"You start first, I'm heading to the bathroom."
Closing the workbook after completing the last assigned exercise, Kure Ragna stood up from his seat in the quiet library and left.
Since the midterm exams had ended, Yukinoshita Haruno's study sessions had shifted focus. Previously, they had been purely about exam preparation, with all exercises designed specifically to ensure the class passed.
But now, with that hurdle cleared, the sessions had returned to a more natural format—students doing homework together and helping each other when needed.
This wasn't unique to their class. Many students from other classes gathered in the library for quiet study, as the main classrooms were often too noisy. If anyone caused a disturbance here, they'd be promptly kicked out by the staff.
After leaving the reading hall, Kure Ragna walked down the corridor toward the bathroom.
When he emerged, washing his hands at the sink, a familiar shade of pink appeared beside him. Turning on the tap next to him was Ichinose Honami from Class C.
She had just come out of the women's restroom on the opposite side. Oddly enough, he hadn't seen her on his way here, meaning she had probably arrived before him. Not surprising—after all, girls generally took longer in the restroom.
"What a coincidence, Kure-kun," Ichinose greeted with her usual bright smile.
Kure Ragna gave her a brief glance before responding, "Yeah… quite the coincidence."
"Hehehe~"
Even though his response was somewhat dismissive, Ichinose simply giggled, unfazed as always. Then, her expression shifted slightly, her voice lowering to a more serious tone.
"By the way, I heard that Ryuuen-kun from Class D is planning something against your Class B…"
"Hmm?"
Kure Ragna raised an eyebrow at the unexpected information.
Ichinose let out a small 'ah,' not out of panic but as if annoyed at herself for speaking too rashly. She quickly waved her hands in a flustered manner.
"Ah, sorry! I didn't explain properly. Our homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei, mentioned it. Apparently, yesterday afternoon, the student council visited your class's teacher, Chabashira-sensei. It seems like Ryuuen-kun and his class are up to something."
She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I know it might sound strange coming from someone in another class, but… be careful. Ryuuen-kun is a dangerous opponent. If you're not careful, you might fall right into his trap."
Her tone was sincere, with no hidden intentions.
Kure Ragna, however, simply shrugged. "It's fine. The situation has already been dealt with. He's just a small-time thug."
"S-small-time…?" Ichinose blinked, clearly taken aback by his bluntness. Then, she let out an awkward laugh. "Ahaha~"
Despite not repeating his words, her expression suggested she more or less agreed with his assessment.
"That's a relief, then," she said, visibly relaxing. "By the way, why don't we exchange contacts? If anything happens, we can discuss it."
"…?"
For the first time in a long while, Kure Ragna found himself struggling to keep up with someone else's thought process.
A chance encounter in the restroom. A casual warning about Ryuuen. A quick reassurance that the issue was resolved.
And now… exchanging contact info?
What was next? Marriage registration? Picking out baby names?
This girl's thought process is bizarre.
Still, playing it safe, Kure Ragna nodded. "Alright."
Just as he pulled out his phone to open the school's S-System app, Ichinose leaned in closer. Her own phone was still loading, its screen facing him.
A pleasant fragrance from her hair drifted toward him, tickling his nose.
Does this girl have no sense of personal space?
Since his phone was faster, Kure Ragna quickly pulled up the QR code scanner. Just as he turned to scan Ichinose's code, her screen finished loading—only for the personal points page to flash before both their eyes.
"Ah—!"
Ichinose let out a tiny gasp and, in a flash, yanked her phone away, hurriedly tapping the screen to switch back to the home menu.
But even in that brief instant, Kure Ragna saw it clearly.
2,642,210 PPT.
PPT—personal points.
Over two million.
For an average student, this was an absurd amount. Even Kure Ragna, despite his own reckless spending habits, had only around 1.2 million in his account. If he actually cared about saving, he could comfortably reach Class A in a month or two.
But Ichinose wasn't someone known for extorting other students.
Then… where did all those points come from?
Before he could dwell on it, Ichinose's hesitant voice pulled him back to reality.
"…You saw?"
He glanced up. The pink-haired girl was shrinking back slightly, holding her phone close to her chest, looking… oddly pitiful.
"Yeah, I saw. Over two million."
Kure Ragna shrugged lightly. "But don't worry. I'm not from the newspaper club or some tabloid. I have no interest in spreading rumors."
Ichinose's expression instantly brightened. "I knew you were trustworthy, Kure-kun!"
"…?"
What the hell?
Watching her shift from anxiety to joy in a split second, Kure Ragna felt even more lost.
Was she putting on an act? Or was she genuinely this easygoing?
If it was the latter… he was confident he could trick her into having a third child within five years.
"Alright, here—this and this… okay, done!"
Now that her secret had been exposed, Ichinose smoothly went through the process of adding him as a contact. To confirm, she even sent a sticker emoji before finally tucking her phone away.
"Well then, I'll be off~"
"Yeah. See you."
As the pink-haired girl disappeared into the hallway, Kure Ragna exhaled and turned to head back to the library.
But just as he took a step forward, he stopped.
From the shadowed area near the restroom entrance, Sakura Airi quietly emerged.
She looked hesitant, as if she had been hiding and waiting for the right moment.
"K-Kure-kun… I have something I need your help with…"
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