Chapter 20: The Money-Grubber

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Translator: Soafp

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After getting a rough explanation from Takagi, I spent the entire morning during class thinking about how I should approach that “chuunibyou” senpai.

In Nodoka's case, she was the one who approached me because of Yuzuki. But this time was different.

(This time, it definitely wasn't something that happened while she was with me.)

At the very least, if last night's “nightmare” was accurate, all I did was witness a girl jump during class.

It wasn't like Nodoka's case, where an accident happened right in front of me while we were walking together.

So I probably didn't need to worry about that part.

(For now, I guess I'll just have to force some kind of contact.)

She wasn't even a classmate—she was a year above me.

According to Takagi, she didn't belong to any club, the student council, or any committee.

In other words, we had practically zero connection.

When lunch break came, I stood up from my seat.

Just like yesterday, Nodoka pulled her desk next to mine and took out two lunchboxes.

“Ah, sorry. I'll eat later today. I've got something to take care of. Could you keep my lunch in my desk?”

“Huh? I mean, sure… but what is it?”

“I told you this morning, right? I'm looking for a girl. I figured out who she is, so I'm going to meet her.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“You're planning to hit on her after all, aren't you?”

“I told you, I'm not.”

“You cheater.”

She pouted like a child, her lips slightly sticking out.

She was probably looking forward to spending lunch with me.

“Well, to make it up to you… how about we go out somewhere this weekend instead?”

“Huh? R-Really?”

Nodoka's eyes instantly lit up.

Going out with a friend on the weekend was probably something on her list of things she wanted to do.

And it would also be a way to thank her for helping me so much.

“If there's somewhere you want to go, tell me. If not, I'll just pick something. But no complaining—you'll come along wherever I take you.”

“Fine, I'll pick! If you say it like that, there's no way I can trust you with it!!”

I chuckled lightly and left the classroom, heading toward Class 2-4.

As I walked down the hallway, more and more second-year students came into view.

When I reached the classroom, I called out to a girl standing near the door.

“Um, excuse me. Is Sugawara-senpai here?”

“Hm?”

She glanced at my tie, then turned toward the back window seat and shouted:

“Sugawara-san! A junior boy is calling for you!”

As if triggered by her voice, the girls around her began whispering.

“Again? How many confessions has she gotten just this month?”

“Well, her face is good, at least. What was it again? ‘Untouchable beauty'? Give me a break.”

“Even though she's actually money-obsessed. Everything she does is about money, money, money.”

None of it sounded flattering.

Was Sugawara-senpai being ostracized by the other girls?

I leaned forward and looked toward the back window seat.

Hair as black as night flowed down her back, contrasting with her pale, translucent skin.

Even just sitting there, she had a refined presence that seemed to dominate the space.

Her long lashes framed eyes that quietly gazed out the window.

(She really does look like a model.)

But there was something about her—

At best, she seemed solitary. At worst, she looked like she had built thick walls around herself.

She gave off an aura that made others hesitant to approach.

“Sugawara-san!! Can't you hear me!?”

The girl who had called her out raised her voice in irritation.

And it made sense—despite being loud enough, Sugawara-senpai didn't react at all.

Finally, the girl clenched her fist and started marching toward her.

“Sorry. I'll talk to her directly.”

It wouldn't be good if she got into a fight with her classmates because of me.

Ignoring the stares from everyone in the room, I stepped inside.

Then I stood in front of Sugawara-senpai.

“Um, my name is Fukagawa Ren. Sorry for the sudden interruption.”

“……”

She kept looking out the window, not responding at all.

Unless she had a hearing problem, even a foreigner who didn't understand Japanese would show some reaction.

This was complete and utter ignoring.

(A bandage on her left arm, huh…)

I was starting to understand why she was called the “chuunibyou senpai.”

Her cold attitude, the unexplained bandage, the out-of-place black tights with a summer uniform.

And as if by fate, she sat in the back window seat—the so-called “main character's seat.”

Boys might be drawn to her looks, but among the girls, she was probably seen as pretentious.

I glanced at her desk and asked:

“Aren't you going to eat lunch? Or… did you forget your bento?”

“……”

Still no response.

At this point, I almost started to doubt whether the person in front of me was even alive.

A normal person would just get irritated.

But I knew something.

This attitude wasn't just chuunibyou.

(She has a reason… something serious enough to make her want to die.)

This probably wasn't the cause of the problem.

It was the result.

What I needed to do now was either break through the fortress surrounding her—or find a way inside it.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stop the tragedy of her taking her own life.

(Maybe I should just ask her directly.)

From her perspective, I was no different from the guys who confessed to her for her looks, or the girls who talked behind her back.

She was definitely not an ordinary person.

So if I made her realize that I, too, was “unusual,” she wouldn't be able to just ignore me.

“Senpai… have you been going through something painful lately? Something that makes you want to die?”

For the first time, her shoulders twitched.

Then, finally, she shifted her gaze from the window to me.

“…What the hell is your problem?”

“I'm Ren Fukagawa, a first-year.”

“I didn't ask for your name. I'm asking why you're disturbing my precious lunch break. I'm already exhausted as it is.”

Her eyes sharpened.

Normally, I would've backed off with a quick apology—but not this time.

I had to push through.

“Well, it's because I wanted to talk to you during lunch.”

“I have nothing to talk about with you.”

“Really? That's a shame. By the way, is it true that you like money?”

I gave her a slight grin.

If people were calling her money-obsessed, there had to be some reason for it.

She frowned for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

“Yes. The thing I love most in this world is money. That's why I don't want to waste my lunch break on someone like you who brings me no benefit.”

“What if there is a benefit?”

“…What?”

I took out my wallet and casually placed a 10,000-yen bill on her desk.

“Just 15 minutes. Talk with me during that time, and this is yours. Sounds like a good deal, right?”

She looked at me and the bill, clearly stunned.

Honestly, people who moved for money were the easiest to deal with.

Compared to a normal high schooler—or even most adults—I had far more money at my disposal.

“What are you, exactly? Rich parents?”

“No. My parents are just ordinary people.”

“And yet you're willing to spend this much just to talk to me for 15 minutes?”

“Yes.”

“…What kind of sense of money do you even have?”

So she could talk normally after all.

And she sounded oddly lecturing, too.

At least now she recognized I was a strange guy.

“Of course, there are conditions. No ignoring, no lying—answer seriously. If there's something you don't want to talk about, just say so honestly.”

“What do you even get out of this? Talking to me isn't going to be fun.”

The truth was, I had seen a future where she killed herself, and I wanted to stop it.

But there was no way she'd believe that.

And saying I had no reason would only make me more suspicious.

So I needed a plausible excuse.

“Well… what do you think it means when a guy goes out of his way to spend money on a girl?”

“…I have zero intention of getting a boyfriend.”

“Is that so? Well, that's fine. They say you start as friends, right?”

I tapped the bill lightly on the desk.

“Think of it as an investment. So, senpai—what'll it be? Or is the amount not enough?”

“……”

She stared at the bill.

Was she hesitating?

Well, if someone came up to me and said they'd pay me just to talk, I'd be suspicious too.

She picked up the bill.

“Fine. But don't complain and ask for a refund if it turns out boring.”

“Of course not. I'm not particularly attached to money.”

With my foresight ability, even if I lost money, I could always earn it back.

But a life couldn't be replaced.

If this could prevent her suicide, it was a small price to pay.

“And I don't need friends either. Youth is a lie—and evil.”

“……”

Whether she was truly chuunibyou or not, one thing was certain—

she had a very unusual way of thinking.

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