Chapter 41: Negotiation with Class D
"Yukinoshita-san..."
Hearing Yukinoshita's voice, the troubled Hirata gradually calmed down and turned to look at the two Class A girls.
He recalled the exam paper Yukinoshita had provided, and the questions on it were all within the exam scope given by Chabashira-sensei. This meant that if they could get this paper and show it to everyone, the students of Class D could easily pass the exam.
Horikita also knew that the two Class A girls possessed the item Class D desperately needed right now. She had argued with Yukinoshita before going to the teachers' office. At this moment, she could only bite her lip hard and keep silent, looking at Yukinoshita with a complicated expression.
"Yukinoshita-san, why would you in Class A be willing to help Class D? According to the school's rules, we are competitors, aren't we?" Kushida suddenly asked: "You don't look like people who would betray your class's interests, either."
"You are correct. As a student of Class A, my duty is to seek benefits for Class A. Kamuro-san and I are merely here to negotiate with you as representatives of Class A." Yukinoshita nodded and took out the small notebook she carried with her: "Let's get back to the main point. We in Class A will provide Class D with an exam paper that covers the key exam scope, allowing more students in Class D to pass this midterm exam and avoid expulsion. In addition, we have noticed that Class D currently has zero class points, so we will provide Class D with one million private points, which averages out to 25,000 points per student in Class D."
"And what do you want in return?" Horikita suddenly spoke up.
The Class D trio had never imagined that Class A would go to such lengths to help Class D, but having gone through the April exam, they understood that manna wouldn't fall from the sky. They did not show any signs of delight at Yukinoshita's words but looked at her with grave expressions.
"We wish to gain the right to command Class D's actions in one Special Exam. That is, in a future Special Exam, the students of Class D will need to obey Class A's instructions, allowing Class A to gain an advantage in that Special Exam."
"Command right? Can we even do that?" All three Class D students showed shocked expressions. They had only recently learned the school's rules and did not have a deep understanding of them, but they knew that Special Exams affect the change in class evaluation points and whether students are expelled.
"There's more than one Special Exam," Yukinoshita said with a slight smile.
"That sounds good, but as long as Class D gains class evaluation points in a Special Exam, we can escape the plight of having no living expenses. Furthermore, while the rewards of the
Special Exam are currently uncertain, even if it's only 100 class evaluation points, for a class of forty people over three years, that's a huge sum of points. In comparison, one million private points is far too little," Horikita countered, holding her head high.
"Leaving aside whether Class D can gain points in a Special Exam, and regardless of whether students in Class D will be expelled over the three years, given the caliber of Class D students, if another Special Exam similar to the April Behavioral Regulation Exam occurs, it would be difficult for Class D to hold onto any class evaluation points they gain," Yukinoshita responded clearly and logically.
"Even without this exam paper, we are capable of passing this midterm exam," Horikita said stubbornly.
"Is that so? Then, I wish you luck," Yukinoshita said with an indifferent expression. "However, if a large number of students in Class D are expelled in this midterm exam, you will have even less chance to compete with the other classes."
"Class D students, as a reminder, there's less than half a month left until the midterm exam, and you had the exam scope wrong until now..." Kamuro, who had been silent, also added.
"This..." Facing the barrage from Yukinoshita and Kamuro, Horikita's face grew increasingly unpleasant.
"Yukinoshita-san, how about we buy the exam paper you have with points, and you don't need to provide points to Class D? How does that sound?" Hirata turned his head, looking at Yukinoshita with a hopeful expression.
"Oh? Then how do you define the value of this exam paper? Or, how many points do you think it costs to save one student from expulsion?"
Hearing Yukinoshita's counter-question, Hirata's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word.
"Um... may I say something?" Kushida glanced at the merciless Yukinoshita and lightly raised her hand: "Class D truly needs this exam paper, but the Special Exam is of great importance. I feel that one million points is indeed difficult to use to convince our classmates to follow Class A's command..."
"That is something you, the class representatives, need to worry about," Yukinoshita ruthlessly cut Kushida off.
Horikita thought for a moment, head bowed, then spoke: "We will forgo the one million private points. Class A currently has 940 class evaluation points. If Class A agrees to give up 100 class evaluation points, we will accept your terms."
"That's impossible!" Yukinoshita refused without hesitation. After thinking for a few seconds, she said: "How about this: Class A will provide the exam paper and 1.2 million private points."
"Two million private points!" Horikita said succinctly.
"One point six million private points. Each student in Class D will receive 40,000 points. This is our bottom line. If it exceeds this amount, we can only wish you good luck and hope you can pass this midterm exam." Yukinoshita showed a look of resignation and gently shook her head.
During the previous discussion with Sakayanagi-san, even though Sakayanagi-san clearly stated that giving up some class evaluation points was fine, Yukinoshita knew the essence of negotiation and immediately asked for an exorbitant amount.
The three Class D students glanced at Yukinoshita and Kamuro, who made a gesture of leaving. After huddling together and discussing a few points, they were forced to accept Yukinoshita's terms.
"We agree to sign the contract with Class A," Hirata said: "However, we wish to add a few restrictions. First, if the Special Exam involves expulsion, Class A cannot intentionally use the command right to cause Class D students to be expelled. Second, Class A must guarantee that all Class D students pass this midterm exam smoothly."
"The first condition can be added, but the second cannot. We can only guarantee that if Class D students seriously master all the knowledge points on this exam paper, they have a 90% chance of passing the exam smoothly. Class D students' academic ability is not good, and this exam paper is only a prediction of the exam content. No one can guarantee passing the exam."
"That is true..."
Kamuro took out the prepared contract from the folder, quickly modified the content, and then handed it to the Class D trio.
Horikita read the clauses on the contract back and forth. After confirming there were no issues, she signed her name on the contract.
"Here is one million private points. You can take the contract back with you. Once you collect the signatures of all Class D students, we will give you the exam paper and the remaining private points. This is my contact information. If you have any problems, you can contact me. Please sign the contract as soon as possible so I can take it to the Student Council President to be notarized."
Yukinoshita handed the contract, contact information, and one million points to Horikita, but noticed that after hearing her words, Horikita no longer had the confrontational sharpness she had just moments ago.
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