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Sakayanagi's fingertips paused, and she even subconsciously wanted to confirm if she'd misspoken and said "2 million"—otherwise, why would it provoke such a big reaction?
"200,000 points... Class D should still be able to afford it, right?" She looked at the entire class, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible confusion.
She suddenly remembered her own Class A—yesterday, when she proposed this information, the class immediately approved 200,000 points as a reward.
In her opinion, it even felt a bit low, because 200,000 was really not a large sum.
"...We can't get it!"
"Each person has to pay 5,000 points!"
Voices of opposition rose one after another, and a few students even frowned.
Only then did Sakayanagi realize, belatedly, how much the point reserves and spending habits differed between classes.
A number that was commonplace in Class A, here in Class D, had become a "sky-high price" that needed to be debated.
But, this gap is a bit too big, isn't it?
Sakayanagi looked at Kushida beside her, who also looked at her with an embarrassed expression.
Her gaze swept across the room and finally landed on the boy with the particularly prominent jawline.
This guy was clearly the loudest one just now, so how did he suddenly seem like a different person, leading the complaints?
'How uninteresting.'
She gently tapped her cane on its handle, and the look in her eyes under her beret chilled a few degrees—people who only shout slogans and immediately retreat when faced with actual self-interest held no interest for her.
"Sakayanagi-san, could you tell us for free?"
"We really don't have any points left; renting surveillance last month already cost a huge sum."
"Exactly, we are Class D, and you are Class A. Even if you earn points from us, you won't earn much, right?"
Several people spoke one after another, their tones earnest, but the underlying meaning of their words was more than obvious—they wanted the information for free.
Listening to these words, Sakayanagi felt a throbbing headache, and her heart involuntarily clenched.
She felt like she was about to have a heart attack.
She even had the urge to throw her cane at their faces.
'These people... are they trying to get something for nothing?'
'What kind of logic is that?'
She sneered inwardly.
To so naturally treat other people's hard work as something that should be given away for free?
She was currently one of the core figures of Class A. The time and effort she spent organizing this information, did it come out of thin air? Was she just going to let these people freeload off her?
The other party's words were truly self-righteous.
She even couldn't help but imagine—if she were in Class D, would these people demand even more brazenly?
Just thinking about that scenario made her feel a physiological discomfort, like she wanted to vomit!
In a sense, she truly experienced what it felt like to "be a Class D person" today—having her achievements naturally coveted by others, without even a basic sense of equivalent exchange.
She lowered her eyelids, hiding the surging impatience in her eyes.
But she couldn't just turn around and leave yet.
That mysterious person might be watching from some corner—if she abandoned this transaction, he would simply reap the benefits.
But staying was also uncomfortable.
The Class D students occasionally spouted phrases like "free information," like fine thorns pricking her, making her feel indescribably disgusted.
This feeling was like falling into an obvious trap, caught between a rock and a hard place.
Leaving meant handing over the opportunity to the mysterious person; staying meant patiently dealing with these clueless people.
'It's like being cut with a dull knife.'
She exhaled softly. Since it was an open scheme, she had no choice but to accept it.
She couldn't let that guy hiding in the dark laugh at her.
"Hmph." Kamuro, standing at the side, crossed her arms and sneered, the end of her voice carrying undisguised mockery.
This laugh was partly for Sakayanagi—that a core member of Class A could be so entangled and stuck by these Class D people; the other half was for Class D—not understanding even basic equivalent exchange, only thinking of getting something for nothing, no wonder they were the bottom class.
She glanced at a few people below who were still muttering, "Can't it be cheaper?" and suddenly understood why Akira was unwilling to exert himself for his own class.
Rather than being bled dry by people who only know how to ask, it was cleaner to just ignore everything.
Thinking this, she immediately felt fortunate—thank goodness she was assigned to Class A, so she didn't have to work with such trash.
Kamuro moved half a step closer to the podium and said to Sakayanagi in a voice only the two of them could hear. "If you ask me, just leave. It's not worth wasting time with these people."
"Rather than letting these people get something for nothing, I even more don't want to see 'that guy' smoothly earn points." Sakayanagi forced a slight smile at Kamuro, her voice extremely low, but the end of it held a hint of imperceptible gritted teeth. "You wouldn't understand this feeling—I just don't want him to succeed."
Even if it meant making a losing deal, she had to let that guy hiding in the dark know that trying to make money under her nose wouldn't be easy.
"I understand, I fully comprehend Class D's current situation. How about this—I will provide the information about this special exam to everyone for free. I hope everyone can also achieve a good score in the midterm exam. And I hope Class D remembers this gift from Class A."
...
Akira sat in his seat, watching Sakayanagi on the podium truly explain the contents of the special exam in detail.
What surprised him even more was that she'd even printed out a set of practice questions beforehand and distributed them to the students in the front row to pass around.
'What is this person thinking?'
He was genuinely a bit puzzled.
She actually gave away the information for free?
He stared at Sakayanagi's somewhat uncomfortable face and suddenly realized—she was determined to cut off his path.
To prevent him from earning even a single point from Class D, she was willing to completely disregard her own interests, preferring to earn nothing rather than not throw out the information.
She was using the "Seven Wounds Fist" approach—first injure oneself, then injure the enemy.
'She's really... quite ruthless.'
Akira leaned back in his chair, looking at the stunned and bewildered expressions of the Class D students as they received the test papers, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
To be honest, he'd indeed considered selling the information, but at most, he only wanted to earn four or five hundred thousand points and quit while he was ahead. But Sakayanagi, on the other hand—she would rather be freeloaded by these Class D people than let him earn a single point.
'Is it... as expected of the "Mad Hatter"?'
He chuckled inwardly.
The pronunciation of "Arisu" is similar to "Alice", and with that iconic beret, she really did resemble the strange and persistent Mad Hatter from the Alice story—once she decided on something, she'd push her plan through to the end, even if it meant sacrificing her own interests.