"We should hurry up and challenge the clubs, Zhong. Otherwise, if the Chess Club seniors spread the word, our plan might be dead in the water."
"And while we're at it, you can think about how I figured it out."
"The longer a mystery lasts, the more exciting it is when you solve it~"
As he spoke, Hoshino En took Sakayanagi Arisu's left hand—the one that wasn't holding her cane—and led her step by step toward the Chinese Chess Club.
"Oh, right."
When they reached the Chinese Chess Club's door, Hoshino En suddenly stopped.
He held out his phone to Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Let's add each other first."
Beep—
Then Hoshino En transferred 1.83 million points to her account, keeping only the 100,000 points every new student received.
"Aren't you worried I'll run off with all these points? It's a lot of points. I'm certainly tempted."
"Of course not. From the way you carry yourself, your family must be pretty wealthy. A few points like this probably don't mean much to you."
"Besides, I don't think you'd do that."
He looked her in the eyes without the slightest hesitation.
Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."
"That's a lot of trust."
She stared at the sudden surge in her phone's points, unsure what to say.
Hoshino En: "..."
She really seemed to believe him.
He'd leave out the real reasons: even if she tried to run off with the points, he could catch her before she got away, and she wouldn't turn him into an enemy over such a small amount.
"Oh, right. One more thing."
Hoshino En took hold of the hand holding Sakayanagi Arisu's phone. Right in front of her, he switched to the apps screen, opened the voice recorder, and started recording.
"That should do it."
Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."
"You really are easy to read."
Even if Hoshino En hadn't done that, she would have secretly recorded him herself.
The preparations were complete. Now—
"Sorry to bother you, seniors from the Chinese Chess Club. Could I ask if you take bets in points?"
"Huh? What class are you from? We're Class 1-D."
"Right. I'm betting all 100,000 of my points. All in. But you seniors can't bet less than me."
"She's here with me. If I lose everything, I'll have to throw myself into her arms and beg for comfort, then shamelessly live off her."
"Good. Let's get started!"
With several buffs on their side—their disdain for Class D freshmen, the sight of a fool going all in, his unhesitating declaration that he was a kept man, and the blinding spectacle of a couple showing off their affection in public—the Chinese Chess Club seniors were riled up. Every one of them wanted to be the one to crush this arrogant freshman and take all his points.
But how could they stay calm when they were consumed by three of the cardinal sins at once: pride, greed, and anger? Especially when Hoshino En played while toying with Sakayanagi Arisu's hand, looking as though he couldn't care less about them. That made it even harder for them to keep their cool.
And so, some time later—
"Thank you, seniors from the Chinese Chess Club, for your generous donations!"
Hoshino En bowed to the seniors, whose personal points had been completely wiped out, with Sakayanagi Arisu beside him.
The points on his phone had gone from 100,000 to three million.
These seniors had been even more generous than the Chess Club chives... They couldn't put together enough points individually in the end, so several of them pooled their points to bet against him. It was so reassuring to see seniors looking out for their juniors.
"So this was what you had in mind?"
Sakayanagi Arisu finally understood why Hoshino En had brought her along to challenge the clubs. The reasoning was surprisingly simple.
"Yeah. As long as we're polite enough that they can't find a flaw to criticize, but outrageous enough to get on their nerves without giving them an excuse to hit us, they'll get worked up in no time. Then they'll turn into stacks of valuable chives, ripe for the taking."
Hoshino En was delighted to have earned so much.
"And you know this about yourself, don't you? You're cute. Really cute. Walking around with me makes me look good in other people's eyes, and I get to enjoy the view. That's a big help in the mental battles ahead."
"Your tone is so flippant."
"But it's true..."
As they chatted, they found their next victim.
"Sorry to bother you, seniors. Do you take bets in points?"
Go Club, out!
"Right, we're freshmen from Class 1-D. We wanted to see if we could bet points."
Shogi Club, out!
"No, no. You see, I have a girlfriend to support, so I have more expenses."
Ludo Club, out!
"Look how beautiful my girlfriend is. Of course I have to give her the best. So please, seniors."
Gomoku Club, out!
First Semester of First Year:
An afternoon passed, and Hoshino En had taken Sakayanagi Arisu with him to beat pretty much every board-game club.
Since they'd been thoroughly beaten by a Class 1-D junior, it was humiliating. The seniors didn't seem to have spread the news, so Hoshino En's Exploiter Alliance had raked in quite a haul.
As agreed with Sakayanagi Arisu, aside from the 1.83 million points Hoshino En had won from the Chess Club, they split the rest of the winnings eighty-twenty.
Including the Chinese Chess Club, Hoshino En had won a total of 8.75 million points from the other clubs.
After giving Sakayanagi Arisu her twenty percent—that was 1.75 million—Hoshino En had earned a total of seven million points.
With the 1.93 million he'd already had, his personal points now stood at a staggering 8.93 million.
He was almost at eight figures.
Looks like the seniors were pretty wealthy. Maybe they could make another visit and reap some more points later.
After dividing up the spoils, Hoshino En helped Sakayanagi Arisu out of the Special Building.
"I helped you earn points, so now, as promised, it's time for some privacy between the two of us."
With a teasing smile, Sakayanagi Arisu slipped the fingers of her left hand between Hoshino En's right fingers and clasped his hand tightly.
"So, Boyfriend-kun, will you satisfy my curiosity?"
Hoshino En: "..."
They were already outside. Surely they didn't need to keep pretending? If someone from Class A or Class D saw them, it would be a headache for both of them.
Well, it would be a little cruel to use her and then dump her. He'd look like a scumbag.
"Are you worried your classmates will see us? I'll admit it openly, so don't worry."
You're one of the class representatives, of course nobody would say anything to you. But Class D is full of troublesome people. I'd be the one in trouble!
Looking at the frail-looking Sakayanagi Arisu in front of him, Hoshino En could almost see a little fox who'd gotten her way and scored a point.
So that was it. She was getting back at him.
In that case—
"Sure. I promise I'll make sure you're full. Just look forward to it."
Hoshino En clasped Sakayanagi Arisu's left hand tightly and led her toward the Shopping Mall.
Once they had disappeared completely from the area around the Special Building—
Clatter—
The sound of a file hitting the ground came from behind the entrance to the Special Building.
A petite senior with her hair in a purple bun leaned against the door, her body trembling slightly after hearing the shocking news.
"They... Those freshmen... How shameless...!"
Having only heard the latter half of the conversation, the senior had clearly gotten the wrong idea.
Though it was afternoon, there was still some time before dinner.
After several hours of prize-bearing board-game matches with the seniors, Hoshino En was feeling worn out, his head swimming.
So he led Sakayanagi Arisu to a café in the Shopping Mall, intending to fulfill their earlier promise there and pick up a coffee to perk himself up.
But the moment he pushed open the café door, Hoshino En regretted it. Everywhere he looked, he saw girls—there wasn't another man in sight. Even the staff were all women.
"Why are you standing in the doorway? Aren't you going in?"
The girl beside him spoke in a soft voice, but her tone was unmistakably teasing. She'd seen what the café looked like inside too, of course, and knew exactly why he'd stopped. She'd asked on purpose because she wanted to see the guy who'd had her on the back foot earlier looking flustered.
"Uh, well... I don't think I'm suited to the atmosphere here. Maybe we should go somewhere else?"
"Nuh-uh~ You've been making me run around all afternoon, and now I'm hungry. I want something sweet."
She was clearly determined to get the upper hand here.
Hoshino En: "..."
"Fine. Whatever you want. You really did work hard today."
To be fair, if Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't helped stir things up, the sharp-eyed seniors wouldn't have coughed up so many points to support their juniors' future lives.
She truly deserved a lot of credit for the big haul they'd made today.
Hoshino En led the girl to a seat in the middle of the café that had just been vacated by the previous customers. He pulled out her chair with one hand, then pushed it back in as she sat, making sure she settled comfortably at the table. Like a gentleman, he helped her into her seat.
Then he sat opposite Sakayanagi Arisu and pushed the menu toward her.
"You order. This one's on me."
Though it was a café, they sold more than just coffee.
Coffee, milk tea, cakes, and all sorts of desserts... The very things young girls couldn't resist.
No wonder most of the customers here were girls.
"But why do I feel like it suddenly got quiet around us..."
"Hey, let me tell you..."
"I just saw someone..."
"You know, in our class..."
Before he could finish, the conversations around them suddenly started up again, and the café seemed to return to the lively place it had been before they arrived.
But the obvious attempt to pretend they hadn't been listening only made Hoshino En shake off his fatigue.
Hoshino En: "..."
He thought back to what he and Sakayanagi Arisu had said at the entrance.
[Making me run around all afternoon]? [You worked hard today]? Hmm~?!
Wait, did these high school girls think something weird was going on?
He looked around, only to find the girls at the other tables chatting animatedly with the friends they'd come with. Not one of them seemed to be paying attention to their table.
Well, not quite. A few girls had met his eyes, but they'd immediately looked away, their cheeks inexplicably turning red.
Wait, hold on. Something wasn't right...
"Ahem. What are you looking at?"
Hoshino En was about to stand up and clear things up, but Sakayanagi Arisu's voice from across the table stopped him.
Before you continue