Haruka Hasebe

"Kuraku, wait!"

Hearing the voice, Kuraku stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn around, instead shoving his hands into his pockets. After taking a deep breath, he spoke with profound detachment.

"What are you still here for?"

"To see you off, I..."

"There's nothing left for us to say. Just go."

Kuraku cut him off, but the homeroom teacher soon broke the awkward atmosphere.

"What are you two grown men doing, acting all lovey-dovey here?"

"Kato Satsu, what exactly do you want?"

"Give me a break! This atmosphere isn't my fault; he wouldn't let me finish my sentence!"

Satsu was anxious to the point of desperation. How did he end up constantly getting tangled in this kind of mess with men ever since arriving at this school?

"I'll get straight to the point, Kuraku! Can you give me the remaining points you have?"

Theoretically, this was possible. Although the expulsion had been finalized, the paperwork hadn't been processed yet, so Kuraku's points were still usable.

But to think someone could be this shameless!

Everyone knew that Kuraku's expulsion had everything to do with Satsu. Was he just going to pick a fight for no reason? Not to mention the things Satsu said that the surveillance cameras couldn't record.

"Why should I give them to you?"

"Once you're out of school, points are useless to you. You might as well use them one last time. Give me all your points, and I'll help you get Tano Matsuyama expelled."

"How about it?"

Seeing Kuraku fall into deep thought, Satsu didn't rush him, waiting quietly.

Kuraku was actually tempted. First, he really didn't need the points anymore; second, he couldn't swallow this bitterness after being deceived for so long; third, he didn't have many points left, and it would be nearly impossible to get someone else to handle this task for the same amount.

Although there was a risk that Satsu would take the money and do nothing, that risk existed with anyone, and once he was expelled, there was nothing he could do to anyone anyway.

At the very least, after this commotion, Matsuyama might hold a grudge against Satsu, which would give him a reason to get Matsuyama expelled.

"I agree, but you also have to get Sae expelled!"

"Deal!"

Once the contract was established, Kuraku paid the points readily, totaling 23,159.

Although it was less than expected, Satsu was quite satisfied. Just like that, on the very first day of school, he had a net income of 60,000 points.

With a full 160,000 points, even if no more points were deposited in the following month, he could live quite comfortably.

"Not bad at all~ A full 160,000."

Satsu was so carried away that he didn't even notice when Chabashira had appeared beside him.

"Teacher!"

"Don't be nervous. In this school, having money is a good thing." Chabashira turned to look at Suzune and said, "Don't you agree, Horikita?"

Seeing that Suzune didn't respond for a long time, Chabashira felt bored, shrugged, and walked away.

The former seemed not to have fully recovered from her dejected state; she merely glanced at Satsu before leaving.

"Sigh, progress is slow!"

Watching Suzune's back, Satsu couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. Whether it was Ayanokoji or Suzune, his plan to make initial contact wasn't going very smoothly.

Not to mention the later stages, where he would need to progress to the level of close friends; the day his character collection was complete still felt like a distant dream.

Since this was so difficult, Satsu didn't intend to hang himself from one tree. Since the three years had just begun, he went to the convenience store to buy some daily necessities and gifts.

Having a wide network in this school wasn't a bad thing. When he returned to the dormitory, he could visit his neighbors and at least get familiar with them.

By the time Satsu returned to the dormitory, the sky had already turned completely dark. Looking at the empty lobby, he couldn't help but complain.

"Why am I always the last one to do everything today!"

But soon, his displeasure vanished. Looking at the key to 403 in his hand, he was filled with excitement.

According to his memory, Ayanokoji lived right next door in 401. It seemed God was on his side.

After returning to his room, Satsu tidied himself up, grabbed the gifts he had bought, and knocked on the door of 401.

Before the door even opened, a voice came from inside: "Kikyo, you're here?"

"Why is it a girl's voice!"

Satsu had just realized something was wrong when the door opened, and to his surprise, it was Haruka Hasebe wrapped in a bathrobe!

She had clearly just finished showering. Because she was in a hurry to open the door, her hair hadn't had time to dry, hanging down wet, with a few strands sticking to her snow-white skin.

"Damn, forgot to turn off the auto-aim." (Kato Satsu)

After subconsciously glancing at Haruka Hasebe, Satsu quickly closed his eyes and turned his head away.

"Kato?!"

Seeing that the visitor was Satsu, Hasebe hurriedly closed the door: "I'm sorry, let me tidy up a little."

Noticing the panic in her tone, Satsu politely replied: "It's fine, I'll wait for you."

"Unexpectedly punctual! It looks like she mistook me for Kikyo; her bathrobe isn't even wrapped tightly, I can vaguely see everything!" (Satsu)

After taking a few shallow breaths, Satsu finally managed to suppress his involuntary instincts.

"Since the atmosphere is already like this, wouldn't it be a waste not to use this face?"

He then unbuttoned his collar, slightly exposing his collarbone.

"With the support of mind-reading, watch me stir up some waves."

About ten minutes later, the door opened again. Hasebe kept the door slightly ajar, trying to speak in a calm tone: "Is there something you need, classmate Satsu?"

Looking at Hasebe, who was only showing half her face, Satsu said gently: "I'm glad you remember my name."

"Mm, because you introduced yourself this afternoon." Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's, impossible to hear without focusing.

"No inner voice! How is that possible!"

Realizing his mind-reading might have failed, Satsu decisively abandoned his plans to flirt and got straight to the point.

"I thought I'd come over to visit my neighbor, but I didn't expect it to be you living here. Sorry, I should have stated my intentions when I knocked earlier."

As he spoke, Satsu handed over his gift.

Hasebe took the gift cautiously and replied: "I didn't expect you to be the one living next door either."

"Still no inner voice! But she didn't deny living here, what's going on? Is it not Ayanokoji living here anymore?" (Satsu)

"I live in 403, we're neighbors from now on, please take care of me."

"Mm."

"Then get some rest, I won't disturb you any further."

"Okay."

Leaving Hasebe's door, Satsu didn't return to his room immediately but looked downstairs. Only after confirming he could read the inner voices of passersby below did he head back inside.

"What is going on?" (Satsu)

On the other side, Hasebe leaned against the door.

She touched her cheeks with both hands, feeling the scorching heat radiating from her palms.

After a long while, Hasebe regained her composure, took a deep breath, and opened the housewarming gift Satsu had brought.

A box of chocolates.