May

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, May 1 had arrived.

During that time, the uproar over the Beautiful Girl Ranking had more or less come to an end. Miyama Saku's rank ultimately stopped at fourth before he was removed from the list.

Since he had not made it into the top three, the "Annual Beautiful Girl TOP 3" claim in the post's title had never truly included his name from beginning to end. That spared him quite a bit of trouble down the line.

Miyama Saku guessed that was probably Ichinose's doing.

He had often seen her going to Class D lately, rather frequently. Whenever she passed his desk, she would naturally greet him. Sometimes she would stop and ask things like, "Have you been okay lately?" or "Has anyone come to talk to you?" She never lingered long, leaving once she had said her piece.

Miyama Saku was not stupid. He knew Ichinose was keeping an eye on things for him.

While Miyama Saku did not care all that much about the ranking itself, she had quietly put so much effort into helping him that he felt he owed her something.

Giving her something as thanks, or simply treating her to a meal, seemed only proper.

During that time, Miyama Saku had also sought out other boys in the class to eat lunch with, intending to gradually build up his social connections within the class.

In fact, when he had first eaten with Ichinose's group, he had vaguely realized that after coming to this school, he could count the classmates who spoke to him on one hand.

Most of the time, girls took the initiative to approach him, while the boys in class hardly ever exchanged more than three sentences with him unless necessary.

It was not as though he was being excluded.

Miyama Saku could tell that those boys simply did not know how to interact with him. A boy with long hair, delicate features, who rarely took the initiative to speak and was more often found among girls—it was difficult to know how to approach someone like that.

Over time, they had simply defaulted to placing him "with the girls," keeping a polite but distant relationship with him.

So Miyama Saku took the initiative to speak to them.

The first few times did not go particularly well. When he carried his tray over and sat down, the people who had been chatting animatedly would all fall silent at once, as if they did not know whether to continue the topic, while also looking puzzled that he had chosen to sit with them.

Miyama Saku was not in a hurry to fit in. He quietly listened beside them, occasionally adding a word or two when a topic interested him. After enough such meals, they gradually became familiar with one another.

Later on, the boys would even take the initiative to invite him to the cafeteria.

Occasionally, Ichinose's group would invite Miyama Saku to eat with them as well. Whenever that happened, the girls in class would seize the opportunity to chat with him and naturally exchange contact information. Before long, he had saved the contact details of most of the girls in class on his phone.

As for Kanzaki, Miyama Saku's response was, who was that? He did not know him. Probably just some passerby.

As for Kanzaki, Miyama Saku's response was, who was that? He did not know him. Probably just some passerby.

However, this "passerby" clearly did not see it that way.

"Miyama, the points have come in. It's only 76,000 points this month."

Kanzaki turned around from the front row. His voice was not loud, but it was just enough for Miyama Saku to hear clearly.

Most of the class was discussing the points at the moment, so Miyama Saku would have heard about it even if Kanzaki had said nothing.

"Seventy-six thousand! Only seventy-six thousand! That's not what we were promised!"

"Why? We had 100,000 points last month! Did the school make a mistake?"

Most of them were confused about why there were only 76,000 points this month.

Miyama Saku was reading a mystery novel Shiina Hiyori had recommended. Without even raising his head, his gaze still on the page, he merely replied, "Oh, got it."

Kanzaki did not look away, seemingly bothered by his casual attitude.

"You look like you don't care at all."

Only then did Miyama Saku unhurriedly place in his bookmark, close the novel, lean back against his chair, and lift his eyes to look at him.

"I already guessed there probably wouldn't be 100,000 points again. The first month should have counted as special treatment."

He said it lightly, as though a change in points that could disrupt so many people's plans was nothing more than an expected drop in numbers to him.

In truth, that was exactly the case. He had earned quite a lot of points from playing chess with Sakayanagi, and he had not recklessly bought anything. His usual expenses were not high. Even if he made an extra dinner at night and ate with Shiina Hiyori, his remaining points were more than enough, with plenty left to save.

For people who spent freely, 76,000 points might require them to replan their expenses for the entire month. But Miyama Saku still had over 300,000 in his Private Points account, enough to cover all his current daily expenses and still leave plenty in reserve.

So his indifference was not an act. There really was nothing for him to care about.

He then added, "Teacher Hoshinomiya will probably come announce the rules soon. We just don't know whether the other classes received the same number of points as us."

After saying that, he clicked his tongue softly, a touch of helplessness in his voice. "Though Teacher Hoshinomiya will probably still be late."

Kanzaki looked at him for several seconds without asking further questions. He merely nodded, said nothing more, and turned back around.

Not long after those words fell, the classroom's chatter suddenly rippled like water stirred by the wind.

"The homeroom teacher's here." A sharp-eyed student was the first to call out.

Miyama Saku glanced toward the end of the corridor and saw their homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, hurrying toward the classroom with a poster tube in her arms.

She had unusually not been late today, but judging by her hurried appearance, she must have run all the way here at the last minute.

Miyama Saku withdrew his gaze and put the novel on his desk into the drawer.

Yet his thoughts remained on the previous topic.

If the entire grade had received the same number of points, it would mean the four classes likely shared a relationship of rising and falling together, with the school guiding all students to bear the consequences of something collectively.

Conversely, if each class received a different number of points, then there was most likely a competitive relationship between the classes.

And class competition meant there was competition between teachers as well. Those capable enough to lead their class to obtain more resources would most likely enjoy greater benefits themselves. It was the simplest logic.

As he was thinking, the classroom's front door slid open.

Hoshinomiya Chie entered carrying the poster tube, breathing lightly, with a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead.

She swept her gaze over the class and gave them a slightly apologetic smile, her tone cheerful. "Sorry, everyone. Teacher wasn't late today."

Miyama Saku took out his terminal to check the time. You call that arriving at the last second.

"I know everyone is concerned about the points." Hoshinomiya's voice was gentle, but it carried an unusual note of seriousness. "Starting this month, competition between the classes officially begins. On the first of every month from now on, the school will reassess Class Points based on each class's performance. The personal living allowance you receive will also increase or decrease along with changes in your Class Points."

A subtle stir rose in the classroom. Some instinctively calculated how much less they had received this month, while others frowned, clearly still not understanding what "assessed based on performance" and "Class Points" actually meant.

"By the way, the points each of you in Class B received this month were 76,000."

"Is that a little less than last month? But Teacher isn't deliberately making things difficult for you."

"Class Points can change because of all sorts of factors, such as classroom discipline, being late or leaving early, and club activities. In other words, what you do—and what you fail to do—will all be reflected in this number."