"Don't tell anyone about what happened today."
Hayasaka Ai fell silent for two seconds before asking hesitantly:
"Not even Kashiwagi Nagisa?"
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed out the page in the register and smoothed a strand of hair from her forehead, acting as though nothing had happened:
"There's no need for her to know."
Hayasaka Ai nodded without hesitation:
"Don't worry, Lady Kaguya. I won't tell anyone."
Hayasaka Ai silently mourned Kashiwagi Nagisa for a few seconds.
It's not that I won't help you. Lady Kaguya won't let me.
For the past week, Kashiwagi Nagisa had stood watch at the school gate every day, just to find Kira Yoshikage. What she hadn't expected was that Kira Yoshikage had been climbing over the wall all along, never passing through the school gate.
After several days without results, even Hayasaka Ai had begun to suspect that he might not be a student at Shuchiin Academy at all, and that the only reason he had been able to save Lady Kaguya and the others was because he had happened to pass by.
But Hayasaka Ai put herself in his shoes—
If she were the person who had saved Lady Kaguya and discovered that Kashiwagi Nagisa was blocking the school gate every day, she certainly wouldn't pass through the gate either. But she couldn't take leave, since doing so would very likely draw special attention.
That left only one option: climbing over the wall.
And the reason she had been able to think of that was because Hayasaka Ai had plenty of experience.
She was often stopped by a Disciplinary Committee Member because of what she wore. Over time, she had gotten used to climbing over the wall to attend school.
Nor was it a mere coincidence that she had managed to lie in wait for Kira Yoshikage beside the wall—
Shuchiin Academy was huge, and its walls were long as well.
But climbing over the wall required making sure no one saw you, so there had to be few pedestrians outside the wall.
At the same time, climbing over the wall went both ways. There had to be few pedestrians outside, as well as few students and teachers inside, which meant keeping away from the school buildings. There was only one section of wall that met both conditions: few pedestrians and a location far from the school buildings!
It was only through her meticulous reasoning and extensive practical experience that Hayasaka Ai had successfully caught Kira Yoshikage.
By comparison, Kashiwagi Nagisa might never discover this...
As Hayasaka Ai was mourning Kashiwagi Nagisa, Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly hesitated:
"Hayasaka, if I want to approach him without anyone else finding out, what should I do?"
Hayasaka Ai immediately understood. The Shinomiya Family, the Kashiwagi Family, and even Koyasu-senpai were probably looking for Kira Yoshikage now. When Kira Yoshikage realized that Kashiwagi Nagisa might be searching for him, he had even chosen to climb over the wall to attend school. This meant he didn't want to attract too much attention.
Lady Kaguya had certainly noticed this as well. In addition, she had never wanted anyone else to find Kira Yoshikage, which was why she had asked such a question...
Hayasaka Ai thought for a moment before asking:
"Lady Kaguya, didn't the young master transfer all of the Ministop shares into your name last week?"
Shinomiya Kaguya nodded, somewhat puzzled:
"It's just a small company with an annual revenue of fifty billion yen. Is there a problem?"
"That's no small convenience store..."
Hayasaka Ai muttered inwardly.
As a famous convenience-store chain, Ministop, 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson were known as Japan's four major convenience stores. Although Ministop had the smallest market share among the four, it still had more than 1,500 stores nationwide and annual revenue exceeding forty billion yen!
Of course, compared with the Shinomiya Conglomerate's total assets of two hundred trillion yen, Ministop really could only be considered a small company...
However, unlike the franchise-based operating models of the other three chains, most Ministop branches were directly operated. In other words, as Ministop's largest shareholder, Lady Kaguya could directly control personnel appointments at every branch.
Hayasaka Ai muttered inwardly for a few moments, but soon came back to herself. Facing Shinomiya Kaguya's puzzled gaze, she explained:
"Kira Yoshikage's records indicate that he seems to have a part-time job. You're now Ministop's largest shareholder, Lady Kaguya. You can work directly with the school under the name of the Work-Study Program and supporting Mixed Academy students, hiring some of them to work part-time and easing the pressure of attending school. After all, tuition of 1.5 million yen isn't something an ordinary family can afford."
Shinomiya Kaguya hesitated before asking softly:
"Is 1.5 million yen a lot? I remember your salary is supposed to be 500,000 yen, Hayasaka?"
"..."
Hayasaka Ai fell silent for several seconds. For Lady Kaguya, who had grown up in the Shinomiya Family, was an ordinary person's life really that difficult to understand? After all, even a maid like her earned 500,000 yen a month while working for Lady Kaguya—and that was only her base salary...
Hayasaka Ai explained helplessly:
"Lady Kaguya, many people in Japan only earn 200,000 or 300,000 yen a month. Shuchiin Academy's tuition is equivalent to six months or even more of their total wages. Of course, that isn't the main point."
Hayasaka Ai paused. "In short, attract Mixed Academy students to work part-time under the name of the Work-Study Program. That way, no one will suspect your true purpose, Lady Kaguya. They'll only think you're winning people over."
Kaguya nodded thoughtfully. That would indeed be very effective.
As long as Kira Yoshikage became her employee, she could then become the manager of the branch where Kira Yoshikage worked under the pretext of "training." That would give her a legitimate reason to interact with him...
Shinomiya Kaguya thought for a moment:
"Since we're creating Work-Study Program opportunities for Mixed Academy students, let's raise the minimum hourly wage a little. 907 yen is rather low... Hmm, how about 2,000 yen? What do you think, Hayasaka?"
"..."
Hayasaka Ai didn't answer. She didn't think it was a good idea.
Although she wasn't short of money, her work required her to be available around the clock, every day of the year.
An hourly wage of 2,000 yen was actually higher than her salary!
"That's too high."
Hayasaka Ai shook her head. Under Shinomiya Kaguya's puzzled gaze, she explained:
"The hourly wage can't be too high. Around 1,200 yen will do, because an excessively high wage would instead make people suspicious of our true purpose. Of course, Lady Kaguya, you can wait until he accepts the job before secretly raising his base pay."
Shinomiya Kaguya's eyes lit up:
"Hayasaka, that's a great idea. Let's do that!"
If You Don't Mind, Shall We Eat Together?
Noon.
Kira Yoshikage walked straight to the cafeteria counters and swiped his card at two adjacent windows:
"Two grilled-meat set meals and one bowl of udon."
"Certainly."
"No problem."
The cafeteria ladies at the two windows had long since grown accustomed to this. With practiced motions, they each placed a grilled-meat set meal and a bowl of udon on trays and handed them to Kira Yoshikage.
One grilled-meat set meal cost 400 yen, and a bowl of udon cost 250 yen, for a total of 1,050 yen.
"Thank you."
Kira Yoshikage thanked them politely, paid, and carried the trays away.
One of the cafeteria ladies sighed softly:
"He looks exactly like a delinquent, but he's unexpectedly more polite than most of the students."
"Exactly." The lady at the neighboring window echoed her.
Kira Yoshikage calmly passed the students on either side who watched him with fearful eyes and walked toward a corner of the cafeteria.
Although these students had never met Kira Yoshikage and not a single one dared to approach him, perhaps the pressure given off by the tall, blond "delinquent" was simply too strong. From the first day of school, no student had dared to sit at a table Kira Yoshikage had used—
Even when the surrounding seats were full and only the one in the corner remained empty.
Perhaps they were afraid that the delinquent-looking Kira Yoshikage would cause trouble for them. They would rather stand than sit at that table.
As for Kira Yoshikage, he was more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.
He couldn't decide what other people thought, but that didn't affect his peaceful life. Not having to compete with other students for seats also meant avoiding conflicts, adding another layer of protection to his peaceful life.
Clack!
Kira Yoshikage had only just placed the trays on the table when, almost at the same time, a girl searching for a seat set her tray down as well, causing it to collide with his.
Kira Yoshikage lowered his head and looked at the girl beside him. She had long red hair, with a star-shaped hair ornament on each side of her head.
She wore a sailor uniform with a black top and a white pleated skirt. It was noticeably different from Shuchiin Academy's black uniforms, making her look like a transfer student from another school.
Was that why she didn't know who this seat belonged to?
Kira Yoshikage's gaze turned dangerous. He could already foresee that this would become troublesome.
"I..."
When she realized that she had chosen the same table as someone else, Nakano Mayu instinctively raised her head. But when she saw that the person competing with her for the seat was a fierce-looking delinquent boy over six feet tall, she felt instinctively afraid.
She wanted to apologize immediately, sensibly take her tray, and leave to avoid a conflict. But her legs refused to obey her.
"What a nuisance."
The brief silence made Kira Yoshikage realize that the girl had no intention of leaving. The girl seemed to have heard his mutter as well. Her body trembled slightly, but she still showed no intention of leaving.
It wasn't that she didn't want to leave. Her legs had simply gone weak, and she couldn't move...
Kira Yoshikage glanced around. The students who had originally been watching the scene lowered their heads in fear.
But Kira Yoshikage was only looking for an empty seat. Unfortunately, all the seats around him were already occupied.
"I'm s—"
Nakano Mayu finally recovered and tried to apologize in a trembling voice. But the moment she spoke, she discovered that Kira Yoshikage had already picked up his trays and left.
It wasn't until Kira Yoshikage had gone some distance away that Nakano Mayu finally came back to herself. She suddenly realized that she might have misunderstood him.
Nakano Mayu lowered her head in embarrassment. She hadn't even spoken to him, so why had she decided he was a delinquent based solely on his appearance?
She instinctively raised her head and searched the crowd for Kira Yoshikage. In the end, she spotted him near the cafeteria windows—
He was carrying his tray back to the counter and asking the cafeteria lady to pack his meal.
Watching Kira Yoshikage pass by her with his packed lunch, Nakano Mayu couldn't help calling out:
"Um, if you don't mind, shall we eat together?"
Kira Yoshikage walked straight past Nakano Mayu, pretending not to hear what she had said.
There was only one reason—
It would be troublesome.
If people discovered him eating lunch with another girl, the people around them would definitely gossip. For example:
"Eh? No way! That delinquent is actually eating lunch with a girl?"
"She's really pretty, and she's wearing another school's uniform. She seems to be a new transfer student."
"She must have been threatened by that delinquent, right? Should we tell a teacher?"
To prevent such a situation and preserve his peaceful life, Kira Yoshikage left the cafeteria without hesitation, carrying his packed lunch back to the classroom.
Kira Yoshikage's appearance plunged the previously cheerful classroom into silence. Everyone watched him nervously. But Kira Yoshikage remained unaffected. He simply returned calmly to his seat, opened his packed lunch, and ate alone.
Only after quite some time did the voices of the other students return to the classroom, though they all spoke in hushed tones. They seemed afraid that they would disturb Kira Yoshikage—and then be grabbed by the delinquent boy and struck over the head.
That was the important part.
Ring-ring-ring!
Soon, the lunch break ended, and the students gradually returned to the classroom.
As the class bell rang, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked to the podium with a textbook tucked under her arm:
"Before class begins, let me introduce a new student. Nakano-san, come in."
At Hiratsuka Shizuka's voice, the elegant young woman with long red hair, who looked like a refined young lady, walked to the podium and bowed slightly:
"My name is Nakano Mayu. Please take care of me."
The instant they saw a beautiful girl they had never seen before, a wave of excited whispers erupted below the podium:
"A transfer student? She's beautiful! Awesome!"
"That uniform is from Black Rose Girls' School, right?"
"That's a famous private school too. Only young ladies from distinguished families have a chance of attending."