There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

"Koenji, wait a moment."

After classes let out at noon, Mu Tianchen called out to Rokusuke Koenji, who was about to leave.

He had gone to Beauty Bro because, when it came to news about the upper years, there was probably no one who knew more than he did.

After all, he was always hanging around with upper-year girls...

Asking him directly would save a lot of trouble.

"Oh? Has this mysterious boy finally decided to make a move?"

Koenji stopped and turned around, fixing Mu Tianchen with a half-amused look.

Mysterious boy? Who knew where he'd gotten that description from. Whatever. There was no point arguing over it.

Mu Tianchen glanced at the crowd around them. Classes had just let out, and talking here would inevitably draw the attention of students passing by.

"Do you have time? Let's find somewhere else to talk."

"Time? As a top-quality man, my time is very valuable. I should be spending it with beautiful women," Koenji said. Then his gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked at Mu Tianchen.

"But for you, mysterious boy, I suppose I can spare a tiny bit of my precious time."

"Then let's go." Mu Tianchen didn't want to waste any more time talking and led him straight out of the school building.

A café would have been a good place to talk, but most of them were in Birch Shopping Center. It was crowded there, and with school just letting out, it obviously wasn't a good choice.

So Mu Tianchen took him to a nearby teahouse instead. It was also suitable for a conversation, and there were fewer people around.

At the teahouse, Mu Tianchen ordered two cups of the house tea at the counter, then took a seat in the back with Koenji.

Mu Tianchen looked around. As he'd expected, the teahouse was nearly empty. It couldn't have been better.

After the server brought their tea, Koenji picked up his cup and took a small, leisurely sip.

"You have good taste," Koenji said, setting down his cup and closing his eyes as he savored the flavor.

"Thanks. Let's get to the point. I want to know what's going on in the upper years."

Koenji slowly opened his eyes, seemingly not surprised at all by Mu Tianchen's question.

"As far as I know, the entire second year is currently under the control of one person: Miyabi Nagumo."

It was hard not to be surprised that Nagumo controlled the entire year. The fact that he could do that under this school's system showed just how formidable he was.

"What kind of person is Miyabi Nagumo?"

"Him? Heh. He's the Student Council vice president. His academic ability and leadership skills are both exceptional. To be honest, I admire him a little. Still, he believes in putting individual strength above all else."

For someone as willful and arrogant as Beauty Bro to praise him, Nagumo must really be impressive. But from what Mu Tianchen had observed lately, the school unquestionably promoted putting the group first. Nagumo, on the other hand, put the individual first...

"He values people with outstanding individual abilities and treats them as rivals. After defeating all the opponents in his year, he turned his attention to the third years."

"And focused on the leader of Class 3-A, who is also the current Student Council president—Horikita Manabu."

After finishing, Koenji picked up his tea again.

Honestly, Mu Tianchen thought that with Nagumo's current abilities, he could easily stay in Class 3-A and graduate without a hitch.

But Nagumo seemed to enjoy a challenge. He'd even made an enemy of Horikita Manabu, the Student Council president from another year. Perhaps he thought school life would be too boring otherwise.

As for his belief in individual strength above all else... It had its pros and cons.

At least if that philosophy were put into practice, it would give outstanding students outside Class A a chance. But if everyone acted solely in their own interests, it would be bad for class unity.

"So if you're looking for help from the upper years, I'd advise you to stay away from the second years," Koenji said after finishing his tea.

Was he warning him? If Mu Tianchen did anything too unusual, it might draw Nagumo's attention.

Though it might already be too late.

The vice president of the Table Tennis Club he'd met last time seemed to be from Class 2-A. If he'd told Nagumo about what happened, Nagumo might already have noticed him.

"I'll keep that in mind." Mu Tianchen politely accepted Koenji's warning. "What about the third years?"

"The third years? There's not much to say. Class 3-A is far ahead of the other classes under Horikita Manabu's leadership."

President Horikita really was strong. No wonder Nagumo had chosen him as a rival.

"But..." Koenji changed tack. "Recently, Nagumo seems to have been giving Class 3-B a lot of support. Their Class Points have been climbing unusually fast."

Beauty Bro had even noticed that? As expected of him. If he put that much thought into Class D, wouldn't he crush all the other classes?

It seemed he really wasn't interested in his own class's competition.

To be honest, Mu Tianchen wasn't interested either. If not for the Class Points benefits Teacher Chazhu had offered, he wouldn't have bothered.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

As time went on, Koenji grew a little impatient and put his legs up on the table.

Thankfully, there weren't many people around, so no one noticed them. Otherwise, he would have drawn more contemptuous stares.

"Um... Could you get me a copy of the past exam papers for the upcoming Midterm Exam?"

"Past exam papers? Ha! So that's why you called me out."

Koenji was smart. He immediately figured it out.

"150,000, plus 100,000 for the information I just gave you. That's 250,000 Class Points in total."

Mu Tianchen: "..."

As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Koenji was, at the end of the day, a businessman.

His family was wealthy enough that he wouldn't care about this amount.

But this was a fully enclosed school with a unified currency.

After getting used to a luxurious lifestyle outside, he was bound to find himself short of cash.

"Deal." Mu Tianchen hesitated for a moment before replying.

He wasn't short on Class Points, but if he did the math, this was enough to cover several months of living expenses. It still hurt to part with them.

Mu Tianchen could have gone to a student in a lower third-year class and bought the papers for fewer Class Points, but he didn't think it was worth the trouble.

First, it would be a hassle. Second, Koenji deserved to earn more Class Points. Some things might look expensive, but the benefits they brought were worth far more than the points saved.