Consideration

"Sav...!"

"One billion in savings! And a huge seaside villa!"

Hoshinomiya stared at the words on the computer screen and cried out in shock.

"I can't believe Satsu is so rich!"

Ichinose was just as utterly astonished after seeing Satsu's assets for herself.

She couldn't help recalling what Satsu had just told her: Actually, I've got a bit of money outside of school.

"She wasn't lying!"

Ichinose murmured, but Hoshinomiya-sensei's bizarre comment beside her instantly derailed her train of thought.

"If only Kato would keep me."

"!!!" (Ichinose Honami)

Hoshinomiya crossed her hands over her shoulders and swayed as she spoke. "He's handsome and rich. He's my ultimate dream guy!"

"Hoshinomiya-sensei!" Ichinose exclaimed sternly.

"Okay, okay!"

Hoshinomiya replied jokingly, "I was just kidding."

Ichinose shook her head helplessly. Without lingering in the office, she turned and left.

Back in his dorm room, Satsu had barely sat down when he heard a loud knock at the door.

"Hmm, who could it be at this hour?"

Satsu said curiously, "The door's unlocked. Come in!"

With a click as the doorknob turned, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka walked into the room.

"Sorry to bother you, Satsu," Ayanokoji said calmly.

"What's up, Kiyotaka?"

Satsu stood and went to the table to pour Ayanokoji a glass of water. "Have a seat. Sorry, I don't have anything to drink besides water."

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

At that, Satsu's eyes lit up. He accepted the slip without hesitation and said, "So, Kiyotaka, you have a favor to ask me?"

Just as I expected, Satsu took the slip right away. (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

"Actually, Horikita is the one asking you for a favor." As he spoke, Ayanokoji adopted an air of detachment.

"Sudo and the other two haven't been attending the study group, and Horikita is worried about their studies. She hopes you can gather them and get them to attend her study sessions."

When Ayanokoji finished speaking, he quietly watched Satsu, who was looking at him with an impish grin.

Nice try. Keep spinning your story! (Kato Satsu)

"Horikita actually asked you to take care of this, didn't she?"

Even with his lie exposed, Ayanokoji didn't panic. He still sounded as if he wouldn't admit to anything.

"I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, you can call and ask her. I gave you her contact information, after all."

Horikita wants Satsu to join her anyway. She probably won't refuse. (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

Satsu's left hand, already holding his phone, paused. He stopped dialing and asked, "What if I refuse?"

"Then I'll have to handle the task myself, but I'll definitely fail, because you'll get in my way."

"Are you threatening me? Is that what you're going to tell Horikita when you explain why you failed?"

Ayanokoji nodded.

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

"Should I be afraid of her? What can she do to me?" Satsu said.

"I don't know what Horikita will do, but she'll definitely retaliate," Ayanokoji said.

The conversation came to a halt. For a long while, neither of them spoke again, and an awkward atmosphere hung in the air.

"You know Yamauchi and I don't get along. Why come to me for help?"

"Because you don't actually want to help Horikita, so you're hoping to push this job onto me. If I agree, everything's taken care of. If I don't, you can say I'm getting in your way."

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

Ayanokoji didn't deny it. Instead, he openly admitted, "So, what's your answer?"

"All right, turn off the recording on your phone," Satsu said, looking at Ayanokoji.

"You don't need to go to the trouble of editing our conversation into something you can use as evidence, either."

Satsu's words took Ayanokoji by surprise. He took out his phone, which was recording, and asked, "How did you know?"

He had been cautious and taken out his phone, but he hadn't stopped the recording.

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

"So you agree to help?"

"No! I refuse."

Ayanokoji was immediately confused. "Then why ask me not to edit the evidence?"

"Because I'll go along with your plan and stop Horikita from holding the study sessions."

"There's no need to go that far. You only need to stop me from going to find Yamauchi and the other two."

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

Ayanokoji's tone was perfectly calm. "Why should I be curious? As long as I achieve my goal, that's all that matters."

After seeing Ayanokoji off, Satsu received a text message from a number that wasn't in his contacts.

The message was very short, containing only one sentence.

"I've made up my mind. I'll come find you after school tomorrow. Ichinose Honami"