Chapter 196: Tuesday: Karuizawa Kei the Ticket Seller
Shimizu Akira ended up lying on Kushida Kikyo's lap for over twenty minutes. It wasn't until ten minutes before class started that she gently woke him up. To be honest, he was quite surprised. After all, she had explicitly said she would only give him five minutes. It seemed he had gotten the better end of the deal.
As for the two points he had mentioned: First, regarding the explanation for the delay in Sakura Airi's testimony, even if he hadn't said anything, Horikita Manabu would likely have stepped up to explain given his character. Second, mentioning Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B was a breakthrough he had seriously considered.
However, a thought suddenly struck him: if Kushida Kikyo actually went head-to-head with Ichinose Honami, she might not necessarily outshine her. Ichinose was the top scorer in the entrance exam and the class representative adored by all of Class B.
But looking at Kushida, who had scooted back and was rubbing her numb knees with a hint of excitement hidden in her expression, Shimizu decided not to voice these thoughts. After all, it was all speculative. Besides, Ichinose might not intervene personally. With Kushida's social skills, she might bypass Ichinose entirely and go straight to the Class B students who were harassed by Class C.
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After school, Shimizu followed through on his promise and treated Sudo Ken to a tonkatsu dinner. During the meal, when Shimizu suggested letting Horikita Suzune join the hearing, Sudo suddenly looked like a man betrayed by a "manipulative woman," grumbling indignantly: "That Horikita girl isn't worthy of associating with you. You deserve a better girl, someone like Kushida-san..."
Shimizu simply replied, "We aren't dating at all," which finally made Sudo shut his mouth sulkily. Although he eventually agreed to the proposal, he made a request of his own—he wanted Shimizu to help him secure three tickets to the boxing match internally.
"Me, Ayanokoji, and Ike Kanji—all three of us want to go," Sudo explained. "The boxing club hasn't started selling tickets yet; I heard they go on sale tomorrow, Saturday. I'm just afraid we won't be able to grab them in time..."
Shimizu then remembered what President Sato had mentioned—tickets were sold three days in advance. He nodded and agreed. In his memory, ticket sales were usually the responsibility of their manager.
During dinner, he sent a quick message to Horikita Suzune: I've settled it with Sudo Ken. You have a spot; just go to the Student Council on Tuesday for the hearing.
She replied quickly: And the price?
Shimizu: Occasionally I'll crave something specific; I'll order a dish, and you make it for me.
Horikita Suzune: Understood. But notify me a day in advance; I need to prepare ingredients. Also, a maximum of twice a week. My points are not exactly abundant.
Shimizu looked at the message, slightly speechless. Did she think he would intentionally order expensive food just to trouble her?
Shimizu: Don't worry, I just want to eat some interesting recipe. If you don't know how to make it, it's fine; just swap it for other common dishes.
Horikita Suzune: Interesting. I accept this challenge.
Shimizu couldn't help but chuckle at the screen. Horikita often spoke without self-awareness, carrying a certain unintentional "chuunibyou" vibe. Those dead-serious "declarations" of hers actually revealed a hidden talent for comedy. Like the first day of school when she said, "I made the decision not to give up my seat with resolve"—it sounded stiff back then, but in hindsight, it was strangely hilarious.
When the hearing happens next Tuesday, he wondered if she would say something to Class C like, "Let's get this straight, you are the challengers." Just imagining the scene was enough to make him hold back a laugh. If someone compiled a "Horikita Suzune Quote Book," it might become a best-selling comedy book in this school.
He shook his head, pocketed his phone, and stuffed a piece of fried pork into his mouth.
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Time quickly moved to the following Tuesday.
Over the past few days, nothing particularly noteworthy had happened to Shimizu Akira. Today, just as he reached his seat as usual, he received a message from his homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae.
Chabashira Sae: The school has a questionnaire regarding male students' private matters and hopes for your cooperation. Please answer a few questions truthfully.
Chabashira Sae: First question: Do you hope your future girlfriend is a virgin?
"What's going on?" Shimizu frowned, suddenly remembering last week's intel about Chabashira wanting to introduce him to a girlfriend. Was she trying to bait out his requirements for a partner?
He pondered the question. In the real world, this was indeed a difficult thing to realize; he had to admit that. But honestly, if it were just a matter of "hope," what man wouldn't want his
partner's heart and body to belong only to him? It was human nature. Besides, he had transmigrated into a high schooler, and she was only asking about a "hope."
Shimizu replied: I hope so.
Chabashira Sae: Second question: Do you have requirements for your future girlfriend's personality?
Shimizu thought about it seriously. Regarding personality, he didn't have any particular preferences. So far, he hadn't found it stressful to get along with any type of girl.
Shimizu: No special requirements.
Chabashira Sae: Is that so? Thank you for your cooperation. Here is the reward for the survey: 2,000 points. Please check.
Along with the message, a notification for 2,000 points arriving popped up.
(It's over after just two questions?)
Shimizu felt that the teacher was being unusually lenient with him. Wait! Since she asked him these questions, did she send similar surveys to the girls in the class? Like asking, "Have you remained chaste since birth?"
There was no way, right? That question would be far too blunt!
As he was thinking, today's Daily Intelligence refreshed on time:
Yamamura Miki of Class 1-A has been stalking Ryuen Kakeru of Class 1-C and discovered he went to a pharmacy at 12:00 yesterday. Shiranami Chihiro of Class 1-B suspects that her confession was rejected because of the male student Ichinose Honami went out with last Wednesday after school. She plans to ask for his identity during lunch today. Karuizawa Kei of Class 1-D earned a considerable commission from recent ticket sales and just finished paying off last month's debts. However, because she still has to pay her "protection fee," she hopes to ask Shimizu Akira for an extension until tomorrow to pay her personal points.
'Yamamura Miki? Who is that?'
Shimizu blinked; the name was completely foreign to him. Apparently, she was stalking Ryuen Kakeru? Was she sent by one of the leaders of Class 1-A? Speaking of which, the only ones who could be called leaders in Class A were Katsuragi Kohei and Sakayanagi Arisu. Was one of them behind this? But why stalk Ryuen out of the blue?
Then again, Ryuen going to a pharmacy didn't seem strange. Shimizu's own body was extraordinary and he didn't get sick, but others were ordinary. It was normal to stock up on band-aids, iodine, cold medicine, or stomach medicine just in case. For Ryuen, who excelled
at using violence to suppress other classes, keeping medicine for bumps and bruises was only logical.
He moved to the second item.
'Wait, Ichinose Honami went out with a 'stranger' last Wednesday?'
Shimizu realized—wasn't that person him? Wait, so the short-haired girl who was staring at him with hostile eyes from a distance last Wednesday was Shiranami Chihiro? It seemed that after he suggested Ichinose reject her via a letter, Ichinose had actually followed through. But Shiranami suspected it was his fault?
In reality, it wasn't. Ichinose had intended to reject her anyway; he had just suggested a gentler method. But from Shiranami's perspective, the suspicion was logical. To her, Ichinose went out with him and immediately rejected her afterward. It was a massive misunderstanding. However, since Shiranami planned to ask Ichinose directly, Ichinose's high emotional intelligence would surely clear things up. He was always confident in Ichinose's handling of things.
Speaking of Ichinose, he had to mention something crucial for Class D—two days ago, through Kushida Kikyo's negotiation, Class 1-B decided to join forces with Class D. Several Class B students who were harassed by Class C last month would attend the Student Council hearing as witnesses after school today.
This was exactly as Shimizu had predicted. This matter was beneficial to Class B as well; although the boxing club had intervened last month, they had ultimately been played by Class C. Given the chance to reclaim justice and strike back, Class B had no reason to refuse.
The last item was about Karuizawa Kei.
Actually, the boxing match was a good thing for her too. Besides the boxers gaining improvements, she, as a manager, had to handle various logistics—determining seating, scheduling entry times, guiding students, and of course, selling tickets. And ticket sales came with a commission. According to President Sato, the manager's commission was even higher than the boxers'. After all, boxers only need to focus on the fight, while managers have much more to consider. A higher commission was a special perk for the managers.
In the second month, Karuizawa had indeed accumulated a lot of debt—to her friends Sato Maya, Matsushita Chiaki, Mori Nene, and other girls like Kushida and Shinohara. It seemed she had paid them all back. But seeing the last sentence, he realized the price of paying those debts was that she couldn't pay him his "protection fee" for the moment.
80,000 points. It was a new month, after all. To be honest, he had hardly raised a hand over the last few months; the only time he had been about to, Matsushita Chiaki had settled it easily. He felt a bit conflicted. But a "protection fee" was like insurance. Perhaps for Karuizawa Kei, this money was the guarantee that allowed her to sleep peacefully every night.
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Karuizawa Kei had just walked out of the cafeteria when a girl approached her. "You're Karuizawa-san from the boxing club, right? Do you still have tickets for the match?"
"Yes, yes," Karuizawa giggled. "Why, do you want to go? A basic seat is 3,000 points. I still have some left."
"Basic seat? What if I want to be closer to the ring? How many points?"
"That would be a VIP seat. Those start at 10,000 points. And some of those spots are limited; you can't pick specific seats."
"Huh?! That expensive?! And I can't even pick the seat?! Forget it, forget it! Only girls who are obsessed with muscles would spend tens of thousands of points on a seat like that!" The girl from the other class looked shocked and turned away.
"Another one gone! VIP tickets really are hard to sell..." Karuizawa muttered to herself as she watched her leave.
Selling tickets wasn't particularly exhausting. A few days ago, President Sato had them print flyers with the contact info and photos of the three managers. There were three managers in the boxing club, each from a different grade, so Sato divided the sales territory by grade. Karuizawa was a first-year, so she handled the first-years.
The flyers specifically stated, "First-years please contact Karuizawa Kei of Class D," so she only had to do legwork on the first day to post flyers on the bulletin boards. After that, she just waited for people to contact her. Over the past few days, because of the high price, she hadn't sold many VIP seats. However, basic seats were very popular. She had already sold nearly thirty spots, with buyers from all four classes, though in varying quantities.
Karuizawa calculated that currently, Class 1-A had the most buyers, while Class D had the fewest. Although their own classmate Shimizu Akira was fighting, most of Class D had almost no points left—nearly all their points from the first two months had been handed over to that "camera rental" guy.
In contrast, Class A was different. Their class points were abundant, and 3,000 points were just pocket change to them. There was even a bald boy who claimed to be from Class A who specifically bought two VIP tickets; she couldn't fathom what he was thinking.
Thinking about it, so far, including that bald guy, only two people had contacted her to buy a total of three VIP tickets. The other was her classmate, Koenji Rokusuke. This guy had proactively approached her at noon on the very first day tickets were available, asking to buy a VIP seat.
Karuizawa had initially thought that, as a Class D student, he wouldn't have many personal points. But he just laughed loudly and explained: "It's all thanks to Shimizu-boy!"
She had no idea what he was talking about, but regardless, he had actually paid her 20,000 personal points.
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