COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 18: Chabashira Sae is a burly woman...

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Karuizawa Kei slapped her forehead with her soft, pale hand. She muttered to herself, "I was scared of being bullied, so I hid without thinking. I'm really useless."

"This was such a good chance to talk to him..."

Karuizawa Kei quickly jogged off, gathering her courage to approach the boy who had caught her attention.

But, unfortunately for Kei, by the time she had summoned her nerve, Rin Matsuoka had already returned to the Class D classroom.

When Kei entered the room, the first thing she did was glance at the seat where Rin was sitting.

However, Rin was turned around, chatting with Sakura Airi, preventing Kei from seeing his face.

"Hmm."

After checking out Rin's back and seeing the country girl with hunched shoulders he was talking to, Kei felt somewhat relieved.

Since the girl didn't appear particularly pretty, Kei wasn't worried that the handsome and courageous boy would fall for her.

"But I need to hurry up; there are too many girls who like him," Kei muttered to herself.

Earlier, after Rin had introduced himself, the girls had cheered particularly loudly. Kei was well aware that he was popular with the girls in the class.

Karuizawa Kei felt that if she didn't act soon, someone else would snatch Rin away and make him their boyfriend.

Following Chabashira Sae's instructions, all the first-year Class D students returned to the classroom after the entrance ceremony. About five minutes later, Chabashira Sae entered the room, carrying two cardboard boxes, one in each hand.

Sakura Airi, who was still talking with Rin, noticed the teacher's entrance and quickly whispered, "Rin-san, the teacher is here."

"Alright, we'll talk later," Rin replied, turning his attention back to the front.

"Yeah," Sakura Airi said with a smile, clearly happy.

As Rin turned back to face the front, Sakura Airi gazed silently at his back, feeling slightly confused as to why she hadn't felt nervous or shy while talking to him.

**I'm normally a very shy person...** Sakura thought

Chabashira Sae set the two cardboard boxes down on the podium. One of the boxes, which contained forty specially-made mobile phones, landed with a slightly heavy "thud."

Rin observed this scene, and a thought popped into his head.

**Chabashira Sae is definitely a strong woman...**

After all, carrying such heavy boxes with one hand would be challenging, even for an adult man, let alone a woman.

Once she had set the boxes down, Chabashira Sae shook out her arms to relieve the soreness and swelling. She scanned the room and noticed that the last seat on the left side was still empty, indicating that one student had yet to return to the classroom.

The empty seat belonged to Sudo Ken, the red-haired, rebellious-looking boy that Rin had noticed earlier.

Ken Sudo had a muscular build and a fierce expression. His rebellious demeanor made him look more like a delinquent than a diligent student.

Chabashira Sae quickly moved on, her eyes leaving Sudo Ken's empty seat. "I'll now hand out your cell phones and student IDs," she said.

"But, sensei, one person hasn't returned yet," Hirata Yosuke pointed out. "Shouldn't we wait for him?"

"It's not worth wasting forty people's time just to wait for one student," Chabashira Sae replied coldly. "I've already instructed everyone to return to the classroom immediately after the entrance ceremony."

"Yeah, exactly! Why should we wait for that guy who looks like an orangutan?" one of the girls in class added in a mocking tone.

**Orangutan?**

Rin thought the nickname the girl had given Sudo Ken was surprisingly fitting.

With his red hair and rebellious expression, Sudo really did resemble an orangutan.

Hirata Yosuke continued, "Then, Ms. Chabashira, may I take the belongings of the student who hasn't returned? I'll make sure he gets them later."

"It's up to you," Chabashira Sae replied without objection.

Rin Matsuoka glanced at Hirata Yosuke, thinking, *This guy is really a good person, always taking on others' problems. I wonder if the seemingly rebellious Sudo Ken will appreciate his help.*

"Now, as I call your names, please come up and collect your student ID and phone," Chabashira Sae instructed.

She began calling students up in order, based on the ID cards stored in the cardboard box, handing each student their ID and a mobile phone. The first student she called happened to be Rin Matsuoka.

"Rin Matsuoka."

Rin was the first to receive his phone and student ID. Returning to his seat, he began examining the school-issued device with great interest.

With his intermediate hacking and programming skills, Rin quickly opened the device and navigated to [My Device] to review all the phone's specifications.

Glancing at the various specs, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "These phone specs are pretty high-end. The school sure is generous, giving such expensive devices to students for free," he mused quietly to himself.

Meanwhile, Chabashira Sae continued distributing the student IDs and phones to the forty students in Class D, while Hirata Yosuke collected Sudo Ken's student ID and phone on his behalf.

After she finished, Chabashira Sae set aside the two now-empty cardboard boxes and cast a cold gaze over the students, who were excitedly fiddling with their new phones.

"Everyone, quiet down. I'm going to explain how to bind your phone," she announced. "First, look at the settings icon on the homepage of your phone. Click on it, and find the option labeled 'ID binding.'"

"Then, enter your student ID number and confirm it. This will bind the phone to you personally."

Following Chabashira Sae's instructions, Rin and the other students quickly bound their phones to their student ID numbers.

"Has everyone successfully completed the binding?" she asked. "Good. Now, I'll explain a special feature of this school."

Chabashira Sae crossed her arms over her chest, her expression serious. "That feature is called S Points."

"I assume that before the entrance ceremony, most of you had a chance to explore the school and its surroundings. You might have noticed a number of shops and facilities—karaoke bars, cinemas, cafes, clothing stores, game centers, shopping malls, and so on. The area around the school functions like a small commercial district."

"With your student ID card, you can access and use these facilities just like a credit card," she continued.

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Give me some power stones