Soon after I met with the Student Council President and followed him, I was led into a lavish meeting room with a huge table shaped like the letter "U".
"This is the student council office. There's no one else here except the two of us, so you don't have to worry about anyone listening in." Horikita said as he sat down on a chair behind the table while I stood on the other side, doubtful about his words.
It's true that there's no one around to listen to us but there is a camera in the corner of this room. Doesn't that mean the administration might listen to us? Or is it the kind of camera that only captures video, but not audio? I'll ask him later but first, I have to choose my words carefully in order to strike a deal with him.
"So, will you answer my question now?"
I don't think he'll be as cooperative as Hoshinomiya and, to be fair, arguing and negotiating with people aren't my strong points. I guess I can play it off by acting, using that overseer as a model... He's one of the best people in my mind when it comes to manipulate and fool people.
"My apologies, Horikita-buchou, but I can't speak without breaching my contract, just like how you can't inform us freshmen about the S-System's secrets because of the administration." I said, causing him to narrow his eyes even more before tilting his glasses, the lenses shining despite us being indoor, and before he could say anything, I quickly followed.
"However, I would be able to tell you if you are willing to sign a contract with me."
"A contract, you say?" He muttered while I nodded with a smile.
"Of course. We are both currently silenced by our respective commitments, me with my other partner and you with the administration. If we speak our minds then we will be subject to punishment but, I believe that if we both sign a contract, we can bypass them and share information with each other without any problem."
"And why do you think a simple contract would protect us from facing penalties?"
"From what I understand from my own circumstances, as long as a legitimate agreement is made, punishment can be avoided, especially when the gag order doesn't appear to be a contract but simply an oral order from the administration."
If that wasn't the case, then I don't think Hoshinomiya would have even offered me a price when I asked her for the details on the S-System.
"I see. Then how much are you willing to pay for such a contract?"
"How about one point?" I said and was amused when, despite his stoic and unchanging expression, he raised an eyebrow at me as if to say, "You can't be serious."
"Please listen to my proposition first, Horikita-buchou. You wish to know the reasons why I was wandering around in the school and I have several questions without any answers in mind. So, to satisfy both of our curiosity, how about we have a Q&A session?"
"Tell me more."
"It's very simple. Under a contract that would legitimize our transaction, we will ask each other a series of questions that we must answer truthfully, and since I paid one whole point, we shouldn't be sanctioned for violating our previous commitments. I'm sure that such an arrangement will benefit us both."
"I don't know if you're just being bold or if you take the school and me for fools." Horikita said as he looked at me with a frown, making me believe that it was simply his natural expression rather than him being annoyed.
"It is indeed true that my curiosity will be satisfied, but you will gain much more because you will get all the information you wish to ask about the S-System. There is nothing fair about that deal of yours."
I simply smiled at his words as I opened my arms, gesturing that I was hiding nothing from him.
"Horikita-buchou, I didn't lie to you. In the end of the day, it is a fact that both of us will benefit from this transaction, to say the least. If you are dissatisfied, we could have a teacher preside over the session or put some conditions, I don't mind."
"In that case, before signing a contract, I would like to ask you five questions to test your current understanding of the school. If your answers don't satisfy me, you can forget about the deal."
Hearing his words, I nodded with a smirk, because it was better than a flat refusal. While it's not guaranteed, I have a chance of closing the deal and gaining valuable information in the process as long as I don't make a mistake.
"Understood, I'll try to meet your expectations."
"Then let's begin." Horikita said as he stared straight into my eyes as I took a deep breath, preparing myself to answer.
"First question, what do class points represent?"
Let's see... Although it's just a conjecture, I think there is a relationship between private points and class points since they both involve points and it must be important, especially since Hoshinomiya didn't mention anything about the latter.
It sounds naive, but it's better than nothing.
So if our current private points are both our currency and reflect our value as students, then, following the same logic...
"Class Points are both the currency of our class as a whole and our value as a class, and by currency I don't mean that it's a pool that can be shared among all students, but that it's tied to the number of Private Points we are awarded each month." I said and observed Horikita's expression, seeing nothing change.
Did I answer wrong? No, since we haven't signed a contract yet, he can't tell me anything related to the S-System yet, so he won't give me a response to my answer since it could be a hint about it. All I can do for now is trust my instincts and reasoning, huh...
"Second question, how do one earn class points?"
If class points reflect our value as a class, just as our private points reflect our value based on our accomplishments, then they must be earned the same way.
"The class must perform well in exams and events such as sports festivals." I said, believing that besides the standard written tests, the sports festival could be another way to gain points since it is basically a competition between classes, and I suspect that the school wouldn't miss an opportunity to evaluate us, not academically but athletically.
"Third question, how are students listed?"
I blinked in surprise, a little dumbfounded by the question.
So even the way the classes are organized has some significance? Or is this a trick question? No, there must be some kind of logic behind it, like everything in this school...
My first thought would be that it's random, but I highly doubt that's the case.
My second thought would be that the administration would place students into a certain class based on their abilities. Hoshinomiya said that the school evaluated the talents of its students very seriously, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did this during the entrance exam where they assessed our potential.
The main problem is how the classes are organized. For competitive reasons, it would make sense for them to make all four classes equally strong. But remembering the rankings and the big gaps between classes, I'm beginning to believe that's not the case.
"Students are placed in classes based on both their academic and athletic abilities, in descending order, with the best students in Class A and the worst students in Class D."
"I see," he simply said without changing his expression once again, making me let out a sigh, not knowing if my answer was correct or not. It's a little stressful, to say the least.
"Fourth question, what happens when the class points reach zero?"
"Students won't receive any private points at the beginning of the month."
If class points are really related to the number of monthly private points we receive each month, then zero means zero income. That said, I wonder how it's possible to live on campus without money... Well, I hope so.
"And now, final question, what happens when the class points of a certain class exceed those of another?"
Can this really happen? Well, I suppose it's possible if, during three years, the students in a class work hard enough to put the others to shame, they could achieve this feat but what will happen after that happens...
Using Class A and B as an example, if Class B manages to surpass Class A then it will take its place at the top of the rankings... Take its place... I think I got something.
"They will exchange their label, for example, if Class B surpasses Class A, then they'll become the new Class A while the latter is demoted to B."
If Class A is considered the best class of the grade with the best students,then by taking its place by surpassing them and showing better value, class B will become the new class A. In fact, A, B, C and D may be simple labels to determine the ranking of classes and their places in the hierarchy.
"What's the verdict?" I asked Horikita who closed his eyes in thought before taking a sheet of paper out of a drawer and writing on it, then, once finished, he handed it to me.
"Here, I prepared the contract. All you have to do is sign and pay that one point."
I nodded as I took the contract in my hands and looked at it, reading the terms.
During the following hour after the contract is signed,
Horikita Manabu will answer truthfully to five questions asked by Kokonoe Sora.
Kokonoe Sora can't ask for all the information about the S-System in one question.
Violating this contract would result in the school issuing the harshest possible punishment, expulsion.
Horikita Manabu
Simple, short and straightforward, just the way I like them.
I won't say I'm disappointed about the terms since it's better than nothing. Five questions, huh... I suppose it's his idea of fairness. I have to think carefully about what to ask him since I can't ask him directly to reveal all the secrets of the school and its system.
Seeing no apparent loophole to exploit, I signed my name and handed the contract back to Horikita who proceeded to make a copy for me, while helping me transfer a point, having no idea how to do it.
"So, shall we start?" Horikita asked as I nodded, having already decided on my first question but before asking it, I placed my phone on the table between us in order to record our little Q&A session.
"It's only a precaution. It's not that I don't trust you, Horikita-buchou, but I intend to have Hoshinomiya-sensei check the truthfulness of the answers tomorrow." This will serve as irrefutable proof that she asked for and our contract will support its legitimacy.
"I don't mind. It's good behavior to adopt, especially in this school."
"Thank you for the compliment, then I'll start now. First, were all of my answers correct?"
I didn't get confirmation that they were, just that they satisfied him enough to prepare the contract. And even if it did, I don't know which ones were, so I want to make sure.
"They all were, you got the gist but there were a few details missing, which isn't bad considering it's only your first day of school. As far as I know, there aren't many students who have managed to pull off such feats."
"It's nothing extraordinary, I wasn't really sure of my answers, so it was mostly a gamble for most of them. I was simply lucky." I said, shaking my head at his compliment.
I'm just an average guy at best, so even if the other students didn't check out the school like I did, I'm sure they would figure out the school's anomaly very quickly and do so soon since they are supposed to be elites, being admitted to this school. And even I still have a lot to learn if I'm missing a few details...
"Luck can be considered a strength, so there's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I'll take your words for it. Second question, how many class points do all classes have at the start of the year?"
"They all start the year with 1000 class points, without exception."
So even though the classes aren't balanced, they still start at the same level, huh...
If that's the case, then the big gap between Class A and the other classes in the second and third year rankings isn't because they had a head start in terms of points, but because of their abilities. It just shows how superior their abilities are compared to others. I wonder if it's the same in our grade, if so, then we got some work to do, myself included.
Aside from that, now that I know we have 1000 points and my initial guess that class points and private points are linked was correct, with the former determining how much we get of the latter each month, then that means the ratio could be 1:100.
I could confirm this by asking him, but I have other questions I want to ask first, in order to get a broader view of the system.
"Third question, what happens to a student who fails an exam?"
Since it is an elite school, I would like to know how severe the sanctions are for failing the exams so that I can use the information as a stimulus to motivate myself and my classmates to start studying seriously, forgetting any notion of slacking off.
"If you're talking about written exams, then you'd drop out of school."
So there's no make-up exam or the likes. Kind of brutal, but I guess this is what should be expected. After all, there is no better punishment for people who put no effort into their actions or studies, in this case.
I'll have to put in the hard work in my studies if I want to stay here, otherwise I'd be really embarrassed if I got kicked out early in my first year after vowing to graduate from this school...
That said, he clarified about the written exams, does that mean that there are other types of exams like physical exams with different penalties? No, even if there are, I should assume that we would also be expelled if we failed them. I'd also better start working out as soon as possible...
I wonder, however, if there is any way to prevent this from happening, other than working hard. A loophole to exploit... Now that I think about it, since we can use points for anything reasonable, then…
"If it's possible, how much do I have to pay to cancel an expulsion? That's my fourth question."
"It costs 20.000.000 points to do this."
Fortunately, it's possible. I wasn't really sure, because evictions are often final, so it wouldn't be reasonable to try to negotiate to have them overturned. On the other hand, it's not cheap at all but it's better than nothing. That said, it'll be hard to gather such an amount. Even if I get 100,000 private points per month, I won't be able to get that much during the three years I study here.
Although I can ask my classmates for help, I prefer to have a secret stash of points for my own use. I'll just have to think of ways to collect points.
"Now, for my final question," I started to say as I looked at Horikita, meeting his eyes. "Is the rumored 100% admission rate for employment and higher education after graduation available to all students or is it reserved for Class A students?"
This is something that came to mind when I learned that competition between classes was a reality, with the school giving better rewards to Class A for being the best of the four classes, whether it was class points or private points, so I wondered if there were other benefits, and this one is the most important of all.
"No, those benefits will only be available to Class A students." Horikita said and I let out a sigh.
As expected, why am I not surprised. In this case, I only have two choices at the moment if I want to benefit from the 100%.
Either I promote my class to Class A, or I abandon my classmates and transfer to Class A by myself. If we can reverse an expulsion by spending points, I'm sure it should be possible to buy the right to change classes.
I guess I'll observe the reaction of my classmates first before deciding what to do, to see if they have the drive to strive for the top. If not, then Class B is no different from a sinking ship in this competitive environment in which the school operates. That said, even if they have the drive, it'll depend if they have the capabilities to surpass Class A too.
All I can say at the moment is that I have my work cut out for me.
"Thank you for answering my questions, that was really enlightening," I said, nodding my head to thank him for his cooperation, whether it was in granting my request or participating in this farce of mine.
"I am just respecting the contract and my words, nothing more. That being said, I am very interested to see how you act with this information from now on. I will be keeping an eye on you, and I'm sure I won't be the only one."
Honestly, I'd prefer you don't and by only one, is this a confirmation that we are being watched? Damn, I'm sure it'll cause nothing but trouble for me. Well, I'll have to suck it up for now and deal with the situation if it arises and adapt to it.
"By the way, I have two little requests to make of you, if you don't mind, Horikita-buchou."
"What is it?" Horikita asked as I showed him my phone with a little smile.
"First of all, I'd like to take a picture of the two of us together. I'm sure an audio recording isn't credible in itself because it is difficult to recognize the owner of a voice just by listening to it, so I'd like to have proof that we both participated in this Q&A session."
"It'll cost you 99 poin–."
"Deal." I quickly said upon hearing his price, transferring the points to him and smiled when I saw his eyebrow twitch, seemingly annoyed, which was enough for me since I'm sure he might cause me trouble in the future.
Wasting no time, I sat down on the table and took a picture of the president and I where I was making a peace sign while he looked at the camera with his usual frown, doing the Ikari Gendo pose.
A cheerful delinquent and a strict student president, it's quite an amusing picture, I must say.
"What's your second request?" Horikita asked while I got off the table before I held the contract in my hand.
"If it's possible, I'd like for you to answer two questions. Of course, you don't have to answer them if you don't wish to."
"If it's possible, I'd like for you to answer two of my questions. Of course, they don't really concern the S-System but you don't have to answer them if you don't wish to."
"Speak up. It's my duty as president to help students solve their troubles if necessary." Horikita said with a nod, making me smile before I decided to ask him the questions I had in mind.
"In that case, where can I get a blank contract like the one you pulled out, just out of curiosity?" Having some of them may be quite useful in the future.
"You can easily get a contract from a teacher, for free."
Hearing his answer, I silently apologized to Hoshinomiya since I'll often bother her in the near future, not that I really cared though.
"As for my other question, is there some punishment for taking out the rankings on the billboards?"
"No official penalty exists. But if you act recklessly and get caught, the school won't tolerate it. They may not punish you directly, but they'll make sure you regret it." Horikita said as he adjusted his glasses before he stared at me.
"Control information all you want. But if you choose to erase the truth, be prepared to deal with the consequences when it resurfaces. And… be prepared to justify your actions."
I guess my intentions were that obvious, huh... Now, what should I do? He said there were no official sanctions, but that doesn't mean I won't be punished for it.
The question here is, what's the better choice in this situation?
Should I go for it, the reward outweighs the risk? Or should I refrain to avoid the risk instead?