"Let go! That really hurts—let go!"
Horikita had calmed down somewhat and released her hold on me. I let out a long breath and muttered under my breath.
"Violent woman!"
Horikita kicked me in the shin again, but not very hard. It was obvious she'd held back.
Horikita made as if to leave, and I was ready to go too.
And so our first conversation came to an abrupt end.
Early the next morning—the sixth day.
Akasaka had now learned the school's rules, which made the next steps much easier. It was time to move on to the next phase...
I couldn't help pulling out my phone as I headed to school and messaged Kamuro Masumi.
The messages went as follows.
Akasaka Ryunosuke: "You there, Kamuro?"
Kamuro Masumi: "I'm here. What do you want now?"
Kamuro Masumi's rude question didn't bother Akasaka. He simply sent another message.
"Could you invite Sakayanagi Arisu from your class to talk with me?"
On the other end of the phone, Kamuro Masumi gave a disdainful scoff and typed back, "You sick lolicon."
Akasaka...
"I told you, I'm not a lolicon. I have something important to discuss with her. Can you set up a meeting? I'll give you 50,000 points."
Kamuro Masumi thought for a moment, then typed back, "No need to give me points. I'll arrange it." Then she turned off her phone.
Akasaka looked at the message on his phone and couldn't help feeling a little helpless.
"Could you at least tell me when and where we're meeting? You haven't told me anything. How am I supposed to find you?"
Akasaka sent another message. After reading it, Kamuro Masumi replied, "I'll let you know," then hung up again.
I couldn't help feeling a little helpless. What was she in such a hurry for? But I didn't dwell on it. I tucked my phone into my pocket and got ready for class.
As soon as I arrived in the classroom, Kushida came over and latched onto me. She sidled up to me with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Akasaka! You won't avoid me again this time, will you?"
Looking at her pure, adorable face and lively eyes, it was hard to imagine she was the same person from last night. Still, I nodded and replied,
"I won't..."
Everyone in class saw this and froze again. They all wondered the same thing.
When had those two gotten so close?
The bell rang, and everyone started class. They no longer had the time to wonder why the two of us were so close.
Even during class, the students in Class D were either playing on their phones or listening to music. Some were even playing games. Yamauchi, for instance, was openly playing on his PSP, not taking the teacher seriously at all.
Akasaka couldn't help feeling worried. Surely these guys wouldn't burn through all 100,000 points in just six days, would they?
No! I had to save at least some of them. If I couldn't preserve even a single point, then even if I dragged the other classes down with us, we still wouldn't meet the requirements for advancing.
It looked like I had to act today. I couldn't put it off any longer...
These idiots were the type to burn through all their points in another two or three days. If that happened, I'd have no chance of raising the class ranking.
After class ended and school let out, Akasaka waited for a message from Kamuro Masumi. After a long while, one finally came through.
Akasaka opened his phone and checked the message.
"I've arranged it. She said to meet you in a private karaoke room. I don't really trust you, so I'll come too."
"If you try anything funny with her, I'll be your accomplice."
After that, she went offline.
I read Kamuro Masumi's message and couldn't help smiling helplessly. But it didn't matter what anyone else thought. I just had to be myself.
I tucked my phone into my pocket, slung my schoolbag over my shoulder, and set off for the meeting place.
I arrived at the room number they'd given me and knocked softly. The door opened, revealing an unfamiliar girl, a beautiful and adorable one with violet-blue hair.
She had a lovely, delicate face and violet-blue hair. Rather than seeming unusual, it only added to her distinctive beauty.
Her pretty face rarely smiled, though. She seemed a little expressionless.
Let me think... I seemed to remember her from the original story. Wasn't her name Morishita Ai?
As I stood there lost in thought, the girl I was staring at seemed uncomfortable and took a couple of steps back.
Only then did I realize that staring at a beautiful girl for so long was rude, so I looked away.
Just then, Sakayanagi Arisu's voice came from inside the room.
"Since you're here, please come in, Akasaka."
"And... it's very impolite to stare at my assistant."
I see... So she was her assistant?
Because of my interference, Sakayanagi hadn't managed to get any dirt on Kamuro Masumi, so she'd settled for the girl standing before me instead...
I quickly entered the room and sat down across from Sakayanagi Arisu.
Kamuro Masumi stood to Sakayanagi's left, there to protect her. It looked like she really was keeping an eye on me... I'd already told her I wasn't a lolicon.
Sakayanagi Arisu gently set down her cane. Her smooth, pale feet came together, and she shifted her legs to the right, sitting with them neatly angled to one side.
Her youthful, adorable appearance was like a white lotus, pure and lovely as the spring sunshine.
Her short white hair, white beret, and white thigh-high stockings made her all the more adorable, despite her petite frame.
Wow~
Akasaka couldn't help admiring the school's taste all over again. It really was full of beautiful girls~
Why call it Advanced Nurturing, anyway?
They might as well call it the Beauty Academy.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't mind me looking her over. She wasn't so petty as to forbid a man from looking.
Besides, she could tell that his gaze was appreciative, not lecherous, so Sakayanagi Arisu let him be.
But Kamuro Masumi, standing off to the side, was less than pleased.
Ever since the first day they'd met, this guy had looked her over with that same appraising gaze.
And now he was doing it to petite Sakayanagi Arisu...
Kamuro Masumi suddenly slapped the table hard, forcing Akasaka to tear his eyes away. Satisfied, she nodded and returned to Sakayanagi's side.
Morishita Ai, who had closed the door, stood on Sakayanagi's right. The two of them stood like her left and right arms, guarding Sakayanagi Arisu.
Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled and gave Akasaka an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, Akasaka. Because I have trouble getting around, these two insisted on coming with me."
"After all, I'm meeting with a healthy young man. It wouldn't do if anything unexpected happened, so I hope you understand."
She picked up the coffee on the table, took a sip, and smiled like a fox.
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