After school at noon, the students in Class C immediately started taking action based on the details of this exam. Although Ryuen had promised to use points to help them, what if something went wrong?
Besides, the final exams were already over, so there was no more pressure to study. The students were quite willing to take part in this special exam.
Unlike most of the relaxed students in Class C, however, Yuya Tokito was feeling rather nervous.
If he ended up receiving the most critical votes, there was no way Ryuen would spend points to save him.
Tokito believed Ryuen would absolutely keep his word about that.
Meanwhile, Tatsuya Kamio was about to go to the cafeteria for lunch when someone called out to him. It was Suzune Horikita from first-year Class D.
Shiina had originally planned to have lunch with Tatsuya Kamio, but after waving at him, she left.
What a thoughtful girl Shiina was.
"Could I borrow some of your time?"
Kamio was not particularly fond of Suzune Horikita, but Manabu Horikita had helped him quite a lot, so he did not treat her coldly.
"I'm going to the cafeteria for lunch."
After saying that, he walked around Horikita and left.
He had neither agreed nor refused. What he really meant was: If you don't mind, then follow me.
If Horikita could not understand even that much, Kamio felt there was no point in talking with her any further.
Fortunately, she did not disappoint him and silently followed him.
A little over ten minutes later, Tatsuya Kamio and Suzune Horikita sat down in a corner of the cafeteria.
Compared with Kamio's expensive cafeteria meal, Horikita was eating a lunchbox she had made herself. The food alone made it clear that her financial situation was probably rather difficult.
"Just tell me what you want. Out of respect for your brother, I might consider helping you."
Kamio's expression, as if he already understood everything, made Horikita feel rather unhappy.
"Why are you so sure I came here to ask for help?"
"That question itself is a little strange. If you weren't here to ask for help, I don't think you would have gone out of your way to find me."
Tatsuya Kamio looked at Suzune Horikita and spoke in a calm voice.
"Besides, everyone must be asking about the special exam. Class D should be in complete chaos by now, right?"
Kamio was no longer in Class D, but he still had a fairly good idea of what those people were like. It did not take much thought to figure out the situation Class D was in.
"You're right. As soon as the details of this exam were announced, the students in our class fell into chaos. No one wants to be expelled.
"In only half a day, the students had already begun forming groups. Some of them had even promised to give each other the most commendation votes."
Horikita sighed. She had completely lost her appetite.
Kamio was not surprised by Class D's situation at all. Class C was in almost the same position. The only difference was that Class C had a final safety net.
That was why Class C was doing much better. At the very least, its students were fairly relaxed.
"By the way, what do you think this exam is really about? Do you think it's simply meant to make the first-year students suffer?"
"What do you mean?"
Horikita frowned.
"Heh. Normally, the class that has someone expelled receives a heavy penalty, right? Just like during the previous forest exam.
"You may not know this, but I can tell you one thing: at this school, failing a written exam and voluntarily leaving the school also costs the class 300 points.
"But this special exam has no such penalty at all. In other words, this is an opportunity—a chance to get rid of 'unnecessary students.'"
Kamio had understood this as soon as Okabe explained the exam rules. It was the best opportunity for him and Ryuen to get Tokito expelled.
It was a chance to remove the rotten part without hurting the class and without putting themselves at risk.
However, expelling a classmate when they clearly had the ability to save him would look bad, even if it was easy enough to do. So they needed to guide things in that direction.
That was why Ryuen had openly said in front of the students that if Tokito were expelled, he would not receive any help.
The goal was to provoke Tokito, make him take action, and have him bring about his own downfall!
Kamio and Ryuen were remarkably in sync when it came to this.
Horikita, however, had no intention of doing that after hearing what Kamio said.
"Kamio, do you remember the Paper Shuffle exam?"
"Are you cursing me? It was only last semester. My memory is still working perfectly fine." Kamio gave Horikita a slight warning.
"No, that's not what I meant. I'm talking about the true nature of that exam. You should understand it clearly, right?
"During the Paper Shuffle exam, Class D started out at a disadvantage because it was missing two students, so we lost the match from the very beginning."
That was true. With two fewer students, Class D could not have beaten any opponent at the time. That was why Horikita had chosen to work with Kamio and had gained some benefits from it.
"So you're saying you don't intend to use this opportunity to abandon anyone?"
"I have considered it." Horikita nodded. "Not just me—Hirata also wants to do everything he can to keep our classmates from being expelled."
"Then there's only one way. If you gather twenty million private points, you can prevent the expulsion. But as far as I know, Class D doesn't have enough private points, does it?"
Kamio let out a mocking laugh.
"That's right. That's why I came to find you."
At Horikita's words, Kamio's hand, which was holding his chopsticks, suddenly stopped.
"Don't tell me you want me to lend you the money?"
"That's exactly what I want."
Looking at Horikita, Kamio suddenly found the situation a little funny.
"Leaving aside whether I have any spare points, even if I do, why would I lend them to you?"
"Because if things continue like this, Sudou will probably be expelled. He's your scapegoat, isn't he, Kamio? You don't want to lose Sudou, your scapegoat, just like that, do you?
"During the forest exam, you used Yamauchi as your scapegoat and earned fifteen million private points from both Class A and Class B.
"In other words, if you use this card well, you can obtain a huge amount of private points. So, to protect that card, lending us twelve million shouldn't be a problem, right?"
After hearing Suzune Horikita's words, Kamio laughed in disbelief.
Whether it was the idea of a scapegoat or the plan to earn thirty million by using that scapegoat, all of it had been Kamio's own scheme. What did it have to do with a bunch of ugly people like them?
"Hahaha. Do you really think you can use that to control me? Don't get the wrong idea, Horikita." Kamio placed one hand on the table and leaned his upper body toward her.
"At this point, I don't care about Sudou being my scapegoat at all. If you want to do it, then go ahead.
"Besides, don't think I don't know what you're planning. Judging by how determined you are to protect your classmates, you clearly haven't given up on fighting yet, have you?
"You should know exactly what will happen if you lose Sudou, one of the school's top athletes, right?
"That's right. Class D will lose its chance of advancing forever.
"And don't forget, this exam introduces another new concept besides expelling one student."
That was right. In a way, the protection point was also a kind of scapegoat.
The only difference was that it could not cause losses for the other classes.
A protection point could only protect its owner, while a scapegoat could protect its owner and put pressure on other classes at the same time.
Besides, as long as Horikita still wanted to rise higher, she could not give up on Sudou now.
In fact, Kamio most wanted to see them give up on Sudou at this point. If that happened, Class D would fall out of the race for good, and he would no longer need to be wary of them.
After hearing Kamio's words, Horikita sighed. As expected, trying to threaten him with the matter of a scapegoat was completely useless.
"Then we can offer something in return." Horikita spoke with a serious expression. "This is a trade."
"Is that so? A trade…" Kamio leaned back and looked at Horikita with an amused expression. "Then what can you offer?"
When Kamio did not immediately refuse, Horikita felt relieved.
Good. Just as Ayanokoji had said, Kamio was a man who put his own interests first. There was a good chance he would agree to a deal.
The next step was to decide the terms. To be honest, Horikita had not yet thought of anything they could offer. Her task today was simply to test Kamio's attitude.
"I don't know yet."
Horikita's frank answer left Kamio stunned for a moment before he laughed.
"Then let me ask you something else. How many points is Class D still short of?"
"We haven't finished counting yet, but I don't think the class has more than ten million points. No, we'd be incredibly lucky if we even had eight million."
"Eight million? So you're short twelve million?" Kamio rubbed his chin. "In any case, go count them first. Once you have the exact number, think of what you can offer me. There are still four or five days until Saturday, so there's no need to rush."
Kamio currently had around thirty-four million private points. Lending out twelve million would not be a problem. He would still have twenty million left as a safety net.
The important questions were whether he could get the twelve million back, what benefits he would receive in return, and what he would gain if the money could not be repaid.
As long as the benefits were enough, lending out the points would not matter. Kamio did not care about that kind of thing.
It was like making an investment—using a small amount of capital to obtain a much larger return.
Class D currently had very few class points, so it would probably take them a very long time to gather twelve million private points. They might not even be able to collect it all by the time they graduated.
From that perspective, Kamio might appear to be losing out. But this matter could not be judged only by the points he received in return.
If he could use this loan to gain some control over Class D, he might obtain benefits far greater than twelve million points.
In short, it all depended on how he used the situation. Of course, the condition was that Class D had to offer a suitable price.
"So I can take it that you're willing to lend us this large amount of points?"
"As long as what you offer is suitable, I have no objections."
A relaxed smile appeared on Kamio's face.
"I understand. I'll discuss the terms with Hirata and the others as soon as possible. Of course, if there's anything you want us to do, you can suggest it too.
"Since this is a trade, we have to negotiate."
"Don't worry. I won't go easy on you."
After lunch, Tatsuya Kamio returned to the classroom.
"Hey, judging by your expression, it looks like you got quite a lot out of that."
As expected, Ryuen and I really are in sync.
Hearing Ryuen's words, Kamio revealed an almost identical smile.
"More or less. Class D actually came to borrow points from me. Looks like they really are at the end of their rope."
There was no need to hide this, so Kamio told Ryuen about it directly.
"Oh? Looks like you're planning to drain Class D completely."
"Not at all. I just think this is a good opportunity. Is there anything you want from Class D?" Kamio sat down and began chatting casually with Ryuen.
"Class D…"
Ryuen rubbed his chin as if he had thought of something, and his eyes darkened.
This guy…
Don't tell me he was thinking about the time Ayanokoji beat him up.
"Forget it. Since that piece of goldfish waste has no intention of making a move, Class D is too boring right now. I'll pass."
Ryuen waved his hand, showing that he had no interest in Class D at the moment.
Kamio shrugged.
Soon, the afternoon classes began. Both periods were class meetings, apparently arranged specifically for the students.
The atmosphere in Class C was not exactly relaxed, but it was not especially heavy either.
"Ryuen, may I say something?"
Kamio glanced at Kaneda, who had stood up, and then at Ryuen, who was sitting on the teacher's platform. Had Ryuen even arranged for someone to play this role?
"Go ahead. I'm always happy to consider other people's opinions."
"Then please excuse me."
Kaneda adjusted his glasses, and a strange light flashed across the lenses.
"About the exam explained this morning: although everyone may have been confused at first, enough time has passed that you should all have calmed down by now. I have a few thoughts."
"Oh? Go on."
Ryuen asked with interest.
"As Mr. Okabe explained, the person who receives the most commendation votes will receive a protection point, while the person who receives the most critical votes will be expelled.
"However, discussing who should be expelled right now could throw everyone into confusion, so I'll talk about the protection point first."
The person who received the most commendation votes would gain one protection point. A protection point could cancel an expulsion penalty caused by one exam.
There was no doubt that it was an extremely important resource. Important resources had to be placed in the hands of important people. Depending on how it was used, it could even bring in huge benefits.
"As for the protection point, I think it could become a powerful weapon if used properly, so I'll be direct. I hope Ryuen will secure it."
Hearing Kaneda's words, Kamio yawned. He had no objection to the suggestion.
After all, Ryuen was unquestionably the leader of the class in name. Even though Kamio had performed well since joining Class C, he still could not replace Ryuen.
In fact, the class's stability was largely thanks to Ryuen.
Kamio could offer advice at most. Why would he want to rule the class? Wouldn't that be exhausting?
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