Sakura Airi's eyes widened. What did Amane-san just tell her? Amane-san bought points for her? That was a full 50,000 individual points.
Moreover, Amane-san also gave Ichihashi-san 50,000 individual points.
Even if Amane-san had more points, it would be impossible for her to squander 100,000 points like that.
After all, both Sakura Airi and Ichihashi Ruri were essentially members of the expelled, as defectors from the flawed class.
They could be said to have… no value in being retained.
"Miyako-san, you're joking, right? Seriously… I almost believed you just now… I'm already about to be expelled, so please don't play such heart-stopping jokes with me."
Sakura Airi smiled shyly, placing her hand on her chest, seemingly startled by Amane-san's previous statement.
"I'm not joking."
Amane-san handed the memo to Airi.
Airi hesitated for a moment but still took the memo with anticipation.
It clearly stated that Amane-san had indeed purchased one point for the midterm exam and given it to Sakura Airi.
"This, why, why me? No… why would Miyako-san buy this point for me? And 100,000 points is just too…"
Airi was so surprised she was incoherent.
Her acquaintance with Amane-san could be said to be a mere one-time encounter.
And that was when she was threatened by Amane-san on the swimming pool rooftop.
It could be said that their relationship was nowhere near the friendship between Amane-san and Ichihashi Ruri.
And it wasn't the 50,000 points mentioned earlier, but 100,000 points! Just looking at all those zeroes after the number 1, Sakura Airi's heart rate accelerated.
She had only seen so many points at the beginning of the school year.
Upon learning that Amane-san had actually spent 100,000 points to buy a point for her, her first reaction was not joy.
Instead, she wondered when she would ever be able to repay those 100,000 points.
"Do you like this gift, Airi?"
Amane-san softly asked in Airi's ear.
"Of course, I like it! There's no gift that could make me happier than this, but… am I, worthy? Am I really worth Miyako-san spending 100,000 points to help me? Even if I'm lucky enough to stay this time, I won't be able to get high scores every time like Amane-san. I might face the same problem again in the future. I…"
Seeing that Airi's thoughts were starting to wander.
Amane-san took Airi's hand.
Perhaps due to nervousness or some other reason.
Airi's hand was very warm.
And soft… "Cough, I also contributed 50,000 points."
It was then that Amane-san noticed Ayanokoji's presence.
"I'll pay you back your points when we get back. Airi and I have something important to discuss, you see?"
Amane-san gave Ayanokoji a look.
Ayanokoji, having had previous experience, made an OK gesture and then left the classroom, closing the door behind him.
"Miyako-san…"
"Just call me Amane."
"Amane…"
Facing the unique situation of being alone with Amane-san.
Airi seemed a bit nervous.
"There's not much time left, you know. We still need to inform the Student Council."
Amane-san reminded Sakura Airi, who seemed unsure of what to do next.
"Oh, right, I forgot I still need to go to the Student Council. Amane-san, let's go now."
Airi said, intending to run outside, but Amane-san pulled her back.
"Why go to all that trouble? Couldn't you just make a phone call?"
Amane-san said, then called President Horikita in front of Airi.
"Is this President Horikita?"
"It is. Has Suzune managed to save the point yet?"
Seeing that it was Amane-san calling, President Horikita thought Amane-san had helped Horikita Suzune find the final way to save her classmate.
But who knew Amane-san's next words almost made his blood pressure spike.
"Suzune couldn't get points from me. In the end, Ayanokoji-kun and I teamed up to buy one point."
Upon hearing that his own sister couldn't even get points from Amane-san, President Horikita's face on the other end of the phone showed undisguised disappointment.
"It seems I overestimated Suzune. Who did you buy the points for?"
President Horikita knew Amane-san wasn't calling just for a casual chat. It was already this late, so the results should basically have been revealed by now.
"We bought the points for Sakura Airi. Although Suzune wasn't successful, she did try quite hard."
Amane-san tried to defend Horikita Suzune.
"Hmph, you don't need to speak well of Suzune. As her brother, I know very well where Suzune's limits are. Now, she even needs to rely on you to accomplish such a small matter. With that attitude, what is she talking about leading Class D to Class A? It's simply wishful thinking."
President Horikita complained for a while, but then realized it was somewhat inappropriate to complain about these things to Amane-san.
President Horikita immediately changed the subject.
"The person you're trying to save this time is Sakura Airi, right? I just looked at her profile; her data is surprisingly mediocre. How did you think of keeping Sakura Airi? The other person, Ichihashi Ruri, although her paper data still doesn't look good, she should actually be more valuable to the class."
President Horikita compared their interview evaluations.
Both of their evaluations were surprisingly low.
"Because Airi is very cute."
"Cute?"
President Horikita was somewhat exasperated.
Spending 100,000 points to ultimately retain a relatively cute, but questionable and essentially worthless class member.
Although incomprehensible, such behavior was indeed Amane-san's style.
Seeing Amane-san say this, President Horikita decided not to ask further. After stating that he understood the situation, he hung up the phone.
"Ah, ah, ah, seriously, President Horikita hung up so fast. I was originally going to ask… never mind."
Amane-san put her phone back in her pocket.
She looked up and saw Airi's face flushed red.
"Amane-san, did you choose to help me really because… because I'm cute?"
After asking, Airi quickly averted her gaze.
Such a question seemed truly embarrassing to her.
However, she really wanted to know the answer to this question.
"No."
Amane-san answered very decisively.
Airi then felt a little relieved. It seemed Amane-san must have seen other places in her that were worth investing in.
"If you want a reason, I'm more interested in your body, Airi."
"Bo-body?"
Airi's expression stiffened slightly.
"I'm just kidding. I wouldn't do anything too much to Airi."
Amane said casually, as if making a joke.
"Mm..."
Airi forced a smile.
Amane seemed to have been serious just now.
Teacher's office.
When Kushida Kikyo and Ichihashi Ruri rushed over,
They happened to meet Chabashira, who had already packed her things and was about to end her overtime for the day.
"What are you two doing here? I'm off work now. If it's important, let's talk tomorrow... or the day after."
"Chabashira-sensei, here are 50,000 points. I want to buy one point for the midterm exam."
Ichihashi excitedly showed her point balance.
But Chabashira-sensei seemed very calm.
"Points? Haven't you already bought one point? The school prohibits buying points twice, and besides..."
Chabashira-sensei's face showed a mocking smile.
"50,000 points? You're underestimating the school too much. Even if there were still points available, the minimum would be 100,000 individual points for one point... Ichihashi-san, you've been eliminated."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!