Ichinose Honami gently set down her phone.
She took a deep breath and met Kanzaki Ryūji's probing gaze.
The boy had risen from his seat, the furrow between his brows betraying his inner doubts.
"Kanzaki-kun, I've confirmed it." Ichinose nodded at him. *"The other party asked us to go directly to the student council to sign the formal contract. After that, we'll obtain surveillance access for Class 1-B."*
She turned her phone screen toward Kanzaki. "I've forwarded you the footage of our class and a portion of the contract they signed with the school. Please verify it as well."
Kanzaki took the phone, his fingers swiftly scrolling through the contents.
After a few minutes, the tension in his shoulders eased slightly.
"No issues detected. The footage is genuine—no signs of tampering." His tone was calm. "The contract terms are standard, and the school's seal is authentic. The requirement to formalize the agreement through the student council especially rules out the possibility of fraud."
He turned to address the rest of the class, raising his voice slightly. *"Everyone, confirm that you've transferred your 70,000 points to Ichinose-san?"*
"Already done!" A ponytailed girl raised her hand. *"Thanks to Ichinose-san borrowing 200,000 points from an upperclassman, we each saved 5,000 points!"*
"Yeah," a boy nearby chimed in, "after paying 10,000 last time, another 70,000 now would've been brutal without that loan."
Murmurs of agreement spread through the classroom.
Someone suddenly spoke up louder: "But this is worth it! We can't let our class's surveillance fall into another class's hands!"
"Sigh... It feels like we're already falling behind the other classes at the start of the term." Ichinose stared at the 3,000,000-point balance on her phone, unable to suppress a sigh.
That number would've been staggering at the beginning of the semester—but now, it only filled her with helplessness.
What frustrated her even more was the mysterious person's exorbitant demands. They didn't seem to care at all that this was the first month of the new term.
They're really bullying us!
"Wait!" She suddenly straightened, a spark of realization flashing in her eyes. "That person renting out the cameras... first asked me for Ryūen Kakeru's contact information. Then they tried to sell me those hidden school rules..."
Kanzaki turned to her sharply.
"Who is Ryūen Kakeru?"
As her classmate, he knew better than anyone just how formidable Ichinose Honami truly was. Beneath her amiable demeanor, this girl possessed social prowess far beyond ordinary people.
Her web of interpersonal intelligence was, at times, more powerful than an entire class.
"About him..." Ichinose tapped her chin lightly. "Though the girls from Class C didn't say it outright, I noticed during our conversations..." Her voice unconsciously lowered. "Some of them would tremble when his name came up. A few even had bruises on their wrists."
Kanzaki's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "So Ryūen is likely a violent delinquent ruling Class C through fear?"
"And," Kanzaki's gaze sharpened, "since you're Class B's representative, the fact that this person specifically asked you about Ryūen suggests..."
"They're probably not..." Ichinose picked up his train of thought, her eyes inadvertently flicking toward the surveillance camera.
(Not from Class C!)
She still wasn't fully accustomed to being watched.
Though the other party likely wasn't staring at the feed 24/7.
"Come to think of it, I just remembered something." Kanzaki glanced at the camera on the wall. "Class C must've also been notified about the camera lease. At noon, I noticed school staff installing new equipment in their classroom." A faintly mocking smile tugged at his lips. "They probably thought destroying the cameras would solve everything."
He paused, then added, *"Leasing the cameras might not be a bad thing. Our class also has a few habitual latecomers and skippers. Last time, you let them off out of consideration for their pride. Now that we've rented the cameras, we can recover around 100 class points. Spending 3,000,000 private points to secure 100 class points is a relatively worthwhile long-term investment."*
"I'll head out first! Better to pay the points early and get this settled." Ichinose suddenly stood up.
Kanzaki nodded. "Good idea. With your connections, keep an eye out for who else visits the student council. Though..." He hesitated briefly. "It's Friday—the student council is always busy. Just play it by ear."
Ichinose gave a small nod and turned toward the student council office.
True to Kanzaki's words, a long line already snaked outside the student council door.
Just as she was about to join the queue, an abrupt, confrontational voice rang out behind her:
*"You're Ichinose from Class 1-B, right?"*
The sudden address made Ichinose whirl around—only to find a long-haired boy leaning against the wall, a smirk playing on his lips.
His identity? None other than Ryūen Kakeru of the same grade.
As someone who memorized every student in their year, Ichinose immediately recognized this "notorious" figure.
During the opening ceremony, he, like her, had stood at the very front of the line.
"Ryūen-kun... hello." Despite the discomfort rising in her chest, she maintained a polite smile and nodded courteously.
"Heard you went out of your way to ask about my contact info?" Ryūen cracked his knuckles idly, the sound faint but deliberate. "What business does an honors student like you have with someone like me?"
Ichinose's brows furrowed slightly. She hadn't expected this privately inquired tidbit to reach his ears.
This boy, who seemed to rely solely on brute force, was far more perceptive than she'd assumed.
After a brief silence, she replied evenly, "I just wanted to remind you that violence isn't a universal solution in this school."
"Tch." Ryūen scoffed, his eyes glinting with derision. "Class B's hothouse flower, what would you know? Toss you into our class, and you'd be lucky to last as a decorative mascot without getting bullied."
In this survival-of-the-fittest environment, he was convinced his iron-fisted rule was the only effective way to govern Class C—no one could do it better than him.
"But speaking of which..." Ryūen studied her for a long moment before suddenly smirking. "...You're not the type to do something so pointless. Unless—" His voice dropped to a taunting whisper. "You're the one who leaked my info to that person, aren't you?"