A Free Ride? This Is a Honey Trap!

Chapter 44: A Freebie? This Is a Honey Trap!

And Nakano Yuu knew the President had started to get suspicious.

In Nakano Yuu's account just now, he had made it very clear that Katsuragi had only owed one million points and had already paid back 500,000, which meant he was only 500,000 in debt.

But Nakano Yuu had asked Miyabi Nagumo for 600,000.

That was 100,000 more.

Something was off about that.

Or was he trying to pull something?

How annoying.

It wasn't as though Nakano Yuu was a bad person. He had only tested whether Nagumo-senpai was a really good guy.

Because genuine help wouldn't come with extra points attached. And now, the fact that Nagumo could pay 600,000 without hesitation showed he had an ulterior motive for helping Katsuragi. He wasn't being kind out of the goodness of his heart.

At the same time.

The fact that Nagumo could casually pay 600,000 meant it wasn't much money to him. So he had the means to pay.

That made him a suitable addition to the plan to amass the 20 million points he needed.

And now.

"President, I've taken care of the first matter," Nakano Yuu said, looking at the 600,000 points that had just arrived in his account before turning to Horikita Manabu. "As for the second matter, I came to the Student Council to make a deal."

"A deal?"

Katsuragi's problem had been dealt with, and he had quieted down.

As for Miyabi Nagumo, after paying the points, he thought he'd managed to establish a connection with Class 1-A. He was in a good mood.

That was right.

Miyabi Nagumo was already planning ahead. He was the Vice President now, and as Vice President, he knew what authority the President possessed. He wanted that authority for himself.

So he intended to become the next Student Council President.

And to do that, he needed to gather votes.

So, to him, temporarily fronting the points was worthwhile if it could earn him the goodwill of Katsuragi, a member of Class 1-A.

That was why he was in a good mood.

And now.

What other bright idea did this junior have? Although he'd been surprised by the student's arrival today, he still felt that Nakano Yuu was his lucky star.

He'd previously wondered how to approach Katsuragi, but the other boy seemed too upright, and he was always under the President's watchful eye. So Nagumo hadn't been able to make a move. But now Katsuragi owed him a favor, and even the President couldn't object.

"That's right. A deal," Nakano Yuu said. "Like Katsuragi's secretary position, I'd like to ask whether I can pay points to buy a position."

"Heh!" On hearing that, Horikita Manabu laughed out loud.

Even Tachibana Akane, the other secretary behind him, could barely stifle a laugh.

After all, for the President to give a Class D student a position on the Student Council was already a great show of confidence.

And he'd turned it down, then sold it off.

And now.

Was he regretting it? Did he want the position back?

"I have no interest in joining the Student Council myself," Nakano Yuu said. "But I'd like to get a position for a girl I like."

"..." XN

The room fell completely silent.

Katsuragi's expression shifted.

At the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He'd thought Nakano Yuu had come to take back the position. But it seemed he only wanted to buy another one, and as long as he wasn't asking for the secretary position he currently held, Katsuragi didn't care what happened.

Nagumo, meanwhile, frowned.

He began to think that perhaps he really had misjudged the situation. Right—if Katsuragi had set a precedent, then it was possible to take the idea further.

Why hadn't he asked the President about buying a position with points before Nakano Yuu did?

There were still open positions. If he could get his own people into all of them...

Miyabi Nagumo began to think.

He also felt that the President might give someone who dared to think outside the box a chance.

"Too late," President Horikita said coolly. "I gave you a position once, and you sold it off immediately."

So the President was angry?

But just as everyone was thinking that, they heard the President continue.

"Still, since you've brought it up again yourself, I can give you the position of Student Council Treasurer. But it'll cost three million points," Horikita Manabu said.

"That's too expensive," Nakano Yuu replied. "The Treasurer position is nowhere near as good as secretary, yet the price has more than doubled."

"That's the price I'm offering you," Horikita Manabu said. "No one else has even been given the chance."

Uh.

Miyabi Nagumo, who had just been wondering whether he should make a move, immediately stopped.

The President's asking price was steep.

Three million points wasn't something an ordinary student could afford, and even if Nagumo could pay it, he'd feel the sting.

Right.

The President had already realized that their ideals didn't align. He probably wasn't going to give Nagumo many more chances to infiltrate the Student Council.

So by setting such a price for the Treasurer position, the President might also be warning him.

And so Miyabi Nagumo settled down.

"Then I want a buy-one-get-one deal," Nakano Yuu said after seeming to think it over for a while.

"Buy one, get one? You certainly know how to dream," Horikita Manabu said. "The Treasurer position costs three million points. I can also give you a Public Morals Committee Member position for 300,000 points."

The Treasurer position was understandable, since it meant you could at least remain in the Student Council. But the Public Morals Committee was different.

Apart from the committee chair, the other members were nobodies. They didn't even have a place to relax in the Student Council room.

And yet that nobody of a position cost 300,000 points.

"I can't afford three million points," Nakano Yuu said. "But I'd like to buy this Public Morals Committee position for the girl I like."

Huh.

Miyabi Nagumo sighed. He'd just started to think more highly of this junior, but he was throwing away a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.

But just then.

As he thought this, he noticed that Nakano Yuu wasn't looking at the President anymore. Instead, he turned to Nagumo.

?

Miyabi Nagumo frowned.

What was that supposed to mean?

Why was he looking at him?

As he wondered, he noticed Nakano Yuu taking out his phone.

Taking out his phone.

What was he going to do?

Wait. From where Nagumo was sitting, he could see the chat between Nakano Yuu and him. It was the conversation where Nagumo had asked about "Suzune."

Nakano Yuu hadn't replied to a single message, but he had sent three of them.

But what was he trying to say by showing him that now?

Wait.

Oh!

He got it.

"I'll pay the points for this position on behalf of Nakano Yuu," Miyabi Nagumo said at once.

"..."

Horikita Manabu and the others looked over at him, seemingly puzzled by his move.

"I've met this junior before. Just as the President thinks highly of him, I'm impressed by him too. I'm looking forward to seeing how students who climb up from the bottom develop," Miyabi Nagumo said.

He sounded completely upright.

But he'd figured it out.

He recalled Nakano Yuu's words when he entered the Student Council room: "I want to get a position for the person I like." And the person he liked had to be Suzune, right?

And now, this junior had shown him their chat history.

In other words.

The junior had taken the hint, hadn't he? He was giving up on Suzune and creating an opportunity for Nagumo. And if Nagumo paid for Suzune's position, wouldn't that be a perfect chance to win her favor?

Then even that cold iceberg might melt.

"The position will only be given to a girl in Class 1-D," Horikita Manabu reminded him. "Nakano Yuu, do you agree to that?"

"Of course," Nakano Yuu replied at once. "And Nagumo-senpai, you're okay with that, right?"

Of course he was.

He could tell the President didn't want him getting involved in buying and selling positions, especially if he tried to put his own people on the Student Council.

But that wasn't what he was doing now.

He was just taking the chance to win over Suzune, the junior.

"Sure," Miyabi Nagumo said, pulling out his phone and scanning the code to pay the points.

"President," Secretary Tachibana Akane said at once after approving the transaction, turning to Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu nodded.

Nakano Yuu's phone vibrated too.

He'd turned off the sound for incoming transfers, but his phone still reacted when money came in.

[Your private account has received 200,000 Private Points. Sender: Miyabi Nagumo, NYY1025033. Current balance: 2,489,080 Private Points.]

"Nagumo-senpai, what's this?" Nakano Yuu asked, seeming surprised. "Why did you transfer me 200,000 points?"

"We hit it off right away, and life in Class D must be tough for you," Nagumo-senpai said reassuringly.

Oh.

Nakano Yuu nodded lightly.

He knew Nagumo-senpai had "gotten the hint." Not only had he misunderstood Nakano Yuu and Horikita as a couple, he also thought Nakano Yuu was about to break up with her, so he'd given him a breakup payment.

Nagumo must have misunderstood something. But since he'd put it that way, Nakano Yuu could accept the money without any trouble.

So he turned to Horikita Manabu.

"President, can you enter the information for the student whose Public Morals Committee position I want to buy?" Nakano Yuu asked.

"Certainly," Horikita Manabu replied, still as calm as ever.

"All right, then please enter Kei Karuizawa from Class 1-D and appoint her to a Public Morals Committee position on the Student Council," Nakano Yuu said.

"Kei Karuizawa from Class 1-D?" Secretary Tachibana Akane said, already looking through the list beside Horikita Manabu.

"That's right," Nakano Yuu said with a nod.