Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

"I don't know what you mean by 10 million." Houtarou said, "The current exams can't generate that many points. I've already exchanged most of my points for cash. While students can normally exchange points at graduation, I paid for early access to this privilege."

"Is that so?" Upon learning how he had spent his points, Suzune visibly relaxed.

She became more cooperative.

"Wait, you can exchange school points for cash?" Her eyes lit up as if discovering something crucial.

"What, interested in exchanging some yourself?" He said, "You're in luck — the chairman isn't charging me exchange fees right now."

"Um... No, I still want to collect 20 million points." Suzune shook her head slightly, "I need to prove I'm not useless and earn my brother's recognition. I'm not trying to profit from this opportunity."

So you value recognition over money?

You're not driven by greed.

You were the same in my dreams — becoming a lawyer who defended ordinary people, often waiving your legal fees.

So, Suzune has a noble character.

"..."

Houtarou suddenly felt that the lawyer version of her in his dreams wasn't mere imagination. Perhaps it truly was her future.

"..."

No… Isn't this terrifying?

He possessed the ability to see Precognitive Dreams, and the future Suzune he dreamed of seemed unnervingly real.

It made him wonder if this was another Precognitive Dream. As a novice with supernatural abilities, he might not have full control over his powers.

Could his vision of a grown-up Suzune with two daughters be that kind of dream?

Yet in his confirmed Precognitive Dreams, he was dating Kei Karuizawa from Class D — dating her, but ultimately marrying Suzune.

And if the Suzune in his dreams wasn't precognition but ordinary dreams, it meant she had been occupying his thoughts all along.

And now he felt excited at the thought of being kept.

"..."

What kind of person was he becoming?

Troubled by these delicate thoughts, Houtarou forced his mind elsewhere.

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The two walked through the school.

Initially, Houtarou had called Suzune over because he was short on Points, having only 320,000 and needing to replenish that mysterious transfer of 1 million.

But now he had confirmed that someone was indeed keeping him financially secure. They had specifically sent 2 million Points for his discretionary use.

This meant he no longer had an urgent need to collect Points or replenish them quickly.

Still, since he had already called Suzune out, he figured they might as well earn some money for appearance's sake.

Houtarou thought to himself.

"Horikita, what do you think is the best way to collect points?" He asked.

"Collecting points... based on your previous methods, it's mainly about gathering them from other students."

"Yes." He nodded, "For long-term point collection, there are three sources: special exams, the student body, and the faculty — who also use points for purchases at this school."

"When I visited the chairman yesterday to exchange for cash, I discovered they have dedicated exchange staff. These weren't just random fill-ins, but specifically assigned personnel. This indicates that faculty members both spend points at school and exchange them for cash. They likely don't maintain large point savings, which means students remain our primary target for points."

"Oh." Suzune nodded attentively.

In truth, she had no strategy of her own. Since entering school, all her Points had come through his assistance.

She noticed that today's Houtarou was unusually explanatory.

Typically, he just issued commands: "Horikita do this", "Horikita do that", or "Horikita, maintain your cold demeanor", "Horikita, you can go now", and similar directives.

But now... he was actually teaching her and sharing knowledge.

Had something changed in him? She couldn't tell.

Houtarou was deep in self-reflection, wrestling with his complex adolescent feelings.

His recurring dreams about Suzune made him question whether he had always harbored hidden motives toward her, and if he had the capacity to be dishonorable.

His feelings were complicated.

"Anyway, since we're out, let's collect some points." Houtarou said, "I've actually kept one student as a point reserve. Now that it's a new month, they should have received their refill. Though I've been busy lately and I'm not sure of their current balance, what we can collect will depend on what they have left."

"..." Suzune remained silent.

She didn't respond because she felt uncomfortable with how he treated people as mere point sources.

When Houtarou didn't elaborate further, she pressed on with her questions.

"So who is this point reserve you chose?"

"It's that person. Look, he's coming!" He pointed.

The two of them stood at the stairs below the school building. Near the vending machine on the first floor, a small group of imposing figures approached.

Unlike Class A's various factions, these were Class C students — and they belonged to just one faction: the Kakeru faction.

Kakeru Ryūen, who called himself the tyrant of Class C, had red hair parted in the middle, towering height, and an intimidating presence.

"That's Kakeru Ryūen from Class C, who terminated our store plan." Houtarou explained, "He unified Class C, discovered their points were leaking out, and shut down the store arrangement between Class C students and us."

'Oh, I see.' Suzune realized.

He had planned to scam the early Points from Classes B and C. His reasoning was simple: once these classes had representatives competing for advancement, they wouldn't tolerate losing class points and would terminate the store plan like cutting off a gangrenous limb.

For Kakeru to accomplish this showed both strong determination and sharp intuition.

So this was Class C's representative? If she was to fulfill Sae's demand to elevate Class D to Class B, she would first need to defeat Kakeru, whose class stood directly above them.

But Class C had unified so quickly, while Class D remained scattered and disorganized.

She suddenly realized her own inadequacy to lead Class D, let alone guide them upward.

After all, these were students who, on their first day, had engaged in crude ranking games and managed to reduce their 1,000 Class Points to zero after learning the school rules.

With no self-control or class cohesion, how could anyone lead such people?

And could she, Suzune, truly lead? Despite wanting to prove her worth, when she proposed study sessions for the written exam at the start of the month, no one had listened.

In Class D, she remained isolated — studying alone, taking care of herself alone.

Only Kikyō occasionally reached out, while Airi (Sakura), who sat beside her, would sometimes glance over curiously.

Meanwhile, Class A not only had Houtarou but also boasted students who served on her brother's Student Council.

As for Class B, she had no contact with them at all.

Meanwhile in Class C, Kakeru demonstrated decisive leadership by cutting off problematic elements swiftly. Though his use of violence was deplorable, he had achieved his goal — making Class C speak with a single voice.

In stark contrast, she remained isolated in Class D.

Reflecting on this, Suzune couldn't ignore the vast differences between herself, her class, and the others.

And looming above it all was Houtarou — an opponent so formidable that victory seemed utterly impossible.

"..." Suzune sighed, "I suddenly feel quite down."

"??" Houtarou glanced at her with confusion.

Why are you getting depressed all by yourself again?

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