Looking at the three girls in front of him, Hikaru decided to set aside his fleeting thoughts and urged them forward.

  "Aren't we going to get the camera fixed? Let's hurry."

  "Mm, Sakura-sa's go," Kushida called out to the timid Sakura, who still seemed a little uneasy in a crowd. The three girls walked ahead, while Hikaru followed behind.

  Sakura, Hikaru hesitated for a moment before spending 1,000 points to activate the [Stoalyzer], immediately using it on her.

  ---

  [Sakura Airi Stock]

  Character Information: A long-haired girl with gsses who avoids dressing up. She is shy and dislikes drawing attention to herself, often g motivation in social situations. However, she has a surprisingly eic side—she works as a blog idol and a magazine model online, always carrying a camera with her.

  Stock Pricrease Strategy: Bee her trusted friend, help her with personal issues, and take pictures together.

  Stock Price Decrease Risk: Stalking her, f her into situations she dislikes, or pushing her into the public eye.

  ---

  "Seriously? Anirl with a hidden side?"

  Hikaru mentally sighed after reading the analysis.

  What is wrong with this school? Does everyone here have a secret double life or something?!

  But upon further thought, Sakura was different from Kushida. Her stock pricrease method was much simpler—there was no plex interpersonal web to navigate. As long as he built a solid friendship with her, her stock price would rise.

  "If I go all-in, I'll need a hefty amount of funds…"

  Hikaru hesitated.

  His pnned iment was Shiina Hiyori. Like Sakura, her stock pricrease had nothing to do with css petition, making her a safe bet.

  But now, a ock option appeared out of nowhere, and it was avaible at a massive 5,000 shares.

  "Should I go all-in?"

  Adding to his dilemma, there was the [Martial Arts (Master Level)] skill, which he really wanted. If he ied fully in both stocks, his remaining funds would nearly bottom out.

  But at the same time, Hikaru felt like he had been too servative with his iments. Always thinking too much before ag. Now that he had successfully cashed out multiple stocks, it was time to start pying the market like a true trader.

  As the four of them ehe eleics store, Hikaru finally made up his mind.

  He was going all-in.

  He decided to buy both stocks, and over time, build retionships with each target separately. Oheir stock prices peaked, he would sell immediately and decide ter if he wao crash their values.

  ---

  [Would you like to purchase Sakura Airi Stock?]

  [Enter Quantity]

  [Sakura Airi Stock fully acquired. Current bance: 0]

  After seg the stock, Hikaru put on a friendly smile and started chatting with Sakura.

  "Sakura-san, have you been to this store before?"

  "Um… I went once, but I didn't buy anything," she replied in a soft voice, but still answered early. "But I know they do repairs here."

  "I see. The's go ask."

  Following Sakura's lead, they approached the ter. The store had various products dispyed, with red banners advertising dist promotions.

  "Wele," greeted a bearded male store clerk with a polite smile as he eyed the group.

  "Excuse me, do you do camera repairs here?" Sakura gathered her ce and asked.

  "Yes, of course. Do you have the camera with you?"

  "I do."

  Sakura handed over her camera, and after a few minutes of iion, the store clerk looked straight at her and said:

  "The power unit is broken. Do you have a warranty card?"

  "Oh, yes! I brought it with me today."

  She reached into her pocket, pulled out the warranty card, and pced it on the ter.

  The clerk picked up the small card, his smile suddenly turning strangely eager. His tone became overly enthusiastic.

  "It's still under warranty, huh? Well, that means we repce the power unit for you free of charge!"

  "But first, I'll need you to fill out this form—all the required information must be pleted."

  Hikaru had been the entire exge. For some reason, he felt the clerk's attitude was off—as if he articurly fixated on Sakura.

  "Name, address…" The store clerk grinned, pg a form on the ter and handing her a pen. "And don't fet your phone number."

  "..."

  As the clerk's eyes btantly sed her, Sakura stiffened, her body frozen in fear.

  She couldn't move.

  Hikaru noticed her subtle trembling immediately. Without hesitatioepped in front of her and called out:

  "Kushida-san, e here for a sed."

  Hearing his voice, both Kushida and Iose turoward him.

  "Huh? What's up, Hikaru-kun?" Kushida walked up to them, puzzled. "Did something happen?"

  " you fill out the form for Sakura?"

  "Huh?"

  Kushida was taken aback, while Sakura immediately looked up at Hikaru in surprise.

  "You're both cssmates, so it doesn't matter who fills it out, right? Just think of it as helping out."

  Hikaru fshed a reassuring smile at Sakura befently nudging Kushida forward.

  "I don't mind, but is that okay with you, Sakura-san?"

  "…Yes," Sakura nodded softly after meeting Hikaru's gaze.

  "Wait, what?" The store clerk's tone suddenly became sharper. "But the camera isn't hers."

  "You already checked, didn't you?"

  Hikaru stood his ground.

  "The warranty is valid, meaning the repair should be covered. So it shouldn't matter who fills out the form."

  "If you need someoo pick up the repaired camera ter, they're all cssmates—surely that doesn't viote any rules?"

  The store clerk hesitated.

  "Well… I guess that's fine."

  "Good. How long will the repair take?"

  "Hmm… about two to three days."

  " you do it faster?" Hikaru gnced around the store—it seemed professional enough to offer express services.

  "Uh… well, an express service would be a bit tricky…"

  Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

  Seeing his look, the store clerk relutly caved.

  "If you pay for express repair, you get it back by tomorrow afternoon. But there's an additional bor fee."

  "How much?"

  "Three thousand."

  "I'll cover it," Kushida quickly offered. "Since I pyed a part in why Sakura's camera got damaged, I'd like to take responsibility."

  "That's not necessary… I pay for it myself," Sakura said, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

  "No worries!"

  With Kushida insisting, the express repair order was finalized. The camera was left at the store, and the four of them exited.

  ---

  As they walked away, the store clerk clutched the pink camera tightly, his expression shifting into something uling.

  "My angel… I'll show you just how much I love you."

  ~~~

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