A Suggestion

Because she was a teacher, there was no risk of misleading information or fraud.

The school absolutely would not allow outsiders to interfere beyond the limits of their role.

It was true that the school's rules allowed points to buy anything.

But the price of asking the same question could vary depending on whom you asked.

Just as a person could be killed with poison, a knife, a gun, or a cannon...

Each option came with a different level of difficulty and cost.

"If you want to buy information from me, you can."

"However, I'd recommend asking Joker instead."

"Then, you should choose the most suitable question."

"Of course, if you can get away with spending fewer points on each question, you could ask several."

"Finally, as your teacher, let me offer you a few words of advice. Pool your points and ask just one question. Once you've asked it, regardless of whether you think you got your money's worth, go to the school and have them judge the transaction."

With that, Hoshinomiya Chie hung up and went straight back to having fun.

The students of Class B exchanged glances.

They'd all heard what their teacher had said.

But she'd recommended they buy from a senpai.

That was quite thought-provoking.

At this school, there were times when senior students had more influence over them than their teachers did.

They understood that.

But the conversation had also hinted at something.

The teachers' authority and influence didn't seem as great as they'd imagined.

"Unless we give up, I guess we have no choice but to make a deal with our senpai."

Ichinose Honami made the final call.

The payment would be 10 million points.

Himeno Yuki couldn't object, so she could only mourn the loss.

At least it was coming out of the class fund. The monthly contributions were finally being put to use.

Thinking about it that way made it a little easier to bear.

Himeno Yuki was also somewhat less resistant to the class policy of collecting contributions.

After discussing it repeatedly, they finally settled on asking for advice about Class B.

As leader and decision-maker, Ichinose Honami's reasoning went like this:

It was only the start of the school year. There was no need to gamble.

Rather than pick a precise direction, it was better to ask about a broad area.

The payoff from precise, actionable information could be either extremely high or extremely low.

A broad topic, by contrast, offered a steadier return and a guaranteed minimum.

Class B's strength lay in its unity. If they wanted to make the most of it,

the best choice was to proceed carefully, one step at a time.

Besides, a broad question

meant the value of the information would be uncertain.

Even if different people judged the same information differently, with the school acting as a witness,

there was another possibility.

To avoid having the school rule that his information was worth less than the price and accuse him of fraud,

the senpai might voluntarily inflate its value a little and tell them more information, or more important information.

Without even considering how they could turn it into points, just looking at the value of the information itself,

that would get them more than choosing a precise direction.

This wasn't a gamble.

She was certain that the senpai wouldn't risk having the school declare that his free information was worth less than the price and label it fraud.

After all, this was during the Secret Exam, and the contract involved an entire class.

Even from the standpoint of fairness, the school would be more inclined to treat Class B justly.

Chapter 26: 27 Suggestions

Ichinose Honami's decision was bound to pay off.

But her way of thinking seemed like dark comedy in the context of this school.

A system where every student was admitted through backroom deals would be impossible at any national elite school.

They'd still have to preserve some semblance of respectability.

And yet Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School had managed it.

As a three-year boarding school, it certainly had nerve.

Once they'd finished discussing things, Ichinose Honami brought Kanzaki Ryuji to Room 605.

They didn't think their senpai would try anything, but they were still taking every precaution.

If they hadn't thought it would be rude to bring so many people, Ichinose Honami had even considered bringing the whole class.

During their discussion, Himeno Yuki, Shibata Hayate, and the other students had proved just how true the saying "Two heads are better than one" could be.

Standing outside the door, Ichinose Honami knocked softly.

She waited a while, but got no answer.

She looked puzzled.

"Could our senpai have already left?"

Kanzaki Ryuji pushed up his glasses and replied with certainty.

"I think the music probably drowned out the knocking."

Ichinose Honami nodded thoughtfully.

That made sense. When she'd returned to Room 815 earlier, she hadn't heard a thing before opening the door.

With the room soundproofed so well, if the music inside was loud enough, it was only natural they wouldn't hear someone knocking.

This time, she knocked harder, and the sound rang out louder.

Creak. The door opened.

From where they stood, they could only see Tanaka Yukishin.

Ichinose Honami greeted him with a smile.

"Senpai, it's me."

"If you've decided to buy, come on in."

"Sure. Why don't we find somewhere quiet so we don't interrupt the other senpai?"

Tanaka Yukishin's lips paused for a moment.

Another unexpected turn. It seemed all his effort earlier had been wasted.

He nodded, greeted everyone inside the private room, and closed the door.

"Lead the way."

Ichinose Honami turned and led the two of them to the lounge on the fifth floor of K Hall.

Along the way, Kanzaki Ryuji carefully observed Tanaka Yukishin.

Tanaka Yukishin had silvery-white, tousled hair, like the pure light of the moon.

His features were exquisite, and confidence filled his eyes.

He was composed and had an exceptional presence.

Just from the way he stood, you could tell he was terrifyingly strong.

Even just walking beside him, Kanzaki could sense something different about him.

It was a mental impression beyond the five senses.

It was after school, and K Hall was open for business as usual.

But the evening rush hadn't arrived yet, and the lounge was empty.

The three of them found seats wherever they could.

"Senpai, we've decided to pay 10 million points for your advice."

Ichinose Honami got straight to the point and laid out the terms.

Tanaka Yukishin nodded to show he understood.

Ten million points for advice.

Well, that was a bit of a challenge.

If they'd asked their original question, he could have explained the reasons behind his answer

and thrown in some related information as a bonus.

For example, how to source free ingredients or get clothes altered... They could use that to cut costs and bring in more resources.

Or he could give them an introduction to a credit guarantee for outstanding graduates, backed by a Class A graduate's personal guarantee.

That would make full use of Class A's winner-takes-all advantage at graduation.

Or he could explain the difference between ordinary midterms and finals and the Special Exams...

All in all, the little bits and pieces would add up.

It wouldn't be hard to reach a value of 10 million points.

But now they had no specific direction, and their request was broad. That made things difficult.

Were these really students raised under a feel-good education system?

Tanaka Yukishin revised his long-held impression of the different kinds of students he'd encountered growing up.

First, he'd ask about Class B's situation. Then he'd ask what they needed.

He really had no idea what to advise them without any direction.

"Honami-chan is clever. So tell me about Class B's situation and what you're looking for."

Kanzaki Ryuji's expression turned peculiar.

Honami-chan?

What was that about?

According to Ichinose, this was their first time meeting.

Ichinose Honami gave Tanaka Yukishin a helpless glance.

This senpai really was too unserious.

But he'd already shown them goodwill, and now they were in the middle of a transaction.

She didn't feel comfortable saying anything too harsh.

"Senpai, since this is our first time meeting, you should call me kohai or Ichinose."

After thinking it over, Ichinose Honami decided to share some information about Class B.