Suddenly, Kuroki Ya's face showed an ambiguous smile: "Ayanokoji, you haven't already gotten her, have you…? Does that mean I should change how I address her when I see her in the future?"
"Don't overthink it. It's just because Saotome kept asking me." Ayanokoji rolled his eyes.
Although he had indeed already gotten her, it wouldn't be good if these words reached Saotome's ears. This matter was still a secret between him and Hanatemari Kazura.
"Ayanokoji, you're really good to Saotome," Kuroki Ya exclaimed, "I'm almost jealous…"
"What's there to be jealous of?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sat down in his seat and asked casually, "By the way, how did you handle the aftermath of that party gamble?"
"The three of us were fine, since we won the first round, each of us earned at least 330,000, and the girls didn't choose us in the second round of gambling, so there was no loss. Only Tanaka Yuzuna, he lost four million yen."
"We originally thought we'd help him earn money and give him some benefits, but it turned out to be a world where only he got hurt."
Kuroki's face showed a somewhat guilty expression.
"Tanaka Daishou is very generous. He didn't shortchange Inui Chitose a single cent of the money he promised, and he took responsibility for all the lost gambling money. Honestly, I feel a bit bad… Such generous people are truly rare."
"You feel bad but still scammed him?" Ayanokoji teased.
"One thing's one thing. If we didn't scam this money, someone else would. Coming to this school, you definitely have to pay 'tuition.' It doesn't matter who you pay it to. Besides… he doesn't seem to care about this little bit of money."
As Kuroki spoke, a look of headache appeared on his face.
"Tanaka is a good person, but there's one thing that's really bothersome.
You know that very energetic female host at the party that day, right? After he saw her, he immediately couldn't forget her, didn't even care about losing millions, and was single-mindedly asking us who that girl was."
That girl… that girl had pink hair, wore a butterfly mask, and indeed had a very pleasant voice.
"How would we know who that girl is? She wore an eye mask and a wig, clearly not wanting to reveal her true identity. Oh, right…"
Kuroki Ya said, thinking of something, and looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "You seem to be very familiar with Juraku. That girl should be a subordinate of the Disciplinary Committee, right? Do you know any inside information?"
"I don't know her either. I've only been at school for a few days. How much do you think I know?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shrugged helplessly.
"That's true…" Kuroki hadn't held out much hope anyway; he was just asking casually.
"By the way, do you want to gamble today? I'll play with you for a bit?"
Facing Kuroki Ya's gambling invitation, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not refuse, pulling out a deck of cards from his pocket and smiling slightly.
"Alright, let me teach you a brand new way to play. Its name is… Landlord."
...
After the afternoon dismissal bell rang, as soon as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood up, Kurume Laiwei appeared from who knows where and hugged Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's arm.
She asked with a smile, "Boss, are you free this afternoon? Let's go watch a movie together!"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pushed her hand away, looking speechless, and said with narrowed eyes, "I'm not free for now. By the way, don't you have something more important to do right now? Have you paid back the money you owe Zenshoukai?"
"That kind of thing isn't important. There's no need to worry about it. Compared to that, I think a date is more important…"
The two chatted as they walked out of the classroom. When they reached the entrance hall on the first floor of the Teaching Building, Ayanokoji's vision blurred, and Saotome Meari and Hanatemari Kazura appeared from who knows where, blocking their way.
Meari stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Kurume: "Good thing I got here fast, otherwise you would've taken him away again!"
At noon today, because she was a step late, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was directly pulled away by Kurume Laiwei to eat lunch.
Saotome Meari met the two in the restaurant and wanted to join their table, but Kurume blocked her with a phrase, "I'm paying back gambling debts here, irrelevant people please do not approach."
Saotome could only stare, sitting not far away, watching Kurume happily eating across from Ayanokoji.
Although the food in the restaurant was as delicious as ever, it was torture for Saotome.
To prevent Ayanokoji Kiyotaka from being taken away before school ended, Saotome left the classroom before the dismissal bell rang this time, blocking the inevitable path in advance.
"Tsk… what a troublesome woman." Kurume clicked her tongue in annoyance.
She had long guessed that Saotome would appear after school, so she deliberately pulled Ayanokoji, wanting to leave quickly, but was still stopped.
"Ayanokoji, are you going to the casino later?" Saotome Meari took the initiative to speak, "I want to report the casino's earnings to you for the past few days."
"I also want to report the casino's earnings to you!" Kurume Laiwei also said, unwilling to be outdone.
"Alright, alright, where do you even have a casino?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka flicked her forehead and said with a smile, "You'd better quickly pay back your debts. Get ready, I'll need your help in the next couple of days."
"Okay then…" Kurume nodded somewhat disappointed, and left the Teaching Building with the others. When they reached the Club Building, she parted ways with the three.
The Zenshoukai's meeting place was also in the Club Building, and she hurried off, wanting to pay off her debts quickly.
Ayanokoji and Meari went to the casino together.
On the way to the Library casino, Saotome deliberately fell back a little, walking in line with Ayanokoji.
"Ayanokoji… did anything happen between you and Kurume last night?" Saotome asked softly.
When she woke up this morning, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kurume Laiwei were already in the living room eating breakfast. She suspected something had happened between them, but she had no evidence, and with Hanatemari by her side, she couldn't ask.
At noon, Kurume also blocked her, so she couldn't find an opportunity to ask. This question had been on her mind until now.
"No, I didn't do anything last night." Ayanokoji's words were truthful; he spoke very frankly.
"Really?" Saotome was half-skeptical.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shrugged helplessly: "Did you hear any movement in the living room?"
Indeed, she hadn't… But the soundproofing in the bedroom was very good, and Meari was still a bit unsure.
"Then what did you two talk about in the room yesterday?" she pressed, unwilling to give up.