Shizuku's Exposure Risk

The three third-year leaders were well aware that Shiraishi Makoto and Kouenji Rokusuke were doing this deliberately.

But even so, under the current regulations, the school had no way to hold either of them accountable.

Because the second step of this transaction would take place off-campus, by which point the third-years would have already graduated, and the school would no longer have the authority to intervene.

And Shiraishi Makoto's choice of "Shizuku's" exclusive signed photo as the trade item was itself a risk-avoidance measure. An exclusive autograph did carry commercial value, and its price was highly unstable—there were plenty of examples in the market of such items selling for high prices. The buyer could simply claim to be a fan of "Shizuku" and that purchasing the exclusive autograph was either a fan action or an investment.

Shiraishi Makoto had gone to find Sakura Airi last night and obtained twenty signed photos from her. In his estimation, given the third-years' resolve and purchasing power, 20 million points was roughly the upper limit they could trade for.

"I'm a bit interested now, but I need to go back and discuss it with my classmates," spoke Inoue from Class D first.

As the class with the lowest probability of advancing to Class A, he had long entertained the thought of giving up on the competition. But without aiming for Class A, their Class D would lose its meaning for being at school, so it was the lingering unwillingness that kept their class moving forward.

Now that there was a way to cut losses, converting personal points into cash might not be a bad choice—they did need to plan for life after graduation.

"Then let's exchange contact info." Shiraishi Makoto pulled out his phone and added Inoue.

Seeing Inoue already taking action, Yamashita from Class C also felt tempted and added Shiraishi Makoto's contact.

"You're impressive," Sato from Class B said, looking at Shiraishi Makoto with an unusually serious expression.

With Shiraishi Makoto's move, the fighting spirit and competitive drive of Classes C and D among the third-years would take a serious hit, and Class A's dominance would only grow more stable. But as the leader of Class B, the class closest to Class A, he couldn't afford to slack off now.

"I have no idea what the senior means," Shiraishi Makoto replied, maintaining a smile.

"We might not buy, but I'm interested in you as a person. Let's exchange contacts." Sato sighed and spoke.

"Sure thing."

The discussion ended. Shiraishi Makoto glanced at Kouenji Rokusuke, who was still savoring his coffee, but didn't approach him. He left the café alone.

When school let out in the afternoon, Shiraishi Makoto didn't follow his classmates or head to the student council office. Instead, he went alone to the special teaching building.

The special teaching building had a unique role at the Advanced Nurturing High School. First, its classrooms were mostly used for special subjects like home economics or physics experiments. Second, the number of surveillance cameras here was noticeably lower than in the main teaching building or dormitories.

Moreover, there were no club activity rooms here, and it was relatively far from the main areas, so once school ended, hardly anyone was around. Shiraishi Makoto didn't usually come here often—in the original story, Ryuen Kakeru had set up Sudo Ken here in the special teaching building.

"Shiraishi-kun, sorry to keep you waiting." Soon, a figure emerged from the stairwell and spotted Shiraishi Makoto leaning against the wall, playing on his phone.

"Sakura-san, good afternoon. I haven't been waiting long." Shiraishi Makoto stepped forward to help Sakura Airi with her bag. Knowing she had gone back to the dorm to grab things before coming, he had deliberately slowed his pace.

"But... is it okay with the student council?" Sakura Airi remembered that Shiraishi Makoto had student council duties and should be working around this time.

"It's fine. This week I'm in charge of equipment inspection here, so I'll just check it on the way." Shiraishi Makoto pulled out a large key ring from his bag and jangled it in front of her.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Shiraishi-kun... about the photoshoot..." Hearing this, Sakura Airi relaxed and spoke in a small voice.

"This is what I promised you, as payment for the trade." Shiraishi Makoto waved his hand lightly.

Originally, Shiraishi Makoto had planned to buy Sakura Airi's exclusive signed photo for a few tens of thousands of points, but she had refused the offer and instead asked him to accompany her for another photoshoot.

Shiraishi Makoto naturally couldn't turn down the invitation, so the two agreed to meet at the special teaching building, where few people came, to shoot photos in different styles.

For Sakura Airi, the main constraint on her photoshoots was a lack of personal points. There were so many classrooms here with different themes. With matching outfits, she could easily shoot styles like "scholar," "lab researcher," or "girl next door," but limited by not having enough points to buy the corresponding clothes, she could only stick with the student uniform from last time.

The reason she chose a busy weekday instead of a relaxed weekend for the shoot was also specific. The photos from last time had been taken by Shiraishi Makoto for "exclusive" content, and Sakura Airi had even deleted the negatives, so naturally, she hadn't posted them online.

It had been a while since she last posted as "Shizuku." Seeing the eager anticipation in the comments from her fans, Sakura Airi had taken the initiative to ask Shiraishi Makoto to spare some time to help her shoot new photos.

The two moved through one empty classroom after another, using different backdrops and lighting, constantly adjusting angles and poses, snapping a series of photos in various styles.

An hour passed in a flash, and the shoot ended smoothly, with enough finished photos accumulated.

"By the way, I told you before—if they're willing to look into it, it's easy for them to find out you're 'Shizuku.'" Shiraishi Makoto handed the camera back to Sakura Airi and reminded her.

He didn't even need to hand the photos over to the third-year seniors. If the third-years put their minds to it, they could figure out that "Shizuku" was a student at the school, and matching her hair color would give it away.

"It's... it's okay. I'll be prepared." Sakura Airi still looked a bit flustered, but she spoke quietly.

Shiraishi Makoto had considered this situation before taking the photos, but he didn't think it was a bad thing.

In his view, Sakura Airi was a bit like a female version of Sudo Ken.

Sudo Ken, as long as he kept his studies from dragging him down, should focus all his energy on basketball. Similarly, Sakura Airi, after ensuring her basic academic life, should focus on her idol career.

The problem now was that Sakura Airi couldn't even secure a basic life—she had a huge defect in interpersonal communication, which was why she had been placed in Class D.

Because she was shy, she wouldn't actively talk to others, and because of that, others wouldn't talk to her either, trapping her in a vicious cycle of self-isolation.

But from Shiraishi Makoto's interactions with Sakura Airi and the direction of the original story, it was clear that Sakura Airi wasn't completely unable to communicate—she just lacked the ability to take the first step, and there was no one to help her take it.

So Shiraishi Makoto thought this was a good opportunity—to slowly let the news that she was "Shizuku" leak out while getting her used to interacting with others.

However, to prevent any unexpected complications along the way, Shiraishi Makoto decided to entrust someone else to help look after Sakura Airi.