Interlude (2)

After Kitahara finished buying his bento and was about to check out, he noticed a girl with long purple hair standing in front of the beer shelf.

He immediately knew her identity, so he instinctively pulled out his phone, activated the recording function, and slowly approached her.

She was just about to make her move; she skillfully shoplifted a beer and replaced it with another, only to turn around and find Kitahara holding his phone.

"Hey, you, you saw everything, didn't you?"

Kitahara glanced at the phone in his hand without saying a word.

But the implication was clear enough.

"What conditions do you want to ensure the video in your hand gets deleted?"

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go outside first. Also, put that beer back. Minors shouldn't be drinking anyway."

"Tch, mind your own business." Despite her words, her body was honest enough to comply.

After paying the bill and reaching an open area, Kamuro Masumi spoke first:

"Tell me, what kind of condition will it take for you to delete that video?"

I need to think about this carefully. In the original story, Sakayanagi used this trick to keep her under her thumb, and now it's finally my turn.

But I don't really have anything I need her to do.

Forget it. Since I've come to this world, I might as well change her fate.

After a moment of contemplation, Kitahara said:

"Just promise me you won't do things like that anymore, and I'll delete the video."

"It's that simple? No, pick something else. I feel like you're trying to scam me."

"Ah, what kind of logic is that?" Kitahara muttered.

"Ahem, anyway, I'm Kitahara Seiichi from Class 1-D."

Upon hearing my sudden introduction, she looked visibly stunned, but quickly recovered and said:

"I'm Kamuro Masumi, from Class 1-A."

"Then you should be able to trust me now, right?"

"Huh? Why?" Kamuro Masumi asked with a puzzled expression.

How on earth did someone like her get into Class 1-A?

Kitahara replied helplessly: "You already know my class. If I lie to you, you can come to my classroom and find me anytime."

"Hmph, who would want to find you?" Kamuro Masumi retorted with a tsundere attitude.

"Right, right. So, can you trust me now?"

"Hmph, just remember what you said."

Watching Kamuro Masumi's retreating figure, Kitahara fell into deep thought.

This should prevent Sakayanagi from getting a hold on her, but why do I feel like she's going to end up in trouble regardless?

Whatever. I've done what I could; the rest is up to fate.

After returning to his dorm, Kitahara received a notification from the system.

[Gained the attention of Kamuro Masumi]

[Gained the attention of Nagumo Miyabi]

[Gained the attention of Horikita Manabu]

[Gained the attention of Tachibana Akane]

Congratulations to the host for obtaining Mastery of Chinese Culinary Arts.

Sss, I can understand the first one, but what's up with the others? Do they know what I did?

They probably do. After all, the Student Council has a lot of power.

Time passed quickly, and the first month flew by. During this month, most students in Class 1-D enjoyed their campus life, recklessly squandering the 100,000 points they were issued every day.

Not only in their personal lives but also in the classroom, because the teacher adopted a laissez-faire attitude, private conversations, sleeping, lateness, and truancy became the norm.

Just like that, the day for the point distribution arrived.

"What is going on?"

"So you didn't get them either?"

"Why?"

The students of Class 1-D began to discuss it, and the classroom quickly became noisy.

"Everyone, return to your seats. The morning homeroom is about to begin," Chabashira said as she stepped onto the podium.

"Teacher, this month's points haven't been deposited. Weren't they supposed to be deposited on the first of every month?" Yamauchi Haruki asked, raising his hand.

"No, this month's points have already been deposited," Chabashira said coldly, crossing her arms.

However...

"The points were transferred to you long ago; there is no doubt about that."

"It is also impossible for the school to have singled out this class and omitted them."

"But in reality, they never arrived," Ike Kanji replied.

[What a bunch of fools.]

Sitting in the back, Kitahara Seiichi watched the scene unfold in silence.

Chabashira, standing at the podium, did not rush to answer, as if she were waiting for something.

Sure enough, an announcement suddenly blared over the broadcast system:

"We hereby award 10 million points to Kitahara Seiichi of Class 1-D for his outstanding performance during the first month."

As the message played, every eye in the room turned toward Kitahara Seiichi in the back row. Meanwhile, Kitahara was screaming internally, I have an 8 AM class, damn it! Isn't this the transaction money? When did it become an award? And to broadcast this to the entire grade—by the time morning classes are over, the whole school will know.

"Haha, Kitahara-boy is truly beautiful. It seems you had already uncovered the school's evaluation criteria for the first month." Koenji rested his feet on his desk, holding a mirror in one hand and a comb in the other to groom his hair.

"Haha, Kitahara, tell them the reality of it."

With no other choice, Kitahara stood up and repeated what had been said in the office.

After Kitahara finished speaking, Chabashira continued:

"In this school, the performance and evaluation of the entire class are reflected in the points deposited each month."

"Therefore, the result of this month's review is that you have lost all 100,000 points you were supposed to receive. The amount deposited for you this month is zero!"

"Does that mean we're penniless from here on out?" Ike Kanji asked.

"By the way, let me remind you: the reason Kitahara was awarded 10 million points is that he discovered the rules of this school on the very first day."

"What?"

"Then why didn't he make this information public?"

"How could this happen? How am I supposed to survive this month?"

Whispers broke out across the classroom.

"..."

[It seems that when he ran out during the self-introductions, it must have been for this very reason.]

[Even I only sensed that something was strange at the time; I never expected him to figure it out in such a short period.]

[Is this the taste of defeat?]

Ayanokoji thought as he watched Kitahara.

Horikita stopped her pen, her eyes fixed steadily in Kitahara's direction.

For a moment, the classroom fell into a brief silence.