Action Begins

Kushida Kikyo thought it over carefully and found no flaw in the plan. She had run herself ragged to keep them from being expelled and had even "owed" tens of thousands of Private Points. Even if she had no merit, she had certainly put in the effort. When the reckoning came, no one else in the class would have any standing to blame her.

If those students who got expelled blamed her for their failing grades, that would be even more ridiculous. Failing an exam was a matter of one's own academic ability and attitude. The other students in the class would understand that too.

What was more, ever since learning the truth about how their Class Points had been deducted to zero, those people had shown no remorse whatsoever. Sudo Ken in particular still slept openly in class, and plenty of students had privately complained to her about their dissatisfaction with them. If a conflict really broke out, the rest of the class would definitely defend her.

In the end, once those people were kicked out of school, their thoughts and resentment would no longer mean anything.

All she needed to do was put on a convincing performance of grief, reluctance, and guilt before the class, preserving the image she had built for herself.

"I understand what you mean." Kushida Kikyo happily accepted the points, and her mood brightened as well.

For Class D, which had received no Private Points in May, these 50,000 Private Points were practically a godsend.

To maintain her social life, Kushida Kikyo's expenses during the first month had not been small. Although she had saved a little, during the first week of the second month, quite a few classmates came to borrow money from her. It pained her, and she knew there was a good chance the money would never be returned, but she lent it out anyway to maintain those relationships.

If she could bargain the exam questions down to 30,000 or 40,000 points, she could save over 10,000 points. Of course, she could not spend those 10,000 openly, since she still had to accompany her classmates to eat the free mountain vegetable set meals. But buying some better toiletries now and then, or having a couple of nicer meals to improve her diet, would be enough to last more than a month.

She had originally thought Shiraishi Makoto would order her to do something embarrassing, such as openly becoming the class's enemy or satisfying his personal desires. She had never expected the task he arranged to suit her wishes so perfectly.

Even if he had not caught her weakness, if she learned of such an opportunity, she probably would have joined without hesitation, wouldn't she?

"Then I wish you success. I've already paid the money." Shiraishi Makoto drained his coffee in one gulp, rose to his feet, and left.

Watching Shiraishi Makoto leave the café, Kushida Kikyo picked up her fork and quietly savored the delicious dessert.

The Midterm Exam was scheduled for the fourth week of May. Another week had passed, which meant there was only one week left until the next exam.

Knock, knock, knock. On Saturday morning, Shiraishi Makoto was in his room doing homework when he heard someone knock on his door.

When he opened it, Kushida Kikyo stood outside, wearing that gentle, harmless smile that always seemed just right.

"Kushida? How did you know I lived here?" Shiraishi Makoto was somewhat surprised. He had never told her his address.

"I asked the dorm supervisor." Kushida Kikyo smiled. "Shiraishi, are you really going to talk outside? Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Come in, then." Shiraishi Makoto had not expected the dorm supervisor to provide that kind of information, but he immediately guessed that Kushida Kikyo had come to report on Class D's specific situation. Discussing it at the door was indeed not ideal.

As soon as Kushida Kikyo entered Shiraishi Makoto's room, she began looking around.

"It's my first time visiting a boy's dorm room. I didn't expect your room to be this ordinary, Shiraishi. Isn't it basically the same as when we first arrived at school?"

This school received government funding, and nearly every aspect of its facilities was maintained at the highest standard. Even the dorm rooms previously occupied by upperclassmen were renovated after they left, so every new student received a room of the same standard.

Shiraishi Makoto's room contained only the most basic daily necessities, to say nothing of any decoration.

"I don't have much to drink in my room. I can only offer you plain water." Shiraishi Makoto took out a cup, washed it, filled it with water, and handed it to Kushida Kikyo.

"I don't mind." Kushida Kikyo accepted the cup and began telling him about her side of things.

"The day after you approached me, Horikita invited me to lunch and asked me to call out Ike, Sudo, and Yamauchi. I did as she said, and then Horikita made a study plan for them. If they can stick with it, getting through this exam should be easy, right?"

"So I hurried to contact some upperclassmen I knew. At first, they were a little hesitant, but when I pretended I was going to look for someone else, they immediately agreed."

"Maybe because our class didn't receive any Private Points in the first month, and the other first-year classes did not really need these exam questions, I successfully bargained the price down to 15,000 points. As you said, the remaining 35,000 points all go to me~" Kushida Kikyo did not hide the true cost of this operation.

"That's what you deserve." Shiraishi Makoto merely smiled.

"Since the three of them had been studying together during the day these past few days, I was planning to contact them separately over the weekend. But something happened yesterday." At this point, Kushida Kikyo's expression became rather subtle.

"Yesterday, after school, while they were having dinner, Horikita wanted to check on their studying on the spot. But a student from Class C beside them provoked them. His exact words were roughly, 'No wonder you're defective products. You don't even know the scope of the social studies exam.'"

"But Horikita was clearly asking questions within the exam scope the teacher had marked out, so I came to ask you about it."

"Oh, come to think of it, last Friday our homeroom teacher notified us that the exam scope had been changed. It does not matter much for students who are good at studying, but it can be deadly for students hovering around the passing line. Looks like Chabashira did not tell you." Shiraishi Makoto confirmed that it was true.

"Seriously, what the hell is that old hag trying to do?" Kushida Kikyo complained. Last Friday had been eight days ago. Could someone really be that forgetful?

Class D's biggest problem was its homeroom teacher. That was Shiraishi Makoto's honest impression. However, he did not reveal it and instead considered Class D's current situation.

"Then find time over the weekend to notify the three of them. It would be best if you also completed the purchase of the exam questions while you are at it. On Monday, go with Horikita to ask your homeroom teacher about the exam scope and make them give up completely. Oh, and keep it hidden for the next couple of days. Once the changed exam scope is confirmed on Monday, it will not matter if Horikita finds out that you bought the exam questions."

"I get it, I get it." Kushida Kikyo made an OK gesture. She understood Horikita Suzune fairly well, and when Horikita had asked her to invite Sudo and the others, she had openly admitted that all her goals were for the sake of reaching Class A.

What Horikita needed was for the three of them to pass the exam. Therefore, it did not matter whether they learned the material themselves or raised their scores with Archived Exam Questions.

"But the only problem is that after the exam scope is changed, the people who need Archived Exam Questions might not be limited to those three. Keep things under control on your end." Before finishing, Shiraishi Makoto still gave her a reminder. If too many Class D students failed because of the Archived Exam Questions, even Kushida Kikyo's popularity would make it difficult for her to escape blame.

"Let me think... I'll say it is part of the transaction terms: 5,000 points per person, and they are not allowed to tell anyone else." After thinking for a moment, Kushida Kikyo came up with a remedy.

That excuse was not bad. Its only drawback was that she would need to coordinate her story with the upperclassmen, increasing the risk of the plan being exposed. But compared with being blamed by the entire class, Kushida Kikyo was willing to take that risk.