Ichinose Honami: "Shimizu-kun, I'm preparing to give you 1.5 million personal points as a reward."
Ichinose Honami: "One million of that is for what you did for Class B last ti—everyone unanimously decided on this reward for you. The remaining 500,000 is sothing I personally want to give to you. You really have helped too many tis; please accept this sentint and don't refuse again."
Shimizu Akira picked up his phone. As soon as he opened the interface, he saw several confirmation ssages sent by Ichinose Honami.
"Wait, 1.5 million points? She's giving that much?"
Earlier, he had vaguely wondered if she had forgotten about the matter. Looking at it now, she hadn't forgotten at all; she was clearly holding back a huge surprise, tripling the original 500,000 he had anticipated.
To be honest, although Shimizu already had 20 million points on hand, he was no longer just looking out for himself. Having more points provided an extra layer of insurance when dealing with unknown situations in the future.
He thought for a mont and typed a reply.
Shimizu Akira: "Alright, I'll accept the one million. As for your personal 500,000, it's really too much, so there's no need."
Not long after the ssage was sent, a new ssage from Ichinose Honami popped up.
Ichinose Honami: "Then... could I give you 80,000 points? After all, I've owed you this for a long ti."
Shimizu froze slightly. ntioning 80,000 points made several familiar faces flash through his mind.
In the first month of school, he had successively received a total of 80,000 points from Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, and Karuizawa Kei.
Ichinose Honami had originally misunderstood, thinking he was the one secretly instructing Yamamura-senpai to approach Class B and reveal hidden rules; she had intended to give him 80,000 points as thanks.
Later, because she was genuinely short on points, Shimizu had returned them.
Months had passed, and he thought she had forgotten, but Ichinose had kept it in her heart all this ti.
Shimizu Akira: "Fine, if it's 80,000, I'll take it."
But just after sending the ssage, his phone vibrated. The na jumping on the screen was still Ichinose Honami. She had actually called him directly.
Shimizu was curious. They were just ssaging—why the sudden switch to a call?
Picking up the phone, he first heard the sound of Ichinose taking a soft breath. Then, in a tone that was slightly nervous yet serious, she said: "Shimizu, do you have ti this sumr break? I want to ask you out alone for a walk... I felt it would be rude to say this over text, so I thought I'd call you."
'Going out alone? This would be the second date, wouldn't it? I didn't expect her to be this proactive.'
He thought for a mont and replied simply: "Sure!"
"Eh? You agreed?!" On the other end, Ichinose's voice was clearly filled with pleasant surprise.
"Yeah, I really don't have many plans these next few days," Shimizu replied with a nod. "Besides, you gave an extra 580,000 points, plus you give 150,000 fixed every month. You've sent so many points, how could I refuse?"
In truth, he actually quite admired Ichinose Honami. If he didn't, he wouldn't have conveniently helped Class B out of their jams during these special exams.
Ichinose was also very good to him; in their few cooperation deals, she always added extra points. She had previously invited him to join Class B, not to ntion she was one of the few top-tier beauties in the first year.
He really had no reason to say no.
However, Ichinose on the other end argued with so urgency: "That's not right! It's clearly you, Shimizu, who is better to !
In the first month, not only did you arrange for soone to reveal the rules to Class B, you even returned those 80,000 points to later.
In the second month, you trusted so much, never doubting that I was the one who rented the caras, and you scared off Class C for Class B behind the scenes without ever taking credit.
On our first date, you considered so much for , helping find a way to reply to everyone's ssages and helping deal with that love letter.
During the deserted island exam, you caught a fat chicken for and went out of your way to hunt for Class D. The recording pen later was also a foundation you laid in advance to facilitate the cooperation with Class B.
Even in this special exam, for my sake, you were willing to reveal your own class's VIP information! Compared to you, the things I've done are really far behind!"
She spoke like she was listing family treasures, recounting every instance where Shimizu had helped her, each detail so clear it was as if it happened yesterday.
"Uh... you actually rember that clearly?" Shimizu was completely stunned, his brain failing to keep up with the rhythm.
"Mhm..." Ichinose's voice softened.
"Every single thing you've done for , I rember clearly. I've written them all down, one by one, in my notebook."
'Huh?! Specifically recorded in a notebook?'
Shimizu first felt a warmth in his heart; being rembered with such solemn gratitude was indeed moving. But a second later, an indescribable, subtle feeling surged up.
'Wait... isn't this a bit much?'
A vague sense of panic crept into his mind. For so reason, a specific term popped into his head: "Heavy Girl".
'No, no, no! That's absolutely impossible!'
He instinctively denied the absurd thought. This was Ichinose Honami! Beautiful, with an outstanding figure, and a personality that was gentle and considerate.
She was the school's universally recognized beauty and was exceptionally good to him. How could such a girl be associated with that kind of extre image?
'I must be overthinking it!'
He tried various ways to convince himself, eventually finding the culprit. It must be because he'd watched too much BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!! lately; the plot had skewed his thinking! Sakiko-sensei is truly harmful!
A brief silence fell on the other end, followed by Ichinose's voice, now tinged with bashfulness.
"Shimizu, so next, it's my turn to do sothing for you. Please... look forward to our second date. I will try my best to satisfy your 'needs'."
As soon as she finished, the call was abruptly cut off.
"Huh?!" Shimizu stood there, completely dumbfounded, clutching his phone.
The last sentence circled repeatedly in his brain.
'Satisfy my needs?'
Did she an what he thought she ant? Why did it sound like Ichinose Honami was being sowhat intentionally... seductive?
But then he imdiately shook his head in denial.
This was Ichinose Honami—always innocent and kind, treating everyone with sincerity and openness. How could she do such a thing?
'So, Hoshinomiya Chie must have instructed her to say that!'
-
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The August weather had lost the parching heat of early midsumr, but it still carried a sticky humidity. Being outdoors for a while made one feel stifled. Shimizu still had the fortune-telling on his mind, so as soon as 9:30 hit, he left the dormitory early.
After just a few steps, fine beads of sweat broke out on his brow. The heat made him quicken his pace. Fortunately, Keyaki Mall wasn't far. The mont he stepped into the hall, the icy air conditioning wrapped around him, instantly dispelling the heat and giving him a sense of relief, as if he'd finally been saved.
He scanned the surroundings and noticed a fair number of people gathered near the stairs. Before coming, he had glanced at a notification in the group chat; the fortune-teller apparently only accepted pairs. Thus, most people present were couples, many hugging intimately, likely there to have their compatibility read.
Previously, Sudo Ken and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had invited him to co along, but Shimizu had politely declined after thinking about it. Two guys coming for a fortune-telling seed strange no matter how you looked at it. However, before setting out, he had tried asking Kamuro Masumi if she wanted to co.
She had only coolly replied, "I'll go if I'm in a good mood."
So, Shimizu waited for a while. Within a few minutes, he saw Kamuro Masumi walking toward him. She had changed into private clothes, which made her look exceptionally striking, and her hair clip had been replaced with a blue one.
"Hmph, consider yourself lucky. I just happened to be free today." Kamuro walked up to him, her chin slightly raised.
Shimizu arched an eyebrow, looking at her carefully put-together outfit. He knew exactly what was going on. She had clearly dressed up specifically for this but was still being stubborn with excuses. But having spent ti with her, he was used to her tsundere nature and even occasionally found this duplicity quite cute.
He didn't expose her, only saying with a smile: "Kamuro, you're quite cute today."
"Don't get the wrong idea!" Kamuro imdiately countered, though the tips of her ears turned red.
"It's only because the sumr uniform is too expensive and the spring one is too hot that I wore this."
"Oh." Shimizu responded and didn't say more, instead pulling out his phone.
Kamuro's eyes took on a look of displeasure.
'I went to the trouble of dressing up so well, and this guy just starts playing on his phone?'
But a second later, her phone vibrated with a notification. She looked down, and the screen clearly showed a transfer from Shimizu Akira—a full 100,000 personal points.
"What are you doing?!" Kamuro looked up sharply, her eyes full of bewildernt. "Why are you suddenly transferring points to ?"
"Didn't you say you didn't buy the sumr uniform because it was too expensive?" Shimizu said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I transferred the points; go buy it quickly. We can't have you overheating."
Kamuro looked at his deadpan expression, her lips twitching uncontrollably. This guy, Shimizu Akira, obviously seed incredibly smart and had played many students for fools during the two special exams, so why was he so gullible when it ca to small things like this?
To put it bluntly, he trusted her too much. He actually took her casual excuse as the truth.
That excuse was obviously just a pretext! The reason she put on this outfit and carefully styled her hair was because she was coming out with him.
He'd just given her 500,000 points a few days ago, and now he'd added another 100,000. That was 600,000 total... he was simply too indulgent with her.
"Take it back, take it back! Keep it for yourself! I'm not short on points!" Kamuro waved her phone with a hint of pride.
"Let tell you, I have a full 1.7 or 1.8 million in my account right now!"
"Huh? How do you have so many points?" Shimizu subconsciously followed up. Normally, even with the 1 million from being a VIP, she shouldn't have that high an amount.
"Idiot! It's true I got 1 million from the VIP exam." Kamuro rolled her eyes and added, "That Sakayanagi woman has been asking to do things since school started. From her alone, I've gotten about 500,000 or 600,000."
"I see." Shimizu nodded.
Why did he feel like Sakayanagi Arisu was doing this on purpose? This way of "feeding" Kamuro was quite similar to his own attempt to transfer points just now. It seed Sakayanagi Arisu's obsession with Kamuro Masumi was as deep as ever.
.
.
.
The two chatted for a few more minutes until the clock pointed to 10:00 AM. The fortune-telling shop was finally opening. Since the shop was on the fifth floor, they took the elevator up.
Stepping out, it was just as Shimizu had expected: a significant line had already ford. A prominent note was posted on the wall stating clearly: "Fortune-telling limited to pairs only." This made Shimizu feel relieved; he was glad he'd asked soone in advance. If he had co alone, he'd have had to turn back awkwardly.
When they reached the end of the line, a staff mber quickly walked over and handed them a slip with the number 7. In other words, there were six groups waiting ahead of them.
"Speaking of which, why did you suddenly want to do fortune-telling? Especially one that requires two people?" Kamuro kicked him lightly during the wait.
"I heard this fortune-teller is very accurate. I just suddenly wanted to check my luck and future direction," Shimizu replied honestly.
"I'm quite curious about what might happen next."
"Ha?" Kamuro imdiately rolled her eyes.
"Isn't this just a scam? You actually believe this? What an idiot!"
In her view, fortune-telling was just a "tax on intelligence." If Shimizu hadn't specifically invited her, she would never have joined such a scene. Her willingness to wait patiently now was just because she viewed it as part of an outing together.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye. Midway through, Kamuro grew impatient and kicked Shimizu several more tis until he reached out and grabbed her wrist. Only then did she settle down.
Finally, a voice ca from the temporary counter ahead: "Next group, please."
The two lifted the curtain and walked in. The lighting inside was dim, creating a mysterious atmosphere. A crystal-clear ball sat in the center of the table. The fortune-teller wore a wide hood, the brim hanging low to completely hide her face, making it impossible to see her expression. Honestly, in terms of atmosphere, they had done a great job.
Two chairs sat before the table. Once Shimizu and Kamuro sat down, the fortune-teller slowly raised her right hand and pointed to a QR code on the corner of the table.
"Please scan to pay the fee."
Well! The mysterious atmosphere vanished instantly!
Following that, she added: "I can read for your academics, career, romance, preferences, and overall destiny." A price list sat on the table, detailing different packages covering various common inquiries.
Shimizu scanned the list and turned to Kamuro.
"You choose first. Which package do you want?"
Kamuro scanned the list indifferently and replied casually: "The basic package is fine."
Shimizu didn't ask questions; he took out his phone and scanned the code. With a soft beep, the "paynt successful" page popped up. Kamuro sat silently, glancing at the cold light reflecting off the crystal ball with an attitude of "let's see what you make up."
The fortune-teller's fingers rested lightly on the edge of the ball.
"Young lady, which aspect would you like to asure first? Academics, romance, or... the trials you may encounter during your three years at this school?"
Kamuro paused, then asked randomly, "Let's start with the trials in school over the next three years."
After that, the fortune-teller carefully asked for her na and birth date, then signaled her to hold out her hands. After looking at her palms, the fortune-teller placed her hands back on the ball.
"During your second year, you will encounter a very critical trial. At that ti, an opportunity will arise that would make you leave this school. The situation will look very dangerous, as if you have no way out. But you needn't fear; in the end, it will only be a false alarm. As long as you maintain your current relationships well, when that ti cos, soone who truly cherishes you will naturally stand up and protect you well."
"Leaving school?" Kamuro's heart thumped, and her brow furrowed. This was clearly saying she might be expelled. She pursed her lips, her mind racing: 'Soone will protect ?'
She subconsciously glanced at Shimizu Akira, who was also frowning beside her, before quickly looking away.
'Besides this guy, who else could it be?'
The fortune-teller spoke again: "Next, let's talk about your luck in romance. Little girl, your romance luck is very smooth. Don't rush; as long as you maintain your current pace, things will slowly follow your heart's desire."
Kamuro listened, her face still carrying a hint of indifference. This "following your heart" talk was sothing she'd heard too much of. Eight out of ten romance readings were the sa kind of platitudes; it wasn't very convincing. Afterward, the fortune-teller spoke about her academics and career direction with clear logic, but Kamuro remained skeptical and didn't take it to heart.
Finally, it was Shimizu's turn. He reached out his hand. After a mont, the fortune-teller's expression beca more serious than before. She stared into his eyes and said slowly: "Young man, I cannot see through your past, nor can I read your childhood... you seem to be a man without a past."
"Old lady," Kamuro rolled her eyes, "the cat's out of the bag now, isn't it? And you called yourself a fortune-teller."
But Shimizu's reaction was the complete opposite. The ease on his face vanished, replaced by total seriousness.
He had been sent to this school by a system; in this world, he literally had no "past."
The fortune-teller continued to stare at the crystal ball in silence for a few seconds, more surprise appearing in her eyes.
"As for academics and career, you seem to be entwined with an unknown power. It will guide you invisibly, making your path in this school exceptionally smooth. No matter which faction you choose next, that faction will find it easier to succeed. Young man, your destiny is very good—the best I have ever seen."
Shimizu's heart skipped a beat—that unknown power was the Daily Intel provided by the system! And the bit about "whichever faction you choose" ant that regardless of which class he stayed in, there was a high probability of helping that class rise to Class A.
Before he could think further, the fortune-teller turned her gaze back to Kamuro.
"The fate of those who share karma with you will also improve. You have actually already influenced the developnt of many people. For example, the girl beside you—her original path was full of obstacles. When she first entered this school, she encountered a significant trial due to her personal conduct. And you easily resolved that trial for her."
"!" Kamuro looked up sharply, the disdain on her face freezing instantly, replaced by sheer shock.
The "conduct-related trial" the fortune-teller ntioned—wasn't that the ti she almost got caught shoplifting? If Shimizu hadn't stepped in to help and indirectly cover her tracks so Sakayanagi couldn't get definitive proof, she would have long ago beco that woman's puppet.
How could she be living so freely in Class A now?
Only those involved knew about this. How could the fortune-teller say it? This old lady... she really had so skill. She wasn't a fraud!
In that case, was the part about her possibly being expelled also true?
The fortune-teller looked back at Shimizu, pausing. "As for your romance luck... it can also be said to be smooth sailing. Although there are many girls whose fates are deeply entangled
with yours, incredibly, with your usual sense of propriety, no major storms will arise between you. Don't rush; just take it slow. In the end, you will achieve the result you want."
Shimizu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. To his ears, these words were practically a guarantee that even if he dated multiple girls, there wouldn't be a relationship explosion; things would go smoothly.
He personally hated drama-heavy plots, so this was a huge help.
Beside him, Kamuro's face darkened slightly and her gaze beca sowhat hostile, but after thinking it over, she didn't say anything this ti.
Just then, the fortune-teller clapped her hands as if rembering sothing important: "Alright, today's session ends here! But before you go, young man, please shake hands with ! In return, I will transfer 200,000 personal points to you."
"Wait? Why the handshake?" Kamuro's brow furrowed imdiately.
"To share so of his good luck!" The fortune-teller spoke as if it were obvious, her tone carrying a bit of lingering fear.
"A few days ago, I t a male-male pair, and one of them had a 'Destiny Void' fate. I was so afraid of catching his bad luck! This young man's destiny is so strong that even if I take a bit of his luck to wash away my bad luck, it won't affect him. I have to seize the chance to grab so!"
Shimizu looked at the hand the fortune-teller held out. He paused, then reached out and shook it. The old woman's palm was dry but warm. When their fingers touched, there was no special sensation—it just felt like an elder being close to a younger person.
"There, little fellow, that's it." The fortune-teller let go. As she operated her phone, she muttered, "Your destiny is truly tough. taking this bit of luck is like receiving your protection; I'll feel much more grounded for the next few days."
As she spoke, a notification for the points arrival sounded on Shimizu's phone.
Kamuro watched from the side with a look of disbelief. "What kind of fortune-teller pays the custor..."
The fortune-teller seed not to hear her mumbling. She reached to the corner of the table and pulled out a palm-sized protective charm. It was red cloth embroidered with pale gold patterns, the stitching fine and exquisite.
She stuffed the charm directly into Kamuro's hand.
"Little girl, take this. The trial you'll face in the second year looks dangerous, but with him by your side and this charm, you're guaranteed to turn danger into safety. I'd sell this kind of amulet for at least 500,000 Yen outside. This ti, I'm giving it to you for free as a favor to this lad."
Kamuro pinched the charm, looking at the patterns. She hesitated for two seconds before looking up and saying awkwardly, "Thank you."
"Alright, alright, you two should go play. Don't waste your ti at my little stall." The fortune-teller waved them away.
Following her words, the two lifted the curtain and stepped out. The mont they hit the mall's bright light, Kamuro subconsciously stuffed the charm into her pocket, still replaying the episode in her mind. In all her life, she had never seen a fortune-teller give money to a custor.
It was hard not to be amazed.
Previously, when the fortune-teller said that those entangled with him would have their luck improve, she was skeptical. But thinking back carefully, since school started, her path really had been unusually smooth.
The shoplifting crisis was solved by him. When she had trouble months ago, he quietly stepped in. Even during the island exam, because he was thinking of her, he sent a huge amount of snacks.
As a result, Katsuragi was now very polite to her, and other classmates were wary of Shimizu, so no one dared ss with her.
She practically walked with her head high in Class A.
Thinking this, she stole a glance at Shimizu and couldn't help but kick him lightly.
"Thanks."
"You're welco." Shimizu turned to look at her.
Kamuro felt a bit self-conscious under his gaze. Her fingers moved unconsciously at her side and happened to brush against Shimizu's hand. The instant touch was like an electric current, making her heart skip, but she didn't pull away imdiately.
Shimizu was also montarily stunned, but after a thought, he simply reached out and grabbed her hand. With their fingers interlaced, she could feel the warmth of each other's palms more clearly.
Kamuro's cheeks instantly turned a light red, but she began making excuses in her mind: 'This wasn't her being proactive; it was this guy Shimizu Akira insisting on holding her hand!'
She cleared her throat and spoke with feigned calmness: "This afternoon, Shimizu Akira, you are mine."
Seeing Shimizu obviously stunned as if he hadn't reacted, she added crossly, her tone a bit irrational: "What's with the 'huh'! Didn't that fortune-teller say it? You have great luck! Of course I'm going to stick with you and soak up so of that good fortune!"
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