18 Chapter 18

"Do I need a reason to speak to you"

Whether Ichinose knows it or not, she is forcing me to speak to her. If I denied her, I would be on the receiving end of glares from all my classmates, but if I accepted, I would have to talk to her.

A double negative.

"What's up?"

"I'm curious, what do you do after school and on weekends?"

Does she want me to say I'm sad and lonely or something?

In my opinion, Ichinose was one of the worst types of girls. She was blatantly forcing her ideals onto me when I rejected time and time again. Nothing good would come from talking to her, but at the same time, my social status would completely fall if I denied her. 

Unlike other girls, who do this to become popular with their peers and seem as nice, Ichinose does this as she truly pities me. 

Exasperated, I replied.

"I do some student council work at the library then head back to the dorm."

"Ah, I see. If you ever get bored, remember you can contact me and the others at any time!"

"... yeah, I'll keep that in my mind"

I discarded that thought almost immediately. Honestly being a recluse at times could be lonely as Ichinose says, however, at the same time, it's peaceful. You don't have to worry about what others think and put on some fake persona to fit in.

At the start of middle school, I always fantasized about being one of those popular kids who go out to Cherokee every day with girls to have fun, but now that I had that option right in front of me, I was denying it.

Ichinose received waves from other girls, so she waved and jumped back into the pool with the others.

After swim class, I headed towards the teacher's lounge to speak with Hoshanomiya.

Since the news of swimming practice came, I have been exercising at least once a day by running or heading to the gym. The school wasn't stupid enough to suddenly give us swimming classes for no reason. It wasn't a coincidence.

One thing about this school didn't make sense. If they had sorted students by capability into a class, then what was the point of every class besides A? If the best students were already in Class A, how was it possible for the other classes to beat them?

Using this information and my student council information, I deduced that there were "special" exams where classes could gain class points. This was the only possibility as it would be theoretically impossible for Class A to be defeated in any other scenario.

With swimming and the upcoming "vacation" during summer break, I could assume that there was going to be a special exam. This "vacation" would consist of a cruise ship ride to an island owned by the school.

An island and swimming classes and the existence of special exams. A coincidence? Surely, not. This information would be valuable, and I was planning to sell it to other classes, however, everything was based on speculation with no evidence. I had a plan though.

I started a voice recording on my phone and put it in my pocket.

Entering the teacher's lounge, I could see a teacher with long black hair tied up in a ponytail and leggings similar to an office worker's. After being in this school for over a month now, the appearance of girls at this school was simply too high. Does this school only accept attractive girls? With Ichinose, Hyori, and now her, it could not just be a coincidence anymore.

Looking up from her phone, the teacher asked with a somewhat displeased expression.

"What do you need?"

"I'm here to speak with my teacher, Hoshanomiya-sensei"

"she's over t-"

At that moment, Hoshanomiya came bursting out of her office with a mischievous expression on. Looking at me and the teacher, she put her hands on her hips and said to the teacher.

"Sae-chan, are you stealing my favorite student? You know, he's mine. He almost confessed to me on the first day..."

"..."

What does she mean almost confessed? I just asked her simple questions about the point system. 

This time around, it wasn't just me who was confused as this Sae-chan also looked at Hoshanoymia person questioningly. Finally, a normal teacher.

Hoshanomiya, ignoring our silence, flung her hands around me and asked.

"Oh, what does my dear student need?"

From seeing her antics earlier, I wasn't as nervous as I steeled myself before entering the lounge, however, back then, we were alone. She was blatantly having physical contact with a student right in front of another teacher. Wasn't this unallowed? Shouldn't the other teacher do something?

Surprisingly, Sae-chan also ignored her antics and looked at me quizzically as well. It seemed that the two of them were friends as Sae-chan also seemed used to the frivolous antics of Hoshanomiya.

Although, I had wanted to speak to Hoshanomiya privately about this, having another teacher could also increase my evidence of the private island exam, so I focused on myself as Hoshanomiya finally stepped back and asked.

"Yes, I had some questions about the special exam taking place on the island during summer vacation."

This was the perfect place to gather evidence. Who would question if a teacher herself admitted to it? Knowing how Hoshanomiya gave away crucial details about the point system on the first day, I thought that she might fall for this trick as well. Hoshanomiya did not seem shocked at all at my question and responded.

"Ah the private island exam, I can't tell you much ab-"

Sae-chan immediately used her hands to cover Hoshanomiya's mouth and began lightly hitting her. Hoshanomiya, who was confused about Sae's sudden actions, stepped back in shock as she realized my question.

"h-h-how d-do y-you know that"

"thank you, teacher!"

"WAIT"

I happily walked away from the lounge, this information was surely worth a lot of private points. Heading back, I could hear Hoshanomiya faintly screaming something in the background.

"MY BONUS"

I could also see the other teacher looking at me with disdain. Did I anger or disgust her somehow? 

I felt bad, but at the same time, when she had lost money, I had gained a lot. It was the rule of the world. When one person loses something, another person gains something.

One's profit means another's loss.

I headed towards Class C, my current destination

The class is ruled by Ryuen Kakeru, an obvious dictator. On the first day of school, he ruthlessly took control of Class C through the use of violence. I hadn't met him yet, but I didn't understand why people talked about him like he was Voldemort

"Don't say his name or he'll fight you!!!"

Violence results in the immediate expulsion. It's in the entrance pamphlet. Just report him? I seriously didn't understand why he was talked about like some assassin who would kill you for insulting him.

Anyway, he was the best person for me to sell my information to. Sure, he was my "opposing" class, but I didn't care for the class competition bullshit. Ryuen, as a dictator, probably held the class's private points, so instead of convincing an entire class that my information was worth it, I would just have to convince him.

As I neared the Class C room, I looked inside. There was Ryuen, a tall student with long red hair, and a good build. Besides him, I could see what seemed like two henchmen. A black student with a lot of visible muscles and sunglasses covering his eyes. Beside him, stood another noticeably weaker student with light green hair.

I had met him before at the trial, so he would know that I was part of the student council. Also, he had sent Hyori to spy on me in the library.

I entered the classroom and instantly attracted the glare of every student in the class. What did I do to them? I could see Hyori in the corner, but I decided it was for the best if we ignored each other.

Ryuen, with his legs propped up on his desk, asked.

"hm, what do you need"

"selling information about the "vacation" planned for summer"

At my words, the rest of Class C began murmuring.

"who the hell is this guy"

"he thinks he has information that Ryuen would buy. Ha."

"he's just asking to get beat up"

Are these guys stupid? How the hell is Ryuen going to hit me, there's a big security camera right above them, and cameras outside the class that show me entering. Violence could be used as a weapon, but the second Ryuen gets caught, he will get expelled. He's playing a dangerous game.

As Ryuen spoke, the rest of the class shut up.

"How valuable is this information"

As Class C had around 500 class points, they would gain 2 million points per month, so 500,000 would be enough for me.

"500,000 points worth"

"I assume you have evidence to back it up"

I nodded my head and pulled out my phone.

"Alright I agree, so spill it"

Straight to the point, I like it.

Normally, I would demand Ryuen pay the points upfront, but I doubt that he would scam me if the information was indeed worth it, and also he security camera picked up him agreeing to the deal.

"The school randomly giving us swimming classes, and the cruise ship vacation to a private island is no coincidence. The existence of special exams is something I learned through the council. It's safe to say, they'll be some sort of special exam on the island."

The words "special exam" were vague, but when there's something on the island, it's pretty obvious that it's going to be a survival challenge. I still left that part out, but Ryuen would probably figure it out anyway.

I pulled out my phone and played the recording of Hoshanomiya confirming the existence of the special exam.

After hearing the information and confirming it through the recording, Ryuen and I exchanged contacts, so he could transfer me the points,

"You know, you're not like the others in Class B"

I knew what he meant. I didn't have morals or care about maintaining kindness within the school, unlike the others who would try even if meant helping an opponent.

Ryuen was the polar opposite of Ichinose as he used violence to establish rule within the class while Ichinose used his kindness and charm to be elected the class representative. I was curious what Ryuen thought of the state within Class B.

Did he think it would fail like me, or did he think that the unity could be a good thing? I probed him.

"Do you believe something's wrong with the others in Class B"

"You see it too, their naivety and kindness won't survive in a competitive environment like this."

"Indeed, they would sacrifice time and points to help an opposing class. It doesn't make sense"

The rest of Class C was confused at me insulting my own class, but they seemed to understand that I had just sold valuable information to them.

Ryuen, standing up from his chair, asked.

"What do you think of Class C?"

Class C was dependent on Ryuen, but Ryuen was tip-toeing the line between safety and expulsion. If he was ever caught for his violent acts, he would be expelled, but at the same time, if he wasn't, the class would prosper.

"it's too early to say anything"

The henchman with green hair beside Ryuen snorted at my comment.

Ryuen slowly walked towards me, but I was unfazed. This guy wasn't stupid, he wouldn't do anything to me with the security cameras right there.

As he towered in front of me with a smirk on his face, he asked.

"You're not scared after that stunt with Class D earlier?"

Why would I be scared? I did first and much better. I, of course, did not say that, but I continued probing him. 

"waste of time. Even if it worked, what do you intend to gain by hurting Class D? Looking at them, you can see that they're in no state to compete with the other classes"

"Can I not do things for my own enjoyment?"

Since Ryuen and I had similar plans, I asked.

"Was it not to extort Class D for private points?"

"You know I was going to, but it seemed like Class D had no money for me to extort. It was like somebody had already done it"

It seemed that Class D did not have to do much as after Ryuen gave up on extorting Class D, he also gave up on winning the case.

"Interesting"

I kept my expression to not leave any hints of that person being me.

Satisfied with his answers, I nodded my head and walked out of the classroom. Class C was indeed better suited for me than Class B. 

Not only, did we have the same ideas regarding using the stupidity of Class D to cause a fight, but our stances on Class B were the same. No matter how much I despised the use of a dictator, Ryuen was very similar to me.

If I was Class C, I wondered how things would change.

Putting those thoughts aside, I checked my points balance

[10,645,000]

Carrying this many points on me would cause a problem sooner or later if someone saw it. My only failsafe was a screenshot of my balance being 115,000 points, but if someone clicked my phone, they could easily see I was on the camera app.

With the midterms before summer vacation arriving soon, study sessions within Class B were already going on. I opted out as it would be inefficient and annoying for me to study with a bunch of people.

But, I also had a better idea. 

Why can't we just buy the midterm answers from a senior? Points can buy anything right? 

The only reason I hadn't done this before was because I would have no way to prove whether the tests were the same, but now the first midterm was done and graded, I could compare them.

That was a task for tomorrow as swimming earlier had me exhausted.