"A million isn't that much. The whole class could pool together four million Private Points." Suzuki Toru watched her reaction, but she froze for a moment, clearly not expecting that suggestion.
Was there something wrong with this guy?
Wouldn't a normal person assume he could borrow Private Points from someone else?
What Suzuki Toru didn't know was that Horikita Suzune had been a loner since kindergarten. She could only suspect that he had some way of earning Private Points or some kind of special privilege.
"Did your whole Class A buy the information from your homeroom teacher?" Horikita Suzune asked, visibly shocked. As far as she knew, no one in her class cared about anything besides eating, drinking, and having fun.
Well, she hadn't cared about those things until recently, either.
"Nothing that dramatic. I have my own sources," Suzuki Toru said calmly. "But someone in our class did buy information from the homeroom teacher. If I'm not mistaken, the students in your Class D have already spent their Private Points on pointless shopping."
Horikita Suzune was silent for a moment, then replied coldly, "Don't lump me in with those people. I still have over eighty thousand Private Points, but the only information I want to buy is how to transfer to Class A. I doubt the homeroom teacher would charge too much for that."
She looked Suzuki Toru straight in the eye. She had plenty of confidence in both her grades and her athletic ability. It shouldn't be too hard to rise to Class A.
Besides, Horikita Suzune had also picked up on a few clues. According to Suzuki Toru, the school had deliberately ranked the students, yet hadn't told them about it right away.
There had to be a reason the school had chosen to keep it secret.
Considering that Private Points could buy so-called information, what use could that information possibly have?
Class A was made up of the best students, and Class D of the worst. What was the point of the middle classes, B and C?
Horikita Suzune immediately sensed the differences in rank. A thoughtful look flashed through her eyes.
"No. You won't make it to Class A," Suzuki Toru said flatly. "I can tell you this for free: there are only two ways for you to get into Class A."
"I'm listening," Horikita Suzune said, her voice cool.
"Have you noticed the Class Points? Right now, every class has a thousand. That number will change next month."
Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow. Of course she had noticed the Class Points, but the homeroom teacher hadn't explained them in detail, and she hadn't seen any reason to ask.
Could it be...
"The more Class Points a class has, the higher its standing. In other words, if your Class D surpasses Class A, then you'll become the new Class A."
Just as she'd thought, there was something suspicious about Class Points from the sound of them alone.
Horikita Suzune's feelings turned complicated. She was supposed to lead that group of idiots to surpass Class A?
"Is there no way for an individual to transfer to Class A?"
At her almost impatient question, Suzuki Toru smiled faintly. "There is. If you can come up with Twenty Million Personal Points, you can get into Class A too. But you'd be the only one."
For a moment, the figure of Twenty Million Personal Points stunned Horikita Suzune. Then she quickly began to calculate.
At a hundred thousand Private Points a month, even if she kept that up for three years, she'd end up with only three million six hundred thousand Private Points—not even a third of the total.
So Horikita Suzune fell silent.
"Looks like you can't do anything at all. You should just drop out quietly. This is a critical time for the Student Council President. If people find out he has a younger sister in Class D, his authority and reputation as Student Council President will surely take a hit."
That kind of argument worked well, at least on Japanese people. They were always worrying about what others thought.
"Don't joke around. I'll make it to Class A, and I'll prove it to you!" Horikita Suzune's gaze was stubborn. Even if she hadn't started in Class A, she could climb there as quickly as possible.
"Then I suggest you figure out how to earn Twenty Million Personal Points as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Student Council President will graduate next year." Suzuki Toru paused. "Compared to getting Class D to surpass Class A, I think earning Twenty Million Personal Points is more realistic."
Horikita Suzune clenched her fists. This guy's tone was infuriating!
"Just wait. One day, I'll make you regret saying that!"
Twenty Million Personal Points felt impossibly far away, while getting Class D promoted to Class A seemed more realistic. Everyone had started at the same line, and she didn't believe Class D was all that far behind Class A.
As the saying went, fortunes could change. Never look down on a young girl just because she was poor!
Suzuki Toru sneered. "I heard you don't have a single friend. How are you going to lead your class to Class A?"
Horikita Suzune was momentarily at a loss for words, then retorted irritably, "That has nothing to do with whether I have friends. My only goal is to get Class D promoted to Class A. I don't care what happens to anyone else!"
"So as long as you make it to Class A, you don't mind abandoning some of your classmates?" Suzuki Toru asked.
"If I get rid of people who are of no value, won't the rest find it easier to help me reach Class A?" Horikita Suzune said, as if it were obvious.
"I can't exactly argue with that. But what you choose to do is your business." Suzuki Toru smiled faintly. "The reason I came to find you today wasn't just that the Student Council President doesn't want to see you. I was also curious about you."
"An absurd idea," Horikita Suzune said coldly, though his words still left a knot in her stomach.
"I want you to drop out," Suzuki Toru said softly.
In an instant, Horikita Suzune stiffened.
"I don't understand why you're so hostile toward me. Have we met somewhere before?"
She didn't think she'd ever offended Suzuki Toru.
"It's just a silly idea," Suzuki Toru said calmly. "Maybe you won't be the only one. Anyone who annoys me from now on, I'll make them drop out."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward a certain corner. He was sure that a certain masterpiece would understand what that look meant.
"Keep dreaming!" Horikita Suzune gritted her teeth.
"Don't be naive, Suzune. At this school, you can buy anything with points. As long as I can afford the points, making you drop out will be easy." Suzuki Toru's voice was cold. "I can pay a million Private Points for information. There's no reason I couldn't pay Twenty Million Personal Points to make you drop out."
Horikita Suzune's heart turned to ice.
"From now on, struggle all you like. In the end, you'll drown in Class D's trash heap."
Having watched the whole thing, Kushida Kikyo watched Suzuki Toru walk away, then glanced at Horikita Suzune, still standing there, frozen.
She was annoyed by what Suzuki Toru had said, but, strangely, she also felt a little pleased.
"How much do you know about him, Kushida?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked suddenly from beside her.
"Eh? I only met Suzuki-kun recently." Kushida Kikyo looked troubled. "I even asked him to help me get along with Horikita-san. I had no idea he felt that way about her."
The illustration can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka fell silent. He didn't think Suzuki Toru had been targeting Horikita Suzune. It was possible he had been after him.
He remembered that on the day of the club orientation, Suzuki Toru had looked his way again and again. His gaze had seemed to be assessing how difficult a target he would be.
And just now, while speaking to Horikita Suzune, Suzuki Toru had covertly glanced over here. He must have noticed the two of them spying.
He hadn't called them out. Instead, he'd deliberately said, right in front of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, that Horikita Suzune wouldn't be the only one he'd make drop out.
It was a warning.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression darkened. Could the guy have been sent by the White Room?
Heh. Did they think they could drag him back?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible. He hadn't come out this time intending to return anytime soon.
Even if he did return, he would go back to the White Room in triumph, putting an end to his father's plans once and for all.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained expressionless, but secretly vowed that whether Suzuki Toru was from the White Room or not, he would strike first and eliminate this potential threat.
Kushida Kikyo had no idea what Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was thinking beside her. When she felt her phone vibrate, she took it out and checked.
Suzuki Toru had sent her a message.
"Come meet me at the café. I want to talk about what just happened."
Kushida Kikyo stared at the message for a moment. So Suzuki Toru knew that she and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had been spying on them?
A sudden, inexplicable unease came over her. She replied with an OK.
"Ayanokoji-kun, don't tell anyone about what happened today, okay?" Kushida Kikyo reminded Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
If she hadn't known he was on fairly good terms with Horikita Suzune, she wouldn't have followed Horikita Suzune with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded at her, as wooden as ever.
When Kushida Kikyo arrived at the café, she saw that Suzuki Toru had apparently been waiting for a while.
"Sorry I'm late."
Kushida Kikyo sat across from him, setting her phone and handbag aside.
"I'm the one who should apologize." Suzuki Toru gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry for lying to you earlier. It was actually my first time meeting Suzune just now."
"But you know Horikita-san's older brother, don't you?" Kushida Kikyo looked surprised, though it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
"I do, but I haven't known him long." Suzuki Toru sighed.
"Did you see us just now?" Kushida Kikyo watched his expression.
"Sorry for saying such unpleasant things about your Class D." Suzuki Toru apologized again, then explained why. "If I hadn't said that, Suzune wouldn't have taken the initiative to fit in with you."
Kushida Kikyo blinked. "Suzuki-kun seems to know Horikita-san very well, and you call her by her first name. Was that really your first time meeting?"
"The Student Council President told me a lot about Suzune. And to be honest, I have a pretty good impression of her, which is why I call her that." Suzuki Toru unconsciously rubbed his nose, as people often did when they were nervous.
Did he like Horikita Suzune?
Kushida Kikyo thought she'd seen through Suzuki Toru's intentions, and she felt inexplicably irritated.
"By the way, if Suzune wants to get into Class A, she'll definitely need help. You can use this opportunity to get closer to her." Suzuki Toru smiled at her. "In a sense, I've done your job for you."
Kushida Kikyo was momentarily stunned. He had deliberately put pressure on Horikita Suzune, forcing her to change her old ways and giving Kushida Kikyo a chance to step in.
After all, offering support in a crisis could touch someone's heart more deeply. If she simply showed Horikita Suzune that she would support her, she might really win her over.
At that thought, Kushida Kikyo's feelings turned complicated, and a flicker of uncertainty crossed her eyes.
"Even without doing this, there must've been another way, right?" Kushida Kikyo said softly. "After hearing those things from you, Horikita-san might be full of hostility toward you now."
Suzuki Toru's expression turned strange. "Kushida-san, I never said I was joking."
Kushida Kikyo froze, then asked in shock, "Do you really want to make Horikita-san drop out?"
Suzuki Toru glanced at her. The wish inside the girl shimmered brightly, as did the light that flashed in her eyes.
Suzuki Toru didn't answer her question. Instead, he suggested, "Want to make a deal?"
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