Chapter 17

"...ell success!..." (This is an interlude from the cartoon Snoopy) Haha! I'm flying high! The feeling of having money is truly wonderful! The very first thing I did was send the news of the plan's success to Koenji. A moment later, I received a reply that left me between laughter and tears: Keep up the good work, Kitazawa boy. If you're going to exchange, aim for a hundred million; only then will it be worthy of the beautiful me! Alright, you really are the king of banter! My mind still can't keep up with your wild imagination! Having gloated enough, I immediately called over Oda and the others who were on standby at the next table, and without a moment's delay, launched the next phase of the plan.

"The money has arrived. Now, follow the original plan and go to the first-year wing to issue high-interest loans. Oh, and change the contract; make it a contract notarized by school points. I just searched for the specific method to do that." As I spoke, I showed them my phone. "No problem, leave it to us! The first-years should have the fewest points on hand right now!" Oda said excitedly. "When you issue the loans, remember to set the repayment date for the first of next month. If they don't pay by then, the interest will skyrocket. You can keep the interest low for the first few days; cast a long line to catch a big fish." "But, what if they owe us money next month and don't pay? We can't act like gangsters..." Sonoda said, looking worried. "No need. A contract notarized by points must be enforced. Just tell them we'll report them to the school. If they don't want to be expelled, they'll pay it back even if they have to borrow from everyone they know." "But, Minya, isn't that going to offend too many people?" Suzuki asked. "Offend people? This is a school that prioritizes ability. As long as you have points in hand, offending people is fine. Letting them pay for a lesson is actually for their own good! Of course, if it's a classmate from our own class, we can be a bit more lenient and just settle the interest. Don't drive them to ruin. Capital is never clean, my young friends..." "Understood... Minya is starting to sound like a big capitalist!" "Don't say that, what's two million yen to a capitalist... a beggar version? Oh, almost forgot, here's two hundred thousand for each of you as a salary. We're going to be busy from now on, so make sure you eat well." "This... it's too much, Minya. We haven't even done anything yet." Sonoda said, feeling embarrassed. "Take it, it's what you deserve. Our group never mistreats loyal employees." "Then thank you, boss! Minya, what do you think our class will look like next month?" Oda asked. "Hard to say. I've told you my deductions; there's bound to be chaos in the class next, so let's just play it by ear!"

Volume 1: First Glimpse of Talent : 8 Noble competition is the source of all excellence. Noble competition is the source of all excellence. -- David Hume

The same classroom, the same students. The only difference is that today is the day the new month's points are distributed. "Hey, hey! Did you get it? The points for this month? Is it one hundred thousand?" "No! It's only forty-nine thousand..." "Me too! What's going on? My pocket money was cut by more than half in an instant!" "I'm even worse off than you! I borrowed a few points last month... I thought I could easily pay them back today, but I've been bled dry!" Such rumors were everywhere in the classroom, and I imagine Class D is the same. I toyed with my phone, the millions of points displayed on it shining brightly. Thanks to the energetic, salesperson-like promotion of senior Igari, I successfully completed a few more "currency exchange" deals. Although it's still far from Koenji's goal of one hundred million, it's enough for us to use for a while. However, a weirdo like Koenji doesn't need much pocket money; even after I transferred two million points to him, he hasn't used much, which makes me feel uneasy. Could it be that his binge eating and drinking a while ago was just so he could freeload off the upperclassmen without worry in the future!? That's possible; as expected of Koenji, he's playing on the fifth floor while we're on the first. Well, that's a good thing too. The smarter Koenji is, the fewer troubles I have, right? I comforted myself with that thought.

"Sakagami-sensei, what is going on?" As the middle-aged teacher walked into the classroom at a leisurely pace, the impatient students were already asking questions. "Surprised? I told you, this is a school that prioritizes ability. You get evaluated based on your ability; isn't that normal?" He unfolded the notice in his hand and fixed it to the whiteboard with a magnet. "Talking in class, using phones, absences... all sorts of behaviors that don't comply with school rules will naturally result in point deductions." "But, we never heard..." "Did you return all these rules to your kindergarten teachers? As people who are about to enter society, you should have that level of self-awareness." "Teacher, I didn't talk in class... why was I also..." A girl named Nishino asked, feeling aggrieved. "I said it before, there will be no re-shuffling of classes for the next three years. You are a collective, so the deductions are naturally what we call class points!" Sakagami-sensei smiled and pointed to the conspicuous numbers on the notice. 940, 650, 490, 0. The four classes, A, B, C, and D, were clearly distinguished. Well, I didn't expect Class D to have zero points either. It seems they have even more "talents" in their class than we do. "How could this be... why was I assigned to this kind of class..." Many people were complaining in their hearts, just like Nishino. "Dissatisfied with the class assignment? But I'm sorry to tell you that, at least before the start of the school year, your ability was only at the level of Class C!" Sakagami-sensei pointed this out ruthlessly. "Before the start of the school year? Does that mean we can still be saved?" I asked Sakagami-sensei casually. "That's right. If you surpass the class points, you can also become Class A! That is a necessary condition for guaranteed admission to higher education and employment." "What!? Isn't everyone guaranteed admission?" "How is that possible? You only get what you put in; it's a simple truth. It's already quite good that this school provides you with a generous living allowance every month, and you still want a good path after graduation? There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world." Compared to being assigned to Class C, this news was even more of a bolt from the blue. Even I gave a wry smile at my previous judgment; I didn't expect the school to go to such extremes to stimulate the students. Do we want to rise to Class A? With the current Class C, it's very difficult! Although I could transfer classes with twenty million points, since I've come to this school, I don't want to avoid this opportunity to challenge myself. Then, let's go all out! "Sakagami-sensei, how can we increase our class points?" Kaneda, who had been silent since just now, asked. "The simplest way is, of course, to get good grades in exams; as students, you must be used to that by now. You already participated in the mock quiz a while ago, didn't you? The midterm exam will be the same. Do everything you can to pass! Because unlike the last mock exam, future exams..."