Ichinose Honami tapped her index finger against her lips, deep in thought.
She wasn’t stupid.
In fact, her intelligence was among the top in the entire school.
It was just that her personality was a bit too naive, making her easily trust others.
Thinking about it carefully, Tsugikuni-kun’s image during their two meetings really was completely different.
The first time they met, he looked at her like he had seen a ghost and ran away.
The next time she saw him, he was being bullied.
Neither image seemed particularly great…
“Tsugikuni-kun, is what Hoshinomiya-sensei said true?” She wanted to confirm it for herself.
Hoshinomiya Chie watched this unfold with a half smile.
If Shiki tried to deny it, she was fully prepared to add fuel to the fire and expose him, treating it as payback for him scaring her earlier.
However, completely contrary to both of their expectations, Shiki admitted it instantly and directly.
“Yes.
I did it on purpose.”
Shiki nodded.
There was no point in hiding it.
Once someone got suspicious, keeping up a lie would eventually leave a fatal flaw.
Even if he managed to fool them today, the time and energy required to maintain the lie in the future would be massive.
The cost far outweighed the benefit.
It was much better to openly admit it, take the loss, and leave a good impression as someone who knew how to accept defeat gracefully.
Ichinose Honami lowered her head, completely surrounded by a gloomy aura.
Even for a naturally optimistic person like her, having her genuine kindness manipulated and used made her feel sad.
Shiki waited quietly as she processed her feelings, subtly observing her expression.
Amazing acting!
This performance is absolutely flawless!
(But what is she even sad about?
I’m the one who just lost a massive pile of points, and I’m not even complaining…)
While feeling slightly annoyed on the inside, he couldn’t help but secretly praise her.
Ichinose’s acting was so god like that he genuinely couldn’t spot a single fake flaw.
That sad, hurt expression looked 100% real.
If he hadn’t noticed something deeply wrong during their very first meeting, he probably would have been completely fooled.
Shiki once again marveled at the sheer number of hidden masters in this school, but that same realization sent a renewed wave of unease through his heart.
His terrifying impression of Ichinose Honami stemmed entirely from that initial meeting—her completely illogical, overflowing goodwill and honesty toward a total stranger.
Shiki fundamentally refused to believe that someone like that could actually exist in reality, so he subconsciously put on a heavy filter when looking at her.
Because of this, he concluded that Ichinose was an incredibly dangerous mastermind playing the role of the “perfect savior.” But…
There was technically one other possible explanation for her behavior.
What if…
what if Ichinose Honami really is just a genuinely good girl?
That would perfectly explain everything…
The moment that thought popped into his head, Shiki quickly shook it away, firmly crushing the idea.
Impossible.
There is absolutely no way anyone in this world is that purely, stupidly naive!
At that moment, Ichinose managed to compose herself.
She looked up at Shiki and forced a slightly strained smile.
“Um…
Tsugikuni-kun, why did you do that?”
Shiki sighed and explained his entire extortion plan from start to finish.
When he finally finished, the nurse’s office was dead silent.
The two women from Class B stared at him, completely dumbfounded.
“T-This is truly…” Hoshinomiya started to speak but stopped, looking at Shiki with absolute disbelief.
Is this guy actually insane?
Who bumped into someone and instantly decides their best course of action is to fake an injury and pull an insurance scam?
Shouldn’t a normal person just apologize or walk away?
A massive sense of crisis surged in her heart.
This guy fought incredibly dirty.
There was no way the good, honest kids of Class B could handle someone like him!
If he decided to help that bitch Chabashira drag her class to the top, it would truly be…
Thinking of this, Hoshinomiya’s eyes flickered with a mix of dark emotions.
“Tsugikuni-kun,” Ichinose snapped back to reality, looking at him with deep disapproval.
“E-Even so, you shouldn’t use methods like that.
Extorting your schoolmate is just…”
Shiki gave her a weird look.
“What extortion?
Wasn’t it a fact that they were bullying me?
Or did I somehow force them to mock me at gunpoint?”
He hadn’t actually done anything.
He was just a poor, helpless victim who happened to fall down and shed a few tears!
“B-But…” Ichinose stammered, completely unable to find a logical argument against him.
Objectively speaking, if the Class C students actually got punished by the school for bullying, they would basically deserve it.
In a way, they did use verbal violence; it was just very mild.
Just as Shiki thought he had completely silenced her, Ichinose suddenly raised her voice.
“But what if they had actually hit you?!
What if you really got hurt?!”
Her voice was surprisingly loud, actually echoing slightly in the quiet nurse’s office.
Shiki shrugged casually.
“Wouldn’t that be even better?
I would achieve my goal instantly, and I wouldn’t be falsely accusing them, right?” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Ugh—”
Seeing his utterly shameless, thick skinned attitude, Ichinose puffed out her cheeks again.
She finally realized that trying to persuade him was completely impossible.
She truly felt that Shiki’s complete disregard for his own safety was wrong.
If he kept acting like this, he would inevitably get hurt.
She desperately wanted to stop him from thinking this way, but right as she opened her mouth to try again, she was cut off.
“Oh, right.
Since both you and Hoshinomiya-sensei are here, how about we make a deal?”
Shiki looked straight at her.
His usually lazy, half-closed black eyes suddenly sharpened, shining brightly like a shooting star cutting through the dark night sky.
“A deal?”
Ichinose blinked blankly.
How did the topic suddenly jump to this?
“Yeah.
Ichinose, you must have noticed the strange things about this school, right?
Whether it’s the 100,000 free points given to us for no reason, the vague and misleading ways the teachers speak, or all the other inconsistencies hidden around the campus…
Haven’t you ever stopped to wonder why?”
Shiki slowly set the bait.
He had purposely recorded his negotiation with Chabashira on the second day of school specifically for this moment.
His ultimate plan was to sell the school’s hidden rules to another class in exchange for a massive payout.
The only reason he hadn’t made his move yet was because he was waiting to find the right buyer.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered sharing the information with his own class.
If he told Class D, they could minimize their point deductions for the next month.
But after quietly observing them for a few days, he completely abandoned that idea.
The entire class was obsessed with goofing off.
Sudou Ken casually strolled into class halfway through the morning period every single day.
Countless other students blatantly played on their phones, reapplied makeup, read manga, or played video games during lectures.
Barely any of them actually acted like students.
Shiki didn’t hate people with bad grades, and he didn’t hate people who didn’t want to study.
But he absolutely refused to waste a single drop of energy on a group of people who actively disrupted class and didn’t even bother keeping up basic appearances.
Rather than holding onto unrealistic hopes for that room full of monkeys, it was much smarter to sell the intel for a good price.
As for whether his classmates survived next month or starved—what did that have to do with him?
As long as he lived comfortably, that was enough.
Once he made up his mind, he spent the past week observing the other three classes.
He immediately crossed Class A off the list.
Ever since Kamuro Masumi had glued herself to him during morning jogs, she had unintentionally leaked quite a bit of intel about Class A.
For example, Class A was currently split into two warring factions.
One side was led by that little devil, Sakayanagi Arisu, while the other side was led by a guy named Katsuragi Kohei.
The two sides were currently locked in a fierce power struggle.
Shiki had no desire to get caught in the crossfire, and he definitely didn’t want to get tangled up in Sakayanagi’s mess.
Furthermore, without a unified leader, it would be impossible for Class A to reach a consensus on buying his intel anyway.
He then shifted his focus to Class C, only to discover that they didn’t have a stable leader either.
Instead, they were basically turning into an underground fight club.
Every day, they were brawling on the rooftop, seemingly trying to violently beat each other until a ‘Martial Arts Grandmaster’ emerged as their absolute boss.
Watching their brutal, bare knuckle brawls made Shiki bare his teeth in disbelief.
(I thought Class D and Class A were the peak of absolute weirdness, but Class C is full of actual violent thugs!
What kind of psycho ward is this?!)
But right as he was marveling at the school’s ability to gather such an incredible collection of unhinged lunatics, he noticed something bizarre: even though Class C was mostly made up of delinquents, their classroom discipline was actually better than Class D’s.
That realization honestly broke Shiki’s brain for a second.
Finally, he turned his attention to Class B, where he discovered a truly shocking reality.
How the hell did the completely normal students of this school end up in class B?
Shiki fell deep into thought.
Class B wasn’t a chaotic zoo like Class D, they weren’t a violent street gang like Class C, and they weren’t tearing each other apart in a civil war like Class A.
Instead, they actually looked like normal high school students who came to school to learn.
More importantly, Ichinose Honami had used her terrifying charisma to instantly unite the entire class and firmly establish herself as their leader.
Shiki could only admire her.
As expected of the Demon King Ichinose.
While the other classes were busy fighting themselves, she instantly ended the game.
What a terrifyingly efficient method.
Even though he genuinely did not want to deal with Ichinose, Class B was undeniably the perfect buyer.
He originally planned to approach them tomorrow, but since he got dragged into the nurse’s office by Ichinose—and since the Class B homeroom teacher was conveniently sitting right there—the timing, location, and people involved couldn’t be more perfect.
Backing down now would just be stupid.
Ichinose Honami stayed silent for a moment before looking at him in surprise.
“Does that mean…
Tsugikuni-kun has figured out the true nature of this school?”
“Basically.
Let me be clear upfront: this intel is incredibly important.
And since your homeroom teacher is sitting right here—even though she isn’t allowed to tell you the rules herself—she can easily verify whether my information is true or false.
There’s no way you guys lose on this deal.”
Shiki perfectly laid out the situation, making it sound like he was doing them a massive favor.
Ichinose replayed his words in her head.
After thinking it over, she turned an inquiring look toward Hoshinomiya, who was still smiling.
“Hoshinomiya-sensei, is what Tsugikuni-kun saying true?
Would this intel really be a massive help to us?”
However, buying this intel would obviously cost a massive amount of points, meaning the entire class would have to chip in.
She couldn’t make that decision lightly.
“Sensei doesn’t know what he’s talking about~ But yes, it should be very, very important,” Hoshinomiya replied, playfully feigning innocence.
Understanding her teacher’s confirmation, Ichinose took a deep breath and turned back to Shiki.
“Alright.
What are your conditions, Tsugikuni-kun?”
For the first time today, a truly genuine, beaming smile appeared on Shiki’s face.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper.
“Take a look at this first.
I guarantee it’s a completely fair and honest deal.” He unfolded the paper and handed it to her.
Tsugikuni-kun came…
incredibly well prepared!
With a very complicated expression, Ichinose took the paper and carefully read over the conditions.
The contract was actually very simple.
It stated that Class B would pay 2,000,000 points to purchase high value intelligence.
The intel was strictly exclusive; the seller could not resell it to any other class, and both parties must maintain absolute secrecy.
The intel’s accuracy must be verified by a teacher.
If the intel proved false, the transaction would be voided.
If the value did not match the price, a proportionate amount of points would be refunded.
Ichinose read it over multiple times and couldn’t find any major traps or flaws.
Shiki was negotiating with absolute sincerity.
It was exactly like building a business relationship—if this deal went smoothly, they might do business again in the future.
Leaving a good impression was vital.
In reality, the biggest value of this contract wasn’t the intel itself; it was the exclusivity clause.
By monopolizing the intel while the other classes remained ignorant, Class B could create a massive gap in points.
Otherwise, if Class B was smart enough, they could theoretically bypass Shiki entirely and just use their own points to ‘play the question game’ directly with their teacher.
“So, Ichinose, what do you think?”
Ichinose looked up, her blue eyes shining brightly, though she looked a bit embarrassed.
“Um, I need to discuss this with my classmates first.
After all…”
“No problem.
Take your time.”
Shiki was always incredibly patient when dealing with his wealthy clients.
Ichinose thanked him, quickly pulled out her phone, and started messaging the Class B group chat to inform them of the situation.
It was obvious how deeply she was trusted by her class.
In less than five minutes, they reached a unanimous decision.
Buy!
Getting the official confirmation from Ichinose, the smile on Shiki’s face grew another 30% more genuine.
After they both signed the contract, he pulled out his phone, opened the audio file, and played the entire, unedited recording of his negotiation with Chabashira Sae.
A long time passed.
Even after the recording ended, Ichinose sat there completely stunned, lost in her own thoughts.
It wasn’t until Hoshinomiya let out a delighted laugh that she finally snapped out of it.
“Wow, Tsugikuni-kun really is amazing!
Everything in that recording is 100% accurate, by the way,” Hoshinomiya added, looking directly at Ichinose.
“Ah…” Ichinose fully processed the information, looking at Shiki with incredibly complex blue eyes.
“So Tsugikuni-kun really is that amazing…
On the second day—no, on the very first day of school, you figured all of this out just by observing.
Meanwhile, the rest of us were just blindly celebrating getting free points…” (TL:GLAZE)
Not a single person in Class B had even considered this possibility.
Even though a few of them felt something was slightly off, no one actually took action.
According to the intel, Tsugikuni Shiki was going to be their direct enemy for the next three years.
Thinking about the terrifying abilities he had just casually displayed, Ichinose couldn’t help but feel a chill in her heart, deeply worried about Class B’s future.
Shiki completely ignored Ichinose’s inner turmoil.
Right now, exactly one thought was dominating his entire brain.
Where are my points?
“You flatter me.
I just like overthinking things, and I happened to get a lucky flash of inspiration,” Shiki smiled politely, before subtly rubbing his thumb and index finger together again.
“So…
about my points…”
Seeing his shameless gesture, Ichinose let out a helpless, completely defeated smile.
“I’ll transfer them right now.”
After verifying the massive deposit, Shiki looked at Ichinose with far less hostility.
Who cares if she was a terrifying Demon King?
As long as she paid up, he would happily be her loyal servant!
A job is a job, no matter who the boss is!
“But I do have one question, Tsugikuni-kun,” Ichinose pointed at the expiration date written on the contract.
“Why is the exclusivity deadline set for April 29th, instead of May 1st?”
It was a very strange, specific date.
But since it was only a one-day difference, she hadn’t bothered bringing it up before signing.
“Oh, that’s just because of a completely separate deal I have with another class.
Don’t worry, it absolutely won’t affect Class B,” Shiki replied with pure honesty.
Since he already had the points in his account, there was no reason to lie.
Besides, it really wouldn’t negatively impact Class B.