Forget Everything Else-Let's Start Roasting / Let's Start "Gently Persuading" Her

Well, in a way, it really was a hands-off approach, but not one that let things run completely wild, dear.

"So, is there anything else you want to ask? I think you'd probably rather chat with a pretty girl than with me, wouldn't you?"

"No, not at all. Not at all."

"Really? All right."

Watching Kushida force herself to chat with him to maintain her image, the Hoya real estate agent actually felt a little sorry for her.

Still, he was probably a little more even-tempered than The Three Idiots, right? At least she wouldn't get too angry.

"But I'm also pretty curious about your Class D. Who's the class leader right now?"

"We haven't picked one yet... Do we have to?"

Kushida's mouth fell open at the Hoya real estate agent's question. She really hadn't considered it.

And, to be honest, even if she had, she wouldn't know what to say. She could get most of the class to listen to her, but there was nothing she could do about the handful of troublemakers.

"Not necessarily. It's just easier to get things done if you have a class leader. Ichinose is Class B's, Ryuen is mine, and I guess Katsuragi is Class A's, though things in Class A are pretty complicated... Still, not as complicated as your class."

The Hoya real estate agent glanced at the current state of Class D. There were hardly any students left in the room.

"This isn't really the best place to talk. How about we find somewhere nicer and chat over a drink?"

The Hoya real estate agent extended an invitation.

Kushida thought for a couple of seconds, then nodded in agreement.

There were indeed a few things she needed to take advantage of him for... No, she needed his help with.

"How about a café?"

"A café? That sounds like a good choice."

The Hoya real estate agent got up, and the two of them chatted as they walked.

Kushida wanted to use him, but wasn't he hoping to use her, too?

The only difference was that one of them wanted to take advantage of the other in the short term, while the other wanted to keep her under his thumb for the long haul.

To be honest, compared to Karuizawa, Kushida would be much harder to win over. At the very least, he'd have to go through the fingerprint incident.

Although the fingerprint incident showed up in all sorts of fan fiction, the Hoya real estate agent thought that getting involved proactively would be difficult.

No, difficult didn't even begin to cover it. It would be extremely difficult.

First, to make sure nobody saw her other side, Kushida would definitely pick somewhere hard to find. Second, she wouldn't necessarily go there every day, so it would be easy to miss her.

That meant he'd need someone to keep an eye out for him. The Hoya real estate agent's first thought was to ask Shiina, but he shook his head.

He'd better keep his plans to himself. She wasn't a blabbermouth, and she wasn't the sort to mess everything up, but she was softhearted. Telling her would only give her something else to worry about.

So who else in Class C could handle this?

Hmm... Ibuki Mio?

He couldn't help it. His first thought was of Ryuen Kakeru's lackeys. As for everyone else... They were mostly just background characters in fan fiction, and it was hard to say whether he could put them to use. Take Kinoshita Minori, Yamashita Saki, Morofuji Rika, and Yajima Mariko, for example. If the Hoya real estate agent hadn't ended up in Class C this time around, he probably wouldn't have remembered them at all.

Whatever. He'd think about it later. If all else failed, he could put the word out: whoever spotted Kushida sneaking out would get a few thousand points or something. A generous reward always brought volunteers.

She wasn't the sort to quietly bottle up a grudge for long, so it shouldn't be too hard to catch her leaving. The problem was, he was a guy. What kind of business was it for him to follow a girl around? It looked like he'd have to go back and think carefully about how to approach the matter.

He figured you couldn't rule a class through force alone. A stick followed by a carrot was a pretty good approach. He and Ryuen could play the good cop and bad cop, too.

Chapter 22: Forget Everything Else—Let's Start Roasting

While he mulled it over, he kept smiling and chatting with Kushida.

He had to admit, once he set aside his preconceived notions, Kushida really was socially savvy.

She could get along with plenty of girls—especially the ones who seemed like lunatics to the Hoya real estate agent. There was no way someone with so little social savvy could manage that.

The two of them had a pleasant enough conversation on the way. It had only been two days, but they had plenty to talk about.

Yes, plenty. It might seem like a boy and a girl wouldn't have much to discuss, but when it came to Kushida, she could always find something to talk about with the Hoya real estate agent.

So what did they talk about? The Hoya real estate agent mostly discussed information and his boss, Ryuen Kakeru. The information amounted to gossip about Classes A and B. As for his boss, he mostly sang his praises and talked about how close-knit and friendly Class C was.

He didn't even believe himself.

He didn't know whether Kushida believed him, but on the surface, she seemed to take every word at face value.

She also talked about Class D, sighing now and then.

There was no helping it. Class D had too many problem students, especially Koenji Rokusuke. He really was a headache.

Ah, Meili Ge. Of course he was a headache.

While expressing his sympathy to Kushida, he began thinking about the difficult presence that was Koenji.

How to put it... A high-class entertainer?

He'd come to this school to enjoy himself. As long as he wasn't expelled, he could slack off as much as he wanted. Someone like that could be a brilliant move if handled well, or a real nuisance if handled badly.

All right, no matter how he looked at it, that was a problem for later. Koenji was someone he'd need to think about using, little by little.

The Hoya real estate agent walked into the café with Kushida. Seeing how full it was of students, he couldn't help raising his eyebrows.

Good grief. You've got a hundred thousand points a month, but that doesn't mean you need to come somewhere this fancy to indulge yourselves, does it?

He didn't usually come here either, except perhaps to have a drink with a girl.

"Oh? I see someone from my class. Hoya, could you buy me a mocha? I want to chat with my classmate."

"Of course. No problem."

At this point, the Hoya real estate agent couldn't fail to realize what Kushida was planning. She wanted to be friends with Horikita.

She'd ask Ayanokoji to bring Horikita over, then pretend to run into her by chance and make friends. It was an ideal plan.

But it would probably fail. Horikita was a problem student. At the start of the year, she'd been the sort to stand aside and mind her own business.

Unlike the many students sitting over there, there weren't any students piled around the card table here. The Hoya real estate agent quickly ordered two coffees, choosing to add extra milk and sugar to one of them.

He got the standard mocha. He didn't know what Kushida liked, so he went with the usual.

Besides, she'd come to the café to get closer to Horikita, not to drink coffee.

The drinks were ready quickly. Maybe they kept the hot drinks prepared because it was a busy time. In any case, less than two minutes later, the Hoya real estate agent had picked up the coffees and gone to find Kushida.

It wasn't hard to find her. Something seemed to be going on over there.

A girl with long, straight black hair sat across from her, confronting her. She even looked a little aggressive.

"Hmm? What happened?"

The Hoya real estate agent smoothly joined the conversation and handed Kushida her mocha. "Here you go, Kushida."

"Thanks."

Kushida hadn't expected the Hoya real estate agent to suddenly join them, and she took the coffee in a daze. Horikita Suzune, sitting opposite her with her arms crossed, let out a cold laugh when she saw him.

"What happened? Looks like our victim doesn't know he's been used."

"What do you mean, used?"

"Of course she used you as an excuse to come talk to me. You're just someone she took advantage of. Anyone would do, as long as they were from another class. By the way, Kushida, do you think this is appropriate? Scheming against your own classmate like this?"

At that point, the Hoya real estate agent had to pretend he didn't understand. As he looked at Horikita Suzune with confusion, he also glanced at the other person at the table.

If I'm not mistaken, that's Ayanokoji... Holy crap, Ayanokoji's a girl?

Beside Kushida sat a cool, aloof girl who seemed entirely uninvolved. Her long brown hair framed a sickly-looking face, and she seemed low on energy.

The sight hit the Hoya real estate agent so hard that he froze for several seconds. But he soon got used to it. If Ryuen Kakeru could turn into Ryuen Shoko, then it made sense for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to become Ayanokoji Kiyohime, right?

The Hoya real estate agent had only been stunned, but to Horikita, it looked as if he'd been hurt. Now that he knew the truth, how would he react?

Right. He'd get angry and demand an explanation. Once he made a scene, she could take advantage of the commotion to leave.

She could leave right now, of course, but she didn't believe Kushida would simply watch her go. Who knew what she might try next? Better to cause her some trouble.

"Ahem. You're saying I was an excuse? Kushida wanted to be friends with you?"

"Right. So what?"

"You... Who are you?"

But Horikita hadn't expected the Hoya real estate agent to look disappointed or angry. Instead, he looked... confused?

Confused?

"Who the hell do you think you are? You really think you're that important? Are you saying it takes all this scheming just to be your friend? Isn't that exhausting?"

The Hoya real estate agent couldn't say what the truth was, but he could tell the woman in front of him was looking for a fight.

Sure, Kushida had probably used him, but she hadn't made him look like a clown. Horikita's words made him sound like a fool, a lovesick puppy, a useless guy taken advantage of by a nasty girl like Kushida.

Was he supposed to put up with that? Who the hell was she?

"Seriously, you really want to be friends with someone like her?"

The Hoya real estate agent turned to Kushida and continued, "I know you want to be friends with everyone, but some people just aren't worth getting close to, are they?"

Then he looked at Horikita. "Who schemed and schemed just to make a friend? Is your persecution complex acting up, or are you a masochist who likes being schemed against? We were just having coffee. She told me she'd run into a classmate, and that's how you two started talking. And now you think you're better than everyone else? You're both in Class D. What makes you so special? I suggested coming to the café. What, do you think she somehow schemed against me into telling her where you were?"

The Hoya real estate agent went off on Horikita. He'd been sick of this woman for a while now. What was with that expression every time she opened her mouth? Who the hell did she think she was? He wasn't even in Class D, so why should he be afraid of her? He wasn't afraid of Ryuen Shoko, so who did she think she was?

Chapter 23: Let's Start "Gently Persuading" Her

Was Kushida embarrassed? Absolutely.

She hadn't expected the Hoya real estate agent to get into an argument with Horikita Suzune.

But now she couldn't take either side. All she could do was watch.

Side with Horikita? Impossible. Horikita wouldn't suddenly warm up to her just because she helped her. She'd think it was some kind of pity play. And if Kushida turned on Hoya, he'd treat her badly, too.

Side with Hoya? Even less possible. She couldn't turn against her own class to help a student from another class. How would she fit in with her class afterward?

Either way, it was painful. What a nightmare.

As Kushida suffered, Horikita's expression darkened, too.

The Hoya real estate agent's words made one thing clear: ugly people made trouble for themselves.

Who are you? Why do you always think people are targeting you? Do you really think you're that important?

"Come on, Kushida. You should stop hanging around with her. Someone like this, who still doesn't understand how this school works, will probably get expelled before long. Hah, you may share a surname with Horikita, but you're nowhere near as good as the student council president."

The Hoya real estate agent even pointed his thumb down at the floor, his face practically saying, You're the lowest of the low.

His fists clenched.

"How do you know...?"

"Horikita isn't a common surname. So either he's your brother, your cousin, or some other relative. Maybe he's a distant relative. And even if he's not, sharing the same surname while being worlds apart... Why not change yours?"

"You bastard!"

At last, Horikita yelled at the Hoya real estate agent and hurried away. Her loud outburst made everyone in the café look over at them.

The Hoya real estate agent merely shrugged and sat down. "All right, sit down too. I wasn't wrong. There's nothing to gain from being friends with a woman like that."

Kushida looked back at Horikita, who was storming off, then at the Hoya real estate agent, who was sitting there drinking coffee. Her mind couldn't quite keep up. She'd never encountered anything like this before, and now she didn't know whether she should go after Horikita.

"And I'd advise you not to go after her right now. She's angry, and anyone who approaches her will get burned... Well, except for her parents."

The Hoya real estate agent kept talking about Horikita, while Kushida sighed helplessly.

What could she do now?

She sat down with a sigh and said to the classmate beside her, "I'm really sorry, Ayanokoji. You went to all that trouble for nothing."

"Oh, it's fine. I wasn't doing anything anyway."

Ayanokoji Kiyohime didn't seem upset about what had happened. She was a rather dull person to begin with. Someone had simply asked her, so she'd decided to give it a try.

She wanted to live a normal life, too. Surely this was what normal people did?

Across from Ayanokoji, the Hoya real estate agent quietly watched her movements.

Hmm... She really was extraordinary.

Ayanokoji Kiyohime sat with perfect posture. She didn't stand out much, but she made people think of a refined young lady.

But that posture also gave her incredible explosive power. If something happened, she could stand up and knock someone out with a single punch.