"Qiuyue, you don't trust me either, do you? I could tell as soon as you walked in."
Chairman Yanagibayashi sat down and continued:
"When you came in, both your hands were in your pockets. But I only pointed out the hand holding your phone, hoping you'd lower your guard and tell me why you were here. After all, I wanted to know why a student had come straight to see me, the chairman. As for whether you were recording me, what did it matter?"
"Besides, when I asked you to take out your phone, you acted decisively enough. It seemed like you'd guessed I thought you might be recording. Honestly, your double-recording trick would fool most people. Not a bad move."
Qiuyue Qi let out a breath and unclenched his hands. Sitting up straight, he looked at the chairman and spoke earnestly.
"I'm truly sorry. We didn't sign a contract, after all, and our homeroom teacher and the other students wouldn't know about it or be able to find out."
"So I couldn't explain where this came from. I just wanted to give myself a little protection. I hope you'll understand, Chairman."
Chairman Yanagibayashi calmly took a sip of tea and waved a hand with a smile. "It's fine. A student this capable should make me happy as chairman. Now, go ahead and tell me anything else you came to discuss."
Qiuyue Qi was stunned.
The chairman continued, "When I told you to put away the recorder earlier, you didn't turn it off and leave with it. You left it on the table instead. That means you still have something to ask for, right?"
"As expected, I can't hide anything from you. I'll get straight to what I need. I need..."
Chairman Yanagibayashi interrupted him with a smile.
"You don't need to record this time?"
"No. I trust you, Chairman. You've already seen right through me. I need a drone that can fly a hundred kilometers, with a camera." (A hundred kilometers is an exaggeration for the story. Don't worry about it.)
I think I acted pretty well.
"Oh? You already want something like that on the second day of school? I won't ask what you need it for. It'll cost one million Private Points."
"Thank you, Chairman. For now, knowing the price is enough. I can't afford it yet, but I'll come back to buy it."
"I thought as much. I look forward to seeing you again, Qiuyue."
"Well, I have plans with a friend, so I'll take my leave, Chairman."
Inside Room 415 in the boys' dormitory.
Qiuyue Qi tossed his bag onto the floor and flopped onto the bed, arms and legs spread wide.
"Whew. That old geezer's pretty wary, but that's about it. I'll spend a good chunk of money later. First, I'm going to treat myself to a nice meal. That'll make the trip to the Chairman's Office worthwhile."
Qiuyue Qi opened his phone and looked at his remaining 96,500 Personal Points. He smiled and sat up.
He picked up his backpack and opened it, taking out the clothes, hat, and mask inside. At the very bottom lay a voice recorder.
Qiuyue Qi picked up the recorder, stopped it, opened a drawer, and put it inside. Then he opened another drawer, where a pair of earphones faced a voice recorder.
Next, Qiuyue Qi took off his school blazer and removed the device stuck to its lining.
"Even if that old geezer found the one in my backpack, I still had a fourth layer of preparation. The bug was stuck to my blazer, and the earphones in my room were pointed at the recorder."
"Old geezer, no matter how smart you are, you'll never guess that I've got one more trick up my sleeve. Heh heh heh."
Qiuyue Qi let out a laugh like an elder from the Soul Hall.
"All right, the plan's off to a good start. Now I can go spend a good chunk of money. My goal is twenty million Private Points, but I shouldn't deprive myself, either.
"First, I'll put everything away, then head out for a big meal. Where should I go?"
Qiuyue turned into a food connoisseur, searching one school restaurant after another on his phone. After carefully weighing his options, he settled on one.
When he arrived, Qiuyue ordered several dishes. He knew full well he couldn't finish them, but even when the server tried to stop him, he insisted on ordering them all.
In the eyes of the people around him, Qiuyue looked just like a nouveau riche.
"Huh? Karuizawa, what a coincidence! Are you eating here by yourself?"
Qiuyue, whose meal had been interrupted, looked toward the person who had called out to him. She was a beautiful girl with short, golden-yellow hair as dazzling as sunlight. It brushed lightly against her face, swaying with her movements and shining with a captivating glow.
It fell just below her shoulders—not so long that it looked cumbersome, and not so short that it lost its feminine charm. The hairstyle made her look lively, and her whole person radiated a sunny aura.
...Kushida? Had she already remembered my name from the introductions?
She'd definitely come over to tell me she wanted to be friends. She wanted everyone to like her. She really was defective. Was this what they called a Pink-Haired Schemer?
Whatever. I'd just pretend I didn't know her.
"...Who are you?"
"I'm Kushida Kikyo! Didn't I introduce myself in class? I remember your introduction, Qiuyue."
"Ah, sorry. I don't think I remember you. So? What do you want? I'm still eating."
The corners of Kushida's eyes twitched. The dark side of her was probably busy cursing Qiuyue out.
"Ahaha... If you don't remember me, Qiuyue, I can introduce myself again. My name is Kushida Kikyo. Got it? You can't call me 'that girl' again."
Kushida casually went along with it, patted her chest, and reintroduced herself. Then she held up her index finger in front of Qiuyue and wagged it from side to side, indicating that he couldn't call her the wrong thing again.
"...Oh. Do you want to eat something, Kushida? Or did you come with someone else? If you did, don't keep them waiting too long. I'm almost full anyway. I ordered a bit too much."
"N-no, thanks. I came with Karuizawa and the others. Qiuyue..."
"Kushida, what are you doing over there? Come on, everyone's here!"
A group of high school girls called out to Kushida and looked in Qiuyue's direction. They were all watching him, clearly curious about who Kushida was talking to.
"Sorry, Qiuyue. I have to go. Everyone's calling me."
"Go ahead. We just happened to run into each other, and it's not like we have anything to discuss. No need to apologize."
"Okay, Qiuyue. Let's have a proper one-on-one chat next time."
Kushida said this, waved, and jogged off toward the group of girls.
...No. Who wants to talk with you? What a pain. I should avoid her as much as possible.
Qiuyue sighed and put one of the desserts on the table into his mouth.
"Mmm, not bad. The dishes I ordered were pretty average, nothing special, but this dessert is good enough to bring me back."
"Full stomach, happy heart. Back to watch anime and read light novels. Every day's a good day."
After eating his fill, Qiuyue stretched and muttered to himself as he headed toward the dormitory.
Before you continue