“Because the Special Exam the school designed is meant to filter out the top performers in a class, and then single out the ones who drag the class down.”
“If we ever reach a situation where someone absolutely has to be expelled, the candidates can be chosen from among those who are holding us back.”
“That’s the information that upperclassman gave me.”
Once Katsuragi had laid all of this out, the atmosphere in the classroom immediately grew even heavier.
After all, no one wanted to become the “sacrifice” chosen by their own class.
Hikaru Naruse, however, immediately thought of something else entirely—namely, why Miyabi Nagumo had chosen to tell all of this to Kohei Katsuragi.
The theory this guy was now planting in Kohei Katsuragi’s head was, given Katsuragi’s upright character, almost certainly something he wouldn’t accept outright.
But that was precisely where the problem lay.
Kohei Katsuragi was an extremely honest man who valued the collective.
If it truly came down to the point where a single person had to be expelled for the class to keep moving forward, he too would end up stubbornly fixating on the dilemma rather than finding a way to break through it.
He would probably opt for a fair method of selection like drawing lots—but doing so would only harm the class even more.
And so, Naruse felt that this was the moment he had to step forward.
“Katsuragi.”
Naruse rose straight up from his seat, his gaze fixed directly on the bald man standing at the front.
“What do you make of this information?”
“I don’t agree with that upperclassman’s way of thinking.”
Katsuragi’s reply came quickly, his voice carrying a sense of justice that welled up from deep within.
“I believe that since we’ve all been assigned to the same class, it means we’re a single whole.
We’re supposed to cooperate together, face hardships together, and then graduate together.”
“I won’t accept sacrificing one person to preserve everyone else.”
Yes—this was Katsuragi’s instinctive response.
He had not yet witnessed the cruelty of the Special Exam, which was exactly why he could say such things.
At the very least, he was no cold-blooded utilitarian.
Naruse looked at Kohei Katsuragi up on the platform, smiled, and then continued.
“Katsuragi, you’re absolutely right.
I’m sure everyone here agrees with that sentiment.
In that case, let me share a little of the information I’ve gathered as well.”
“What?”
“What—Naruse has information too?”
“I’d like to hear what Naruse has to say.”
After Naruse had proposed this plan of selecting a class leader the day before, he had actually already drawn the attention of many students, and the rest of the class wanted to hear his views as well.
“Naruse, have you gathered new information?” Katsuragi was equally excited.
“Something like that.”
Naruse gave a small wave of his hand, then turned his gaze toward Mashima-sensei, who had been standing silently beside the lectern the whole time.
“Mashima-sensei?”
“What is it?” Tomoya Mashima asked, arms folded, calmly watching the youth before him.
He wanted to see just how far Naruse could take this.
“I remember you said something during homeroom yesterday.”
“Naruse, what exactly are you referring to?”
Meeting the eyes of everyone in the classroom, a faint smile surfaced at the corner of Hikaru Naruse’s mouth.
In that instant, everyone—male and female alike—had their attention concentrated entirely on him.
Naruse’s handsome features seemed especially striking in that moment, and those amber eyes of his shimmered with a faint luster under the sunlight.
“Mashima-sensei, yesterday you said…
‘At this school, in principle, Private Points can buy anything this school has to offer.'”
“May I take that statement at its literal, face-value meaning?”
Tomoya Mashima fell silent for two seconds, then gave a single nod.
“Of course.”
Hikaru Naruse had gotten the answer he wanted, and then he pressed further.
“Good.
Then my question is this…
Suppose a student is facing the punishment of expulsion—can he use Private Points to buy the chance to have that punishment erased?”
The moment those words were out, the classroom instantly erupted.
“What?”
“Private Points can even be used like that?”
Everyone was astonished.
They had never imagined that, right after learning the brutal news that someone might be expelled, there could actually be a way to counter it.
Even Kohei Katsuragi’s eyes went wide—this was something Miyabi Nagumo had never mentioned to him.
But in that moment, a subtle yet firm conviction quickly rose up in this man’s heart.
Naruse is truly remarkable.
With someone like this in our class, our odds of winning in the end have to be the highest of all!
On the other side, after Mashima-sensei heard Hikaru Naruse’s question, that perpetually stern face of his actually showed a rare trace of a smile.
It was a smile that came from the heart.
Tomoya Mashima had glimpsed the potential in Naruse.
It seemed that this year, the Class A under his charge would become an unimaginably “excellent” collective.
“Of course you can.
Waiving the punishment of expulsion can indeed be paid for with Private Points.”
Naruse nodded, then went on to explain.
“However, the price may exceed what everyone can afford.”
“How much is it?” Naruse continued to ask.
“It’s…
twenty million Private Points.”
The moment those words left Mashima-sensei’s mouth, the classroom once again sank into an eerie silence.
Twenty million Private Points.
Even if you added up the first month’s points of all forty students in the class, it would only come to four million points.
This price flat-out exceeded everyone’s comprehension.
“Twenty million—isn’t that way too much?”
“Yeah, all of our points combined right now barely come close to four million.
How could we ever scrape together twenty million?”
“This couldn’t be the school doing it on purpose, could it?”
“What on earth is the administration thinking?
Handing us hope and then snuffing it out with their own hands?”
The murmurs of discussion rose and fell all across the classroom, and every face was written over with complicated emotions.
And yet, Hikaru Naruse merely gave a slight nod, because the thing he had set out to do was already accomplished.
This was the core message he wanted every single person in Class A to remember.
Not “someone must be expelled,” but “expulsion can be avoided.”
The former drove people to despair; the latter gave people hope.
A difference of a single word, a gap as vast as heaven and earth.
Hikaru Naruse deliberately swept his gaze around the entire classroom, then spoke in a serious and solemn tone.
“All right.
Now that Mashima-sensei has given us our answer, there’s one thing I hope everyone can be clear on.”
His gaze swept across the faces of his classmates below the platform, his voice low and forceful.
“Whether it’s the information Sakayanagi and Katsuragi shared today, or the details I just added, all of it is among the most important core rules of this school.”
“I hope none of you leak this information to students from the other classes.”
“Does everyone understand what I mean?”
Once these words were spoken, Kohei Katsuragi agreed wholeheartedly and immediately picked up the thread.
“Yes, what Naruse says makes perfect sense.
Our advantage comes from the amount of information we’ve gathered.
Since the school rules are designed for the four classes to compete, the value of this information goes without saying.
Everyone absolutely must take it seriously.”
“No problem!”
“I’ll never breathe a word of it.”
“This is Class A’s secret.”
Everyone made their stance clear.
Having gone through today’s homeroom session, crammed with such an enormous volume of information, every last one of them had come to a profound understanding of just how cruel the competition between classes could be.
“All right, that’s enough sharing of information for now.”
Hikaru Naruse turned his gaze toward Kohei Katsuragi, a faint smile surfacing at the corner of his mouth.
“Based on the competition method we established yesterday, aren’t we ready to select Class A’s class leader?”
He glanced around the classroom, then spoke in an objective and impartial tone.
“Judging from the information-sharing just now, it’s clear that Katsuragi has gathered more of it.”
He didn’t finish the thought, but his meaning was already perfectly plain.
The mood in the classroom turned subtle in that moment.
After Hikaru Naruse’s display just now, quite a few students had actually developed an even deeper sense of approval toward him—some of the girls were even whispering below about whether they should choose Hikaru Naruse instead.
But after all, Hikaru Naruse hadn’t taken part in yesterday’s candidate plan, so at this point no one brought it up openly.
“Mashima-sensei, what’s your take?”
Mashima-sensei looked at everyone’s expressions.
He had just finished checking Katsuragi’s notebook, so he spoke up of his own accord.
“It’s true that Katsuragi has gathered more information.”
“If no one has any objections, then the class leader of first-year Class A will be Katsuragi.
What does everyone think?”
“No objections!” Yahiko Totsuka shouted loudly.
“I support it!!!”
“Good luck, Katsuragi.”
The boys who backed him all looked delighted, wearing the air of men who had earned merit by rallying behind their rising lord.
Below the platform it was nearly a chorus of unanimous agreement.
Even the students who had previously supported Arisu Sakayanagi couldn’t muster any words of objection at this point.
Because the facts were laid bare before them—it truly was Kohei Katsuragi who had produced the weightier results.
Facing everyone’s nomination, Kohei Katsuragi drew a deep breath.
“Thank you all for your support.
Once I’ve become class leader, I’ll carry everyone’s expectations on my shoulders, and I’ll never let a single classmate of ours be expelled!”
“This is my promise to all of you!”
The bald man bent slightly at the waist and gave a deep bow, and the applause burst forth like a peal of thunder.
Just as the applause was gradually dying down, Hikaru Naruse suddenly felt someone gently pat him on the shoulder from behind.
He turned his head slightly, only to see Asuka Shiraishi draped over the back of her chair, tilting her head as she looked at him.
The girl’s long golden hair spilled down from her shoulders, and those beautiful eyes sparkled with a bright light.
“Naruse, you’re really amazing.”
“Am I?”
“A lot of the girls in our class actually wanted to support you more, you know.”
“Why?”
“Because you seem so reliable, and your looks are really good.”
“A class leader is someone who serves the class.
It’s not a beauty pageant.”
Hikaru Naruse shrugged.
“You really are interesting to talk to, Naruse.
How about this—from now on, whenever you have some plan of action, can I take part?
I want to contribute to the class too.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Then help me out with one small thing first.”
“What, what?” Asuka Shiraishi blinked her eyes adorably.
“When the break comes up later, go buy me a can of juice.
I want to give it to Morishita.”
“…”
PS: Please keep reading and following along—thank you all for your support!!!
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