Chapter 43: Now I Owe You Nothing! Katsuragi Keima!
An awkward silence swirled around the three of them.
Horikita Suzune felt as though her teeth were actually chattering. In that single moment, she wanted to vanish from this world.
"I—this... this isn't mine!"
Horikita's cheeks were completely flushed, looking as if they were about to explode.
'Why does a game like this have a name like that?! Why is that guy Katsuragi Keima obsessed with this kind of stuff!'
Horikita felt her body temperature begin to rise. She didn't even have time to wonder why Sakura Airi and Shiina Hiyori were appearing here.
"I know, I know~"
The shop assistant, however, wore a "you-don't-have-to-explain" expression and nodded.
"But you're in luck! This is the very last copy of 'Youthful Love: Ruthlessly Discipline My Tsundere Little Sister (Collector's Edition)' in stock! Since this game is relatively niche, we don't carry much inventory."
Horikita originally wanted to flatly deny that she intended to buy the game. However, Katsuragi Keima's face involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
'Despite acting so impressive every day, you couldn't even manage to buy a single game in the end? And someone like you wants to rise to Class A!'
Horikita could sense that if she failed to buy the game, she would definitely be mocked mercilessly by that guy. His mental wiring was completely different from a normal person's!
"Customer? Are you buying it or not?" The assistant was still waiting for her answer.
"Excuse me, is this game very special?" While Horikita was agonizing, Shiina Hiyori asked curiously from the side.
The assistant patiently gave Hiyori a brief introduction to the game. This only caused Horikita's internal confusion to grow.
'What is this person doing here? Is she like Katsuragi Keima, a gamer?'
That thought lasted less than a second before being dismissed. In this world, there couldn't possibly be a second person like Katsuragi Keima. Even if Horikita didn't want to admit it, in the one week since school started, he had left an incredibly deep impression on her.
'Strange, why is she so interested in this game? Why is Sakura-san here? It must be that guy Katsuragi's doing!'
Horikita made this judgment instantly, but she could also feel that Shiina Hiyori seemed genuinely interested in that game. Once again, the sound of Keima's mockery echoed in her head.
'Are you really going to yield a game to your rival? And you want to be promoted to Class A?'
Horikita gritted her teeth and looked up at the assistant.
"I'll buy it. Wrap it up for me."
"Coming right up!"
The assistant quickly packaged the game cartridge. Horikita pulled out her terminal and paid at lightning speed—then fled the gaming section at a sprinting pace.
Sakura Airi watched Horikita's retreating back cautiously and bit her lip. Shiina Hiyori's gaze, meanwhile, shifted to the row of handheld consoles.
.
.
.
After escaping the supermarket, Horikita Suzune let out a long sigh of relief. She had never been to a place like that, let alone bought a game. Horikita hardly played games herself; in her mind, games were merely distractions that hindered one's studies.
She felt she had to become as excellent as her brother before she could acknowledge her own value. This was the reason she craved promotion to Class A. Horikita Manabu was the leader of the third-year Class A. To catch up to her brother's footsteps, she had always imitated him and gradually distanced herself from those around her. This was her personality flaw—the reason she was assigned to Class D.
Horikita didn't return to the dorms immediately; she waited nearby to avoid being noticed by too many people. It was evening, and students returning from club activities or dinner were trickling back into the dormitory building. Once the sky grew darker and there were almost no students outside, Horikita took out her terminal and sent a message to Keima.
A few minutes later, a light appeared on the dim path in the distance—the glow from the screen of Keima's game console. Keima walked up to Horikita while still playing.
"Here. Now we're even."
Horikita handed the wrapped game cartridge directly to him.
"Did it have to be at this time and place? It would have been more convenient to come to my room or catch me before class," Keima said, putting down his handheld and taking the cartridge.
"I don't want anyone to know I bought such a thing!" Horikita snapped.
If anyone saw her holding a game cartridge—especially one with such an outrageous title—her heart probably wouldn't be able to take it.
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me. It was my own stupidity for agreeing to such a ridiculous condition. By the way, what did you say to Shiina and Sakura?"
"Shiina and Sakura? I just tutored Sakura this evening. I ran into Shiina afterward and introduced her to some gaming concepts. Why? Why the sudden question?"
"Introducing games to students from other classes?" Horikita's brow furrowed.
"Yeah. Shiina-san loves reading, so I suggested she try a different medium—games. The immersion they provide is something books, videos, and music can't achieve alone. Or rather, the game itself is a collection of all those information carriers."
"Someone likes reading, so you introduce them to that stuff?" Horikita couldn't help but recall the game's absurd title.
"Well, Shiina-san wants to experience stories she's never encountered before. She's basically read everything you usually read—Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. She's probably read them many times over."
"What?" Horikita was stunned. She was actually a voracious reader herself, though she usually only read during her free time after school.
'How does Katsuragi Keima know?'
"How do you know that?"
"I saw the records on the library's checkout sheet. And earlier, when you were packing your bag, I accidentally saw a corner of a book you brought. It looked like the newly revised edition of Crime and Punishment."
Horikita looked at Keima in a daze.
'This guy... even knows the specific editions of the books?'
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