Points Credited

Shiraishi Makoto had already learned the latest developments from Kushida Kikyo.

Over the past few days, Yamauchi Haruki had been questioned by his "good friends," so he changed his story, claiming, "Kushida was the one I didn't respond to, so she fell for someone else."

Faced with Grandpa Yamauchi's ridiculous move, Kushida Kikyo was so furious she nearly went to kick the railing again. However, Shiraishi Makoto had already prepared a response.

"Now we can indeed tell Ichinose. Someone in Class D has been spreading rumors that Kushida likes Yamauchi, but Kushida herself can't conveniently come forward to address it. So she asked me to put on an act with her and make it look like we're very close during this period. That way, the rumor will collapse on its own," Shiraishi Makoto explained.

"Something like that actually happened?" Ichinose Honami's face was full of shock. She found it hard to imagine something so vile happening at school.

"Please make sure to keep this confidential, Ichinose. Also, please tell everyone this: Kushida and I aren't a couple. She owes our Class A over two hundred thousand points, and she's been troubled by it, so she often comes to discuss the repayment deadline with me." Shiraishi Makoto had complete faith in Class A's great angel.

Ichinose Honami smiled and agreed. "No problem. I'll let everyone know."

At the same time, Kushida Kikyo also began using the explanation Shiraishi Makoto had devised.

"It's not what everyone thinks. I just owe Class A over two hundred thousand points and haven't been able to pay it back, so I've been feeling a little uneasy. Shiraishi is genuinely very kind, though. He's never pressured me to repay the debt, so I can understand why everyone misunderstood."

"But I'm not planning to date anyone right now. If there ever comes a day when I truly like someone, I'll definitely tell everyone and accept your blessings."

With just a few words, she effortlessly dissolved two layers of rumors. She explained why she had been frequently meeting Shiraishi Makoto while quietly slapping down Yamauchi Haruki's wishful thinking.

Yamauchi could still keep making up lies like, "Kushida is just too shy," or, "She doesn't want to announce it because she wants to protect me." But anyone with a functioning brain could see the truth.

"I can only buy three." Inoue found Shiraishi Makoto and submitted a trade request.

Third-Year Class D had so few points? Shiraishi Makoto was somewhat surprised.

Seemingly reading something from Shiraishi Makoto's expression, Inoue explained, "This was everyone's decision after discussion. The remaining Class Funds need to be kept for all kinds of situations over the next two semesters, so we can't put up any more points for now."

"But this is a one-shot deal. Once the school catches on, there might not be another opportunity like this," Shiraishi Makoto reminded him.

"I understand that, of course." Inoue gave a bitter smile. "But this is already our final year. We don't want any student's hard work to go to waste."

If they converted all their Private Points into cash, Third-Year Class D would truly become fish on the chopping block, at the mercy of whoever came after them, with no ability to withstand risk whatsoever.

It wasn't only the third-years who might attack their class. If Nagumo Miyabi from the second year discovered an opportunity like this, he could very well seize it, launch an attack, and further coerce them into signing an unequal contract.

"All right." Shiraishi Makoto had indeed overlooked that point, and he understood Inoue's concerns.

Because the transaction amount was enormous and the two sides did not trust each other to that extent, Shiraishi Makoto asked his homeroom teacher to serve as a witness and oversee the signing of the contract.

Faced with such an unusual situation, Hoshinomiya Chie was uncharacteristically silent. She merely frowned throughout, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Once the payment had truly arrived, Shiraishi Makoto handed 2.55 million Private Points to Kouenji, keeping his own fifteen percent.

"Beautiful Brother really is generous." Having effortlessly received 450,000 Private Points, Shiraishi Makoto's mood improved considerably.

After completing the transaction with Third-Year Class D, students from Third-Year Class C soon came looking for Shiraishi Makoto as well.

Since the trades had begun at the start of the month, everyone still had relatively abundant points on hand. Third-Year Class C scraped together four million points and bought four personally signed copies from Shiraishi Makoto.

Still, the students of both classes would probably become regulars at the mountain-vegetable set meal place this month.

Another 600,000 points had come in. Shiraishi Makoto counted his available funds: the school had issued 303,000 over three months, Hoshinomiya-sensei's commission had paid 300,000, and he had received 950,000 from Beautiful Brother. However, his living expenses over the past two-plus months had exceeded 60,000, while other expenses included 40,000 for a video camera, 50,000 for practice exams for Kushida Kikyo, and 20,000 to support Class D. That left him with a total balance of over 1.37 million.

Naturally, transactions involving such enormous sums could not truly be concealed from the school. What surprised Shiraishi Makoto, however, was that no teacher came to speak with him.

"Good afternoon, Classmate Sakayanagi." Gently pushing open the door to the chess room, Shiraishi Makoto saw Sakayanagi Arisu seated beside the chessboard. "It's been a while."

"Good afternoon, Shiraishi." Sakayanagi Arisu, whose legs were inconvenient, merely gave a slight nod, her tone carrying a faint hint of teasing. "Isn't that because Shiraishi has recently been getting cozy with other girls and forgotten a mere background character like me?"

"It's not that exaggerated." Shiraishi Makoto scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

"Do you know how to play chess?" Sakayanagi Arisu did not pursue the subject, instead pointing to the seat across from her and inviting Shiraishi Makoto to sit.

"I studied it for a year. I'm only a beginner." Shiraishi Makoto walked over and sat down opposite her.

"That's fine. Play a game with me. You go first." Sakayanagi Arisu did not mind.

After the two made a couple of moves on the board, Sakayanagi Arisu slowly spoke. "The school already knows about Shiraishi selling personally signed copies."

"And?" Shiraishi Makoto asked. He did not know how the school would respond.

"To be honest, there's nothing the school can do." Sakayanagi Arisu captured one of Shiraishi Makoto's pieces and smiled. "Shiraishi chose a very good method."

The rules of Pachinko were not impossible to circumvent. On the contrary, there were a hundred ways in Japan to throw an organizer in prison for rules like those. The underlying logic behind its ability to operate in Japan was that people higher up benefited from it too.

The same applied to Shiraishi Makoto's personally signed copy transactions. Kouenji Rokusuke could not purchase points because that rule had existed before he enrolled. But as long as he used a method that did not violate the rules, the school would not interfere with Kouenji.

That was because Kouenji Rokusuke had entered the school due to the cooperation between the Kouenji Conglomerate and Onijima, the current prime minister, while Advanced Nurturing High School had always been supported by the Onijima Faction within the ruling Citizens Party.

"You flatter me. I merely thought that, in a school like this, having more friends could never be a bad thing." Having understood the school's attitude, Shiraishi Makoto breathed a sigh of relief.

This also meant that when the third-years graduated, he would receive another enormous sum of points. Kouenji had said so himself: a few million would probably be enough for him to spend in one school year. If upperclassmen were willing to sell their points, he would not mind buying them all.