Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

Kakeru transferred the money to Houtarou. All 36 members from Class C who participated in the store plan had contributed, bringing the total to exactly 360,000 Points.

This confirmed that Class C was withdrawing from the store plan.

Despite Kakeru's intimidating demeanor and apparent inclination toward violence, he honored their agreement. This suggested he had larger ambitions — he was willing to play by the rules to achieve something greater.

He could prove to be a formidable rival. In terms of class competition, Kakeru might emerge as Class A's main challenger.

Yet this raised a question: since the school had originally sorted students into classes A through D based on their overall abilities, shouldn't Class B be their primary concern?

But did this mean Class B could be ignored?

No. And still, the difference was clear: while Kakeru had already shown initiative and taken decisive action, Class B remained passive and unaware.

Houtarou pondered these thoughts.

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After the redhead bully left, their classmates reacted with varying expressions.

One of the representatives from the Kōhei faction was present, and everyone turned their curious gazes toward Houtarou.

"Oreki-kun, what did you do?" Kōhei asked with interest.

"Nothing much." Houtarou said, resting his chin on his left hand, "I discovered that the second-year seniors opened a bubble tea shop and wanted to try something similar. I collected points from Class C students, offering them shareholder positions. However, they've now unilaterally rejected my proposal."

Oh... Opening a store?! Wait—

"The second-years opened a store?" Kōhei asked urgently, pressing one hand on the desk.

He hadn't forgotten about the Student Council position Houtarou had mentioned earlier, but its price tag of 1 million Points was steep.

Though he could rally his supporters to contribute, he'd been hoping to find alternative ways to earn Points. His visit to the shopping district had left him disappointed when he learned the school prohibited part-time jobs.

But now, a new possibility emerged — could they still open a store?

"Yes." Houtarou nodded, "That's what I discovered, which inspired my plan. But it failed midway. We needed to gather a substantial number of points, and then Vice President Nagumo from the second year bought out the store rights, demanding 5 million points upfront. That ended the plan."

"I see... those second-year seniors are quite forceful." Kōhei said sympathetically.

He genuinely felt disappointed. In this school where ability meant everything, Points were crucial. A stable method of collecting them would have been invaluable.

Then Houtarou continued.

"However, according to the agreement signed with Class C students, if anyone terminates the store plan early, the collected Points won't be refunded, and they'll have to pay a 10,000 Point penalty."

'So the store plan really is finished.' Kōhei thought regretfully.

In a closed environment like their school, they would have had a guaranteed customer base with minimal risk of losing business. The venture could have been profitable.

"Hold on—doesn't this mean you've suddenly acquired a large number of points?" He realized.

Indeed, Kakeru's actions essentially meant Class C had terminated the store plan themselves. And so, Houtarou had secured a substantial sum of Points.

Everyone grasped how he'd amassed such wealth — he'd skillfully outmaneuvered Class C.

The Class A students were stunned. Could the school's rules really be used this creatively? They realized they might not understand their school's true nature after all.

Meanwhile, Arisu from another faction kept her distance from Houtarou, focused instead on her phone conversation with Masumi.

| Masumi Kamuro — Puppy |

| The store, is it the one mentioned before? |

| Arisu Sakayanagi — Little T-Rex |

| It should be that one. |

| That's why I said it would have been better to cooperate with him earlier. |

| Masumi Kamuro — Puppy |

| …But the store didn't open. Isn't that disappointing? |

| Arisu Sakayanagi — Little T-Rex |

| Kamuro-san, it seems today's tutoring will need to be even more strict. |

| Your reading comprehension still needs work. |

Masumi knew well that Arisu's use of honorifics wasn't always polite — when she looked down on someone, she would deliberately use formal language as a subtle form of mockery.

| Arisu Sakayanagi — Little T-Rex |

| You don't understand your former master—he avoids troublesome tasks, and running a store would be complicated. I knew from the start he had no intention of opening one. |

| The real goal was collecting Points, which he's already achieved. |

| As expected of Oreki-kun, he's exceptionally skilled at efficiently gathering Points. |

"Former master"? "Master"? These terms grated on Masumi's nerves.

Despite being her classmates, both Houtarou and Arisu treated her as less than a person. It was infuriating.

And Arisu's pretense of knowing Houtarou so well was irritating — she was just another first-year, after all.

As these thoughts swirled in Masumi's mind...

| Arisu Sakayanagi — Little T-Rex |

| Kamuro-san, you have work to do. |

| Masumi Kamuro — Puppy |

| What is it? |

| Arisu Sakayanagi — Little T-Rex |

| I believe Oreki-kun will press his advantage. Though the store plan failed, he's likely devised another money-making scheme. Please keep following him. |

Could it be? Would he really find even more ways to profit?

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