Striking Up a Conversation

Since the matter regarding Sudo had basically been declared over, Chabashira announced during the next day's homeroom that points would be distributed as usual, causing the classroom to become rowdy.

It made sense; aside from the initial 100,000 points in the first month, Class D was essentially left with only these 8,000 or so personal points each month. For them, this was truly something to be excited about!

"Sigh..." Following the "general trend," Hoshino took out his phone and began to scroll through it.

To be honest, Hoshino couldn't muster any interest in these 8,000 personal points that had just arrived. However, to Hoshino's surprise, Ryuen's 800,000 points had actually arrived so quickly!

Along with the 100,000 personal points issued by the Student Council, he had suddenly gained a full 900,000 personal points! The balance displayed on his phone reached a new high of 1.7 million! This could be considered something worth getting excited about!

However, Ryuen actually had such high efficiency? Hoshino was a bit dazed.

The notice was only announced this morning! The points were also distributed today! Was his execution really that high?

What Hoshino was more interested in was how exactly Ryuen had explained the contract to the students in his class? Logically speaking, it shouldn't have gone that smoothly!

"Hoshino-kun, what are you thinking about?" Suddenly, a strange voice rang out from nearby, seemingly from the seat next to him.

Hoshino's train of thought was interrupted instantly. He turned his head, and a familiar yet unfamiliar face came into view.

With long reddish-brown hair that curled slightly at the ends, well-defined features, and her right hand gently brushing her hair, she wore a gentle smile on her face. There was a wise glint in her eyes, and in every gesture, she exuded the mature temperament of a "young lady from a good family."

"Uh... may I ask who you are?" After a momentary pause, Hoshino withdrew his thoughts with some embarrassment.

Having been "seatmates" for so long, Hoshino still had some memory of her, but he just didn't know her name.

"Ah! Sorry! My name is Matsushita Chiaki! Did I disturb you?" Seemingly afraid of offending Hoshino, Matsushita asked cautiously.

"No... sorry, I don't usually interact with people much. I'm Hoshino Hoshiya, just call me Hoshino!"

Hoshino scratched the back of his head awkwardly, his mind spinning rapidly. He didn't seem to have had any interaction with Matsushita, did he? Could it be that they had met outside?

"It's fine, it's fine! After all, I was the one who took the initiative to talk to you!" Seeing that Hoshino didn't seem to be repulsed, Matsushita relaxed, a playful look on her face. "Hoshino, what were you thinking about?"

"...Nothing much, just some work-related matters."

While Hoshino said this, he began to recall information about Matsushita: she seemed to be part of the top "gal" group in Class D? She was considered to be relatively close to Hirata's group. Her physical strength and academic ability didn't seem to be particularly outstanding; or rather, the group she was in didn't seem to have anyone with particularly excellent academic ability either.

However, this was a bit strange. He could clearly feel that Matsushita should be a very capable person, right? At the very least, this kind of temperament couldn't be faked!

"Is that so? Student Council work must be very busy! I see you heading out early every day after school!"

"It's alright, after all, the Student Council President is there," Hoshino said, implying something.

"That's true! The Student Council President looks super strict! I still remember at the opening ceremony, at the beginning, I thought this president wasn't much, but then he suddenly unleashed his full aura. It really gave me a fright!" Matsushita seemed to have lingering fears and sat up straight.

"Haha... it's alright! After working together for a while, you can still feel that he is a gentle senior," Hoshino chimed in casually.

"And a while ago..."

"Eh? Is that so?..."

"..."

How did they suddenly... become so familiar? It was almost incomprehensible.

Although Hoshino only replied simply, the conversation continued without any awkwardness. Was she really a social butterfly? Her social skills were maxed out! He was somewhat impressed.

"Sigh—I don't want to work! I don't want to work..."

After school, Hoshino didn't head to the Student Council room as usual. Instead, he planned to sit on the stairs of the club building for a while, muttering something to himself.

These days had truly been a "non-stop rotation." Had he only joined the Student Council for a month? Hoshino sighed, sitting quietly on the nearby steps.

Soft sunlight shone in through the high glass. It was quiet and deserted all around, and in the distance, one could vaguely see the figures of sports clubs.

Following Ryuen to discover this good spot, and incidentally scamming quite a few points, Hoshino suddenly had a whim. Could this place be a "blessed land"?

If only there were a small table! A sofa would be nice too! If there could be a cup of warm coffee, it would feel even better!...

"Yo! Hoshino-kun, what are you doing here?" Just as Hoshino was lost in "fantasy," Ichinose's voice came over.

"Hmm?... Not doing anything. Ichinose, what about you?" Hoshino was a bit dazed. After regaining his senses slightly, he answered stammeringly.

"...I came to look for Chihiro. She's in the Tea Ceremony Club." Ichinose still wore her usual gentleness, but when she mentioned "Chihiro," her voice sounded slightly strange.

As a participant in that matter who understood the reason behind it, Hoshino didn't ask any further questions.

"...Thank you for that matter!"

"...No, I didn't really do anything," Hoshino denied subconsciously.

"...And about Ryuen and the others, thank you!" Ichinose didn't seem to want to recall that matter either and quickly changed the subject.

"Hmm? What?" Hoshino's train of thought couldn't keep up for a moment.

Ryuen? What happened to him again?

"Didn't you subdue Ryuen and the others? Recently, many students in our class were being harassed, but these past few days, Ryuen and his group seem to have calmed down..."

Ichinose's words made Hoshino understand a little. However, "subdue"? Wasn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Was Ryuen the type of person to admit defeat so easily?

While complaining internally, Hoshino suddenly regained his senses in surprise: "Eh? How did you know?"

"...Of course, Hoshinomiya-sensei told me! It seems you were the one who suppressed Class C!..." Ichinose seemed a bit discouraged, her voice gradually becoming smaller, but then she patted her own face as if to cheer herself up, and regained her spirits. "I'll be going now, thank you, Hoshino-kun!"

"...Yeah... okay." Not knowing how to respond, Hoshino could only nod stiffly and watch the girl walk away.

Does Hoshinomiya-sensei know about this?

Hoshino's brain raced at high speed; it seemed like Hoshinomiya-sensei hadn't even been involved in this whole affair! So how on earth did she find out?

A sudden realization struck him: perhaps his information had been thoroughly dug up by Hoshinomiya-sensei a long time ago!

Moreover, Hoshinomiya-sensei really does "dote" on Ichinose! That stern and "unreasonable" figure suddenly surfaced in Hoshino's mind, and he let out a helpless, bitter laugh.

The disparity really is quite large!