Chapter 117: Shirogane Miyuki Wants a Part-Time Job

"All things considered, your best option now is to keep a calm mind."

"...You're telling me to wait for a chance, with a peaceful attitude?"

"No, I never said you have a chance… okay, fine, you do. At least for these next few high school months, keep an eye on things."

Seeing Shijo Maki about to tear through the second box of tissues, Rinji finally offered a bit of comfort.

"Anyway, summer break's almost here. Who knows, maybe they'll break up over the summer?"

"That's true."

Shijo Maki's face lit up with a confident smile.

"Hmph~ Tanuma's just a rookie at love. Maybe he'll get dumped after a single summer. They haven't even held hands yet."

"...Right. No idea where your confidence is coming from, but sure, hold onto it," Rinji said with a chuckle.

"Ahh, I'm glad I came to talk to you at the student council. I feel a lot better now."

"Is that so? Maybe I have a knack for comforting people."

Rinji had already forgotten how much he had emotionally devastated her just minutes ago.

"Use the summer to reset your mindset too. Maybe go traveling."

"You're right. But where should I go…?"

"Afghanistan. Highly recommended."

Rinji gave her a big thumbs-up.

"When I got dumped, I went to Afghanistan and stayed for a few years. Worked wonders."

"...What the hell kind of suggestion is that?"

———————————

"Hey, where's Takamine today? Anyone know?"

The next day during lunch, the student council gathered in their usual room.

Except Rinji wasn't there. His absence was so rare that Shirogane Miyuki couldn't help but notice.

Normally, anyone could be missing—but never Takamine Rinji. He always showed up for lunch.

"Hey, you're right. Takamine-kun's not here today," Fujiwara Chika said, now realizing it too.

"It's not such a big deal. Maybe he just wanted to eat lunch somewhere else for a change?" Kaguya said with a light smile.

She didn't think it was particularly strange.

"...Still feels a bit off."

Shirogane turned to Ishigami Yuu, who was quietly munching on bread. "Ishigami, did you see Takamine today?"

"Huh?"

Ishigami looked up, confused.

"You didn't know, President? Rinji called in sick today."

"Huh? Why?"

"He's supposedly got a cold."

"A cold!?"

Shirogane was stunned. He hadn't heard anything about this.

"What kind of cold?"

"Just a regular one, I think."

"I see…"

Shirogane fell into thought.

Rinji hadn't told him anything. But then again, there was no need. Student council members weren't obligated to report if they had no duties, and Rinji had finished his assigned work two days ago. Not showing up today was actually within reason.

"Takamine-kun's sick?" Fujiwara sounded worried. "Should we go visit him?"

"Yeah, let's go see him after school."

Shirogane was already picturing it: Rinji lying in bed, a cold compress on his forehead, thermometer in his mouth, cheeks flushed with fever, breathing weakly...

"Let's call him first."

He pulled out his phone and dialed.

Beep—

It connected after just a few seconds.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rinji, I heard you're sick. Do you want us to visit you after school?"

"Wait, President!" Fujiwara waved behind him. "I want to go too!"

"...Sick?"

There was a pause on the other end.

"Oh, right, forgot to tell you—I'm not actually sick."

"Huh?"

"The sick leave was just an excuse. Actually..."

"Wait—what's that noise on your end?"

No one else heard it, but because Shirogane had the phone pressed to his ear, he caught everything.

Through the line, along with Rinji's voice, he could hear roars, cheers, angry shouts—things like, "Get up, dammit!" and "I bet everything I had on this!"

"...I'm at a business event."

"Huh?"

"Just pretend I ditched class to work a part-time job. Money's a bit tight right now."

"If you're broke, don't bring ridiculously expensive ingredients to my place!" Shirogane groaned. "Also, we're students! How could you skip class to work!? Do it after school or on weekends! And lying to the teacher too!? You can't keep this up!"

"Got it. Won't happen again."

Rinji chuckled.

"But there are a bunch of Japan's top business elites here today. It's kind of a rare opportunity."

"Huh?"

Shirogane fell silent.

Business elites? That meant he could network with CEOs of major companies. Leave a good impression, and maybe that'd turn into a job offer someday...

"So that's why Rinji went…"

"Alright Rinji, just this once. But never again, got it?"

"Understood."

"Oh, right." Shirogane Miyuki suddenly sounded hesitant. "Um… do you think you could introduce me too?"

"Huh?"

"I want to find a decent part-time job too, you know?"

What he meant was that through Takamine Rinji, he hoped to meet a few company bosses and get himself a summer job with a higher hourly rate—ideally something over 2,000 yen per hour.

"Oh, you're looking for work? No problem, leave it to me."

"Thanks a ton."

——————————————————————————————

On Rinji's end.

After hanging up, he turned toward the crowd surrounding the fighting ring.

A muscular blond man lay on the floor while another stood, covered in blood.

"The winner—Tokita Ohma!"

As the referee roared, the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers.

Despite looking like a bunch of unemployed brawlers enjoying a street fight, many of these men were actually big-name business tycoons.

This was the underground arena of Kengan matches.

"The odds were kind of low this time. Only made 300 million yen… oh, right, I need to arrange that job for the president."

Rinji didn't bother with the rest of the crowd. He pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Yo, young friend Rinji calling me—what can I do for you?" came the voice of Katahara Metsudo.

"Old man Katahara, I've got a friend who wants a job. Think you can hook him up?"

"Hohoho, of course. Any friend of yours is more than welcome. What kind of job?"

"President of the Great Japan Bank… it's honestly beneath his status, but as a part-time job it'll do for now."

"…"