After Iose finished expining her pn, her gaze swept across the . It didn't take long for respoo ripple through the room.

  "I agree!"

  "This pn is solid—there's a clear baween risk and reward, so we all focus on tributing to the css."

  "Yes, it sounds fair, and everyone uand the logic behind it."

  Ohe students grasped the full scope of the reward system, they all reached a sensus. No one wao be at a disadvantage, and if they wahe security of using the accumuted Private Points to prevent expulsion, they had to either tribute their points or prove their worth through effort.

  "Great, thank you all for your support."

  Iose bowed slightly to the css before stepping down and standing beside Hikaru.

  "Thank you, Hikaru-kun. With these two pns, I believe no one in Css B will ever have to face expulsion!"

  Seeing the relieved smile on her face, Hikaru nodded as well.

  "I think so too. You did well, Iose."

  "These were all your ideas; I just helped execute them." Iose's delicate features softened into a hopeful expression, and she murmured, "If only we could always…"

  "What?"

  Hikaru hadn't caught what she said. Just as he was about to ask, a system notification suddenly popped up, drawing his full attention.

  [Your proposed pns have gained full approval from Css B. Iose Honami's trust in you has increased. Iose Honami stock price +10. Current stock price: 120.]

  Meanwhile, Iose's heart skipped a beat when she realized she had almost spokerue thoughts—wanting Hikaru to always stay by her side. She quickly brushed it off and said, "It's nothing important if you didn't hear it."

  "Anyway, shouldn't we dismiss everyone now? Our cssmates have tasks to get started on, don't they?"

  "Yeah, you're right."

  Hikaru let the moment pass. Seeing his stock price rise was enough to put him in a good mood. He stepped onto the podium again and addressed the css.

  "With that, today's meeting is officially over. Everyone, you're free to start exeg the pns."

  "Remember—do not let any of this information leak."

  "Got it, leave it to us, Hikaru-kun!"

  With that, Css B's students began dispersing in groups, f small teams to discuss their assigned locations. Hikaru didn't bother mianaging every aspect—his role wasn't to be a babysitter. His cssmates weren't helpless; they were all capable individuals who had been admitted into this school based on their skills and potential.

  Once most of the students had left, Hikaru g Iose, who was still in the , surrounded by a few girls animatedly discussing which shampoo was best.

  Having zero i in that versation, he simply waved at her iing before exiting Css B's .

  His knowledge of the school was still too shallow, so he decided to walk around campus and gather more intel.

  Before he k, the day had e to an end. By the time Hikaru returo his dorm, exhausted, his phone was still buzzing with notifications.

  When he checked, most of them came from the Css B group chat, where everyone was enthusiastically sharing their observations, experiences, and insights from the day.

  "This actually isn't bad," Hikaru muttered, feeling somewhat satisfied.

  Lying on his bed, he sighed deeply. The mental strain of the past two days had been intense. Would all this thinking cause him to lose hair?

  Shaking off that random thought, he accessed the system's [Trade Shop] menu.

  [Stoalyzer]

  [Archery]

  [Piano Performance (Beginner)]

  [Basketball (Advanced)]

  [Intellect]

  Acc to the system's rules, the [Trade Shop] refreshed once a month. Except for the [Stoalyzer], which could be purchased multiple times, all other items were oime buys.

  "The only thing worth buying this month was the Athletic Booster Potion. Everything else wait. Intelligence is important, but fifty thousand points? That's steep."

  After purchasing the enha potioerday, Hikaru's avaible funds limited his options. Deg it wasn't the right time to make another purchase, he closed the system s.

  "No matter what, I o speed up the process of unlog ocks."

  Currently, his biggest asset was the [Iose Honami Stock], which was steadily rising. As long as Css B tinued advang, its value wouldn't drop.

  Solving his physical stamina issue was just step one. In the long run, he po use the [Trade Shop] to acquire more skills and stat enhas, ensuring he had an edge in future css petitions.

  "Tomorrow, I'll see if I find any promising stocks. Maybe I'll get lucky."

  With that thought, Hikaru drifted into sleep early, knowing he had another m run ahead of him.

  The day, after finishing his training, he grabbed his breakfast and headed to Css B's . As soon as he stepped iiced something familiar—everyone's eyes were on him again, just like yesterday.

  What now?

  "Hikaru-kun, we have a problem!"

  The voice came from Beppu, the student Hikaru had assigo iigate Css C. The urgen his tone immediately put Hikaru o.

  "Beppu-kun, what happened?"

  "I followed the pn and talked to Oda Takumi from Css C at volleyball practice yesterday. I found out something really important."

  "What is it?"

  As Hikaru settled into his seat, Beppu took a deep breath and spoke gravely.

  "Oda-kun told me that Css C hasn't officially chosen a leader yet, but there's someone dangerous making moves to take trol—and he's very close to succeeding."

  "Dangerous?"

  Hikaru's expression darkened. "What do you mean by that?"

  "Oda-kun said there's a student named Ryuen Kakeru in their css. He's using violeo force people into voting for him as the css representative, and he's already secured a lot of votes."

  "...?"

  Violence?

  The moment that wistered, Hikaru's mind kicked into overdrive. He suddenly realized he had made a critical miscalcution.

  Up until now, he had been crafting pns based on the assumption that all students at this school would py by the rules. After all, this restigious institution. He had expected petition, strategy, aion—but ht physical coer?

  If someone was willing to break the rules so brazenly, then his entire approach to dealing with Css C had to be residered immediately.

  "I see… this is going to be troublesome."

  Hikaru's gaze sharpened. If Css ded up uhe trol of a violent leader, theuation would bee highly uable.

  "Beppu-kun, o panic. This information is crucial. We o reassess how we handle Css C."

  "We'll discuss it when everyone arrives."

  "Uood."