The moment Ibuki heard Ichinose's demand was for 500,000 private points, her face immediately darkened.
"500,000? That's quite a bold demand, Ichinose. Isn't this extortion?" Ryūen narrowed his eyes slightly, clearly preparing to act shamelessly.
Right then, Amane's voice cut in.
"Isn't 500,000 points a bargain to avoid expulsion? President Horikita, how many points would it normally cost to keep someone from being expelled?"
Amane's words redirected everyone's attention to Horikita Manabu.
By the rules, he shouldn't be disclosing any information to first-year students. But from the very beginning, Horikita had sensed something peculiar about this situation.
He wanted to see how Amane would steer this incident towards an outcome both sides could accept.
"Normally, it would require twenty million points," Horikita stated without exaggeration; the twenty-million-point rule indeed existed.
Not only could that amount prevent expulsion, it could even directly promote someone to Class A.
However, this astronomical figure was clearly not something one could gather through normal means.
"Twenty million points!!!" Ibuki shrieked in shock.
Ryūen thought it over and found the number credible.
After all, it came directly from the Student Council President. It wasn't as if Horikita would show favoritism to that Miyako person, would he?
But this made Ichinose's offer seem incredibly generous, leaving them with little room to refuse.
Ryūen couldn't help but feel a pang of regret; his probing seemed too hasty, and now he was hoist with his own petard.
He'd placed too much trust in Ibuki. Even if he'd sent Ishizaki, things probably wouldn't have gotten this bad.
"See? Ichinose's offer is a huge discount," Amane said, wearing a look of smug triumph that made Ryūen's blood boil even more.
Ryūen was now trapped in a perfect catch-22. Ibuki's threats and subsequent violent actions were objective facts.
If they investigated the security footage over who bumped into whom, and it was proven that Ibuki was negligent and intentionally provoked the conflict, she would be deemed guilty of targeted bullying against Shiranami and face expulsion.
Furthermore… if any other details came to light, Ryūen himself might be in danger. Thus, agreeing to Ichinose's terms was the only optimal choice.
But Ryūen refused to be led by the nose like this.
"While Ibuki's actions were indeed at fault, I believe Miyako's methods are also quite problematic and she should bear some responsibility as well. Moreover, 500,000 points is far too high; we simply can't afford it."
"If Ibuki gets expelled, not only will you lot have caused serious trouble, but you won't get a single private point out of it."
Hearing this, Horikita Manabu initially intended to dismiss it outright.
Based on his judgment, Amane's actions in this incident constituted clear self-defense and couldn't be considered participation in violence.
But what completely took Horikita by surprise was that Amane proactively stepped forward.
"Sigh, I do share some blame for Ibuki-san getting injured. I'm willing to accept twenty percent of the responsibility. However, the compensation is for Shiranami-san," Amane declared.
The moment the words left her mouth, Ryūen immediately agreed.
"Then let's divide the compensation responsibility as she says. But the price of 500,000 points…" Ryūen still hoped Ichinose would lower the amount.
"Let me be clear, I only accept the division of responsibility based on the 500,000-point total," Amane interjected at just the right moment.
"Are you out of your mind? Even twenty percent of 500,000 points is 100,000 points! Do you, a Class D student, even have 100,000 private points?"
Ryūen felt an intense urge to strangle Amane on the spot. Clearly, negotiating the price down would benefit everyone involved.
Who would have thought Amane would help Ichinose screw them over like this?
The whole grade knew Class D had zero points this month. Ryūen strongly suspected Amane was just bluffing, utterly incapable of actually producing 100,000 points.
"What's it to you? It's not like your class can cough up 400,000 points either," Amane retorted.
Her words made Ryūen's eyes light up! He understood.
He finally understood why Amane had agreed so readily. Since she had no points anyway, she could quote any figure she wanted.
But… would the school really allow such behavior?
Could someone just act recklessly by exploiting their lack of points?
A smile spread across Ryūen's face. It seemed this Miyako girl was just a bit clever, that's all. Since she wanted to play, he'd play along.
"We also accept the 500,000-point compensation, but a formal agreement must be signed," Ryūen stated.
"An agreement? Is that necessary?" Amane's face paled slightly.
"Of course an agreement is necessary. Otherwise, how could I be sure you wouldn't just indefinitely delay payment?"
Ryūen said, unable to suppress a laugh seeing Amane's face turn ashen. He couldn't wait to see the look of despair on this cunning trickster's face.
"I acknowledge Ryūen-kun's point. I hope President Horikita can bear witness for us," Ichinose agreed to Ryūen's request.
Horikita Manabu didn't refuse. He immediately stipulated that Class C must pay Shiranami 400,000 private points, and Amane must pay Shiranami 100,000 private points, all within one week. Henceforth, Class B and the individuals involved could not pursue the matter further.
Ryūen looked at Amane's bloodless face, feeling immensely pleased. Though he didn't know why she'd voluntarily taken on responsibility, 100,000 points was surely enough to plunge her into despair, right?
Horikita Manabu watched Amane calmly. He had a feeling the real move was coming soon.
"The agreement is signed. To express our gratitude for Miyako-san's help in defending Shiranami, Class B has decided to waive the 100,000 private points she was required to pay," Ichinose announced.
She picked up Amane's copy of the agreement and crossed out the section detailing her responsibility with a pen, then handed it to Shiranami.
"I agree too," Shiranami said, nodding happily.
400,000 points!! For her, this was undeniably a windfall. And she had Amane to thank for securing it all.
With just a few words, she'd tricked the other side into agreeing to a 400,000-point compensation.
Amane-san is amazing!!! In Shiranami's mind, Amane's status had now even surpassed Ichinose's, making her the person Shiranami trusted most.
"You… you were in cahoots all along?" Ryūen's face darkened instantly.
He finally understood why Amane had so readily accepted responsibility.
The goal was to make him think Amane was just bluffing, having no points to her name.
Having been thwarted at every turn, seeing Amane slip up made Ryūen naturally want to teach her a lesson.
Since they had to pay anyway, why not cause some trouble for the other side in the process?
Without realizing it, he had taken the bait.
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say anything you want," Amane chirped.
"It was the kind-hearted Shiranami-san who absolved me of my responsibility. Oh, and remember, signing the agreement was your idea, Ryūen-kun. Don't forget to transfer the points to Shiranami-san~"
Ryūen trembled with rage, but Amane just turned and walked away, chatting and laughing with Shiranami and Ichinose.
"Then we'll conclude matters for today. Do not forget to pay Shiranami-san the points. I will check in one week later," Horikita Manabu said before leaving, accompanied by Secretary Tachibana.
Only Ibuki, who hung her head not daring to look at Ryūen, and Ishizaki remained.
"Hmph, we'll see about this. Miyako Amane, is it? Let me play with you for a while then."
--+--
"Miyako-san, have you had dinner yet? Would you like to grab something to eat with us? You must be hungry after dealing with all this for so long," Ichinose suggested, noticing how late it had gotten and thinking a small meal together would be nice.
"I haven't eaten anything for dinner," Shiranami said pitifully. From the afternoon until now, she hadn't even had a drink of water, let alone eaten during dinner time.
"I haven't eaten anything either. Perfect, let's go get something tasty together," Amane replied.
Seeing Amane agree to the meal, Ichinose looked very happy. "Great, I remember there's a place just ahead..."
As Ichinose took her hand and led her into the restaurant, Amane had a vague feeling she'd forgotten something. Probably nothing important, right?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.