Frequent Accidents

After this brief interlude, the three of them arrived at a corner of the convenience store.

A pile of daily necessities, such as toothbrushes, was stuffed into a shopping cart labeled "Free," with a restriction of "three items per month" attached.

Even so, Toru Hasegawa still found it quite exaggerated.

Not only did the school provide them with 100,000 private points every month for personal spending, but there were even free daily necessities available!

Are they running a charity here?

"Is this a relief measure for those who overspend their private points? The school really spoils its students... What are you doing?"

Suzune Horikita offered what could barely be called a reasonable explanation, then she saw Toru Hasegawa's actions.

He was placing free shampoo and body wash into his own cart.

"As you can see, I am replacing the items I was planning to purchase."

Toru Hasegawa explained simply, then put the daily necessities that had now been replaced by the free items back exactly where they belonged.

"Is it necessary to be this frugal?"

With a whopping 100,000 private points, why would he be so greedy for freebies on even the smallest daily expenses?

Suzune Horikita could not understand such behavior.

However, seeing that the silver-haired girl who had accompanied him showed no strange expression because of this, Suzune Horikita suppressed the lingering sense of oddity in her heart.

Sometimes, there are just people like that.

"I'm used to it, I'm used to it."

Toru Hasegawa subtracted the cost of the items he had just replaced from his calculated total and couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.

Money should be spent where it counts.

Everyone has their own mental accounting, and the expected price points for different accounts vary.

For instance, some people are unwilling to spend much on daily necessities, yet they will be extravagant when it comes to food expenses.

Or, for another example, some people feel it's not worth it to buy expensive items for themselves, but would feel happy if they were gifts from someone close, because the former belongs to living expenses, while the latter belongs to emotional expenses.

A more common example is spending on descendants and health, where the price will far exceed other accounts.

And Toru Hasegawa's expected expenditure on daily necessities was very low.

Seeing him like this, Suzune Horikita didn't have much to say; she wasn't interested in such matters to begin with.

"I'm going now."

Saying this, Suzune Horikita took a step and joined the end of the long line in front of the checkout counter.

"Should I go too?"

Realizing that he should probably make space for Arisu Sakayanagi, Toru Hasegawa asked.

"Yes, I wish you a pleasant school life."

Arisu Sakayanagi glanced at his cart and decided to let this somewhat cute classmate off the hook for now. After all, without him, she wouldn't have come to the convenience store at this time, and thus wouldn't have happened to run into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Come to think of it, she really should thank him. Because of this, there were more important things to do now.

"Long time no see, Ayanokoji-kun. It has been eight years and fifty-one days, hasn't it?"

In the space that was temporarily occupied by only the two of them, Arisu Sakayanagi stood beside Ayanokoji Kiyotaka while leaning on her cane.

Toru Hasegawa, completely unaware that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's dream of a peaceful school life had been shattered, was currently waiting in line.

Right in front of him was the beautiful long-haired girl, Horikita-san, who had just been talking to Ayanokoji.

She had no intention of turning back to strike up a conversation with him, so Toru Hasegawa enjoyed the rare moment of leisure.

However, at this moment, a loud voice erupted from the front of the line, drowning out the background music filling the convenience store and quickly spreading throughout the entire space.

"So noisy! Wait a second! I'm looking for it!"

"Then hurry up! The line behind is getting backed up."

Because the morning entrance ceremony had taken up a lot of time, it was now nearly 11 o'clock, and there were many students coming to the convenience store to buy lunch.

"Huh? Do you have a problem with that?"

Seeing that the two seemed to be... no, they were already shouting at each other, Toru Hasegawa sighed helplessly and tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of him:

"Could you watch my things for a moment?"

"...?"

Not expecting anyone to voluntarily get involved in this situation, Suzune Horikita turned back to look at him in surprise. She didn't say anything, but took his cart with her left hand, which counted as tacit consent.

"Thanks."

After a simple word of thanks, a kind smile appeared on Toru Hasegawa's face in an instant as he stepped forward to ask:

"Is something the matter?"

"Huh? Who are you?"

Toru Hasegawa, who had intended to start a friendly conversation, was met with an immediate threat from the red-haired man.

"I'm someone looking to resolve a problem. I saw something happening here and thought I might be able to help."

Toru Hasegawa was neither intimidated by the red-haired man's simple threat nor annoyed; he merely maintained a pleasant expression.

"Ah... I see... I forgot my student ID. I completely forgot that the card would be replacing cash from now on."

Would anyone actually forget something so important?

That thought flashed through his mind, but Toru Hasegawa didn't let it show on his face, continuing to smile as he said:

"If you need it, I can cover the cost for you. It would be a hassle to go back and get it, right? If you don't mind."

"To be honest, it really is a pain, and I was already fired up from what just happened."

Seeing that someone was willing to pay for him, the red-haired man's voice calmed down a little.

"I'm Sudo from Class D. I'll leave this to you, then."

"I'm Hasegawa from Class A. Nice to meet you."

The red-haired man handed over the instant noodles, instructed Toru to add hot water, and walked out.

The number above the other person's head rose from 40 to 60.

The matter was finally settled, the long line began to move again, and Toru Hasegawa breathed a sigh of relief as he returned to his original spot.

"So your name is Hasegawa. I never expected you to be such a warm-hearted person."

The aloof, long-haired beauty had actually started a conversation with him. Toru Hasegawa was happy to oblige, and after glancing at the number above Suzune Horikita's head—which had risen from 40 to 45—he replied:

"I just hope that through my actions, there might be a few more people like me in this society, even if it's just one."

"Looking at his appearance, most people would want to keep their distance from his type."

"That's a stereotype," Toru Hasegawa corrected.

"Judging by his reaction just now, it's enough to prove that the so-called stereotype you speak of is absolutely correct."

Suzune Horikita retorted without a hint of mercy.

Toru Hasegawa had expected that talking to such a beautiful girl would be a pleasant experience, but he found himself struck down by her cold logic.

"...Even so, I believe that no one is born wanting to become like that."

Toru Hasegawa said after a moment of silence.

If he didn't have the knowledge accumulated from his past life, and if he hadn't continued to study throughout his first twelve years, he likely would have become someone just like that man.

The influence of one's environment is profound, especially when one's values haven't yet been fully shaped during childhood.

"I cannot agree. It's clear that one can escape their current situation just by working hard. The people I look down on most are those who refuse to improve themselves like him."

Suzune Horikita, who believed that the root of everything was a lack of effort on the individual's part, clearly couldn't understand Toru Hasegawa's perspective.

"It's not..."

Just as he was about to continue explaining, Toru Hasegawa saw that it was Suzune Horikita's turn in the checkout line, so he silently closed his mouth.

Following that, he finished his own transaction, along with the instant noodles belonging to the red-haired man... Sudo.

"Time to get the water."

Knowing that changing someone else's mind is a difficult task, Toru Hasegawa immediately put the matter behind him.

If one keeps such things bottled up inside, it's hard to be happy.

"Huh? Why are you still here?"

Seeing Suzune Horikita still waiting in place, Toru Hasegawa was a bit surprised, but he didn't let it stop his actions.

Carefully pouring the hot water up to the line, Suzune Horikita followed behind him as he walked out of the convenience store, though he didn't know what she was planning.

Sudo was sitting nearby, waiting.

"Your noodles."

Sudo took the noodles as a matter of course and then waited for the time to pass.

"Are you going to eat here?"

"Of course. Eating here is common sense in this world."

Is that so?

Toru Hasegawa was a bit doubtful, but he figured that since many people come from different environments, it's normal for common sense to differ.

For example, the difference in driving on the left or right side of the road, or the etiquette of bowing versus shaking hands.

So he quickly convinced himself, while by contrast, the girl beside him, Horikita, sighed in disbelief.

"I really want to go back. Staying here any longer will only lower my standards."

You could have just said the first half; why did you have to add that unnecessary second half? And as for "standards," all I see is aloofness, hey...

Toru Hasegawa felt a sense of foreboding.

He also felt sad about his own stereotypes, because he had already anticipated what would happen next.

"What's with the talk about style? Isn't it normal for high school students to act like this? Or is it that... you're some kind of rich young lady from a wealthy family?"

Sure enough, as soon as he heard Suzune Horikita say that, Sudo's temper flared up.

But the former didn't even spare him a glance.

"When someone is talking to you, listen properly! Hey!"

"What's wrong with him? Why did he suddenly get angry?"

Who would have thought that Suzune Horikita still wouldn't speak to Sudo, but instead asked Toru Hasegawa a question.

We've only just met, so don't push me into the fire pit!!!

Although Toru Hasegawa thought this, he also knew that if he didn't step up now, things might really spiral out of control.

In the worst-case scenario, it might even escalate into a violent incident.

So, he stepped forward.

"You really should listen properly when someone is talking to you."

Toru Hasegawa first looked at Suzune Horikita with sincere eyes and gave a subtle wink, hoping she would understand his hint, then turned his head to say to Sudo, "But you're also a bit in the wrong; this is just a small matter, you're overreacting a bit too much."

Toru Hasegawa thought he had handled it quite well, but who knew Sudo was like a powder keg ready to blow at the slightest touch? He stood up with a "thump":

"Huh? What did you say? It's this arrogant person who's in the wrong, right? She's just a woman, after all!"

No, no, no, I admit her attitude is indeed a bit arrogant, but your behavior is even more excessive. What do you mean by "just a woman"...

Gender antagonism is even more serious than violence, you know~

Although these were his thoughts, Toru Hasegawa couldn't possibly say them out loud; if he did, he would be personally destroying any hope for a peaceful future.

But someone else didn't think so.

Before he even had a chance to speak, Suzune Horikita continued, though she still didn't address Sudo:

"She's just a woman—that is a truly severe anachronism. I advise you not to associate with him any further~"

"..."

Toru Hasegawa cursed internally and hurriedly said:

"Alright, alright, you're both in the wrong here. How about you both take a step back?"

He said this while biting the bullet.

He had already realized that neither Sudo nor Suzune Horikita were people to be trifled with.

The former was like a powder keg that ignited at the slightest touch, with an extremely low threshold for anger, while the latter was incredibly self-righteous and centered everything around herself.

I should have realized this when she refused to introduce herself.

Silently criticizing his own optimism, Toru Hasegawa pessimistically racked his brain, hoping to find a way to de-escalate the situation.

But in front of these two people with such distinct personalities, his thinking seemed to be in vain.

Unless there was some strong external interference.

After a quick assessment of his own physique compared to theirs, Toru Hasegawa felt that the probability of him being able to stop them was actually quite high.

Then, the unexpected really happened.

"Hey, are you first-years? This is our turf, go argue somewhere else if you're going to argue."

Just as the two were at each other's throats with Toru Hasegawa caught in the middle, a trio holding instant noodles walked out of the convenience store and joined the conversation.