COTE: Starting With Love Stock Market System

Although Kushida had interrupted their conversation, Hikaru still managed to talk with Suzune for another half hour.

His goal was to help her refine her arguments for the upcoming student council hearing, ensuring that she could counter every single move from Class D.

As long as Suzune could successfully handle their tactics, Hikaru could keep Ryuen in check, preventing him from regaining influence.

If Ryuen's control couldn't extend deeply within Class D, then A-Class could focus its attention on more significant threats—Class B, led by Sakayanagi and Katsuragi.

Class C and Class D, on the other hand, were so far behind in Class Points that they were essentially out of contention for now. Their scores were several times lower, meaning they couldn't catch up in the short term.

Thus, Hikaru only needed to monitor them rather than devote full attention.

Maintaining A-Class's top position required keeping track of all classes, but the level of attention could be strategically distributed—the most efficient way to operate.

After finishing his discussion with Suzune, Hikaru returned to the dormitory building.

Successfully lowering Kushida's stock value made him feel that he needed to carefully plan his next moves for financial growth.

According to the [Trading Shop], items and skills refreshed monthly, meaning valuable abilities might disappear if not purchased in time.

So, he had to act quickly.

He opened his system interface.

---

[Character Info]

Name: Hashima Hikaru

Age: 15

Intelligence: 7

Charm: 8

Physical Ability: 4

Stocks Owned:

Ichinose Honami Stock × ???

Sakura Airi Stock × 5000

Current Funds: ???

---

"I still haven't bought the skill I wanted this month..."

Hikaru's gaze fell on an item in the Trading Shop—[Martial Arts (Master Level)], priced in funds.

Regardless of the cost, this skill was a must-have.

This school was designed as a miniature version of society, and the deliberate lack of surveillance in certain areas clearly encouraged rule-breaking.

From a practical standpoint, both as a male student and considering recent fights, Hikaru knew that having combat skills would be an advantageous investment.

"Yeah… no need to hesitate. Let's just buy it."

After a few moments of thought, Hikaru made his decision.

[Would you like to purchase "Martial Arts(Master Level)"?]

[Purchase Complete. Funds Deducted.]

---

The moment the purchase was finalized, Hikaru stood up.

Suddenly, a flood of combat knowledge rushed into his mind—detailed sequences of punches, kicks, footwork, and counters played like a slow-motion movie, imprinting themselves into his memory.

"So this is how it works, huh?"

Closing his eyes, Hikaru focused on internalizing the knowledge.

He began moving around his room, adjusting his stance, practicing different hand and foot techniques, gradually syncing instinct with execution.

This immersive learning lasted for over an hour, until—

Knock, knock!

A knock at the door.

"Tch… I was just getting into it. Who the hell is it?"

Slightly annoyed, Hikaru ended his training session and walked toward the door.

However, just before unlocking it, he hesitated—because he had a strong feeling about who was on the other side.

"Yup… it's gotta be her."

"Open the door."

A cold, emotionless voice came from outside.

Bingo.

Hikaru smirked internally before pulling the door open.

And there she was—Kushida Kikyo, her usual sweet demeanor completely gone, replaced by an icy, unreadable expression.

"Good afternoon, Kushida-san," Hikaru greeted casually, playing dumb like nothing was wrong.

"Let me in."

Kushida stepped inside without waiting for an invitation.

Her entire presence exuded a stormy, oppressive aura—a stark contrast to her usual friendly, cheerful mask.

She wasn't just angry—she was frustrated.

Seeing this, Hikaru laughed silently to himself.

"Looks like today's little 'performance' really shook her up."

Feigning innocence, he asked, "Kushida-san, you don't look so well. Did something happen?"

"What is your relationship with Horikita?"

A sharp, direct question.

Hikaru kept his expression neutral.

"Uh, why are you asking? We're just classmates, right? What else could there be?" He tilted his head slightly, pretending to be confused.

"..."

Kushida narrowed her eyes, fixing him with an icy glare before speaking again.

"That's not the answer I want to hear."

"Why were you with her?"

"Didn't you say you would be honest with me about everything? Answer me, Hikaru."

"Relax, Kushida-san. I'll explain."

Hikaru remained calm, offering a soothing tone.

"The reason I met with Horikita-san was about Sudo's situation," he said.

"Since Horikita-san was chosen as Class D's representative speaker for the hearing, she wanted to discuss strategies to ensure they handle the student council's scrutiny properly."

His explanation was partially true—blending fact with fiction seamlessly.

"That's why we were in the café."

"Is that so?"

Kushida didn't look convinced.

She remembered seeing Hikaru exchange glances with Suzune.

"If it was just a coincidence, why did he act so naturally—like they knew each other well?"

"Of course," Hikaru replied smoothly.

"After selling your class the hidden school rules, maybe Horikita-san saw me as someone with useful insights. She probably thought my input might be valuable."

Then, he added, "Kushida-san, you don't want Sudo to get expelled, right?"

"...No, of course not."

Kushida nodded slightly, but kept analyzing his expression, looking for any sign of deception.

After a long pause, she finally said:

"Fine. I'll believe you—for now."

She didn't fully trust his explanation, but she had no way to disprove it either.

Hikaru knew this well.

He wasn't worried about her cross-checking with Suzune either—if Kushida could directly confront Suzune, she wouldn't have needed Hikaru's help in the first place.

"What exactly did you two talk about?" she pressed.

"Just strategies for the hearing. Horikita-san shared her approach, and I helped refine some points for her."

Hikaru casually recounted the discussion, leaving out anything unnecessary.

Suzune had already realized the importance of surveillance cameras as potential evidence—a key breakthrough.

Of course, none of this was something Kushida needed to know.

"Is that so?" Kushida smiled sweetly, her mask slipping back into place.

"Then, I suppose I should thank you on behalf of Sudo-kun."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"But I have to say… Hikaru-kun, you're pretty amazing," she added, her tone subtly probing.

"You even got Horikita-san to seek you out for advice."

"It was just coincidence." Hikaru deflected smoothly.

Then, he decided to end the conversation before she could press further.

"So, was that all you wanted to ask, Kushida-san?"

After a brief silence, she shook her head.

"I suppose that's all… for now."

Satisfied (or at least pretending to be), Kushida left the room.

Hikaru watched her go, his mind already plotting.

"I need to keep pushing her stock price down to 10 points."

His goal was to drive Kushida's stock price back down to its initial value of 10 points. Since today's events had successfully set the stage, he couldn't afford to stop now.

Meeting with Suzune and further increasing their interactions had to continue, and the excuses for doing so would need to be tailored to each situation.

As long as he maintained a polite and composed front, Kushida wouldn't be able to do anything to him.

With so many secrets of her own, she wouldn't dare tear off the mask completely.

This played perfectly into Hikaru's unlimited cash bank experiment—Kushida was the ideal target for generating funds.

~~~

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