Hirata still looked tempted.
Clearly, with their class points back to zero and no living expenses left, it was getting hard to manage. So he wanted to find any way to earn some points.
But just then, a slightly mocking voice came from nearby.
"Instead of thinking about how to earn a few class points, maybe you should figure out how your class managed to blow through all 1000 points in just one month."
"Even if your class earns another 50 points this month, won't you just lose them all again next month?"
The moment he said that, Hirata from Class D blushed a little.
It was a harsh comment—but it wasn't wrong.
Ayanokouji, standing beside Hirata, looked curiously at the boy who had just spoken with such a mocking tone.
He had green hair like Hirata, but unlike Hirata's light green, this guy's hair was full-on green.
"Don't say it like that, Yahiko."
Katsuragi from Class A stepped in.
The one who had been so sarcastic just now was Katsuragi's sidekick, Totsuka Yahiko.
"You're acting a little too arrogant," Katsuragi said to Yahiko.
Yahiko immediately toned down his attitude.
"But you guys…"
Katsuragi looked at Hirata and Ayanokouji—but his gaze only stayed on Ayanokouji for less than a second before returning to Hirata.
"You're Hirata from the soccer club, right? You've got solid physical ability."
"But if we're talking about your whole class, don't you think you're focusing on the wrong things?"
"Instead of chasing a small reward from reporting others, shouldn't you be putting more energy into the special exams?"
"Have any of your classmates even shown up in the library?"
As he spoke, Katsuragi walked over to the small blackboard used to check class scores, nodding slightly as if to confirm something.
"Has Kamuro arrived yet?" Shirogane asked Katsuragi.
"Not yet. She's running late today."
Katsuragi replied. He had come not from the dorms, but from the classroom building—clearly having heard from a classmate that Shirogane was there updating the class's evaluation score.
He'd been working on this for the past couple of days, too.
After getting a tip from Nagumo, and with help from Nagumo's vice president, he took Kamuro to meet with the school chairman. They argued that if the reward originally promised wasn't delivered, they could use points to "buy" school privileges. And if the deal couldn't be made at the standard rate, they would negotiate a higher price—something the school rules allowed.
That's how they tried to reclaim the reward Kamuro was supposed to get.
The chairman had said this:
"The reward was originally meant for you, but since you refused it, of course the school took it back."
"And now that you want it again, the deadline has passed."
"But using points to buy that right fits your class's style. And since you had the courage to come to me directly, I'll consider giving you a bonus."
"So the original price of 1 million points is now lowered to 500,000."
"This is a one-time exception. Not everyone gets a second chance. I hope you understand that."
Even though it cost 500,000 points, it would immediately give Class A a 50-point boost in class evaluation.
That meant each student in the class would get an extra 5,000 points per month in allowance. Over a year, that's 60,000 points per person. Multiply that by 40 students, and that's 2.4 million points.
Just looking at the allowance side, they'd already made a profit. Plus, their class score went up too.
Originally, the gap between Class A and Class B was only 924 - 735 = 189 points.
Now that Class A has gained another 50 points, the gap between the two classes has shot past 200. That's a big relief.
And in the coming written tests, Class A can keep piling on points.
Good thing the school chairman is a sensible person.
The flashback ends, and Katsuragi eyes Shirogane with caution.
Who wouldn't?
Led by Miyuki Shirogane, Class C has climbed up to Class B's level and is almost neck‑and‑neck with Class A.
If the pressure weren't this high, Katsuragi wouldn't have cared about the 50‑point class bonus that Kamuro earned.
After all, Kamuro did that on her own.
But now it's about the class as a whole, so every point matters.
"Why are you asking about Kamuro? If you want her to take back her statement, that's impossible. The 50 points are already locked in. No trick can change that."
Katsuragi spoke.
"No, I just want to talk to her alone," Shirogane said.
…Katsuragi thought.
At this stage the points are set; Class A is sure to add 50. What could Shirogane want with Kamuro now? He can't overturn the result.
Then Katsuragi understood.
…
It happened after the second period.
For Class A, the previous class was math. Although last month's behavior test is over, seating hasn't changed.
This month's main test is a written exam, so everyone is still pretty disciplined.
More than 80 percent of the class was in their seats before the bell, so the lesson ran smoothly.
But—
Noise came from the doorway, and more students turned to look outside, alert.
"Looks like someone's heading for our room," someone said.
Scenes like this aren't rare; Vice President Nagumo from the student council has come before.
About that—
"Probably another student‑council visit," Katsuragi said. "Our Kamuro decided to step forward for the class's honor and claim the reward tied to Shirogane's tip about the shop clerk breaking rules."
"So our class rating goes up by 50, and the 30,000‑point card Nagumo promised Kamuro will come our way too."
The nearby students all glanced toward Kamuro's seat.
But Kamuro wasn't in the room, so they looked away again.
"Sakayanagi, you look tired—why not take a nap?" Katsuragi suggested.
Though the class has two factions, Sakayanagi really did hand over control; her followers even moved their desks back, so Class A now looks united again.
As heads of the two groups, Katsuragi sits next to Sakayanagi to tackle the tests as a team.
So it was easy to notice that Sakayanagi looked really sleepy during the first two classes this morning.
"Yeah."
This time, Sakayanagi didn't object. She placed both arms together on the desk and rested her head on them.
She only meant to take a short break, but maybe because she rarely stays up late—and had gone to bed late last night—the noise of students chatting during break seemed to have some kind of magic. It pulled her into sleep, and before long, she had dozed off.
"Just like a little kid."
Totsuka, sitting behind Katsuragi, said with a slight chuckle.
"I think it's fine."
Katsuragi didn't seem to mind, and even lowered his voice when speaking.
Totsuka immediately understood—Katsuragi was probably reminded of someone else who, like Sakayanagi, looked small and delicate.
During this little break in the action, Kamuro had returned to her seat from the back door. She also brought back a bottle of Nestlé coffee.
Even though Kamuro usually keeps a straight face, it turned out she probably didn't sleep well last night either.
"Kamuro."
Totsuka seemed like he was about to start a conversation.
"?"
Kamuro looked over with her usual serious expression, ready to ask what he wanted—until she noticed a tall blond guy walking in through the front door.
The moment she saw the guy, Kamuro suddenly snapped out of her sleepy state, likely because of the nightmare she'd had last night.
She had just sat down, but now she jumped back up.
Even her chair got pushed back a little.
Her sudden move made some of the students nearby turn to look in surprise.
"Do I really look that scary?"
Shirogane had noticed Kamuro's reaction.
"I'm here on behalf of the student council. You reported a shop staff member breaking the rules last month. You earned 30,000 points and an anonymous point card."
Shirogane took out the reward he'd gotten from the student council office and handed it to Kamuro.
…And unlike when Nagumo had visited their class, Kamuro didn't say a word this time. She just silently took the reward.
"Well then, congrats to your Class A. Now the gap between our Class B and your class is even wider."
"Still, the fact that you came back to claim even these 50 points you'd given up on… it shows your class isn't as confident as it seems."
Shirogane said.
In other words, he was basically here to declare war on Class A.
The Class A students around him started watching him more carefully.
Too bad for them—Shirogane didn't even flinch when he was being stared at by the whole school in the gym, and he didn't care when Hashimoto followed him around for a whole month. So of course, he wasn't nervous now.
And to be fair, Shirogane's main reason for coming was to complete the student council's task of delivering Kamuro's reward.
But since he was already in Class A's room, he figured he might as well stir things up a little.
Like, say, dropping a challenge.
The fact that they even bothered to come back for the 50 points made it clear that Katsuragi didn't want Class A to lose.
Also—
Even when Shirogane said that, Katsuragi didn't blush like his little sidekick did.
It showed that Katsuragi had some self-control and a bigger picture in mind.
"What's going on with Sakayanagi?"
Shirogane noticed the girl sitting in front of Kamuro—it was probably Sakayanagi Arisu.