Hearing her words.
Thinking about the necessity of choosing a dropout.
Ichinose was suddenly at a loss, her pretty face full of tension.
"Um, Hoshinomiya-sensei, is there really no other way?"
"I can only think of one method."
Hoshinomiya grabbed Ichinose's small hand even more frantically.
She said with a face full of anxiety.
"As long as there are twenty million private points, the expulsion penalty can be cancelled. Oh right, here is the exam description; you guys can see if there are any other methods."
Hoshinomiya looked like a child with no way out, seeking the protection of a hero in a desperate situation.
Are you Water Dragon?
Hikigaya also received a copy of the exam description.
Additional Exam ——— Class Vote.
Exam Content.
Each person is given three praise votes and three criticism votes to cast within the class; an exam to determine the results.
Rule 1.
Praise votes and criticism votes cancel each other out. Praise votes minus criticism votes equals the result.
Rule 2.
Neither praise nor criticism votes can be cast for oneself.
Rule 3.
Entering the same person multiple times, leaving it blank, or abstaining is strictly prohibited.
Rule 4.
The exam will be held repeatedly until a first and last place are determined. The last place will be expelled.
Rule 5.
Students will each have one praise vote specifically for a student in another class. Filling it in is mandatory.
Hikigaya frowned.
According to what Hoshinomiya Chie just said, there might be rules 6, 7, and 8, but they couldn't be explained yet. The rules that could be known were only these few.
Very simple.
But apart from preparing twenty million private points to cancel the expulsion penalty, one was left helpless.
With just one glance, Hikigaya quickly gave up.
"Twenty million..."
Ichinose looked at the description in her hand and pursed her lips, also left with no choice but to give up since the rules were so clearly defined.
It was as if they were designed to make someone disappear.
Giving up was also something that couldn't be helped.
"Honami..."
Shibata asked nervously: "How many private points does our class have left now?"
From the start of school until now.
Apart from each person's necessary monthly expenses, everyone's private points had been handed over to Ichinose for safekeeping.
Class B should have saved up quite a lot by now.
"We only have this much..."
Ichinose pulled out her phone without hesitation and showed the screen to everyone; Hikigaya couldn't help but crane his neck to see clearly.
The screen showed a long string of numbers, roughly around 12.8 million, still far from twenty million.
"What are we going to do..."
Hoshinomiya huddled among the students, looking extremely anxious.
The gap was simply too large; the crowd pursed their lips and couldn't help but think of something, and Ichinose also looked this way.
"Hikki, how much do you have on your end?"
Clearly.
They didn't expect Hikigaya to be able to make up the remaining money.
After all, it had only been a year.
Saving up eight million private points was fundamentally impossible.
But whether it was much or little, they hoped Hikigaya could contribute those private points.
"I don't have much either."
Hikigaya pulled out his phone helplessly and showed the screen to everyone.
A bit over 1.1 million.
Even adding all his private points, it was far from enough.
"This..."
Shibata looked at his phone, a bit dazed: "How do you have so much?"
"Uh... I earned some extra cash and saved it up occasionally."
Hikigaya explained a bit guiltily.
Even one million and some was already a lot in the eyes of Shibata and the others, since Class B's class points had been fluctuating around 600.
The points were fragmented.
Most of this money was the 500,000 reward from the VIP exam, the 100,000 from Horikita Manabu, and a bit of scraps from Ryuen.
The rest was what Hikigaya had saved during this year.
"Hikki..."
Ichinose asked with some hesitation: "Can these private points be used for this special exam?"
Although she felt Hikigaya would agree, it was better to ask.
"I have no objection."
Hikigaya nodded.
Although he felt a bit reluctant, it was something that couldn't be helped.
After all.
If one were to ask who the person this class needed least was.
That was undoubtedly Hikigaya Hachiman; giving his private points to Ichinose could be considered his best effort at self-preservation.
This exam was undoubtedly a test of day-to-day communication skills and personal connections.
Even in all honesty.
He could only be said to know Kobashi Yume, Himeno Yuki, and Okakura Asako; he couldn't even call out the names of most of the others.
Furthermore.
Kobashi Yume and the others had better female friends; it was uncertain if they would cast their praise votes for him.
Even in a normal exam.
Hikigaya felt he would definitely end up in last place.
If he could be saved, he'd be saved; if not, then being expelled was fine too.
"That brings us to almost 14 million; we're still 6 million short."
Ichinose pursed her lips; this was undoubtedly far from twenty million. She looked up and stared at Hikigaya.
"Hikki, these private points should stay with you for now; give them to me when needed."
"Understood..."
Hikigaya didn't mind.
It seemed that at least for the next few days, he shouldn't use private points anymore.
Saving as much as possible was the way to go.
It's just that it didn't seem to have much practical meaning.
"Honami-chan, what should we do now?"
Okakura Asako and the others pulled on Ichinose's arms, their eyes turning red:
"This is too unreasonable; I don't want to be separated from everyone."
"Me too..."
Shiranami Chihiro also held Ichinose's other arm, her voice somewhat choked:
"It wasn't easy to meet such gentle people and find such a great class; I don't want to see anyone in the class disappear."
"Yeah, Honami-chan, is there any other way?"
Kobashi Yume and the others also surrounded Ichinose; clearly, Ichinose was the backbone of Class B.
The boys stood outside the circle of girls, their faces looking rather unpleasant.
"Really..."
Feeling everyone's attention, the troubled expression on Ichinose's face suddenly stiffened.
That's right.
No matter what, she was the leader of the class and the support for Shiranami Chihiro and everyone else.
If even she became depressed.
What would happen to Class B?
"Really~"
A reassuring smile appeared on Ichinose's face, and she affectionately stroked Shiranami Chihiro's head as she laughed:
"Did you forget? I'm still a member of the Student Council, and I have many good friends in the school. This amount of money can be easily borrowed."
"Is that true? Ichinose!"
Hearing this, some girls' eyes lit up, and Shibata and the others also looked delighted; it was true, Ichinose was the most popular person in the school.
Even Hoshinomiya Chie nearby showed an expression of relief.
"Yeah."
Ichinose hugged Okakura Asako and Shiranami Chihiro, letting out a helpless smile.
"However, after we get through this exam, we will probably have to live through a very difficult period. You won't be allowed to blame me then."
It would be accepted.
Even if they raised twenty million.
Class B would likely not receive private points for a long time.
Six million.
It would take at least three consecutive months for everyone in Class B to pay it back, enduring three months of mountain vegetable set meals.
The boys were mostly fine.
Even if Hikigaya was poor, he had the "Wool Group" where he could scrounge for resources.
For girls, even someone like Horikita Suzune couldn't stand cheap sanitary products; Ichinose and the others would likely find it even harder to accept.
They would need to endure at least four months of a difficult life.
It was too hard.
"We wouldn't."
asakura mako, Kobashi Yume, and the others suddenly broke into smiles through their tears and threw themselves into Ichinose's arms.
"Compared to losing a companion, what does a little thing like that matter? We can definitely pull through."
"That's right."
Shibata also followed up with a nod, looking at the boys around them:
"I heard that by helping the school clean up or in some courses, you can get some private points. When the time comes, we boys also have to work a bit harder!"
"No problem."
A boy thumped his chest in guarantee: "It just so happens I didn't learn how to swim last time; I'll definitely learn it this time!"
"Yeah, should we consider joining a club?"
Someone suggested: "I heard that if you can get results, you can also get some private point rewards."
"Forget about you; better leave that kind of thing to Shibata!"
"Hahaha."
Class B suddenly erupted in cheerful laughter, and the sense of urgency brought by the exam disappeared.
This was probably the power of unity.
Supporting each other and showing humility to each other.
As long as they worked together.
They could handle any difficulty!
Ichinose really was amazing; she actually managed to give the class such unprecedented cohesion.
But.
Hikigaya stood on the periphery, observing this beautiful scene before him.
Judging from Karuizawa and the others' attitudes.
They didn't have much trust in Ichinose; at most, she was a bit stronger than average, and a bit more than a classmate they hadn't spoken to.
This was common.
Six million.
Borrowing a few thousand or even ten thousand private points.
That might not be a problem.
But six million!
There probably weren't many people in the whole school with such a huge amount of private points. If she borrowed from everyone separately, she'd have to borrow from almost everyone in the whole school.
No matter how you thought about it, it was a bit ridiculous.
However.
Hikigaya really wasn't clear about the extent of Ichinose's social circle; how many friends did she actually have?
Since Ichinose said she could do it.
Then it should be fine, right?