A Wager with a Senior: Can We Bet Points?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's deadpan voice deftly dodged Horikita Suzune's attack.

Hoshino En: "..."

Had I somehow wandered into a [love triangle]?

Maybe I should just quietly go buy something to eat.

Tap—

Just as Hoshino En was trying to slip inside unnoticed, a hand grabbed his wrist.

He turned around and found himself staring straight into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."

Help me out, friend.

That was what Hoshino En read in his expressionless face.

Hoshino En: "..."

"I memorized the seating chart. Her name's Horikita Suzune. I don't know anything else."

"I'm hungry. Let me go buy something to eat, Kiyotaka."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: ...!!

He actually called him by his first name... So that was how it worked. Friends called each other by their first names.

But remembering how the other boy had been just as inconspicuous in the classroom, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka figured he might be just as socially awkward as himself. He decided to let go of the idea of using him for now.

He released Hoshino En's wrist, took a bread roll out of his bag, and placed it in Hoshino En's hand.

"Here. A thank-you, En."

Hoshino En: ...Yikes.

He hadn't expected the other boy to call him by his first name in return. It sounded pretty awkward.

Still, a free bread roll was worth the awkwardness.

While Ayanokoji Kiyotaka went to make friends with Horikita Suzune, Hoshino En ate right outside the convenience store.

A bread roll alone wouldn't fill him up, and it was dry, but to avoid being mistaken for a little thief by the store clerk, he decided to finish it outside before going in to buy anything else.

That was how it was supposed to go, anyway.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Suddenly, a loud voice rang through the convenience store's glass doors. Hoshino En, who was eating with his back to the doors, nearly choked.

Luckily, the store clerk promptly offered him a bottle of mineral water, and he managed to recover.

"Cough, cough... Thanks. How much is the water? I'll transfer you the money."

"No need, no need. The water's free. But more importantly, outside—"

The clerk pointed toward the entrance, looking eager to go watch the show but stuck behind the counter because of work.

Hoshino En was interested in hearing the mineral water was free, but he was even more curious about the commotion outside.

So he went to the entrance with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had finished shopping with Horikita Suzune, and joined the spectators.

The student being provoked by the upperclassmen was Ken Sudō. He was the classmate who'd been woken up during Hirata Yosuke's self-introductions and gotten angry, leaving a terrible impression on everyone in class. He was also Hoshino En's seatmate on his left.

"He seems to be from our class. Shouldn't we go see what's happening?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka offered the well-meaning suggestion.

"Getting involved with him would lower my reputation." / "He's already angry. If we go out there, we might get caught in the crossfire."

Horikita Suzune and Hoshino En voiced their equally selfish opinions at the same time.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."

So he stayed where he was, watching from beside the convenience store entrance.

"I'll let you off this time. It'd be too cruel to keep picking on you pitiful [Flawed Products]."

The argument outside seemed to be nearing its end. The three upperclassmen were ready to leave.

"Are you going to run away with your tails between your legs?!"

Ken Sudō was furious and looked on the verge of throwing a punch, but he held himself back.

With his build, beating up three somewhat pudgy high schoolers wouldn't have been a problem.

"Keep barking all you want. You'll see what hell is soon enough."

The three upperclassmen left those words behind and hurried away.

Ken Sudō was seething after being mocked, but he knew he couldn't just get into fights. So he took his anger out on a trash can by the roadside.

"What the hell, you bastards!"

He kicked over the trash can beside the convenience store, then left on his own.

Hoshino En and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, watching from the sidelines: "..."

The two watched Ken Sudō walk away, then looked together at the security camera outside the convenience store. Realizing they'd made the same move, they looked at each other.

Hoshino En and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."

They didn't say anything, but it seemed they understood each other perfectly.

Together, they righted the fallen trash can and borrowed cleaning supplies from the store clerk to clean up the litter.

"I'm going to look for some everyday necessities at the convenience store. What about you?"

After they finished cleaning up, Hoshino En looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"...I'll head back to the dorm."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's answer was exactly what you'd expect from a member of the Going-Home Club.

"Sure, then... Oh, right. Let's add each other."

Hoshino En held out his student ID terminal, indicating that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka should scan it.

Once they added each other on the school terminal, they could call each other and chat through the school's exclusive social app. It was very convenient.

"Sure."

Beep—

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Kiyotaka."

"See you tomorrow, En."

They said goodbye outside the convenience store.

But when Hoshino En turned back inside, he didn't go to buy the everyday necessities he'd mentioned.

Given how the three upperclassmen had deliberately provoked Ken Sudō, their talk of [hell], the countless security cameras along the way, and the fact that the first-years' Class Points hadn't been revealed, not to mention...

Hoshino En stared at the limited selection of free daily necessities, free food, and free mineral water displayed in the convenience store, his expression troubled.

Could the first-year students already be taking an exam?

And could it be the kind of Behavioral Norms Exam where points could only be deducted without any way to earn them?

With Ken Sudō's short temper, it wasn't impossible for the upperclassmen's deliberate baiting to drive Class 1-D's Class Points all the way down to zero.

And Chabashira Sae had deliberately encouraged everyone in class to spend their points. She'd even given them the impression that they'd receive another hundred thousand next month.

So when next month came, they might get no points at all, having already spent everything they had. They'd be left with nothing, forced to live on zero points. Wouldn't that be [hell]?

This was bad. Things looked bleak for the class's future.

Besides, Hoshino En felt that even if he explained this to his classmates, they wouldn't control their tempers or start taking things seriously. It was all just his personal guesswork, without any evidence.

Although Chabashira Sae had said that [points can buy anything], judging by how she'd deliberately tricked the students in her class, asking her for information would definitely end with him getting fleeced. And it would certainly cost more than any one person could afford.

But if he asked everyone in class to chip in to verify information that might not even be true, they'd definitely refuse.

So getting his classmates to cooperate to protect the Class Points and their Private Points was a dead end.

That left only one thing Hoshino En could do.

First Semester of First Year:

A Wager with a Senior: Can We Bet Points?

Hoshino En arrived at the Special Building.

It housed classrooms assigned to various clubs, as well as the Student Council.

More surprisingly, there weren't many security cameras here, leaving plenty of blind spots.

If he wanted to make an under-the-table deal, this seemed like the perfect place.

No, no. He hadn't come here today to pull any shady tricks.

He'd slipped into his old way of thinking without noticing, so Hoshino En quickly came to his senses.

He was here purely to make some points.

Since the plan to get the whole class to soar together didn't seem viable, he'd decided to fly solo.

"Excuse me. Sorry to bother you."

Hoshino En walked up to a clubroom door, knocked, then pushed it open.

The sign beside the door clearly read, "Chess Club."

"I haven't seen you before. Are you a new student this year?"

An upperclassman who'd just finished a game walked over and looked Hoshino En up and down.

"Club recruitment starts tomorrow, so you should come back—"

"Uh... I'm not here to join."

The other boy had clearly misunderstood why Hoshino En had come. Hoshino En quickly interrupted him.

At that, the upperclassman's friendly smile vanished, and his expression turned serious.

If he wasn't here to join, then he must be here for trouble.

"I came to ask you something, senior. Can we bet points?"

Hoshino En took out his student ID terminal and waved it in front of him.

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet Chess Club, where the only sound had been the pieces on the board, it rang out clearly.

All at once, every upperclassman and upperclasswoman playing a game turned to look at the naive first-year, sizing him up.

The Chess Club senior: "..."

"Sure, of course. But you first-years only have a hundred thousand points in your first month, right? Shouldn't you be careful with your spending?"

The senior knew about the exam the first-years were taking. Perhaps to discourage his junior's [bad habit], he spoke in a tone that was almost threatening.

"Our minimum bet is fifty thousand points, and you can't take it back once you've made it. Are you sure?"

"Of course. But as my senior, you can't bet less than I do, right?"

Hoshino En asked the upperclassman in a tone that was almost taunting.

"I'll bet ninety-five thousand to start. So, shall we begin?"

He turned on his phone, displaying the hundred thousand points he hadn't spent yet.

The Chess Club senior: "..."

"Let's do it."

After Hoshino En took the seat where the senior had just finished playing and they set up the pieces, the other boy suddenly asked, "Which class are you in, first-year?"

"Class D."

At his answer, mocking laughter broke out around the Chess Club room.

But the senior across from him didn't relax at all.

"Junior, if you want to back out now, I can pretend this game never happened. You need to understand—"

"I'm not backing out."