"But shouldn't a girl like that be attending Pure Academy?"
"Idiot. She transferred in halfway through the year. No matter how rich she is, she can only attend Mixed Academy!"
Bang! Bang!
Hiratsuka Shizuka slapped the lectern and shouted:
"Quiet!"
The classroom instantly fell silent.
Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded in satisfaction:
"Nakano-san, you can sit over there."
She pointed to the empty seat behind Kira Yoshikage.
"All right."
With a polite smile, Nakano Mayu walked toward the back row without showing any resistance.
As she passed Kira Yoshikage, the girl smiled.
"Please take care of me."
Kira Yoshikage, who had been pretending to admire the scenery and hoping to be ignored, turned around and gave a slight nod.
"Hello."
Nakano Mayu seemed to let out a sigh of relief as she sat down behind Kira Yoshikage.
The corners of Hiratsuka Shizuka's mouth lifted slightly when she saw this, but she quickly hid it and turned toward the blackboard to begin the lesson.
Nakano Mayu poked Kira Yoshikage in the back and passed him a note.
Kira Yoshikage took the note and unfolded it for a quick glance.
"I'm really sorry about what happened at noon. I was a little dazed at the time. I didn't do it on purpose."
"My name is Nakano Mayu. Can we get to know each other?"
Seeing Kira Yoshikage take the note, Nakano Mayu waited anxiously, muttering inwardly:
This should be fine, right?
A few seconds later, she noticed the desk move slightly.
While she was still dazed, she realized that Kira Yoshikage had passed a note to her from beneath the desk.
She carefully took it, tucked it between the pages of her textbook, and secretly unfolded it.
"Could you please not talk to me? It'll disturb my studying."
"Mm~"
Nakano Mayu's face flushed bright red, and she puffed out her cheeks angrily.
What the heck! She had finally worked up the courage to apologize to him, and all she got in return was blame and rejection.
Fine, she wouldn't talk to him! Did he think she wanted to?
Chapter 30: Love Beat—Just Toilet Paper
At Shuchiin Academy, in the chairman's office.
Shinomiya Unkō looked at Shinomiya Kaguya, who was sitting on the sofa opposite him, and seemed somewhat surprised.
"A Work-Study Program?"
"Yes."
Shinomiya Kaguya lifted the cup of black tea from the table and took a sip. Her tone was calm and utterly devoid of emotion.
"For ordinary people, Shuchiin Academy's annual tuition of 1.5 million yen is an extremely heavy burden. So I hope to provide whatever assistance I can and ease the burden on Mixed Academy students."
Shinomiya Unkō raised an eyebrow, regarding his younger sister with slightly greater respect.
In fact, Shuchiin Academy had a scholarship fund specifically prepared for Mixed Academy students. However, scholarships could only be awarded to a small number of students with outstanding academic records who ranked near the top.
For the vast majority of students, scholarships were merely delicious bait that they could see but never touch. The Work-Study Program positions offered by Shinomiya Kaguya, however, could fully satisfy the aspirations of more students in this regard.
Although the two methods were different, their purpose was the same: to make the Mixed Academy students feel grateful to them for the favor they had shown.
His younger sister's actions could be considered an attempt to steal his rice bowl.
In other words, they were competitors in this regard.
So...
After thinking for a moment, Shinomiya Unkō nodded.
"No problem. I agree. How many Work-Study Program positions can you provide?"
Shinomiya Unkō did not care whether his younger sister wanted to steal his rice bowl. He truly did not care, because this rice bowl had never belonged to him in the first place.
The chairman of Shuchiin Academy had originally been Shinomiya Kōkō, his good elder brother and the most likely heir to become the next head of the Shinomiya Family. As for him, Shinomiya Unkō, he was merely the third son born to a subsequent wife, and his faction was the weakest in the Shinomiya Family.
The reason he had been able to become chairman of Shuchiin Academy was that Shinomiya Kōkō had made a mistake and angered the old man. Shinomiya Unkō did not even know what exactly Shinomiya Kōkō had done wrong, and he had no confidence whatsoever in being able to hold on to the chairman's position.
So rather than reject Shinomiya Kaguya, he might as well do her a favor.
That way, he might even be able to draw Shinomiya Kaguya into his faction—
Shinomiya Kaguya had originally possessed no influence at all, so she had not even been qualified to participate in the succession race. But last week, the old master had ordered Shinomiya Kōkō to transfer all the shares of a small company to Shinomiya Kaguya. This meant that the old master had tacitly approved her participation in the contest.
Even if she failed to win in the end, with this small company that brought in 50 billion yen in annual revenue, she would at least not become a discarded pawn.
Hmm, when he looked at it this way...
They were both direct beneficiaries of Shinomiya Kōkō's mistake...
As Shinomiya Unkō's mind raced, Shinomiya Kaguya calmly spoke from across the room.
"Ministop has 93 branches in Tokyo's 23 Wards, 50 of which are located in the six central wards and the Jonan area. I've already issued a notice that each branch can provide one part-time position, so we can start by counting on 50 people."
Shinomiya Unkō thought for a moment and nodded slightly.
"That's fine."
Shinomiya Kaguya's expression remained unchanged, but her mood brightened.
With Kira Yoshikage as one of the 50 part-time students, no one would pay him any attention—
This was her perfect plan!
At the entrance to Shuchiin Academy, Kashiwagi Nagisa, who was wearing a Disciplinary Committee Member's armband and had been on duty for an entire week, bit her lip tightly. Visible disappointment filled her eyes.
"Still nothing?"
For a full week, she had arrived at the school gate at seven every morning and waited until the bell rang before returning to class. In the afternoons, she had even left class ten minutes early to rush to the gate, waiting there until seven in the evening. Yet every time, she had found nothing.
Kashiwagi Nagisa lowered her head dejectedly and murmured:
"Why is this happening? Could he really not be a student at Shuchiin Academy?"
There were plenty of blond boys at Shuchiin Academy, but not one matched the person in her memory. It was not merely a question of whether their faces looked alike. They differed greatly in height alone.
As she stood there, slightly distracted, Kashiwagi Nagisa caught sight of two figures leaving from the corner of her eye. They were Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai.
"Shinomiya..."
Kashiwagi Nagisa instinctively wanted to call out to her, but before she could speak, she suddenly remembered something—why had Shinomiya Kaguya still not asked her about that person?
Previously, she had asked every day to confirm whether Kashiwagi Nagisa had found him.
But why had she not asked today?
Had Shinomiya Kaguya given up? Given up even faster than she had?
Or had she already confirmed who that person was, so she no longer needed to ask?
Kashiwagi Nagisa frowned slightly. Shinomiya Kaguya's sudden change in behavior made her keenly realize one fact: Shinomiya Kaguya was trying to get a head start!
The moment she thought of this, Kashiwagi Nagisa's gaze sharpened!
At the top of the Okura Hotel, in Angel's Ladder.
Ding-dong~!
The elevator slowly opened. An adult woman in an office-lady outfit, with a graceful figure and exquisite legs in black stockings, walked toward the bar with another girl. The girl had an equally straight pair of beautiful legs in black tights, but wore a JK uniform.
The black-haired woman in the office-lady outfit gently held the JK girl's arm and comforted her softly.
"Utaha, cheer up. There's still a chance, you know."
The JK girl with long, straight black hair and a headband bit her lip, her mood low.
"You don't have to comfort me. With results this poor, getting axed is practically inevitable."
"Come on, come on~"
Machida Sonoko was somewhat helpless. The girl was good in every way, except that she was rather stubborn.
Once she made up her mind about something, nothing could pull her back. Though, admittedly, her results really were a little poor...
Machida Sonoko sighed, sat down on a high stool at the bar, and looked at the tall blond bartender behind it.
"One Gin and Tonic."
"All right."
Kira Yoshikage responded smoothly, taking gin and tonic water from the liquor rack and beginning to mix the drink.
The black-haired girl in the JK uniform seemed determined to turn her sorrow into strength and gritted her teeth.
"I want a Long Island Iced Tea!"
"Utaha."
Machida Sonoko was somewhat helpless, but she did not stop her.
Before long, the two drinks were placed in front of them.
Machida Sonoko took a small sip, and her eyes immediately lit up.
Kasumigaoka Utaha hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth, tilted her head back, and prepared to down the drink in one gulp.
"It's sweet?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha froze for a moment, somewhat puzzled. Was alcohol supposed to taste like this?
Kira Yoshikage cleared the counter and said flatly:
"Of course tea is sweet."
"Tea?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was somewhat displeased.
"I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, but you gave me plain tea? Is this how the waitstaff here treats customers?"
Kira Yoshikage's answer remained calm.
"The customer is always right, but minors are prohibited from drinking alcohol."
"Tch."
Kasumigaoka Utaha clicked her tongue unhappily and took another sip from the glass.
Actually, it was pretty good.
Although she was in a bad mood, there was no need to take it out on a waiter.
She could still tell the difference.
"Come on, come on."
Machida Sonoko found it somewhat amusing.
"Utaha, minors really shouldn't drink alcohol~ Besides, the sales aren't actually that bad. If I put in a good word for you, there's still a chance of getting the third volume published."