Early on the first morning of the following month, sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains, casting scattered flecks across the floor.
Ken Kaneki sat on his bed, leaning against a cushion, and picked up his phone terminal.
"Good, no change."
Ken Kaneki let out a long breath. The points on his terminal screen had not changed, which meant Class 1-D's class points had still dropped to zero.
Before getting the actual result, Ken Kaneki had been a little worried. As a little butterfly himself, he could very well affect all sorts of things.
Besides, who knew what had gotten into Chabashira-sensei over the past two days? She had actually stopped pretending and started revealing a little information to Class D's students.
Now it seemed that perhaps their class points had been deducted down to nothing long ago.
Since the points had not arrived at the scheduled time, it meant the agreement between him and Sae Chabashira had worked out.
Ken Kaneki rose from his bed, a smile appearing on his lips. Next came the time to enjoy himself.
He washed up, changed into his school uniform, and opened his door.
Perhaps they were on the same wavelength, because the two doors next to his actually opened at the same time.
The three exchanged glances, each reading the meaning in the others' eyes.
"They really didn't leave us a single class point."
When they had first heard Ken Kaneki predict that their points might drop to zero, they had been somewhat skeptical. They had not expected it to actually happen.
"We should be able to bring our plan to fruition within the next few days. Keep an eye on how the shop is doing."
They nodded, both understanding how important this period was.
Chatting as they went, the three reached Class 1-D's classroom before they knew it.
Morning classes had yet to begin, but the classroom was already rather chaotic. Most students were discussing the points that had not arrived.
"What the hell? Did the school's system malfunction?"
Hondo slammed his hand on his desk, looking thoroughly irritated. He had spent all his points long ago and had been looking forward to this day for ages.
"Exactly! Weren't we supposed to get a hundred thousand points on the first of every month? Look at the time. They still haven't arrived."
Kanji Ike frantically refreshed his terminal, but the screen remained unchanged.
The main class group chat had clearly announced that the points would arrive at eight that morning. It was already eight thirty, yet there was still nothing.
"I spent all my points on a game console last month. I don't even know how I'm going to pay for lunch today." Haruki Yamauchi wore a miserable expression as he lamented his hardships. "I even promised to buy Kushida a drink!"
The students gathered in small groups, complaining about the school's inefficiency. Accustomed to spending freely, they had no idea how serious the problem was.
Yosuke Hirata sat in his seat with his brows tightly knitted. He glanced at the few points left on his terminal, then recalled Chabashira-sensei's attitude over the past few days. His bad feeling grew stronger and stronger.
As for the four in the corner, Ken Kaneki and the other two had expected this. Horikita Suzune, meanwhile, normally had good habits and had not spent many points that month. She still had over eighty thousand left, nearly ninety thousand.
Ken Kaneki took out his terminal and sent a message to their three-person group chat. Their phones chimed at the same time, and Ayanokoji and Koenji both realized something and looked at the message.
"Some students have already sold us secondhand goods, though they're upperclassmen. Someone has also taken out a loan, and they're a first-year. They really do have quite the capacity for spending..."
Both were a little surprised by the message. They had not expected the shop to start picking up so soon. Koenji took a moment to check the shop's transactions and discovered a sizable incoming payment.
All the entries above were outgoing funds, so this incoming sum should have come from the shopkeeper.
He sent a screenshot to the group. Ken Kaneki and Ayanokoji both offered a few words of praise, which pleased Beautiful Guy immensely.
While Class 1-D descended into chaos, at that same moment, inside Sae Chabashira's office...
She sat at her desk, holding a freshly printed Class Points Evaluation Report.
Looking at the "0" points beside Class D, even her small hands trembled slightly.
That glaring zero shattered her last shred of hope, leaving her unable to accept it for a moment.
Since the school's founding, no class had ever lost all its points in the very first month.
Even the worst class would have at least a few left. That was why she had agreed to bet with Ken Kaneki.
But those idiots had actually lost every last point!
Sae Chabashira closed her eyes, unable to stop the handsome face of the black-haired boy from appearing in her mind.
Would I really have to give myself to him from now on?
She looked down at her proud figure beneath her uniform and sighed self-mockingly, but soon pulled herself together again.
Sae Chabashira abruptly opened her eyes and made up her mind.
Since Ken Kaneki could accurately predict Class D's situation, and had Ayanokoji and Koenji helping him, he had a good chance of leading Class D into Class A's position.
"In that case, as long as you can lead Class D up to Class A, I'll let you do whatever you want with me."
Sae Chabashira took a deep breath, stood up, picked up her poster and lesson plan, and strode out of the office.
Her high heels tapped lightly against the floor with a steady click, click, click.
The bell rang, and Sae Chabashira entered the classroom on time, walking up to the lectern with a cold expression.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the back row, and sure enough, she saw the brat who had unsettled her.
The instant their eyes met, she read the meaning in Ken Kaneki's gaze. Flustered, Sae Chabashira lost her footing and stumbled.
"Chabashira-sensei, are you all right?" a girl in the front row asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night." She straightened up, took a deep breath, and stepped up to the lectern.
The students finally lost the battle against their curiosity and began asking where their hundred thousand points had gone.
"Sensei, why haven't this month's hundred thousand points arrived yet? Did the school's system crash?"
Once again, Ike was the one who started it, with old man Yamauchi chiming in behind him.
"Yeah! If they don't arrive soon, I won't have anything to eat."
Listening to those fools complain, Sae Chabashira felt her anger flare up.
If these people hadn't spent all their time sleeping, playing on their phones, and talking in class, how would I have lost the bet? Why would I have to hand myself over to that brat?!
She swept a cold gaze over the class, her eyes sharp as blades, making the students who had just been questioning her tremble inwardly.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Where do you think you are? This is Advanced Nurturing High School. How could the school make such an elementary mistake?
"As for your points, they were sent to your terminals long ago."
"Then why didn't we receive them?" a stunned student asked.
"Because your points for this month are zero, of course. Zero. Do you understand?"
She unfolded the poster in her hands and stuck it to the blackboard. Every student saw the enormous zero beside Class D's points.
"What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it says." Sae Chabashira braced both hands on the lectern and looked down at them. "The points the school distributes each month are determined by your class evaluation.
"When you arrive late to class, sleep, play on your phones, or even talk back to teachers, every violation results in a corresponding deduction of class points."
She paused, her tone icy.
"In your very first month at school, you lost every last one of your initial thousand class points. So this month, your living allowance is zero."
The classroom erupted into an uproar. Many students could not accept what they had heard.
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