Kushida Kikyo looked surprised.
"Since your family's finances are pretty average, it's only natural to think that way. Besides, the school gives us so many points. Saving them up is basically making a profit."
"Once you leave school, you'll still be working for money. This is just getting used to it early."
"Wouldn't it be strange not to think that way?"
Kageya Shinjitsu spoke up.
"That's true, but I think the teacher said the points wouldn't be taken back."
Kushida Kikyo thought it over.
"Whether the school takes the points back is up to the school. What about between students? Some of our classmates come from wealthy families. If you offered to sell them points, do you think they'd accept?"
"In special circumstances, you might even be able to sell them at a rate higher than one to N."
"Even if that's not allowed, you could buy things from the school and sell them after graduation. They might be worth a little less, but they'd still be money."
"There are plenty of other ways, too. You just have to think of them. The question is whether you want to."
Kushida Kikyo didn't keep asking about Karuizawa Kei, so Kageya Shinjitsu responded a little more.
He also wanted her to understand how important points were.
"Ohhh. That makes sense, but it feels a little unfair," Kushida Kikyo said.
"That's just how the world is. Fairness and all that... heh," Kageya Shinjitsu replied.
"You're so smart, Kageya."
"I feel like I want to know more about you and become even better friends."
"You're so dependable. I just wish you'd change that lazy attitude of yours. You look like you've seen through the whole world, and it makes you seem completely listless."
"Do you think I should take the chance to save up some points, too?"
Kushida Kikyo had stopped eating and was shaking Kageya Shinjitsu's arm.
It was a girl's surefire way to act cute.
"Sure, sure..."
"Go ahead and save them."
Kageya Shinjitsu wasn't very good at dealing with such an enthusiastic girl.
Especially since she always reminded him of someone from middle school.
As for her wanting to save points, he figured she'd have to settle for wishing.
At least in this class, the chances were slim.
"You were talking so nicely just now. Why are you brushing me off again? You're so insincere."
"Then let's try something else. Besides making money, what else?"
"Do you have any other little goals?"
Kushida Kikyo kept turning up the pressure.
Trying to coax him.
"Little goals, huh?"
"Then how about adding learning how to date?"
"Like finding a girl who's right for me and dating her?"
"Girls are such a hassle, so I need to learn how to deal with them."
Kageya Shinjitsu thought about it.
It seemed his mother had hoped he'd start dating early when he first enrolled.
And learning how to date seemed like a major undertaking.
He might have misunderstood what dating meant back in middle school.
Maybe if he learned how to deal with girls, he'd be able to handle a nuisance like Kushida Kikyo.
Thinking about it carefully, he might have missed his chance to have a girlfriend before.
She'd even been the first girl to confess to him, though her motives hadn't been entirely pure.
He thought of the way Karuizawa Kei was.
She still wasn't right for him.
It wasn't about whether her motives were pure. It was more that she seemed so fragile, like she'd get hurt easily.
If she'd been like her old delinquent self, the kind of girl who wouldn't break no matter how much you teased her, he might have wanted to give it a try.
"Yeahhh!"
"So Kageya really does have a goal after all."
"Is it Karuizawa?"
"And what you said at the end was cheating! You can't say things like that again. It'll make girls hate you."
Kushida Kikyo hadn't expected to find out so much so easily.
She followed up while she had the chance.
As she spoke, she gave Kageya Shinjitsu a light smack.
What did he mean, girls were a hassle?
"Not Karuizawa. I don't even have a target. Noda's just too curious."
When you thought about it, girls like Kushida Kikyo were probably more popular with guys. But Kageya Shinjitsu didn't joke about it.
They didn't seem close enough to joke around like that.
An ordinary guy might have wondered at a time like this whether Kushida Kikyo had a crush on him or liked him.
That would explain why she was so curious about the girls around him.
But after everything he'd been through, Kageya Shinjitsu knew the girl beside him didn't mean it that way.
This is what experience gets you.
Girls didn't fall for someone that easily.
Especially someone like him.
"See? You always brush me off like this whenever I ask. You clearly remembered Karuizawa."
"That's so annoying."
Kushida Kikyo pouted cutely.
"Hanada, you're the one who should know better. As a mature girl, if you've figured out I don't want to talk about it, don't call me out on it."
Kageya Shinjitsu brushed her off.
"What? You're trying to reason with a girl? Let me warn you: that's no way to think about dating. Girls don't care about reason."
Kushida twisted girls' personalities around.
"Is that so? Then, Teacher Hanada, please teach me properly how to date and deal with girls."
Brush-off level: two...
He changed the subject and stopped talking about Karuizawa.
"Of course! No problem. First, girls like confident boys, so you need to work on that. You should also be gentler and more decisive. Those are all pluses."
"Yeahhh! You're amazing, Teacher Hanada."
"And besides that..."
The two single dogs quickly changed the subject. One was willing to teach, and the other was actually willing to learn.
The Shokudo no Kushida-chan dating course was now in session.
To be honest, Kageya Shinjitsu was starting to regret bringing it up.
He'd been fed a whole bunch of little tips on how to get along with girls.
By the time he left the cafeteria, his head was spinning.
At night, the stars formed a brilliant, dazzling galaxy.
His body had completely recovered. Bathed in the light of the sun, moon, and stars, Kageya Shinjitsu began his workout.
He'd planned to run a few laps around the little park on campus, as usual.
But something unexpected happened by the railing near the lake.
"Kageya Shinjitsu, you saw that just now, didn't you?"
Kushida, no longer the same as usual, blocked his way and wouldn't let him leave.
Her gaze was completely different. Her deep-purple eyes glared at him viciously, as if she wanted to kill him. Under the lights, Kushida Kikyo looked almost... sinister.
If Kushida was usually a little angel, now she was a fallen angel. She was just as cute as ever, but her entire aura had changed.
The reason this had happened went back a little earlier.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
He'd been running according to plan when he unexpectedly heard someone kicking a railing. There were also curses.
"Why won't anyone do what I want?"
"Why is everyone such a bunch of idiots?"
"Damn Kanji Ike. They're all brain-dead. What the hell is going through their heads?"
"Damn Horikita. She's so full of herself just because she's cute. Why doesn't she just die?"
"This is the worst. Horikita's so annoying, Horikita's so annoying, Horikita's so damn annoying!"
"Karuizawa Kei, you too! You say we're friends, but you keep getting close to Horikita Suzune."
"And Kageya Shinjitsu, you delinquent. You keep rejecting me, and you can't even answer a question properly. You bastard, you piece of trash, you should..."
"And what was all that about dating? Calling me 'teacher'? Do you think we're role-playing? Go die, go die!"
"Argh, I'm so mad!"
The pleasant voice had twisted into something else, accompanied by the thuds of her kicks against the railing.
He couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the railing.
A quick glance past the little grove showed Kushida Kikyo by the railing, kicking it again and again. She was nothing like she usually was.
She was still wearing her ordinary school uniform, and her short skirt and short socks were enticing, but the sight made him wonder if this could really be Kushida Kikyo.
Most of all, she was cursing him.
"????"
If she hates me so much, why not just stay away from me?
"Who's there?"
Maybe he'd made too much noise as he approached, or maybe Kushida Kikyo had noticed because he'd been listening too intently...
"Kageya Shinjitsu? It's you. What are you doing over there? Come here."
Her pretty face was cold, and her deep gaze was frightening.
There was something strangely special about Kushida Kikyo like this.
And so, somehow, things had ended up this way.
"Kageya Shinjitsu, you saw that just now, didn't you?"
Before you continue