"Sorry, could I take up a little of everyone's free time?"
The clear bell announcing the end of the school day rang out, and Ichinose stepped up to the podium.
The students, who had been getting ready to leave in twos and threes, stopped in their tracks.
"I wanted to share a few things with everyone about Personal Points."
With one hand pressed to her chest, she looked earnestly at her classmates.
"Maybe everyone's focused on Class Points right now, but I think Personal Points also have an important role to play."
"They're not just for everyday purchases. They can also..."
Following the discussion at lunch, Ichinose had discovered a school rule that allowed Personal Points to be transferred between classes.
She worked hard to convey to everyone that Personal Points were important, too.
"Even if it's true that two million Personal Points can be transferred to Class A, I don't think anyone has ever managed that feat."
"I understand that Personal Points might be important to some extent, but I don't see how we could do anything with the little amount we can save up right now."
A boy leaning against the back door spoke loudly enough for the whole class to hear.
Arms crossed, he stared straight at Ichinose.
"An individual might not have much power, but we're a group of forty people!"
Ichinose responded to his comment.
"So you mean everyone should contribute a certain number of Personal Points, as insurance against unforeseen events in the future?"
"Right. I think Personal Points will definitely come in handy in unexpected ways, so I hope we can make them a resource for the class."
"No matter what difficulties we face in the future, at least we won't be caught completely unprepared."
Ichinose smiled slightly at the boy who had spoken up.
"Honami-chan makes a good point! Even with around sixty thousand Personal Points deposited every month like we get now, we still have plenty left over after covering our daily expenses."
Amakura raised her hand and responded as if she were speaking up in class.
I watched in silence, waiting quietly.
Gradually, a few more voices in the classroom began to agree.
I waited, waiting for the right moment.
I glanced discreetly at the few people who seemed to want to speak but were holding back.
They clearly didn't want to hand over some of their Personal Points, so why didn't they have the courage to stand up and object?
The two girls who had complained about their Personal Points being reduced that morning clenched their hands tightly.
They exchanged glances, but neither was willing to speak first.
It wasn't just because Ichinose was the one making the proposal. They also had no reasonable grounds to object.
If they spoke up recklessly, there might truly be no room to negotiate.
It seemed Ichinose was about to bring the situation under her control...
"I have a question."
Ichinose hadn't seemed to expect me to speak. A slightly puzzled expression crossed her face.
"If everyone contributes a certain amount of Personal Points, whose account will they be kept in?"
"There isn't an extra account for managing the class's Personal Points yet, is there?"
"Well... I'll ask Teacher Hoshinomiya about that."
"And if it turns out there isn't one, who will you hand this huge sum of Personal Points over to?"
"Well..."
"Answer me, Ichinose."
Ichinose apparently hadn't expected me to be so aggressive. For the first time, she looked a little flustered.
Sou Shibata had somehow ended up beside me and discreetly kicked me.
Ignoring his hint, I stared at the tense Ichinose.
"It wouldn't make anyone feel comfortable to have someone else look after such a huge amount of Personal Points."
"If it's Honami, I have no objections!"
Shiranami Chihiro stood up of her own accord.
As everyone's gaze swarmed over her, she blushed and sat back down.
I stopped staring at Ichinose and instead let my gaze drift toward the two girls.
"Why should Ichinose be the one to look after these points?"
"I understand that everyone trusts Ichinose, but that doesn't mean I have to trust her too."
"Sure, what she says makes sense. But wouldn't it also work to keep enough Personal Points for ourselves and contribute them when the class needs them?"
Sou Shibata frowned, as if he couldn't understand what I was doing.
I'd been there at lunch, too. I'd practically agreed to this plan.
In fact, I could even be called one of the people who'd helped push it forward.
So why was I contradicting myself now?
"Hajima."
Ryota, who always called me by my first name, spoke stiffly.
"Can you guarantee that you'll contribute your share of Personal Points when the class needs it?"
"Well... I can't say for sure."
I looked a little flustered as I stood up to face Ryota, stumbling over my words.
"Would you mind telling us how many Personal Points you have in your account right now?"
"Why are you suddenly asking me that? What does it have to do with what I said?"
My voice dropped, then cracked despite my efforts to hold it back.
Ryota adjusted his glasses. His usually expressionless face suddenly showed a hint of mockery.
"You've got barely more than the sixty thousand that was deposited this morning left in your account, don't you?"
"You can't even manage your own points properly, yet you're trying to use a bogus argument to undermine the right thing."
Scorn, mockery, indifference, and worry all converged around me.
I looked to the few people who hadn't agreed with Ichinose at first, as if asking them for help.
Some looked away; others ignored me.
They'd put me on the opposing side.
I sat down, feeling a little dejected.
I seemed completely deflated and stopped paying attention to everything that followed.
To be honest, I'd underestimated Ichinose's influence.
Not a single person had even stood up to oppose her.
I'd originally planned to play the role Ryota had just performed.
But if nobody played opposite me, there'd be no point in playing my original role.
Luckily, Ryota was quick-witted enough to step into the role I'd originally intended to play.
After all,
Getting people to understand an event purely and deeply is extremely difficult.
Even if this proposal passed, that didn't mean everyone would accept it wholeheartedly.
Only by creating an opposing side could you make most people more firmly take your side.
Once you drew a clear line between the two sides,
your enemies were enemies, and your allies were allies.
When I tried to win over those who were still wavering, they readily abandoned me, who was clearly losing ground.
In other words, no matter how unwilling they were, once they boarded Ichinose's ship, there was no turning back.
Besides, Ichinose genuinely wanted what was best for them and was taking responsibility for the class.
But simply doing good things wasn't enough to make people appreciate them.
There had to be a comparison.
Only then could Ichinose's efforts stand out as especially admirable.
There's a saying that left a deep impression on me:
If you're always good to others, it's as if you've never been good to them at all.
Because the people receiving that kindness rarely stop to think about it.
Before you continue