Because Sakayanagi Arisu was in her class and lived in the dorm room right next door to hers, she ran into her every day. Of course, since they were classmates, she naturally saw her every day anyway.
And whenever Sakayanagi saw her, she would say, "Good day."
She seemed quite polite.
But Kamuro always felt that Sakayanagi didn't really respect her.
The students in their class had also begun to divide themselves into the Katsuragi Faction and the Sakayanagi Faction. Kamuro hadn't chosen to join either side yet.
But, as expected, she was in a bad mood.
She felt like there was nothing to look forward to in high school.
As she thought this, Kamuro Masumi's body suddenly turned sideways, so that her back faced the boy behind her who was looking at the cups. The moment she crouched down, she swiftly grabbed a can of beer from the lower shelf and tucked it inside her clothes.
Mm.
She'd steal a can of beer today.
Students weren't allowed to buy alcohol. Drinks like beer were only sold to teachers and staff.
Sure enough, taking something like this made her feel better.
It gave her a sense of forbidden pleasure.
As she thought this,
she heard a noise behind her. It seemed the boy had given up looking at the cups and was walking straight toward her.
"..." Kamuro.
Kamuro's brow furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.
The boy didn't seem to say anything either. He walked up in front of her, passed her, then apparently glanced back at her, as though sizing her up.
Just as Kamuro began to wonder what was going on, she saw him walk over to the shelf beside them, move a bottle of dish soap aside, and then... take out a phone that had been hidden extremely well.
The phone's screen was lit. It was clearly recording.
?
Wait.
Why was there a phone here, and... why was it recording?
"Could we go somewhere else and talk?" the boy said, taking the phone down.
"..." Kamuro didn't move.
"Kamuro Masumi, Class 1-A," he said.
"..." Kamuro still didn't respond.
But she sensed that something was up. This guy seemed to have done his homework and knew who she was.
"You've got the wrong person," Kamuro Masumi said after thinking for a moment. Then she slipped her left hand inside her uniform, took out the beer she had just hidden, and put it back on the shelf.
She hadn't left the store yet, so it couldn't be considered theft.
That meant she was still in the clear.
Except...
"Do you think anyone will believe your nonsense if I post this recording on the school forum?"
The boy said this without a hint of expression, despite being quite good-looking. "I've already got the title ready: 'A habitual shoplifter caught right after enrolling—A divine hand!'"
"..." Kamuro.
If he'd only seen her steal something, but she hadn't left the store yet, it wouldn't have been a big deal.
But if he posted it on the school forum, that would be another matter.
Even her expression—and that smug look she'd had while stealing—would be exposed.
She wouldn't be carefree anymore. She'd be a laughingstock.
She'd thought high school life was pretty boring, and she hadn't liked the competition between classes or the factions within her class.
But now...
Damn this stupid school and this stupid life. Did things really have to get this intense? And if she got expelled like this, she couldn't even imagine the consequences.
In other words,
was this guy going to ruin the rest of her life?
P.S. Morning, bros.
The IOU for 500,000 in debt was mine!
"One coffee and one glass of warm water, please."
Nakano-kun and Kamuro went to a café together. He was familiar with the place, since it was where he'd gone with Horikita the day before.
The staff were also very accommodating. He'd only ordered two coffees, but they had let him and Horikita sit there for two hours.
But...
"Here's your coffee."
"And your warm water."
The server brought the drinks over, but didn't know which one was for whom, so they set them down between the two of them. Then they gave Nakano Yuu a rather strange look.
Mm.
They probably thought he was a playboy. He'd spent two hours with a pretty girl the day before, and now he'd already brought a different one along.
"The server's expression was kind of weird," Kamuro said.
"Don't worry about it," Nakano Yuu said. "This warm water is yours. And what we need to talk about now is your situation."
"..." Kamuro.
"Little thief, you don't want to get disgraced and expelled like this, do you?" Nakano said.
"..." Kamuro.
Kamuro immediately realized that this wasn't going to end well.
She was thinking of a way out, because everything about this guy's words and actions seemed suspicious.
First, he'd known about her in advance, which meant he'd come prepared. And he planned to post the recording on the school forum, which would ruin her reputation.
So...
He'd come prepared, and he had a much bigger goal in mind.
Those words formed clearly in her mind.
"What will it take for you to agree to delete that video?" Kamuro asked stiffly.
"I can do it right now," Nakano Yuu replied. "All you have to do is sign this IOU."
As he spoke, Nakano took out a slip of paper.
Well, it was an IOU.
Today's date: blank. Student ID: blank. Borrowed 500,000 Private Points from Nakano Yuu of Class 1-D.
Debtor: blank.
The blanks were probably for her to fill in.
Wait.
"Are you trying to lend me money?" Kamuro asked, looking at Nakano Yuu suspiciously.
"Of course not. I just want you to acknowledge this IOU," Nakano Yuu said. "In practice, it means you owe me 500,000 as hush money."
"..." Kamuro.
500,000 points to buy the recording was ridiculously expensive.
After all, everyone got 100,000 points for living expenses in their first month. But this month, because their class rating had fallen to 836 points, they had only received a little over 80,000.
And given the sort of people in her class, if she joined either the Katsuragi or Sakayanagi Faction, her points would no longer be her own.
So,
Kamuro had already accepted that if she joined a faction, she'd have to pay some points to its leader.
That was why she hadn't joined either side lightly.
And today, someone from Katsuragi's side had said that Katsuragi had secured the position of secretary in the Student Council, and that he'd bought the position for 1,000,000 points.
Katsuragi certainly didn't have that much money, so where would it come from? Naturally, his supporters would have to cover it.
So joining the Katsuragi Faction was the same as losing money.
Still, that wasn't necessarily the whole story. Katsuragi joining the Student Council would definitely be good for the class and the Katsuragi Faction.
At least Sakayanagi's side wasn't qualified to get involved, right?
And now Kamuro was facing a bill of 500,000 points... She only had 120,000 points on hand.
But...
The conflict between the two factions in Class A would only grow more intense, so she figured she'd have to choose a side eventually.
Then her income would drop.
So she'd have to repay Nakano Yuu in installments. Just thinking about it made her feel like there was nothing to look forward to in school anymore. And if she refused, she'd be disgraced, maybe even expelled and sent home, with all the consequences that would entail.
"If you don't want to pay it back, that's fine too," Nakano Yuu said. "There are other ways you can repay me."
"What are they?" Kamuro asked curiously.
"You probably haven't noticed, but you're actually quite pretty. And pretty girls have other ways of making money."
!!
Kamuro Masumi immediately took two steps back, putting some distance between them.
Clearly, what he was asking now went beyond what she could accept.
"Relax," Nakano Yuu said. "I'm not interested in you. You're not my type."
Really?
It should have been a reassuring answer, but Kamuro felt a little annoyed.
But she didn't dare let it show.
She understood that he still had leverage over her.
"So, when you mentioned Sakayanagi, did you mean Sakayanagi Arisu?" she asked.
She was trying to figure out why he had targeted her, even though she didn't know this person and had never met her before today.
So she was trying to work out how she had ended up in this situation.
"Sakayanagi Arisu is my ex-girlfriend," Nakano Yuu said.
"..." Kamuro. "I get it. You're actually taking orders from Sakayanagi and trying to get leverage on me so she can make me join her faction."
Kamuro felt as if she'd figured it out, and she seemed even more displeased.
"I already thought she was no good, and it turns out I was right."
"That's so underhanded."
"Infighting within the class really is a pain," she said.
"Your theory is plausible, but you might be reading too much into it," Nakano Yuu said. "Still, you're not wrong to think this is related to Sakayanagi."
"I want you to get close to Sakayanagi Arisu and find out what she's up to. If she plans to target me, you need to warn me," Nakano Yuu said.
In other words, he wanted her to become a mole by Sakayanagi's side.
Before you continue