[Fourth Day of School] Shiina Dislikes Class C

Shiina began to gradually take notice of Kujo.

Whenever he made his rare appearances in the Class C classroom, Shiina would silently observe his every move.

After a few times, Shiina discovered a pattern: Kujo really seemed to enjoy coming to the classroom during the very last period of the day.

Furthermore, his profile was truly incredibly handsome.

Shiina couldn't help but steal glances at him.

School ended.

Kujo left the classroom.

Shiina also began to tidy up her desk and pack her bag.

However, unlike usual, this time Shiina unexpectedly received a text message invitation from Teacher Sakagami.

It appeared to be something that every student in Class C was required to attend.

In front of the karaoke parlor.

After checking the name of the establishment several times, Shiina finally pushed open the door and walked inside.

Multicolor lights reflected and shifted constantly throughout the interior.

If not for seeing everyone coming and going dressed in the same school uniform as her, Shiina probably never would have associated this place with the fourth day of her peaceful school life.

Following the room number provided in the teacher's text, Shiina walked in the correct direction while asking about the floor and general location.

Along the way.

She unexpectedly learned from a staff member that a student had just been asking about part-time jobs to earn points.

The staff member's response was: there were currently no official regulations allowing students to participate in social work, and that students should just enjoy their campus life to the fullest.

Shiina hadn't intended to eavesdrop.

But the information she happened to overhear made her feel very strange.

Was that a question asked by an upperclassman? Or was it a first-year student?

And why would someone want to work a part-time job?

Upperclassmen should have been able to accumulate quite a lot of points by now.

So, the person who could ask such a question must be a first-year student, right?

But would a first-year student really want to work a part-time job at a karaoke parlor?

Just as Shiina was about to finish climbing the stairs—

"Bang!"

A loud crash of shattering glass suddenly erupted from a nearby private room, followed immediately by the roar of heavy objects toppling over.

A moment later, Shiina saw several male classmates she vaguely recognized from her class running for their lives from the scene of the incident.

So close.

I need to hide.

Seeing them getting closer and closer to her on the stairs, Shiina hurriedly pressed her back against the nearest wall, crouched down, and wrapped her arms around herself for protection.

"Thump, thump, thump."

Have they gone far enough?

Is it safe now?

Only after the group had run off and she could no longer hear any suspicious noises did Shiina clutch her chest, lean against the wall, and begin to try to stand up slowly.

Shiina wanted to clear her head.

But before she could recover, a staff member quickly ran up the stairs.

Shiina realized instantly that it was likely people from her own class who had caused a major disaster.

Did the students who ran out go to ask the staff for help?

Fighting is against school rules, isn't it?

In this school, what happens if you break the rules?

"Um, excuse me, could you help me?"

Shiina reached out, attempting to stop the staff member, but her voice wouldn't come out loud enough.

Perhaps deep down, Shiina also felt that doing this might not truly be for the good of the class.

The staff member didn't hear Hiyori, but he saw the girl's reaching gesture and hurried to stop, asking Shiina what help she needed.

"My classmate accidentally fell just now and probably got hurt; could you help us find a first-aid kit?"

Shiina felt as if her tongue were tied in knots, her cheeks burning hot. She had never told such a clumsy lie before; every word was stumbling and stuttering, heavy with obvious guilt.

Fortunately, the staff member who received the request for help nodded immediately, turned around, and hurried downstairs to retrieve a first-aid kit.

Shiina did not dare to delay for even a second. Bracing herself against the wall, she stumbled toward the karaoke room door that had just emitted the loud crash.

The door was left slightly ajar, revealing dim light and a suffocating atmosphere inside.

She held her breath and gently pushed the door open just a crack.

Two boys with their backs to the entrance were bullying a red-haired boy lying on the sofa.

No matter who it was, anyone seeing this scene for the first time would likely feel the same way.

However, the two standing boys were not unscathed either.

It didn't look like a simple case of bullying; it seemed as though the three people in the room had just engaged in a significant struggle.

Shiina quickly recalled the names of the three people in the room.

The tall, thin boy standing was Ishizaki Daichi. His head was bleeding, yet he didn't stop mocking the red-haired boy.

The other tall, sturdy boy standing was Yamada Albert. The sunglasses he usually wore were now lying not far from Shiina's feet, the lenses shattered into pieces.

As for the red-haired boy lying on the sofa, his name was Ryuen Kakeru.

He looked just as disheveled, his clothes messy and his mouth bruised. Yet, neither Ishizaki nor Albert had relaxed; their tense postures kept the air filled with a dangerous tension.

At that moment, Shiina heard the voice of Ryuen, who was lying on the sofa:

"Still couldn't convince you this time? Let's wait until tomorrow. Don't look at me like that. Do you think 'tomorrow' actually means tomorrow? It might be the day after."

Shiina didn't understand a word of what he was saying.

But she hated the atmosphere in this room.

Before Shiina could react, however, Ryuen had already turned toward the door and challenged her directly:

"You over there, it looks like someone here is actually injured, doesn't it? By calling for help, are you planning to blow our business out of proportion?"

Ryuen's words were undoubtedly questioning why Shiina had chosen to meddle in their affairs. But facing him directly, Shiina felt no fear, nor did she choose to back down. She simply remained silent, staring straight at him.

If someone in her class was injured, she had to seek help for them.

If there was a fight in her class, minimizing the negative evaluation from the school was definitely the right thing to do.

At that moment, Shiina had judged that she should either ignore it or stop the staff member.

Stop them.

That was what Shiina deemed the most appropriate choice at the time.

"Not planning to answer? Your eyes have already answered for you. Good girls are such a pain. Forget it. I've already talked to those losers in Class C one by one, and you're the last one, so I'll just tell you straight."

Ryuen sat up and continued his long-winded speech toward Shiina:

"You've heard the rumors going around school lately, right? That's why you did what you just did. This school operates on Class Points. If we don't pretend to be good students in the face of those incredibly boring classes and rules, we might end up receiving a notice of punishment from the school."

Shiina nodded.

Of course, she had heard the rumors.

In fact, similar rumors had been flooding the school's social media platforms recently.

Most of the gossip described potential hidden rules of the school. It had spread widely among the students, and even she, who had few friends and rarely surfed the web, knew about them.

Seeing this, Ryuen laughed with satisfaction, his voice filled with the arrogance of someone who controlled everything:

"I'm the one who had Manabe from my class spread those. To be precise, a gloomy guy in my class suggested it to me, and since I was interested, I did it."

Gloomy?

Shiina couldn't help but recall the profile of Kujo. Indeed, in her memory, Kujo always wore a troubled expression.

"You might not know this, but I have a lot of information in my hands right now. For instance, this school is very lenient regarding freedom of speech for students. Unless the facts are severely distorted, the school won't intervene in student affairs."

In other words, the Class Points and the behavioral assessment in the first month were things the school had implicitly established. This school indeed had rules that encouraged competition between classes.

And the school rules introduced by the teachers at the start of the term were nothing but linguistic traps.

Shiina nodded again. She could understand the meaning behind Ryuen's words, and her behavior earned his praise:

"You're quick to react and have a strong ability to adapt. I don't intend to waste words. Since this school has a rule that only those who graduate from Class A can freely choose their path, my rule is to lead Class C. No, if possible, as long as everyone is willing to accept my rule, it's not impossible to get the entire grade level promoted to Class A."

His voice was not loud, but it carried a near-maniacal ambition and absolute self-confidence.

However, wanting the entire grade to graduate from Class A was impossible.

Students at Advanced Nurturing High School received 100,000 personal points every month, which was a huge sum for students who were still studying and had no stable source of income.

But according to rumors, it took at least 20 million personal points for one person to transfer classes.

There were 40 people in Class C; even if they didn't eat or drink for a month, they could only save up 4 million personal points.

In a year, that was only 48 million points, and in three years, a little over 100 million.

This amount was far from the 800 million points required for all 40 students in the class to graduate from Class A.

Not to mention the idea of all 160 students in the grade graduating from Class A.

Shiina kept telling herself not to think about it anymore; there were more important things to deal with at this moment.

Thus, she summoned her remaining courage, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling, yet she strove to maintain a calm demeanor:

"Ryuen, don't you guys plan on cleaning this place up first? The staff will be here any second."

Ryuen, however, acted as if he had heard a joke, waving his hand dismissively; the students who had seemingly fled from here earlier had actually been arranged by him to intercept anyone coming.

Although Ryuen had originally intended to use points to bribe the staff member Shiina had stopped earlier as an extra layer of insurance.

Now, he no longer had the inclination.

"Since you're so concerned about our situation, I'll take it that you've agreed to join the group."

As Ryuen tossed a phone from the sofa toward Shiina, he added, "That's the phone of the guy to my left. Add his account later; I'll be sending many instructions through his account from now on. As for whether you're willing or not, that's your own business."

Seeing this, Ishizaki instinctively patted his pocket, and then his eyes widened.

Isn't that my phone?!

"Ryuen! You bas..."

Ryuen swept a glance over, and Ishizaki's voice instantly stuck in his throat.

Ryuen wanted Shiina to join his plan.

If Advanced Nurturing High School were a school where students could freely choose their career paths upon graduating from Class A, then Ryuen would lead everyone who listened to him from Class C up to Class A.

Depending on how the situation changed, he even possessed the confidence and ambition to "let the entire grade graduate from Class A."

As for those who did not follow his orders, Ryuen would use violence to make them submit.

Shiina did not want to participate in such things at all.

She tried hard to put on a fearless front, her response to Ryuen's question laced with a girl's indignation:

"Does Teacher Sakagami agree with you doing this?"

Ryuen acted as if he had heard the most boring question, let out a scoff, and leaned back with an arrogant posture:

"Who knows? At the end of the day, that guy Sakagami is just a teacher, and we aren't his subordinates. I act for myself. If I can make this bunch of trash from Class C graduate from Class A and slap the school in the face, wouldn't that be interesting?"

Shiina could not understand the mindset of someone who liked to use violence and threats as weapons, nor did she think there was anything interesting about going against the school.

Furthermore, she would never attempt to understand it in this lifetime.