Amane-san blinked rapidly, but even until her eyes felt dry, she couldn't figure out what her birthday had to do with Kiryuin.
"I'm having a birthday, why are you looking so gloomy, Fuka? Could it be... you don't want me to be carried off by some handsome boy when I grow up?"
Thump!
"That hurts."
"Who, who would care about you! It would be best if you got carried off; it's annoying to see you every day."
Kiryuin shouted, blushing, at Amane-san, who was clutching her head.
"Don't be so loud, my ears are about to break."
Amane-san rubbed her ears with a look of grievance. She felt that Kiryuin's emotions were unstable today. Should she just slip away?
"It's your fault for saying such nonsense every day..."
After grumbling in a low voice, Kiryuin began to rub Amane-san's ears.
Leaning against Kiryuin's soft embrace, Amane-san felt so comfortable she was almost dozing off. Just as her sleepiness was reaching its peak, she suddenly felt her face being pinched hard.
"Why are you looking so satisfied while I'm rubbing your ears?"
Taking advantage of Amane-san's grogginess, Kiryuin looked left and right. After confirming no one was around, she hugged Amane-san and planted a series of kisses on her face. Not taking advantage when you can is for idiots.
"No, no, no!!! Help! Help—"
Before Amane could finish shouting, Kiryuin pressed Amane's head and stuffed it directly into her chest.
Mmm, soft~ and quite bouncy too.
Seeing that Amane had stopped struggling, Kiryuin, who was already well-versed in this routine, revealed a smug smile.
Compared to that shy, inexperienced kid, she naturally understood Amane's interests and hobbies much better.
"Know when to stop. If you dare use your hands, I'll… hmm, actually, using your hands might be okay too. Let's just call it compensation."
Amane, who was just about to sneak a feel, immediately sat up upon hearing Kiryuin's words.
"Fuka, what do you mean by that? What compensation?"
"Well… your birthday is at the beginning of the month. Although points are also distributed at the beginning of the month, how could I wait until the points arrive to buy a gift? Everyone should have it prepared in advance, but for me, I'm always a bit tight on cash at the end of the month, so buying a gift is quite troublesome."
Kiryuin tucked her loose hair behind her ears and explained the reason, looking a bit bashful.
"I thought it was something major. It's just a gift, right? It's no big deal. But come to think of it, I recall that your class points, Fuka, aren't exactly low. The month is only a little over halfway through, and your points are already bottoming out?"
Amane was quite curious about how Kiryuin had managed to stay here for over a year without saving a single personal point, and furthermore, how she had spent everything clean in just half a month without considering how to survive the remaining half.
This lack of planning for spending, which could even be called an extreme consumption philosophy, left Amane feeling somewhat helpless. It was no wonder that even though Kiryuin was in Class B, she faced financial distress.
"Do you think everyone is like you, buying so many points?"
Kiryuin rolled her eyes at Amane and continued.
"We only get a few tens of thousands of points for living expenses a month; isn't it normal to spend it all? Besides, I didn't come here to live the life of an ascetic monk."
Kiryuin seemed quite proud of being a moon-light clan member. Seeing her smug expression, Amane decided to tease her.
"That actually sounds quite reasonable. Coming here, one should fully enjoy their youth and school life."
"Right? Right? I didn't expect you to understand me so well, Amane!"
Seeing Amane support her view, Kiryuin puffed out her chest, looking like a child cheering for getting approval from an adult.
"Then what will you do for the second half of the month?"
"...The school often provides free daily necessities to help those who are a bit... strapped for points."
Kiryuin's gaze began to drift.
Amane leaned her face directly in front of Kiryuin's.
"So that's how it is. Then Fuka, what will you do next month? Go eat the wild vegetable set meal?"
At the mention of the wild vegetable set meal, Kiryuin's little face turned pale instantly. It seemed she had experienced something terrifying in this place.
"I refuse to eat wild vegetables boiled in plain water! I'm not a herbivore! If I can't make it, I'll just go to your place and mooch a meal, hmph."
Kiryuin's words seemed to have some logic, but they infuriated Amane.
"I don't take in useless people. You have to at least be useful."
"I'm so cute, surely I'll be forgiven for mooching a meal, right?"
"Go away, go away. Believe it or not, I'll send you directly to Arisu. Then you'll have plenty to mooch, hehehe."
Amane let out a mischievous laugh.
Kiryuin showed an expression of gnashing her teeth.
"Fine, you win. Tell me, what do you want for your birthday gift?"
Kiryuin seemed to compromise and began trying to figure out how to get a birthday gift for Amane.
"Whatever you want to give is fine. If you really can't survive, you can just pack yourself up and send yourself over. I'm a soft touch. If you say a few things like 'Master, please adopt me, chu~', I might just soften up!"
Looking at Amane's excited expression, Kiryuin could tell at a glance that she was up to no good.
"Pah! Dreaming in broad daylight. I don't care; before your birthday, you have to tell me a gift within 10,000 points. Since I'm already short on points, wouldn't buying something you don't like maximize my losses?"
After saying that, Kiryuin first tossed Amane aside and then stood up and left stylishly.
"Tch, who makes the person having the birthday choose their own gift? Fuka is really an idiot, sigh."
Amane sighed deeply and also got up from the bench to return to the Dormitory.
As soon as she entered the Dormitory, a happy expression appeared on Amane's face.
"I'm home. As expected, the air-conditioned room is the most comfortable."
"Welcome back. There are chilled drinks in the fridge, but I suggest you wait until you've stopped sweating before drinking them, otherwise be careful of getting diarrhea."
Horikita sat by the desk, writing something seriously without looking up.
"Suzune, you aren't studying at a time like this, are you?"
Amane slid on her knees and snuck up beside Horikita.
Even if someone was intense, they wouldn't go to the extent of starting to review lessons without even resting after going through two Special Exams.
"It doesn't really count as studying…"
Noticing Amane's gaze, Horikita hurriedly put away the small notebook on the desk.
Seeing this, Amane couldn't help but squint her eyes.
Super suspicious~
However, everyone has their own little secrets, and Amane didn't intend to probe further. But just as Amane was about to grab a chilled drink to enjoy, Horikita said something quite shocking.
"Brother seems to… intend to resign from the position of student council president once school starts."
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