Chapter 31

"A minimum of 3,000 points per person each month, no upper limit. How does that sound?" "As you command." "Then, you and... and Yajima will serve as the class fund managers!" I casually pointed at a girl who looked like she had nothing better to do. "Just keep a good record of when Ryuen or anyone else uses the points. Keep track of who attends meetings like today's, how much was spent in total, and of course, how many points each person contributes every time. No problem, right? Ryuen-san." Does hanging out at a karaoke bar count as a meeting? Who knows? "Whatever you say, honor student. You people are really such penny-pinchers." Ryuen didn't care about my arrangements at all.

"Isn't this personnel arrangement a bit too casual?" Komiya looked somewhat incredulous. "What's so unbelievable about it? You and Yajima are both from Class C, aren't you? Are you unwilling to take on the responsibility?" "How could that be? We... we will do our best! Kitazawa-kun!" Komiya said hurriedly, and Yajima, standing beside him, nodded as well. "Then that's settled. This is actually quite good; it's clear at a glance who has contributed to the class, and the class won't forget everyone's efforts. Hmm... I'll find a class accountant to help you guys another day. Sonoda would be good; he's reliable and has strong calculation skills."

Of course, I have to record who contributes to the class fund! Otherwise, why would I be so generous? I contribute the most points, so what I say goes in this class. It's the same logic as conglomerates sponsoring the American empire; money-for-power deals are common practice for capitalists. The future Class C will be just such a capitalist state, and Ryuen is the guy standing at the front, spouting nonsense and drawing all the aggro. Teacher Sakagami said in class the day before yesterday that as long as we have 20 million personal points, we can transfer to the class of our choice. Naturally, if we use the remaining class funds to transfer classes, I should have priority. Theoretically, as long as my total contribution is less than 20 million, it's definitely a profit. Of course, this assumes that the final Class C fund doesn't fall below that amount. If we can't even save up over 100 million points, then our class is a lost cause anyway.

Why not just use 20 million to transfer classes directly? Obviously, because I don't need to use my family's money to buy a graduation from Class A. I want to demonstrate my ability; turning Class C, this underdeveloped nation, into a developed one is my goal. Excellence is always defined by comparison. Those who start at Class A are both fortunate and unfortunate, because they have the least room to maneuver. Come to think of it, does the school have the potential to assign talented individuals to lower-tier classes? Interesting. Perhaps the school is observing something! Additionally, trying to earn back unnecessary expenses is also part of my plan. By the time I'm a third-year, I can sell the surplus points to the incoming freshmen. Hehe, with the Koenji Conglomerate backing me, which freshman would dare to default?

"You've thought this through quite thoroughly, though I don't really need those things. But you did remind me; for study sessions, we should also record everyone's contribution level. It'll be easier to reward merit later..." Ryuen said, swirling his glass. "Oh? Are you also aiming for that rule, Ryuen-san? If that's the case, then class points and such don't really matter." "That's right, it's the 20 million point transfer rule that Sakagami-sensei mentioned the day before yesterday. As expected of a smart guy... Kitazawa, don't tell anyone else about this plan." Ryuen raised his glass toward me. I also lifted my water bottle to toast. "I won't. This is a major matter for our class. I'm off, bye everyone!" I left with a flourish, leaving the classmates who didn't understand our conversation staring at each other in confusion.

The 800 million point plan for the whole class to transfer at the last moment? This is indeed the safest way for the entire class to graduate from Class A. If we can't scrape together 800 million in the end, we can still promote to Class A sequentially based on each person's contribution, right? Great method! This guy Ryuen actually has some tricks up his sleeve! He's quite sharp... Was he really just a small-time thug before? I've struck gold! Now I can rest easy letting him lead this bunch of troublemakers. Hmm, though just relying on class fund contributions won't be enough to achieve big things; earning a large number of personal points during special exams is our top priority. I should keep an eye on this and control the points collected with Ryuen. These points are the future foundation of Class C; I can't let them spend it all on food and entertainment as class funds.

Volume 1: First Glimpse of Talent : 18 Overly calm thinking and emotionless impulses. Overly calm thinking and emotionless impulses will inevitably lead to a distorted psyche. -- Kiril Vasilev

On Thursday noon, I received a message from Kaneda saying that Class D had finally managed to organize underachievers like Sudo to attend a study session. I decided to go to the library to take a look—not to see how they were reviewing, but to see their personnel composition. I had already checked out Hirata's study session before; it was literally all girls, which was quite the sight. While it made a single guy like me envious, jealous, and hateful, I also applauded my decision to sabotage him. How does a guy who already has a girlfriend have such a way with women? And that Karuizawa woman doesn't even keep him in check... The key is that he's so handsome... Scum like him should be eliminated immediately. Just hitting his credibility this time was letting him off too easy...

Over at the soccer club, Nagumo-senpai's people had already given the fake exam papers to Hirata. Judging by the fact that not a single whisper had leaked out yet, Hirata was indeed acting according to our plan. To be safe, I also told Koenji not to trust the test papers provided by Hirata. To this, he just confidently replied: I don't need that kind of thing. The school's lunch break isn't long, and by the time I arrived, there were no seats left in the library. But I didn't need a seat; I just walked around the classroom, answering everyone's questions, which also made it convenient for me to observe the Class D group not far away.

Sure enough, as Kaneda said, Class D's underachievers were basically all gathered there. The most conspicuous was the tall and burly Sudo, along with Ike and Yamauchi, whom I had seen with Sakayanagi at the burger shop last time—the legendary "Three Idiots" of Class D. Ayanokoji, who lacked presence, was also among them; it seems his grades aren't that great either. And the one tutoring them was an unexpectedly familiar face: Suzune Horikita. "Didn't they say she didn't have any friends? Why is she participating in something like this?" I asked Kaneda. "It's not that strange, is it? Isn't Shiina-san the same? Although she's introverted, there are many people willing to contribute to the class. A girl as excellent as Horikita must also want to promote to Class A, right?"

"I'm still a bit surprised... It seems this Horikita isn't simple. You have to realize, getting these underachievers in Class D to gather together isn't as easy as it sounds." I began to take this Horikita seriously. "Could it be Kushida-san's credit? Sometimes she's there too." "Kushida and Horikita aren't friends. Aside from Horikita, Kushida is friends with everyone. If they are in the same class and aren't friends, it means their relationship is very bad." "That can't be!" "You don't understand women. In a woman's eyes, there are only two types of other women; it's just that black and white." "...But the fact is, they are working together for the class." "Giving up personal interests for the sake of the class... This isn't something the petty-minded Kushida would do. So, is the broad-minded one Horikita? This woman is interesting. I've taken a liking to her."