Tsukishiro: When It Comes to Exploiting Students, Hachiman, You're Already a Master!

After finishing his own business, Hachiman continued walking towards the shop where Chairman Tsukishiro was located.

He chose a McDonald's.

Um.

Some services on the ship are free, so students can choose from a wider variety of restaurants, which is why not many Student Council to these kinds of shops.

"Hachiman, you're such a busy person," said the Acting Chairman Tsukishiro, noticing that Hachiman had finally walked in.

He had just thought the other person had guessed he wanted to borrow money and then turned and left.

"So, Acting Chairman Tsukishiro, why did you ask me to come out this time...?"

Hachiman, seemed to get straight to the point.

"Since you asked me, I have no choice but to tell you. For example, you should know why I asked you out, Hachiman."

Tsukishiro said, "As the Acting Chairman, I have a lot of authority, such as the direction of the exam and the selection of exam questions."

"However, there are some limitations."

"It's like the budget for each exam is set within a certain range. So, if the score for the Special Exam each month is increased, as you mentioned before, that will also cause some problems." Tsukishiro said politely.

But.

"Acting Chairman Tsukishiro, if you mean to put all the problems that are not in the budget on me, then I'm not happy about it."

"You take that back," Hachiman said. "In the end, all the points I earned in this exam were obtained legitimately and in accordance with the rules."

"Well, I was just saying it casually to show that I had already kept my promise to you," Tsukishiro said. "And... now I need your help."

"I currently have a shortfall of 50 million points."

Tsukishiro said.

"My budget for this exam was only around ten million, but the final amount paid out was more than one hundred and ninety million."

"Then not only was the budget for this exam cancelled, but even the Special Exam I was going to arrange for the first-year students, which was essentially a cash bonus on the ship, was cancelled. Not only that, but even the living expenses for the 1st of next month—well, because this exam was for the whole grade, so there was no exam next month, but the 1st of the month after next was also completely spent."

"So."

"Hachiman." Tsukishiro looked at Hachiman. "That's not fair."

That's not fair.

His budget of ten million was inflated by a staggering 19 times. Any chairman would be stunned by this situation.

"..." Hachiman didn't seem to feel any remorse.

Rather, it's more accurate to say...

Tsukishiro, you are truly terrifying. You actually set up such an exam, and you didn't even consider the worst-case scenario.

But.

In last year's VIP Exam, if all the first-year students had chosen option 1, the final result would not have been just his 15 million yen and Classmate Sakayanagi's 20 million yen, but rather an initial amount that could have been as high as 80 million yen.

That actually goes beyond the scope of a typical exam.

However, students from previous years could not achieve such uniformity or obtain such high scores in this type of exam.

So.

It's not just Tsukishiro's fault; it's that the students in his year were exceptionally gifted.

Only.

"You mean you want to borrow 50 million Private Points?" Hachiman asked.

"Yes. There should be another exam on the ship this time, but the budget can't be as high, but it will still need to be close to 10 million, since it's being conducted for all three grades at the same time," Tsukishiro said.

"Then on the 1st, the students' living expenses also need to be deposited."

"Around 1,000 for first grade, around 20 million for second grade, and around 10 million for third grade."

"So the total is 50 million. Ideally, it would be 60 million."

"And this amount isn't really that difficult for you, Hachiman," Tsukishiro smiled.

As the chief examiner, he knew the amount paid for this exam.

At the same time, it's not stupid to know that it's quite a coincidence that so many students used prop cards to bet on Kōenji.

So there must be someone behind the scenes.

And this person behind the scenes was standing right in front of him.

In this way.

Even though he pulled off such a huge heist, Hachiman will definitely share some profits with those who helped him. However, he himself will certainly have received over 100 million yen.

This is the only point that Tsukishiro can confirm.

So the other party can easily come up with 50 million.

"So, you want to borrow this 50 million from me?" Hachiman asked.

"Yes, you're the only one who can help me now," Tsukishiro said.

"Then I won't lend it," Hachiman said.

"?"

Tsukishiro is puzzled.

"First of all, I don't like borrowing money, and then..."

"Tsukishiro."

"I'm not doubting your integrity. I'm asking you, if you were in my shoes, would you lend me the money?"

Of course, I won't lend it.

Tsukishiro's thoughts responded almost instantly.

Because this money is like throwing a meat bun to a dog—it's gone forever.

Because you've lent out money, how do you get it back?

What's happening in Tsukishiro now is that the budget has been exhausted.

Nobody will pay for it.

The next budget won't arrive until the middle of the month after next, but it won't be enough to pay off the previous 50 million. It's meant for future use. After a series of exam payments, there might be some left over, which can then be used to pay off the debt. But by then, the Tsukishiro will probably no longer be the Acting Chairman here, so he won't have the authority at all.

Therefore...

This is a classic case of throwing good money after bad.

"Then I'll just have to tell the truth." Tsukishiro knew he was in the wrong, and he also knew that Hachiman Hikigaya out of his money, so he decided to be honest.

"Please let me get through this difficult time," Tsukishiro said. "I'm mentally prepared to leave, but not this month."

"It will take at least until the month after next."

"I will resign as a price to prove myself," Tsukishiro said.

That means Chairman Sakayanagi will be back in two months.

Today I unexpectedly learned that Classmate Sakayanagi's mother has passed away, and that Chairman Sakayanagi has been taken away. Although she did not show any clear emotions, it would be better if her father came back.

"..." Hachiman.

Tsukishiro is from the White Room side, and Hachiman doesn't actually have a good impression of the White Room side, such as having a dislike for Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's father.

Therefore, their expulsion restored peace to the school.

In addition...

Hachiman looked at Tsukishiro. Tsukishiro was someone who could take responsibility when something happened and deal with it flexibly. If it weren't for him taking over, then Ichika Amasawa wouldn't have been able to get her freedom from the White Room so easily.

Rather, it's more accurate to say...

Ichika Amasawa is a genius and has value even in the White Room. If we really want to bring her out, the price we have to pay will definitely be much higher.

In this way.

"You can actually handle this challenge yourself," Hachiman said.

"So you want to lend me 50 million?" Tsukishiro asked.

"I won't lend it," Hachiman said.

"..." Tsukishiro. "Then this 50 million..."

"Open source and cost reduction... Of course, cost reduction is useless now," Hachiman said. "So let's try open source first."

"You mean you need at least 50 million points to get through this crisis, right?" Hachiman asked.

"Yes."

"Then can you decide on things that violate the rules?" Hachiman asked.

"Um?"

"You represent the school, and the school's expenditures are budgeted, but there is also a plan to recover points," Hachiman said. "On one hand, points are issued to students, and then some profit is generated after the students spend them. However, most shops are in a loss-making state, so we can't expect that. But in terms of punishment, the school can recover the points immediately."

"You mean..." Tsukishiro already understood somewhat.

"This time, the five students from First-year Class D filled in at the bottom of the exam," Hachiman said. "They are all students with good Academic Ability. They felt that being assigned to Class D meant they had no hope, so they might as well take some money and leave. I offered each of them 2.5 million Private Points, and the original plan was to exchange them for 2 million in cash when they returned to school."

"But they're still on vacation on the ship right now," Hachiman said. "So they're still stuck here. And I gave them the best chance to back out; three students had the item card Halving Card."

Understood.

Tsukishiro understood.

In other words, we can do something with this.

That means each of these 5 students has 2.5 million yuan, which adds up to 12.5 million yuan.

Furthermore, they all chose to voluntarily withdraw from school, so they could choose to return to school and run away with the money.

But.

There are still areas where we can work.

That is, to prevent them from choosing to drop out of school.

If they do not choose to withdraw from school, then the school can legitimately collect the 150X3 + 300X2 = 10.5 million they currently have.

Yes, this way we can budget for the exams on the ship.

Yes.

Isn't this another way?

"So what about the remaining 40 million?" Tsukishiro asked. "Are there any other ways to generate 40 million in revenue?"

"..." Hachiman. "There's another way for the school to legitimately collect tens of millions: what if a student is willing to skip a grade?"

Skipping a grade?

Tsukishiro recalled that the school's special rules were a reward mechanism for lower-ranking classes. As long as you collected 20 million, you could climb up from a very low-ranking class, and jumping at graduation was the best option.

"So, Hachiman, are you going to skip a grade?" Tsukishiro then looked at Hachiman.

"I won't jump, but I have someone I want the other person to jump."

"But not now," Hachiman said.

"..." Tsukishiro.