Chapter 27

"Generous? That word doesn't really suit me, Kushida." "Is that so?" "Yeah. Ever since I somehow ended up on some rich person ranking, I've had to become a little more generous! Actually, I have you to thank for that, Kushida." I got straight to the point and tested her. After I'd pressed Igari-senpai several times, she'd admitted that she'd only told Kushida, so I was pretty sure she was connected to the information on that so-called ranking.

"Huh? Kitazawa-san, did you get the wrong idea?" Kushida looked genuinely shocked and confused.

"Aren't you the one who got the wrong idea?" I trusted my instincts. "If I've offended you somehow, Kushida, I can apologize."

"Kitazawa-san, why would you say that...?" Kushida put on an act as if she were about to cry.

Oh no, I couldn't stand seeing girls cry! Being a lecher was a debuff in times like this. I knew she was trying to play me, but my body still reacted honestly. Wasn't that just great?

"Well, if you're saying you just believed some rumors from the third-years... then let's forget about it. It's not like I have any proof anyway. Don't actually cry, okay? I'm the one who got the short end of the stick here..."

In the end, Kushida and I had no real grudge against each other, and there was no point in making an enemy of her now. So I gave up on pressing the issue. I'd brought it up for another reason.

"Really?" Kushida paused her performance for a moment, but she'd already attracted plenty of attention from people nearby.

"Really. I'm not angry about it."

"Sniffle... Kitazawa-kun, you're so mean. You scared me just now."

I had to scare you a little, or you'd think I was an easy target! Since the little miss had already learned from the senpais about my connection to Koenji, I needed to warn her to keep her mouth shut. Though, of course, she'd just been pretending to be pitiful a moment ago. I also wanted her to feel guilty about letting the secret slip. When people felt guilty, they tended to want to make up for it, which made them more likely to agree to other things I asked.

"Sorry about that! Since you're not the sort of person who goes around blabbing, Kushida, I feel better. I almost forgot—you were the one who invited me. Was there something you wanted?"

"Not really... I just wanted to be friends with the famous Kitazawa-kun. I was disappointed we didn't get to meet last time." Kushida wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Friends, huh... That might be tricky. I have pretty high standards for my friends. Can you promise you won't betray me and that you'll always have my best interests at heart? Otherwise, maybe we should forget it..."

I made my terms clear in advance, just in case.

"Don't underestimate me, Kitazawa-kun! I can do that. But to be fair, you have to do the same for me."

Kushida was really going all out just to make friends. She'd agree to anything!

"Fine. This feels kind of weird, though..."

"Hehe." Kushida, my new friend, cheered up again, and the unpleasant moment from earlier vanished in the blink of an eye.

"So, Kushida, as my friend, you won't mind giving me some information about someone in your class, right? Don't worry, it has nothing to do with class competition, and I won't go telling other people."

Having gotten what I wanted, I immediately started making use of my new friend, without the slightest hesitation. You might think she could use me in return because I owed her a favor? Naive! I could say no, and I was good with words!

"But they're my friends, too..." Kushida feigned reluctance.

"I'm not asking for any secrets... I just want to get a sense of what someone's like."

"In that case, no problem! Who do you want to ask about, Kitazawa-kun?"

"Kiyotaka Ayanokoji."

"Huh? Why Ayanokoji-kun?"

It was for Koenji, of course, but it was better not to tell Kushida that. Her guessing it herself would be a different matter.

"I'm just curious, that's all. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to him."

"Okay. But I need you to help me with something, too..."

"What is it? It has to be something I can do, and something that won't hurt our class or anything like that!"

"It won't, it won't. I just... want to be friends with Ryuen, too... You think you could help me?"

"Ryuen? He's got a bad temper and he's really lecherous, you know? Are you sure you want to meet him?" I spoke bluntly. You were practically delivering yourself to him. If Ryuen could straighten you out, that would be great! Then you'd stop blabbing about Koenji.

"Mm! It's fine!"

Kushida really had nerves of steel. She still wanted to be friends with him? Was she playing some kind of high-difficulty collecting game? Did that make me an NPC? The one who unlocked the main quest, no less...

"Fine, I'll look for a chance to help you."

If I was an NPC and Kushida was the protagonist, I might as well agree.

"That's great! Then I'll tell you all about Ayanokoji-kun! Of course, it's not nice to talk about people behind their backs, so this will be our secret!"

"Okay. Tell me what Ayanokoji-kun is like."

Kaneda really had sold me out back then! Kushida, why were you so good at this? How many times had you made shady deals like this!?

"How should I put it? I first noticed Ayanokoji-kun because of Horikita-san."

"Hmm?"

"Kitazawa-kun might not know, but in our class, no one can really get more than a few words out of Horikita-san."

I see. With Kushida's collecting obsession, she probably wanted to unlock every achievement. So Ayanokoji was the NPC who opened the door to the Horikita boss...

"Except Ayanokoji? Had they known each other for a long time?"

"That's what I thought at first, too, but apparently not. They both say they're just deskmates."

"But what's so special about Ayanokoji that Horikita would get along with him so well?"

"I'm not sure, but I'd guess Ayanokoji-kun is pretty smart. Otherwise, Horikita-san wouldn't pay any attention to him, right?" Kushida seemed to hesitate.

"Smart, huh... I hadn't thought of that. At first, I simply thought he stuck close to Horikita because he liked her... So the two of them also admire each other... Well, Kushida, you've been a big help."

Kushida said he was smart, but how did she know that? There had to be something else I didn't know... No, until I figured out Ayanokoji's background, I couldn't just let him find out about Koenji. Maybe I should switch targets? Like the person right in front of me, who already knew about Koenji? Sigh, but I couldn't trust her! Girls like her were too hard to deal with. Ayanokoji was easier.

"I'm glad I could help... Do you like Horikita-san, Kitazawa-kun? You acted the same way last time..." Kushida suddenly grew curious.

How could that be? I liked elegant beauties, but I didn't like self-torture. What was the point of being friendly to someone who gave you the cold shoulder? Still, you've given me an idea, Kushida. Why was I looking for a boy? Maybe I could look among the girls, too?

"Sure, I admire girls with that kind of elegance... But I wouldn't say I like her. We've never even talked. I'm just curious, that's all... Actually, getting to know her might make me think much less of her. After all, she's someone with no friends."