A bounty, huh? It had been a long time since he'd heard that word.
Kaoru looked at Nagumo Miyabi's post.
The other party hadn't been anonymous; anyone could see his personal information.
He had even posted his balance: over twenty million private points.
Kaoru was surprised that after his extortion, Nagumo had managed to earn it all back within two semesters, all while spending a considerable amount of private points to win people over.
To be fair, Nagumo Miyabi was indeed the wealthiest student in the entire school right now.
Although Morishita Ai's balance was no less than his, she was the treasurer for first-year Class A.
Her account was basically a public fund and couldn't be considered her own money.
Not long after the post was published, Kaoru heard several gasps of varying volumes around him.
The sound of discussion grew more intense and excited than before.
Nagumo's post was just one sentence: whoever could get the first-year Class A student, Kaoru, to leave this school would receive twenty million private points.
In an instant, dozens of replies appeared below.
Some were begging to be sponsored, some were asking who Kaoru was, and some were questioning if Nagumo Miyabi had misappropriated public funds.
"This is bad. Nagumo is getting serious. You shouldn't have revealed so much just now." Kiriyama called him quickly, her voice tinged with a headache.
"Twenty million is too much. It's enough to make the students in your class betray you!"
One had to understand that the highest goal the school set for students was to graduate from Class A.
Possessing twenty million private points, however, meant that a student had directly secured a guaranteed spot, making it irrelevant even if their class dropped to Class D.
At this moment, Nagumo's intentions were obvious.
He planned to replicate his own experience with the first-years, throwing money around to buy people's loyalty.
Even if he couldn't get Kaoru expelled, he could still disgust him this way.
"Mm, his cooperation with Ryuen is probably similar. He might be giving Ryuen even more favorable terms." Kaoru recalled the conditions Nagumo Miyabi had offered to try and win over Sakayanagi Arisu.
He had to admit, the guy was quite good at throwing money around.
After all, he was the wealthiest student right now; that was his advantage.
Kiriyama Ikuyo was somewhat speechless.
What kind of situation was this, and he was still concerned about Nagumo Miyabi's cooperation with Ryuen Kakeru? Obviously, stabilizing his own class was more important right now.
"I heard there are two leaders in your class, one is Katsuragi, and the other is Sakayanagi. Are you safe?"
"I'm safe. Even if they were both my enemies, I'd still be very safe."
"Aren't you a little too confident?"
"If someone succeeds in getting me expelled, and they are already a Class A student, which class would they transfer to?"
"No, perhaps someone would consider the future risk of the class dropping and want a safety net to be more secure."
"Wrong. For a Class A student, the biggest risk isn't the class dropping, but being eliminated in an exam and then expelled."
The current first-year Class A is leading by such a large margin.
If they really fall, it would only prove they don't deserve their position in Class A.
With this point gap, even if they lose, it would take one or two semesters for them to drop down.
"What about the other classes?" Kiriyama took a slow breath. "If the lower-ranked classes cooperate to expel you and then split the reward, that possibility can't be completely ruled out."
"If they could actually cooperate, I might as well drop out myself," Kaoru said faintly.
"Seems like you have a way to get through this crisis. All I can do is keep my class in check and try to protect you during the next joint exam."
"Thanks."
"You're the one with the best chance of overthrowing Nagumo."
"I'll get you a New Year's gift next time."
"..."
No sooner had Kiriyama's call ended than Horikita Manabu's came through, also inquiring about the bounty.
"No need to be so tense. It'll be over soon."
"There's a joint exam next semester. Nagumo probably knows this, which is why he issued the bounty against you in advance."
"What kind of joint exam?"
"Probably a training camp. I'm not sure about the specifics."
"In that case, Horikita-senpai, why don't we end Nagumo together next semester?"
"...Are you suggesting I team up with Kiriyama-kun?"
"No, I won't interfere with your exams." Kaoru's voice was calm, devoid of any fluctuation. "Since he's so fond of throwing money around, I'll return the favor in kind."
There was no denying that Nagumo was currently one of the top students.
The amount of Personal Points he possessed was something no one could catch up to in a short time.
However, the rules of this school only applied within it.
The so-called Class A privileges were nothing more than a dull trick in the eyes of people like Kouenji Rosuke, Kiryūin Fūka, and Sakayanagi Arisu.
What most students dreamed of as privileges were merely their starting point—not even that, in some cases.
In other words, the core of this school was Class A's privileges.
The significance of Class Points existed solely to uphold those privileges, while Personal Points served no purpose other than acting as currency—except for class transfers.
The higher-ups wanted to use this system to cultivate the talents they desired, but they were also aware that their rules didn't work on certain individuals.
Nagumo's so-called "meritocracy" was just him playing within the school's rules.
The only tools he could leverage were Personal Points and Class Points.
Kaoru had no interest in the school's rules—nor in Nagumo's ideology.
And he certainly wasn't planning to play fair.
[100 Million Yen Bounty on Nagumo Miyabi—Will Add More If Needed!]
Kaoru stopped pretending.
With the backing of the Shinomiya Financial Group, he had no fear of such bounties.
The school forum drew a lot of attention today.
The moment the post went up, people quickly realized Kaoru was one of the parties involved, and the post's popularity skyrocketed.
Moreover, the title was so explosive and confrontational that it shot straight to the top of the trending list like a rocket.
[No way, 100 million yen?]
[If we can get Nagumo expelled, we get 100 million?]
[Feels too fake. Even the rich kids in my class wouldn't claim to have 100 million in pocket money.]
[Clown!]
[He must be desperate. Nagumo's twenty million can transfer classes, but what money does a first-year have? This is a case of a cornered rat biting the cat!]
In response to the onlookers' skepticism, Kaoru Mitoma simply replied with one line.
[I can hire a lawyer to draft a legally compliant contract for everyone. If you don't believe me, you can also look up news about the Shinomiya Financial Group.]
Soon, someone quickly found news about the Shinomiya Financial Group's recent equity changes.
A transfer of shares in such a massive financial group couldn't escape the notice of journalists.
When they saw that the shareholder was someone with the exact same name—Kaoru Mitoma—the forum fell silent for a long time.
Immediately after, Kaoru's private messages nearly exploded, mostly from third-year students.
With graduation looming, they were practically scrambling to cling to his coattails.
Kaoru finally understood why Kouenji Rosuke had senior girls feeding him every day—even students from Class A couldn't resist the temptation!
Is this what life as a Tokyo elite is like?
....
Meanwhile, Nagumo also saw the post about the 100-million-yen bounty, his face turning ashen.
"Impossible. How could he have shares in the Shinomiya Financial Group? One's named Shinomiya, the other Mitoma—shouldn't he be from the Mitoma Financial Group?" Nagumo couldn't make sense of it.
"And the share transfer happened just a few days ago. Could he have flown out or something?"
Nagumo reacted swiftly, refusing to be thrown into chaos by Kaoru's post.
He immediately spotted the oversight Kaoru had neglected.
However, Nagumo didn't outright dismiss it as fake news.
Instead, he cautiously asked his homeroom teacher whether any students had left the school in the past few days.
Normally, a teacher wouldn't answer such a question, but considering Nagumo's status, the teacher didn't see it as a big deal and simply replied.
No one had.
Feeling reassured, Nagumo sneered and took to the forum with sarcasm.
[As far as I know, no student left the school on Christmas Eve.]
[Oh? The man himself has appeared!]
[Perverted student council president!]
[This guy likes little kids, so gross.]
Seeing the replies, Nagumo flew into a rage but had to remind them to focus on the more serious issue—exposing Kaoru's trick.
[Could anyone have left the school?]
[So, is someone lying here?]
[Good thing I didn't send him a selfie. Almost got scammed!]
[Damn it, I already sent him my black stockings! He even said 'show me more'—so disgusting!]
Watching the forum's mood shift, Nagumo felt victory was within his grasp.
A cold smirk spread across his face.
If Kaoru were really a rich heir, he wouldn't have needed to drag Kouenji Rosuke in as a guarantor back then.
So this had to be fake news—just a case of someone with the same name that Kaoru was exploiting.
Was he so rattled by the bounty that he was grasping at straws?
Just as Nagumo was about to fan the flames, he saw Kaoru post a photo in the thread.
[A contract?]
[Real or fake?]
[Big bro, check your DMs! I just sent you a selfie ❤️]
Nagumo scrutinized the contract carefully—whether it was the content or the stamped seals, there didn't seem to be any flaws.
It looked almost real.
In an instant, his face darkened.
It couldn't possibly be genuine!
If this were true, it would be an attack from outside the school, something he had no means to defend against.
Kaoru's assault would be unstoppable.
Compared to twenty million Personal Points, a hundred million yen was obviously far more tempting.
But Nagumo Miyabi hadn't lost yet.
His advantage was the school's advantage—Class A's privileges guaranteed 100% employment and university admission.
Could a hundred million yen buy a University of Tokyo student ID?
Getting into the elite programs at the University of Tokyo would allow him to earn back that hundred million yen in no time, with even greater advantages beyond just the money.
Nagumo Miyabi's mind raced.
He didn't recklessly question the contract's authenticity.
Instead, he had his subordinates promote Class A's benefits on the forums to calm the student body.
[Oh?]
Kaoru continued posting.
[On top of the hundred million, I can specially add employment security—an extra company as a bonus.]
At this point, even Nagumo Miyabi's subordinates wavered.
After all, the goal of entering the University of Tokyo was to rise above others.
Now that there was a chance to achieve that status immediately, why not just latch onto the winning side?
Nagumo Miyabi felt his limbs turn cold.
If Kaoru kept this up, not just the second-years—the entire school might defect to his side.
There was no way he could defeat an opponent like this.
This was someone who had already beaten the game of life—a pay-to-win player who could single-handedly destroy the game's balance.
Wait… balance?
Suddenly, Nagumo Miyabi's eyes lit up.
No matter how wealthy Kaoru was, the school wouldn't allow such a situation to persist.
Otherwise, wouldn't the school's rules become meaningless?
So, Nagumo Miyabi called his homeroom teacher again.
---------
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