Asking for Help

Sae Chabashira pushed open the classroom door and immediately sensed that something was different. At this time of day, the class was never this quiet.

Half the students were watching her, as if they were waiting for some kind of answer. Some of the others were looking at Haruki Yamauchi and Beihai.

Sae Chabashira was Class D's homeroom teacher. She knew her students' names, and from what she saw, she could guess what had happened. There'd probably been a conflict, and now they were waiting to see how she'd deal with it.

Seeing the scene, Sae almost laughed. Did this mean the cameras had caught the whole conflict?

They really had some nerve! She should have known better. This bunch of defective products in Class D might have one special student among them this year, but that wouldn't change the class's essential nature.

Sae was in a terrible mood, and it sank even lower. Still, she picked up a piece of chalk and continued teaching, acting as if nothing had happened. Unless someone spoke up first, she couldn't be bothered to get involved.

It wasn't just because they were in the middle of an exam. Most teachers in Sakura Country would keep their heads down and ignore the bad atmosphere in their classes, even if they noticed it.

Only when a problem affected them personally would they try to smooth things over. Once it became serious, they'd handle it by the book.

Haruki Yamauchi didn't have the guts to report Beihai.

So she left them alone. Besides, both students were utterly unremarkable: one according to his records, the other in appearance.

With the teacher ignoring the matter, Beihai didn't care either.

Still, things might get troublesome later. Yosuke Hirata was a nice guy who'd just tried to break up the fight, and he was popular. He'd definitely come over to talk things through.

The teacher began her lecture, and everyone returned to their own business. But Yosuke Hirata kept glancing at Beihai, clearly planning to have a word with him after class.

Just then, a small paper ball landed on Beihai's desk and rolled in front of him.

Beihai found it a little strange, so he picked it up and slowly unfolded it. There were two words written inside: "Thank you."

He immediately knew who it had come from. He took a sour candy from under his desk, wrapped it in the paper, and flicked it back onto Airisu Sakura's desk.

The paper ball bounced back with two distinct knocks, making it clear there was something inside. Airisu hurriedly opened it, but there was no reply—just a sugar-coated candy. There was so much powdered sugar on it that some had spilled onto the desk.

She sniffed it and caught the fruity scent, along with its sour tang.

Airisu turned to look at Beihai. Her eyes were pitiful, almost misty, as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she put the candy in her mouth. She pressed her lips together and shut her eyes, looking utterly miserable.

For a moment, Beihai felt guilty. Then his amusement chased the guilt away.

Feeling much better, he returned to his studies. Before long, the class ended, and what he'd expected came to pass.

As Yosuke Hirata walked over, Beihai didn't panic. He simply raised his Terminal in apology.

"I have something to take care of, so let's leave it for today. Besides, this was the other person's fault to begin with. I'm not going to apologize."

With that, he turned and left, drawing curious looks from several classmates. Yosuke Hirata was the sort of popular guy whose every move was practically under the whole class's gaze.

And Beihai had hit someone earlier, so naturally, people were watching him too.

A couple of girls seized the opportunity to go comfort Yosuke Hirata. He could only watch Beihai leave the classroom before the girls surrounded him. He managed a slightly bitter smile and did his best to respond to them one by one.

That drew the displeasure of some boys in small cliques—Haruki Yamauchi and the others among them. They thought Yosuke Hirata was such a show-off.

Beihai really did have something to deal with. Just moments ago, his backup brain had sent out a distress signal. The more transactions he made, the longer Mind Sharing lasted, and the deeper their connection became.

Beihai could hardly wait for Honami Ichinose to come to him every day.

By now, five hundred thousand points had been transferred to his Terminal.

Honami Ichinose: "Something's happened—or rather, Class B and I are in trouble."

After receiving the news, Honami Ichinose had acted quickly. In doing so, she clearly couldn't sign an agreement with the school.

If she did, she wouldn't be able to tell her classmates what she'd learned. That was out of the question for her.

That left only the second option: make deals with the other classes and keep her own class in line.

The deal with Class A had gone exceptionally smoothly. Their class was highly united, and she'd received two million points with ease.

But things went wrong when she tried to make a deal with Class C. They weren't united enough to pool that much money. Once they learned that Class B might have some information, though, they decided to try and get it for free. Their methods were pretty underhanded.

Class C was now putting Class B under intense pressure.

Class B could barely take it. Some of them had even been threatened.

Class C really would resort to violence.

Under that kind of pressure, who could guarantee that nobody in Class B would blurt out the rules they'd learned?

Honami Ichinose tried to talk things out with Class C, but it was a complete failure. Class C still wasn't fully united, and Long Yuanxiang, who held considerable influence within the class, simply said,

"Tell us everything you know, and we'll play nice. We'll stop bothering Class B."

Long Yuanxiang was only making that offer because Class C wasn't fully united yet. Otherwise, he'd certainly have added some conditions.

Honami Ichinose: "That's the situation. I'm still hesitating. Should I tell him, for everyone's sake?"

It was obvious that Honami Ichinose was struggling to withstand the pressure. Class C kept harassing them, making it impossible for Class B to have any peace.

Honami Ichinose even regretted going to Class C so early to make a deal. It had drawn their attention too soon, and there was still a whole month left.

If she didn't tell them, Class A could sit back and reap the rewards for the entire month, while Class B suffered heavy losses. Telling them might make them ease up.

But then they'd be giving away everything for nothing. Everyone hated freeloaders, especially when they'd been harassing them for so long. At her wit's end, Honami Ichinose naturally thought of Beihai—especially his promise that he could handle anything.