Chapter 22

"Being cautious is always the right move... You should know that I went to the trouble of getting three copies of the past exam papers from Class 3-A, 3-B, and 2-A. I only decided to use them after confirming they were identical."

"School rules? I see. The school tacitly allows the black market trade of past papers, but they wouldn't necessarily let them be spread openly... As expected of you, Kitazawa. You really are the Zhuge Liang of our class!"

"It's not that profound; I'm just being careful to avoid any mishaps. The fights in our class these past few days have given me quite a bit of insight. This school is just like society—it has rules that are written in the open and rules that operate in the shadows."

"Then, by telling me this, aren't you..."

"Kaneda, that's exactly why I decided to trust you. Because Class C needs your strength; relying on Ryuen alone is definitely not enough."

Returning to the starting point, the reason I said all that was, of course, to manipulate Kaneda.

"I understand... Don't worry, Kitazawa. I'm not the impulsive Kaneda Satoru I was two days ago. This class representative election has helped me grow a lot. Come to think of it, I have you to thank for that!"

"No need for thanks! As classmates, we must support each other to progress together. Right? Satoru."

I was impressed by my own hypocrisy, but my acting was so good that Kaneda couldn't detect a single thing amiss.

"That's right! Minya, let's rise to Class A together!"

Kaneda returned to being the ambitious Kaneda he once was. Next up were the sulky Ibuki and the lazy Shiina. Not a single person can be left out; everyone capable of moving needs to get to work. Don't waste your youth—go out there and seriously create some GDP! As for me, I'll just focus on being an inconspicuous little study buddy. I'm the type who loves a game where I can win while lying down.

The next day, I reappeared in the library. It seemed my return gave the members of Class C a sense of direction, and their anxious moods calmed down a little.

"I've organized some practice problems. I'll hand them out for everyone to work on. If you don't understand anything, please feel free to ask—don't be shy!"

I distributed the materials to everyone present, which were slightly modified but followed similar problem-solving logic.

"It doesn't matter if you didn't come today. You can have a close friend pick them up for you, or you can grab them from the bookshelf corner in the classroom," I continued.

Since I had also included some non-exam-type questions to reinforce the basics, I wasn't worried about this material leaking. Or rather, intentionally leaking the material so other classes would think we were studying hard while unaware of the real exam questions was my goal.

"Thanks! Kitazawa! This is a huge help!" Nishino said after flipping through the exercises.

"Sorry, time was tight, so I didn't have time to write up an answer key. But the final results are there; the process is something you all will have to perfect during the teachers' lessons." I said with great humility.

"This is already amazing! Thank you for your hard work."

"It's all for the sake of our class... By the way, have you seen any study groups organized by other classes these past few days?"

"Class A only has a few students studying scattered around the library. Class B's study group was organized the earliest and has the most people; now, they're basically all there every noon and evening. As for Class D, it's organized by a boy named Hirata, and the members are mostly girls."

"Exactly! You'd think it was a girls' club if you didn't know better! They only know how to hover around Hirata," Manabe, the bossy girl, laughed with a hint of disdain.

"It seems this Hirata is quite popular!"

"Isn't he? He's second on the handsome guy ranking! It's a pity none of the boys in Class C made the top five..."

"Sigh... Sorry for not being handsome! Hahahaha!" As one of the boys, I took 10,000 points of direct damage.

"But Kitazawa, you don't need to envy him! You're on the list too. And you're number one!"

"It's not some 'ugliest guy' ranking, is it?" I felt a chill in my heart.

"It's the 'wealthy person' ranking! After the recent update, Kitazawa has topped the list with an mysterious amount of points that no one knows the source of." A cute girl with baby fat said, showing me her phone. Her name was something like Nanami? It's been over a month since school started, and I'm truly sorry for not knowing all my classmates' names. What? You can't remember the name of a cute girl? She's just not my type! I'm a pervert with taste, you know. Besides, there are really a lot of cute girls in this world...

"Strange... Why does everyone think I'm rich?" I was a bit puzzled. I had only shown my points to Ryuen, and he didn't seem like the type to gossip everywhere, nor did he have anyone to gossip with.

"I don't know the specifics... Why don't you show us, Kitazawa?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Seeing is believing!" Nishino and the others were also full of curiosity.

"Well, since it's a secret not even specified on the ranking, it's better to leave a little room for imagination..."

"Suspicious... Does Kitazawa really hold a massive amount of points?"

"Never mind me. This number two, Ichinose, is that leader from Class B?"

"That's right. It's certain she has over two million points. Several people have seen it, though the people in Class B keep their mouths shut about it."

"It's probably class funds or something, right? Like everyone giving her 50,000 points to manage..." I analyzed.

"But our class didn't pool our funds with Kitazawa... Shiina-san, why don't you try to deduce it?" Nishino, completely baffled, turned to Shiina, who loved detective novels.

Shiina looked up upon hearing this, stared at me, and whispered: "Ibuki-san said that Kitazawa asked Oda-kun and the others to buy medicine for the injured boys, but he didn't transfer points to Oda-kun and the others. This shows that Oda-kun and the others are following Kitazawa's orders, and it's very likely they already received a large amount of points from Kitazawa in the first place. Therefore, Kitazawa, who can give others large amounts of points, is likely even wealthier."

"But it could also just be that I have a good relationship with Oda and the others!" I countered.

"Kitazawa-kun doesn't have a special relationship with the injured, yet Oda-kun and the others executed Kitazawa-kun's orders without asking a single question. That's very strange. Kitazawa-kun is cautious; he shouldn't be using his friends' or subordinates' points for charity, even if the starting point is for the class. Doing that might affect his relationship with Oda-kun and the others."

"Clap, clap, clap." I applauded Shiina's deduction. "Shiina-san is so smart. From now on, let's work together to devise strategies for the class! I have high hopes for you."

Shiina seemed to sense my gaze, like a hunter looking at prey, and shrank back in alarm. This kind of soft girl with zero combat power is indeed attractive, but Ryuen probably wouldn't be into this type. A guy like him definitely prefers the "spicier" types, hehe...

"Hey! I was only gone for a moment, and you're already bullying someone!" Ibuki, who suddenly appeared not far away, interrupted the eye contact between Shiina and me.

"Well then... I'll go check elsewhere. You guys continue." Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is best. I slipped away as fast as I could.

Volume 1: First Glimpse of Talent : 12 A Great Man Should Befriend Heroes of the World A Great Man Should Befriend Heroes of the World. -- Chen Shou