There were only two bubble tea shops on the entire shopping street. After briefly inquiring about the new one, Houtarou and Suzune quickly arrived at Miyabi's shop.
Named "Cloudy Haven", it boasted a pleasant ambiance and bustled with activity. Students in uniforms streamed in and out, while others in casual clothes came to show their support.
The shopping street's location within the school meant that only students, faculty, and staff frequented the area.
"Well then." Suzune said, settling across from Houtarou.
They found a relatively quiet corner and each ordered a bubble tea. Noticing her frugality at lunch, Houtarou offered to pay for hers.
Surprisingly, the waiter brought coffee instead. Suzune explained that she preferred coffee to bubble tea, as it helped her feel at ease during her daily 10-hour study sessions.
Houtarou refrained from commenting on her study habits. While he didn't dislike hard workers, he suspected her approach might not be the most efficient use of time.
"So, what do you think about opening a shop?" Suzune repeated her question from earlier at school.
"Not much." Houtarou replied, shaking his head, "Opening a shop requires substantial capital — we're talking tens of millions, not just a few. We need to collect points, not spend them. That's just one issue. Also, don't you think someone who can open a shop without working part-time would take precautions against competition? Even if they agreed, they'd likely demand an exorbitant price."
"Um..." Suzune paused, then after a brief silence asked, "How do you suggest we collect points? Are there any alternatives?"
"There are. We'll still open a shop." Houtarou smiled. Seeing her about to interject, he continued, "Don't rush. When I say 'open a shop', it's just a figure of speech. We don't necessarily have to open one. The focus is on collecting points. We can use the idea of opening a shop as an excuse to gather points from some freshmen. I think they'll be eager to get involved."
"Like how the students in my Class A became poor after buying the school rules. But the students in Classes B and C are still quite well-off. Even though new students have expenses when entering school, it's only the beginning of the month. It shouldn't be difficult for each person to spend 30,000 to 50,000 points. I'll borrow points from them under the pretense of jointly opening a shop. Then I'll keep these points."
Suzune understood.
Since he said it would be difficult — or rather impossible — to open a shop, yet he was still talking about borrowing points from others... essentially, he wanted to get them for free, right?
"This is fraud." She said.
"Don't put it so harshly. You could also call it borrowing or paying an intelligence fee. You know yourself, this is a school where strength is supreme. Points are paramount. I'll write up contract terms." Houtarou waved his hands, "So it's for those who are willing to take the bait."
He pointed out his main task.
〖 Main Task: 20 Million Points Big Mission! 〗
〖 Task Requirement: Gather 20 million Points within three months! 〗
〖 Task Duration: 89/90 Days 〗
〖 Task Reward: Superhuman Physique — Major Physical Enhancement 〗
〖 Task Progress: 1,740,500 Pts / 20,000,000 Pts 〗
〖 Note: All Points earned by the host can be entrusted to Manabu Horikita, who is about to graduate from the Third-Year, and can be guaranteed to be exchanged for cash! 〗
The progress points included the 50,000 Points transferred from Kei. This was initially borrowed and then counted by the system as Points obtained.
Even if the plan fails and they can only jointly open a shop, the Points borrowed from other freshmen will still count towards completing the System's Task.
From this perspective, he could ask Manabu to borrow Points. With 45 million Points, he could easily help Houtarou complete the System Task. However, this was his last resort.
Having learned about Miyabi's situation, Houtarou knew Manabu would likely require him to join the Student Council as a condition for borrowing. What Manabu wanted was to support someone in opposing Miyabi.
This meant battling against a control-obsessed student or the entire second year — no small feat.
Moreover, since Points could be exchanged for money, Houtarou naturally wanted to acquire them rather than borrow.
He had already taken out his phone and started drafting his plan.
"We'll borrow 30,000 or 50,000 points from students each month to 'open a shop', then repay everything in the 12th month with 15% interest. If they comply, I'll pay them back. It's not a loss. But if they refuse or terminate the contract midway, they forfeit the points already collected. Those who see through this scheme are likely top students from Class B or C. If they call it off, it means their class has produced a reliable representative — something my Class A needs to watch out for."
'Oh, so you're also assessing potential representatives from Classes B and C?' Suzune realized, "Then why not include Class D..."
She began, but trailed off.
She wanted to ask why he wasn't assessing Class D's representatives if he was evaluating the other classes. But then she remembered — Houtarou had already gone to Class D to sell information, and only 11 students remained. That assessment was already complete.
Class D was beyond help.
Although Suzune didn't want to admit she was useless, she believed in her abilities. However, the opportunity to prove herself hadn't yet arisen. If she hadn't met Houtarou, her brother might have already asked her to drop out. She wasn't as resilient as she'd thought.
Suzune had her own concerns, too. It was only the first month's Behavioral Norm Assessment, but based on her observations of classmates losing Points despite knowing the rules, she doubted many Class Points would remain after a month.
Moreover, she wasn't certain her abilities would be useful in the class. Perhaps following Houtarou's plan to collect 20 million Points was the right path.
"You know, if you can collect 20 million points, your brother will see you differently." Houtarou said, deploying his persuasive tactic, "Don't you want to earn his recognition?"
Suzune paused before responding, "I understand."
With that, she joined his shop-opening scheme.
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However, since it's a scheme, someone needs to package it attractively. They would use Vice President Miyabi's successful bubble tea shop as their flagship example, inviting potential investors to see it firsthand.
"Since it's my proposal, I'll give you 10% of the earnings." Houtarou said.
"I understand." Suzune nodded.
She felt relieved he hadn't tried to trick her; instead, he'd offered her a chance to share in the profits. She considered herself quite fortunate.
If she hadn't sought him out so early, he wouldn't have taken her to the second-year area, and consequently, wouldn't have gathered so much information. She might have ended up as the scapegoat instead.
However, Houtarou also realized that both he and Suzune shared a weakness: neither enjoyed interacting with others. They were lone wolves, preferring solitude. He wanted to conserve energy, while she simply felt one person was enough.
Consequently, neither was suited to luring people into their scheme.
To pull this off, they needed someone with considerable charm and social skills. And wasn't there someone like that readily available?
So, in Miyabi's bubble tea shop, Houtarou encountered the girl who'd seemed like a little angel when he'd met her in Class D the day before.
Kikyō Kushida.
"Horikita-san, you've finally noticed me. Is something exciting happening?" She asked, her mood visibly cheerful.
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