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Then, Kushida walked up to Akira with a radiant smile. "Shimizu-kun, would you like to come study with us tonight? My Japanese Language grades are excellent, so I can give you great tutoring."
Before she finished speaking, Horikita's gaze immediately shot like an arrow toward the suddenly appearing Kushida.
'Kushida... what is she up to?'
A strange unpleasantness welled up in her heart.
After all, for the past two weeks, she'd been responsible for tutoring Akira.
However, before she could speak, Akira beside her calmly declined. "Sorry, I already have plans with Horikita today, so I can't go."
He'd already made plans with Horikita this morning—which was why he could only apologize to Kushida.
Kushida seemed completely unprepared for the rejection. A flicker of surprise crossed her perpetually smiling eyes, but it vanished instantly, and she maintained her perfect smile. "Is that so... that's truly a shame."
"Kushida-san? Why are you so fixated on Shimizu? Aren't his grades pretty average too?"
After the two had left the classroom, Yamauchi leaned over, his tone clearly sour.
"Yamauchi-kun..." Kushida turned around and said very politely. "Shimizu-kun is not like you! He only failed Japanese Language—all his other subjects are above ninety. Especially math, he's the only one in the class with a perfect score! Inviting him over can also help tutor other students. In other words, it's a win-win situation."
"Oh, I see!"
Yamauchi scratched his head awkwardly.
But he still felt something was off.
'Damn it! Could even Kushida...'
Yamauchi's mind instantly flashed back to the cold gaze Akira had given him while grabbing his collar on the first day of school. The oppressive feeling emanating from him at that time still sent shivers down his spine whenever he recalled it.
'But... but this is too unfair!'
Horikita was one thing, but now even the class's recognized angel, Kushida, was interested in that violent guy...
The consequences of offending Yamauchi were severe!
He unconsciously looked at Akira's empty seat and glared fiercely.
Well, Yamauchi knew he was powerless.
Offending him was like offending no one.
"Oh, right! Kushida-san? Didn't Shimizu-kun win the vote last month? I heard he got you four votes. Did you two go on a date afterward?" Ike, who was nearby, suddenly remembered this and excitedly interjected.
"Hey! Ike! You idiot! Why are you bringing that up now!" Yamauchi's face changed drastically. He grabbed Ike's arm and dragged him to a corner, hissing in a low voice.
What on earth was this guy thinking!
He clearly liked Kushida just as much as himself, didn't he?
"Yamauchi, you're the idiot! Haven't you understood by now? With our conditions, there's no way we can pursue Kushida-san through normal means!" Ike, instead, leaned in closer and urgently retorted in a whisper.
"Wh-what?! I really can't pursue Kushida-san?!" Yamauchi froze as if struck by lightning.
This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, making his eardrums hum.
"That's right! You're so ugly and you like to brag, how could anyone like you! Our only chance is to win the competitions when Kushida-san proposes those bets! Look, isn't this another good opportunity? As long as we keep desperately helping her get votes, the right to a date will be ours!" Ike's eyes lit up, becoming more and more excited as he spoke.
"But!" He suddenly lowered his voice, his expression turning serious. "Before that, we have to make sure Kushida-san will actually keep her promise. So letting that Shimizu guy go first... these are necessary sacrifices! I'm hurting just as much as you are!"
"This..." Yamauchi was stunned again. Ike's words were like a blunt blow, forcing him to admit there was indeed some truth to them.
Thinking about it, since the first day of school, he'd been overly attentive to Kushida, greeting her morning, noon, and night for a whole month without fail—Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, not missing a single one. But what was the result? Let alone special treatment, she hadn't even allowed him to use a more intimate address, still politely calling him "Kushida-san."
Could it be... just as Ike said, their only chance was to win a date through such a bet?
At this thought, Yamauchi felt a surge of indignation.
Saying he was ugly? Saying he only boasted? What a joke!
At home, relatives and friends all called him "Young Master Yamauchi," and everyone praised him for being handsome and promising!
"So, we absolutely must ensure that Shimizu guy can successfully go on a date with Kushida!" Ike clapped Yamauchi's shoulder hard, lowering his voice. "After all, next time it might be our turn."
"Wh-what?! I still have to help him?!" Yamauchi's eyes widened, his voice changing pitch.
Wait a minute! What on earth was Ike talking about? This suggestion sounded wrong no matter how he heard it, right? But... why did it inexplicably feel so logical?
Yamauchi suddenly felt that this normally goofy-looking classmate was now radiating astonishing wisdom!
"Kushida-san... please, you must fulfill your previous promise and go on a date with Shimizu-kun!"
Before Kushida could react, Yamauchi and Ike bowed solemnly to her under the gaze of all their classmates.
'What are these two idiots doing?! Are all the people in Class D crazy?!'
Kushida's perfect smile almost cracked. She completely failed to understand these two people's thought processes.
They usually clung to her like lapdogs, and now they were helping someone else? Were they out of their minds! Or had they eaten something bad?
'They couldn't be naive enough to think that if I can go on a date with Shimizu-kun, it means they also have a chance, could they?'
'Dream on! Just being in the same space as two amoebas like you makes me sick!'
But under everyone's watchful eyes, she knew she was in a difficult situation.
'I already paid Shimizu-kun eighty thousand private points!'
'...And he even touched me openly several times...'
'Now I still have to go on a date with him?! How many times has he gotten a free ride from me?!'
'Isn't this losing points and soldiers—spending money, getting taken advantage of, and then having to give myself away in the end?!'
Kushida's fingertips dug deep into her palm, but a smile bloomed on her face, more radiant than spring cherry blossoms. "Hmm... I understand, Yamauchi-kun, Ike-kun! Since it's a promised matter, I will definitely go on a good date with Shimizu-kun~"
'After this is over... I will definitely make these two meddling fools pay the price!'
'I'm so angry! These two big idiots!'