COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 177: There is a beautiful girl who wants to see you

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"Yes, yes, I understand. I know it very well," Rin said, sounding unhappy.

Horikita-senpai, you and your sister Suzune are truly something else—both amazing, both 1080p HD!

Rin knew well that both Manabu and Suzune were upright people who disliked conspiracies or dirty tricks and would never resort to discrediting others.

But… that Nagumo guy is your enemy!

You can't be too rigid when dealing with enemies!

As long as it works, even underhanded methods like smearing, blaming, cheating, or threatening should be fair game!

Manabu, aware that his own uprightness had caused trouble for Rin's plans against Nagumo, apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry, Matsuoka."

"You don't have to apologize, Horikita-nii. I know you. I'm not angry anymore; I just needed to vent," Rin replied.

"Then let me treat you to dinner on Saturday to make it up to you."

"That's fine. Horikita-nii, should I bring Suzune along?"

"...It's up to you, Matsuoka."

"Then I'll call her."

Although Manabu was often disappointed in Suzune, who was still learning from him, the siblings hadn't spent time together in over two years. He, too, wanted to have a meal with her.

Luckily, Rin was there to bridge the gap. Otherwise, Manabu, with his tsundere personality, would never have found an excuse to dine with his sister.

"Matsuoka, although Nagumo is still in the student council, he's already signed a contract with you. He won't dare to target you openly in the future," Manabu said.

"Tsk. Sure, Nagumo won't dare to target me openly, but he'll definitely come after me behind the scenes," Rin replied, clicking his tongue.

Being a decent and upright person, Manabu believed that the contract would prevent Nagumo from seeking revenge against Rin.

But Rin was less optimistic. He considered Nagumo petty and vindictive. Even with the threat of expulsion looming over him, Rin was convinced that Nagumo would find ways to harm him covertly.

"Matsuoka, the student council interview is in a week. Make sure you're prepared."

"I understand. I'll hang up now."

"Ok."

Rin ended the call with Manabu and sighed deeply.

In truth, Rin could have used his intermediate-level programming skills to create a data recovery tool to restore the deleted recording of Nagumo threatening to break his hand and ruin his face.

Then, he could have played it for Sakayanagi.

If Sakayanagi, who cared deeply for his students, heard the recording, he would undoubtedly feel disgusted and angry at Rin. In such a case, Sakayanagi would have handed down a severe punishment without hesitation.

But Rin hadn't done that.

There were two reasons he chose not to restore the recording.

The first reason:

Rin had believed he could expel Nagumo from the student council without the recording.

But as things turned out, he had overestimated himself.

The second reason:

If Sakayanagi heard the recording, the one million personal points Rin had blackmailed—ahem—obtained from Nagumo might be confiscated by Sakayanagi.

Rin, having experienced hardships, placed a high value on money. One million personal points was no small sum, and there were countless things he could buy with that money.

As Rin exited the school building, a blond-haired boy hurriedly ran over and blocked his path.

The boy standing in front of Rin was none other than Hashimoto from Class A of the first year. Following orders from Arisu Sakayanagi, he had come to the entrance of the chairman's office building to wait for Rin.

However, he ended up waiting for more than an hour...

Hashimoto, who had been waiting, saw Nagumo walk out of the building, so he assumed Rin would be out shortly after.

But Rin had been detained by Sakayanagi, who insisted on playing three games of chess, leaving Hashimoto waiting for over an hour, his legs going numb from squatting.

When Rin finally appeared, Hashimoto blocked his way. Rin raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "What's the matter?"

"Hey, you're Matsuoka from Class D of the first year, right?" Hashimoto asked quickly.

Rin, who always seemed to sense trouble, immediately denied it. "No, I'm not."

"...Don't try to hide it. I remember you—you're the Matsuoka who was called up by the chairman during the entrance ceremony."

"Tsk."

Rin clicked his tongue in annoyance. This was all Sakayanagi's fault. Now, thanks to him, everyone seemed to know his name.

"Matsuoka-kun, there's a beautiful girl who wants to meet you and chat. Are you interested?" Hashimoto asked with a smile.

"Good brother!" Rin said, patting Hashimoto on the shoulder.

After hearing what Hashimoto said, Rin was convinced: this boy, with his slightly frivolous demeanor, must be his brother!

Why else would he introduce a beautiful girl to him?

Since Rin didn't have anything pressing to do, he decided to go meet the beautiful girl in question.

"Alright, good brother, lead the way. By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Hashimoto Masayoshi from Class A of the first year. You can just call me Hashimoto."

"Got it, Hashimoto. Now, tell me about this beautiful girl—I'm curious."

As they walked toward a coffee shop, Hashimoto adopted a serious expression. "This beautiful girl? I respectfully call her 'Princess.'"

"She has a charm so overwhelming that ordinary people get dizzy just looking at her. As long as she's in the classroom, it feels like the entire place is filled with brilliance. She's a princess as dazzling as the sun!"

"Wait." Rin interrupted, giving him a strange look. "'Fills the classroom with brilliance'? Hashimoto, are you sure you're talking about a beautiful girl and not… a light bulb?"

"Pfft… cough, cough, cough!" Hashimoto burst into laughter, struggling to breathe. "Of course I'm talking about a person! The princess isn't a light bulb! Hahaha!"

Even as he tried to explain, Hashimoto couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of the comparison. The princess is a light bulb? That's too funny.

Rin silently thought to himself, This so-called brother has an unexpectedly low sense of humor...

Under Hashimoto's guidance, Rin arrived at a coffee shop near the school. They stopped outside the door of a private room. Hashimoto knocked politely.

"Princess, I've brought Matsuoka here."

"Then come in," a female voice called from inside.

Although the voice was slightly muffled through the door, Rin could hear the pleasant tone.

What a nice voice, he thought, feeling a bit excited.

After getting the go-ahead, Hashimoto opened the door to the private room. Rin stepped in, curious, only to see...

A pretty—pretty little loli?!

The girl sitting in the private room of the coffee shop had fair, delicate skin, sweet and lovely features, and slender legs wrapped in white stockings. Her beautiful silver hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, shimmering with a texture so perfect it gave her the appearance of an ethereal elf.

She was undeniably beautiful, but her petite figure and youthful look made her resemble a little loli straight out of junior high school.

Hashimoto grinned at Rin and said, "Matsuoka, you've seen the princess now, haven't you? I wasn't lying, was I?"

"…"

Rin was at a loss for how to respond to Hashimoto. The girl in front of him was undoubtedly stunning, but… she was far too young!

Not only was she small, but everything about her appearance screamed "off-limits."

This was too much!

For girls this young, the minimum sentence was three years, and the maximum penalty… the death sentence!

Rin leaned closer to Hashimoto and whispered, "Brother, I like beautiful girls, not little lolis. So… does your princess happen to have an older sister?"