Ichinose is a Rich Girl

Karaoke.

It had been nearly a month since Hiyori last stepped foot into a place like this.

Although her last visit didn't exactly leave her with fond memories—in fact, it was quite the opposite.

Yet, she never expected that in just a single month, so many things could change.

For instance, Hiyori now had a boyfriend.

They could chat every day, go on dates, and do all sorts of things together.

Looking back, Hiyori felt she never could have imagined such a thing would ever happen to her.

"Hiyori, this is the microphone. If two microphones touch, it gets really noisy. We call it feedback, but it's basically just interference."

Kujo was introducing her to new experiences bit by bit, and Hiyori's heart was in a state of disarray.

She had never been exposed to these things before.

Having had few friends and rarely going out in the past, she stared blankly at his profile.

Had she really changed that much now?

"Hello."

With a cheerful greeting, the most outstanding girl in the grade pushed the door open and walked in.

Hiyori recognized her; it was Ichinose Honami from Class B.

The girl had approached her last time, saying she wanted to talk to her Kujo-kun about important matters between their classes.

Later, Hiyori had curiously asked Kujo-kun what Ichinose wanted with him.

Kujo-kun said Ichinose had taken him to a private room for a grand meal and told him that Ichinose would become the pillar of the first-year students.

Kujo-kun had said so much.

Hiyori's heart fluctuated slightly.

Did Kujo-kun have special feelings for Ichinose?

It seemed different from how he treated her; in his words, there was always a high level of expectation for Ichinose.

Although she was grateful that Kujo-kun told her everything, didn't that just make her look like a girl who only knew how to be jealous?

I clearly trust you, Kujo-kun.

Kujo-kun is such an idiot!

Unable to know what Hiyori was thinking, Kujo picked up the microphone, looked at the song list provided by the school, randomly selected one, and played the original track.

Yoshioka's Cherry?

Ichinose and Hiyori watched Kujo's series of operations from the side, both stunned for a moment, completely bewildered.

However, Ichinose was someone who understood the atmosphere well.

Watching Kujo act so solemnly, Ichinose felt he must be about to discuss something that couldn't be seen by others.

Ichinose straightened her posture slightly.

As for why Kujo invited Ichinose, there were many reasons.

The most important and urgent one was that he needed to borrow points from her.

This midterm exam was the only one in Kujo's memory worth manipulating points for.

The essence of this midterm exam was buying past papers from upperclassmen; students could pass without a scratch by memorizing the original answers.

The current first-year situation was different from the original story.

The classes in the first year had not yet turned against each other.

The classes had not yet reached the point where they had to compete to the death.

So, if Kujo could get his hands on a sufficient number of points now to make the school increase the difficulty of the exam, thereby obtaining higher rewards, it would be very cost-effective.

The reason Kujo felt this plan had a chance of success was mainly due to Ichinose's existence.

Because Ichinose was a trustworthy person, she was the only one with the ability to lead the entire first year toward an "if" route.

Moreover, Ichinose held a massive amount of points.

In the original story, Ichinose was the "bank" of Class B.

After learning about the possibility of class points, the students of Class B, in order to curb excessive spending and for the sake of the class, voluntarily left the majority of their points in Ichinose's care.

However, in this life, it was Ichinose who told Kujo about this information.

In other words, Ichinose currently held at least 3 million private points.

Although Kujo knew that if he were to lay his cards on the table and explain the reason for borrowing money, there was a high probability that she would lend it to him.

However, Kujo did not want to overconsume her kindness.

If his predictions were correct, the upcoming exams would include a Sports Festival where the entire grade would compete, a dropout-vote exam at the end of the first year, and a Commander Exam where classes would battle against one another.

Building a friendship with Ichinose herself, and even with Class B as a whole, was necessary.

Therefore, Kujo chose a karaoke parlor, a place where first-year students frequently hung out.

After all, Kujo had no intention of hiding the fact that he was maintaining close ties with Ichinose.

And most importantly—

Kujo looked at Hiyori, who was sitting next to Ichinose, hoping that she might learn to be a bit more outgoing from the other girl.

Sometimes, Kujo felt that he was truly a utilitarian person.

But in reality, Kujo did not want to be this way; he did not want to be a person driven by utility.

All of this was merely his adult soul and his instinct to pursue benefits driving his student self.

"Ichinose, have you thought about your plans after graduation?"

Ichinose rested her chin on her hand and gave Kujo's question some serious thought.

In all likelihood, she would probably pursue further education.

Her family wasn't exactly wealthy, so finding a job wasn't out of the question either.

"I haven't really thought about it carefully before. What about you, Shiina?"

Ichinose looked at Hiyori, who blinked and replied to Ichinose's question:

"We still have three years, so there's plenty of time to think about it."

They were only in their first year, after all.

Generally speaking, when students were nearing graduation, the school would invite their parents for career interviews and provide employment counseling.

By that time, every student would likely have a relatively clear goal.

Right now, everyone was preoccupied with adapting to the new environment, or at most, worrying about school exams.

Ichinose curiously asked Kujo in return:

"What about your future plans, Kujo?"

As soon as Kujo opened his mouth, he said something shocking.

"I plan to squeeze the school for everything it's worth before I graduate. If I don't intend to graduate from Class A, then points become useless, so I might as well trade them with underclassmen for a future path before I leave."

Huh?

Hearing this, Ichinose was stunned.

But seeing the mischievous smirk on Kujo's face, she knew he was joking.

Hiyori, on the other hand, seemed to be genuinely considering it, saying:

"Something like exchanging the points in a student's possession for goods?"

Kujo shrugged without saying a word.

Ichinose watched the two of them playing off each other, her eyes darting between them, and a flash of insight made her realize their meaning.

The points at this school could buy anything.

But Kujo had deliberately said that points were useless.

Was Kujo after the points of Class B?

Ichinose understood the implication behind Kujo's words.

Ichinose had recently heard an interesting story from the Student Council.

It was about a first-year student who had been asking third-year students for points.

Currently, the points of the third-years were strictly managed by Horikita Manabu, while the points of the second-years were basically under the surveillance of Nagumo.

But if Kujo wanted to ask her for points?

Why not just say it directly?

Even if he had asked directly, she wouldn't have refused him outright.

No.

What she should be thinking about now is, why would Kujo need such a massive amount of points?

Was there something he needed to buy?

And would this thing be beneficial to Class B as well?

Otherwise, Kujo probably wouldn't have considered her.

Ichinose had more or less figured it out, so she asked Kujo:

"Kujo, have you run into some kind of trouble lately? Do you need support in private points?"

Ichinose was simply too clever.

Kujo's long-winded preamble hadn't even finished playing out before Ichinose had already guessed his intentions.

Perhaps this was the unfortunate consequence of having communicated with her too much lately.

Kujo did not answer Ichinose.

But not answering also meant not denying.

"The points in my possession belong to all my classmates, so I cannot make the decision on my own. However, I can consult the entire class for their opinions; I want to know your specific thoughts, Kujo."

Kujo sat on the sofa and gave Hiyori's small hand a gentle squeeze.

Although they hadn't discussed it beforehand, he was very satisfied with the tacit cooperation Hiyori had just shown.

Kujo and Hiyori had envisioned the future countless times, but this was the first time they had discussed such things in front of someone else.

In response to Ichinose's inquiry, Kujo laid out his plan.

He would borrow 2.5 million points from Class B in his own name.

This was not a small sum of money.

If Class B were to mobilize such a large amount of points all at once this month, there would be risks involved.

After all, Ichinose was not only the leader of Class B but also a member of the Student Council.

The students of Class B were worried that Ichinose might need points while serving on the Student Council, which was why they were willing to entrust all their points to her.

It wasn't just trust in her ability to manage their points; it was also to ensure that Ichinose could make appropriate decisions at any time.

Therefore, in order to borrow this massive sum of 2.5 million points interest-free, Kujo promised Class B that he would provide them with his full support during a future exam.

"Is 2.5 million enough? I'll pay it."

?

Ichinose's reaction left the room in silence for a moment.

What happened to the reserve you were showing just a moment ago?

Ichinose!