At the Palette Cafe, warm yellow light spilled across the wooden tabletop. Uesugi Hara looked at Kushida Kikyo across from him. "You said Ayanokoji took you to buy old exam papers from an upperclassman?"
"Is there a problem?" Kushida Kikyo lightly tapped her lips with a fingertip, her eyes filled with innocent curiosity.
After what had happened last time, Kushida Kikyo had initially been somewhat on edge. But after some time passed and she saw that neither Ayanokoji nor Uesugi Hara was giving her a hard time, she finally felt relieved.
She was still resentful, though. After all, as far as she knew, three people at school were aware of her secret. It was like a time bomb with no timer—she had no idea when it might go off.
But she knew she wasn't currently capable of getting those three expelled.
Since Uesugi Hara wanted information about Ayanokoji, she might as well give it to him.
"No." Uesugi Hara tapped the tabletop with a fingertip. After thinking it over, he said, "So there's a chance this year's exam will use questions from last year?"
"Why?" Kushida Kikyo furrowed her brow, puzzled by how certain both Ayanokoji and Uesugi Hara seemed.
"Probably because your Class D is almost out of Points," Uesugi Hara patiently explained. "The school wouldn't let you stay without Points forever. It wouldn't serve its purpose."
"Purpose? What purpose does the school have?"
"At the start of the month, your homeroom teacher should've told you that the four classes are competing against each other. If you still have no Points next month, will the people in your class still be willing to work hard? You know your class better than I do, right?"
Thinking of all the different kinds of people in Class D, Kushida Kikyo immediately felt a headache coming on. How did I end up in a class like this? It would've been great if I'd gotten into Class B. She nodded. "That's true... So the exam papers will really work?"
"Yeah."
"Oh~ Do you need a copy? I can give you one~" Kushida Kikyo's eyes lit up as she abruptly changed her tune.
"Knowing the questions is your class's advantage. Why tell another class?" Uesugi Hara didn't answer, but asked her instead.
"How should I put it... Horikita Suzune wants to move up a class, and I don't want to let her have her way." Kushida Kikyo's voice lowered, a flash of displeasure passing through her eyes.
"Did she do something to you?" Remembering what had happened last time, Uesugi Hara asked curiously.
"Exactly!" Kushida Kikyo raised her voice a little. "I was so humble when I tried to be her friend, but she rejected me every time without a second thought. She even humiliated me in front of so many people! Of course I'm not going to make things easy for her!"
"Ahem, there are a lot of people here. Keep it down." Seeing that she was about to lose her temper, Uesugi Hara quickly reminded her, then picked up his orange juice and took a sip.
"Is that all?"
"Of course not!" Kushida Kikyo lowered her voice. "She went to our old high school too, which means she knows about my past. The two of us can't coexist."
Horikita Suzune went to our old high school too? What a coincidence. Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow but didn't finish the thought, waiting for her to continue. "So you plan to..."
"I plan to get her expelled!" Kushida Kikyo said firmly.
"...Ayanokoji and I know about your past too. Are you planning to get us expelled as well?" Uesugi Hara looked at her with an amused smile.
"Hehe, that's obviously impossible for now. I don't have the ability." Kushida Kikyo smiled slyly.
The corner of Uesugi Hara's mouth twitched. This woman was a little too honest.
"Aren't you going to react?" Kushida Kikyo glared at him in displeasure.
"What kind of reaction?" Uesugi Hara looked confused.
"Like getting angry, acting disdainful, mocking me, that kind of thing!"
"Is there any point? Wait until you're capable of it."
"Damn it, you're looking down on me!"
"I'm not."
"You are!"
"I'm not..."
After they traded a few barbs, Kushida Kikyo brought the conversation back around. "So, do you want the exam papers?"
"Send me a copy later." There was no reason to turn down something free.
"Fine. How many Points are you going to give me?"
"Wasn't it free?" Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, free? I can barely afford to eat, and I'm supposed to give it to you for free? In your dreams!" Kushida Kikyo rolled her eyes.
"What? So it wasn't free after all. How much do you want?" Uesugi Hara wondered if he could get Sakayanagi to reimburse him later.
"Considering our relationship, just give me whatever you think is fair. Three to five thousand Points would be fine. It's not much."
"...Twenty thousand Points," Uesugi Hara tentatively tried to negotiate her down.
"Deal," Kushida Kikyo readily agreed.
Uesugi Hara: ...Tch. I overbid again.
Before you continue