Joining Class B did sound like a decent option.
Shimizu Akira had considered it before; if he really couldn't stay in Class D, among the remaining three classes, Class B might be the best alternative—after all, Ichinose Honami was there.
With her in Class B, students rarely faced the risk of expulsion.
In this school, you probably couldn't find another person as purely good as Ichinose.
"I know what you're thinking about," Hoshinomiya Chie, noticing his thoughtful expression, immediately picked up the conversation. "Are you thinking that even if you enter Class B, you might not necessarily rise to Class A in the end? But think about it, Class A is highly unlikely to invite a student from Class D to join them. On the contrary, Class B is the one among the three classes with the most hope of advancing to Class A—didn't last month's class point ranking make that quite clear?"
She leaned half a step closer. "Joining Class B is definitely better than languishing in Class D, right? Our class is famously united; we'd never have a situation like Class D's lack of leadership. Our class leader was elected by the students themselves. You know Ichinose; you should know every word I'm saying is true."
To be fair, Hoshinomiya Chie did have a point.
Class A was, logically, the hardest class to join.
Among the remaining Classes B, C, and D, in terms of overall strength, Class B was undoubtedly the strongest—Ichinose Honami had truly coalesced the entire class into a force to be reckoned with.
"But, Hoshinomiya-sensei," Shimizu Akira paused, slowly voicing his doubt, "why consider pulling me into Class B? Why not choose someone else?"
He naturally didn't believe the "hit the jackpot" spiel; it sounded like a line meant to fool a child.
Class B was fine, but the question was, even if she wanted to recruit new members, why would she target a student from Class D?
Instead of trying to poach top students from Class A, or even taking a step back, students from Class C were, in some ways, much stronger than those in Class D.
"Little Shimizu is so suspicious." Hoshinomiya Chie let out a light laugh. "People in Class A are already at the top of the pyramid; under normal circumstances, they can't be poached. As for Class C... those people would only corrupt the atmosphere of our class if they came in."
She deliberately paused, her gaze fixed directly on Shimizu Akira, her tone turning serious. "Choosing you naturally has a reason. Last month, you bought the rules deliberately hidden by the school from an upperclassman senpai, right? No need to play dumb; I've already asked the person involved."
(She asked? Hoshinomiya Chie already sought out that Yamamura-senpai?)
(Then how does she know it was Yamamura-senpai I asked about that matter?)
Shimizu Akira suddenly remembered that when he found Yamamura-senpai, it was Ichinose Honami who led the way. So, the other party probably found out from her own class leader.
Wait—he suddenly remembered Ichinose Honami's inexplicable phone call last month.
At the time, she said in a strange tone that it was Shimizu Akira who had secretly contacted Yamamura-senpai, getting her to proactively provide the information.
So, that "fool" who "did good deeds without leaving a name" was none other than this very Hoshinomiya Chie.
The reason wasn't hard to guess.
School rules strictly forbade teachers from directly interfering in class affairs. Last time, Chabashira Sae getting disciplined for appointing a vice class leader was the perfect example.
Hoshinomiya Chie had probably used Yamamura-senpai as a mouthpiece and let Ichinose naturally misunderstand—since Shimizu Akira was one of only two people who had contacted Yamamura-senpai, he naturally became the candidate for the "good deed doer."
This way, Shimizu Akira was unjustly saddled with the "good person" label.
"Of course, this is just reserving a spot for you for now." Hoshinomiya Chie smiled, her eyes curving, but her words carried clear conditions. "It will depend on your performance going forward—after all, transferring classes costs 20,000,000 points. Class B will need to save up for a very, very long time. And besides, we have to convince Ichinose. My class leader originally planned to use those points to help people."
She leaned in closer, a coaxing tone entering her voice. "Anyway, from now on, our class's Ichinose will be the one responsible for liaising with you about this matter. However, don't think this is a sure thing or anything; it will depend on your future performance... If it's good, maybe I can persuade her to use class funds to 'purchase' you, or even have her go on a date with you or something. The same goes for other female students too."
The hallway bell suddenly rang, the tone for the preparatory bell.
Hoshinomiya Chie straightened up, lightly tapped her own lips with a fingertip, and winked at him. "Alright, hurry back to class. Oh, and—you mustn't tell anyone else about this. I only told you; students from other classes don't get this kind of benefit, you know."
After saying this, she turned away, unable to hold back a couple of "hehe" giggles, like a child who had secretly hidden some candy.
Her light footsteps faded down the hallway, mingling with the trailing sound of the preparatory bell, gradually disappearing around the corner.
Shimizu Akira returned to the classroom and slowly took his seat, mentally replaying the other's words.
Then, the seemingly out-of-the-blue warning Chabashira Sae had sent him this morning resurfaced in his mind—Shimizu-kun, if you encounter people from other classes approaching you with strange reasons, or... if someone offers to introduce you to some 'friend,' you must be wary.
Thinking about it now, Chabashira Sae was probably referring to Hoshinomiya Chie.
Did Chabashira Sae already anticipate that Hoshinomiya Chie would come looking for him?
But the question was, how did she know?!
Did Hoshinomiya Chie tell her herself?
Informing her face-to-face that she was going to poach a student? Wasn't that openly declaring she was going to steal someone?
Trying to see it from Chabashira Sae's perspective, he felt that if it were him, he'd probably be furious.
This pair of best friends really had an interesting dynamic. Who knew what had happened in the past to make their relationship so love-hate?
It truly fit the saying, "When gods fight, mere mortals suffer."
With the two homeroom teachers at odds like this, the students underneath were probably in for a lot of trouble.
As for the conditions and benefits Hoshinomiya Chie offered, Shimizu Akira took them as just words; there was no real need to take them seriously.
The other party was clearly painting a rosy picture for him—after all, for a class to save up 20,000,000 points, it would take at least ten months or more.
During that time, countless variables could occur. If the class points completely collapsed, forget ten months, they might not even gather the 20,000,000 by the second year.
Taking a step back, even if they really saved up enough, why would they spend the points to "buy" him over?
Most likely, they wanted to get him to willingly help Class B later without giving anything up.
This was actually an overt scheme: if you didn't take it to heart, then it naturally came to nothing.
But if you took it seriously, truly believing the other party would bring you into Class B, you'd probably lose the motivation to put effort into Class D.
As for that line, "I only told you, don't tell anyone else," that was just a classic, old trick.
It was obvious she had probably said this to who knows how many people. She was likely fully aware of that herself.