Yamamoto Sae

Although there was that small interlude with Yamauchi, at least after he left, everyone got along quite happily.

After the gathering dispersed, Satsu, Ayanokoji, and Hasebe walked side-by-side on the path back to the dorms.

There were very few people on the street, and the streetlights cast a gentle, warm glow. The evening breeze brushed softly against the three of them; at this moment, the word "cozy" was truly fitting.

Hasebe was in high spirits, skipping ahead of the other two.

Soon, she turned around with her hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly. Her long, dark hair hung down like a waterfall as she revealed a faint smile.

"Schooling here is so much fun, isn't it?"

"I really hope we can keep living like this—having money to spend and friends to keep us company."

Ayanokoji replied calmly, "At least for the time being, this school is indeed a student's paradise."

"A hundred percent advancement and employment rates, absolutely luxurious living conditions, and indulgent classroom discipline."

Listening to their conversation, Satsu felt quite emotional. He knew that after a month, there wouldn't be any points deposited.

Even though the two in front of him didn't seem to need his worry, Satsu still offered a well-intentioned reminder.

"It's best to save your points; it's never a mistake to always have some money on you."

"Eh~ don't be such a killjoy," Hasebe complained slightly.

Even Ayanokoji couldn't help but chime in upon hearing this, "Satsu, you're not really one to talk. You spent quite a lot of points on dinner tonight."

"That's right, Satsu really splurged tonight," Hasebe agreed.

"Spending eighty thousand points to make my friends happy—I think it's worth it."

As he spoke, Satsu couldn't help but feel a sense of relief; fortunately, the three hundred thousand points he had swiped from the clerk hadn't been discovered.

Otherwise, spending eighty thousand would have really stung. Now that he thought about it, having over four hundred thousand points left after this meal wasn't bad at all.

It wasn't until he finally returned to the dorm and lay on his bed that Satsu began to think about Arisu.

He didn't know how he had offended her, but for some reason, she wanted him expelled.

Satsu opened his phone and felt a sudden pang of bitterness looking at Arisu's number. Although he had tried to probe whether she hated anyone, his mind-reading ability had yielded nothing.

Feeling a headache coming on, Satsu simply tossed his phone to the side.

"Ugh! Forget it, I'm not thinking about it anymore."

Over the next few days, to Satsu's surprise, he lived an extremely ordinary campus life.

The expulsion tactics he had anticipated from Arisu never arrived. Facing most people who took the initiative to approach him, Satsu was always scaring himself.

He would subconsciously feel that this was the beginning of some conspiracy.

But after interacting with them and using his mind-reading, Satsu didn't learn of any conspiracies.

Realizing he was being overly paranoid, Satsu gradually relaxed. At least for today, he didn't want to think about so much.

Because today was the highly anticipated swimming class!

Although Satsu's right palm was ruined, it didn't stop him from having a heart that loved to swim!

"In order to see...!"

"No, that's not it!"

"In order to swim, even if there are massive difficulties, I must overcome them!"

Satsu clenched his fist, cheering himself on in his heart, when suddenly a large hand rested on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Satsu? What are you thinking about?"

Seeing that it was Ayanokoji, Satsu replied softly, "It's nothing."

"Then let's go; class is about to start."

At this moment, almost all the girls from Class D were gathered by the poolside, their gazes all turning toward the men's locker room in unison.

"Is it true? Kato didn't choose to audit?"

"It can't be wrong, I saw him walk into the locker room with my own eyes."

The girls chattered away, and the topic was, without exception, Satsu.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the men's locker room, Ike and Yamauchi were hiding by the door, not daring to step out.

"Hey, hey, Ike! Do you know what this scene means right now!"

Yamauchi gripped Ike's shoulders tightly, shaking him as he spoke excitedly.

"Ah! I know, Yamauchi! This is the moment for us to show ourselves off and captivate thousands of girls!"

Seeing that Ike understood his meaning, Yamauchi let go of his shoulders and flexed his arms, bulging his thin muscles.

"Let's go, move out!"

"Yeah!" Ike nodded solemnly.

The two turned around and walked out of the locker room into the light, like soldiers about to step onto the battlefield.

"Yo! Girls, sorry to keep you waiting."

Just as they stepped out the door, Kanji Ike took the lead, but instead of the enthusiastic response he expected from the girls, the entire scene fell into a deathly silence.

Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Haruki Yamauchi chimed in as well.

He bent his right arm, flexing his muscles like a bodybuilder, and then slapped his bicep.

Before he could even speak, Karuizawa asked with a puzzled look, "Yamauchi-kun, is your arm itchy? Is that why you're slapping it?"

"No... I...!"

Yamauchi was rendered speechless by that single sentence, stammering as he tried to explain, when suddenly, a commotion broke out among the girls.

"They're here, they're here!"

"Wow, that's exactly the right amount of muscle definition!"

Noticing the girls' gazes, Kato Satsu took the initiative to look over and greeted them with a smile.

"Everyone's here, I see."

"Ah-!"

At that lighthearted remark from Kato Satsu, one of the girls suddenly let out a shriek.

Perhaps realizing her lack of composure, the girl's face turned beet red, and she shyly hid behind her companion.

"That girl seems to be Kokoro Inogashira. She's always been a shy girl by nature." (Kato Satsu)

"Are you going to keep your right hand wrapped in bandages even for swimming class, Satsu?" Kikyo asked, having keenly noticed the abnormality of Kato Satsu's right hand.

"This?"

As he spoke, Kato Satsu raised his right hand and looked at it, saying, "My right hand suffered a very serious injury. I'm afraid taking the bandages off might scare you all."

"To be honest, my right palm is currently in a state where it cannot move at all."

Hearing this, everyone was quite shocked. But soon, seemingly realizing this was an opportunity, someone spoke up.

"Then Kato-kun must have a hard time swimming right now. I can help you learn to swim with one hand."

"I can assist you from the side."

"Really? Then I'll have to trouble you all."

Faced with his classmates' enthusiasm, Kato Satsu naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Damn cripple, what's there to be so smug about?" (Haruki Yamauchi)

"It's truly infuriating!" (Kanji Ike)

Ayanokoji also realized that he was not the protagonist of this occasion, so he quietly left and went to sit beside Suzune.

"By comparison, someone here looks rather pitifully lonely."

Faced with Suzune's teasing, Ayanokoji replied indifferently, "Aren't you the same?"

But after seeing Suzune's warning glare, Ayanokoji quickly changed his tune: "Alright, alright, I know you don't want to make friends."

"Actually, I'm not as lonely as you imagine. At least my relationship with Kato Satsu isn't bad," Ayanokoji said.

On the other side of the school building, in Class 2-C.

A girl trotted up to Yamamoto Sae and said, "Sae, a first-year student is looking for you."

"Hm? Looking for me?"

Sae walked to the door, full of confusion, and only then did she see the cute appearance of the first-year student who had come to find her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yamamoto Sae."

"My name is Sakayanagi Arisu, from Class 1-A."