Watching Matsushita's expression gradually turn resolute, Suzuki Tsubame felt quite gratified.
Besides, Suzuki Tsubame had noticed something.
The rewards for Long-Term Tasks seemed to be closely tied to their personalities or identities.
"Relax, their relationship really isn't that complicated."
Suzuki Tsubame chuckled. He had already achieved his goal, so there was no need to keep pressuring her.
Matsushita was speechless. Then why had he made it sound so serious just now?
She had always thought Karuizawa had threatened Hirata into being with her.
After all, Hirata was such a nice guy, while Karuizawa looked so flamboyant.
Although he knew Matsushita Chiaki was not the type to blab.
Suzuki Tsubame still reminded her:
"I'm only telling you this, so don't tell anyone else, okay?"
Matsushita nodded vigorously, indicating that she understood.
She knew the basics of keeping a secret.
"Actually... Karuizawa didn't used to look like the blonde gal she is now."
"When she was in middle school, she got excellent grades and was very pretty, so girls from her school became jealous and bullied her."
"She dresses like a gal now so that no one will dare bully her again."
So that was it. Matsushita finally understood.
No wonder she had always found Kei a little strange. Some things about her seemed too deliberate.
"As for her relationship with Hirata... there's no romantic love between them. They're simply partners cooperating with each other."
"Karuizawa wants to use Hirata's influence to secure her position in the class."
"And Hirata wants stability in the class. He doesn't want bullying to happen there either."
After Suzuki Tsubame finished explaining everything about the two of them.
Matsushita wore the expression of an old man on the subway, her worldview scattered all over the floor.
In Japan, dating during one's school years was extremely common. Some even started as early as fourteen.
Yet their views on romance were quite traditional. Relationships that began in school and ended in marriage were extremely common in modern society.
Relationships like theirs, where people got together for some particular purpose, were still very rare during one's school years.
"Now that you know about their relationship, how do you feel?"
Suzuki Tsubame took in every detail of the girl's expression.
Strictly speaking, there did not seem to be anything wrong with it. They were merely getting what they needed from each other.
As long as neither of them did anything harmful to society, there was no real problem.
Matsushita gave an awkward smile without answering. Her view was the same as Suzuki Tsubame's.
Come to think of it, what she had originally wanted to ask was why Suzuki had lent Kei so many points.
Forget it. Better to leave well enough alone.
Before she knew it, they were almost at the library.
The study session ended.
After a long time... Suzuki Tsubame received a text from Ichinose.
Feibo: Suzuki, could I ask you for a favor tomorrow at noon? A crying cat sticker accompanied the message.
It seemed that after considering her options, she still found me more pleasing to the eye.
Suzuki Tsubame could not help indulging in a little narcissism.
Though he was a devoted Horikita supporter, he still chose to agree.
It was purely for the reward.
His assessment of Ichinose as a person was actually rather ordinary.
Although she, like Horikita, was very beautiful.
Ichinose's kindness was like sunlight, spread equally over everyone, showering them all with warmth.
Maybe... things would be different once they got to know each other better?
But Suzune was different. She treated everyone coldly, yet she alone was willing to make exceptions for Suzuki Tsubame.
Like a... single-person electric blanket that belonged exclusively to Suzuki Tsubame.
Nearly all her warmth was lavished on Suzuki Tsubame alone.
Though her personality was somewhat stubborn, Suzuki Tsubame considered that a plus instead.
Naturally, he also favored her more.
After dinner at Horikita's dormitory.
Suzuki Tsubame took the elevator back to his own dormitory and lay on his bed, bored out of his mind.
Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well check his personal stats.
"Open Personal Panel."
[Suzuki Tsubame] [Intelligence: 9.8] [Constitution: 10] [Skills: Board Games Mastery, Ball Sports Mastery, Photographic Memory, Martial Arts Mastery, Plant Mastery, ...] [Items: Universal Surveillance, Human Enhancement Serum ×8, Emotion Spotlight, Presence Regulator.]
All the skills had been farmed through Suzune.
Sure enough... Suzune's greatest strength was actually her ability to learn.
It was not as though Suzuki Tsubame had never considered sharing the Enhancement Serum with others.
But... the Enhancement Serum was said to be capable of healing every deficiency in the human body. It was practically a one-use Horse Talisman.
Using such a divine item merely to raise a few stats would be far too wasteful.
Hmm... now that he had checked his personal stats, he might as well look at the Long-Term Tasks too.
He had not done this in a long time. It had been many days.
[Long-Term Tasks] [Solitary Maiden: The girl mistakenly understood solitude as loneliness. Completion: 50%] [Heaven-Jealoused Talent: Admire her powerful mind, pity her frail body. Completion: 50%] [Timid Star: Before dazzling brilliance came boundless phantoms of terror. Completion: 10%] [Hidden Prodigy: The girl's wisdom lay in cherishing herself, yet she did not know that excessive wisdom was easily wounded. Completion: 10%] [Kind Mask: She longed for attention and praise, but malice devoured her first. Help Kushida Kikyo.] [Cowardly Gal: The darkness of the past oppressed her present self. Where could she go without being bullied? Help Karuizawa Kei.] [Obsessed Teacher: Obsession clung like maggots to bone; the more she struggled, the deeper she sank. Help Chabashira Sae.] [Imprisoned Thief: She enjoyed the tightrope of freedom while loathing the silver chains of her cage. Help Kamuro Masumi.] [Maverick Eccentric: Is curiosity driving me? Or am I controlling curiosity?—Morishita Ai.] [Sensitive Angel: An outwardly flawless angel, inwardly a sensitive child. Help Ichinose Honami.] [Fragile Child: Weakness was the girl's instinct; love tempered it into resilience. Help Shiranami Chihiro.] [Solitary Heretic: The majority does not mean right, and the minority does not mean wrong. Help Himeno Yuki.]
Kushida and Suzune had both been triggered on the same day.
Suzune was already at 50%, yet Kushida had not moved at all.
Besides, over the past few days, Suzuki Tsubame had clearly felt that Kushida Kikyo was getting restless.
It seemed that because Suzuki Tsubame had not spoken to her last month, she had grown bolder and bolder.
Wait... what was this extra Morishita Ai about?
Scratching his head, Suzuki Tsubame was certain that he had never met her.
The trigger condition for tasks was extremely simple: the target only needed to be within his line of sight.
But if he had met her, there was no way he would have no impression of her at all.
Forget it. There was no point overthinking it.
Sleeping was more important.
Before you continue