What a coincidence, my phone just ran out of battery

Yamagami Sawano had completely given up hope. After that shocking Meteor Jam came one fancy humiliation after another. Gojo had scored four more times, and Yamagami couldn't even see him, let alone the ball.

Looking at Yamagami Sawano standing there as if life had lost all meaning, Gojo Satoru no longer felt any joy, either. He didn't try to get past him again, but simply took a jump shot from where he stood at midcourt.

The basketball sailed through the air in a beautiful arc and dropped cleanly through the hoop.

Most of the spectators watching from the sidelines could only marvel:

How was this just a challenge? He was practically standing on the other team's head and taking a dump, then asking them for toilet paper!

The five fancy shots had been like a performance. If Yamagami Sawano hadn't been so tall, people might have forgotten there was anyone else on the court besides Gojo Satoru.

Ignoring Yamagami Sawano, who had shut himself off from the world, Kawashima hurried excitedly over to Gojo Satoru and bowed deeply.

"Please, you have to join my team! We need a talent like you!"

Hearing the flattery, Gojo Satoru felt a little speechless.

So you think I'm one of Wolong and Fengchu, too?

"No thanks. I'm not interested in your team. Hurry up and transfer the points. I'm leaving."

He couldn't be bothered to waste any more time with him. There were still plenty of clubs to pay a friendly visit to.

"But..."

Seeing that Kawashima still wanted to say something, Gojo Satoru cut him off.

"If I'm not interested, I'm not interested. Enough already. I don't have the patience to listen to anything else you have to say."

Kawashima could only accept it helplessly.

"Fine. If you're not interested in my team, I can't force you."

With that, he transferred all the points to Kamuro Masumi's device, while forcibly consoling himself.

Well, it is what it is. Someone impressive isn't necessarily a better fit than someone suitable. Even if he joined, he wouldn't get far with that attitude.

"What exactly do you know about this school?"

Looking at the astonishing number of points on her phone,

9072960

Kamuro Masumi broke the silence again.

After the basketball club, they'd gone to the tennis club, where Gojo Satoru had once again dominated and won 3 million Private Points.

As they neared the dorms, Kamuro Masumi realized she was finding it harder and harder to see through the boy in front of her.

He was her age, yet his physical abilities and skills were beyond reason. His grasp of the school rules showed a level of insight far beyond what anyone at their stage should have. He always acted as if everything was under his control.

"Secret."

He turned around, raised his right index finger to his lips, and answered softly.

Looking at the beautiful girl in front of him, he fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Transfer 8 million points to me. You can keep the rest as your compensation for putting up with me today."

"1 million as compensation?! Is there something wrong with your head?"

Though Kamuro was tempted, she couldn't help but complain. Who paid a million for a day's work? How had she never realized money was so easy to make? The exhaustion of the day vanished from her mind.

"I'm serious. Transfer the points, then go back to the dorm. I'm going out for another walk."

It was only seven in the evening. He'd just finished dinner, and he had no idea what he'd do if he went back. He might as well go for another walk.

"If you're not going back to the dorm, why walk all the way to the entrance?!"

Kamuro spoke as she made the transfer.

"To keep you company."

Gojo Satoru replied calmly.

"Huh?! Y-you! What are you suddenly saying?! Are you making fun of me?! You want to see me make a fool of myself, don't you?!"

Looking at Gojo Satoru's tall figure in the moonlight, Kamuro blushed at his sudden show of concern and fumbled about in a panic.

Gojo Satoru still answered calmly.

"No, I'm serious. And watch what you eat from now on. You're a girl, yet you ate two deluxe beef meals in one day. Be careful you don't get fat."

"I'm not going to get fat! You're fat! Your whole family's fat!"

Her fluttering heart was immediately overcome by anger.

Watching Kamuro run angrily into the dorm, he thought with amusement,

My wife really is my wife. She's so cute even when she's angry!

Back in her dorm room, Kamuro Masumi lay on her bed, feeling exhausted. Thinking back over everything that had happened that day, she felt that none of it had been quite right.

She pinched the flesh around her waist, then looked at the Private Points displayed on her phone and sighed.

He's not a jerk, but he sure is a weirdo.

The next morning.

There were about twenty minutes left before class, and the classroom was already nearly full.

The classroom's front door was yanked open with a bang. A silver-haired boy wearing a blindfold then leaped inside and called out,

"Good morning, everyone!"

Having already seen his greeting yesterday, the class had more or less gotten used to it. Most of them looked over, but no one replied.

Gojo Satoru didn't bother taking offense. He closed the door and headed to his seat at the back of the first row, right by the rear exit—a perfect spot for skipping class.

"Good morning, Gojo-kun. My name is Kushida Kikyo. You arrived just as I finished introducing myself yesterday. What a coincidence."

"And your way of greeting everyone is as unique as ever, Gojo-kun."

As soon as he sat down, he saw Kushida Kikyo approach with a smile.

"You arrived pretty late yesterday, Gojo-kun, and you didn't attend the entrance ceremony afterward, did you? I didn't see you at all. I was hoping to get your contact information."

Hearing how familiar she sounded, Gojo Satoru felt helpless.

Why come bother me? Why not go spend time with Horikita Suzune? She's like your mom, after all. Instead of keeping your mom company, you're going around making friends with everyone.

"I was too tired, so I went back to the dorm and slept."

His brief reply was meant to make her give up.

"Really? Then you definitely needed a good rest.

Hey, let's exchange contact information."

As she spoke, she took out her phone.

Girl, do you really have to do this? Or does befriending a weirdo really boost that angelic image you put on for everyone?

"What a coincidence. My phone just ran out of battery."

As he spoke, he took out his phone, turned on the screen, and then shut it down.

"See? It's turned off."

He answered with a big smile.

Seeing this, even the angelic Kushida, who could have won an Oscar, had trouble keeping her smile in place.

But after two stiff seconds, she composed herself again and smiled.

"Gojo-kun, I'm sorry for bothering you. But I won't give up. I'm going to be friends with everyone at this school."

With that, she returned to her seat.

But Kanji Ike, who had been watching the whole thing, couldn't stand it anymore. His dream girl was being treated like this!

"Hey, you weirdo with the blindfold! Kushida's being so nice to you. What gives you the right to mess with her? I saw you turn off your phone yourself, and now you're saying it ran out of battery!

Or did you realize you're a weirdo and decide you didn't want to contaminate Kushida?"

Relying on the fact that there were security cameras in the classroom, Kanji Ike pointed straight at Gojo Satoru and cursed him out.

Though he was only 160 centimeters tall, he wasn't intimidated by Gojo Satoru, who stood a head taller. He didn't believe Gojo would dare lay a hand on him in a situation like this, and surely Kushida would be impressed by his courage!

"Huh?! No, I was—"

Kushida had just stood up to explain what happened and show off her angelic side, but a cold remark cut her off.

"If you want your arm wrapped in bandages like the redhead over there, say that again."

The words came coldly from Gojo Satoru's mouth, and the noisy classroom fell silent in an instant.

A chill lingered among them. They looked at Gojo Satoru's expressionless face and saw the boy in a new light.

Kanji Ike swallowed and stared blankly at the silent class, then glanced at Ken Sudō, whose right hand was wrapped in bandages. He had no idea what to do.

Anyone with half a brain would understand from those words that Gojo Satoru had caused Ken Sudō's injury! It was humiliating to have something like that brought up in front of everyone, yet Ken Sudō himself didn't dare say a word.

Someone who looked so obviously dangerous had been insulted and had done nothing but cower. It was impossible to imagine what he'd been through.

Kanji Ike stood there at a loss. He didn't dare talk back, but with his dream girl watching, he couldn't just back down.

The nice-guy Hirata finally couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence.

"Let's all calm down! Class is about to start. Ike may have just spoken without thinking in the heat of the moment. Gojo-kun, please try to understand.

And you too, Ike. Hurry up and apologize to Gojo-kun."

Seeing the popular boy Hirata offer him a way out, Kanji Ike was about to speak when an even more unnerving chill swept over him.

"Who are you to decide that? You say so, and that makes it true? If your head gets hot that easily, put an ice pack on it!"

The cold voice rang out again, showing no mercy as he shot back at him.

He couldn't say he hated someone like Hirata, who was so indecisive, but he couldn't like him, either. His inaction had led to his friend's suicide, and only afterward had he felt guilty and decided to help everyone around him. A case of shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted!

As he finished speaking, Chabashira Sae entered through the front door, and he left through the back.

Whether I attend class or not, the Class Points will hit zero this month anyway. The atmosphere in class is awful, too, so there's no point staying in the classroom. I'll skip class for a few days and have some fun!

Kanji Ike is going to be expelled after the Midterm Exam next month anyway, so there's no need to drag this out.

Only when the bell rang did the students realize it was already time for class. Chabashira Sae simply began teaching as if nothing had happened.

Watching Gojo Satoru leave, Kanji Ike let out a breath and sat down. The events of a moment ago had left his back damp with cold sweat.

Hirata sat in his seat, unable to calm down for a long time. He didn't want another bullying incident to happen, and resolved to talk to Gojo-kun later.

If Gojo Satoru had known what he was thinking, he would definitely have said,

Why bother targeting someone like him? Later, I'll just intercept the test Ayanokoji's been working on and take out a whole bunch of them.

"Ah!! G-Gojo-kun left again. I couldn't thank him today, either! Keep it up, Airi. You can do this. Tomorrow, make sure you thank him!"

Sakura Airi, who had been lying on her desk, suddenly sat up straight, as if she'd made up her mind about something!