Point Deductions

All three were surprised by U Amakusa's answer.

Kanzaki, who had been standing ever since he entered, now sat cross-legged on the floor.

Hoshinomiya puckered her lips again and opened her arms, wanting to hug U Amakusa.

"Amakusa." Ichinose looked him straight in the eye. "I don't think this is right, either for Sakura or for you."

"Although I'm an outsider and shouldn't interfere with your decisions, I still think Sakura has the right to know—not just about that incident, but about the class transfer, too."

U Amakusa said, "Ichinose, even if she transfers, Class B would need Sakura's consent to spend 20 million Private Points on her. She'll make her own choice when the time comes.

"And as for that incident, you don't know the whole story. I don't think Sakura knowing about it would be good for her, so I don't want to say more on the subject.

"Anyway, Hoshinomiya-sensei, please put what we just discussed into a written contract."

Kanzaki interrupted. "Wait. You're asking us to spend 20 million Private Points to buy a student from Class D, which you say has the lowest overall ability. And aside from the hidden rules, you don't seem to be offering us any other benefits. This is a losing deal for us.

"Besides, what are you planning to do with the remaining 10 million Private Points?"

U Amakasa inexplicably recalled the time in the Student Council Room. That feeling had been pretty satisfying.

"Don't worry. I'll offer terms you won't be able to refuse. As for the remaining 10 million Private Points..."

As he spoke, U Amakusa slowly turned his gaze to Hoshinomiya.

Seeing this, Hoshinomiya pointed at herself in confusion.

"Huh? I'm paying?"

U Amakusa nodded calmly. "Yeah, you are."

"Ahaha, you cheeky kid. Where would a teacher get that kind of—"

"In one month, I'll make Class D the first class in Advanced Nurturing to start with zero points."

At that, Hoshinomiya abruptly stopped herself from refusing.

"I'd love to support you, but I can only contribute 3 million Private Points. Anything more than that is..."

U Amakusa interrupted Hoshinomiya again.

"I told you, my offer is something you won't be able to refuse.

"Just this once, I'll bring Class A down and make the current Class B the new Class A."

U Amakusa was in Class A, yet he wanted to bring it down. What would the people in Class A think if they found out?

Kanzaki asked, "How are you planning to bring Class A down?"

No one objected. Kanzaki had simply moved the conversation along, which meant all three had tacitly agreed to the deal.

U Amakusa walked over to his bed and plopped down. Holding up two fingers, he slowly began, "There are two ways: deductions and additions."

Kanzaki asked, "Deductions?"

Ichinose asked, "Additions?"

U Amakusa said, "Once the first month is over, students will no longer lose points for various types of misconduct, except for extremely serious offenses, like kicking over a trash can or peeping.

"Class A students obviously wouldn't make those kinds of mistakes, but we can make them do it anyway."

Kanzaki propped his chin on his hand and thought it over. "Make them do it anyway..."

Ichinose thought for a moment and came up with an answer.

"Start a fight?"

U Amakusa snapped his fingers. "Exactly. A fight. When someone is attacked, most people instinctively fight back.

"Especially boys. If a boy gets hit in the groin, anyone would retaliate.

"As long as we get someone to attack a Class A student and make it look like a mutual fight, the school will suspend them and deduct Class Points, as far as I know."

Kanzaki frowned. "But both sides would be punished. Could we really get students from another class to do this? Their class would lose Class Points, too.

"And if Class A students are always under the cameras, wouldn't the whole plan fall apart?"

Ichinose nodded along.

U Amakusa shook his head. "You're forgetting one crucial point. I just said I'd make Class D the first class in Advanced Nurturing's history to start with zero points.

"Zero Class Points means zero Private Points. The students in Class D would have to live on relief supplies.

"But what if we gave them points? Some of the scum in Class D would come crawling to us. They wouldn't have to pay their own medical bills, they'd welcome a suspension, and they'd get points, too.

"And the cameras? We need the cameras. Did they strike first? Doesn't matter. Was it self-defense? I'd say it was excessive self-defense, and then it could be treated as such."

Ichinose asked, puzzled, "Treated as excessive self-defense?"

Kanzaki also looked at U Amakusa, clearly confused.

U Amakusa slapped his forehead and sighed. "Ichinose, Kanzaki, get those brain cells working. Don't ask me for the answer right away.

"But I'll let it slide this time. Do you remember what points can be used for? Points can be used to transfer classes, so they can also be used to bribe the school nurse and forge medical certificates."

All three of them clearly understood how vicious the plan was.

Ichinose thought she'd found a flaw. "What if the students in Class A see through our plan and offer even more points to get students from Class D to attack us instead?"

U Amakusa spread his hands. "What else can we do? Play dead. The moment we're attacked, we just drop to the ground and roll around.

"After all, the students in Class D are just high school freshmen. This isn't about who can fight. It's about who's more shameless and more of a nuisance."

Ichinose: ...

Kanzaki: ...

Kanzaki rubbed his forehead, speechless, but clearly thought U Amakusa's plan could work.

"What about Class B's points? We need 50,000 Private Points for class expenses, and we'll need to hire students from Class D and forge medical certificates. The points..."

As he spoke, Kanzaki looked at U Amakusa. Since U Amakusa had come up with the idea, he must have a solution.

But U Amakusa, who was taking a sip of barley tea beside him, nearly choked.

Shit, I forgot about that!

Wait, I think I have an idea.

"I happen to have two spots available for joining the Student Council. I'll sell one of them to Kohei Katsuragi from Class A. That should solve the points problem.

"As for the remaining spot... Ichinose, have you ever thought about joining the Student Council?"

Ichinose was a little surprised. She had indeed been vaguely considering joining the Student Council.

"Yeah, I've thought about it a little."

"Then..." U Amakusa remembered that there was a troublesome person in the Student Council, too, and stopped himself mid-sentence. "No, joining the Student Council right now wouldn't be a good choice."

"Huh? Why not?"

U Amakusa sighed. "Miyabi Nagumo, a second-year, is fighting for control of the Student Council with the current Student Council President. There's no need to invite trouble."

Ichinose weighed the pros and cons and decided U Amakusa had a point.

"Yeah, the class competition should come first for now. With your help, Class B has a good chance of moving up and becoming Class A."

Kanzaki looked at U Amakusa. It seemed he was gradually starting to see him as the one to rely on.

"Who are you going to sell the remaining spot to?"

U Amakusa took a deep breath, and someone gradually came to mind.

"I have someone in mind."