Aren't There Any Bad People Who Like to Read?

"Of course. Shiina's my good friend, after all, so I should give her the friends-and-family price. Fifteen thousand!"

But when Shiina heard the price, she pulled Ibuki along and started walking away. It was actually a pretty common shopping tactic.

When you wanted to buy something but were on the fence about the price, you pretended to leave. The seller, naturally, had the same mindset.

So in the end, it all came down to an honest-to-goodness battle of wills!

One wanted to buy, and the other wanted to sell.

Whoever gave in first would lose!

Step by step, Shiina was about to lead Ibuki out of Shinjo's sight...

Shiina was starting to lose confidence, too. Surely he wouldn't stay silent this long?

Was fifteen thousand really his final price?

No... Just wait a little longer...

When the two of them had completely disappeared from Shinjo's sight, he finally couldn't hold back:

"O-one... Twelve thousand! I really can't go any lower!!"

At the sound of his voice, the weight on Shiina's heart finally lifted. Luckily, she'd bet right.

Ibuki, meanwhile, was looking at Shiina with undisguised admiration. It was hard to imagine that a girl had just wrapped a guy around her finger when even Ryuen couldn't do a thing with him!

To keep him from changing his mind, Shiina hurried back to the rooftop with Ibuki.

The defeated Shinjo looked pale and miserable, apparently still aching over the three thousand points he'd lost.

"Shinjo, you've got an awful lot of tricks up your sleeve. I know there's nothing wrong with you. Twelve thousand might seem like a lower price, but you're still making a profit, aren't you?"

Shiina had seen right through Shinjo's act. She also understood that she couldn't squeeze the seller too hard.

As long as he gave her a price she could accept, she didn't mind paying a little extra. After all, he was one of the few people she could call a friend.

"Uh... Hehehe... I can't believe you saw through me. That's Shiina for you. But even so, I really didn't make much..."

Shinjo gave an awkward laugh, though only he knew how much he'd actually made.

"In that case, it's a deal. Thank you, Shinjo."

Shiina transferred the points, and Shinjo handed the envelope to Ibuki.

"Don't mention it. I should be thanking you."

"Hehe. Well, should we head back? Now that we have the answers, we can finally study properly."

"Take care~"

Shinjo waved goodbye to the two girls.

Just as Shiina reached the rooftop door, she suddenly stopped.

"Shinjo, people who like reading aren't bad people, right?"

"Of course."

I don't think I count as someone who likes reading, do I?

"Then could you do me a favor and tell me how many points you actually spent getting these answers?"

"The total cost for this order was ten thousand points."

Does that count as lying? Probably not, right?

Shiina nodded. It seemed she'd been right after all.

"Thank you, Shinjo."

"You're welcome."

When Shiina returned to class, she quickly told Ryuen what she'd done and showed him the answers. When he heard Shinjo's name, he narrowed his eyes, then had Shiina check every question. Only after confirming the answers were correct did he pass them around to the others.

"You're saying that showboating Yorozuya was his doing too?"

"Yes."

Although they were good friends in private, Shiina was still a member of Class 1-C, so she hadn't deliberately hidden anything from Ryuen.

Of course, Shinjo had chosen to make a deal with her and befriend her knowing full well she might tell Ryuen things.

"Yorozuya... Heh..."

They'd found Shinjo. And then there was Ayanokōji...

Ryuen tapped the desk and beckoned to someone beside him. His lackey Ishizaki hurried over with a glass of cola.

"Boss."

"I heard Class D holds study sessions almost every day. Is that right?"

"Yeah. Pretty much everyone goes, whether they're good at studying or not."

"In that case... Find a chance to provoke them. But don't actually lay a hand on anyone. If an outsider gets involved, back off immediately. Got it?"

"Yes, Boss."

As one of Ryuen's underlings, all Ishizaki had to do was carry out his orders without question.

And so, that evening, at the library...

The students from Class D gathered there once again for a class study session.

Under Ayanokōji's relentless persuasion, Horikita Suzune had, for the first time ever, apologized to Sudō.

"I can't believe Shinjo agreed to study with us!"

Kushida's surprise was understandable. Until now, Karuizawa had been the one monopolizing him without fail.

"Kei already knows what she needs to know, anyway."

If all that reviewing, plus the exam answers, still didn't get her through safely, Shinjo might as well just shoot himself.

"Huh? Kei?! You mean Karuizawa?"

The Idiot Trio at the next table, along with Ayanokōji, all looked shocked. Kushida, who'd already figured it out, and Horikita, who couldn't have cared less, were much less fazed.

"You guys didn't know? Actually..."

Kushida seemed to want to say something but wasn't quite sure she should. The way she kept sneaking glances at Shinjo to gauge his reaction was pretty cute.

But at this point, there wasn't much reason to keep it a secret, was there?

Shinjo didn't really get it. Karuizawa's fake-dating plan was meant to protect her, so wouldn't it work better if they made it public sooner?

But she hadn't seemed all that eager to announce it.

It was almost as if she'd decided to admit it if they got caught, but keep it secret if nobody noticed.

"Could it be that you're dating Karuizawa?"

Ayanokōji asked the question on everyone's mind.

Shinjo nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah. We've actually been together for a while."

"Huh?! Seriously?! Karuizawa... Karuizawa's the cutest girl in our class!"

Ike and Yamauchi exchanged a look, unable to accept the outcome.

But clearly, they weren't the type to pine over one girl forever. Compared to Karuizawa, who seemed way out of their league, Kushida Kikyo's approachable personality made her their main target.

"Kikyo, do you have a crush on anyone?"

"Huh? I... I don't have anyone I like right now..."

Thank goodness!

The Idiot Duo finally let out a sigh of relief.

Sudō, sitting nearby, was obviously jealous of Shinjo for having a girlfriend, too. Before long, everyone was asking him one irrelevant gossip question after another.

Horikita Suzune was practically grinding her teeth in anger.

"This isn't a romance class!"

"Sorry, teacher..."

Everyone immediately backed down. Nobody would dare question the pressure exerted by Horikita Suzune's intimidating presence.