A Chance Encounter with Kiryuin Fuka

"Hello, Your Highness. My name is Hashimoto Masayoshi. Would you be willing to be friends?"

With Yagami Shizuka's smooth persuasion, Hashimoto Masayoshi gathered his courage and greeted Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Hello, my name is Sakayanagi Arisu." Just as Yagami Shizuka had said, she was very reasonable. She had studied and practiced the gentleness and etiquette expected of a noble young lady.

"Please, have a seat. Since it's inconvenient for you to stand, you can sit and talk with me. It would be my honor to become your friend."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't say much. She agreed and sat down. Even if she wanted to cultivate her subordinates, she couldn't rush things.

Hashimoto Masayoshi then started getting to know the other students. Aside from being turned away by Kamuro Masumi, he managed to befriend every student in a single day and even got their contact information.

People like him were truly rare talents.

Kushida Kikyo had betrayed Class D multiple times, yet Horikita Suzune couldn't bring herself to have her expelled. That was because few people could match Kushida Kikyo's gift for socializing.

Kushida Kikyo had also contributed quite a bit to the class. Losing her would be like losing an arm.

When Kushida Kikyo faced expulsion, Horikita Suzune helped her. But Horikita Suzune was truly foolish.

From that moment on, Kushida Kikyo's diplomatic skills were as good as useless. What was the point of protecting a woman who constantly harmed the class's interests and caused trouble?

A competent leader would never employ a traitor who had defected time and again.

Some might say the author was forcing things to save Kushida Kikyo, and that this was where the characterization started to fall apart.

No, no. Horikita Suzune had been that foolish from the beginning. There were no logical inconsistencies in her characterization or the plot. Many people simply hadn't noticed.

Even Ayanokoji's transfer to another class had been planned from the moment he enrolled, with foreshadowing in the earlier volumes.

Keep reading and you'll find the answer.

It'll be explained gradually later.

Through Hashimoto Masayoshi's conversations with the other students, Sakayanagi Arisu quickly learned about them and sorted them into categories.

Outgoing, shy, timid, young-lady type, taciturn, prone to tattling, assertive, and composed.

Every type had its uses.

The taciturn type was the easiest to manipulate.

People in this category usually had a story behind them. There had to be a reason for their silence. Find that reason, and it could become a shackle with which to control them.

It was at that very moment that Kamuro Masumi entered her sights.

At 2:40 p.m., following the prompt, Yagami Shizuka arrived at Keyaki Mall.

The school was huge, and the mall was essentially a massive shopping district. It even had a department store that covered a vast area.

Inside the mall, he spotted a pretty silver-haired figure, just as expected. She seemed to be picking out some fruit.

At a place where points were as precious as gold, and fruit was just as costly, it was hard to believe anyone could still afford to buy fruit.

Maybe she couldn't really afford it either and was picking out cheap fruit.

Fruit didn't last forever. If it didn't sell in time, it would spoil, so fruit that was close to going bad was put on sale at a very low price.

Yagami Shizuka went over and bought some too, giving himself a chance to have his "chance encounter" with Kiryuin Fuka.

To his surprise, she had no intention of speaking with him, and the system gave him no prompts either. By the time Kiryuin Fuka left, it was as though they had merely passed each other without anything happening.

Pick up several free items and take them to the checkout within three minutes.

It wasn't enough to choose the items he wanted. After he'd picked them out, another prompt appeared: [Please wait].

He was allowed to choose only three free items per month. He might as well take them.

As long as he thought something could be useful, there was no need for it to cost money.

Those free products weren't much different from the cheap stuff he used to buy.

Go to the checkout within 60 seconds.

59s

58s

...

By the time Yagami Shizuka reached the checkout, Kiryuin Fuka was already paying.

"Insufficient balance. Payment failed."

Kiryuin Fuka took back her phone and smiled awkwardly. She'd left in such a hurry that she'd forgotten to check her points balance.

She hadn't expected her points to run out so quickly.

She'd heard that her class had fallen from Class A to Class B, but she hadn't realized things were this bad. They'd lost so many points.

Did that mean she'd have to live on free meals every day this month, too?

Good grief, she really didn't want that.

She decided to return everything she'd picked out.

```

Complete the payment within 5 seconds.

"Payment successful!"

Just then, Yagami Shizuka arrived. He placed the items he'd bought on the counter and paid.

He immediately saw that 2,300 points had been deducted from his phone balance.

He was confused, since most of his items were free.

The cashier also realized what had happened and apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry, sir. You paid for this young lady's purchase. I'll refund you right away."

When Kiryuin Fuka saw Yagami Shizuka, she looked as if she'd found her savior. She immediately pulled him over. "Could you help your senpai out, underclassman? I'll pay you back next month, when I have money."

"But... but..." Yagami Shizuka seemed hesitant. "I don't know you."

"Oh, I'm Kiryuin Fuka, a second-year student in Class B. You can take down my contact information first. Don't worry, I'm not going to sell my conscience over a few points. I'm genuinely in a bind this time."

Yagami Shizuka still looked hesitant, but he didn't keep it up for long. Overdoing it wouldn't be good.

Getting Kiryuin Fuka in his debt for 2,300 points was absolutely worth it.

Other people might spend hundreds of thousands and still not get the same favor.

"All right, senpai. I trust you." Then, without asking for his points back, Yagami Shizuka paid for his own items as well.

Kiryuin Fuka gave Yagami Shizuka her contact information.

"Hello, I'm Yagami Shizuka, a first-year student in Class A." Once they left the supermarket, he introduced himself and held out his right hand to Kiryuin Fuka.

"Hello!" Kiryuin Fuka had taken his money, so she couldn't just leave. "Thank you for helping me just now. If you run into any trouble, you can come to me. If it's within my power, I'll do everything I can to help."

"Then let's start now. I'm in trouble already."

"Huh?" Kiryuin Fuka raised an eyebrow. She'd only been saying it as a courtesy. Had he really not understood?

If he weren't a first-year, she would have thought a student in her own year was trying to trick her.

Still, she was happy to help. After all, he'd just done her a favor.

"Go ahead. What do you need my help with?"

"I want to know more about this school," Yagami Shizuka said bluntly.

"I see. But I really can't tell you. If you can pay me more points, though, I can let you in on a few things." Kiryuin Fuka understood what Yagami Shizuka was after, but the second- and third-years had all been ordered to keep quiet.