Ichinose stopped walking, her voice barely concealing a tremble.
Just then, Uesugi Gen realized that the smiling girl before him—
the girl who had openly said yesterday that she wanted to help everyone in her class,
the girl who had bent down with a smile that morning to ask if he wanted help—
had, at some point, stopped smiling.
All that remained was a silent girl, her eyes already glistening with tears.
After a long silence, Uesugi Gen spoke.
"I'll go back and apologize to Horikita-senpai. I hope he won't mind. Apply again in a couple of weeks, and I'm sure you'll get in this time."
Ichinose pinched the hem of Uesugi Gen's clothes with one hand and shook her head.
"It's okay, Uesugi-kun. Let's go back."
"I can still help my classmates even if I don't join the Student Council."
The Thief Lady
At last, Uesugi Gen had encountered an unimaginably difficult problem.
It was the problem that had troubled countless great thinkers. No matter how rich or intelligent you were, everyone had to face it: what to have for dinner.
Uesugi Gen had been wandering in front of the supermarket shelves for over ten minutes.
After much deliberation, he finally made his choice and reached out to take something from the shelf.
Instant noodles!
The number-one choice for lazy people, famous for its convenience. Just pour in the seasoning, add boiling water, cover the bowl for three minutes, and you'd have a bowl of noodles that wasn't too bad.
Decision made. You're the one.
Huh? The instant Uesugi Gen picked up the noodles, something caught the corner of his eye.
A girl with purple hair tied in a half-ponytail, whose figure and looks were both outstanding, casually slipped the item in her hand into her skirt pocket as she turned around.
What a beautiful girl. She was tall, wore glossy leather shoes, and had long, toned legs. Add the fact that she was a girl who stole things, and the contrast was striking.
Judging by her deft movements and calm expression, this probably wasn't her first time stealing.
They'd only just started school, so she probably wasn't stealing because she was short on money. Was she doing it for the thrill?
She'd be in a lot of trouble if someone caught her.
Uesugi Gen rubbed his chin, his smile growing increasingly wicked.
The item she'd stolen was small, only about the size of his palm. It was probably some sort of accessory, like a hair clip.
And after successfully stealing it, she hadn't left. She was still wandering around the supermarket.
That meant she might very well steal something again.
As Uesugi Gen thought, he slowly slipped his other hand into his pocket.
With the hand holding the instant noodles, he pretended to lose his grip on the bowl. It slipped from his hand and hit the floor.
Clatter!
The instant the bowl hit the floor, Uesugi Gen switched on his phone's video camera.
Japanese phones played a sound effect whenever the camera started or stopped recording.
In that case, he'd have to cover it up with another sound.
Uesugi Gen picked up the noodles with one hand and took out his phone with the other, pretending to look down at it.
He had a feeling that if anyone caught him, he'd be socially dead.
"Shocking! This handsome young man is actually a stalker with unnaturally high intelligence!" Or, "Handsome young man caught secretly filming a beautiful girl in broad daylight!"
If anyone found out, he'd have no choice but to move to Mars.
So Uesugi Gen stayed on high alert, watching everything around him.
He kept track of the few people nearby and where they were looking, the number of cameras, the blind spots within their range, and the people coming and going.
There she goes!
Just as expected, the beautiful young girl hadn't stopped after her first successful theft. She was striking again while the iron was hot.
She headed to the toiletries section, where there were fewer people.
She picked up two bottles of skincare product and appeared to be examining the differences closely. In reality, she had another, smaller bottle tucked in her palm.
After looking at them for a while, she seemed dissatisfied and went to put one bottle back.
The instant she returned the bottle to a higher shelf, the smaller one slid from her palm and into her long sleeve, thanks to the difference in height.
Nice!
Uesugi Gen put his phone away and left, completely satisfied.
He had a very good use for this video.
...Scene break...
It didn't take much to find out the girl's name. There were only 160 students in the entire year, after all.
Kamuro Masumi from Class A? No, she should be called Thief Masumi!
She was in Class A? Stealing should have had a huge impact on her placement.
Had she never been caught stealing, or had the school been careless in its background checks? Or had the school deliberately put someone like her in Class A to balance the strength of the different classes?
He took out his phone and registered a new account.
He added her as a friend, got her verification, and sent her the video, all in one go.
He put his phone away and played a game first.
More than ten minutes passed.
Seeing that his message had been read but not answered on Line, Uesugi Gen wondered what choice she would make.
About half an hour later, the first message came through.
Kamuro: [Go ahead and report me. I'm not going to let you blackmail me. Even if the school finds out, all I'll get is a reprimand.]
???
Uesugi Gen was completely dumbfounded. What was with this girl? Why was she so stubborn? He hadn't even made a demand, and she was already eager to go down with him.
That was the worst kind of person to blackmail: someone who'd blow everything up at the slightest provocation, leaving you with no way to deal with them.
But this clearly wasn't what Uesugi Gen had hoped for.
If things went on like this, what was the point of going to all that trouble to film the video?
Uesugi: [Take it easy. No need to rush. You haven't even heard what I want yet. Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you.]
Kamuro: [There's no need. Go ahead and report me if you want. I won't listen to anything you say.]
It really was Class A, the class with the highest standards. In a way, this was indeed the best response.
There was no helping it. Since the girl wouldn't budge, Uesugi Gen could only settle for less and lower his demands as much as possible.
Uesugi: [How about you decide the terms? My request is simple: tell me about what goes on in Class A. You can tell me anything you like. Let's just say I've made a new friend.]
He sent the message, and once again, she read it without replying.
It was only after more than ten minutes that she sent another message.
Kamuro: [You... what exactly do you want?]
Was this girl clever, or did she have an extraordinary intuition? Most people would have agreed to those terms without a second thought.
But from her message, he could sense a complete lack of trust.
Uesugi: [It's simple. Since I can't blackmail you, let's be friends. Better to have a new friend out of nowhere than a new enemy.]
Kamuro: [Heh. You think I believe that?]
Uesugi: [Don't be like that. You're actually pretty likable. Since you haven't rejected me, I'll take that as a yes. I'm asking you as a friend to consider my proposal.]
In the girls' dormitory, Kamuro Masumi stared at her phone, her expression shifting from one emotion to another.
She couldn't figure out what the other person was after.
He'd controlled the pace of the conversation the whole time, keeping her completely on the back foot. Once he figured out what she was thinking, she might never get the upper hand again.
After a long while, Kamuro Masumi clenched her teeth, put her phone back in her skirt pocket, changed her shoes, and left the dormitory.
You think you're clever? Good. I recently met someone who thinks she's clever, too. Let's see which of you is smarter.
The Thief Lady's Thighs—Sakayanagi Arisu
"I'm truly hurt, Kamuro. You only told me about this now, when you could have told me right away. I'd have been happy to help you sort it out."
The speaker was a silver-haired girl wearing a white beret. Her face was flawless, like a porcelain doll, and her short hair just brushed her shoulders. Beneath her fair, delicate neck was a faintly visible collarbone. The rest of her skin was hidden from view, and her chest was small. Her petite frame could easily make someone mistake her for a middle schooler.
She held a cane in her hand, which meant she might have trouble getting around.
You're no different from that guy, either. You both want to use me, Kamuro Masumi complained inwardly.
Still, compared to someone whose true intentions she couldn't figure out, Kamuro Masumi would rather be used by the girl in front of her.
At least this person definitely couldn't outrun her.
"But I'm surprised to find out Kamuro has such a little hobby. If I'd known, I wouldn't have tried to buy you off with points."
The silver-haired girl in the beret covered her mouth and giggled.
No, I regret it. Your personality's worse than the person on my phone.
"Cut the pointless chatter and help me deal with this. I can't figure out what the other person is after. Here, these are the messages."
Kamuro Masumi pouted and handed her phone to Sakayanagi Arisu.
Sakayanagi Arisu rested her cane across her knees and took the phone.
As she gently moved her fingers across the screen, Sakayanagi Arisu began commenting with mischievous amusement.
"He made a new account just for Kamuro... and you immediately turned down his proposal."
"I didn't expect Kamuro, who's usually not very smart, to make such a good decision. So the terms are about Class A..."
When she reached Uesugi Gen's offer, Sakayanagi Arisu's finger stopped scrolling. Her commentary came to a halt as well.
"That's why I can't figure out what he's after."
Kamuro Masumi sat nearby and rolled her eyes adorably.
"Hey, Kamuro, do you know... about the hidden rules of this school?"
Sakayanagi Arisu had finished reading the conversation between Uesugi Gen and Kamuro Masumi, and a smile like a child seeing a new toy appeared on her face.
"Hidden rules? Are there any?"
At Sakayanagi Arisu's words, a huge question mark appeared in Kamuro Masumi's mind.
"Honestly, I thought Kamuro might have noticed that something was a little off."
Sakayanagi Arisu gave a soft, adorable sigh, then explained to Kamuro Masumi.
"This school is a meritocracy..."
"Huh? You mean students are evaluated by their worth and divided into four classes, which compete against each other, and only the highest-ranked Class A can graduate from the school? Why didn't you tell me something that important sooner?"
Upon learning the truth, Kamuro Masumi sprang to her feet and stared at Sakayanagi Arisu in shock.
Before you continue