At 10 AM, inside a café at Keyaki Mall Shopping Center, the place was nearly empty. Since it was summer break and still early in the day, only a few employees were around tidying up.
A dead-eyed boy walked in, glanced around the quiet café, and instantly spotted a bald man sitting at a booth by the window.
Class A… no, wait. Now it should be Class B's Katsuragi.
Hikigaya walked straight over, sat down, ordered a strong latte with extra sugar, and then looked at Katsuragi across from him.
"It's pretty rare for you to ask me out alone, Katsuragi."
Yesterday, after coming back from Keyaki Mall Shopping Center, Hikigaya found an email in his inbox. The sender was none other than Katsuragi, who had asked to meet and talk about something.
Hikigaya found it a bit strange but agreed anyway.
During the uninhabited island exam, he had set Katsuragi up once, but there wasn't any serious conflict between them. Their only real issue was the competition between their classes, which was unavoidable.
That was how Hikigaya saw it, but he wasn't sure Katsuragi felt the same way. He was curious—what could be so important that Katsuragi would put aside their rivalry to meet him? Was it something related to their classes?
"It's a personal matter," Katsuragi said in a low voice, his expression briefly showing some hesitation.
Now Hikigaya was even more curious. If it wasn't about their classes, then what personal matter could be so important that Katsuragi would seek him out?
"Hikigaya, I heard that you're allowed to leave school grounds freely."
Katsuragi paused for a moment before saying this.
"Who told you that?"
Hikigaya frowned. "And just so you know, I can't leave whenever I want. I have responsibilities."
Katsuragi's words put him on alert. The truth was, he only had permission to leave because of club competitions.
"I see," Katsuragi nodded slightly before falling into silence, looking unsure about whether to continue.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
"Wait!"
Just as Hikigaya was about to stand up, Katsuragi quickly stopped him. "Actually, I need to send something out from the school. I was hoping you could help me with that."
"Katsuragi, you do realize that's against the school rules, right?"
Hikigaya's tone turned serious.
"I know," Katsuragi sighed.
"But I can guarantee that there's nothing suspicious inside, and I'm willing to let the school and you inspect it. If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility."
Hikigaya's expression softened slightly, but he still shook his head.
"If that's the case, you should be talking to the school or the student council, not coming to me in secret."
Katsuragi hesitated before finally speaking.
"I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you. Next week is my twin sister's birthday. Since our parents passed away, we've always relied on each other. Every year, I make sure to spend her birthday with her.
But this year… I know the rules, so I'm not asking to leave. I just want to make sure my gift reaches her."
Hikigaya fell silent.
He hadn't expected Katsuragi to come to him—his so-called "enemy"—for this reason.
At the same time, the word "sister" stirred something deep inside him.
"I actually went to the student council several times about this, but they rejected me every time," Katsuragi sighed.
Hikigaya could understand how he felt. It wasn't just disappointment—it was also guilt. Only when faced with something truly out of reach did people realize how powerless they were.
"You couldn't do it the proper way, so you came to me?"
But Hikigaya also noticed something odd. "Why me?"
From what he knew about Katsuragi, he wasn't the type to break the rules or secretly ask someone for help. And considering the risks involved, it didn't seem like something Katsuragi would come up with on his own.
Which meant… someone must have told him to come to Hikigaya.
Katsuragi fell silent after hearing that, hesitating even more than before. It seemed like he didn't want to explain the reason behind it.
"Did the president 'hint' for you to come to me?"
Katsuragi suddenly looked up, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. Then, he nodded but still didn't say a word.
Seeing this, Hikigaya quickly pieced everything together. Katsuragi had gone to the student council multiple times to negotiate about getting a birthday gift for his sister, but each time, he was rejected. After all, it was a rule that the school explicitly prohibited.
But where there's a rule, there's always a workaround.
Horikita Manabu wasn't a rigid person, but rules were rules. Some things just couldn't be done openly—just like how students could secretly buy and sell points for midterm exams.
"I can help with this," Hikigaya said.
"But you should understand that things done under the table always have a reason. If you want to handle this privately, there's a price to pay."
Katsuragi was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded, as if he had already prepared himself. "Go ahead."
"In this school, private points can buy anything. Based on my estimation, this will cost you at least 200,000 private points. That shouldn't be a problem for you, right?" Hikigaya said.
The reason Horikita Manabu had sent Katsuragi to him was to subtly convey this very message. Only someone in the student council, like Hikigaya, would know the 'unspoken rules' behind all this.
So, as soon as Hikigaya realized that Horikita Manabu had directed Katsuragi to him, he immediately understood—this was about using personal point to pay a certain amount of private points to the school as a 'penalty' for breaking the rules.
Of course, this couldn't be done openly. It had to be handled privately and required some form of assurance.
Even if an average student knew about this method, the school wouldn't necessarily approve it. That was where Hikigaya's position in the student council became crucial.
How did Hikigaya know all this so well? Well, because he had done it before!
"No problem."
For Katsuragi, 200,000 private points were nothing. Besides, in the recent special exam, every student had received at least 500,000 private points.
"Send me your sister's address when the time comes. I'll take care of it."
Hearing this, Katsuragi's usually stone-cold face unexpectedly broke into a smile.
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