Volume 1 Chapter 7: Ice Queen
Hachiman looked up.
In his line of sight was a girl with long black hair, exquisite facial features, and skin as fair and tender as a baby’s. The only chilling aspect was her pair of purple-red beautiful eyes.
“I touched this bottle of shampoo first. You were about 0.5 seconds slower than me, so this bottle of shampoo should belong to me.”
The girl’s expression was cold, her tone was flat, as if she were not arguing but stating objective facts.
“Oh, sorry.”
Hachiman apologized unintentionally and quickly released the shampoo, turning to grab another bottle.
What’s with this? It’s terrifying.
It felt like he was about to be frozen in an instant.
And there are so many other options around, was it really necessary?
However, the girl didn’t seem to mind that he had touched the items she was interested in. If it were his junior high self, he would probably be moved to tears by now.
Maybe she’s actually a decent person.
Hachiman didn’t think much about it and continued to pick up a few towels and toothbrushes before turning to leave.
“Wait!”
The girl suddenly spoke.
“Um, is there something you need?”
Hachiman turned back, looking confused. He hadn’t picked anything strange just now, or so he thought, glancing at his shopping basket with a lack of confidence.
“I noticed you only chose the free daily necessities and supplies.”
The girl walked up to him, stopped a step away, and looked at him as if she were examining something.
“Why?”
“Uh… if you ask why, it’s because I want to save some points?”
Hachiman swallowed nervously.
What’s with this person? Her tone was as cold as an iceberg, similar to those women who used to despise him. It was too scary.
“Save points?”
The girl seemed puzzled. “Considering the school gives each person ten thousand points as a new student, it should be more than enough. There’s no need to save points, right?”
“But you also chose the free ones.”
Hachiman felt speechless. How could she say that about him?
“I am me, and you are you. We can’t be compared.”
The girl appraised the man in front of her and said plainly, “You seem to be the type who is content with the status quo, lacks ambition, and spends money recklessly. Why would you want to save points now?”
“…”
Hachiman twitched at the corner of his mouth.
This person was really over the top. He retracted his previous thought that she might be a good person.
To openly make such a blunt evaluation of someone she just met, her character was extremely unpleasant.
However, what she said was indeed the truth.
Although he wasn’t picky about material life, he would have been a spendthrift moonlighter if it wasn’t for the goal of saving 20 million personal points.
Everyone in this school is so outstanding; she actually saw through his true nature at a glance.
As for why he wanted to save points.
It’s not like he couldn’t tell her, but strictly speaking, the classes in this school are in competition with each other.
Speaking of which, who is this person anyway?
He couldn’t even recognize all the people in his class, let alone the person in front of him.
“By the way, who are you?” Hachiman gathered his courage, his tone unfriendly. He hoped the other person would back off, as he had no obligation to answer her.
“I’m in Year 1, Class D, Horikita Suzune!”
“Ah, well, I’m in Year 1, Class B, Hikigaya Hachiman.”
“I didn’t ask for your name. What about the answer to my previous question?”
Suzune said with a calm expression.
This person is really over the top. Since she didn’t answer his question earlier, he felt no obligation to answer hers.
“Sorry, since you’re from Class D, I can’t tell you.”
Hachiman felt a bit speechless. After saying this, he turned and walked away.
Speaking of which, she stood about a meter away, maintaining social distance, which actually reassured him a bit. He should be thankful for that.
Or maybe, she just doesn’t want to get close to him?
Then there’s no need to thank her.
“Wait.”
Suzune stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.
“Huh.”
Hachiman turned around, his face turned slightly red, and he made a strange sound in his mouth.
This innocent action could easily be misunderstood by boys and end up causing trouble.
If he understood, he would have to ensure no physical contact in the future. After class, he shouldn’t sit on boys’ desks, and if he forgets something, he shouldn’t ask boys for help.
Understand?
“Is there something else?”
Hachiman said helplessly.
By the way, this person has quite a strong grip, stronger than him, it seems.
Is she really a girl?
Or is it that everyone in this school is really outstanding?
Whether it’s Ichinose, Kanzaki, Shibata, or Horikita Suzune in front of him, they are all outstanding, making him feel a bit inferior.
Even if he gives his best, dropping out is just a matter of time.
Competing with these people is simply impossible.
“Because I’m in Class D, you won’t tell me?”
Suzune’s snowy-white hand tightened around his wrist again, as if she had grasped a key point, and she said solemnly, “What does that mean? Please explain properly.”
“Interpret it however you like. It’s your freedom.”
Hachiman mimicked the tone of Suzune, but he didn’t indulge her. “Could you let go, please?”
“I see. Very well, I understand.”
What is it?
Is she going to hit me?
Hachiman silently swallowed his saliva. This was too terrifying.
“What do I need to do for you to tell me?”
Hachiman looked at the girl in front of him with some helplessness. It seemed that she really wanted to know.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t such an outstanding piece of information. In a while, the whole school would probably know about it.
But class against class is a competitive relationship.
Collaboration seemed a bit inappropriate.
“You better ask your class advisor.”
Hachiman raised his hand to signal her to leave. This was already the limit of what he could do.
Come to think of it, why did she have to ask him?
Couldn’t she ask someone from a higher grade directly? Even if there were some restrictions on asking seniors, asking a teacher should be fine.
Finding a teacher to ask questions should be basic common sense, right?
She didn’t understand, and most people probably couldn’t figure out what exactly to ask.
Suzune pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.
If she had known what to ask, she would have asked long ago.
“I understand. How about 20,000 points? I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
Hearing this, Hachiman stopped in his tracks.
Well, he had some speculation about class points.
Judging from Class D’s performance at the entrance ceremony, they were no match for Class B at all.
And the information wasn’t that important.
Trading information for personal points didn’t seem to be a problem.
Come to think of it, he just realized that information could be sold for money. But asking him to negotiate with others felt a bit impossible.
But thinking about it, it felt awkward.
20,000 seemed a bit too little.
Since someone was buying, selling a bit more should be okay.
“25,000!”
Hachiman immediately turned around and said, “25,000, and I’ll tell you!”
“Deal!”
“Wait, wait, I misspoke earlier. 30,000, 30,000.”
“Deal!”
“Wait a minute…”
“30,000 is my limit. For a piece of information at the beginning of the school year, there’s no way it could have a greater value than this.”
“That’s how it is…”
Hachiman felt a bit embarrassed.
What she said actually made sense. If his information wasn’t recognized by the class, it indeed wouldn’t have much value.
But people’s inertia and habits couldn’t change in a day.
From the performance of Class D just now, it seemed like Suzune knew it would be a waste of effort.
“Is this the place?”
Hachiman looked around. There were still many people in the convenience store. Who would let these guys profit for nothing?
“Where do you think it’s appropriate to talk about information that comes from you?”
Suzune clasped her hands in front of her chest, without much interest.
“Let’s find a place with no one.”
Hachiman didn’t mind. “I have something to do; please wait for me a bit.”
“No problem.”
Suzune had no objections but felt a bit skeptical.
This guy who was full of nonsense and liked to take advantage of others seemed easy to deal with.
However…
Whether the information was worth 30,000 or not depended entirely on her judgment.
The guy in front of her seemed quite easy to take advantage of.