Sakayanagi's Conditions

At lunch the next day, Yuto was eating in the cafeteria when he received a message from Kushida.

"Sakayanagi replied."

He put down his chopsticks and picked up his phone. There was only one sentence on the screen: She agreed, but she has a condition. Yuto stared at those words for several seconds. He had been waiting for this message since yesterday. When Sakayanagi said she needed to think it over, he knew she would make a decision; he just did not know what that decision would be. Now, it seemed she had her answer, and it was not a simple yes or no.

"Meet at the usual place," he replied.

Yuto cleared away his tray and left the cafeteria. When he reached the entrance of the cake shop, he saw Kushida already sitting in their usual spot through the glass. Her phone lay in front of her, but she was not looking at it. Instead, she was leaning back in her chair, lost in thought. Judging by her expression, it was not bad news, but neither was it anything simple.

Yuto pushed open the door and sat down across from her.

"What is it?"

Kushida slid her phone toward him.

"Sakayanagi agreed to five hundred thousand," she said. "But she made a condition."

"What condition?"

"She said that if you get any new information in the future, she wants to be notified first. She is willing to pay an additional one hundred thousand points every month for that, separate from the price of individual transactions. She said they can sign an agreement, and if she leaks the details of the priority arrangement, the agreement will automatically terminate."

Yuto did not respond right away. He lifted his glass, took a sip of water, and quickly turned it over in his mind.

Sakayanagi's condition was clever. Rather than insisting on exclusivity, she had changed tactics and used a fixed monthly fee to buy priority. That way, she would not be the only person who knew the information, but she would always be the first. In some circumstances, the advantage of receiving information first was more valuable than exclusivity, because it allowed her to make preparations before anyone else could react. And while one hundred thousand points a month was nothing to her, it was stable income for Yuto.

"What else did she say?" Yuto asked.

"She said she does not demand exclusivity. She only wants to know the contents before the information is sold," Kushida said. "She said she is willing to sign an agreement and that she is serious, not just saying it casually. She also said that if this arrangement works, they can maintain it for the long term."

Yuto thought for a moment.

"Accept it."

Kushida froze. "Just accept?"

"Yeah. Her condition is reasonable. We notify her first, but it does not stop us from selling to others," Yuto said. "She is willing to pay an extra one hundred thousand points a month, so there is no reason to turn down free money. And with that fixed income, we will have more confidence in what we do going forward. The information business needs stable cash flow. You cannot keep it going on one-off deals alone."

"Aren't you worried she might do something after getting the information?"

"She will not," Yuto said. "The fact that she proposed signing an agreement means she has already thought it through. Sakayanagi is cautious. She will not invite trouble for herself. Besides, knowing first and knowing exclusively are two different things. She understands that perfectly well. What she wants is a time advantage, not control."

Kushida looked at him with a hint of appraisal in her eyes.

"You know her that well?"

"Not really," Yuto said. "But I know what kind of person she is. She leads Class A. She did not reach that position through petty tricks. She has her own principles and bottom line. She would not risk herself over a piece of information. And the fact that she proposed an agreement shows that she genuinely considered this transaction. It was not an impulsive decision."

Kushida did not ask any more questions. She picked up her phone and sent Yuto's reply.

A moment later, Sakayanagi's response came through.

"Very well. I look forward to working with you."

Kushida turned the phone screen toward Yuto.

"She agreed," Kushida said. "Then it is settled. She did not mention anything else, just that she looked forward to working with us. Her tone was a little gentler than before. It did not feel as distant as her first reply."

Yuto nodded. He had not expected Sakayanagi to be so straightforward, but on second thought, it made sense. What she had wanted from the start was an information advantage. Whether she achieved it through exclusivity or priority made little difference to her. What mattered was knowing before everyone else, not ensuring no one else knew at all. The change in her tone also showed that she was satisfied with the deal, or at least not dissatisfied.

"What about Ichinose?" Yuto asked.

"Ichinose sent a reply after receiving the information," Kushida said. "She said it was valuable and thanked us. She also asked whether we could contact her if we had similar news in the future. Her tone was very polite. She did not make any additional requests, just thanked us."

"How did you reply?"

"I said we could and that we would contact her when the time came."

Yuto nodded. Ichinose's reaction was exactly what he had expected. She was not greedy, but she was deeply responsible toward her classmates. If she believed the information would benefit Class B, she would definitely buy again. And unlike Sakayanagi, she had not proposed any extra conditions. That suggested she either trusted the seller or was willing to build trust before discussing a long-term partnership. In business, that attitude was actually rarer than Sakayanagi's conditions, because trust was harder to build than an agreement.

"What about Ryuuen?" Yuto asked.

Kushida's expression shifted.

"Ryuuen replied," she said. "He said five hundred thousand was too expensive and that he wanted to inspect the goods before paying. He wants us to provide part of the information first, and he will pay only after confirming it is real. His tone was very forceful. He said he would not buy without seeing the goods first. He also said he does not trust anonymous accounts, since there would be no way to find us if he got scammed."

Yuto did not answer immediately. He raised his glass, took a sip of water, and weighed it in his mind.

Ryuuen's request sounded reasonable, but it was actually a trap. If they sent him part of the information, he could infer the complete message from that fragment and cut them loose. Even if they sent him a fake portion, he would turn around and question their credibility. Besides, Ryuuen was not someone who spent money easily. Every offer he made was a probe for the other side's bottom line. If they gave in this time, he would make even more excessive demands next time. His claim that he did not trust anonymous accounts was only an excuse. The real reason was that he did not want to pay before he was certain of the value.

"Refuse him."

Kushida blinked. "Refuse?"

"Yes. Tell him there is no such thing as inspecting the goods before payment," Yuto said. "Payment first, delivery after. Those are the rules. If he does not accept that, he does not have to buy. We are not forcing anyone to do business with us."

"Won't he think we have something to hide?"

"He definitely will," Yuto said. "But that is his problem, not ours. Our information is real. We do not need to prove anything by letting him inspect it first. If he truly wants the information, he will come back. Besides, he is testing us right now. If we give in, he will think we are easy to push around, and he will be even harder to deal with later. Ryuuen only respects strength. The more you give way, the more he will take."

Kushida looked at him for several seconds, then lowered her head and replied to Ryuuen as instructed.

After sending it, she placed her phone on the table.

"Ryuuen is such a pain," Kushida said.

"That is just the kind of person he is," Yuto said. "He trusts no one and tests everything first. You need patience when dealing with him. Do not let him lead you around. Right now, he is testing our bottom line. If we hold firm, he will reassess how much weight we carry."

"So we are not doing business with him?"

"It is not that we will not do business with him," Yuto said. "We are waiting for him to come to us on his own. He is still watching from the sidelines. Once he realizes Ichinose and Sakayanagi have already received the information while he is still waiting, he will get anxious. When people get anxious, they are more likely to compromise. Then he will not be the one setting conditions. We will."

Kushida thought about it, then nodded.

"You are right. Then we can leave him alone for now."

"Right. Let him worry on his own."

Kushida put away her phone and took a sip of milk tea.

"Lin."

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed that ever since I started working with you, I do not seem as tired as before?"

Yuto glanced at her.

"That is a good thing."

Kushida smiled. It was not her usual practiced smile, but a faint, heartfelt one. She lowered her head and said nothing more.

Yuto did not press her. He understood what she meant. Before, she had carried everyone's expectations alone, maintaining a perfect image in front of every person. That had to be exhausting. But now, she had someone she did not need to pretend around. That pressure had eased a little. Their relationship could not yet be called especially close, but at least she did not have to put on an act in front of him. It was a subtle change, but for Kushida, it might have been an important turning point.

The two sat in the cake shop a while longer and confirmed the next steps. Sakayanagi would transfer the money by the end of the day, and they would send her the information once it arrived. The deal with Ichinose was already complete, so they would stay in contact. As for Ryuuen, they would ignore him for now and wait for him to come looking.

As Yuto walked back to the classroom after leaving the cake shop, his mind was still turning over what had just happened.

Sakayanagi had agreed, Ichinose was satisfied, and Ryuuen was waiting and watching. The reactions of all three classes were within his expectations. Sakayanagi had replaced exclusivity with priority, preserving her information advantage without making Class A bear the reputation of a monopoly. The first thing Ichinose had thought of after receiving the information was her classmates. That sense of responsibility was truly rare. Ryuuen was difficult to handle, but there were patterns to his behavior as well. The more forceful he was, the more he cared about the deal.

After returning to the classroom, Yuto sat down. He opened his textbook, but his mind was occupied with something else.

The first deal had gone through, and Sakayanagi's additional condition had been settled. Next, he needed to keep the information channel stable. He still had plenty of key information from the original story. As long as he chose the right timing, it could all be turned into points. But he could not release too much information at once, or it would arouse suspicion. He needed to control the pace, releasing it bit by bit so buyers would see continuing value in the channel.

Halfway through the afternoon class, his phone vibrated.

It was a message from Kushida.

"Sakayanagi transferred the money. Five hundred thousand has arrived. The information has been sent."

Yuto glanced at it but did not reply. He put his phone back in his pocket and looked out the window.

Another five hundred thousand points in hand. Combined with Ichinose's payment, he had earned nearly one million points already. After giving Kushida thirty percent, he would still have around seven hundred thousand left. That was no small amount at this school, enough for him to make some arrangements in the upcoming exams.