Class Points? Transfer Mechanism? I Get It!

The point exchange was complete, and the two naturally added each other's contact info.

Putting down her phone, Ichinose asked curiously, "Tsukishima-kun, are you short on points?"

Tsukishima shook his head. "Not really. I'm frugal. Not counting your 200,000, I still have about 70,000 left. It's more about the future."

"The future?"

"Yeah, the future. After we split up this morning, I thought about it some more. I feel like these points definitely have something else going on. For example, a class—as a collective—doesn't it have some kind of scoring standard too?"

Tsukishima stroked his chin. "Look, there are plenty of students and plenty of cameras. But could the school have people specifically watching the monitors to track each student's behavior, then add or subtract points based on that?"

"Whether in school or in society, it's basically one layer managing another. Like the principal managing the department heads, the department heads managing the homeroom teachers, the homeroom teachers managing the students. This school should be the same."

"Maybe classes also have a point system. A student's performance reflects on those points, and then at the start of the next month, the school distributes points based on those class points."

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes, his voice shifting from conversation to a low mutter:

"Tch. So this is telling students that no matter how good you are individually, if you can't make the group succeed, you're useless? Maybe you can even switch classes? After all, moving to a better environment is also a skill, right?"

Ichinose blinked and whispered, "Switch... classes?"

"Yeah. But to prove your value and get a better class to accept you, you'd need achievements. In this school, achievements are points. The cost to transfer classes probably isn't cheap."

"Maybe there's a class promotion mechanism too? The highest score is A, the lowest is D?"

Tsukishima suddenly snapped back to reality. "Sorry, I get like this sometimes. Once I start thinking, I lose myself."

Ichinose quickly waved her hands. "No, no, it's fine! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this information!"

Tsukishima looked at her, puzzled. "Why not tell anyone? It's all just my guesses."

Ichinose was stunned. "I can tell others?"

"Why not? School is a place to learn. Besides studying, nothing else is that important. You have to prioritize. But your Class B needs to be careful. If class transfers are really possible, Class C might come after you. The school would probably welcome that kind of competition."

"Guess that's a conglomerate for you—teaching scheming from the cradle. Damn."

In the office.

Hoshinomiya squinted, still wearing that smile. She pressed the mute button and looked at Chabashira, who had stopped writing at some point. "Sae-chan, that kid really is clever. But is it really okay to let him leak such important information like this?"

"Class D probably knows by now too, right? Looks like you might actually get promoted this time?"

"My, my. Such a smart kid, wasted in Class D. Don't you think so, Sae-chan?"

Chabashira started writing again. "Whatever. Just a slightly clever defective product. There's never a shortage of those."

On the bench.

Tsukishima suddenly turned to Ichinose. He rubbed his hands together like a fly, making Ichinose instinctively lean back.

"Ichinose-san, you can tell this information to anyone you want. But, you know~ I might not have any points coming in from now on, so... heh heh..."

Ichinose patted her chest and let out a long sigh, shooting Tsukishima a slightly reproachful look at his sudden change in demeanor. "This information is worth more. I can give you 300,000 points for it, but I need to verify it first."

Ichinose Honami, the legendary Archangel. Just a hint of a smile from her could make the second-year goblins drop their guard!

The easiest way was to just ask a teacher directly. That's what she did this morning.

Tsukishima grinned. That gave him 570,000 points. If he spent carefully, it would be enough for one semester. As for next semester... he'd worry about that then.

Ichinose suddenly looked at Tsukishima, hesitated, then spoke up. "Tsukishima-kun, maybe you should tell Class D about this. According to your reasoning, it would benefit you too. At least you'd get more points next month."

Tsukishima shook his head without hesitation. "No. I'm not close to them."

"Besides, it's only been a week since school started. They're still excited about their 100,000 points. If I tell them now, not only will they not listen, they'll probably mock me. Why bother?"

"But if you want to tell them, go ahead. They might actually think twice if the Archangel Ichinose says it."

Ichinose blinked. "Archangel or not... why would they believe a stranger from another class?"

"You can go find Yamauchi Haruki or Ike Kanji from our class. Kushida Kikyo works too. You probably know her. The first two are goblins. Shine your Archangel light on them, and they'll show their true colors. As for Kushida-san... you'll see when you meet her."

"Calling your own classmates goblins isn't very nice. But Tsukishima-kun, you're really kind. Deep down, you do care about your class..."

Tsukishima cut her off:

"Stop, stop, stop! The reason I got placed in Class D is probably because I knocked out a gal's tooth in middle school. So 'kind' has nothing to do with me."

"As for whether to tell Class D, that's your call. If you do, I might get more points next month. If you don't, it doesn't affect me."

Suddenly, Tsukishima stopped. His eyes darted.

A grin spread across his face. "Your Holiness the Archangel, after you verify it, how about I don't take that 300,000 from you?"

Ichinose was taken aback. "Huh?"

"Let's partner up." Tsukishima counted on his fingers. "You tell Class A—charge them 500,000. Tell Class C—charge 500,000. Tell Class D—charge 500,000 too. That's 1.5 million total. We split it fifty-fifty. 750,000 each."

He winked. "What do you think, Your Holiness the Archangel?"

Ichinose rolled her eyes at the "Archangel" title.

"A partnership works. I could use the points too. 500,000 from each of two classes..."

"No, no, no. It's three classes. Class D has to pay up too! So if it goes smoothly, we each get 750,000!"

At this point, Ichinose truly believed Tsukishima didn't care about Class D.

"Alright. Then the contract..."

"Simple. Either find a teacher or find the student council. I suggest you first confirm the information with a teacher. If it's right, ask about the contract. If it's wrong, forget it. If the teacher won't answer, go to the student council and spend points to buy the answer."

Ichinose nodded. She quietly slipped her hand into her pocket and ended the call with Hoshinomiya.

Then she dialed again.