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Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji weren't idiots. The two exchanged glances and immediately noticed the dozen or so unfriendly stares directed at them from around the classroom.
Especially Horikita's sharp gaze, which felt almost physical.
Her eyes clearly said: You two are dragging down the entire Class D.
Without surveillance records as proof, you're the problem students of the class.
Ike secretly glanced at Shinohara, feeling inexplicably guilty.
He wasn't a bad person at heart, so he simply lowered his head and admitted his mistake. "Sorry, at the beginning of the semester, I really didn't know that skipping class or being late would deduct class points. Now that I understand, I promise I won't do anything that harms our collective interest again, since it affects my personal points each month too."
However, Yamauchi's reaction was completely different. He retorted without thinking. "The surveillance hasn't been rented yet, has it? How can you accuse us? Besides, saying the class points will go to zero is way too exaggerated! We'll at least have three or four hundred points left at the end of the month!"
"Good!" Horikita sneered. "Then when the surveillance is in place, let the whole class see who's dragging us down!" With that, she sat back down.
Actually, Horikita wasn't deliberately targeting these two. She believed that genuine remorse was enough.
As Ike said, the rule about point deduction was deliberately hidden by the school authorities. She didn't expect them to bear all the responsibility, but at least their attitude should be proper.
Ike's performance was acceptable—he could apologize openly in front of the whole class.
Regardless of his ability, this sincerity was commendable.
As for Yamauchi?
His grades were terrible, and his attitude was extremely bad.
He truly wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin!
When the surveillance footage is placed in front of him, let's see what excuses he'll have left!
Horikita recalled the last time that guy publicly commented on her "flat figure" in front of Akira, and she'd almost let him taste her fist then.
All in all, Horikita's impression of Yamauchi had hit rock bottom.
In her opinion, if this good-for-nothing had no strengths and no ambition in the future, he should get out of Class D as soon as possible!
She wasn't a peacemaker like Kushida, nor was she a good-natured person like Hirata.
She never considered herself a kind person.
A sense of mission like "we must bring every Class D student to Class A"? Ridiculous! She just needed to bring Akira and gain her brother's approval!
How could she, who disdained even giving up her seat on the bus, care about the feelings of everyone in the class?
But to her surprise, this sharp statement didn't cause resentment but actually won the approval of many classmates.
'So this is what it feels like to be looked at with admiration...'
Horikita had to admit, her mood at this moment was somewhat pleasant.
This was the first time she'd experienced the feeling of being admired by others—surprisingly good.
"Not bad, you're finally getting it." Akira glanced at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"What do you mean?"
"You certainly can't compare to Kushida-san in terms of affinity, and your leadership charisma is far inferior to Hirata-kun's. But precisely because you don't care about pleasing anyone, you can pinpoint problems incisively." Akira paused. "Maintain this straightforward style, and people will naturally follow you. Then, you can still contend for the position of class representative."
Horikita, uncharacteristically, didn't retort and fell into deep thought.
Since Akira said so, did that mean she could actually try to contend for the class representative position?
A moment later, she suddenly looked up directly at Akira.
"Next month, when the class representative is re-elected, will you vote for me?"
Akira chuckled at her words, meeting her gaze. "Of course. To be honest, I hate wishy-washy leadership styles the most. Those who waste time and cause deductions should be directly dismissed."
'A decisive person who rewards and punishes clearly... doesn't seem to conflict with my character.'
Horikita narrowed her eyes slightly, feeling as if she'd found her place in the class.
At lunchtime, Akira quickly finished his meal and rushed back to his dorm.
The representatives of the four classes had almost simultaneously sent him messages of doubt, all similar in content—they all questioned whether his so-called surveillance authority was real and effective.
Ryuuen demanded he provide past surveillance footage as proof, and Sakayanagi questioned whether he'd truly obtained formal authorization from the school authorities.
Akira was well-prepared.
He first retrieved recent surveillance footage segments from the four classes, then compiled screenshots of the publicly available contract content he'd signed with the chairman two days prior.
After sending these pieces of evidence to those individuals one by one, they all fell silent.
However, to his surprise, his phone suddenly rang.
The screen displayed "Ichinose Honami"—of course, his main account.
As for his secondary account, Tsuki Ao, he'd long ago set it to automatically block all incoming calls, even turning off the notification sound.
After all, if the other party called on a whim, wouldn't his dual identity be exposed on the spot? It was better to be careful with such matters.
"Shimizu-kun..." Ichinose's slightly hesitant voice came from the other end of the line. "Um... could I take up a little of your time?"
Unlike her previous panic, this time Akira responded naturally. "No problem, go ahead."
"...I might not be able to give you extra private points next month." Her voice lowered. "I've... encountered a small problem on my end."
"It's okay." Akira paused, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right! Those eighty thousand points from before, I should've returned them to you—they were your money to begin with."
He'd always had a good impression of Ichinose. He remembered that when they first met, she'd unhesitatingly extended a helping hand to him.
Although as an individual, he wouldn't show mercy to Class B, at least this private sum, he had to return every penny.
"Uh... actually, the purpose of my call wasn't this..." Ichinose's voice was a bit hesitant, but she still gave an awkward laugh. "But I really can't refuse your offer, I truly am short on points here! I've really troubled you again."
"Don't overthink it." Akira immediately interrupted her. "These eighty thousand points were your money to begin with—I'm just returning them to their rightful owner. You need to understand, this isn't charity, and it's certainly not a loan!"
"...Mm-hmm!" The girl responded a few times, then quickly hung up the phone.
'Ichinose is too easy to deal with!' Akira thought to himself, holding his phone.
They were her points to begin with, and after being transferred back and forth twice, it was as if he'd lent them to her.