COTE Collection

by TsukasaKawaii

Collection of Cote Fanfic from many authors

28. (3) Ayanokouji's Return - Chapter 16-20

COTE: Ayanokouji's Return

By : tobi7th

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Chapter 16 - 20

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Chapter 16 - Henry Forger

Kiyotaka's POV

Kiyotaka: "Good morning, Henry. What the hell are you doing here?"

I was looking at the man before me with a fake smile.

The man was in his late twenties.

He had a square face, black eyes with a thick, red glasses on an upturned nose.

He had a big perm-like black hair and a short goatee.

Henry Forger.

A skilled informant and a direct subordinate of Christine.

We became buddies, when doing together some errands for that vixen.

Henry: "K-Kiyotaka.. W-What a freaky coincidence. Why are you here?"

Kiyotaka: "Indeed, a freaky coincidence. The last time I checked, Japan wasn't the part of the Central Europe, where you should be at the moment."

Henry: "Hahaha.. Well, some things happened and my schedule was changed."

Kiyotaka: "I wonder why. Mind telling me more?"

Henry: "You know that I can't easily speak about such things."

Kiyotaka: "But friends should help each other, don't you think?"

Henry: "How can I burden my buddy like that?"

Kiyotaka: "You should reconsider it before things will get bloody, my friend."

Henry: "A-Are you going to attack me? Remember that I am a staff here, while you are a student. I can report you to the school for that."

Kiyotaka: "Oh no, such a barbarian method would not soothe my anger one bit, you know. But I must say that you sure have grown some balls to actually threaten me like that. I will make sure Christine will hear about it."

Henry's mouth twitched a little.

Kiyotaka: "And since you got so much courageous like that, I am sure you will not mind me telling her about that one time, when I found you using her photos in the bikini to actually fa.."

Henry: "This humble servant is at your disposal, Ayanokouji-sama!"

Henry went into a full dogeza while sweating profusely.

Kiyotaka: "Eh? Why the sudden attitude change? I am sure she will be in awe of your boldness, you know."

Henry: "She will literally skin me alive!"

Indeed, there was a big chance that she would inflict some permanent damage to his body with a big smile on her face.

Kiyotaka: "I guess we just reached an agreement, Henry. So, what are you doing here, my friend?"

Henry: "Friend my ass, you blackmailer. You already know without me saying it, don't you? Your mother send me here to monitor your life here."

Kiyotaka: "That damned vixen. After all that talk, she just couldn't help herself after all."

I touched my nose, feeling a big headache.

Henry: "You actually should be grateful that it's me, who is here. Originally, Christine wanted to come here herself saying that she always wanted to roleplay as a restaurant manager. If Noah didn't intervene in time, she would really come here ."

My mouth twitched heavily just imagining the hell I would experience in such scenario.

I expected that she would force her way somehow, but Noah said that he took care of it and there will be no problem.

Considering that she stayed in the USA, he was telling me the truth at that time.

I guess sending Henry here was the biggest compromise he managed to get from her.

Actually, I could already see some benefits from Henry's existence in this school.

I wondered if it was all Noah's plan.

You have my gratitude, adoptive father.

Kiyotaka: "I guess it can't be helped. I will reluctantly let you live."

Henry: "Y-Your wording is somehow scary."

Kiyotaka: "It's a joke. We are buddies, aren't we? Do mind telling me why are you in this restaurant?"

Henry: "I was supposed to monitor you without you knowing for as long as I could. The most of this place's customers are adults and it is placed far from the school, so it was a perfect hideout. I could also obtain some information from my customers without arousing suspicion."

Kiyotaka: "I see. As expected of you, I guess. This place sure has a potential for your work."

Henry: "Of course, it has. So why are you here? I didn't expect you loitering around here on the second day of the school."

Kiyotaka: "I'm on a date with a girl, who found this place a bit earlier today. We got worried that no one was coming to ask for our orders, so I went to check up things here."

To think I coincidentally will find this rat here.

Masumi sure was my lucky star.

Henry: "Already on a date? Tch, what a lucky bastard. Let's see.."

Henry turned around and come closer to the monitors that were behind him.

Now that I look closely, this should be a surveillance room.

There were several monitors here that were showing some different angles of the restaurant and the outside of it.

Kiyotaka: "I thought that the school has the monopoly on the surveillance cameras."

Henry: "You are not wrong. The school surveillance team have access to all the cameras on the school grounds. I just have the shared vision of the ones in this restaurant. With this, the school doesn't need to take care of the small problems that would occur, instead it lets the owner of the place to be the first judge, if something happens."

Kiyotaka: "I see. That's an interesting information. Thank you."

I could see Masumi on the monitor.

She was watching the entrance to the kitchen that I went in.

I could see some worry on her face.

How cute.

I guess I should come back.

Henry: "Woah, what a beauty. You bastard sure has a smooth life here from the the beginning. Why something like that doesn't happen to me?"

Kiyotaka: "It's can't be helped, you know. The girls just can't say no to this handsome face."

Henry: "Tch, I really want to punch your arrogant face right now, you show off bastard."

Kiyotaka: "Relax. You will find someone soon too."

Henry: "I wonder. Lately I just have no luck with ladies."

No, I was sure he would find someone soon enough.

Because Henry was someone, who would frequently fall in love with the other women as long as she was a beauty or had even a slight interest in him.

Unfortunately, it always ended after a short time.

Henry: "Wait a second. Isn't that girl Kamuro Masumi that was involved in the yesterday's incident with you?"

Kiyotaka: "So you already knew about that incident, huh? But why do you know about Masumi?"

Henry: "Of course, I knew about it. You gave us that information yourself. The police called your home and reported everything. You sure gave us a headache. The moment Christine heard the request of the policeman to pass the information of the incident to Kamuro Masumi's father, since you two are the childhood friends, the Norton Residence experienced a small earthquake."

Kiyotaka: "What? But I gave them the number to Naomi. Why did Christine pick it up?"

Henry: "After you left, Christine ordered that the every single thing that would involve you needs to be transferred to her directly. Naomi didn't have much to say."

Kiyotaka: "..."

This woman..

She even threatened her own friend and secretary over such a thing?

Henry: "Christine ordered me to check Kamuro Masumi and her father. Because of that, I couldn't sleep much yesterday, which is why I took a nap here. But it will take some time to find some concrete information. Are you interested ?"

Kiyotaka: "Can I cancel this order?"

Henry: "Will you protect me for the rest of my life?"

Kiyotaka: "No."

Henry: "Then no."

Kiyotaka: "(Sigh).. Inform me about what your findings before you report them to her. Here is my contact info."

Henry: "Fine. But you owe me one."

Kiyotaka: "Okay, okay. I'm going back. Masumi looks worried. From now on, you are my distant relative, whom I didn't see for some time."

Henry: "Huh? Why are you making some random settings like that?"

Kiyotaka: "Since I know that you are working here, I will be a frequent visitor. I also will ask you some favorites in the future. It would be better to stay friendly in the others eyes by some natural explanation."

Henry: "What the hell? I didn't agree to that!"

Kiyotaka: "Oh, I suddenly remembered that, when I saw you watching Christine's bikini photos, you were also speaking some weird words, like.."

Henry: "It will be my biggest pleasure to be of help to you, Ayanokouji-sama!"

Kiyotaka: "Thank you, buddy. I am going back. I hope you will come a few moments later and nicely introduce yourself to Masumi."

Henry: "Tch, roger."

Kiyotaka: "One last thing. Do you work alone here?"

Henry: "No, I have some support with me. We didn't have any customers, so I sent them for some groceries. They should be here any moment."

Kiyotaka: "Support?"

Henry: "Yes. But don't worry. Those two are also 'our allies'. It would be quite troublesome to run a restaurant and gather intel by myself."

Kiyotaka: "Do I know them?"

Henry: "No, I don't think so. They are locals from Tokyo. They are from the support team, so their role is to help me manage this restaurant. I am mainly only a manager here. And a bartender in the evenings , since the drunk people are more talkactive."

Kiyotaka: "I see."

I left Henry and directed my steps towards the kitchen's exit.

I opened the door and stood face to face with surprised Masumi.

Masumi: "!"

Kiyotaka: "Masumi, what are you doing?"

Masumi's face turned a little crimson and she dodged my vision.

This picture looked a lot like a child, who was caught red-handed.

Masumi: "Y-You didn't come for some time, so I came to see what's going on."

I remembered her worried look on the monitor screen.

I smiled teasingly.

Kiyotaka: "So you were worried about me and bravely decided to go and check my side rather than running away from the unknown. You are so sweet, Masumi. Thank you."

Masumi: "W-Who was worried about you?! I just wanted to find out about the situation before calling the security, that's all. Stop placing your weird fantasies into me!"

Kiyotaka: "Everything is okay, Masumi. Nothing bad happened. But if you don't believe, you can perform a full body check on me. I won't refuse."

I spread my arms widely, half-intending to hug her, if she would come closer.

Masumi stood stunned by my actions.

The redness on her face became more visible.

Kiyotaka: "No need to feel shy."

I took a step in her side.

Masumi took a step backwards.

Masumi: "If you are acting like that, then you are definitely okay. There no need to check."

Kiyotaka: "So you would consider it, if I was looking hurt?"

Masumi: "N-No. More importantly, what happened there? Why didn't you come back for so long?"

Kiyotaka: "I managed to find a manager of this place. And it just happened that he is someone I know, so we had a small talk there. He will apear soon to take our orders."

Masumi: "An acquintance?"

Kiyotaka: "To be precise, he is a distant relative of mine. What a huge coincidence to actually meet him here. The world sure is a small place."

Masumi: "Your relative is working here?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes. Isn't it amazing, Masumi? We will get a VIP treatment here and it all thanks to you. If you didn't find this place, I may never find out that he works here."

Henry: "I never said that I will give you a VIP treatment, Kiyotaka! This restaurant doesn't even have a VIP treatment to begin with!"

Suddenly, a door to the kitchen opened with a bang and Henry entered with an angry expression.

Kiyotaka: "Eh? You won't give us a discount or something?"

Henry: "Why would I? Do you even know how hard would be for this restaurant to exist, if I start giving my customers a discount? This place is not so popular."

Kiyotaka: "Shouldn't you actually make your customers feel more comfortable, since there are only a few of them? They actually may bring more customers with them. Start preparing some loyalty program that will be based on the number of times someone comes here and people will have more reasons to come. Or make some discounts for couples or groups."

Henry: "That.. may be right actually."

Kiyotaka: "See, it will help you. So, with a family discount, a couple discount and as apology for making your customers wait for so long, today everything will be on you."

Henry: "H-Huh?! Wait, you said it on purpose, so you don't have to pay, didn't you?!"

Kiyotaka: "I was just trying to help my family member in his business. It's our big reunion, yet you are so cruel hearted."

Henry: "You just want to make me broke, don't you?!"

Kiyotaka (in small voice): "Tch, he figured it out."

Henry: "Did you just clicked your tongue?!"

Kiyotaka: "Of course not."

Masumi: "Pppfffhh!"

We stopped our bickering, while looking at Masumi, who started to hold her mouth to stop laughing.

Her entire body was slightly shaking, while she tried her best to not make any noises.

Her face also started to become more red. I could even see some tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

Kiyotaka: "Oh my, where are my manners. Henry, let me introduce to you. This shaking tomato here is Kamuro Masumi, my future wife. Masumi, this cheap, unfriendly guy here is Henry Forger, who just happens to be my distant relative. I hope it won't discourage you from accepting my future marriage proposal."

Masumi&Henry: "Who are you calling your future wife/cheap, unfriendly guy?!"

After the small bickering between our three, me and Masumi finally managed to eat some food prepared by Henry.

I gave Henry some more tips about marketing to help his restaurant.

Since there wasn't any customer, he just sat with us to kill the time.

For some reason, he and Masumi hit off well, especially while badmouthing me.

He also introduced us to his subordinates.

I didn't know them, but from what I saw, they really were just supporters, who were gonna help him manage this place.

After spending some time, we bid goodbye to Henry.

Of course, I managed to get him to pay for our dinner.

That frustrated face when he was saying farewell to us was so hilarious.

I must often go to his place.

Masumi: "What are you thinking about with that smirk on your face?"

Kiyotaka: "That we should become Henry's loyal customers."

Masumi: "He almost cried, when he was saying that we don't need to pay. You truly are a devil."

Kiyotaka: "Don't worry. He is just a money-driven person, so 'for free' words are just too much for him to take. But he is a good guy nonetheless."

Masumi: "..."

Kiyotaka: "What's up?"

Masumi: "You said that you were an orphan before. And now your relative just appeared."

Kiyotaka: "He actually is a relative of my adoptive parents. So technically we are not blood related. But we are treating each other like family."

Masumi: "Is your meeting here really a coincidence?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes. I didn't know he would be here. He often go on the trips and do some jobs to survive."

Masumi: "It must be nice to have someone, whom you can treat so openly without a care."

Kiyotaka: "Do you not have someone like that in your family?"

Masumi: "No, my only family member right now is my father."

Kiyotaka: "What about your mother?"

Masumi: "She died a few years ago in a car accident."

Kiyotaka: "My condolences."

Masumi: "Mother was a good person. She always took care of me. After her death, I don't have any good memory of my home."

Kiyotaka: "So you started to steal and drink an alcohol?"

Masumi: "Yes. It was helping me forget about some things. I liked the adrenaline that I got from doing that. Especially after I became good at it."

Kiyotaka: "I see. I could tell that your skills were honed by some time. I was truly impressed at your boldness yesterday. Normally you would hesitate to do that for a few days and try to check things up more."

Masumi: "Don't you think that I am weird?"

Kiyotaka: "Of course not. Didn't I steal just after you, so we could have more beer for later? I won't condemn your actions at all. You managed to run away from the bad environment. Now you just need to learn how to enjoy your freedom."

Masumi: "..."

Kiyotaka: "I had a lot of fun today, Masumi. Thank you."

Masumi: "I just wanted to repay you back for a dinner."

Kiyotaka: "And you succeeded. What about you? Did you enjoy yourself?"

Masumi: "W-Well..."

Kiyotaka: "Do you think it was a waste of time to go out with me today?"

Masumi looked at me for a few moments, then she smiled beautifully.

Masumi: "No, it wasn't. It was fun."

Kiyotaka: "That's good."

Masumi: "Although it would be even better, if you didn't tease me this much."

Kiyotaka: "I wonder. You didn't mind it that much."

Masumi: "I did. You always speak some troublesome things to tease me."

Kiyotaka: "Like what?"

Masumi: "Like.. Ahh, you are doing it again! You know what I mean."

Kiyotaka: "I don't. But I know that you are very cute, when you are flustered like that. So you are partly to blame for that."

Masumi blushed furiously, while glaring at me.

That's the face I wanted to see.

I looked at her with a small smile.

She avoided my vision, knowing why I was smiling at her like that.

She really didn't mind my teasing that much.

I would even bet she was enjoying herself a little during our fights.

Although she would rather go all out against me than actually admit that.

But I had a lot of patience.

Masumi: "Kiyotaka, look at that."

Masumi suddenly pointed out at something near us.

I looked in that direction and saw a few silhouettes of students.

I recognized one of them.

It was a red-haired guy from my class, who slept for the most of the lessons.

He was looking angrily at the three students, who were smiling provocatively at him.

The three of them seemed to be senpais.

My intuition was telling me that something bad was going on.

Kiyotaka: "The red-haired guy is from my class. Wait here for a second, Masumi. I will take a look there."

Masumi nodded to me.

I started to go in the direction of the ruckus.

I took out my phone and started the video recording.

I placed my phone in the breast pocket, so that no one would notice it.

After coming closer to them, I started hearing their conversation.

Senpai A: "You bumped into my friend, while he was drinking the juice and it spilled out on him. You need to apologize and compensate him for that."

Red-haired boy: "What a bullsh*t! He bumped into me intentionally from the beginning! It's him, who should apologize!"

Senpai B: "I didn't! It was clearly you, who didn't look what's in front of you."

Senpai C: "I saw everything. It was your fault, first year. Apologize to my friend."

Red-haired boy: "Huh?! Are you picking a fight with me or something? I told you that it was that punk, who bumped into me!"

Senpai A: "A punk? You sure don't know how to respect your seniors. What class are you in?"

Senpai B: "Why are you asking him? It's as clear as a day that he is from Class D."

Red-haired boy: "Huh?! I am from Class D, so what?"

Senpai B: "See? I knew that. It was a dead giveaway."

Senpai C: "The students from that class are getting worse and worse each year."

Red-haired boy: "What did you say, you bastard?!"

Senpai A: "Indeed, those defects are just on the level of monkeys. You probably even don't know what the respect is."

Red-haired boy: "I've had enough! I will show you bastards who is a monkey here!"

Looks like the red-haired boy and one of the senpais bumped into each other and the juice spilled out on the latter's clothes.

On the first glance it may look like an accident, but something was wrong with those three.

The way they were calling him a defect reminded me of Nagumo.

They were clearly trying to rile up the red-haired guy, who appeared to be extremely short-tempered.

The most suspicious thing was that sometimes they were looking at the surveillance camera that was behind my classmate.

They were probably trying to extort money from him after he punched one of them.

When the boy rushed at them, they grinned widely.

I decided to intervene.

I sprinted towards them and blocked the way for the red-haired boy.

Red-haired boy: "Huh?! Who the hell are you?"

Looks like this guy slept so much that he didn't even remember my face.

Clap, clap.

Kiyotaka: "Congratulations. You were just about to be extorted from all your money from that trio."

Red-haired boy: "Huh?! What are you talking about?"

Kiyotaka: "I am just saying that those three just want to scam your money from you."

Red-haired boy: "Of course, I know that! They wanted me to pay for the clothes, even though it that guy, who bumped into me."

Kiyotaka: "Hm? No, no. I didn't mean that. That was only to rile you up, so you would actually attack them."

Red-haired boy: "Huh?"

Senpai A: "Who are you? What are you doing here? Mind your own business."

Senpai B: "It was that guy's fault. Look at my clothes."

Senpai C: "Why are you slandering us without knowing anything?"

Kiyotaka: "Oh, but it is my business. You said that Class D students are getting worse and worse, didn't you? And that we are just on the monkeys level, right? So as a Class D student, I just thought that I need to prove you wrong, senpais."

Red-haired boy: "What? We are classmates? I don't recognize you."

Kiyotaka: "Because you were sleeping the most of time in the classroom."

Senpai A: "What, you are also a Class D student? So you are here to help your friend or something?"

Senpai B: "And here I was wondering, why he slandered us like that. Turns out he was just ignorant like the other one."

Senpai C: "Kouhai, how dare you make false accusation towards us? We are the second-year students. Apologize to us right now."

Kiyotaka: "Then why don't we call the security and have them check out that camera that you were constantly observing? It should have recorded the incident. If what you guys are saying is the truth, then me and this guy will apologize to you. Of course, we will also compensate you for the clothes and the slandering. What do you think?"

Red-haired boy: "Oy, why are you deciding it on your own?!"

Kiyotaka: "But if the recording shows that it's your fault, then you three are just trying to scam my classmate. This school doesn't like your sort very much. I wonder how you will be punished. Of course, you will also apologize to our two for your insults and slandering. You three probably will be the students laughing stock for doing that."

Senpai A: "Are you threatening us?!"

Kiyotaka: "No. I just want the truth."

I looked at my red-haired classmate.

Kiyotaka: "Name?"

Red-haired boy: "Ah? Sudo Ken."

Kiyotaka: "Nice to meet you, Sudo. I am Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Let's call the security and find the truth. You wanted that too, don't you? So do you mind calling them right now?"

Sudo: "E-Eh? Well, I guess so."

Sudo took out his phone.

Senpai C: "Wait! There is no need to call the school for a small thing like that."

Kiyotaka: "A small thing? You guys were acting as if the world would end, if Sudo didn't apologize to you. Wasn't you the one, who said that you saw everything? Why do you look scared right now?"

Senpai C: "We just don't want to make a big scene like that."

Senpai B: "Right, I was a little angry, but if you guys are going overboard like that, then forget it. I don't need an apology anymore."

Senpai A: "Tch, you guys should be careful the next time. Let's go."

Looks like my hunch was correct.

The moment I mentioned the camera, the three of them became scared and started to back off.

But I wasn't planning to let them off so easily.

Kiyotaka: "So you are admitting that it was a actually an attempt to extort the money. And you seriously were speaking about the respect? I have never seen bigger scums in my life."

Sudo: "As I thought! Halt to me, you bastards! How dare you try to scam me?! I will beat you up!"

Senpai A: "Watch your mouth, you punk!"

Senpai C: "We just don't want to draw attention, since you guys are not civilized enough to just apologize to us."

Senpai B: "You guys will be in hell soon enough anyway. I will forgive you this time around."

Kiyotaka: "Wow. Not only you guys are scums, you are even so shameless. But it won't work this time around. Sudo, let's be a virtuous civilian and report those three to the school."

Sudo: "Hm? Ah! Sure!"

Senpai C: "W-WAIT!"

Senpai A: "There is no need for that! We don't want anything anymore!"

Kiyotaka: "Wait a second, Sudo."

Sudo: "What now? You are getting bossy, you know."

Kiyotaka: "So you guys admit that you were trying to extort money from Sudo?"

Senpai B: "What? I-It's not true."

Kiyotaka: "You sure that you want to play stupid to the very end?"

Senpai A: "We are not.."

Senpai C: "Enough!"

Senpai A, B: "?"

Senpai C: "What do you want?"

Kiyotaka: "Oh, it's good that at least one of you is a little smarter. So you admit it?"

Senpai C: "Yes, we wanted to earn some money from that guy."

Sudo: "YOU BASTARDS!"

Kiyotaka: "Stop it, Sudo! Let me take care of it."

Sudo: "..."

Senpai A: "Oy, why are you admitting it?"

Senpai C: "Shut up!"

Senpai A: "..."

Senpai C: "How much do you want?"

Kiyotaka: "100000 points from each of you. Half for me, half for him. What do you think, Sudo?"

Sudo: "What are you talking about?"

Kiyotaka: "It's simple, Sudo. If we report them, then the school will be the one to punish them, while we would just get an apology. It's not much, don't you think? Having more points to enjoy your life here sounds much better, doesn't it?"

Sudo: "O-Oh! I see! Hahaha, that's smart!"

Looks like Sudo finally understood.

He started to laugh loudly for a few moments.

Kiyotaka: "We will not call security and you will pay us 300000 points. Is that okay?"

Senpai C: "Fine. We will pay you."

Senpai B: "Are you sure?"

Senpai C: "Do you see some other choice?"

Senpai A: "Tch."

The trio quickly paid us up.

I got myself 150000 points so easily.

The senpais left us with annoyed look.

Sudo: "Thanks, man. If not for you, I may be in trouble."

Kiyotaka: "It wasn't much. I even got myself some money too. But you should be careful, Sudo. There may be more people like them."

Sudo: "Don't worry. If they will try anything, I will beat them up quickly."

That's exactly the problem, Sudo.

I sighed.

Kiyotaka: "Then, I am going back. My friend is waiting for me over there."

Sudo: "Mm? Wow, what a pretty girl. Tch, you lucky bastard."

Kiyotaka: "Yeah, I hear that a lot. See you tomorrow, Sudo."

Sudo: "See you in the school, Ayanokouji. Once again, thanks for everything."

I started going in the direction of Masumi, while Sudo went in the opposite direction.

I took out my phone and stopped the recording.

I smirked to myself.

Masumi: "You are making that devil face again, you know."

Kiyotaka: "I'm sorry, Masumi, but would you mind waiting for a bit longer? I forgot to ask something of those three senpais. I assure you that it would be quick and then I will tell you everything."

Masumi: "Fine. I will wait for you."

Kiyotaka: "Thank you. You are the best, Masumi."

I sprinted out in the direction of the trio.

I found them in one minute.

Senpai A: "Hm? It's you again? What do you want?"

Kiyotaka: "Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to show you something funny."

I took out my phone and played the recording.

Their faces turned paler and paler, while they were watching themselves admitting to the extortion.

Kiyotaka: "What should we do about this recording?"

Senpai C : "We already paid you. Are you trying to blackmail us again?"

Kiyotaka: "Me? When did I blackmail you? You watched the video, didn't you? You paid me and Sudo for not calling the security to resolve the situation. No one said anything about me forgetting about your admittance of the extortion. Of course, without a proof you wouldn't be punished probably. But with this recording, things would turn bad for you guys, wouldn't they?"

Senpai A: "You bastard! You think we will tolerate you every single time?!"

Kiyotaka: "Then I will just give this recording to a friend of mine. Have you heard about Horikita Manabu?"

Senpai B: "W-What?! That's Student Council President."

Kiyotaka: "So you have heard about him. That's good. Things will go faster."

Senpai C: "What do you want?"

Kiyotaka: "The rest of your points, of course. Have you guys seriously thought that I would let you off for such small amount of money? I only did that to make you guys think that it would be over for the small price and relax your vigilance against me. I know that you have much more than that."

Senpai C: "You..."

Kiyotaka: "Of course, you don't need to pay. The choice is yours."

Senpai C: "If we pay you up now, you will delete the recording, right?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes. I am just a poor defect from Class D. I need to prepare myself for this hell you were talking about."

Senpai B: "Impossible. H-How do you know..?"

Senpai C: "Enough! We agree."

Senpai A: "Are you crazy?! We will be left with nothing!"

Senpai C: "But we will still be here, won't we?"

Senpai A, B: "..."

Kiyotaka: "It's really good to talk with someone smart. It's too bad you decided to become a scum. But maybe you will have a change of heart thanks to this incident."

Senpai C: "It's not your business."

The three of them paid me the rest of their points.

Together with previous 150000 points, I just got myself a little over 1.2 million points.

This was more than I would get from the school for a year without any points deduction.

My current points reached 1.3 million points.

If only I would find more students like those three.

I sighed, while deleting the recording.

Senpai C: "With this, we are done, aren't we?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes. I don't have more business with you. Goodbye, senpais. I hope you will turn over the new leaves with this experience."

I left them with a smile.

I heard them cursing me a little later, but it was not my business anymore.

I reached Masumi, who looked a little irritated.

Kiyotaka: "I'm sorry for making you wait."

Masumi: "You should be. What happened there?"

Kiyotaka: "I will tell you the details, but firstly, would you mind to show me your phone?"

Masumi: "Huh? Why?"

Kiyotaka: "It will be very quick."

Masumi showed me her phone.

I put out mine and transferred some money to her.

Masumi: "W-What the hell? 300000 points?"

Kiyotaka: "Yeah. I hope this will be enough for you."

Masumi: "How do you have this much? No, in the first place, why are you giving me this?"

Kiyotaka: "Can't I just share the happiness that I obtained with my friend?"

Masumi: "W-What?"

Kiyotaka: "Masumi, from now on, whenever you will pay for something, I hope you will think dearly about me."

Masumi's face quickly turned into boiling tomato.

Masumi: "Y-You.. You are just teasing me again, aren't you?!"

She was so adorable that I may get addicted one day.

.

.

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Chapter 17 - Kiryuin Family's Circumstances

3rd April

Kiyotaka's POV

I woke up early and started my morning routine.

While I was stretching my body, my brain was analyzing the yesterday's events.

Quite a lot happened in one day.

I finally got to know my own classmates.

I learned some things about Class A and Class B.

I spent some quality time with Fuka and Masumi.

I unofficially became the Student Council Vice-President.

I got into fight with Suzune, then kissed her in front of her brother. And now, because of the bet we made, she was about to become my dating partner.

I found out that some of my friends were in this school.

I also made some progress with infiltrating the school system after I came back to my room last night.

I hoped to meet WinterDrop during my work, but I didn't have luck.

Maybe WinterDrop decided to fortify the defense before trying again like I suggested.

Or was just busy with some other things.

It was just the second day in this school, so it would make sense to check the school grounds or start making some friends.

I also still didn't receive any messages from Nishino.

I already became slightly acquainted with Class B.

And I had a planned visit to Class A.

It would be perfect to have some ties with Class C as well.

But for some reason, Nishino didn't respond to my messages.

It was weird, since Nishino didn't strike me like such a person.

My most plausible theory was that something happened in her class.

But even if that was true, I couldn't do much, since we were practically strangers.

There wasn't much of information I could get at the moment, if she was silent all the time.

For now, establishing some relationship with Class A and Class B would be my top priority.

My second priority would be the Student Council and Nagumo.

That donkey's trial was yesterday and he probably got some kind of punishment.

While he was at disadvantage like that, I needed to make myself known as the second Vice-President.

Horikita-senpai was quite supportive, but I don't think he will directly interfere in this fight without a proper reason.

And there was still my third priority - an ally within my class.

Having something to say in the class, but still not having big attention from the others was a must for me.

From my current observations, class D indeed may be in trouble in the next month, if no one would rise up and manage them.

It would be easy for me to just become a leader, but that wasn't my wish nor goal for now.

But I just couldn't ignore the problem.

Especially after experiencing yesterday's incident with Sudo.

Those three senpais may be not quite intelligent, but their stance towards us was probably something normal in this school.

If our class would do poorly, my standing may be low and my position in the Student Council may be questioned more than necessary.

So I needed someone, who would manage the class in my stead, but was loyal to me normally or by blackmail.

Unfortunately, I didn't have someone like that at the moment.

But at least I became an allies with Sotomura.

He may be a great help, especially with his bugging equipment.

If my visit in the gym today will be satisfactory, I will get him to train with me every morning.

That was my promise to him after all.

After finishing my exercises, I put on my clothes and took some stuff into my bag.

Yesterday I confirmed that the gym I was heading to was open 24 hours per day.

It was still so early, so I didn't expect to meet anyone on my way.

Yet, I was wrong.

The moment I opened my room door, a familiar person appeared within my sight.

He was standing before the elevator door.

That person spotted me as well, but there was no surprise on his face.

But it was no wonder.

Koenji Rokusuke very rarely shows such an expression.

Kiyotaka: "Good morning, Rokusuke."

Rokusuke: "Good morning, Kiyotaka Boy. And farewell, Kiyotaka Boy."

The second he said that sentence, the elevator door opened and Rokusuke went in.

This bastard..

I was about to rush towards the elevator, when I just remembered something.

I hurriedly opened my room, took the packed item that was on my table and rushed after the blonde-haired boy.

It was not too hard to catch him.

He was leisurely going out from the dorm, when I spotted him again.

Rokusuke: "Oh my, do you have some business with me, Kiyotaka Boy?"

Kiyotaka: "You didn't change one bit, did you? Couldn't you care for some small talk, since we met already?"

Rokusuke: "I greeted with you and said my farewell with you. Since I didn't have any business with you, that's all the small talk I needed. Maybe if you were a pretty lady, I would feel interested more, but you are not."

Kiyotaka: "I see."

Rokusuke: "So? Since you already interrupted my peaceful morning, I assure you have something you want to talk about with me."

Kiyotaka: "Yes, but before that.."

I took out the present I prepared for him.

Kiyotaka: "Happy birthday, Rokusuke."

Rokusuke: "Hoh? Indeed, another year of perfection have passed. I will receive your tribute, Kiyotaka Boy."

He took my present and put it in his bag.

Kiyotaka: "You are not going to open it?"

Rokusuke: "No. There is no benefit for me to open it right now. Maybe if.."

Kiyotaka: "If I was a pretty lady, you would feel like opening it. Yeah, I got it."

I rolled my eyes.

This guy's life rules were really simple.

Rokusuke smiled slightly.

Rokusuke: "You were going to exercise your body, weren't you, Kiyotaka Boy? I was thinking of the same. Since we are going in the same direction, I will let you accompany my perfect self."

Kiyotaka: "..."

Rokusuke.. That Rokusuke.. Just asked me to accompany him to the gym?

The world must be facing its end today.

Kiyotaka: "Sure."

Both of us started walking in the direction of the gym.

Rokusuke: "How do you see this school, Kiyotaka Boy?"

Kiyotaka: "Interesting, yet troublesome."

Rokusuke: "I see."

Kiyotaka: "What about you?"

Rokusuke: "The ladies here are not bad. Though there are also many ugly beings that pollute the environment."

Kiyotaka: "You are speaking about our class, aren't you? How much do you know about S-System already?"

Rokusuke: "My perfect self already grasped everything. Yet, it seems like the others are still in the dark. Just looking at them playing around like the monkeys is so tiresome for me."

Did he really know everything?

Well, even if he didn't, he would never admit that.

Kiyotaka: "Apperently, the school judged us at the very beginning and our class is supposed to be the worst, while Class A is the best. I doubt that it's so simple, but at the first glance this judgment seems correct to some degree. "

Rokusuke: "It seems like this school lacks some good eyes. Not that I really care about that. My perfect self is perfect, wherever I would be. Though the noise I need to experience every day is not beautiful at all."

Kiyotaka: "But at least we have Sae-sensei, Rokusuke. She is definitely a feast for the eyes."

Rokusuke: "(Chuckle).. As expected, your eyesight is quite good, Kiyotaka Boy. But that teacher seems troublesome to get. And I don't want to stress my mind with troublesome things. Unless she will appreaciate my greatness on her own."

Kiyotaka: "Noah was always saying that the young man should try troublesome things early, since he can just put the blame on his youthness later."

Rokusuke: "That's not a bad advice. Is that why you are hanging around with Kiryuin Girl?"

Kiyotaka: "Fuka? I don't think there is something wrong with her. She is a great girl."

Rokusuke: "It's her environment that is troublesome, Kiyotaka Boy."

Kiyotaka: "An environment? Are you talking about Nagumo Miyabi, her fiance?"

Rokusuke: "Hoh? You already met with that buffon? That makes things easier."

Kiyotaka: "What do you mean?"

Rokusuke: "Let me impart you with a bit of my perfect wisdom."

Here goes Koenji-sama perfect wisdom.

Rokusuke: "Kiryuin Girl indeed is not bad. Even my perfect self was a little bit interested in her in the past. But I stopped. Do you know why?"

Kiyotaka: "Because she wasn't interested in your perfect ass?"

Rokusuke: "Because her family was just too troublesome."

Kiyotaka: "Why? I heard that Kiryuin Family is a military giant that is quite old-fashioned. Are they that strict?"

Rokusuke: "Kiryuin Family is renowned family, who have much to say in the matters of the entire country, not only in the military, though that's their main domain. The reason for that is actually simple - a succession."

Kiyotaka: "Are you referring to how there was always one member of Kiryuin Family as a general in the Japanese Army? That's exactly why they are considered as a military giant. Is Fuka related to the current one?"

Rokusuke: "Indeed. The current general of Japan Ground Self-Defence Forces is Kiryuin Girl's grandfather. And there is a big chance that the next one will be Kiryuin Girl's father."

Kiyotaka: "So she got a big background. To be honest, I am not surprised. So? What's the problem?"

Rokusuke: "The reasons why Kiryuin Family managed to maintain their position for so long are two. The first one is that the men of Kiryuin Family were always trained to be military leader from the youngest day. Thanks to that and the family fame, they would always quickly rise in the ranks."

That kinda sounded like something my father tried to do with me through the White Room.

In order to become someone, who will rule Japan in the future, I was subjected to many tests.

Kiyotaka: "And the second one?"

Rokusuke: "The second one is that the daughters of Kiryuin Family are actually considered as the chips to maintain or rise the family influence in the fields other than military through the marriage."

I frowned greatly, listening to that.

I got an idea what Rokusuke wanted to say to me.

Kiyotaka: "That's.. really some old-fashioned custom. And a troublesome one. So, despite how skilled she is, Fuka actually have no say in her family and can only be sold to the one, who will give more to them? "

Rokusuke: "Yes and no. She can only be sold to the one, who will guarantee that will be of help to the Kiryuin Family, while they will become the backer for the husband's influence. In other words, the strong one between the two forces must be Kiryuin Family. The sold daughter is like a watchman that makes sure her family interest is being kept safe."

Kiyotaka: "They are making sure their influence will not be endangered by possible betrayal, so they are looking for someone weaker than them, but strong enough to make them grow even bigger."

Rokusuke: "Indeed. And that's why I stopped being interested in Kiryuin Girl. Koenji Conglomerate is too strong for Kiryuin Family, so they would not accept this. And even if they do, I didn't want to help such ugly creatures."

Kiyotaka: "I see. Considering your character, this was just too bothersome for you. In the end, the one, who offered the good marriage terms for them, was Nagumo, right?"

Rokusuke: "Yes. That jester's family is quite influential one. They specialized in the trade, but there were some bad rumors about them in the last few years. So they decided to make a deal with Kiryuin Family to silence those rumors."

That would explain why Nagumo was so confident about being Fuka's future husband.

Their families already made a deal, so she was practically sold to him.

But what about her?

She wasn't someone, who would do something like that submissively, especially since she hated Nagumo.

Kiyotaka: "Is their engagement official already?"

Rokusuke: "Hoh, already starting to scheme something, Kiyotaka Boy? No, it wasn't officially announced yet. They are still just teenagers, after all. But some know about it already. I think they would make it official after the graduation from this school."

If they were not official couple yet, then the things were more simple.

Kiyotaka: "Thank you for your information. It's really rare for you to speak so much about someone other than yourself, Rokusuke."

Rokusuke: "That's because it will be tiresome for me to remember to give you something back at your birthday, Kiyotaka Boy. So treat it as your birthday present."

This lazy ass..

Kiyotaka: "(Sigh).. Is that so? Well, it's still better than the one I got from you in the last year. 'Train with the perfect existence in 101 ways'.. To think watching a video without doing anything could be so tiresome."

Rokusuke: "Despite having a great mind, you still cannot appreciate the true beauty, huh? But that's ok. I shall forgive you."

Kiyotaka: "I am so moved that I almost became speechless."

Rokusuke: "There is also one more piece of my perfect wisdom that I wanted to share with you."

Kiyotaka: "This humble being is listening with the utmost respect."

Rokusuke: "Kiryuin Family is probably one of the sponsors of THAT place."

...

That piece of information surprised me.

To think I would get some information about White Room in this school.

Kiyotaka: "Are you sure?"

Rokusuke: "I found out about it after some investigation. Apparently the Kiryuin Family was a sponsor invited by your father. After his death, there's still a possibility that they didn't cease that."

Father did that?

Well, Kiryuin Family mindset and his own mindset were similar.

It wouldn't be strange for him to contact them about the sponsorship.

Kiyotaka: "That means some people from Fuka's family may actually know about my past or even recognize me, huh?"

Rokusuke: "Indeed."

Well, that would be troublesome.

I don't have any ties with that place anymore, but I am sure White Room would start haunting me, if they find out that I am still alive.

I knew that one day I would face them. But I wanted to delay this showdown as much as possible.

Right now, they would look at me like at some stray sheep.

What a headache.

Rokusuke: "It seems like I have created a dilemma for you, Kiyotaka Boy."

Kiyotaka: "Kinda. But it was something inevitable, so it's better to know about the consequences earlier than later."

The thing that Rokusuke truly wanted to tell me was about the consequences of being close to Fuka.

I thought at the beginning that Nagumo would be like a final boss.

Turns out he was nothing more, but an appetizer before facing the three big forces.

Nagumo Family, Kiryuin Family, White Room.

Quite a line up, indeed.

Rokusuke: "We are about to enter the gym, Kiyotaka Boy. It would be better for you to focus, while exercising."

Kiyotaka: "I'm sorry. I was lost in thought for a second here. Once again thanks for the information."

Rokusuke: "If you really feel like that, then remember to not count on me during our life here. I don't want to face anything troublesome. My beauty may decrease because of that."

So he didn't want to be involved.

Fair enough.

Kiyotaka: "Sure. I won't bother you without a reason."

Both of us entered the gym and bought ourselves a membership of it.

It was a well-equipped building with all sort of stuff.

Rokusuke started his training without saying more to me.

We already talked long enough for him.

Everything that he wanted to say to me and what I wanted to say to him was spoken.

From now on, he probably won't bother himself to speak to me more than necessary.

Well, he gave me so much information for free.

I couldn't really complain about it.

I started my own training, while getting used to the equipment.

My brain began calculating many scenarios concerning Fuka and Nagumo.

My battle plan against that blonde donkey needed some modification.

If I could beat him black and blue without actually expelling him, it could buy me some time.

But Nagumo would leave this school one year before Fuka and me anyway.

I could also assassinate him.

But the investigation may brought out my name anyways, since I was close to Fuka. And her family may actually try to take her back, since her fiance was dead.

So many different options were in my head.

But the most important thing that I cared about was Fuka's stance towards this and towards myself.

Fuka was really a great girl.

Beautiful, intelligent, witty, strong and skilled.

We understood each other quite well. Or so I thought.

Considering how smart she was, there was no way she didn't know what would happen, if I would actually win against Nagumo and expel him.

Yet, she didn't say a word of warning to me.

Well, I am partly to blame for that, since I didn't want to press her for information of the matter.

But Rokusuke's words were a bucket of cold water for me.

Was she that confident in me or was she just using me?

This matter needed a further consideration.

I decided to stay silent for now and observe her.

There was no need to look for the answers immediately.

As long as Nagumo was in this school, the war would not start.

Let's try to figure out the motives of that girl first.

After finishing my exercises, I went back alone to the dorms.

My visit in the gym was quite satisfactory, so I decided to take Professor with me tomorrow and start his spartan training.

Since he asked for it himself, there was no need to go easy on him.

I could see that he was not a person, who would exercise regularly, so the first step would be to make him adjust to the new lifestyle as soon as possible.

If possible, I would want to visit his room soon and see his equipment, then make some plans for the future.

Thinking about some exercise courses for the beginner like Sotomura, I arrived at my room.

After taking a shower and eating some breakfast, I was ready to go to the school.

This time I didn't need to go to scout the area, so I walked leisurely in the direction of the school.

Without any disturbances, I managed to reach my classroom and sit on my seat.

Since it was still early, there were only a few of my classmates here.

I didn't know anyone of them, so I decided to just enjoy the view from the window.

Having a peaceful moment like that was not bad.

Then a big chill suddenly disturbed this blissful atmosphere.

I turned around and saw a pair of beautiful, yet cold eyes piercing right through me.

I smiled slightly at the owner of those eyes.

Kiyotaka: "Good morning, Suzune."

Horikita Suzune looked at me as if I was something repugnant and sat on her seat.

Kiyotaka: "Are you not going to greet me? Oh, you must be feeling shy, since we kissed yesterday. How cute of you, Suzune."

Suzune: "Stop calling me that. And stop saying stuff that some people may misunderstand. Otherwise you will regret this."

Kiyotaka: "If you want to close my mouth, your own lips would be the best way."

Suzune: "Scum."

Kiyotaka: "You will soon start going on the dates with this scum, so prepare yourself, Suzune."

Suzune: "You wish. There is no evidence that you will win this bet and I know my brother long enough to be sure that he would never appoint someone like you as his successor."

This girl was about to painfully wake up from her delusional thinking.

How did Horikita Manabu manage to blind her like that?

Kiyotaka: "There will be the student club fair today after the classes. I guess we will find out soon, who is right."

Suzune: "Why do you know that?"

Kiyotaka: "Your brother personally told me that. And added that I should apply for the Student Council. He sure was supportive of that idea. Could it be that he is already seeing me as his brother-in-law? What do you think , Suzune?"

Suzune: "I said that I won't believe a word from the perverted scum like you."

Kiyotaka: "Are you saying that your brother treasure you enough to not approve of our relationship? It didn't look like that to me. What if he actually wants you to be in the relationship with me exactly because I am a perverted scum? "

Suzune: "That sentence just now made me sure that you don't know my brother at all. He would never do something like that for such a stupid reason."

Kiyotaka: "I see. You know your brother best, don't you?"

Suzune glared at me with a huge intensify.

I decided to stop mentioning Horikita Manabu for now.

Kiyotaka: "Will you attend the club fair, Suzune? You would probably fit in some clubs and make some friends, you know."

Suzune: "I am not interested. In the clubs and in making new friends."

Kiyotaka: "I see. Thanks to that we will have more time for us. How clever, Suzune. I approve."

Suzune: "Would you mind not talking to me anymore? I don't want people to associate me with you."

Kiyotaka: "Why do you need to be so cold, Suzune? Do you really not want to go there? Remember about our bet."

Suzune: "I am not going. It's not like we will know the results immediately."

Kiyotaka: "That's too bad."

I wanted to tease her even more, but I saw Professor entering the class.

Since I had a business with him, I stopped talking to Suzune and greeted him.

Kiyotaka: "Good morning, Professor."

Professor: "Good morning, leader. How are you today?"

Kiyotaka: "Good, even great. I went to the gym this morning. I think it will be a good place to start your training. If you don't mind, let's go there tomorrow in the morning."

Professor: "H-Huh? Y-You want me to exercise in the gym, leader? On top of that, early in the morning?"

Kiyotaka: "Exactly. You will go with me and get yourself a membership. I already thought about some training program for you."

Professor: "Leader.. No, great leader. I think we should consider a little more about that. I am actually going to the bed late in the night, so waking up early in the morning may kill me."

Kiyotaka: "And what are you doing to stay up so late?"

Professor: "W-Well, you know. Watching anime, playing games, reading manga.. Doing some boys stuff.."

Kiyotaka: "I see. No wonder your muscles are so lacking. But don't worry, I will change that."

Professor: "G-Great leader, I plead for a mercy. I really can't.."

Kiyotaka: "So you don't want to change, even though you were the one, who proposed a deal with me?"

Professor: "T-That..."

Kiyotaka: "You didn't even try and you want to give up? I assure you that everything will be okay. You just need to adjust to some changes in your lifestyle."

Professor: "O-Okay, I will try. Thank you, leader."

Kiyotaka: "That's better, Professor. Come on, it's not like you are going to die from it."

Professor: "H-Haha.. I hope so."

Kiyotaka: "If you are not busy tonight, can I come to your room? You know, for a friendly visit."

Professor: "Sure. I don't mind. I will prepare everything."

Kiyotaka: "That's great."

I talked with Professor about some things until the bell rang.

In the meantime, my classmates assembled in the class, apart from Sudo, who only arrived 15 minutes later.

Kushida looked over at Suzune and waved to me for the greetings.

As expected, her interest in Suzune was at least fishy.

But thanks to that, I may have some opportunities to get closer to her.

Matsushita came to the classroom together with Sato and smiled cutely to me.

Then she started blushing slightly, while Sato was probably teasing her about that.

I wondered, if she managed to find out something after my slight hint yesterday.

I had some hopes for her, but I knew I should make some more seeds of doubt in the class.

After the teacher came to start the class, nothing interesting happened.

My classmates became a little more noisy than yesterday.

One boy was even bold enough to start reading manga on his desk.

Of course, no one reprimanded him for that.

If the situation would escalate, this class may really lost all the points we got.

I wondered how it was possible that no one really expressed any doubts about the S-System.

Professor managed to figure out that something was wrong and acted in his own way.

Rokusuke found out about the rules, but he didn't care.

There should be more people like them.

But no one wanted to act. Or even ask.

How troublesome.

I started looking through the window to kill some time.

After some time, the bell signalling the lunch break rang loudly.

Fuka should be here soon.

Suddenly, the music played through the speakers for a moment and Tachibana-senpai's cute voice resounded in the school.

'At 5 PM today, the student club fair will be held in the gymnasium no. 1. Students interested in joining a club, please gather at the gymnasium no. 1. I repeat. At 5 PM today..'

I smiled.

Today's main event was finally announced.

.

.

.

Chapter 18 - Disturbances During Lunch Break

Kiyotaka's POV

'At 5 PM today, the student club fair will be held in the gymnasium no. 1. Students interested in joining a club, please gather at the gymnasium no. 1. I repeat. At 5 PM today..'

Tachibana senpai's voice announced the main event of today.

I looked at Suzune with a small chuckle.

She glared at me for a second and then stopped reacting to my existence.

I decided to not speak with her for now, since she would just brush off anything I would say.

I also caught Matsushita looking at me after the announcement.

She looked a little surprised.

I smiled at her slightly.

She did the same, then she went out of the classroom alongside her friends.

I also noticed some girls began to surround Hirata.

From what I managed to hear from their excited talks before they left the classroom, he was planning to join the soccer club.

Looks like his popularity was gonna rise even more in the few days.

Professor: "Leader, are you going to the cafeteria today?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes, but I have a company today. Do you want to join us? She probably wouldn't mind it."

Professor: "Y-You already have a girl, who will accompany you at the lunch? As expected of you, great leader. I am full of awe."

Kiyotaka: "You are overreacting. It's not that special. So? Wanna join us?"

Professor: "Not that special, huh? I suddenly wanna cry.. Maybe next time.."

Kiyotaka: "Don't be a crybaby. You just didn't meet the right person yet."

Professor: "Maybe I will have a fateful encounter at the club fair. Are you going there, leader?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes, I will go. Maybe I will also have a fateful encounter there."

Professor: "As expected of the protagonist.."

Sudo: "Ayanokouji!"

Suddenly, Sudo came to us alongside the two boys.

Those two had only one special trait that I picked up during my observations in the classroom - they were quite daring, while looking at the girls, especially Kushida.

In other words, they were just perverts.

Kiyotaka: "Hi, Sudo. What's up?"

Sudo: "I was wondering if you wanna go with us to the cafeteria? It will be my treat."

Pervert A: "Hi. I am Ike Kanji. I heard from Sudo how you managed to force those senpais to pay you two for trying to trick him. Now you guys are the richest ones in our class. Sudo boasted about that just now. "

Pervert B: "Tch, that wasn't so impressive at all. If I was at the scene, we would get all of their points. I am Yamauchi Haruki. The future star of the business industry."

Kiyotaka: "I am Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I just happened to be lucky to see everything and deduce their motive before they managed to trick Sudo, that's all."

Sudo: "See? I told you Ayanokouji is a good guy, despite being a little good-looking."

Ike: "He doesn't seem like a jerk, despite being a little good-looking."

Yamauchi: "I am more handsome than him though."

Looks like I just got accepted by them.

Professor: "Hello there, Sudo-dono, Ike-dono, Yamauchi-dono. It seems like something interesting must have happened yesterday."

Sudo: "Hello, Professor. Yeah, Ayanokouji kinda helped me with some senpais. So I thought about treating him for a lunch."

Kiyotaka: "Thank you, but I already have an appointment with someone. Maybe next time, Sudo."

Sudo: "Huh? With whom? With Professor? We can go together then. What do you think, Professor?"

Professor: "No, it's not me. I planned to invite Ayanokouji-dono too, but was rejected as well."

Sudo: "Then with whom?"

Ike: "Don't tell me.. you are actually going with a girl?!"

Yamauchi: "Don't be ridiculous. It's just the third day of the school. Which girl would actually go with him? If he could do that, then I would already have a harem."

For some reason, Yamauchi had a big amount of confidence of himself.

I doubted he actually had qualities to back it up.

Professor: "Haha, that's funny, since Ayanokouji-dono...!"

Professor suddenly petrified on the spot, while looking at something behind Sudo.

I directed my vision in that place as well and understood why he became like that.

A really beautiful girl just entered our classroom.

With her gorgeous platinum hair, her smug smile and ruby-like eyes, but also with her body that would put many models to shame, she instantly became the focus of the all students in the room.

But it was not surprising at all.

Kiryuin Fuka was just that stunning.

Ike: "G-Goddess.."

I know, Ike. I know.

Sudo: "W-Wow.."

I know, Sudo. I know.

Yamauchi: "My wife..."

Where should I bury you, Yamauchi..

Fuka looked around for a second before she spotted me, then smiled happily.

Fuka: "Kiyotaka!"

She came towards me, while totally ignoring Sudo and the rest.

Kiyotaka: "Fuka, you came."

Fuka: "Fufu, of course I would. You speak like you waited long for me."

Kiyotaka: "I just wondered how long would it take for you to escape from your friendly classmates."

Fuka: "Well, Amikura practically jumped on me the moment the bell rang and started asking me questions about you. Because I lost the momentum to ran away, some other girls assembled around me to start gossiping. It was true hell. I barely managed to escape thanks to the club fair announcement."

Kiyotaka: "Looks like you got more attention because of me. I'm sorry."

I started patting gently her head.

Her hair was so smooth and nice to touch.

Fuka seemed surprised by my action, but she didn't shake off my hand.

I could see a slight blush on her face.

Looks like she enjoyed this interaction.

Fuka: "Don't think I will forgive you that easily. I am here for the revenge."

Kiyotaka: "Revenge?"

Fuka: "Yes."

After saying it, Fuka took my hand from her head and hugged closely my entire arm.

The softness I felt from it was immeasurable.

Fuka: "I will pay you back for that by making sure you got your share of class attention as well."

Indeed, I could feel gazes of the all of my classmates in the room.

Especially Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi were totally shocked.

Their jaws have fallen so low that I could put a melon inside of them.

Professor was shocked as well, but at the very least he maintained some level of decency.

Kiyotaka: "What a femme fatale you are, Fuka. Are you trying to make me the enemy of the all boys here?"

Fuka: "Maybe. Know that you are the enemy of some boys from my class as well."

Kiyotaka: "What a headache. I wonder how I should punish you for that."

Fuka: "How tricky, indeed. I look forward to it."

This seductress..

How the hell Kiryuin Family could be so blind to waste her on that blonde donkey?

Truly, a pretty flower was put into a cow dung.

Kiyotaka: "For now, I will introduce you, if you don't mind."

Fuka: "Okay."

Kiyotaka: "This is Kiryuin Fuka from Class 1-B. Fuka, those three statues here are Sudo Ken, Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki."

Fuka: "Hi."

Sudo: "H-Hello."

Ike: "N-Nice to meet you."

Yamauchi: "Y-Yeah."

The three of them finally started functioning again, though they acted like unoiled machines.

Kiyotaka: "And this handsome and promising young man with the glasses is my friend, Sotomura Hideo."

Fuka: "Nice to meet you, Sotomura. I hope we will get along in the future."

As expected, she quickly caught up the difference in my treatment of the boys around us and behaved accordingly as well.

I still didn't tell Fuka about Professor, but I'm sure she will like his guts just like me.

Professor: "M-My name is Sotomura Hideo.. N-Nice to meet you."

Looks like he also lacked the experience with girls.

At least he was a little better than the others.

Kiyotaka: "I'm sorry. I already have plans with Fuka for the lunch, so maybe next time I will accompany you guys."

Sudo: "H-Huh? Ah, no problem. We shall be going then. See you later."

Sudo and the others started to leave us.

To be more precise, they started to run away with sour faces.

But I still remembered to put some salt into the wounds of the most annoying one.

Kiyotaka: "I look forward to see your harem, Yamauchi."

Yamauchi staggered for a moment, but he didn't say anything and left the classroom in the faster pace.

Fuka: "Looks like you will not make new friends so soon."

Kiyotaka: "That's not a problem. Apart from Sotomura, the rest of them are barely acquaintances. If they couldn't stand something like that, then there is no need to befriend them."

Fuka: "I see. So that Sotomura is an interesting one, huh?"

Kiyotaka: "A very interesting individual. I will tell you about him later. Shall we get going as well? The cafeteria will probably be packed, if we don't hurry up."

Fuka: "Oh no, Kiyotaka. I still have some business here to do."

Fuka left my side and directed her steps towards Suzune.

Right, she said yesterday that she wanted to express her ' gratitude ' for Suzune's words.

The black-haired girl was glacing secretly at us from time to time, since Fuka appeared in the classroom.

She sensed Fuka's approach and focused on her lunch.

Fuka took the chair from the empty seat in front of Suzune and sat on it, while leaning slightly her body towards Suzune's seat.

She looked at Suzune in silence with a huge chuckle.

The younger Horikita took that look head on with a frown on her face.

Suzune: "What?"

Fuka: "..."

Fuka still didn't say anything and continued to just look at her.

Suzune started to become irritated.

Suzune: "Hey. Why are you looking at me?"

Then Fuka made a stunned expression.

Her body started to slightly tremble.

Fuka: "Y-You.. You can see me?"

Suzune's eyes widened and her lips slightly opened.

She became dumbfounded by just this one sentence.

Fuka: "Finally.. After thirty years.. Someone can see me.."

The platinum-haired girl was just a pure evil.

Suzune's body started to tremble.

Her face was getting darker and darker.

Fuka: "I beg you.. please save me.."

Suzune: "Shup up! Why do you know about that?!"

Fuka: "Isn't it obvious at this point?"

Suzune looked at me with the face full of hate.

I looked straight into her eyes without changing my expression.

Since Fuka decided to confront her like that, I just couldn't shrink my own responsibility.

Fuka: "How scary. Look out, otherwise you may faint from looking at yourself in the window."

Suzune: "Shut up, shut up! If you don't want to experience hell in this school, never mention about that matter anymore. In the first place, who are you?"

Fuka: "Kiryuin Fuuka. I am that poor girl, who must have fallen really low to interact with Kiyotaka. You sent me your condolences through him yesterday, didn't you, Horikita Suzune?"

Suzune seemed a bit pensive, probably wondering about Fuka's words.

Suzune: "I see. You are the one he was planning to meet yesterday. Now that I see you in person, it was indeed a waste of words. You are a perfect match for that scum."

Fuka's eyes narrowed slightly at that comment.

I could see the shadows of platinum tiger and black panther roaring at each other behind the girls backs.

Fuka: "Thank you. That's practically a compliment for me. Now that I see you in person, I will definitely express my condolences to Horikita-senpai, when I see him. It must have been hard for him all those years."

Suzune: "My brother has nothing to do with this. If you dare to speak nonsense to him, I will.."

Fuka: "Stab me? Sure, go ahead. Kiyotaka went soft on you, since he is a womanizer, but I am different. I will look with delight as Horikita-senpai expels you for your assault. I think he would appreciate that favor of mine."

Suzune: "My relationship with my brother is none of your business. Stick up with that bastard over there, since you like him."

Fuka: "I am planning to do that even without you speaking about that. He is actually more interesting than your brother, you know. Maybe that's why he got that Vice-President offer from him."

Suzune went stiff after hearing that.

The second person already told her that I was going to be Vice-President.

It was no wonder she started to worry about that.

Suzune: "Did he tell you that? Is that why you are interested in him? Then get ready for a big disappointment. There's no way my brother would appoint someone without decency like Ayanokouji-kun."

Looks like Suzune just managed to convince herself that I actually told Fuka a lie about getting the position of Vice-President and Fuka got attracted to me because of that.

Fuka chuckled at Suzune, but there was some dangerous glint inside her eyes.

Considering what I have heard about her family, she definitely didn't like Suzune's slander about wanting to be close to someone of high position.

Fuka: "Someone without decency like Kiyotaka, huh? Then what about you? When you stabbed Kiyotaka's hand, were you decent enough to apologize to him later? And when he saved you from being expelled from this school by your brother, were you decent enough to thank him for that?"

Suzune: "That's.. It was all Ayanokouji-kun's fault to begin with. If he didn't humilitate me back then, that situation would not happen. Why do I need to apologize to him and even thank him? Because of him, I made a fool of myself in front of my brother."

Fuka: "So you are saying that you are without fault for attacking him, since he pranked you first? Practically no one else knows that he scared you to the point of fainting, yet you assaulted him just like that? It's no wonder that Horikita -senpai wanted to expel you at the first possible opportunity. Both Kiyotaka and your brother are pitiful for having to deal with you."

Suzune: "You!"

Fuka stood from her seat and walked in my direction.

She stopped for a second and looked at Suzune.

Fuka: "Remember my words. In the near future, you will beg for Kiyotaka's forgiveness on your free will. Otherwise, you will be doomed. I look forward to that day."

Suzune: "That day will never come. You two are equals in your delusions."

Fuka smiled at the black-haired fool and came to my side.

Fuka: "I'm sorry, it took me some time. Shall we grab quickly something to eat?"

I looked at this lovely girl.

She was so hot right now.

Kiyotaka: "Fuka, my family is currently lacking someone at the empress position. Interested?"

Fuka: "Oh, already smitten with my beauty? Maybe I will consider that later."

Kiyotaka: "Then at least let me treat you today."

Fuka: "That I can accept. Speaking with that fool made me quite hungry."

Kiyotaka: "Let's go and see what this school's cafeteria can offer."

Both of us went out of the classroom, while being observed by a few people that stayed behind, including Suzune.

To be honest, I was surprised by Fuka's actions.

I knew she didn't mean anything good, when she said she wanted to see Suzune.

But to think she would roast her thoroughly, while trying to make Suzune acknowledge her mistakes to me.

Somehow, I felt a little happy because of that.

Kiyotaka: "Thank you. For getting angry for my sake. I must say that seeing you roasting Suzune was quite refreshing."

Fuka: "You are welcome, Kiyotaka. She was getting on my nerves. It's too bad she didn't attack me. I would make sure her head and the floor would become buddies."

Kiyotaka: "To be honest I have thought she would attack you, especially after you started behaving like a ghost. I was planning to jump between you two before she would actually make a move, but looks like I was overthinking things."

Fuka: "I was actually thinking of beating her. Then a rumor would spread over the school that two girls fought over you and my revenge on you would be complete."

That was actually part of her plan against me?

How devious.

Kiyotaka: "You really are a troublemaker, Fuka. Give me back the gratitude I just felt."

Fuka: "Haha, don't wanna~"

I sighed.

Women are scary.

Fuka: "Kiyotaka, what do you think about that Horikita Suzune?"

Kiyotaka: "Hm?"

I suddenly got asked about my neighbor.

Fuka: "I understand that you are trying to get along with her because of her brother, but from what I saw, she will be just an annoyance to you. Especially after the class competition will become officially known."

Kiyotaka: "Is that why you said to her that she will beg me in the future?"

Fuka: "Yes. I am sure she will participate. And once she figure out some of your abilities, she will try to get you to help her, despite not liking you. It's gonna be annoying as hell, since I know you won' t share her enthusiasm."

Kiyotaka: "Actually I made a bet with her. If I will become Student Council Vice-President, she needs to go on date with me once per week."

Fuka: "What?!"

I thought that I should tell her that after what happened just now.

If I wouldn't do that, there may be some problems in the future.

Fuka: "Kiyotaka.. did you actually hurt your head this morning? Or are you into masochism? "

Kiyotaka: "No and no. This is actually my card against her in the future. If she would want something from me or I would want something from her, I could use those dates as some blackmail material on her."

Fuka: "Oh? You thought about something like that? It's actually not bad. Since this girl hates you, she may be willing to do some other things in exchange for not meeting you."

Kiyotaka: "That's kinda hurtful, but you got the picture. Well, I actually don't mind going on a date with her, but I am sure it's gonna be tiresome at the beginning."

Fuka: "As expected of Kiyonizer. You won't let her off, despite her terrible character, since she is pretty, huh?"

Kiyotaka: "Until I find out about her relationship with Horikita-senpai, I probably should be close to her. I have a feeling that the reason he approved of me being the Vice-President is also related to her. I like how he was bold enough to make such a decision overnight, but I feel like there is more to it than just me opposing Nagumo."

Fuka: "Hm, you may be right. He didn't strike me as someone, who would do something like that, when you two don't know each other well. I guess investigating the little sister may give an answer."

Kiyotaka: "That's why I need to bully.. cough.. get to know her better."

Fuka: "Yeah, you do that. I hope you will thoroughly bully.. cough.. get to know her."

We talked all the way to the cafeteria.

I told Fuka about my encounter with Sudo and the second year students, while giving her 300000 points.

I thought it was fair to give her the same amount as Masumi, since both of them were the closest girls to me.

Although I didn't get to see a cute reaction of her like with Masumi, I was satisfied with her surprised face.

Fuka: "You sure are working fast, Kiyotaka."

Kiyotaka: "I just got lucky to see some fat sheep ready to be slashed. It also gave me some good ideas how the things are working in this school."

Fuka: "If you are planning to go for some blackmail missions, then take me with you. You could blackmail some guys, while I will take care of the girls."

I loved how she knew what I was trying to do without me speaking about it and on the spot decided to join me without batting an eye.

Kiyotaka: "I will contact you, when I will find out some targets."

While plotting an evil scheme, we managed to arrive at the cafeteria's entrance.

It was packed just as much as in Palate, despite this place being much bigger than that fancy cafe.

Since we were a little later than most of the students, we had some trouble finding some place to sit.

Finally, I spotted some empty chairs near the bigger table as well as a familiar face.

Kiyotaka: "Coincidences can be really freaky."

Fuka: "Hm?"

Kiyotaka: "Fuka, let's sit there."

I pointed at the table I spotted.

Fuka: "Hoh? Looks like you found a familiar face, Kiyonizer. But are you sure? There is a giant next to her."

Kiyotaka: "No problem. I wanted to ask her a question anyway, so it may be a good occasion."

Fuka: "It's getting interesting."

We came closer to the table with empty chairs.

There were currently three people occupying it, including one that both of us were familiar with.

Kiyotaka: "Good morning, Nishino. Are those empty chairs free? The cafeteria is packed, so me and Fuka have some hard time finding some place to sit."

I asked Nishino Takeko, who sat between the two other students, who were probably her classmates.

The most noticeable from the three was the boy on her left.

He was a tall, black-skinned male with a very muscular stature, who for some reason was wearing sunglasses.

If not for him wearing a school uniform, it could be hard to say that he was a highschooler.

The other one was a pretty girl of average height with short, blue hair and purple eyes.

The most attractive features of her were the pair of long legs and the smooth thighs that were partly exposed because of the shortness of her skirt.

She also had a cute face, despite her fierce look and deep frown.

I wondered why she was glaring so much at me, when both of us were strangers.

For some reasons, she was giving me the vibe kinda similar to Masumi.

Nishino looked surprised by my greetings.

I was wondering what she was gonna do.

Considering her lack of response to my messages, there was a chance that she would turn us down.

Her stance towards me right now would tell me more about her sudden change in behavior.

This was something that I wanted to confirm, while coming to this table.

Nishino: "Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun, Kiryuin-san. Those seats are free. You can use them, if you want."

Nishino looked pleasantly surprised and greeted us with a smile.

To be honest, this warm response was kinda unexpected.

Especially since her two companions didn't share her enthusiasm and looked at us with wary.

The blue-haired girl didn't even hide the look on her face that was speaking that we were a bother for them.

This contrast in responses was kinda intriguing.

Kiyotaka: "Thank you."

The blue-haired girl: "Are those two your acquaintances, Nishino?"

Nishino: "Yes, we met on the first day of school."

Kiyotaka: "Nice to meet you. I am Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Class 1-D. And this is Kiryuin Fuka from Class 1-B."

Fuka: "Hi."

...

Nishino's acquaintances were silent.

Was there a reason for them to be this wary of us?

I didn't know what to think about the black-skinned boy, but the blue-haired girl became totally stiff after my introduction.

Her expression went into total surprise, as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

That's weird.

Why would she react like that to my name?

Did she know me from somewhere?

Her reaction was at the very least suspicious.

Nishino: "Ah, I'm sorry. My classmates are not very good at socializing. This is Yamada Albert.."

Yamada (in English): " Hello. "

Yamada spoke in fluent English with an American accent.

Could he be my fellow comrade from the United States?

How interesting.

Nishino: "And this girl here is.."

The blue-haired girl: "Ibuki Mio."

Ibuki recovered from her stiffness and introduced herself before Nishino did it for her.

Now she looked disinterested at us, but I could tell that she was observing me closely.

I was almost sure that this girl knew me from somewhere.

But I was sure that I have never met her before.

Could it be that she was related to that place?

But how?

Considering her behaviour, I doubted that she would tell me anything right now.

I decided to let go of my thoughts for the moment and focus on the next task.

Kiyotaka: "Fuka, as promised, today it's my treat. What would you like?"

Fuka: "Then I will go with Special Lunch Menu. The expensive one. Is that okay?"

Kiyotaka: "That's fine, I will take your order."

Fuka: "You are the best, Kiyotaka!"

She sent me a bright smile.

Since it was my first time here, I wasn't sure how much expensive was her order, but seeing Nishino's and Ibuki's stunned faces, my wallet was about to get some damage.

I still had around 700,000 points, so I wasn't worried that much though.

Kiyotaka: "Is there something you guys want to order, Nishino? I will get it for you."

Nishino: "No, we already ate our lunches and were just talking about some things."

Kiyotaka: "I see. Then, I am off."

I went to the counter to purchase our meals.

While walking to it, I found out that Fuka's Special Lunch Menu costed 5000 points and was one of the most expensive sets here.

I sighed internally, while thanking my dear senpais for their selfless sacrifice.

The next thing that I paid attention to was information about the free lunch sets.

It was surprising to see that something here was for free.

It didn't look that good compared to the paid sets, but it wasn't worthless either.

So there was another hint about our income not being so great in the next months.

I could see a few students eating it.

They looked accustomed to it, so it was not something they bought on the whim.

Considering what I heard from Nagumo and the other second year students, this probably was something the lower rank classes were forced to eat, because of being poor.

I could use that in the future to enlighten my classmates about the school rules.

I bought two sets of Special Lunch Menu for 10000 points.

The look of the cashier, while I was ordering them, was kinda funny.

I must say that I was feeling good acting like a nouveau riche.

And then it hit me that it was probably this feeling that would become the later downfall of the students, especially from the lower classes.

How dangerous.

I took the prepared meals, which looked quite fancy and luxurious, worthy of being the expensive ones, then I took off to my table.

Kiyotaka: "I'm back. Here is your order, young lady."

Fuka: "Thank you. Heh, it looks even better after taking a closer look. And I see you took the same one, Kiyotaka."

Kiyotaka: "Well, I got curious, since you wanted it, so I decided to try it out as well. It sure is expensive. I hope the taste is worth it."

Nishino: "Woah, two sets of Special Lunch Menu are before my eyes. You guys sure know how to spend your money."

Ibuki: "They are just stupid."

Nishino: "Ibuki, that's rude."

Kiyotaka: "I am planning of making my own lunches in the future, so today's visit in the cafeteria would be rather a rarity. I guessed it would be nice to try out something good for once."

Fuka: "It's Kiyotaka's treat, so I didn't have to think much about it."

Kiyotaka: "You didn't hold back at all, Fuka. If it was someone else, they would be crying right now."

Fuka: "Yeah, yeah. You are the best, Kiyotaka."

Kiyotaka: "You didn't mean it at all, did you, Fuka?"

Fuka: "Stop complaining and try it. It's really good."

I sighed and took a bite of my own meal.

It was really tasty.

Fuka: "And?"

Kiyotaka: "It's good. I guess it was kinda worth it."

Fuka: "Fufu, see? Since you are enjoying it, there is no need to cry over its price."

Me and Fuka were enjoying ourselves with food, while the other three were looking at us in silence.

Nishino: "You two are already calling each other by your names? And you are eating lunch together. Could it be that you started dating?"

Kiyotaka: "No. We just became good friends really quickly."

Fuka: "Right. Having some experiences together sure can make people closer, don't you think so, Nishino?"

Nishino: "I guess."

Kiyotaka: "Now that I think about it, I messages you some time ago, yet you didn't answer me. Did something happened, Nishino?"

Nishino frowned a little due to my question. The same happened to Ibuki.

I could guess from their responses that there was really something going on.

Nishino: "I'm sorry. Because of some class matters I was busy and I didn't message you back. I know it's kinda a lame excuse, but there really wasn't any other reason."

Kiyotaka: "Is that so? Are you okay, Nishino? If something bad happened, you can tell me, you know."

Nishino: "Thank you, but it's okay. It's just some class matters."

Kiyotaka: "Oh, I see. I thought that maybe you were ill or something and couldn't answer me. There was a girl in my class that fainted in the classroom yesterday, because of anemia. Poor thing."

Fuka: "Ppppffff...!"

Fuka almost choked on her food at my mention of Suzune's accident.

I guess it was funny for someone, who knew what really happened to that poor thing.

The three people without knowledge of the matter looked weirdly at her.

Fuka: "Hahaha.. I'm sorry, I just thought of something funny."

Kiyotaka: "Anyway, if there is something I could help you with, please feel free to contact with me. I still hope we could hang out some time later."

Nishino: "Haha, thank you for your understanding, Ayanokouji-kun. I will remember this."

I decided to not pursue more about Nishino's condition.

I could tell from our exchange that she didn't change her behavior towards me, so there must be some other problem she was facing.

Considering that even Ibuki's face changed a little because of my question, Nishino's problem must really be her class's problem.

As outsider, it would be hard to butt in.

Since she wasn't alone right now, maybe it was harder for her to say anything more.

I should try to ask Nishino more, when we would be alone.

It must have been something serious, since she didn't even answer me back once.

Getting to know Nishino's troubles may be my chance to anchor my foot in Class C.

It became one of my biggest priorities right now.

Especially, since there was a girl in that class, who may know something about my past.

.

.

.

Chapter 19 - Visit In Class A

Kiyotaka's POV

After quickly finishing our lunches, me, Fuka and the trio from class C left the cafeteria.

The lunch break was almost over, so our five needed to split up to our respective classrooms.

I was going back alone through the corridor, while thinking about the gains and losses that I earned in this short amount of time.

Nishino didn't have a sudden change of heart and was still friendly with me, which was a big plus.

But the reason why there was no contact with her was still unclear.

There was also a matter with Ibuki.

I was sure that I didn't meet her before and considering that she became weird only after hearing my name, she's never seen me either, which means that she probably heard about me from somewhere.

But from where?

The information from my time in White Room should be classified.

And I was careful to not use my true name in the US, so only a few knew about it.

Apart from creating the false history of my time abroad from a few months ago, there shouldn't be any news about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from that time.

And yet, that shocked expression she made for a second..

How weird.

I wondered if she was a friend or an enemy.

Either way, it was good that I managed to find out about her so early.

But that just made finding out about Nishino's problem more urgent.

A girl's voice: "Oh..? Ayanokouji-kun?"

My thoughts were suddenly disrupted by the voice from my behind.

I turned around and saw Matsushita Chiaki, who was smiling slightly at me.

For some reason, she wasn't with her friends.

What a great timing.

Since I found out about the free meals in the cafeteria, I could grow her suspicious about the school more thanks to that.

Those free meals were something any students could see and probably wonder about at least once.

Since I planted the seed of doubt in her yesterday, it should be easier to make her conscious about the possibility of the greater scheme of the school.

Kiyotaka: "Hello, Matsushita. Are you going back to the classroom as well?"

Matsushita: "Hello, Ayanokouji-kun. Yes, the break is almost over, so we need to hurry."

Kiyotaka: "There are still a few minutes, though."

Matsushita: "It's not nice to enter at the last minute, Ayanokouji-kun."

Kiyotaka: "You are going back at the same time as me, though."

Matsushita: "I was kinda thirsty, so I went to the vending machine for some juice."

Kiyotaka: "I see."

Matsushita: "Are you going back from the cafeteria, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes, I was interested what kind of food they serve in this school, so I went to check it up."

Matsushita: "And? How was it?"

Kiyotaka: "Well, if you never eat Special Lunch Menu before, then I can guarantee to you that it is worth your money."

Matsushita: "Huh? You bought that expensive set?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes. I figured out that it would be a waste to eat something cheap, since I am planning to make my own lunches in the future."

Matsushita: "Hohh? Ayanokouji-kun, you can cook? That's kinda unexpected."

Kiyotaka: "Why?"

Matsushita: "W-Well, that was just my guess. I apologize, if you felt offended."

Kiyotaka: "I am not. Let me tell you that with my skills, I could open my own restaurant in the few years, if I want."

Matsushita: "Are planning to become a cook in the future, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Kiyotaka: "No, actually, I was just boasting to you right now."

Matsushita: "(chuckle)... You are funny, Ayanokouji-kun."

Kiyotaka: "What about you, Matsushita? Can you cook?"

Matsushita: "Unfortunately, I don't possess cooking skills to the level of boasting, so I am gonna stick with the food from the cafeteria."

Kiyotaka: "From what I saw, that cafeteria serves quite tasty food for good prices. Many students were satisfied with their meals. Well, apart from those, who took the free meals, but they shouldn't complain after spending all of their points ."

Matsushita: "Huh...?"

Matsushita suddenly stopped and looked at me with a surprised expression.

Kiyotaka: "Is something wrong?"

Matsushita: "There were students, who actually took that free lunch sets?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes, I was surprised as well. I spotted six students, probably senpais, who were eating those sets today."

Matsushita: "Do you think they bought it, because of lack of points?"

Kiyotaka: "Well, I am not sure, since I didn't speak with any of them, but that's the first thing that comes to mind, isn't it? Well, maybe they were on diet, or maybe they lost some bet and were forced to eat it as losers. Who knows."

Matsushita: "Ayanokouji-kun, are you suggesting the same thing as yesterday? That we won't get 100000 points next month?"

As expected, Matsushita found it suspicious and managed to link those two points together.

But her suspicious about me grew as well.

Which was good, since it just proved that she was a smart person.

But I wasn't going to award her efforts with some answers.

At least not yet.

Kiyotaka: "I am not suggesting anything, Matsushita. I just thought there was a disparity between what Chabashira-sensei said to the class and to me. But after confirming with you that it was just me overthinking things, I am now at ease. It was partly thanks to our yesterday's talk that I decided to buy myself that expensive lunch set."

Thanks to Fuka's expensive order, I could hide myself under the pretext that I didn't care much about money by buying some expensive stuff, while talking about the hints from the school.

And if someone would ask me for some money in the future, I could say that I spent most of it for some fancy stuff.

That's practically killing two birds with one stone.

Especially after the news that Sudo and I got some additional money would spread.

If our future income would greatly decrease in the next month, I would definitely be targeted for loans by some of my poor classmates.

But right now, Matsushita shouldn't be aware that I possess more points than the rest of the class.

Matsushita: "I see. But still, don't you think it's strange?"

Kiyotaka: "That's indeed strange. But the other students weren't surprised much by the sight of the students eating those free lunches. I guess those sets may be more tasty than they look like. I should try them sometime."

Matsushita: "Do you think so?"

Kiyotaka: "It's worth trying it once at least. Even if they are for free, the school wouldn't give students something inedible or harmful."

Matsushita: "I guess so..."

Matsushita looked pensive.

Now I could only hope that she would try to consult it with her friends, making more people aware that something was wrong.

Let's give her a little more push to gossip about it with the others.

Kiyotaka: "Do you want to try it out together?"

Matsushita: "H-huhhh?!"

The brown-haired girl quickly shook herself out of her reverie after my sudden proposal and looked at me surprised.

Kiyotaka: "It seems like you are curious about those free sets and to be honest I am starting to be interested in them too. So I thought that maybe you would like to check them out together with me."

Matsushita was a very pretty girl, so I had nothing to lose by asking her out.

Those free sets were certainly not the best reason to ask the girl out, but if thanks to that she would start talking about it with the other girls, then it's not big deal.

And later on, I could use the pretext of apologizing for asking her out for a bad meal to invite her for a real date.

It's a win for the class, since it was an opportunity to sow doubt in more people, and a win for me, since I would get to know more about this beauty.

Matsushita: "Heee... Are you asking me out, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Matsushita quickly collected herself and started smiling teasingly, although there was a slight blush on her face.

Her mental fortitude was quite good for a high school girl.

I started to appreciate her even more.

Kiyotaka: "I would rather name it as a scouting mission with a friend. A date may wait for a little more, Matsushita. At least until I find us a better place for it than the school cafeteria."

I answered in the same teasing tone as her.

Matsushita's blush deepened more.

Matsushita: "You are trying your luck quite early, Ayanokouji-kun. We barely know each other."

Kiyotaka: "Then that scouting mission may have more than one meaning."

Matsushita: "Looks like it."

Kiyotaka: "Is that bad?"

Matsushita: "Wouldn't your female friend from mind yesterday it?"

Kiyotaka: "No. I don't have a girlfriend, if that's what you are asking."

Matsushita: "I see. Let me think about it some more, if that's okay with you."

Kiyotaka: "I don't see any problem."

Although I was a little disappointed, Matsushita's decision was reasonable.

We only knew each other for two days and didn't have much of bond between us.

As a pretty girl, her standards were probably higher than an average girl and she didn't want to go out with some unknown boy without having any knowledge of him.

Especially since he invited her for a free lunch, which may not even be good.

There would be also an issue of having many rumors about us later on.

Depends on the situation, her reputation may go worse, if I turned out to be a weirdo.

She probably thought that there was no need for us to speed things up, especially since we were classmates.

I was okay with that.

The main point of asking her out would be achieved anyway, since the possibility that she would speak about it with her closer friends would rise and the existence of free lunch sets would spread through the class more.

It was too bad that she didn't agree right now, especially since she would probably find out about Fuka's visit in our class soon.

I was sure that once she found out about it, Matsushita would be even more suspicious about my intentions of inviting her, when there was a shadow of another beautiful girl nearby.

Of course, the chances of her agreeing to my invitation would also considerably decrease.

But for now I was satisfied with this result.

My interest in Matsushita rose up by a point.

I liked her attitude and mentality.

She noticed all the hints I was giving out and was smart enough to understand the potential meaning behind them.

Finding out this much about her from just a short conversation was good enough.

We came close to the door of our classroom.

It was time to face some unavoidable losses I got at the beginning of the lunch break.

Matsushita: "Looks like we managed to get to the classroom on time. Is it okay to assume that you are going to the club fair after the classes?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes, I am. What about you?"

Matsushita: "I think I will go with some of my friends. It would be good to see what's more this school has to offer."

Kiyotaka: "Indeed. Then maybe we will see each other there."

Matsushita: "Mmm. Recently, we run into each other quite often, so it's possible."

Kiyotaka: "True. I must have done many good deeds in my previous life."

Matsushita: "Hehe, you sure are a sweet talker, Ayanokouji-kun. See you later then."

Matsushita in a good mood opened the door to the classroom.

I sighed a little and entered as well.

The most of my classmates were already there.

And I instantaneously got the attention of many of them.

Looks like Fuka's visit was already known by some of them.

I could see Ike's and Yamauchi's jealous stares alongside some other boys.

Professor gave me a knowing smile and thumb up.

There were also some curious gazes from the girls.

I could see Satou and some blue-haired girl started talking to Matsushita, while giving me some stares from time to time.

And of course, I got the murderous vision from my lovely frost queen.

Should I be prepared to be attacked in the classroom?

She looked like she would attack me after just one sentence.

I carefully went to my desk and checked it out in search of some traps.

Suzune: "Ayanokouji-kun..."

Ding-dong

The school bell rang, interrupting Suzune's words.

At the same moment, Sae-sensei entered the classroom.

Suzune: "Tch..."

Suzune clicked her tongue in annoyance.

I was safe for now.

Although...

For some reason, Sae-sensei was also glaring at me from time to time during the class.

She probably figured out that I didn't let my classmates know about my findings yet.

She was definitely disappointed and angry.

She was really emotional towards the class competition.

A little too emotional.

I wondered if she would call me for some explanation.

I slightly smiled at her and didn't make more eye contact for the rest of her lecture.

The things that she and the rest of the teachers were currently teaching my class were already known by me, since my time in White Room.

There was no need to pretend to be a diligent student.

Since Suzune was still freezing me from the side, I was mainly focusing on the world through the window.

What a peaceful time...

Ding-dong

Suzune: "Ayanokouji-kun!"

Kiyotaka: "..." (-_-)

Suzune: "Are you deaf, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Kiyotaka: "Ah, Suzune, I was just having such a good time with peaceful life-chan, yet you separated us again. Just how much do you love me to not let me have my way with peaceful life-chan?"

Suzune: "Have you gone crazy, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Kiyotaka: "If I said that I have gone crazy, would you let me go?"

Suzune: "Of course not. How dare you tell that girl about that incident?"

Kiyotaka: "I don't remember promising you to stay silent. But don't worry. Fuka will not spread your story with others. Probably..."

Suzune: "How can I believe you or her after being mocked like that?"

Kiyotaka: "Fuka was just angry on my behalf as your victim. You can't really blame her, when she had a point."

Suzune: "No, she hadn't. I was a victim here!"

Kiyotaka: "Your brother had a different opinion about that, if I remember correctly. Why don't we ask him again?"

Suzune: "You... Don't you dare speak to him about that!"

Kiyotaka: "It would be a difficult task, since I have an appointment with him. You heard the announcement too, didn't you? Are you going to the club fair?"

Suzune: "Don't change the topic, Ayanokouji-kun. I demand a redress."

Kiyotaka: "I already went through one trial by combat from you. But if you insist for more, I don't mind. Although I think we should pick a more suitable place and time for that. Otherwise, we may be disrupted like the last time by your brother. How about my room tonight?"

Suzune: "You shameless pervert..."

Kiyotaka: "Then it's a promise, Suzune. I will be waiting."

I took my bag and tried to leave.

Suzune: "You are not going anywhere."

Kiyotaka: "I'm sorry, but I don't have time right now."

Suzune: "It's not my problem."

Kiyotaka: "But your brother is already waiting at the door."

Suzune: "H-Huh...?"

Suzune went stiff and turned around only to see Yamauchi picking his nose near the door.

Kiyotaka: "Ah, sorry, a wrong guy."

I took advantage of her moment of inattention and quickly ran out of the classroom.

I anticipated that she would go after me, but my worries were groundless.

Maybe seeing Yamauchi's snot instead of her brother's face made her brain malfunction for a while?

Poor thing...

But she sure wasted some of my time.

Because of that, I was going to be late to pick up Masumi.

I could only hope that the purple-haired girl would not be too irritated at me.

I went quickly in the direction of classroom of Class 1-A.

It didn't take me much of time to arrive at it.

Unexpectedly, the door was open.

Masumi: "For the last time I'm telling you... I am waiting for someone!"

I was about to peek inside, when I heard Masumi's loud voice coming from the classroom.

Boy 1: "Heee... But no one came. Maybe you were stood up, Kamuro-chan."

Masumi: "You are annoying, Hashimoto. Don't bother me."

Hashimoto: "I just want to be friends with you, Kamuro-chan. You don't talk with anyone in the class and you were absent on the first day. As your classmate, I am worried, you know."

Masumi: "I don't need your concern."

Hashimoto: "Don't be like that..."

Boy 2: "Hashimoto, please don't bother her, when she doesn't want that. You are making Kamuro uncomfortable."

Boy 3: "That's right, Hashimoto. Bug off from Kamuro-chan."

Hashimoto: "I am not doing anything bad, Katsuragi. It just hurt my heart looking at Kamuro-chan's lonely figure."

Masumi: "Huh?! When did I look lonely?"

Hashimoto: "People are slowly starting to create their own groups, yet you are all alone. Don't you want to make some friends?"

Masumi: "I am good."

Hashimoto: "That's just sad, Kamuro-chan."

Katsuragi: "Well, Hashimoto's motives aside, I think you should try to become more sociable, Kamuro. It may reflect bad on the class, if someone from the school would conclude that you are being ostracized by your classmates."

Boy 3: "Katsuragi-san is right, Kamuro-chan. Hang out with us some time."

Hashimoto: "Woahh, how kind of you, Totsuka. Is Katsuragi Faction so in need of members, or are you just trying to hit on Kamuro-chan?"

Totsuka: "That has nothing to do with you, Hashimoto. We don't have any ulterior motives, unlike you."

Hashimoto: "I wonder."

Masumi: "As I said before, I am waiting for someone, so I decline."

Totsuka: "Who are you waiting for, Kamuro-chan?"

Masumi: "It's not your business."

Hashimoto: "Could it be that you are waiting for your boyfriend?"

Masumi: "It's even more not your business."

Hashimoto: "Oh, you are not denying it? Did I just hit a bullseye?"

Masumi: "Shut up! It's not like that."

Hashimoto: "Ehh? You are so confusing, Kamuro-chan. Just tell us who it is already~"

Kiyotaka: "Ah, that would probably be me."

I said with an innocent smile.

During the siege of Masumi, I managed to slip into the classroom and freely come near her seat.

There weren't many people inside, so no one blocked my way, while I was acting natural.

Because of that, I could hear every thing they said.

Hashimoto: "Oh, so it's you...!"

The boy called Hashimoto jumped a little, not expecting my presence near them.

He had long blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail and blue eyes.

From what I have heard just now, he seemed to be a playboy.

According to Masumi, he was a member of Sakayanagi Faction and he wasn't a trustworthy individual.

The other two boys also turned around to my side.

The bald boy of well-built stature and intimidating presence must be Katsuragi, one of the leaders of Class A.

He seemed like a serious and calm man with good manners and conduct.

The one next to him must be Totsuka Yahiko, his loyal follower.

He was a boy of average height with green hair and green eyes.

According to Masumi, he was a pervert, who was ogling her before.

He had a similar vibe to Ike and Yamauchi from my class, so it was probably true.

How did he manage to get into Class A became a mystery.

I came close to Masumi, who also looked surprised.

Kiyotaka: "I'm sorry for being late, Masumi. I hope you didn't wait too long."

Masumi: "You sure took your sweet time to get here, Kiyotaka. I was about to leave."

What a cute lie.

You said resolutely that you were waiting for me just a minute ago.

Kiyotaka: "I'm really sorry. A black cat blocked my way and I needed to take care of it."

Masumi: "A black cat?"

Kiyotaka: "The crazy one that I told you about yesterday."

Masumi: "Hm? Ah, that..."

Looks like Masumi understood my words.

Then she suddenly stiffened and started checking out my hands and arms.

Hm?

Ah...

She got worried that I got another injury from Suzune.

She was so irritated at me for being late, yet she instantaneously became worried the second she thought that I was injured.

This girl was not only pretty, but also seriously cute.

Kiyotaka: "This time I left without a scratch, don't worry."

I couldn't help myself and put my hand on her head to slightly pat it.

While her hair were slightly moving through my fingers, I could smell a sweet fragrance of shampoo.

Masumi: "W-W-What are you..."

Totsuka: "What the hell are you doing, you bastard?! Immediately let go of Kamuro-chan!"

Kiyotaka: "Eh? Don't wanna~"

Totsuka: "What?!"

Kiyotaka: "Masumi didn't say anything, so why should I listen to you? It's not your head that I am patting."

Then I turned to Masumi, who was as stiff as sculpture.

Kiyotaka: "Looks like I got a little ahead of myself, Masumi. Should I stop?"

Masumi: "H-Huh? Y-Yeah, you should... What are you doing in public, you idiot?"

Kiyotaka: "So if we weren't in public space, you would let me do that?"

Masumi: "N-No! Stop twisting my words to your convenience."

Kiyotaka: "I see."

I let go of Masumi's head.

Her cheeks became bright red.

Hashimoto: "(whistle)... It's no wonder you insisted on waiting, Kamuro-chan. Turns out you really have a boyfriend."

Masumi: "He is not my boyfriend!"

Kiyotaka: "Nice to meet you. I am Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Class 1-D."

Hashimoto: "Ah, I'm sorry for not introducing myself first. I am Hashimoto Masayoshi, classmate of Kamuro-chan."

I shook hands with Hashimoto.

Katsuragi: "I am Katsuragi Kohei and this is Totsuka Yahiko. We are Kamuro's classmates as well. While I understand that you are here to pick her up, it's rude to barge into our classroom just like that and listen to others conversation from the side."

Katsuragi glared at me.

Looks like he didn't have a good first opinion on me.

Kiyotaka: "I apologize for that, Katsuragi. The door to your classroom was open, so I just went in to look for Masumi. And then I saw you three close to her, while she had an irritated look, so I decided to listen for a second why was she like that before acting. I hope you would not hold me accountable for being worried about her. Also..."

I looked coldly at Katsuragi and Totsuka.

Kiyotaka: "Your friend was rather forceful towards Masumi and he was also rude to me just a minute ago, yet you didn't reprimand him at all. It's kinda upsetting seeing someone using double-standards like that."

Totsuka: "What did you say?!"

Hashimoto: "That's right, Katsuragi. You can't reprimand others, while letting your followers go on rampage."

Totsuka: "Hashimoto, you..."

Katsuragi: "Stop it, Yahiko."

Totsuka became silent, but he was glaring at us.

He really must have been loyal to Katsuragi.

Katsuragi: "I apologize for his behaviour, Ayanokouji. As Kamuro's classmates, we were just worried that she would have problem to fit in the class, if she didn't interact with others. Seeing how she has at least one friend puts me at ease."

Masumi: "I said that it's not your business."

Kiyotaka: "I see. Masumi sure is blessed with many people worried about her."

Hashimoto: "Kamuro-chan is so cold towards anyone apart from you, Ayanokouji. Both of you even use each other's first name naturally. What kind of magic did you use? Are you really not dating each other?"

Hm...

I helped her at the police station...

I was trying to blackmail her into spreading her legs and seeing her butt...

We shoplifted some beers and drank them in my room...

There were many events that made us like that, yet I couldn't say any of them.

Masumi: "No! There is nothing between us."

While I was contemplating how to respond, Masumi completely denied Hashimoto's assumption.

Even if I wasn't her boyfriend, it kinda stung me how she was denying it without much of thought.

That feeling intensified after seeing Totsuka's face full of relief.

It seemed like someone was in need of punishment.

Kiyotaka: "How cruel of you, Masumi. Don't be embarrassed and tell them the truth."

Masumi: "H-Huh?"

Masumi looked stunned at me, not understanding what I was trying to do.

Kiyotaka: "Come on. Where did that boldness from that evening go? We crossed so many lines at that time, yet now you are gonna pretend that it didn't happen?"

Masumi: "W-What are you saying, you jerk?!"

Masumi once again started to become red because of my ambiguous words and kicked my calf with some force.

She knew what I was referring to, but the others didn't.

Hashimoto: "So there is something between you two! I knew it."

Totsuka: "No, that can't be. Kamuro-chan said that he wasn't her boyfriend."

Masumi: "Stop making some assumptions. I didn't do anything weird with Kiyotaka!"

Hashimoto: "You are not denying doing something, Kamuro-chan. Ayanokouji, confess it now. What kind of bold things did Kamuro-chan do with you?"

Kiyotaka: "Well..."

Masumi: "Kiyotaka!"

Masumi, not knowing what I was about to say, looked at me with a threatening expression.

Kiyotaka: "I'm sorry, Hashimoto. Since Masumi doesn't want to acknowledge it, there is nothing I can say about it, no matter how heartbroken I am."

Masumi: "Stop saying such confusing things!"

Hashimoto: "Ehh? Don't be like that..."

Katsuragi: "Stop it, Hashimoto. It's their own matters."

Katsuragi decided to stop this farce.

Looks like he figured out that I was just teasing them on purpose.

Hashimoto: "You sure are a party popper, Katsuragi."

I agreed internally with Hashimoto here.

Katsuragi: "Kamuro, I don't want to pry into your matters, but, as your classmate, I want to remind you that you are still a student. I hope you will conduct yourself as you should be in this school."

He sure was as stiff as a broomstick.

Masumi: "I said that I didn't do anything weird."

I was sure shoplifting was rather not considered as a normal student's conduct.

Neither was drinking a beer by high schoolers.

Katsuragi: "The same goes for you, Ayanokouji. I hope you will not be a bad influence for my classmate."

Kiyotaka: "Don't worry, Katsuragi. It's just a small banter between friends. Masumi is really cute, when she is teased, so I just couldn't help myself."

Masumi: "What?"

Katsuragi: "Let's go, Yahiko. I don't want to be late for an opening of the club fair."

Katsuragi said what he wanted to say and started to walk towards the door.

Totsuka: "Yes, Katsuragi-san. See you later, Kamuro-chan. You better look out for those two."

Leaving some rude remarks towards me and Hashimoto, Totsuka left after Katsuragi.

Hashimoto: "Those two sure know how to spoil the mood. Don't you think so, Ayanokouji?"

Kiyotaka: "Seems like it."

Hashimoto: "Haha, you are an interesting guy, you know."

Kiyotaka: "You too, Hashimoto."

It was hard to tell, if he was being sincere, but I didn't dislike him.

Although I was sure that Masumi was going to be teased a lot by him in the future.

Hashimoto: "Then, I am going too. Princess is waiting for me. Bye bye, Ayanokouji, Kamuro-chan."

Princess?

There was a royalty in this school?

Or was it a nickname for someone?

I looked around the classroom that was almost empty, then at Masumi, who was glaring at me.

Kiyotaka: "Shall we go as wel... ouch..."

Masumi kicked me once again.

Kiyotaka: "What was that for?"

Masumi: "You know what was that for! You were talking in the way that made them misunderstand us."

Kiyotaka: "Did I?"

Masumi: "Stop playing stupid. You know what I mean."

Kiyotaka: "Could it be that you took a liking to someone from those three and you didn't want him to misunderstand our relationship?"

Masumi: "What? No!"

Kiyotaka: "Then there is no problem, isn't it? You wanted them to not bother you. And we agreed yesterday that I was supposed to help you with that, while giving you some protection by using my name and status. So I did that."

Masumi: "That's not how it looked to me. Explain yourself."

Kiyotaka: "There is nothing to explain. I just showed to them that we are close, that's all. If they really misunderstood it, then so be it."

Masumi: "There will be rumors that we are going out because of that."

Kiyotaka: "There would be such a rumor anyway, if we are going to keep hanging out. If someone saw us yesterday, then it may already be spreading through the students. Don't worry, just keep denying it and they would fade after some time."

Masumi: "Are you okay with that?"

Kiyotaka: "With me being your boyfriend? Of course, I would. I feel like boasting to the entire school about that."

Masumi: "W-W-What are you blabbering about?! I am not your girlfriend."

Kiyotaka: "Yes, that's a regretful fact."

Masumi: "What?!"

Kiyotaka: "But there may be some change in the future, so I will not give up on the hope yet."

Masumi: "Huh?!"

Masumi's cheeks flushed in deep red.

It was always so entertaining to tease her.

Kiyotaka: "Let's go, Masumi. Otherwise, we will really be late. Student Council President may be angry at me for neglecting the event."

I said and started moving towards the exit.

Masumi: "Ah, wait! You still have some explanation to do!"

Masumi shouted and started to go after me.

Today's visit was quite interesting.

I got to know some people from another class, including one of the class leaders.

As expected, Class A would be harder to get along with than Class B.

If the class competition was announced from the beginning, this class may be really hard to befriend, especially for a Class D student.

Looks like I got lucky with this one-month period.

Although Masumi may not be the best person to keep in touch with this class, she was the only one I could trust for now.

Hashimoto didn't seem trustworthy.

Katsuragi would be hard to befriend.

And Totsuka was not even worth mentioning.

Too bad I didn't get to see Sakayanagi today.

According to Masumi, she was a total opposite to Katsuragi.

If I wanted to be in touch with this class in the future, meeting her at least once in this month would be great.

Nevertheless, I was satisfied with results.

Time to officially become Student Council Vice-President.

.

.

.

Chapter 20 - Vice-President Ayanokouji

Kiyotaka's POV

Masumi and I quickly arrived at the gymnasium.

We managed to arrive just before the opening.

There were over a hundred students inside, mainly freshmen, who were looking around eagerly.

Because the big crowd already assembled in the room, we decided to stay near the entrance.

Kiyotaka: "We made it. I thought we would be late."

Masumi: "And whose fault do you think it is?"

Kiyotaka: "My seatmate's. It's all Horikita's fault."

Masumi: "You should report her to the school. Wait... Horikita? Like Student Council President?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes, it's his sister. Quite a coincidence, don't you think?"

Masumi: "A coincidence, my ass. Don't tell me you actually blackmailed him like those senpais by using her and became Vice-President?"

Kiyotaka: "You wound me, Masumi. It was his own decision to appoint me."

Masumi: "Then why would you agree? You said that you didn't want the attention from people."

Kiyotaka: "It's beneficial to me in the long run. As you know, because of my Class D student status, I will soon become someone, whom people would look down upon. So I was in need of another status to balance things out. So I made a suggestion to Horikita-senpai and he agreed."

Masumi: "I wonder why he would do that."

Kiyotaka: "I have some ideas, but nothing concrete."

Masumi: "What ideas?"

Kiyotaka: "Maybe he sees me as a good material to be his brother-in-law."

Masumi: "I was an idiot for expecting a proper answer from you..."

Kiyotaka: "Actually, I was kinda serious..."

Exactly at this moment, the purple-haired senpai of small stature and nice chest started walking towards the platform on the stage.

Apart from her, I also noticed a familiar face of Suzune's brother in the crowd behind her.

The crowd became quieter after noticing her actions.

Kiyotaka: "This is Tachibana-senpai, Student Council President's secretary and classmate. And the one with the glasses, whom she just left behind, is Horikita Manabu, Student Council President."

I whispered in Masumi's ear.

Masumi jumped slightly.

Masumi: "WW-What are you doing?"

Kiyotaka: "Hoh? It seems like you have not only sensitive tongue, but ears as well. A new discovery noted."

Masumi's face turned red, while glaring at me.

Masumi: "Pervert..."

I slightly smiled at her and turned my attention towards Tachibana-senpai.

Tachibana: "Thank you all for waiting, first-year students. I am Tachibana Akane, Student Council's member and the organizer of this club fair. We will now begin. A representative from each club will explain their functions to you."

After Tachibana-senpai ended her speech, representatives from each club lined up on the stage.

It was quite a diverse crowd, from burly athletes to beauties dressed in colorful kimonos.

Masumi only paid them slight attention until the representative of Art Club started the club introduction.

Looks like she was really into this.

I wanted to see her works soon.

Every time the club introduction finished, the first-year students talked among themselves about what they thought.

The atmosphere in the gymnasium was rather lively.

People introducing their clubs didn't seem to mind it, probably to not displease potential new members.

After each presentation, the upperclassmen walked off the stage and headed towards the tables area, where probably later we could go to enroll to the specific club of our choice.

Eventually, everyone walked off until only one person remained.

The black-haired boy with a piercing, calculating gaze over his glasses.

Student Council President Horikita Manabu.

He was standing behind the microphone without saying anything and was calmly looking at the crowd.

His gaze stopped for a moment at my face.

I smiled slightly at him and nodded my head for greetings.

His expression didn't change at all.

Random student 1: "Do your best!"

Random student 2: "Did you forget to bring your notecards?"

Random student 3: "Hahaha!"

Manabu: "..."

Looks like some of the first-year students misunderstood him and started saying whatever they want.

The upperclassmen stayed calmly without uttering a word.

Apart from Tachibana-senpai, who looked like she would burn on stakes the ones that were mocking Horikita-senpai.

The scene continued for a few seconds, then suddenly died, when President Horikita wore an apathetic expression.

Random student: "W-What's with that guy?"

The relaxed atmosphere from before started to change into a tense and quiet one.

I looked at Masumi.

She became really stiff and nervous under Horikita-senpai's pressure.

She was probably weak against people like him.

For a shoplifter like her, a powerful representative of law like Horikita Manabu was the worst match.

I patted her back slightly.

Kiyotaka: "Relax. I'm here. Nothing bad is going to happen."

I tried to comfort her.

Masumi snapped out of her stiffness and looked at me.

She was speechless for a second, then made a small smile towards me.

Masumi: "Mm."

She calmed down a bit.

I looked at Horikita-senpai again, this time with some annoyance.

He could scare everyone here and I wouldn't care at all, but the girl next to me was an exception.

I started staring at him silently, trying to pressure him to get it over with.

He sensed it instantly and looked again at me.

It was a short eye contact, but it seemed like he understood my message.

His pressure got disrupted by my interference.

Despite that, the silence prevailed in the gymnasium.

Then, after ten seconds, Horikita Manabu started his speech.

Manabu: "I am Student Council President Horikita Manabu. Currently, Student Council is looking for some potential candidates among the first-year students to replace the graduating third-year students..."

Although he spoke in a soft tone, the tension around freshmen didn't decrease at all.

His presence dominated everyone around him, granting Horikita Manabu a huge deterrence.

Well, almost everyone.

Manabu: "Furthermore, we in Student Council do not wish to appoint anyone, who possesses a naive outlook. Such a person would not be tolerated at all. It is Student Council's right and duty to enforce and amend the rules, but the school expects more than that. We will gladly welcome those of you, who understand."

Then, Horikita-senpai sent me a very quick glance.

Suddenly, I got a really bad feeling about it.

Like a storm was about to come.

Manabu: "As a proof of that, I would like to introduce today the freshman, who managed to obtain even my own approval as someone with the great understanding over the virtues and responsibilities of Student Council. Because of that, I decided to give him a chance to prove himself as someone, who may succeed me after the end of my presidency."

Don't tell me he was going to do it right now...

Manabu: "I officially appointed Ayanokouji Kiyotaka as the second Student Council Vice-President. Congratulations."

Damn it, he really did it!

Because of Horikita-senpai's deterrence, the students were still silent, but the big surprise painted on the faces of everyone in the gymnasium, the freshmen and the upperclassmen alike.

Even Tachibana-senpai was surprised by this, so he must have deliberately decided it just now.

No one knew if they should applaud or not.

Some students started to look around, not even knowing whom they were looking for.

Masumi looked at me surprised.

She probably didn't expect this way of announcement, just like me.

I showed her helpless face, trying to convey that I didn't know about it.

But Horikita-senpai didn't stop just at it.

Manabu: "Vice-President Ayanokouji, please introduce yourself to the students."

Horikita-senpai looked directly at me with a small smile.

Introduce, my ass!

You did it on purpose, because I disrupted you earlier, didn't you?!

Are you trying to bully me right now?!

How can you be Student Council President, when you are this petty?!

Because Horikita-senpai was looking at me, many people turned around in my direction.

I didn't expect to be called out of the crowd.

There was no way to run away from that.

I sighed, submitting to my fate of being the most recognized freshman in the school.

I walked into the stage, while many students were looking curiously at me.

Horikita-senpai approached me and extended his hand.

Petty President Horikita: "Congratulations, Vice-President Ayanokouji. I hope you will proudly represent Student Council from now on. The platform is all yours."

Kiyotaka: "Thank you very much, President Horikita. I won't let you down."

I shook his hand, while using some force.

Of course, he was expecting it and did the same.

Although his grip was not strong, I decided to not overpower him.

After all, we were in the front of many eyes and I was supposed to be a candidate for his successor.

He understood it as well.

We let go of each other after a second.

I passed him and stood before the microphone.

There were over a hundred pairs of eyes on me.

Now that I was on the stage, I could see several familiar faces.

There was Ichinose Honami surrounded by other girls from Class B, looking at me with some surprise on her face.

I could see Katsuragi and Totsuka.

While the former was frowning greatly, the latter looked shocked.

They probably didn't expect that the guy, who invaded their class today, would turn up to be new Vice-President.

I also saw the trio from Class C - Nishino, Ibuki and Yamada.

The girls looked surprised, but while Nishino seemed pleasantly surprised, Ibuki started to glare at me.

I couldn't read the poker face of Yamada.

He was expressless as always.

Finally, I saw some of my classmates.

Hirata was with his fan club.

Kushida was with some of her friends.

Professor, Sudo and the perverted duo stood near Kushida's group.

All of them were stunned by seeing my face.

Matsushita was also here, alongside Satou and the blue-haired girl from our class.

I made eye contact with her for a moment.

She blushed slightly and smiled sweetly to me.

And finally, I saw her.

She was standing alone in the corner of the room.

Normally, she would have that frost look and unfriendly aura, but right now her face was pale and she seemed really fragile.

When I looked at her, her body trembled a little.

She managed to maintain the eye-contact with me, but I was sure it was mainly because she didn't know what to do.

She tried to play strong, but her body language was giving away her anxiety.

And that just made me even more excited.

My eyes narrowed a little, looking at my prey.

Let's get along well from now on, Suzune...

The crowd was still being silent, the aftereffect of Horikita-senpai deterrence.

Because I looked around for a few moments, the students probably thought that I was playing the same scene as Student Council President.

But I didn't want people to make such assumption about me.

Kiyotaka: "Relax. Compared to capable Student Council President Horikita, I am still just a rookie freshman like all of you. There is no need to be that tense."

I spoke confidently with a laid-back attitude, looking at the crowd with a small, friendly smile.

I could see that some of the students started to ease up.

Kiyotaka: "I am Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, a first-year student from class D. As Horikita-senpai just announced, from now on I will be assuming the position of the second Student Council Vice-President of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Nice to meet you all."

I put on my best smile.

The atmosphere that Horikita-senpai created significantly decreased.

There were some murmurs between freshmen.

Some girls started blushing, while looking at me with stars in the eyes.

I could also hear some whispers from my back, but it was no surprising at all.

Compared to the freshmen in front of me, the upperclassmen knew well what it means to be a student from Class D.

For them, Horikita-senpai's decision was at the very least controversial.

Kiyotaka: "I would like to thank Student Council President Horikita for putting so much trust in me. Although I am here for a short amount of time, I already heard many great things about you, senpai. I sincerely look forward to work with you and the rest of Student Council's members."

I turned around and bowed to Horikita Manabu, showing my respect to him.

Take that, you bastard!

You won't bully me that easily!

As if I couldn't pull off my own introduction!

Horikita-senpai nodded slightly.

Near him, Tachibana-senpai nodded as well with satisfied face.

Looks like her favorable impression of me increased.

Kiyotaka: "Lastly, I would also like to invite the interested students to join Student Council. As Horikita-senpai said, if you possess the appropriate mindset, you will find your place in here just like me. I am sure that this school have many valuable things to offer to its students. I think it's only right for us to explore those things. I look forward to work with my fellow first-year students as well."

I nodded slightly towards the crowd and left the platform.

The mood in the gymnasium became more lively after I left.

The first-year students started to talk among themselves again.

I stood right next to Horikita-senpai.

Neither of us said a word to each other.

Tachibana-senpai rushed to the microphone.

Tachibana-senpai: "With this, the club fair opening has ended. We will now..."

Manabu: "Quite a little speech you did there."

Kiyotaka: "Were you expecting me to be nervous and stutter?"

Manabu: "No. But you cleverly used to your advantage the deterrence I made on the freshmen to build up a positive image of yourself as a contrast."

Kiyotaka: "If I put even more pressure on them, Student Council probably wouldn't have any more applicants in this year."

Manabu: "That would be fine as well."

Kiyotaka: "How harsh."

Manabu: "Tachibana is about to finish. Let's continue this conversation in Council's room."

Kiyotaka: "Eh, right now? My friend is waiting for me."

Manabu: "I believe you can judge how much inconvenience you would bring to your friend, if you would go back to her right now."

He had a point.

If I went back to Masumi right now, she would be in the center of attention as well.

She already would get much more attention than she wanted in her class, so there was no need to make it even worse.

And there were many second-year students here as well.

Considering what I have heard about Nagumo, he may target her in the future because of me.

It would be wiser to split up right now rather than stay under the watchful eyes of so many students.

Kiyotaka: "Tch, and whose fault do you think it is?"

I thought he would appoint me in Student Council's office after some talk, and then there would be some kind of announcement through the school's speakers or on the school's website for the students to know about it.

I never expected to be called directly on the stage like that.

What a headache.

It's all Horikita's fault!

I suddenly got a strange sense of deja vu...

Kiyotaka: "I will write her a message once we leave."

At this moment, Tachibana-senpai finished her speech and the first-year students could start applying to their desired club.

Manabu: "Let's go."

I went after Horikita-senpai under the curious eyes of many students.

After we left the gymnasium, I quickly wrote to Masumi to explain my leave.

Luckily, she also thought that it would be troublesome for us to freely walk around together under so many eyes and forgive me.

She decided to apply to Art Club and go back to the dormitory.

I promised to make it up to her another day.

I also wrote to Professor reminding him about my later visit in his room.

We had many things to discuss from now on.

He confirmed it and congratulated me on my new position.

Unexpectedly, I also got a congratulation message from Kushida.

Was she really that nice or was there something more she wanted from me?

It was hard to say at this stage.

I answered her with polite thanks.

Horikita Manabu didn't say anything during our small trip.

He probably wasn't someone fond of the small talks.

We managed to get to Student Council's office quite quickly.

I was kinda expecting it, but there wasn't anyone inside.

Manabu: "Would you like something to drink?"

Kiyotaka: "Are you going to make me a drink?"

Manabu: "Is something strange with that?"

Kiyotaka: "Well, kinda. You are supposed to be my superior in this office."

Manabu: "But I am also your senpai and the one, who invited you here on the short note. I can do at least this much to show some courtesy to my kouhai and guest. Consider it as a treat from me."

Kiyotaka: "I see. Thank you for your hospitality, then. A coffee would be nice."

I got a feeling that he wasn't someone, who would do something like that often.

I was definitely going to boast about it to Suzune tomorrow.

Despite my opinion about him, Horikita-senpai was actually quite skillful in making coffee.

Within just a few minutes, we sat at the opposite sites of his desk with two cups of coffee on it.

Manabu: "Firstly, I would like to welcome you to Student Council, Ayanokouji. Being Vice-President while being a freshman is quite an accomplishment."

Kiyotaka: "Thank you. But it's kinda weird that you are congratulating me, when it was your decision to begin with."

Manabu: "Although I did say to you that it was up to me, if the school found something against it, then I wouldn't be able to appoint you freely."

Kiyotaka: "Looks like the school likes me quite a bit."

Manabu: "Because of your incident with Nagumo, some people among the teachers and the school authorities know about you and your accomplishment. My decision to appoints you, who figured out the rules of S-System on the first day, didn't have even the slightest bit of opposition. To be honest, I was surprised by how easily it went."

I immediately thought about Chairman Sakayanagi.

Did he have a hand in this?

Kiyotaka: "Speaking of which, Nagumo's trial should finish yesterday. What was the verdict?"

Manabu: "Nagumo was suspended for two weeks."

Kiyotaka: "I see. It's kinda hard for me to say, if it was a harsh verdict or not."

Manabu: "Considering the amount of information you knew before meeting Nagumo, the things that he told you about seemed less important. To be honest, a normal student may even get only a week of suspension for this. The reason why Nagumo got a harsher The verdict was because he was Student Council Vice-President."

Kiyotaka: "I see. The higher position you are at, the bigger responsibility you will take, if something went wrong."

Manabu: "And the more resent he would feel for the one, who made him like that. As I told you, Nagumo is an indisputable leader of not only his own class, but also the entire second-year students. From now on, you are going to be on the blacklist of many people, not only Nagumo's."

Kiyotaka: "And yet, you just went and decided to appoint me in the front of many students. Not only I will get the most of the attention of the students, but you also endangered my new friend. I must say that you are quite irresponsible, Horikita-senpai."

Manabu: "I will be honest with you, Ayanokouji. Nagumo being suspended by you was nothing more than a fluke or a lucky shot. He let his guard down, because you were a freshman on his first day at this school. On top of that, you are a class D student. It won't happen again, believe me."

Kiyotaka: "I am aware of that. But that didn't answer my question."

Manabu: "As I said before, you can't beat Nagumo on your own. You need allies to match against him and his army of second-year students. If you are not going to become the leader of your own class, then at least you need to become someone important for the entire first-year students. Only by doing that, you can manage to face against Nagumo. So I decided to give you a push."

Kiyotaka: "A push? You mean a punch, don't you? You think I don't know that you did it, because I disrupted you scaring the freshmen?"

Manabu: "It was an impressive feat, Ayanokouji. You should know that even Nagumo couldn't do that without opening his mouth. And yet you did that so easily in silence. Because of that, I believed you wouldn't have a problem with taking on the attention after my announcement."

Kiyotaka: "I still think that what you did was rather forceful and unnecessary, senpai."

Manabu: "You proposed to be Vice-President on your own. Don't think that I would just give you a position without any consideration. You should be prepared for at least this much, right? I may not approve of Nagumo's actions, but that doesn't change the fact that he is an excellent student. If you want my support, you should prove that you are worth this much yourself."

Kiyotaka: "Hoh? Then prepare to be surprised, senpai. I wonder what kind of face you will make, when I will show you my true value. I look forward to it."

Horikita-senpai narrowed his eyes, while looking straight at me.

And then, he chuckled.

Manabu: "That's quite the confidence, Ayanokouji. In terms of that, you may really be Nagumo's match. I hope that in the future you will show me the feats that will prove that it's not empty words."

Kiyotaka: "Leave it to me, President."

I took my cup of coffee and he did the same, as if we reached some kind of agreement.

I must say that the coffee he made was quite good.

Manabu: "Considering your attitude, it seems like I did something unnecessary at the club fair. But there was one more reason I did it."

Kiyotaka: "What kind of reason?"

Manabu: "You will need to wait for now. She should come soon."

She?

Manabu: "Consider it as my apology to you for an inconvenience I made."

Kiyotaka: "How secretive. I have a bad feeling about it. Just what are you plotting now, President?"

Manabu: "You will see soon. Is there any question you would like to ask me?"

Kiyotaka: "Then, what benefits would I get from joining Student Council? Do I get some additional payment for that?"

Manabu: "I didn't think you would be someone, who cares about such a thing."

Kiyotaka: "According to the information I know, my class is going to have a massive decrease of allowance in the next month. Of course, I would care about my future finances."

Manabu: "If you are not going to help them, then most likely you are right. Why are you not trying to do that? With the amount of information you have, you could easily become a class leader and climb the ladder with your class ."

Kiyotaka: "There are various reasons, senpai. Don't you think that if I said everything I know to my class and we would surpass the other classes in just one month, then that would be a real fluke for them, but not exactly for me? My class is not called as defective without a reason. If I did that, then I would need to take responsibility for them for the next three years. I don't want to do that just because there was no one else to notice the hints from the school."

Manabu: "But you will need allies, if you want to stand against Nagumo on equal ground."

Kiyotaka: "I don't need to be a class leader to make allies. In the first place, me not caring about my class and the competition may actually be a kind of protection for my classmates from Nagumo, don't you think? "

Manabu: "I see. Do what you want. I have warned you."

Kiyotaka: "Thank you. Then, would you mind explaining to me the benefits of being Vice-President?"

Manabu: "As Student Council Vice-President, you will get additional 50 thousand private points per month for your allowance."

50 thousand private points?

That's half of what you would expect getting from the school at each month, if not for hidden rules.

Kiyotaka: "That's a lot of money."

Manabu: "Indeed, but the responsibility is also bigger, as you already knew from Nagumo's example."

Kiyotaka: "Does everyone in Council get this much?"

Manabu: "No. The amount of private points you would get for your work in Council depends on the position you have. 50 thousand is a payment for Vice-President. Only you and Nagumo would get this amount of money."

So this was an income of Vice-President, huh?

Quite a good benefit from the start, I guess.

Manabu: "Additionally, the class that you are in would get 10 Class Points per month."

Kiyotaka: "Class Points?"

Manabu: "The class score that you found out about on your first day is counted by Class Points. I believe the further explanation is unnecessary."

Interesting information.

Kiyotaka: "Are you sure it's okay to share this information with me? It's still April, you know."

Manabu: "I don't see a problem, considering how much you know already. It's not like this information would have much impact on your decisions. You don't know if this amount is small or big, and how many private points your class would get. Of course, if you think you can suspend me as well for sharing this information with a freshman, you can try your luck."

For some reason, he was getting cocky with me.

But I decided to let it slide for now.

Kiyotaka: "How much do the other members of Council get, senpai?"

He shortly told me about the amount of money all the members of Student Council would get for their jobs.

It was like that:

President - 100000 private points, 15 Class Points

President's Secretary - 30000 private points, 5 Class Points

Vice-President - 50,000 private points, 10 Class Points

Vice-President's Secretary - 25000 private points, 5 Class Points

Council's Member - 20000 private points, 5 Class Points

Looks like the amount of monetary benefit from just joining Student Council was quite big.

Especially for President to get 100000 private points per month...

He practically didn't have to participate in the class competition at all and still live his life without being a poor.

Although I could guess that the amount of responsibilities that comes with that was also not small.

There was also a little more private points for secretaries than for the other members, huh?

Kiyotaka: "What if I, knowing this information, will try to persuade more of my classmates to join Student Council?"

Manabu: "I believe that I said earlier that trying to join Student Council with some naive thoughts would be meaningless. On top of that, at most only two students from the same class could be members of Council at the same time."

Kiyotaka: "I see. So Tachibana-senpai is your only classmate here, huh?"

Manabu: "Right. She has the qualifications to be my secretary. You will see it for yourself in the near future."

Kiyotaka: "I never said that she wasn't qualified, senpai. I could tell from today's club fair that she is quite capable."

Manabu: "If you find a capable classmate yourself, then I won't say anything about him or her joining Student Council."

Kiyotaka: "Does your sister have qualifications to join Student Council?"

Manabu: "No. To think your eyesight was so bad, Ayanokouji. I am totally disappointed."

He looked at me with a frown, showing his displeasure.

Kiyotaka: "It was just a simple question. There was no need to be mean, senpai."

Manabu: "You became Student Council Vice-President. Know that your words will have some weight from now on."

Kiyotaka: "I will remember that."

Horikita-senpai told me more about Student Council and how the things were working at it.

I was surprised to learn how much power Student Council was holding within this school, despite the strict rules and the class competition.

Horikita-senpai said that the amount of power Student Council has been defined by the capability of its members.

Considering that he was at the top, he must have worked hard for it.

I respected that.

All the more I was wondering why his relationship with Suzune was so bad.

But I had a hunch that he wouldn't explain it to me no matter what I said.

At least not now.

Knock, knock...

My thoughts were disrupted by sudden knocking at the door.

Manabu: "Enter."

The girl: "Pardon the intrusion, Horikita-senpai. Ah, looks like you are not alone."

A pretty girl entered Council's office.

She had purple eyes and waist-length chocolate-brown hair that was adorned by a hair pin in the shape of a sunflower on the right side.

Her facial features were charming and her body was quite attractive.

Especially her thighs caught my eye.

If she gave me a lap pillow, I probably wouldn't mind, if some huge asteroid would crush our planet on the same day.

The girl: "You are that first-year student, who just became Vice-President, right? Hello."

Kiyotaka: "Nice to meet you. I am Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

The girl: "I am Asahina Nazuna, a second-year student. Nice to meet you. Because of Horikita-senpai's announcement, you became a really hot topic among the students, Ayanokouji-kun."

Kiyotaka: "Yeah, I can imagine that."

A second-year student?

Which means she was Nagumo's ally.

I looked at Horikita-senpai with some doubt.

He caught my vision and looked at Asahina-senpai.

Manabu: "How was the club fair, Asahina?"

Asahina: "It was not bad, I guess. We got three applications for now. Well, four, if we include Ayanokouji-kun."

Asahina-senpai gave Horikita-senpai some papers that looked like applications to join.

He took them and looked at them briefly.

Kiyotaka: "Are you also a member of Student Council, Asahina-senpai?"

Asahina: "Yes, I am Miyabi's... I mean, Vice-President Nagumo's secretary and classmate."

I see.

She was not only Nagumo's secretary, but also classmate.

That would make her a strong ally of Nagumo and my enemy.

But why would Horikita-senpai specially introduce me to her?

To make me be wary of her?

Or was there some other reason?

On the other hand...

Wasn't that damned donkey a little too blessed?!

Not only he got a hot girl like Fuka as his fiancee, he even got a charming girl with divine thighs like Asahina-senpai as his secretary?!

Why the heavens didn't strike him with a thunder for that?!

Manabu: "Asahina... how was Nagumo after his suspension?"

Asahina: "He was very angry, senpai. Not even you managed to suspend him, yet Ayanokouji-kun gave him a heavy blow right from the start. On top of that, you made Ayanokouji-kun the second Vice-President right off the bat. I didn't contact him today, but he will not let this go."

Manabu: "I see. And what do you think about this situation, Asahina?"

Asahina: "You sure made a bold announcement, senpai. I don't know how good Ayanokouji-kun is for you to do that, but he is a freshman, who only experienced this school for three days, isn't he? No one is going to believe that he could win this battle."

She looked at me with an apologetic expression.

Asahina: "I hope you won't be offended by this, Ayanokouji-kun."

Kiyotaka: "I'm not, Asahina-senpai. Any sane person would probably think like that."

I smile at her.

She looked surprised.

Asahina: "You are not scared at all, Ayanokouji-kun? Even if Horikita-senpai seems to have some confidence in you, Miyabi is a formidable opponent. I am sure you already heard some things about him from senpai."

Kiyotaka: "What about you, Asahina-senpai? As Nagumo's secretary and classmate, I thought you would show some hostility to me, yet I don't feel anything like that from you."

Asahina: "I became Miyabi's secretary only to stop his rampage. Who knows what he would do, if I would let him roam freely. Especially, once Horikita-senpai retire from Student Council."

Kiyotaka: "So you are here to restrain his actions even for a little bit, huh?"

Asahina: "That's right."

If that was true, then this Asahina-senpai should hold not a small amount of power among the second-year students.

At the very least, she didn't seem to be my enemy.

How interesting.

Kiyotaka: "My already good impression of you just rose up even more, Asahina-senpai. Let's get along from now on."

Asahina: "(chuckle)... I am still on Miyabi's side, you know. But I will pay some attention to you as my kouhai, Ayanokouji-kun."

Kiyotaka: "I will pay some attention to you as well, senpai. Wanna grab a coffee some day after the school to learn more about each other?"

Asahina: "Heh... Fuka-chan was right. You truly are a womanizer."

Fuka?

Were they related somehow?

Asahina: "Hehe, surprised? I am Fuka-chan's childhood friend. She contacted me yesterday and we talked about various things, including you. To think she would have a high opinion of you in just two days. It's not that easily to impress her, you know. And Horikita-senpai holds you in such high regard. Just who are you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

So she already learned about me from Fuka?

I didn't hear anything about that.

I should pay that platinum-haired succubus a visit later.

Since she was Fuka's childhood friend, then she must know Nagumo from before the school.

Is that why she wasn't afraid of him as much as others?

Kiyotaka: "Just an average freshman, who has a courage to invite his beautiful senpai."

Asahina: "Hehe, although your words are sweet, it's kinda hard to believe them at this point, you know."

Asahina-senpai started to laugh.

Manabu: "It looks like you two are quite friendly on your first meeting. That's good, since I have a proposal for you."

We looked at Horikita-senpai with some doubt.

Manabu: "Nagumo was suspended, but the amount of Council's work he had to do would still need to be taken care of. So I thought that our new Vice-President Ayanokouji should take care of that as his replacement."

Well, that was rather a reasonable proposal, considering that Nagumo and me held the same position.

Manabu: "And apart from me, the one, who would know best about Nagumo's current responsibilities would be no other than you, Asahina."

Asahina nodded.

Manabu: "So, in order for Ayanokouji to efficiently take over Nagumo's responsibilities during his absence, I would like you two to work together."

Asahina-senpai and I looked at each other, then at Horikita-senpai.

Manabu: "Asahina, I would like to appoint you as Vice-President Ayanokouji's temporary secretary for the next two weeks."

Horikita-senpai suddenly dropped a bomb on us.

This was quite an unexpected proposal from him.

But...

Damn it, senpai, you are the best!

Not only you said that I can do whatever I want with your pretty sister...

You are trying to help me, when I am a love rival of your successor...

And now, you are even asking his beautiful secretary to help me...

This...

Seriously, who the hell said that you are a petty bastard?

As if in this school there would a better person than you, Horikita Manabu!

From now on, I swear my undying loyalty to you!

Asahina: "This..."

In contrast to my excitement, Asahina-senpai looked reluctant about President's suggestion.

But I won't let her decline it, no matter what!

Kiyotaka: "Student Council President! I thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

I bowed to Horikita-senpai with full respect.

Asahina: "H-Huh?! Ayanokouji-kun?!"

I turned over to Asahina-senpai and took her slender hand.

Kiyotaka: "Asahina-senpai... Please take care of me from now on!"

It was quite simple to deduct what Horikita-senpai wanted me to do.

I got two weeks to make Asahina-senpai change her view of me.

Considering that she could stop Nagumo's plans to some extent, this pretty senpai should be quite capable.

If she saw some glimpse of hope in me defeating Nagumo, she may actually turn into a big asset for me in the future.

On top of that, those thighs...

Asahina: "W-Wait a second, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Manabu: "Are you dissatisfied with my arrangement, Asahina?"

Asahina: "This is kinda sudden... You know that it could cause trouble for me, senpai."

Manabu: "Ayanokouji needs someone to teach him what he needs to do in place of Nagumo. Unfortunately, I have my own responsibilities to take care of. You are the best candidate to help him out. Although I said that you would be Ayanokouji's secretary , in fact, you would be just showing him what needs to be done and watching over his work for the next two weeks. I believe this much should be acceptable."

Kiyotaka: "Asahina-senpai, I will make sure this will not inconvenience you as much as you think. I promise to be a good boy."

Asahina-senpai became silent.

Horikita-senpai and I were looking at her quietly.

After a few moments, she sighed loudly.

Asahina: "I understand. I will help Ayanokouji-kun for now. But I will make it clear now - I won't do anything against Miyabi, no matter what. I will only help Ayanokouji-kun as a member of Student Council. I will be on Miyabi's radar for this, so I hope you understand just how much pressure I may get."

Manabu: "I appreciate your help, Asahina."

Kiyotaka: "Thank you very much, Asahina-senpai."

Asahina: "I feel like I was deceived by you two into something dangerous. I just hope I won't regret that later."

Asahina-senpai seemed to have a big headache right now.

Well, it's not like I couldn't understand her feelings.

But seeing how she agreed to it, she really had a significant confidence in facing Nagumo's anger.

Horikita-senpai probably knew a thing or two, otherwise he wouldn't inconvenience her like that.

Manabu: "Ayanokouji, starting from tomorrow, you will officially take over the responsibilities of Nagumo for the next two weeks under Asahina's watch. Asahina, I hope you will help him, if needed."

Asahina: "Okay."

Kiyotaka: "I don't have a problem with this."

Manabu: "On top of that, I would like to assign you one more duty, Ayanokouji."

Horikita-senpai took the papers that Asahina-senpai gave him earlier.

Manabu: "Looks like Student Council got three applications from the first-year students. I would like you to be in charge of interviewing the candidates."

Huh?

Asahina: "Wait a minute, senpai! You want to put a first-year student in charge of the interviews of the other first-year students? Isn't that a little too much?"

Manabu: "Normally, it would be. But Ayanokouji is not an average first-year student. You should already know that he is aware of S-System rules and the class competition. And from what I learned, he is not going to use his knowledge for his class's advantage. So I believe his judgment will be impartial in this case."

Asahina: "But... Even so, this decision..."

Kiyotaka: "I see. So you made the announcement before the first-years in the club fair for that, huh? You wanted to show that I have qualifications to speak with the other freshmen on behalf of Student Council and used this show to give me some respect among them."

Manabu: "And you wonderfully continued it on your own, showing the attitude of someone, whom they could trust. I believe there are some first-years, who already may treat you as their representative."

Kiyotaka: "Is this the continuation of your advice about making allies? If I help some freshmen join Student Council, they may like me more than Nagumo, whom they didn't get see and know much about."

Manabu: "Are you dissatisfied?"

Kiyotaka: "No. I will take this job."

Manabu: "It's up to you how you will perform those interviews. But remember that if you choose poorly or without a good reason, I will kick them out of Student Council without thinking much. The last say about who will join us among them would still belong to me. Otherwise, some may say that I am favoring you."

You did so much for me and you still won't call that favoring?

Kiyotaka: "I understand. I will make sure you will be satisfied with the ones I choose."

Horikita-senpai nodded slightly.

Asahina-senpai observed me silently.

Looks like she started to reevaluate me.

Kiyotaka: "So, who did apply to us?"

Manabu: "The first one is a boy from Class A - Katsuragi Kohei."

Katsuragi, huh?

Well, he seemed like someone, who would apply here.

Unfortunately, both of us didn't hold a good opinion about each other.

The interview with him may be hard.

Asahina: "Katsuragi-kun came just after you two left. He had some questions about Council, then wrote an application. He was polite, but also not too approachable."

Kiyotaka: "I met him today. He is one of the two potential leaders of Class A, alongside Chairman Sakayanagi's daughter."

Manabu: "I see."

Kiyotaka: "Did Sakayanagi also apply?"

Asahina: "No, he was the only one from Class A."

Too bad.

It would be good to meet Sakayanagi at least once to know what kind of person she was before considering Katsuragi's application.

Choosing to ally myself with him right now without some information about her may be risky.

Manabu: "The next one is a girl from Class B - Ichinose Honami."

Another acquaintance.

Asahina: "That girl was so cute and sweet. We hit it on well already. I even got her number. Fuka-chan told me about her slightly. She seems like a good choice for us. She was even Student Council President in her middle school."

Kiyotaka: "I met her as well. She seemed to be the leader of the girls from Class B."

Asahina: "Huh? Ayanokouji-kun, you are already acquainted with two key figures from the other classes?"

Kiyotaka: "Yes. I met Ichinose, while picking up Fuka in her classroom. The same was with Katsuragi, when I went to the classroom of Class A to pick up another friend. Both of those meetings were coincidences."

Asahina: "Coincidences, huh?"

Kiyotaka: "I am as surprised as you, Asahina-senpai. How was I supposed to know that they were going to apply to Student Council?"

Asahina: "I see. Looks like those interviews will be a piece of cake for you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Kiyotaka: "I am not so sure, senpai. It's true that knowing them beforehand somehow ease the pressure on me, but there is still the third candidate, whom I may not know."

Asahina: "Ah, you don't have to worry about that, Ayanokouji-kun. The last applicant is actually your classmate."

What?

Someone from my class applied here?

That's great news.

He or she may be someone I was looking for.

If that person was capable enough, then I wouldn't have to worry too much about unnecessary attention on me in the future.

But who may it be?

Could it be that I inspired someone to apply to Student Council earlier?

Maybe Matsushita?

She was someone quite capable.

In my opinion, she would fit in Student Council well.

Or maybe it was Kushida?

She did congratulate me after my speech.

Being in Student Council would definitely help her in her goal to befriend the students.

Wait...

Don't tell me it's actually Suzune?

That would be problematic in so many ways...

But seeing how Horikita-senpai didn't tear up the last application yet, it didn't seem to be her.

There was also a chance that it was someone with great potential that I just wasn't aware of yet, like Professor.

How intriguing.

Who?

Who may be my lucky ticket to the peaceful life?

Manabu: "The last one is indeed someone from your class. A boy called Yamauchi Haruki."

...

...

...

...

Huh?

To be continued..