After the student council president conceded, having revealed the information, Houtarou returned to the vending machine.
"Oreki-kun from Class A..." Only then did Suzune recognize the person who had just taken the photo.
She also realized the crisis at hand. Her brother had made a gesture as if he was about to hit her, though he didn't follow through. However, the photo captured only presented a negative image of her brother. Given his position as student council president, this negative portrayal was particularly damaging.
"You know him?" Manabu asked his sister.
"Yes, he came to our class this morning to sell information. There were 33 students present, but only 11 chose to stay and listen to the rules. Oreki-kun required a minimum of 200,000 points. Each of the 11 students contributed 10,000 points, which fell short. So, I covered the remaining 90,000." Suzune explained, "That's how I learned about the school's rules."
"..."
In truth, Manabu had come to see his sister because he'd discovered her account points had been depleted — reduced to zero. This struck him as odd, and he suspected a glitch in the school's system.
Now it made sense. Obtaining the school's rules on the first day was indeed impressive. But by supplementing 90,000 Points alone, she'd exhausted her entire balance.
How would she manage in this school now? Would she resort to using the free meals and daily necessities provided? True, the school would offer relief for those without Points. But relying on such measures was far from ideal.
She should have collaborated with the other 10 willing students to negotiate a lower price or share the cost. That would have been the wiser approach.
And now, my foolish sister. You have zero Points and still want to stay in this school — what exactly are you after? Or rather, after learning the school's rules, you deliberately sought him out. Is it to prove that you're not useless?
Is this proof spending all your Points and still feeling proud?
Manabu felt resigned.
At the same time, he understood why Suzune considered herself a seed student. Looking at the incident where out of 33 students, only 11 were willing to pay to hear the rules, it was clear many students in Class D were unreliable. So his sister felt she must be different from these unreliable students, and thus thought of herself as a seed student.
Indeed, the idea of seed students can't be completely denied, but it's impossible in Class D. There are only problem students.
Perhaps only if most of Class D's students were expelled, leaving about a dozen people, would they have a chance to progress alongside other classes. But such an opportunity is hard to come by.
Because even if a bunch of useless teammates are expelled, the remaining obedient ones are all problem students. Are problem students that easy to tame?
Moreover, due to insufficient numbers, for some exams and assessments that require a certain number of people, they can only be at a disadvantage or forfeit. And then lose Points for nothing.
So Class D is still not a class that can climb up.
Manabu, the most outstanding student council president in history, had already gone through a complete cycle of thoughts in this short time.
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After a while, Manabu checked Houtarou's phone. He discovered that he had uploaded the photo — which appeared to show Manabu hitting someone — to a newly created group chat. The photo had already been downloaded once.
Manabu realized he was trapped. A settlement negotiation was his only option.
"One million points to resolve the photo incident." Manabu said decisively.
"No problem." Houtarou nodded, "But you need to transfer the points first."
"..."
『1,000,000 Points have been credited to your account!』
『Personal Account: ¤ 1,193,500 Pts』
A notification appeared on Houtarou's phone. The transferring party was indeed the Student Council President.
"Suzune—" Manabu looked at his sister, "To survive in this school, you need to learn how to trade and understand that points are paramount."
In essence, Manabu's quick transfer of points was meant to teach his sister an expensive lesson: a simple action could be exploited and cost one million Points.
Viewed this way, his fierce demeanor towards Suzune was actually his way of hoping she'd realize the school's challenges and withdraw. He felt this school wasn't suitable for her.
As Houtarou pondered this, Manabu suddenly sprang into action.
An unexpected punch flew through the air with a whoosh. His speed was impressive.
But Houtarou was now ten meters away.
"..."
Manabu's punch missed. Only then he realized his target was far from him.
"…"
Houtarou kept staring at him, unfazed.
⍟⍟⍟
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