The Sensation of First Year (Part 1)

The order of this chapter and the next was swapped, my apologies, brothers.

Once the applause died down, Ichinose asked, "I heard from Kanzaki that you had something you wanted to discuss with me, Kitahara?"

"Yes, there is indeed a matter that requires your presence," Kitahara replied.

"I want to join Class B."

As Kitahara's words fell, all three of them wore expressions of astonishment.

Kanzaki's eyes widened instinctively, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

Ichinose's mouth hung slightly agape, her face filled with bewilderment.

The most dramatic reaction came from Kamuro, who was sitting to the side; she stood up with a start and said, "You're actually going to transfer classes, just like Sakayanagi said."

Seeing the intense reaction from everyone, Kitahara said speechlessly, "You don't have to be so dramatic just because I'm transferring classes."

"That's different. You're a major figure in the first year," Kamuro replied.

"She's right. Besides, even if you were to transfer, shouldn't you be going to Class A?" Kanzaki added.

"Kanzaki is right. With your ability, Kitahara, you could easily be in Class A!" Ichinose agreed.

Kitahara waved his hand and explained calmly, "While Class A does have the highest overall capability, I still believe Class B is the most suitable for me."

"..." Seeing them fall into silence, Kitahara asked:

"Don't you want me in Class B, Ichinose?"

"Ah, no... that's not it..."

Seeing Kitahara's serious expression, Ichinose realized he was in earnest and said, "If you really want to come to our Class B, Kitahara, we would be very happy to have you."

"Is that so? Then I look forward to working with you all."

After seeing Ichinose agree, Kanzaki knew that Kitahara's addition would make Class B even stronger, so he didn't object, merely asking:

"So, have you already gathered the 20 million points, Kitahara?"

Hearing this, Ichinose and Kamuro both looked at Kitahara as well; after all, the premise of everything discussed so far was the requirement of 20 million points.

Under their gaze, Kitahara said confidently, "Not yet."

"Then why are you saying all this here?"

"Cough, cough, don't be so impatient, Kamuro. Although I don't have 20 million points yet, I'm not that far off. Besides, the school doesn't stipulate that the transfer fee must come from a single person."

"Then who else is paying?" Kamuro asked with a puzzled expression.

"Uh... I think you all believe now that Class A isn't as high-level as you imagined, right?" Kitahara said, looking at Ichinose and the others.

"You bastard Kitahara, what do you mean by that?" Feeling "insulted," Kamuro glared fiercely at Kitahara.

"Wait, Kamuro, Kitahara is just speaking his mind, he doesn't mean any harm." Seeing Kamuro preparing to lash out at Kitahara, Ichinose stepped in to mediate.

"Hmph..." Seeing Ichinose intervene, Kamuro backed down.

After all, she hadn't truly intended to fight, and this provided her with a perfect way to step down.

"Cough, cough, actually, Kitahara is suggesting that Class B and he split the 20 million points—in other words, we cover the remainder he lacks," Kanzaki explained, clarifying Kitahara's intent.

"So that's how it is," Kamuro said, finally understanding after his explanation.

"But how many points are you still short, Kitahara?" Kanzaki asked the crucial question.

"Actually, it's not much. Just this much..." Kitahara said, slowly holding up four fingers.

"400,000 points? That's manageable," Ichinose replied, letting out a sigh of relief after seeing the four fingers.

"Yeah, that's not much at all," Kanzaki added, sounding relaxed.

"I didn't expect that, Kitahara. You're only 400,000 away from 20 million. You know, Sakayanagi only has..." Kamuro started to say, looking at Kitahara, but she immediately shut her mouth after mentioning Sakayanagi.

If Sakayanagi found out she was casually leaking her information to others, she would definitely be in deep trouble.

"Uh... I think you all misunderstood. It's not 400,000, it's 4 million," Kitahara said, quickly correcting them as he saw their relaxed expressions.

"..."

"What did you say! 4 million points?" Kamuro's demeanor shifted from relaxed to exaggerated shock as she confirmed the number.

Seeing Kitahara nod, Kamuro asked:

"And this is what you call being 'just a little bit' short of 20 million?"

"I mean, it is just a little bit short," Kitahara said sheepishly.

"Strictly speaking, it's not 4 million, but 3.22 million," Kitahara corrected himself again.

"Does that make any difference, damn it? Are you sure Class B can even come up with that many points?" Kamuro asked, looking at the silent Ichinose and the others.

Hearing Kamuro's skepticism, Kitahara didn't say much, because due to his interference, Class B's class points over the past three months were significantly higher than in the original timeline.

Furthermore, by his own estimation, they should have nearly 5 million points on hand.

After all, he knew that Ichinose was likely still hoarding half of their points to help resolve potential dangers the class might face in the future.

However, Kitahara was not certain whether Ichinose would actually fork over that amount of points; after all, she was Ichinose.

Meanwhile, Ichinose and Kanzaki were caught in a dilemma.

If it had been the 400,000 points from earlier, the two of them could have managed without touching the class's collective funds, but now they were talking about nearly 4 million.

They could not make such a decision on behalf of all the students in Class B.

Thinking of this, Ichinose and Kanzaki exchanged a look before turning to Kitahara and saying, "We need to discuss this amount with the class before we can decide."

Hearing this response, Kitahara felt no surprise, as it was already within his expectations, so he merely gave a slight nod.

Standing to the side, Kamuro stared at Ichinose and the others, dumbfounded, and said, "You guys really have that many points? I thought only Class A could..."

"Why are you so surprised?" Kitahara asked, looking at Kamuro.

"Mind your own business. You should be worrying about whether you can even get into Class B right now," Kamuro replied.

"Heh..."

Kitahara certainly knew why Kamuro was so shocked; she surely hadn't expected Class B to be able to scrape together so many points in just three short months.

While her own Class A could also produce such a sum, they lacked the unity that Class B possessed.

Because Class A was currently embroiled in internal strife, Kamuro was beginning to feel a sense of urgency.

"Alright, the first matter ends here, so let's begin our club activities."

"Ah..."

"What are you 'ah-ing' about again? Kamuro, shouldn't we have started already?"

"It's nothing, I just momentarily forgot we were still in the club activity room," Kamuro replied sheepishly.

"..." Everyone was left speechless by Kamuro's incredibly slow reaction time.

"Alright, everyone stop staring at her; let's get down to business," Kitahara said, breaking the tension.

"Then I'll head back first. I wish you a smooth... have fun," Ichinose said, bidding them farewell.

Watching Ichinose's retreating figure, Kitahara's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at Kanzaki and the others and said, "Does she still think the Esports Club is just about playing games?"

Noticing Kitahara's gaze fixed on them, Kanzaki and the others didn't know how to answer, because they thought the exact same thing.