After leaving the Judo Club, Alistair continued to wander around the same floor.
The only large club on this floor was the Judo Club. The others were at most medium-sized, with only two of those, and the rest were small clubs occupying the leftover spaces.
Notably, one of the medium-sized clubs here was the Film Studies Club that Alistair had previously signed up for. Although it was a medium-sized club, since there were no related competitions, the administration mostly ignored it. This also meant it was one of the clubs Alistair could theoretically exploit for funds.
However, Alistair didn't need to exploit it now. With the Golden Rule ability, any means through which Alistair could acquire wealth, including his own assets and gambling wins, was guaranteed to yield profit, which would then convert into his fortune. Therefore, Alistair had absolutely no need to worry about money.
Exploiting club funds was intended for students from ordinary families to earn some cash. Those from affluent families didn't need it. Besides, the amount that could be extracted wasn't that significant. While a single haul might be substantial—enough to equal the wages of a typical student working two jobs for the same duration, even on the high end—it wasn't worth the effort now.
Alistair might have tried to grab some funds before; after all, even a small mosquito has meat, and at the start of the school year, he was so poor he had to "borrow money" from a senior. Now, he was indifferent. If Alistair wished it, the Golden Rule could quickly help him acquire enough wealth "to live the life of a rich magnate" through reasonably legitimate means.
Creak~
Alistair gently opened the door. Inside, the club president was lecturing members on the professional aspects of film appreciation.
"...If we want to appreciate this type of film from a more professional perspective, we must..."
Kazunari Kimura, who was speaking passionately at the front, heard the sound and glanced at the doorway. He recognized Alistair as likely one of the club members. Although he was displeased with Alistair's lateness, he was in the middle of lecturing and couldn't reprimand Alistair. He merely paused and continued his explanation. The members simply assumed the president was taking a breath and didn't notice Alistair quietly slipping in.
"Alistair-kun, why are you here?"
As Alistair quietly moved towards the back, a small voice sounded beside him—a voice Alistair was extremely familiar with.
"Kasumi? I remember you weren't very interested in this, were you? Why are you here?" Alistair turned to see Kasumi Haruno, who had somehow moved to the back.
"I was pulled over by a new friend I made. What about you, Alistair?"
After Kasumi Haruno spoke, Alistair noticed that her hand, placed on her lap, was holding another hand. Alistair followed the pale arm and realized he knew the other person. He had also listed her as a target for "acquirement," but things kept coming up, and since she wasn't a high priority, Alistair had neglected her.
"Kanade Amanokawa?" Alistair instinctively spoke the girl's name.
"Eh? You know each other, Alistair-kun?" Kasumi Haruno was slightly surprised. After spending time with Alistair, she knew he wasn't someone who actively sought to meet people. Or rather, he mainly only actively sought out pretty girls—essentially a pervert, but one with a bottom line who wouldn't be cruel to women.
From her perspective, Alistair generally only met people through shared activities. Therefore, she was quite surprised that he knew Kanade Amanokawa, with whom he didn't seem to have any shared involvement.
"Alistair-kun was the third member of the hobby group that Yuuji Nishida and I formed at the start. I initially thought the rumor about you and the other girl, Minako Morita, having a mutual boyfriend named Alistair Vance was false. I didn't expect it to be true." Kanade Amanokawa felt Alistair's gaze, subtly drew back a bit, and then shifted behind Kasumi Haruno, quietly explaining to Kasumi Haruno how she knew Alistair.
"Well... it's complicated, but Alistair-kun is a good person, really. You don't have to be so scared." Kasumi Haruno knew such a matter wasn't suitable to discuss openly. However, she had admitted it somehow back then. Although it was true, it wasn't supposed to be spoken of so explicitly, as the primary system here was monogamy.
While girlfriends aren't necessarily wives, everyone implicitly assumes that official, public girlfriends are heading towards marriage. Therefore, although the number of girlfriends wasn't explicitly limited, everyone tacitly adhered to the unwritten rule of only having one on the surface. Alistair was the exception.
Logically, in normal circumstances, Alistair would have been ostracized, and Minako Morita and Kasumi Haruno would have been ostracized too. However, those looking for Alistair's other dark history weren't satisfied with the relationship rumors, so they dug up more of Alistair's past deeds.
All the various things Alistair had done before—such as giving those hoodlums "ideological education"—had been uncovered and spread by them.
And rumors, naturally, become more outrageous as they spread. At first, they were somewhat accurate, but later, it became that Alistair was the heir to a Yakuza boss, owned various industries, and was a super-young master second only to one person in this region.
Although the extreme parts were unbelievable, people tend to compromise, as the saying goes. While the "super-young master" identity wasn't fully believed, everyone treated him as a "higher class" individual with a deep family background and Yakuza connections. Furthermore, because of the Golden Rule, Alistair was very generous, giving the two girls substantial spending money, which further solidified the authenticity of Alistair's "big young master" status.
Therefore, most students treated Alistair quite formally and friendly. This became even more apparent after the weekend break.
Why? Because Katsu Yuka, the guy who conflicted with Alistair last time, didn't come to school today. Although he was annoying, he typically maintained his attendance every day. It was very surprising that he was completely absent today. Also absent was Ryoji Matsuoka, one of Katsu Yuka's friends.
Ryoji Matsuoka was quite popular—handsome and with a good personality—a high-status socialite. His absence was what drew the attention of some students, who then connected the dots regarding the relationship between the three. In just half a day, rumors that Alistair had either drowned the two chickens or encased them in concrete spread throughout the freshman class.
Kanade Amanokawa naturally learned about this, which was why she showed fear. Kasumi Haruno thought she was afraid of Alistair's methods of dealing with girls, unaware that Kanade Amanokawa was afraid of Alistair's "means." Of course, Kanade Amanokawa didn't say it out loud. Although she was a bit "direct," she still had a strong survival instinct.
"Is Matsuoka still harassing you?" Alistair asked casually. He had nothing else to talk about with Kanade Amanokawa, so he just brought up a topic he knew about. Since she was right there, it would be rude not to say a few words. As for her displaying fear, Alistair didn't care. Any girl would keep her distance from a guy who openly had two girlfriends.
"Uh, well, he hasn't been coming for a long time..." Kanade Amanokawa was startled, then thought of something, her small face flushing red as she answered quietly.
"What?" Alistair looked at Kanade Amanokawa, confused, and then turned his gaze to Kasumi Haruno. He hadn't heard what Kanade Amanokawa said at all; he could only hear her voice. Considering he had undergone several enhancements, and yet could only hear the sound, it showed how vaguely Kanade Amanokawa was speaking.
"..."
Kasumi Haruno didn't speak either, turning her head to look at Kanade Amanokawa, indicating that she hadn't heard clearly either.
"I said, thank you for your concern. Matsuoka-kun hasn't been harassing me anymore." Kanade Amanokawa's mind seemed to wander suddenly, and for some reason, she looked embarrassed. Although her voice was slightly louder, it was still a bit muffled.
"Kanade-chan, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Kasumi Haruno looked at Kanade Amanokawa's sudden strange behavior, asking with a touch of worry.
"No, no, no, I'm fine. I just thought of some things. I'm okay." Kanade Amanokawa quickly shook her head to deny it. The faint blush that appeared on her cheeks looked very familiar to Kasumi Haruno.
She was indeed familiar with it. Wasn't that the exact expression she used to get when she first started with Alistair and felt too embarrassed during certain activities? Kasumi Haruno's brain stalled. Kanade Amanokawa had just shown fear of Alistair, but after just one sentence, why had she become like this?
Kasumi Haruno turned her head and looked at Alistair, noticing his eyes were full of confusion as well, which made her mind even more chaotic. Kanade Amanokawa's situation was strange. Could the "fear" have actually been "shyness," and she and Alistair misunderstood? But Kanade Amanokawa had clearly expressed reluctance when chatting about Alistair with her before. Why did her attitude change so quickly after meeting him in person?
Alistair was too lazy to investigate further. He wasn't that bothered anymore about whether he could acquire Kanade Amanokawa. He already had many girls on hand, and several others in his plans still needed to be claimed.
Speaking of which, he hadn't yet secured Akane Nanao from the Baseball Club. Although he had already "dealt" with her, such an outstanding girl definitely needed to be firmly in his grasp before he could relax. He could go check on her later. It would also give him a chance to check out the girls in other sports clubs. Those girls in the Track and Field Club from last time were also very striking.