The Contract Made with Class A

Tuesday.

While students were attending classes as usual, Kujo was always wandering around the campus.

Generally speaking, Kujo had three courses of action to choose from each day.

First, he could choose to exercise his body in a place with good scenery.

Second, he could choose to read the books recommended by Hiyori in the school library to increase topics for their daily conversations.

Third, he could choose to help the school staff in places like the school store, the cafe, or the gardens.

Usually, Kujo would choose the first option.

Because whether it was physical strength or reaction speed, both required repeated training to maintain their peak state.

To maintain the most perfect physical condition in a school that prioritized physical prowess, one had to achieve it through arduous training.

But today, Kujo chose the third option.

According to the school rules, Advanced Nurturing High School did not allow students to take part-time jobs to earn money.

However, the rules only forbade students from working part-time for pay.

In other words, there was no rule forbidding students from unconditionally helping adults.

As long as there was no employment relationship and no request for points in return, it didn't matter at all.

What kind of people were those who could open shops in this school?

Kujo had considered many possibilities; they were either wealthy and influential, or they had connections with the school administration.

Otherwise, given the consumption level of the students at this school, how could those small vendors have qualified for the bidding process?

Kujo's thoughts were undoubtedly correct.

But he hadn't expected that the workers students could encounter at the school were just ordinary people.

Kujo could understand that.

After all, the operating expenses of this school must be very high.

To increase employment opportunities, it was necessary for the school to open positions to people with general social experience.

Thus, chatting with these workers and exchanging fresh experiences from the outside world had become an indispensable part of Kujo's daily life.

The person Kujo chose to help today was the owner of the school's flower shop.

That was an old grandfather who had never appeared in the original story.

Students of Advanced Nurturing High School could not reach the outside world.

With hundreds of students looking at each other's faces for three years, it was very common for romances to accidentally blossom.

On special holidays, the daily sales of this flower shop would be very high, meaning it would be quite profitable.

But on ordinary days, this flower shop could basically be described as having no customers.

"Little brother, you've been coming to help me for several days now. Is there any flower you like? Grandpa will give it to you."

The grandfather at the flower shop was named Nohara, and his wife had already passed away.

His wife liked romance when she was alive, so Nohara had kept this flower shop for ten years.

By now, Nohara couldn't even remember the unit price of each bouquet and had to rely on the handwriting his wife left behind to identify them.

All he could remember was when and how to take care of the flowers every day.

"If I had to choose, I would pick baby's breath; it's very suitable for my girlfriend."

Kujo had a soft spot for that bouquet of flowers as blue as a clear sky; it was a flower he thought suited Hiyori best.

Nohara had been sitting on a rocking chair, waving a fan, and imparting valuable experience to Kujo:

"Just pursuing good looks isn't enough; you also have to consider the language of flowers. A good flower meaning is worth ten thousand sweet words."

Kujo chatted while replacing the old shelves in the shop.

Those shelves, which had been there since the shop opened, had long since passed their replacement date.

The old man couldn't do this kind of work alone, so Kujo would occasionally come by to move them bit by bit.

The most troublesome part of moving these shelves was that you had to move all the flower pots off them first.

However, these flower pots were nested like Russian dolls, layer upon layer.

Even though he kept telling himself to just treat it as physical exercise, such work still brought great strain to Kujo's lower back.

"Then what is the language of baby's breath?"

Nohara had long forgotten such detailed things.

Kujo noticed this and hurriedly smoothed things over:

"It seems that not many of the flowers sold on the market have negative meanings anyway."

After all, students nowadays were adept at using shopping apps on their phones.

Shopping apps also existed at Advanced Nurturing High School, and placing orders for goods to be delivered to one's door was a common occurrence.

If you search "flowers for girlfriend" on software, you will generally avoid the wrong options.

Nohara's voice sounded earnest as he continued speaking to Kujo:

"So, romance is something accumulated through the little misunderstandings of others. You might think you're just doing trivial things, but when they add up, they become significant in someone else's eyes. Over time, even you won't know what you did to win their affection."

Nohara had only known Kujo for a short time, but that didn't mean he couldn't see through Kujo's character.

For the past month, this idle, foolish kid hadn't been studying at school, but instead kept busy doing good deeds in the neighborhood.

If it had been arranged by the school, that would be one thing; if it had been for payment, that would be another.

Yet, the guy just wanted to chat, do some chores, and kill time.

And what impressed Nohara most was that Kujo had a beautiful girlfriend.

When he was Kujo's age, he had loved her just the same.

In the end, Kujo didn't answer his question about what kind of flowers he wanted.

This school did not allow people like them to provide point assistance to students.

Nohara wanted to give him something, but he didn't know what would be appropriate.

Nohara watched the back of Kujo, who had finished everything, as he walked away step by step.

He planned to prepare a surprise for Kujo later on.

On the way back to the dormitory from the flower shop.

Kujo received a text message from Sakayanagi of Class A.

Kujo still held onto the fantasy that perhaps this wasn't a case of the other party timing it perfectly, but rather a coincidence that he had chosen to leave the shopping district at the students' dismissal time.

[Have you considered what I gave you last time?]

Kujo understood that the other party was referring to what Morishita had mentioned previously regarding Class A using points to purchase a one-time favor.

Kujo used a 26-key input method, his typing speed lightning fast.

[I help you earn class points in a suitable exam to stabilize Class A's position; how about you pay me the corresponding points every month?]

In other words, if Kujo helped Sakayanagi earn 100 class points in a specific exam, every person in Sakayanagi's class would have to pay Kujo 10,000 private points each month.

Sakayanagi on the other end replied quickly:

[How will we determine how much you have helped Class A?]

This was a perfectly reasonable question.

For example, if Kujo told Sakayanagi that this month was a behavioral conduct exam, and Sakayanagi and her classmates behaved perfectly and lost zero points.

How could one judge how much Kujo had helped Class A? It was difficult to evaluate.

[A very suitable exam will appear.]

Kujo possessed information about the exams later in the first year.

Although the butterfly effect might occur, the exams at this school remained consistent at their core.

They were nothing more than academic and physical tests interspersed with voting or special roles.

Sakayanagi didn't think much of it.

She didn't care about any of that.

It would be May soon.

According to the rumors spread by Class C, the so-called behavioral conduct exam for this month was about to pass.

After next month, everything would come to light.

By that time.

[Do you have time in a few days to bring Shiina out to meet me?]

[If you ask Hiyori directly, she will be very happy.]

[But perhaps I also have many questions I would like to ask you personally.]

[Can't you just ask them now?]

[Are you afraid to answer me to my face?]

It didn't seem like two people who had never met; the two of them confronted each other on their phones for a long time.

Class A.

Dismissal time had arrived.

Kamuro Masumi followed Sakayanagi's orders, sitting obediently in her seat waiting for Sakayanagi to leave the classroom.

The reason Kamuro obeyed Sakayanagi's orders was simple.

It was because Sakayanagi had once promised Kamuro that she would find someone to help her solve her homework and academic problems.

Kamuro has decent physical ability, but her academic performance is not high. Although she is a student in Class A, she has the weakness of being afraid of schoolwork and exams.

Although there are various other reasons.

In short, Kamuro chose to become Sakayanagi's loyal dog.

Right now, even if Sakayanagi were to ask her to bark like a dog, Kamuro would have to consider whether or not to do it.

At this moment, Kamuro is peeking at Sakayanagi's expression.

She is very familiar with the expression Sakayanagi is wearing right now.

That is the expression the other party only shows when she has discovered a useful pawn.

When she first met Sakayanagi, the other party had that same smile on her face, and that was when she lost her freedom.

Although Kamuro does not know who Sakayanagi is chatting with right now.

But she believes it is definitely not someone simple.

"Come over and help me print something, then go meet with a student from Class C."

By this time, Kamuro had already guessed the other person's name.

She had seen that person back when she was tailing Katsuragi in the library.

That is a memory Kamuro cannot forget.

While she was originally tailing Katsuragi, she had accidentally run into Yamamura and Morishita, who had been assigned a special task, in the library.

That scene is still incredibly awkward whenever she thinks back on it now.

Kamuro carries Sakayanagi's school bag on her back, puts away the umbrella she had prepared, and heads off to execute the newly assigned task.

Sakayanagi has difficulty moving around, so aside from the cane she carries with her, all her belongings are the responsibility of subordinates like them in Class A to carry.

Now that Kamuro has been sent out on a task, other Class A students will surely help her with small things like opening the Gate of Opening later on.

This is the status and treatment Sakayanagi enjoys in Class A.

"Satsuki, it really is something to look forward to."

Sakayanagi closes her eyes, gently places her phone on the table, then slowly removes the beret from her head, places the hat over her chest, and slowly exhales.

Her health is poor, and she cannot afford to have an elevated heart rate for long periods of time.

Only when she is alone can Sakayanagi show such a vulnerable side of herself.