Task Progress, One-Third

Matsuo finished the last of the alcohol in the bottle and slumped onto the tatami mat.

"Bang, bang, bang."

Hearing the knock, Matsuo instinctively thought it was Eiichiro and replied in a dejected voice, "Did you forget something? Eiichiro, just open the door yourself."

Despite Matsuo's words, the knocking didn't stop; if anything, it intensified.

"Did you forget your key? What a pain."

Complaining under his breath, Matsuo pushed himself up with his hands, swaying as he walked to the door. "Alright, alright, stop knocking! I'm coming."

"Click."

Before Matsuo could reach the door, the metal gate opened on its own, and three figures appeared before him.

Though the three men were backlit by the sun, making it impossible for Matsuo to see their faces, he could vaguely make out their silhouettes. Yet, with just one glance, he recognized the man in the middle.

Matsuo instantly sobered up from his slight intoxication, his mouth agape, his voice sputtering.

"Aya... Ayanokōji-sama!"

"It hasn't been long, and you've really let yourself go, haven't you, Matsuo?" Ayanokōji Atsuomi's commanding voice rang out.

"Why... are you here?"

Matsuo's voice trembled. He wasn't a fool, and seeing the two tall bodyguards beside Ayanokōji Atsuomi, a terrible suspicion formed in his mind.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, Matsuo asked, unwilling to give up, "Are you here to kill me?"

Ayanokōji Atsuomi didn't answer. Instead, his gaze flickered to the state of the room. "It's like a doghouse in here, not a single clean spot to put your feet."

Matsuo remained silent, and Atsuomi seemed disinclined to linger. "Sign this."

With that, Atsuomi turned and left, leaving his two bodyguards at the door, clearly there to collect the document.

"This isn't a discussion; it's a command." (Matsuo)

Matsuo slowly reached down and picked up the document, which had been casually tossed onto the floor. As he flipped to the first page, tears began to stream down his face uncontrollably.

"Thank you... Thank you!"

Saying this with emotion, Matsuo quickly signed his name on the document.

A long while later, Eiichiro slowly returned home. He stood at the entrance, not rushing inside.

"Hoo—"

"Hoo—"

After taking several deep breaths, he managed to compose himself and opened the door.

"Father, I..."

Before Eiichiro could utter the excuse he'd prepared on the way home, he was stunned by the changes in the house.

The once messy living room was now spotless. Seeing the apron still tied around Matsuo's waist, Eiichiro knew he had cleaned it.

"You're back! Eiichiro, hurry and go buy some groceries. We'll have a proper meal today."

When he left this morning, his father had been so dejected. How had he recovered so quickly?

Though he didn't know why, Eiichiro was still happy to see his father back to normal. However, considering their financial situation, he still felt the need to remind him.

"It's still early for lunch, and Father, our financial situation..."

"It's fine, I have a new job! By the way, why did you come back?"

"Ah! I..."

The sudden change of topic caught Eiichiro off guard. Just as he was about to lie, Matsuo interrupted him.

"Got expelled?"

Hearing this, Eiichiro's face was filled with disbelief. But with things having come to this, he no longer intended to hide it and slowly nodded.

He had expected his father to be deeply disappointed, but Matsuo simply said optimistically, "It's alright. You can prepare at home for a year, and tomorrow you'll attend this school."

"Together with Nanase Tsubasa," Matsuo added.

Eiichiro took the school brochure from his father and slowly read out the name.

"Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School?"

On campus, after school in the afternoon.

Many people were looking for Satsu, including Hasebe and Inogashira, but they were clearly not as quick as Ayanokōji.

"Let's go, Satsu."

After a simple remark, Ayanokōji left the classroom first.

Knowing what Ayanokōji wanted to do by calling her, Satsu didn't delay and stood up to follow.

Seeing this, Suzune breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, now I can prepare for my study session." (Horikita Suzune)

In the hallway, Ayanokōji and Satsu chatted idly.

"Have you thought of a way? How are we going to invite Yamauchi and the other two?"

Ayanokoji replied, "I've invited them before, and none of them were easy to talk to."

"Hmm... I haven't thought of anything at all."

Kato Satsu hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually, I don't think my joining will bring you any benefits. You know as well as I do that Yamauchi and I don't get along."

"Horikita is looking at the bigger picture. We have to stay at this school for three years, and there will be more than just this one incident in the future."

"Also, Satsu. You're lying. You actually already have an idea, don't you?"

Ayanokoji ruthlessly exposed him, "I can tell just by looking at your expression."

"Do you have to be such a monster! Do I have mind-reading powers, or do you?" (Kato Satsu)

In truth, Satsu did have an idea—an idea that everyone would think of—which was to follow the original plot and ask Kikyo for help.

However, Satsu did not want to do that; he had a more direct method.

The two arrived at the dormitory and stepped into the elevator.

Seeing the floor Satsu pressed, Ayanokoji couldn't help but be taken aback.

"I thought you would start with the easiest one, Ike. You're challenging the highest difficulty right off the bat?"

"Just because he and I don't get along doesn't mean he's the hardest one. On the contrary, I think he's the simplest."

With that, Satsu and Ayanokoji arrived at Yamauchi's door and knocked.

The door opened, and the moment Yamauchi saw the two of them, he immediately tried to slam it shut, but fortunately, Satsu was quick enough to grab the door.

"If this is about the study group, don't bother. I'm not going."

Yamauchi spoke first, "Ayanokoji, your judgment is really poor. You don't even know how to pick a decent helper."

Satsu naturally understood what Yamauchi meant, but he didn't pay much attention to it and went straight to the point, "Ten thousand points!"

"Huh?!"

Yamauchi was stunned; even the dullest person could understand what Satsu meant.

"As long as you attend, ten thousand points. I'll transfer them immediately."

Yamauchi was clearly hesitant. He had spent all his points within the first month of school, and to make ends meet, he had even started selling off his personal belongings.

"Has Yamauchi been able to eat a proper meal these past few days? I've seen the free meals in the cafeteria; they can hardly be called food for humans, right?" Satsu continued to entice him.

"Tw... twenty thousand!" Yamauchi gritted his teeth and said.

Am I being too greedy? That bastard spent a lot of money on meals before, and he has his own living expenses to cover. Would asking for twenty thousand be too much? (Yamauchi)

Hearing his inner thoughts, Satsu felt amused. He had been prepared to agree, but now he had an idea that didn't involve raising the price.

"I can't afford that much," Satsu said, putting on a look of regret.

"Let's go, Kiyotaka. Let's see if Ike is willing."

With that, Satsu pulled Ayanokoji away.

He was betting that Yamauchi would definitely call them back. Yamauchi's uncertain inner thoughts were one factor, and the other was that Yamauchi was truly desperate for money; ten thousand points would certainly solve his immediate crisis.

Even if he didn't call them back, he could just transfer twenty thousand points to Kiyotaka later and have him try negotiating one more time.

If that didn't work either, then so be it. There were three of them; couldn't he just recruit a few others to complete the task?

I really asked for too much! (Yamauchi)

He said they were going to find Ike. If Ike agrees, won't I get even less! (Yamauchi)

"Wait!" Yamauchi shouted.