Moral Blackmail? D Class Genius Borrows Points.

Tsukishima exchanged a few words with Kushida, then glanced at the time: 8:15 PM.

He took out his drawing board, clipped a sheet of paper to it, and picked up a pencil to practice his sketching.

He planned to modify Kushida's facial features and figure, drawing a succubess—once it was colored, he could stick it on his dorm room wall as a poster.

The dorm room fell silent, leaving only the scratching sound of the pencil.

After leaving Tsukishima's dorm, Hirata returned to his own.

"So? Did he agree?"

Yamauchi Haruki's sallow face lit up with a glimmer of hope.

Hirata shook his head, then forced a smile. "Tsukishima didn't agree, but don't worry—I asked him about his part-time job. It's 800 points an hour, and he gets a free dinner."

"It just needs the Chairman's special permission..."

Before he could finish, Ike Kanji's face twisted in dismay. "No way, only 800 points? That's not even enough for a bowl of beef rice. And he's got over a million points—what's wrong with lending us a little?"

"Maybe some of the points we spent on buying info went to him too!"

Yamauchi sighed. "Ugh, even if he'd just lend me 10,000, that'd be fine. We're barely eating, and he's feasting every day. It's depressing."

Sudo sat on his bed and snorted coldly. "That guy doesn't give a damn about any of us! Forget lending points—last time he wouldn't even help with tutoring! And he blamed us for the mistakes!"

Hirata quickly tried to calm them down. "Actually, we've only heard that Tsukishima has that many points. I think he's probably used them all up—why else would he be working a part-time job?"

Ike curled his lip and muttered, "Maybe he's doing it on purpose, afraid people will borrow from him..."

Hirata immediately cut him off. "Alright, that's enough! It's getting late—let's just get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'll go ask the Chairman about it!"

The three of them left.

Hirata sighed, the smile fading from his face. He lay down on his bed, exhausted, and mulled over what he would say to the Chairman tomorrow.

Tsukishima set the finished line art on his desk, took a photo, and sent it to Kushida.

[Tsukishima]: [Little Devil Kushida.JPG] So? How many points do you think Yamauchi would spend?

[Kushida]: [Cat rolling its eyes.JPG] You're such a damn pervert. But Yamauchi doesn't have any points left—he's been eating the mountain vegetable set for days. His face is green.

[Tsukishima]: Too bad. I was thinking of fleecing him.

[Kushida]: [Sneer] You'd better worry about yourself. Someone from Class C spread the word that you've got millions of points. Guess what Hirata Superman, that goody-two-shoes, is going to do?

[Kushida]: Yamauchi already contacted me. Says they're going to corner you tomorrow and make you donate points for the class. What's your plan? Need my help? Just lick my toes and I'll consider it.

[Tsukishima]: [Rolling eyes] Keep your toes for Yamauchi to lick. Moral blackmail on me? Do I even have morals?

[Kushida]: You sure? You'll get isolated and bullied. It'll be rough.

[Tsukishima]: Hah. So tell me—are they isolating me, or am I isolating them? What a joke.

Buzz~

[Ichinose]: Tsukishima-kun, please be careful lately.

[Tsukishima]: I know. The animals from Class C are shouting from the rooftops that I have points and bought info. The geniuses in my class are planning to morally blackmail me. Probably Class C's idea.

[Ichinose]: Huh? You already know? That's good. Do you have a plan to deal with it?

[Tsukishima]: Nope. Moral blackmail is tricky. Morals are secondary—the real problem is they gang up and apply pressure. If you refuse, it turns into kicking chairs and all kinds of harassment.

[Tsukishima]: You could say they're breaking school rules, but they're not really doing anything. The teachers don't want to get involved. You could say they're not breaking rules, but it's still disgusting.

[Ichinose]: So what will you do?

[Tsukishima]: The simplest way is to grab one and beat him cripple—then the rest won't dare to talk. That'd be satisfying, but the consequences are serious.

[Tsukishima]: A more complicated way is to win some over and crush others, but that's not great either. I'd still have to spend points to buy peace. Annoying.

[Tsukishima]: Or I could go the expensive and shameless route—spend 500,000 points to hire Class D second-years to harass them for five months straight. Bump shoulders in the hallway, deliberately provoke them until they snap and get expelled.

[Tsukishima]: Or use interrogation techniques—put a book on their chest and beat them hard. No external injuries, no one would find out.

[Ichinose]: ...That's not really good. There's no big conflict to begin with.

[Tsukishima]: The thing is, you can't give in on this. Give an inch, they'll take a mile. Annoying.

[Ichinose]: Do you need me to do anything?

[Tsukishima]: As expected of the Archangel. But no need—I have my own methods.

The next day, Tsukishima walked into the classroom as usual and sat down at his desk. He could feel some eyes glued to him.

The lunch bell rang.

Tsukishima stood up, planning to head to the cafeteria, when Sudo and his group blocked his desk.

Sudo stepped forward, trying to use his body to intimidate Tsukishima. "You—"

But Tsukishima cut him off. "Starting with 'You bastard,' huh? As expected of you. Alright, cut the crap. Which idiot put you up to this again?"

"You—"

"If you've got something to say, say it. Stop with the 'you this, you that.' Your intelligence is lower than a gorilla's—don't bother with the act."

Sudo instantly exploded with rage, his fists clenched and ready to strike, but Yamauchi and Ike behind him grabbed hold and held him back.

Yamauchi had no choice but to step up himself and state their purpose: "Tsukishima, you bastard, give back the points you spent on buying information! Give back all the points that belong to Class D!"

Ike chimed in from the side: "That's right! As a member of Class D, you don't contribute to the class and still take Class D's points—do you even have this class in your heart?!"

The surrounding students all stopped what they were doing.

Some pulled out their phones to record, others whispered among themselves.

"Is Sudo about to start a fight?"

"Tsukishima's way too arrogant..."

"But come to think of it, does he really have that many points?"

"Maybe he does—he's never once eaten the mountain vegetable set meal!"

"But isn't he working a part-time job? If he really has that many points, why would he work?"

Hirata stepped forward, his face dark, veins bulging on his neck: "Enough!"

Yamauchi suddenly shouted: "Someone saw him going to the Student Council with Ichinose from Class B! He went to sign a contract with her! You say you don't have that many points? Then dare to take out your phone and let us see!"

Ike echoed: "That's right! Take out your phone and show us! Make the points public!"

Hirata took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and forcefully inserted himself between them, looking at Yamauchi and the others: "I said that's enough!"

The class fell silent in an instant.