A Very Stinky Feeling

The lunch break on the third day of school.

Kamigami Haruo, maintaining his streak of three consecutive tardies, was awakened from the lap of comfort by the lunch bell.

Thanks to his tireless efforts last night, he no longer needed to eat at the cafeteria. By nature, some people simply disliked noisy places.

The students left the classroom in groups with the friends they had just made, while a few who preferred solitude did the same. Having only just enrolled and holding huge amounts of points, everyone was like this before they had fully settled in.

He took a lunchbox from his bag and opened it, revealing a charcoal-grilled steak.

It was an unidentified object that combined blackness, stench, and a bizarre shape. A helpless smile crept onto his lips.

After weighing the pros and cons, he ultimately bowed to reality. If he did not eat, he would go hungry. If he did, it might unexpectedly taste good.

His chopsticks came down on the blackened lump of charcoal. As he drew in the cold air around him, a small chunk of meat with a warped aura was about to touch his taste buds.

At that very moment, Horikita Suzune entered the classroom and took in the whole scene.

She had only gone to the convenience store to buy some bread. Who would have thought she would return just in time to witness such a self-perpetuating spectacle?

Light footsteps drew nearer.

Kamigami Haruo, head lowered as he sank into misery, immediately sensed trouble. A cold and aloof figure surfaced in his mind, and he vaguely understood who had come.

He secretly turned on his phone's camera. His stiff expression improved as he looked up, revealing the same bitter smile as Agni of Fire Punch.

Horikita Suzune usually remained indifferent to everything else. Yet even she could not resist coming over for a closer look at such a bizarre sight.

Survive...

Though soundless, that was what his face conveyed.

Her eternally icy expression was pried open by the sight. The upturned corner of her lips revealed an unmistakable mockery.

"Only three days after enrolling, and Kamigami-kun has already fallen so low that he needs to survive through self-perpetuation?"

He aimed the camera at the girl. With a click, Kamigami Haruo captured that rare smile on his phone.

Along with the shutter came a sharp gaze. The freezing sensation made the corners of his mouth rise, and he gave a smile no less brilliant than hers.

"A smiling Horikita. This may be a rare sight indeed."

"Taking photos without permission suits your childish personality perfectly."

Horikita Suzune gave him a contemptuous look as though he were garbage. Brushing aside her hair, she left behind a waft of fragrance before returning to her seat, unwrapping her sandwich and putting it into her mouth with precise movements.

The boy did not break down over it. He merely turned his attention to another girl who had just entered the classroom.

"Sakura, you saw that, right?"

Unaccustomed to the bustle of the cafeteria, Sakura Airi had recently been buying lunch and returning to the classroom to eat.

"N-no, I didn't! I definitely didn't see Kamigami-kun's red sto..."

Her timid words darkened his vision, and his body swayed. Compared to the venomous girl, the honest girl's words hurt even more.

It was just a little burnt. No matter how he looked at it, it did not resemble that. It definitely tasted fine.

He tried to hypnotize himself, then gritted his teeth and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Ugh—blegh..."

Kamigami Haruo hurriedly grabbed his bottled water, rushed to the window, rinsed his mouth, and spat it out.

He leaned lifelessly against the windowsill as a breeze brushed against his story-filled face.

After spacing out for a while, he realized he could not go on like this and returned to his seat. His fingers danced wildly over his phone, opening a preinstalled application.

Since it was his first time logging in, he still needed to register. After entering his student ID and password, he entered the app and tapped the balance inquiry option.

The displayed balance was 55,135 PR.

Turning his head to the right, he looked at Sakura Airi with gleaming eyes and opened his mouth.

"Sakura, I have something to ask of you. Please."

"What is it, Kamigami-kun...?"

"Well... me, how should I put this... Tch—could you lend me fifty thousand points? Please. I'll definitely pay you back before tonight."

"Huh?!"

Rather than surprise, it was more that the girl had not processed what he had said.

"Please, Sakura. If you ever run into trouble in the future, I'll help you no matter what."

"I-I'll lend them to you..."

It was not because of his conditions. It was simply in the girl's nature. She silently bore pain and grievances, and she was kind at heart.

The boy looked up in surprise. Even through her glasses, his burning gaze made the girl feel extremely uncomfortable.

Since they had only just enrolled, neither of them knew how the transfer process worked. They could only spend some time figuring it out before successfully transferring the points.

"Thanks, Sakura... By the way, you lent them to me without even asking why. Aren't you afraid I'll refuse to pay you back?"

"Um... Please don't say that. That would put me in a difficult position..."

"Haha, just kidding. As desk mates, I look forward to getting along with you."

Scratching his smiling cheek, Kamigami Haruo used the conversation as an excuse to forcefully exchange contact information with Sakura.

Looking at the more than one hundred thousand personal points displayed on his phone, he thought for a moment before heading toward the back of the classroom.

Covering the side of his face with one hand as if concealing himself, he made his request in a low voice.

"Horikita, please do me a favor."

"I have neither a reason nor an obligation to help you, Kamigami-kun."

"Don't be like that. How about this? An exchange of information."

"Not interested."

"Do you want Brother's recognition?"

The devilish whisper stirred Horikita Suzune's heart. She raised her eyes and stared into the boy's.

"Get to the point. What do you need my help with? Weren't the points you borrowed from Sakura enough for you to squander?"

"Don't say that. I have my reasons for doing this. You'll find out this afternoon. By then, the truth will be clear."

In the end, Horikita Suzune could not outlast the boy, who was as annoying as a fly, and lent him the points. Even if she ignored him, it would be useless; she had a feeling he would keep pestering her.

After agreeing on a time verbally, Kamigami Haruo returned to his seat with light steps and an even lighter heart.

Looking away, Horikita Suzune's gaze passed over someone and settled on the scenery outside the window.

She did not need friends. As long as Brother acknowledged her, that was enough.

On the other side, Ayanokōji, who was eating lunch, had been observing the class from the beginning.

Naturally, he had witnessed the whole commotion over borrowing points.

Since they had been talking quietly, he could only hear limited details. Still, he vaguely caught the parts about borrowing points and the negotiation being settled.

What surprised him was that the girl, who should have ignored him, had actually agreed to the deal, leaving him with many thoughts.

He felt that the girl must have some weakness in the other boy's hands. She had probably been threatened. Given his character, he would likely coerce her many more times in the future.

His gaze could not help drifting toward the girl, followed by a remark.

"I feel like you're thinking something very rude, Ayanokōji-kun."

"N-no, I'm not."

"The right to explain rests with me. I saw that momentary guilty look on your face."

+1 hand chop

After school.

Inside the convenience store, Kamigami Haruo printed out the contracts he had drafted during class.

Since he did not know how many people were in the prison, he printed thirty copies. One of them had several extra lines compared to the rest.

After paying the exorbitant sum of three hundred points, he hurried to the agreed meeting place.

Before that, he had also borrowed fifty thousand from the considerate Kushida Kikyo. Well, in exchange for agreeing to ask Horikita Suzune out.

"Yo, Horikita. You didn't tell anyone where we're going next, did you?"

"I didn't. There was no need to."

He walked to the girl's side, and they headed for their destination shoulder to shoulder.

Along the way, he casually told her some of the school's rules.

"This school divides classes according to the students' level of excellence."

His footsteps stopped. Kamigami Haruo turned around to look at Horikita Suzune, who had clearly stopped in disbelief.

"Do you think you're excellent, that you answered the entrance exam perfectly, and that there's no reason at all for you to have been placed in Class D?"

"But..."

Horikita Suzune had only gotten halfway through her sentence when Kamigami Haruo's meaningful words cut her off.

"There's no use telling me. You need to observe it yourself, Horikita-chan."