Chapter 3 - What are Points?
After some thought, Yuto leaned towards Airi, who had been keeping her head down.
She was lowering her head not because she noticed the elderly woman and didn't want to give up her seat; she was simply shy because Yuto was playing with her hands.
After leaning close to Airi, Yuto whispered, "Airi, move away for a moment, let me get out."
Since Yuto was seated inside, he needed to pass by Airi to leave his seat.
Yuto's words, along with his breath, brushed against Airi's fiery red hair, causing her ears to instantly turn red.
A shy and puzzled Airi whispered back, "Yuto, where are you going? We haven't reached the school entrance yet."
"I plan to give up my seat to that elderly lady." Yuto stopped playing with Airi's soft hand and pointed towards the standing grandmother.
Following Yuto's gesture, Airi also saw the elderly lady and said in a low voice, "Yuto, you keep sitting. I'll give up my seat."
Although Airi was extremely shy, she was kind and polite, the type to offer her seat to others in need.
But due to her timid and shy nature, she found it hard to speak up...
However, wanting Yuto to keep his seat, she took the initiative, picked up her handbag, and timidly approached the elderly lady.
Yuto watched Airi's slightly panicked steps with a relieved smile on his handsome face.
His childhood friend who was as timid as a deer in the forest, was gradually growing up.
Airi, overcoming her panic and unease, approached the grandmother, whispered a few words to her, and then led the elderly woman towards Yuto's seat.
"Oh my, young lady, you're such a nice person. Don't worry, good deeds always pay back to you," the grandmother said to Airi with a chuckle.
"No...I don't need any reward," Airi awkwardly replied. She didn't want the grandmother to misunderstand.
After Airi led the grandmother to her seat, those seated nearby breathed a sigh of relief, as they didn't need to beat any guilt for not giving up their seat, reducing their mental pressure.
Yuto also vacated his seat, pointing to the innermost seat, "Please sit here."
"Alright, alright." The grandmother, with a kind expression, sat where Yuto had been seated, and Airi timidly looked up at Yuto, who gestured towards her former seat.
Yuto meant for Airi to sit down.
But...
'Airi, you better behave, or I'll tease you right now.' Yuto hinted at his childhood friend through eye contact.
Airi seemed to understand the meaning in Yuto's eyes, her cheeks flushing as she lowered her head and obediently returned to her seat.
She didn't dislike being teased by him; in fact, she quite longed for it.
It's just that the place wasn't suitable, there were too many people...
The small episode of giving up a bus seat passed without much fuss, as none of the passengers made a big deal out of it.
Standing, Yuto leaned against the back of Airi's seat, his eyes shining brilliantly as he looked at the grandmother who had taken his seat.
[Hmm, who should receive the points for giving up the seat?]
[The girl gave up her seat for me, but I'm not sitting in the spot she vacated.]
[Well, the reward should still be given to the girl, as she actively gave up her seat for me. The boy only gave up his seat for her, so it doesn't meet the conditions for receiving points.]
Yuto closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the dazzling colors had vanished from his clear eyes.
This meant Yuto had turned off his mind-reading ability.
Yuto had no objections to Airi receiving points. But, he was curious about the 'points' mentioned several times by the grandmother, presumably a school staff member.
'Points must be related to the school. Should I use mind-reading to backtrack on her?'
Yuto silently watched the kind-looking grandmother.
His mind-reading ability allowed Yuto not only to understand others' thoughts but also to retrace their thoughts to learn more information.
Using mind-reading on the grandmother could perhaps clarify what 'points' really mean.
However, mind-reading ability consumed a significant amount of mental energy, which Yuto generally avoided using, but he decided to use it now, believing the information on 'points' were crucially linked to his High School life.
Given the school's fifteen-year history and the secrecy of its graduates about school-related news, information available online was scarce.
This was Yuto's chance to gather intelligence in advance.
After making up his mind, Yuto took out his phone, typed a message, and discreetly touched Airi with it.
??
A puzzled Airi first looked at her childhood friend, then at the phone touching her arm.
Airi read the message Yuto had left on his phone.
[Airi, in a few minutes, whisper to the elderly lady next to you 'What are points?' After that, no matter what she asks you, just muddle through unclearly.]
The message puzzled Airi, but she did not ask Yuto why.
Instead, she obediently nodded, indicating she understood.
Seeing Airi nod, Yuto casually put his phone back in his pocket.
Using mind-reading to backtrack directly was too mentally taxing.
Yuto didn't want to feel dizzy, so he asked Airi to mention 'points' to the grandmother.
When the grandmother's thoughts and attention were drawn to the keyword 'points,' his mind-reading ability could more easily and quickly extract information related to 'points' from her mind.
In short—
The 'points' mentioned by Airi would serve as bait for Yuto, the fisherman, to swiftly catch the 'fish' named 'points' from the grandmother's mind.
Airi silently counted the time in her head, determined to fulfill any request from Yuto.
After counting to 180 seconds, Airi leaned towards the grandmother, and Yuto's eyes immediately shone with a dim light.
Mind-reading, activated!
Leaning towards the grandmother, Airi softly asked, "What are points?"
"What...what?! You..." The grandmother's leisurely and kind expression instantly changed, looking incredulously at the inconspicuous first-year student sitting next to her.
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