The Classroom of Power Supremacy Backed by Black Technology Chapter 22

But soon, someone contradicted Shuichi Kanda.

"In that case, I'll take my leave." A cool voice came from behind Shuichi Kanda.

Good, Horikita Suzune! Slapping me in the face right in front of me, huh? I'll remember this grudge!

"Of course, that's your freedom."

With that, Shuichi Kanda glanced at Horikita Suzune and said no more.

"You, come out with me. I have something to ask you."

The beautiful girl Horikita Suzune's solo invitation caught Shuichi Kanda off guard, but recalling what she often did to her seatmate Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, he decided to refuse this tempting offer.

"Sorry, I still need to participate in the follow-up strategy meeting. I can't accompany you."

"If your answer satisfies me, I can pay you 10,000 Private Points. You're always eating expensive set meals to recover your health, so your points should be running low, right."

Huh, so that's how outsiders see me?

Fine, fine, you win.

"Deal."

Shuichi Kanda stood up, nodded at Hirata, and followed Horikita Suzine's footsteps.

"Say what you need to say here."

Once outside the classroom, the surveillance-covered hallway gave Shuichi Kanda a sliver of security.

"Then I'll cut to the chase. What else do you know about this school?"

Horikita Suzine turned around, her gaze burning as she stared at Shuichi Kanda.

Maybe the idiots in the class didn't get it, but she had seen through it from the start—the morning meeting and this after-school strategy session.

On the surface, Hirata was giving orders, but the one truly controlling the rhythm was Shuichi Kanda.

Hirata Yosuke was just a puppet he pushed forward.

"Asking like that makes it hard for me to answer. Isn't 10,000 Private Points too cheap to expect to know everything?"

"Then let me ask this: Is there a way to increase Class Points in this school?"

"Of course there is. The situation is already clear. Since the school has materialized its evaluation of students through the single metric of Class Points, that metric can't possibly be set in stone.

If the fate of the next three years were truly decided in the first month of enrollment, then this school's vaunted S System would be the most garbage, most laughable system under heaven."

Shuichi Kanda answered with absolute certainty.

"Besides, I've heard that most of this school's rules are shaped by successive Student Council Presidents. Do you think the current Student Council President is an idiot?"

"Of course not! What kind of stupid nonsense are you spouting?"

As if hearing something she didn't want to, Horikita Suzine's face twisted with displeasure.

"Then there you go. That man is hailed as the most outstanding Student Council President in the school's decades-long history. Even if the school's rules really were that twisted, do you think he'd just turn a blind eye to it?"

"He wouldn't!"

Horikita Suzine seemed to have a blind faith in that Student Council President, answering with the same tone of certainty.

"So there must be a way to increase Class Points. And it's simple."

"Simple? What kind of method exactly?"

Horikita Suzine furrowed her brow, which left Shuichi Kanda speechless.

"Don't forget our identity."

"Identity? You mean... students?"

"Exactly." Seeing that Horikita Suzine seemed to catch on, Shuichi Kanda nodded with satisfaction. "A student's duty is to study and handle exams.

Besides, Chabashira-sensei also said she hopes we can survive this midterm exam. So the means to increase Class Points is exams."

"That's it?"

Looking at Horikita Suzine's skeptical expression, Shuichi Kanda couldn't help but flash a mocking smile.

"Simple? If that's what you think, then sure." Shuichi Kanda didn't elaborate further, because even exams could take many forms, and knowing this school's nature, it would likely devolve into class versus class competitions.

"You can go confirm this with Chabashira-sensei. Once you've verified it, you can transfer those 10,000 Private Points to me then."

"I'll confirm it."

Watching Horikita Suzine leave, Shuichi Kanda looked at the 10,000 Private Points credited to his phone and returned to the classroom.

Hirata had also wrapped up the meeting. Everyone except Horikita Suzine and Sudo Ken agreed to join this study session.

Even Koenji and Yukimura, who were confident in their own academic abilities, agreed.

10,000 points wasn't much, but it was free money—extra pocket money for him, since it only cost two extra hours a day.

As for Yukimura, Hirata had asked him to act as a tutor.

The study sessions would start next Monday, so after homeroom ended, Shuichi Kanda went with Miyake to club activities.

Either way, he still had to inform his club seniors that he couldn't come straight after school from now on.

"I see. Got it. Please do your best!"

Sato Ken immediately agreed after learning about the situation.

"Huh? Kanda and Miyake are struggling students? They actually need a study group just to barely pass? Forget that—I heard your Class D blew through all your Class Points in a single month. Is that for real?"

Senior Hashibira, if you can't talk properly, you might as well sew your mouth shut.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

Clearly, Shuichi Kanda and Akito Miyake were already used to this low-EQ senior's antics and paid her no mind.

But this couldn't go on forever. If they ignored her, she'd just keep pestering them endlessly.

"That's right, senior. Is there anything you can do to help us?"

"What can I do to help you? Zero points—my class has never gotten a zero-point rating before."

See? If you can't talk, just sew your mouth shut!

"But about this exam, if you're still not confident two days before it starts, come find me. I'll help you out."

Hearing this, Shuichi Kanda instinctively glanced at Sato Ken, who was at the head of the group.

Sato Ken nodded.

"Hey! You don't trust me, do you? Damn you, Kanda!"

It's not that we don't trust you—it's that your usual behavior makes it impossible to trust you.

After club activities ended for the day, Kanda and Miyake headed to the cafeteria together.

No choice—it was too late to cook today.

Back in the dorm, Shuichi Kanda pulled out his diary and wrote his entry for the day.

May 1st, Friday, Sunny:

Private Points didn't come in. Class Points dropped to zero. Interesting.

Earned 10,000 Private Points from Horikita.

Attended club activities. That unreliable senior Hashibira actually said she could help us get through the exam. How amusing.

Chapter 39: The Bookworm Named Shiina Hiyori

Saturday. Since most Class D students hadn't earned any points, many chose to stay in their dorms or attend club activities.

Shuichi Kanda, however, went to the library. The reason was simple: he needed to return the middle school geography textbook he'd borrowed before.

Social studies covered history, geography, politics, economics, and more. He'd only just finished catching up on middle school geography, so there was still plenty to learn.

But these subjects had one convenient feature: they didn't require much thinking. As long as you could memorize everything in the textbooks, that was enough.

Most exam questions could be traced back to original sentences in the books, so it really came down to what Horikita had said—just memorize the textbooks.

When Kanda arrived at the library, he realized Class D students weren't all holed up in their dorms. Some had already come to study. Guess not everyone was beyond saving.

He couldn't put names to their faces, but since they sat in the same class, their features were familiar.

Nearby, top students like Hirata and Kushida were tutoring.

"You're here too, Kanda-kun."

Hirata Yosuke appeared from somewhere and greeted Kanda as he entered the library.

"I'm not great at social studies, so I came to find some books."

"I see. When I saw your quiz results, I thought your academic ability was impressive too."

Don't joke around. I'm not just impressive—I'm bad at social studies because I never studied it.

"By the way, isn't the study group starting Monday?"

"A few classmates weren't confident, so they privately asked me to start studying from today."

So that's it. The girls initiated it, Kushida heard about it and joined in, then a few boys followed.

So this is like a soft launch before the official opening?

You know what you're doing, Supervisor Hirata.

"I see. Well, you're busy. I'll just borrow a few books and head back."

"Mm."

After parting with Hirata, Kanda headed deeper into the library.

Since these were old textbooks—pretty niche items—they were stored in an out-of-the-way spot. Last time, if he hadn't asked the librarian, he probably wouldn't have found them.

After returning the textbook to the librarian, Kanda walked back to where he'd found it before. Last time, he'd only borrowed the middle school geography book. This time, he'd grab history and politics-economics too.

Arriving at the spot where he'd found the middle school textbooks, Kanda spotted a white-haired girl. She was standing on tiptoe, reaching up for a book on the top shelf.

Unfortunately, from Kanda's angle, her fingers were still at least 3–5 cm short of touching it.

And since this was the library, she couldn't jump. If she accidentally pushed the shelf over and it hit someone—minor issue—but having to reorganize all the books on that shelf? No easy task.

Well, since he'd seen it, he might as well help. Though Kanda's body was weaker than average, he was taller than most. As a first-year high schooler, he was already close to 180 cm.

Of course, seeing someone in need and helping wasn't really the reason—mainly, it was because her side profile looked good, with curves that were nicely proportioned.

In the end, this is a world that judges by appearance. Too dark.

Walking up to the white-haired student, Shuichi Kanda reached out and took down the book she had been trying to get. It was an Agatha Christie mystery novel, And Then There Were None.

"And Then There Were None, huh. Compared to this, I prefer her Murder on the Orient Express." With that, he handed the book to the white-haired girl before him.

But her reaction was somewhat unexpected. Instead of taking the book from Kanda's hand, she directly grabbed the hand holding it.

"Found you! I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C. And you?"

This move left Shuichi Kanda completely baffled.

What's going on? Mom, I've run into a weirdo!

Still, at this moment, Shuichi Kanda also got a clear look at her appearance—delicate, well-proportioned features, fair skin, and a head of silver-white long hair that gave her a unique aura.

But paired with the slightly intense look in her eyes right now, Shuichi Kanda felt a bit creeped out. Wasn't this girl some kind of obsessive?

Though, if she was that kind of obsessive, maybe it wasn't so bad...

Shiina Hiyori wasn't an obsessive, of course. She was a bookworm.

Ever since she came to this school, she'd treated the library as her second dormitory. Apart from classes, meals, and sleep, she spent all her time soaking in the library.

But people like her all shared one trait: when they came across a gripping story, they had a strong urge to share it with someone. Unfortunately, after a month at this school, she hadn't found anyone like that.

She'd spotted Shuichi Kanda in the library a few times before, but had never struck up a conversation. This time, she wasn't going to miss the chance.

And for him to say something like that, he must have read both And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, right? Could it be that her kindred spirit, a fellow book lover, was standing right before her?

"Ahem." Shuichi Kanda cleared his throat, then subtly pulled his hand back from her grip, leaving the book in her hands.