Chapter 020 Kikyo Wants to Go to the Love Hotel Too / The Teasing Shiina-san
2 million private points. That was no small sum.
While it might not have seemed like much to Shimizu Akira, for an ordinary student, this amount was a fortune. Calculated by the standard of 80,000 points per month, from admission last April to this June, it had been exactly 14 months. Even if one didn't eat or drink, they could only save about 1.1 million points at most.
Furthermore, most students couldn't even reach the 800-point class point mark and had to pay class fees. Although Kikyo, Haruka, and Airi didn't have to pay class fees, all three were beauty-loving girls who never hesitated when buying clothes or jewelry; their savings only amounted to about 200,000 to 300,000 private points.
None of them expected that as soon as their boyfriend spoke, he would hand out 2 million to each of them.
The three were stunned for a few seconds before Haruka was the first to react.
"Wait, wait, wait!" She reached out and pressed Akira's shoulder. "Akira-kun, are you serious? 2 million?"
"Yeah." Akira nodded. "What's wrong?"
"What do you mean 'what's wrong'?" Haruka's eyes widened. "This is 2 million! Not 20,000! Aren't you afraid we'll just take the money and run?"
Akira tapped her forehead with his finger.
"Where exactly could you run to?"
Haruka choked. It seemed they really couldn't run away.
Kikyo rested her chin in her hand thoughtfully: "But Akira-kun, giving us 2 million each makes 14 million in total. Are you sure you want to give out that much at once?"
"I'm sure," Akira answered curtly.
"Now is probably the best time."
"But..." Sakura Airi spoke in a small voice, "we might not necessarily be expelled!"
"What if?" Akira looked at her. "The exam rules are right there; there's no telling what might happen. I have protection points, but you don't. Giving you this security makes me feel more at ease."
Kikyo stared at him for a few seconds.
"Akira-kun, do you know it's very easy to spoil girls like this?"
"Spoil?" Akira immediately shook his head. "I don't think so. You all agreed to let me have a harem. Isn't it my basic responsibility as a boyfriend to ensure your safety?"
Compared to what they had given him, he really didn't feel he had done anything extraordinary.
Haruka burst out laughing. "Akira-kun is so nice!"
With that, she leaned in and boldly hugged his arm. Kikyo, not to be outdone, leaned in from the other side.
"Then I have to express my gratitude as well."
Sakura Airi stood where she was, watching the two of them sandwich Akira in the middle, her face turning red again.
She hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Then I also..."
Before she could finish, Haruka reached out and pulled her over too.
"Come, come, come, all together."
And so, Akira was surrounded by his three girlfriends, unable to move.
He suddenly remembered something.
"Speaking of which, has your group decided who will team up with me?"
"What's the rush?" Kikyo pinched his cheek. "It's still being discussed; the result will be out soon."
"But don't worry, Akira-kun." Haruka also reached out to pinch his other cheek.
"No matter who it is, for those 14 days on the uninhabited island, they will stay with you. We absolutely won't let you feel lonely."
Hearing this, Akira suddenly didn't know what to say.
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After school, Horikita Suzune packed her textbooks and turned to say to Akira, "Before he left, my brother transferred 2 million private points to me. You don't need to worry about my safety. I won't take that 2 million from you."
"Alright, I got it." Akira nodded.
Suzune was quite honest; if she hadn't said anything, wouldn't he have been out an extra 2 million for no reason?
He casually opened his chat history to check the replies from the others. Kikyo, Haruka, Airi, and Kei had all accepted directly. But besides Kikyo, both Masumi and Honami had declined.
Honami: Akira-kun doesn't need to give me points! Don't forget our class has an 'Increase Member' card. We can form a team of four right from the start, and I'll be joining that team, so we definitely won't be in last place.
Masumi was even more direct, sending over a screenshot of her balance. Akira opened it and was stunned.
1.15 million.
That much?!
Akira: What's the deal? When did you save up so much?!
Kamuro Masumi: Idiot, didn't I tell you? That Sakayanagi woman asks me for help from time to time; most of this is the labor fee she gave me. Also, I have a 'Halve Cost' card in my hand, so you don't need to worry about my safety.
Looking at this message, Akira finally breathed a sigh of relief. Counting it up, the risk issues for his seven girlfriends were basically all resolved.
A few minutes later, Ike Kanji and Sudo Ken walked over, looking for Akira and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
"Sorry, guys!" Ike Kanji looked apologetic as soon as he arrived. "I have Satsuki as my girlfriend now, so I can't team up with you this time."
"It's fine." Akira nodded understandingly. "Actually, I can't team up with you guys either."
After all, he was someone who had to accompany his own girlfriends.
"I can team up with you though, Ayanokouji!" Sudo Ken slapped Ayanokouji's shoulder loyally. "I don't care about that 'Trial' card of yours, and Hirata doesn't seem to care either. We three men can team up! We definitely won't lose to any team except Akira's!"
"No thanks." Ayanokouji shook his head. "Like I said before, it's not too late to wait and see. It's more convenient for me to be alone."
Sudo wanted to say more, but seeing Ayanokouji's firm attitude, he had to give up. Ike Kanji scratched his head. "But Ayanokouji, if you really run into trouble, don't try to tough it out alone. There are so many people in class who can lend a hand at any time. Didn't you want to buy cards? I can introduce you to people I know from other classes."
"That works," Ayanokouji replied.
He was actually worried about having no one to introduce him to buy cards.
While the three were talking, Akira's phone vibrated a few times. He looked down; it was a message from Kikyo.
Kikyo: The discussion reached a result!
Kikyo: It's 'that girl' and your little manager.
Akira stared at the message, slightly stunned. Suzune and Kei? Those two were a pair that didn't seem related at all.
Kikyo: What, not satisfied? Actually, I'm not too happy it's Horikita either.
Kikyo: But among your seven girlfriends, you've made the slowest progress with Kamuro Masumi, Karuizawa Kei, and Horikita Suzune. The former said she was hired by Sakayanagi for this special exam, so this counts as an opportunity for you two.
Kikyo: Good luck!
Kikyo: By the way! This matter was orchestrated single-handedly by that Ichinose woman.
Kikyo: Tch, what an irritating woman. Ever since she went to the love hotel, she's been acting like the main wife.
After reading, Akira couldn't help but smile.
Honami had indeed come up with a good idea. He did want to continue deepening his relationships with Suzune and Kei.
However, judging by Kikyo's tone, she was completely overcome with jealousy. He thought for a moment and began typing.
Akira: How about you come to my dorm tonight...
Before he could finish, another message from Kikyo popped up.
Kikyo: Who wants to go to your dorm? That's too old-fashioned! Since that woman has been to a love hotel, I want to go to one with you too!
Wait, what? You want to go too? Akira wondered what that lady at the front desk would think if she saw him with a different companion this time.
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Akira had just walked out of the school building when he was intercepted by three people before he could even look at his phone.
Ishizaki Daichi stood at the front, with Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio standing to his left and right.
"Yo, Shimizu." Ishizaki cleared his throat. "Got a minute? Let's chat."
Akira glanced at the positioning of the three, then thought of the intelligence from this morning, and had a general idea of what was going on. "I'm free. Speak up, Ishizaki."
Ishizaki went straight to the point. "For this exam, Class C needs reliable combat power. You're strong and smart; we're willing to offer terms. Item cards, private points—as long as you're willing to join our team, everything is negotiable."
The man was a straight shooter, heading directly for the goal. Akira didn't beat around the bush either and simply replied, "Sorry, I've already decided on my teammates."
"Huh?!" Ishizaki was stunned. "So fast? It's only the second day!"
"Tch..." Ibuki Mio's expression didn't look great either. She hadn't even found a teammate herself, yet this guy had already settled everything.
'Is this what a popular man is like?'
"Wait!" A lightbulb suddenly went off in Ishizaki's head. "Then after the exam starts, can't our two classes' small groups just merge? I remember a large group can have up to six people."
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
"If you're there, Akira, plus Hiyori's brains and Big Brother Ryuen's methods, our two classes joining forces—wouldn't we be invincible? Taking first place would be easy! Then we split the class points equally between the two classes. How great is that?!" Having finished, he laughed heartily.
Akira's lip twitched. The man had a vivid imagination.
"So, you mean Ryuen sent you to ask for cooperation?" he asked. Ryuen proactively seeking cooperation? That was a novelty.
"Well..." Ishizaki suddenly stalled.
Akira understood immediately. This guy had likely come here on a whim, and Ryuen Kakeru probably knew nothing about it.
Ibuki Mio let out a cold snort. "Hey, Ishizaki. That guy Ryuen has always been at odds with Shimizu; how could he cooperate? If there's a team, it should be me, Shiina, and him. Since this guy refused, let's just forget it."
"Who says it's impossible for those two?" Ishizaki argued defiantly. "Didn't they cooperate pretty well during the Forest Training Camp? It was practically flawless. Our class even got over 10 million private points!"
To be honest, it was because of that incident that he had the idea to recruit Akira.
"Cough... anyway!" Ishizaki slapped his head.
"I'll go talk to Ryuen about this too. I'll probably get beaten up again. But you just wait for my good news!" With that, he dashed off like a whirlwind, leaving Ibuki and Hiyori behind.
Watching Ishizaki's retreating back, the veins on Ibuki's forehead throbbed. "That idiot...!" She then turned to Akira.
"Ignore him. That guy does whatever he wants when his head gets hot. Ryuen will skin him alive if he finds out. By the way! Who are your teammates? Cough! If you don't want to say, then forget it."
Akira didn't mind. "It's Suzune and Kei."
Shiina Hiyori grew thoughtful.
"Actually, Ishizaki was right about one thing. During the Forest Training, you and Ryuen-kun did cooperate quite well."
"That was just each of us getting what we needed," Akira waved his hand quickly. "It was all to deal with Nagumo Miyabi."
"Still, I didn't expect you to be so proactive, Ibuki." Akira gave her a surprised look.
"What do you mean by that?" Ibuki Mio's brow furrowed, feeling looked down upon.
"I thought you would be like usual—doing nothing and passively waiting for someone else to team up with you. It seems you've changed quite a bit."
"Hmph, you talk too much." Ibuki turned her face away. "Since that Horikita woman is in your team, don't blame me for being ruthless when the time comes."
'This guy understands her quite well.'
To be honest, if it weren't for Shiina, she wouldn't have come here proactively. But then again, she and Horikita Suzune were old rivals anyway. This time, she had to win fair and square.
"Alright, I'm leaving." With that, she glanced at Shiina Hiyori as if deliberately leaving space for the two to be alone, waved her hand, and walked away.
Ibuki Mio's figure soon vanished around the corner.
Only Akira and Shiina Hiyori remained.
Hiyori reached up to tuck her hair. "Actually, my purpose in coming here was indeed to team up with you. But, as expected, it was too naive, wasn't it? Since you have seven girlfriends, there's no way it would fall to Ibuki and me."
Akira didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Well, about that, sorry."
Hiyori shook her head. "No, there's no need for Shimizu-kun to apologize. It's only human nature."
Then she proactively changed the subject. "By the way, do you remember what you promised me last year?"
"What?" Akira was blank. They had agreed to go see the saplings together periodically this year. But what did he promise last year?
He instinctively looked at Hiyori, hoping for a hint, only to see her face suddenly stiffen.
Uh oh. Akira quickly searched his mind at high speed. The things he had promised Hiyori were few and far between. Today wasn't Wednesday, so they didn't need to discuss mystery novels. That left only...
"Do you mean the thing about drinking tea?" he asked tentatively.
"Correct!" A smile instantly bloomed on Hiyori's face.
Akira breathed a sigh of relief. Last year, because of the matter with Kikyo, he had asked Hiyori to temporarily keep a secret, and he had indeed promised to go drink tea she brewed.
Luckily, his memory was decent; otherwise, he might not have remembered.
"Let's go." Hiyori had already turned around, her tone returning to its usual softness. "To my dorm. I've already prepared the tea." With that, she stepped out in front.
"Alright!" Akira followed behind her.
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Entering Hiyori's room, the first thing Akira noticed was that there were more books. He remembered the last time he came, there were only two tall rows of books on the desk. This time, she had added a small bookshelf against the east wall.
Mystery novels, literary classics... it was packed full. There were at least dozens of books.
On the small round table by the window, an exquisite tea set was already laid out, waiting for the guest.
"Have a seat." Hiyori took off her coat and hung it up, moving naturally to the table to begin pouring tea. "Don't be too formal; it's not your first time here anyway."
"Okay." Akira sat in a chair.
Soon, Hiyori brought two cups of tea over, sat opposite him, and pushed one toward him. "Try it. This is jasmine tea."
Akira picked up the cup and took a small sip. The tea was warm and carried a light floral fragrance; it was indeed very good.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah, not bad. As expected of someone from the Tea Ceremony Club."
Hiyori's eyes crinkled with satisfaction, and she took small sips from her own cup. After a few sips, she tossed out a topic as if making small talk.
"Speaking of which, Ichinose-san has been coming to see me often lately, chatting about you whether intentionally or not."
"About what?" Akira knew Honami and Hiyori had contact, but Honami hadn't specified what they talked about. He was suddenly curious.
"Well, just some of her views on you having a harem," Hiyori said slowly. "While she personally doesn't object to you having multiple girlfriends, she does feel lonely occasionally. She even asked what my opinion was."
"Is that so?" Akira was slightly stunned. He recalled that the purpose of Honami's small talk with Hiyori was to draw the two of them closer together.
Not going to lie, those words were half-true.
For a moment, Akira really thought Honami was lonely, but on second thought, those words both revealed his relationship history and subtly tested the other person's thoughts. Honami certainly had a way.
He instinctively looked at Hiyori, waiting for her to continue the topic. Unexpectedly, the literary girl glanced at their teacups. "Hmm? It seems the tea is gone. I'll go brew a new pot."
'Wait, wait, is this really the time to just drink tea?'
Akira suppressed the urge to call her back and watched her get up and walk into the kitchen.
Whether it was psychological or not, the brewing time seemed exceptionally long this time. After about seven or eight minutes, Hiyori walked back carrying the teapot.
"This time it's lemon green grape juice. The base is green tea, with two ice cubes and 50% sugar. Shimizu-kun, please try it." She pushed the glass over.
Akira took the glass; the sides were cold and covered in fine beads of condensation. He looked down; the light green tea was crystal clear, with a few mint leaves floating on the surface and lemon slices settled at the bottom. It certainly looked much more refreshing than the jasmine tea from before.
He took a sip. The sweetness and acidity were balanced, the tea aroma was crisp, and it had a perfect level of coolness.
"How is it?" Hiyori sat back down, holding her own glass with both hands.
"Very delicious." Akira took another sip. "This is more suitable for summer than the previous cup."
"That's good." Hiyori's eyes curved, and she took a sip herself.
"Actually, this is a recipe I came up with myself. I experimented several times to get this ratio." She added another sentence: "Ichinose-san has had it too."
Akira put down the glass and looked up.
"When she came to talk to me last time, this is what I brewed for her." Hiyori looked at the liquid in her cup.
"She said it was delicious and even asked if I could teach her how to make it."
"And then?"
"Then I said I could, but the recipe is a secret. If she wanted to learn, she had to trade something for it. She asked me what I wanted."
Akira had a vague, ominous premonition.
"I said I wanted to know more about Shimizu-kun."
"..."
"And then she told me a lot." Hiyori sipped her tea with a smile. "Like what time you wake up every morning, what breakfast you like, what time you get up..."
Akira watched her in silence.
"Also," Hiyori continued, "what you said when you first confessed to her, what her reaction was, where you went on your first date, what the first gift you gave her was..."
"Wait." Akira finally couldn't help but interrupt.
"She told you all of that?"
"Yes." Hiyori nodded. "She said since I wanted to understand you, she would tell me everything without reservation. The thing Ichinose-san is worst at is probably lying."
'Wait, why did Hiyori proactively ask about his affairs? Could it be...'
He took a deep breath, suppressing the bold guess in his heart.
'Don't rush, let's hear what she says first.'
"But don't worry." Hiyori suddenly spoke seriously. "I haven't told anyone. These are my secrets." When she said this, her eyes were clear and sincere, a completely different person from the slightly mischievous literary girl of a moment ago.
Looking at her, Akira suddenly felt he couldn't quite see through this girl.
"Why did you want to know these things?" he asked directly.
Hiyori was silent for a few seconds, then looked down at her glass. "Because... I'm writing a novel."
"A novel?"
"Yes. One of the protagonists is a boy with many girlfriends. I don't really know how to write that kind of boy, so I wanted to find a reference."
Akira: "..."
"His role is that of an assistant," Hiyori laughed. "Sometimes the female lead needs to rely on his charm to investigate cases."
Akira felt this classmate's words again had hidden meaning.
As expected of a writer! She already knew how to plant foreshadowing in advance.
"Alright, I won't keep talking to you. You're a busy man with seven girlfriends, after all." Hiyori put down her glass and stood up. "Since the tea is finished, you may leave."
She walked to the door, opened it, and looked back at him. Akira stood up and walked toward the door. As he reached her side, he suddenly stopped.
"So, continuing the topic from the first cup of tea—what exactly is your opinion?"
Hiyori was stunned for several seconds. Then, she smiled slightly. "If you can maintain an equal distribution of time without favoring one over another and treat all girlfriends equally... I think Ichinose-san could try being a bit more proactive. After all, Shimizu-kun is quite soft-hearted."
Akira was momentarily stunned.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if this sentence was a suggestion conveyed by Hiyori on behalf of Ichinose, or some kind of test she herself was making regarding dating him.
'Shiina-san really is quite mischievous.'
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