Thanks for the Feast

Grabbing U Amakusa by the shoulders, Hoshinomiya said seriously, "Don't say another word, or your teacher here will get an— Hmm????"

As if she'd sensed something, she widened her eyes and abruptly crossed her arms over her chest, unable to hide her shock and fury.

"Amakusa, how did you do that?"

Did you enjoy the Flying Dragon Cloud-Searching Hand, beloved by the Great Grass-Sky Deity?

In the blink of an eye, U Amakusa had moved with lightning speed... and undone the clasp of Hoshinomiya's eye mask.

"Huh? What? Is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell, Hoshinomiya-sensei?"

Although Hoshinomiya had covered herself incredibly quickly, she still hadn't escaped U Amakusa's keen eyes.

Was she a hundred-killer or a ten-killer in the original story? It was amazing that something that big hadn't sagged...

U Amakusa had originally expected to see them droop, but when he didn't, he couldn't help marveling to himself.

Hoshinomiya-sensei really was a prize...

"Little Amakusa... I'm not fond of that kind of joke."

Hoshinomiya saw right through what U Amakusa was thinking, and a cross-shaped vein popped up on her forehead, just like Kamuro's.

"Mm, sorry, Hoshinomiya-sensei." U Amakusa pressed his palms together and closed his eyes in prayer. "Thanks for the feast."

Hoshinomiya: (੭ꐦ •̀Д•́ )੭

Are you apologizing or thanking me, you little punk?!

Just before Hoshinomiya lost it, U Amakusa's savior appeared.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, I'm here to pick up the materials for class."

"Ah... about that, Honami-chan... let's make the next class a study period. Your teacher here has something important to take care of first."

Hoshinomiya suppressed her anger and tightened her arms around herself, then shot U Amakusa a discreet glare.

"Huh? I understand. I'll let everyone know."

Meanwhile, U Amakusa continued praying, though he'd changed the subject of his prayer.

Thank you, angel Ichinose...

Ichinose: ???

"Is Amakusa-kun performing some kind of ritual?" Ichinose asked Hoshinomiya in confusion.

Seeing that U Amakusa was still at it, Hoshinomiya thought he was still trying to replay that moment in his mind.

Her lips twitched, and she could no longer keep her gentle expression in place.

When Hoshinomiya didn't respond, Ichinose called out again.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei?"

"Hoshinomiya-sensei has something more important to do right now, so let's not bother her."

After ending his prayer, U Amakusa tossed out that hurried explanation, grabbed Ichinose by the wrist in an instant, and rushed out of the staff room.

Of course, he'd grabbed her wrist.

Hoshinomiya: ???

Am I really that scary?

Hoshinomiya didn't think she was a demon. At most, she'd make U Amakusa use the same trick on Chabashira.

Once they'd safely gotten away from the staff room, U Amakusa let go and breathed out in relief.

"Safe."

"Safe from what?" Ichinose asked, completely bewildered.

"Nothing..." U Amakusa said awkwardly. "I just made Hoshinomiya-sensei angry."

"Hoshinomiya-sensei is angry?"

"Yeah. Angry enough to eat little kids."

As he spoke, U Amakusa theatrically opened and snapped his mouth shut.

"Huh?" Ichinose giggled. "What did you do to make Hoshinomiya-sensei that angry?"

U Amakusa felt a little embarrassed about the topic and coughed a few times.

"Ahem. Let's not talk about that. Ichinose, may I ask how many Private Points you have left?"

U Amakusa changed the subject awkwardly. He couldn't exactly tell Ichinose that he'd undone Hoshinomiya's eye-mask clasp.

Ichinose looked at U Amakusa in confusion, but answered honestly.

"Hmm... about ninety thousand, I think? Why do you ask, Amakusa-kun?"

U Amakusa replied in surprise, "You still have that much? You've barely spent any. You're really frugal, Ichinose."

"Hmm... there isn't anything I want, so I only spend money on food. I suppose I do have a habit of being thrifty, since my family isn't exactly well-off."

Ichinose said it without a care.

Then Ichinose continued, "Are you running short on points, Amakusa-kun?"

It had only been half a month since the school year started, hadn't it?

U Amakusa smiled. "Not at all. I still have plenty of points. I was just wondering... whether anyone in Class B had already spent more than fifty thousand Private Points in half a month."

Ichinose paused, glanced at the people around them, and lowered her voice.

"Amakusa-kun, is it really okay to talk about this here?"

They were on their way back to class, with people occasionally passing by.

"Isn't this just a normal conversation? Acting all secretive would be weirder." U Amakusa looked perfectly at ease.

Ichinose smiled helplessly. "You're really hard to figure out, Amakusa-kun. You were so cautious just yesterday."

After saying that, Ichinose changed their route back to class, then answered U Amakusa's earlier question.

"Sorry, your guess was wrong, Amakusa-kun. There's no one in Class B who spends money recklessly."

Just as he'd expected. Only someone in Class D would spend fifty thousand Private Points in half a month.

"Is that so? Since you know how much everyone in class has spent, that means you've already collected this month's points, right, Ichinose?"

That was fast. It had only taken them one morning.

U Amakusa was a little surprised. He'd thought it would take until noon at the earliest.

Ichinose wasn't surprised that U Amakusa had reached that conclusion.

"Even though everyone in Class B doesn't know our plan, they were all willing to hand over their points once they learned about the school's hidden rules. Collecting them went very smoothly."

After saying that, Ichinose inexplicably felt that the task U Amakusa had assigned her had been far too easy.

U Amakusa nodded. He looked at Ichinose, whose expression was easy to read at that moment.

"It went more smoothly than I expected. Now we just have to see how things go with Kanzaki. By the way, are you holding Class B's funds, Ichinose?"

After Ichinose changed their route, they were getting farther and farther from the classroom, but there wasn't anyone around.

So U Amakusa gradually felt comfortable discussing things more openly.

They strolled side by side as if they were taking a walk before class, with no particular destination.

"Mm. Everyone seems to trust me, so it's hard to refuse. That trust feels a little heavy, so I'll do my best not to let them down."

Watching Ichinose make a little gesture to encourage herself, U Amakusa's voice softened.

"I see. I'll be cheering you on, but Kanzaki may still need you."

"Huh? Amakusa-kun, didn't you say Kanzaki should go alone?"

"Do you know about playing the good cop and the bad cop? We've got the good cop, so of course we need a bad cop too."

Their eyes met, and Ichinose immediately realized that U Amakusa had seen through her little scheme.

"...Thank you, Amakusa-kun."

Ichinose thanked U Amakusa with a smile, her cheeks faintly flushed.

Cherry blossom petals fluttered over the railing beside the walkway where they strolled side by side. Along with Ichinose's rosy-cheeked smile, they made for a lovely scene.

"Mm."

It was April, the height of the Cherry Blossom Festival, and U Amakusa had received the best gift of all.

Thanks for the feast, Archangel...