Chapter Forty-Six: Strange, Where Is Everyone? (Mid-Autumn Festival Extra 8/8)

She was only at an average person's level.

That left Ibuki Mio in a difficult position. She was good at sports, and swimming was one of her strengths. So what did she do? She had to find ways to hold back against Ryuen Shoko.

It didn't matter whether anyone else realized she was going easy. At least Ryuen Shoko couldn't find out.

So her strokes were... well, they were something. Watching a professional try to pass herself off as an amateur was so painful that even the teacher couldn't bear it.

"Your class is..."

"Teacher, don't mind it, don't mind it. Just leave it at that, all right?"

The real estate agent was at a loss, too. What could he say? Ryuen Shoko's position couldn't be challenged, so she had to win the championship.

The teacher had nothing to say, either. He'd originally thought the points would motivate the students, but it looked like... sigh.

"Don't mind it, either. After all, as long as it's a competition, she's basically guaranteed to win the championship. My class has its own circumstances. I'm really sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine. All right, don't say any more... By the way, are there going to be any problems with the boys?"

"No, no, of course not."

The real estate agent answered with a smile. He wasn't particularly worried about the boys.

Indeed, unlike the girls, who were obviously holding back, the boys were genuinely competing on their own merits.

But the winner wasn't Albert. It was Ishizaki Daichi.

Who could've known that the big, dark-skinned guy wasn't good at swimming? His doggy-paddle was so ridiculous that the real estate agent had to struggle to keep from laughing aloud.

No wonder Ryuen Shoko didn't want everyone to see her doggy-paddling. It really was an ugly sight.

Even when characters swam in games, he never saw anyone doggy-paddling. They either did the breaststroke or the freestyle.

The real estate agent didn't feel embarrassed about coming third among the boys. He was just a strategist. It was perfectly normal for a strategist to be bad at martial arts, right?

He wasn't Confucius, the paragon of strength who could toss a heavy spear. He was still weak.

"That concludes today's PE class. You're dismissed."

"Woohoo~"

After the PE teacher dismissed them, everyone looked to Ryuen Shoko. Since she had no further instructions, it meant they could finally go home as usual!

The boys in particular were as happy as wild colts, bolting off in a flash.

"Ah, this is nice."

"Maybe. Are you going back to the dorm in a bit?"

"Yeah. Big Sis, anything else you need?"

"Pick up some beer on your way back."

"Uh..."

There she went again, coming over to his dorm.

Well, whatever. He'd already gotten plenty of perks today, so he might as well consider it getting on the bus before buying a ticket.

With a sigh, the real estate agent took a proper shower, changed, and leisurely headed back to the dorm.

There were, naturally, showers at the pool. The pool water wasn't ordinary water, after all, so it was best to rinse off afterward. But everyone was eager to go home. No one else took a proper shower like the real estate agent, so he was the last boy to leave the pool.

He'd originally planned to shower after getting back to his dorm, but since Ryuen Shoko was coming over, he might as well wash up first.

What else could he do? Go shower and leave Ryuen Shoko waiting outside? She'd kill him for that.

This woman wasn't some innocent little bunny. She was a pervert. If she barged into the bathroom while he was showering, there'd be nothing he could do.

Could she even have her way with him on the spot? Why did that thought make him a little excited?

It was just an illusion. All an illusion. I, the real estate agent, am a gentleman. How could I possibly do something so strange?

After clearing his throat twice, the real estate agent continued strolling along.

The pool was some distance from the dorm, and the shopping street lay right in between.

Looking at the dazzling array of shops, the real estate agent couldn't understand what this high school was trying to accomplish.

There were only around five hundred students at the whole school. How could they make a profit by setting up this entire commercial district?

Could it be that, being a public school, they were just using it as an opportunity to embezzle money?

Looking at this public school, the real estate agent had every reason to believe it was a place for those officials to siphon off and launder money.

A 100% advancement-to-higher-education or employment rate was a great selling point, giving the school ample reason to request funding. The authorities would then provide the money, which the school would spend on various expenses. Some of it would go toward legitimate construction, and the rest would be taken and embezzled.

That way, if anyone came to check the spending later, they'd have an excuse for every expense. Look, building a school on an island cost a fortune, and then there was the commercial district, another fortune. The monthly "financial aid" the students received—that is, their points—was yet another massive expense. After all, setting aside the S-Points issue, simply giving students points every month that they could use to shop with was a considerable expense in itself.

But that expense left plenty of room for tricks. For example, when students used their points to buy something, the school's actual cost was the wholesale price, but it could report the retail price. The difference could be used for money laundering. They could then inflate the sales figures, making it look as though huge sums had been spent. A government-funded school was the perfect place for money laundering and embezzlement.

When everyone from top to bottom was corrupt, how could you possibly fight them?

Well, none of that had anything to do with the real estate agent. He just needed to enjoy himself here.

At a normal high school, he'd have had to give serious thought to getting a part-time job. But the fact that money was automatically given to him every month meant he didn't have to worry too much about his income here—it was the hassle of managing his expenses that he needed to worry about.

There was something else, too: earning money was now urgent.

He knew that Class D would have zero income next month. Then he'd be able to get Karuizawa and Kushida under his thumb in the simplest way possible. Why? Because he had points.

He could even make a bold prediction: if the girls in Class D, who only knew how to spend, spend, spend, discovered they were broke next month, might his offering them a little help encourage the sex industry to flourish?

That would be illegal in China, of course, but it was hard to say what the law was like in Japan.

No, a person needed to have some standards. He couldn't do that sort of thing.

The real estate agent gave up on that fantasy. The school wouldn't be happy to see something like that happen, after all. But he really did need money to "buy" the loyalty of two girls, and he needed a lot of it.

He'd have to keep working on the plan. Albert, the next move was up to you.

The real estate agent's mind was already racing as he worked out how to proceed.

Chapter Forty-Six: Strange, Where Is Everyone? (Mid-Autumn Festival Extra 8/8)

"It's been a while, Hoya."

"It hasn't been that long..."

At the supermarket, the real estate agent ran into Ichinose. It really was a coincidence; he hadn't planned for it.

But her appearance was just what he needed. She could actually help him out a lot.

"But since you're here, good. I need you to help me with something."

"Is there another troublesome person?"

"Something like that. But this time, I don't need you to do anything. I need someone else."

"Who?"

"Shibata Sou."

The person the real estate agent had chosen for his scheme this time was Shibata Sou.

Shibata Sou was a male version of Ichinose, only younger. Aside from being equally kind, he fell short of Ichinose in every other respect. That was why the real estate agent had set his sights on him.

Of course, he wasn't trying to bully this little angel. He just needed to use him as a weapon.

According to the plan, he'd need one witness and one piece of evidence. The little angel would make the best witness.

The little angel was kind and sweet and wouldn't lie, so he'd definitely say what he'd seen. Since he didn't know the truth, he'd surely stand with Albert. His attitude would influence the audience, too.

So the real estate agent needed to borrow his help and have him serve as a witness.

Besides... he couldn't help thinking Albert, that big, dark-skinned guy, was a little pitiful. He was introverted and shy, and his build made it easy for him to scare other people. The real estate agent genuinely hoped that this big guy could find some real friends instead of always acting as Ryuen Shoko's bodyguard.

"Shibata? Sure, no problem. What do you want to ask him to do?"

"Here's the thing. There's a student in my class named Yamada Albert. You probably remember him, right? The burly, dark-skinned guy who looks pretty intimidating."

"Yeah, I know him. What about him?"

"Let me tell you a secret. Actually..."

The real estate agent leaned close to Ichinose's ear and quietly told her the truth about Albert.

"Really???"

Ichinose was incredibly surprised, too. She couldn't believe that Albert, who looked so fierce, was actually an introverted, shy boy.

What... had the script gotten mixed up?

"So I'd like someone from your class to help him open up a bit. You know what my class is like. It's nothing like yours, where everyone's a little angel. I think if people from your class were willing to spend time with him, he might become more outgoing."

"Actually, we're not as wonderful as you make us sound. We're not all little angels or anything."

Even Ichinose got embarrassed at being called a little angel. Sincere compliments could sometimes be hard to respond to. They thought they'd done something trivial, but other people saw it as a good deed.

Sure enough, Class B wasn't much of a threat. How many of those little angels could really fight? Kanzaki Ryuji? He was basically just the tallest among the short ones.

He easily reached an agreement with Ichinose. To be honest, the real estate agent was completely convinced that forming an alliance with Class B was a great idea.

They made excellent allies.

They were willing to give without expecting anything in return. To be honest, even after taking advantage of one of those little angels this time, the real estate agent still felt a little guilty.

He put all those chaotic thoughts aside. After buying the beer, the real estate agent leisurely headed back to his room.

Then he saw Ryuen Shoko waiting impatiently outside his door.

"What took you so long just to buy some beer?"

"Hey, I ran into Ichinose. I took the opportunity to use her to advance Plan A. The third step is making progress, too."

Speaking in a way only the two of them could understand, the real estate agent opened the dorm door and set the beer on the table. "Big Sis, is there anything else you want to eat?"

"I don't care what we eat. You, give me the spare key to your room."

Each dorm room had three keys: one for everyday use and two spares, just in case someone lost theirs.

The dorm supervisor also had a spare key. This school had no idea how many keys it needed.

"A spare key? All right, I'll look for it."

He'd probably left the spare in the bedside table. He finally understood that his last little sanctuary was gone, too.

He took out the spare key and put it on the table. Then he saw Ryuen Shoko bent over, searching for food in the fridge.

Wow, that was quite a view.

She wasn't crouching to look. She was leaning forward, so her skirt, which wasn't all that long, revealed her pale thighs. At that moment, the real estate agent wished it were a little shorter, so he could see somewhere even more private.

Ahem, sorry. The lecherous side of him had acted up.

"Big Sis, what are you looking for?"

"Why don't you have anything to eat in your fridge?"

"Of course I don't. You came over yesterday. Don't you know what's in my fridge? Just tell me what you want, and I'll go buy it."

He opened his phone and looked at his points, which started with an eight, and couldn't help sighing.

It had only been a little over three days, and he'd already spent more than ten thousand points. He'd gotten ten thousand points from Ichinose, but handing out rewards to everyone had used up almost all of it.

He'd spent quite a bit over the past couple of days, too. He hadn't bought anything extravagant, but he'd paid for the beer himself, paid for dinner with Ayanokoji, and paid for what he'd bought Ryuen yesterday. He'd realized that whenever he went to the supermarket, he was the one paying.

This couldn't go on.

It was only his fourth day at the school, and he was already worried about not having enough points. Sure enough, even after reincarnating, he was still living paycheck to paycheck.

"Just buy whatever you like. Get some snacks to go with the beer. Come on, what am I supposed to do with beer and no food?"

"Sure. I'll smash a cucumber for you first, then go shopping."

"Fine. Get to it."

Ryuen Shoko, who had taken over the fridge, casually pulled out a cucumber and handed it to the real estate agent. She grabbed a tomato, too, and bit right into it without even washing it.

All right, have it your way.

The real estate agent went to the kitchen, quickly smashed a cucumber, and put it on the table. Then he went to the supermarket to buy food.

What went well with beer? Peanuts, for starters. Ryuen Shoko had been munching on sunflower seeds all day yesterday, so she probably liked them. He'd get some of those, too. He picked up a few dishes, then some snacks made from soy products.

After a moment's thought, he bought some potato chips and a few other snacks. When he used to drink with other people, he liked to get smashed cucumbers and chips, too. Drinking and chatting together was a pretty relaxing way to spend an evening.

Finally, he bought a pair of slippers. Ryuen had told him to get a new pair, but she'd taken over his slippers. He didn't want to keep wearing that pair that was two sizes too small. This time, he'd get a bigger pair, so Ryuen couldn't steal them from him again.