A Strange Request

"Wait! If that's the case, then why did you buy the past exam papers? And why did you take the initiative to suggest that points could be purchased?! These aren't things an ordinary student would do, right?"

"Because..."

"Because someone had already paid the bill, right? Am I correct, Katsuya Shinjo?"

Katsuya Shinjo nodded, acknowledging Ayanokoji's deduction.

"You!"

At that moment, Suzune Horikita couldn't help but feel shaken.

In her eyes, Katsuya Shinjo was an incredibly clever person, possessing a kind of intelligence she couldn't learn from books—the very strength she needed right now!

Even though he had refused to join her Ascension Plan, the thought that he was someone who cared for his friends, someone who would step up to turn the tide when the class needed him, made her disappointment at being rejected vanish.

Such a person had earned the recognition of her brother; no, it should be said that only such a person was qualified to be recognized by her brother, which was why he had told her she was still far from enough.

(Manabu Horikita: That is not what I meant.)

However, it was only today that she realized how wrong she had been.

What drove Katsuya Shinjo forward wasn't friendship, but... profit.

"You aren't going to tell me you can't accept this, are you? I am, after all, a member of Class D. At the very least, I can guarantee that I will never accept a commission to frame Class D, and I will never betray this class."

"Horikita just feels the contrast between your words and actions is a bit jarring..."

"That can't be helped. After all, I am an egoist like this... Besides, people like me should be everywhere in this school, right? People like Kushida or Hirata are the minority, after all."

Ayanokoji nodded upon hearing this (because the timeline had shifted slightly, he hadn't seen Kushida's dark side yet; he only sensed that she might be two-faced, but he had no proof).

Speaking of egoists, Horikita was actually the same kind of person.

If one doesn't look out for oneself, heaven and earth will destroy them.

Fortunately, because the relationship between Horikita and Katsuya Shinjo wasn't particularly close, she managed to return to normal after only a short while.

"Then, Katsuya Shinjo, may I understand that if I want to ask for your help with Sudo, I must pay you some form of benefit?"

"Heh, it's great that you can get into the rhythm so quickly. Actually, regarding this matter, I have a choice to offer you."

"First, if you only want me to put in effort to help Sudo, you don't need to place any commission; I've already said I will contribute to the class. However, if you want me to help Sudo clear his name, doing so is undoubtedly much more difficult, and for that, you would need to place a commission."

Horikita nodded after hearing this; she finally understood the difference between the Odd Jobs Agency and Katsuya Shinjo.

The Odd Jobs Agency was equivalent to the complete version of Katsuya Shinjo, capable of exerting greater influence, but the cost was high.

Katsuya Shinjo himself was equivalent to a defective product, capable of exerting limited influence, but free of charge.

"I understand... Then, if I were to commission you here to help Sudo clear his name, could you really do it?"

"Hahaha! Rule number one of the Odd Jobs Agency: I don't take on tasks I can't complete. Therefore, any commission I accept is within my capabilities. However, since the difficulty is not low at the moment, the commission fee won't be cheap, you know~"

"I see. Ayanokoji, let's go."

Horikita called out to Ayanokoji, and before leaving, she left one last sentence for Katsuya Shinjo:

"I hope I never have the thought of commissioning you."

Who would want to spend money unless they were at their wit's end? Although she didn't have Katsuya Shinjo, fortunately, she still had Ayanokoji!

There was still some time before next Tuesday; as long as she could resolve it before then, there would be no need to beg the Odd Jobs Agency.

"Then I wish you success."

Two days later, the Odd Jobs Agency received a very strange commission.

"Hey, Katsuya! Look at this commission letter. It doesn't state the sender's class, and it doesn't even have a name!"

Katsuya Shinjo, who was resting with his eyes closed, curled his lip upon hearing this:

"Then just ignore it. It's probably just some harassment letter someone dropped in."

"But if that were the case, the content of the commission shouldn't be written so strangely, right? It says there's a weird clerk at the Digital Specialty Store who always looks at girls with a very unsettling gaze, and they hope we can investigate it."

Katsuya Shinjo slowly opened his eyes. Usually, matters like this would be commissioned to the Student Council, right? Even if Manabu Horikita was too lazy to do it, he should have sent a necessary commission over.

Moreover, this sender didn't seem to want others to know their identity.

It should be a student... otherwise, there would be no need to be so roundabout, and it was highly likely to be a girl.

"No contact information, no name, no class, just telling us to investigate. In the end, where are we supposed to collect the payment?"

"Bu... but if there really is such a clerk, it must be a very bad thing for all the girls in the school, right?"

Karuizawa seemed a bit frightened.

"That may be true, but doing things without any benefit is really boring. Why don't we just call Manabu Horikita and have him send someone to handle it?"

Action followed thought; Katsuya Shinjo reported the strange commission letter to Manabu Horikita, but this diligent Student Council President immediately classified the commission as a necessary one, requiring the Odd Jobs Agency to uncover the truth within one day.

"Hey! This guy is definitely passing the buck, isn't he?!"

A necessary commission could not be refused, and as the first task of the week, this commission didn't even pay a fee.

"Actually, this isn't bad either. After all, it might just be removing a blight from the school!"

Karuizawa waved her small fist, her painful experiences from years ago making her wish that a champion of justice existed in this world at all times.

"But I still don't have much motivation."

"How about... I treat you to some pudding?"

Shinjo slowly sat up from the beanbag chair, picking up his jacket while grumbling indignantly:

"Karuizawa-san, do you think I'm that easy to bribe?"

"Hard to say... the way you are, if I promised to buy you a Branch Cake, I'm afraid you'd even be willing to drink someone's foot bath water, wouldn't you?"

"There is no way I would betray my principles for a mere Branch Cake!"

[Then you should have refused, you idiot!!]

Before he knew it, Shinjo had already walked to the door:

"So, is it a deal?"

"Huh? Are you actually going to trade for my foot bath water?!!"

Karuizawa turned bright red as usual; she knew she was prone to blushing in front of him, but she couldn't help wanting to test his reactions.

But what was he doing now?

Does he like me? Does he like my feet? Compared to a Branch Cake, I have absolutely no competitive edge at all!!!

"Stop messing around, I was talking about the pudding."

[If you want me to trade for your foot bath water, it would have to be at least two Branch Cakes... Pfft! I am a dignified member of the underground Odd Jobs Agency! Though... if it were Branch Cake...]

As he thought about it, Shinjo inadvertently glanced at Karuizawa's feet...

But in that split second, she tucked them away under the table.

"Hey! You were just peeking, weren't you?!"

"Oh my, oh my~ how strange~"

"Playing dumb won't work!!!"