Makoto Nishikado had made a special trip to Class D because he was looking for a skill that would help him fight.
Advanced Nurturing was known as a school where might made right, but there was a huge gap between Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and everyone else.
Makoto's original target on this trip to Class D had been Koenji Rokusuke.
After the commotion just now, the emotion points Koenji had provided were already enough.
Unfortunately, Koenji only had one skill worth over ten million points.
[Name: Koenji Rokusuke]
[Available skills:]
[Ape, price: 10.21 million points. Possesses physical abilities unmatched by ordinary humans, at the cost of becoming insanely obsessed with your own body.]
[Chariot, price: 630,000 points. An existence on par with a Tyrannosaurus rex. Feel free to make the comparison when you're on the toilet—you'll be the coolest guy around.]
"How much?"
The moment the panel appeared, Makoto's eyes widened.
It was the first time he had seen a skill worth tens of millions.
Back in Class D, he had stirred up a commotion and gained a huge number of emotion points.
He had earned nearly two million in one go.
Yamauchi and Karuizawa had provided the most emotion points.
Makoto had made a fortune, and he had been quite pleased.
But even with all those points and what he had saved up before, he still had only a little over five million emotion points.
Makoto clicked his tongue in disappointment and exchanged points only for the Chariot skill.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
Yuki Himeno, following behind him, was confused.
Makoto had been in high spirits just moments ago. Why was he suddenly sighing?
"It's nothing. I just feel like I can't take a step without points."
Makoto sighed.
He meant emotion points, but Himeno naturally assumed he was talking about personal points.
"If you need more personal points, should we apply to move some of the class funds?"
Himeno didn't give it much thought and offered her suggestion.
The class funds had been saved to protect the money contributed by their classmates, but when the time came, they had to be used.
"No need. I'll figure something out myself."
Makoto waved his hand casually, then opened the panels for the others.
To his surprise, not only did Koenji lack any fighting skills, but the seemingly fierce Ken Sudō's fighting ability was also pretty average.
It was worth only 200,000 points.
By contrast, Horikita Suzune's fighting skill was worth as much as 590,000 points.
If not for the obvious difference in their physical abilities, Sudō would have been no match for Horikita.
The only person with a fighting skill worth over a million was someone Makoto had almost overlooked.
[Name: Hirata Yosuke]
[Available skills:]
[Anti-Bullying through Bullying, price: 1.37 million points. If you don't understand reason, then I know a thing or two about force.]
[All-Rounder, price: 990,000 points. Able to achieve something in any field, but with a relatively low ceiling.]
Makoto had almost forgotten that, despite his amiable appearance, Hirata was a monster who had bullied the entire school single-handedly.
His physical abilities weren't bad, but they weren't especially strong either.
He was weaker than Koenji, and even Sudō and Hayato Shibata were stronger than him.
To accomplish what he had, Hirata naturally had to be an expert in practical combat.
Makoto exchanged points for the skill, saving himself a million emotion points.
Now, with physical abilities worth three million points and fighting skills worth over a million, there were hardly any students left at Advanced Nurturing who could beat him.
He really could take on ten people at once now.
"Boss, can I ask you something?"
Seeing the clouds clear from Makoto's face, Himeno finally gave in to her curiosity.
"You're curious about something? Let's hear it."
Makoto had thought Himeno would just keep being an obedient corporate drone.
He hadn't expected her to do more than simply follow instructions.
"We have to honor our agreement with the student council president, but you seem to be going above and beyond, boss."
Himeno had once wondered if Makoto was interested in Horikita Suzune, since he had gone out of his way to visit Class D today.
They could have just arranged to meet somewhere.
But after observing him, Himeno didn't think that was the case.
Makoto seemed to find Horikita's personality rather troublesome. He didn't look as happy around her as he did around Himeno.
"What do you think of the students in Class D?"
Makoto didn't answer directly, instead prompting Himeno to keep thinking.
It was good for his subordinate to have her own ideas, as long as they aligned with her master's and she didn't act on her own initiative.
Makoto wasn't worried that Himeno would take matters into her own hands. He was worried she wouldn't understand what he was thinking.
If that happened, she wouldn't be able to act as an extension of his will.
Perhaps guiding her this way would gradually bring her around to his way of thinking.
"Most of them are pretty ordinary. A few are downright awful."
Himeno didn't know what Makoto was thinking, but her expression changed as soon as she heard the topic.
While accompanying Airi Sakura earlier, she had heard about some of the things the Class D students did in their daily lives.
It was hard to believe.
Were those people even proper students?
If it were up to her, she'd rather drop out than share a class with them.
The place was absolutely rotten.
"Then tell me: in the class competition, would it be easy or difficult for us to plant a spy in Class D?"
"Would Class D's students feel more gratitude or resentment toward whoever led them?"
"And would the school allow someone like Yamauchi to earn a guaranteed spot in university or employment?"
Makoto continued asking questions.
"...Boss, are you saying that if Class D's overall quality doesn't improve, they can't graduate as Class A?"
"And they can't unite, so there's no need to worry about them becoming a threat?"
Himeno finally understood.
"There's something I've said many times, and you need to remember it too."
"No matter how strange Advanced Nurturing is, it's still a school."
After explaining, Makoto slowly shared his thoughts.
He didn't know how the original story had ended, but with him around, Class D was destined not to get the best outcome.
Now that Horikita Suzune had become his apprentice and been influenced by the way he thought, no matter how things developed, it would benefit both him and Class B.
"She has the ability to become Class D's leader, and our Class B is her natural ally. Since Class D can't win in the end, everything that happens along the way will just draw fire away from Class B. We're caught between Classes A and C, so we need at least one ally."
"If she works hard for a while, realizes she can't succeed in Class D, and decides to spend personal points to transfer, her first choice would be us, given her personality. So if I train her now, isn't that the same as cultivating one of our own?"
"Finally, Class D is a mess, but that's exactly why leading it can thoroughly hone someone's abilities. Graduating as Class A isn't the whole point of our lives. Whatever the outcome, the Horikita siblings will owe me for this."
In Makoto's view, no matter what Horikita Suzune chose, she wouldn't turn her blade on him.
Horikita wasn't some fake priest who liked stabbing people in the back. She hadn't called him "teacher" all those times for nothing.
There was another reason Makoto hadn't mentioned.
As far as Class D was concerned, the only thing he needed to worry about was Ayanokoji turning Horikita into a cold, heartless person.
Now that Ayanokoji had lost the initiative, he had only two choices.
Either he disappeared completely and defied his father's wishes, content to live as an idle student.
Or he chose someone else to act as his proxy.
Then Class D would appear to have two proxies fighting for power, when in reality it would be Makoto and Ayanokoji battling it out.
No matter who won, Class D was already a scattered mess. It couldn't withstand the strain of two suns in the sky.
Considering Sae Chabashira was involved, the latter was more likely.
All things considered, Horikita Suzune might make a fortune, but Makoto would never lose.
"...Boss, was all of this part of your plan?"
Himeno listened, stunned. It took her a long time to recover.
"Don't make it sound so sinister. How could anything I've done not have helped her?"
Makoto asked calmly.
Facing Himeno, he could even say, "My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror."
Because if you ignored what he was thinking, everything he had done really had helped Horikita Suzune.
Besides, Horikita Manabu had asked him to do all of it.
Even if this plan were exposed, the Horikita siblings wouldn't have much to say.
They'd have to thank him.
Before you continue