"Alright, alright," Yukio patted his hands, drawing the attention of both classes. "D-class, no need for such gloomy faces. How unsightly!"
The entirety of D-class, from Chabashira-sensei to the trio facing expulsion, looked baffled. Why wouldn't they be upset? Wasn't Yukio the root cause of their troubles, gloating over their failure now?
Sensing the dissenting opinions, Yukio revealed his true intention: "Let's do this, in light of your unity and camaraderie, we'll abstain from buying those three points."
Horikita immediately turned to Yukio, a glimmer of hope. Could there be a turnaround?
Sudo, too, got up from the floor. Was there still hope for him?
Chabashira-sensei, sensing Yukio's maneuver, asked directly, "What are your demands? Just say it."
Yukio smiled, "Your understanding is appreciated, Chabashira-sensei. To spare them, we won't let it be for free. If D-class truly wishes to save their classmates and prevent their expulsion, how about paying C-class 200,000 points every month for the next three years?"
"This rate is actually low, considering D-class's current financial state," Yukio added, finally revealing his grand scheme. From paying extra to coerce a senior student to provide D-class with false answers, to threatening Sudo and his friends, it was all to extort D-class, weaken their assets, and transfer them to C-class. Unfortunately, no one in A or B class failed, limiting the scope of his scheme to D-class.
Hearing Yukio's terms, Horikita quickly calculated the cost. For D-class to pay C-class 200,000 points monthly meant each of their forty students would have to contribute 5,000 points, a significant strain considering the importance of private points in passing the school's tests.
Many in D-class were reluctant to spend 5,000 points monthly for Sudo and the others, who weren't particularly well-liked. However, some, like the proactive Hirata, saw a new hope and appealed, "Everyone, please agree to C-class's terms! We can't abandon our classmates."
Despite mixed feelings, many agreed, swayed by Hirata and Kushida's pleas, except for the eccentric Koenji, who refused to be extorted.
Horikita, although begrudgingly agreeing, knew this would make surpassing C-class and reaching A-class even harder.
Ignoring Horikita's hesitance, Hirata directly addressed Yukio, "We, D-class, accept your terms."
Hirata, oblivious to Horikita's hesitant, silent struggle to speak, stepped forward and addressed Yukio directly, "We, D-class, agree to your conditions!"
At this, Ishizaki expressed his concerns, "Yukio-san, are you sure about this? Their class points are zero, and they won't have any private points coming in next month. I wonder when they'll actually pay."
"Don't worry," Yukio reassured Ishizaki. "Before coming here, I had a hint from Sakagami-sensei, that soon, all classes would earn a little extra. D-class will definitely be able to afford this."
Responding to Ishizaki, Yukio turned to Ryuen, who knowingly presented a contract, "This is a contract we got the school to notarize for 5000 points. Our terms are all there, D-class just needs to sign."
"If you think of breaching it, the school will enforce it."
Hirata, without hesitation, took the contract and carefully checked for any traps. Finding none, he eagerly prepared to sign.
"Wait, wait!" Horikita, unable to sit still any longer, stepped forward and snatched the contract from Hirata, who thought she wanted to review it again, so he didn't stop her.
But Horikita merely glanced at it and attempted to bargain, "We can't accept these terms! We can only pay you 100,000 points a month at most!"
"Our class points are zero, and we don't know when we'll receive more. It's difficult for us to pay 200,000 points, even with a school contract."
Horikita realized she couldn't defy the class's consensus alone and it would only harm their unity. So, she tried to minimize the loss and lay groundwork for their future ascent.
However, Yukio wouldn't accept her terms. He likely thought she was D-class's leader, like him in C-class, but found her naive, "Horikita-san."
"You don't think you have the right to bargain, do you? If you disagree, just let those three be expelled. Why say all this?"
"You!" Horikita, schooled by Yukio again, couldn't maintain her cool façade and became a bit frantic, "Their expulsion gains C-class nothing!"
"Oh?" Yukio seized on her slip, "So, you mean, even if they're expelled, you don't care, you're fine with it?"
"Horikita..." Many in D-class, especially Ike and Yamauchi, gave her disapproving looks, finding her too cold-hearted.
This revealed human nature; they forgot Horikita's efforts to help them pass by urging lower grades and fundraising 280,000 points. They saw only her reluctance to pay 200,000 monthly and resented her more than Yukio, the actual instigator.
This scene made Yukio inwardly shake his head at their ugliness.
Feeling the accusatory stares, Horikita sweated and inwardly raged, "You don't understand! I'm thinking of D-class's future!" Unaware that Yukio's words had already damaged their unity.
"Horikita-san!" Hirata reclaimed the contract and quickly signed, "I won't allow anyone to be expelled!"
"If Horikita-san and Koenji-kun refuse, I'll cover their ten thousand points monthly!"
With their extortion successful, Yukio and his jubilant C-class left, leaving D-class in turmoil, unsure of their future.