You Actually Transferred Me Money-Are You Trying to Keep Me? Wait, You're a Chiba Specialty, Too!

And if homeroom teachers could access them, then... why did Chabashira have him investigate the students in the class?

What was she trying to do?

A trace of suspicion arose in Hachiman's heart.

A trace of suspicion arose in Hachiman's heart.

Because.

As Student Council President, he had the authority to view the students' files.

Then what about homeroom teachers? Could they really not view the files of the students in their own class?

That seemed rather unbelievable.

Because.

The school would not provide charity for free. It arranged for students to attend, waived tuition, and even provided living expenses. It certainly could not accept just anyone.

The students had to possess corresponding value, so their personal files and records must have been thoroughly reviewed.

And there was no need to make the teachers' jobs more difficult.

So it was entirely necessary to provide the students' information from the very beginning.

But thinking about it that way, there was a problem with this part.

According to Chabashira-sensei, she needed his help gathering information on the students in the class in order to fulfill her duties as a homeroom teacher.

That was a homeroom teacher's responsibility.

So having an assistant assigned to help with the work was perfectly normal.

But if Chabashira-sensei had possessed the complete files of every Class D student from the start, then there would have been no need for him to gather information.

Yet she had done exactly that.

Either the paper records she had obtained differed from reality and needed someone to verify them.

That sounded fairly normal.

But it was also possible that... she had ulterior motives.

For example... deliberately sending him to approach certain students.

And what was the purpose of approaching those particular students?

If it was Kushida, Kushida was a problem child with a dark past. If she exploded, the consequences would be unimaginable.

And approaching Suzune Horikita... Horikita looked outstanding on paper, but in reality, she was a mess. Her inability to understand people alone could have negative effects.

But what if he considered it from the opposite angle?

Although Kushida was a bomb, she was highly approachable. And although Hirata was also a bomb, he actively held the class together.

Then Suzune Horikita was also the younger sister of Student Council President Manabu Horikita.

Hey, hey, hey, that combination... revealed ambition.

Hachiman felt a little pressure.

In other words.

Sae Chabashira was clearly beautiful, liked wearing black stockings and high heels, and possessed a huge fortune.

She was a mature, wealthy older woman.

But she might actually be an older woman with grand ambitions?

Then could he still get some points from her?

Hachiman weighed the gains and losses in his mind. Meanwhile, the Student Council President continued speaking.

"However, I will not use the Student Council President's authority for personal matters," Manabu Horikita continued.

"I have my own principles."

"So don't worry."

In other words, even if he had just happened to pass by, or had really photographed Hachiman trying to hit his little sister, he would not abuse his authority to retaliate.

The Student Council President was an honest man.

Still.

"Must be hard for President Horikita to be so upright," Hachiman said. "You just said that if someone took pictures, they could use them to threaten you. Yet even though you know such methods exist, you remain so upright yourself. Don't you find that exhausting?"

Of course it was exhausting.

But Manabu Horikita had things he wanted to uphold.

"You don't need to concern yourselves with that."

Manabu Horikita looked at his little sister.

"Suzune, if you understand nothing, then you won't be able to remain at this school."

"So voluntarily withdrawing may be your best choice."

"This school is just as I said earlier: Meritocracy."

"When students first enter the school, they are evaluated according to a set of standards. They are then divided into Classes A, B, C, and D based on whether they are outstanding."

"And I believe you already understand that I am in Class A, which represents excellence."

"So."

"Suzune, you were assigned to Class D."

"That means you are still far from good enough. You were judged to be garbage," Manabu Horikita said.

"Uh..."

Suzune Horikita seemed stunned for a moment, but quickly said, "I think there must have been some mistake in the evaluation. My grades are not bad. Although I can't get perfect scores in every subject, I study every day, for ten hours a day, and my athletic ability is stronger than that of ordinary girls."

"Heh..."

Her words made Horikita's brother laugh. "You are indeed decent in those areas, but merely decent. There are plenty of people better than you."

"For example, Hachiman Hikigaya standing in front of you."

"Hikigaya...?" Suzune Horikita's gaze shifted and landed on Hachiman.

Of all the girls Hachiman had interacted with, he was closest to Kushida. And as for being examined from head to toe by a girl like this... Suzune Horikita was the first.

The reason he had voluntarily stayed was partly to see whether he could gather more information on Suzune Horikita, and partly because this Horikita's brother was extravagantly wealthy.

Since he had already paid one million points to leak information, Hachiman might as well see whether he could freeload some more information about the school.

And now the topic had somehow shifted to him?

And his raw abilities were better than Suzune Horikita's?

That could not be right. Only his Japanese Language and Literature score was somewhat high; everything else was ordinary.

So what was with Manabu Horikita, casually using someone else to boast?

Just as Hachiman considered how to deal with the situation, he failed to notice that Suzune Horikita was already staring at him in surprise, as if she had only now discovered that he was some kind of super academic.

Then Hachiman suddenly felt his phone vibrate.

It seemed he had received a message.

[Your private account has received 100,000 points. Sender: F3455646

Current private account balance: 183,400 points.]

It was a transfer notification.

And the sender was... an unknown number.

However.

There was a note beneath the transfer notification.

[Note: I am teaching Suzune a lesson. Keep quiet.]

??

Suzune.

There was only one Suzune Hachiman knew.

So Hachiman looked at Manabu Horikita.

But Manabu Horikita maintained a cold expression.

It was impossible to read any emotion from his face.

Yet Hachiman was 99.99% certain that the transfer had come from Manabu Horikita.

In other words.

It was exactly as he had initially predicted.

Manabu Horikita had voluntarily paid the enormous price of one million points to reveal part of the school's reality to his little sister, not to force her to withdraw.

Rather... he was teaching his little sister a lesson.

He wanted her to understand that this school was this cruel. Points were difficult to earn but easy to lose, and without points, one could not move an inch.

So.

Horikita's brother telling his little sister to withdraw at the beginning had been an act.

Or rather, he had discovered that his little sister had been assigned to Class D despite her various raw stats not being bad, which meant there was a serious problem in some other area.

She had been labeled a problem child and thrown into Class D.

So, worried about his little sister, he spent both money and effort.

Wow.

What level of Sister Complex was this?

He could just pay one million without hesitation?

Hachiman felt that he definitely could not do that. At most, he would have 1.1 million and then give Komachi one million.

And now.

He had accepted someone's money, and such easy money at that.

Hachiman glanced again at the 183,400 points in his account balance.

The 100,000 points President Horikita had sent were enough to cover two months of living expenses.

Hmm~

Hachiman chose silence.

Then he watched Manabu Horikita teach his lesson.

"His Japanese Language and Literature grades are better than yours. His insight is also sharp, and he knows how to read the situation. If I were to evaluate him, I would not rate him low," Manabu Horikita said. "So I do not know why he was assigned to Class D either."

"So find his shortcomings, Suzune. You may choose to stay, and this is my condition for allowing you to remain at this school."

"..."??

Although Hachiman stayed quiet, he noticed Suzune Horikita examining him with an inexplicable look.

Perhaps even she did not understand why her brother had given such an order.

But Hachiman understood.

Because.

Suzune Horikita's greatest flaw was her inability to understand people.

And Manabu Horikita had probably noticed that.

So he wanted Horikita's little sister to learn by Hachiman's side?