Horikita, What Do You Think?

"Shinomiya, could I have a moment? After school, I'd like to discuss how we can increase our points. I was hoping you and Horikita would join us. What do you think?"

"Why are you only asking me?"

"Because if you join, Horikita will surely agree as well. Everyone seems to think she listens to your opinions."

Perhaps it was because Horikita assisted Ju Ji during his speech last time, but it left a strange impression on the class. Horikita listening to him? How could that be possible?

"Why?... No, Horikita doesn't exactly have the personality that would listen to me, does she?"

"You haven't even asked, so how can you be sure I won't listen to you?"

Horikita wore a dazzling smile, as if she had heard something amusing. If I wasn't mistaken, this was a sign that she was angry.

"Really?... Then, Horikita, could you let me touch—ouch! See, I told you she wouldn't listen to me."

"No... Shinomiya, you should really make some more normal requests. That's my advice; it's better to keep the jokes in moderation. Though... your relationship really is as good as the rumors say."

"Rumors? What rumors?"

"If you're interested in those things, I'll explain them to you in detail later. So, will you be joining us?"

I have to admit, Hirata is unexpectedly patient and good-tempered. Anyone else would have grown impatient by now. Yet, he still wore a peaceful smile, as if he were perfectly happy wasting time on such things.

"Suzune, what do you think?"

"You decide, Ju Ji. After all, I'll listen to you, won't I?"

So, Suzune is never going to let that go, is she? If it were the original Suzune, she would have refused without hesitation. It seems she really has changed quite a bit, even if she still isn't very willing to make friends.

"Let's go then. Besides, I have some information I need to share. However, Hirata, I have one condition. Call everyone in the class. Let's discuss it right here in the classroom after school. No need to waste everyone's time."

"So you already have some leads, Shinomiya? I'll go notify everyone of this good news right away."

"Hey..."

Hirata looked as if he had heard the best news in the world, his expression full of pleasant surprise. He hurried off as if he already had a stable method for acquiring class points. Perhaps this is the influence of our recent promotion to Class C.

"That's great, Hirata trusts you so much. Does this count as making another friend?"

"What are you talking about? Hirata has always been everyone's friend in class."

That's right, Hirata's favorability in Ju Ji's friend-making system has always been 50, which is at the friend level. Incidentally, after Suzune acknowledged our friendship, her favorability rose to 60 (close friend).

Currently, aside from Kikyo and Ike, she has the highest favorability. By the way, Ike's favorability is 70 (intimate friend). Hmm, I don't know why his favorability rose so quickly, even though Ju Ji didn't do anything. For a while, Ju Ji even suspected that Ike might be gay. The most unexpected one is Sudo, whose favorability is actually 55 (between a regular friend and a close friend).

The other classmates are lagging behind, mostly hovering around 40. However, this has brought Ju Ji a massive amount of Friendship Points. The points he currently possesses have reached a height of over 6,000. He won't be lacking in points for a while. But now that favorability has reached this stage, it's getting harder to "fleece" the classmates of Class C (Ju Ji). He'll have to find a way to expand his business.

Time flew by while studying hard, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for school to end. This time, without needing persuasion from Kikyo or Hirata, no one in the class made a move to leave their seats. It seems they had communicated in advance.

"I'll have to trouble you to assist me again this time, Suzune."

"It's nothing. Aren't we friends? Besides, this is helpful for me as well."

Horikita Suzune is truly charming at times, like right now. That confident smile looks incredibly dazzling, and combined with her high-tier beauty, she's practically a killer. Although it only appears for a fleeting moment occasionally. Fortunately, because of Kikyo, Ju Ji has already built up a high immunity to this. He won't be captivated by it.

"Ahem... Welcome everyone, thank you for giving me the face to attend this discussion. [Thanks to everyone's efforts, we successfully survived the first month's point crisis. But this is only the beginning.

We learned from Teacher Chabashira that only by promoting to Class A can we secure guarantees for employment and higher education from the school. So, how do we obtain a large number of points? I have a hypothesis...]"

"A hypothesis? Shinomiya, stop pretending. You're clearly the chairman's illegitimate son. Just tell us directly."

"Exactly, exactly!"

"Don't worry, we'll listen carefully."

"Now that I look closely, isn't Shinomiya actually quite handsome?"

"It seems there's nothing wrong with being a chuunibyou, either."

Although the pros outweigh the cons, it's clear the class has developed a blind trust in him. This isn't good in the long run; there's a term called "killing with praise." If a person is lifted to a height that doesn't belong to them, they will be abandoned by everyone when they fail. And he isn't as capable as they think he is. He is merely standing on the shoulders of giants.

This is just an advantage brought by knowing the plot. Once a deviation from the original story occurs, he will be like a headless chicken, completely lost. And that situation is likely already beginning to happen. Therefore, he must make preparations.

"[Everyone, don't listen to these rumors. This really is just a hypothesis. In the first month, Class A already pulled a huge lead over us. If the school truly wants us to compete, they won't let this phenomenon continue indefinitely. Therefore, there must be events where we can earn a large number of points. And right now, the most likely one is the final exam.]"

"Final exam? With our grades, can we even do it?"

"We won't drop back to Class D, will we?"

"Everyone, listen to Hirata first, okay? He surely has a corresponding strategy."

"Exactly, since Ju Ji is so calm, everyone should trust him."

It seems most of the students in Class C (Ju Ji) have a good sense of self-awareness regarding their academic ability. This is only natural, as less than a quarter of the students scored above 60 on the last quiz.

Hearing that the final exam is the key, they are bound to panic. Fortunately, with the help of the two social giants, Hirata and Kikyo...