The compass in Suzune Horikita's hand instantly stabbed toward Amakawa Ryouma's waist.
She had finally had enough of his attitude.
With a helpless sigh, Ryouma swiftly caught Horikita's wrist with his right hand, lifted it upward, and pulled her toward him.
Losing her balance, Suzune stumbled straight into his arms.
To anyone watching, it would have looked as though she'd willingly thrown herself into Ryouma's embrace.
Breathing in Ryouma's scent and feeling the warmth radiating from his body, Suzune's expression instantly changed.
"You bastard! Let go of me!"
"Calm down."
Releasing her wrist, Ryouma smiled.
"What would I gain from teasing you? Of course I can tell you the information. But first, you have to agree to one condition."
"Ryouma, if you're going to say something about dating again, don't bother. I'll never agree to that."
Suzune hurriedly retreated several steps.
Perhaps because this was her first time being in such close contact with a boy, however, she sounded considerably less confident than usual.
"I'm well aware of that."
Ryouma sat back down on the bench and glanced at the empty space beside him.
"Have a seat. Let's talk."
"If you try anything strange again, don't blame me for what happens next."
After hesitating for a moment, Suzune eventually sat down beside him.
She wasn't afraid of Ryouma in the slightest.
Their earlier exchange had been nothing more than a brief scuffle, and she hadn't even gotten serious. It couldn't prove anything.
Having studied martial arts, Suzune remained extremely confident in her abilities.
If the two of them were to fight seriously, there was no way Ryouma could defeat her.
"Naturally."
Ryouma answered indifferently.
He took a pen and some paper from his schoolbag, quickly wrote up a contract, and handed it to Suzune.
"Sign this contract, and I'll give you the information for free!"
"Ryouma, what exactly is this supposed to mean?"
Looking at the contract in her hands, Suzune gradually furrowed her brows.
The terms were remarkably simple.
1. Whenever Kikyo Kushida asks Suzune Horikita a question, Suzune Horikita must respond with, "So what?"
2. Suzune Horikita is forbidden from revealing any information about Ryouma to others.
'Violation of either condition will result in a penalty of five million private points payable to Ryouma.'
In short, it was a contract designed to make her take the blame! This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Suzune didn't particularly care about those conditions.
There was only one thing she couldn't understand!
"Who is Kikyo Kushida?"
Suzune asked coldly.
"And Ryouma, what exactly are you trying to accomplish? What consequences will signing this contract bring me? Unless you explain those things, I refuse to sign!"
"Are you serious?"
Ryouma was practically speechless.
"Kikyo Kushida attended the same middle school as you, and she's even in our class now. You should have heard her introduce herself, right?"
"And?"
After hearing Ryouma's explanation, Suzune finally remembered Kikyo Kushida.
Well, she remembered the name, at least.
She couldn't care less about Kushida herself.
What concerned her was whether Ryouma's plans would cause her any trouble or losses!
"Fine."
Ryouma smiled indifferently.
"If you sign this contract, you'll earn Kikyo Kushida's hostility. I imagine she'll relentlessly target you throughout your three years of high school."
After a brief pause, he continued with an amused smile.
"Pay fifty thousand private points, or sign this contract. Either way, you'll receive the information you want. Suzune Horikita, which will you choose?"
"There's nothing to choose!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Suzune signed the contract!
In fact, she was secretly delighted.
The transaction hadn't even begun, yet she'd already obtained two valuable pieces of information.
【Points can buy anything.】
And...
【Contracts.】
Judging by Ryouma's attitude, contracts clearly possessed considerable binding power and could even be recognized by the school!
Moreover, she had absolutely no reason to worry about Kikyo Kushida's hostility.
What could that girl possibly do?
Bully her? Resort to violence? Gather a group of girls to isolate her?
So what?!
Suzune had never intended to establish relationships with anyone in the first place.
All she wanted was to get closer to her older brother.
As for physical bullying, she had more than enough confidence in her fighting abilities.
Keeping Ryouma's information secret?
That was practically meaningless to her.
In other words...
Suzune believed this contract wouldn't cost her anything, yet she could obtain Ryouma's information without spending a single point!
What a bargain!
"All right. Where's my information?"
"What a surprising choice!"
Taking the signed contract from Suzune, Ryouma deliberately put on an astonished expression.
Suzune tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and spoke indifferently.
"You probably intended to intimidate me with this contract, forcing me into a choice between two undesirable options so that I'd end up paying fifty thousand private points for the information."
"Unfortunately for you, the door-in-the-face technique doesn't work on me!"
"Besides, I have no interest in getting along with everyone. Ryouma, your calculations were wrong!"
"Fair enough!"
Ryouma shrugged and glanced at the two bottles of black tea beside Suzune.
This time, Suzune handed one of the bottles to him.
"Now then, it's time for you to tell me what you know."
In Suzune's mind, she had already won this negotiation.
As the victor, she supposed she could afford to be a little generous.
"Of course. I'm not the sort of man who breaks his promises."
Playing with the bottle of black tea in his hand, Ryouma began explaining.
"First, starting next month, the school will no longer distribute a fixed one hundred thousand private points. Instead, students will be evaluated comprehensively according to something called the S-System!"
"The S-System?"
Suzune instantly caught the important point.
"Exactly."
Ryouma nodded and continued.
"It's a system that evaluates each class based on its everyday behavior and performance in various examinations. The points awarded through this evaluation are known as class points, or S-Points."
"I see. So that's why the school has free products available."
Suzune furrowed her brows, clearly displeased.
"You're saying that the overall performance of a class affects the private points each individual receives? What's the conversion ratio between class points and private points?"
"One to one hundred."
Ryouma smiled calmly.
He could completely understand Suzune's displeasure.
As someone who excelled individually, Suzune was naturally dissatisfied with the idea that her classmates might drag her down.
"No wonder Chabashira-sensei said that strength is everything."