"This is a points card," Chabashira said. "It's an unregistered points card. You can scan the points from your student ID into the card, or scan points from the card back into your student ID."
"The way to get one is simple too. You can buy them at the electronics store in the Shopping Street. Each one costs 100 points," Chabashira said. "Using a points card lets you hide your actual point balance. It's very convenient."
"So the school encourages competition between classes," Hachiman continued. "But it also allows students to stash points away. Does that mean it tacitly permits students being bought off? Or the use of methods that can't be openly discussed?"
"Heh..." Chabashira smiled when she heard Hachiman's question.
She actually found it somewhat troublesome.
Did this guy's brain really have to work so fast? She was almost under the illusion that he had not enrolled on his first day, but three months ago.
"Check the points. I scanned 200,000 into it," Chabashira said. "You can withdraw them bit by bit into your student ID, or leave them there and use them all at once later."
"Oh."
Hachiman nodded, but he did not scan it right away.
Checking the goods immediately would mean he did not trust Chabashira.
And Chabashira-sensei possessed a huge sum of money. Hachiman still wanted to take on a few money-making jobs and save up, so there was no need to sour their relationship right now.
Besides, she had obtained permission from the school to exchange points for cash in advance.
That meant she had already paid a price. So she would not break the agreement easily.
Especially since... Chabashira-sensei seemed very anxious.
Just from that alone, she would not renege on it. At least, not yet.
"By the way, do you have any goals for the future?"
Watching Hachiman obediently put away the points card, Chabashira asked another question.
She felt that merely examining Hachiman's file would not give her all the information about him.
"Me?"
When asked that question, an image suddenly flashed through Hachiman's mind: the silver-haired girl he had seen sitting on a sofa at Zelkova Shopping Center, holding a cane and surrounded by attendants.
But it was not the feeling of being surrounded that he wanted. If he had to put it into words...
Then it was probably...
"I want to be a househusband," Hachiman said. "I don't want to work myself to the bone every day and support a family. I'd rather stay home and be a househusband."
"In other words, I don't want to work. Why do men have to go out and provide for the family?"
"I want to be supported!" Hachiman said.
"...?"
"Then work hard," Chabashira said, though she thought this kid had remarkably little ambition. "You will definitely gain something at this school."
"That doesn't mean I can guarantee you'll meet some rich woman who will support you in the future."
"But during your three years at this school, you can first make yourself wealthy," Chabashira said.
Oh?
Hachiman was a little taken aback.
Then Chabashira continued, "Get close to Suzune Horikita. She's the same as you."
"Investigate her file. Same reward as before, 200,000."
So.
He had already received the 200,000 brought by Kushida.
And now, another 200,000 was waving at him?
Solitary People Attracted Each Other—No, Proud Souls Had No Place for Bonds ### Suzune Horikita.
Female.
First-year Class D.
She was exceptionally beautiful. Her waist-length black hair fell over her back and shoulders. On the right side, she wore a small bow tied with a white ribbon, along with a long, thin braid.
Her waterfall-like black hair carried a faint lily fragrance, probably from her shampoo.
She sat with graceful, proper posture.
Long eyelashes, orange eyes as alluring as fox eyes, and an exquisite face.
Yet the girl's indifferent expression seemed to constantly radiate an aura of rejection.
Like an icy beauty, she could use it to turn away many timid people, but it only made others more interested in her.
For example, Hachiman.
But what Hachiman valued was not her appearance.
It was the value Suzune Horikita represented... 200,000.
When he opened his phone, he found that the information on his student ID had already been updated.
[Name: Hachiman Hikigaya Class: First-year Class D Student ID: 108510000 Private Points: 89,100]
Compared to yesterday's full 100,000, there was already some loss. It showed that he had spent some.
But Hachiman's Private Points did not decrease the more he used them. They only kept increasing.
After returning to his dorm, he scanned the points card with his phone and indeed found that it contained 200,000 points he could withdraw.
Chabashira-sensei had not lied.
So he was still interested in saving money.
The 200,000 represented by Kushida had already been secured.
Actually, his evaluation of Kushida had been somewhat opportunistic. If he had truly needed to gather information on Kushida, what he had done would definitely not have been enough. He might have had to give up something.
Kushida had a strong desire to win people over.
So obtaining information about her would actually come at a great cost.
That was why he had only pointed out that Kushida, despite being so perfect, was a bomb for having been placed in Class D. Chabashira-sensei had accepted it.
He was very lucky.
It showed that Chabashira-sensei was a kind person willing to pay.
So what about Horikita?
Hachiman was rather interested in Chabashira's remark about Horikita: [Get close to Suzune Horikita. She's the same as you.]
Horikita was the same as him, but in what way?
"..." Suzune Horikita.
Sitting at her individual desk, Suzune Horikita raised her physics textbook and opened it, seemingly studying it seriously.
Her fingers were slender, her posture graceful, and from the side, she was very attractive.
Her textbook was newly issued as well, yet it gave people the impression that she took her studies very seriously.
The reason for that was that her textbook contained notes.
Things like [Need to listen to this part in class] and [This knowledge point may be important, must memorize it].
She had only enrolled yesterday and received the textbook then, so she must have started studying and even previewing the material last night.
That was definitely something Hachiman could not do.
Rather, he had not even opened a single book yet.
However.
"What do you want?" Suzune Horikita's cool voice rang out.
The person she was addressing was... someone with short blonde hair who looked like a little angel.
Kikyo Kushida.
Kushida had come over to Suzune Horikita, approaching with a smile.
As someone who had spent years alone, Hachiman was quite skilled at secretly observing others without being noticed.
Suzune Horikita sat next to him.
However.
Right now, he had both elbows together and his face lowered onto his arms.
He looked like he was sleeping to catch up on rest.
But that was not the case.
From this position, the corner of his eye could cover a fairly broad field of vision.
From this angle, this act of lowering his presence, Hachiman called it... the ultimate camera.
And now, the ultimate camera was active.
"You're Horikita, right? I'm Kikyo Kushida," Kushida said. "I invited you to join the class group chat last night. Why did you reject it?"
So that was it.
The class group chat.
Indeed.
When Hachiman had joined yesterday, there had been twenty-five people in the group.
But both Yosuke Mama and Kushida were popular, outgoing people.
Hirata treated everyone gently and paid special attention even to loners like him, so he would not want anyone to be left out.
Therefore.
Since they had created a class group chat, naturally they wanted every classmate to join.
It was truly moving that their class had such a male mother.
But for such a perfect Hirata to have been placed in Class D meant he was also a bomb that could explode at any time.
Hachiman continued acting as a camera without emotions, recording without speaking.
Gathering information.
It seemed Kushida had invited Horikita into the group, but Suzune Horikita had declined.
"Did you press the wrong button because you studied too late yesterday?" Kushida said. "It was my fault too. It was already eleven at night, and I still contacted you."
Kushida truly was a little angel, giving Horikita a way out.
"Huh? The wrong button?" But Suzune Horikita said, "I didn't press anything wrong."
"Rather, there is no need for something like a class group chat."
In other words, she had deliberately refused to join.
"But everyone can share information in the group and deepen our bonds with each other," Kushida said.
"I have no interest in that kind of thing. Rather, it would interfere with the time I spend studying."
But Horikita's response was... cold as ice.
Or, to put it another way... she lacked social awareness.
Because.
Before you continue