"I support it."
"I support it."
"..."
As the votes were called out one by one, the final result was tallied.
Forty people supported Kitahara joining Class B—in other words, every student in Class B agreed.
After seeing the results, Ichinose stepped forward and said, "Thank you all for your support. I'll go tell Kitahara and Hoshinomiya-sensei now."
Meanwhile, after receiving Ichinose's message, Kitahara left his classroom and headed to the faculty office to take care of the details of his transfer.
At the classroom door, Kitahara glanced at the sign marked "Class 1-D" and sighed with relief. "Finally, I won't have to see you anymore. I'm finally free."
Horikita and Ayanokoji noticed Kitahara's actions, but didn't think much of them. He was a strange person, after all. But before long, they would understand what he meant.
Once they entered the office, Hoshinomiya happily pulled Kitahara into her arms and said:
"I heard everything from Ichinose. I can't believe you chose to come to our class instead of Class A, Kitahara-kun. Could it be that you've fallen for our Ichinose? I always thought you two were quite—"
"Enough, Hoshinomiya-sensei." Before Hoshinomiya could finish, Ichinose pulled her away.
Noticing the slight blush on Ichinose's face, Hoshinomiya looked as though she'd uncovered a secret. "Ah, to be young again. Isn't that right, Sae?"
Seeing that Chabashira remained expressionless, Hoshinomiya continued, "Are you sad to see Kitahara-kun leave, Sae? After all, with his abilities, he really wasn't suited to stay in—"
Once again, before Hoshinomiya could finish, Ichinose silenced her by force.
"Mm, mm, mm..."
Though Ichinose had no idea what Hoshinomiya was trying to say this time, she apologized to Chabashira. "Hoshinomiya-sensei is just like this. Please don't be upset."
Chabashira merely waved her hand lightly, showing no sign of anger.
After all, the two of them had known each other for so long.
Watching this, Kitahara finally understood just how unreliable Hoshinomiya was—and how deep her obsession with her was.
"Ahem. All right, everyone, let's get down to business," Kitahara said.
"No need to rush. There's still someone who hasn't arrived, Kitahara-kun," Hoshinomiya said, breaking free from Ichinose.
"Hm?" Kitahara looked at the two homeroom teachers and Ichinose in confusion. "It's just a simple class transfer. Do we need someone else?"
Just as Kitahara finished speaking, Chairman Sakayanagi entered through the doorway. His silver hair gleamed as he said, "Under normal circumstances, no one else would be needed. But Kitahara-kun, you're the first first-year student to transfer classes during the first semester. The school was a little surprised, so I came to see for myself."
When they saw the chairman arrive, even Hoshinomiya, who had been acting so carefree moments earlier, composed herself. She and Chabashira greeted him together.
Chairman Sakayanagi waved a hand, then turned to Kitahara. "Kitahara-kun, this should be our second time meeting, shouldn't it?"
"Yes. I didn't expect you to be the one coming. I'm honored," Kitahara replied with a nod.
"I see that when you meet Kitahara-kun again, he's still making just as astonishing a move as the first time," Yanagihara remarked with a trace of emotion.
"This little move probably doesn't amount to much in the school's eyes, does it?" Kitahara said modestly.
"Haha, you really are humble, Kitahara-kun," Yanagihara said, looking at him.
Watching from the side, Ichinose already knew Kitahara was very capable, but she hadn't expected him to have caught the chairman's attention, too.
[As expected, my decision was definitely... With Kitahara here, our Class B should become even better.]
"..."
"All right, that's enough chatting. We can start the transfer process now." Chairman Sakayanagi quickly shifted from his kindly old-man persona to the stern image of a chairman.
At his words, Hoshinomiya and Chabashira promptly took out the contracts they had prepared and handed them to Kitahara.
Kitahara accepted the contract, checked it carefully, and nodded to them once he'd confirmed everything was in order. Then he signed his name.
From this moment on, all Kitahara had to do was pay 20 million points. Then he would no longer be a student in Class D, but a student in Class 1-B.
After Kitahara signed his name, Hoshinomiya, who had been watching him the whole time, finally smiled with relief. "From now on, you're in my hands, Kitahara-kun."
"Come on, you can say that without putting your hands on me." Kitahara helplessly moved Hoshinomiya-sensei's hand off his shoulder.
"All right, let's pay the points now," Chabashira said.
Kitahara stepped forward, opened his phone, and held it out to them. Ichinose also stepped forward, ready to pay the remaining points.
Everyone had already expected Kitahara to have a lot of points, but they still couldn't help being surprised when they saw just how many he had.
After all, they'd never seen anyone manage to collect more than 16 million points in just three short months.
Though they didn't know why he was in such a hurry to transfer, they all believed that with his ability, he could probably gather the 20 million points by the next Special Exam.
After a school staff member confirmed their balances, he said, "All right, you can begin the payment."
Just as they were about to pay, Kitahara suddenly remembered that he hadn't completed his system task. "Wait a moment."
"Hm?" Everyone looked puzzled.
"Ahem. Ichinose, why don't you transfer the points to me first? I want to experience what it feels like to have 20 million points. After all, this is the honor of being the first person at Advanced Nurturing High School to have that much," Kitahara asked Ichinose, as everyone watched in confusion.
After hearing Kitahara's explanation, everyone found it rather amusing.
Chairman Sakayanagi even remarked, "I didn't know you had this side to you, Kitahara-kun. That's quite a surprise."
"Hehe, it's just that this is the first time I've spent so many points," Kitahara said, scratching his head.
After receiving the points Ichinose sent him, he heard that familiar voice in his mind again.
But Kitahara said, "Announce it later. Let me enjoy this for now."
At that moment, the system, finally getting a chance to make itself heard again, looked utterly dejected.
[...]
Then Kitahara happily paid the staff member 20 million points.
Once the staff member had confirmed the payment, he announced that the transaction was officially complete.
After the transaction, Chairman Sakayanagi said to Kitahara, "I hope you'll achieve even more in Class B."
Kitahara smiled and nodded. "I will, Chairman."
After they left, Chabashira gazed at the signed contract and murmured, "I wonder whether my decision was right or wrong. Don't disappoint me, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."
"Kitahara-kun, when are you coming over to keep our Ichinose company?" Hoshinomiya asked Kitahara from beside him.
"Uh... Hoshinomiya-sensei, no matter how eager you are, I still need time to pack my things."
"Is that so... I guess I really am rushing things..."
"..."
Seeing Hoshinomiya like this, Kitahara could only placate her for now. "I'll probably report to Class B this afternoon."
"Really? In that case, after school this afternoon, we'll..." Ichinose began after hearing Kitahara's reply.
"We'll what?"
"It's a secret." Ichinose smiled and shook her head.
"Then I'll look forward to it..."
Watching the two of them chat happily, Hoshinomiya seemed to catch a whiff of their lovey-dovey air. "Then go get ready, Kitahara. We'll be waiting for you in Class B."
With that, she pulled Ichinose away.