Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

T/N: Correction for Chapter 49 price of the Work Permit. It's actualy 100,000 Points, not 10,000.

Sorry the incovenience!

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10 PM last night in the Chairman's office at school.

Narumori Sakayanagi and several faculty members were present.

"This is astounding." Said one staff member, "The private account points of first-year Class A student Houtarou Oreki have exceeded 10 million in just two hours. No — it's still growing. Eleven million, twelve million, still rising... The students are clearly passionate about part-time work."

The staff member couldn't hide their amazement.

They knew that after Houtarou bought out the part-time Work Rights, he had immediately begun leasing them to others. Each right cost 100,000 Points, was valid for three years, and could be transferred if unused.

His account Points were increasing by 100,000 per person — one person meant 100,000, ten students meant 1 million. Beyond his base Points of 1.22 million (4.22 million minus 3 million for buying the rights), his account had now surpassed 12.1 million. This meant over 100 students had already obtained rights from him.

His earnings now surpassed Miyabi's store and had become even more popular.

Yet these students hadn't considered that in this closed school, work opportunities existed only in the shopping district, which employed around 1,000 staff.

Even if they needed part-time help, they wouldn't need nearly so many people. Still, students rushed headlong into acquiring work rights.

But of course — no one wanted to miss this opportunity. They secured the rights first and would worry about the details later.

"This is natural, given how our children have been raised." Another staff member said, "My daughter also works part-time outside to supplement her pocket money. After all, her allowance often isn't sufficient."

In other words, in this country, student part-time work was the norm. It would be difficult to justify preventing them from working.

"However…" Another staff member said with concern, "Chairman Sakayanagi, is this really acceptable? With so many students involved, they won't need to rely entirely on the school. They might stop cooperating with the special exams meant for their development."

All eyes turned to the man who had been sitting quietly at the desk with his hands folded.

He was middle-aged with short silver-white hair and glasses, carrying an approachable air about him. This was Narumori Sakayanagi, the school's Chairman, its highest authority.

The staff member's concern was valid. The school maintained a closed environment where students were developed through special exams that awarded Points.

If students could now freely earn Points, what incentive would they have to follow the school's guidance?

Miyabi's store proposal had already tested these boundaries. Through his scheme, he had amassed substantial monthly Points, joined the Student Council, and gained influence over the second-year students, who then began treating the monthly special exams as mere Point-farming opportunities.

This development had caught the school off guard, and they were still deliberating how to address it.

The Chairman's philosophy was that the school should provide a stage for students to grow. They would only intervene when absolutely necessary. The rise of someone like Miyabi was within the realm of possibility, so they needed to observe further.

Thus, the store remained operational.

As for Miyabi's influence on the second-years' behavior, they decided to give him a chance for self-reflection, or let the Student Council President handle it. While this stretched the boundaries of school control, it hadn't completely crossed the line.

But now, with the part-time Work Rights situation, control had slipped entirely. If students gained alternative sources of Points, the school would lose its primary means of influence, threatening its long-standing operational model.

This represented the greatest crisis since the school's founding. The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned serious as all staff members fixed their attention on the Chairman.

"Indeed." Said Narumori, adjusting his black-framed glasses as he noticed their stares, "I approved Oreki's part-time Work Rights, and now it's certainly giving us a headache."

"..."

The unspoken question hung in the air: Why approve it if it would cause such problems?

But everyone understood the Chairman's commitment to nurturing talent by giving students maximum freedom to develop independently.

If students could identify and utilize loopholes, why not let them? Too much rigidity would only result in cookie-cutter graduates.

This challenge had plagued the school for years: despite gathering talented students from across the country for specialized development, the results remained disappointing.

"And on this point, what's your view?" Narumori continued.

During the conversation, a dignified young man with black short hair and glasses stepped out from the shadows. This was Manabu Horikita, considered the finest Student Council President in the school's history.

"I hold Oreki in high regard." Manabu said, "At the start of enrollment, I tried to invite him to join the student council. He has keen insight. I believed he could keep Nagumo in check. But now I see my initial assessment was too low — Nagumo isn't as sharp or thorough as him."

"Indeed." Narumori nodded, "He's quite a perceptive child. This is another agreement he signed at the time."

He opened his drawer and took out a contract bearing Houtarou's name and seal.

Everyone looked at it.

[Having obtained part-time Work Rights, if this causes trouble for the school, I, Houtarou Oreki, am willing to forfeit these rights without compensation.]

"Without compensation?"

"Yes." Narumori nodded, "Clearly, he knows what he's doing. When I agreed to his rights purchase, he also gave us a way out. Since he's so reasonable, we should respond accordingly."

"Then what do you suggest?" Everyone looked at him intently, including Manabu.

So at 10 PM yesterday, the school had formulated a solution.

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Back to the present.

"Yesterday I posted two threads on the forum. The first thread was about Vice President Nagumo's store rights demanding 5 million points, and the second was about selling part-time work rights." Houtarou said.

"Oh, that—" As a social butterfly, Kikyō naturally knew about the forum and how it had exploded yesterday regarding the part-time work rights.

A part-time work right cost 100,000 Points, which first-years typically couldn't afford. She still had her 5% commission from the previous store plan — a full 153,000 Points. It would be enough to buy one set of rights.

However, she recalled being tricked into working alone when she had previously collaborated with Houtarou on opening the store. Though she could blame Miyabi, the losses still stung.

For instance, there were issues with Class C students.

The girls had planned to go shopping together, but they'd learned that Class C was controlled by someone named Kakeru Ryūen. He ruled through violence and forbade interaction with students from other classes. The girls, fearing his anger, stayed away.

As for the boys — when Kikyō messaged them, Kakeru intercepted the communications. He publicly humiliated any boy who received her messages, accusing them of perversion and lusting after her. Consequently, none of the boys dared contact her anymore.

Class C had effectively isolated itself from other classes, taking a significant chunk out of Kikyō's potential friend circle.

The situation pained her.

So when she discovered Houtarou's new part-time work rights scheme, she felt little interest. She'd even kept a careful eye on her phone that night, preparing to refuse if he suggested another collaboration. Being tricked once was enough.

Thankfully, he hadn't reached out or asked her to work.

"So are the part-time work rights real?" Kikyō asked, maintaining her cute, angel-like appearance.

"They're real, but the school won't allow it, so they'll probably be revoked soon." Houtarou said.

"Oh." Her cute expression faded slightly.

If the school was planning to take action against this, wouldn't it damage her reputation? She felt relieved about not getting involved.

However, as she contemplated this, Houtarou continued.

"Since the school allowed Nagumo-senpai's store initiative, we know their tolerance is quite high. When I purchased the work rights, I signed a goodwill agreement with the Chairman. The rights will be revoked, but the school will likely compensate both me and the students fairly. We just don't know the exact amount yet."

"Oh, I see." Had she missed an opportunity after all? Her mood darkened.

From the earlier conversation between Suzune and Houtarou, it was clear Suzune was involved in this collaboration and would profit again. Meanwhile, Kikyō hadn't been chosen and had missed out on potential compensation from the school.

Her pleasant demeanor began to slip.

While lost in these thoughts, she noticed Houtarou's phone vibrate. Being socially adept and mindful of boundaries, she took a small step back to show she wasn't trying to peek.

But she had already glimpsed the message:

| Miyabi Nagumo — Studen Council Vice President |

| Houtarou Oreki, our bet is still valid, right? Let's settle it during lunch break today! |

"It's Vice President Nagumo." Houtarou said, "Remember how annoying he was before? I made a bet with him that if I earned 5 million points in 3 days, he'd give me 300,000 points for free. Now he wants to settle up. So..."

He looked at Kikyō, whose emotions had been fluctuating rapidly.

"Want to come along and get even?"

Want to come along and get even?

She remembered Miyabi well — during the previous store plan, he had suddenly appeared demanding money, then was exposed as a playboy. She had naively given him her full name.

Kikyō felt conflicted. Should she join Houtarou for revenge? True, she wanted to avoid Miyabi, and going along would only reinforce his awareness of her. But...

This new Houtarou — after just one night — had wagered with the Student Council Vice President about earning 5 million Points in 3 days. Now it was time to collect, which meant... he must have succeeded, right?

Combined with the previous store plan's 51 participants, the total would reach tens of millions of Points.

Kikyō carefully considered her options.

Class D had paid Houtarou for the school rules on their first day, so she understood how challenging it was to amass 20 million Points. Yet in just two weeks, he had achieved what previous classes couldn't.

Out of 20 million Points, he had already obtained close to 10 million.

"M-may I?" She asked, putting on her cute expression.

"Of course." Houtarou nodded.

Miyabi's sudden contact made him suspect the school had reached a decision.

Though the guy was a Student Council member, he lacked access to the most crucial information. He was likely coming just to show off.

Knowing Miyabi, he'd probably bring some girls along. Since Houtarou wasn't good at dealing with girls, having someone there to help maintain appearances would be useful.

While Suzune would make suitable background support, her position as Manabu's sister was a liability. If that connection became known, she might become a target.

From every angle, Kikyō — cute, manageable, and relatively disconnected — was the most suitable choice.

"Hmm?" She caught him studying her and responded with her sweetest expression.

"It's nothing." Houtarou said, heading toward his classroom.

When lunch break came, the two made their way to the shopping district together.

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