Chapter 12

Maybe the heavens were playing a joke on us, because when we left the shop, we ran into the gloomy pervert Ayanokoji-kun for the third time. He was standing in front of a bowl of instant noodles that had been spilled on the ground. "Um, do you need any help?" As if possessed, I ignored my companions' attempts to stop me and struck up a conversation with him, driven by curiosity. "Oh, no need. I'll take care of it. Thanks." He was gentle and surprisingly easy to talk to. "Let's get acquainted. I'm Kitazawa Minya from Class 1-C." Perhaps my abrupt introduction had caught him off guard. He looked up and gazed at me seriously. "Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, Class 1-D." "Can you answer a question for me, Ayanokoji-kun? I'm curious." "What would you like to ask?" he replied cautiously. "Why didn't you give up your seat on the bus this morning?" "Huh? That's what you wanted to ask... Didn't you also keep your seat?" "That has nothing to do with me... Is it inconvenient for you to answer?" "It's really nothing. I'm just the sort of person who avoids trouble..." "So what about now?" I pointed at the instant noodles on the ground. "Sigh... I'm not very good at communicating with people. I must have said something wrong and angered Sudo and Horikita, right?" Ayanokoji looked frustrated. "I see. I didn't expect someone as gloomy as you to have a desire to make friends." I nodded with satisfaction. I wasn't buying it. Hadn't he only decided to clean up the mess after noticing the surveillance cameras? He'd noticed how many cameras there were this early, just like me. Interesting. He seemed capable without drawing attention to himself. If only I could get him to keep an eye on Koenji in Class D. "That's a pretty harsh thing to say... Though it's true." "Actually, I could be your friend. We seem to have similar tastes..." I took the opportunity to move closer to him. "Tastes?" Ayanokoji looked confused. "A girl like Horikita is pretty great, right?" I leaned close to his ear and whispered. "Don't get the wrong idea! I'm not interested in her!" Ayanokoji jumped and hurriedly denied it. "Don't pretend. I understand you. How about we exchange contact information? We've run into each other several times today. It must be fate!" I pretended I was trying to use him to get closer to Horikita. "I guess that's fine... But I really have nothing to do with Horikita. We just happened to sit together on the bus." Ayanokoji seemed wary of Horikita, afraid I might spread some kind of rumor. "Great! Then I'll count on you to introduce me to her sometime! I'll treat you to a meal one of these days! My friends are waiting, so I'll be off. See you, Ayanokoji-kun." "Yeah. See you, Kitazawa." "Why did you talk to someone like that?" Back with our group, Oda couldn't wait to ask. "There's a particular reason. Would you be willing to keep it secret?" I felt the time was right, so I began the first step of my grand strategy. "Of course. We've only just met, but we already consider you a good friend, Minya." Suzuki spoke up first, and Oda and Sonoda nodded. "All right, I don't mind telling you. The truth is, I came to this school for more than just myself. I also have another purpose: Koenji from Class D." "Koenji... You mean the heir to the Koenji Conglomerate?" Suzuki seemed to recognize the surname. "That's right. My father is a member of their conglomerate, and since I got into this school too, he asked me to look out for young master Koenji while I'm here." "I see. So that's why you're making friends with Ayanokoji from Class D, Minya... Since you're not in the same class, it'd be inconvenient to handle a lot of things, right?" Sonoda caught on. "Exactly. I don't know if you've heard, but the competition at this school is fierce. Quite a few students drop out every year. I don't think I can manage on my own, so I'm looking for help. Of course, you're all capable people. If you're willing to help, I can offer you generous compensation. You could even work for a company under the Koenji Conglomerate after graduation." "I see..." The three of them fell silent, thinking it over. That was understandable. In Japan, people often stayed with the same company their whole lives, so it made sense to choose carefully. The Koenji Conglomerate had plenty of money, so its employees received excellent benefits. That was my advantage, and I was making the most of it to win over anyone who could be useful. Fair competition? Not a chance. The guy was born to inherit a conglomerate! That was the cruel reality. "Take your time deciding whether you want to help me. Young Master Koenji has a rather eccentric personality, but there's no denying his abilities. Let me put it this way: if any of you get expelled for helping Koenji, I'll personally compensate you with a hundred million yen! And the doors to our group will always be open to you." When you had money, you could do whatever you wanted. I'd learned plenty from Dad about making promises to win people over. I could wave the company's name around all I liked. People always said a company was like a family, and the Koenji family's reputation was our reputation too! "A hundred million yen!? Minya, are you that rich?" Was a hundred million yen really that much? Take that payout for risking your life, and you'd be tied to the Koenji Conglomerate for life. It wasn't such a bad deal when you looked at it that way. "Most of it is my parents' money, but I've made some personal investments too. Don't worry. I know Koenji's mother well. She'd be willing to spend that much for her precious son—ten times as much, even. Of course, you'd have to be loyal to the Koenji Conglomerate. Or you could be loyal to me. My father may be a small fry, but he can still come up with a few hundred million yen." "I believe you! Count me in, Minya!" Oda seemed to have a difficult home life, and he made his decision as soon as he heard a hundred million yen. "Count me in too. It's not that I particularly want a hundred million or anything, but working for the Koenji Conglomerate wouldn't be bad either. I came to this school to secure a good future, after all. It looks like standing out here won't be as easy as I thought..." That was Sonoda's reply. "I'm not interested in Koenji or anything, but I'll follow you! Minya, you're a reliable guy. I especially respect how you told us about this so early." Suzuki had been won over by my personality. "You're good friends! Thanks for trusting me. From now on, we're all in this together! Of course, the job isn't as serious as you might think. Young Master Koenji is a genius, so barring any surprises, we can enjoy school life without lifting a finger. I might even get expelled while he's still around, haha!" I didn't want to put too much pressure on them, so I added that. "Really? Then we've hit the jackpot!" Oda said with a laugh. "What exactly should we do, Minya?" Sonoda asked. "Build up our personal points. As the saying goes, money makes things easier. If points really can buy anything, as Mr. Sakagami said..." "Should we start with the upperclassmen?" Suzuki caught on. "Exactly. Especially the third-years. They've been here for two years, so they should have quite a bit saved up. Especially the girls. Some of them spend a lot, but most are pretty good at saving. And they're also more likely to take the opportunity to get close to Young Master Koenji..."