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Akira was completely unaware of the dark thoughts churning in the girl behind him.
In his view, Kushida's reaction was perfectly normal—smart people always hate uncertainty, much like hating an opponent who doesn't follow the rules when playing chess.
Such people always want to firmly grasp the initiative, designing even cooperation to be a unilateral utilization.
'But where in the world is there such a thing as a free lunch?'
Akira fiddled with his phone, gazing calmly at the campus goddess before him.
'She's clearly an impeccable beautiful girl...'
'But unexpectedly dark-hearted.'
'Ayanokoji was right after all. Her true target was indeed me.'
Compared to a vague and ethereal date, eighty thousand private points were clearly more tangible.
"Kushida-san," Akira said slowly after thinking, "are you perhaps worried that I'll go back on my word afterward and leak your plan?"
Without waiting for a response, he continued on his own. "But have you considered this—given your popularity in the class, even if I told everyone, who would believe it?"
"...Shimizu-kun, are you really, truly not going to reveal the truth? Can you turn around and look into my eyes and say it again?" The girl's voice came from behind him, carrying a hint of timidity and unease.
"Fine." Akira sighed helplessly, thinking that this classmate was far too lacking in security.
The moment he turned around, Kushida suddenly reached out, tightly grabbed his left hand, and then decisively pressed his hand against her chest.
"Huh? Are you...?" Akira was momentarily stunned, the soft sensation transmitted through his palm instantly making him understand her intention.
What was she doing? Deliberately giving him a benefit?
"As expected of Shimizu-kun!" A naive smile appeared on Kushida's face. "The pressure control is just right, so this shouldn't leave any fingerprints, right?"
"Could you clench your five fingers, use a little force, and squeeze three or four times?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Shimizu-kun, please feel free to touch."
"...Alright, since you put it that way."
Akira did as instructed.
"Hmph..." Kushida's ear tips instantly flushed crimson, yet she forced herself to remain calm and curved her lips. "Shimizu-kun... you really are quite impolite, but you're obedient, and I don't dislike that about you."
She suddenly leaned in, her citrus-scented hair brushing against Akira's cheek. "Now, my clothes also have leverage against Shimizu-kun. I'll carefully protect this shirt with plastic wrap. If you don't want to be invited for tea by the police, you must keep our secret conversation at the coffee shop today completely confidential."
Akira stood frozen, watching her slowly disappearing back, and only came back to his senses after a long moment. "What kind of threat is that..."
He pulled out the phone from his pocket, the one that had the recording interface constantly lit up. The screen's glow illuminated his twitching mouth. "With the entire thing recorded... isn't she just giving away benefits for free?"
That's right, he'd recorded it.
After all, Ayanokoji had specifically warned him, and besides, he was already somewhat wary of her.
So the recording hadn't stopped since their private conversation began.
'Whose handle did she actually get?'
Kushida quickly transferred the eighty thousand points.
Akira stared at the deposit notification on his phone, raising an eyebrow.
'Where did she manage to gather this money? Did she perhaps borrow it from other students?'
But since the points were in hand, he couldn't be bothered to investigate further.
Regarding the supposed "leverage" she held, the recording was sufficient proof that she'd been the aggressor from start to finish, and he wasn't at fault.
Speaking of which, can fingerprints on clothes really be used as evidence?
Late at night, Akira lay flat on his back in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
'Wait a minute...'
He suddenly frowned, and an inexplicable sense of déjà vu surged into his mind.
'This mode of transaction... hasn't it happened too many times recently?'
Memories flashed like a revolving lantern—Karuizawa's awkward look as she transferred points with a red face, Horikita's sharp gaze as she paid with a cold expression, Sakayanagi's elegant posture as she transferred funds with a playful smile... plus Kushida today.
'This is the fourth one...'
Akira sat up with a sudden spring, laughing out loud in the darkness. "Could it be... that I surprisingly have a talent for business? Is the fifth one about to open for business?"
All sleepiness vanished instantly. He rolled over, grabbed the phone from his bedside, and skillfully switched to the seldom-used secondary account.
The screen displayed a blinding "Read"—the message from Class C's Ryuuen had sunk into the sea like a stone, and he was too stingy to even provide a punctuation mark in reply.
As for Class B's Ichinose, she was even more direct. The chat interface ended with a polite yet firm refusal.
"Uh..." He couldn't help but rub the screen with his thumb, pulling the corner of his mouth in self-mockery.
So the notion that "transactions with beautiful girls are guaranteed success" was just his own wishful thinking.
Inside Ichinose's dorm room in the upper dormitory section.
Ichinose held her phone, her fingertips gently tracing the screen. After much hesitation, she finally sent a message in the class group chat.
{Everyone, please pay special attention to following the school's daily conduct rules recently!}
{Received! Class President, don't worry, I've already emphasized it to everyone!}
{Understood. We will also be careful not to reveal any information to other classes.}
{We will definitely follow what Ichinose-san says!}
{But speaking of which, Class President, how did you get this internal information? Calling everyone for a sudden meeting during lunch break today startled all the Class B students!}
{Ahaha... actually, a second-year Class D upperclassman proactively came to me for a transaction, but it's not convenient to reveal who exactly it was.}
{Understood. This indeed involves privacy issues. Ichinose-san, although everyone contributed ten thousand points this time, please thank that upperclassman properly on our behalf.}
{Mhm, I'll go contact her right away!}
Ichinose let out a soft sigh of relief. Fortunately, she'd added the person's contact information when they met at noon.
She opened her phone's contact list, found the person noted as "Yamamura-senpai," and after a slight hesitation, sent a message.
{Yamamura-senpai, thank you very much this time! If it weren't for your warning, our Class B might have been put on the defensive in the very first month of school...}
{Don't thank me, I was asked by someone else. If anything, thanks to you, I also earned a nice sum of points.}
{Eh? Asked by someone else...? May I ask who requested this of you?}
{Sorry, that's not convenient to reveal, and the other party doesn't want you to know. Besides... it's best if we don't contact each other anymore. I don't want to be targeted by the Vice President.}
{Eh?! Vice Presi—}
{Anyway, let's block each other! Next time we meet, just pretend you don't know me!}
As soon as the message was sent, the person's profile picture quickly turned gray.
Ichinose stared blankly at the screen, her fingertips hovering over the keyboard, unable to react for a moment.
Asked by someone else?
In other words, the person who truly warned Class B... was someone else?