I Told You to Put Some Effort into It

"What else?"

"Then I'd be very happy. If you're saying that, Class A is in for trouble."

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"Of course."

Sakayanagi Arisu watched Hoya with curiosity. She really hadn't expected him to be planning to make a move so soon.

It was rare for the classes at this school to start fighting in the very first month. In most cases, it wasn't until after that first month that everyone gradually learned about S-Points.

But Hoya had managed to guess that S-Points existed from the smallest clues. That was very interesting.

After all, why would he say he was going to make a move if not for S-Points? There had once been a grade where all four classes had earned points solely through exams.

"Then what kind of trouble are we in for?"

"If you don't make a move... and everything goes according to plan, how about one expulsion and a collective loss of two hundred points?"

"Oh? You know about that too?"

"Yeah. Once you know about S-Points, the rest is easy to figure out, isn't it? If you want me to join Class A, I might consider it. But first, you'll have to think about the twenty million points it'll cost to transfer~"

"Heh. If it only takes that many points, I'd say it sounds pretty easy. There must be extra conditions, right?"

"Of course. But if you think twenty million points is 'only that much'... you're pretty confident."

They chatted as they ate. Kamuro and Shiina, who were watching from the side, both felt they couldn't get a word in. The tension between the two was just too thick.

"What else? Are you saying no student has ever reached twenty million points? Just because no one's done it before doesn't mean it can't be done."

"I'm just curious what you're doing this for. Is paying twenty million for me really worth it?"

"Of course. Talent is priceless. Besides, if I can bring you over, I'll make those twenty million points back, won't I? You're Hoya, after all."

When Sakayanagi said Hoya's name, she deliberately pronounced it in Chinese.

In Japan, both Hoya as a surname and Chukai as a given name were common. But when the two were put together, they took on an additional meaning in Chinese.

A Hoya Chukai, or real-estate broker, could make quite a lot of money if he was good at his job.

"Ha, you're giving me too much credit. Having you pay so much attention to me is a little worrying."

"Don't worry. I won't make a move until Katsuragi falls."

"Is that so? Then I'll have to adjust my strategy. I can't let Katsuragi step down, no matter what."

If Sakayanagi was telling the truth, that would greatly reduce the threat from Class A. A Class A tearing itself apart internally was no match for a united Class A.

I've brought Classes B and C together, while our enemy, Class A, is still fighting amongst itself. The advantage is ours!

"Heh. In that case, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do. It's rare, but you're the second person at this school I've taken an interest in. I could even give you a little reward."

"A reward? Let's hear it."

"Until Katsuragi steps down, you can order her around however you like. How's that?"

"Huh?"

Kamuro Masumi hadn't expected to become part of the conversation while she was eating. Sakayanagi pointed at her and told Hoya that he could order her around however he liked.

Wait... Had her employer just sold her off?

"Order her around however I like? Are you sure you can bring yourself to do that?"

"Of course. I have other people I can use besides her. And she's not loyal enough to me... is she?"

"Miss..."

"Enough. You think I don't know what you're up to? And don't think you're lucky. When Chukai-kun doesn't need you, you'll still have to serve me~"

Wait a second, when did we get so close? Why are you calling me Chukai-kun too?

"You... Forget it."

Hoya couldn't help sighing. He glanced at Kamuro Masumi, whose expression was growing steadily sourer. "But I don't usually have any use for her. At most, I might need a little information."

"No problem. You can have it all. If you see something you like, just take it."

"You think I'm a bandit or something? 'Just take it'?"

Now that Sakayanagi had said that, Hoya was delighted. Having a temporary informant would be pretty nice.

His plans had always been for the long term. An informant like that could help him a lot.

He was planning to have some real fun during the final exam.

As for now? This was just a light drizzle, a bit of fun for amusement. When it came to really playing dirty, he'd go all out then.

He could plan on costing Class A several hundred points at that time.

"Still, your promise makes me feel a lot better. I hope you keep it."

"I don't say one thing to your face and another behind your back. So you won't either, right?"

"Of course. Don't worry. I won't destroy Class A before you take charge."

"What do you mean by 'destroy'?"

"For example, turning Class A into Class D or something."

"Hahaha, Chukai-kun, that's not a very funny joke."

Though she said it wasn't funny, Sakayanagi seemed to be enjoying herself.

After all, how highly did he think of Class D to say that? Those students hadn't even fully realized S-Points existed. How many Class Points would they have left by the end of the month?

No, some of them had realized, but unfortunately, hardly anyone believed them.

She had plenty of eyes and ears. She had someone in every class.

Yes, even in Class C. But it was obvious that Hoya had seen through her informant. Otherwise, why would he have taken Kamuro Masumi to karaoke?

Her informant had already been exposed.

"If I can push Class A down, I can raise Class D up too."

"Would you raise them?"

"Of course not. Why should I help them?"

"Don't you have several close female friends in Class D?"

"Cough, cough! What close female friends? What are you talking about?!"

Hoya coughed several times, nearly choking on her words.

They were eating. Couldn't she avoid bringing up gossip like that?

"Oh? Is that so? Then how do you explain Kushida, Karuizawa, and Ayanokoji? I believe I told you before that Ayanokoji is mine."

"I'm not competing with you for her. What are you talking about? Do you want to make her your subordinate?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, I get along with Kamuro too. And she's still your subordinate, isn't she?"

"Hmm..."

Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't help looking at Kamuro Masumi. The look made Kamuro open her mouth in alarm.

Miss, what are you planning now?

"Enough. I'm done eating too. Take your time. We'll get going."

Since Sakayanagi and Kamuro had joined them partway through the meal, Hoya and Shiina Hiyori soon finished eating.

Shiina had actually finished quite a while ago. She'd just been quietly waiting for Hoya. Once it seemed like he and Sakayanagi were done talking, she left with him.

"Chukai-kun, how come you have so many friends?"

Shiina really envied him for that. Hoya seemed to have a lot of friends around him.

Compared to him, she didn't have many friends.

Shiina wanted friends too, especially the kind who could recommend books to each other.

"Friends? Sakayanagi doesn't count. She's way too sharp."

"No, I meant the classmates Sakayanagi was talking about. You get along really well with the students in Class D."

"You could get along with them too. You just haven't made an effort to build those relationships. But if you want a friend to recommend books with, I can introduce you to someone. She's a little strange, but otherwise she's great."

"Really? Then I'll look forward to meeting her."

Hoya was talking about Ayanokoji.

She might have a strange personality, but she'd surely read plenty of books. That refined, well-read air about her wasn't something you could just conjure up. She must have read a lot on her own.

After they finished eating, they headed back to the dorms. There, they went their separate ways and returned to their own rooms.

Sakayanagi, meanwhile, took her time eating after Hoya left.

"Miss, are you really that interested in Hoya?"

"If you want to call him Chukai-kun, you don't have to worry about what I think. If you go out of your way to be so distant from him, he'll be hurt."

No, he wouldn't. He hadn't even noticed how those classmates felt about him.

At karaoke, she'd been able to tell as an observer that quite a few girls were acting rather flirtatiously toward him. And yet he'd simply ignored them.

It was probably better that he did. That way, he wouldn't get lost in women. After all, those girls were all quite attractive.

She unconsciously left herself out of that group.

"And I was very unhappy with you for withholding information earlier. Don't look at me like that. Did you think I only had one informant?"

Sakayanagi Arisu continued eating at her leisure, completely unfazed by the shock on Kamuro Masumi's face across from her.

She was the only one who hadn't finished eating. Naturally, eating while chatting made the meal take longer, especially when they were both prodding each other with little barbs. It was no wonder they couldn't enjoy themselves.

They had both deliberately let slip some information while probing for other details. This time, Hoya and Sakayanagi had both learned quite a bit about each other's classes.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what he does. If he actually makes good use of you, he could learn quite a lot about you. What a shame he doesn't."

Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes held a look that seemed to say, 'Honestly, why are you so useless?' Kamuro Masumi's expression turned complicated. She had no idea what to say.

"Enough. I've eaten more or less enough. We can leave."

The empty plates didn't need to be taken to a designated place. At this school, someone would naturally come and take care of them.

She still had plenty of things to do after dinner. After all, it was only seven o'clock.

Yes, seven o'clock.

Back in her room, Shiina Hiyori was at a loss. She didn't know what to do.

Normally, she wouldn't have eaten in the cafeteria. She'd have used bread to stave off her hunger in the evening, then gone for a run after the library closed at nine, exercised a little, and returned to her dorm to wash up and go to bed. But today, she hadn't exercised, and she hadn't read for as long as usual either.

It was only seven—almost three hours earlier than she normally returned to her room.

"What should I do...?"

She took a few books she liked out of her bag, then remembered the promise she'd made to Hoya. He'd said he would pick out a good mystery novel for her.

Hmm. The next book she recommended to him had to be really good. All right, she'd decided. She'd reread these books and pick the best one to recommend to him.

Once she'd made up her mind, she picked up a book and sat in her chair to read. But she couldn't concentrate. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Hoya.

Why do I keep thinking about Chukai-kun...?

Shiina couldn't help covering her face. She felt so embarrassed. She couldn't understand why she kept thinking about Hoya without meaning to.

Could it be... that she liked him?

No, no. He was just the first friend she'd met at this school who could recommend books to her and take recommendations in return.

# Shiina Hiyori was in denial.

So what was Hoya doing?

He was looking after Ryuen Shoko.

"So, you and Shiina were hanging out until now?"

"Ahem, how can you call it hanging out? We were studying. Besides, I ran into Sakayanagi too."