Manabu Horikita was remarkably efficient. In just two days, he had used his authority to send an advertisement announcing the establishment of the Odd Jobs Agency to all the students and faculty, as well as the workers on the shopping street.
It even went into detail about what a request form should contain, its format, and the address of the Odd Jobs Agency.
Because he always carried himself with such stern integrity, even the school chairman and principal were taken aback when they received the message.
The teachers and students were even more surprised.
So, for a while, this inexplicable Odd Jobs Agency became the talk of the school before and after class.
"An Odd Jobs Agency... Heh. I'd like to see what kind of clown is behind this."
Ryuen, his purple hair parted down the middle, scoffed at the idea. They were only students, after all. What were they doing playing at being adults?
"Your Highness, should we go check it out?"
"Hehe, of course. But now isn't the time. Besides, even you wouldn't be able to handle that little minnow..."
The speaker wore a smile, but her voice carried a trace of murderous intent.
"IchInose, what do you think of this? Even the Student Council President personally advertised the Odd Jobs Agency."
"Hmm, it sounds like the Odd Jobs Agency is a place that helps people solve their problems, right? I think that's a good thing!"
"That's not what I meant. I... Ah, never mind."
"?????"
Naturally, Class D had the strongest reaction—and probably the weakest one, too.
As soon as the news came out, Suzune Horikita could hardly sit still. What kind of place could it be, if even her brother held it in such high regard—or, rather, had no choice but to?
If she could join the Odd Jobs Agency... would her brother finally recognize her?!
Koenji's lips curled slightly upward. Perhaps something pleasant had crossed his mind.
As for everyone else, they treated the Odd Jobs Agency as a bit of entertainment and gave it no further thought.
At that moment, in Activity Room 401—the Advanced Nurturing Odd Jobs Agency—
"This is our clubroom! What do you think? Not bad, right?!"
Katsuya Shinjo eagerly showed the three girls behind him every flower, every blade of grass, every table, and every chair.
"Katsuya... This really is a clubroom, right? Then why are there game consoles and a TV?!"
"There's even a fridge and a washing machine?"
From the moment they had stepped through the door, the three girls had been unable to close their mouths, which had fallen open in shock. It wasn't that they lacked experience; it was that everything here was so far beyond what they'd thought possible.
The room had everything, from entertainment equipment to household appliances.
There were also all kinds of drinks and snacks lined up to one side. If this weren't a clubroom, they might even have wanted to live here!
After all, Class D students were poor to begin with. This place was basically somewhere they could eat and drink for free whenever they wanted. Wasn't that much better than the mountain vegetable set meal?
"What's the big deal? According to my plans, there should also be a fully automatic massage chair over there! Unfortunately, some stingy person objected, so there was nothing I could do."
"Um, Shinjo... I mean, should I call you Club President? Club President, what are we supposed to do?"
The one speaking was Sato. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little awkward.
Judging by the way the room was furnished, the club was probably just an excuse. The real reason was so Katsuya could have private dates with Karuizawa, right?
"Oh, that. I'll give you an overview of the Odd Jobs Agency's responsibilities. Kei's heard this before, but we haven't settled some of the details yet, so listen in while we're at it."
"Yes, Club President."
Karuizawa was very considerate of Katsuya's feelings. She quickly pulled three chairs over from the back, and the other two girls, under the pressure of their best friend's influence, hurriedly sat down to listen.
"Here's how the work goes. Every day, we'll receive request letters from all sorts of people. They'll be kept in the mailbox by the entrance."
"After school, we'll collect them all and decide whether to take the requests based on the Odd Jobs Agency's four principles."
At this, Karuizawa quickly raised her hand.
"Club President, what are the four principles?"
"Good question! First, we don't do what we can't do. Second, we don't take requests from people we dislike. Third, we don't do anything that violates the most basic standards of human morality. Fourth, we don't do anything when we don't feel like it."
"So... whether we take a job depends entirely on how we feel?"
"Exactly! Of course, the biggest difference between us and charities is that we charge for completing requests. The price is decided through negotiation between both sides. So, as the saying goes, the more you work, the more you earn."
Though that was what he said, Katsuya didn't encourage them to work too much.
As the saying went, haste makes waste. The more you did, the more mistakes you made.
"Also, some request forms may have the words 'Student Council' marked in the upper-right corner. Those requests are mandatory! Don't forget that! Otherwise, our hard-won good life might disappear for good."
At this, the three girls nodded as if they understood. How difficult the work was would ultimately depend on the nature of the request.
"Of course, I won't force you to take part in any of the jobs. At first, I only needed you to lend your names to the club. But if you want to participate, that's fine, too. And since I'm a pretty democratic person, the pay will be divided equally among everyone who takes part."
"And last but not least, now that you're employees here, you can use anything in this room as you please!"
Katsuya finished speaking, but there didn't seem to be any response.
Maybe they had slow reflexes. It took about half a minute...
"Long live the Club President!!!"
Sato and Karuizawa suddenly jumped up. Ever since their karaoke party that day, they hadn't had a taste of snacks!
Matsushita, meanwhile, was much more reserved. "Well, I look forward to working with you, Club President."
"Ah, likewise."
Suddenly, Matsushita made a face at Katsuya and leaned close to his ear to ask:
"Hey, Shinjo... This is your old line of work, isn't it?"
"You figured it out... Wait, you wouldn't happen to—"
Matsushita put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet. That was as good as an admission: she wasn't as simple as she seemed.
In fact, Matsushita came from a fairly distinguished family.
She couldn't compare to a top-tier conglomerate like the Koenjis, but she was still a wealthy young woman who could move in high society.
She had never met Katsuya Shinjo, but she had seen her father drinking and chatting with a man named Shinjo who ran a firm. That man was Katsuya Shinjo's father.
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