Miyabi burst out laughing.
"Five million in three days? Indeed, you've done well collecting points so far. But that much? You might as well rob someone. You've already stripped the first-years bare — who are you planning to target next? The second and third-years? Let me tell you now, not a single one of my second-years will fall for your schemes."
These words carried a clear meaning: it was the collective will of the second-year students.
Was this pressure and resistance coming from an entire grade level?
"We'll see about that." Houtarou said, "By my estimates, about half of your second-years will side with me."
"..."
Miyabi stood up straight and stared into his eyes.
"Interesting. Are you trying to provoke me?"
"How about we make a bet?" Houtarou looked at the numbers on his student ID on his phone.
Miyabi glanced over and instantly felt sick. The Private Points account showed 4,231,100 Pts.
For him, this was a number that made him take a deep breath.
His class had only accumulated 8 million in class funds over an entire year — 4 million invested in opening a store and borrowing money, with the remaining 4 million as class funds. His own personal savings were only around 4 million.
But now, Houtarou, who had just enrolled, had accumulated in less than two weeks what took him a year to save.
It made him feel even sicker.
What's more, the other party had used his store's reputation to deceive others. Why had no one told him first-year students' money was this easy to get?
If he had known, he would have done it first. With his actual physical store, he could have easily collected Points from first-years.
After all, being unfamiliar with the rules, new students would have surely agreed. Then once they learned about the exam rules, they would naturally terminate the agreement for their class's benefit. It would have been essentially free money.
It could have been justified as an upperclassman's "guidance" for first-year students.
But... He had missed this opportunity.
"My student ID needs 300,000 more points to reach a peak. I hope Nagumo-senpai can make up the difference." Houtarou said, "To make it 4.5 million."
Currently underway was a Hidden Task — Flower Protection — to extinguish Miyabi's fighting spirit.
Initially, Houtarou had wanted to collect 5 million Points quickly. After all, among the current students with Points, the first-years except Class D were broke. He had to look to the upperclassmen, who still had savings.
If the System Task hadn't appeared, he wouldn't have actively approached Miyabi. But now that he had to, it meant extra trouble — so naturally, he deserved some compensation.
He proposed a bet: if the other part lost, he would give Houtarou 300,000 Points.
"Hehehe..." Miyabi laughed loudly, "Looks like you want to fleece me too. But as your senpai, it wouldn't be right to just refuse you. So I'll give you a chance — but what if you can't do it?"
The sight of his account balance had made him feel ill.
Still, he hadn't lost yet. In just six months, he would receive half the profits from his store.
Even if the class competition went poorly, he would still earn 1 million in monthly dividends from the store. Over the next two years, he could accumulate 20 million and graduate as Class A.
His position was unassailable. As the second-year representative, he had guaranteed Point contributions from every class and student.
Life was sweet for Miyabi — he just needed the Student Council President position to cement his status.
But Houtarou's direct visit to the Student Council to meet Manabu made it clear he was aligned with his rival.
Since Manabu wouldn't name him as the next president, Miyabi would have to seize the position himself.
Now was the perfect time to eliminate this recruited first-year student.
Miyabi considered his next move.
"If you can't do it, I won't bully you." He added, "But for this year, even if President Horikita invites you, you can't join the student council."
"That..." Houtarou seemed to pause for a moment.
"Can't do it?" Miyabi smiled slightly.
It was just as he'd suspected — Manabu wanted to bring Houtarou into the Student Council, likely to keep Miyabi in check. The President was moving faster than expected.
Despite their brief interaction, Miyabi recognized Houtarou's insight, decisiveness, and grasp of the rules. He could be a valuable asset if properly utilized.
Unfortunately, if Miyabi became Student Council President, this first-year student wouldn't be joining.
There was another reason he felt threatened, too. The girls in class had been discussing the new students, particularly admiring some of the first-year boys.
Despite being both handsome and capable, these girls completely ignored Miyabi. It was infuriating.
His childhood friend Nazuna Asahina had even mentioned one name specifically: Houtarou Oreki. She seemed to think this kōhai was cute and even shared his photo with everyone.
Hey, hey, hey—whose childhood friend are you?
Miyabi was particularly vigilant today. Though Houtarou wasn't quite a romantic rival yet, would he back down here?
The thought left him disappointed.
But then he saw his kōhai shake his head and give a rare smile.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Nagumo-senpai. I'm determined to win those 300,000 points. The bet is on. It's 12:22 now, so three days from now at 12:22. If I gather 5 million points, you'll give me 300,000, and if I lose, I won't join the student council this year." Houtarou said.
"Oh? Why so straightforward?" Miyabi noticed how his entire demeanor seemed to shift in that moment.
Something unexpected had happened — something that surprised even Houtarou himself. But what?
"Because Manabu already promised me a position a week ago, but I refused. I was never interested in the Student Council to begin with. So there's only one possible outcome — losing doesn't affect me, but if I win, you'll have to pay up, Nagumo-senpai. In my view, you're already just a money dispenser. That's why my opinion of you has changed."
As he spoke, a rare mocking smile played at the corner of Houtarou's mouth. He didn't know why, but he was feeling good.
Oh damn. So this bet was only disadvantageous to him?
Miyabi was stunned.
But wait — didn't this also prove that Houtarou wasn't on Manabu's side? Then whose side was he on? The question left him confused.
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That afternoon, back in class, Miyabi told the girls about his bet with the "cute" kōhai.
After all, gathering 5 million Points in three days was impossible by any reasonable standard. He intended to diminish this guy's reputation among the girls first.
⍟⍟⍟
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