Angel Investor

May 1, 8:15 p.m.

By the seaside beside the dormitory, Hirata Yosuke stopped and faced the ocean.

"Let's talk here."

"Sure. It's not far from the dormitory, anyway."

Gojo Satoru, who had been following him, stopped as well.

A gentle breeze blew by.

Hirata turned around. Looking at the tall, expressionless Gojo in sunglasses, he felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him.

But thinking of what had happened in class that day, he steeled himself and began.

"Today..."

"That's the situation. A huge divide has formed in our class. If we don't do something, then..."

The more Hirata spoke, the more agitated he became, his voice growing louder.

But Gojo suddenly cut him off.

"Careful. Don't say 'we'!

I've never been part of the class, and I don't want to be.

If you need my help, just ask. There's no need to guilt-trip me."

Ignoring Hirata's emotional outburst, he made it clear where he stood.

Realizing he might have gotten carried away, Hirata took a deep breath and composed himself.

When he spoke again, his voice was tinged with admiration.

"You're impressive, Gojo-kun.

It's like you knew something like this would happen from the very start of the school year. I don't understand why you wouldn't say anything.

But I hope you'll help me, and help all of Class D.

I don't want to see our class fall apart, and I especially don't want to see anyone drop out!

So, please!"

After saying this, Hirata bowed deeply, nearly ninety degrees.

As though the whole world had fallen silent, Gojo didn't answer this time. He simply gazed at Hirata.

After a while, Hirata still hadn't gotten a response, so he slowly straightened up.

Realizing the negotiation had failed, he still couldn't help asking,

"Can you tell me why?"

Gojo still didn't answer. He sensed someone watching from behind the tree behind him: four girls, two of whose presences felt somewhat familiar.

But there was nothing to hide, so after a moment's hesitation, he spoke.

"I'm not as noble as you. I don't want to help everyone. I only help the people I care about.

After all, if I can't even do that, what's the point of anyone else?"

Hearing this, Hirata's pupils contracted, and he stared at Gojo in shock.

He didn't understand why Gojo kept hitting so close to home, but he was sure Gojo hadn't known him in middle school.

"I see. Understood.

Even if you can't help Class D, I hope you'll at least come to class as usual from now on.

I believe most of the students will work hard to get into Class A!"

"I can consider that. Don't worry, I'll come to class as usual tomorrow."

Having received Gojo's confirmation, Hirata understood that this was already a major concession. Whether Gojo would help him further was another matter.

"In that case, I'll be going. See you."

Watching Hirata's departing figure, Gojo felt a little wistful.

What difference does it make whether I go to class? No matter how hard we struggle this month, we still won't get any income next month.

"Satoru-kun!"

A voice came from behind him.

8:10 p.m.

Outside Gojo's dorm room, four girls stared at the door. They had been knocking for ages, but there still wasn't any response.

They were puzzled.

Other students coming and going from the neighboring dorms were also surprised to see so many pretty girls gathered outside Room 412.

They couldn't help wondering whose room it was. That guy sure was lucky!

"What should we do? We've been knocking for so long, and there's still no answer. Maybe he hasn't come back yet?"

Shiranami Chihiro looked helplessly at the unresponsive door.

"But it's so late. Could Gojo-kun still be at that Cat Cafe?"

Kobashi Yume couldn't believe he would still be out having fun at this hour.

Standing behind them, Ichinose said nothing as she listened to their discussion. She seemed worried about something and didn't want the door to open.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock!"

After knocking again to no avail,

Amikura Mako felt dejected, but she didn't want to just go home. She turned to her friends and said,

"Why don't you go back to the dorm first? I want to go look for him on my own. If I wait here, who knows how long it'll take, and it's not great with all those guys watching."

But Ichinose hurriedly said,

"I'll go with you!"

Ichinose's sudden raised voice startled the others, and they all looked at her.

Realizing what she'd done, Ichinose quickly explained,

"I'm worried about Mako's safety. I know this is a school and there are lots of security cameras, but what if something happens?"

"That's true. It's already so late. It really wouldn't be a good idea for Mako to go out alone."

"Then let's all go together. If we can't find him, we'll come back together."

The others agreed with Ichinose. It was too dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night!

Seeing that no one had noticed how flustered she'd been, Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing how concerned her friends were, Amikura Mako happily nodded.

"Okay!"

As soon as they stepped out of the dormitory, Kobashi Yume glanced around and spotted a silver-haired figure in the distance, illuminated by a streetlamp.

"Wait, look over there! Could that be Gojo-kun?"

Everyone looked in the direction Shiranami Chihiro was pointing. A tall figure stood there.

"Satoru-kun!"

Recognizing the figure from the last time she'd seen him, Amikura Mako knew he was the one she'd been looking for.

When they saw Amikura Mako walk over, the others followed. But no one noticed that Ichinose's hands were clenching tighter and tighter.

Hiding behind the tree, Amikura Mako saw that the person Gojo had been talking to had left. Knowing the moment had come, she finally worked up the courage to approach him!

Hearing someone call him, Gojo turned around and saw a friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

Pleasantly surprised, but without a hint of hesitation, he greeted her.

"Hey! Long time no see, Xiao Mako!"

Seeing that he recognized her at first glance, Amikura Mako's nervousness disappeared.

She flung herself at Gojo!

"Pong!"

Without showing any embarrassment, she eagerly breathed in Gojo's scent.

Gojo caught Amikura Mako in his arms and hugged her tightly. He took half a step back from the impact, then gently patted her back.

Seeing how eager she was,

he spoke softly.

"Are you really that happy? Looks like my investment paid off!"

As though remembering their childhood promise, Amikura Mako lifted her face from Gojo's chest.

Through her tearful eyes, she gazed at him behind his sunglasses and earnestly confirmed,

"Yeah! It's been even more successful than I expected!"

Watching the scene from behind, Kobashi Yume smiled happily. Her earlier nervousness melted away, and she sighed,

"Mako finally got together with the person she likes!"

"Yeah! Though it wasn't easy."

Agreeing with Kobashi Yume, Shiranami Chihiro glanced unconsciously at Ichinose beside her.

But what she saw was Ichinose in tears!

"Ichinose, what's wrong?!"

Shiranami Chihiro asked anxiously.

Kobashi Yume also looked over, puzzled.

Under the gaze of her two good friends, Ichinose wiped away the tears that had fallen without her realizing and smiled as she explained,

"I'm fine. I'm just happy that Mako found happiness!

Let's head back. It looks like we don't need to wait for Mako anymore."

With that, she turned and headed straight for the dormitory.

The two of them found Ichinose's haste to leave a little strange, but couldn't put their finger on why.

Maybe they really did have a woman's sixth sense?