A sudden gust of wind blew between Nao and Shizuka. By the time they reacted, the albums in their hands had already disappeared.
Shizuka: Huh? Where's my merch?
Hakuto: The savior has arrived! Hahaha!
Nao: Takajo Jojiro!!
Shizuka might have been confused, but Hakuto and Nao knew exactly who had caused that gust of wind.
Scratching her head, Shizuka asked, "Did a gust of wind just blow the albums away?"
As soon as she finished speaking, they saw a boy in a Hoshinoumi Academy uniform approaching from a distance, his forehead streaked with fresh blood.
"Shiratori... that guy's bleeding, isn't he?"
Hakuto waved dismissively. "No worries, he's a member of our student council. That blood is just part of his cosplay..."
Under the varied gazes of the three, Jojiro slowly walked up to Shizuka with a serious expression.
Just as Shizuka was about to say something, Jojiro suddenly bowed at a 90-degree angle, nearly splattering his blood onto her clothes!
"Sensei, please—"
Before he could finish, Nao kicked him hard in the back.
"You musclehead, what are you doing again?"
Even though he was knocked to the ground, Jojiro remained serious.
"For Yusarin-chan's album, I had no choice but to do this!"
"Hah?! Do you realize you just interrupted my business?"
"I'll do anything for Yusarin-chan's merch!"
"That's disgusting!" Nao waved him off. "Just return the album! I was about to sell it!"
"I can't, President! You have to sell it to me! I'll do anything!"
"Shiratori! Get over here and help! Beat him up and take the album back!"
As Nao kicked Jojiro repeatedly, she called Hakuto over.
Sensing the perfect opportunity, Hakuto turned to explain the situation to Shizuka.
"That guy over there is Jojiro. He's a huge fan of Yusarin and desperately wants that album, so he snatched it from you."
"But don't worry, Shizuka-sensei. Our president won't give preferential treatment, so the album is definitely still yours."
Though that's what Hakuto said on the surface, deep down, he was thinking otherwise.
Go, Takajo! Get that Yusarin album!
Meanwhile, looking at Jojiro with blood dripping from his forehead, Shizuka frowned slightly and turned to Hakuto.
"Maybe I should just let him have it?"
"Huh? You really want to give it up, Shizuka-sensei?"
"I don't have a habit of taking things others love, and I can always choose something else."
"Then on his behalf, I thank you."
Seeing Shizuka nod, Hakuto stepped forward to separate Nao and Jojiro.
"Alright, alright, Shizuka-sensei said she's willing to give the album to Takajo."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Jojiro immediately scrambled up from the ground and stood in front of Shizuka.
"Thank you so much, Hiratsuka-sensei! You're my savior!"
Tears welled up in Jojiro's eyes as blood continued to ooze from his forehead.
Seeing his state, Shizuka could only force a smile. If it had been Hakuto, she would've punched him already!
Hakuto quickly pulled Jojiro away, fearing he might collapse right there.
Like a victor, Jojiro raised the album high and started pulling out his wallet.
"Ugh, I'm not giving you a discount!" Though Nao was annoyed, since Shizuka had spoken, as the seller, she had nothing left to say.
"I'm just grateful you're selling it to me at all, President!"
"That'll be 650,000 yen. Cash or card?"
"Huh?" Jojiro was dumbfounded by the price.
"That's not right... Yusarin-chan's album should be around 500,000 yen at market price..."
Though with auction speculation, it could go for more, in a direct sale, 500,000 yen was already the upper limit.
"Nishimori's album is an album, but Zhiend's isn't?"
Nao's words made Jojiro suddenly realize that he was also holding a Zhiend album.
His main goal had always been Yusarin's album—everything else was secondary. So there was no need for him to pay extra for the Zhiend album.
"I'll leave this one with you, President..." Just as he was about to hand back the Zhiend album, Hakuto patted his shoulder.
"Takajo, that's what Shizuka-sensei wanted... She just gave you the only copy of Nishimori's album in the world. Don't you think you should show some gratitude?"
Jojiro glanced at Shizuka in the distance and realized Hakuto had a point.
If he had been the one who got that album, he wouldn't have wanted to give it up either.
Since Shizuka had given it to him, it was a huge favor—something that couldn't be measured in money. At least, not to him.
Gritting his teeth, Jojiro pulled out his bank card.
"Charge it!"
"Alright! Thanks for your business!"
Nao swiped 650,000 yen from his card without hesitation, not even considering that the Zhiend album was originally meant to be given to Shizuka for free.
Nao: Jojiro willingly purchased the limited-edition Zhiend album!
Hakuto: hwehehehe
Jojiro: …
In the end, under Hakuto's subtle guidance, Shizuka chose a more reasonably priced piece of merch, much to his relief.
"Hey, President, how much commission do I get from selling those three items?"
"Commission? What commission?"
"Huh? Even selling pet food comes with a commission. Are you telling me I don't get anything for selling something worth hundreds of thousands?"
"Hah? How about I buy you two bags of dog food instead?"
"You think I'm raising a dog?"
In truth, Hakuto didn't really care about the commission. He just had to ask—just in case.
After all, Yusarin's album was never hard to sell, and the Zhiend album was supposed to be a freebie... Wait a second...
"Wasn't the Zhiend album supposed to be given away for free? I helped you make an extra 150,000 yen, and you're not sharing with me?"
"Well, now that you mention it..."
At that moment, Jojiro, who had just finished getting his forehead bandaged, overheard their conversation and felt like his whole world was collapsing.
"Wait! What did you just say? What do you mean 'given away for free'?!"
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