You Little Thief, You Don't Want to Get Expelled, Do You?

Tall and skinny, with a red buzz cut.

It was Ken Sudō.

He was Class D's athletic ace, with a very high physical education rating—an A. The club he'd mentioned was the Basketball Club. As a new student, Sudō had already made it onto the team thanks to his impressive athleticism. Apparently, official players could also receive a living stipend from the school, so it was a pretty good option.

But Sudō wasn't an official player yet, so naturally he had to attend training as scheduled.

"If you were asked to tutor a struggling student, would you be willing?" Nakano asked Horikita Suzune, who was sitting beside him.

"..." Horikita.

Horikita's hand, which had been writing, paused.

"I don't mind. If I were needed for something like that, I'd do it," Horikita Suzune said.

Hmm.

She might have seemed unsympathetic, but she wasn't like Yukimura, who didn't want to waste time tutoring students who were bad at school—even if tutoring them really was a waste of time.

"Then would you?" Horikita Suzune suddenly asked in return.

"Me?" Nakano was just about to answer when he noticed Sakura glancing over nervously.

Oh.

Nakano Yuu suddenly remembered that Sakura's grades were also near the bottom.

That put her in the struggling-student category.

"If I were tutoring an average student, probably not, but..." He paused, making sure Sakura really was listening with her ears perked up, then continued, "If it's a cute girl like Sakura, then of course I'd be happy to."

"Anyway, I should get going," Nakano Yuu said to Horikita Suzune, picking up his schoolbag.

"Do you want me to come with you today?" Horikita asked.

If she went with Nakano Yuu, that would count as work.

Hmm.

Even though her brother had transferred 500,000 points to her and told her she could spend them however she liked, Horikita's little sister still felt uneasy about it.

So she was always interested in any opportunity to work.

Especially since Nakano Yuu had talked her into collecting 20 million points, leaving her with a huge, huge shortfall.

"No need," Nakano Yuu said. "I have my own plans."

He'd run into Sakayanagi the night before, and his thoughts before going to bed had left him somewhat uneasy.

Nakano Yuu's goal was to collect 20 million points and then get out.

As long as Horikita's little sister was still at the school, the Student Council President wouldn't use his authority to expel him. And based on their interactions so far, the Student Council President probably wouldn't use that power at all.

So he was a fair and reliable president.

But.

Nakano Yuu still needed 20 million points.

Thanks to his knowledge of the plot, he knew of several Special Exams that could earn him money. But now that he and Sakayanagi Arisu had an ex-wife—no, a breakup—sort of relationship, she might make things much harder for him if she realized he was trying to get his hands on money.

Even with Horikita Suzune, the Student Council President's little sister, now working with him, things could still get tricky.

So.

If that was how it was...

Well, then he couldn't be blamed, could he, Classmate Sakayanagi?

Leaving behind Sakura, who was still dazed after he'd offered to help tutor her, Nakano Yuu headed straight to the shopping street.

Then he opened his contacts.

His lonely friends list had gained a new entry.

And Nakano didn't waste any time.

Nakano Yuu: Hey, Kushida, are you free?

Kushida Kikyou: Um, did something happen, Nakano?

Nakano Yuu: Actually, about this morning, sorry. I was just joking, but I think a lot of people in class like you. When I said that, several of the guys glared at me.

Kushida Kikyou: Oh, I don't really mind.

Nakano Yuu: Then I'm taking a screenshot. You don't like any of those guys at all.

Kushida Kikyou: ...

Kushida Kikyou: Has anyone ever told you that you can be a little mean sometimes, Nakano?

Nakano Yuu: Do you know Kamuro Masumi from Class A? I'd like you to invite her out for me. I'm at the shopping street right now.

Kushida Kikyou: Huh?

Nakano Yuu: I saw her by chance and fell in love at first sight.

He suspected Kushida might not help.

So Nakano Yuu added something else. Aside from her grudge against Horikita Suzune, Kushida really did want to be friends with everyone. She liked being trusted by others and having them share all their secrets with her.

So.

Nakano was giving her what she wanted.

Nakano Yuu: This is a secret, so I hope you won't tell anyone.

Then he added another message.

Nakano Yuu: Of course, if you run into any problems, I can help you too.

Kushida Kikyou: Oh! If it's a secret, then I can't say no. But you mean Kamuro? She's at the shopping street right now, too. Do you want me to come over?

I see.

Then you're no use to me.

Nakano Yuu's gaze swept quickly over the various shops in the shopping street until he spotted a particular person.

P.S. Come on, brothers, show me those stats! Let's see them!

And now, a promo for a friend's book:

Fontaine's Grand Stage: Come If You Dare

Synopsis: Luo Fan transmigrated to the world of Genshin Impact and obtained the Fancy Death System.

As long as he died in a sufficiently shocking way, he could earn a large amount of points and exchange them for all kinds of goodies.

So, for the sake of points, Luo Fan began finding all sorts of ways to die.

From dying while saving someone at the very beginning to later killing himself, he gave Fontaine's people a glimpse of countless horrifying murder cases.

After racking up more and more points, Luo Fan suddenly discovered a shortcut: every move the Hydro Archon, Furina, made was watched by all the people of Fontaine.

"Chief Justice, I wish to press charges against someone!"

Neuvillette: "Please state who you are accusing."

"The Hydro Archon, Furina!"

Furina: "???"

Years later, the golden-haired Traveler and her emergency food arrived in Fontaine, only to be fitted with silver handcuffs the moment they crossed the border.

"Traveler from a foreign land, you've been accused of a crime. Please come with us."

Lumine: "???"

Paimon: "???"

Some time later, Lumine and Furina sang "Tears Behind Bars" together.

Chapter 17: Hey, Little Thief, You Don't Want to Get Expelled, Do You?

Kamuro Masumi, a girl from Class 1-A.

She was quite tall, with beautiful purple hair and regular features. She was pretty, but wore a blank expression and seemed uninterested in everything. It was as if she found everything a little annoying.

She was much taller than Horikita Suzune, with long, strong legs.

She probably had a great deal of athletic ability.

Of course, those long legs would also look great in white stockings—or black ones.

But in the original story, she had a bad habit of getting excited when she stole things. Sakayanagi Arisu discovered this and used it to threaten her, making her work like a dog for Sakayanagi. Later, even after the threat stopped being effective, she still worked tirelessly for her.

That meant she was an M.

She liked being ordered around and put to work.

Of course, that habit could be put to use in other ways later.

And for Nakano, the thought that Sakayanagi—his ex-girlfriend—might cause him trouble meant he naturally had to make some preparations.

So he decided to snatch Sakayanagi's little dog first.

Of course, that didn't mean taking her away outright. He needed to make her his mole first. If he didn't interfere, she'd become Sakayanagi's right-hand woman, just as she had in the original story.

That way, nothing Sakayanagi did would escape her notice, and nothing that escaped Kamuro's notice would escape Nakano's either.

In other words, he needed to plant a mole beside Sakayanagi Arisu first.

He'd contacted Kushida earlier to get in touch with Kamuro, but since Kamuro was here too, Kushida really wasn't much use.

With that.

His target identified, Nakano hurried after her.

She went into a convenience store, and he followed her inside.

Kamuro usually kept to herself and had no companions with her, but she seemed quite used to it.

She looked like a loner, too.

But.

It wouldn't be easy for Nakano Yuu to get dirt on her. Kamuro also went by the title Phantom Thief Masumi, which meant she was good at stealing. She had to be quick and hard to notice, or she would've been caught the first time she stole something.

So he needed to make some preparations.

Still, just because he'd run into Kamuro Masumi didn't mean she was going to steal something right now.

Or that she'd steal something at all.

As he thought this.

He noticed that Kamuro had already put her left hand near a row of chewing gum.

She'd barely moved, yet the number of packs of gum had gone down by two.

Had she already started stealing?

No.

Kamuro Masumi opened her left hand and put the two packs of gum back on the shelf.

So it had been a feint.

As he thought that, Nakano Yuu picked up a mug with a cat design. He remembered that Sakayanagi liked cute animals like cats.

If the school allowed it, Sakayanagi would probably really get a cat.

And as someone who liked dogs, he couldn't bring himself to like cats and the like.

At that moment, Kamuro Masumi glanced back and noticed that the boy nearest to her—Nakano Yuu—was just looking at a mug.

"Sakayanagi might like this one," he murmured.

Sakayanagi.

At the sound of that name, Kamuro's brows furrowed slightly.