Chapter 8: The Sugar Mommy, The Smug Loli, and the Beer Heist
(Sunny POV)
My phone buzzed in my pocket with the intensity of a hornet trapped in a tin can. I shifted my three bags of groceries to one arm—which, by the way, is a feat of strength that should earn me at least a silver medal in the "Domestic Olympics"—and swiped accept.
"Speak, oh Empress of the RGB," I said, leaning against a pillar in the Keyaki Mall.
"Sunny," Suzune's voice came through, sounding suspiciously calm. "I've finished my business with the faculty and I'm currently inspecting my room in the dormitory. It's... adequate. Minimalist. It lacks the stench of your chaotic existence, which is a plus."
"Ouch. My heart. It's practically hemorrhaging from that verbal shiv," I chirped. "Did you call just to tell me my presence is a biohazard, or do you miss the sound of my voice?"
"I'm sending you something," she said.
Ping.
I pulled the phone away from my ear for a second to look at the notification. My jaw didn't just drop; it hit the floor, bounced, and rolled into the nearest fountain.
[Transaction Received: +500,000 Personal Points from S. Horikita]
"Suzu..." I whispered, my eyes wide. "Five hundred thousand? I—I think I'm having a heart attack. Or a religious experience. Are you... are you proposing to me? Because if this is a dowry, I accept. I'll wear the white dress. I'll even let you carry me over the threshold."
"Don't be disgusting," she snapped, though I could hear the faint, smug tilt in her tone. "I just dismantled the E-sports Club's entire ego and walked away with over three million points. Five hundred thousand is just... seed money. For my 'investments'."
"Oh my God," I gasped, clutching my chest. "I've done it. I've reached the endgame. I have a Sugar Mommy. Do I need to quit my job? I don't have a job, but I'll quit something. I'll quit breathing if you want. Just keep the points coming, Big Spender."
"Shut up, Sunny," she sighed, but she didn't hang up. "Consider it a payment for the groceries and a down payment on your dignity. I need you to buy a high-end gaming laptop. Top tier. I want the specs to be so high the cooling fans sound like a jet engine. And... buy a dance pad."
The cold sweat hit my neck instantly. My "Danger Sense" was screaming.
"A... a dance pad?" I repeated, my voice cracking slightly. "Suzu, honey, light of my life... why the dance pad? Are we starting a J-Pop cover group? Because my rhythm is strictly limited to 'Head-bopping at the wrong tempo'."
"I don't know, Sunny," she said, her voice dropping into that dangerously sweet register she uses right before she ruins my life. "Can you guess? Think back to about an hour ago. When you left me alone to deal with the social fallout of your Victorian theater performance while you went to play 'Butler Boy' with my brother."
"Ah," I said, the sweat now becoming a waterfall. "The punishment. You're going to make me play Dark Souls on a dance pad while you roast my lack of frame-perfect dodges, aren't you?"
"As usual, you are right," she said, and the line went dead.
I stared at the black screen of my phone. "Today is going to be a long night," I muttered. "A very, very long, sweaty, rhythmic night."
I started heading toward the tech store, my mind mourning my future calves, when something caught my eye near the convenience store section.
A girl with short, purplish-black hair and a face that screamed "I would rather be literally anywhere else" was lingering by the alcohol aisle. Masumi Kamuro.
She was acting casual, but her eyes were darting toward the security cameras with the precision of a seasoned criminal. She reached out, her hand hovering over a six-pack of beer. She was checking the blind spots, looking for a gap in the staff's attention.
Classic, I thought. The Kamuro Shoplifting Incident. A pivotal moment in the original timeline to establish Arisu's control over her.
But I'm here now. And I have 600,000 points and a favor from the most tired teacher in Japan.
I whipped out my phone and fired off a high-speed text to Chabashira-sensei.
[To: Coffee-Addict Sensei]
[Subject: EXERCISING MY FAVOR]
Yo, Sensei. I need you to contact the manager of the Keyaki Mall convenience store (Branch 4) RIGHT NOW. I am officially buying out their entire stock of beer. All of it. Use my points. Transfer the ownership rights of every can currently on the shelf to 'Sunny'. If anyone walks out with one, they aren't 'stealing' from the store—they're just 'borrowing' from me. Do it fast, or I'm telling the principal you let me drink tea in the faculty room.
I watched the "Delivered" icon pop up. A few seconds later, I got a reply that was just a single middle-finger emoji.
Success.
(Arisu POV)
The Keyaki Mall is a fascinating microcosm of human behavior. So many students, all fluttering about like ants who have just discovered a discarded sugar cube. They think they are free, yet they move within the invisible lines I've drawn for them.
I leaned on my cane, watching from the balcony above the convenience store. Masumi Kamuro was below, predictably engaging in her little hobby. She thinks her kleptomania is a secret, a dark thrill that only she knows. She doesn't realize she is simply a pawn I've already put in check.
But then, I noticed something... unexpected.
Standing near a display of discounted snacks was a boy with silver hair that caught the mall's fluorescent lights. He was wearing a hat with a propeller on it. A propeller.
He wasn't looking at the products. He was watching Masumi with an expression of pure, unadulterated amusement. And then, as if he could feel my gaze, his head snapped up.
Our eyes met across the atrium.
Most people, when they look at me, see a "fragile" girl. Some see a genius. Most see someone to be pitied or feared. But this boy? He just beamed at me. It was a genuine, goofy, wide-mouthed smile that felt like it belonged in a Saturday morning cartoon.
He waved—a frantic, high-energy wave—and started speed-walking toward the stairs.
A few moments later, he was standing in front of me, breathing slightly hard but still grinning like he'd just won the lottery.
"Greetings, oh Tiny Queen of the Balcony!" he announced, bowing so low the propeller on his hat spun wildly. "I am Sunny. Professional nuisance, amateur chef, and currently the proud owner of a very expensive tech-debt. And you are... let me guess... the Final Boss? Or perhaps the secret character you unlock by beating the game on 'Insane' difficulty?"
I blinked. My "script" for meeting new people—the polite, condescending mask—was momentarily stalled. "You are certainly... high-energy, Sunny-kun. I am Arisu Sakayanagi of Class A. And I wasn't aware I was a 'Final Boss'. I prefer the term 'Interested Observer'."
"Arisu, huh?" He leaned against the railing next to me, looking down at Masumi, who was currently tucking a can of beer into her bag. "You've got a real God Complex vibe going on, you know that? The cane, the smug smile, the 'I-know-all' eyes. It's very aesthetic. Very Gilgamesh from Fate."
I chuckled, tapping my cane against the floor. "Gilgamesh? The King of Heroes? That's a rather lofty comparison for a 'fragile' girl like me."
"Oh, please," Sunny rolled his eyes. "You're exactly like him. You probably look at everyone else on this campus and think, 'Look at all these mongrels, scuttling about in my garden.' Am I right? Do you want me to call you 'King'? Or 'Your Majesty'? I'm fine with either, as long as I get a snack."
I felt a genuine spark of interest. He was... perceptive. Refreshingly blunt. "A 'mongrel', you say? Perhaps. But even a King needs to know when a pawn is about to be captured. Tell me, Sunny-kun, what do you think of that girl down there? The one currently 'borrowing' from the store?"
"Masumi?" Sunny asked. "She's just vibing. But I can tell you're waiting for the 'trap' to spring. You're expecting the staff to catch her, or maybe for the alarms to go off so you can swoop in and 'save' her with your influence, right?"
"It is the natural progression of things," I said smoothly. "Actions have consequences. And she is about to face hers."
"Want to bet?" Sunny asked, a dangerous glint entering his blue eyes.
"A bet?" I raised an eyebrow. "On what?"
"Ayanokōji—er, I mean, 'that guy over there'—isn't involved yet," Sunny said, correcting himself quickly. "So let's make it a 1v1 bet. You say Masumi is going to be caught by the staff and punished. I say she's going to walk out of that store a free woman, with her dignity and her beer intact."
I smiled. "Sunny-kun, the staff is already moving toward her. I can see the manager checking the monitors. She will be stopped at the exit in exactly forty-five seconds. It is a mathematical certainty."
"Mathematical certainties are for people who don't have my phone number," Sunny grinned.
Suddenly, he reached into one of his grocery bags and pulled out a can. He handed it to me—it was cold, condensation dripping down the sides.
"Here," he said. "Have a Matcha Tea. You look like your blood pressure is too high from all that plotting. Drink up, King."
I took the can, slightly stunned by the gesture. It was... surprisingly thoughtful. But before I could say thank you, he reached out his left hand.
"By the way," he said, "you really do have the perfect height for this."
Before I could process the words, his palm landed on top of my head. He didn't just touch me; he gave me a firm, rhythmic, Signature Left-Handed Head Pat.
My brain officially short-circuited. My face heated up, a flush spreading from my neck to my ears. No one—no one—had ever dared to treat me like a child, let alone a pet. I was Arisu Sakayanagi! I was the genius of Class A!
"Stop... what are you—" I sputtered, my voice hitting a pitch I didn't know I possessed.
"There we go," Sunny said, ignoring my mounting rage-blush as he ruffled my hair one last time. "Good Arisu. Ten out of ten for the 'Gilgamesh' cosplay. Now, watch the show."
I stood there, frozen, clutching my matcha tea, my hat slightly askew, and my dignity in shambles. I wanted to hit him with my cane. I wanted to have him expelled. I wanted to... I didn't know what I wanted.
Below us, Masumi Kamuro walked toward the exit. The manager stepped forward, his face stern. He reached out to grab her arm.
And then, his phone buzzed.
He stopped, pulled it out, and looked at the screen. His eyes went wide. He looked at Masumi, then back at his phone, then up at the security camera. He stepped back, bowed deeply to a very confused Masumi, and opened the door for her.
Masumi blinked, shrugged, and walked out of the store with the stolen beer in plain sight.
"How?" I whispered, my anger momentarily replaced by utter confusion. "He let her go. He bowed to her. That's... that's impossible."
Sunny leaned back, looking incredibly smug. "Not impossible. Just a legal loophole. I just bought every single beer in that store, Arisu. Technically, she didn't steal from the mall. She just 'borrowed' from me. And I'm a very generous guy. I've already sent a message to the store manager saying that any 'silver-haired' or 'purple-haired' students have an open tab on my account."
I looked at him, truly seeing him for the first time. He hadn't just predicted the outcome; he had overwritten the reality of the situation.
"You spent your points... for a girl you don't even know? Just to win a bet against me?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
"Nah," Sunny said, popping the tab on his own soda. "I did it because I wanted to see that look on your face. The 'I-lost-to-a-guy-with-a-propeller-hat' look. It's a good look for you, Arisu. Makes you look more human."
I gripped my tea can so hard I thought it might burst. I was angry, yes. I was humiliated, certainly. But beneath it all, there was a thrill I hadn't felt in years.
"You think you've won, Sunny-kun?" I asked, looking up at him through my bangs, my eyes burning with a new kind of determination. "You've certainly caught my attention. But playing with me is a dangerous game. I will dismantle that chaotic world of yours piece by piece."
Sunny just laughed, leaning over the railing as Masumi disappeared into the crowd, still clutching her 'legal' beer.
"You can try, King," he said, his voice full of that annoying, effortless confidence. "But I've got an Empress at home who's already planning to make me dance for my life. You're going to have to get in line."
I took a sip of the matcha tea. It was perfectly cold. Perfectly sweet.
"We shall see," I murmured.
Sunny turned to leave, waving his left hand over his shoulder. "See ya around, Arisu! Don't forget to fix your hat! It's leaning to the left!"
I watched him go, the propeller on his hat spinning in the draft of the mall's air conditioning. He was a chaos factor. A glitch. A beautiful, infuriating anomaly.
"Masumi didn't get caught," I whispered to the empty air. "He actually did it."
I looked down at the matcha tea can.
I repeated his words, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through my mask. "Next time, Sunny-kun. Next time."
(Sunny POV)
As I walked away, I could feel Arisu's eyes burning a hole in the back of my head. I was grinning so hard my face hurt.
I had successfully:
Turned the "King of Class A" into a blushing mess.Legally allowed a girl to 'steal' beer.Executed a perfect left-handed headpat on a high-spec loli.But as I reached the elevator, my phone buzzed again.
[Text from: Empress Suzu]
I just bought the dance pad. It has a 'Maniac' mode. I expect you in the dorm in ten minutes. Don't be late, Sugar Baby.
My grin vanished.
"Right," I muttered, looking at my reflection in the elevator doors. "The boss battle. I forgot about the boss battle."
I looked at the bags of groceries in my hands.
"Can I beat a Empress Suzu on a dance pad in Dark Souls?" I asked myself.
I adjusted my propeller hat, my eyes narrowing with a renewed sense of purpose.
"Nah... I'd win."