Teachers' office, private partition.
Ryouma lounged casually on the sofa, his legs resting on the coffee table, as though the person sitting across from him wasn't Class D's homeroom teacher.
"I'll get straight to the point, Chabashira-sensei. I want to buy an anonymous account that can't be traced. How many points would that cost?"
Every student ID allowed its owner to create two accounts.
One was a public account used for communicating with classmates, similar to a messaging app, while the other was completely anonymous.
However, Ryouma intended to purchase another one.
After all, he couldn't be certain whether other students could spend points to have the school track down an account's owner.
"You catch on quickly."
Sae Chabashira nodded, feeling somewhat excited.
'Finally! Someone who actually understands the school's rules!'
Delighted, she lit a cigarette and said calmly, "Before that, let me ask you something, Ryouma. Just how much of this school's rules have you figured out?"
"Chabashira-sensei, I'm the one asking questions right now. Didn't anyone ever teach you not to answer a question with another question?"
Ryouma's tone was playful.
He didn't have the slightest reverence for Sae Chabashira.
After all, he was the son of a powerful financial conglomerate.
More importantly, Chabashira's obsession with reaching Class A was her greatest weakness.
As long as he held that weakness, manipulating her would be child's play!
"Is that any way to speak to your teacher?"
Chabashira frowned slightly before threatening him half-jokingly.
"It seems you've already understood some of the rules. But given your attitude, perhaps your teacher should refuse to answer your questions."
"Of course. That's entirely up to you."
After a brief pause, Ryouma continued teasingly.
"But in that case, I'll simply ask another teacher. And if another teacher gives me an answer, then Chabashira-sensei... well, your evaluation..."
He deliberately left the sentence unfinished.
However, Chabashira understood his meaning perfectly.
They couldn't refuse.
And Ryouma's question clearly fell within that category.
Even Chabashira couldn't simply ignore it.
She felt somewhat puzzled, yet also increasingly excited.
Regardless of how Ryouma had figured this out, it proved one thing.
'This boy is exceptionally capable.'
With his abilities, reaching Class A was entirely possible.
And that was more than enough for her.
"Wait here for a moment."
Chabashira slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke before leaving the partitioned area.
Since Ryouma didn't want to explain himself, she wouldn't force him.
Before long, she returned carrying two cans of black tea.
She handed one to him.
Ryouma accepted it without the slightest hesitation, pulling open the tab and taking a drink.
He understood perfectly well what this gesture meant.
Chabashira had acknowledged his abilities.
Only then did she explain calmly.
"There are roughly two types of anonymous accounts. A regular one costs five thousand private points, while a difficult-to-trace account costs twenty thousand. Which one you choose depends on your needs."
"There's no account that's completely impossible to trace?"
Ryouma looked somewhat puzzled.
Hearing his question, Chabashira smiled.
"No. Actually, both accounts are fundamentally the same. The so-called difficulty in tracing them is merely an additional rule."
"For example, if someone applies to the school to identify an account's owner, they must spend two hundred times the number of private points that the original buyer paid."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"This school has existed for decades. Its rules have been developed to cover practically every conceivable situation. Even I haven't been able to grasp the full extent of them!"
Her meaning was obvious. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
'Don't treat everything a teacher says as the absolute truth.'
After all, even the teachers themselves didn't fully understand the school's rules.
Even in the original novel, not every school rule had been revealed.
Naturally, Ryouma needed to investigate them himself.
"In that case, I'd like to spend fifty thousand private points on an account that can't be traced."
"Very well."
Ryouma had deliberately increased the amount he was willing to pay.
It was all for the sake of security.
He had no intention of exposing himself to unnecessary danger.
Tracing an anonymous account purchased for twenty thousand points would require four million private points.
And school had only just begun.
Every class started with one thousand class points, and each class contained forty students.
Converted into private points, that amounted to four million points per class each month.
Class A, which generally maintained close to one thousand class points over the long term, could therefore receive nearly four million private points every month.
However, after accounting for monthly expenses, saving a little over two million points would already be quite impressive.
Although he doubted anyone would spend four million points just to trace an anonymous account, he decided to purchase one for fifty thousand points to be safe.
Tracing such an account would require ten million private points!
Surely nobody would make such an idiotic decision.
After all, twenty million private points were enough to save a student from expulsion.
Ryouma believed spending that many points to acquire an exceptional pawn would be well worth it.
The two exchanged contact information.
Chabashira quickly sent him the account details.
Clearly, the important factor wasn't the technology itself, but the rules governing it.