Once the Red Sun Rises, Still Level with the Sky

Heh heh, how delightful.

As for the girls, they did not really have anything to put up as collateral. He could hardly ask for cosmetics or clothes; they would be useless to him anyway, so Kazami had not tried selling to them. There was another reason, too: too many enemies would be hard to handle.

This exam-paper resale operation spanning all four classes had brought in quite a few points, but the points from Class D were only a small part of it. The bulk came from the various electronics Yamauchi and the others had put up as collateral, such as handheld consoles and laptops... One valuable item after another had all fallen into his hands.

With the points earned from trading with all four classes, plus the points he had already saved, Kazami's total assets came to around 450,000 points.

He had never expected that his own class's points would turn out to be the easiest to earn. This result had caught him off guard. He had originally thought dealing with Classes A, B, and C would be the easiest. Reality really did not unfold according to his expectations.

Kazami raised his eyes to the clear sky outside the window, a surge of lofty ambition rising in his heart.

"Snow weighs the branches low, yet low, they never touch the mire. Once the red sun rises, they still stand level with the sky."

"Even if I'm in bottom-ranked Class D now, a temporary low is never the end. With destiny on my side, I can pacify the world. A hero's origins never matter. For a true king, only the final outcome counts."

This midterm exam would be the first step on his path to the top.

Kushida was unquestionably the greatest contributor to this get-rich enterprise. Without the first-year customer base she had compiled, and her help bargaining for the actual exam papers back then, he could never have made it this far.

So Kazami took out two thousand points and transferred them to Kushida as a thank-you gift.

Kushida had been wondering why Kazami was messaging her privately that evening. When she saw the transfer notification, she hurriedly refused.

LINE.

Kushida: I can't accept this. Helping was hardly any trouble. You don't need to go out of your way to pay me.

Kazami: I didn't sell that many, but you really did help me a lot, Kushida. Please accept it.

Kushida still hesitated, refusing to accept the transfer for a long time.

Kazami: Don't refuse. If you do, that means you don't consider me a friend. Besides, lots of people in class have borrowed points from you to get by. You must have very little savings left by now.

It was exactly as Kazami had said. Some people in their class simply picked on anyone who was easy to push around. Who knew how many people had borrowed points from Kushida? They probably had no intention of paying her back afterward, either. Given Class D's situation, frankly, they would not have the chance to repay her anyway.

On the other end, Kushida thought about the points remaining in her account, stopped declining, and accepted the points.

Kushida: Mm, all right. Thank you.

She had not really considered Kazami much of a friend before, but she had never expected him to give her points from selling the exam papers. His standing in her heart went up by one.

Unaware of this, Kazami had no idea that this was how Kushida thought of him.

The next day was Monday, the day one week before the midterms that Ayanokoji and Kushida had agreed on.

Just as Ayanokoji had originally planned, Kushida took the initiative during homeroom to step up to the podium, take out the complete set of past exam papers she had organized, and share them with the class.

"These are actual past midterm papers I got from an upperclassman. You can use them for practice to prepare. They'll be a big help for this exam."

The moment the news broke, the whole class erupted. Most of the students instantly cheered with delight, their shouts rising one after another.

"Hooray! With these, we're sure to pass!"

"Kushida, you're amazing! You're practically our savior!"

While the class basked in the joy of finding a way out of a desperate situation, the smiles instantly vanished from the faces of Yamauchi, Ike, Sudo, and their group alone.

The whole class could get these past exam materials for free, yet they alone had foolishly put up their consoles and computers as collateral, paying a huge price for this method of passing!

Rage instantly rushed to their heads. The three stood up furiously on the spot, glaring at Kazami in his seat as they stormed over to demand an explanation.

Yamauchi led the charge, his voice full of anger. "Kazami! What the hell is going on?! Explain yourself!"

Ike followed close behind, worked up. "Exactly! Give us back our consoles! And my game cartridges! Give them all back!"

Faced with their furious questioning, Kazami looked completely flustered too. "I didn't know Kushida could get the actual papers either. I just wanted to help you back then. It's not like I deliberately tricked you. And about taking your things, I only told you about this for your own good."

To clear himself of suspicion, Kazami praised Kushida to make himself look innocent. "Besides, think about it carefully. These past papers are extremely valuable. Normally, getting one set would cost at least fifty thousand points. Kushida got enough for the whole class in one go. I'd guess she spent at least two hundred thousand points!"

Standing at the podium, Kushida froze. After listening to their argument, she could more or less piece together what had happened. You're seriously ruthless, charging them that much. Still, Kushida was very pleased with his claim that she had spent 200,000 points for the class. He could say more of that.

Still deeply indignant, Sudo frowned and pressed her. "Kushida, how many points did you actually spend on the materials?"

Kushida looked at Kazami below the podium, stammering and unable to get a sentence out. "Well... I..."

Seeing this, Kazami immediately jumped in to smooth things over, looking utterly devoted to the class. "With Kushida's charm, plus the quantity she bought, she probably got the price down a little, but it definitely cost a lot. Besides, I had your best interests at heart from beginning to end. I wanted to keep you from getting expelled!"

With that, Kazami abruptly slammed the desk, putting on a furious air. "Since you're so ungrateful, I have nothing more to say."

Having said his piece, Kazami stormed out of the classroom, as though he had suffered the greatest injustice imaginable.

Kushida, at the podium: ...

How could you not know how many points we spent back then? She was only now discovering that Kazami was quite the actor.

The instant he stepped out of the classroom, Kazami's tense expression collapsed. He could no longer keep the corners of his mouth down. He had almost burst out laughing in front of everyone just now.

Horikita watched the events unfold with a frown. Past exam papers... and Kazami's involvement.

Kazami wandered around outside for a while, only returning to the classroom after homeroom ended.

The way Sudo and the others looked at him felt downright murderous. Kazami curled his lip. He was not even afraid of Horikita, so why would he care about this? At worst, he could strip and have a fight. The Undressing War God was difficult to trigger in a fight with girls, but against a bunch of boys, he would absolutely have to show them what a king's majesty meant.

Still, they only glared and did not dare come over to make trouble.

Horikita approached Kazami. "Tell me. What really happened?"

Kazami spread his hands. "I was worried they'd fail the exam, so I helped them out."

Horikita looked at Kazami suspiciously. Why did she find that so hard to believe? With Sudo and the others always badmouthing Kazami behind his back, would he really be kind enough to help them?