"Starting tomorrow, it'll be a life of poverty with zero income."
"I think out of the entire first year, you're the least qualified to say that, Ryo."
Sakayanagi Arisu lightly sipped from her coffee cup and shot Kitagawa Ryo a sidelong glance, shaking her head.
"If we added up all the remaining personal points of every student in the entire grade, I bet it still wouldn't match yours."
"Sure, I have a lot, but I can't exactly use them recklessly. They're just dead numbers at this point," Ryo shrugged.
"Who knows how many more messed-up disasters Class D will run into? It's better to save personal points and use them at critical moments."
"But as far as I know, the biggest disaster Class D has faced recently was entirely orchestrated by you, wasn't it?"
Arisu countered without giving him any face. Ryo leaned back and waved it off.
"Zero points are still zero points. No matter how much you deduct, it won't go negative."
"After all, if it did go negative, under the school's exchange system between class points and personal points, students would have to pay out of pocket."
After a few lighthearted remarks, Sakayanagi Arisu set down her coffee cup and leaned in slightly, her tone growing serious.
"I have two questions about this incident."
"What exactly did you talk about with Hoshinomiya Chie from Class B?"
"Horikita did tell me about your plan later, but she left out one strange thing that you never explained from the start—"
"Why did Kouenji skip class and obediently stay at a cafe the entire afternoon on the day of the incident, creating a perfect and flawless alibi?"
Ryo nodded lightly. After a moment's thought, he replied:
"Actually, those two questions are essentially one."
"Arisu, as the daughter of Chairman Sakayanagi, you should know one of the hidden rules of this school—Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School."
"Hidden rule?"
Arisu tilted her head slightly, brushing back a strand of silver-white hair, and repeated the phrase with slight puzzlement.
"The first month at this school is essentially a special exam period for new students to explore the basic rules—class points, personal points, class assignments not being random, and so on."
"But among these rules, there's one that can potentially fail."
With Ryo's reminder, Sakayanagi caught on.
"Class assignments?"
"Yes. The class designations of A, B, C, and D are determined before the start of school, but on April 1st, the day of entrance, each class starts with 1000 points."
"However, for over a decade since the school's founding, the point distribution after the first month always shows a clear hierarchy."
"This is because the first month evaluates mainly classroom discipline, and the differences in overall student quality between classes naturally create disparities."
"So this method of assigning classes has never had an issue."
"That's the hidden rule: the A to D class designation at the start of the school year will still correspond to the same hierarchy after one month."
Arisu's eyes flickered. She lowered her head in thought for a moment, then asked:
"So what if, in one particular year, Class B ends up with more points than Class A after the first month?"
"That would mean a fundamental contradiction in the school's core system, a total collapse."
Ryo continued calmly:
"Classes are designated A to D based on the students' initial overall ability."
"But they are also ranked A to D by class points."
"If Class B has more points than Class A, technically B should become A. But that would violate the first rule."
"It would make the school's stated rules lose all credibility."
"Then Class C and D could also protest, claiming their abilities were wrongly judged. After all, if your hand-picked A-class fails, how valid is the system?"
Ryo looked out the window and, almost simultaneously with Arisu, said:
"So the school will never allow that to happen."
"So the school will never let that happen."
He chuckled, pulling back his gaze.
"That's the first half of what I said to Hoshinomiya."
"Because of her resentment and hatred toward Chabashira Sae, she had nearly forgotten this hidden rule."
"No matter how hard she tries to drag Class A down, even if she succeeds, the school will never let B surpass A in the first month."
"Only under that premise could I make the next deal with her."
"Which is: minimize the point gap between A and B, and—"
"Ensure one student from Class A is expelled."
"And that person is?"
Arisu asked curiously.
"It's the second question you asked earlier."
Ryo propped his chin on his folded hands and smiled.
"Kouenji Rokusuke."
"First, Arisu, how much do you know about him?"
"Only that he's the only heir to the Kouenji conglomerate. I don't know why my father approved his enrollment. From any angle, he didn't need to attend this school."
Arisu replied, puzzled. The benefits and resources of graduating from this school couldn't compare to the power of the Kouenji family. And Kouenji's academic and athletic ability far exceeded the average. He never even listened in class.
"He came here purely for fun. If he had been placed in Class D, he might've stayed interested longer. But he landed in Class A, and after learning the rules from upperclassmen using money, he realized he had basically already beaten the system."
"Starting from the second day of school, he actively engaged with upperclassmen. After hearing a teacher say 'points can buy anything,' he used money to trade for personal points and information."
"This lasted about a week before he stopped. Once he realized he was already in Class A, there was no point in continuing. It wasn't worth spending 20 million points to change classes."
"During that time, Yagami Takuya from Class B noticed Kouenji's activities. He even bribed a senior girl to secretly record Kouenji, using it to fake evidence of his presence at the incident."
"How do I know all this? Ahem, that part isn't important. The senpai? Just a helpful passerby. Moving on."
"In short, Kouenji got bored."
"And then there was Katsuragi Kohei constantly trying to win him over to help the class. That's something Kouenji couldn't stand. He never cared about the class in the first place."
"What he does care about is his identity as the heir to the Kouenji conglomerate."
Ryo began imitating Kouenji's tone:
"My name is Kouenji Rokusuke, sole heir of the Kouenji conglomerate, destined to shoulder the future of Japanese society."
Arisu chuckled behind her hand at the exaggerated impression.
"Funny as it sounds, that really was how he introduced himself to the class on day one."
"He doesn't care about the school or the class."
"That mindset comes from his upbringing. He's confident to the point of arrogance. Even the Kouenji group's official website mentions his vast personal assets."
"Put simply, Kouenji is a man defined by his ego, and his ego is built on the Kouenji name."
Ryo grinned.
"Compared to the Kouenji conglomerate, this school means nothing to him."
"So getting him to voluntarily leave is both easy and difficult. You just need to make him truly care."
"And as it happens, I meet that requirement."
Ryo glanced at the personal panel in his mind, locking his gaze on the final golden talent:
[Heir to a Prestigious Family]
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[First-Year Class A: Initial class points: 1000. 200 points deducted for classroom discipline violations, 50 points deducted due to Katsuragi Kohei's punishment, and 300 points deducted due to Kouenji Rokusuke's expulsion. Final total: 450 points.]
Chabashira Sae read through the detailed deductions three more times. The right hand holding her cigarette trembled slightly. She had almost smoked an entire pack of slim women's cigarettes that afternoon. The ashtray on her desk was overflowing.
Kouenji Rokusuke—a student whose stats alone were more than enough to qualify him for Class A.
But after teaching Class A for a month, Chabashira Sae knew just how unmanageable he was. Of the 200 points deducted for classroom discipline, more than half were due to him.
She had seen how Katsuragi Kohei tried tirelessly to persuade Kouenji to change, but Kouenji simply did as he pleased, completely indifferent.
If Chabashira were still the homeroom teacher of Class D, she wouldn't have cared about such a problem student. But now she was the teacher of Class A, and Kouenji's presence was an eyesore.
Just like Hoshinomiya Chie hoped for Class A's downfall, Chabashira feared it. From the start of the term until now, it sometimes felt to her like she was living in a dream—a dream where the goal she had chased for ten years had suddenly fallen into her lap.
That joy came with anxiety; what comes easily can also be lost just as easily.
So when Kouenji Rokusuke voluntarily submitted his withdrawal application, Chabashira couldn't help but feel a tiny spark of delight.
Of course, she understood that the expulsion would cost Class A 300 points.
But she also knew that if Kouenji remained in Class A for the next three years, the damage he could inflict on the class point total might far exceed that.
So she didn't question his motives, didn't call him in for a private talk, didn't even consult with other students like Katsuragi Kohei. She made a unilateral decision, believing it was the right choice, and approved the withdrawal without hesitation.
She and Kouenji were two people who could never understand each other—like parallel lines that would never intersect.
Kouenji Rokusuke never cared for this school, or for Class A.
But Chabashira Sae couldn't be that indifferent.
Until the day she rebuilt the dream she once shattered with her own hands, she would remain here.
The die had been cast, and there was no taking it back. The gamble had already begun.
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[First-Year Class B: Initial class points: 1000. 196 points deducted for classroom discipline violations, 100 points deducted due to Yagami Takuya's punishment, and 300 points deducted due to Yagami Takuya's expulsion. Final total: 404 points.]
Hoshinomiya Chie tightened her grip on the report in her hands. Yagami Takuya's withdrawal was a development she had never expected.
Unlike Chabashira Sae, she immediately tried to contact Yagami after receiving his withdrawal application, intending to dissuade him. But Yagami never answered her calls. In fact, she never saw him again from the moment he submitted the application until the expulsion was finalized.
It was so unusual, it felt as if someone else had intervened.
The only good news now was that Kitagawa Ryo had fulfilled his part of their contract: with Kouenji Rokusuke's expulsion from Class A, the point gap between Classes A and B had narrowed to just 46 points.
This was an unprecedented situation in over ten years.
And the best opportunity Class B had ever had.
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"It's just a six-month suspension! I... I can still be useful during the special exams!"
In a secluded, empty classroom, Yagami Takuya was desperately trying to defend himself. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, a far cry from the cheerful persona he once exuded.
"It's not about usefulness. While I won't deny your abilities, I despise manipulative people—especially at this stage."
"To be honest, I never thought we needed an assistant from the White Room in the first place."
"If I'm a hundred, someone who's only a five or ten won't be of any help, no matter how many of them there are. In the White Room, I'm confident in that."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka gazed coldly at Yagami Takuya.
After the incident, Ayanokouji quickly deduced Yagami's original plan, clearly perceiving the subtle intention to simultaneously target both Class A and Class D.
Considering Yagami's proactive "independent actions" since the start of the term, his motives had become crystal clear.
"Besides, you've lost almost all your influence in Class B after this incident. Even your homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, failed to support you."
"I still have the upperclassmen. Students I know from higher grades can help me gather information. I have the audio recording of Kouenji Rokusuke trading points. I can use it to threaten—"
Under Ayanokouji's chilling stare, Yagami suddenly felt like he was back in the White Room, gripped once again by the terror of being under Ayanokouji's control. His voice trembled.
"Unfortunately for you, Kouenji Rokusuke has already submitted his withdrawal application."
Ayanokouji shook his head, unwilling to say more. He turned and walked out of the classroom.
Immediately after, five expressionless adult men entered the room.
Yagami, who had just taken a step forward to follow, suddenly froze in place.
"W-Why are you here too...? W-Why...?"
"Your withdrawal has already been submitted. You are no longer a student of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School."
Yagami collapsed, like a child who had lost all strength.
Outside the door, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka silently watched Yagami being taken away. He leaned against the corridor railing, remaining there until the group disappeared completely from view.
Kitagawa Ryo.
Round one is over.
You've surely already planned your next move.
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Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, Drama Club.
Student council member Horikita Suzune expressionlessly read out the official notice approving the Drama Club's application to compete in an off-campus competition.
Kitagawa Ryo leapt up with excitement and shouted:
"Yay!"
"We're going out—to win glory for the school!"
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