Classroom of the Elite: Surviving with the Intel System — Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji, Reflect on Your Mistakes!

“Even a fake smile… is acceptable?” Suzune asked, her sharp eyes narrowing as she processed the concept.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s acting,” Akira replied, his tone calm and measured. “At least when she’s basking in everyone’s praise, she is genuinely planning for the benefit of the class. If she can maintain this ‘act’ flawlessly for three straight years, then she is the single most suitable person to sit in the class president’s seat.”

A beat of silence passed between them.

“…I see. Is that your intention?” Suzune’s gaze flickered with a sudden, quiet realization.

Although every verbal confrontation with Akira ended with her being thoroughly outmaneuvered, she always managed to extract a new, cutting insight from his perspective.

“Only by placing Kikyo in a high position can her true value be maximized?” she asked.

“Exactly. In comparison, Yosuke’s personality is far too gentle, making him much more suited for a secondary, supportive role,” Akira explained.

“So… that is why you secretly pushed for Kikyo to be elected class president?”

Suzune suddenly considered a chilling hypothetical. If Yosuke had taken the mantle of class president back then, would Kikyo still be dedicating herself so wholeheartedly to the class’s success right now?

As soon as the thought surfaced, her heart sank. She realized she had made a complete, fundamental error in judgment.

Should she not have voted for Yosuke?

She had only considered her own logical preferences, never objectively examining the psychological ecosystem of the class. Her thinking had been far too naive. Akira was right; with her current rigid mindset, she was completely unqualified to lead.

“I hadn’t considered the psychological angles, but you are right. For Class D, having Kikyo as class president is the optimal solution,” Akira said, directly validating her thoughts.

Suzune’s judgment this time was flawless. Placing Kikyo at the top of the hierarchy was the best possible outcome. If the two-faced girl were relegated to the background, she would never exert this much effort for her peers. Conversely, Yosuke didn’t care about titles or seniority; that gentle boy would perform his duties perfectly no matter where he was placed.

It might have seemed slightly unfair to Yosuke, but it was the cold truth. He possessed natural leadership talent, but he lacked the necessary, ruthless sharpness to keep the class in line.

The conversation shifted as the broader class debate raged on regarding the surveillance equipment.

“This deal looks like a guaranteed profit!”

“Class Points are worth way more than Private Points! And after the cameras are installed… hehe, won’t it be even easier to skip class in the future?”

“…I really don’t want to live under constant surveillance, though!”

Although their individual motivations varied wildly, the vast majority of the students ultimately approved the proposal. However, a crushing, realistic problem immediately surfaced to kill the mood.

“That’s seventy-five thousand points per person!”

“We don’t have that kind of money on hand, do we? We already blew a million points last time.”

“Yeah, exactly…”

Three million Private Points. For the current, impoverished Class D, it was an astronomical sum.

“Did the seller agree to let us pay next month?”

“If they allow installments… it’s not entirely impossible.”

Haruki and Kanji finally realized the grim reality: the class simply did not have three million points to spare. If they were forced to pay upfront, they would have to beg for a one-month extension.

As the most notorious rule-breakers in the room, the two boys had been subjected to nothing but cold, venomous stares from their peers over the past few days. For them, renting the surveillance equipment had actually become a lifeline. Exchanging 75,000 Private Points to secure a steady monthly income of 400 to 500 Class Points was a massive bargain.

Even these two idiots, who usually failed basic arithmetic, understood the math clearly. It was like spending seventy-five thousand yen once to permanently increase their monthly allowance by forty thousand yen. As long as they endured the initial hit for two months, they would break even. Why wouldn’t they jump at such a lucrative deal?

“I regret to inform you all…” Yosuke spoke up, his tone heavy and apologetic. “The deadline given by the other party is seven o’clock tonight., an additional penalty of one hundred thousand points will be charged for every single hour we are overdue.”

A suffocating silence fell over the room.

“Hmm! Well, I plan to continue negotiating with them!” Kikyo quickly chimed in, her sweet voice cutting through the gloom to lighten the atmosphere. “And if that doesn’t work, perhaps we can ask the Student Council if they offer a loan service? After all, if we can just get through this one hurdle, everything will be much smoother.”

“—Wait a minute!”

Suzune suddenly stood up, her chair scraping sharply against the floor.

This was the very first time she had ever spoken proactively in front of the entire class. Instantly, dozens of eyes locked onto her.

Akira glanced at her, a flicker of mild surprise in his eyes. Had his earlier explanation not been thorough enough? Or was she actually planning to veto the surveillance rental?

Kikyo maintained her signature, sugary smile. “Suzune-san, you aren’t trying to object to renting the cameras, are you?”

In Kikyo’s mind, raising an objection when the vast majority of the room had already agreed was social suicide.

“I support renting the surveillance system,” Suzune declared, her voice cool and unwavering, surprising everyone. “But I want to add one mandatory condition. After we rent the equipment, we will not delete the footage immediately. Instead, we will carefully review the playback and identify the specific classmates who frequently violate the rules and cause our Class Points to be deducted.”

She paused, letting her words sink in.

“It is precisely because of these individuals’ improper behavior that, without the cameras, our Class Points would be completely wiped out by the end of the month. The rest of this class has absolutely no reason to pay for the mistakes of a few!”

Her dark eyes narrowed into a lethal glare. “Those people must be forced to deeply reflect on their mistakes!”

As she spoke, her piercing gaze fell directly upon Haruki and Kanji.

It was an undisputed fact: among everyone in Class D, those two were the worst offenders. Why should they be allowed to hide behind the collective financial sacrifice of the class as if it were their given right?

The surveillance system might save their monthly income this time, but to prevent the exact same disaster from happening again, the culprits needed to face severe punishment. It was a matter of basic fairness.

Akira watched her in silence, suddenly realizing exactly why he had evaluated Suzune so highly in the past.

Much like the Student Council President, her uncompromising sense of justice and her absolute intolerance for dead weight strictly differentiated her from softer leaders.

It all circled back to his earlier point. Whether it was Yosuke or Kikyo, their personalities were simply too soft to wield the whip. Sometimes, making a brutal example out of someone was a necessary evil. If they kept playing house and trying to please everyone, it would only embolden the rotten apples in the class to become even more brazen.

Sometimes, punishment was the only language fools understood.

“Hmm! Well said! I used to think you were just an annoying snob, but what you just said is absolutely right!” Satsuki nodded vigorously, her voice ringing out across the room. “We can rent the surveillance! We can clean up the mess for the overall benefit of the class! But there is no way in hell we are going to suffer in silence! We have to find those idiots! At the absolute minimum, they have to apologize to the entire class and swear to behave themselves! That’s the bare minimum!”

“Suzune’s right. I’ve actually changed my opinion of her a bit.”

“Yeah, I thought she was just sharp-tongued, but this time she’s completely spot on!”