COTE: Starting With Love Stock Market System

Time passed quietly, unnoticed. Before long, the night of April 30th had arrived—the end of the first month since the school year began.

Aside from the initial race to accumulate points, the past few weeks had been rather enjoyable for Hikaru.

Seated at his desk, he absentmindedly scrolled through the Class B group chat, where messages were continuously popping up.

Tomorrow was May 1st, the day the updated class rankings would be announced. Having worked hard for an entire month, Class B was naturally eager to see the results.

At this moment, the Class B family chat was buzzing with discussion.

Ando Sayo: What do you guys think Hoshinomiya-sensei will announce tomorrow? Do we have a shot at ranking up to Class A?

Kanzaki Ryuji: I think we have a good chance. Didn't Hikaru-kun manage to earn us an extra 100 Class Points? That alone gives us an advantage.

Himeno Yuki: But I heard that Class A is extremely disciplined. Their classroom behavior has been impeccable since the beginning.

Shibata So: But haven't we also been putting in the effort? Thanks to Hikaru-kun and Ichinose-kun leading the way, we made sure to avoid breaking any school rules!

Ichinose Honami: Exactly! Everyone has worked really hard, so I think we have a real shot.

As the rest of his classmates passionately discussed the possibility of ranking up, Hikaru didn't join in.

Ultimately, the authority to calculate Class Points belonged to the school, and they had no way of knowing if any points had been deducted, let alone how many.

On the other hand, Katsuragi and Sakayanagi were far from easy opponents.

While the two were engaged in a fierce struggle for control of Class A, their status as Class A students meant they would strictly enforce discipline among their respective factions.

Moreover, the students in Class A already had strong foundational habits—they knew what not to do and didn't need constant reminders.

As for whether Class B could actually surpass them, Hikaru wasn't entirely confident.

While Class B was certainly united, that didn't mean everyone was flawless. The probability of someone making a mistake was undeniably higher than in Class A.

"Well, we'll know for sure tomorrow."

Hikaru leaned back on his bed when suddenly—

Ding.

A message notification.

---

Kushida Kikyo: Hikaru-kun, the new class rankings will be announced tomorrow, right?

Hashima Hikaru: Yeah. I'm guessing each homeroom teacher will explain the details. It's a pretty big deal, after all.

Kushida Kikyo: I'm a little nervous… Even though our class bought the hidden rule information from you, a lot of people couldn't stick to it.

Hashima Hikaru: That's fine. You've already done a great job. Didn't your study group start showing results?

Kushida Kikyo: That's true! Lately, more students have been getting involved—they're even voluntarily participating now.

Hashima Hikaru: That's great progress. And what about Horikita-san? Have you two become friends yet?

Hikaru watched the screen, throwing out yet another baited question.

Despite chatting with Kushida frequently, her stock price hadn't moved.

It wasn't just because she was naturally cautious—the real reason was that she had been too focused on building rapport with Suzune, meaning she hadn't spent much time meeting Hikaru in person.

But with a new month starting tomorrow, it was time to speed things up.

---

Kushida Kikyo: Hmm… I'd say we've made some progress, but we still don't talk much.

At that moment, Kushida was sitting on her bed, dressed in a cartoon bear-print pajama set. A shadow crossed her delicate features.

After their first unpleasant encounter, she had held several more study sessions.

And while Suzune always showed up on time, her attitude remained cold and indifferent.

Beyond academic discussions, she had no interest in anything else.

But Kushida wasn't completely without results.

At the very least, she had confirmed something—

Suzune was indeed a student from her middle school.

That meant there was a possibility she had heard about "that incident."

The question was—how much did she actually know?

There was still no way to be certain.

Recently, however, a new thought had emerged in Kushida's mind.

While Suzune's personality was certainly difficult, it wasn't all bad.

At the very least, she was a complete loner, which lowered the chances of her spreading information.

Additionally, since agreeing to the study group, she had never once skipped a session.

That meant she was someone who kept her promises.

Kushida now saw a potential way to approach her—but first, she needed to know just how much she knew.

Of course, her ideal outcome would always be the same:

To make Suzune drop out.

And to get closer to that goal, she once again thought of her "tool"—Hashima Hikaru.

She needed to see if he had any new strategies.

---

Kushida Kikyo: Actually, I was thinking… Maybe we could meet up?

Hashima Hikaru: Let me guess—you want my help with another plan to get closer to Horikita?

Kushida Kikyo: Mmm, yeah… Horikita-san is really amazing. She's got great grades and is super responsible… I really want to be friends with her!

Hashima Hikaru: Got it. I'll think of something. Just wait a bit, and I'll let you know when I have a plan.

Kushida Kikyo: Okay! I'll be looking forward to it.

---

Placing his phone down, Hikaru immediately began strategizing.

First, he needed to figure out a reliable way to help Kushida get closer to Suzune.

She was becoming a real hassle—it had been two weeks, and her stock price still hadn't moved.

Maybe it was because he hadn't uncovered whatever her "true self" was.

And without understanding that, her stock value might remain stagnant.

There was another issue—his funds weren't increasing.

With the new month arriving, his "Athletic Booster" was about to expire.

He needed to renew it, no matter what.

But a 30-day supply of Athletic Booster cost credits—and if a crucial new item appeared in the Trading Shop, he might not have enough to buy it.

If that happened, he'd have no choice but to cash out his most valuable stock—Ichinose Honami.

---

The morning of May 1st arrived.

Hikaru woke up early, immediately opening his system menu.

A new notification appeared.

[New Month Update]

[Trading Shop items have refreshed!]

[Trading Shop]

-Stock Analyzer

-Wooden Sword

-Athletic Booster (30 Days)

-Martial Arts (Master Level)

-Chess (Advanced Level)

-Charisma

"Martial Arts?!"

Hikaru's eyes widened.

That was a major skill.

No self-respecting guy would pass up on that.

After the incident with Ryuen, Hikaru had already started thinking—

If I had actual combat skills, wouldn't it be even easier to manipulate the situation?

After all, when words failed, there was always another way to "convince" people.

~~~

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