Tuesday.
While the students attended their regular classes, Kujo was always wandering around campus.
Generally speaking, Kujo had three plans to choose from each day.
First, she could work out somewhere with a nice view.
Second, she could read books recommended by Hiyori in the school library and expand her repertoire of conversation topics.
Third, she could help the staff at places like the school shop, café, or garden.
Usually, Kujo chose the first option.
After all, both strength and reaction speed required repeated training to stay in peak condition.
Maintaining a perfect physique at a school that prized strength above all else took grueling effort.
But today, Kujo chose the third option.
According to school rules, students at Advanced Nurturing High School weren't allowed to take part-time jobs for money.
But the rules only prohibited students from earning money through part-time work.
In other words, there was nothing stopping them from helping adults without conditions.
As long as there was no employment relationship and she didn't ask for Class Points, it was fine.
What sort of people could open shops at this school?
Kujo had considered many possibilities. They were either rich and powerful or had connections to the school.
Otherwise, how could little shopkeepers like that qualify to bid, given how much the students here spent?
Kujo's guess was undoubtedly correct.
But she hadn't expected that the workers the students met at school would all be ordinary people.
Kujo could understand why.
After all, running this school must have been expensive.
Opening up jobs to people with ordinary work experience was probably necessary to create more employment opportunities.
And so, chatting with these workers and exchanging stories about new experiences in the outside world had become an indispensable part of Kujo's daily life.
Today, she had chosen to help the owner of the school flower shop.
He was an old man who had never appeared in the original story.
Students at Advanced Nurturing High School couldn't interact with the outside world.
Hundreds of students spent three years looking at one another's faces, so it was common for them to fall in love.
On special occasions, the flower shop's sales—and profits—soared.
But on ordinary days, the shop was practically deserted.
"Kid, you've been helping me out for several days now. Is there a flower you like? I'll give it to you."
The owner's surname was Nohara. His wife had passed away.
She'd loved romance, so Nohara had kept the flower shop running for ten years.
By now, he couldn't even remember the price of each bouquet. He had to check the notes his wife had left behind.
What he did remember was when and how to care for the flowers each day.
"If I had to choose, I'd go with baby's breath. It'd suit my girlfriend perfectly."
Kujo was especially fond of the sky-blue flowers. She thought they were the best fit for Hiyori.
Nohara sat in his rocking chair, fanning himself as he shared his wisdom with Kujo:
"Looks aren't everything. You have to consider what the flowers mean, too. A good flower language is worth a thousand love letters."
As they chatted, Kujo replaced the shop's old shelves.
The shelves had been there since the shop first opened and were long overdue for replacement.
The old man couldn't manage that kind of work alone, so Kujo came by now and then to move things bit by bit.
The most troublesome part was having to take all the flowerpots off the shelves first.
The pots were nested together like matryoshka dolls, layer upon layer.
No matter how much she told herself to treat it as exercise, the work still put her lower back through a serious workout.
"What does baby's breath mean?"
Nohara had long since forgotten that sort of detail.
Kujo could tell, so she quickly tried to smooth things over:
"Most flowers sold in stores don't seem to have many negative meanings anyway."
After all, students nowadays knew how to make good use of shopping apps on their phones.
There were shopping apps at Advanced Nurturing High School, too, and ordering things for home delivery was commonplace.
If you searched "flowers to give your girlfriend," you'd usually avoid the wrong choices.
Nohara's voice turned earnest as he continued:
"That's why romance is built up through little misunderstandings. You may think you're only doing a bunch of insignificant things, but when they add up, they become something big in someone else's eyes. Over time, even you won't know what you did to win their affection."
Nohara hadn't known Kujo for long, but that didn't mean he couldn't see what kind of person she was.
For a month, this foolish kid had neglected her studies and done good deeds around the school instead.
It would have been one thing if the school had assigned her to do it, or if she'd been working for a reward.
But all she wanted was to chat, lend a hand, and pass the time.
What had left the strongest impression on Nohara was that Kujo had a beautiful girlfriend.
When he'd been Kujo's age, he'd loved his wife just as much.
In the end, Kujo didn't answer his question or say what kind of flower she wanted.
People like Nohara weren't allowed to give students Class Points at this school.
Even if he wanted to give her something, he had no idea what would be appropriate.
Nohara watched Kujo walk away, step by step, now that everything was finished.
He planned to prepare a surprise for her later.
On the way back to her dorm from the flower shop, Kujo received a message from Sakayanagi of Class A.
Kujo still clung to the hope that maybe the other side hadn't timed it so perfectly. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that she'd left the shopping district when the students were getting out of class.
[Have you thought about what I offered you last time?]
Kujo understood that she meant what Morishita had mentioned before: Class A would pay Class Points for her help once.
[How about I help you earn Class Points in a suitable exam to secure Class A's position, and you pay me the corresponding amount of points each month?]
In other words, if Kujo helped Sakayanagi earn 100 Class Points in a particular exam, each student in Sakayanagi Class would have to pay Kujo 10,000 Personal Points every month.
Sakayanagi quickly typed back:
[How would we determine how much you helped Class A?]
It was a perfectly reasonable question.
For example, suppose Kujo told Sakayanagi that this month's exam would be about proper conduct, and Sakayanagi's class behaved well and lost no points.
How could they determine how much Kujo had helped Class A? It would be difficult to assess.
[An exam that suits me will come along.]
Kujo knew about the exams that awaited the first-years later on.
Although there could be a butterfly effect, the school's exams followed the same basic patterns.
They were always academic or physical tests mixed with voting or special roles.
Sakayanagi didn't give it much thought.
She didn't mind either way.
May was almost here.
According to rumors spread by Class C, the so-called proper-conduct exam was supposed to be over this month.
Once next month arrived, everything would come to light.
When that time came—
[Do you have time in a few days to bring Shiina out and meet me?]
[If you ask Hiyori directly, she'll be happy to see you.]
[But perhaps there are plenty of things I'd like to ask you in person, too.]
[Can't you ask me now?]
[Are you afraid to answer me face-to-face?]
They hadn't even met, yet the two of them kept sparring over their phones for a long time.
Class A.
The school day had ended.
On Sakayanagi's orders, Kamuro Masumi dutifully stayed in her seat, waiting for Sakayanagi to leave the classroom.
Kamuro obeyed Sakayanagi because Sakayanagi had once promised to find someone to help her with her homework and studies.
Kamuro was physically capable but not academically gifted. Even as a Class A student, she was afraid of homework and exams.
There were various other reasons, too.
In short, Kamuro had chosen to become Sakayanagi's loyal dog.
Even if Sakayanagi told her to bark like a dog now, Kamuro would have to think about whether to do it.
At that moment, Kamuro was sneaking glances at Sakayanagi's expression.
She knew that look well.
It was the expression Sakayanagi wore when she'd found a useful tool.
The first time Kamuro had met Sakayanagi, she'd had the same smile on her face—and Kamuro had lost her freedom after that.
Kamuro didn't know who Sakayanagi was talking to now.
But she was sure they weren't an ordinary person.
"Come print something out for me, then go meet a student from Class C."
Kamuro had already guessed who it was.
She'd seen them before, when she was following Katsuragi in the library.
It was a memory Kamuro couldn't forget.
She'd been tailing Katsuragi when she unexpectedly ran into Yamamura and Morishita, who'd been given a special assignment.
Even now, remembering that scene made her cringe.
Kamuro slung Sakayanagi's schoolbag over her shoulder, picked up the umbrella she'd prepared, and went to carry out her new assignment.
Sakayanagi couldn't get around easily, so apart from the cane she carried, her subordinates in Class A took care of carrying everything else.
Now that Kamuro had been sent on an errand, another Class A student would help with little things like opening doors.
That was Sakayanagi's status and privilege in Class A.
"May... I'm looking forward to it."
Sakayanagi closed her eyes and gently set her phone on the desk. Then she slowly took off her beret, held it against her chest, and let out a slow breath.
Her health was poor, and she couldn't let her heart rate stay elevated for long.
Only when she was alone could Sakayanagi let this vulnerable side of herself show.
Before you continue