Signing the Agreement

"Hey, come with us for a bit!" After school, as Hoshino was on his way to the Student Council, two sturdy figures suddenly blocked his path.

"Huh?..." Lost in thought, Hoshino was startled at first, instinctively wanting to step back and dodge. He looked up and took a closer look—wasn't this Ishizaki and... that other guy?

Oh! Right! The tall, dark-skinned guy next to Ryuen who wore sunglasses. With that build and that look, he really did have the air of a thug at first glance.

Seeing that Hoshino seemed to be struggling to get away, the two closed in, and the tall, dark-skinned boy even placed a hand on Hoshino's shoulder.

That hand was huge! It was probably bigger than his own head! Feeling the pressure on his shoulder, Hoshino gave up on struggling.

"Wait! Wait! It was Ryuen who sent you, right? I'll cooperate, can you not stand so close?" Hoshino gestured toward his shoulder.

By now, Hoshino had calmed down. Although he was still a bit panicked inside—after all, both of these guys were massive, and while Ishizaki was one thing, the other guy was truly oppressive!

Seeing that Hoshino no longer had any intention of fleeing, the two pulled back slightly, flanking him from front and back as they headed toward the school building.

Feeling like he had a handle on the situation, Hoshino's nervousness faded, and he began fumbling in his jacket pocket with his right hand.

Thank goodness! It was still there! He hadn't forgotten it when he changed clothes!

While fumbling, Hoshino turned on his voice recorder. At such close range, even if he couldn't record video, capturing the audio would be enough.

"Does this count as kidnapping?" Hoshino relaxed slightly, looking left and right. School had been out for a while, and the building seemed mostly empty.

"..." Seeming to have been given strict instructions, Ishizaki, who looked impatient and wanted to say something, swallowed his words, looked away, and kept walking.

"Ryuen really isn't considerate, making a wounded man run errands!..." Hoshino was "talking nonsense," but he noticed something strange.

During the deliberation, he had been far from Ishizaki and hadn't paid attention, but the wounds on Ishizaki's face seemed... somewhat fresh?

Sigh—they really were full of holes!

"Where are we going?"

"..."

After several attempts, seeing that no one was responding to him, Hoshino stopped asking for trouble and followed quietly behind Ishizaki...

"Creak—" Pushing open the door to the rooftop, Ryuen and Ibuki were leaning against the wall. Hearing the noise, both of their gazes snapped toward him.

Entering the rooftop, the tall boy behind him didn't follow, closing the door from the outside. With this setup, it felt like the visitors were up to no good!

Ryuen couldn't actually be planning to use force, could he? Hoshino felt a bit guilty, but he couldn't show it easily. He took a light, deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.

"Yo, Ryuen!..." Hoshino didn't know what to say in this situation, looking at Ryuen with some awkwardness. A trace of contemptuous and smug satisfaction appeared on Ryuen's face.

"...Kid, are you enjoying the five hundred thousand points you took from me?" Walking over slowly, Ryuen leaned into Hoshino's ear, his voice filled with threats.

"...Hmm—I suppose it's still quite enjoyable." Hoshino pondered, taking a few steps back to increase the distance between them.

Hoshino guessed that Ryuen probably didn't come just for those five hundred thousand points. After all, points were just points, and choosing this specific moment likely had to do with the Sudo incident! Although Hoshino wasn't sure if this guy would actually go crazy and beat him up.

"Hmph—let's talk business. For this deliberation, if you rule in favor of Class C, I'll give you another five hundred thousand personal points." Ryuen suddenly turned serious.

"Huh?"

This was something Hoshino hadn't expected! He had thought it would be coercion, but it was actually bribery? It seemed Ryuen had gotten a bit smarter.

Standing quietly in place, waiting for an answer, the smug smile on the corner of his mouth seemed to indicate that he had Hoshino "in the bag."

"...What excuse do you plan to use?" Suddenly realizing something was wrong, Ryuen was planning to forge evidence!

"I have my own plans for that." Ryuen's words confirmed Hoshino's suspicion. After all, with things having developed to this point, it would be hard to end it without a concrete excuse.

"...If you're forging evidence, it seems it wouldn't matter whether you found me or not?"

"Telling you in advance is safer..."

Hoshino didn't believe a single word of that! However, having had this much time, Hoshino began to understand.

Ryuen's plan was quite calculated! If he agreed to Ryuen this time, he would basically be ostracized by his class. Ruling in favor of Class C in front of everyone—even with "evidence"—would be hard to justify to the guys in Class D, whose personalities were difficult to say the least.

Moreover, if this guy came up with an excuse that was easily debunked, Hoshino would truly be "done for"!

This guy's target wasn't just the case, it was him! Thinking of this, Hoshino realized it belatedly.

After all, as a secretary, he could sometimes hinder Ryuen's plans. This was an attempt to drag him down!

Unfortunately, Hoshino wouldn't agree from the start!

"...Ryuen, actually, I have something here that I think you'll be quite interested in." Saying this, Hoshino took out his phone, pulled up the recording, and handed it over.

"A bunch of idiots!" With just one look, Ryuen's expression turned gloomy.

"How about it, Ryuen? Want to talk about the price?... I'll tell you in advance, don't bother trying to destroy it; I have as many copies of this as I want!"

"Heh, the price? At worst, it's just a two-week suspension and a few points!" Seeing that the situation was lost, Ryuen still maintained a composed, confident air.

"...Haha, Ryuen, have you lost your mind? Do you know what day is coming up the week after next?"

"Oh? What..." Just as he started, Ryuen suddenly thought of something. His pupils dilated, and his face turned grim.

"School rules state that those who fail to attend exams without a valid reason will be marked as a zero! A suspension, hmm—I don't think that counts as a valid reason." Hoshino paused deliberately, pretending to think about it.

"...Name your terms." At this moment, Ryuen finally calmed down. Beside them, Ibuki and Ishizaki still looked confused.

"Then, let's go..." Hoshino ignored the three of them and walked out first...

Agreement between both parties

Class C (hereinafter referred to as Party A) and Hoshino Hoshiya (hereinafter referred to as Party B) sign the following contract:

1. All students in Party A who agree to this contract shall transfer 20,000 personal points to Party B every month. Any shortfall shall be carried over to the next month. If Party B is expelled, the transferred points shall be deducted directly; this remains in effect until graduation.

2. Party B must delete all videos in his possession related to the Sudo incident and shall not distribute them. Violation of this will result in immediate expulsion.

3. Party A shall not harass Party B in any form hereafter. Violators will be expelled immediately.