Someone fired the first shot, openly declaring their support for Kohei Katsuragi.
“Everyone, I nominate Katsuragi to be our class leader!”
The boy who stood up was named Yahiko Totsuka.
His voice was booming, echoing through the quiet classroom.
“I only met Katsuragi today, but before the teacher came in earlier, I already learned one thing about him — back in middle school, he served as class president, and for three years straight at that.”
Yahiko Totsuka paused, then continued with added emphasis.
“I believe that if he could be elected class president three years in a row, then he’s absolutely qualified to be our class leader!”
No sooner had Yahiko Totsuka finished speaking than several boys sitting near him began nodding in agreement.
“I think Katsuragi is a great fit too.”
“With experience as class president, he should get the hang of it quickly.”
Hearing everyone chime in, Hikaru Naruse sat in his seat with his head slightly bowed, the corners of his mouth curling up.
The fish had taken the bait.
And not just one, either.
Hikaru Naruse noticed that after Yahiko Totsuka spoke up, at least seven or eight students in the classroom wore expressions of approval.
And now — surely you can’t just sit still either, can you?
His gaze drifted to the other side of the classroom, and sure enough, that silver-haired girl was gently stroking the cane resting beside her.
That was probably the signal.
Hikaru Naruse silently counted down in his heart.
Three.
Two.
One.
“Um, I’d like to nominate someone as well.”
A crisp, gentle female voice rang out in the classroom.
“I nominate Sakayanagi to be our class leader.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but every single word came out clear and distinct.
“Just now, when Totsuka nominated Katsuragi, he mentioned his class-management experience and leadership.
Those are indeed very important qualities, and I don’t deny it.”
The speaker was clearly a methodical person, explaining herself in an unhurried tone.
“But I believe there’s something even more important than management experience in a class leader.”
The girl paused briefly, then spoke with added emphasis.
“And that is academic ability.”
“What is our purpose in coming to this school?
It’s to learn and to grow — so that after we graduate, we can have a better future.”
“To achieve that goal, what we need isn’t just someone good at managing, but someone smart enough to lead us.”
She looked toward Arisu Sakayanagi, her eyes filled with sincere admiration.
“Sakayanagi’s entrance exam scores were excellent.
With someone like her as the leader of our Class A, I’m confident she can guide our class toward a brighter future.”
Once she finished, a fresh wave of discussion swept through the classroom.
“Academic ability really is a very important standard for judging a student.”
“Sakayanagi does look like a very smart person.”
“And there’s this trustworthy aura about her, too.”
Listening to everyone’s discussion, Hikaru Naruse nodded quietly in his heart.
The show had begun.
The reason he’d brought up choosing a class leader at this moment was to actively pry this matter open.
Doing so had two benefits.
First, it would let the students of Class A make their choices as early as possible, rather than remaining perpetually divided — because in the long run, that split would do them no good.
With the information out in the open from the very start, everyone could decide who to support based on their own judgment and preferences, instead of being unknowingly swept along by one faction or another.
Second, it would make the competition between the two camps fairer.
After all, today was the first day of school, and both sides would pay extra attention to how they presented themselves — every single move they made would be seen by everyone.
In the original story, Class A’s persistent division was inevitable.
Because the conflict between Arisu Sakayanagi and Kohei Katsuragi wasn’t merely a difference in ideology — it was a fundamental clash of personalities.
Katsuragi was an upright and stubborn man.
He believed in fairness and justice, and cared more about the overall interests of the class.
Sakayanagi, on the other hand, was more accustomed to manipulating situations from behind the scenes and toying with people’s hearts.
She didn’t care about her Class A classmates at all, and always acted without the slightest restraint.
As for that personality of hers, Naruse planned to deal with it later on.
If all else failed, he’d just give this little brat a round of personality-correction fists.
In the classroom, the students supporting Katsuragi and those supporting Sakayanagi began voicing their own opinions, the sound of their arguing rising and falling one after another.
Hikaru Naruse sat quietly in his seat, silently listening to everyone’s debate.
As far as the class competition went, he had already successfully placed his piece.
Next, he still needed to deal with the system’s tasks, so Naruse had no intention of joining the contest for leadership.
But just then, an unexpected voice suddenly came from behind him.
“I think Naruse is really smart too.”
That voice was crisp and bright, carrying a hint of playfulness unique to a young girl.
Hikaru Naruse froze for a moment, then slowly turned his head.
Asuka Shiraishi was watching him with her head tilted, chin propped up in both hands, the corners of her mouth lifted into a radiant smile.
“I’d like to support Naruse as our class leader.”
The instant those words came out, the classroom fell silent for a beat, and then it sparked even more argument.
“Huh, Naruse?”
“He does look pretty smart…”
“And he’s really handsome, too — I kind of want to get closer to him~”
Several girls spoke up one after another, their voices laced with barely concealed excitement.
“?”
“Hold on, I have no interest in being class leader!”
Hikaru Naruse had no desire to go from spectator munching popcorn to becoming the spectacle himself, so he immediately made his stance firm and clear.
“I still have very important things to do.
There’s no need for anyone to nominate me.”
Asuka Shiraishi blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing her beautiful eyes.
Naruse had been the first to raise a question earlier, which had piqued her interest.
“Eh?
Naruse, you don’t want to be class leader?”
“Mm, I’ve got other matters to handle.”
“What kind of other matters?” Asuka Shiraishi tilted her head, asking curiously.
“It has nothing to do with you, Shiraishi.”
Naruse gave a casual reply.
Ignoring the blonde girl’s curious gaze, he turned his eyes directly toward the rest of the classroom.
“Since our class now has two candidates for the position of class leader, let me put forward a simple proposal.”
The classroom quieted down once more, everyone’s attention refocusing on Hikaru Naruse as they waited for him to continue.
Hikaru Naruse paused for a moment, then said:
“Before I present my proposal, I’d like everyone to take note of something first.”
His gaze swept over every face in the classroom, and then, in a thoughtful tone, he said:
“Just now Mashima-sensei said each of us would be issued one hundred thousand Private Points every month.
After the initial delight, didn’t any of you notice how strange that is?”
The moment that question was raised, whispers immediately broke out across the classroom.
“Now that you mention it…
one hundred thousand yen.
Back in middle school, my allowance was only a thousand yen a week.”
“An ordinary high school at most collects tuition.
Where’s the sense in one paying money to its students instead?”
“Such generosity — I can’t help feeling something’s off about it.”
Listening to these comments, Hikaru Naruse addressed his classmates.
“A single grade has 160 people.
Not even counting our second- and third-year seniors, over the three years we spend here, how much money will the school pay out in total?”
“That’s 576 million yen.” A student with strong mental arithmetic gave the answer on the spot.
“Impressive!
That was fast!”
He smiled at the student who’d answered, then looked toward the two “candidates” in the classroom.
“Katsuragi, do you think a school would hand out nearly 600 million yen to its students?”
“…It really doesn’t add up.”
Kohei Katsuragi’s expression remained as serious and composed as ever.
He had realized this point long ago, but hadn’t voiced it just now.
Then, Hikaru Naruse turned his gaze toward Arisu Sakayanagi.
The silver-haired girl still maintained that languid, indifferent posture.
Her purple eyes narrowed slightly, a meaningful smile playing at the corners of her mouth, as though she had already guessed what Hikaru Naruse was about to say.
“So then, what does Naruse intend to say?”
“Heh, what I want to say is very simple.”
Hikaru Naruse withdrew his gaze, then faced Mashima-sensei up on the platform, once again adopting a questioning tone.
“Mashima-sensei, there’s one more question I’d like to ask you.”
Mashima-sensei raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze shifting toward Hikaru Naruse.
“What is it?”
“Are there…
hidden rules at this school?”
That sentence detonated like a bomb inside the classroom.
“Hidden rules?”
“What does that mean?”
“Eh?”
The students immediately grew restless, all sorts of speculation and discussion bubbling up.
Mashima-sensei’s expression remained stern and cold, betraying no ripple of emotion — but inwardly he was quite pleased, because Naruse’s performance satisfied him greatly.
With a promising seedling like this in Class A, his teaching career going forward might just be an easy one.
“The school’s rules are all clearly written in the student handbook.”
His answer was short and crisp, without a single word of extra explanation.
But Hikaru Naruse wasn’t about to let it go there.
He pressed further.
“And then?”
“There is no ‘and then.'”
Mashima-sensei’s tone remained flat, yet he still left everyone with a hint.
“Anything else falls outside the scope of what I’m able to answer.”
“!”
The instant those words were out, the atmosphere in the classroom grew even more tense.
This manner of answering was itself a roundabout form of confirmation.
The school did indeed have hidden rules.
The teacher simply wouldn’t tell you directly!
“Damn…”
“Could it be that Naruse had already picked up on it?”
“He really is smart.”
Though many eyes had now converged on him, Naruse remained calm, because the teacher’s answer had helped lay the groundwork for his next step.
Turning back around, his gaze swept over the various faces in the classroom, then settled on Kohei Katsuragi and Arisu Sakayanagi.
The two candidates’ reactions were completely different.
Kohei Katsuragi’s expression turned even more serious.
Clearly, although he’d had his doubts from the start, the information about “hidden rules” still dealt him no small shock.
He was a man accustomed to doing things by the book.
If the school held rules he was unaware of, then it meant his understanding of this environment was still far from sufficient.
On the other side, Arisu Sakayanagi’s reaction was the complete opposite.
She still kept that languid, indifferent posture, those beautiful purple eyes narrowing slightly, glinting with a light that was almost delight.
Watching the pair’s reactions, Hikaru Naruse had already reached a judgment in his heart.
Honestly, as someone who knew the plot of the original work, he knew Sakayanagi must have at least some grasp of the school’s rules — after all, her father was the chairman of the board.
But Naruse wasn’t worried that the proposal he was about to make would be helping Sakayanagi.
The reason was simple: if you knew the rules without doing anything at all, that was pure, outright cheating.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he was rather looking forward to seeing how Sakayanagi would act.
“I trust both candidates already understand what I mean.”
Hikaru Naruse paused, then laid out his proposal.
“The position of class leader doesn’t merely mean holding the authority to manage the class — it also means responsibility and accountability.”
“A good class leader should possess the ability to secure benefits for the entire class.”
“So my proposal is this…”
He raised his voice a little, making sure every single person in the classroom could clearly hear what he was about to say.
“With a time limit of 24 hours — within those 24 hours, Sakayanagi and Katsuragi will each investigate and gather information about this school’s hidden rules.
After 24 hours, they’ll announce what they’ve collected before the whole class.
Whoever has gathered the more detailed hidden rules wins the position of class leader.”
“No other students may help.
Everyone will supervise together to prevent the candidates from cheating.”
“So, what does everyone think of this proposal?”