5.4

Asahina, who ordered hot tea, held the cup in both hands and brought it to her mouth in a delicious manner.

"So, to continue what we were talking about earlier, you're saying that the dissatisfaction and opposition to Nagumo-senpai is becoming increasingly active by the day, right?"

"Yes. I don't know exactly how many people are involved. Basically, such information isn't revealed to Class A. You don't know about the contract Nagumo has made with the third-year students, do you?"

"I thought they were using some method to bind the year together, but nothing concrete."

"Then let's start with that."

With that said, Asahina took a moment to look around to make sure no one was nearby before elaborating on the contract's details.

For the first time, Nagumo Miyabi's contract with many of the third-year students was revealed.

● The transfer of 75% of the private points earned each month to Nagumo Miyabi personally.

● To comply with Nagumo Miyabi's instructions and not to engage in hostile behavior.

● To earn the right to acquire tickets, one must collect a certain number of points that they've earned and been recognized for.

● The funds to transfer must be handed over the day before the class finalization.

● If a person disobeys Nagumo even after winning a ticket, their right will be revoked.

● Students who abide by the above five conditions will be eligible to compete for the tickets worth 20 million points.

And one more thing.

"Nagumo's going to leave tens of millions of points and let the students who signed the contract draw lots at the end."

This meant that, even if they failed to get a ticket through this contract, they still had a chance to go to Class A with a lottery.

The contract that Nagumo made to the students in the classes below him was secure because Class A's status, which Nagumo led, was good... Since it was impossible for an individual to accumulate 20 million points, private points would be collected from many others and converted into class transfer tickets.

Students in Class B and below usually had a zero percent chance of graduating within Class A, but with this redistribution of wealth, their chances would increase, if only by a few percent.

The fact that some students, such as Kiriyama, had already earned the right to do so suggested that it was having some effect. A 75% rate was very high, but this was important for the proposition of giving as many students as possible a ticket. At the same time, it was advantageous to Nagumo. By not allowing them to handle large sums of money, Nagumo deterred them from starting a rebellion.

"So he forced this on Class B and below."

"Yes. Only Nagumo knows exactly how many students signed the contract.

But I think most of the students probably agreed to it. And we, Class A, also gave 50% of our points to him, although it's not by contract."

Only Class A students who were sure to win could use their full amount of private points freely every month. This was a natural right, but students in the lower classes may have felt dissatisfied.

Nagumo understood this part of the situation, which was why he was able to adjust and control the situation.

In the third year, Class A was the lone lead. Therefore, even if the 50% share was paid, it would be more than the full 75% amount collected from the other three classes. Nagumo, who had the power to decide the special exams' results at will, was the king who was in control of everything.

"I happened to be placed in the same Class B that Nagumo was originally in.

He worked hard to move me up to Class A and created the environment that I'm in now. I know I'm not qualified to say this, but I've been taking advantage of it this whole time…"

She seemed afraid to say it, but she pulled the heavy words out from the back of her throat.

"I heard that Moeka dropped out of school because of the environment Nagumo created, even if indirectly. When I thought about that, my tears started to overflow..."

That was probably the reason for Asahina's crying face she showed at the school building earlier.

I didn't think there was a direct relationship between Suchi and Kiryuuin, but what Asahina said about Nagumo 'indirectly' being the cause might've implied so.

"Asahina-senpai, can you lend me your help?"

"Help? With what?"

"What's your relationship with Yamanaka-senpai in Class 3-D?"

"Yamanaka-san? I've spoken with her, but we don't get along particularly well. I don't think I can help you…"

'We don't get along particularly well.' Hearing those words was actually quite convenient for me

"Since you're a third-year student, it's more important for me to have you speak objectively about Yamanaka."

"Is that so?"

I took out my cell phone and displayed Ikuko Yamanaka's OAA, a third-year student from Class D.

She was a typical Class D student—below average in all abilities. Nothing noteworthy.

"Does she have a wide social circle?"

"Well, I don't know. I think she gets along well with her female classmates, but she's not the type to be very outgoing. She's not popular with everyone."

I didn't want to rely on Asahina's evaluation alone, but it seemed safe to say that she didn't have more than what the OAA indicated.

"What I'm about to tell you is off the record, please."

"That's kind of funny. We're both talking in secret."

"Yeah."

I told Asahina about the situation with Kiryuuin being nearly accused of shoplifting.

At first, Asahina was surprised, but soon she began to understand the situation.

"I see. So you wanted to talk to me about doing an investigation on the third-year students."

"You're the only person I thought I could trust."

"I'm kind of glad. When I'm around Nagumo a lot, I'm more likely to be suspected of knowing more."

Well, if you thought about it, it wasn't unreasonable to assume so when she had a close connection with Nagumo.

"What do you think about this case from your viewpoint?"

"I've only spoken to Kiryuuin-san a few times over the past three years, so I don't know much about her. However, she's probably exactly as you imagine her to be."

"Yes, that's true."

"I'm not saying that there's absolutely no chance of Kiryuuin-san and Yamanaka-san having a grudge against each other, but it's another thing to think about framing her for shoplifting out of revenge. If it were found out, you might be expelled from school, right?"

"Kiryuuin-senpai was actually able to notice it right away, and Yamanaka-senpai ended up failing. If it had been immediately reported to the school, as you said, the possibility of expulsion might not have been zero."

In other words, something inexplicable had been happening from the very beginning of this incident.

"But... I see. I think I remember something."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I think it was right after she almost got accused of shoplifting. I saw Kiryuuin-san stomping on a boy on the way home after she made him fall down."

"She trampled him?"

Kiryuuin-san was usually elegant and composed. It was hard to imagine, but...

<Illustration>

"They were probably hindering Kiryuuin-san's attempt to go after Yamanaka-san. She was quite angry and was pushing him as if to interrogate him.

I don't know why the boy was trying to protect Yamanaka-san but I couldn't help but feel bad. He must have had a scary experience."

"By the way, who was she pressuring?"

"It was Anazai-kun from Class D, I think?"

A new name. Was he manipulating Yamanaka and trying to sabotage her, or was he just trying to protect her from Kiryuuin as a classmate?

This still needed to be figured out.

"I want to talk to Yamanaka-senpai, can you contact her for me?"

"What? Uh, yes. It's not that hard…"

"Then, please..."

As soon as she contacted Yamanaka via chat, the message was marked as read.

"Can I tell her that you want to see her?"

I nodded and told her it wasn't a problem and then she sent another text.

"I got a read but she didn't reply."

Asahina-senpai stared at her phone for a while, but after a few minutes, she received a message.

"If you don't mind waiting, she said she would be here in about 30 minutes."

"No problem, I'll wait. Thank you."

"It's no big deal. I'm curious about the truth too."

Since I had time, I decided to ask Asahina-senpai about her school life, special exams, etc. for a while.