As the school bell rang, the students of Css B shifted into serious study mode. Si week, under Hikaru's initiative, everyone had gradually adapted to fog pletely during lessons, making the school day feel shorter than before.

  Before long, the final onday ended. Everyone in Css B khat today was the day Hikaru and Iose would visit Css D to sell the rules. As soon as the teacher left, a group of students gathered around them.

  "Hikaru-kun, are you heading out now?"

  "Yeah, we're about to visit Css D. This is the sed phase of our Point colle pn."

  Hikaru smiled as he retrieved the traents they had pri noon—forty copies in total, just like the ones for Css A. Every Css D student would o sign one before they could proceed.

  "Good luck, Hikaru-kun! We're ting on yood news!"

  "I believe in you, Hikaru-kun. You've already proven hoable you are!"

  "Iose-san, you too! I hope you both succeed in rec the points smoothly."

  "Mhm! Don't worry, everyone!"

  Iose her cssmates before cheg her phone. She had already sent a message to Kushida—everything was set. They o move quickly.

  "Let's go, Hikaru-kun."

  "Right."

  With their notebook of rule agreements and a stack of tracts, the two left the , their Css B peers watg them off.

  Since Css D's was located further away—being the lowest-ranked css—it took some walking to get there. As they strode side by side through the corridors, their preseurally attracted attention from passing students.

  Upon reag Css D's door, Iose seemed a little nervous, but Hikaru remained calm. He gave her a reassuring look, then stepped into the room together.

  Because they had tacted Kushida in advance, Css D's students hadn't left yet. However, many of them looked impatient, shifting in their seats while gng at the door. Whewo stepped inside, all eyes immediately turoward them.

  "Good afternoon, Css D! I'm Hashima Hikaru from Css B."

  Hikaru greeted them with a rexed smile, his demeanor pletely at ease. After all, they were all first-years—what was the worst that could happen?

  "Hikaru-kun, you made it."

  Seeing them enter, Kushida immediately beamed and approached them.

  "Yeah, good afternoon, Kushida-san."

  Iose nodded before taking her pce beside Hikaru.

  At that moment, a handsome-looking student stepped forward. His expression was friendly, and he spoke in a polite tone.

  "Good afternoon, you two. I'm Hirata Yosuke. Kushida-san asked us to wait after school—so it was for you?"

  "That's right, Hirata-kun."

  Hikaru studied him briefly. Good looks, a calm demeanor, and an air of fideno wonder he was so popur with the girls.

  "Would you mind sparing us a little of your time? We have something important to discuss, which is why we asked Kushida-san to keep everyone here."

  "I see. Kushida-saioned you had something important to say. That's fine. I trust her judgment."

  Hirata easily agreed before turning toward his cssmates.

  "Everyone, please pay attention. These two are friends of Kushida-san. They have something they want to share with us."

  "Does it have to be now? I have club activities! Don't make me te!"

  A red-haired boy remained seated, his tone impatient.

  Following his pint, two other male students joined in.

  "Yeah, I o head back to the dorms. This better not take long."

  " you it up in three minutes?"

  "Oi, Yamauchi, aren't you just rushing back to py games? A short dey won't kill you." Someoeased from the side.

  "You don't get it! Time is money! I o farm materials ASAP to boost my bat power!"

  As the boys chattered loudly, Iose's face tensed slightly.

  She hadn't expected Css D's students to be this difficult to handle. Looking at Hikaru, she found him still smiling, unfazed by their attitude.

  "Alright, everyone, settle down. It won't take long. Please trust me."

  Hirata took trol, his authority as css representative evident. With just a few words, the rowdy students quieted down—at least somewhat.

  "Hirata-kun is impressive. He really does fit the role of a css representative."

  Hikaru praised him casually before stepping onto the podium.

  "Alright, good afternoon, everyone. Some of you may not have been paying attention earlier, so I'll introduce myself again."

  "I'm Hashima Hikaru from Css B. It's o meet you all."

  "Just get to the point! I don't care about your name! Don't waste my time!"

  The red-haired student snapped impatiently. His tall build and sharp gaze made him seem difficult to deal with.

  "o rush. I'll get to the point soon."

  Hikaru remained posed despite the hostility. He wasn't here to make friends—he was here to gather points. If Css D was deemed the worst css, there was o waste energy building personal retionships.

  "What I want to discuss s something unique about this school."

  Casually, Hikaru picked up a piece of chalk left on the podium and wrote on the bckboard. After finishing, he turo the students.

  "It's been a week since we started school. Has aiced anything unusual?"

  Before ing here, Hikaru had strategized the best way to present his proposal.

  Unlike Css A, which was made up of top-tier students, Css D wasn't going to believe a bunch of tracts ht. If he simply threw dots at them, some might ighem or even walk out.

  So instead, he po get their attention first, using obvious discrepancies in the school system to pique their curiosity.

  "Unusual?"

  Hirata and Kushida exged uain gnces—clearly, they hadn't expected this topic.

  "What are you even talking about? Nothing seems weird to me."

  The red-haired boy scoffed, unimpressed.

  "Yamauchi-ku's hear him out first."

  Hirata calmly intervened, signaling for him to stay quiet.

  "Tch."

  Yamauchi grumbled but didn't argue further.

  "Heh."

  Hikaru chuckled before addressing the css again.

  "You've all been here a week. Have you ever wondered why the venieore sells free items? Or why the cafeteria offers a free vegetable set meal?"

  He let his words sink in before tinuing.

  "Think about it. If the school gives every student Private Points each month, why gh the trouble of setting up free options? Isn't that redundant?"

  Hirata's brows furrowed.

  "Hikaru-kun, are you implying something?"

  "Don't be in a rush, Hirata-ku's give everyone a ce to think about it first. After all, what we're about to discuss requires your css's full cooperation."

  Iose passed Hikaru the stack of tracts, and he held them casually in one hand, his expression calm and fident.

  "Once everyone figures it out, I'll expin. That way, you'll uand why we're here today."

  At that moment, Kushida's mind raced—was this why they had spent time with her over the weekend? Had they been fishing for intel all along?

  Just then, a thin, elegant voice cut through the silence.

  "You're saying some people will eventually run out of points, right?"

  A girl stood up from her seat—Horikita Suzune.

  From the moment Hikaru introduced himself, she had been analyzing the situation.

  The name Hashima Hikaru, the surveilnce she had noticed before, and the dots she had ected—they all came together at this moment.

  "Oh? And you are?"

  Hikaru's lips curled into a knowing smile.

  Suzune had already figured it out.

  Maybe she wasn't pced in Css D for ordinary reasons after all.

  ~~~

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