Joker Is the Trump Card

After getting battered by two Horikitas in the previous two chapters, I decided to change the way I wrote names again.

It's definitely not because this lets me increase the word count!

Hmph!

Makoto's personal points had now reached 15,367,000. If a third party who knew nothing about him saw his personal-points screen right then, they'd probably think their eyes were playing tricks on them.

How could anyone collect such a huge amount of points in just over a month after the school year began?

Makoto could only say:

Sorry, but that's the difference between working and making money.

There was no future in relying solely on the personal points the school handed out each month, which were tied to class points. The real prize was the personal points you extorted... ahem, received from upperclassmen.

They'd been at this school for two years. Never mind their monthly personal-point income—the personal points they'd earned from winning Special Exams alone were already considerable.

In the original story, Miyabi Nagumo had been willing to pay as much as four million personal points just to "play" with Ichinose Honami for a while.

That was the result of time and accumulation. It was different for rookies like Makoto and the others, who hadn't built up any capital yet.

After taking a small sip of warm milk, I returned to Dorm Room 301.

"You really need to look at the context here."

"No, that would still be ambiguous. I think this option should be your last choice."

Kei had gotten into the swing of things and was being tutored by Honami and Kushida Kikyo.

Every now and then, Honami also tutored Kushida Kikyo.

After all, she didn't have much time to study on ordinary days, since she was busy maintaining good relationships with her friends.

I'd tried to keep quiet as I entered the dorm, but the three of them seemed to be in sync and all looked up at the door at the same time.

Their stares made me feel a little uneasy, so I tentatively greeted them:

"I... I'm back?"

"Welcome back!"

Honami threw herself into my arms with such force that I staggered backward several steps.

"Sniff, sniff~"

"Mm... You don't smell like any other girls."

"Are you a dog, Honami?"

I couldn't help teasing her. It was a good thing I hadn't let that little Horikita Suzune get close to me. Who knew what might have happened?

"I'm a Cancer, and so are you, Makoto!"

One was a Chinese zodiac sign, the other an astrological sign. They weren't even remotely the same thing...

Though he really was a Cancer.

"Hehe, I'm so glad you didn't sneak out to meet another girl, Makoto!"

"Why do you say that? You know I went to make a deal with Ayanokoji, don't you?"

"Because you've done something like that before, so I was a little worried."

She was referring to the incident with Kushida Kikyo, even though that really had been an accident.

Honami should know that by now.

"Relax. You'll always come first to me, Honami."

I raised my hand and ran my fingertips through the soft, golden-pink hair of the girl in my arms. The familiar citrus scent drifted into my nose, and I couldn't help taking a deep breath.

Ever since I'd once mentioned how nice it smelled, Honami had never changed her shampoo.

I hoped the brand would never go out of business.

"How's the tutoring going?"

"You promised you'd do it, Makoto, but in the end, Kikyo and I were the ones tutoring Kei. How are you going to make it up to us?"

"You... us?"

I mulled over the implications of the word "us," my mind spinning at top speed. Unfortunately, all it did was spin.

"Of course, I don't mind if you make it up to just me."

Honami looked up and blinked. The little expression on her face was adorable.

"So what kind of reward do you want, Honami?"

Kei quietly watched the two of us flirt from her seat, recalling some short comics she'd seen online.

She had honey-colored hair—or you could call it blond.

Would that make her the character from those comics, with all the right ingredients?

A gender-swapped blond delinquent?

"All you have to do is let me look at your phone, Makoto."

"Sure."

Honami stated her condition. Kushida Kikyo leaned in, wanting a look too, but Honami stopped her with a small hand.

Whether it was intentional or not, she'd blocked the exact spot I'd touched earlier.

My eyelid twitched, but I didn't say anything I shouldn't.

My conscience was clear, and my phone was spotless too.

This hardly counted as a reward. Whenever Honami wanted to look at my phone, I'd let her.

Kushida Kikyo, left out nearby, pouted and went back to her seat.

Fine, she wouldn't look. Hmph! What a miser.

How could she get closer to Makoto?

She pondered the question.

"Done."

Honami quickly handed my phone back. There really wasn't much on it.

Aside from my chats with her, the only messages popping up were in the class group chat.

My other friends were all in the "added = inactive" category. We only exchanged messages when something came up.

"So, what do you think?"

I asked proudly, as if I were seeking praise.

"What are you so proud of?" Honami pretended to glare as she tapped me on the head. "Make some friends, already!"

"...Okay."

Seeing Honami's fierce expression, I replied with a wounded look.

That wasn't right. Th-this made no sense!

Hadn't Honami seen my earth-shattering personal-point balance?

For a moment, I began to doubt myself.

"I've noticed that guy Kanzaki Ryuji seems to care about you, but all you ever reply with is 'Got it' or 'Understood.' Why not just say 'Roger'?"

Honami sounded like she was at her wit's end and started lecturing me right in front of the other two.

I put on an honest, harmless expression and didn't dare talk back.

I'd always known about this, but I'd never known how to change.

C-could I really be blamed for that?

...Actually, maybe it was my fault.

I was a little too withdrawn.

"All right, all right, Honami. Don't be so hard on Makoto. Maybe he's just a little... shy?"

Kushida Kikyo stood up and put in a good word for me. She understood that Honami didn't actually want to do anything to me. All she needed was someone to give her an opening to back down.

"Hmph! You have to push Makoto a little, or he'll never do anything."

Honami secretly ran a hand over the abs on my stomach, her expression utterly composed.

"Starting tomorrow, you're going to change. I want to see results!"

"Yes, Lady Honami!"

"Don't call me 'Lady'!"

"Yes, Lady Honami! No problem, Lady Honami!"

Honami rose onto her toes and silenced me by pressing herself against my mouth.

"..."

"Understood?"

Once she'd steadied herself, Honami ran her tongue around her lips and asked with a smile.

"...Understood."

No one got my joke, but I'd reached the heart of the girl.

Next, it was time for the Joker to make his entrance.