COTE: Popularity System

Class A refused to use their Class Points to aid the students of Class D.

Seeing the final result, the students of Class A felt uneasy, watching Ichinose Honami on the stage with mixed emotions.

Ichinose Honami still wore a smile, but her eyelids were slightly lowered, making her look much more dejected than usual.

As the class representative, having her proposal denied by so many people must have been difficult, right?

It was like when selecting class representatives and someone nominated you but when it came time for the classmates to vote, the vast majority of the class didn't raise their hands. Only those who were kind to everyone raised their hands to cast a few pity votes for you. That huge disparity was incredibly painful.

"Honami..."

Shiranami Chihiro's eyes flickered slightly as she looked worriedly at the pink-haired girl on the podium, afraid that this incident would strike a blow to her.

Other people who usually got along well with Ichinose Honami, such as Kobashi Yume, Watanabe Hitomi, and Ninomiya Yui, also looked over with concern.

Sensing the gazes of her friends, Ichinose Honami realized she had lost her composure, so she quickly adjusted her expression, returning to her usual bright smile.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm fine. This matter was meant to be decided by everyone in the class collectively, and I'm happy that everyone could make a choice according to their own will."

After speaking, she returned to her seat with a slightly slower pace than usual.

Honami said she was fine, but she must have been somewhat affected internally.

As someone who always made the gentlest choices, this was likely the first time she had held an opinion contrary to so many people in the class.

"Honami, it's okay."

"Your idea wasn't wrong, actually. People in the class probably don't want to see a classmate leave."

"Everyone just disagreed with using Class Funds to help the students of Class D. There should still be people willing to use their own personal allowance to help."

After Honami sat down, her friends gathered around, gently patting her back and comforting her softly.

Hearing her friends' comfort, Honami's brows gradually relaxed, and a smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, everyone. I feel much better."

Seeing Honami recover her spirits, the students in the class collectively sighed in relief.

Even Andō Sayo, sitting next to Takada Hikaru, felt the same way.

But afterward, her expression became conflicted. 'Why did Takada-san suddenly seem different?'

Recalling his performance just now, Andō Sayo felt alienated.

During their daily interactions, Takada Hikaru clearly seemed like a kind, gentle, and considerate person. Logically, he should have joined the rest of the class in agreeing to use Class Funds to help the struggling Class D. However, today he stood up to object, which wasn't characteristic of him.

Andō Sayo secretly glanced at Takada Hikaru, only to find that he happened to be looking at her too.

"Sayo, I have something to do later, so I won't be joining you for lunch." Takada Hikaru said, standing up from his seat.

Andō Sayo was stunned, and only replied after a delay, "Oh, I'll tell Amikura-san and the others."

To be honest, after what had just happened, the class atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Even Andō Sayo herself was conflicted about whether she should still go to lunch with Takada Hikaru.

She felt that Hikaru needed some time alone right now.

Since Takada Hikaru had proactively suggested not joining them for lunch, it was quite a relief for Andō Sayo and their friends.

"Thank you."

Takada Hikaru thanked her with a smile, then walked toward the classroom door.

At the same time, the comments in front of his eyes began to critique the scene that had just unfolded.

[Why did Money-Giving Guy suddenly stop giving money?]

[The former Money-Giving Guy was willing to spend 2,000 yen to give up his seat to an old lady, so why is he indifferent to the students of Class D being expelled?]

[To the previous comment, is there a need to save the Class D students? As a viewer, I'm quite annoyed by that Idiot Trio.]

[But this doesn't fit Money-Giving Guy's character persona.]

[You misunderstood. Money-Giving Guy didn't recommend using Class Funds to save Class D, but he didn't object to classmates using their own personal allowance to save people.]

[What's the difference? In the end, they still have to lend money to Class D.]

[The difference is huge. One is helping others using the interests of the class and other classmates, and the other is sacrificing only one's own interests to help others.]

[Money-Giving Guy is using this method to remind his classmates that it's fine to be charitable, but it shouldn't affect the class's interests.]

[If you want to save them, go save them yourself. Don't drag others into it. I guess that's the meaning.]

[Oh, I get it (actually, I don't).]

Takada Hikaru arrived at the door of the Student Council Room, knocked on the outside, and then heard a boy's voice from within.

"Please enter."

Takada Hikaru opened the door, and the sight that greeted him was a serious and composed man wearing glasses.

Horikita Manabu placed his arms on the desk, interlacing his fingers in a posture of contemplation.

[Who is this person again?]

[Horikita's older brother, and also the Student Council President of Advanced Nurturing High School.]

[The one who got shoulder-thrown by Money-Giving Guy.]

[Oh, it's him!]

In the anime, several episodes had passed since Horikita Manabu's appearance, so the audience had grown somewhat unfamiliar with him.

Fortunately, Horikita Manabu had the achievement of being shoulder-thrown by Takada Hikaru, which was firmly etched in the audience's minds.

If Horikita Manabu also possessed a Popularity System, he might have gained a lot of Popularity Points because of this incident.

"How was Suzune's performance?" Horikita Manabu skipped the pleasantries and asked directly.

"Apparently, your sister proposed a plan to use points to buy scores to help her classmates, and she managed to cut the original price of 9.5 million Private Points down to only 450,000." Takada Hikaru summarized.

Horikita Manabu frowned. "That doesn't sound like a method she would come up with."

Takada Hikaru nodded slightly. "I think she was pushed out to be used as a shield."

After hearing what he said, Horikita Manabu was silent for a moment, then asked, "By blowing up the matter so much, did you get the result you wanted?"

Takada Hikaru said with a light chuckle, "I obtained a bit more information than I expected. I originally just wanted to use Ken, Kanji, and Haruki as the failing students to test that person, but unexpectedly, four other people were involved. Class D's homeroom teacher is very suspicious."

Horikita Manabu asked, "But that wasn't your main concern, was it?"

Takada Hikaru showed a playful smile. "Of course. My original intention was to test that person's capabilities, which is why I specifically designed these farces. In the end, I got my answer. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, he truly isn't simple."

As soon as he said this, the comments immediately became noisy.

[It really was Money-Giving Guy who caused all this trouble.]

[Ayanokoji thought he was hiding well, but he was immediately discovered by Money-Giving Guy.]

[I guess Money-Giving Guy was already suspicious when they were at the library, which is why he specifically mentioned that there was a method to pass the Midterm Exam, and then reported Class D after they obtained the Past Exam Questions.]

[I originally thought Money-Giving Guy was just targeting Class D, but I didn't expect his true goal was to test Ayanokoji's strength.]

[I'm dying of laughter. Ayanokoji was willing to give all the credit to Horikita just to hide himself, but Money-Giving Guy saw right through him.]

Seeing the audience's reaction and the rapidly increasing Popularity Points, Takada Hikaru was glad his efforts hadn't been wasted.

He performed all those maneuvers precisely so that at this moment, in front of the audience, he could demonstrate that he had seen through Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's concealment.

From the audience's perspective, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had just tried to remain anonymous, only to be immediately seen through by Takada Hikaru. This huge contrast was enough to make his image appear even more mysterious and powerful in the eyes of the audience.

Popularity Points, rise for me!