Chapter 071 Is Class A About to Start an Internal Feud?
After school.
Shimizu Akira returned to the Student Council once again, sitting across from President Horikita Manabu, looking at the rental contract handed to him. Even though it was just a school, it felt like a miniature society in many ways, permeated with the scent of rules and transactions.
He skimmed through the contract briefly. After confirming there were no issues, he picked up a pen and signed his name. Subsequently, he transferred all 1.2 million points from his account to the other party. From this day forward, he officially possessed the surveillance rights for the eight cameras across those four classrooms.
"By the way, President." A key question suddenly occurred to Shimizu. "If... some 'extraordinary individual' from a class impulsively destroys the surveillance equipment, how is that handled?"
Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses remaining as calm as still water.
"No need to worry. The school will replace the equipment immediately, and the class to which the perpetrator belongs will bear the corresponding Class Point penalty."
"So that's how it is." Shimizu nodded.
"As for the classes that agree to the lease," Horikita continued, "simply have them send a representative to the Student Council to sign a formal agreement. At that time, we will transfer the administrative permissions of the surveillance system to them collectively."
At that moment, Horikita Manabu pulled a brand-new laptop from under his desk. "This device has already been pre-installed with the dedicated surveillance system backend program. You can take it with you now."
"Even the hardware is prepared so thoroughly?" Shimizu accepted the laptop with both hands, his tone carrying sincere gratitude.
"President, I'm truly in your debt this time."
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Afterward, Shimizu carried the laptop bag back to his dorm at a brisk pace. The moment the door was locked, he couldn't wait to flip open the notebook. Following the operating guide provided by the President, he successfully logged into the surveillance system backend.
The moment the interface expanded, Shimizu was somewhat surprised—the permission level was even higher than he had imagined.
'Real-time monitoring, historical playback, video downloading...'
However, Shimizu first clicked on the surveillance archives from last week.
'As expected... it's all blank. It seems they have already been transferred by the school.'
Just as he was thinking this, his phone vibrated. Ryuen Kakeru from Class C sent a message claiming that he had already discovered the hidden rules.
'As expected, he's no fool either...'
Shimizu raised an eyebrow, not feeling surprised by the news. As a class leader, it was normal to figure out some of the rules within a month of school starting. He never intended to rely on selling intelligence to earn too many points anyway—renting out the surveillance rights was his true objective.
He replied casually with a few sentences, while simultaneously pulling up the real-time feed for Class C. On the screen, Ryuen Kakeru stood on the podium, his face—usually wearing a cold sneer—displaying a rare expression of irritability.
"What year is it..." Shimizu shook his head. "Who still sells intelligence using traditional methods?"
He watched for a while longer. Recalling the information revealed by today's intelligence update, he replied to the other party with a price of 3 million. To his surprise, that big guy in Ryuen's class actually grabbed a chair and smashed it toward the camera.
"There really is such a 'god' among them! I'm starting to pity Ryuen Kakeru for no reason; life isn't easy for you, man."
He watched as half of the Class C feeds he could see turned pitch black. However, it didn't matter to him—the Student Council President had already said the school would replace the equipment.
"By doing this, isn't Class C afraid of having Class Points deducted? If you end up lower than Class D by the end of the month, that would be truly embarrassing." He muttered to himself, then let it go. "Forget it, let's look at the other classes first."
With that, he minimized the Class C window and opened the feed for Class A. Under 4K high-definition quality, every detail in the classroom was clearly visible—he could even see the fluttering of each student's eyelashes through the 16x zoom function.
(Everyone's present?) Surprisingly, even though school had been out for quite some time, the Class A classroom was full. Only two empty seats stood out.
The scene switched to the podium—Sakayanagi Arisu sat elegantly in a chair. Standing beside her was a bald boy with thick eyebrows and large eyes. The two of them seemed to be saying something to the whole class.
The moment Shimizu clicked on the audio monitoring, Sakayanagi's soft yet pressure-filled voice immediately flowed from the speakers:
The atmosphere in the classroom was tense. Sakayanagi Arisu's sharp gaze swept over every classmate.
"Lately... no one has leaked that confidential information, right?"
"Sakayanagi-san, no one has."
"Yeah, we wouldn't easily leak it to other classes."
The students below began to answer one after another.
"Excellent..." She nodded slightly, the corner of her mouth curling into a meaningful smile. "After all, we can't let our competitors gain any advantage."
Shimizu clicked his tongue inwardly while watching this scene. Sakayanagi continued to admonish her classmates in her characteristic, somewhat lazy yet aggressive tone—nothing more than clichés about strictly forbidding leaks.
This leader of Class A, who was always elegant and composed in public, was actually quite overbearing when dealing with her classmates in private. This made Shimizu feel as though he had returned to the scene of their first meeting at the convenience store—back then, she displayed this exact innate sense of superiority and blatant desire for dominance.
However, during their subsequent two meetings, this sense of superiority had indeed gradually faded. At least when speaking to him, she behaved somewhat like a normal person.
"So, that bald guy must be Katsuragi Kohei, right?" Shimizu recalled Kamuro Masumi mentioning that Class A was currently led by two leaders—Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei. Combining this with the intelligence he obtained a few days ago regarding the trait of alopecia, the identity of the bald boy standing on the other side of Sakayanagi was self-evident.
"Managing Class A so well is quite unexpected," Shimizu thought to himself. "I was originally worried that a dual-leader system would lead to power struggles, but it seems the two have reached a subtle balance."
He couldn't help but compare it to Class D—Kushida Kikyo's obvious competitive spirit toward Hirata Yosuke, while Hirata always instinctively backed down. Having two leaders in one group truly makes it easy for power struggles to ignite.
However, in the next second, Shimizu realized his judgment was off. Katsuragi Kohei suddenly stepped forward, quietly intervening in the conversation and naturally taking over the lead of the topic from Sakayanagi Arisu.
Shimizu instinctively placed his mouse over Sakayanagi Arisu's face and zoomed in 32x. Her brow was furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a fly.
"Hmm, is Class A about to start an internal feud..." Shimizu concluded clearly as he watched the scene unfold.
Author's Note (Free Section): Explaining the Surveillance Issue
Point 1: Renting the surveillance can prevent one's own class from having points deducted in the future. Now that all classes are aware of the daily conduct codes, behaviors like playing on phones or talking in class will lead to deductions. By renting the surveillance, one can delete relevant data by the end of the month, ensuring a 100% avoidance of deductions. Point 2: Deleting previous surveillance data can reclaim Class Points. Disciplinary data from the first two weeks can be completely deleted (the other classes don't know this, but the first week's data has already been taken by the school—a fact only Shimizu knows). Theoretically, the four classes could reclaim over 900 Class Points. Point 3: Concern that Shimizu will sell surveillance rights to others. This is what Classes A and B care about most. While the school told Shimizu he can't sell rights to other classes, the other classes don't know this. This creates an Information Gap—even if A and B weren't docked many points, the footage of their leaders' every word and action exists. If leaked, it's like the opponent has "wall-hacks" to study their movements. Point 4: Psychological pressure.
Chapter 072 Sakayanagi Arisu: Yes, I Look Down on Katsuragi Kohei
Shimizu Akira knew Sakayanagi Arisu's character all too well—this genius girl, who fancied herself as standing above all living beings, could not stomach anyone sitting atop her head. This almost pathological arrogance was perhaps the common ailment of all geniuses.
As for that Katsuragi Kohei... Judging by the way he forcefully intervened in the conversation just now, he clearly wasn't content with staying beneath Sakayanagi Arisu either. That tight jawline and the way he deliberately straightened his back highlighted that he was an equally assertive character.
When two powerful leaders stay together, someone is bound to get hurt. Shimizu could almost foresee the bloodbath that was about to erupt in Class A.
However! Shimizu actually felt like cheering for Katsuragi Kohei a little bit.
As for the reason...
"He's bald, after all!" Shimizu muttered as he watched the slightly reflective head on the surveillance screen. The guy had alopecia, so it wasn't like he went bald from stress. Otherwise, Shimizu would truly suspect the man was a real-life version of Saitama.
"It seems collecting class fees from Class A shouldn't be an issue." After confirming the key information, Shimizu decisively closed the Class A surveillance window. As for the remaining Class B and Class D, he casually pulled up their feeds.
These two classes had dismissed long ago. Only a few scattered students remained in the classrooms, looking nothing like Class C or Class A, who were holding formal class meetings.
"...Does Class B have other talents as well?" While observing Class B, he was surprised to find that Ichinose Honami wasn't the only popular figure. A few people were chatting and laughing around a student named Kanzaki, while others swarmed around an exceptionally good-looking boy. Unfortunately, no one called out that boy's name, so Shimizu had no way of knowing his identity.
"Wait... this technically counts as spying on people, doesn't it?"
The feeling of being able to openly peer into every first-year classroom, enjoying 4K high-definition quality, dragging the progress bar at will, and capturing everyone's subtle expressions with a simple click... how should he put it? It was quite a wondrous feeling. It was pretty much that line from his previous life: "I will be watching you, always."
However, the novelty soon dissipated as his eyes grew sore from staring at the screen for too long. His self-evaluation was that he just hadn't watched enough surveillance footage yet!
"For now, let's focus on marketing the surveillance rental rights." He rubbed his throbbing temples.
"Class B and Class D need to be notified properly."
Since he had already contacted Class C, Shimizu efficiently switched accounts and sent almost identical notifications to Ichinose Honami, Kushida Kikyo, and Hirata Yosuke. The only difference was the names; even the pricing was exactly the same. Even though he was in Class D, he never intended to serve the class for free—you want the surveillance rights? Then get ready to pay a massive amount of points.
"Ah, almost forgot..." A playful smile curled on his lips. "That Chairman's daughter in Class A and our bald friend need to be notified as well."
Deftly switching back to his main account, Shimizu copy-pasted the same message to Sakayanagi Arisu, whom he had already added as a friend.
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"Class A must continue to maintain this level of discipline,"
Katsuragi Kohei's steady voice echoed in the classroom.
"Based on my deductions, it's very likely that special exams will be held next. I hope everyone can play to their strengths when the time comes."
He scanned the crowd and continued, "At the same time, the class will implement a reward system. The reward points will come from the class funds, and we will grant them to those with outstanding performance—for example, on the upcoming final exams..."
Sakayanagi Arisu rested her cheek on one hand, watching Katsuragi's back with utter boredom.
'Truly... a most tedious man.'
To be fair, Katsuragi was indeed excellent—outstanding academic grades and a steady, reliable personality had allowed him to establish a firm foothold in Class A. For instance, the several policies he was currently pushing would indeed further stimulate the class's proactiveness.
But the problem lay in... him being too rigid. Tediously rigid. Every decision he made looked as if it were copied directly from a textbook.
While his "floor" was high, his "ceiling" was pitifully low. To use a score as a metaphor: he would always linger in the 70 to 80-point range, but he could never touch the 90-point threshold.
In other words... he had never given her a single surprise. He was merely a "genius" in name only. —The absolute limit of what a mortal could achieve.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't loathe ordinary people; on the contrary, she occasionally enjoyed watching the struggle of mortals. It was just that... for someone who had merely reached the limit of a mortal to presume to fight her for the leadership of Class A—it was simply too much of an eyesore.
"Sakayanagi-san... what is your opinion?"
Suddenly called upon, she turned her head elegantly to meet Katsuragi Kohei's gaze. On the surface, it was a question seeking her opinion, but it felt more like he was issuing a notification.
'Truly... unpleasant.'
However, this time, she really couldn't find a reason to refute him. These measures would indeed make Class A more stable.
"It's a wonderful proposal, as expected of Katsuragi-kun."
Sakayanagi Arisu flashed a perfect smile, though there was no warmth in her eyes.
"...Is that so?" Katsuragi Kohei frowned slightly. He admitted he had some intent to vie for power, but more than that, he hoped this classmate could be like him and put Class A's interests first.
After all, they were already at the summit as Class A. What they needed to do now wasn't to conquer new lands, but to defend the fortress—which was often harder than seizing it. Historically, many conquerors fell rapidly after reaching the peak; the same logic applied to class competition.
Katsuragi Kohei believed his mind worked faster than the average person's. He knew Class A's current situation better than anyone—seemingly glorious, but hiding danger. Occupying the high ground from the start made it easy for people to lose their drive.
Conversely, other classes would maintain their fighting spirit precisely because Class A was the "thorn in their side." In such an environment, the leadership often falls into internal attrition and power struggles without realizing it.
'At least for the first two years, she shouldn't move against me.'
Katsuragi analyzed the situation calmly. While he also desired to be the sole leader of Class A, it was clearly too early. Even if Sakayanagi was dissatisfied with him, the true showdown wouldn't happen until at least the latter half of the third year—otherwise, it would only allow other classes to benefit from their conflict.
He didn't voice these thoughts. With that woman's intelligence, she must have seen through these stakes long ago.
The corners of Sakayanagi Arisu's mouth curled into a playful arc.
'I'll tolerate him until the second half of the first year at most before I act.'
She never deigned to consider class interests that much—if this man was an eyesore, she would simply remove him. She was confident that her individual strength was enough to protect the throne of Class A.
Of course, theoretically, there was one possibility that could force the two of them to join forces... but that possibility was so minuscule it could be ignored.
Until her phone screen suddenly lit up. The friend request note was filled with line after line of text.
"To Sakayanagi Arisu of Class 1-A: I've long heard your class has two leaders; the other is Katsuragi Kohei-kun, right?
To be direct, I have rented the two surveillance cameras in your classroom. From this moment on, every move of Class A will be under my watch.
If you wish to rent back the surveillance rights, please pay 3,000,000 personal points. By the way, I am watching you through the cameras right now—after you receive this message, why don't you smile for the camera?
Discuss it with Katsuragi-kun and hand over the points before 7:00 PM tomorrow, Friday. After that, the price increases by 100,000 points per hour."
"Heh..." Sakayanagi Arisu rarely opened her eyes wide, but in the next instant, as if realizing something, she bloomed into a radiant smile toward the camera.
"Katsuragi-kun." She gestured to the bald boy nearby.
"It seems we've encountered... a rather interesting bit of trouble."
Chapter 073 Shimizu Akira's Words Are Truly Useful!
Shimizu Akira gently closed his laptop and let out a long sigh of relief. He glanced at his phone; it was currently 6:30 PM.
He opened the chat interface again, his gaze scanning the empty reply columns.
Class D's Kushida Kikyo and Hirata Yosuke, Class C's Ryuen Kakeru, Class B's Ichinose Honami, and Class A's Sakayanagi Arisu.
All were quiet, with no new message notifications.
This was hardly surprising. After all, the deadline he gave them was 7:00 PM tomorrow—he had to give these leaders time to notify their classmates.
"Collecting class fees is indeed something that cannot be rushed," he muttered to himself.
Shimizu was now truly experiencing the difficulty of collecting class fees. Take Class D as an example: the 25,000-point class fee they started collecting on Tuesday still hadn't been fully gathered by Thursday night.
This fact made him suddenly realize a serious problem: "Wait! If that's the case... could Class D possibly be unable to even afford the surveillance equipment?"
This speculation wasn't groundless. Class D had just been stripped of one million points, and now they had to pay three million for surveillance—this was equivalent to the sum of all personal points they received on the first day of school. If some people in the class were already struggling to pay the basic 25,000-point fee, how could they possibly afford an additional 75,000 points per person?
"Am I being too harsh on Class D?" Shimizu couldn't help but ask himself.
He had to clarify that he wasn't deliberately targeting any specific class. This was purely a coincidence of timing—since he had already charged Class C three million points, the other classes naturally had to follow the same standard. Otherwise, if word got out, any sharp mind would immediately deduce that he might be hiding in Class D.
In a way, this "reverse psychology" was the best cover. He could even deliberately act as if he were targeting Class D to divert attention elsewhere.
But in all fairness, purchasing surveillance rights for three million points was an absolute bargain. The ability to avoid class point deductions for three weeks alone was worth far more than the price.
Although the surveillance period officially started this Monday, today was Thursday; four days had already passed. Class D had been docked quite a few points during this time. In the first week, the students were somewhat restrained, but by the second week, they began to let loose. Shimizu conservatively estimated that in these four days alone, the number of daily conduct violations in Class D was already comparable to the entire first week.
Class C was likely in a similar situation—they had even dared to hit someone right under the camera earlier. As long as these two classes weren't stupid, they would most likely choose to pay the points to settle the matter.
Why wouldn't they take the chance to secure an extra two or three hundred class points? Class points weren't just a key metric for class promotion; in a sense, they were the "salary" students received every month.
As for Class B and Class A, Shimizu wasn't worried they would refuse his proposal. It was a win-win situation for all classes.
He thought for a moment and logged into his main account. He was surprised to find an unread message—it was from their teacher, Chabashira Sae.
Chabashira Sae: Hirata reported that Class D's surveillance footage has been rented by a student? What are your thoughts on this?
Shimizu froze for a second.
His first reaction was that she was testing him. But on second thought, there was a chance she guessed it was him, since his "alt" account was something he had originally purchased through her. If Hirata told her, "The same person who sold points last time contacted me," she would likely guess the truth.
Hmm? Was it that those two didn't explain clearly, or did she truly not know? Of course, there was also the possibility she was playing dumb, pretending not to know to probe his attitude.
Shimizu had nothing to say to that; he naturally wouldn't reveal his identity to her of his own accord. Furthermore, even though Chabashira had ostensibly appointed two vice-class reps, she always sought his opinion privately whenever a major decision arose. Once or twice was fine, but it was becoming a nuisance.
Shimizu thought for a bit and decided to be blunt: "Chabashira-sensei, I believe I've mentioned that I don't really want to be involved in class affairs. If you ask me again next time, I'll just act as if I didn't see the message."
He paused, then typed another line: "You should go discuss it with the two vice-reps. Don't forget, you haven't even finished collecting that 25,000-point class fee yet."
This time, the other party went "read" and didn't reply.
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Chabashira Sae put down her phone with a gloomy expression. Shimizu Akira had actually rejected her so decisively. She had already come to view him as the future core figure of Class D to be cultivated—this thought made her chest feel even more stifled.
"Chabashira-sensei?" Hirata Yosuke, sensing something was wrong, called out softly.
Kushida Kikyo also cast a concerned look: "You don't look well. If you need to rest, we can talk another day."
"...It's fine." Chabashira gripped her phone tightly and then let go, finally turning to the main topic. "Regarding the surveillance equipment, tell me your opinions."
Hirata Yosuke replied without hesitation: "I believe we must acquire it. The first month is a critical period for accumulating class points, and personal points are directly linked to class points. Even if the whole class has to tighten their belts this month, this investment is worth it."
"I completely agree," Kushida Kikyo said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "The feeling of being watched is truly uncomfortable."
Chabashira Sae nodded slightly. Their reasons were indeed sound. But for some reason, she always felt that Shimizu Akira would provide a better insight—better than both of them.
Wait! Didn't Shimizu say something about the 25,000-point fee not being collected yet?
"How is the collection of the 25,000-point fee going?" Chabashira suddenly asked.
Hirata Yosuke immediately replied: "I have collected from 18 people on my end." Kushida Kikyo hesitated briefly and added softly: "I have 17 people on mine..."
Chabashira frowned: "...Who are the five remaining people who haven't paid?"
After a quick check of the list, Hirata and Kushida reported five names simultaneously: "Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, Mori Nene, and Koenji Rokusuke."
After a brief silence, Chabashira answered: "Don't be in a hurry to announce the surveillance matter today. The priority is to finish collecting the class fees. Do things one step at a time, otherwise, you'll just make yourselves a laughingstock—and I'm the one who loses face!"
She paused, her gaze sweeping between the two.
"As for the surveillance, it will be announced tomorrow by whichever one of you is decided as the class leader. Understood?"
Hirata and Kushida exchanged a look and nodded in agreement.
However, Chabashira wasn't finished. She added coldly: "By the way, you two, don't come to me for things like this in the future.
Isn't it embarrassing? Students in other classes don't have to have their teachers intervene in everything! You already know the school's hidden rules, so you should understand that this school places a higher value on students' initiative and self-reliance!
Next time, I will just act as if I didn't hear you."
As the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized—she had just taken the exact words Shimizu had sent her and thrown them right at them.
Catching the slight furrows in the brows of the two vice-reps out of the corner of her eye, she felt inexplicably more cheerful.
Chapter 074 Is This... Sexual Tension?
Shimizu Akira looked at his account balance; he had 160,000 points left. This was because he had just paid the school the 1.2 million point fee.
After dinner, he returned to his dorm as usual to begin his daily basic boxing training. For the past two weeks, he had remained consistent with his fundamentals: footwork, punching speed, breathing rhythm... he practiced every single one repeatedly.
To be honest, Shimizu didn't feel any obvious improvement.
This was the real world, after all; there were no "levels," and no "EXP +1" notifications would pop up. But just like his morning workouts, he intended to keep doing it.
Consistency is the fundamental prerequisite for doing anything well.
When he had been training for nearly half an hour, there was a sudden knock at the door.
"Who is it?!" Shimizu stopped immediately and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off his body.
"It's me, Shimizu-kun!" A girl's voice came from outside.
"? Classmate, please state your name. I really can't tell who you are." Shimizu froze for a moment, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
If it were an old friend of many years, he might recognize the voice, but a female classmate? He really couldn't distinguish them. He sometimes found people who just stood at the door saying "It's me" particularly annoying—if you recognize them, everything is fine. But if you don't, how awkward would that scene be?
"It's Karuizawa Kei! Shimizu-kun, how can you not even recognize my voice?" The voice from the other side carried a bit of a huff.
Shimizu couldn't help but find it funny. Wasn't it only natural not to recognize it? If he could actually identify her just by a voice at the door, that would be the scary part. They were, after all, just classmates who had exchanged only a few words.
He truly couldn't guess the purpose of this uninvited guest. However, since she was already standing there... Shimizu hesitated slightly before walking over and slowly pulling the door open.
"Shimizu... Wah! Y-you, why aren't you wearing any clothes!" Karuizawa Kei had been inwardly grumbling about him being too slow to open the door, only to be met with the sight of the boy's bare upper body.
His powerful muscles were taut from the recent workout, gleaming with a healthy sheen under the light. Karuizawa's gaze seemed pinned by a magnet, unable to look away.
'This physique... is totally cheating!'
Shimizu's build was startlingly good, even surpassing the male models Karuizawa had seen in fashion magazines recently.
'Speaking of which, I touched it once before.'
She suddenly remembered last week when, in an attempt to get on good terms with him, she had intentionally grabbed his abdomen.
She remembered the sensation clearly—hard and solid, it felt unexpectedly good to the touch. This caused her to involuntarily overlap her current feelings with that memory. The sound of her heartbeat became exceptionally clear.
'Is this... sexual tension?'
That kind of wordless attraction rooted purely in biological instinct. Just as wild animals are attracted to strong members of their own species. Moreover, she was fundamentally a girl with an extreme lack of security.
'No it's not! I'm not some animal in heat!'
She muttered to herself inwardly and finally forced her eyes away from him.
However, Shimizu saw all of this clearly. He wasn't blind; Karuizawa had stared at him for a full several seconds—how could he not notice that?
"Karuizawa-san... you're acting very strange. Was grabbing me once last time not enough?" Shimizu said, following the flow. Looking for a second was one thing, but what was the meaning of staring for eight seconds? Was she that "thirsty" for his body?
"Ugh... You! Hurry up and put some clothes on! Honestly!" Karuizawa's earlobes instantly turned red. She gave him a light push, grabbed a short-sleeved shirt from his bed, and threw it at him.
After throwing the clothes, she didn't leave; she just silently turned around to face away from him.
"..." Shimizu didn't say much. Looking at her back, he slowly put on the shirt.
"I'm changed," he called out. "By the way, you didn't come all this way just to smell my sweat, did you?" Shimizu picked up the towel draped over the back of the chair and wiped the light sweat from his neck.
Karuizawa finally turned around. The blush on her face hadn't completely faded, but she put on her usual slightly haughty expression: "Who came 'all this way'! I was just passing by and remembered I had something to ask you."
"Oh? What is it?"
"You haven't shown your face at the Boxing Club these past two days! I've been going all by myself."
"The President told me to try not to go, saying I'd affect the training of the other freshmen."
"Huh? Affect what? I think that Black guy in Class C has a physical build pretty similar to yours."
Shimizu raised an eyebrow.
"As a manager, you shouldn't say things like that in front of the person involved, or you might get a beating. I won't help you then; you'd have brought it on yourself."
He had a vague guess as to who she was talking about—likely the Class C first-year—but he couldn't recall the specific name at the moment.
Karuizawa stiffened upon hearing this, realizing she had misspoken. She let out a light cough to hide her embarrassment: "...I get it."
After a moment of hesitation, she added stammeringly, "Um... that message I sent you last time didn't mean I was short on points... anyway, I'll definitely pay the part I owe you, so don't worry about that..."
Watching her slightly stiff movements, Shimizu couldn't help but shake his head inwardly again. The class fee alone was 25,000 points, let alone the extra expenses needed for the surveillance system.
Shimizu calculated in his mind that the numbers in her account had likely hit zero already, or perhaps fallen into the negatives. Even now, was she still trying to act tough?
Just then, Karuizawa's phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket, glanced at the caller ID, and pressed the answer button.
"Hello? Chiaki? Why are you calling me at this hour?"
"---"
"What? Kushida Kikyo went to the dorm to find you? Still about the class fee?"
"---"
"I'm absolutely not paying! And don't you dare agree to it either! Didn't the four of us agree to stand together?"
"---"
"Eh? You said you're looking for me? But I'm not in my room right now!"
"---"
"...Actually, I'm... I'm in Shimizu-kun's room! Don't get the wrong idea! We're just discussing club activities!"
After Karuizawa hung up, her fingers began tapping rapidly on the screen. Beside her, Shimizu had heard the entire conversation clearly. It seemed the reason the "gal" clique in Class D was delaying the class fee was because of Karuizawa Kei.
However, in Shimizu's judgment, the person involved might not have thought that far ahead; it was likely just a simple matter of not having enough points to pay the fee.
Author's Note: Explanation of the Surveillance Issue
Point 1: Renting the surveillance can prevent future point deductions. All classes now know the conduct codes (phones, talking, etc.). By renting the cameras and deleting the data at the end of the month, one can 100% avoid deductions. Point 2: Deleting previous data can reclaim points. Disciplinary data from the first two weeks can be deleted. Theoretically, classes could get back over 900 Class Points. (The other classes don't know that the school already took the first week's data; only Shimizu knows this). Point 3: Information Gap/Leaking. Classes A and B are most worried about Shimizu selling the access to other classes. Even if A and B didn't break rules, the footage contains every word and movement of the leaders. If a rival class gets this, they have "wall-hacks" on their opponents' strategies. Point 4: Psychological pressure. Being watched is simply uncomfortable.
Chapter 075 Matsushita Chiaki's Sudden Visit
Karuizawa Kei's reason for refusing to pay the class fee was, on the surface, financial hardship—she truly had no extra points. However, there was a deeper reason.
She needed to play a role that fit her "gal" persona: an image of someone indifferent to class affairs and dismissive of the demands of class representatives. Just like the girls who had bullied her in middle school, she used that same attitude—contemptuously ignoring the class leader's urging, often with a mocking smile.
Ironically, today she seemed to be gradually becoming the very version of the person she once loathed most, wearing the smiles she once hated and adopting the gestures she once despised.
However, Karuizawa Kei's "gal" image was, after all, just a facade. Although she deliberately acted assertive and willful, she never truly crossed the line. Unlike her past tormentors, she didn't intentionally ostracize girls in the class, nor did she form cliques with endless group chats to isolate others, and she certainly never laid a hand on a classmate in the girls' restroom.
At the beginning of the semester, she had indeed entertained such thoughts. Perhaps for self-protection, or perhaps to ensure she would never be the target of bullying again, she had even considered whether she should use the same methods against others as her former victimizers had used on her.
Ultimately, she stopped before that line.
—Was this not a tragic cycle? The former victim was now mimicking the posture of the aggressor, yet remained unable to become a true aggressor in the end.
On the first day of school, she had quickly integrated herself with Sato Maya, Matsushita Chiaki, and Mori Nene. This wasn't merely about making friends. In her shrewd calculation, establishing friendships with these three meant constructing a small circle of her own in the class—her first defensive wall in a strange environment.
Among them, Sato Maya was the one she cared about most. This girl, whose every movement radiated a typical "gal" aura, was in a sense the authentic, cheerful gal. Her perfectly timed body language and energetic way of speaking were subjects Karuizawa needed to study and learn. After all, in this survival-of-the-fittest school, she was willing to do anything to avoid repeating the past.
At this moment, she was fully focused on typing in their four-person group chat.
Karuizawa Kei: Absolutely not! I firmly disagree! Since we already know the information, why should we pay those 25,000 points!
After sending the message, she silently whispered an apology to the mysterious person in her heart.
'I'm sorry... even though this intel is definitely worth the price... but to maintain my persona... well, mostly because I really don't have any points!'
Sato Maya: ? Kei, why have you been so obsessed with the class fee these past few days? It's so weird!
Sato Maya: What is actually up with you?
Mori Nene: Yeah, seriously! It feels like Kei is being particularly stubborn this time!
Karuizawa's fingers froze instantly.
'Oops... was my reaction not "gal" enough? Aren't gals supposed to be casual and fickle?'
But even the real gals were saying it... it seemed she had performed too deliberately. Was she overacting?
'But... this is my first time being a gal...
I have zero experience being a gal! I can only follow a template! But I really can't bring myself to bully others!'
Could she be exposed because of this one sentence? Kicked out of the clique? And then, just like before, would they take her into the restroom and...
She already lacked security; those memories she wished to forget seemed to resurface before her eyes, and even her phone screen began to tremble slightly.
However, she soon steadied her heart. Perhaps it was just that old habit acting up—over-interpreting every word from others. Her classmates were likely just complaining casually; she shouldn't think of it so severely.
As her peripheral vision caught the figure of Shimizu Akira, her tensed nerves suddenly relaxed, as if she had grabbed onto a lifeline. At least Shimizu Akira was here. She had a deal with him. He would protect her. With him around, she would never repeat the tragedies of middle school.
This time, the ending would surely be different.
On the other side, Shimizu Akira was completely unaware of her internal monologue. He keenly noticed her face suddenly pale, but the moment their eyes met, her gaze seemed to be injected with a sudden power, and her wavering eyes instantly became firm.
'Can I give people buffs now? I didn't know I had that.'
The shift in her was far too abrupt. Before he could think further, a soft knock on the door broke the silence in the room.
"Shimizu-kun, I'm Matsushita Chiaki..." A strange female voice came from outside, her tone carrying a bit of hesitation.
"I just heard Kei mention she was visiting you. Is she here?"
Shimizu raised an eyebrow. Matsushita Chiaki's self-introduction was concise and clear—identity, purpose, and request, all delivered in one sentence without a leak. A typical logical personality; it fit his impression of the girl.
"Looking for you," Shimizu tilted his chin toward Karuizawa Kei. "Want to go out and talk?"
"..." Karuizawa let out a light cough.
"How about... let her in?"
Shimizu gave her a meaningful look: "I don't know what you're worried about, but you're probably worrying for nothing." He turned toward the door.
"I'll get it."
It was just a simple conversation; consider it after-sales service for those 80,000 points.
When he opened the door, Matsushita Chiaki was indeed standing there. He had to admit that among the Class D girls, Matsushita's appearance and temperament were top-tier. She had the kind of poise fostered by a good upbringing, something rarely seen in ordinary people.
"Please, come in," Shimizu stepped aside to make a path.
Matsushita Chiaki hesitated slightly, but after seeing Karuizawa Kei looking normal inside the room, she nodded slightly and walked in. She went straight to her friend and suddenly showed an expression of realization: "I understand why you've been so abnormal."
Karuizawa's fingertips twitched slightly.
"You must have spent all your points, right?" Matsushita leaned in closer, unable to hide a smile.
"What were you trying to act tough for?"
"..." Karuizawa froze for two seconds, her tensed shoulders suddenly dropping.
"Haha, you saw through me, huh?"
"Don't worry! Maya, Nene, and I just finished a call. Those two will each lend you 8,000 points, and I'll lend you 9,000. That way you can pay the class fee, right?" She added smoothly.
"Ah... you guys pooled money for me?!" Karuizawa looked at her with genuine surprise.
"Thank you so much! I'll definitely treat you all to a huge feast next month!"
Chapter 076 Kushida Kikyo: Is Chabashira Sae an Idiot?
Shimizu Akira was about to say a few words when his phone suddenly vibrated. It was the latest vote count from Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida Kikyo: I have 17 votes now, and Hirata-kun has 18. If he can secure just 3 more votes, the class leader position is settled.
Kushida Kikyo: Shimizu-kun, although I told you before that you didn't need to do anything, the reason I kept you around at the cafe back then was because of Koenji Rokusuke.
Kushida Kikyo: So, could I trouble you to pull Koenji Rokusuke's vote? Just one vote is enough. I'll find a way to deal with Karuizawa Kei's group of four.
The text gave him pause as a crucial detail suddenly surfaced in his mind. If that was the case, Kushida only needed 4 votes to completely overtake Hirata Yosuke.
'Wait! Four votes?!'
His gaze involuntarily fell upon the calm Matsushita Chiaki and the beaming Karuizawa Kei.
'Their small clique has four people... exactly four votes...'
Shimizu pondered privately, shooting a thoughtful glance at Matsushita Chiaki.
'Interestingly enough, the one who completely resolved the Karuizawa voting issue was actually this seemingly detached Matsushita Chiaki.
Is this a coincidence, or intentional?
As expected... this person isn't simple!'
"Kei, who do you think we should vote for? We'll follow your lead—Kushida Kikyo or Hirata Yosuke? Shimizu-kun, give us your thoughts too," Matsushita Chiaki suddenly spoke up.
"Well..." Karuizawa's eyes flickered as her gaze landed on Shimizu Akira. "I'm not quite sure! Shimizu-kun, why don't you speak first?"
"Both are very suitable," Shimizu stated his position directly. In his eyes, their capabilities were indeed on par.
Matsushita Chiaki was slightly taken aback by his answer and gave him a meaningful look.
"In that case..." Karuizawa bit her lower lip.
"Let's vote for Kushida-san. Having a girl as the class leader is more beneficial for us. And..."
Her voice trailed off. She looked at Shimizu Akira thoughtfully, remembering how she used to constantly hover around Hirata Yosuke at the start of the semester.
Now that she had chosen Shimizu as her reliance, she really shouldn't get too close to another boy.
"...Is that so?" Matsushita's eyes widened slightly. After a brief hesitation, she nodded gently. "Alright, since Kei said so, we'll listen to you."
"Then let's go!" Karuizawa affectionately hooked her arm into Matsushita's, and the two of them left Shimizu's room just like that.
Shimizu thought for a moment and sent a message to Kushida Kikyo.
Shimizu Akira: Karuizawa Kei's group of four all voted for you.
Shimizu Akira: So, your current count should be 21 votes. You've completely become the leader of Class D. The voting game is over.
Shimizu Akira: Our previous transaction is officially concluded.
.
.
.
In Kushida Kikyo's dorm, the cold light of the phone screen illuminated her delicate face, which was frozen in a look of astonishment.
"Eh? Voted for me... four votes?" She stared at the message from Shimizu, momentarily doubting if she had misread it.
What happened? Karuizawa's group... all voted for me?
The result was so absurd she almost suspected it was a prank. After all, just a few days ago, Karuizawa still wore that nauseatingly arrogant expression.
"Shimizu-kun must have done something..." she murmured to herself.
Indeed, flashes of Karuizawa frequently approaching Shimizu during the first week came back to her—she had even gone as far as joining the Boxing Club...
At that moment, her phone vibrated continuously. Transfer notifications from Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, and Mori Nene arrived one after another—25,000 points each.
The total class fees collected these past few days amounted to 525,000 points. A total of 21 votes.
The number made her heart race. She had overtaken Hirata Yosuke... she had really done it.
"Heehee... Class leader... as expected of me." An irrepressible giggle escaped Kushida's lips as she rolled around on her bed clutching a pillow.
At this moment, no masks were needed. This was her own dorm. She could do whatever she wanted.
What did the power of a class leader mean? The initiative in class decisions, the natural obedience of her classmates... more importantly, those two people who secretly looked down on her would now have no choice but to look up to her. Especially that Horikita Suzune.
Kushida suddenly realized that before taking the next step, she had to tally the votes her classmates had pulled for her to determine the final winner of her "contest." After all, she had promised them: if a boy won, she would go on a date with him; if a girl won, she would pay them 80,000 personal points.
She carefully checked her chat logs, only to find very few private notifications. Pulling votes was indeed much harder than imagined. Only five or six people had successfully secured a vote for her—including the names of Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji.
Incidentally, both of them had submitted Sudo Ken's name.
"Looking at it this way, even in a fair competition, Shimizu Akira-kun was destined to win..." Kushida suddenly realized an obvious fact. She couldn't help but wonder if she had done something redundant.
But on second thought, hindsight is always 20/20. That insurance measure had seemed necessary at the time.
"But... I really should thank Shimizu-kun properly." She suddenly covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes and brows tinged with delight.
Her fingers tapped the screen, first announcing Shimizu Akira as the winner in the group she had formed. Her gaze inadvertently swept toward the corner of the room; the uniform carefully wrapped in plastic wrap caused her breath to hitch slightly.
The scene from that night surfaced in her mind—his blatant touch made the tips of her ears burn involuntarily.
"Honestly..." she whispered, "He wasn't polite at all back then... but, I suppose he was listening to me, since I was the one who let him touch me."
Her gaze fell back to the screen. The message from Shimizu was still prominent. Especially the phrase "My points have a great use"—thinking about it now made her feel both annoyed and amused. The feeling of being so angry her teeth itched had now transformed into a curve at the corner of her mouth.
The results proved that the effort was worth it. She took a deep breath and sent the message to her homeroom teacher saying she had 21 votes, while also transferring the 525,000 points.
However, what awaited her wasn't the expected praise, but a cold reply:
Chabashira Sae: Noted. Remember to announce the surveillance matter tomorrow.
"Chabashira Sae..." Kushida spat the name through gritted teeth. "Who do you think I'm working for? Putting on that face after you've used me... truly disgusting!
Is she a total idiot? If she's going through menopause, she should just go on vacation already!"
Chapter 077 Sakayanagi Arisu: Yes, My Father is the Chairman.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Shimizu Akira stared at his phone screen, slightly lost in thought. A new message notification suddenly lit up:
Kushida Kikyo: These are photos from when I went to the beach before summer vacation~
Immediately following, three more popped up:
Kushida Kikyo: Shimizu-kun performed well this time. This is a special reward for you—only for you, so keep it a secret!
Kushida Kikyo: If I find out any other male classmates have this photo... you know the consequences, right? (Smiling face)
Kushida Kikyo: I hope our next collaboration is just as pleasant.
Shimizu's finger instinctively tapped open the image. In the photo, Kushida Kikyo was wearing a pink bikini, standing on a beach under the setting sun.
The swimsuit outlined her proud curves; her slender legs and graceful waist formed perfect proportions.
Strands of wet hair clung to her cheeks, adding a touch of playful sexiness.
It had to be said—as a man, the photo was objectively well-taken. Shimizu didn't overthink it and replied directly: "Received."
There wasn't much else to say in this situation. When a girl takes the initiative to send a swimsuit photo, it's best to just accept it gracefully. Acting shy or indecisive wouldn't fit his personality.
'Could she think I was the one who instructed Karuizawa Kei to do that?
Thinking about it, there's a high probability.'
After all, Karuizawa had been glancing at his expression while giving her suggestions. However, did she really think being the class leader was a good gig? In Shimizu's eyes, the position of Class D leader was nothing but a thankless chore.
"Since the 25,000-point class fees have been collected, it's time to settle the matter of the surveillance."
Other classes had already received their notifications regarding the surveillance; only Class D remained silent. Now that the class leader election was settled, the winner should focus on this matter.
His phone popped up with another new message. Shimizu glanced at the sender—Sakayanagi Arisu. It was a message to his main account:
Sakayanagi Arisu: You're selling it quite expensively.
Shimizu naturally understood what she was referring to. But considering his current identity, he simply replied with a question mark.
Shimizu Akira: ?
Sakayanagi Arisu: Still playing dumb? I've already asked my father.
Shimizu froze slightly.
Her father was the Chairman of this school. If Sakayanagi Arisu had truly checked, his identity might have been exposed long ago.
However, Shimizu still believed this was just a probe—a proud person like Sakayanagi usually hated being told she relied on her father's influence.
Shimizu Akira: Who is your father?
Sakayanagi Arisu: My father is the Chairman of the school—Sakayanagi Narumori.
Sakayanagi Arisu: Hehe, regardless of whether you are that person or not, let me tell you about an interesting thing that happened at noon today.
After reading all her messages, Shimizu replied in stride:
Shimizu Akira: Your Class A has barely lost any Class Points; there's no need to spend 3 million points to rent surveillance. It's not a good deal.
Sakayanagi Arisu: Testing me again? You clearly know I hate being peered at. What I value has never been the surveillance itself, but the data from the previous two weeks. Two weeks is enough time to analyze the personality traits, behavioral habits, and academic performance of most people in our class.
Conversations, whispers, privacy—that information is what's most important. If that mysterious person sold it to other classes, even we in Class A would find it hard to maintain an advantage in the early stages.
After all, "knowing oneself and one's enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles."
Shimizu's gaze lingered on the phrase "two weeks" for a few seconds. It seemed she hadn't actually reached out to her Chairman father.
Only he knew that, in reality, only this week's data existed. He naturally wouldn't volunteer this information; that would be giving up his leverage for nothing.
Sakayanagi Arisu: Well then, I should go have a thorough chat with that mysterious person about this. Goodbye.
After saying this, she went completely offline. Immediately after, a message arrived on his alt account.
Sakayanagi Arisu: Can I rent it for just one day?
Shimizu was slightly stunned; she was quite clever. Class A didn't care about others monitoring them or about point deductions; their only concern was the past data. A 24-hour window would be enough for her to delete the data.
Yue: Keep dreaming. I refuse. I don't offer one-day services here.
Sakayanagi Arisu: Can I pay you 500,000 personal points to delete all surveillance data for First Year Class A since the start of school?
Yue: Little princess, stop testing me. I'm telling you clearly: it's only rented as a full set.
Sakayanagi Arisu: Hehe... is that so? Then I have one more question: have you already sold Class A's surveillance content to other classes at a high price? If that's the case, I won't be renting.
Shimizu fell into thought.
So that was her concern. Since the surveillance rights belonged to him, the recorded content was valuable intelligence that could be sold for profit. If he had already leaked it, paying for the rights now would be meaningless. However, Shimizu had considered this from the start; he never intended to sell any footage.
Yue: I don't sell surveillance content; I only rent the full surveillance set.
Sakayanagi Arisu: That's somewhat unexpected. You wouldn't be lying to me on purpose, would you?
Yue: You can ask the Student Council; they will guarantee fairness between the transaction parties.
Shimizu was well-prepared for this point.
Sakayanagi Arisu: The neutral Student Council? Hehe, I'll go ask them tomorrow.
She paused, then asked:
Sakayanagi Arisu: By the way! Besides Class A, which other classes have you offered the surveillance rights to? I wonder if there are any besides Class A... surely you didn't notify all four classes, did you?
Shimizu naturally wouldn't answer such a question—it was clearly outside the scope of the transaction.
Sakayanagi Arisu: Hehe... but then again, even if you hold the rights for Classes C, D, and B, I can't afford to buy them this month. By next month, your so-called rights might be completely invalid.
After all, the school just announced a ban on using points to buy or rent school equipment. Even if you were the first to "eat the crab," it's at most a sub-lease. I'm curious, how long will your rented permissions actually last?
Shimizu raised an eyebrow. He had to admit Sakayanagi's IQ was indeed high; she had easily deduced that his rights were also rented. However, after thinking for a moment, he slowly typed out eight words.
Yue: Rent it or not, I'm going to sleep.
Regarding the surveillance rights, he held the initiative from start to finish. Even if he couldn't sell them, he had the school's 400,000-point-per-unit buyback as a safety net. From the beginning, this business was guaranteed to be profitable.
Chapter 078 Today's Intel: Shiina Hiyori Will Guess Shimizu Akira's Identity
Friday arrived.
When Shimizu Akira finished his morning workout, fine beads of sweat still clung to his forehead. He picked up his phone and first sent a brief message to Student Council President Horikita Manabu:
[The leaders of the various classes should be going to the Student Council to sign the formal agreements before 7:00 PM tonight. Sorry for the trouble, President.]
After sending the message, Shimizu realized that he had indeed been bothering the President quite a bit lately. Although the man had said he owed him a favor... it was Friday, after all. Making someone work overtime felt a bit embarrassing.
The phone vibrated quickly. Horikita Manabu's reply was short and powerful: [Understood.]
Shimizu stared at the screen and muttered, "Looks like I've made him work overtime again..."
'Should I... look after his sister a bit?'
He narrowed his eyes, imagining a rare, relieved smile appearing on the President's stern face. But on second thought, he felt that was likely a delusion. The image of Horikita Manabu smiling was actually quite terrifying. That serious man didn't look like the type who would ever laugh.
When he returned to his seat in class, the familiar system notification sounded on time:
[Ding~ Today's Intelligence has been updated]
[1. Kushida Kikyo's blood type is A]
[2. In May, the first person to deduce Shimizu Akira's hidden identity is Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C]
[3. To simulate society, the Advanced Nurturing High School point system includes a loan function linked to the social credit system; debts are automatically deducted when points are distributed at the start of each month]
Shimizu rubbed his eyes, doubting if he had misread the second piece of intel—his own name had appeared in the intelligence system? Well, who said info about Shimizu Akira didn't count as intelligence? There was nothing wrong with that logically.
But someone had actually seen through his hidden identity? Did it mean they saw through his alt-account persona?
There was such a person in Class 1-C? Shimizu muttered to himself. It wasn't that he looked down on Class C, but when he watched the surveillance yesterday, his eyes were filled with Ryuen Kakeru suppressing the whole scene like a tyrant. As for the others, he really hadn't paid much attention.
'Shiina Hiyori? Deduction... does that mean she's a detective-like character? It seems Class C isn't as weak as imagined.'
After reading that, Shimizu moved on to the third point.
'Hmm? Loans? Interesting.'
He had been wondering what to do if the other classes couldn't afford the personal points; he hadn't expected the school to have such a policy. Since this was a simulated society, it made sense; real-world society had these rules too.
Student loans weren't exactly a rarity.
"Remember to come on time for the tutoring session after school today," Horikita Suzune's cold voice suddenly drifted from his side.
"Yeah, I remember," Shimizu responded softly, his eyes still fixed on his textbook. The two of them had indeed agreed on a tutoring schedule for this week.
"Your Math and English scores are clearly outstanding," Horikita Suzune frowned slightly, her fingertips tapping lightly on the desk.
"Why is it that your Japanese is the only subject that's this bad?"
As his seatmate, Horikita Suzune had seen everything these past few days. In English class, the English Shimizu spoke when answering questions was even more standard than the teacher's; in Math, the answers he blurted out were often things she had to ponder for ten seconds before understanding.
Shimizu clearly wasn't stupid. On the contrary, he was very bright. It was just baffling why his Japanese grades were consistently poor; such extreme academic imbalance was truly puzzling.
"Well... natural imbalance, I guess," Shimizu brushed her off simply. His gaze, however, fell on the rice ball in her hand—it didn't have convenience store packaging; it was just wrapped in a plastic bag.
"Is that... a handmade rice ball?"
"...! My points are all with you, after all." Horikita Suzune put the rice ball in her mouth and chewed slowly.
Shimizu thought to himself that she probably really couldn't even scrounge up 5,000 points right now. Quite pitiful, really.
For the sake of her brother, and considering she was his future tutor, he figured he might as well treat her to something good.
"I'll take you out for a big dinner tonight," he said.
"...Reason?" Horikita was startled. She wanted to refuse, but then remembered she should learn to change her personality, so she asked.
"To flatter my 'sensei.' I don't want to fail my exams, so this makes me feel more secure. Ultimately, it's for my own sake," Shimizu replied casually.
"...Flatter me? Then I'll see just how much you're willing to spend." Hearing this, Horikita thought it over and agreed. Some people indeed felt uncomfortable asking for favors without buying a meal.
Shimizu was likely lying, but she realized that since the man had taken 105,000 points from her, eating one meal was no big deal.
"Filling your stomach shouldn't be a problem," Shimizu calculated in his head. A large sum of points was about to hit his account, so there was no need to be stingy anymore.
During their conversation, Kushida Kikyo suddenly cleared her throat and slowly walked onto the podium.
"Um, everyone, from today on, I am the class leader of Class 1-D."
Hirata Yosuke also stepped forward, saying with a smile: "I've completely lost to Kushida-san this time. This month, I will serve as her deputy and assist her in her work."
"Congratulations, Kushida-san!"
"Damn it, Shimizu Akira beat us to it!"
"I wanted a date with Kushida-san too..."
Some students clapped, while other boys looked at Shimizu with envious eyes.
"A date? You helped her pull votes?"
Horikita Suzune's gaze pierced toward Shimizu. This wasn't jealousy; it was purely an instinctive alertness toward abnormal behavior. Knowing him, he wasn't the type to do a deal that lost money.
"She paid points," Shimizu gave a brief explanation.
"...How much?"
"Eighty thousand..."
"Eighty thousand?" Horikita seemed to think of something.
"I'll pay that amount. For next month's class leader election, help me pull votes." Her tone was resolute; she had clearly calculated the value of this transaction.
"...You want to run for class leader too?" Shimizu caught on immediately, his voice tinged with surprise.
"Of course," Horikita Suzune straightened her back.
"I told you, didn't I? Since I've been placed in Class D, I will lead this class—to the summit of Class A."
"Pfft~" Shimizu couldn't help but laugh out loud at her dead-serious expression.
He had said before that the future Horikita Suzune might become one of the leaders of Class D. But the current her was clearly far from that level. Had she been drinking or something? How many peanuts did she have with that wine?
"What are you laughing at!!!"
"Nothing, I'm just laughing at you."
Chapter 079 You Are Simply Inferior to Kushida Kikyo
Horikita Suzune narrowed her fox-like eyes slightly, casting a cold sweep toward him.
"Are you questioning my ability?"
Shimizu Akira's expression remained unchanged.
"Your academic performance is indeed outstanding, but in other areas, you are far from it. The simplest example—you don't even know basic persuasion tactics. Why should anyone be convinced by you?"
After a brief silence, Horikita said: "That is precisely why I need your assistance. I will devise the plans, and you will execute them—we will each utilize our strengths. Should that not suffice?"
She pondered inwardly; this was the exact same method her brother used to lead the Student Council. Just like how the secretary assisted her brother, a clear division of labor was the most efficient way.
Shimizu Akira sighed softly, idly spinning the tip of his pen.
"As your seatmate, I suppose I'll listen to your 'Class Leader Administrative Program.'"
"I will organize study groups every day after school. We will gradually raise the academic level of the others and fundamentally improve the overall quality of the class."
"Only focusing on grades? Class points are the key. By the way, how is your foreign policy coming along?"
"Foreign policy?" Horikita Suzune was clearly caught off guard by the question.
"I mean the strategic deployment regarding the other three classes."
Shimizu Akira leaned forward, his words clear.
"Do you plan to only focus on developing Class D in isolation? Will you ally with or oppose the other classes? How will you gather intelligence? How will you weaken the opponents' class points... Honestly, I told you long ago, you can't rely solely on grades in this school..."
Halfway through his sentence, Shimizu suddenly stopped. Horikita was once again wearing a somewhat dazed expression.
'Is it that I'm thinking too deeply, or that she's looking too shallowly?'
"Let's be blunt," Shimizu straightened up, tapping his fingertip on the desk.
"It's not impossible for me to help, but 80,000 points is far from enough."
His gaze turned toward Kushida Kikyo on the podium.
"Besides, why wouldn't I choose to cooperate with the current class leader? Her popularity and influence are far stronger than yours."
Looking at Horikita's tensed body, Shimizu slowly delivered the final blow: "With your current abilities and bargaining chips... unfortunately, I refuse."
Horikita Suzune snapped her head around to glare at Shimizu, squeezing a sentence through her teeth: "...How dare you compare me to her!"
Meanwhile, on the podium, Kushida Kikyo began her inaugural speech as class leader with her trademark sweet smile. She rested her hands lightly on the edge of the lectern.
"Everyone," her voice was crisp and pleasant, yet carried a hint of regret, "I'm sorry to inform you all that because more than half of the students in our class violated daily conduct codes last week and this week, our class points have already been significantly deducted."
A flurry of whispers immediately broke out in the classroom.
Kushida paused appropriately, waiting for the discussion to subside before continuing: "While I would love to encourage everyone to start taking classes seriously and work hard from now on... it seems it might already be a bit too late. And... I really don't like forcing everyone to do anything.
However, I've carefully studied the deduction rules and discovered an interesting fact—" she raised an index finger and gave a playful wink, "the vast majority of our class's deductions come from those two surveillance cameras in the classroom!"
Kushida lowered her voice as if sharing a secret: "So... if we can take a step ahead and delete all the surveillance footage from these two cameras... we could save at least 900 class points this month!"
The final sentence was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly triggering an explosion of discussion among the students.
"For real?!"
"There's a chance our class could get 900 points?!"
"Doesn't that mean we could become Class A in one go next month?!"
"Hahaha... interesting! However! It shouldn't be that simple, right? Tell us your 'but'!" Koenji Rokusuke suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. His laugh carried a hint of amusement, but it caused the heated atmosphere to cool down instantly.
"Of course, there are conditions." Kushida Kikyo blinked her eyes, which showed obvious dark circles, a gentle smile hanging on her lips.
She paused to ensure everyone's attention was concentrated.
"We need to pay 3 million personal points to rent the two surveillance cameras for our class. However..." Her gaze swept over everyone present, "considering how many class points have been deducted these two weeks, trading 3 million personal points for 400 to 500 class points is a very good deal."
To prepare for this first speech as class leader, Kushida had stayed up until nearly 3:00 AM. She had refined every detail, especially the sensitive topic of surveillance, which had to be handled with care.
She decided to use a step-by-step strategy: throw out the most attractive benefit first, then gradually go deeper. Every word and every moment of timing had been meticulously designed.
'Kushida's performance today is quite good.' Shimizu Akira praised inwardly.
He had originally thought Kushida was only good at interpersonal socializing, but the eloquence she displayed now truly surprised him. Emotional intelligence is truly no less important than IQ, and the order of delivery is crucial. If she had put the surveillance cost first, the effect wouldn't have been nearly this good.
Thinking about it... could it be? Is Kushida Kikyo actually quite suited to be a class leader? Class D really has too many talents.
'If she continues to reform the others in Class D and change their mindsets, perhaps things really could improve.
It feels like aside from Yamauchi and a few others, almost everyone has a clear specialty!'
Take Ike Kanji; though he often hung out with the wrong crowd, he had mentioned having camping experience. Unlike Yamauchi's boasting, that was highly likely to be true.
'Why does Class D give me a feeling that is not inferior to Class A!
Even though there are many troublemakers, their individual abilities are indeed strong!'
Shimizu Akira had to admit that, looking at it currently, Class D indeed possessed the strength to compete for Class A. Having looked at all four classes yesterday, Class C was undoubtedly the weakest, while the other three gave him the impression of being neck-and-neck.
"So... do you think what I said was wrong? Right now, you are simply inferior to Kushida Kikyo. Her effectiveness as a class leader is just greater than yours. If it were you, could you deliver such a high-EQ speech?" Shimizu Akira turned his gaze to Horikita Suzune and stated the objective truth.
"..." Horikita Suzune gazed at the girl on stage who, in her eyes, wore a fake smile.
For the first time, a feeling arose in her heart—perhaps, the other party wasn't that detestable after all.
080 Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji, Step Out and Reflect on Your Mistakes!
"A fake smile... is also acceptable?"
"Don't worry about whether she's acting or not. At the very least, while she is being sought after by the masses, she is sincerely planning for the sake of the class. If she can 'act' like this for three years, then she is the most suitable person to be class leader."
"...I see. So that was your intention?"
Horikita Suzune's eyes flickered; she seemed to finally understand something. Although every clash with Shimizu Akira ended with her being left speechless, every single time, she managed to capture a new revelation from his words.
"Only by placing Kushida Kikyo in a high position can her value be maximized?
By comparison, Hirata's personality is too gentle; he is actually better suited to step back into a secondary role."
"So... that's why you secretly pushed for Kushida to be elected leader?"
Horikita Suzune suddenly thought of a question: If Hirata Yosuke had become the leader, would Kushida Kikyo still be putting her heart and soul into the class as she was now? The moment this thought appeared, her heart sank—she had been wrong, completely wrong.
Should she not have voted for Hirata Yosuke in the first place? It seemed she had only cared about her own feelings and never examined the class from an objective perspective. Her thinking was too naive.
Shimizu was right; with her current abilities, she really wasn't qualified to be the leader.
"I didn't actually consider all of that, but you're right—for Class D, having Kushida Kikyo as leader is the optimal solution." Shimizu Akira nodded, directly agreeing with her words.
Horikita's judgment this time was indeed correct. Kushida being leader was the best outcome. If she were forced into a deputy role, she likely wouldn't work as hard for the class. Conversely, Hirata Yosuke didn't actually care about titles; he could do his duty well regardless of his position. While this conclusion was a bit unfair to Hirata, it was the truth—this gentle boy was better suited as a supporter. He had leadership talent, but he lacked a necessary sharpness.
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"No matter how you look at it, this deal is a guaranteed win!"
"The value of Class Points is way higher than Personal Points! Besides, once the cameras are set up... hehe, won't skipping class be even easier in the future?"
"...I don't want to live under surveillance all day!"
Though their reasons differed, most students eventually approved the proposal. However, a more realistic problem immediately surfaced.
"That's 75,000 points per person!"
"There's no way we can produce that many points right now, right? We already spent a million last time."
"True..."
Three million points—to the current Class D, that was an astronomical figure.
"Will they let us delay payment until next month?"
"If that's the case... it's not out of the question."
Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji finally realized the class couldn't scrape together 3 million points. If they were to pay, it would likely have to be deferred. As the most frequent rule-breakers in class, they had been receiving cold shoulders lately. To them, renting the surveillance was actually a good thing. Trading 75,000 points per person for 400-500 Class Points was a steal. Even these two, who weren't usually good at math, understood the logic:
It was like spending 75,000 yen once to increase your monthly income by 40,000 yen. After two months, you'd break even—who wouldn't want such a good deal?
"Unfortunately... the deadline they gave is 7:00 PM tonight, and there's an additional 100,000-point fee for every hour of delay," Hirata Yosuke explained the situation to everyone with a heavy tone.
"Yes! So I plan to continue negotiating. If all else fails, maybe we can ask the Student Council if there's a loan service? As long as we get through this, things will be much smoother afterward," Kushida Kikyo tried to lighten the mood with a cheerful tone.
"—Wait a moment!" Horikita Suzune suddenly stood up.
This was her first time taking the initiative to speak in front of the whole class. Almost everyone's gaze fixed on her. Shimizu Akira also looked at her with slight surprise—was his explanation from earlier not sufficient? Or did she plan to oppose the rental?
Kushida Kikyo maintained her trademark sweet smile: "Horikita-san, you aren't planning to oppose the surveillance rental, are you?" In her view, raising an objection when the vast majority of students had already voiced support was unwise.
"I support renting the surveillance system." To everyone's surprise, Horikita gave an affirmative answer.
"But I want to add one point—once we get the cameras, we shouldn't delete the footage right away. Instead, we should carefully watch the playback and identify the students who frequently violated rules and caused our class to lose points.
It is because of these people's improper behavior that our class points would likely be wiped out by the end of the month if not for the surveillance. There is no reason for the entire class to pay for the mistakes of a few!
Those people must profoundly reflect on their errors!"
As she said this, her gaze moved without concealment toward Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji. In this class, the people with the highest number of violations were undoubtedly these two! Why should they be allowed to hide in the background as if it were only natural? This time, the surveillance saved them, but to prevent a next time, they needed a severe punishment.
This was fairness! And a very reasonable move!
Shimizu Akira paused, finally remembering why he had also seen potential in Horikita Suzune. Just like the Student Council President, her sense of justice was uncompromising. She could not tolerate a grain of sand in her eye. This was the one point that strictly distinguished her from other leaders.
It went back to the same point: whether it was Hirata or Kushida, their personalities were too soft. Sometimes, "killing the chicken to scare the monkey" is necessary. If you just play house all the time, the few "rotten" people in class will keep acting out. Sometimes, a penalty is mandatory!
"Yeah! Well said! I used to think you were an annoying person, but you're absolutely right about this!" Shinohara Satsuki couldn't help but nod.
"We can rent the cameras! we can wipe the asses of certain people for the sake of the class's collective interest! But we absolutely won't suffer in silence! We must find out who they are! At the very least, they have to apologize to the whole class! They need to keep their heads down and behave for a while! That is the absolute bare minimum!"
"Horikita-san made a good point. My opinion of her has changed a bit."
"I thought she was just a sharp-tongued person, but she's spot on this time!"