A First-Year Student Sweeps Through the Chess Clubs

Hoshino En forcibly cut off the other person's lecture.

Looking at this persistent underclassman who showed no respect for his seniors, the usually composed upperclassman finally felt a flicker of anger.

"Fine, then. Let's do this!"

Some time later—

"Thank you, seniors, for your support. I'll be back again."

Standing at the entrance to the Chess Club's room, Hoshino En bowed a perfect ninety degrees to everyone inside.

His point balance, meanwhile, was 1.93 million.

He had taken 1.83 million points from the Chess Club.

Every time he won, he bet all of his winnings again, keeping only the original 5,000 points for himself. It was practically an all-in, which made the seniors pretty eager to play him.

On top of that, Hoshino En insisted that their bets had to exceed his. As a result, the points kept snowballing with each round.

The match had ended for two reasons. First, they'd realized this underclassman was playing dumb and that they couldn't beat him, so they quit. Second... none of them could individually afford to bet more than he could.

So they had no choice but to call it quits, tears in their eyes.

"You'd better never come back, you rude underclassman!"

The senior who had played Hoshino En first said sourly.

He'd gotten off easy and hadn't bet much. Some of the other seniors, though, had wagered everything they had and lost it all. Now they'd have to get by this month on borrowed points and the free Vegetable Set Meal in the student cafeteria, and they were having a breakdown.

"This isn't my fault. I didn't hold a knife to your throats and force you to play. We both agreed to it."

"Besides, you looked down on me as soon as you heard I was from Class D. You lost because you let your guard down. Who else can you blame?"

The seniors who had laughed at him earlier and were now cleaned out: "..."

Did this underclassman have poison for a tongue? Why did he have to bring that up?!

"And one more thing, you should thank me, senpai."

Hoshino En looked at the senior and opened an audio recording on his phone right in front of him.

"My phone's been recording this whole time. When you were trying to talk me into staying, you almost let something slip. If I hadn't deliberately provoked you, you'd have broken the rules by now. Aren't you supposed to keep the truth about this school secret from the freshmen?"

The seniors: "..."

Wait, what was wrong with this year's Class D? They'd figured it out on the very first day?

No, why had someone like him been placed in Class D? He was clearly at least Class A material.

"Anyway, even though I extorted—no, won a lot of points from you, I also helped you avoid breaking the rules. So stop pulling long faces and smile."

"I'll be back again!"

Hoshino En left in high spirits, leaving the seniors behind, full of resentment.

Hoshino En opened the door to the Chess Club, but he couldn't quite make it out.

A petite, adorable girl stood outside, leaning on a cane. She wore a dainty beret and had beautiful short silver hair.

No, she was wearing the Advanced Nurturing school uniform. She had to be at least sixteen, so she was a young woman.

Looking closer, Hoshino En suddenly realized she was one of the Class A representatives he'd glimpsed from afar while scouting Class A earlier.

"Good day, classmate who was peeking furtively into our classroom earlier. I'm Sakayanagi Arisu of Class 1-A."

Supporting herself with her cane in one hand, she lifted the hem of her skirt in a one-sided curtsy with the other.

Well, she certainly had the air of a young lady from a distinguished family. But...

"So you saw me."

Now that he'd been caught, Hoshino En saw no reason to deny it. He hadn't done anything wrong, after all.

"Hello. I'm Hoshino En of Class 1-D."

"Unless I'm mistaken, Classmate Sakayanagi came here to rake in points and gather information, right? You've probably already realized the truth that this school is hiding from its freshmen."

Hoshino En launched a probing attack, but Sakayanagi Arisu dodged it.

The moment she'd seen Hoshino En here, she'd guessed that he might have reached the same conclusion she had. His deduction hadn't gone beyond what she'd expected.

Her smile remained flawless, without the slightest crack.

"You're quite perceptive. But you got one thing wrong: our entire class already knows everything about this school. I only came here to replenish my points. After all, a girl's expenses are quite high, especially for a frail young woman like me."

She tilted her head and looked past Hoshino En at the Chess Club's door, which hadn't yet shut. She pouted in disappointment.

"But it looks like you've already drained all the seniors in the Chess Club. What a shame."

Seeing Sakayanagi Arisu looking so downcast, Hoshino En suddenly felt the urge to grant her wish and give her a pile of points.

Hoshino En: "..."

Wait, what was going on? Had puberty finally hit, and was my body craving beauty?

A person's consciousness depended on the physical body. Even though Hoshino En himself didn't want it, his body was influencing his mind without permission, making him desire the opposite sex.

It had happened today, too. He'd been investigating the different classes, but his gaze had often lingered on the pretty girls in them: the Silver Fairy from Class C, the rose-gold-haired girl from Class B, and this Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A.

Damn it, this pointless influence would only interfere with his judgment. It was such a nuisance.

As he thought this, Hoshino En's gaze fell on Sakayanagi Arisu in front of him.

Should he try exposure therapy?

He had a perfect test subject right here.

Besides, she needed points, and he had plenty.

What a coincidence!

First Semester of First Year

Chapter 6: A First-Year Student Sweeps Through the Chess Clubs

Sakayanagi Arisu's earlier claim that everyone in Class A already knew the information was probably something she'd said to raise the stakes and use her class's influence to pressure Hoshino En into revealing a weakness. But Hoshino En couldn't deny that it might be true.

What's more, judging from what he knew about Class A's students, they really might have pooled their points to buy information. So—

"Classmate Sakayanagi, your class probably bought the information from your homeroom teacher by pooling an equal amount of points, right?"

Hoshino En launched another probing attack.

This time, Sakayanagi Arisu was caught slightly off guard, but her smile remained unchanged, giving nothing away.

Still, even though it had lasted only an instant, Hoshino En had noticed the change in her expression.

"That's an interesting guess, but I'm afraid you're wrong..."

"No, my deduction is right."

Seeing that she seemed about to brush him off the same way as before, Hoshino En immediately rejected her denial.

"Your class probably all contributed the same amount of points. For example, 50,000 each times 40 students, for a total of 2 million points, to buy the truth about this school from your homeroom teacher. After all, according to what the teachers told us, points can buy anything at this school, including information about it."

"And based on what I know about the students in your class, there's a very good chance you'd make that choice."

"You came to challenge the Chess Club for more than just needing points after buying information. You'd also realized that this school was all about points, so you wanted to rake them in before everyone else caught on. Am I right?"

Hoshino En launched a follow-up attack, hitting the mark.

The smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's face crumbled.

"You really are clever. You got everything right, even the number of points we spent... But now that you've drained the Chess Club, I don't have any way to earn points for the time being."

Her expression was regretful. This time, she truly was disappointed.

"I could challenge other clubs, but I'm more confident in chess. I can't guarantee that I'd keep winning at the others."

"No, there's still a way."

Hoshino En rejected her denial again.

Sakayanagi Arisu: "...?"

"I've mostly figured out the truth about this school, but there's one step left to verify my conclusion."

"So, Classmate Sakayanagi, let's make a deal."

"Come with me to challenge the clubs this afternoon. When we're done, we'll find somewhere quiet. I'll tell you my deduction, and you can confirm whether it's right."

"In exchange, I'll give you twenty percent of the rewards I earn from challenging the clubs today. How does that sound?"

Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."

Such a generous deal only made Sakayanagi Arisu more alert.

"This deal seems to benefit me. I only have to follow you and do nothing, and I still get twenty percent of the rewards..."

"What do you want?"

She smiled brightly again, but there was no warmth in her narrow, slit-like eyes. They were full of pressure.

As the saying went, nothing came free. Now that Hoshino En was giving up so much, it was hard not to wonder if he had some other motive.

"Can't I just want to make a good impression and be friends with you?"

Hoshino En was speechless at the way she'd bristled like a hedgehog.

"This place is only a simulation of society. It's not some cutthroat world where everyone schemes against one another. Even if the classes compete, it's not a matter of life and death, is it?"

Of course, Hoshino En would never tell her that he wanted to get closer to her as a way of becoming desensitized to female beauty. It sounded as if he were treating Sakayanagi Arisu like a tool.

"Is that so?"

Perhaps Hoshino En's exasperated expression seemed genuine to her. Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly felt a little guilty about suspecting him.

Seeing that she seemed a little down, Hoshino En added, "There's one more thing."

"What is it?"

She asked eagerly, as though she'd win as long as she could confirm that Hoshino En had an ulterior motive.

"I hope that if I ever run into a crisis I can't handle on my own and ask you for help, you'll give me a hand."

"One person's strength only goes so far. I need partners I can rely on, too."

"I see."

Hearing his answer, Sakayanagi Arisu lost interest.

How was that any different from asking to make a good impression? She'd gotten her hopes up for nothing.

Although Hoshino En's explanation was rather far-fetched, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't deny that he might need her help someday. After all, she was a true genius.

And so, the Exploiter Alliance was formed.

However, just as they were about to head to the Chinese Chess Club, the closest club to the Chess Club, Hoshino En suddenly held out his right hand to her.

"What is it? Are you trying to hold my hand?"

Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head in confusion.

"No. Don't you have congenital heart disease? I saw how difficult it was for you to walk, so I thought I'd help you. Don't get the wrong idea."

At that, Sakayanagi Arisu looked at Hoshino En completely differently.

"How did you know I have congenital heart disease? Did you know me before?"

Sakayanagi Arisu thought Hoshino En might have learned about her from somewhere, rather than deducing it the way she'd assumed.

"Of course not! How could I possibly know a rich young lady like you? I deduced it."

Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."

Right. A deduction. Another deduction.

She was almost used to it by now.

"Then, about how you made that deduction..."

"Let's go over that part later."

Hoshino En cut off Sakayanagi Arisu's question.