Inside the karaoke room, Takahashi took the drink offered by the blue-haired girl and thanked her.
"If you want to make a deal, shouldn't you start by telling me your name?"
"Haha, my apologies. I'm Takahashi Shinma, a student in Class D. Ryuuen—or should I call you the leader of Class C? I think you'll be quite happy to make this deal with me."
Ryuuen glanced at the drink in his hand and said:
"Let's hear it."
"I'm sure you've noticed some things about this school by now. We get a hefty one hundred thousand points each month, there are free items at the convenience store, and the cafeteria offers free fruit and vegetable meals."
Seeing a hint of seriousness in Ryuuen's eyes as he stared at him, Takahashi knew the deal was already halfway to being made.
"So what do you want to trade?"
"Straight to the point. I'll give it to you plainly: give me five hundred thousand points, and when you make a move against Class D, I'll let it slide once."
Before Ryuuen could answer, the blue-haired girl beside him yelled at Takahashi:
"Five hundred thousand? Are you crazy? That's a month's worth of points for five people!"
"Come on, five hundred thousand isn't much. If you can crush Class D in one go, it'll be worth it, won't it? You'll have one less pursuer on your heels."
"Ibuki."
At Ryuuen's words, the blue-haired girl glared at him and fell silent.
"I'll accept the deal, but five hundred thousand is too much. I'll give you one hundred thousand."
"Five hundred thousand."
"Two hundred thousand."
"Five hundred thousand, Ryuuen. You should understand that my agreement not to interfere will remain valid for all three years. That's worth far more than five hundred thousand."
"Three hundred thousand. That's my final offer."
"Three hundred and fifty thousand. That's my final offer too."
"Deal."
Looking at the more than 430,000 points on his phone, Takahashi drained his drink, stood up with a smile, and said:
"Pleasure doing business with you. And thanks for the hospitality."
After watching Takahashi leave, Ibuki, who was beside Ryuuen, finally couldn't hold back:
"Are you crazy? That was 350,000 points. All for him to stay out of it once?"
"You don't get it. I always thought everyone in Class D was trash. I didn't expect there'd be a clever one among them. If we use those 350,000 points well, we can crush Class D in one fell swoop. It's worth it."
When he got to the classroom, the three boys gathered around him.
"Takahashi, I made a group chat for the boys in our class. All the boys are in it except Takagahara and you. Want me to add you?"
"Sure."
As Takahashi accepted Ike's invitation to join the boys' group chat, Yamauchi looked around and called Ayanokouji over, speaking in a low voice:
"There's something I want to announce. I'm only telling you guys."
"What is it? Why so secretive?"
"Yesterday, Sakura confessed to me."
Looking at Yamauchi's face, Takahashi fell silent.
"What? Really?"
It was Kanji Ike who spoke, sounding anxious. During the first-day introductions, he'd said that his goal was to get a girlfriend before anyone else.
"Yeah, but I'll definitely turn her down. She's not the kind of girl who stands out."
"Why turn her down? Even if she isn't cute, you could still give dating her a try."
"Heh, I'm a star pitcher. Unless they're on Kushida's or Hasebe's level, I'm not interested."
Takahashi glanced at the empty seat to his right, feeling utterly helpless. Would Yamauchi dare say that if Sakura were here?
"Anyway, enough about that."
Perhaps afraid he'd give himself away by saying too much, Yamauchi changed the subject.
"We've got swimming class soon. Are you guys ready?"
"Of course. I'm an athlete."
Ken Sudō answered, flexing his muscles as he spoke.
"That's not what I mean. You wouldn't get it. Ike, you should understand, right?"
As he spoke, Yamauchi flashed a lecherous grin.
Ike immediately grinned lecherously too.
"How could anyone wear anything but a swimsuit to swimming class? We'll get to admire those beautiful girls' figures!"
Feeling several gazes from around the room, Takahashi spoke up at once:
"Ahem, class is about to start. I think I'll use the restroom first. Ayanokouji, are you coming?"
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