At the gymnasium, Houtarou observed the student council president, who had a penchant for disclosing information. He noticed the president's attention was drawn to the first-year Class D.
Class D comprised some rough-looking boys and an array of top-tier beauties — potential school idols. Houtarou's gaze settled on a black-haired girl with fox-like eyes, sitting alone by the window, engrossed in a book.
"That's Horikita-san." Yōsuke said, "She's beautiful, isn't she? But she doesn't seem interested in these kinds of topics."
His comment seemed protective of Suzune, as if he wanted to shield her from discussions about romance.
Houtarou found this young man quite reliable. However, as he wasn't a Class D student himself, he saw no need to form a favorable impression. Moreover, he harbored no romantic thoughts about Suzune — in fact, he'd never even entertained the idea of falling in love.
After all, wasn't school for studying? Why dwell on unnecessary matters?
He merely noted that she bore about a 60% resemblance to the student council president, Manabu Horikita. Both had black hair and black eyes, with somewhat similar facial features. Given their shared surname, it was now confirmed: she was the student council president's younger sister.
Yet, while the student council president was in Class A — at the top of the school's hierarchy — his sister was placed in Class D. Why?
From Houtarou's arrival at the back door until the Class D students' return, Suzune maintained her aloof demeanor, focused on her book. This wasn't mere affectation.
She gave the impression of being academically capable, and her physical abilities likely weren't lacking either. So why was she in Class D? Could there be some significant flaw or defect that led to her placement?
Meanwhile, some of the Class D students who had earlier dispersed had returned. Others, having already reached the shopping district, couldn't or wouldn't come back, preferring to test the Points on their student IDs as currency.
Counting the students, there were about 33 present. This should suffice. Houtarou needed 200,000 points, so if each person contributed 10,000, he'd only require 20 participants.
However, recalling the boob contest he'd overheard earlier, he felt somewhat... apprehensive.
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"I'm Houtarou Oreki, and this is Masumi Kamuro." He said, "We're both from Class A, and we're here to sell information. Our class paid 2 million points for this intel, but we're offering it to you at a discount. It's the start of a new semester, and with the next school deposit still some time away, everyone's spending is high. Your homeroom teacher likely mentioned that in this school, you can use the 100,000 points on your student ID as currency."
"Yes, that's right." A girl chimed in.
She had short golden hair and refined features, belonging to the extremely cute, angelic type. Her friendly demeanor suggested she was good at interacting with others.
However, directly revealing information about one's own class wasn't prudent. It indicated that the current Class D students didn't view this as an extraordinary school.
From the gentle Yōsuke, Houtarou learned her name — Kushida Kikyō.
"We're not asking for much. Those who want the information only need to pay 10,000 points each." Houtarou continued, "In exchange, I'll provide details about this school and inform you about the 7 million points your class is about to lose due to the boys' earlier discussion."
As he spoke, he noticed the boys who had been discussing the rankings earlier averting their gaze.
The newly returned girls looked bewildered. They were shocked to hear that their class was about to lose 7 million Points — 7 million Personal Points.
Considering that each person currently had 100,000 Points, and with 40 people, that only totaled 4 million, they wondered: if 7 million Points were deducted, would they have zero points next month?
Upon receiving information from the girls who had remained in the classroom, the newly arrived girls glared at the boys as if they were looking at trash.
Among the returning girls was one with long blue hair, well-endowed, and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye. This was likely Haruka Hasebe, mentioned in the boys' earlier discussion.
Mei-Yu Wang, a petite and cute black-haired girl with twin tails, also returned. The orange-haired Chiaki Matsushita and other girls joined them as well.
This Class D was indeed peculiar. It was striking how many attractive girls were gathered here. The few absent students who hadn't returned likely included the exceptionally cute girl with the golden ponytail he'd seen earlier, as well as some girls dressed in gyaru style.
"Interesting. But I'm not interested."
A tall boy with golden hair stood up.
"I'd rather spend my money on important things. This seems like a waste. Besides..." He took out a small mirror and examined his face. "I doubt listening would be worthwhile anyway."
With that, he picked up his bag and walked out.
"Kōenji, would it kill you to listen to others?" The red-haired, tall, athletic-looking boy sitting behind him called out, clearly annoyed.
His outburst, however, did little to help the situation.
"Do we really have to pay? The points are like money, right?" Seeing Rokusuke Kōenji leave, Haruki — who had earlier organized the boobs ranking competition — became hesitant.
It wasn't so much that he didn't want to spend money; he had grown apprehensive. The disapproving looks from the surrounding girls made him uncomfortable.
"Oreki-kun, does everyone who listens to the information really have to pay?" Yōsuke asked, attempting to negotiate, "Or... could we pay 100,000 or 150,000 points all at once—"
He shook his head, reconsidering. They'd have to collect Points from everyone, and there was no way to force participation. Everyone had a choice.
Despite his gentle nature, Yōsuke wasn't lacking in intelligence. He felt uneasy about the situation. Attending this school with free tuition was already preferential treatment, and now they had 100,000 Points to spend monthly. It seemed surreal.
If he could spend 10,000 to learn the truth, he felt it would be worthwhile.
"Make your choice. Those who stay need to pay me 10,000 points." Houtarou said, "And here's the information about this school that our class bought."
He took out his phone and played a recording of a man's voice:
| The 2 million points have indeed been credited. Since a precedent has been set, I'll only take these points for now. Then, this school — Beep! |
The recording cut off abruptly, but the Class D students understood it was a teacher's voice. It confirmed that Class A had indeed spent 2 million points for this information.
The surrounding students exchanged glances.
"Well then, Ike, I'll leave it to you!" Haruki suddenly stood up, "Tell me the details later."
He quickly followed Rokusuke out.
This trend prompted others to recall Houtarou's earlier statement about their class losing 7 million points due to the ranking discussion. They realized this could mean zero points next month.
Suddenly, the students became reluctant to spend. The initial group of 33 dwindled rapidly, with both boys and girls leaving. After all, if they'd have zero Points next month, even 10,000 Points now seemed precious.
"Everyone—" Yōsuke looked very troubled. He turned to the newcomer for help.
"We need at least 20 people." Houtarou said firmly, "My bottom line is 200,000 points. The transaction can't proceed without that amount."
"But..."
Now there were only 11 people left in the classroom — 6 girls and 5 boys.
"If it's 200,000 points, I'll make up the difference."
Suzune, who had been sitting quietly in the corner by the window suddenly spoke. She stood up.
"I'll contribute the remaining 90,000 points."
"Oh no, Horikita-san! If you pay 90,000, you'll have no points left." Kikyō, the girl with the angelic face said whit a light smile, "Let me contribute 10,000 points instead."
"That's not necessary." Suzune interrupted, "I want to learn the rules of this school."
Kikyō didn't respond to her.
This exchange, however, revealed the reason why Suzune had been placed in Class D.
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