"I did say that, and you can do it that way too. But unfortunately, the 100,000 points you have are nowhere near enough," Chabashira said.
"So the purchasing power of points worth 100,000 yen is that low." The student seemed somewhat dejected.
"Don't be so negative. You just asked three questions. I can make an exception and answer one of them," Chabashira said.
Her casual attitude changed.
As the homeroom teacher, she had reviewed the files of every Class D student before they arrived.
One student originally assigned to Class D had gone abroad with their parents due to a work transfer. Advanced Nurturing High School was a school every middle schooler aspired to attend, and the school publicly recruited students every year. But that was a deception, because the students had all been preselected through recommendations gathered from middle school principals across the country.
Therefore.
The student body had been decided half a year ago.
And now, with one student suddenly missing, the school found itself in a rather troublesome situation.
But just then, her close friend Shizuka Hiratsuka recommended a student.
That student was Hachiman Hikigaya.
Chabashira had once been a student at this school, while Shizuka Hiratsuka had been her classmate.
After graduation, their classmates had scattered in different directions.
Several years later, Chabashira returned to this school.
But Shizuka Hiratsuka had chosen to teach elsewhere. She looked somewhat like an old man, but she was actually quite a gentle person.
Because of Shizuka Hiratsuka's recommendation.
The school retrieved Hachiman Hikigaya's file. After reviewing his upbringing, personality, and manner of interacting with others, they ultimately concluded that he could be accepted as a sample for Advanced Nurturing High School's educational program.
Then Hachiman was assigned to Class D.
That was why Chabashira had said Hachiman was not originally a student who belonged in Class D.
But now, that did not seem to be the case.
Hachiman Hikigaya was a student recommended by Shizuka Hiratsuka, and based on Chabashira's understanding of Hiratsuka, she might have had some deeper intention.
So Hachiman's enrollment might not have been... ordinary.
In other words... even now, was she still worrying about her?
Thinking that.
Chabashira watched the boy before her.
Hachiman had just raised three questions.
1. Would 100,000 points be deposited into the students' Private Points accounts again next month?
2. Where had the enormous number of points in her account come from?
3. Could points be converted into cash?
If she were to answer any of those questions, then either Question 1 or Question 2 would involve the school's true nature.
But as she had said, although she was their homeroom teacher, she had been ordered not to disclose anything. However, if enough points were paid, that gag order could be overcome.
The cost would be roughly one to two million points.
She decided to make up the shortfall herself.
She could consider it one last struggle for her long-held wish.
She wanted to see whether the boy Hiratsuka had recommended was someone she could place even a little hope in.
"I see..." The student seemed to grow bashful. "Chabashira-sensei said my points aren't enough, right...? So your exception means you'll pay the price for it?"
Oh?
Chabashira glanced at him.
She found that this student seemed to understand the ways of the world.
"I will indeed pay the price, but it won't be a matter of how many points. After all, I have six million, don't I?" Chabashira said.
At that moment, she realized that she had merely taken out her phone as an example for the students, yet Hachiman had noticed the enormous six million points in her account.
So.
Wasn't this kid quite observant?
"Then I'll ask," Hachiman said.
Mm.
Go ahead. Ask.
Whether it was Question 1 or Question 2, both would involve the school's true nature. She would tell him the truth, and she would pay the price.
Although two million points were a burden even for her.
She also held some expectations.
Since the question had been raised by a student, it did not count as a complete violation on her part.
Besides, if a First-year Class D student learned the school's true nature on their first day—within less than an hour, even—what kind of storm would that create for this school and its other classes?
She wanted to see it a little.
And at that thought, her blood began to stir.
Chabashira watched the boy.
Then she heard his voice and saw his lips part.
She had never closely examined a young boy's face. But she had to admit that her heart was beating a little faster from excitement now.
Then.
She listened to the words he uttered.
"I want to know whether points can be converted into cash," Hachiman said. "And then I want to cash out my points and send the money home."
"..."
Huh?
Chabashira froze for a moment.
Because.
He had asked Question 3. Graduating upperclassmen would be told about Question 3 anyway, so it was not particularly confidential. If students wanted to obtain the answer from their teachers, it would only cost around 100,000 points.
Yet she had already prepared herself to pay two million.
And now she only needed to pay 100,000.
She had saved money.
But.
You brat, did you only see the money?
He had been told that the 100,000 points on his student ID were equivalent to 100,000 yen, and then... he wanted to convert them into cash and send it home?
What kind of wholesome, family-minded boy was this?
"I'm just an ordinary Japanese high school student," Hachiman said. "The allowance I normally get is only 2,000 yen, and that's only once a month. I suddenly received such a huge sum, so I wanted to bring it home."
As he said that, he seemed a little embarrassed.
But he still said it. "I have a younger sister at home too. She often says her allowance isn't enough."
His sister said her allowance was not enough, and as her older brother, the moment he had money, he thought of her?
Mm.
So he was that sort of character from recent anime, with that line... what was it...? Little sisters are the cutest... Right, a Sister Complex.
Chabashira recalled that when she had first entered the classroom, this Hachiman had been introducing himself.
He had apparently said he was from Chiba.
She remembered a slogan from a television commercial.
Chiba's specialties: peanuts, sake, and... Sister Complexes!
A place nurtured its people. Boys or girls from families with younger sisters in that area all doted on their sisters.
"I can answer that question. When you graduate, the school will collect the points in your possession in exchange for cash."
"However, it will not be a one-to-one exchange. The conversion rate will be around 0.7 to 0.8."
"And if you want to reduce the loss, you can buy unopened appliances and similar items at the Shopping Street and take them outside the school. You may then be able to sell them back for around ninety percent of their value."
Chabashira explained in great detail.
Hachiman listened seriously as well.
"So the school will only exchange our points after we graduate?" Hachiman asked.
"Yes." Chabashira nodded.
"But what if I use points to purchase the right to exchange them for cash with students in advance?" Hachiman continued.
Oh?
Did he want to purchase the right to exchange points for cash early? No one had ever done that before.
And he was already applying what he had learned.
But Chabashira had just been somewhat disappointed, so she did not pay much attention.
She merely replied that he did not currently have enough points to purchase that right.
"Then, Chabashira-sensei, what exactly does the school want us to do?" Hachiman continued. "More precisely, after giving students like us such generous conditions, what exactly does the school need us to do?"
"Nothing free comes without a price."
"I don't think we'll receive this many points next month. And since the school will exchange the points in our possession for cash when we graduate..."
"That means the school must also provide us with opportunities to earn a large number of points," the student said. "I want to know the ways to obtain large amounts of points."
Oh?
Chabashira's attention was drawn back to him.
Because.
It seemed she had not misjudged him after all.
This kid... did not merely have potential. He seemed to have been assigned to the wrong class.
PS: My favorite author went on hiatus, so I took up the baton and continued writing it.
If it isn't good, please go easy on me, everyone. Please save it to your favorites and give this newcomer some data.
A Boy Like This Was a Popular Guy—No, Yosuke Mama
This school provided its students with exceptional conditions: no tuition fees, living expenses, and even a guarantee of job placement after graduation, as well as a 100% Advancement Rate.
It looked like a lie.
And it was indeed a lie.
Every cohort of students was divided into four classes—A, B, C, and D—but only Class A students who graduated could receive the rewards advertised by the school.
The other students would be arranged to graduate through other schools.
That was how the school guaranteed a 100% Advancement Rate and Employment Rate.
After all, was the school a charity?
No.
Advanced Nurturing High School operated to cultivate talented individuals capable of taking on major responsibilities and solving the various difficult problems of the future.
Its method was competition.
It gathered selected students together, then had them compete against one another by class, gaining something and growing through each contest.
The school accepted students recommended by middle school principals from all over the country, conducted special evaluations and assessments on them, and divided them into Classes A, B, C, and D according to their excellence.
Before you continue