Chapter 16

Well, the situation... no, if you want to call it a situation, I suppose there is one. This guy has absolutely no concept of money, burning through the initial 100,000 points provided by the school in just over a week. Fortunately, my plan to spread his reputation was a success, attracting quite a few upperclassmen from Class 3-A to "keep" him. This also allowed me to get in touch with the wealthy class within the school, just as I had hoped. The person I arranged to meet today was Igari Momoko from Class 3-B. "Are you really a butler for the Koenji family?" she asked impatiently the moment she saw me; she was someone who genuinely wanted to exchange points. "Not a butler, a study companion. Igari-senpai." I set my bag down unhurriedly and flipped through the menu on the table. "Butler or whatever, I've never heard of you." Perhaps she was just trying her luck, as Igari-senpai had no real leads before coming here, but she couldn't resist the temptation of money. Especially for the top-tier students of this school, after living three years with plenty of pocket money, it's only natural that it's hard to go from luxury back to frugality. It is precisely because Igari-senpai is a smart person that she would prepare an exit strategy for herself after graduation, especially since she is in Class B rather than Class A. "Of course, I'm just a small fry. Compared to young master Koenji, I'm nothing." "Then why did you contact me? You should know that our time as third-years is very precious!" Igari was fuming; she was the one who had been summoned, yet this strange first-year wasn't in a hurry at all, and had even arrived later than her. "I know, I know. You are a wealthy third-year, but wouldn't it be a waste to just graduate with a pile of points?" "So you really do want points? What can you offer in exchange?" Igari felt a bit more at ease; her judgment was still correct for the moment. "Naturally, the one thing the Koenji Conglomerate has in abundance: money. We are so poor that we only have money left." "Damn capitalists!" Igari slammed the table, trying to seize the initiative. "One-to-one, and I want a contract signed by Koenji himself!" "Senpai, we have money, but we aren't suckers." I had plenty of people to trade with, so I wasn't buying her act; this was a complete buyer's market. "You! Don't push your luck. I don't even know if you'll keep your end of the bargain! I'm taking a risk here too! Things like this have happened in the school before." "I know, and you still have to compete with Class 3-A, don't you? But I advise you to have a backup plan." "You know quite a lot... Then why don't you go to the guys in Class A? They should have more points, right?" Igari was clearly interested in the financial status of her rivals. "True, but they seem to have some kind of class fund or savings, which is hard to deal with... well, this is also fate between us, senpai." "That Horikita guy is quite something... Tell me the truth, what is the best ratio you can offer?" Igari nodded; she understood the influence of Horikita Manabu, and it was plausible for Class A to have such a fund. "One to zero point six. You sign this contract, and Koenji will redeem it after graduation. If by any chance Koenji doesn't pay you, just come to me, and I'll pay you on the spot. My home is in Tokyo, so you can rest easy now." "That's too low! Even counterfeit bills get a four-to-five exchange rate!" She was quite skilled at haggling; it seemed the upperclassmen had experienced their fair share of trades. "You really know your stuff, Momoko-senpai... but you're still early. If it were a year from now, right before you graduate, it would probably be one to zero point zero six... points are still relatively valuable right now!" Controlling the definition of the exchange rate, I shamelessly raised the price on the spot. "It's Igari-senpai! You impolite bloodsucker!" Igari seemed to come from a working-class family, and she was clearly dissatisfied with my money-grubbing face. "Don't get excited, don't get excited... How about this: you help me introduce your classmates to exchange with me. For every person who closes a deal, I'll add one percentage point. Let's all get rich together! Of course, I only intend to exchange about thirty or forty million at most." "Are you trying to scrape together twenty million to transfer classes?" "Can you transfer classes with twenty million? Thanks for the intel, Momoko-senpai..." "( 0 x 0 ) Why on earth do you need so many points if you don't know anything!?" Realizing her slip of the tongue, Igari covered her mouth adorably; she clearly couldn't handle a wealthy person like me. "Of course, it's better to be prepared! Since you can transfer classes, surely you can cancel an expulsion, right? How many points does that take?" "I won't tell you! Hmph!" "Don't be like that, Momoko-senpai..." "I'll exchange 2.5 million points first. Kid, I'm warning you! No funny business!" Igari stiffly changed the subject. "Don't worry, I was originally going to forge young master Koenji's signature, but he said one should be honest, so he signed it for me in advance." "(╬ ? ? ?)..." Hearing this, Igari became even more conflicted and uneasy as she carefully scrutinized the contract. "Senpai, don't be afraid. At worst, just consider it tuition... After all, people in society are even more sinister! We at the Koenji Conglomerate are quite reputable, so you're welcome to apply for a job after graduation ⊙?⊙!" "Why isn't this a contract signed using school points?" Igari was still nitpicking, but she was clearly swayed by what I said. "There's such a thing as that kind of contract? Thanks, Momoko... ah! Just kidding! We settle after graduation; does it make a difference whether we use the school's contract? It's just a waste of points. Besides, if we break the contract, can the school expel the graduates?" Dodging Igari-senpai's angry attack, I continued to push the business forward. "What's your name?" Igari finally made up her mind, signed the paper, and looked up to ask. "I am Kitazawa Minya, the sole heir of the Kitazawa family." I met her gaze without fear. "If you dare to lie to me, you're dead!" She warned me again. Looking at my proficiency in imitating signatures, I've lied to plenty of people, but this time, I really didn't intend to lie. "I wouldn't dare. Thank you, senpai! Here is my contact information." I said, handing over my number with both hands. It was very useful to know an upperclassman; at the very least, this Igari-senpai still had significant potential to be exploited. "Don't contact me unless it's necessary! If I find others willing to exchange, I'll contact you." Igari-senpai said as she paid her own bill—a very spirited act in front of a capitalist like me. "No problem, take care, senpai!" Watching the 2.5 million points arrive in my account, I took a deep breath and began to hum a little tune in my broken Japanese-English: "What is this? Wonderful smell! Don't tell me. Let me guess! Smell like money, taste like honey. Yes! I sm