But how could he possibly scare Shinjo, who had weathered every kind of storm?
He dug a finger into his ear and waved his hand.
"Don't get worked up. I'm not messing with you. It's just that you phrased things wrong. It shouldn't be 'I want to buy your stuff'; it should be 'you're asking me to buy your stuff for you.'"
"What's the difference?!"
Shinjo chuckled, picked up a blank commission form from the side, and began writing on it.
"Of course there's a difference. The difference is that you're asking me to do this for you, so you'll need to pay the Yorozuya a commission fee."
Kojima Hayato froze. He had no idea what language the other guy was speaking. Every word was perfectly clear, but when they were strung together, he couldn't understand a thing.
"I have to pay you, too?!!!"
Shinjo pushed the freshly completed commission form over to him.
"Um, this is already a pretty good deal, right? After all, commissions that aren't very difficult only cost 5,000. When you look at it that way, you haven't lost anything at all. You've even scored lifetime priority access to our line for free."
"Heh heh heh... So you're getting something for nothing, huh?!"
Kojima Hayato was clearly laughing out of sheer anger.
"Then tell me, what good is this priority access?"
Shintō Katsuya shrugged and pointed at the tall stack of commission forms on his right, though most of the ones on the bottom were blank.
"This is what it's for. We're actually pretty busy, so without priority access, if you wanted me to buy your stuff, you'd probably have to wait at least seven business days. But now, I can take your commission right away."
??????
"So you're saying I should thank you?"
"You're welcome."
Kojima Hayato felt insulted, but what else could he do at this point?
The second-year emperor had told him he could accept a deal like this. If he went back and reported that the mission had failed, or that he'd been played, the consequences would be more than he could bear.
So, with no other choice, he signed his name with all his might, his back teeth clenched.
"Junior... we'll meet again..."
"Of course. We're already partners with a deep friendship, after all~"
To demonstrate his smile-first service, Shinjo personally walked Kojima Hayato out of the Yorozuya office.
He glanced at the envelope on the desk and opened it without hurry. But as one question after another came into view on the exam papers, his brows gradually furrowed.
"Heh... heh... now this is interesting... What exactly are you trying to do?"
Then Shinjo picked up his phone and called Karuizawa.
"Hello, Katsuya. What's up?"
"Kei, could you come by the Yorozuya? There's something really important I need to tell you. Yeah, right now."
On the other end of the phone, Karuizawa immediately grew bashful, because her mind was now filled with the words something really important.
So, what counted as something really important?
It wasn't her birthday or Shinjo's, and he'd asked her to come alone. He'd also sounded like he was in a hurry.
Then... it had to be!
It could only be!
It definitely was!
[He's going to confess to me, right?!!]
At the thought, she forgot that Shinjo had sounded like he was in a hurry and started wondering what she should wear and how she should do her makeup.
But in the end, standing in front of the mirror, she still shook her head. No matter what she wore, something seemed to be missing. In that case, she might as well stick to her usual uniform.
And so, two hours later, Kei—carefully dolled up, yet looking exactly like she normally did—stood before Shinjo.
"Thank goodness, Kei, you're finally here!"
He hadn't had anything else to do anyway, but somehow, waiting for someone during a stretch of empty time made that time feel especially long.
"Y-Yeah. Um, what... what did you want to say? I think we're moving a bit fast, but it's not that I don't like you! It's just... I'm not quite ready yet... But if you really want to, I suppose I could... I mean, I like you, too... Huh?"
While Karuizawa rambled to herself, Shinjo took the exam answers out of the copier and put them in an envelope, then handed it to her.
"These are the midterm exam answers. You can take them home and study the questions first, and then you'll be completely prepared. After that, hand them out to everyone in class tomorrow. Make sure you do it under your own name. Wait... maybe you should give them the day after tomorrow instead. Um? Did you say something just now?"
"I... the answers? I... what was I saying?"
Shinjo tilted his head and looked Kei up and down. She seemed exactly the same as usual, except that her face had been red ever since she came in.
Maybe it was because the weather was too hot.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
[This... this jerk!!!]
The blush that had come from her shyness gradually turned into a flush of anger.
But when she thought it over, it seemed she'd just been imagining things.
Still, it wasn't entirely her fault!
He'd said it was something important. How could mere midterm answers be important?!
"It's nothing. I understand. Anything else?"
Kei's tone sounded stiff, but Shinjo couldn't exactly say anything. Nobody liked being called in to work on their weekend.
"No... I have an urgent commission to take care of in a bit. Otherwise, I would've brought them to you. I'm sorry you had to come all this way..."
"I'm not mad at you. I just... never mind. It's fine."
Karuizawa could tell Shinjo had somehow misunderstood her. She wanted to explain, but didn't know where to begin.
"Um, that commission... is it a lot of trouble?"
"Not really. It'll just take a while. They want me to enter some data or something. It should take around three or four hours."
"Oh, then I'll get going."
"Okay."
As she reached the door, Karuizawa suddenly had an idea, but she wasn't sure whether she should say anything. She'd always thought Shinjo was interested in her, but lately he'd been neglecting her a little. If she'd just been imagining things...
While she hesitated, Shinjo somehow found himself blurting out, "You look a little cuter than usual today, though maybe that's just my imagination."
[Y-You! What are you suddenly saying?!!! But... I can't believe he noticed. I did make an effort, after all. I even got new nail polish, and my skirt's just a little shorter than usual!]
[And... in that case...]
"Hey... Katsuya. Are you free tonight?"
"No... unless Miss Karuizawa is willing to treat me to dinner."
Kei wasn't the girl she used to be. They'd known each other for so long, and she already knew he had a habit of stopping halfway through a sentence and suddenly changing the subject!
"Then it's a date~"
"I was worried you'd be too stingy to pay. I bet a spendthrift little blonde like you doesn't have much money left in her pocket."
"Who are you calling a little blonde?!! Besides, I can afford to treat you to dinner. It's a date, then. Make sure you come pick me up tonight!"
"Got it."
Before you continue