Ms. Chabashira, Pay Up! / Chapter 15: People Only Believe What's in Their Own Best Interests

So that was it. Shuichi Kanda understood.

It had to be a change of direction!

Chapter 14: Ms. Chabashira, Pay Up!

Although he had indirectly gotten an answer from Chabashira-sensei, it was clear that this information alone wasn't nearly enough.

At the very least, Shuichi Kanda still didn't know how the school evaluated its students, or why the points D Class students received a month later wouldn't necessarily be 100,000.

"So, how many points does Chabashira-sensei plan to sell us this information for?"

Shuichi Kanda stepped forward, moving in front of Hirata to stand as close to Chabashira as possible.

"Unfortunately, I'm not the one who decides the price." Sensing the tide turning, Sae Chabashira lit another cigarette.

"So it's a school policy?" Shuichi Kanda nodded, then looked up with a bright smile. "Then, Chabashira-sensei, would you be willing to invest in us?"

"Invest?"

Shuichi Kanda's words caught Sae Chabashira off guard. It was the first time anyone had ever talked to her about something like this.

No, perhaps Shuichi Kanda was the first student in history to ask a teacher for an investment.

"That's right. I have a question. If we learned information that you—or the school—were keeping from us, would that benefit our class?"

After thinking it over briefly, Sae Chabashira decided that this didn't violate any rules and nodded.

"That's right. It's information that would benefit you."

"Then, if we obtained this information, would it benefit you as well, Chabashira-sensei?"

By this point, Sae Chabashira understood exactly what Shuichi Kanda was getting at.

"It would benefit me, yes, but only to a limited extent. I can't invest two million Private Points just because you sweet-talked me."

"Even if it could help close the gap between us and Class A?"

When Shuichi Kanda said this, he saw Sae Chabashira's shocked expression.

I guessed right!

When he went to get the Wild Vegetable Set Meal today, Shuichi Kanda had overheard some upperclassmen talking while they waited in line. He'd learned something remarkable.

[I really envy those guys in Class A and Class B. It sounds like they've never had to eat that awful Wild Vegetable Set Meal.]

The speaker had said it without thinking, but Shuichi Kanda had taken note. From that simple remark, he'd deduced that there was a gap between the classes in each year.

The gap was so large that students in Classes C and D often had to make do with the Wild Vegetable Set Meal!

And then there was the Archery Club captain's introduction today. He'd sounded proud of being in Class A and surprised that Miyake and Kanda were in D Class.

Still, Shuichi Kanda wasn't entirely sure what to make of these scattered clues, which was why he'd asked the question just now!

His real reason for coming to see Sae Chabashira today wasn't to confirm what he'd already suspected. He was fairly certain about those things. What he needed to know was this.

That was the question Shuichi Kanda had wanted to ask. Asking for an investment had just been a pretext, a way to smoothly lead into the crucial question.

"Shuichi Kanda, who are you, really?"

At those words, Shuichi Kanda adjusted his nonexistent glasses. "Shuichi Kanda is a detect—"

Ahem, what was he even saying?!

"As you can see, I'm just an ordinary student with a rather weak constitution."

The room fell silent. After a long while, Hirata looked over at him.

"Kanda, what do you mean by closing the gap with Class A?"

"Exactly what it sounds like, Hirata. We've already discussed this. Evaluation determines points, and points determine rankings. As far as the school is concerned, Class A is evaluated the best, while D Class is evaluated the worst."

This time, Shuichi Kanda didn't ask Sae Chabashira to confirm it. He was certain his guess was right.

If so, he might as well be bolder. The 100% college acceptance and employment rates were probably privileges enjoyed only by the top-ranked class.

"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"

Sae Chabashira burst out laughing. How many years had it been? How many years since she'd met a student this exceptional? Was this what it meant to see the whole picture from a small clue? She couldn't believe someone had actually managed it.

"So? What are you planning to do? Let me make this clear in advance: I won't confirm any of this, and I can't announce it publicly to all the students in D Class. You couldn't afford the price of that, and neither could I."

Sae Chabashira's laughter drew the other three's attention.

"So, Chabashira-sensei, are you willing to invest in us?"

"I am. You're interesting, and you have talent. I'm already curious to see how far you can go." Sae Chabashira was clearly in a good mood. "Then, would you like me to tell you the truth about this school right now?"

"Let's hold off on that for now." Shuichi Kanda hurriedly stopped her.

Come on, I've already figured out most of it. Why would I need you to tell me? That would be a waste.

"May I ask how many points you plan to invest in us, Chabashira-sensei?"

This surprised Sae Chabashira. What kind of move was this? Didn't he want to hear the crucial information she'd just offered?

Well, if she put a point value on that question...

"Then how about two million Private Points?"

Shuichi Kanda raised an eyebrow and immediately accepted.

"Deal!"

Then he pulled out his phone. "Chabashira-sensei, please transfer the points."

This series of moves left Sae Chabashira baffled. What was going on? Hadn't he come to ask her questions? How had this turned into a straight-up request for points?

Hirata and Miyake were also confused. What was Kanda thinking?

But after spending the day with him, Miyake understood that he could never keep up with Kanda's thought process. He might as well trust him.

Hirata, for his part, didn't think Kanda would do anything to hurt the class.

Seeing that Shuichi Kanda had already taken out his phone and opened the Student ID screen, Sae Chabashira decided to trust him this once. She believed he would use the two million Private Points for the sake of the class.

If he'd figured out this much in such a short time, then giving him two million points as a reward was nothing. Just as he'd said, she could consider it an investment. It didn't mean much to her, anyway.

Besides, two million points was the maximum amount she was allowed to give students as a teacher. She'd never used this privilege in the past, but she hoped this year's students wouldn't disappoint her.

With that thought, Sae Chabashira took out her phone and, after a few taps, held it close to Shuichi Kanda's.

Then the 100,000 ppt on Shuichi Kanda's screen became 2,100,000 ppt.

With a full 2.1 million Private Points, Shuichi Kanda was probably the richest first-year student at the school.

Seeing the two million points arrive, Shuichi Kanda felt a surge of excitement. With that money, he could get the most out of the Value-Added Bank.

"Thank you for trusting and investing in us, Chabashira-sensei."

A smile tugged at Shuichi Kanda's lips, and he could barely contain it.

"I have other things to do, so I'll be going. I look forward to seeing what you do."

After Chabashira-sensei left, Hirata and Miyake both looked at Shuichi Kanda, seemingly waiting for an explanation.

Chapter 15: People Only Believe What's in Their Own Best Interests

Looking at the huge balance of Private Points on his phone, Shuichi Kanda couldn't help smiling.

"Kanda, shouldn't we find out more about what's going on?"

Hirata Yosuke was confused. As he saw it, they should have used those points to ask Chabashira-sensei about the true nature of the school and things like that.

Miyake was much more straightforward. He trusted Shuichi Kanda, no matter what!

"It wouldn't help. I doubt Chabashira-sensei can give us any more crucial information. Besides, even if we got answers from her, what would we do with them?"

Shuichi Kanda was in a good mood after receiving all those points, so his tone was light.

"Obviously, we'd tell the rest of the class."

That was the obvious choice. It was what Hirata would decide if he were in Shuichi Kanda's shoes, but Shuichi Kanda didn't see it that way.

"Hirata, do you think the information we got from Chabashira-sensei is good news or bad news for us?"

After thinking for a while, Hirata gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Probably bad news."

Not probably. Definitely.

"Looks like you understand."

Hirata Yosuke nodded, looking helpless.

"What are you two talking about?"

Miyake looked completely lost. "Speak plainly, damn it!"

"It's simple. Chabashira-sensei said she couldn't explain the information to D Class publicly. So we'd have to spread it ourselves."

"What's the problem with that?"

"It's a huge problem. We all just started school today. Why would anyone believe us? Just because we say Chabashira-sensei gave us the information? Then why didn't she say it in class? Have you forgotten what happened in the class group chat today?"

Miyake looked enlightened.

Even if they had the information and shared it with everyone, their classmates might not believe them. That was the problem they faced now.

For D Class students who had just started school and been given extremely generous conditions, all they were willing to believe was good news. They absolutely wouldn't believe bad news!

Once people had experienced a comfortable life, they couldn't easily give it up. When their standard of living fell, the psychological blow was enormous.

That was why people only believed what was in their own best interests. It was a flaw in human nature.

Seeing the predicament Kanda and the others were in, Chabashira had given Shuichi Kanda two million Class Points directly, hoping he could do something with them.

Hirata had caught on quickly, too. With only a little prompting from Shuichi Kanda, he'd figured it out. Only Miyake still looked confused.

"So what do we do now?"

When Miyake asked, Hirata hesitated, while a hard edge appeared in Shuichi Kanda's expression.

"We do what we have to do. Sooner or later, the whole class will see the truth about this school for themselves. When that happens, they'll believe it naturally. We won't need to say much at all."

"But then the gap between us and Class A will just keep growing." Hirata had caught up with Shuichi Kanda's reasoning and understood that evaluation determined points, while points determined the class rankings.

"So we need to use this opportunity to unite the class completely. That's the key to our victory."

As he spoke, Kanda tapped the phone in his hand.

Were they going to use Private Points to force everyone together when the students in their class were almost at the end of their rope?

Hirata lowered his head and began thinking about whether that approach could work. His mind was a mess, and he couldn't make up his mind.

"Hirata, if you want to..."

Seeing his hesitation, Shuichi Kanda didn't push him too hard.

"No, it's fine. Let's do it your way, Kanda. If we spend these two million Class Points and still can't get our classmates to believe us, there'll be no way to fix things!"

Hirata's words reassured Shuichi Kanda. Otherwise, he would have had to tell Hirata to think it over for a day first.

The truth was, Hirata mainly didn't know how to explain it to their classmates. Without any evidence, how could he tell them what to do? How could he expect them to trust someone they'd only known for a day? What a joke!

But giving up just because it was difficult wasn't Hirata's style. So he planned to make at least a few suggestions to his classmates at tomorrow's morning meeting.

"And if our classmates don't believe us, and the information gets to the other classes, then we'll have thrown away two million for nothing."

Miyake's words made Shuichi Kanda and Hirata look at him.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"It's not two million. It's eight million!"

It was eight million. If the other classes learned the information, it was the same as D Class losing two million.

And that wasn't even the worst part. Seeing everyone else make money was far more painful than losing it yourself!

Back in the lobby on the first floor of their dormitory, Shuichi Kanda and the others ran into a classmate who was by himself: Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

"Good evening, Ayanokoji."

Hirata's connections really were impressive.

As for the boy's face, Kanda and Miyake only found it vaguely familiar. They hadn't even remembered his name.