"Yes."
While the students below were swept up in waves of emotion, Saé Chabashira simply responded with that single word, expressionless.
Unexpectedly, the one who had pointed this out first was Kikyō Kushida.
…That was surprising.
But it had nothing to do with her.
All she had to do was answer.
Since Kushida had already mentioned "buying points," she only needed to confirm whether it was possible—and state the price.
"For scores below the passing line, one point costs 100,000 points."
Chabashira pressed a hand to her temple.
"Kanji Ike: 24 points.
Hideo Sotomura: 25 points.
Kokoro Inogashira: 27 points.
Nene Mori: 28 points."
"In total—1.2 million points."
Her calm words were like a depth charge.
Thrown silently into water.
Then—
After a moment of stillness—
The entire class exploded.
"1.2… million?!"
"You've got to be kidding!"
"I–If we could gather 1.2 million points, we wouldn't be in this situation…"
"I still owe Kushida-san money myself…"
Shock.
Disbelief.
Muttering voices.
And then someone turned toward the failing students and complained irritably:
"Hey, why didn't you guys just work a little harder earlier? It's 100,000 points per point! If you had scored one more point, we'd save 100,000!"
"…Huh?"
Kanji Ike's face twitched as he suddenly raised his voice.
"Why don't you say that about yourselves?!"
"You all scored so high! Didn't you say the exam scope was wrong and everyone would fail?! If you'd lowered the average a little, we wouldn't need to spend so much!"
That was right.
If the weaker students couldn't raise their scores—
Couldn't the stronger ones lower theirs?
The answer was: they could.
But they didn't dare.
Because the earlier review topics had been wrong, most students were already extremely anxious about their results.
Even though English didn't depend much on review topics, they still didn't dare relax.
What if they accidentally scored below the average?
So while the passing line was indeed lower than the last quiz—
Only two people had clearly controlled their scores.
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji: 50 in every subject.
Yōsuke Hirata: 50 in every subject.
Although their methods of controlling scores were entirely different, their results appeared side by side on Chabashira's sheet.
"It's my fault…"
Hirata's face twisted with pain as he clenched his fists.
His fingernails nearly dug into his palms.
"If I had scored lower… we wouldn't be struggling like this."
Seeing his expression, comforting voices quickly followed.
"No, it's not your fault, Hirata-kun."
"Even if the average were slightly lower, we still couldn't afford that amount…"
"Forget 1.2 million—even 100,000 would be hard to gather."
The class sighed.
But reality wouldn't change.
"Chabashira-sensei…"
Hirata raised his head again, trying one last time.
"Could we… pay in installments? Or use other methods to offset it? Like transferring my points to them…"
"Hahahahaha—!"
Suddenly, a loud laugh erupted from one seat.
Rokusuke Kōenji.
"Installments? Installment payment!"
"Hirata-boy, you've said something truly interesting."
"So interesting I couldn't help but laugh out loud."
"Hahahahahaha—!"
As Kōenji's laughter faded, Chabashira gently shook her head.
"No."
"…I see."
Hirata's expression darkened again.
So… what else could they do?
While everyone was lost in their thoughts—
A quiet voice spoke up.
"Didn't Hirata say he'd do anything?"
Someone proposed an idea.
"If it's Hirata, even girls from other classes would happily pay to 'rent' him, right?"
"Rental boyfriend."
Hirata Yōsuke—
One of the most popular and best-looking boys in the entire first year of Advanced Nurturing High School.
If he wanted to make money, there were endless ways.
Even 1.2 million points wouldn't be a problem.
After all—
If a girl could spend a few tens of thousands of points to go on a date with the boy she liked…
To get close to him…
There would be plenty willing to pay.
"…."
At that moment, the noisy Class D fell into complete silence.
Everyone looked around, trying to identify who suggested it.
Soon—
All eyes landed on Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, sitting beside Suzune Horikita.
"What are you talking about?!"
The first to stand up and object was Hirata's "girlfriend," Kei Karuizawa.
"Hirata-kun would never do something like that!"
"Y-Yeah… renting yourself out is…"
Mii-chan Wang timidly added.
Even under everyone's gaze, Ayanokōji simply tilted his head calmly.
"I'm just suggesting something that seems feasible."
"After all, Hirata himself said he'd do anything."
"But—"
Kei was furious and about to explode.
However—
Hirata raised a hand to stop her.
Then he looked at Ayanokōji.
His gaze firm.
"If that's the only way… then sacrificing myself is fine."
"I will make sure everyone in this class graduates together."
His voice was firm, leaving no room for doubt.
Listening to his determined declaration—
Kushida quietly sighed.
"Just borrow the money."
She waved her hand helplessly.
"1.2 million isn't nearly enough to justify selling your looks."
Even she couldn't stand listening anymore.
Rental boyfriend?
She couldn't believe Ayanokōji could come up with such an idea.
"Borrow money…? But that's 1.2 million…"
"After only two months, even if we spent nothing we'd have less than 200,000…"
"…Do we borrow from several people?"
Even now, the class still hadn't formed a real sense of "class unity."
"…Kushida-san."
Hirata stood up.
He walked in front of her.
Then bowed deeply.
"Please tell me who can lend us 1.2 million points."
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