a backup option, so Hoshino listed it on paper.

By the way, did this school have an editorial department? Could he write something or draw illustrations? It required investigation, but it also gave Hoshino some extended ideas.

There were sometimes transactions between students, such as second-hand trading. Given Class D's current point deductions, Hoshino felt that many people would need to sell things they had just bought to get by next month. Although he had seen some free goods, Hoshino didn't think those were enough to satisfy the average student's needs, so second-hand trading would be a good choice. However, he would need to have a certain amount of points in his own hands to do that. This method was also tentatively confirmed as feasible.

Clubs existed in every school, and this one was no exception. Was it possible to earn points through clubs?

Hoshino's first thought was gambling—using wins and losses to bet points. But Hoshino felt a bit of internal resistance to such actions; it was, after all, gambling! Moreover, Hoshino didn't think the clubs at this school were so "incompetent" that just anyone could walk in and win. At the very least, Hoshino had no confidence in himself.

Thinking about it this way, there were so few actions he could take! Hoshino scratched his hair in frustration.

As expected, using connections to earn points was the simplest way, but unfortunately, Hoshino didn't know many people.

Just as Hoshino was struggling with his thoughts, the bell for the end of class rang unexpectedly.

"Class dismissed!" The literature teacher on the podium stopped mid-sentence, packed up, and left.

"Are all the teachers at this school this self-willed? They don't even run over time..." Hoshino felt a bit of "disappointment" in them.

Hoshino's thinking yielded no results, and he wanted some peace and quiet! Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

"Isn't it great that they don't run over time? Hoshino-kun, why would you want the teacher to keep us longer?" Kushida, the class "little angel," approached him. Usually, whenever class ended, she was surrounded by people. Hoshino couldn't imagine why she would come to talk to him.

"Uh, it's nothing. Is there something you need, Kushida-san?" Hoshino didn't want to say too much to her. He sat at his desk and turned his head to the side, noticing many eyes looking their way.

"I wanted to apologize to you, Hoshino-kun. After all, I broke our promise the other day..." Kushida rubbed her fingers uneasily and bowed with an apologetic look.

"No... it's nothing. Don't take it to heart." Hoshino hadn't expected Kushida to come and apologize for that matter, so he quickly waved his hand.

He had assumed that since she hadn't approached him for so many days, the matter with Kushida was over. He hadn't expected her to bring it up suddenly today, and Hoshino couldn't quite understand what she was trying to do.

"No, I must apologize! Do you have time after school today?" Kushida's face was full of determination.

"Um, I suppose so..."

"Then could you wait for me after school? Let me treat you to a meal as an apology!" A bright smile appeared on Kushida's face, though Hoshino felt several piercing gazes coming from the side.

"Alright..." Hoshino twitched the corner of his mouth and agreed anyway. Why was this happening again?

As the saying goes: things that are too easy to obtain are not cherished. Hoshino was the one being "easy to obtain," but he just hoped this would settle the matter for good!

"Thank you, Hoshino-kun!" With that, Kushida walked away with a light step.

Hoshino didn't pay it any mind, but there were still some people pointing at him and whispering...