The Playboy

Hoshino turned around and saw Ayanokoji.

"Has anyone ever told you that you make absolutely no sound when you walk? You just suddenly started talking and scared me half to death."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine. I got startled because I'm feeling a little guilty."

"Because you invited five girls to your room for a date?"

"It's not a date. We're holding a study session to improve our grades."

"I see."

"I'm lucky Ayanokoji is so understanding."

"At a time when we haven't even been in school for two months, Hoshino is already dating five girls in his class at once—or so my subconscious is trying to avoid believing."

"Ahaha, that's very much like you, Ayanokoji."

"Ayanokoji, there's something I'm not sure whether I should ask."

"Go ahead."

"You're holding a study session like this because of Class D?"

"No."

Hoshino answered at once, without the slightest hesitation. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Ayanokoji's expressionless face.

"I couldn't help agreeing because a beautiful girl asked me. I suppose that's what it means to let your lower half control your thoughts."

"Beautiful girls, and five of them at once. I'm jealous."

"Don't you spend a lot of time with Horikita? Are you two dating?"

"Give me a break. Horikita and I are just neighbors in class. We're not dating, and we're not even friends."

"So that means I can pursue Horikita."

"Go ahead. That's your choice."

"You'll support me as a friend, right, Ayanokoji?"

"I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help. Besides, you don't need anyone's help with that sort of thing."

Ayanokoji's expression hadn't changed in the slightest from beginning to end. Hoshino chuckled softly and looked away from him.

"Ayanokoji, I've been wanting to find a chance to have a proper talk with you for a while. Since we happen to have the opportunity today, could I speak with you somewhere private?"

After a two-second pause, Ayanokoji nodded. The two walked side by side in silent agreement to the lounge near the elevators, then sat down on a sofa.

At this hour, hardly anyone would be in the hallway, and anyone who did show up would be easy to spot. It was a good place for a private conversation.

After sitting for a couple of seconds, Hoshino began.

"Ayanokoji, you just asked me whether this had something to do with Class D. What about you? What do you think of Class D?"

"Nothing in particular. All I want is to get through high school like an ordinary student. That's enough for me."

"Ordinary, huh..."

Sometimes, the less ordinary a person was, the more likely they were to wish for that.

"Ayanokoji, I've known since I was a child that I wasn't an ordinary person."

"That's an unusual thing to say."

"It might sound strange, but I'm only stating a fact."

Perhaps because Hoshino's tone was so different from usual, Ayanokoji shot him a quick glance.

"I come from the most prominent family in the country. Given the state of Sakura Country today, you could say that I was at the top of the entire nation from the moment I was born. I don't have to do anything, and I'll still inherit more money than I could spend in a lifetime."

Ayanokoji gave a quiet "Oh." Only he could respond so mildly to hearing a classmate say something like that.

"The Hoshino Conglomerate. So you're the young master of the Hoshino Conglomerate."

In the world of capital, enormous wealth inevitably ended up concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority. In Sakura Country, a handful of major conglomerates controlled staggering fortunes and held the nation's economic lifelines, with their influence reaching into every corner of society. The most powerful of them was the Hoshino Conglomerate.

"I didn't expect you to have heard of me."

"If you follow the news in that area, it'd be impossible not to know about you."

The current head of the Hoshino Conglomerate had two sons and two daughters. At first, only the eldest son, Hoshino Zhi, appeared in public as the conglomerate's heir. But a few years ago, a story suddenly spread online: the ten-year-old young master of the Hoshino Conglomerate had taken part in the conglomerate's decision-making for the first time. He'd offered more than a dozen proposals, all of which had been adopted, and his strategies had brought the conglomerate enormous profits...

Not long afterward, the story disappeared without warning. Clearly, someone had deliberately suppressed it. But no one could erase what people had already learned.

"Ayanokoji, I consider myself a genius. Ever since I was little, I learned everything quickly, whether it was academics, martial arts, or anything else. By the time I was ten, I'd taught myself college-level material. My father then suggested that I get involved in the family business. He wanted me to assist my eldest brother and eventually take over control of the entire group. To be honest, I wasn't interested in any of it. In the end, we agreed that he'd give me ten billion yen. If I could make ten times that in two years, he'd let me stay out of the conglomerate's affairs."

"Wouldn't it usually be the other way around? If you failed to meet the condition, that would mean you had no talent and couldn't take part in management... something like that."

Ayanokoji made no attempt to soften his criticism. Hoshino smiled at that.

"My talent is the real thing."

"...Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because we're alike..."

Ayanokoji was silent for a moment. "You looked into me, too."

"Not exactly. Someone else told me about you and the White Room."

"I see. So it's normal for people at your level to know about the White Room."

"In fact, the Hoshino Conglomerate was one of the White Room's investors. But that was my father's doing. Even my eldest brother didn't know about it. If I'd found out a few years earlier, I would've put in at least another two billion yen."

"You chose to invest in the White Room... Did you think it had a promising future?"

Ayanokoji let out a breath that sounded almost like a sigh.

"Who knows?"

After hearing Hoshino's answer, Ayanokoji looked directly at him for the first time.

"You're not sure?"

"At first, I thought a plan that sounded so ridiculous could never succeed. But my opinion changed a little later on."

Hoshino smiled and pointed at Ayanokoji with one finger.

"Me?"

"That's right. I used the Hoshino Conglomerate's authority as an investor to look through the White Room's records. That's when I found you, the so-called 'greatest masterpiece.'"

Hoshino spoke softly, his eyes shining with excitement.

"When I saw your data, I was genuinely thrilled. I learned that someone like you existed, and even before we'd met, I'd already thought of you as my best friend and rival."

"That's giving me far too much credit."

"You're still saying that, after all this?"

Hoshino chuckled softly.

"I asked my eldest brother to meet with your father, Ayanokoji Atsuomi, and got all the details of your curriculum from him. In the year before I came to this Advanced Nurturing High School, I completed the same courses you did. Honestly, they were brutal. And when I thought about how you'd gone through them and passed at such a young age, I couldn't help but admire you."

"...You're impressive, too."

For the first time, Ayanokoji's expression changed. Hoshino knew that Ayanokoji was finally taking him seriously and acknowledging him as an equal.

"But I still don't understand why you wanted to tell me all this."

"Ayanokoji, you're the most talented person I've ever met. But I don't think you've reached your limit yet. That curriculum was the highest standard Mr. Atsuomi could provide, but it wasn't the absolute limit. With the Hoshino Conglomerate's money and manpower, I could create a more advanced curriculum tailored just for you. Don't you want to know how far you could go if your potential were fully realized?"

Ayanokoji was silent for a while. Then, just as Hoshino was about to speak again, he cut in first. "I don't know."

Hoshino sighed helplessly.

"Even at a time like this, you unconsciously disrupt other people's conversational rhythm. That kind of education really turned you into an obnoxious machine."

Ayanokoji nodded seriously in agreement. "It's true that I don't have a talent for being likable."

"You're not bad-looking. If you were a little more outgoing, I'm sure girls would like you." Hoshino grinned, then added, "And it's fine if you can't decide now. You have three years to think it over and give me an answer. I'll wait."

"Three years..." Ayanokoji murmured. "Do I have three years?"

"If I say you do, then you do."

Hoshino stated it firmly. Ayanokoji nodded silently. "Let me ask you something, too. What's your goal right now?"

"I can't find one. This school claims to put merit first, but even so, it's incredibly boring to me. If I had to name something, watching people like you and seeing what you do is at least somewhat interesting."

Hoshino answered without hesitation, as though he'd expected the question.

"Hearing that directly from you makes me feel pretty bad."

"Also, people call me a playboy, so I plan to do some things that fit what ordinary people expect from a rich young master."

"Hm?"

"I'm going to spend my days enjoying the sweet and sour side of life with beautiful girls."

"Oh... In other words, you're a womanizer."

"Ugh, that sounds awful when you put it like that."

In any case, Ayanokoji got his answer from Hoshino. Then he unilaterally decided to end the conversation, stood up, and pressed the button to go down.

"Where are you going so late?"

"I just realized I want a cup of instant noodles."

"How extravagant."

"You're a young master from a wealthy family, and you're calling instant noodles extravagant..."

"I don't mind telling you: I've been eating the free mountain-vegetable set meal for a week."

"...Is that some kind of unusual form of training?"

Ayanokoji was at a loss for words.

Just then, the elevator arrived, and Ayanokoji stepped inside.

He turned to face Hoshino. They looked at each other from three or four steps apart.

"Good night."

Ayanokoji's voice faded as the elevator doors closed.