Houtarou suggested that Kikyō help Suzune participate in a study group to boost her popularity. There was careful consideration behind this suggestion.
Suzune's class had been promoted from Class D, and some students, having no Points, had already become money spies. Their class had essentially become a sieve.
This behavior demonstrated how easily these students could be manipulated by those from other classes. They could be controlled by Class A or any other class.
Particularly from Class B, reactions had started to emerge, with "angels" beginning to fall — a situation that demanded attention. It seemed intriguing which angel had turned dark.
During the pair exam, Houtarou had asked teacher Tomonari about the punishment aspect, who explained it came from the new principal's directive. There was little doubt that this principal was someone arranged by Kiyotaka's father.
His specific mission was to expel the "Son of the Boss".
As long as Kiyotaka remained in the class, the new principal would target them, and others might become collateral damage.
Regarding Suzune, she continued transferring private Points worth 270 Class Points to him monthly. While this was a transaction between them, to others it appeared that Suzune was taking 320 Points entirely for herself.
Though she deserved these Points, with everyone else struggling financially, couldn't she show more consideration?
This situation easily invited resentment.
The students in her class differed from those in Class A, Class B, or even Kakeru's class. They only spent money on matters concerning themselves and were reluctant in other aspects.
Simply put, these people were unreliable.
Since the new principal wouldn't abandon his goal of expelling Kiyotaka, future exams would likely include more expulsion elements. This could easily make Suzune a scapegoat.
Houtarou's plan was a response to prevent her from becoming collateral damage in Kiyotaka's situation.
The strategy was clear: boost her popularity. If something happens, sacrifice others instead.
He had information on seven Class C students who had made contact with other classes. This evidence made them potential sacrificial candidates if needed.
Though unethical, anyone who becomes a spy must be prepared to face the consequences.
"Do you understand this, Kikyō? You're also considered someone who betrayed the class."
Houtarou observed the girl who maintained her innocent façade while internally resenting having to help boost Suzune's popularity. He decided that tonight, during their first of their twice-weekly meetings, he would properly explain to her the severity of her betrayal during the Sports Festival.
Interestingly, at Kikyō's own suggestion, their twice-weekly meetings were increased to three times a week.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
After the homeroom teachers announced the exam rules on the 1st, students realized this exam required direct studying without shortcuts. Everyone began making their own preparations.
Class B students organized a study session on the library's second floor. They had initially wanted to use the fourth floor but discovered upperclassmen had already claimed the space by placing books to reserve seats.
The situation was worse than expected — even the first-year areas were now occupied by upperclassmen who typically didn't study there.
This suggested that the upperclassmen faced the same special exam this month: a written test requiring straightforward studying with no shortcuts.
After considering their options, Honami and her classmates booked a bubble tea shop with booths (different from Miyabi's place) from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. This allowed them to reward themselves with drinks while studying.
Class B students were skilled at balancing work with enjoyment. Houtarou recognized this was likely their way of managing tension.
Clearly, Class B students were determined to earn the maximum 100 Class Points in this exam.
Class B students were naturally more diligent. Houtarou had noticed them studying independently in the library even when no exams were approaching.
Intensive studying was their strength, making this exam well-suited to their approach.
As for Class C, Kikyō followed Houtarou's instructions by bringing Suzune to participate in the study session. They took responsibility for coordinating the girls' study group.
But…
"I can't stand it…"
On the second day of the study session.
"Horikita not only fails to understand people's feelings, but she can't even communicate properly. She says things like, 'Why did you fail? Can't you even solve basic linear equations? I can't teach you.' And then, 'If you paid attention in class, you wouldn't need help. What do you all do during class anyway?'"
Kikyō vented her frustrations.
Despite these complaints, everyone knew Suzune's academic performance was excellent.
After enrollment, during the previous written exam, Suzune had deliberately scored exactly 51 Points in each subject to lower the class average and help struggling students. This strategy had boosted her popularity at the time.
But that incident had happened quite a while ago. Students in her class rarely acknowledged past contributions. They didn't appreciate what someone had done before if you kept bringing it up.
As a result, her popularity was declining.
"Then let's ease up." Houtarou said, "Don't force things with Horikita. If she becomes a target due to popularity issues, I'll select the spies who defected to Class A as sacrificial expulsion candidates instead."
Kikyō: "..."
Suzune was now receiving money from the class; transfers had to be made as soon as Points were deposited.
Though it wasn't everyone's share — this arrangement had been agreed upon with Suzune and Rokusuke from the beginning. Still, there was an undeniable discomfort in having Points deposited into your account only to immediately transfer them to someone else.
As for Rokusuke, after conducting two consecutive study sessions for the class, many students had grown quite appreciative of his efforts.
But Suzune's situation was slightly worse. That's why Houtarou suggested she participate in the study session.
Yet she was completely failing at it. She needed help smoothing things over and adjusting the atmosphere.
Houtarou's statement revealed a shift in his strategy. Initially, he wanted to boost Suzune's popularity to protect her from being targeted. Now, he didn't care if she became a target — he would sacrifice the spies instead.
"Then, if I'm targeted for expulsion..." Kikyō asked hesitantly.
"Would you be targeted?" Houtarou replied.
"I hate it... It's from Class D. If the Sports Festival incident gets exposed, I'll be attacked too."
The first half of her sentence remained in her innocent "little Kikyō" mode, but the second half completely transformed into her dark persona.
"Rather, I would definitely be targeted. Even if I'm the beloved little angel, when it comes to choosing who gets expelled, they'll definitely pick me."
Looks like you understand your classmates quite well.
"Also..." Kikyō paused for a moment, "If someone really needs to be expelled, it would be either me or Karuizawa."
"Why?"
"Because we're still lending money to classmates." Kikyō said.
Oh. I see. They want to expel the creditors so they don't have to repay the loans.
Houtarou found this suggestion somewhat novel.
He considered that if his sugar-mommy senior made excessive demands, he could simply spend 20 million to send her to graduate with the soon-to-graduate third-year students, or directly pay the chairman to arrange work for her outside school.
That would fulfill his obligations.
But this still required making money.
For the new semester, he decided to set a financial goal for himself — to earn a modest target amount.
〖 Beep! 〗
At this moment, Houtarou heard a familiar special prompt tone — one he recognized immediately.
〖 Congratulations, host has triggered a Side Task! 〗
〖 Side Task: Earn 100 million in 300 days! 〗
〖 Task Requirement: Within 300 days, extract 50 million from upperclassmen and 50 million from freshmen! 〗
〖 Task Duration: 300 Days 〗
〖 Task Reward: Astral Projection 〗
〖 Task Punishment: Kikyō will be crushed by Ichika Amasawa! 〗
〖 Task Progress: 0% 〗
A quest appeared right after I thought about it?
Houtarou checked the quest reward.
〖 Astral Projection: Allows you or others to have their souls leave their bodies. If the soul doesn't enter a body within 1 minute after separation, there's a risk of being erased. However, when used by the host personally, you don't need to enter another person's body. 〗
This ability seems quite useful.
If I can project my soul, I could fly around. That would be an interesting experience.
Plus, I can make others' souls leave their bodies too.
If I made Kikyō, who dislikes Suzune, have her soul leave her body and they exchanged bodies, would their relationship improve?
⍟⍟⍟
T/N: Hey! Liked what you read? Support your friendly neighborhood translator on Patreon! Think of it as buying me a coffee... or ten!
For just $1.50 (that's less than your daily meme budget), get extra chapters! Want more? $2 gets you bonus content, $5 unlocks premium stories, and $10 makes you my hero (and gets you everything I have, including earlier acess to new books)! You can have access to almost 15 books!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/collection/827204