A Brand-New June

After the midterm exams came a brand-new June.

Early in the morning, before he'd even made it into the classroom, Shinjo heard a racket coming from inside.

"Who said Class D was no good? Class D is great! When it comes to enthusiasm, I don't think any other class can compare."

Naturally, the topic of conversation was impossible to separate from personal points.

After the mess they'd made of things in April, Class D's students had suffered through a miserable May.

Especially those who were already short on money but still liked to spend it carelessly.

I'm talking about you, Karuizawa Kei!

If Shinjo hadn't taken the initiative to "lend" her some money for living expenses, and if she hadn't occasionally received reasonably well-paying requests, she might have gone back to using her delinquent-girl persona to bully her classmates.

And now, in June, everyone had apparently taken out their phones first thing in the morning to wait for their points to come in.

Yet minute after minute passed, and the points still hadn't been deposited.

"If we get zero points again this month, I'm seriously going to have to eat dirt!"

"Exactly... Can't the school give us a few Class Points, considering how well-behaved we were last month and how hard we studied?!"

While everyone chattered noisily, Chabashira Sae walked in, her high heels tapping out a "click, click, click."

She seemed to be in a pretty good mood at the start of the new month. At least she was smiling as she spoke to her students.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Chabashira-sensei! Are we not getting any personal points this month either?!"

Ike had no interest in exchanging pleasantries with her just then. He went straight to the question on his mind.

"Is that why you've been making such a fuss first thing in the morning?"

"Well, we've been working ourselves to the bone this month! We even passed the midterm exams, so are our Class Points still going to be zero? That would be way too unfair!"

On that point, even Chabashira had to admire the students. If they set their minds to it, they really could do it!

Be good students, work hard, and study diligently.

"Don't be so hasty. I've seen all the effort and resourcefulness you've shown this month. The school has, too, so please be patient."

Hearing Chabashira-sensei say that, everyone promptly fell quiet and waited for her to continue.

Without rushing, Chabashira pinned the paper in her hand to the blackboard. The class points were as follows:

Class A: 1004 points.

Class B: 752 points.

Class 1-C: 588 points.

Class D: 87 points.

Clearly, every class had gained some points. Class A was still far ahead of everyone else, and had even broken the 1000-point mark.

But everyone's attention was drawn to the very last line.

"Huh?! Eighty-seven points! Eighty-seven points! We have points!!!"

"You're celebrating a little too soon. Look closely. The other classes all gained nearly 100 points too, so the gap between you is still just as large."

"In other words, you can think of your 87 points as the school's reward for passing the midterm exams. Keep it up."

Still, getting points was good news!

Eighty-seven Class Points translated to 8,700 personal points.

"Huh? Wait! If we already have Class Points, why haven't our personal points been deposited yet?!"

"There's been a problem this time, so the first-years' points will be issued a little later. You'll have to wait a bit longer."

"What?! What kind of answer is that?! If that's the case, the school should at least compensate us with some points, shouldn't it?"

Learning that the delay was the school's fault, Class D's students immediately united in demanding compensation.

But how could that happen?

The school was a miser through and through!

It was already good enough that it didn't come up with ways to dock the students' points. And they expected it to give them compensation?

The afternoon club period arrived, but the points still hadn't been issued.

"Hey, Katsuya..."

A voice so sweet it made him cringe came from beside Shinjo. He'd meant to tease her a little, but somehow he found himself answering:

"What is it, my dear Kei?"

!!!!!

Apparently, Karuizawa hadn't expected Shinjo to call her that in front of everyone. Her face flushed bright red, and she hurried over to cover his mouth, afraid he'd say something even more embarrassing. She didn't realize that only made them look more affectionate.

"Y-y-y-you! You!"

"Okay, okay! I surrender!"

After spending so much time together, Shinjo had come to understand the girl's personality very well.

Sometimes she'd be inexplicably bold, but as soon as there was a third person around, she'd become surprisingly timid.

She was a classic pure-hearted virgin who could dish it out but couldn't take it—tough on the outside, weak underneath!

"What is it?"

"Have you gotten any requests I could take lately? I'm really short on points... I'll only get 8,700 this month, and that'll be gone in no time."

When it came to spending money, Karuizawa's attitude was surprisingly similar to Shinjo's.

Both of them knew their money was important and that saving their personal points might be more useful in the long run. But if they came across something they liked, they'd absolutely buy it.

As Shinjo put it: Let the future me suffer. At least the me right now—and the me a little while from now—will be happy!

"Well... I don't know what kind of requests might come in. If there's anything involving paperwork or stamping documents, I'll pass it on to you."

"By the way, do you have enough points to get by right now?"

"I do. After all, I get my food and drinks from the club these days."

At that, Karuizawa admired Shinjo even more. Aside from the Cooking Club, she couldn't think of another club where you could eat and drink for free every day.

(Cooking Club: We can't eat for free every day either!)

"Speaking of that, actually, I..."

"Ding-a-ling~"

Before Shinjo could finish speaking, his phone rang in his pocket.

He answered the call.

"Hello, this is Shinjo."

"Shinjo! Um, do you have a minute right now?"

It was Sudō. He sounded very flustered.

"I was just about to head to club activities. You..."

"Forget club activities for now! Shinjo! Um... could you come to our secret base first?"

Sudō sounded unusually serious. Something must have happened, and it was probably bad news for him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be acting so timid.

"Uh, okay."