COTE : Backed By Black Technology System

As the pool was about to close, the stalls along the road had already been packed up, and Kanda Shuichi and the others were getting ready to leave as planned. 

"Ike, Yamauchi, you two, stop right there!" 

Horikita Suzune, already changed into her clothes, blocked Ike and Yamauchi in the hallway in front of the changing room just as they were about to head back to collect the remote-controlled car. 

"W-What is it?" 

Getting suddenly called out by Horikita with such intensity made Ike and Yamauchi jump in fear. 

"What is it? You should know exactly what you did, right?" 

Horikita's words made them panic. Did she find out? Their plan was supposed to be flawless! 

Seeing these two idiots looking completely lost, Horikita sighed. 

"I'll be waiting for you both at the pool entrance. Don't even think about running. Sudou, make sure they stay put. As for the remote-controlled car, you don't need to retrieve it anymore." 

"Huh? Oh, uh, got it." 

The moment they heard "remote-controlled car," Ike and Yamauchi froze, their last bit of hope vanishing completely. 

Twenty minutes later, at the pool entrance, Class D and Class B students had all gathered. 

Even Hirata Yosuke, who hadn't come in the morning, was now here, talking to Kanda Shuichi—obviously about Ike and Yamauchi. 

As for Kamuro, she simply stood silently on the side, not saying a word. It was an obvious act of surveillance, but Horikita had no way to do anything about it. 

"Ichinose, we have some things to take care of, so we won't be going with you." 

Unlike the relaxed atmosphere in Ichinose's group, Horikita was beyond frustrated. Ike and Yamauchi weren't just useless to the class; they were actively causing trouble. 

At that moment, she suddenly envied Ichinose's class. Their classmates were united, hardworking, and even those who wanted to slack off at least didn't make things worse for the class. 

Ichinose and the others seemed curious but, noticing the serious mood in Class D, she simply nodded in understanding. 

A few minutes later, Kanda Shuichi and his group hurried back to the dorms. 

"Meeting in Ayanokouji's room in two minutes. I have something to say." 

In the dorm lobby, Horikita addressed all the Class D students. 

Why my room again? Ayanokouji complained internally but kept quiet—after all, he was technically involved in this too. 

"Um… Did something happen?" Kushida raised her hand and asked softly. 

Horikita glanced at Yamauchi and Ike, who remained silent. 

"We'll talk about it later. There are outsiders here." 

She cast a look at Kamuro, who was still sticking close to Kanda Shuichi. 

"In that case, I'll take my leave. Shuichi, bye-bye." 

"Bye-bye." 

Watching Kanda Shuichi and Kamuro, Ayanokouji remained expressionless but found their dedication amusing. 

Back at the dorm, Kanda Shuichi took a quick shower, changed into dry clothes, and dried his hair before heading to Ayanokouji's room as agreed. 

By the time the meeting started, Ayanokouji's small room was packed with Class D students. 

Besides Ayanokouji, there were Horikita, Kushida, Hirata, Kanda, and the three idiots—eight people in total, making the room feel cramped. 

Horikita was sitting on Ayanokouji's bed, Kushida sat at the other end, while Ayanokouji and Hirata stood against the wall. Yamauchi and Ike were kneeling on the floor, and Sudou stood by the door.

After entering the room, Kanda Shuichi sat down right next to Kushida and casually placed his hand behind her. 

"Um, can someone tell me what's going on?" Kushida asked, looking confused. Among everyone present, he was the only one who didn't know what had happened. 

Ike and Yamauchi were directly involved, Hirata had already been informed by Ayanokouji, and while Sudou didn't know the details, he was at least aware of the peeping plan. 

It was clear that something had gone wrong. Otherwise, Horikita wouldn't have gone out of her way to gather everyone here, even bringing in Hirata, who had nothing to do with it. 

Hearing Kushida's question, Horikita immediately felt a surge of anger. 

She pulled a remote-controlled car out of Ayanokouji's bag and threw it right in front of Yamauchi and Ike. 

The sound of it hitting the ground made both of them flinch. 

"These two idiots built a remote-controlled car and attached a camera and a storage device to secretly record the girls' locker room." 

"You've got to be kidding!?" 

Kushida stood up in shock, but after stepping back and bumping into the edge of the bed, she quickly sat down again—right on Kanda Shuichi's hand. 

"I wasn't planning to join you at the pool today, but Ayanokouji thought this situation was dangerous. If the school found out, not only would these two morons get expelled, but Class D's points would instantly drop to zero. So last night, he told me about it and asked me to retrieve the memory card from this thing." 

As soon as they heard that, Ike and Yamauchi turned to Ayanokouji with furious glares. 

Unbelievable. You betrayed us! 

Not only did you crush our dream, but now you're making us go through this humiliation! 

At that moment, they were filled with rage toward Ayanokouji, completely unwilling to forgive him. 

"What's with those looks? Do you seriously think you did nothing wrong?" 

Horikita's sharp tone made them instantly lower their heads. 

"Kanji, Haruki, no matter how you look at it, this was way out of line. And honestly, if Horikita hadn't recovered the device and someone else had found it instead, you guys would be in serious trouble right now." 

Kushida also scolded Yamauchi and Ike, while at the same time praising Horikita. 

Honestly, keeping up this "nice girl" act must be exhausting. Deep down, you probably want to yell at them just as much. 

"If that were all, things would be fine. If I had managed to retrieve it, everything would've been okay." 

"Wait… What do you mean?" 

"Horikita, w-what are you trying to say?" 

Kushida, Sudou, and the two culprits stared at Horikita in shock. 

"Exactly what it sounds like. After changing my clothes and meeting up with you in the hallway, I immediately went back to the locker room to recover the memory card. But by then, it was too late—the remote-controlled car had already been placed in a very obvious spot." 

"So, before Horikita could retrieve the evidence that could get these two expelled, someone else had already taken it?" 

Horikita sighed as she glanced at Kanda Shuichi. 

"Kanda is right. Right now, the evidence that could expel Yamauchi and Ike is in someone else's hands." 

"Do we know who has it?" 

Kanda Shuichi pressed for an answer, and Horikita hesitated, as if she were about to reveal the person's name. 

"She—" 

"She won't let us reveal her name. If we do, she'll immediately hand the evidence over to the school." 

Ayanokouji cut in before Horikita could finish. 

And Kanda, you totally tried to bait Horikita into saying it on purpose, didn't you? 

Why is it so hard for me to just take it easy?

Horikita Suzune glanced at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, her expression complicated. She had almost blurted out Kamuro's name just now. 

"W-What should we do? I don't want to get expelled! In the end, this was all Ike's idea. I just didn't say no!" 

Yamauchi was the first to crack, immediately throwing Ike under the bus. 

"Huh? Weren't you totally on board too, Yamauchi? Without you covering for me, how could I have pulled it off?" 

"That's only because you begged me! I had no choice!" 

"Yeah, right. You wanted to see it just as much as I did." 

One was trying to dump all the blame on Ike, while the other wanted to drag someone down with him before it was over. Neither was willing to back down. 

Watching them argue even at a time like this, Horikita Suzune's anger kept building. She wanted nothing more than to smack both of them across the face. 

Sudou, seeming to understand exactly what she was thinking, landed a solid punch on both Yamauchi and Ike. 

"Shut up, both of you! If you're still here, that means they haven't turned in the evidence yet, right?" 

At the crucial moment, Sudou was quick to catch the key point. 

That's right. If the evidence had already been handed over, at least one of them wouldn't be standing here right now. 

"Then… does that mean we still have a chance?" 

"R-Really?" 

"Horikita! Please save us! I swear I'll reflect on my actions!" 

"Me too! I'll reflect as well!" 

Hearing that there was still hope, the two of them immediately stopped arguing and turned to Horikita Suzune with desperate, expectant faces. 

Seeing how shameless they were, Horikita decided she was done with this. 

"Hirata, you handle it." 

Hirata, who had just been called out, stepped forward and looked at Ike and Yamauchi. 

"The person who has the evidence is asking for twenty million private points." 

"What?" 

"Twenty million private points?" 

"How the hell are we supposed to get that much?" 

Hearing the amount, Ike and Yamauchi started yelling again. 

"So in the end, we're getting expelled no matter what?" 

"No, don't we have points? The ones from the special exam for the VIPs." 

Ike then turned to Kanda Shuichi, who was sitting by the bed. 

Why are you looking at me? 

Kanda Shuichi quietly pulled his hands back and let out a sneer. 

"After doing something like this, you still expect me to give you points? You must be dreaming." 

"W-Who said anything about your points? When we signed the contract, didn't we agree to hand them over to Hirata? Tomorrow is September 1st, right? That means Hirata will have 20 million points by then!" 

"Yeah! Hirata, you have to save us!" 

They had always badmouthed Hirata behind his back, and now they were acting like this? Kanda Shuichi thought these two were truly pathetic. 

"Those points don't belong to me alone," Hirata said with a strained smile, shaking his head. "If we want to use them, we need most of the class to agree." 

"If it's you, Hirata, convincing everyone should be easy, right?" 

"Enough!" 

Horikita Suzune couldn't stand listening anymore. 

"You two just want to hide behind Hirata and let him take all the responsibility? 

If you were the ones who messed up, then you should be the ones convincing the class. If you can't even do that, you might as well drop out!" 

"B-But…" 

They knew exactly how they were viewed in class. Getting their classmates to agree would be impossible.

"I'll do my best to convince everyone, but I also hope Ike and Yamauchi can admit their mistakes in front of the class." 

Even though Ike and Yamauchi had messed up so badly, Hirata still wasn't willing to give up on them. In fact, he even felt a little relieved. If Class D had the 20 million private points as a target, Ike and Yamauchi might not have even lasted in school. 

"But... but how are we supposed to talk about something like secretly filming the girls' locker room in front of the whole class?" 

"Hey, Kanji, you bastard! You had no problem doing it, but now you can't even admit it? Weren't you the one who said you were prepared when making this plan? So this is your so-called resolve?" 

Sudou stormed forward, grabbed Ike by the collar, and lifted him up. 

"I-I get it! I was wrong! I'll apologize! I'll reflect on what I did!" 

At this point, the situation was pretty much settled. Now, it all depended on how the class would react tomorrow. 

So, why did they even call me here? Just to have Kushida's butt brush against my hand or something? 

The real reason Horikita called Kanda Shuichi over was to get his approval for using the class's 20 million points—since, after all, he was the one who earned them for the class. 

As for bringing in Hirata and Kushida, it was simply to use their connections to persuade the class to agree. 

Everyone else in the room was either directly involved or already knew what had happened. 

Looking back, Horikita actually regretted not stopping those two idiots from the very start. Ayanokouji had even warned her before they went through with their plan. 

In the end, it was her own selfishness. She wanted evidence so she could sacrifice two scapegoats for the class's benefit. 

To her, the 20 million points were far more valuable than someone like Ike or Yamauchi. 

And yet, now that she had her scapegoats, the 20 million points were gone too. 

Back in his room, Kanda Shuichi had barely settled in for ten minutes before someone knocked on his door. 

It was, of course, Kushida Kikyo. 

As expected, the moment she stepped inside, she exploded in anger. 

"That idiot Horikita! If she knew those two morons were planning something like this, why didn't she stop them right away?! She knew they were playing with fire, and she still let them go through with it! She's the one who deserves to be expelled!" 

After finishing her rant about Horikita, Kushida immediately turned her anger toward Yamauchi and Ike. 

"What the hell! My body could've been seen by who knows how many people!" 

…So that's what you're worried about? 

Kanda Shuichi couldn't help but smile. 

Seeing that, Kushida got annoyed, grabbed a pillow from the bed, and threw it at him. 

"What are you laughing at?! My body was almost exposed to a bunch of people!" 

"It's fine, right? The one who took the memory card was a girl anyway. What's the big deal if another girl saw it?" Kanda Shuichi caught the pillow and hugged it. 

"What if she hands it over to some guy?" 

That made Kanda Shuichi pause for a moment before nodding in realization. 

"Oh, I see. That's what you're worried about. Guess I'd better make sure it doesn't get leaked anywhere." 

Saying that, he pulled open a drawer and took out a memory card. 

"Th-That's…?" 

"This? It's exactly what you think it is." 

Kanda Shuichi smiled. 

"Why do you have it?! Did you sneak into the girls' locker room to get it?!" Kushida's brain was struggling to process the situation. 

"You idiot, as if I'd do something like that." Kanda Shuichi rolled his eyes. "I had Kamuro do it."

"So, this was all your doing? Were you the one who suggested the 20 million points too?" 

After thinking for a while, Kushida finally understood the situation. 

"That's right. When I went to the changing room this morning, I saw Ike and the others acting sneaky, like they were up to something. So I looked into it a bit, and sure enough, they were up to no good." 

"Then why didn't you tell me and let me go get it?" 

"Idiot, you were busy hanging out with Ichinose and the others, right? Besides, you're too noticeable. How could I let you go get it?" 

Kanda Shuichi was speechless. You have so many friends, of course, people pay attention to you. There's no way I could let you handle something like this. 

"But doesn't this mean you just handed the points over to Class A? And why is Kamuro helping you anyway? Don't tell me she actually likes you?" 

"Maybe. She said we were childhood friends, but I lost my memory six months ago, so I don't remember at all." Kanda Shuichi shrugged. 

Like I'd dare to remember. Damn it, I transmigrated. The person Kamuro likes probably isn't even me. 

"Childhood friends? So you're just going to hand over D-Class's 20 million personal points to her?" 

I couldn't help it! Masumi came at me so aggressively, I couldn't resist! 

Besides, even if Kamuro gets the points, Kanda Shuichi isn't worried. After all, he has leverage over her. 

Seeing Kanda Shuichi stay silent, Kushida leaned in closer. "Then if she really does like you, what are you going to do?" 

"Well... I guess I'll date her first." 

"Huh? Then what about me? And by the way, didn't you just grab my butt?"

 "You were the one who sat on my hand!" 

"But I never told you to squeeze it!" 

"How could I not squeeze it in that situation? Didn't it feel exciting?" 

"Exciting my ass! If someone finds out, how am I supposed to face people?" Kushida grabbed a pillow from Kanda Shuichi's arms and started swinging it at his head. 

"What's wrong with it? Dating in high school is totally normal!" 

Kanda Shuichi caught the pillow Kushida was swinging at him and spoke unhappily. 

"Are you planning to two-time us? Jerk!" 

"So what? You're both my wings!" 

"Go to hell, you bastard!" 

Kushida yanked the pillow from Kanda Shuichi's hands and smacked him hard on the head before storming out. 

As Kanda Shuichi pulled the pillow off his head, he heard the loud slam of the door. 

Sigh… As expected, wanting an easy harem life is just something from novels, not reality. 

---

————— ----

You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu