"Whoa..."
Kanji Ike's Adam's apple bobbed. His mouth hung half open. "...They actually did something like that? This is way too thrilling!"
Ken Sudō clicked his tongue and folded his arms across his chest, clearly looking down on this sort of behavior.
But the one who reacted most intensely was Yamauchi Haruki.
His breathing grew ragged, and his cheeks flushed from sheer excitement.
He didn't see it as theft. He saw it as an incredible opportunity.
A beauty, with her secret in his hands.
What did that mean? It meant he could do whatever he wanted!
He could make her obey his every word and even... make her his girlfriend, then show her off in front of everyone.
"This... this video..."
Yamauchi Haruki's voice trembled with excitement. He abruptly looked up at Kazehara Tetsu, his eyes filled with greedy longing. "You... you're willing to give it to me?"
"To you guys?"
Kazehara Tetsu put his phone away, and the screen went dark.
He picked up the Iced Americano on the table and took a sip. Then he frowned slightly at its bitter taste, as though he couldn't care less about their anxious expressions. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. You should understand that, right?"
His words doused Yamauchi Haruki's burning excitement like a bucket of cold water.
"What do you want?"
"Simple."
Kazehara Tetsu set down his cup and held up two fingers. "Fifty thousand Points. Transfer them to my account, and the 'usage rights' to this video are yours."
"Fifty thousand?! That's way too much!"
It was only the second day of school. One hundred thousand Points might seem like a lot, but they had probably already spent a good portion of it, given how carelessly they threw money around.
Having to cough up fifty thousand all at once was like ripping out a chunk of their flesh.
"Come on, the three of you can pool your Points. Besides, the school gives you a hundred thousand every month. Fifty thousand is nothing!" Kazehara Tetsu coaxed them persuasively.
When they still didn't move, Kazehara Tetsu smiled and got to his feet, pretending to leave. "Then I guess there's nothing to be done. Looks like you're not that interested in this opportunity."
"Wait!" Yamauchi Haruki hurriedly stood up and grabbed Kazehara Tetsu by the arm. "Fine, fifty thousand! We'll pool it for you!"
He turned to Kanji Ike and Ken Sudō. "You two, hurry up and transfer your Points to me! I'll pay you back next month."
Urged on by Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike and Ken Sudō were extremely reluctant, but in the end, they each transferred their Points to him.
Yamauchi Haruki gritted his teeth, pooled their Points with his own, then shakily transferred fifty thousand Points to the anonymous account Kazehara Tetsu had provided.
"Ding!"
The transfer-success notification sounded.
Kazehara Tetsu nodded in satisfaction and tapped the screen a few times. Then he sent Yamauchi Haruki the video he had carefully "edited."
"I'm sure someone as clever as you, Yamauchi, can come up with a few 'small requests' she can't refuse, right? Like having coffee together after school or going shopping over the weekend... Take it slowly. Don't rush."
He deliberately emphasized "take it slowly," because he knew all too well that Yamauchi Haruki would never take it slowly.
He'd be impatient to make all sorts of outrageous demands, and that would be the perfect fuel to ignite Kamuro Masumi's anger.
With Kamuro Masumi's personality, there was no way she'd agree to a crude, lustful threat from someone like Yamauchi Haruki.
Her resistance would inevitably infuriate Yamauchi Haruki, whose vanity was immense, until he became so humiliated and angry that he reported the matter to the school.
"I... I understand!"
Yamauchi Haruki gripped his phone as though he were holding a key to heaven.
Beside him, Kanji Ike rubbed his hands excitedly and kept nudging Yamauchi Haruki with his elbow, letting out a silly "Heh heh."
Only Ken Sudō knitted his brows, feeling that something was off but unable to put his finger on it.
He had no interest in using despicable methods against women. He merely snorted and said nothing more.
"I've given you the goods. What you do with them is up to you." Kazehara Tetsu patted Yamauchi Haruki on the shoulder.
He straightened up and didn't linger. Picking up the Iced Americano he'd barely touched, he turned and left the café.
The first step of the plan had gone more smoothly than he could have imagined.
Kazehara Tetsu walked back toward the Teaching Building in high spirits.
Yamauchi Haruki had the edited video now. With his mind consumed by lust and vanity, he was a hundred percent certain to take action.
When would Yamauchi Haruki make his move?
Not today.
He had only just gotten the video. His excitement and fantasies still needed time to build.
He'd spend the entire evening planning the script for his "grand entrance."
Most likely tomorrow, during lunch or after school.
He'd pick somewhere relatively private, but where someone might "happen" to see them—a result of his vanity getting the better of him.
He wanted people to see him "conquering" a girl.
What would he do?
He'd corner Kamuro Masumi. His opening line would probably be an incredibly stupid, sleazy introduction. Then, after Kamuro treated him coldly, he'd angrily reveal his trump card—the video.
He'd make a demand, probably going straight to "Be my girlfriend" or "Go on a date with me."
How would Kamuro Masumi react? Give in? Absolutely not.
She might have a habit of stealing, but at heart she was proud.
Bowing her head to an idiot like Yamauchi Haruki, whom she despised from the bottom of her heart, would be worse than death.
She'd use the harshest words to humiliate Yamauchi Haruki, crushing his pride beneath her heel.
She might pretend not to care at all, or even threaten Yamauchi in return, accusing him of blackmail.
After Kamuro Masumi mercilessly crushed him, Yamauchi Haruki's fantasies would be shattered completely.
He'd realize that he couldn't get what he wanted by "winning her over."
He'd rush straight to the Teacher's Office to find Chabashira Sae, Class D's homeroom teacher, or go directly to someone higher up.
He'd submit the video as "evidence" and accuse Kamuro Masumi of Class A of having poor character and committing theft.
He'd portray himself as a righteous hero who couldn't stand to see evil go unpunished.
Once the matter reached the teachers, the school would inevitably investigate, and Kamuro Masumi would be called in for questioning.
At that point, Yamauchi Haruki would have the absolute advantage, and he wouldn't stop.
If he backed down, he'd end up looking guilty instead.
That would be Kazehara Tetsu's cue to step in.
When Yamauchi Haruki accused Kamuro with such certainty, using the video as evidence, Kazehara Tetsu would play his real trump card.
He'd tell Kamuro Masumi that there was probably something wrong with the video.
It had been maliciously edited, with parts cut from both the beginning and the end. The person in it might even have been deliberately altered—someone unknown had been made to look like Kamuro Masumi to serve Yamauchi Haruki's own desires.
That would turn the tables in an instant.
Yamauchi Haruki would go from being a "righteous whistleblower" to a despicable man who had "maliciously edited a video, attempted extortion, then resorted to false accusations."
In the face of irrefutable evidence, all his excuses would ring hollow. His stupidity would ruin him.
At the same time, Kamuro Masumi would develop incredibly complicated feelings for Kazehara Tetsu, the person who had pulled her back from the edge of the abyss.
Before you continue