"Eh?!"
"Sorry... Natsuki-kun, I accidentally fell asleep."
Hearing Natsuki Subaru's voice, Kei Karuizawa opened her eyes in a daze.
Upon realizing it was Subaru, she hurriedly stood up and wiped the glistening corner of her mouth, looking somewhat nervous.
"Karuizawa-san, you probably didn't come specifically to sleep at the door of my dormitory, right?"
Looking at the nervous Kei, Subaru didn't pay too much attention to it; it was quite normal.
Currently, there were very few people in Year 1, Class D who didn't get nervous when seeing him.
'Another one?'
Subaru looked at Kei thoughtfully.
Although he had never interacted with Kei before—prior to today, they hadn't even exchanged a single sentence—Kei was very active in Year 1, Class D and looked like a very typical gal.
Yes, she looked like one.
However, the current Kei lacked the flamboyance of the daytime; all that remained was nervousness and submissiveness when facing him.
"It's so late now."
Subaru looked at Kei and smiled gently. "Did you have some business with me, Karuizawa-san?"
"It's not really anything big..."
The gentle smile on Subaru's face did not make Kei relax.
Not only did she not relax, but she also became even more nervous. After all, when Subaru expelled Haruki Yamauchi, he had worn this same gentle, seemingly harmless smile.
"It's just... just..."
Kei looked at Subaru, hesitated for a long while, then closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and said, "Natsuki-kun, you have a lot of personal points on you, but my personal points are practically non-existent."
"Because I have a reason why I absolutely must use personal points, I... I want to borrow personal points from you, Natsuki-kun."
As her voice fell, Kei subconsciously squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
It was as if she were quietly awaiting her final judgment.
If possible, Kei didn't want to come to Subaru to borrow personal points either.
After all, Haruki Yamauchi served as a warning from the past. On the surface, Yamauchi had also just wanted to borrow personal points from Subaru, and he ended up suffering a ruthless expulsion at Subaru's hands.
The only difference was that her attitude was likely much better than Yamauchi's.
Yamauchi's behavior back then could practically be called coercion.
'Sigh.'
'It doesn't matter anymore... If I don't have the personal points to continue maintaining my character setting...'
'I might as well just get expelled and be done with it.'
Kei kept her eyes closed, her thoughts drifting aimlessly.
Today, Kei hadn't come to Subaru first to borrow points. Compared to Subaru, in Kei's perspective, Airi Sakura was obviously much easier to talk to.
If she were the only one borrowing personal points...
It absolutely wouldn't have reached the point where she had to come to Subaru.
Regrettably, Year 1, Class D had zero income again in June. She wasn't the only one lacking personal points; everyone's first target was Airi Sakura.
The constant, rotational borrowing of personal points had forcibly hardened even Sakura's resolve.
If she continued to lend, there would simply be no end to it.
Therefore, Kei's request was rejected by Airi Sakura. In the end, with no other options, she could only come to find Subaru.
Originally, before finding Subaru, Kei had wanted to find Yosuke Hirata.
No matter what, Hirata counted as Kei's nominal boyfriend. Seeking Hirata's help when in trouble was only natural.
Given Hirata's previous personality and performance, it would have been impossible for him to stand by and watch Kei's situation.
However, ever since Haruki Yamauchi was expelled, Hirata had changed. He no longer cared about the class, and the same applied to her, his nominal girlfriend.
Before, Hirata would at least occasionally cooperate with Kei.
At the very least, in the eyes of most people, they looked like a normal couple. But now, although he hadn't gone so far as to draw a clear line, he no longer played along with Kei.
Kei's anxiety, aside from the reason of personal points, also contained a significant portion stemming from this.
"So you came specifically to borrow personal points from me."
Subaru nodded.
Year 1, Class D's current economic predicament was very severe. Aside from Suzune Horikita, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, and Yosuke Hirata—people who usually had few other expenses—most students had almost no personal points left on them.
As the leader of the gals, Kei's expenses were certainly not low.
Now, coming to him to borrow personal points because she was truly destitute was understandable.
"However, why does Karuizawa-san think I would lend personal points to you?"
"The last person to borrow points from me seemed to be Yamauchi-kun, right?"
"At that time, Yamauchi-kun planned to borrow three thousand personal points from me. Now then, how many personal points are you planning to borrow, Karuizawa-san?"
Understanding was one thing, but that didn't mean Subaru was obligated to lend personal points to Kei.
She said 'borrow,' but in reality, she had no ability to repay.
Barring any accidents, the next opportunity to increase personal points would require waiting until the final exams.
It was currently just the beginning of June. June, July, August—there were at least three months during which it would be very difficult for Kei to have any income. Rather than calling it a loan, it was more of a cover-up for her own destitution.
Back then, if Haruki Yamauchi had directly told Subaru, "Give me three thousand points, I can't pay it back, I'll pay you later if I can," Subaru might have even had a slightly better impression of him.
Subaru didn't deny the possibility that Kei might borrow personal points from him, but thinking she could get points out of thin air without doing anything was unlikely.
"Because... because I have a reason why I have to borrow personal points from you, Natsuki-kun!"
Since things had already reached this extent, and Yosuke Hirata's situation was currently off, Kei stopped caring.
Her gaze looking at Subaru was no longer submissive but became somewhat determined. "I desperately need a sum of personal points right now to maintain my gal persona. If I can't continue to maintain it..."
"A reason you have to borrow personal points from me... is it?"
Subaru interrupted Kei before she could finish speaking. He stepped slightly past her and arrived at the door of his dormitory.
"Since that's the case, then come inside and talk."
He opened the dorm door.
Walking to the desk inside the dorm, Subaru sat down. Looking at the somewhat stunned Kei, he smiled and said, "I imagine Karuizawa-san wouldn't want too many people to know about this 'reason you have to borrow points,' right?"
"Come in before you speak."
Anyway, he had nothing else to do.
Generally, Subaru didn't have any arrangements at this time of night. He could give Kei some time to perform. If her performance was passable, personal points weren't an issue.
"Eh... Oh, oh."
The momentum and determination Kei had gathered suddenly scattered a bit.
Standing at the door of Subaru's dorm, she hesitated for a moment before walking in lightly and closing the door behind her.
"It's just that... the way I usually look in class isn't actually my true self..."
Sitting cautiously on Subaru's bed, Kei re-gathered her emotions and began to speak. "My relationship with Yosuke Hirata as boyfriend and girlfriend is fake. The purpose of doing this is to make me look more confident normally..."
Kei didn't know what she should or shouldn't say right now.
In fact, if she were to be honest, Kei felt she was completely out of her mind for running over here inexplicably to find Subaru—the 'Great Demon King' who could expel Haruki Yamauchi with a smile.
But Kei really had no other way.
Without personal points, she could no longer maintain her gal persona.
Yosuke Hirata had been acting very cold recently. What Kei relied on was nothing more than two things: first, the gal persona she usually displayed, which was very domineering.
Second, the class representative, Yosuke Hirata. Now, both of these supports were in imminent danger...
In any case, things had come to this. So even though Kei felt the probability of borrowing personal points from Subaru was practically zero, she still bit the bullet and came to try.
Without personal points, she couldn't maintain the gal persona, and eventually, she would definitely fall back into the kind of situation she faced in middle school. If it really came to that, she might as well end up like Haruki Yamauchi.
Being expelled directly for borrowing points from Subaru would be easier; short-term pain was better than long-term suffering.
"Because I was bullied by some gal groups in school during my middle school days..."
"I am terrified of being bullied. So, in order not to repeat the same mistakes, after coming to this new school and new environment, I prepared to make myself a 'gal' as well..."
"That way, no one should bully me..."
Having thought it through, Kei no longer had any scruples and began to 'confess' directly in front of Subaru.
Why she pretended to be in a relationship with Yosuke Hirata was entirely because she felt Hirata had very good relationships in the class and looked very capable.
If she could become Hirata's girlfriend, then she definitely wouldn't be bullied.
As for why she was so afraid of being bullied, it was because she had been severely bullied during middle school.
Just like that, Subaru quietly listened to Kei state her case in front of him for nearly twenty minutes.
"I generally understand what you mean, Karuizawa-san."
"Indeed, for you, Karuizawa-san, it is a reason why you must borrow personal points."
Watching the somewhat silent Kei after she had explained all the causes and consequences, Subaru smiled lightly and said, "However, Karuizawa-san, this is merely an understanding from your perspective."
"You don't assume, Karuizawa-san, that just because of this, I will pity you due to your past experiences and then lend you a sum of personal points to maintain your gal persona, do you?"
Strictly speaking, Kei's emotional statement was a lucky hit.
If it hadn't been for this kind of truthful statement facing her own heart—speaking her thoughts without any concealment—Subaru wouldn't have wasted over twenty minutes on Kei, even if he had nothing to do at night.
However, that was all it was. At most, it just gave Subaru a little interest in hearing Kei tell a story.
Regarding Kei's experiences themselves, Subaru felt nothing.
Compared to his own experiences, Kei's experiences could simply be called a heavenly enjoyment. He couldn't empathize with Kei at all.
Subaru's fingertips tapped lightly on the desktop, making a rhythmic and slight tok-tok sound, which was exceptionally clear in the quiet dormitory.
Looking at the girl before him—who seemed somewhat drained after pouring her heart out, yet carried a blankness following a desperate gamble—Subaru knew very well that Kei was treating him as a final lifeline.
From the very beginning, Kei never thought she could truly borrow personal points from him.
The reason she appeared at his dorm door now was nothing more than self-abandonment under despair.
"Actually, I didn't really think I could borrow personal points from you, Natsuki-kun."
Perhaps because she had told Subaru half of everything, a look of relief appeared on Kei's face.
It was the sense of relaxation from throwing down all the burdens that had piled up deep in her heart in an instant.
"I'm even a little surprised."
Looking at Subaru, Kei lost her previous nervousness and apprehension. Just like a friend who had been around for a long time, she said softly, "Because you don't seem like a very patient person usually, Natsuki-kun."
"At least, with most people, your patience isn't very high, Natsuki-kun."
"To be honest, I'm suddenly a little envious of Horikita-san and Kushida-san, and... that Shiina-san."
Speaking up to here, Kei paused.
A look of admiration flashed in her gaze as she looked at Subaru.
On the day Haruki Yamauchi took the lead to bully Subaru, although Kei was a bystander, she had subconsciously placed herself in Subaru's position in her heart.
Kei wondered, if the current her were forced by Yamauchi like that, what would she do?
Could she stand up and refuse forcefully, resist forcefully?
'I couldn't.'
Just thinking about replacing herself in Subaru's position made Kei tremble uncontrollably.
Therefore, after seeing Subaru's posture—seemingly gentle but actually unyielding—Kei began to unknowingly worship him a little, wanting to become a person like Subaru.
"If I had to say it."
"Probably, you were the last straw I could clutch at before drowning, Natsuki-kun."
Kei revealed an incredibly frank smile.
____
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