He Might Be a... Womanizer? / Teaching Common Sense Begins

"It's just a quick chat, don't worry. It won't take long."

"But Koenji, do you see those two girls over there? The sight of that girl makes me want to run as fast as I can."

The girl grinning brightly in the distance made Hoya the real estate agent shiver. He was genuinely afraid of her.

Right now, all he wanted was to go back and study. Otherwise, he wouldn't know what to say when Shiina quizzed him tomorrow.

"Oh? I didn't expect our Fox Boy to have anything he was afraid of. She's just a lovely young lady."

As Meili Ge, Koenji naturally wouldn't insult anyone, especially a girl like Sakayanagi Arisu.

He looked over at Sakayanagi Arisu and even gestured to her.

Man, you've got some nerve.

Fine, he might as well sit here. Either way, he was going to suffer, so why not enjoy himself?

"Fine, what is it? Hurry up and ask. I need to get out of here."

"But Fox Boy, have you never considered that you might dodge her today, but not tomorrow?"

"I'm just tired today. After all that running around, I just want to go back, take a nice bath, and relax."

"Fine, fine. I really will be done asking in no time."

But no matter what Hoya said, Koenji wasn't about to let him go. Smiling, he asked Hoya, "So, Fox Boy, why did you go to all that trouble to have coffee with several girls from my class? What exactly are you after?"

"What am I after? I think you've already figured out what this school is trying to do, so there's no need to mess with me about it, right? I can't help it either. I have to prepare for defense, or I'll be caught off guard when the time comes."

Hoya clapped his hands together and looked at Koenji. "By the way, was one of the people I mentioned someone you're trying to hunt? Tell me, and I promise I won't make a move."

"Ha! I only like enjoying the pleasures of life with upperclassmen. As for the girls in my class... they're not sexy at all~"

"Can I go now? I really want to go back, take a bath, and get some rest..."

Chapter 26: He Might Be a... Womanizer?

Obviously, he couldn't.

Koenji's leg still blocked his way.

As for stepping over it... Hoya didn't dare. His instincts told him that when dealing with someone he couldn't afford to offend, he should talk things out. If he tried to run, things might get ugly.

"So, what else do you want to ask? Hurry up."

Hoya was practically exhausted. He really wanted to go back, take a nice bath, then buy some drinks and invite Ayanokoji over to his dorm for dinner while teaching her some basic common sense.

Why did he insist on inviting Ayanokoji? No special reason. She was pretty. Wouldn't everything be more enjoyable with a beauty around?

As for whether that counted as harassment... well, that was just how the world worked. Romance between men and women was part of life. Besides, he had no intention of making a move. He just wanted to admire a beauty.

Maybe calling him shameless would count as praise.

"Fine, fine. I'll ask something else—about Ayanokoji. What do you think of her?"

"What, are you starting to care about your classmate?"

"I just think she's interesting."

"Don't worry. I won't get handsy with her. She's so clueless about the world that I can't help worrying about her. All right, don't look at me like that. I'm not trying to turn her into a woman right now."

"Right now?"

"Who can guarantee what the future holds?"

"Hahaha, I knew it. You really are an interesting one, Fox Boy. Fine, fine. Go ahead, then. You'll have to get past that hurdle over there on your own."

Koenji drew back his leg, as if he'd really only wanted to learn that one thing.

Meanwhile, Sakayanagi Arisu had already risen from her seat and reached the door before Hoya.

Clearly, there was no way he could avoid talking to her.

As Hoya walked away, Koenji's face wore a teasing smile.

"Mm, high school life really is going to be interesting."

"Hey, where are you going?"

When Sakayanagi Arisu saw Hoya walk right past without even greeting her, she stuck her cane out to stop him.

"What is it, Classmate Sakayanagi? I'm a little tired today. Could we talk tomorrow instead?"

Indeed, whether it was arguing with Horikita, manipulating Kushida, or lecturing Ayanokoji, all of it had taken a fair amount of effort. On top of that, he'd spent the whole day in class. He felt like he'd packed too much into his day and just wanted to go back and unwind.

Everyone only had so much energy. After taking care of all his scheming, of course he was tired.

"I only have one thing to say. Ayanokoji is my target. Do you understand?"

Sakayanagi Arisu withdrew her cane and tapped it lightly against the floor, showing how determined she was.

"Don't worry. I won't turn her into a woman. She's yours."

"That's not what I meant!"

Hearing Hoya's lewd remark, Sakayanagi Arisu angrily struck the floor with her cane again. "I mean she's my opponent. Watch yourself."

"Don't worry. You two will face off sooner or later. I'm just concerned that she's so clueless about the world. You'll have your showdown eventually, so relax, relax."

Waving his hand, Hoya gradually disappeared into the distance. Watching him go, Kamuro Masumi couldn't help glancing at Sakayanagi Arisu.

She didn't know what to say. It seemed the thing she'd feared most might really be happening: Sakayanagi Arisu was starting to take an interest in Hoya.

"High school life really is great."

But then she saw Sakayanagi Arisu's delighted smile. "Kamuro, you talked with him for so long yesterday. What kind of person do you think he is?"

"You mean Hoya?"

Thinking back on everything that had happened the day before, she shook her head. "He's probably... a good person."

"A good person? He's just a white fox. Well, let's see just how far he can go. Come on, we should go have dinner."

"Yes, my lady."

"I think you should call me 'Master' instead."

"Sorry, I don't think I'm shameless enough for that. Besides, my lady, I'm only following you because of that matter. Don't think that makes me your servant."

"Tsk, doesn't it?"

"I can hear you, my lady."

"By the way, why do you call me 'my lady'?"

"Hoya calls Ryuen 'Boss Lady,' so I don't see why I can't call you 'my lady.' My lady."

"Suit yourself."

The two of them continued talking as they left the café.

At last, free of all his troubles, Hoya decided to buy some dinner.

Since he was planning to eat well that night, he'd get fried chicken, grilled skewers, and beer. It seemed he'd already forgotten how he'd planned to be frugal earlier.

Maybe that was what happened when things were going well: you had money, so you spent it. Otherwise, why would he be broke every month?

Save money? No way. When life was good, you had to enjoy yourself. Things had gone really well today, so he'd celebrate a little.

Besides, he couldn't serve anything too shabby if he was inviting Ayanokoji over to his dorm. He had to lay out all the good food.

He'd get the cola fried chicken, pick up some oden from over there, and—oh, grilled sausages? He'd get two.

Unlike earlier, when he'd been scheming every which way, Hoya was in a fantastic mood now. He was as happy as a child.

Well, who hated eating, apart from people with eating disorders? Especially when there were all kinds of delicious snacks.

While waiting for his food, Hoya remembered to message Ayanokoji: 'Go downstairs and buy two packs of beer, then wait outside my room. I'm buying food now. We'll eat and chat in a bit.'

Eating and drinking in his room with a girl he'd only met the day before—no matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like something a decent person would do. But since Ayanokoji's common sense was practically nonexistent, what else could he say? Of course she agreed.

After all, in her mind, she and Hoya had already become friends. If a friend invited her over, bringing something along was only natural, right?

She didn't seem to understand much about relationships between men and women, either.

Tsk, now he was even more worried she'd get fooled by some bad man.

Humming as he returned to the dorm, Hoya saw Ayanokoji Kiyohime waiting outside his room. He opened the door and invited her in. Once they were both inside, the door closed behind them.

What Hoya didn't notice was that the door to a room diagonally across from his was ajar, with a narrow gap left open. A boy had been watching them for a while. He'd seen Ayanokoji waiting there for Hoya, and he'd watched Hoya invite her into his room. He couldn't help swallowing. It seemed he'd realized...

His neighbor might be a womanizer?

Chapter 27: Teaching Common Sense Begins

"I didn't prepare any extra slippers, so just take off your shoes."

Hoya set the food on the table and took the beer from beside Ayanokoji, placing it next to the low table.

He'd tidied up the low table earlier that morning. After drinking so much yesterday, he didn't feel like getting wasted today. Instead, he planned to drink slowly, taking his time.

After all, he was only drinking to strengthen their friendship. As for why he was drinking with a girl...

Well, he hadn't thought it through. He just felt like having a drink.

Ayanokoji Kiyohime took off both her shoes and socks and walked barefoot across the floor.

Sitting in his seat, Hoya glanced at her feet... They were petite and pretty.

Was this what a perfect creation looked like? He had to admit, she was perfect on the outside.

"Why are you looking at me so strangely?"

Ayanokoji Kiyohime sat down across from Hoya, her posture as proper as ever.

"You're supposed to feel that way. You should know what you look like. Beautiful girls naturally attract hungry wolves... But seriously, you really dared to come to the boys' dorm alone?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Ayanokoji Kiyohime didn't understand what Hoya meant.

"You're alone with a man in a room. Aren't you afraid I'll try something?"

"You can't beat me."

"What about drinking? Aren't you afraid I'll get you drunk and then do something naughty?"

"You can't drink as much as I can."

All right. Two short sentences, and she was invincible.

Indeed, in a way, Ayanokoji Kiyohime wasn't in any danger as long as those two conditions held. After all, Hoya couldn't beat her.

He was just a fox. How could he possibly beat a tiger?

"Ah, as I thought. The way you're so clueless about the world really is worrying."

Hoya knew what Ayanokoji Kiyohime's problem was: she didn't understand how to deal with people.

She had no problems with daily life or studying, but when it came to socializing and navigating human relationships, she was completely lost.

The fact that she'd deliberately tried to get an average score on a multiple-choice exam, only to score 51 on every question, was a perfect example. A lot of people would think she was an idiot. She couldn't even fake it properly.

Indeed, she couldn't fake it, because all she knew how to do was score 100. She'd never interacted with other people, so she had no idea what an ordinary student's level was. She'd simply assumed that 51 was an average score.

It was the same idea as "Why not eat meat?" If you'd never experienced something, you had no way of knowing. Her main problem was socializing.

Ayanokoji was a perfect creation, a test subject from that "White House," or whatever it was called.

Fine, Hoya had only read fan fiction, so he didn't know what the White Room was really like. But that didn't matter. All he needed to know was what kind of place the White Room was.

How did he understand it? It was like raising poisonous insects to fight.

Only the most poisonous insect survived. "Friendship comes first" was all nonsense. If you weren't the champion, you died.

That was how Ayanokoji had ended up this way. She'd never made friends or understood how to deal with people. She always got full marks on her studies, because if she didn't, she'd lose to the others.

Her academic ability had to be at an S level, and her physical training had to be S-level too. She might even know hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. And if she'd also cultivated her mind in her spare time, she might have studied art, music, and chess. Like a gentleman who had mastered all six arts.

"All right, help yourself. I invited you over just to treat you to some food."

"Treat me... to food?"

For some reason, after Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had become Ayanokoji Kiyohime, she seemed a little more adorable. Maybe that was the difference between men and women?

"Yeah, friends treat each other to meals all the time. I bet you're the sort of sheltered princess who never leaves the house and has no idea what the outside world is like. Then you suddenly came here and didn't know anything."

Biting into a skewer and taking a swig of beer, Hoya let out a satisfied sigh. "Whew, that hit the spot. This awful place might as well be paradise to me now."