Consideration

"Depo...!"

"A deposit of one billion! And a seaside villa!"

Hoshinomiya stared at the text on the computer screen, letting out a cry of shock.

"Kato Satsu is actually this rich!"

Ichinose Honami was equally overwhelmed with shock, now that she had truly seen the extent of Kato Satsu's assets.

Her mind couldn't help but drift back to what Kato Satsu had just told her—that in reality, outside of school, he could be considered to have a little money.

"He wasn't lying to me!"

Ichinose murmured, but the bizarre words from Hoshinomiya, standing right beside her, instantly disrupted her train of thought.

"If only Kato Satsu would keep me as his mistress."

"!!!" (Ichinose Honami)

Hoshinomiya crossed her arms, clutching her own shoulders as she swayed back and forth. "Handsome and rich, he's practically my ultimate dream man!"

"Hoshinomiya-sensei!" Ichinose said sharply.

"I know, I know!"

Hoshinomiya replied jokingly, "I'm just messing around."

Ichinose shook her head helplessly. Not wanting to linger in the office any longer, she turned and left.

Inside the dormitory, Kato Satsu had just sat down when he heard a rhythmic knocking at the door.

"Hmm? Who could it be at this hour?"

Kato Satsu asked in confusion, "The door's unlocked, come in!"

Accompanied by the "click" of the door handle sliding, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka walked into the room.

"Sorry to bother you, Kato Satsu," Ayanokoji said flatly.

"What's up, Kiyotaka?"

Kato Satsu stood up and walked to the table to pour Ayanokoji a glass of water. "Sit down and talk. Sorry, I don't have any drinks here, just plain water."

Ayanokoji didn't stand on ceremony; he sat down and took out a slip of paper. "Horikita's contact information."

Hearing this, Kato Satsu's eyes lit up. He accepted the note without hesitation and said, "So, Kiyotaka, you have a favor to ask of me?"

As I expected, Kato Satsu took the note immediately. (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

"Actually, it's Horikita who has a favor to ask of you," Ayanokoji said, putting on an indifferent expression.

"Sudo and the other two didn't attend the study session. Horikita is very worried about their grades and hopes you can gather them to attend her study session."

Ayanokoji watched Kato Satsu quietly after finishing his sentence, while the latter looked at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Keep spinning your tales, keep spinning them! (Kato Satsu)

"Horikita is the one who actually told you to handle this, right?"

Even with his lie exposed, Ayanokoji didn't panic, maintaining his deadpan, non-committal tone.

"I didn't lie. If you don't believe me, you can call her and ask. I even gave you her contact info."

Horikita wants Kato Satsu to join her anyway, so she shouldn't refuse. (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

Kato Satsu, who had already picked up his phone with his left hand, paused. He stopped the dialing motion and said, "What if I refuse?"

"Then this task will be forced onto me, but I will definitely fail because you, Kato Satsu, will obstruct me."

"Are you threatening me? Is that how you're going to explain your failure to Horikita?"

Ayanokoji nodded affirmatively.

Talking to smart people is so easy; I don't even have to spell things out. (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

"Would I be afraid of her? What could she possibly do to me?" Kato Satsu said.

"I don't know what Horikita will do, but retaliation is a certainty," Ayanokoji replied.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt. For a long time, neither of them spoke, and an awkward atmosphere filled the air.

"You know full well that Yamauchi and I don't get along, yet you still came to me for help. Why?"

"Because you don't actually want to help Horikita, so you hope to push this job onto me. If I agree, everything is fine; if I don't, you'll just say I'm the one obstructing you."

Kato Satsu answered his own question, "Either way, you don't have to help Horikita."

Ayanokoji didn't deny it, instead admitting it generously. "So, what is your answer?"

"Alright, now turn off your phone recording," Kato Satsu said, looking at Ayanokoji.

"You don't need to go through the trouble of editing our conversation into a version that can be used as evidence."

Hearing Kato Satsu's words, Ayanokoji was taken aback. He took out his recording phone and said, "How did you know?"

He had been cautious, only taking out the phone without stopping the recording.

"When you handed me Horikita's contact information on a slip of paper in person, I was already wondering why you didn't just text it to me."

"So you've agreed to help?"

"No! I refuse."

Ayanokoji was immediately puzzled: "Then why did you tell me not to edit the evidence?"

"Because I will cooperate with your plan to obstruct Horikita from holding the study session."

"There's no need to be that ruthless; you only need to stop me from going to find Yamauchi and the other two."

"Aren't you curious why I'm suddenly willing to help you?"

Ayanokoji's tone was very calm: "Why should I be curious? As long as my goal is achieved, that's enough."

After seeing Ayanokoji off, Satsu's phone received a text message, not from a saved contact.

The content of the message was very brief, consisting of only one sentence.

"I've thought it over. I'll come find you after school tomorrow. Ichinose Honami"