Mash-Up: Anything for Money

About ten minutes later, Hakuto rushed through the school gate with a piece of bread in his mouth.

"Wait, student, you're late. Please register your name."

"Shiratori Hakuto!"

Hakuto quickly blurted out his name and then ignored the student council member blocking him, dashing straight into the school.

"Shiratori... Hakuto?!"

At first, the student council member in charge of recording tardiness didn't react.

It wasn't until they had written down Hakuto's name in the logbook that they finally realized what had happened.

Glancing around to ensure no one was watching, they quietly tore out the page with Hakuto's name on it.

Honestly, with Hakuto's personality, he usually wouldn't care about being a little late.

But why was he in such a hurry this time?

The reason was simple—Hiratsuka had told him that if he didn't get to school within twenty minutes, the tutoring job would be given to someone else.

Hakuto: Tutoring? You mean the tutoring job where I help some sisters pass their exams and get paid a huge amount of money?

Hiratsuka: …

Hakuto: No way, Sensei, please don't give it to someone else! I'll be right there!

And so, Hakuto, who had just been planning to make himself a nice breakfast, immediately ran back to his room, changed his clothes, stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth, and bolted for school.

At the classroom entrance, Hakuto spotted Hiratsuka standing by the school building and instinctively waved to greet her.

"Good morning, Sensei! Goodbye, Sensei!"

Even as he greeted her, Hakuto didn't slow down at all, attempting to run past her.

But fate had other plans.

Before he could escape, Hiratsuka grabbed the back of his collar and effortlessly pulled him back.

"Good morning, Hakuto."

The moment Hakuto heard that tone and saw the gentle smile on Hiratsuka's face, he knew he was doomed.

With his legs dragging against the ground, Hakuto was reluctantly pulled step by step toward Hiratsuka's office.

Realizing there was no way out, he decided to just accept his fate.

"Sensei... do you have any snacks in your office?"

"I do."

But before Hakuto could even wonder what kind of snacks she meant, an iron fist mercilessly landed on his head.

Wait, you meant that kind of snack?!

With that punch, Hakuto's mind instantly cleared up.

"Now, tell me, what's your excuse for being late this time?"

"Sensei, if I told you that I accidentally slept through the entire weekend and thought today was still Sunday, would you believe me?"

After hearing Hakuto's explanation, Hiratsuka calmly lit a cigarette, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her legs.

"I believe you used this excuse once before."

At that moment, Hakuto wished he could slap his past self—he had lied so much that now no one believed him even when he told the truth.

"Forget it. I didn't bring you here just because you were late."

As she spoke, Hiratsuka pulled a contract from her drawer and placed it in front of Hakuto.

To be honest, Hakuto had an immediate reaction upon seeing the contract. 

After all, he had signed a two-year contract with Sayuri, and by now, he had developed a conditioned response to these kinds of documents.

It took him a while to realize that this contract was probably about the tutoring job.

"Obviously, it's about the tutoring job."

Hakuto casually picked up the contract from the desk, showing no sign of what was going through his mind just moments ago.

"I spoke with Nino Nakano's father over the phone. Your information might already be sitting in a drawer in his office."

"Hmm? He still decided to hire me after looking at my profile?"

Hakuto was someone who lived freely, bound by nothing except money.

His personal record was honestly terrible—things like frequently being late to school were just the tip of the iceberg.

"Who knows? Maybe Nino Nakano's father wants to hire a tutor and a bodyguard at the same time."

"That would require additional payment."

Hakuto blurted out instinctively.

"Quit talking nonsense."

Hiratsuka's fist flew out just as naturally.

She still remembered their phone call from a few days ago crystal clear.

Back then, because she couldn't see Hakuto in person, she had no choice but to vent her frustration on her phone. 

But now? She didn't even need to get up from her chair to land a hit.

"Hiss—why is everyone so violent?"

Yesterday at noon, Ginko had hit him. In the evening, Nao had hit him. Now, Hiratsuka had hit him too.

Was this world getting too chaotic? Why were girls becoming so aggressive?

"By the way, it seems like Nino and the others don't know you're going to be their tutor yet, so you'll have to introduce yourself."

"Piece of cake."

Hakuto wasn't bragging, but getting along with girls was as easy as eating for him. And honestly, this was literally his bread and butter.

Seeing Hakuto's confident expression, Hiratsuka didn't press further and instead asked in a seemingly casual manner,

"Hakuto, what do you think of our school?"

"Huh... what do you mean?"

"Just your opinion of our school."

Hearing this, Hakuto picked up on something unusual.

Hiratsuka had said "our school" instead of calling it by its actual name, Toyosaki.

While both referred to the same place, the difference in wording was like night and day.

It was just a minor detail, but Hakuto felt it was something worth keeping in mind.

With that thought, he cautiously glanced around, wondering if this was some sort of test.

However, after scanning the entire office, he didn't find any hidden cameras or people lying in wait.

"Relax, it's just a simple question."

Seeing Hiratsuka's response, Hakuto let go of his suspicions and put on an innocent smile.

"Our school? As one of the top-ranked academic institutions in Japan, it's naturally excellent."

"That's not what I meant... Never mind."

Seeing Hakuto give a standard workplace answer, Hiratsuka decided to just get straight to the point.

"Have you heard of Hoshino Academy?"

___

Read 20 Advanced Chapters on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics

Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you!

Don't forget to leave a review too~ [5 bonus chapter if we reach 10 reviews]

Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]

___