Auction ✕ Seat Change

"Auction ✕ Seat Change" (駆け引き✕席替えで), labelled 2nd Year Volume 1.05, is a short story released as the appendix booklet for Monthly Comic Alive February 2022 issue.

Summary
After the events of the Unanimous Vote Special Exam, Kiyotaka thought about how things taken for granted would become important when lost. This tendency didn't just extend to people, but also material things, like when a desk that used to be full became empty due to the expulsion of a certain person. This change was not easy to overcome, and looking at that empty place, he began to recall certain events that happened just after the opening ceremony.

In April, after checking that all the students were in their seats, Chabashira informed them that since their second year had officially started, they were going to have to change their seats. Hearing this, some students were excited, while others did not seem to welcome the change. Kiyotaka had assumed that even if their classrooms were switched in their 2nd year, they would keep the same seats for the entire three years, but that did not seem to be the case.

Chabashira explains that most of them must have changed seats in their elementary or middle school days using the simple lottery, and adds that the school had been using it too, but from that day on, they would use another method never used before. Saying this, she shows a table with 40 seats arranged into 5 columns and 8 rows, numbered from the left, top to bottom. Also, she says that because there are only 39 students, one of the most unpopular five spots in the back will be left empty. Kiyotaka was intrigued by her use of the word "unpopular," as well as the abbreviation "pr" next to each seat preceded by numbers. Chabashira explains that the numbers next to each seat on the board represent the starting price in private points for that seat. Seats near the window or corridor appeared to be more expensive, but as the seat moved further into the room, the price dropped, while seats in the back remained expensive.

Continuing, the teacher states that bids will begin at seat 1 and that if no higher bids are received, the student with the highest amount at that time will be given the seat. If no one bids on a seat, the auction will be re-run, but the price for that seat will be half of what it was in the previous round, but there will be no third round. Finally, if there were still students who had not chosen a seat, they would be entered into a lottery for the seats without having to pay anything. After realising this, Kiyotaka muses that waiting until the second round of bidding would be the best option since it would be cheaper, but since that was something many students would wait for, it might be preferable to bid in the first round to avoid them, but that can also go wrong depending on any of the external factors. Kiyotaka contemplated as he considered the benefits and drawbacks of bidding in the first or second round.

After explaining, Chabashira informs them that once a seat is decided, it won't be possible to change it. Kiyotaka then asked Suzune which seat she was aiming for, to which she replied that she wasn't going to spend private points just for a seat. Without wasting any more time, Chabashira starts the auction of seats, starting with the first seat, located in the upper left corner, with an initial cost of 45000pr. Even though the bidding had already started, no student raised their hands, it was obvious, considering it was one of the most expensive seats, but Kiyotaka noticed that there was something else. While it was true that having the seat cheaper was important, the most important thing might be sitting next to the people closest to you. In that case, reading Sudō 's intentions was quite simple. For him, it didn't matter if the seat was cheap or expensive, as long as he could sit next to Suzune. But, since the latter had no intention of spending money on a seat, Sudō could only bet on his luck during the random assignment.

During the auction, no one seemed to want the first seat, even though it was closer to the window. Maezono asked Chabashira if they could talk with their friends first, but since reserving seats in advance would make the auction pointless, Chabashira quickly denied her request. However, she allowed them to text each other with their phones. Many girls started texting instantly, and the boys followed suit a bit later. But while they were allowed to communicate via text, time ran out for the bidding of the first seat. Seeing that no one was bidding for seat 1, Chabashira moved on to the next seat.

When the auction for the second seat had just started, Haruka sent a message to the entire Ayanokōji Group asking if they would like to sit together, to which Keisei agreed. Haruka suggested a group of six seats in the lower left corner, leaving out the seats completely attached to the window and the back row. Akito had a different option in mind, but he agreed to follow his friends. Seeing that no one showed any opposition to the plan, Haruka offered to buy seat 15, the most expensive of the group of seats that she had proposed. Despite this, Kiyotaka thought it was difficult for their plans to come to fruition since they would not be the only group that wanted to sit together.

Seats 5, 6, and 7 were ignored, but when it came to the eighth seat, four students raised their hands: Sotumura, Okitani, Miyamoto, and Onodera. Chabashira urged them to make the highest bid possible. When the bids were closed, Chabashira confirmed that Miyamoto had won the seat after paying 100,001pr. After witnessing Miyamoto's victory for the eighth seat, the others began to act, with a group of girls successfully claiming seats 10 to 12. Keisei bid unopposed for seat 13, one of the Ayanokōji group's targets, paying 4,500 points for the seat. Akito also managed to secure the next seat. When the bidding for seat 15 began, Haruka and Ike raised their hands, and after a brief moment, it was announced that Haruka had won the seat for 30,000pr. With those results, Kiyotaka and Sakura were the only ones left to secure their seats.

The professor then secured seat 16 for himself. Mii-chan got seat 19 with no competition after there were no bids for seats 17 and 18. Following that, the bid for the cheapest seat, number 20, began at a price of 1,000 pr. Kiyotaka speculated that if the number of points available was an issue, they would wait for the auction to end and be randomly assigned to a seat, making even paying 1000pr for a seat prohibitively expensive. Despite this, there was only one person who desired the aforementioned seat. The only one who bid for seat 20 turned out to be Hirata, raising the value of the seats around him.

Kushida unexpectedly raised her hand as they moved to auction seat 21. Some girls who wanted to compete with her for the seat but didn't, as they had previously decided which seats to choose in advance via text messages. Kiyotaka reasoned that with the two most popular people in the room sitting in the middle, the value of seats in the center of the class might change. Given that the middle seats were the least popular at the start of the auction, being assigned to them at random might cause complaints in the class, which Hirata wouldn't allow. In this way, both Hirata and Kushida contributed to the peace in the class. Also, it appeared that Mii-chan had anticipated Hirata's actions and chose seat 19 in advance.

Continuing with the auction, seat 22 was now up for grabs, so Kiyotaka raised his hand, as did Ike, who appeared eager to sit behind Kushida. Shinohara gave him a cold stare, but Ike didn't seem to notice it. Instead, Ike yelled that he would not lose to Kiyotaka, making it difficult for Kiyotaka to make a high bid because his intentions could be misinterpreted. Kiyotaka offered 10,500pr for seat 22, which had originally cost 2,500pr, but Ike was declared the winner after paying 30,000pr.

Sakura was panicking as a result of this unexpected event, which she mentioned in her messages, but Haruka told her to stick to the plan. Even though it was unfortunate that Kiyotaka wasn't able to get seat 22, he could still go for the available window seats, and so Sakura raised her hand for the next seat, heeding her advice. Because the seat was directly behind Ike, no one bid on it, and Sakura was able to secure seat 23.

After Kōenji took seat 24, Kiyotaka wondered what he should do, since he could sit next to Sakura, but he would be away from the other members of their group. They asked Kiyotaka if he could go for any of the aisle seats, but he replied that it would be unlikely considering the cost of it and how many would want those seats in the next round. His friends offer to help him pay the amount of points, but he rejects the idea because he would be in the hands of the school if that happened. Naturally, by spending the private points on the seats, the school would recover those points. Additionally, he added that it would be important to save those points for the fight against the other classes.

While deciding what to do, Kiyotaka remembered that someone other than his friends in the group, such as Karuizawa, had asked where he would sit. He remembered a phone call they had the night before the opening ceremony, when Karuizawa asked if it was okay to keep their relationship a secret from others, to which Kiyotaka replied that it was fine if that was what she wanted. She suggested that it would be best to keep it under wraps just in case, and he agreed.

Suddenly, a separate message arrived on Kiyotaka's phone, and obviously, he knew it was none other than Karuizawa. The reason why she had kept quiet until now must be because she was still chatting with her friends and there were many empty seats, and so she didn't need to rush. However, as the auction continued, Minami took seat 31 and seat 32 was now on sale. It seems Karuizawa noticed Kiyotaka's attempts to sit close to their group and asked him to tell her anything, even though he was still unsure. What she wanted was to have a reference of where Kiyotaka would sit, but for the latter, it was easier to say which places he didn't want: the central ones. He finished by telling her that seat 40 would be fine, and Karuizawa replied that it was to be expected.

The auction's first round concluded, and the second round began. No one seemed interested in the seats near the window in the first round, but it appeared that the number of people who wanted them now had increased. Chabashira waited about 5 seconds after receiving offers for a seat before moving on to the next, so Kiyotaka planned to raise his hand at 4 seconds to ensure he had no competitors. Unfortunately, he was unable to use this strategy with seat 5, which had an initial price of 20,000pr but was sold for 70,000pr, or with seat 6, which had an initial price of 254,000pr but was sold for 80,000pr. Although Kiyotaka bid 100,000pr for seat 7, Ijūin outbid him with a bid of 115,000pr.

Kiyotaka apologized to his group for failing, but they assured him that it was fine since Kushida's decision was unexpected. In the current situation, he couldn't sit with his group even if he wanted to, so he asked to pick a spot that he wouldn't regret later, to which the group unanimously agreed. Interestingly, no one bid on seat 40, so Kiyotaka was able to easily secure the spot by paying 20,000pr.

Seats 17, 25, 32, and 37 were the only ones free at the end of the second round, and the students who had not chosen a seat were Sudō, Suzune, and Okitani. Chabashira announced that they will keep seat 32 vacant and informed those who did not select a seat that they will participate in a lottery, with the number on the ticket they draw determining their seat. Sudō, trusting his luck, took a deep breath and pulled the ticket, followed by the other two. Sudō firmly and excitedly opened his slip, but after a brief pause, he closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Suzune and Okitani also opened theirs before handing them over to Chabashira.

Chabashira declares that Suzune will occupy seat 17, Okitani 25 and Sudō 37. Resigned, the latter goes to the seat he himself chose, while the others look at him with sympathetic eyes.

Trivia

 * A panel with Class 2-D students sitting in their classroom can be seen in the 2nd year manga. The arrangement of their seats corresponds to the narrative of this story.