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"Even a fake smile... is acceptable?"
"It doesn't matter if she's acting. At least when she's being praised by everyone, she's genuinely planning for the class. If she can 'act' like this for three years, then she's the most suitable person to be class representative."
"...I see, is that your intention?"
Horikita's eyes flickered, as if she finally understood something.
Although every confrontation with Akira ended with her being left speechless, each time, she managed to grasp new insights from his words.
"Only by placing Kushida in a high position can her value be maximized?"
"In comparison, Hirata's personality is too gentle, making him more suitable for a secondary role."
"So... that's why you secretly pushed for Kushida-san to be elected class representative?"
Horikita suddenly thought of a question: If Hirata had been class representative back then, would Kushida still be dedicating herself wholeheartedly to the class as she is now?
As soon as this thought emerged, her heart sank—she seemed to have made a mistake, a complete one.
Should she not have voted for Hirata back then?
She seemed to have only considered her own feelings, never objectively examining the class. Her thinking was too naive.
Akira was right. With her current ability, she indeed seemed unqualified to be class representative.
"I hadn't considered these things, but you're right—for Class D, having Kushida-san as class representative is the optimal solution." Akira nodded, directly agreeing with her words.
Horikita's judgment this time was indeed correct.
Kushida being class representative was the best outcome.
If she were relegated to a secondary role, she probably wouldn't be as dedicated to the class as she is now.
Conversely, Hirata actually doesn't care about the position's seniority. He can do his part well regardless of where he is.
Although this conclusion might be a bit unfair to Hirata, it is the truth—this gentle boy is more suited to be a supporter.
He has leadership talent, but lacks a necessary sharpness.
"This deal looks like a guaranteed profit!"
"Class points are worth much more than private points! And after the cameras are installed... hehe, won't it be even more convenient to skip class in the future?"
"...I don't want to live under surveillance all the time!"
Although the reasons varied, most classmates ultimately approved the proposal.
However, a more realistic problem immediately surfaced.
"That's seventy-five thousand points per person!"
"We don't have that many points on hand, do we? We already spent one million points last time."
"Indeed..."
Three million class points—for Class D right now, that was an astronomical figure.
"Did the other party agree to let us pay next month?"
"If that's the case... it's not entirely out of the question."
Yamauchi and Ike finally realized that the class simply didn't have three million points.
If they were to pay the points, it would probably have to be postponed until next month.
As the most frequent violators in the class, they'd also been met with cold stares from their classmates these past few days.
For them, renting surveillance equipment at this point had actually become a good thing.
Exchanging seventy-five thousand points per person for four hundred to five hundred class points—this transaction couldn't be more cost-effective.
Even these two, who were usually not very good at calculations, now clearly understood:
It was like spending seventy-five thousand yen once, but increasing monthly income by forty thousand yen.
As long as they endured for two months, they could fully break even—why wouldn't they want such a good deal?
"I regret to inform you... the deadline given by the other party is seven o'clock tonight, and an additional one hundred thousand points will be charged for every hour overdue." Hirata explained the situation to everyone with a heavy tone.
"Hmm! So I plan to continue negotiating with the other party, and if that doesn't work, perhaps we can ask the Student Council if they have a loan service? After all, if we just get through this once, things will be smoother going forward." Kushida tried to lighten the atmosphere with a relaxed tone.
"—Wait a minute!" Horikita suddenly stood up.
This was her first time speaking proactively in front of the entire class, and almost everyone's gaze focused on her.
Akira also looked at her with slight surprise. Was his explanation just now not thorough enough? Or was she planning to object to renting the surveillance?
Kushida maintained her signature sweet smile. "Horikita-san, you're not trying to object to renting the surveillance, are you?"
In her opinion, raising an objection when the vast majority of classmates had already expressed support wasn't a wise move.
"I support renting the surveillance system." To everyone's surprise, Horikita gave an affirmative answer. "But I want to add one point—after we rent the surveillance, let's not delete it immediately. Instead, we should carefully watch the playback footage and identify those classmates who frequently violate rules, causing class points deductions."
"It's precisely because of these people's improper behavior that, without the surveillance, our class points could be completely wiped out by the end of the month. Our entire class has no reason to pay for the mistakes of a few!"
"Those people must deeply reflect on their mistakes!"
As she said this, her gaze openly fell upon Yamauchi and Ike.
It could be said that among the class, these two were probably the ones with the most violations!
Why should they be able to hide behind the scenes as if it were their right?
This time, the surveillance saved them, but to prevent it from happening again, they at least needed to be given a very serious punishment.
This was fairness! And a very reasonable action!
Akira paused, then realized why he'd also thought highly of Horikita back then.
Just like the Student Council President, her sense of justice, her inability to tolerate any injustice, seemed to be what strictly differentiated her from other leaders.
It was still the same point, whether it was Hirata or Kushida, their personalities were too soft.
Sometimes, making an example of someone is necessary.
If they kept playing house and making mud pies, it would only allow the small number of rotten apples in the class to keep getting brazen.
Sometimes, punishment is necessary!
"Hmm! Well said! I thought you were an annoying person! But what you said is absolutely right!" Shinohara nodded involuntarily. "We can rent the surveillance! We can clean up the mess for some people for the overall benefit of the class! But there's no way we'll suffer in silence! We must find those people! At the very least, they have to apologize to the whole class! And make them behave themselves for a while! That's the absolute bare minimum!"
"Horikita-san's words are good. I've changed my opinion of her a bit."
"I thought she was a sharp-tongued person, but this time she's absolutely right!"