Houtarou had another matter to discuss with Arisu. It concerned the message she sent him earlier that morning when he was selling the student council secretary position.
| Arisu Sakayanagi - Class A Student |
| Are you in dire need of money? |
Given that Arisu might be the brightest girl genius in Class A, harnessing her intelligence for the class could secure their position. Hence, he was willing to invest some effort.
After all, his motto was: Don't do unnecessary things, and keep necessary tasks as simple as possible.
If he could first win her trust and then subtly guide her into supporting Class A, he might ultimately graduate with Class A status. This would pave the way for him to enter his desired university without entrance exams or tuition fees.
It wasn't a bad strategy at all.
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After getting his meal, Houtarou headed to Arisu's booth. The booth had seats for four people. After Arisu sat down, Masumi sat across from her.
Masumi's behavior was intriguing. Initially seated on the outer side, she voluntarily moved to the inner side when Houtarou approached, making room for him.
Then, disregarding her image, she began eating ravenously. It was clear she had no intention of engaging in conversation or speaking. She aimed to be a low-key background presence.
"..."
Houtarou glanced at the meal Masumi had gotten for Arisu.
It was a delicate-looking stir-fried pork rice with green broccoli, a small steamed egg, and half a fresh orange. The meal looked nutritionally balanced, though ordinary. This ordinary meal suggested that while Arisu's body was frail, it was merely a physical defect. She didn't need to avoid certain foods or pay special attention to her diet.
"It seems you've acquired a little puppy from another class." Arisu's voice remained the same — rhythmic and sweetly pleasant to hear.
This comment likely meant that Masumi, skilled at gathering information, had reported to her about Houtarou's recent conversation with Airi. Moreover, despite not being in Kōhei's group chat this morning, Arisu had immediately known its contents. Her new "BFF" must have leaked the information.
"Then Kamuro will probably be expelled. She knows too much." Houtarou said. He gazed at Arisu's face, "By the way, what's her defect? I just handed her over to you yesterday, but it looks like she has a strong sense of loyalty to you already."
This observation wasn't groundless.
Masumi had been Houtarou's assistant yesterday, but today she treated Arisu more like a puppy to its owner. While her academic weakness was one defect, he didn't think that merely arranging for the T-Rex to tutor her would inspire such immediate allegiance.
He deduced that yesterday afternoon, while he was sleeping, Arisu must have uncovered Masumi's weakness. With her vulnerability exposed, she could only behave submissively.
Hearing Houtarou's words, Masumi nervously raised her head.
"Hehe... Do you think I would tell you?" Arisu responded with a sweet smile. She looked truly adorable.
'But you're really not cute at all.' Houtarou thought to himself.
This was why he didn't adapt well to this school. There were always top-tier beautiful girls he struggled to deal with. A mere cute appearance and smile could make people's hearts race — it seemed unreasonable to him.
However, Masumi was no longer useful to him, and he wasn't skilled at interacting with girls. Continuing to use her would require tutoring, a long and energy-inefficient process.
That's why he handed her over to the white-haired girl. Masumi probably didn't realize this. Her nervous reaction just now indicated that her weakness was something that couldn't be openly discussed — a potential bomb that, if exposed, could harm Class A.
Houtarou kept these thoughts to himself.
Meanwhile, he now had a new asset — Suzune Horikita. He still faced the significant task of gathering 20 million Points. Masumi couldn't offer much help in this regard; it had to be Suzune. But there was no need to reveal this to Arisu.
"Regarding the student council position from this morning, I don't recommend getting involved." Houtarou said, "Katsuragi is a decent person who values stability. If he can support the class, letting him join the student council could be beneficial. I think we should give him this opportunity."
"At the same time, our classmates are currently low on points. For him to secure the position, his supporters will have to reduce their points next month, possibly even the month after. This school prioritizes strength above all else. Having few points for two consecutive months could become problematic. If a situation arises requiring points to resolve, Katsuragi and the others will be at a disadvantage. Therefore, this student council position isn't as appealing as it might seem."
"I see." Arisu replied, seeming to have already considered this, "I thought the same. After all, if it were truly advantageous, Oreki-kun would probably offer it to me."
"..."
Oh? Why was she so certain? Because she was cute? Indeed, she was quite adorable, with some characteristics of a frail loli that might inspire a protective instinct.
However, he was desperately short on points right now. Did it really matter to whom he sold the position?
As he was thinking this, Houtarou felt his phone vibrate.
『80,000 Points have been credited to your account!』
『Personal Account: ¤ 1,771,400 Pts』
Masumi, who had been wolfing down her food, suddenly looked at him with a puzzled expression.
She knew about following him to Class D to sell the school rules earlier, and she had received 50,000 Points from him, making her quite well-off. However, his balance now seemed off.
How did it suddenly increase by 1.5 million Points? She had no idea.
What on earth happened during the afternoon and evening when she wasn't in contact with Houtarou?
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