"..." Suzune gasped, "How did you do that?!"
She stared in astonishment, her eyes wide open. All she could see was Houtarou suddenly appearing 10 meters away.
Manabu pushed up his glasses, "The current record for 100 meters for male students is about 10 seconds. Houtarou Oreki likely sprinted 10 meters in less than a second. Such instant retreat suggests his physical abilities might be approaching human limits."
As he spoke, Manabu eyed him cautiously and assumed a defensive stance.
"..." Houtarou remained silent.
He had clearly used a superpower — Teleportation. But if they interpreted it as physical ability, that was fine by him.
Still, Houtarou felt troubled. The student council president had repeatedly emphasized ability supremacy, yet he had tried to attack someone twice.
Wasn't this devolving into violence supremacy? And now he's on the defensive? Wasn't he the aggressor?
Nevertheless, considering his contribution of 1 million Points, Houtarou returned to his side.
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Manabu appeared deep in thought. He glanced at his cowering sister before speaking.
"I am Manabu Horikita, the student council president." He introduced himself, "You likely remember me from the entrance ceremony. I'm also Suzune's older brother. As president, I wield considerable authority, yet I have such a... disgraceful sister."
"...Ugh." Suzune meekly lowered her head at being called disgraceful.
"You're Houtarou Oreki. I'm aware of your background. This morning, you were observing the bulletin board on the first floor of the third-year building, weren't you? Impressive observation skills. As a Class A student, you've proven your worth — perhaps even exceeding our expectations." Manabu remarked.
His words didn't sound like an evaluation, but rather like deliberate flattery. He had been ready to fight moments ago, and now he was suddenly complimenting Houtarou?
Had he given in? No.
Houtarou understood. Manabu was implying that with his authority, he could handle any leaked photos. Yet, he was willing to transfer money — essentially to buy his silence.
Moreover, this 1 million Points could serve as a favor.
Manabu wouldn't actually hit Suzune; he just wanted to make his sister give up. Now that this scene had been exposed, he might worry about her life outside if she were to drop out in her current state.
In other words, he might want his sister to stay.
Despite being the student council president, Manabu couldn't leave school freely due to closed management rules. So, rather than letting his unstable sister leave, it was better to keep her under his watch for a year.
As the student council president, it wasn't appropriate for him to constantly interact with first-year students. Therefore, he needed to find a suitable first-year student to be his sister's mentor.
And this mentor was likely meant to be Houtarou.
In other words, this was the brother's consideration. The starting point was entirely for his sister's sake.
This made Houtarou a bit envious. His own sister didn't really take care of him — she even made him cook when he got home.
'Other people's brothers are so nice…'
Now, the offer before him was clear: accept the student council president's favor, take the 1 million Points, and guide Suzune. But their classes were different, weren't they?
No. Rather, because the classes were different, guidance was needed.
As for Class D... well, in the current situation, no one had hope for them. Arranging Suzune as a spy for Class A might benefit them. Although she might be unwilling, her upright nature made her susceptible to deception.
Had Manabu so easily handed over 1 million Points just to find a mentor for his sister? Since they were still in school, under his watch, the mentor couldn't harm her.
It was very safe.
"..."
After a moment's consideration, Houtarou spoke.
"Although it's tempting, I refuse." He said, "I don't like troublesome things. I'm just a harmless ordinary high school student."
"Hehe..." Manabu chuckled, "You call yourself ordinary? You should know this is a school of ability supremacy — points supremacy. If you're not tempted, it's just because the points aren't enough. I'll give you 100,000 points every month this year. When you're doing things, just bring Suzune along and let her broaden her horizons. That's my only goal. The fact that you directly accepted my points earlier, and that you'll sell information to Class D, proves that you need money — you want points, right?"
He continued, "I'll be graduating soon. I'll tell you something for free. When third-year students graduate and leave school, the school will exchange their points for cash. There might be some adjustments in the ratio, but points can be exchanged for money. You want this too, don't you? For example, the 1 million points I gave you are worth 800,000 in cash. That's the salary a fresh graduate would earn in 4 months. Isn't that a bit attractive?"
"That much?" Suzune spoke up.
"..." Manabu paused, "My foolish sister…"
If it was just his tone before, now he really wanted to say it.
His sister had unreservedly swiped away 100,000 Points to give to Houtarou because she hadn't treated the Points in the student ID as money before.
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