Contrary to what they believe, the classes below the top tier are in jeopardy. I doubt the school will allow all the students in Class D to be admitted to the University of Tokyo. If that were the case, alumni from the University of Tokyo would have gone mad long ago.
The 99% employment rate for further studies is just an upper limit; the lower limit can be much worse. In fact, the school will likely ensure that all the "unqualified" students do not graduate, particularly as graduation approaches. If they cannot graduate, they might even face expulsion, preventing them from realizing the promises made in the school's propaganda.
I've seen this tactic before; it's not uncommon. To enhance competitiveness and avoid a situation where some students think that "second place is acceptable" and subsequently neglect their studies, the reward gap between rankings must be significant. It is even possible for a "winner takes all, loser eats dust" scenario to arise.
"Look, you've added a lot of valuable information, haven't you? In addition..." At this point, Sakayanagi displayed a somewhat stiff, "polite" smile. "You're really joking, right? How could the Advanced Nurturing High School make false claims? This is an experimental high school backed by official government support and investment from major financial groups. That small reward is just a drop in the bucket."
"Are you really looking out for them? Someone might think your family runs the school!"
"...."
"Hmm? Is that true? Is it really your family's business? If I offend you one day, will you use your family's power to expel me?"
An unexpected opportunity arose. For a moment, Ren Ishikawa discreetly noted a potential plan to drop out of school in his notebook—an idea to go against Sakayanagi.
Sakayanagi's brows twitched, but she maintained her smile. "Alright, alright, the opening ceremony is approaching. We need to prepare, so feel free to help yourself."
The representative of Class A instructed Ren Ishikawa to leave. After he walked away, Sakayanagi turned to Majima. "Mashima-sensei, you already have the general information. Could you help us fill in the details that Ren-sensei didn't mention?"
Majima replied, "Please wait a moment," and made a phone call.
After a while, he said, "500,000."
"Okay," Sakayanagi prepared to collect "class fees" from the class again. Some members were unhappy and raised objections:
"Sakayanagi! What are you doing? Why didn't you just spend 1 million points to buy the information from Majima-sensei? Why waste so many points buying information from Class D?"
Sakayanagi shook her head. "Really, Katsuragi-san, you should discipline your own puppy."
"Sakayanagi, you!"
"First of all, he is my friend, not a dog. Yahiko, sit down. Sakayanagi must have her reasons for doing this..."
Katsuragi, who had a very noticeable bald head, said, "Sakayanagi, I think I understand what you're doing, but many people may not. Could you explain it?"
Sakayanagi replied, "In that case, I'll elaborate."
"I did this for two reasons: first, to assess the situation in Class D and to evaluate the abilities and behavior of Ren Ishikawa, a member of Class D; and second, to keep him quiet..."
Sakayanagi continued to explain, "Through this probing, we learned that Class D cannot form an organization as quickly as we do or gather a large number of points in a short time to purchase intelligence. The information they provided came entirely from Ren's personal abilities. However, Ren Ishikawa did not maximize the benefits for his class with this information; instead, he sold it for points.
Therefore, it suggests that Class D is not a significant threat. However, Ren Ishikawa is quite capable. Fortunately, he is greedy for money and can be persuaded with points. In the future, we can use points to encourage him to work for us. Don't worry too much about the gains and losses from this transaction; think of it as a gesture of goodwill to facilitate cooperation in the future."
As for sealing information, only a class that is qualified to challenge us has an overall quality similar to Class A. Classes C and D are not a concern. Class B, however, lacks this information, which allows us to create a significant gap between us and them.
Once the information leaks to Class B, the value of what we know will diminish. To maintain the worth of our intelligence, we need to invest more points to increase its value, maximize it, and enhance the information gap with Class B. These strategies are meaningful!
In reality, Sakayanagi hadn't commented yet. She had already surmised the information Ren Ishikawa mentioned some time ago. While there were minor discrepancies, the core details were essentially the same. Nevertheless, she insisted on spending "unnecessary money" to purchase information from Mr. Majima. Her plan was to use this official source to dissuade those who might naively think that finishing in "second place is okay" and want to enjoy a carefree academic life.
Then, she would resolutely plunge into this ruthless class war!
Afterward, Ren Ishikawa left Class A and went to Class B. The information he sold to Class A was bound by contract, so he could not sell it to Class B. What he sold to Class A was primarily information about "the school's basis for evaluating classes and individuals." However, he still had plenty of information that was unrelated to class rankings but nonetheless crucial.
For example, "points can buy everything, including intelligence," and "the basis for school class division." There were also "tips to ensure a 99% enrollment rate and employment rate," among other valuable insights.
Despite the varying contents of this intelligence, they all had one common factor: this information would incite competition among classes and help them understand the methods of rivalry. Whether it was to improve their quality of life in the coming month or to achieve the significant promises made by the school, each class would undoubtedly find ways to express itself and engage in the competition.
When Ren arrived in Class B, he found everyone enthusiastically introducing themselves. Upon revealing his identity as Ren from Class D, a pretty girl with long, straight pink hair and a friendly demeanor stood up.
"So you're Ren from Class D! Welcome, welcome! I'm Ichinose Honami, and I'm here to welcome you on behalf of Class B," she said. "But isn't it time for the opening orientation meeting? Is it really okay for you to come to our class at this time?"
Under Ichinose's leadership, the rest of Class B displayed their enthusiasm for Ren:
"Student Ren, let's get together sometimes!"
"Mr. Ren, would you like to exchange contact numbers?"
"Student Ren, do you want to join the football club?"
Their fervor was overwhelming. Ren found himself taking two steps back, feeling deeply intimidated. The impression he got from Class B was that they seemed like little angels, making him feel slightly guilty about deceiving them. However, business is business.
After navigating through their excitement, Ren gathered his thoughts, which had been momentarily disrupted, and began to hint at the "bloodiness" and "cruelty" of this school, trying to instill anxiety among them to manipulate the prices.
To his surprise, Ichinose Honami, the class representative, responded by rallying the entire class to persuade Ren.
"Student Ren, please don't have such dark thoughts!"
"We are all classmates, so we can definitely get along well!"
"Even if we have to compete, friendship should come first, and competition second."
"Student Ren, have you experienced something in the past? Don't worry; we will support you in the future."
God have mercy on me! Although he was selling anxiety, this school is indeed very anxiety-provoking, and what he said was basically the truth! Ren Ishikawa felt that he couldn't win the argument alone.
He couldn't bring himself to say anything too harsh to a group of people who genuinely wanted to be good to him. Almost feeling purified, he could only state, "You will regret it!" before fleeing in panic. Class B is terrifying.
This was the most embarrassing time Ren had ever lost an argument. Well, it wasn't really a fight at all. Moreover, no information was actually exchanged. However, in order to initiate a "turbulent time," Ren deliberately hinted at some things during the "quarrel," hoping that these naive people would notice.
All in all, it was a huge loss for Ren. After he left, Class B reacted.
"Haha, Student Ren is a little shy!" said Hoshinomiya Chie, the head teacher of Class B.
While gave off an air of gentleness, and approachability, but she was not easy to deceive. However, this was just a disguise; beneath her gentle exterior lay a very cunning and sinister woman. She could actually see that Ren was truly there to sell information, possibly very important information.
Yet the enthusiasm of Class B inadvertently "drove" him away. From what Ren said during the "argument," she was able to capture a lot of useful and truthful information relevant to Class B.
Why did it seem like this was intentional? Was Ren Ishikawa genuinely there to sell information? Why did it feel like he was giving it for free? Could it be that he had other motives? Hoshinomiya unconsciously glanced at Ichinose Honami's lovely face and alluring curves.
For a young boy, it wouldn't be impossible to act in such a way. She wanted to tell her students directly—"Remember what he said! Write it down; these are key points, and they will be tested!" However, the school rules prohibited class teachers from interfering too much in class affairs, especially during "Discipline Inspection Month." Therefore, she could only offer a subtle reminder: "After all, Mr. Ren is reminding you with good intentions. To not disappoint his kindness, everyone should pay a little attention. Otherwise, Mr. Ren might feel sad."
Behind her sweet words lay a form of moral coercion. Once Ichinose learned that "Ren would be sad," she instinctively started persuading her classmates to pay more attention to what Ren had said. Essentially, they were reminded not to slack off, to adhere to school rules, behave appropriately, and fulfill their obligations as students. That was it.
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