The Bet with the Chairman

Everyone complained that I shouldn't use these (), and I changed them all earlier, but I'm too lazy to change the rest. Just bear with it.

() indicates inner thoughts.

Qiuyue first went to a repair shop and left his phone there to be fixed. After wandering around the school for a while, he returned to the Chairman's Office.

"We meet again, Qiuyue. I don't think you introduced yourself last time..."

Qiuyue: (I'm speechless. You already know my name, don't you? You'd look it up whether I told you or not, so I just didn't bother.)

"I'm sorry about that. I was so nervous in the Chairman's Office that it slipped my mind. My apologies."

"It's all right. I'm not the sort to hold a grudge over such a little thing. So, Qiuyue, are you here to buy a drone this time?"

"More or less. But there's something else I'd like to ask you to do, Chairman... no, two things."

As he spoke, Qiuyue opened his phone's recording app in front of Chairman Sakayanagi.

Chairman Sakayanagi merely smiled, paying no mind to Qiuyue's actions.

"Oh? It seems you've earned quite a lot of points over the past month or so, Qiuyue. You're buying a drone and asking for two favors. So you're the one responsible for the generally high Class Points among this year's first-years in their first month.

"Go ahead and tell me what you need. I'm quite busy, but I happened to be here both times you came. You've been lucky, but next time might not work out so well. You should learn to put a little trust in your homeroom teacher, Qiuyue."

Qiuyue: (No matter what, it can't hurt to deny it first... If you're not here, I'd rather go to Class A's homeroom teacher than Teacher Chabashira.)

"...I understand. First, I'd like you to repair this phone. Second, I want to change the lock on my room so that no one can buy a key card to it from the dorm staff or teachers.

"And I'm not the one who made the first-years' Class Points so high."

Qiuyue: (That trio might be treating other people's rooms like public property, just like in the original story. They might even buy someone else's room key. I'd better make sure they don't try that with mine.)

Chairman Sakayanagi's eyes narrowed.

"Then I'll reserve judgment on your answer for now, Qiuyue. Changing the lock so no one can simply get a key card to your room is easy.

"But your phone... You don't just want it repaired, do you?"

"Of course not. I'd like you to install this inside it while you're repairing it, without anyone noticing. The phone should still work normally."

Chairman Sakayanagi fell silent for a moment, then stood up. The mood turned extremely tense, and he fixed Qiuyue with a deadly serious look.

"Qiuyue, do you understand what you're asking? If I'm not mistaken, that's a listening device. What do you intend to do with it? I want an explanation."

"I know this is practically a crime—an invasion of someone's privacy. Don't worry, it's a man. I'm not interested in other people's trivial affairs, and I'm already prepared to abandon the device. Its battery is almost dead anyway. Once I've accomplished my goal, I won't need it."

"Understood. I'll try trusting you this once, Qiuyue. But if you do anything even slightly out of line, I'll personally have you arrested."

Chairman Sakayanagi's usual smile returned. He went over to the sofa and sat down slowly.

Qiuyue: (...You smiling snake. What are you grinning about? What's so funny?)

"Thank you for trusting me, Chairman. I won't let you down. So, how many points will this cost?"

"Fifty thousand Private Points to repair the phone, and a hundred thousand to ensure no one else can get a key card to your room."

Qiuyue: (You old bastard! You're trying to bleed me dry!)

"Chairman, isn't that a little too expensive? I could get my phone fixed at a shop for just a few thousand Private Points. And why does changing the lock cost even more?"

"Do you think this is a shop? You're asking me to install that device, too. Isn't that charge perfectly reasonable? As for the lock, the price is exactly what I said. If you want exclusive control of your room's key cards, that's what it'll cost."

"Fine, then. How long will it take?"

"I'll do my best to get everything done by tomorrow. As before, I'll deliver the phone directly to your room. Along with the drone."

Qiuyue: (Sigh... I haven't even earned that many points, and now I have to spend so much again. I hate to part with them. Besides, spending this many points would be like telling him I was behind what happened with the first-years. I don't mind if he knows, but I don't want to pay this much.)

"Chairman, unfortunately, it seems I don't have that many points."

"...Qiuyue, you... Fine, I'll take your word for it. But you don't look like you're planning to give up. What do you intend to do?"

"This school has Special Exams, doesn't it?"

"Of course."

"Special Exams are meant to increase Class Points, right?"

"That's right. What are you getting at, Qiuyue?"

"I want to make a bet with you, Chairman. Whatever the next Special Exam is, we'll each choose two classes, then add together the Class Points those two classes earn in the exam. Whoever gets the higher total wins.

"I still want to go through with this transaction, but I don't have the points to pay. If I win the bet, I won't have to pay anything more. If you win, I'll hand over all my points."

After listening, Chairman Sakayanagi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and replied nonchalantly.

"Qiuyue, why do you think I'd accept your bet? And didn't you say you didn't have enough points to pay? No matter how you look at it, I'm the one who'd lose out, aren't I, Qiuyue?"

Qiuyue: (Just keep telling yourself that.)

"Then how many points do you think I have, Chairman? Or are you afraid to take the bet?"

"Heh. A clumsy attempt to provoke me. My guess is that you have around three million Private Points. You don't want to spend them, and you've gone to all this trouble to save them. Are you planning to use them to change classes?"

Qiuyue ignored Chairman Sakayanagi's question and went straight to the point.

"So, Chairman, are you taking the bet or not?"

Chairman Sakayanagi leaned back against the sofa and looked up into Qiuyue's eyes, wearing an inscrutable smile.

"I'll accept, but we'll have to change the stakes. If you lose, Qiuyue, you'll withdraw from school."

Qiuyue: (Oh, damn... I pushed it too far. He's targeting me. In the upcoming events, Ayanokoji will act during the Special Exam because Teacher Chabashira pressures him. If I secretly help another class, I should be able to win. If I add some Private Points to the stakes, the risk might be worth it.)

"All right, but then the stakes aren't even. If I win, you'll also have to give me ten million Private Points."

Chairman Sakayanagi's hand paused as he lifted his teacup.