Hoshinomiya Chie's Points

This wave of tormenting Karuizawa Kei had earned Chihaya Rei a significant amount of Torment Points from her.

Moreover, Karuizawa Kei was destined to become his long-term experience farm.

After all, when he began her special training... could there possibly be a lack of torment?

This plan would not only help Karuizawa Kei grow, but it would also allow him to earn a steady, long-term stream of Torment Points.

It was simply perfect!

Thinking of this, Chihaya Rei was in an incredibly good mood, inwardly sighing at how right he was to have made this trip.

Afterward, Chihaya Rei told Karuizawa Kei she could head back.

She left quickly; it seemed she needed time to properly digest everything that had happened today.

Chihaya Rei, however, was in no rush to leave Keyaki Mall.

Since he was already here, how could he not stop by the electronics store to buy a few voice recorders and a digital camera?

He bought the voice recorders with the longest battery life available.

As for the digital camera, for the sake of portability, he specifically chose a compact model that came with a lanyard, allowing it to be worn around the neck.

He certainly wouldn't wear it all the time, but he could take it out whenever he needed it.

It was a pity he couldn't find one that could be worn on the head; after all, no one could refuse a man with a camera mounted on his head.

These items cost him a total of 250,000 points; if he hadn't earned 2.4 million points from Classes A, B, and C, he really wouldn't have been able to afford them.

It was Friday, the final day of the first week of school.

As such, after school that day, many students in Class D were excitedly discussing where they planned to go for the weekend.

Chihaya Rei, however, quickened his pace after leaving the classroom and headed toward the infirmary.

Clearly, he wasn't feeling unwell; he possessed the kind of constitution that wouldn't catch a cold or fever even after performing a live show and then standing in the rain.

The reason he came to the infirmary was, of course, to earn points from Hoshinomiya Chie, the homeroom teacher of Class B.

She also served as the infirmary teacher.

"Knock, knock!"

The infirmary door was open, and after confirming there were no other students inside, Chihaya Rei just knocked to announce his presence and walked in.

"Hm?"

Hoshinomiya Chie looked up at the sound.

She was standing behind her desk, holding the white lab coat she had just taken off, wearing a pale pink short-sleeved top and a gray pencil skirt.

"This student, the teacher is already off the clock."

Hoshinomiya Chie looked at Chihaya Rei, her voice soft but carrying a tone of mild regret.

At the same time, out of her duty as the infirmary teacher, she had to ask: "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

"I'm in perfect health."

As Chihaya Rei replied, he walked straight to the spot opposite Hoshinomiya Chie's desk.

He said in a steady voice:

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, I've come to discuss a transaction with you."

"Which class are you from?"

Hoshinomiya Chie asked out of curiosity, then chuckled and said, "Besides, I'm not really interested in point transactions!"

"Why don't you go find another teacher, student?"

She had finally made it to Friday and was looking forward to a two-day break; she was planning to go drinking, the kind that lasted until dawn.

She had no desire to be bothered by a student's trivial matters.

"Class D."

Chihaya Rei gave her a faint glance.

As expected of the alcoholic teacher of Advanced Nurturing High School.

"The content of my transaction is related to Class D, so you'll be interested now, won't you?"

Sure enough, upon hearing Chihaya Rei's words, Hoshinomiya Chie's expression became more serious, clearly dropping the "I just want to go home" attitude she had held moments ago.

"Oh, so you're a student from Sae-chan's class!"

Her expression suddenly turned enthusiastic, and she used a sugary-sweet voice: "Actually, Sae-chan and I are best friends!"

"It's perfectly fine to tell me anything related to Class D."

If Kushida Kikyo was still a green tea in her growth phase, Hoshinomiya Chie was a fully evolved, grand-master green tea.

"By the way, you haven't told me your name yet, student."

After Chihaya Rei stated his name, he smiled and said:

"Teacher, the vibe I get from you two is more like 'plastic' sisters."

[Torturing Hoshinomiya Chie, obtained 1216 Torture Points]

"Eh?!"

Hoshinomiya Chie's eyes widened slightly.

She was surprised, and a wave of speculation washed over her.

Could that wretched woman Chabashira Sae have said something to him?

However, on the surface, Hoshinomiya Chie reached out with a fair, delicate hand to wipe her eyes. Even though there were no tears, she still put on a deeply wounded expression.

"Wuwu, Chihaya-kun, how could you say such mean things? Making wild guesses about the relationship between me and little Sae-chan, Teacher is very sad..."

"We've been best friends since high school, and it's been seven years since we graduated together!"

"That's seven whole years."

Hoshinomiya Chie emphasized with a serious face, holding up her fingers to gesture, as if a profound bond truly existed between her and Chabashira Sae.

In reality, she had hated her for exactly as long as they had been graduated.

Because they had originally had the chance to graduate from Class A together, but Chabashira Sae had destroyed it all with her own hands.

Chihaya Rei chuckled, intending to move on to business.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, I have a way to make Class D's class points drop to zero in this month's behavioral conduct exam. How many points are you willing to pay?"

"Wait, what did you say?"

Upon realizing the content of Chihaya Rei's deal, Hoshinomiya Chie's voice became noticeably startled.

She immediately flashed out from behind her desk and stood in front of Chihaya Rei, her eyes gleaming with excitement, the cute act she had been putting on just moments ago completely vanished.

She performed a masterclass in changing faces without missing a beat.

"You even know about class points?"

"And you say you can make Class D's points drop to zero—can you really do that?"

"I am the one who sold the information to Ichinose Honami, and I haven't told Class D any of this yet."

Chihaya Rei spoke slowly, simultaneously demonstrating his capability and tossing out his bargaining chip to make Hoshinomiya believe he had the power to pull this off.

"..."

Hoshinomiya Chie opened her mouth.

She suddenly understood everything.

She was aware that Ichinose Honami had spent 800,000 points to buy the school's hidden rules and the content of the first exam from a student with a concealed identity.

She just hadn't expected that person to be the Chihaya Rei standing before her, and that he would take the initiative to seek her out.

Hoshinomiya Chie couldn't help but feel a mix of annoyance and lingering fear.

Damn it, shouldn't such a capable student have been assigned to Class A? Why on earth was he put in that wretched woman Chabashira Sae's class?

She wanted to scream at the school's interviewers and ask what they were doing.

Fortunately... this student not only had no intention of contributing to his class, but he was actually planning to backstab them!

Hoshinomiya Chie couldn't help but feel a surge of delight, and she quickly asked:

"How many points do you want?"

Asking this proved that Hoshinomiya intended to agree to the deal.

"Teacher, you should make the first offer. After all, I'm just an ordinary student and don't quite understand the value of points yet."

Compared to Hoshinomiya's agitation, Chihaya Rei's expression was much calmer.

Hearing this, Hoshinomiya Chie frowned slightly and fell into thought.

She did a rough calculation. In previous years, after the first month's behavioral conduct exam, Class D usually had between 300 and 500 points remaining.

So, even if she calculated based on the minimum of 300 points, that still amounted to a full 1.2 million points when distributed among 40 students.

Although that 1.2 million wouldn't all go to Chihaya Rei alone.

But if she could offer a sum approaching or exceeding that amount, it would be enough to sway anyone.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, she thought, considering her own savings.

Hoshinomiya Chie took a deep breath, her gaze resolute, and said decisively:

"As long as you can pull this off, I can give you 1.5 million points."

"However, I must clarify that it's inconvenient to transfer that many points all at once. I can pay you 500,000 points first, and the rest later."

Hoshinomiya Chie's explanation for this was as follows.

The school prohibited teachers from interfering in the competition between classes, at least on the surface; if caught, the consequences could be severe, potentially even leading to dismissal.

But behind the scenes, it was a matter of turning a blind eye.

That was why she had always only dared to pull minor stunts, the kind that wouldn't leave behind any evidence.

But if she were to strike a deal of such a large amount with Chihaya Rei so early in the school year, it would inevitably invite suspicion from the school.

"..."

Chihaya Rei cast a surprised look at Hoshinomiya.

He had no idea how many points Hoshinomiya was willing to spend on this matter.

He had asked her to name her price only because he was worried that if he set it too low, she would agree to it in a heartbeat. He hadn't expected her to be so generous.

"Deal. Now, write me an IOU."

Chihaya Rei suppressed the corners of his mouth.

A joyful smile appeared on Hoshinomiya's face: "Eh? Do you really distrust your teacher that much?"

"Of course I do."

Chihaya Rei said without a hint of politeness.

Among the four homeroom teachers of this grade, the only normal one was Mashima Tomoya of Class A.

So, it was no wonder he was the one qualified to be the homeroom teacher of Class A.

Hoshinomiya Chie then took out her phone, transferred 500,000 points to Chihaya Rei, and then narrowed her eyes as she asked:

"What if you take my points but fail to get the job done?"

"Does Teacher Hoshinomiya really think that's something you need to worry about?"

Chihaya Rei retorted, his tone becoming a bit more casual:

"If I can't get it done, it's nothing more than returning the points to you. You won't have lost anything."

"And if I can't pay the points back, wouldn't I just become your best mole in Class D?"

Though, that was an impossibility.

How could this matter possibly fail?

Hoshinomiya Chie's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

What Chihaya Rei said made perfect sense.

"Mm-hmm! Then it's a deal, little Chihaya. Teacher is starting to like you more and more."

In the blink of an eye, Hoshinomiya Chie returned to her sweet persona, even going so far as to tempt Chihaya Rei further:

"As long as Class D's points hit zero, I can even introduce our class's Honami to you."

"This girl's name is Ichinose Honami. You should have heard of her; she's very pretty and cute, and definitely the most popular girl in the grade."

"Not interested."

Contrary to Hoshinomiya's expectation that Chihaya Rei would be looking forward to it, Chihaya Rei refused quite decisively, his words laced with a hint of sarcasm.

"Using your own student as a bargaining chip—you really are despicable."

[Tortured Hoshinomiya Chie, obtained 2516 Torture Points]

Hoshinomiya Chie couldn't help but offer a sheepish smile.

However, she still left with a cheerful gait, ready to go drink to her heart's content!

As long as she spent her personal points to wipe out Class D's class points, this deal was well worth it to her.

Chihaya Rei thought to himself that she might feel like she had won, but he was the one who had truly hit the jackpot.

After all, he was the only one who knew that he didn't have to do a single thing, and Class D's class points would hit zero all on their own!