Beihai was a little surprised after learning what had happened, but soon decided it made sense. This school didn't divide students into advanced and regular classes. Instead, it used a crude system of social stratification,
based on society's own categories of elites, ordinary middle-class people, and so on.
Class A consisted of social elites—or, in other words, the management class. Spending points to secure certain benefits was nothing to them. On the contrary, they came out ahead, pursuing long-term strategic goals.
Class B might be made up of ordinary people, the law-abiding kind.
Class C was a bunch of ruffians. Naturally, they approached deals with the same kind of thug mentality: extorting protection money and bullying the weak. And they were supposed to pay for things? In the old days, people would've had to pay tribute to them instead.
But if a kingpin emerged among those thugs, the danger they posed would shoot up dramatically.
Class D was known as the defective class. They were probably a bunch of oddballs, pleasant on the surface but possibly awful behind the scenes—whether because of their personalities or their past experiences.
Now, when a group of law-abiding citizens faced off against shameless thugs, the thugs would naturally have the upper hand if no authority stepped in. After all, people often said that good people deserved to be bullied.
After hearing all that, Beihai started discussing it with Honami Ichinose, typing out a reply: [What does the school say? Have you told a teacher?]
When Honami Ichinose saw his message, she glanced at it and immediately began typing a reply. She seemed anxious; she really was at a loss.
After all, everyone in Class B knew the rules now. Under those circumstances, who knew what Class C might do? They could bully and harass them, or drag someone from Class B somewhere without cameras and beat them up. Anything was possible!
[It's no use. Unless we can find concrete evidence to accuse them, neither the teachers nor the Student Council will take action.
I asked our homeroom teacher, but it seems like things like this are handled by the Student Council. Our teacher can only recommend that they look into it.]
This message opened Beihai's eyes all over again. This school sure had a lot of bizarre policies. They'd said they would crack down hard on bullying at the start of the school year, so what was this supposed to be?
The students couldn't even be kept safe. The school was practically encouraging this. Were they trying to simulate the dark corners of society?
But at the end of the day, these students were just kids who'd graduated from junior high. Did the school really think their minds were made of steel? Weren't they afraid someone might cosplay as a human cannonball by jumping off a school building?
If this was supposed to be a simulation of society, then requiring critical evidence before taking action and letting things descend into chaos—how was that supposed to make anyone stronger?
Beihai sat there for quite a while, then finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
[Well, I actually have a way to deal with this. You see, evidence, bullying, and accusations don't matter at this school.
Just like the school itself says, strength comes first, and points can buy anything. All you have to do is bribe the Student Council.
They'll help you handle it. I can't promise it'll put an end to the problem forever, but we can make them extort Class C for extra compensation. We can all get in on the shakedown.]
It was perfectly normal for the Student Council to have the authority to intervene. Leaving aside the Student Council members Beihai had known in his previous life, who might have behaved themselves around certain teachers,
they were still the teachers' attack dogs. Once they sank their teeth into something, they could be vicious, and they had a great deal of authority.
Sakura Country took things even further. Even in anime, you could see that student councils usually had considerable authority. At this school, that power would only be amplified.
Here was a bold guess: they might even be able to influence the school administration. However you looked at it, there was no way they couldn't put a stop to bullying.
This was supposed to be a simulation of society, wasn't it? Bribery was an art, too. Ever heard of pointing the fish's head toward the school board?
Honami Ichinose didn't send anything for a while. For a long time, she just showed as typing. After all that, she finally sent a single [Huh?]
[Can we make the Student Council do what we want by paying them points? Would they agree to that? It just feels a little... unrealistic.]
Since this was the first time she'd tried it, even her messages came out haltingly. She seemed very nervous. She probably hadn't done anything like this before.
[No, the opposite. It's perfectly realistic. Whether it's the school's rule that points can buy anything or the society this school is trying to simulate, it all makes perfect sense.
Don't worry, you won't lose out. And there's no need to worry that the Student Council won't take the points, because the Student Council doesn't have a monopoly on power.
Bullying can be treated as a serious or a minor matter. Even if it never happened, the Student Council could just bang a gavel and declare it had. They could go further and act first, report later. The Student Council President might not even realize what they'd done until it was already settled.
Besides, this really did happen, which makes it even easier to handle. I think they'd favor compensation over expulsion. If the benefits are big enough, no one can resist taking action.
Whether Class C as a whole—or the value of Class C—can wriggle free of this bullying incident will depend entirely on how greedy the Student Council is and how kind you are.
After all, once they back down, they won't get to decide what kind of compensation they have to sign off on.]
Honami Ichinose thought something felt off. It was April, so why had the air around her suddenly turned so cold? It was only a bullying incident,
yet it could crush Class C outright. Even if they managed to recover, it would take a long time, and Class C's leader could forget about uniting the class. This was too serious; no one would obey him anymore.
It was as simple as that: rank mattered. As long as the points were there, they could use Class C as a cash cow, invent charges, and find countless ways to deal with them.
Besides, they were only first-years. The Student Council was usually made up of second- and third-years, and the current first-years hadn't joined yet. Would the upperclassmen on the Student Council go easy on them? They hardly knew one another. People didn't share the same joys and sorrows.
Honami Ichinose felt a little afraid. If she hadn't seen Beihai's offer to sell points on the forum, if she hadn't contacted him first or paid him points, who would these tactics have been used against? What would have happened to Class B?
She couldn't bear to think about it. Class B was in such an awkward position—it could be called the most dangerous one. The classes below wanted to climb up, while the classes above watched them like hawks.
So no matter who it was, as long as they established contact with Agent 17, Class B would definitely end up in the crosshairs.
Without realizing it, Honami Ichinose let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, thank goodness she'd been the one to contact Agent 17 that day.
Thinking of that, she couldn't help gripping her Terminal tighter. No, she had to secure his services exclusively. Sometimes you didn't need to use a talent like him; keeping him on the payroll wouldn't cost much. But you absolutely couldn't let him get away.
Otherwise, the world would be turned upside down, and she'd be driven crazy too!
Before you continue