Setting the Wager

"Hoshino-kun, your playstyle has changed!" Looking at the board again, the corners of Sakayanagi's eyes were filled with a mischievous smirk.

"Not at all, I'm just playing normally."

"No need to hide it. Playing against you, I can feel it! After you played a few cautious moves earlier, you started trying every way possible to force an exchange of pieces with me. Although I gained a huge advantage, once you started talking to me, your moves became different! More deceptive! I almost lost despite having a huge advantage!" Sakayanagi's lips curled into a smile, showing no sign of fear despite being close to defeat.

"...I still lost, though."

"Hahaha, and you even thought you won, putting on the posture of a victor..." Hashimoto laughed loudly, beginning to "output" his mockery toward Hoshino.

"Shut up!" Hoshino rolled his eyes at Hashimoto.

"This is so enjoyable! It's been a long time since I've played a game with this much pressure!"

Pressure? From start to finish, Hoshino hadn't seen a single sign of pressure on Sakayanagi!

"Hoshino-kun, your ability to read people's hearts is quite strong!" Sakayanagi suddenly brought up an unrelated topic.

"Hm? What?" Hoshino didn't quite follow the shift in conversation.

"You talking to me wasn't just to distract me, right? It was more to find my weaknesses! Although you certainly didn't look at my face, you were still paying attention to my body language!"

"..." Sakayanagi had guessed correctly. Hoshino's skill in chess was far inferior to hers, so he had no choice but to observe things outside the board to use as leverage within the game.

It was just that Hoshino had been slacking off at first, hoping to fish for some information, but later he noticed some changes in Sakayanagi's behavior while playing. It was a gamble, after all; since it was their first time meeting, there was a chance he could be wrong.

"Disgusting! To think you were staring at a girl's body!..." Hearing Sakayanagi's words, Kamuro looked at him with disdain and began to criticize Hoshino's behavior.

"...Sorry!" Hoshino could only apologize for that!

"Hahaha..." Hashimoto, on the side, was still gloating.

"Hoshino-kun, how many points does your Class D have left this month?" Sakayanagi began to talk about class matters.

"Probably not many. I'd be thankful if we even have thirty thousand left!" Still grinding his teeth at Hashimoto's mockery, Hoshino blurted out the answer without thinking, regretting it the moment it left his lips.

"Really? Are you in that much trouble?" Hashimoto was somewhat surprised, and Sakayanagi and Kamuro also cast surprised glances his way.

"Sigh, and that's the optimistic scenario!... Let's just say, I might be eating dirt next month." Since he had already said it, Hoshino stopped trying to hide anything.

"...So, Hoshino, you've also discovered the school's rules? Our princess here figured it out quite a while ago..."

"Wait, if you've already discovered the rules, why didn't you warn the students in your class?" Kamuro asked from the side, looking confused and failing to understand.

"...Because I'm not interested in these competitions. Besides, someone in Class D must have noticed it too, but they didn't bring it up, so there's no point in me doing so."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that our Class D is just a bunch of underachievers; otherwise, we would have kept quite a few points even without a warning." Hoshino looked at Kamuro, putting on an expression that questioned her intelligence.

"Then, Hoshino-kun, shall we make a bet?" The silver-haired girl wore an intrigued smile.

"Hm? What?" As his gaze returned to Sakayanagi, a hint of doubt appeared in the corner of Hoshino's eyes; he didn't know what she was up to.

"Let's guess how many points the other person will receive next month. Whoever is closer to the actual number wins. How about it?"

Sakayanagi's proposal had too many loopholes, and Hoshino didn't even know where to start complaining. This was clearly a trap! Following the previous topic, one might think it was just about guessing the points awarded to an individual based on class performance, but in reality, Sakayanagi only said "how many points the other person will receive next month." The conceptual meaning of that was worlds apart. Furthermore, who could be sure if "the other person" referred to her alone or their trio?

"Forget it, I lose." Hoshino didn't want to waste time on this and decisively rejected Sakayanagi's proposal.

"Oh? So Hoshino-kun is someone who gives up so easily?" Sakayanagi tapped her chin with her index finger, a mischievous smirk on her lips as she used a provocative tone toward Hoshino.

"Yes, when it comes to schemes, I am indeed no match for you." Hoshino replied calmly, his eyes returning to the chessboard, wondering what he was thinking.

"My, my, how can you call it a scheme? This should be called wisdom." Sakayanagi understood what Hoshino was saying, but she didn't show the slightest embarrassment at having her trick exposed; instead, the "flames" of interest in her eyes as she looked at Hoshino only grew.

"Yes, yes..." Hoshino replied perfunctorily.

"Then why don't you set the rules? Shall we have a bet?" Sakayanagi didn't give up, "relentlessly" pestering him.

"You really are confident! What's the benefit of betting with you? Honestly..." Looking up, Hoshino feigned impatience, appearing completely uninterested in the bet.

"If you win, you can get five hundred thousand private points!" Before Hoshino could finish, Sakayanagi laid out her price.

"Five hundred thousand? That's way too fast to make money!" Hoshino's heart raced, and he was shocked, feeling a sense of unreality, but the corners of his mouth, which were secretly curling upward, betrayed his true thoughts.

"Uh... but I can't come up with five hundred thousand. By the way, Sakayanagi, don't you spend your points? You can actually come up with five hundred thousand next month? No, this is..."

"It's fine. If you lose, I don't intend to make you pay those five hundred thousand points. After all, Hoshino-kun, your class next month... from now on, why don't you become my friend?! The kind that signs an agreement!"

This woman is truly wicked! She wants Hoshino to sell himself for five hundred thousand! To act as a spy for Class A in the future and operate as Sakayanagi's subordinate! Her plan was certainly well-calculated!

In the first month of school, most students still had no concept of the significance or quantity of points. This was indeed the best time to buy various information and spies.

Five hundred thousand seemed like a lot, but in reality, it averaged out to only a little over ten thousand per person. If the information was valuable, it could even pay for itself in one go. Moreover, the duration of this "spy" work wasn't specified. No matter how you calculated it, it wasn't a good deal; after all, if he sabotaged his own class and it was exposed, he wouldn't just be ostracized—the points he normally received would also decrease, and he might even be caught by the other side.

However, the fact that Sakayanagi had such boldness without fully understanding the school rules and exam regulations was truly beyond Hoshino's expectations.

Accept, or refuse?

Hoshino didn't even need to think about this question. Based on the performance and deductions from the start of the school year, it was hard for Hoshino to imagine how many points Class D could have left. In any case, he had no attachment to the class and had always been a "lone wolf." Getting more points to live better was all he cared about right now. And even if he lost, being Sakayanagi's subordinate would offer many conveniences; at the very least, he could get things done by hiding behind the "prestige" of Class A.

Besides, Hoshino didn't think he would necessarily lose. If he set the rules himself, he could just give himself a certain advantage!

"...Phew—fine! But I need to think about the rules! What's the competition event?" Hoshino knitted his brows, putting on a conflicted expression. After pondering for a long time, he finally let out a long sigh, his body relaxing as he accepted it as if "resigned to his fate."

"You can choose whatever you like! As long as I accept!"

"I knew it..."

Looking around, Hoshino finally found a clock in the corner of the library. An hour and a half had passed, and it was basically time to go have dinner.

He stood up, waved his hand, picked up his school bag from the side of the table, and left the library after saying goodbye. However, the upward curve of his lips betrayed his mood.