Bribery

Honami Ichinose decided to take action. She had spent only 50,000 points to obtain something so valuable, and now she knew what to do. The next steps were obvious.

The remaining matter was communicating with the Student Council. She no longer needed to trouble Agent 17, either. Honami Ichinose also decided that once this was over, she had to spend points to buy out the information.

There was still some time. Most importantly, she needed to use the points she had bought from Class A on the Student Council.

Just then, another message came in.

[If you don't think that'll work, there's another plan. For instance, you could have a traitor appear in your Class B, someone who shows their greed and tries to be clever.

Make the exchange in a place with surveillance cameras. Someone with Class C's personality would cover them up, then beat him up. Of course, if they have any sense, they might confess outright. I doubt they could hold back.

At that point, you can show up with a camera and bring your classmates along to threaten them in return. Like I said, this can be made into a big deal or a small one. Faced with expulsion or suspension on one hand, and compensation on the other, they'll choose the latter.]

But Honami Ichinose still decided to go ahead with the Student Council plan. This one required students from Class B to make a sacrifice. What if she misjudged the situation, or Class C flew into a rage?

Besides, the Student Council might even serve as a deterrent.

[Thank you. I know what to do now. Wait for good news.]

Beihai didn't mind when he saw the message.

He didn't feel like he'd done much. He'd only had to say a few words to get 50,000 points. He was easy to please. Rather than spend his time on this, he might as well think about how to pet a cat later.

Honami Ichinose got fully to work. To be safe, she also took some additional photos, especially given the current situation.

Things were far from good. Whether it was Class C deliberately taking Class B's seats in the library, shoving them around, cutting in line when they were eating in the cafeteria, or pointing and whispering at them—

People had tempers. Before things escalated into further violence, while Class B still had some patience left,

Class C had the upper hand. Photos of them shoving Class B students were already powerful evidence.

As Honami Ichinose watched the photos arrive one after another on her Terminal, she immediately began the second step of her plan: going to the Student Council to work with them.

The Student Council was easy to find at this school. Honami Ichinose felt a little nervous, but she knocked firmly on the door anyway.

She had expected to wait a while. The place felt like some kind of den of danger, and her mind started wandering. What normal school pulled this many strange stunts? Anyone without much experience could easily be intimidated by all the procedures.

But she didn't have to wait long. Two words came from inside: "Come in."

Hearing them, Honami Ichinose turned the doorknob and stepped inside. Unlike the imposing, extravagant room she had imagined, the Student Council office was fairly simple, and not nearly as large as she'd expected.

It was much like an ordinary office, with desks, a phone, and documents. The Student Council President and the vice president were there, and a few chairs stood in front of the desks, presumably for visitors.

Looking at the scene, Honami Ichinose tried to encourage herself. But when she thought about what she was about to do, she couldn't help feeling a little uncertain.

Still, she reassured herself. It was only the Student Council. She'd been Student Council President in middle school, so this wasn't all that different. It was just a little more real. That's right. You can do this, Honami.

Her gaze gradually grew more resolute. Remembering why she had come, she knew she had to stay strong. Everything was for Class B, for everyone!

Honami Ichinose was good at self-sacrifice. Or perhaps it was fair to say that this kind of thing was quite common in this country: doing everything for someone else, then bearing the burden alone.

A simple You don't want to, do you? and they'd win the whole game and rise to the top!

"Excuse me, is there something you need?"

The Student Council secretary, Akane Tachibana, saw the other girl standing just inside the door, apparently lost in thought, and reminded her.

She glanced covertly at the person sitting in the Student Council President's seat. Although the Student Council President didn't show it, she might not be in the best mood, especially with the vice president here.

At that moment, Honami Ichinose came back to her senses. Feeling a little embarrassed, she bowed ninety degrees. Her gaze had cleared, but the resolve in it remained unchanged.

"I'm terribly sorry. I, um, got a little distracted just now."

The Student Council President didn't seem to mind. Instead, she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity,

"That's all right. What brings you here?"

Honami Ichinose knew that hesitating would only make things worse, so she took out the photos without hesitation, laying out her crude chain of evidence on the Student Council President's desk.

"It's like this: students from Class C have been harassing and bullying the students in our class. I need the Student Council to step in and help."

The Student Council President picked up the photos to look them over. The secretary and vice president also came over, curious. Each one showed some trivial pushing and shoving. They only proved that Class C had their sights set on Class B. They were far too weak to serve as evidence.

The evidence was so poor that they instinctively thought this girl wasn't very capable. It was tedious and childish. They could just send her away with a few words.

The president gave the secretary a look, signaling that she should make the girl's departure a little easier.

The vice president shook his head, already losing interest. The only thing worth noting was how pretty the girl was. He could keep her as a pet to play with.

The secretary caught her president's glance and gave a discreet nod. Then, with a kindly expression, she started to speak.

"It's like this. These—"

But before she could finish, Honami Ichinose made another move.

She brought out a hefty 4 million points. It was incredibly difficult for a first-year student to come up with that many.

Two million had come from a deal with Class A, and the other two million from students in her own class.

She didn't offer it all at once. Instead, she displayed the amount.

The moment the points were on the table, the Student Council President knew what was going on. She immediately raised a hand to stop her secretary from continuing. The bribe wasn't particularly clever—in fact, it was crude, especially in front of so many people.

But those 4 million points were undeniably proof of her means, enough to pique their interest.

Honami Ichinose spoke slowly. "Points can buy things, can't they? Or, if this works out, we can share whatever terms Class C agrees to.

"I'm willing to share either the letter of apology or the compensation."

The vice president reassessed her in surprise, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! Interesting. What are you trying to do? Hahaha, I'd be happy to help out. This sounds like fun."

After the Student Council vice president made his intentions clear, the Student Council President looked at him warily, as if suspicious of something. It was obvious she didn't want him involved in this matter.

Or, to be more precise, the Student Council President didn't want the vice president meddling in the affairs of the lower-ranked classes.

So Honami Ichinose had gone from being on the defensive to taking the initiative.

"All right. We understand that Class C has engaged in serious acts of violence. We'll deal with it immediately and arrange for you to negotiate with them.

"And turn off your voice recorder. We're not going to go back on our word over something like this. Besides, recording us shows that you don't trust either side to honor the deal."