Besides, the students had already gone home, and most of the staff were just starting their shifts, so there were only two or three customers in the store.
Who would've thought you were this kind of Student Council Secretary, Kamuro!
Though his head was lowered slightly, Hashimoto's attention was entirely on Kamuro.
No matter how fast Kamuro had moved in the convenience store, or how practiced she was, she hadn't escaped his notice.
Kamuro Masumi, a Class A student and Student Council Secretary, was a thief! Judging by her movements, she was a regular!
Still reeling from the shock, Hashimoto quickly put away his phone and flashed over to Kamuro's side.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get leverage on her. He figured Sakayanagi would pay him plenty for it.
All he had to do was persuade Kamuro Masumi to switch sides—or force her to.
Given how much the arrogant Aoyama trusted her, getting something on him wouldn't be difficult.
"You just put that beer in your bag, didn't you, Classmate Kamuro?" Hashimoto looked at the beer bottles arranged unevenly on the shelf and gave her a smug, leering smile.
Theft was a crime wherever you went. If he reported her to the school, Kamuro would have no choice but to drop out.
If she didn't want to be expelled, she'd have to join their side.
"You saw that?"
Kamuro turned to face Hashimoto, her voice cold.
"I saw it with both eyes." Hashimoto pointed at a bulge in Kamuro's bag. "If I call the manager over right now, you're finished."
"The worst that can happen is expulsion? What do you want?"
Kamuro took half a step back, putting on a flustered act. Her voice also turned unconvincingly defiant.
Anyone with more than a walnut for a brain could tell she was bluffing.
"Katsuragi seems decent enough, but in reality, he's all show and no substance. He's not fit to lead Class A. Classmate Sakayanagi is far more capable than Katsuragi."
"If you join us, we can also persuade Aoyama to support Classmate Sakayanagi. I'm sure we'll be able to graduate from Class A then."
"I can pretend I never saw what happened here today, too."
With an air of confidence, Hashimoto smiled and tried to coax Kamuro.
If she thought about it rationally, his offer wasn't all that unreasonable. He was sure she wouldn't do anything stupid.
"You want to graduate from Class A?"
"Who doesn't?" Hashimoto quickly replied to Kamuro's sudden question.
"Two million Personal Points. Pretend you didn't see anything."
Kamuro pulled her phone from her pocket, logged into her Personal Terminal, and showed Hashimoto the screen.
The enormous seven-digit sum left Hashimoto rooted to the spot.
Chapter 54: Kamuro's Confession
"Do I look like a one-day manager, Katsuragi?"
With a little sash reading "One-Day Manager" slung across his chest, Aoyama grinned as he spoke to Katsuragi.
After school, he'd invited Katsuragi to go somewhere with him, saying he had something good to discuss.
As for the destination, naturally, it was where Kamuro was.
"Not at all." Katsuragi kept a stern expression. "And judging by the way you look, I don't believe you've brought me here for anything good."
After several encounters since the start of the school year, he no longer expected Aoyama to become an asset to Class A.
If possible, he hoped Aoyama would keep doing what he'd been doing lately and stay invisible.
After all, Class A's strength wouldn't change much whether Aoyama was there or not.
But it seemed Aoyama had no intention of staying invisible.
"It's a good thing, Katsuragi. For you, anyway." Aoyama's smile didn't waver.
Once Hashimoto, Sakayanagi's accomplice, was dealt with, she would more or less lose her ability to cause trouble.
Katsuragi would have secured his position as Class A's leader without lifting a finger.
In game terms, that made him a carried player.
Aoyama was the real MVP!
"I hope so."
Katsuragi didn't look relieved in the slightest as he followed Aoyama indifferently.
Meanwhile, inside the convenience store.
The lure of two million Personal Points had left Hashimoto badly shaken.
Sakayanagi paid him only fifty thousand Personal Points for a month's work. Even after three full years, he'd only make 1.8 million.
He'd followed Sakayanagi at first because he thought she was strong, but now he was starting to doubt whether she could beat Aoyama.
Someone like Kamuro could earn two million Personal Points by working with Aoyama.
Just how many Personal Points did Aoyama have, then?
Not long ago, he'd casually spent a million to buy the right to go without his uniform—a privilege that was basically useless.
"I'll give you another million at most next month. Otherwise, you can expose me. I won't betray Aoyama."
As Hashimoto weighed the pros and cons, Kamuro didn't give him any more time to think.
"You have five seconds to decide. Five, four, three..."
"Fine. I accept."
As the countdown neared zero and Kamuro started to make as if to leave by force, Hashimoto couldn't help agreeing.
That was three million Personal Points! You'd have to be a fool not to take it!
He didn't have time to worry about the risks. He didn't believe Kamuro would dare drag him down with her and get them both expelled.
"Why would you rather get expelled than take two million Personal Points? Why not betray Aoyama? Do you like him?" Hashimoto couldn't help asking.
Had he been wrong? Did Kamuro really have feelings for Aoyama?
You couldn't tell at all from looking at her in class.
"Yes, yes. I absolutely adore him. I love him so much I could die."
As Kamuro used her phone to transfer two million to Hashimoto, all the anger and unease vanished from her face.
Her utterly dismissive tone left Hashimoto completely at a loss.
Did she like him or not? And why was Kamuro so calm after losing two million Personal Points?
"You don't seem upset at all." Looking at the enormous sum on his own phone, Hashimoto felt like laughing, but couldn't.
He'd just received two million Personal Points, yet he had a strange feeling that disaster was about to strike.
"Upset? Why would I get upset over a loser?"
Kamuro glanced outside the convenience store, spotted a familiar figure, and folded her arms, regaining her usual stern expression.
Following her gaze, Hashimoto also spotted the two students outside the store.
Katsuragi Kōhei, his face expressionless, and Aoyama Shiki, smiling faintly.
I've been tricked!?
"Hey, good afternoon, Hashimoto."
With the "One-Day Manager" sash slung across his chest, Aoyama passed Hashimoto as cheerfully as a spring breeze and took a working video camera from a pile of goods on the shelf.
In an instant, Hashimoto realized he'd been tricked.
But he couldn't understand. The fact that Kamuro had stolen something wouldn't change. If Aoyama reported her, both she and Hashimoto would be expelled.
"Threatening the Student Council Secretary on my turf? You've got some nerve, Hashimoto."
After watching the recording with Katsuragi, who looked displeased, Aoyama gave Hashimoto a thumbs-up and grinned as brightly as if he'd just won the lottery.
Thanks to Hashimoto's big mouth, he'd heard Kamuro's "confession of love."
It was incredibly satisfying.
"What do you mean, your turf? If I go down, Kamuro goes down with me." Hashimoto couldn't understand why Aoyama seemed so confident, and his protest sounded distinctly nervous.
"You mean this?"
Aoyama unzipped Kamuro's schoolbag and took out a can of beer.
It was absolutely not something a student was allowed to put in their schoolbag.
"Right. I saw Kamuro put the beer in her bag with my own eyes, and the security footage caught what you just did, too."
Hashimoto was afraid Aoyama might think that putting the beer back would make everything all right.
He raised his voice, immediately drawing the attention of the only employee by the register.
Just as he'd expected, the idle young woman behind the counter had already turned her gaze toward them.
"Come here."
As Hashimoto watched in disbelief, Aoyama smiled and beckoned to the employee.
The employee beamed and hurried over to Aoyama, calling him "Manager" affectionately.
"Did you turn off the security cameras like I asked, Kotone?"
"Mm-hmm, I turned them off ages ago, Manager."
The employee, who looked to be in her twenties, gazed at Aoyama's profile with a lovestruck expression, as if hoping for praise.
Witnessing this, Hashimoto knew he was utterly finished. Even the gods couldn't save him now.
"Good. Keep up the good work."
After praising the employee and sending her off, Aoyama headed for the staff break room.
Katsuragi and the other two could only silently follow him.
The four sat around a square table, one person to each side.
"Hand over all your Personal Points, then transfer me two hundred thousand on the first of every month." Aoyama laid out his terms to the utterly dejected Hashimoto.
"Through the Student Council, I also have footage of you following Yamamura and Kamuro. With the new recording from just now, you have no grounds to refuse."
"Following and threatening the Student Council Secretary, then taking a huge sum of two million Personal Points—the evidence couldn't be clearer. You're definitely getting expelled."
Following someone alone might not have been enough to get Hashimoto expelled, but threatening Kamuro and accepting two million meant that if this came out, he was done for.
"If Aoyama doesn't save me, then it looks like you're the only one who can, Katsuragi." Hashimoto gave a bitter smile and bowed his head to Katsuragi.
He couldn't possibly pay two hundred thousand Personal Points every month on his own.
Katsuragi, who had nothing to do with this, must have had a reason for being there.
As someone with a fairly quick mind, Hashimoto soon understood what Aoyama was getting at.
It was obvious: Aoyama was making him join Katsuragi's side if he wanted to stay in school.
"I'm wondering if it might be better to just let you get expelled."
Katsuragi looked coldly at Hashimoto's obsequious face, not happy in the slightest.
Chapter 55: Let's Go Kick Sakayanagi's Cane Away
Hashimoto had indeed been tricked, but it was also true that he'd threatened Kamuro and taken her money.
In Katsuragi's view, Hashimoto had a terrible nature and wouldn't make a good follower.
Paying him a hundred thousand Personal Points every month wasn't a worthwhile deal. Simply put, it would be a loss.
"If you don't save me, Aoyama really will get me expelled."
Hashimoto glanced at Aoyama, who seemed unconcerned, and pressed his palms together, begging Katsuragi.
"If a student gets expelled for breaking the rules, wouldn't the class lose a lot of Class Points?" Seeing that Katsuragi wasn't swayed, Hashimoto quickly thought of a way to persuade him.
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