Tennoji Kaede arrived in front of the Convenience Store.
In the end, he won the official match against the Sanda Club's Vice President by two rounds to one.
Well... considering he'd given him so many points, he ought to let him win at least one round.
After the match, the Third Year Class A upperclassman invited him again, and raised the joining bonus from 100,000 points straight to 300,000.
That was no small sum for a Class C student.
By any reasonable estimate, it was at least six months' worth of a Class C student's living expenses. As a joining bonus, it was more than generous.
Even Tennoji Kaede felt tempted after hearing the offer.
After all, there was nothing wrong with a Class C student joining a Sanda Club. It was actually a pretty good choice.
Going by the Original Work of Shijiao, wasn't the impression the other first-year classes had of Class C, under the tyrant's leadership, that they were the worst at academics and could only throw punches?
As a pure-blooded Class C student, it made perfect sense for him to know a few sanda moves and join the Sanda Club!
For now, he put those thoughts aside and decided to buy some everyday necessities.
Outside the Convenience Store, there was a conspicuous puddle of soup on the ground. Kaede's sense of smell was only average—about twice as good as a normal person's—but he could tell it smelled like instant noodle soup.
"Could this be the leftover soup from the cup of noodles that idiot Sudo knocked over in the story? Looks like I missed quite a show. Oh well."
Not long ago, Sudo had probably argued with three upperclassmen here, while Ayanokoji Kiyotaka watched from the side.
From the upperclassmen, he'd heard the key clue, "Defective Product."
That scene involved Sudo and Ayanokoji, the two most important characters in the early part of the story. With that explosive keyword and the later comic scene of Ayanokoji cleaning the floor and finding a camera, it had left a deep impression on him.
That was why Tennoji Kaede still remembered this little detail about the noodle soup.
It was a shame he hadn't caught Ayanokoji sweeping the street on camera. It might have become a precious piece of blackmail material against Japan's future prime minister.
"Ding!" With a trace of regret, Tennoji Kaede entered the Convenience Store.
"Hmm?" Near the checkout stood a Black Long Straight Cold and Glamorous Girl, radiating an aura that warned everyone to keep their distance.
Wasn't that Horikita Suzune? She was still here...
Horikita Suzune saw him too and sighed. "Another bothersome coincidence."
['Cause': Horikita Suzune thinks seeing you is as unpleasant as seeing that guy Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. You give her a very similar feeling.] ['Effect': Charisma +1, Arrogant Heart +10, Scheming +1, Combat Mastery +1]
So she's good for nothing except being arrogant, huh? Haigoku System, that's harsh...
Tennoji Kaede said, "You really are an interesting Defective Product, Horikita Suzune. It suits your current Class D status."
[Haigoku System: ?]
Horikita Suzune's expression immediately darkened.
"How do you know my name? I don't remember introducing myself at the school entrance. And what do you mean by 'Defective Product'? What does it matter if I'm in Class D?"
"You seem to know something... Tell me!"
She turned to face Tennoji Kaede directly.
"My big brother Ryuen will teach you what kind of attitude to use when asking a normal person a question."
Kaede snorted and shook his head, then walked over to the shelves packed with an array of goods and started browsing.
"!"
Horikita was thoroughly enraged by Tennoji Kaede's blatant disregard for her!
She'd only come back because she'd remembered she needed a few more things. She hadn't expected to run into something so aggravating.
Who was he? Where had he heard her name?
And what had he meant by what he'd said afterward?
Horikita was so furious her teeth ached. She'd only vaguely sensed that this school spoiled its students too much, that something wasn't right.
The store also provided free items, which only confused her further. But she still couldn't figure anything out.
In the end, she'd simply decided to save points whenever she could in her daily life, thinking that was the safer option.
But now, Tennoji Kaede's words seemed to offer Horikita Suzune a glimmer of hope!
All she had to do was get the hidden information out of him. How hard could that be?
Horikita decided to wait by the Convenience Store exit. If she wanted her brother's approval, she had to uncover the secrets hidden in the school's haze as soon as possible!
"With a fortune in hand, I don't even know how to spend it..."
Tennoji Kaede didn't care what Horikita might do. Ryuen would mess with her later anyway, and if that wasn't enough, Kaede could always kick her while she was down.
"This is a headache... Are these the free items? They look decent." As he browsed, Tennoji Kaede came across the free-item section.
Anyone with half a brain would get suspicious at such an obvious sign. Horikita certainly wasn't as stupid as the Class D Three Idiots.
Not far away, a melancholy-looking girl with purple hair had been standing in front of the drink fridge for a while, as if she'd fallen into the same indecision as Kaede.
She looked like...
Kamuro Sumire suddenly glanced around warily. With Tennoji Kaede's acting skills and ability to conceal his presence, it was easy for him to avoid arousing her suspicion.
Then Kamuro Sumire opened the fridge, looked around for a while, and seemed to take nothing before shutting the door.
Not bad. She'd definitely had plenty of practice at shoplifting... Tennoji Kaede gave her performance a thumbs-up in his mind.
Kaede suddenly grinned, concealed his presence, and circled around toward her.
"Hey there, little homewrecker~"
"Who!!!"
Kamuro Sumire shuddered and stumbled backward, startled by the whisper in her ear. She couldn't help letting out a shout.
Everyone in the store turned to look at her.
Kamuro Sumire, who had just stolen a can of alcohol, felt terribly uneasy under everyone's gaze.
"Sorry, did I scare you?"
Tennoji Kaede acted as if nothing was wrong and continued talking to Kamuro Sumire. The people in the store assumed they were a couple joking around and stopped paying attention.
Seeing that, Kamuro Sumire quickly calmed down. But she'd just indulged her shoplifting habit, and now someone had caught her. She knew she was done for.
"You're very cute..."
Her purple eyes widened as she stared intently at Tennoji Kaede. He continued in a low voice:
"You wouldn't want anyone else to find out you've been shoplifting, would you?"
"How can you say something so shameless?" Kamuro Sumire flushed and snapped.
"I'm just asking. Why are you so nervous? Let me introduce myself. I'm Tennoji Kaede."
[Detected 'Kamuro Sumire,' a Black House work with a passing score of 65.] [The 'Causal Mark' for 'Kamuro Sumire' has been applied.] ['Cause': Kamuro Sumire's interest in you is maxed out. For one brief moment, she really considered having you, with your maxed-out Charisma, do something to her so the shoplifting incident wouldn't be exposed... But it was only for that one moment. The perfect Haigoku System would never allow its host to knowingly break the law!] ['Effect': Charisma +5, Transfer Skills +20, Legal Code +100, XX Skills +20]
Holy crap, you can't judge a book by its cover...
Do poker-faced people all have a secret sultry side?
Before you continue