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Chapter 23: A Reminder to Kiyotaka Ayanokōji
🕑 Added 2025-12-07 11:20:36 +0000 UTC“There's no problem.”
“I was just thinking, getting one hundred thousand points every month is really amazing, isn't it.”
Natsuki Subaru said with a smile.
Seeing Haruki Yamauchi's carefree expression, Natsuki Subaru suddenly started to look forward to next month.
The rules of this school weren't hard to guess. The only thing that truly mattered was whether one could notice something was wrong with the school and actually take some action based on that realization. That was it.
Although Natsuki Subaru hadn't actively done anything since his brief observation on the first day.
But, just by looking at the class point rankings of the second and third years, Natsuki Subaru already had a general idea of the answer.
Without a doubt, class points and personal points were definitely connected. The points for each class in the second and third years were completely different.
Class A basically had over a thousand points, while Class D's points were the lowest. The third years were slightly better off, with five or six hundred points, but the second years were in a more miserable state, with only two or three hundred class points.
The intensity of competition among the second years was much higher than the third years, who gave off a feeling that everything was already set in stone.
And the specific, non-rounded class point values made it hard for Natsuki Subaru not to connect them to the personal points distributed each month.
The only thing he wasn't sure about was whether the class points started from zero or if they were given a uniform starting number.
“By the way, Ayanokōji-kun.”
Natsuki Subaru fixed his gaze on the expressionless Kiyotaka Ayanokōji in the group.
Looking at Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, who was still trying to appear unremarkable, Natsuki Subaru let out a soft chuckle and said, “If you want to be an unremarkable, ordinary person, hanging out with Yamauchi-kun won't work, you know.”
“If you think about it for a moment, you should be able to figure that out.”
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's expression remained unchanged. Only his eyes shifted slightly as he replied flatly, “Natsuki-kun, you've misunderstood. Yamauchi-kun and I are friends. It's normal to be with friends.”
“It's not what you think, Natsuki-kun.”
Natsuki Subaru didn't say anything more to this, but the smile on his face deepened slightly.
As if he had been convinced by Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, he turned and left.
“Hey! Natsuki!!”
“What's that supposed to mean!?”
Haruki Yamauchi didn't react at first. It was only after Natsuki Subaru had walked some distance away that he suddenly realized and yelled out in displeasure, “What's wrong with Ayanokōji hanging out with me?”
Watching Natsuki Subaru's retreating back, Haruki Yamauchi's face flushed slightly, and he looked like he was about to stomp his feet in frustration.
Haruki Yamauchi felt that his silence had somehow put him at a disadvantage against Natsuki Subaru. Furthermore, Subaru hadn't directly acknowledged him from start to finish. He felt completely and utterly looked down upon.
“Alright, alright, Natsuki-kun probably didn't mean it the way you think.”
Seeing the agitated Haruki Yamauchi, Kanji Ike quickly tried to calm him down.
Compared to the somewhat reckless Haruki Yamauchi, who lacked a sense of boundaries, Kanji Ike was a bit better.
If this troublemaker faction had to have a leader, Kanji Ike could barely fill the role, acting as a sort of mediator within the group.
While Haruki Yamauchi was continuously venting his dissatisfaction with Natsuki Subaru, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji stood to the side with an impassive expression, his thoughts unreadable.
Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike didn't pay it much mind.
Through their interactions over this period, they had gained a basic understanding of Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's personality.
They knew that Kiyotaka Ayanokōji didn't usually initiate conversations and didn't have a strong desire to talk about himself, acting more like a listener in their small group.
‘But... what Natsuki Subaru said wasn't without reason.’
‘Haruki Yamauchi, Kanji Ike, and Ken Sudou... They really are a bit too conspicuous.’
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji was seriously considering the advice Natsuki Subaru had just given.
He was contemplating whether to accept Natsuki Subaru's suggestion and draw a line between himself and these 'friends'.
......
“Subaru-kun~~~”
Not long after leaving Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's group, Natsuki Subaru ran into Kikyō Kushida on his way to the cafeteria.
When Kikyō Kushida saw Natsuki Subaru, her eyes lit up slightly. She walked over to him with a cheerful pace and said in a somewhat shy tone, “Subaru-kun, are you on your way to the cafeteria to eat?”
“I was just about to go eat too. Let's go together~”
“Sure.”
“It's rare for Kikyo-san to be free.”
Natsuki Subaru smiled as he looked at Kikyō Kushida.
Although it had only been a week, Kikyō Kushida's acting had improved a little.
It had to be said, Kikyō Kushida was a social genius, and her learning ability was quite good as well.
“But, Kikyo-san, you must have a new plan for making friends, right?”
Natsuki Subaru looked at Kikyō Kushida and said cheerfully, “Have you figured out how to successfully become friends with the 'Ice Maiden' Horikita-san?”
Over the past week, Kikyō Kushida's attitude toward Suzune Horikita had also changed.
After the failure of her 'accidental encounter' plan and being coldly reprimanded by Suzune Horikita, Kikyō Kushida had stopped pestering her this past week, no longer trying to curry favor.
Instead, she acted like a heartbroken classmate and had stopped trying to interact with her.
As for whether she had truly given up on becoming friends with Suzune Horikita, one look at Kikyō Kushida now made it clear. Over this past week, she hadn't given up on it at all.
“Hee hee hee, I already said, calling it a 'plan' sounds so awful.”
“It makes it sound like I have some other motive.”
After hearing Natsuki Subaru's words, Kikyō Kushida stuck out her tongue, making a cute expression.
Kikyō Kushida was well aware of her assets and knew how to use them to her advantage.
By acting cute like this from time to time, she could easily win the affection of the male students. In fact, it wasn't just the male students; she collected the goodwill of some female students just as easily.
“Actually, there's no plan.”
“I just feel like your relationship with Horikita-san seems to have gotten a little better, Subaru-kun.”
Kikyō Kushida looked at Natsuki Subaru and said with a slightly serious tone, “So, I want to learn from you, Subaru-kun.”
