Horikita Manabu was remarkably efficient. In just two days, he used his authority to send an advertisement announcing the establishment of the Yorozuya to all the students and staff at the school, as well as the workers on the shopping street.
It even went into detail about what the request forms should contain, their format, and the Yorozuya's address.
Because he always carried himself with such unyielding integrity, even the school's chairman and principal were taken aback when they received the message.
The teachers and students were even more surprised.
So, for a while, this mysterious Yorozuya became the hot topic of conversation before class and over meals.
"The Yorozuya... Hmph. I'd like to see which clown is behind this."
Ryuen, with his purple hair parted down the middle, scoffed at the idea. They were only students, so why were they playing at being adults?
"Your Highness, should we go see what they're up to?"
"Heh, of course. But now isn't the time. Besides, you're not capable of handling that little minnow."
Though the speaker wore a smile, her voice carried a faint trace of murderous intent.
"Ichinose, what do you think about this? Even the Student Council President personally promoted this Yorozuya."
"Hmm, from the sound of it, the Yorozuya is a place that helps people solve their problems, right? I think that's a good thing!"
"That's not what I meant. I... Ah, never mind."
"?????"
Of course, the strongest reaction came from Class D, and it was probably the place that reacted the least, too.
As soon as the news came out, Horikita Suzune could hardly sit still. What sort of place was this Yorozuya that even her brother held in such high regard—or rather, had no choice but to praise?
If she could join the Yorozuya... would her brother finally acknowledge her?!
Kōenji's lips curled up slightly. Perhaps he'd thought of something that pleased him.
As for everyone else, they treated the Yorozuya as a joke and gave it no further thought.
At that moment, in Activity Room 401 (the Advanced Nurturing Yorozuya)
"This is where our club activities will take place! What do you think? Not bad, right?"
Shinjo enthusiastically showed the three girls behind him every flower, every plant, every table, and every chair.
"Katsuya... this really is a clubroom... So why are there video game consoles and a TV?!"
"There's even a refrigerator and a washing machine?"
From the moment they entered, the three girls hadn't been able to close their mouths, which hung open in shock. It wasn't that they were narrow-minded; this was simply beyond anything they considered normal.
It had everything from entertainment equipment to household appliances.
There were also all kinds of drinks and snacks lined up along one side. If this weren't a clubroom, they'd even want to live here!
After all, students in Class D were poor, and this place was practically somewhere they could eat and drink for free whenever they wanted. Wasn't that much better than the mountain vegetable set meals?
"What's so special about that? According to my plans, there should've been a fully automatic massage chair over there, too! Unfortunately, some stingy person wouldn't agree, so there was nothing I could do."
"Um, Shinjo... I mean, should I call you Club President? Club President, what are we supposed to do?"
It was Satō who spoke. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little awkward.
Judging by the way the room was furnished, the club was probably just an excuse. The real purpose was for Katsuya and Karuizawa to have private dates together, wasn't it?
"Oh, that. Let me explain what the Yorozuya does. Kei's heard this before, but a few details haven't been settled yet, so listen in for now."
"Yes, Club President."
Karuizawa was very accommodating to Katsuya. She quickly brought over three chairs from the back, and the other two girls had no choice but to sit down and listen, intimidated by their best friend's forceful manner.
"The process works like this: every day, we'll receive request letters from all sorts of people. They'll be kept in the mailbox by the entrance."
"After school, we'll collect them all and decide whether to take on each request according to the Yorozuya's four principles."
At this point, Karuizawa quickly raised her hand.
"Club President, what are the four principles?"
"Good question! First, we don't do what we can't do. Second, we don't accept requests from people we dislike. Third, we don't do anything that violates the most basic standards of human morality. Fourth, we don't do anything when we don't feel like it."
"So... whether we do the work depends entirely on how we feel?"
"Exactly! Of course, the most basic difference between us and those charity organizations is that we charge for the work we do. The fee is agreed upon through negotiation between both parties. So, as the saying goes, the more you do, the more you earn."
Although that was what he said, Shinjo didn't encourage them to work that way.
There was a saying that haste made waste, after all. The more work you did, the more mistakes you'd make.
"Also, some request forms may have the words 'Student Council' written in the upper-right corner. Those requests must be completed! Don't forget that, or the good life we've worked so hard to get may be gone for good."
The three girls nodded, seeming to understand. How difficult the work would be depended on the content of each request.
"Of course, I won't force you to take part in any of the requests. At first, you only need to lend your names to the club. But if you do want to participate, that's fine, too. And since I'm a fairly democratic person, the pay will be split evenly among everyone who takes part."
"Last but not least, now that you're employees here, you can feel free to use everything in this room!"
Shinjo finished speaking, but no one seemed to respond.
Perhaps they had slow reflexes. Almost half a minute passed before...
"Long live the Club President!!!"
Satō and Karuizawa suddenly jumped to their feet. Ever since that karaoke party, they hadn't had a taste of snacks!
Matsushita, on the other hand, was much more reserved. "Well then, I look forward to working with you, Club President."
"Ah, I look forward to working with you, too."
Suddenly, Matsushita made a face at Shinjo, then leaned close to his ear and asked:
"Hey, Shinjo... This is your family's line of work, isn't it?"
"You figured it out... Wait, you wouldn't happen to..."
Matsushita made a shushing gesture. That was as good as an admission that she wasn't as simple as she seemed.
In fact, Matsushita was anything but ordinary. Her family background was quite impressive, too.
She couldn't compare to a top conglomerate like Kōenji's family, but she was at least a wealthy young woman who could move in high society.
She'd never met Shinjo Katsuya, but she had seen her father drinking and chatting with a man named Shinjo who ran an agency. That man was Shinjo Katsuya's father.
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