Student dorms.
Yuki glanced at Horikita Suzune behind him. The distance between them was barely half a step.
And yet—
From the opening ceremony until now, they hadn't said a single word.
Yuki sighed helplessly. "Suzune, are you really planning to just follow me all the way back to the dorm?"
"Amamiya Yuki, judging by your words, the date should already be over, right?" Horikita Suzune stared straight at him, her eyes sharp. "So now you should tell me what information you got from Instructor Chabashira."
Though she had reluctantly chosen to go on a 'date,' she hadn't expected it to be this easy.
Yuki: "???"
What?
His head filled with question marks.
Don't tell me she seriously thought tailing him the whole way counted as a date?
Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what a date is?
"Suzune, you've never had a boyfriend before, have you?" Yuki said, utterly speechless.
"That has nothing to do with this." Horikita showed zero embarrassment, her voice cold. "Enough dodging the topic. Tell me the information. Or what, are you planning to break the deal?"
"Sigh."
Yuki let out a helpless breath.
Horikita Suzune was a girl who lived solely chasing her brother's back, basically disconnected from romance. Years of isolation had also left her lacking empathy for others.
Arguing with someone like this would be pointless. Yuki simply stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Horikita immediately stepped back half a pace, frowning.
"Don't move."
Yuki suddenly leaned in close to her ear, his tone playful. "What I meant by a date was actually—"
"Don't joke around!"
After hearing his explanation, Horikita's face instantly flushed red as she hurried back several steps, stammering, "A date is when a man and a woman go shopping, eat, watch movies together. I've studied this online! We didn't eat or watch a movie—that's because you didn't take me!"
"At least we already went shopping together. The conditions for a date are met. Don't try to cheat me!"
Horikita looked like a startled rabbit. This was the first time in her life she'd ever heard such shameless talk.
"Alright, forget it if you can't do it."
An ice-cold beauty blushing was definitely cute, but Yuki didn't care. He shrugged and turned to leave.
He was messing with me…
Horikita realized it instantly. She rushed forward and grabbed his wrist, her voice icy. "What exactly will it take for you to tell me the information? Dating—th-that kind of thing is absolutely impossible. You should know that."
Her words started stumbling again toward the end.
Yuki ignored her and led her downstairs to the dorm area.
Several benches lined the street for students to rest, with a vending machine beside them. Most students had either returned to their dorms or gone to Keyaki Mall, so the area was unusually quiet.
Yuki sat down on a bench, thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Suzune. Black tea."
"You're treating this as the price for the information, right?"
Horikita took two cans of black tea from the vending machine and held them, her gaze serious.
You wish. Yuki felt a headache coming on. "Suzune, at this rate, you're never going to have friends."
"I don't care. Compared to friends, I prefer being alone."
Horikita replied calmly, holding both cans without any intention of handing one over.
"Fine."
Yuki didn't argue. He smiled instead. "You want information? Sure. Fifty thousand personal points."
"Personal points?"
Horikita's brows slowly knit together.
Instructor Chabashira's explanation echoed in her mind.
[Points can buy everything.]
Those words suddenly resurfaced. Chabashira's and Yuki's statements confirmed each other.
It seemed personal points weren't just living expenses. They should be treated as something equivalent to money itself.
At the same time—
This meant Yuki held more than just one piece of information. This particular bit was practically handed out for free, something she hadn't considered before.
Whether he revealed it intentionally or slipped up unintentionally was still unclear.
Points can buy everything?
Horikita Suzune began to somewhat understand this "merit-based" school.
Still—
If it was money, then it had to be worth fifty thousand yen's value.
"That's impossible. The value of information depends on how much advantage it brings. At this stage, no information could possibly be worth fifty thousand personal points."
Horikita met Yuki's gaze directly and stated her judgment logically.
She wasn't stupid. Whether academically or physically, she ranked near the top of the school. Horikita Suzune was unquestionably outstanding.
It was only the first day—half a day, even. Even if Yuki had talked with Chabashira Sae, there was no way he'd obtained information worth that much.
Fifty thousand.
That was close to a normal high school student's annual allowance.
In fact—
She even suspected the information wasn't that important.
Just like "points can buy everything," it was probably basic-level knowledge.
It was only because of Chabashira Sae's misleading way of explaining things that no one in Class D had thought in this direction. Yuki's perspective was simply different.
Given some time, this kind of information would become common knowledge.
It definitely wasn't worth fifty thousand points.
However—
If gaining information earlier than others could expand her advantage, she was willing to pay a price.
For example, five thousand personal points—that was what she considered reasonable.
"Narrow-minded, but still capable…"
That was Yuki's evaluation.
He smiled. "Making assumptions on your own is your biggest flaw, Suzune."
"Do you really think your information is worth fifty thousand points? If it truly is, I'm willing to pay that price."
Horikita replied confidently, treating it as Yuki deliberately inflating the value.
Even after having her flaw pointed out directly, she still wouldn't wake up. Yuki could understand that attitude.
They were all sixteen-year-old high schoolers—an age where everyone thought they were exceptional. Especially someone like Horikita, strong both academically and physically.
Without experiencing setbacks, no matter what anyone said, she wouldn't change.
Controlling people like this—
Wasn't hard.
What was hard was turning them into talents that were actually useful.
With Horikita's personality, even with excellent grades, she wouldn't do well in society.
Feeling a bit thirsty, Yuki bought himself a can of cola.
Then he spoke again. "Suzune, the value of information depends on your perspective."
"No need to say more. As long as it really is worth fifty thousand points, I won't care. Just tell me."
Horikita set her shopping bag aside and sat down next to him.
"The moment information is spoken aloud, it loses its value."
Yuki said teasingly.
"You're worried I'll go back on my word?"
Horikita frowned, displeased. "Don't worry. I've never broken a promise in my life."
She disdained that kind of behavior. Even if she judged the information's value herself, she'd still pay a fair price.
Yuki, who knew the original story, understood Horikita's character well. She might use small tricks, but someone as consistent inside and out as her wouldn't go back on a deal.
But Yuki only trusted profit—and people he completely controlled.
He shook the cola in his hand. "I can't trust that."
"Then are you just messing with me?"
Horikita shot him a cold look.
She understood what he meant.
Information was special. Without a foundation of trust—or a third party—transactions couldn't happen.
This clearly meant he wanted her to pay first, which she obviously wouldn't agree to.
Even if she wouldn't break the deal, she couldn't judge the information's true value. What if he just fed her some random nonsense?
"So negotiations broke down."
Yuki shrugged casually. This outcome was still within his expectations.
"I see now. You were playing me from the very beginning."
Horikita set down the black tea, pulled a compass from her bag, and aimed it at Yuki.
"Amamiya Yuki—would you rather regret this in pain, or regret it in despair?"