Do you want to buy a rule for 500,000?

"A trade... can I trade myself over?"

"Don't believe her. She just wants your body. And if anyone's trading, it should be me."

"..."

"I'm honestly jealous. Yuki, when will I ever be this popular?"

"Don't cause trouble, Shibata."

"Hey!"

Right after that, the two homeroom teachers standing at the entrance stepped into the classroom.

So teachers really do have a natural authority over students. The classroom, which had been a bit noisy moments before, fell instantly silent. An invisible pressure filled the room.

"Everyone, I am the leader of Class B, first year—Yuki Gyakukai. I am formally submitting a trade request to the students of Class A."

The previously silent classroom once again buzzed with whispers. Everyone was puzzled by the term "leader."

"Doesn't this school not have class representative positions?"

"Leader... huh. Interesting."

"So what does that mean? They've had a hostile vibe ever since they walked in."

Yuki Gyakukai narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled at the crowd.

"Literally what it sounds like. I've already unified the entire Class B."

Suddenly, a large, bald student with a stern expression stood up:

"I'm Kouhei Katsuragi. Gyakukai, could you explain in detail what you mean by 'trade' and 'class leader'?"

He was basically Class A's spokesperson, but he'd hit the nail on the head.

"Everyone, you don't actually think the school will let you coast through these three years tuition-free, then freely choose your careers after graduation, do you?"

"And with them handing you 100,000 points every month to spend however you like—do you really think you're worth that?"

The crowd fell silent, thinking it over. After all, they were normal people. From the moment they enrolled, or at least after learning about this school, they'd had their doubts.

Because 100,000 points a month was just too absurd.

Three grades, four classes per grade—thinking about it, the government's support for this school was terrifying.

But it wasn't like they hadn't considered it. Their homeroom teacher just hadn't explained the rules yesterday.

"Hint: This school has hidden rules. The upper grades don't have full rosters—every class is missing people. The school provides free food and daily necessities each month."

"Get it?"

Yuki Gyakukai still wore that cheerful grin.

The Class A homeroom teacher standing at the door narrowed her eyes and glanced at Hoshinomiya beside her.

"Hoshinomiya, you didn't leak any of that, did you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm the most rule-abiding person. He figured out those rules yesterday while I was still going over the student handbook."

"If that's the case, then maybe this year's first-years will repeat what happened with the second-years. Could be another Nagumo."

Hey now, I'm not that kind of person.

"Gyakukai, I'm Arisu Sakayanagi from Class A. Let me ask—how many of the hidden rules have you already figured out?"

Below, a frail, almost loli-like girl with a cane slowly stood up. She had pure white hair, though it was tightly pressed down by the beret on her head.

Her complexion was pale, with visible veins on her arms and forehead. Even so, she kept a gentle smile as she looked up at Yuki Gyakukai on the stage.

"More than you think. But it depends on how many points your class is willing to spend to buy these hidden rules."

Arisu Sakayanagi didn't get upset at the vague answer. Instead, she kept smiling and asked:

"So how does the trade work? Can you clarify the price?"

"500,000 points per hidden rule."

As the price was announced, many in Class A gasped. 500,000 points for one hidden rule meant five people would have to give up all their points just to buy a single rule.

So far, they had no idea whether these rules would benefit them, so it just felt too expensive.

Some even started speculating about what these so-called hidden rules really were.

"No, 500,000 points per hidden rule is too much. Even if no one in our class spent a single point since yesterday, we'd only have 4 million points total. That means even using all our points, we could only buy eight hidden rules..."

Even the Class B group standing behind him felt that 500,000 per rule was indeed a bit steep.

In response, Yuki Gyakukai slowly waved his hand, signaling Kouhei Katsuragi to stop talking:

"500,000 points per hidden rule is just my highest expected price. You can actually negotiate—as long as you don't go below my lowest acceptable price. But..."

He paused, slowly sweeping his gaze across everyone in the classroom.

Among them, Masumi Kamuro, sitting in her seat, glared at him through gritted teeth. Her expression looked like she might charge up and kill him in another second.

And that somewhat familiar girl, Kamito, was lying on her desk, eyes sparkling as she stared straight at him.

"Class A, are you all certain you're willing to purchase the hidden rule?"

No response. No telling what they were thinking.

"I won't pry. Every student in Class A has the right to choose.

Write down the points you'd pay for the rule on your paper, and we'll settle on the average. But mind you, don't go below my expectations."

For a moment, Class A's members began to ponder. This, after all, concerned the class's interests—they had to take it seriously.

Buying the rule was important, no doubt about it.

The upper limit was already locked in, but the lower limit had some leeway. So to avoid falling short of expectations, they started eyeing each other, trying to gauge what others were thinking.

They had to ensure the class gained benefits. Even in the worst case, they couldn't let the class take a loss.

They thought this way only because they didn't understand the hidden rule.

"A little reminder, Class A folks—time's running out~" Yuki Gyakukai, standing on the podium, flashed the time on his phone with a grin.

In an instant, their minds went blank. Most people's train of thought was shattered, a sense of urgency flooding their heads.

"Done writing, Yuki."

The tiny Ai Morishita hopped out of her seat and pattered up to the podium.

"Kamito, we're not that close yet, are we? Is it okay to just call me by my name?" He took the slip of paper she handed over and tapped her little head in exasperation.

"Ow!" Ai Morishita's usual airheaded face instantly scrunched up into a bitter gourd.

And then, with the first one breaking the ice, the others quickly finished writing on their papers and handed them up to the podium.