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Akira gently closed his laptop and let out a long sigh.
He glanced at his phone. It was currently 6:30 PM.
He reopened the chat interface, his gaze sweeping over the empty reply section.
Kushida and Hirata of Class D, Ryuuen of Class C, Ichinose of Class B, and Sakayanagi of Class A.
All were quiet, with no new message notifications.
This was understandable, as he'd given everyone until 7 PM tomorrow evening—he had to give these leaders time to inform their classmates.
"Collecting class fees is indeed something that can't be rushed," he muttered to himself.
Akira now truly understood the difficulty of collecting class fees.
Taking Class D as an example, the twenty-five thousand points in class fees, which began to be collected on Tuesday, had still not been fully collected by Thursday evening.
This fact suddenly made him realize a serious problem. "Wait! Does this mean... Class D might not even be able to afford the surveillance equipment?"
This conjecture wasn't unfounded.
Class D had just had one million points confiscated, and now they had to pay three million for surveillance—this was equivalent to the total sum of all private points they received on the first day of school.
Some people in the class were already struggling with the basic twenty-five thousand class fee, so how could they afford an additional seventy-five thousand per person?
"Am I being too harsh on Class D?" Akira couldn't help but ask himself.
He had to clarify that he was by no means deliberately targeting a specific class.
All of this was purely a coincidence of timing—since he'd already collected three million points from Class C, the other classes naturally had to follow the same standard.
Otherwise, once the news leaked, anyone with a discerning eye could immediately deduce that he might be hiding in Class D.
To some extent, this "reverse operation" was the best cover.
He could even deliberately appear to target Class D to divert others' attention.
However, in all fairness, three million points for surveillance access was definitely a worthwhile deal.
Just the ability to avoid class penalty deductions for three weeks made it more than worth the price.
Although the surveillance date started this Monday.
But today was Thursday, so four days had actually passed.
Class D had been deducted a lot of points during this period.
In the first week, those few people in the class were still somewhat restrained, but by the second week, they gradually became more relaxed.
Akira conservatively estimated that in these four days alone, the number of times Class D violated daily behavioral norms was already similar to the first week.
The situation in Class C was probably similar—just now, they even dared to hit someone under surveillance.
As long as these two classes weren't foolish, they'd most likely only choose to pay the points to rent the surveillance to settle this matter.
Why not take an extra two or three million class points if it's guaranteed?
Class points weren't only a key indicator for determining class promotion, but in a sense, they were also the "salary" that students could receive every month.
As for Class B and Class A, Akira wasn't worried that they'd reject his proposal.
After all, this was a win-win situation for all classes.
He pondered for a moment and logged into his main account.
He was surprised to find an unread message—from Chabashira.
{Hirata reported that Class D's surveillance footage was rented by a certain student? What are your thoughts on this?}
Akira was stunned for a moment, his first reaction being that the other party was testing him. But then he thought, there was a certain possibility that the other party had guessed it was him. After all, his alternate account was purchased from her.
In this kind of situation, if Hirata just told her, "The person who sold me points last time contacted me again," she'd most likely guess correctly.
Hmm? Did those two not explain clearly, or did the other party truly not know?
Of course, there was also a possibility—that is, the other party was pretending to be ignorant, deliberately testing his attitude.
However, Akira had nothing to say. He naturally couldn't proactively reveal his identity to the other party.
But then again, although Chabashira outwardly appointed two vice class representatives, every time the class made a major decision, she'd privately ask him for his opinion. Once or twice was fine, but with increasing frequency, it really became troublesome.
Akira pondered for a moment and decided to make things clear. {Chabashira-sensei, I remember saying that I'm not very interested in participating in class affairs. If you ask me again next time, I'll just pretend I didn't see it.}
He paused, then typed out another line. {You should go discuss it with those two vice class representatives. Don't forget, you haven't even finished collecting that twenty-five thousand class fee yet.}
This time, the other party completely read the message but did not reply.
Chabashira put down her phone with a gloomy expression.
Akira had actually refused her so directly.
She'd clearly regarded him as a core figure to be nurtured for Class D's future—this thought made her chest even more suffocated.
"Chabashira-sensei?" Hirata sensitively noticed the abnormality and called out softly.
Kushida also cast a concerned gaze. "You don't look well. If you need to rest, we can talk another day."
"...It's fine." Chabashira clenched and then released her phone, finally turning to the main topic. "Regarding the surveillance equipment, tell me your opinions."
Hirata responded without hesitation. "I believe it must be purchased. The first month is a critical period for accumulating class points, and private points are directly linked to class points. Even if the entire class tightens its belt this month, this investment is worthwhile."
"I completely agree." Kushida gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "The feeling of being watched is truly uncomfortable."
Chabashira nodded slightly. Their reasons were indeed sufficient.
But for some reason, she always felt that Akira could offer better insights, better than these two.
That's right! Akira also mentioned something about the twenty-five thousand class fee not being fully collected yet?
"How is the collection of the twenty-five thousand class fee progressing?" Chabashira suddenly asked.
Hirata immediately responded. "I've collected the portion for eighteen people."
Kushida hesitated slightly, then softly added, "I have seventeen people here..."
Chabashira frowned slightly. "...Who are the five people who haven't paid yet?"
Hirata and Kushida quickly checked their lists and simultaneously reported five names.
"Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, Mori Nene, and Koenji Rokusuke."
Chabashira thought for a moment and replied, "Don't rush to announce the surveillance matter today. The most urgent task is to collect the class fees. Things must be done one by one, otherwise, it'll only make us a laughingstock, and I'll be the one embarrassed!"
She paused, her gaze sweeping between the two, and continued, "As for the surveillance, the class representative you decide on will announce it tomorrow. Understood?"
Hirata and Kushida exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement.
However, Chabashira did not end there.
She added another cold remark.
"By the way, you two, don't come to me for such matters again in the future."
"Isn't it embarrassing? Students in other classes don't need the teacher to intervene in everything like you do! You already know the school authorities' hidden rules, so you should understand that this school places more emphasis on students' self-reliance!"
"Next time, I'll just pretend I didn't hear it."
As her words fell, she suddenly realized—she'd just thrown Akira's exact words back at them.
Catching a glimpse of the two vice class representatives' slightly furrowed brows, her mood inexplicably brightened a little.