COTE: Popularity System

"Class D really put you all in a tough spot, didn't they?"

After hearing Andō Sayo's words, Takada Hikaru chuckled and shared his opinion.

"It's also related to us giving them too many points." Andō Sayo's face showed embarrassment.

"I originally thought the points would be distributed today, so I used up all my living expenses last month. I didn't expect..."

She didn't expect Class D to cause trouble again, getting into a violent incident with Class C, which resulted in the temporary suspension of point distribution for the entire grade.

"But Class D did drag you down, didn't they?"

Takada Hikaru threw the question back at Class D, trying to make the girl feel a little better.

"That's true." Andō Sayo's shoulders drooped slightly, and she sighed helplessly. "We kindly lent them points, but in the end, because they couldn't get their private points, my feelings are a bit complicated."

"Now I finally understand Takada-san's thoughts. If we cooperate with Class D, Class A won't just fail to benefit, we'll likely be dragged down."

Just like Andō Sayo and the others now.

Helping Class D not only brought no good karma, but even their own meals became a problem.

If Ichinose Honami were to propose cooperating with Class D again later, she would definitely face strong opposition from her classmates.

"Don't blame yourselves too much. Blame Class D for being overly terrible."

After gently comforting the girls, Takada Hikaru continued, "Sayo, why don't you use the class fund?"

In this situation, Ichinose Honami should agree to use the class fund to help everyone.

Andō Sayo lowered her gaze slightly. "Honami-chan did want to do that, but we refused. After hearing Takada-san, we realized that the school is likely to hold an exam that could lead to expulsions."

"After seeing seven people from Class D almost get expelled in the mid-term exam, everyone believed Takada-san even more."

"We hope the class fund will be used to help classmates avoid expulsion penalties when facing such situations. If we run out of points because of this matter, we'll definitely regret it for a lifetime."

"So even if Ichinose-san wanted to distribute the class funds, the classmates didn't accept it."

Andō Sayo's smile appeared a bit stiff. "After all, it's because we ourselves lent too many points to Class D that we ended up like this. There's no reason for the whole class to pay the price."

"You truly are overly kind."

After expressing his thoughts, Takada Hikaru said, "Sayo, don't queue anymore. I'll treat everyone to lunch today."

Andō Sayo's eyes widened in surprise. "How can that be? Those are Takada-san's own points, right?"

Takada Hikaru smiled slightly and said, "I can't bear to see my dear friends eat these things, especially you, Sayo."

"If you're concerned about the points, you can pay me back when the school distributes points. It's fine to be flexible about that, isn't it? Or, do I need to ask you to come out?"

"N-no need!" Andō Sayo blushed and quickly stepped out of the line.

Just as he said, she could totally pay back the meal expenses to him when the school distributed the points. At most, she'd give him a bit more points later. There was no need to keep enduring this.

"Thank you, Takada-san."

Andō Sayo was taller than the other girls, but she still had to look up slightly when meeting Takada Hikaru's eyes. Of course, this wasn't because the 179.8cm Takada Hikaru was too tall, but rather because the heights of the girls in Classroom of the Elite were generally set to be a bit short.

The average height of female students was 150cm to 160cm, while males were much better, mostly above 170cm.

However, Sudō Ken, who plays basketball, is only 183cm tall. Although there are examples of short players doing well in professional basketball, with Sudō Ken's skill level, it would probably be very tough for him to go professional in the future.

After calling out Andō Sayo, Takada Hikaru also called over other classmates who were queuing at the free window.

Amikura Mako, Hamaguchi Tetsuya, and Watanabe Norihito, who he usually hung out with.

Kobashi Yume, Tsube Hitomi, and Ninomiya Yui, with whom he occasionally interacted.

And Sumida Makoto, Nakanishi, and others whose names he knew, were all called out.

Upon learning that Takada Hikaru was willing to treat them to a meal, their first reaction was to feel embarrassed about bothering him.

But after hearing that they could pay back the meal expenses once the points were distributed, they looked at him with gratitude.

If there was any other way, who would want to eat the free wild vegetable set meal?

This scene was broadcast as an anime segment. Upon seeing it, the audience members expressed their opinions.

[Money-Giving Guy is giving money again and again and again]

[LOL, Class A gave their living expenses to Class D, and as a result, Class D screwed them over so badly they can only eat free meals]

[Class A gives points to Class D, then Money-Giving Guy gives points to Class A students, doesn't that mean Money-Giving Guy effectively gave points to Class D?]

[That's different. Class A are his own people. Money-Giving Guy is very good to his own people.]

[Besides, Class A is just borrowing, they'll definitely pay it back when the points are distributed.]

[Isn't Class D also borrowing?]

[Do you think Class D can pay it back?]

[They probably won't finish paying it back even after graduating high school.]

[You guys, do you think Money-Giving Guy is trying to win people over?]

Looking at the comments on the screen, Takada Hikaru, who was eating, felt a surge of emotion.

Before, he had to actively seek out screen time. Now, as his role in the plot grew heavier, the camera actively sought him out.

If he hadn't pulled off some flashy moves in the first two months, leaving a deep impression on the audience, he might now be like the original Class B students in the novel, only showing his face occasionally.

Of course, this also had to do with his actions in class a while ago. When he suggested in class not to use the class fund to help Class D, he had already anticipated that some classmates would end up in their current situation.

Every month, Class A would put most of the points distributed by the school into the class fund, leaving only 30,000 for personal use.

As the end of the month approached, the remaining living expenses were already not much. Adding to that the need to help Class D, the remaining living expenses became even less.

When the original Sudō Ken's fight incident occurred, those students who lent out points would be like Andō Sayo, with no points left to use.

If they were normal people, they would probably apply to Ichinose Honami to use the class fund. But most of the Class A students have the personality of angels, preferring to inconvenience themselves rather than trouble others, so they would end up coming to the free window to get food, temporarily enduring hardship.

At this point, Takada Hikaru would step forward to help everyone pay for their meals, winning over the class while also boosting his popularity.

Just then, a girl's sigh reached his ears.

"What's wrong, Ninomiya-san?" The classmates all looked towards the sighing girl.

To avoid troubling Takada Hikaru, the Class A students who received help queued at the same window for their meals, and then found the same spot to sit down and eat.

This meant that besides Andō Sayo and the others who usually hung out with Takada Hikaru, other classmates were also sitting there.

"Ah... I'm sorry for making you worry."

Ninomiya Yui said somewhat dejectedly, "I was just wondering when the school's points would be distributed. We can't keep troubling Takada-san, can we?"

Their living expenses were very low now. If Takada Hikaru had to pay for every meal, it would be too much trouble for him.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya, who was more quick-witted, quickly comforted her, "It's okay. We'll just apply to Ichinose-san to use the class fund then."

"Then, when private points are distributed, we can just replenish the class fund with the amount we used."

Hamaguchi Tetsuya's suggestion was good, and everyone felt there was nothing wrong with it after hearing it.

It was just that the thought of using the important class fund because of their own reasons left a somewhat bitter taste in their mouths.

Sensing that everyone was feeling a bit down, Takada Hikaru smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone. I'll go to the Student Council to report the situation later. If nothing unexpected happens, the points should be distributed by tomorrow morning."

Ninomiya Yui brightened at the news. "Takada-san, is that true?"

Hamaguchi Tetsuya, however, was a bit puzzled. "The school temporarily withholding points from the first-years is probably because they're worried other classes were involved in the violent incident between Class C and Class D. Will reporting the issue to the Student Council even help?"

Takada Hikaru smiled and said, "Tetsuya, you've been at this school for two months now, you should know that Advanced Nurturing High School values students' initiative and is very happy to see students propose their own ideas and take action."

"Perhaps the school is just waiting for us to proactively report the situation and offer better solutions."