COTE: Starting With Love Stock Market System

After receiving the transaction receipt from Hikaru, Ibuki immediately walked over to the gray-haired girl, seemingly seeking her opinion.

"So this is how it is... the school's hidden rules…"

Hiyori lowered her gaze, carefully inspecting the document. She spoke softly, "It does have the official school seal. It shouldn't be fake."

"Then doesn't that mean they really know about the school's hidden rules? Why are they only telling us now?"

Ibuki turned to glare at the boy who still wore a composed smile. His smug I-have-everything-under-control attitude annoyed her, making her tone particularly sharp.

"When exactly did you find out about the school's hidden rules?"

"The date is right there, isn't it? There's no point dwelling on that now."

Hikaru shook his head, calmly replying to Ibuki's questioning. "In any case, our proposal is simple: we're offering this information to you for one million private points. The value of these rules is significant—you won't be making a loss."

Then, he turned his gaze to the quiet and composed girl seated nearby.

"And as for you, Hiyori-san… Since everyone in Class C seems to trust you, have you noticed anything unusual over the past few days since school started?"

"Something unusual?"

Hiyori lifted her head and looked at the two students from another class standing at the podium. Both were exceptionally attractive—Hikaru carried an air of unwavering confidence, as if nothing could shake him.

"There are some minor things that have caught my attention."

"Really?"

As the current representative of Class C, Ibuki had personally witnessed Hiyori's outstanding academic abilities. She knew that the girl was highly intelligent and trusted by many, including herself.

"For example, this school has an unusually high number of security cameras. I noticed quite a few on my way to the library. It struck me as odd, but I assumed it was just a safety measure implemented by the school, so I didn't think too much about it."

"Mm-hmm. And?" Hikaru nodded, signaling for her to continue.

"I also noticed that the school store offers a lot of free products—things like shampoo and body wash," Hiyori placed her hands on the desk and spoke at a steady pace. "I even saw an upperclassman taking some. He seemed quite used to it."

"There's something like that?"

Ibuki furrowed her brows, thinking seriously. She then raised her voice to the rest of the class.

"Has anyone else noticed anything unusual about the school? Now's the time to speak up—it's important."

The moment she said this, a male student raised his hand.

"Ibuki-san, I've noticed something."

"Kaneda? What did you find?"

"When I was shopping at the electronics store, I felt like I was being watched," Kaneda said, his expression slightly uncomfortable. "It was as if someone was following me…"

"..."

Hikaru had initially expected some useful information to further validate the existence of hidden rules and persuade Class C to accept the deal.

But the moment Kaneda mentioned the feeling of being followed, Hikaru's lips twitched.

He immediately understood what was happening. It was probably one of his own classmates from Class B, tasked with monitoring Class C, who had been spotted.

Obviously, he couldn't admit to that. So, he decided to play dumb.

"That's not really something we can confirm. Right now, the important thing is the school's hidden rules." Hikaru smoothly shifted the topic. "Hiyori-san, what do you think of this deal?"

"I think it's reasonable."

Hiyori turned to Ibuki and calmly stated, "If we consider the patterns in how the school operates, the existence of hidden rules makes perfect sense."

"When Sakagami-sensei explained the system at the start of the year, he mentioned that private points would be deposited into our accounts on the first of each month. If it was always a flat 100,000 points, that wouldn't be a problem."

"But I once saw a senior taking free supplies from the store. It was only the third day after school started. If everyone really receives 100,000 points every month, there's no way he would've run out so quickly."

"So, I suspect the amount of private points deposited each month isn't fixed."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Hikaru's eyes gleamed with admiration. He gestured for Ichinose to join him in applause, acknowledging Hiyori's sharp analysis.

At the same time, he quietly activated the Stock Analyzer and used it on the gray-haired girl.

[Stock Analyzer Activated.]

[Shiina Hiyori Stock]

Charater Information: A quiet, book-loving girl who enjoys spending time alone. Passionate about mystery novels. Has few friends and prefers minimal social interaction. Highly perceptive and capable of noticing things others overlook.

Stock Price Increase Strategy: Establish a book-sharing relationship. Discuss detective novels to earn her personal trust.

Stock Price Decrease Risk: Insult her favorite books, display a preference for conflicts and competition, or attempt to manipulate her thoughts.

A literature girl, huh? Not bad.

Since he enjoyed reading himself, getting closer to her wouldn't be too difficult.

Hikaru mentally noted the information before continuing.

"Hiyori-san, your analysis is spot on. But the matter of private points ties directly into the hidden rules."

Then, his gaze shifted back to Ibuki.

"So, Ibuki-san… What do you think now?"

"Hmph!"

Seeing the smug smile on Hikaru's face, Ibuki felt an urge to punch him. She was certain he had set her up, and she had walked right into it.

Still, after thinking it over seriously, she admitted the deal was reasonable.

She understood the importance of knowing the rules. Being aware of them earlier rather than later could only be beneficial.

"What does everyone else think? I believe buying this information will be good for the class."

The short-haired girl's gaze swept across the room. Although she had already made up her mind to accept the trade, she knew that, as Class C's representative, she needed the approval of her classmates. Otherwise, she'd end up like Ryuen—ruling alone with no real backing.

"I agree to the trade. Splitting one million among us isn't too much."

"Yeah, if Hiyori-san noticed something off about the school, it proves there really are hidden rules. I'll pay my share."

"Same here. But what about Ryuen and the others? They're not here. Are we just covering their share?"

Someone pointed at the three empty seats, sounding reluctant to pay extra.

"Don't worry about it. We'll front the cost and make him pay us back later."

Ibuki waved off their concerns. With Yamada and herself here, she wasn't afraid of collecting from Ryuen later.

Seeing that Class C had agreed to the trade, Hikaru exchanged a quick glance with Ichinose. Both of them understood—their point recovery plan was nearly complete.

"Alright then, please proceed with the transfers."

Hiyori offered to cover a larger portion, explaining that she rarely spent points since she spent most of her time in the library.

"I can pay more too. The three of them would need to cover 75,000 points in total, so—"

Before Ibuki could finish calculating, Yamada suddenly spoke up.

"My points. Divide in half."

"Oh?"

Hikaru turned to look at the towering Yamada. Despite his intimidating appearance, it was unexpected that he'd voluntarily offer his points to support the class.

"Well, that settles it."

Ibuki nodded. With Yamada, Hiyori, and herself each contributing 50,000 points, they could fully cover the missing amount without troubling the others.

A few minutes later, Ibuki had collected the full one million private points. Unlike Class D, Class C's students hadn't recklessly spent their points over the past week, making the collection process smooth.

"Who should I send the points to? You?" Ibuki shot Hikaru a glance.

"Of course not. Ibuki-san, please transfer them to Ichinose—she's our class representative, after all."

"Hmph."

Although she had nothing but disdain for Hikaru, Ibuki found Ichinose likable and had no problem transferring the points to her.

"Alright, the transfer is done. Now, tell us—what are the hidden rules?"

~~~

Read 30 Chapters Ahead!

> patreon.com/HudaLin