Chapter 197: Huh? Why are these four women all buying VIP tickets!
The cost for a VIP seat was 20,000 points.
When she heard the price, Karuizawa Kei suspected she had misheard—the price was vastly higher than a basic seat. One VIP ticket was worth six or seven regular ones; no matter how you looked at it, the markup was ridiculous.
To her surprise, President Sato smiled and told her that people would definitely buy them, because the VIP seats came with special services. She then remembered that VIP seats weren't just the closest to the ring; apparently, you could shake hands, talk, and take photos with the winning boxer. To put it bluntly, it had a very "idol fandom" vibe to it.
But several days had passed, and she had only sold three VIP tickets. In contrast, the other two managers from the second and third years had reportedly sold out their VIP seats long ago.
She secretly poked around for information, and the two upperclassmen told her that even the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, and the Vice President, Nagumo Miyabi, had specifically bought VIP tickets.
Karuizawa didn't pay much attention to the Student Council, but she had heard the names Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi. The former had given a speech at the entrance ceremony, and upperclassmen and teachers alike praised him as the most outstanding Student Council President since the school's founding. As for the latter, the second-year manager turned serious when mentioning him, warning her never to offend him lightly. She said Nagumo liked to have "deep interactions" with girls and told her to seek help from the Boxing Club President immediately if she ever ran into trouble with him.
In short, both individuals sounded like they had backgrounds more terrifying than the last; they weren't people a freshman like her could afford to provoke. She truly couldn't understand why people with such powerful backgrounds would want to watch an exhibition match. Did men just have a natural preference for this kind of "fist-to-flesh" competition?
Then again, if she really ran into trouble, the first person she would ask for help would definitely be Shimizu Akira—after all, he was the person she "hired" with her personal points.
'Wait! I haven't given him this month's "protection fee" yet!'
Karuizawa suddenly remembered this and grumbled to herself.
'Whatever, I'll just tell him and pay tomorrow.'
After all, Sudo Ken's fight incident was being handled after school tonight. Perhaps they would receive this month's personal points first thing tomorrow morning.
(I just need to get through today.)
(But come to think of it, Shimizu Akira hasn't really helped me much these past few months.)
Thinking carefully, ever since she asked him to protect her, she hadn't encountered any trouble. The only thing that qualified was that argument with Hasebe Haruka's group, but she later heard that her best friend, Matsushita Chiaki, had handled the whole thing.
In other words, strictly speaking, Shimizu Akira hadn't actually had to lift a finger for her once. The fact that nothing happened was a good thing for her, naturally. But, she couldn't help but feel a bit slighted. She felt like she was losing out.
"Doesn't this mean I'm just offering up tribute to Shimizu Akira for nothing!" she muttered under her breath.
But even so, after a moment's thought, she still decided she would transfer the "protection fee" to him tomorrow. Because even after going through last month's apology and self-reflection, she still felt like a parasite; if she couldn't rely on someone, she wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly at night.
The Boxing Club would protect her too, but that protection always had the boundaries of rules—helping her was a favor, not helping was their right. it was more like care based on kindness and friendship. While she trusted the senpais in the club, she couldn't stop worrying about what would happen if they ran into an emergency and couldn't make it in time.
But Shimizu's protection was fundamentally different. She remembered he had explicitly promised her that if she suffered unfair treatment, he would definitely stand up for her and protect her. That promise held a certain certainty: even if he was in the middle of something else, if she called, he would drop everything and come to help.
Thinking this way, she felt like she wasn't losing out after all. She instinctively opened her phone to check her balance.
Actually, joining the Boxing Club had its perks. A while ago, President Sato gave all the managers 30,000 personal points—after all, with a match coming up, the managers had to run around doing all the work. Plus, selling tickets gave her a commission. She now had over 20,000 points, and that was what remained after paying off all her debts. Subtracting those 30,000 base points, she had earned over 20,000 just from ticket sales.
However, the real money was in the VIP tickets. For every one she sold, she got a commission of several thousand points.
"Karuizawa-san, I want to buy a ticket."
As she was walking, an inquiry came abruptly from behind her. She turned around to see her classmate, Horikita Suzune. The other girl still wore her cold expression, her beautiful face showing no emotion. She had her arms crossed over her chest and repeated her request in a flat tone.
She and Horikita Suzune had almost no interaction; they hadn't even spoken more than a few words since the start of school. After all, Horikita was cold by nature and didn't talk much, and Karuizawa couldn't find any topics to chat with her about.
Karuizawa blinked and instinctively fished a stack of tickets from her pocket. "Ah... a ticket? Do you want a basic seat or a VIP seat? Basic is 3,000 personal points, VIP is 20,000. No discounts!"
A flash of surprise suddenly crossed Horikita Suzune's face. Karuizawa naturally understood the reason—she must think the VIP seat is too expensive. So, she pulled out a basic ticket and was about to say: "Maybe you should just get the basic one..."
But Horikita Suzune's gaze swept over the VIP ticket with its golden patterns, and she uttered six words: "I'll buy the VIP seat."
Karuizawa almost dropped the basic ticket. She blinked, wondering if she had heard correctly—Horikita Suzune actually chose the VIP seat? Why?! Are people actually buying 20,000-point seats?!
"Are... are you sure, Horikita-san?" she couldn't help but re-confirm. "A VIP seat is 20,000 points. Do you really have that many points?!"
Horikita Suzune didn't look at her. Her eyes were fixed on the gold-stamped VIP ticket, and her tone was as flat as if she were talking about something incredibly ordinary.
"I do. Shimizu Akira gave them to me."
Karuizawa froze. She quickly stuffed the basic ticket back in her pocket and handed over a VIP ticket instead. As her fingertips touched the raised patterns on the ticket, she suddenly thought of the girl from the other class who had been making a fuss earlier. Looking at the Horikita Suzune in front of her, she only felt that the gap between people was truly vast. That other girl had said only those obsessed with muscles would buy such a ticket.
Horikita Suzune didn't look like the kind of girl who would be obsessed with a boy's muscles!
Horikita took the ticket, efficiently transferred 20,000 points to her, and didn't ask a single question about what "special services" the VIP seat offered, nor did she complain about the price. It was as if it wasn't 20,000 points, but just a tissue being handed over. She put the ticket away and turned to leave immediately.
"Huh?! Wait, is this person this rich?!" she couldn't help but mutter again.
After all, they were all in Class D, and their points were delayed. Logically, everyone should be short on points. She had saved up over 20,000 by selling tickets one by one, yet the other girl didn't even blink when handing over 20,000 points.
'Wait! She said the points were given to her by Shimizu Akira?!
I remember, although Horikita Suzune is cold like a robot, she's never told a lie!'
At this thought, Karuizawa's expression turned sour. She gave Shimizu Akira 80,000 points a month as a protection fee, and what happened? He just easily transferred points to another girl! It wasn't that she liked Shimizu, it was purely the feeling that her points were being
squandered by him. Like finding out your "sugar baby" was using your money to please another girl—the thought was infuriating!
However, she could only think this in her heart. She didn't dare actually show any attitude or get angry at Shimizu Akira. After observing him for a few months, she knew clearly that while Shimizu didn't mind her overly familiar small gestures, this kind of behavior—trying to dictate what he did with his account—was clearly crossing a line.
So, she didn't dare erupt at all.
"Hmph~ but there's one thing I can do!" A good idea suddenly popped up, and a sly smile bloomed on her face.
A few days ago, Shimizu had sent her a private message asking her to save three basic tickets. She'd use that as an excuse to make him treat her. Although a thought crossed her mind—is this going too far?—she quickly followed it with: Those were my personal points! Instead of letting Shimizu spend points on Horikita Suzune, it would be much more cost-effective if she and Shimizu spent the money together!
The more Karuizawa thought about it, the more brilliant she felt the idea was. She sent a message to Shimizu.
Karuizawa Kei: I've saved the three basic tickets you wanted, but there's a condition~
Before long, he replied with a simple: ?
She giggled at the screen.
Karuizawa Kei: If you want the tickets, after the Student Council hearing tonight, treat me to something at the convenience store! I want to eat lots and lots of snacks! You have to give me at least ten bags! No! Twenty bags! In short! Prepare to lose some blood (financially).
As she finished, she realized—how many points could twenty bags of snacks actually cost? But every bag counted! Actually, Karuizawa didn't truly need a meal of snacks; she just wanted an excuse to "consume" the points in Shimizu's hands on herself. The thought of him spending points on her instead of giving them to Horikita Suzune made her feel inexplicably comfortable.
She calculated it. The protection fee spent on Shimizu Akira was already 80,000 points. She paid for the first month, didn't pay for the second month because of the "phone replacement" incident, and hadn't paid for the third month yet. Looking at it this way, she had to make him spend 40,000 points on her to feel slightly balanced.
The "Sunk Cost Fallacy" her best friend Matsushita Chiaki had mentioned flashed through her mind, but she felt this was probably different from her current situation.
Just then, as she stepped into the stairwell, a polite greeting came from behind her: "Hello... excuse me... are you Karuizawa-san? Um... can I... buy a ticket for the boxing club's exhibition match from you?"
The voice was exceptionally pleasant; even as a girl herself, she couldn't help but admire it. Turning around, she saw a girl with silver hair standing there. She looked intellectual and cute, but her eyes held a bit of unease, making her seem quite reserved.
Karuizawa thought for a moment and repeated: "...Do you want a basic seat or a VIP seat? Basic is 3,000 points, VIP is 20,000. No discounts, student!"
An awkward look crossed the silver-haired girl's face as she asked softly: "Um! I saw it on the flyer... it seems the VIP seat has many perks, like being able to shake hands with the winner... is that true?"
Karuizawa nodded.
"Yes, of course it's true. That's one of the inherent benefits of the VIP seat. You can even take a photo as a souvenir."
"Then please give me... one VIP ticket!" the silver-haired girl said immediately.
Karuizawa raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected this silver-haired girl to be so decisive. She pulled out a gold-stamped VIP ticket.
"Here you go. 20,000 points."
The silver-haired girl quickly completed the payment with her phone. As she took the ticket, her fingertips gently rubbed the texture of the ticket, her eyes sparkling like starlight. She whispered a "thank you" and immediately walked away.
Looking at her, Karuizawa recalled President Sato's "fandom" description and chuckled—it seemed this one was also here for the boxers. Wait! There were only two boxers; which one was she here for...
She didn't have time to think about it before a brisk, clear voice sounded in front of her.
"Karuizawa, could I trouble you for a VIP ticket?" Ichinose Honami of Class 1-B naturally walked up to her and stated her request clearly.
Karuizawa froze, instinctively confirming: "It's 20,000 personal points, are you really okay with that?"
"Yes, no problem," Ichinose Honami nodded with a smile.
"Since we're already friends, I just transferred the 20,000 points to you."
Karuizawa looked down at her phone; the message notification indeed showed 20,000 points received. She pulled a VIP ticket from her stack and handed it to Ichinose, asking with a bit of confusion: "Eh? Ichinose, why do you want to go see those boys fight? Is it interesting?!"
Since the other girl was a famous beauty in the first year and Karuizawa had chatted with her a few times and exchanged contact info, she asked her doubt directly.
Ichinose Honami took the ticket with a bright smile and said certainly, "It's very interesting!"
"Interesting?" Karuizawa tilted her head, unable to reconcile "fighting" and "interesting." "Isn't it just two people swinging fists at each other? I think it's just noisy when they train."
Ichinose Honami carefully put the ticket in her pocket and said softly: "But don't you think? That image of giving it your all is actually very infectious."
Having said that, she waved with a smile and walked away.
Karuizawa moved forward a few steps and inadvertently caught sight of a familiar figure standing at the corner of the first floor—also with silver hair, a petite frame, wearing a beret, and holding a cane. The other girl was slightly curling her lips at her, showing a faint smile.
"Karuizawa-san, that's right? I've been waiting for you for a long time."
She naturally recognized the other girl. Her name was Sakayanagi Arisu. In the second month, she had come to their class to share the past midterm exams.
'That makes four girls already!
So... she couldn't also be here to buy a VIP ticket, could she?'
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting