The Setup

"Heh. I didn't expect someone to notice me so soon."

"Looks like I'll have to get some things done ahead of schedule."

Beneath the cold moon, the boy gave a chilly smile, his figure gradually blending into the darkness...

And so, before long, the midterm exams arrived.

Perhaps it was thanks to the study group, or perhaps it was the answers to past exam papers Ayanokoji had bought at the last minute.

Whatever the reason, the results were quite impressive. Aside from Ken Sudō, who fell one point short of passing, almost everyone had made it through safely.

"Aw, what a shame. Sudo was only one point short. They won't expel him over that, will they?"

"Expelled? I don't think so. I seem to remember hearing that the school rules explicitly state that points can buy anything at school. Surely you can buy grades, too."

"But I wonder how many points one grade costs." Ayanokoji, who usually went unnoticed in class, and Horikita Suzune both spoke up at the same time—a rare occurrence.

"Really? Let's look it up."

At that, the D Class students all brightened. None of them had expected points to be so useful.

Rinya, who had been sitting quietly at the back of the class, wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him by.

After all, if you could invest a favor in someone worthwhile, the benefits it brought would undoubtedly come back to you many times over in the future.

Before Ayanokoji and the others could take action, Rinya approached their homeroom teacher, Chabashira, on the school grounds as soon as class ended.

He then told her he wanted to buy a point for Ken Sudō.

Chabashira was a little puzzled. The two of them should have had no interaction at all under ordinary circumstances.

But seeing how utterly sincere he looked, Chabashira couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh. This is interesting. Very interesting."

"This has never happened before."

"Sure. Give me 100,000 points now, and I'll sell you one."

Seeing her smirk as if she were looking forward to watching him come up short, Rinya smiled and casually picked up his phone. After a few taps, he calmly said, "Oh, is that so?"

"Ding! You have received a transfer of 100,000 points. Please check your balance."

At the sound, Chabashira stared at the balance on her phone in disbelief. After checking several times to make sure it wasn't a trick, she was completely stunned.

"W-what? You're a student. Where did you get that many points?" Even Chabashira, who was usually so composed, couldn't help blurting out her shock at this sudden, outrageous move.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. But you can rest assured that I got them through legitimate means. You can check how I acquired them later, if you like."

"Hmph. I'll take your word for it—for now."

Looking at the transfer notification on her phone, Chabashira glanced at the boy sitting in front of her, completely at ease. For some reason, he seemed even more unfathomable than those other guys who made a point of hiding their intentions.

That afternoon, a girl suddenly appeared at the café, where a boy was quietly sipping his coffee.

"Phew... So this is where you are, Rinya."

Looking at the girl, panting and flushed, Rinya couldn't hide his surprise. "Hm? Horikita Suzune?"

"Did you need something?"

"I came to reimburse you for half of the points you spent helping Ken Sudō."

As she spoke, Horikita reached for her phone, but Rinya naturally refused to accept the money.

"Heh. Why would you pay me back? Isn't it perfectly normal for classmates to help each other?"

"That may be true, but I don't understand why you offered to help out of nowhere, or why you have so many points. Still, I don't think it's right to let you pay the whole cost this time."

"Is that so? I don't see anything wrong with it."

"You..."

Horikita had originally hoped to use this opportunity to contribute something to the class and show everyone what she was worth.

But now, it seemed Ayanokoji had been right. This guy really wouldn't accept her offer.

"Hmph. What a weirdo. Just like him."

Watching the girl rush over, panting, then storm away in a huff, Rinya couldn't help shaking his head with amusement.

"But there's something fun to look forward to next."

That night, the three idiots, including Ken Sudō, kept trying to come over and thank him. But Rinya certainly couldn't welcome boys into his room.

So, after turning them down on the grounds that he wasn't feeling well, Rinya deliberately lowered his voice and suggested that the three of them invite Horikita Suzune, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Kushida Kikyo, and Hirata Yosuke—the people who had helped them at the study group—to celebrate together somewhere. That would make the occasion more meaningful.

The three were delighted by the idea. They all agreed that it was the perfect way to celebrate surviving by the skin of their teeth. They were even more grateful for all of Rinya's help, which had let the three of them share in the festive atmosphere.

Ken Sudō, the one who had benefited most, even began calling Rinya his good brother. He promised that if there was ever anything he could do, Rinya could count on him, and he wouldn't let him down.

Seeing their leader act that way, the other two loudly chimed in. "Same goes for me, Brother Rinya," Ike said with a nod.

"Hehe, me too." Yamauchi thumped his chest, grinning from ear to ear as if he'd found himself a powerful backer.

But once the three had walked away, still in high spirits, the boy who had just been pretending to be sick at the door gradually broke into laughter.

"What a shame. If Ayanokoji and Horikita had saved you, maybe you really would have learned gratitude and grown as a person. But unfortunately for you, I got to you first. I only want you to drag down as many people as possible—ideally, even Horikita Suzune, who hasn't grown into her potential yet."

"Ayanokoji, from the moment you decided to help D Class rise to Class A, we became enemies."

"Heh."

Perhaps they would never realize, even on their deathbeds, that they were unknowingly being turned into a chain that could hold everyone else back.

Especially during important exams and class activities in the future, the chain's effects would become increasingly obvious, and it would ensnare more and more people.

As for the mastermind pulling all the strings, no one would ever be able to see who he was.

Because when faced with absolute strength, those who didn't join had only one fate: elimination.