Clash with the Chairman

The next morning, in the dormitory, Qiuyue Qi opened a suitcase he had prepared in advance. Inside were two pinhole cameras, two listening devices, four voice recorders, and a voice changer—all things he had managed to acquire back when he was a hacker.

"What a shame, I couldn't get pinhole cameras with audio. No sound makes this tricky."

"I left early yesterday and went to the Judo Club, then walked all over the school and noted down the camera positions."

"But I can't avoid all the cameras completely. Time to head out."

Qiuyue Qi grabbed a few things and stuffed them into his backpack, left the dormitory, and walked to a coffee shop. He went into the restroom, pulled a hat and mask from his bag, changed clothes, and climbed out through the window.

"There are no cameras in this area. Next stop, the Special Building," Qiuyue Qi muttered to himself.

After finishing everything, he changed back into his school uniform, sat in the coffee shop drinking coffee, and waited for the entrance ceremony.

"I am Horikita Manabu, student council president."

"With the graduation of the upperclassmen, the student council will be recruiting candidates from the first-year students. There are no special requirements for candidates, but if anyone is considering running for the student council, please avoid joining other clubs. Those who wish to participate in both the student council and other clubs will, in principle, not be accepted."

His tone was gentle, yet it created a tension in the air that felt like it was piercing the skin. By himself, he silenced over a hundred new students in the vast gymnasium.

Qiuyue Qi sighed inwardly.

Watching the anime in my past life, I didn't feel it, but a single person carrying the entire Class A—this pressure really is no joke.

Still, no matter what, I have to gather 20 million points and rise to Class A.

Time for the next step.

Waiting for the entrance ceremony to end, Qiuyue Qi picked up his backpack and headed toward his next destination.

Qiuyue Qi stopped in front of a door, took a deep breath, exhaled, and knocked.

Above it was clearly written—Chairman's Office.

"Come in."

Qiuyue Qi opened the door, entered, and closed it behind him. His hands were in his pockets, and his bag hung from his shoulder.

"Oh my, oh my, what a rare guest. A student actually coming to see me. Have a seat first."

Qiuyue Qi put down his bag and sat on the sofa. His hands naturally returned to his pockets as he looked at the chairman and said, "Hello, Chairman. I'd like to ask—can points buy anything I want?"

"Of course. But could you stop recording first? You're holding your phone in your pocket and recording, aren't you?"

Chairman Sakayanagi wore a playful smile as he looked at Qiuyue Qi. A first-year, not bad awareness. Class A or Class B?

Qiuyue Qi steadied his nerves, took his phone out of his pocket, and closed the recording interface right in front of Chairman Sakayanagi. He looked at the chairman and spoke.

"Then I'll cut to the chase. I need to buy a school-issued phone and SIM card—one not registered to any student. Everything else should function the same."

"An interesting idea. That way, neither the teachers nor the student council can trace it, since the student this phone belongs to doesn't exist. But why not ask your homeroom teacher?"

"I don't trust Teacher Chabashira."

Do you expect me to tell you I know the original story—that her obsession with reaching Class A is strong, and if I show my abilities in front of her, she'll use me as a tool?

Qiuyue Qi was utterly speechless inside.

Chairman Sakayanagi's fingers twitched slightly as his mind raced.

Chabashira? So he's a Class D student. I thought he'd be from Class A or B. With the level of excellence this child has shown so far, he shouldn't have ended up in Class D. I'll have to look into this thoroughly.

"Then what about the other homeroom teachers?"

"There's competition between classes. If I go to another teacher, even if they keep it secret, I can't guarantee they won't guide their own students to find me out."

Chairman Sakayanagi's gaze sharpened, but his expression remained unchanged. He thought to himself.

He's already figured out the school's rules on the first day of enrollment? Truly impressive, this child.

"Is that so? Using points to buy a phone and SIM card with no student information—this is a first. How many points do you think would be appropriate?"

"How about 10,000?"

"Hahaha, that's quite a good joke. How about 500,000?"

"I think the chairman's joke is even funnier. It's just a phone, after all. You're really asking for a lot, Chairman! 200,000."

"300,000."

"Deal."

"...After the payment of 300,000 points was made."

Chairman Yanagibayashi spoke first.

"On the second day of school, not only have you seen through the school's hidden rules, but you also have 300,000 personal points. Impressive. In my opinion, Qiuyue-kun, you still have more personal points left, don't you?"

Qiuyue Qi's expression tensed.

This old man is this sharp?

"No need to be so guarded. I have no interest in how many points you have left, and I won't interfere. In this school, I treat all students equally, so relax."

"The phone will be delivered to your dormitory in three days. And you can put away your voice recorder."

Chairman Yanagibayashi maintained that same smiling expression from start to finish, his eyes fixed straight on Qiuyue Qi, sending a chill down his spine.

Looking into those eyes, the pressure on Qiuyue Qi's heart was like a heavy hammer smashing down, making it hard to breathe, and the back of his shirt slowly soaked through with sweat.

Qiuyue: (As expected, the older the ginger, the spicier it is? This feeling of being seen through is truly unpleasant, but can you really see through me?)

Qiuyue Qi slowly reached his hand into the other pocket—the one opposite the one he'd taken his phone from—and pulled out a pen. Looking into the chairman's eyes, he decided to turn off the recording pen and placed it on the table.

"Since you, Chairman, already noticed, why didn't you say so from the start?"

Chairman Yanagibayashi stood up, walking to the sofa across from Qiuyue Qi as he said teasingly:

"Qiuyue-kun doesn't trust me either, does he? I could tell the moment you walked in."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka

That's... Qiuyue-kun. He's been alone just like me all this time, hasn't he? No... where is he going? Why is he carrying a bag?

"Yo! Ayanokoji-kun, you came too."

Who's calling me? Sudo-kun.

"No, I'm just visiting. You said the word 'too,' which means Sudo, you're joining a club?"

"Yeah, I've been into basketball since elementary school, so I want to play here too."

"Sudo, do you need to bring anything yourself to join a club?"

"Not really? I dunno, I didn't bring anything anyway. Why do you ask?"

"...Nothing."

What's in his bag?