Mission: Reincarnation into COTE

Vol. 1: Chapter 3.1 - Nuance to Freedom

As I finished introducing myself, the school bell rang, signifying the end of class. One by one, students began to leave, with the girls leaving in groups while most boys were walking out solo, majority of them seeming to head towards the dorm to get immediate rest.

There were few exceptions to this of course. Namely, my next door neighbor. Without making a single sound, she began to pack her bag to exit the class. Horikita was fuming an unapproachable aura that she wasn't trying to repress. She clearly did not want anyone to approach her, that seemed certain for sure.

I sighed deeply. Just because I expected this kind of situation to happen didn't mean that I was fine with it happening in the first place. When I first approached the future pillars of Class D, I left Horikita out for one reason in particular. It was the lack of influence I had over her, at least currently. Earlier into the series, there was only one person that Horikita Suzune had ever spoken highly of: Horikita Manabu. Even Ayanokoji wasn't recognized properly by Horikita until Volume 3, when he had successfully pulled off a retirement heist using Horikita as his pawn. These attitudes from her showed me that Horikita would only listen to my opinions if they were from someone whom she had respect for. That was the reason why I did not strike a conversation with her. Currently, she wouldn't respond productively to my actions.

But right now, there was something that I needed her to do. I grabbed her right shoulder as she was trying to leave her seat. She turned around, glaring at me intensely.

"And? What was that for?"

Pretending that I was sorry for doing that, I put my hand behind my head and let out a small chuckle.

"Eh he. I'm sorry if I am bothering you Horikita-san, but I really wanted to ask you a favor. I'm going to eat with some of our classmates, but I feel without me there, Sudou-kun might cause a little bit of trouble if he is ever confronted with a bad situation. So could you please check on him and make sure he doesn't cause trouble?"

Horikita frowned, looking clearly annoyed. "And why exactly would I accept your favor in the first place?"

Almost as if I was waiting for her to say that, I fired back. "Well, you see, I'll buy you!"

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An awkaward silence prolonged between us before I realized the gravity of what I had just said.

"No, no, no, I meant, I'll buy your time," I hurriedly added, blushing from the embarrassment.

Examining me with sceptical eyes, she asked. "What exactly would you pay me with?"

"Private points, of course."

Momentarily, Horikita looked stunned at this idea.

"Remember what Chabashira-sensei had told us? 'You could buy anything within the school, depending on the amount of private points you have and are willing to pay.' This doesn't just apply to items you could buy in stores. It means everything: including favors for another student. I'm just doing that. 3,000 points. Around triple the amount of minimum wage. That's the amount I'm willing to pay for you to look over Sudou."

For a few seconds, Horikita did not move an inch. She did look like she was recontemplating on sensei had told us in her speech. Her head bowed down looking towards the ground; under her breath, I could hear her muttering things quietly.

"Hellooooo, is anyone there?" I snapped my fingers in front of her in hopes of bringing Horikita back down to earth. Just outside of class, I could see Hirata and the group already assembled, all of them staring at the conversation that Horikita and I were having. I needed to end this quickly to avoid any more unwanted attention.