"Arisu, um... We know each other so well. How about lending me some points? I'll definitely pay you back later." Yagami Shizuka's tone turned humble.
He pleaded, "Don't rush to turn me down. I need these points urgently. They're related to the Special Exam over summer vacation and the ones after that, and they should matter a lot to you, too. So I hope you can help me."
Sakayanagi Arisu pondered for a moment. She didn't think Yagami Shizuka was the sort of person who craved a life of luxury. Otherwise, he wouldn't have cared so much about a few thousand points.
If he only needed seventy or eighty thousand, she'd gladly help him out.
"Tell me, how many points do you need?" She lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, carrying herself with confidence.
"Not much. Just 500,000."
"500,000?" Sakayanagi Arisu immediately narrowed her eyes. "You gave me 50,000, and now you're asking me for 500,000? So that's why you approached me, huh?"
"No, Arisu. I'm borrowing it, and I promise I'll pay you back. We can write up an IOU and have a teacher guarantee it.
"It's not that I can't borrow 500,000. I just thought I should discuss something like this with you before deciding. Otherwise, I could just join the Student Council and get 500,000 without any trouble," Yagami Shizuka explained.
"I can't do that unless you tell me what you're planning." Sakayanagi Arisu was beginning to waver. She wondered if someone had tricked Yagami Shizuka over the past couple of days, or perhaps he was being coerced.
Even at a school full of surveillance cameras, things like that happened all the time.
"My goal..." Yagami Shizuka looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, then hesitated. "One of my goals is to help you become as healthy as an ordinary person."
Losing a Special Exam was one thing, but now there was a chance Sakayanagi Arisu could regain her health. He couldn't just let that opportunity pass.
Sakayanagi Arisu fell silent. Only she knew how many medications she'd tried and how many doctors she'd consulted.
It wasn't that she didn't want treatment. It was that there was no cure.
"I don't believe you."
"Even if you don't believe me, I still need 500,000 points now. Just lend them to me, and I'll pay you back later."
"The most I can raise right now is 350,000 points." Sakayanagi Arisu finally relented.
There was no helping it. Her only follower at the moment was Kamuro Masumi, and Hashimoto Masayoshi might not be willing to lend her anything.
She'd also just met Kito Hayato, but she didn't know if he'd be willing to help.
Then there was Yamamura Miki.
From what she'd observed, Yamamura Miki was easy to control. If she could get her to contribute her share, too, that would bring the total to 400,000.
Add Yagami Shizuka's own points, and they'd have nearly enough.
Yagami Shizuka sat down and thought it over before saying, "I've already figured something out, but I need you to cooperate with me. I'll raise the money directly from the class. I can also help you take control of the entire class quickly."
"What are you going to do?" She still had doubts about Yagami Shizuka's abilities. No matter what, she felt she could never quite figure him out.
"You'll find out later." He turned back to her and said, "How about we go grab a coffee together at lunchtime?"
"Sure!" A sweet smile spread across Sakayanagi Arisu's pretty face. She thought that Yagami Shizuka had finally gotten a clue. It was about time.
What Sakayanagi Arisu didn't know was that Yagami Shizuka later contacted Hashimoto Masayoshi, Katsuragi Kohei, Shiraishi Asuka, and Nishikawa Ryoko.
Everyone else agreed to meet right away, but it took a lot of convincing to get Morishita Ai to come.
Yagami Shizuka: Ai, I've got a big deal. Interested?
Morishita Ai: What kind of big deal? You didn't let me in on it last time.
Yagami Shizuka: This time, I'm going all out. I'm going to unite the whole class, and I need a few helpers.
Morishita Ai: Don't you have Sakayanagi?
Yagami Shizuka: Ah! This time, I really do need you. I trust you, and if you don't come, it'll be hard to find anyone else as gifted, self-taught, well-rounded, and talented as you.
Morishita Ai: Why do I feel like you're insulting me? If I'm so amazing, how come I didn't know?
Yagami Shizuka: So, are you coming or not?
Morishita Ai: Where?
Yagami Shizuka: After lunch, at Palette, the most popular café near the school building.
After lunch, several girls showed up at the café thinking Yagami Shizuka had asked them on a date. When they arrived, they were stunned.
"Hey, Yagami, you didn't say you'd invited anyone else," Shiraishi Asuka protested first.
Even though she didn't particularly care whether she got to go on a date with Yagami Shizuka, she still felt annoyed at having misunderstood.
"Exactly." Nishikawa Ryoko was annoyed, too. When she learned that Shiraishi Asuka had also been invited, she'd thought Yagami Shizuka was dating three girls at once. Now it looked like there might be even more.
Compared to them, Sakayanagi Arisu was so angry her face flushed red. I haven't even said anything yet. What are you getting upset about?
"It's quite lively. Are we having a meeting?" Hashimoto Masayoshi had no other thoughts about it. Getting into the inner circle of the class was a promising start to his new school life.
Yagami Shizuka stood and invited them to sit. "Everyone, take a seat. Now that we're all here, I'll explain why I called this gathering."
Once everyone had sat down, Yagami Shizuka continued, "I'm sure you've all learned by now that the information I provided earlier wasn't false. You can find evidence of it if you look among the upperclassmen.
"I called you here for a little meeting. I've named it our class's first Seven Star Gathering."
The name sounded nice, but they didn't know what it meant. Only Sakayanagi Arisu and Morishita Ai understood at least part of it.
"So what exactly does Seven Star Gathering mean?" Nishikawa Ryoko asked, not understanding the name.
"Seven Star Gathering refers to the king of Chinese chess endgame puzzles—the famous puzzle that ranks first on the endgame leaderboard. It has plenty of other names, too, such as Seven Stars Arching the Dipper, Seven Stars Celebrating Together, and Seven Stars Shining Bright." Yagami Shizuka thought he should explain it more clearly.
He explained the principles of the endgame puzzle in detail. "This endgame has seven pieces on each side, black and red, and it's extremely complex, with countless variations. Both sides have to work together as seven stars to break the deadlock, and the number of possible variations is equally vast. It really tests the skill of the players on both sides.
"Even the best chess player can make one careless move against another top player and lose the entire game, whether they're playing black or red.
"The seven stars represent gathering capable people, working together, and then making a plan.
"Once the seven-star formation is in place, it's very difficult to break unless you're facing another chess player with a seven-star formation of their own."
The others only half understood. Basically, it meant everyone sitting here was an expert.
As soon as Sakayanagi Arisu heard this, she wanted to protest. "Katsuragi and Hashimoto are fine, but why are they here?"
Yagami Shizuka leaned close to Sakayanagi Arisu's ear and whispered, "I'll give you a satisfactory answer after the meeting. For now, just hear me out, okay?"
The flush on Sakayanagi Arisu's face slowly faded. She nodded in quiet agreement.
"Then I'll continue. I won't hide anything from you. I was the one who called you all here this time. Arisu had nothing to do with it. First..."
Yagami Shizuka looked at Katsuragi Kohei. "I'm not interested in being the class leader. I just want to contribute to the class. For the sake of our class, Katsuragi, can you put everything else aside for now?
"We should stand united for the class's benefit. I don't want us fighting among ourselves before we've even started competing against the other classes."
Before you continue