Now the scene shifted to the couple's restaurant, where Matsushita Chiaki had been sitting on a stool waiting for ages. She had clearly realized something was wrong.
Even if he'd gone to the bathroom, an hour should have been more than enough.
So, to avoid drawing attention, Matsushita immediately put on a black mask and sunglasses, then headed straight for the men's restroom.
But after calling out several times and getting no response from inside,
the young lady's temper flared. Pouting, she looked determined not to give up. After checking repeatedly to make sure nobody was watching, she covered her eyes with one hand and slipped into the men's restroom.
"Hmph. He actually stood me up."
When she saw that all five stall doors were wide open, the girl stamped her foot, looking somewhat disappointed as she turned to leave.
But the very next second, an unlikely coincidence occurred.
Just as she reached out to open the restroom door, the boy she was meeting happened to be standing outside, about to come in.
Rinya looked stunned, and Matsushita looked utterly bewildered. The two stared blankly at each other, their minds racing with all sorts of thoughts.
Matsushita thought, How could this happen? How could this happen? I'm doomed, I'm doomed. How am I supposed to explain this?
My ladylike image is ruined. How can I face anyone again? Boohoohoo~
Rinya thought, Could this girl have come looking for me in the restroom? Heh. She's got some nerve.
Seeing the girl's fair legs trembling, Rinya had no choice but to break the awkward silence. He smiled faintly. "Heh, did you come looking for me? Sorry to keep you waiting."
"I suddenly remembered that I'd forgotten to buy some daily necessities, so I went out for a bit. That's why I took so long to come back."
"I-is that so, Rinya? Then could you please not tell anyone about what happened tonight?"
"Mm~ I won't."
"Th-thank you!"
After getting his assurance, the heavy pressure on the girl lifted considerably. She lowered her head shyly, then dashed out the door in a flash.
"Huh? She left?"
"Good. I have things to do next anyway." Once the girl had completely disappeared, Rinya let out a quiet breath.
A little while later, his phone chimed with a text message. Only then did Rinya notice the apology Matsushita Chiaki had sent him.
"Hm? When did this girl add me as a friend?"
"Could it be~"
Rinya suddenly remembered when he'd been getting his hair cut. She'd used her curiosity points as an excuse to take his phone.
"Heh, what an interesting girl." Thinking about it, he couldn't help smiling meaningfully.
Over the next month, each of the first-year classes settled on its leader.
Class A: Katsuragi Kohei, Sakayanagi Arisu.
Class B: Ichinose Honami.
Class C: Ryuen Kakeru.
Class D: Hirata Yosuke.
Though the leaders had been chosen, the underhanded maneuvering between classes seemed to grow even more intense.
As far as Rinya was concerned, he'd only gotten a simple haircut, yet it had caused a sensation throughout the school. Over the past few days, countless people had come by to sound him out.
That wasn't all. Now, girls from not only his own class but the other three classes often sneaked over to give him love letters, gifts, and the like.
He'd already made it clear that he wouldn't accept any kind of relationship in the near future.
Even so, whenever he entered the classroom and saw the other boys glaring at him as if they wanted to devour him, Rinya couldn't say how much he regretted getting that haircut.
Fortunately, today was the first of the month, and the homeroom teacher, Chabashira, had an important announcement about points. It drew everyone's attention, giving Rinya some breathing room for the time being.
"Teacher, when are we getting this month's points?"
"Yeah, we're almost out of money for food."
As soon as Chabashira walked in, several students started complaining.
But Chabashira seemed to have expected this. First, she coldly listed all the times they'd violated school rules over the past month.
Then she explained that the points they received would be proportional to their class's performance each month.
"As for the review of Class D's performance this time, you've lost the right to receive the 100,000 points you would otherwise have earned."
"Your balance for this month is zero!"
Her icy tone immediately broke the spirits of many students who'd been spending carelessly. They began protesting to their homeroom teacher.
Chabashira simply replied, "I told you the first time. If you didn't pay attention, you'll have to face the consequences yourselves."
Her words plunged many of them into despair. It meant they'd have to survive on the relief food provided by the school.
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The sudden swing from heaven to hell drove some students to the verge of a breakdown. They began selling their electronic toys, figurines, and other items—which they'd originally bought at high prices—for next to nothing.
Class representative Hirata Yosuke kept suggesting that students with plenty of points help those who had none.
But it was obvious that such a proposal couldn't succeed in Class D, a class that had only recently begun to take shape.
Without a doubt, the biggest winners this time were those who'd been frugal and hadn't wasted their points.
Rinya took out his phone and glanced at the balance of 84,500 points on the screen. He didn't want to get involved in too many troublesome matters, but he knew that if he spent a little at the right time, he could create the greatest possible benefit for himself.
Of course, he didn't actually need to do this. He was only buying a few pawns in advance because of his promise and the various unforeseen events that might occur in the future. It was always better to be prepared.
After classes ended for the day, and once he'd gotten a rough idea of everyone's background in the class, Rinya called Chairman Sakayanagi.
On the surface, he said he wanted to arrange some protection for her daughter ahead of time. In truth, he was subtly probing her, trying to find out whether she had other plans after arranging for him to enroll like this.
Sure enough, after talking for a while, Rinya quickly used the psychological techniques he'd learned in the White Room to realize from her words that she'd arranged for other people to help as well.
Once Chairman Sakayanagi's plans had been exposed, she stopped hiding anything and directly told him what else she'd arranged.
Even so, before ending the call, Chairman Sakayanagi repeatedly warned him not to interfere with those people. She'd gone to a great deal of trouble to find them.
Rinya naturally agreed. But as a man who had once dominated the White Room, he had too much pride in his heart to let anyone else interfere with his promise.
After learning some important information, Rinya soon approached several boys in Class D who were so unremarkable they barely seemed to exist.
"You're Sadokura, you're Kitatori, and you're Fujita, right?"
"Rinya?"
"Heh~ We heard from Matsushita that your balance was the highest in the class last month. Are you here now because we've been keeping an eye on you, and you want to mock us?"
"No. Quite the opposite."
Rinya spoke calmly. His half-smile made the three boys, who were sitting on the floor in despair over their points, feel inexplicably contemptuous.
"Cut it out with the act. You're not here to help us, are you?"
"Of course I am."
As he spoke, Rinya didn't waste any time. Right in front of them, he transferred 10,000 points into each of their accounts.
"This..."
"You..."
The three stared at the notifications on their phones, dumbfounded.
"I told you, I genuinely want to be friends. Don't overthink it. Of course, I'll just need you to help me out from time to time over the next three years. No problem, right?"
"So you're still trying to buy us off?"
"No. Like I said, we're just becoming friends. But if you insist on calling it that, I won't deny it. It's only 10,000 points. Why not give them to you?"
"It's just that I think I heard somewhere recently that a few people in our class got in through improper means. Who were they again? I'll have to think about it. What do you say?"
"You..."
"We have no idea what you're talking about."
"Is that so? Then take a look at whose private contact information this is."
As he spoke, Rinya pulled up Chairman Sakayanagi's private contact information, verified by the school.
"The... chairman?" The three felt as if they'd plunged into an abyss. It had only been thanks to her help during the application process that they'd managed to get into this school.
Anyone who had her private contact information was basically either family or an absolutely trusted confidant.
Even the school's teachers didn't have it.
They themselves had once gone to great lengths to ask for a powerful backer, but not only had they failed, they'd been coldly turned away.
Just who is this guy? He even has the chairman's private contact information... The three were shocked.
"B-but so what? In exchange, she promised the three of us that apart from making sure Sakayanagi Arisu could graduate from Class A when we were about to finish high school, she wouldn't bother us at any other time."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"What do you think she can do if she goes back on her word now?"
"..." The three fell silent. They understood that if he really wanted them expelled, it would be easy. He could even make them disappear in secret without the slightest difficulty, given his position at the very top of the pyramid.
"Y-you and the chairman... What exactly is your relationship?"
"That's something you don't need to know."
"Just answer me this: when I need you in the future, will you do as I say? If you agree, I'll take care of problems like this for you from now on."
"Of course, you're free to refuse. In that case, I can only..."
"W-we agree. We agree!" The three immediately nodded in unison. They were all timid and afraid of trouble, and they'd only gone through countless hardships to get into this school because their lives outside had been so miserable.
If they really got expelled now, it would be no different from being sent to hell.
"Good. I'm very satisfied. For now, just carry on as you please. I won't bother you. Heh~"
As they watched him walk away, the three looked at one another, then let out a sigh.
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