Chapter 42: Chapter 042 ↦ Questions and Suspicions!
During lunch break, Houtarou walked towards the Student Council.
Kakeru's visit was brief, but it had accomplished its purpose — the collection of Points from Class C was complete.
Class B remained silent, though their response no longer mattered. With 15 of their students involved in the store, Houtarou would secure 150,000 Points even if they terminated the agreement. If they chose to continue, each would owe 30,000 Points monthly.
Any Points they transferred would automatically count toward the task progress. From every perspective, Class B students had become unwitting benefactors.
Rather than contacting them again, Houtarou opened the system interface.
〖 Main Task: 20 Million Points Big Mission! 〗
〖 Task Requirement: Gather 20 million Points within three months! 〗
〖 Task Duration: 78/90 Days 〗
〖 Task Reward: Superhuman Physique — Major Physical Enhancement 〗
〖 Task Progress: 4,231,100 Pts / 20,000,000 Pts 〗
〖 Note: All Points earned by the host can be entrusted to Manabu Horikita, who is about to graduate from the third year, and can be guaranteed to be exchanged for cash! 〗
Progress had reached 25%, with Superhuman Physique as the reward.
He had already obtained Teleportation and Precognitive Dream. The latter made him question his life — he never imagined he'd have such a rich romantic future.
These supernatural abilities were quite convenient, so he couldn't simply ignore them.
The next step was clear: continue with the Main Task. With the plan to collect Points from first-year students complete, it was time to expand.
While first-years had limited funds, the second-year students were a different story. Under Miyabi's leadership, they had accumulated excessive Class Points. Even Class 2-D students who followed his lead received 900 Class Points — equivalent to ¥90,000 in school living expenses.
This made second-years viable targets for Point collection.
The third-years, having spent two years at school, presented another opportunity. While Class 3-D was out of the question, obtaining 50,000 Points from each student in Classes 3-A, B, and C would be straightforward.
Houtarou's plan was taking shape.
The success with Miyabi's store proved something crucial: Points could bend the rules. Though initially forbidden, he had purchased and acquired the store with Points, earning the school's approval.
Yet this raised concerns about the school's true intentions. The store was one thing, but his control over an entire year and manipulation of exams essentially exploited the school system.
How long would the school tolerate this?
His influence meant second-year students were losing their independence, developing only their acting abilities. Perhaps Manabu's invitation to join the Student Council was part of the school's strategy to contain this troublemaker.
While the school acknowledged Miyabi's capabilities, they seemed unwilling to fully embrace them.
The critical question remained: where did the school draw the line?
His plans would further challenge the school's control over its students. He needed to understand the higher-ups' stance.
After detecting someone following him as he left the classroom, Houtarou messaged Arisu.
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| Houtarou Oreki — Oreki-kun |
| This school seems to give students considerable authority, but what kind of person do you think the school's leadership, like the Chairman, is, Sakayanagi-san? |
"..." Arisu.
During lunch break, when she noticed Houtarou leaving, she immediately arranged for two people to follow him. Yet the moment she assigned Masumi to tail him, he detected the surveillance.
Arisu checked his message again, her eyes lingering on the words "Chairman" and "Sakayanagi-san". A suspicion arose that he had uncovered her identity.
Nevertheless, she responded.
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| Arisu Sakayanagi — Class A Classmate |
| From the situation with the second years, I suspect someone who is tolerant and gives students maximum autonomy, though they also try to guide students. |
"A director who has both tolerance and boundaries, huh. Well, we can try."
With that, Houtarou put away his phone and walked toward the Student Council.
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Meanwhile, Arisu glanced at the cane beside her desk.
She had acquired Masumi's services from Houtarou through a tutoring arrangement that granted her certain usage rights.
Given her poor physical condition and Masumi's excellent physical capabilities, they complemented each other perfectly. The arrangement made sense.
However, she had unexpectedly discovered a vulnerability in this girl that could prove catastrophic for Class A if revealed — one that other classes could exploit against them.
And also, if her connection to the Chairman became public knowledge, it could be used as ammunition against Class A.
Take Kakeru from Class C, who had visited earlier. His swift decision to terminate the contract, like severing a limb, demonstrated Class C's determination to rise in rank.
The school's initial evaluation system hadn't marked Class C students as exceptional, leading them to seek alternative methods of advancement.
In other words, they might resort to underhanded tactics to climb the ranks.
Her identity could become a weapon in their arsenal against Class A.
Had Houtarou sent that message as a warning, having already anticipated this possibility?
Still, she wondered about Kakeru's worthiness.
And so, the little princess maintained her T-Rex fighting spirit, all because of Houtarou's single message.
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T/N: Merry Christmas everyone!
Another year coming to an end and I hope you all enjoy it as much as you can!
From your favorite translator!
Happy reading! (-‿◦)
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