Tsukishima left, waving his sleeves without taking a single cloud with him.
Inside the Chairman's Office, the father and daughter fell silent for a moment.
Sakayanagi Arisu tapped her cane, then smiled and spoke. "Father, isn't he an interesting person? I'm curious about his past now. Why was he assigned to Class D?"
Shigemori Sakayanagi pushed up his glasses and looked at his daughter helplessly. "How would I know? Student records aren't under my jurisdiction."
"Daddy~"
"Ah, fine. I'll take a look."
Shigemori Sakayanagi's resolve crumbled. He opened the computer on his desk, logged into the system, and began looking through the student records. When he saw Yuto Tsukishima's information, his expression turned strange.
"Perhaps this isn't something you should know..."
"Daddy~"
"Ah, all right, all right. After his interview, he introduced the interviewer to someone—a man who was the husband of his middle school homeroom teacher..."
Sakayanagi Arisu frowned slightly. "Aren't interviewers assigned based on the students' gender?"
Shigemori Sakayanagi nodded. "So he introduced a boyfriend to a male interviewer. The two of them are doing pretty well now. They went abroad and got married."
"As for his homeroom teacher, he found her a girlfriend... He introduced them too. She was his father's girlfriend on the side. She used to be a man—a transgender woman..."
Sakayanagi Arisu was stunned. "Then his mother..."
Shigemori Sakayanagi studied the records, took off his glasses, wiped them, then put them back on. "His mother was that interviewer's boyfriend, and his homeroom teacher's husband... She was also transgender."
Sakayanagi Arisu furrowed her brow, finding the relationships a little complicated. "Does he know that his family is... this complicated?"
Shigemori Sakayanagi wiped his glasses again. "His parents never told him. They cited irreconcilable differences when they divorced, and his mother never contacted him after transitioning. But judging by the outcome, he probably knows..."
"He really is a resilient boy..."
Sakayanagi Arisu rubbed her fingers against the top of her cane and asked, "Then why was he assigned to Class D? From the results, everyone seems satisfied, don't they?"
Shigemori Sakayanagi fell silent for a while. "Actually, the interviewer wasn't very satisfied, because he wanted to be the one doing the penetrating, but after a few too many drinks, he ended up being the one penetrated..."
Sakayanagi Arisu laughed. "So he ended up getting himself into trouble?"
Shigemori Sakayanagi sounded uncertain. "Maybe. Perhaps he didn't expect the interviewer to have the right to file a complaint against a student. Or perhaps he didn't really understand how same-sex relationships worked at the time..."
"Oh, right. We still need to give him a special exemption document."
Sakayanagi Arisu watched her father's actions and asked, "So this is just a special exemption?"
"Yes. We can't let the students' conflicts spread to the faculty. Otherwise, the whole school would descend into chaos."
"What a shame."
The conversation in the Chairman's Office had no effect on Tsukishima.
He had already arrived at the Dessert Shop, and his phone rang at just the right moment.
The sender was the Chairman, who had sent him several files: a PDF, an image, and a document.
He opened the files and handed them to the Boss Lady to look over.
"Boss, I'm back. These are the Chairman's files."
The Boss Lady looked them over for a while, then nodded and smiled. "You can learn how to make desserts, but don't let it interfere with your grades."
Tsukishima nodded. "Don't worry. My grades are pretty good."
"Also, the shop mostly serves afternoon tea. We get lots of groups of friends chatting and small gatherings, so it can get a little busy sometimes. Of course, I won't make you work for free. It's 800 points an hour."
"Can I still eat desserts for free?"
The Boss Lady laughed. "Don't worry. You won't like desserts anymore after this. All right, you can start tomorrow. Come whenever you're free, or you can come early and help me out."
Tsukishima gave her an OK sign and was about to leave when the Boss Lady called him back. "Wait a moment."
The Boss Lady handed him a crepe. "I didn't sell this one, and it won't keep for long. Take it and eat it. It can be a little celebration for getting your special exemption."
Tsukishima looked delighted. "Thanks, Boss. See you tomorrow!"
The Boss Lady waved. "See you tomorrow!"
Tsukishima was just about to leave when he suddenly stopped. "Boss Lady, what's the name of this shop? I couldn't understand a single character on the sign."
The sign was written in an artistic font—too artistic, really. Tsukishima couldn't make it out.
The Boss Lady rolled her eyes. "Sweet Words!"
Tsukishima chuckled and darted off.
The sunset had already dyed the sky orange-red.
Tsukishima walked back to the dormitory, sending a message to Yamada on his phone.
[Tsukishima]: President, starting tomorrow, I'll be learning how to make desserts at the Dessert Shop, so I might not be able to come to the club as often.
[Yamada]: Huh? Making desserts? Why did you suddenly decide to do that?
Tsukishima listed his three reasons: learning another skill, displaying the manga to get feedback, and liking desserts.
[Yamada]: You can do that? Um... Tsukishima, we've drawn some manga too. Could we display them at the Dessert Shop and collect feedback? We can give you points!
[Tsukishima]: I'll have to ask the Boss Lady first. If she agrees, there's no need to give me any points. If she doesn't, no number of points will help. Also, we can't put up too much; there isn't much room in the shop.
[Yamada]: No problem! Let me know!
He had just put his phone back in his pocket when it vibrated again.
[Kushida]: Did you get it done?
[Tsukishima]: Yep. The Boss Lady said she'd start teaching me tomorrow.
[Kushida]: You really managed it?
[Tsukishima]: Of course. Is there anything I can't get done when I'm on the case?
[Kushida]: Getting cocky now, are you?
[Tsukishima]: Just stating a fact.
[Kushida]: I'll come find you after school tomorrow.
[Tsukishima]: What for? To keep an eye on me?
[Kushida]: To see if you're really learning. What if you're up to something shady again and planning to screw me over?
Tsukishima rolled his eyes.
[Tsukishima]: Fine, but don't cause trouble when you get here.
[Kushida]: When have I ever caused trouble!
[Tsukishima]: You tore up my drawing paper.
[Kushida]: That was an accident!
[Tsukishima]: You left your pantyhose in my room. They stank.
[Kushida]: That was an accident too.
[Tsukishima]: You even pretended to be kind and tried to get dirt on me so you could use it against me.
[Kushida]: You're the pervert who got dirt on me first! And you grabbed my chest!!!
[Tsukishima]: As if I wanted to. You pulled my hand onto your chest, didn't you, Handprint Sister?
[Kushida]: You get what you want and still act innocent, huh? You damn pervert!!! If your desserts aren't any good, you're dead!
[Tsukishima]: You can mess with me all you want, just don't affect the shop's business. Otherwise, I'll really have to screw you over!
[Kushida]: You're so annoying. I'm not some selfish little kid!
[Tsukishima]: Good. The school has protections in place for on-campus shops. Anyone who disrupts normal business will be punished severely.
He wasn't making that up. The School Rules really did include measures to protect the shops on campus, and they were quite detailed.
Maybe that was because, in the past, student conflicts had spilled over and affected the shops.
Before you continue