"A special element?"
"Hmph, if you're not willing, Subaru, then forget it."
Hearing Natsuki Subaru's reply, Kikyo Kushida let out a soft huff and slowly closed her eyes.
Kushida didn't quite know what she was feeling at that moment. There was a sense of relief that Natsuki Subaru hadn't taken the opportunity to do something to her, to take things a step further, but there was also a faint, unidentifiable trace of regret.
In Natsuki Subaru's dorm room, Kushida felt a sense of ease she had never experienced before. The feeling of not having to worry at all about her true self being exposed was something Kushida had never known.
Even in her own room, Kushida had never been this relaxed. At most, it was similar to the feeling back in middle school, when everything about her was laid bare under the sun. That feeling of having nothing left to lose, of hitting rock bottom, was the only thing that felt remotely like this.
Back then, everyone found out what kind of person Kikyo Kushida truly was. The incident blew up to such proportions that it spread beyond the school. Kushida's parents had been furious with her, and before coming to this academy, she hadn't left her house for a very long time.
I guess it's because he hasn't found any real leverage on me...
With that thought, Kikyo Kushida suddenly fell asleep.
Just like that, on Natsuki Subaru's bed.
Fell asleep?
Natsuki Subaru looked at the suddenly quiet Kikyo Kushida, somewhat amused.
To be honest, Subaru hadn't expected Kushida to trust him even more than he had anticipated. Normally, based on his interactions with and understanding of Kushida, it would be impossible for her to fall asleep just like that in his room, on his bed.
Looks like she's been under a lot of stress lately.
After a brief moment of reflection, Subaru decided not to wake her. He casually draped a blanket over her to prevent her from catching a cold, then sat down at his desk to work on his own things.
Subaru already had a general idea of how he would acquire private points next. This afternoon was just for identifying a target.
Once the target was confirmed, he could start employing his methods. When he decided to make his move, he would find some time to confirm the latest return point. If there were no issues, he could proceed.
...
Time quickly passed, and the next day arrived.
Kikyo Kushida hadn't slept for very long in Natsuki Subaru's room the previous night, only about an hour and a half.
When she woke up, she saw the blanket on her and Natsuki Subaru sitting at his desk, not doing anything in particular. She just let out a "Tch" and left his dorm room directly.
It seemed like nothing had changed, but Natsuki Subaru could feel that Kushida's mood had improved considerably.
When Subaru arrived in the classroom, Kushida, wearing her usual energetic expression, greeted him in a cloyingly sweet voice. Everything was the same as always.
"Natsuki-kun, have you noticed?"
Just as Subaru sat down in his seat, Suzune Horikita, sitting next to him, spoke as if nothing had happened. "The way everyone in class is looking at you today is a bit strange."
As she spoke, Horikita glanced around the room.
Many students in Year 1, Class D were casting furtive glances at Natsuki Subaru, their eyes filled with an eager, restless look, not much different from Haruki Yamauchi's before.
The only difference was that Haruki Yamauchi wasn't very bright. Most people, though they had ideas and were eager to act, still chose to observe for a while longer.
"Perhaps it's because of what happened with Yamauchi-kun yesterday?"
Subaru had noticed the strange looks from his Class D classmates the moment he walked in.
However, he wasn't sure if it was because of Haruki Yamauchi's actions yesterday or some other reason.
"It's probably because of an anonymous post on the school forum."
Hearing the conversation between Subaru and Horikita, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji interjected.
At the same time, he took out his student terminal and opened the school forum. There was a very popular anonymous post, and its subject was about Natsuki Subaru.
Natsuki Subaru never looked at these things, and Suzune Horikita was much the same, so their reactions were a bit delayed.
"An anonymous post?"
Horikita opened the school forum with some curiosity.
[On the Biggest Dark Horse of This Year's First-Years, Natsuki Subaru of Class 1-D]
The content of the post was basically a massive hype-up of Natsuki Subaru. It detailed how capable and talented Natsuki Subaru was, how he had figured out the school's true nature on the very first day, and how he had used this truth to trade for over a million private points from Class 1-B.
It claimed that if not for Class 1-C's interference, Class 1-B would have directly become Class 1-A.
Although some specific details were inaccurate, the general gist was correct. It had basically reconstructed most of what Subaru had done during the first month of school through various means.
It also analyzed what Subaru had done with those private points, estimating how much he had spent on food and drink alone last month. It noted that under Subaru's leadership, Class D had made history by having their class points drop to zero in the first month.
However, it claimed that as long as Subaru was willing, he could lead Class D to overthrow the higher classes and become Class A at any time.
Hype, provocation, backhanded compliments. Almost every little trick that could be used was employed in this post.
Most importantly, the majority of what the post said was true. Aside from the students of Class D themselves, the gazes of the other classes would now be focused on Natsuki Subaru.
In fact, the attention on him was no longer limited to just the first-years. The upperclassmen from the second and third years had also taken notice of Natsuki Subaru.
After all, Subaru's performance last month was indeed quite extraordinary. Not only was his display of personal talent extraordinary, but his actions were also extraordinary.
He had clearly obtained information sufficient for Class D to make a comeback in the very first month, yet he had been extremely short-sighted, trading it to Class 1-B for a mere million private points.
Furthermore, during the first month and even after it ended, when most of the class was short on points, he had spent lavishly.
It was truly incomprehensible.
After Suzune Horikita finished reading the post's description of Natsuki Subaru, a look of disbelief appeared on her face. She had already tried to imagine Subaru as being exceptionally brilliant.
More brilliant than herself, closer to the level of her brother, Horikita Manabu.
But Horikita could never have imagined that Subaru had completely understood some of the academy's unwritten rules on the day of the entrance ceremony and had used those rules to gain a huge personal profit the very next day.
Ichinose Honami of Class 1-B also shocked Horikita.
Because on just the second day of school, Ichinose had managed to consolidate the power of her entire class, raising a million private points to buy information from Natsuki Subaru. One had to remember that the total points for the entire class of forty people were only four million. For Ichinose to be able to spend over a million points on this showed considerable guts.
If it were me...
Horikita subconsciously thought of herself.
If she were Ichinose Honami, facing Natsuki Subaru, would she have been able to make the decision to spend over a million private points to buy some unknown information?
No, this is no longer a question of whether I could make the decision...
Suzune Horikita once again scanned the entirety of Year 1, Class D.
Having spent over a month with Class D, Horikita could clearly recognize one thing: uniting the power of the entire Class D was basically an impossible task.
Don't be fooled by how willing most of Class D was to spend on themselves. They would casually spend thousands or tens of thousands on daily expenses, or directly buy a handheld console worth eighty thousand private points. But if you were to suggest collecting a class fee of ten thousand private points from each person, it was an idea not even worth considering.
Generous with themselves, stingy with others. This was the fundamental nature of Class D, and it was what had given Horikita the biggest headache during this time.
These characters in Class D simply wouldn't listen to reason, nor would they cooperate with her. They were incredibly difficult to lead.
If it weren't for this, Horikita wouldn't be in such need of Natsuki Subaru and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji. In Horikita's mind, Natsuki Subaru and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji were already among the few normal people in Class D.
"I see."
"Looks like I'm going to be a big celebrity at school."
Natsuki Subaru also opened the school forum. Looking at the comments and analysis about himself in the post, he nodded with a smile.
He understood that this was Arisu Sakayanagi's handiwork. It seemed that after signing the agreement yesterday, Sakayanagi had already begun to make a move against him.
She was making a name for him through thinly veiled criticism disguised as praise.
"Natsuki-kun, it's not just about being a celebrity."
"Your situation is very awkward right now. Yesterday's incident could still be considered a personal grudge between you and Yamauchi-kun. Although everyone had many questions about your private points, they wouldn't say too much."
"At the end of the day, those are your own private points. You can spend them however you want."
Seeing Subaru's completely unconcerned expression, Horikita's tone became serious. "But now it's different. The private points you have were obtained by selling out the class's interests..."
Selling out the class's interests?
Hearing Horikita's assessment of Subaru, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Natsuki Subaru's actions can't be considered selling out the class's interests at all... At most, it's a failure to contribute to the class. Strictly speaking, you can't blame Natsuki Subaru for that...
In Ayanokoji's view, Subaru's actions absolutely did not count as betraying the class's interests. First of all, for something to be a "class interest," the interest must first belong to the class.
Perhaps it was questionable for Subaru to have obtained information that could affect the entire first-year situation and not share it, instead seeking personal gain, but that was his own personal matter.
For Horikita to say that would, under normal circumstances, only succeed in pushing the person to the opposite side.
She clearly understands the definition of 'normal'...
But it seems Suzune Horikita is completely incapable of truly understanding it...
Regarding this, Ayanokoji could only conclude that Suzune Horikita was still the same Suzune Horikita; she hadn't grown at all.
"Horikita-san, I don't believe I was selling out any so-called class interests."
Just as Ayanokoji thought, Natsuki Subaru directly refuted Horikita's unfinished sentence.
"You believe I should contribute to Class D, which is why you think I should have shared the information I discovered with Class D instead of arbitrarily trading it with Class B."
"You've made your own assumptions, and that's why you think my actions were a betrayal of the class's interests."
Looking at Horikita's uncomprehending expression, Natsuki Subaru smiled faintly and said, "However, I don't believe I should contribute to Class D, nor do I think the information I obtained belongs to Class D."
"Under these circumstances, how can dealing with my personal property be called selling out the class's interests?"
Strictly speaking, Subaru didn't even consider himself a part of Class D.
"But..."
"If you had shared the information with everyone in the class, our class points definitely wouldn't have dropped to zero."
Hearing Subaru's reply, Horikita's expression remained unchanged as she stubbornly insisted, "We might have even surpassed the class points of Class B and Class A, and still maintained a thousand class points."
"That way, our class would have a combined four million private points every month."
"Isn't that much more than the one million private points you got from trading the information?"
"And not just for one month, but every month."
In Horikita's view, Subaru's actions were completely penny-wise and pound-foolish.
No.
Although that understanding isn't wrong, Suzune Horikita has completely misunderstood one thing...
An individual is an individual, and the class is the class. The class's four million points and an individual's million points are entirely different concepts.
Hearing Horikita's words, Ayanokoji silently made his assessment.
Even someone like Ayanokoji, who lacked social graces, wouldn't think that if Subaru had really shared the information with the individuals of Class D, he would have necessarily gained a benefit exceeding one million private points.
Horikita was being far too idealistic.
She had completely failed to consider the actual situation of Class D.
___
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