Classroom of the Elite, I Only Want Your Rewards

Horikita Manabu did not answer his question, but instead asked, "It seems you understand the school quite well now. Have you already learned the rules?"

"I've learned at least one thing, and I think it's quite meaningful." Suzuki Toru took out his phone and showed Horikita Manabu his personal balance. "I have one million private points right now, and I hope to buy a seat in the Student Council."

Tachibana Akane's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but say, "Wait, how could a first-year possibly have one million private points right now?"

Unless Suzuki Toru had collected the points from his classmates, it was absolutely impossible for him to have one million private points!

This school strictly prohibited part-time jobs, and even if one could work, it was impossible for anyone to earn one million within a few days of enrollment!

Tachibana Akane was very suspicious of the source of these points, looking Suzuki Toru up and down, intending to find a possible flaw.

Horikita Manabu was also slightly taken aback, but he quickly returned to normal. "If I recall correctly, you freshmen currently receive one hundred thousand private points a month. Did you do something?"

"It was a reward I received from a certain upperclassman; it has nothing to do with my class." Suzuki Toru said, "If this price isn't enough, I can add more."

A certain upperclassman, Horikita Manabu thought thoughtfully.

"Didn't you say you wanted to help me deal with Nagumo? Why spend points to buy a seat?"

"For certain people, I believe one should demonstrate corresponding strength. Compared to the powerlessness of words, facts are more persuasive."

"You are a very interesting freshman." Horikita Manabu rarely revealed a hint of a smile. "However, I am still curious how you discovered these clues?"

"Although the school forum allows communication with upperclassmen, the second-year students are very cautious about personal information regarding Nagumo and won't reveal much. In fact, I still know nothing about Nagumo."

From the class rankings of the second years, one could actually discover that Nagumo Miyabi's Class A had absolute dominance over the entire grade.

The class points of the four classes were too obvious; they were clearly decreasing in order. Without someone controlling the situation, it would be impossible to achieve such a thing.

"The only information I could gather is that Nagumo is about to take over the predecessor's position, is a future Student Council President, and is a student in Class A. I think he has already reached the pinnacle of this school."

Not only that, Nagumo Miyabi also had a huge amount of private points. By the time he reached his third year, he would likely possess an astonishing twenty million private points.

"If one loses their goal for struggle within their own grade, it is only natural to look elsewhere out of boredom. Compared to the first year, the third year is more challenging, and Nagumo seems very interested in you. If you get entangled with someone like that in the future, it will definitely be troublesome."

Horikita Manabu had just rejected Ichinose Honami, and Nagumo Miyabi had immediately sought her out afterward; it was hard not to believe that Nagumo Miyabi was doing it deliberately.

"Not only do you have to face other classes in your grade, but you also have to be careful of a junior. I feel that you are in a difficult position, Senior, so I stepped forward to help."

It was because he felt it was difficult that he rejected Ichinose Honami; otherwise, Horikita Manabu would have had no reason to reject a student who ranked first in the entrance exam.

Having said this, Suzuki Toru made his final summary.

"I hope I didn't guess correctly, Senior."

Chapter 22: Nagumo Miyabi, Ruler of the Second Year

Tachibana Akane was expressionless. What did he mean by hoping he didn't guess correctly? This tone was truly arrogant!

Although she had seen his one million private points and his seemingly logical analysis, she could barely bring herself to think highly of him.

But one shouldn't speak so rudely to the esteemed Student Council President, right?

"You surprise me. To dare to appear before me with just these clues, aren't you afraid I might deny you?" Horikita Manabu looked at Suzuki Toru with piercing eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't see any intention to reject me in your eyes, Senior." Suzuki Toru replied with a calm expression.

Even as calm as Horikita Manabu was, he couldn't help but be speechless at this moment. This freshman possessed extraordinary self-confidence, even overwhelming him in terms of presence.

Judging from Suzuki Toru's analysis of Nagumo Miyabi just now, the other party had keenly captured Nagumo Miyabi's psychological changes, believing that once someone like Nagumo Miyabi reached the pinnacle early, he would start looking for amusement out of boredom.

The key was that Suzuki Toru had guessed correctly.

He was the future Student Council President, a member of Class A, seemed to control the entire grade, and also had nearly ten million private points.

Nagumo Miyabi could currently be said to have speed-run Advanced Nurturing High School. The next two years would likely be a boring and long life for him.

Of course, it was impossible for Suzuki Toru to know exactly what Nagumo Miyabi was thinking.

He just put himself in his shoes, and combined with the fact that there was a similar guy in his own class, he reached this conclusion.

As for why it was Horikita Manabu.

Honestly, Suzuki Toru didn't know either; he just vaguely felt that Nagumo Miyabi was very concerned about Horikita Manabu.

For instance, Nagumo Miyabi's inducement of Ichinose Honami might, in a sense, be targeted at Horikita Manabu.

"Very good, you did guess correctly, but there is one point that needs to be added." Horikita Manabu said, "The reason Nagumo is targeting me is not only because of his bored thoughts, but also because of myself."

Suzuki Toru's eyes flashed, but he didn't speak immediately.

"Nagumo and I have different stances on certain issues. He hopes to change the existing school rules through the Student Council and implement a thorough meritocracy. If there are no accidents, his ideas will force many students to drop out, turning it into a complete zero-sum game—either you die or I live."

Speaking of this, Horikita Manabu suddenly paused.

"Do you know about the dropout situation in the second year?" he asked Suzuki Toru.

Information about upperclassmen was hard to come by, especially regarding the situation within their own classes, as they were mostly guarding against opponents.

However, just the number of people was something that could be found out with a little effort, not to mention that Suzuki Toru didn't have to run around himself.

Someone had already done the intelligence work for him.

"I heard that over a dozen people have dropped out." Suzuki Toru replied.

Horikita Manabu nodded slightly: "Most of them were innocent people, and a few were Nagumo's opponents."

At this moment, Tachibana Akane also spoke up: "The first expulsions for the second-year students occurred during the first semester of last year, when three students were expelled, specifically from Class C and Class D."

Suzuki Toru looked toward Horikita Manabu. The student council president remained silent, clearly tacitly approving of Tachibana Akane's explanation.

No, not tacit approval; Tachibana Akane was his secretary, and these detailed explanations were essentially the duties of a secretary.

"The second wave of expulsions happened after Nagumo led his class to surpass the original Class A. During a certain exam in the second semester... you could understand it as a very special test, he launched an attack on Class C and Class D, causing seven students to be expelled at once."

As she spoke, Tachibana Akane seemed to feel a surge of anger, gripping her notebook tightly until her fingers turned white from the pressure.

"Ever since those expulsions, the two classes have basically followed his every command. Coupled with his promise to help those who obey him reach Class A, no one dares to resist him." Tachibana Akane clearly despised these tactics. "Originally, there were people in the former Class A and Class B who were very dissatisfied with him, but they were expelled one after another in subsequent exams. As a result, the entire second year is now under his rule."

A carrot and a stick; this tactic was truly simple and brutal.

However, it was highly effective. Suzuki Toru could easily imagine the panic that must have gripped those two classes at the time.

First, take down the weak who rely on numbers, then surgically eliminate those dissatisfied with you. It was no wonder Nagumo Miyabi had nearly ten million private points; they must have been extorted from other students.

"Doesn't the school find this approach inappropriate?" Suzuki Toru asked.

"Even if Nagumo gets many people expelled, it's all within the rules. It's useless even if the school knows," Tachibana Akane complained.

This upperclassman seemed to harbor quite a bit of hostility toward Nagumo Miyabi. Was she trying to seek justice for the second-year students?

"That's not what I meant. I want to ask, doesn't the school have any objections to him uniting the entire grade to monopolize class points?" Suzuki Toru rephrased his question.

Tachibana Akane was visibly stunned, and even Horikita Manabu couldn't help but pause for a moment, followed by a look of genuine satisfaction.

"Truly unexpected. To see so much from just a few clues—Suzuki, you are more capable than Ichinose."

"I just find it strange. If an entire grade unites, doesn't the school's goal of having them compete against each other lose its meaning?"

"Chairman Sakayanagi, who currently manages this school, is a very open-minded person. Although I can often sense that the school feels helpless and troubled by this, Chairman Sakayanagi does not interfere with student affairs at will."

"..."

In other words, the school is turning a blind eye?

As soon as this thought crossed Suzuki Toru's mind, he pushed it aside.

The school would never allow such a situation to persist indefinitely. The only reason they were tolerating Nagumo Miyabi now was likely because he had achieved something no one else could—even Horikita Manabu hadn't been able to control the entire grade.

A situation like Nagumo Miyabi's was certainly a rare exception, perhaps the first in the school's history.

Therefore, the school could accept Nagumo Miyabi.

But they would not accept another person rising to control the entire grade. It was like the developers of a game; they wouldn't let you dominate for several versions in a row.

Even if they had to grit their teeth, the school would increase the difficulty and nerf the player.

"After I step down, Nagumo will push for reforms immediately. At that time, the number of students expelled due to an inability to adapt to the situation will likely skyrocket." Horikita Manabu looked at Suzuki Toru earnestly. "Although this school believes in meritocracy, I feel that the current state is sufficient. Beyond competition, students also need other things."

He understood. Nagumo Miyabi was a radical reformer, while Horikita Manabu was a conservative traditionalist; that was why the latter said their stances were different.

Chapter 23: Cooperation

"Suzuki, even knowing all this, do you still insist on your previous idea?"

Horikita Manabu observed Suzuki Toru's expression, but still saw not a hint of change. He seemed to have expected this, not even blinking an eye.

Knowing full well that Nagumo Miyabi was the king who controlled the second year, and that even those who had tried to resist him had been expelled—was he truly without fear?

Wait, this freshman wasn't fearless.

Looking back at Suzuki Toru's words, it wasn't hard to see that he had already guessed all of this, and he had guessed it before Horikita Manabu even explained it.

Otherwise, Suzuki Toru wouldn't have opened with "I will help you deal with Nagumo Miyabi."

It was precisely because he had deduced these facts that he had knocked on the door of the student council.

I see. This year's freshmen are truly not to be underestimated, Horikita Manabu thought to himself.

However, even though he felt he understood Suzuki Toru's intentions, he remained silent for a moment.

"The fact that Nagumo can control the entire grade just shows that the second-year seniors are too incompetent." Suzuki Toru dropped a bombshell. "Now he intends to cross grade levels to deal with you, Senior. In the future, he will surely lead the third-year students to deal with me. We must get rid of Nagumo as soon as possible, or at least shake his position."

Horikita Manabu was truly silent this time. Did this freshman know what he was saying?

"Hey, freshman, do you think you're telling a joke?" Tachibana Akane glared at Suzuki Toru with hostility. "As a first-year, your attitude needs improvement. Being too arrogant isn't a good thing, you know?"

"I hope to resolve this matter before the first year ends, which is before you seniors graduate." Suzuki Toru ignored her and continued speaking to Horikita Manabu.

"Do you have no concept of reality? As much as I hate to admit it, Nagumo is truly formidable right now. Next semester, he will even take over the student council. How do you plan to deal with such an opponent?" Tachibana Akane looked at him as if he were an idiot.

At the same time, Horikita Manabu spoke up: "Perhaps you haven't yet felt the power of the student council. We have the authority to propose opinions on school rules and change certain rewards or punishments, including the exams you will encounter later."

He stopped there; this was the maximum amount of information he could disclose.

"That is why I intend to buy a seat on the student council," Suzuki Toru said with equal seriousness.

Horikita Manabu was slightly taken aback, then shook his head: "I can allow you to join the student council, but please don't hold too many expectations. Tachibana and I are both stepping down, and there are various battles and competitions ahead."

"It's not just us; you freshmen will encounter them soon enough," Tachibana Akane reminded him with a cold snort. "This school isn't a game. I'm afraid the trouble within your own class will be enough to keep you busy!"