I'll Crush Him Sooner or Later / Just a Little Quiz

Kamuro Masumi fell silent. She shouldn't have expected too much from this guy. What had made her think he was a monster in the first place?

He really was a pervert...

Early or late, I'll crush him

To Suzuki Toru, there was nothing shameful about fulfilling wishes.

Or rather, he wanted to fulfill them not only because the Wish Machine required it, but also because he was a little interested in the wishes himself.

Of course, he didn't mind if he couldn't fulfill some of them. After all, the Wish Machine didn't have any KPI targets for him.

Perhaps she knew what he was thinking. Sakayanagi Arisu blinked and asked with an affected air, "I don't think I heard you. What are you supposed to call me?"

Suzuki Toru hadn't planned to play along, but if he said it now, would that count as fulfilling the wish?

"Master, please step on me with your ice cream."

Kamuro Masumi stared at the guy with a numb expression. He hadn't hesitated or even furrowed his brow. He'd said it as naturally as if he'd run into someone on the street and greeted them.

No, logically speaking, he had a decent face. He could easily sweet-talk a few girls and get them to step on him in private, however he liked. So why say this to her and Sakayanagi Arisu?

Could it be that he was certain she wouldn't step on him?

In that moment, Kamuro Masumi felt she'd discovered the truth.

Sakayanagi Arisu was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile, "You're so frank about saying something like that. I suppose I should consider giving you a little reward."

Suzuki Toru took a look. The wish hadn't been fulfilled.

In other words, the middle schooler hadn't taken his words seriously, so the wish didn't count.

No, perhaps Sakayanagi Arisu was just teasing him. She'd mentioned a reward, but had no intention of giving him one.

In the past, Suzuki Toru would have used the excuse of giving her a massage, held her slender legs, and tried to fulfill the wish.

But he wasn't a producer anymore, and Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't going to dance. Helping her with a massage was out of the question.

"Next time, you'll be the one calling me Master. I won't go easy on you." Suzuki Toru looked away from her. "I know why you came to see me, but I don't need help from another class to defeat you. I think Katsuragi alone will be enough."

The atmosphere turned cold at once.

The smile never left Sakayanagi Arisu's face, yet Kamuro Masumi couldn't help hugging her arms. When this girl got angry, you couldn't tell at all that she was angry.

"Hehehe. It seems I was worrying too much. Seeing Suzuki-kun getting involved with the other classes, I thought you might make use of their students."

He'd gotten Horikita Suzune from Class D into debt, and he'd also had Kamuro Masumi follow Kushida Kikyo. Either of those things might have alerted Sakayanagi Arisu to something.

It was unclear, though, whether she knew about what was happening in Class C.

Still, Suzuki Toru hadn't heard anything. Ryuen Kakeru seemed to have a pretty tight grip on his class. He'd underestimated him.

"You were planning to wait until Katsuragi lost the Student Council election, weren't you?" Suzuki Toru studied the girl's expression. Her flawless face never grew old, no matter how many times he saw it.

Although she had trouble getting around, and her legs probably weren't in great shape, they were nevertheless full of an inexplicable youthful vitality. He could see the soft, rounded curve of her calves and wanted to hold them in his hands and explore them for a while.

"It's rude to guess what a girl is thinking. I've always been very satisfied with Katsuragi-kun. Without me, he would certainly have been everyone's leader."

Sakayanagi Arisu denied Suzuki Toru's guess, though somehow it sounded as if she hadn't denied it completely.

"By comparison, Suzuki-kun is always alone. That worries me. Could you be introverted and bad at handling relationships?" Sakayanagi Arisu sighed deeply. "But what you just said changed my mind. You have a rather perverse hobby, and you don't even bother to hide it."

Was she accusing him?

Also, it was very kind of her to avoid calling him disgusting.

"Don't you want to beat me, make me kneel and call you Master, and then step on me?" Suzuki Toru asked.

In an instant, Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi both fell silent.

What was with that soul-piercing question?

And Sakayanagi Arisu realized she was actually a little tempted.

Fortunately, she quickly stamped out the thought.

Whoever wanted to step on him, fine—but she certainly wasn't going to reward this guy.

"Hehe. Keep looking forward to that in the days to come, Suzuki-kun."

Sakayanagi Arisu rose gracefully from her seat. She'd only meant to chat with Suzuki Toru for a little while.

After watching her return, Suzuki Toru continued tidying up his notebook.

"Hey, do you really want Sakayanagi to step on you?" Kamuro Masumi stared at him, baffled.

"You can step on me too, but only once."

At his answer, Kamuro Masumi pursed her lips. He was sure that no matter how much he talked, she and Sakayanagi Arisu would never actually step on him.

Wait. In that case, couldn't she just step on him the next time he started talking like that?

Kamuro Masumi found herself a little tempted, too.

For him, it should count as a reward. It wasn't like she'd done anything that bad, right?

Come to think of it, Kamuro Masumi had wanted to teach him a lesson for a long time.

But just then, Suzuki Toru asked, "Do you still have Horikita-san's contract?"

"I have it. Do you want to take it?" Kamuro Masumi recalled the contract. "By the way, it's signed with my name. Are you going to give me four hundred thousand Private Points for free?"

Suzuki Toru calmly looked into her eyes and said in a low voice, "Kamuro-san, you wouldn't want to lose your chance to pickpocket in the future, would you?"

As if he'd frozen her in place, Kamuro Masumi's whole body went rigid.

Right. She'd almost forgotten that this guy had leverage over her, just like Sakayanagi Arisu.

"If you don't want to give it to me, then don't! Why use my name?" Kamuro Masumi defiantly took the contract from her schoolbag, then just as defiantly set it down lightly on Suzuki Toru's desk.

"What's yours is mine. There's no difference." Suzuki Toru glanced at the contract, then put it in his schoolbag.

What kind of bandit logic was that? Kamuro Masumi was nearly furious.

Suzuki Toru thought it was perfectly reasonable. Sakayanagi Arisu could hold something over Kamuro Masumi, so why should he give way to Sakayanagi Arisu?

If she could be Sakayanagi Arisu's dog, she could just as easily be his.

Of course, for now, Suzuki Toru only thought that to himself. He wouldn't reveal too much. He'd take things slowly, like boiling a frog, until she got used to it and became less resistant.

It made him sound like a scumbag, but he'd try to be gentle and wouldn't hurt Kamuro Masumi.

After that, Suzuki Toru had nothing much to do. He either chatted with Morishita Ai now and then or wandered outside for a while, gathering information about wishes.

Before long, he got a new notebook.

As time passed, the first exam of the school year finally arrived.

A Mere Little Quiz

"Since we're nearing the end of the month, there'll be no class today. I'm going to give you a short quiz, so please take it seriously."

Mashima Tomoya stood at the lectern. He handed the papers to the students in the front row, who passed them along one by one.

Before long, Suzuki Toru received his paper. At a glance, he saw questions from five subjects. There weren't many, so it looked like nothing more than a short quiz.

"Excuse me, Mashima-sensei. Is this a real exam?" Katsuragi Kohei raised his hand.

Mashima Tomoya's expression didn't change. He replied calmly, "It doesn't count as an exam, and it won't appear on your report cards. It's only meant to serve as a reference for something in the future. Still, in a certain sense, this might be an important test for you."

This homeroom teacher always spoke with hidden meaning, then emphasized it at the end, as if he were afraid everyone might miss the point. Was this special treatment for Class A?

But he clearly understood what Katsuragi Kohei was asking. A "real exam" obviously meant one that could affect Class Points.

Mashima Tomoya had denied Katsuragi Kohei's question, yet he'd also made it clear that this quiz was important.

Katsuragi Kohei wasn't the only one who understood what he meant. Quite a few people looked surprised.

Still, something about it was strange.

If Class Points weren't involved, why was the quiz so important?

Suzuki Toru spun his pen. Then the bell rang, officially marking the start of the test.

Most of the questions were easy. Only a few on the back were somewhat difficult, especially the long math problems.

"Tsk..."

Kamuro Masumi grumbled beside him. He glanced over from the corner of his eye.

She looked conflicted, the tip of her pen wavering between two options. She didn't seem sure which one to choose.

Wait, the second question had already stumped her?

Suzuki Toru fell silent. She paid attention in class sometimes, so she should have found the earlier questions easy. They shouldn't have been too hard.

Unless she'd been listening very diligently, but the knowledge just hadn't gone into her head.

"Tch..." Kamuro Masumi seemed to guess what he was thinking and suddenly glared at him. At the same time, she instinctively covered her test paper.

As if she'd copy your answers!

The way she covered it nearly made Suzuki Toru laugh. He ignored her and went ahead and filled in his answers, in case she misunderstood.

When the bell rang, Kamuro Masumi watched the answer sheets being collected by Mashima Tomoya with great reluctance.

Suzuki Toru glanced at hers. She'd filled in quite a few answers, which surprised him a little.

She'd gotten them wrong, but she'd clearly tried hard to answer the questions. He'd thought she would just give up.

"Hey, what are you looking at me like that for? That pitying look is really pissing me off!" Kamuro Masumi seemed unable to bear his gaze. Her expression turned hostile.

"Want me to help you study?" Suzuki Toru asked, trying to sound gentle.

"Who needs your help? I don't care about a little test like this!" Kamuro Masumi couldn't save face. Why had he even asked? She was in Class A just like him. How could she possibly be worse at studying?

Suzuki Toru had seen her stubbornness more than once. No—instead of stubbornness, it was more like she was avoiding reality.

Whenever she didn't want to face something, or was asked a difficult question, she immediately tried to end the conversation. She'd also snap at people in a stiff tone, trying to hide her unease.

But no matter how stubborn she was, her body was still soft.

A few days later, Kamuro Masumi quickly came to regret it.