Unexpected Windfall

Manabu Horikita's gaze shifted from his face to the terminal raised in his right hand.

"What are you filming?"

Without changing expression, Miyama Saku naturally pressed the stop-recording button and slipped the terminal into his pocket.

"Nothing. Just recording the beautiful moments in life. The moon is so full tonight."

Manabu Horikita looked at him first, then at Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, before finally sweeping his gaze over Suzune, who was still leaning against the wall and had yet to recover.

Then he slowly spoke.

"I know you."

"Oh? I never thought the famous Student Council president would know an insignificant nobody like me."

"Miyama Saku. The male student who handed in blank papers for both the entrance exam and the quiz, and looks like a woman."

"You really didn't have to say that." Miyama Saku's face darkened.

"Four hundred thousand Private Points. Delete the video."

He hadn't expected the Student Council president to be so generous, opening with four hundred thousand. There was definitely more to squeeze out of him.

"Doesn't the president know? This is huge news. Edit it a little and post it on the school forum, and it's guaranteed to blow up. What should I call it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you need to pay more."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji watched Miyama Saku from the side, still wearing that dead-fish-eyed expression.

This was extortion, wasn't it? Was it really okay to extort the Student Council president like this?

Suzune Horikita, standing behind them, was far less calm.

"Brother, don't agree to this. This is extortion."

"Hey, hey, hey. How can something mutually agreed upon be called extortion? Don't slander me."

"Be quiet, Suzune. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Do you know what effect it would have on me if that video got out?"

Suzune Horikita immediately fell silent. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Manabu Horikita.

Manabu Horikita slowly let out a breath and looked at Miyama Saku.

"You certainly know how to do business."

"Seven hundred thousand. Not a point more. And I need to make sure you don't have any backups."

He had originally wanted to use Suzune Horikita's irritating remarks as an excuse to extort a little more from the Student Council president, who was Suzune Horikita's brother. No, to have the Student Council president contribute a little more.

But seeing Manabu Horikita like this, it wouldn't be good to push him too hard. If he snapped, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

Getting points was already an unexpected windfall. This was enough.

"Fine. Deal."

"Tell me your account number. I'll add you, then transfer the points."

Miyama Saku gave him his account number so Manabu Horikita could transfer the points later.

Manabu Horikita took out his terminal and performed a few operations. At the same time, Miyama Saku's terminal vibrated.

Miyama Saku took out his terminal again and accepted Manabu Horikita's friend request. Before long, seven hundred thousand Private Points sat quietly in his balance. Then, in front of Manabu Horikita, he deleted the video, thoughtfully cleared it from the recycle bin as well, and turned the screen toward him.

"Mr. President, care to confirm?"

Manabu Horikita glanced at it and confirmed that the video had been deleted and there were no backups.

Once Manabu Horikita had confirmed it, Miyama Saku whistled, slipped his terminal back into his pocket, and turned to leave.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Student Council president."

"Wait." Manabu Horikita's voice came from behind him.

"Aren't you afraid of being expelled after handing in blank papers twice?"

"That? Those two blank papers were purely accidents. This school wasn't my first choice to begin with, so there was nothing I could do when they admitted me."

"Still, I don't plan on dropping out for now, so I'll take the next exam more seriously. At the very least, I won't hand in a blank paper. Until I run out of points, anyway. Otherwise, the points I got from you, President, would have been too easy."

"Don't you have even the slightest interest in the generous benefits of graduating from A Class?"

"No. They're certainly great benefits for ordinary students, but I don't need them. Even if I dropped out and went home to mooch off my family, they'd be happy to support me."

Miyama Saku looked proud of himself, making everyone present unable to stand the sight of him.

"You really are... Forget it."

"Then let me ask you this: what do you think of the benefits of graduating from A Class?"

"What is there to think? The conditions are quite generous. But if a student's abilities don't match, then even if they get into their dream company or school, they'll just be fired or expelled anyway."

"You see things clearly."

Miyama Saku shrugged. "That's just how it is."

Manabu Horikita then turned to Suzune Horikita again.

"Suzune, I truly didn't expect you to have friends. Honestly, I'm quite surprised."

"They aren't my friends. One is merely a classmate, and the other is an unrelated person." Suzune Horikita kept her head lowered, her voice very quiet.

"It seems you're still the same as ever."

Manabu Horikita then left the alley directly and vanished into the darkness. Before leaving, he said, "If you want to rise to A Class, keep struggling at this school, Suzune."

After Manabu Horikita's figure had completely blended into the night, the alley became quiet again.

Miyama Saku shoved his hands into his pockets, tilted his head at Suzune Horikita, who was still leaning against the wall with her head lowered, then glanced at Kiyotaka Ayanokoji beside her, standing there like a wooden post.

"So, you two really are good friends?"

"Who's friends with him?" Suzune finally raised her head, her tone icy. "And you, don't talk as if you know me well after the way you acted just now."

"Hey, your brother was only willing to give me an extra three hundred thousand because of you. Otherwise, my overall expectation would've probably only been around five hundred and fifty thousand points. Your beloved brother lost another one hundred and fifty thousand for nothing."

"From a certain perspective, you're my benefactor, Suzune."

"Shut up." Suzune Horikita glared at Miyama Saku through gritted teeth, then took out her terminal and tapped the screen.

"I've sent you a friend request. Return the points. I'll pay you back slowly."

Miyama Saku took out his terminal and looked at the friend request that had popped up on the screen, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course." Suzune's voice carried an uncompromising stubbornness.

"You extorted this from my brother. I'll repay every last point—seven hundred thousand. I'll pay in installments."

"Installments?" Miyama Saku looked as if he had heard a hilarious joke. "How many points does your Class D get each month now? Even if you saved every single one and lived off the school's free meals every day, how long would it take? Any special exam could wipe it all out, though. Oh, no, you're already down to zero now."

Suzune gritted her teeth. "That's my own business."

"You really are..."

Miyama Saku sighed and put his terminal back into his pocket. "I refuse."

"Why?"

Miyama Saku stepped closer to Suzune Horikita and gave her a faintly teasing smile.

"Your brother has already paid the bill. The transaction is over, money and goods exchanged."

"And what if you think it was extortion? It was a mutually agreed-upon deal. Your brother didn't say anything, so why are you here feeling sorry for him?"