Sakayanagi Arisu's Dream

It was over. It was over.

Was Kijima Tsukur planning to toy with her?

If she stayed here any longer, Kijima Tsukur would definitely toy with her mercilessly. She had to find a way to turn him down as soon as possible!

"So you didn't approach me because of any personal feelings. You chose to come talk to me for some reason."

Kijima Tsukur stroked his chin, absently fiddling with a Rubik's Cube in his other hand.

"We've known each other for less than two days and haven't even spoken before. The only thing I can think of is the strength I showed yesterday, just as Sakayanagi behind me challenged me because of it."

"The question is, what do you want to use my strength for?"

Kijima Tsukur tapped the Rubik's Cube with his right index finger, sensing a slight snag in his reasoning.

"You came to find me during break, then made Sanada leave his seat. You were deliberately showing me your abilities and value."

"That means you want to get on good terms with me. You want to work together."

At that,

everyone in Class A was drawn to him. They looked at Hashimoto Masayoshi thoughtfully. Could there be some hidden expert in their class?

Then Kijima Tsukur's next words made them uneasy.

"People only think about working together when they have some objective!"

"But with no more information to go on, there's no reason for us to work together."

"That leaves only a few possibilities!"

"First, you have other information, and it's led you to conclude that you'd be better off working with someone strong. But even that's a little strange."

"Whatever the information is, there's no need for you to act so deferentially. It would be more normal to pursue the greatest benefit from an equal position."

"So that leaves the second possibility."

"You didn't approach me to work together, but to play the harmless fool before making a move against me? But you seem even less capable than Sakayanagi. I don't think you'd have the courage to try that, and I don't think you'd be a match for me. That makes it even harder to understand."

Huh???

Behind him, Sakayanagi Arisu raised an eyebrow. What did he mean, even less capable than Sakayanagi?

She'd thought Kijima Tsukur was just arrogant and full of himself, but she hadn't expected him to actually look down on her that much.

All right!

Sakayanagi Arisu loved dealing with people who thought too highly of themselves.

At first, she'd only meant to kill some time and tease Katsuragi and Kijima Tsukur a little. Now she'd decided to thoroughly trounce this conceited fool.

She'd make Kijima Tsukur grovel at her feet and beg for mercy!

"So I'm more inclined to believe the third possibility."

Kijima Tsukur stood up, leaned forward, and moved close to Hashimoto Masayoshi. His dark eyes fixed on the other boy's.

"The problem is your personality. You have limited abilities, but you like to scheme. You think you have a clear grasp of your own capabilities, so you don't expect to stand on equal footing. You just want to attach yourself to someone strong and share in the benefits."

"You'd scheme even without a goal. Scheming isn't your objective; it's more like your guiding principle in life. Someone like you could betray us at any moment..."

His words made the people around them frown.

Even if they couldn't analyze things theoretically the way Kijima Tsukur could, plenty of students in Class A had already sensed that Hashimoto Masayoshi was probably someone who knew how to scheme.

It was instinct!

They took in a person's appearance, tone, way of socializing, personal bearing, and so on.

Putting all of that together and drawing on their past experience, they could make a rough first impression.

For example:

Was this person introverted or extroverted?

Rational or emotional?

More reserved or more flamboyant?

Did they care about cleanliness, and so on?

Most people could make some sort of judgment.

Hashimoto Masayoshi's first impression was that he was frivolous. Combined with his exceptional social skills, he came across as shrewd!

You could say he was good at scheming, and there was nothing wrong with that!

But being good at scheming and making scheming your guiding principle in life were two entirely different things.

Simply put, someone who was good at scheming still had certain limits. Someone who made scheming their guiding principle in life definitely had fewer limits and could betray others at any moment.

That's slander...

Hashimoto Masayoshi wanted to say that, but he knew Kijima Tsukur was telling the truth.

He did make scheming his guiding principle in life, and he didn't mind Kijima Tsukur seeing through him. The problem was that he'd called him out in front of all these students in Class A. It was incredibly awkward.

Wouldn't everyone think he was a scheming little weasel?

Although he admitted Kijima Tsukur was right, Hashimoto Masayoshi didn't think of himself as a bad person. After all, if he stood to gain something, why would he betray anyone?

He'd never tried to hide what he thought, either.

He'd been perfectly honest, yet people still misunderstood him as a bad person. It was a little unpleasant.

"Tsukur... Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? I admit..."

"No need to explain."

Before Hashimoto Masayoshi could finish, Kijima Tsukur stood and said coolly,

"I don't dislike people who are devoted to scheming. You always make the choices that benefit you most, so you're incredibly easy to understand."

"Most importantly, people who are devoted to scheming usually believe in exchanging value. There's no need to take emotions into account, so I can use you without the slightest guilt. I like that very much. All right."

As he spoke, Kijima Tsukur walked over to Hashimoto Masayoshi and rested his left hand on his shoulder. He gave him a casual glance.

"Since you've placed your hopes in someone strong, don't tell me you haven't prepared suitable bargaining chips. If you haven't, I'll have to reassess your value, Hashimoto!"

"Everyone's starting with the same number of points, so the only thing of value is information. Go on..."

"What information do you want to offer in exchange for my protection?"

Chapter 10: Sakayanagi Arisu's Dream

"Uh..."

Hashimoto Masayoshi's expression turned complicated.

He had indeed managed to find out some information. He'd originally planned to tell Kijima Tsukur all of it without holding anything back, earning himself a favor in the process.

He hadn't expected Kijima Tsukur to see through even that!

Now that he'd been called out in front of everyone, it looked less like he was doing Kijima Tsukur a favor and more like he was displaying his abilities to seek protection.

He wasn't an equal partner, let alone a close ally.

He looked more like one of Kijima Tsukur's subordinates...

Hashimoto Masayoshi naturally felt a little uncomfortable, but at the same time, he was somewhat excited.

He hadn't only given the information to Kijima Tsukur. He'd also told Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei.

Yet,

only Kijima Tsukur had figured it out from a few things he'd done. He'd even seen right through Hashimoto's nature.

Of course,

perhaps Sakayanagi or Katsuragi had seen through him too. They just hadn't been as blunt as Kijima Tsukur.

But it still showed Kijima Tsukur's ability and how confident he was in his own strength.

That was enough!

As far as Hashimoto Masayoshi was concerned,

it didn't matter what kind of person the other party was, as long as he could achieve his goals. Their relationship didn't matter, either.

Just as Kijima Tsukur had said, Hashimoto Masayoshi acted only for himself. He would always make the choice that benefited him most.

Therefore,

even though he felt awkward, even a little humiliated,

he still put on a smile so frivolous it made people suspicious and praised him.

"Impressive. No wonder you're Kijima. Actually, yesterday I asked some upperclassmen about things and found out that several classes might not even have forty students!"

As soon as he said that,

Class A broke into an uproar.

The enrollment guide said that the school admitted 160 students each year and divided them into four classes. How could the upperclassmen's numbers not add up?

If some students had left school due to illness or something, that would be normal. But judging by Hashimoto Masayoshi's expression, they were short by more than one or two.

"Oh? How did you find that out?"

Kijima Tsukur stood beside Hashimoto Masayoshi, more concerned with whether the information was reliable.

He glanced around the classroom. Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi looked calm, as if they already knew about this.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. I'm sure everyone has their doubts about this school. There can't be any fools who'll just enjoy the school's benefits without a care, right?"

Seeing the solemn expressions on everyone in Class A, Hashimoto Masayoshi spread his hands with a helpless look.

"So yesterday, after I got back to the dorm, I introduced myself to some upperclassmen under the pretext of paying them a visit. Then I used the excuse of setting up a mixer and asked them to introduce us to some girls. That way, we'd all have girlfriends."

"Then a few of them grumbled, saying things like, 'The numbers probably won't match up,' and 'Hashimoto, you'll probably get left out and end up a single guy.'"

"When I asked more about it, those upperclassmen seemed to realize what they'd let slip and said that if I wanted to pry into their information, I'd have to use points."

"I asked how much they wanted. Guess what they quoted?"

"Three million!"

Hashimoto Masayoshi held up three fingers, and the students in Class A grew even more restless.

Given the situation, three million clearly wasn't a price one person could pay. They'd need to pool their points as a class, at the very least.

"Hashimoto, stop dragging it out. What's going on?"

"Of course I don't have that many points. They were probably just naming a ridiculous price so they could bargain down from it. But even if I had enough, I wouldn't pay that many points."

Quite a few people nodded along.

Since the upperclassmen knew, it was only a matter of time before the lowerclassmen found out too. They just had to be careful in the meantime. The information wasn't worth spending points on.

More importantly, they could already infer quite a bit from just this!

"So... I have a theory."

Hashimoto Masayoshi turned to Kijima Tsukur beside him and smiled.

"The school holds various exams from time to time, and anyone who fails gets expelled. That's the only way to explain why the upperclassmen's numbers are lower."

"I don't think a school that gives you a hundred thousand points for free every month would make the exams as easy as written tests and physical fitness tests."

"Kijima, how valuable is this information?"

What he meant was:

If the school held exams that resulted in expulsions, Kijima Tsukur should help him out.

Of course, Hashimoto Masayoshi had also told Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei about the information. Now that the whole class knew, he was clearly showing off what he could do.

He had remarkable initiative and knew how to use the excuse of arranging a mixer to get information out of the upperclassmen. That lent the information at least some credibility.

His methods were a little frivolous, though,

and quite a few girls looked at Hashimoto Masayoshi with disgust.

They knew he'd probably only been making casual conversation with the upperclassmen to get on their good side, but it still rubbed the girls the wrong way.

"No problem... I'd say it's valuable information."