You Tacticians Are All Black-Hearted!

"Since we've reached a consensus, let's pack up and move somewhere else."

Tatsuya Sakuya neatly gathered the scratch paper and tutoring materials from the table, stuffed them into his backpack, then stood and dusted off his clothes.

"Huh? Where are we going?"

Karuizawa Kei froze for a moment.

"Just so we're clear, I agreed to help you, but I'm not going anywhere too weird."

"What are you thinking?"

Tatsuya Sakuya shook his head with a laugh.

"After all that advanced math tutoring, I've used up so many brain cells I'm starving to death. Let's go have a feast in the cafeteria."

Growl.

At the words "have a feast," Karuizawa Kei's stomach obligingly let out a soft protest.

Her cheeks flushed slightly. She gave a light snort to hide her embarrassment.

"But I don't have any points left for a feast."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you're full. It's on me."

Six in the evening, Advanced Nurturing University First Student Cafeteria.

The atmosphere in the cafeteria that day was dramatically polarized.

The students who had squandered their points extravagantly last month and now had zero balances could only line up at the special window in the corner marked 0 points, where they collected free fruit and vegetable meals.

The free fruit and vegetable meals consisted mostly of vegetables with barely any meat. They provided the minimum nutrition necessary for survival, but tasted awful and had terrible texture.

Although anyone could claim them, students generally looked down on them. If they had points, no one would come eat this meal.

Meanwhile, the students with plenty of points were enjoying lavish meals in front of the vending machines.

"What do you want?"

Tatsuya Sakuya asked Karuizawa Kei.

"I'll have cheese-baked chicken pasta, then. A small portion."

"Eat as much as you want. Don't hold back, it's my treat."

"No, eating too much makes you gain weight. I take body management very seriously."

Tatsuya Sakuya ordered a large chicken pasta for himself as well.

"Let's go. We'll sit near that special window."

Tatsuya Sakuya carried his pasta toward the corner.

"Mmm, it smells so good."

Karuizawa Kei picked up her fork, twirled some pasta around it, and put it into her mouth. For the moment, the food soothed her panic and anxiety over having her points wiped out.

"Whew, I feel alive again."

Karuizawa Kei patted her chest and swallowed her food contentedly. Then she looked up at Tatsuya Sakuya across from her.

"Can you tell me now? What exactly do you need my help with? You've been acting so mysterious about it."

Tatsuya Sakuya slowly savored his pasta, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice.

"Regarding the midterm exam three weeks from now, Chabashira-sensei announced the rules: the passing mark is half the class average, and failing even one subject means immediate expulsion."

"I know all that, of course."

Karuizawa Kei's expression became grave again.

"I saw the results of the previous mock test. You could say some students in the class are practically at death's door."

"In less than three weeks, getting every one of those idiots who can't even understand basic formulas to pass is almost impossible."

Tatsuya Sakuya calmly stated the brutal truth.

"So, if we want to resolve this expulsion crisis, the safest and most efficient way to break through it—"

"Is to get the real midterm exam papers from previous years."

"Past exam papers? Something like that exists?"

Karuizawa Kei's eyes widened sharply, and she nearly cried out.

She hurriedly covered her small mouth, glanced around warily, and only then asked anxiously in a lowered voice.

"Does this school allow people to buy and sell old exam papers? Doesn't that count as cheating?"

"As long as the school hasn't explicitly prohibited something, it's tacitly permitted."

"Chabashira-sensei said it herself, didn't she? Everything can be bought with points."

Tatsuya Sakuya's tone was certain.

"The university courses at this school have fixed syllabuses every year. There's a very high chance that the midterm exams reuse last year's question formats, or even the original questions."

"For upperclassmen, keeping old exam papers isn't difficult. And for the school, as long as students can mobilize resources through whatever means necessary to solve problems, it still fits their logic of testing merit above all else."

Karuizawa Kei was left stunned.

She had never imagined that in a school that appeared so strict, a crisis could be resolved through such a "shortcut."

Just how deeply did this boy understand the school's rules?

"So, the favor you need from me is to buy the exam papers?"

Karuizawa Kei asked, blinking.

"More accurately, I need you to play a double act with me."

A playful curve appeared on Tatsuya Sakuya's lips as he pointed at a couple seated near the free meal window.

"I've already picked our targets. Look over there—a Class 2-D couple eating the free fruit and vegetable meal."

"They obviously blew through all their points last month. They're desperately short on money now, otherwise they wouldn't be eating free fruit and vegetable meals."

"To them, the old exam papers they have are the only lifesaving straw they can turn into cash."

Tatsuya Sakuya looked directly into Karuizawa Kei's eyes and seriously explained the core of the coming tactic.

"When we approach them later, we'll go in as a couple. Remember, you play the bad cop, and I'll play the good cop."

"Bad cop and good cop?"

Karuizawa Kei looked puzzled.

"That's right."

Tatsuya Sakuya patiently broke down the logic.

"I'm the buyer. I'll act like I desperately want to buy the papers so I can deal with the exam."

"And as my girlfriend, you need to act annoyed by the price the entire time—spoiled, willful, even convinced that buying exam papers is a complete waste of money."

"You need to firmly show that you don't want to spend even one extra point. As soon as they name a high price, immediately act extremely disgusted and impatient. You can even grab my arm and force me to leave."

A calculating gleam flashed in Tatsuya Sakuya's eyes.

"When people are desperately hungry and hopeless, what they fear most is having the duck already in their mouths fly away."

"The greater the pressure you put on them and the firmer your attitude, the more their psychological defenses will gradually crumble. Then I'll go with the flow and close the deal at a price that suits me."

"When the time comes, follow my lead."

After hearing that entire chain of psychological tactics, Karuizawa Kei couldn't help swallowing. She muttered softly.

"You tacticians are all black-hearted."

"That's called reasonable negotiating technique."

Tatsuya Sakuya raised an eyebrow.

"So? Can you play the role of a spoiled, unreasonable gyaru girlfriend?"

At the words "spoiled and unreasonable," Karuizawa Kei puffed out her chest indignantly and replied with complete confidence.

"Hmph, who are you looking down on? Playing a gyaru like that would practically be me being myself, okay?"

"Very good. Then I'll be counting on your performance."