The Rose-Gold-Haired Beauty

Unfortunately, he didn't have Kōenji's habit of carrying a mirror wherever he went. Otherwise, Ayanokōji would have taken a good look at himself.

Whether he was handsome or not was beside the point. Was he really that gloomy?

He'd even ranked in the top five on the first-year popularity list... However you looked at it, that was ridiculous.

"Whether you accept it or not, that's the truth. If you want to be popular, you need to at least become more lively and sunny."

Ayanokōji seemed quite interested in the topic. He really did want to become more popular, but that was undoubtedly a talent.

Popular people seemed to be born with a certain aura, like Shinjo standing right in front of him, or the rose-gold-haired beauty from earlier.

And some people seemed born to attract trouble, like Sudō or Yamauchi.

"But I don't think I can do that."

Ayanokōji shook his head. He'd also thought about making a good impression during the self-introductions at the start of the school year, but when he stood up, he could only stammer out his name.

Of course, that was all because he'd never really regarded the people around him as human.

"Well, this might sound a little mystical, but if you want to be popular, you should spend time in places with lots of people."

"Ah... I've been to cafés and amusement parks, and the school cafeteria is crowded too."

Shinjo suddenly realized he'd always had a very one-sided impression of Ayanokōji.

He'd labeled him a homosexual just because of his unnatural gaze.

He'd assumed he was an assassin from some organization because of his explosive muscle density and definition.

But really... how could someone be that simple?

He deliberately controlled his scores and pretended to be ordinary, yet made sure anyone paying attention could immediately tell he was different.

And sometimes, Ayanokōji asked such stupid questions that no normal person could convincingly pretend to be that clueless.

So maybe Ayanokōji really did lack social common sense.

"Let me put it this way: if you want to be popular, you need lots of popular friends. Birds of a feather flock together. If the people around you aren't popular, you won't be popular either."

Ayanokōji thought about that carefully. His friends all seemed to be the sort who didn't have many friends themselves, and some were downright unpopular.

The one exception, Kushida Kikyo, couldn't really be called his friend.

He always felt she had some sort of ill intent toward him.

"Hey, Shinjo. Popular people are easy to notice, right?"

Ayanokōji didn't want to draw attention. He just wanted to coast through the next three years in peace.

In that sense, the reasons he and Shinjo had come to this school were surprisingly similar.

"Heh, I'd say you'd attract more attention if you became friends with Ike and the others. If that's what you're aiming for—after all, even bad publicity is publicity—then congratulations!"

As they chatted, the two made their way back to the dormitory. Shinjo needed to wait for someone behind them, so he made up an excuse and sent Ayanokōji on ahead.

"You can come out now, Ichinose."

The girl who'd been called stepped out from behind a nearby tree.

"So you noticed me a while ago, Shinjo?"

"Since I was the one who invited you, of course I did... Want something to drink?"

"No, no... I..."

Ichinose was still politely waving her hands in refusal, but Shinjo bought just one drink from the vending machine and sat down on the bench beside her to drink it.

So he wasn't offering to treat me...

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shintō Katsuya, and I'm from Class D. I'm the current president of the Yorozuya."

"The Yorozuya! Excuse me... I'm Ichinose Honami from Class B. When you say the Yorozuya, Shinjo, do you mean Horikita-senpai's club?"

Shinjo nodded. He was more than happy to use Horikita Manabu's name as a banner whenever he could, so he didn't mind if people thought the club belonged to Horikita Manabu.

"But let's get down to business. Since you're from Class B, I assume your classmates are all doing pretty well academically?"

"Um, more or less..."

"I do have the information you heard about, and I can guarantee it's genuine. You might not really need it, but it should still be worth something as insurance, right? Let's not haggle, then. Ten thousand points."

"Huh?!"

Ichinose had expected a drawn-out back-and-forth, like bargaining over vegetables at a market. She hadn't expected him to name a price that was lower than she'd anticipated right off the bat.

"Shinjo, are you sure you're willing to sell it to me for ten thousand points?"

"Well, I bought it for my classmates. I was going to spend the points anyway. If you can give me enough to recoup some of the cost, what's wrong with ten thousand? Besides, anything extra is just my way of making friends with your class."

"Since you're being so straightforward, Shinjo, I'd seem unreasonable if I kept refusing. All right, we have a deal. And on behalf of my classmates, thank you for your help, Shinjo!"

As she spoke, Ichinose held out her right hand.

The girl's graceful, generous manner and warm, sunny smile—her angelic face and devilish figure—immediately reminded Shinjo of Kushida Kikyo.

Going by stereotypes, the girl in front of him was probably the helpful type, too.

Could there really be so many angels in this world who found happiness in making others happy? That can't be possible, can it?

Shinjo was momentarily lost in thought, and Ichinose tilted her head and reminded him softly:

"Shinjo?"

"Huh? Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking about something else."

With that, Shinjo held out his right hand too and shook Ichinose's.

"I don't have the answer with me right now. How about you come find me in our class tomorrow? We can make the exchange then."

"Okay, it's a deal!"

After waving goodbye to Ichinose, Shinjo felt like he'd just made another killing.

Come on, ten thousand points might not sound like much, but every little bit counted to him right now.

After all, Class D's Class Points were still at zero, which meant they couldn't even get living expenses.

"Tsk! Every day, all I think about is making money or saving it. Is this what the adult world is like? How depressing..."