As the school bell rang, Hikaru and Iose stood up together. This was the final step of the Private Points retrieval pn, and everyone in Css B uood how crucial today's mission was. Their faces reflected their serious determination.

  "Hikaru-kun, this is the st step—good luck!"

  "Yeah." Hikaru surveyed his cssmates and spoke in a firm voice, "No matter what, today marks the final stop. As long as we successfully retrieve this st batch of Private Points, we'll be aep closer to our 20 million point goal."

  "Iose and I will do our best. Please trust us."

  "Of course! Once you guys get back, we're throwing a celebration—and it's going to be huge!" Shibata grinhusiastically. Though they were all minors and couldn't drink, he was already plotting ways to mess with Hikaru during the gathering.

  "That's right! Iose-san and Hikaru-kun are our css's most important members." Ando fshed a bright smile. "We'll make sure to pick the best venue for the celebration. We'll be waiting for your victorious return!"

  "You do it, Hikaru-kun! Iose-san!"

  With the whole css sending them off, Hikaru and Iose stepped out of the . Ohey successfully retrieved the st one million Private Points, the pressure weighing on Css B would finally be lifted.

  Outside the , Hikaru and Iose quickly arrived at Css C's door.

  Iose had already tacted Ibuki earlier. From the way she spoke, she seemed pletely fident and told them to e straight over.

  But it wasn't until they stepped into Css C's room that Hikaru uood why.

  Ibuki was standing at the podium.

  Aside from the three vat seats left by the suspeudents, the entire css resent—and all eyes were on her.

  Standing beside Ibuki was a t, muscur student with dark skin and a buzz cut. His massive frame made Ibuki look like a small animal in parison. His expression was stoid his solid build and intimidating presence made him hard to ignore.

  Hikaru was stunned.

  Wait… this guy… isn't he the one Ryuuen couldn't eve?

  No way—how is this guy even a high schooler?!

  "You're here. e over."

  Seeing Hikaru and Iose enter, Ibuki waved them forward. The moment she received Iose's message, she immediately realized that this had to be the important matter Hikaru had mentioned before.

  After all, before they framed Ryuen, this topic was what had drawn her into the pn.

  "Good afternoon, Ibuki-san."

  Iose greeted her with a warm smile, while Hikaru's attention shifted to the massive student behind her.

  "This must be Yamada-kun, right? Ibuki-san, mind expining what's going on here?"

  "Hah. You're supposed to be smart—why don't you take a guess?"

  Crossing her arms, Ibuki looked at him with amusement. The st time they ied, Hikaru had left a deep impression on her—his ing tactics were still fresh in her mind.

  "Hmm…"

  Hikaru g Ibuki's expression, then sed the Css C students around them.

  Suddenly, a thought clicked in his mind.

  "Ibuki-san… don't tell me you're Css C's representative now?"

  "..."

  Ibuki's lips twitched. She hadn't expected him to figure it out so quickly.

  "Tch. You're as sharp as ever." She sighed. "Yeah, I'm Css C's representative now. And I have two assistants."

  She first poi the t student beside her.

  "One of them is Yamada Albert."

  Then, she gestured toward a girl seated at one of the desks.

  "And the other is Shiina-san."

  Hikaru followed her gaze and saw a calm-looking girl with shray hair. Her soft expression made her look gentle and posed, and she had been watg the versation silently.

  Just then, Hikaru's system interface made a familiar notification sound.

  [Ding! Hiyori Shiina Stock is now avaible!]

  [Current Stock Price: 30]

  [Number of Shares Issued: ?]

  "?"

  Hikaru's expression subtly shifted as he instinctively looked at Shiina again.

  She gives off such a soft vibe… But since she's Ibuki's assistant, she must have siderable influen Css C.

  "What are you staring at? Aren't we supposed to be discussing something?"

  Ibuki's voiapped him out of his thoughts. He refocused—now wasn't the time to analyze Shiina.

  "Looks like you've been busy since Ryuen's suspension."

  inally, Hikaru had invited Ibuki to participate in the hidden camera scheme to get Ryuen suspended, making it easier to sell the hidden rules to Css C. The time gap also ehat Ryuen's influence would weaken.

  And now, with Ryuen gone, even though he had once ruled the css through force, that power was now useless. The anti-Ryuen fa had successfully taken over.

  By the time Ryueurned, reg trol over Css C wouldn't be easy.

  "After that guy got suspended, Yamada-kun approached me and asked if I'd take over as Css C's representative."

  Ibuki sounded a bit exasperated—it wasn't like she had wahe position.

  "Shiina-san also said that since I stopped Ryuen's violent rule, it made sense for me to bee the new leader. So… I just went with it."

  "That's a good thing! I think Ibuki-san is amazing—you'll definitely protect Css further violence."

  Iose beamed with excitement, but Ibuki wasn't used to receiving pliments and quickly ged the subject.

  "Ahem. Anyway, what exactly are you two here for? Just tell us already."

  "Alright. Since Css C has already stabilized under your leadership, that saves me the trouble of ving everyone separately."

  Hikaru's gaze flickered toward Yamada, who was standing like a silent guardian behind Ibuki.

  It made sense now—if even Ryuen couldn't beat him, just his presence alone would be enough to unite Css C.

  "Alright, everyone, please listen up." Hikaru smiled.

  "I'm Hashima Hikaru from Css B, and this is Iose Honami."

  "o meet you all." Iose greeted with a cheerful smile.

  "We're here today to iate a trade with Css C. Specifically, it's a transa ing the school's hidden rules."

  Since Css C was the st css in the deal, Hikaru no longer o enforce the resale prohibition cuse. As long as they paid up, what happened wasn't his problem.

  "Hidden rules?"

  Ibuki's expression shifted—she immediately pressed for more details.

  "What exactly do you know?"

  "Take a look at this first."

  This time, Hikaru didn't hand over the non-resale tract. Instead, he produced a freshly priransa certificate.

  It was an official record from Hoshinomiya-sensei, detailing how Css B spent two million Private Points to purchase the hidden rules—plete with the school's stamp to verify its legitimacy.

  "Our css spent two million Private Points to obtain this information. Now, we're it to you for one million—half price."

  Log eyes with Ibuki, Hikaru spoke calmly.

  "This dot bears the school's official seal, proving its authenticity. The hidden rules are extensive, and Css 't be at a disadvantage."

  "I'll give you time to discuss."

  "..."

  Ibuki studied the dot carefully.

  The stamp matched the one on their acceptaters, and the transa records were real.

  That meant ohing—the hidden rules truly existed, and they were worth two million points.

  "...We'll discuss it and give you an answer soon."

  "Take your time."

  ~~~

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