The TYI Net Closes In.

And so, the three of us made sure to spend as much time with Kazumi-san as possible.

We named our plan the “TYI Net”—standing for Toko, Yuu, and Ishida.

“That’s not a very tasteful name,” Toko-san said with a wry smile when I brought it up.

“Naming it makes it feel concrete. Besides, it’s better than explicitly saying ‘Operation: Pursue Kazumi-san’ every single time, isn’t it?”

Embarrassed that she had called me out, I argued back to hide my blushing.

“Anyway, we need to make sure at least one of us stays by Kazumi-san’s side as much as possible.”

“Kazumi actually has quite a light class schedule. She finished taking all her general education requirements by her second year.”

“It’s going to be tough for us science majors to sync up, considering our schedule is tightly packed all the way through the fourth or fifth period,” Ishida noted.

“First, I’ll look into Kazumi’s timetable. Then we can discuss who is free to be with her after classes end.”

As a result of this discussion, I was chosen to be the first to accompany Kazumi-san.

Unsurprisingly, since Ishida had just been rejected on Sunday, he admitted that it was still a bit awkward for him to face her directly.

With the plan set, I immediately got in touch with Kazumi-san.

When the fourth period ended, I made my way to the cafeteria.

Kazumi-san was already sitting at one of the tables.

“Kazumi-san,” I called out, taking a seat directly across from her.

“Hey, Isshiki-kun. What’s up? You said you had a favor to ask.”

“I need to take an economics-related class for my general education requirements, so I signed up for Introduction to the History of Economic Thought. But I honestly have absolutely no idea what the professor is talking about. You’re in the economics department, right? I was hoping you could tutor me a bit.”

“Ah, I see. Since you’re so good at programming, wouldn’t something like econometrics have been a better fit for you?”

“I don’t even know what that word means. Could you just give me a basic overview of the concepts?”

“Sure, why not? You’re always helping me out with my programming assignments, after all. It’s about time I return the favor.”

With a bright smile, she agreed, and Kazumi-san’s lecture officially began.

“Let’s start with classical economics. Basically, it’s the theory that the value of a commodity is determined by the human labor required to produce it. Iron is cheap because you can find it easily if you look. Gold is expensive because it takes a ton of effort to uncover. It’s as simple as that. From there, the price of goods is dictated by the balance of supply and demand. That’s what’s known as ‘the invisible hand’ of the market.”

“But if you leave the market entirely to its own devices, you end up with an overproduction of goods, a market crash, and a recession. To fix that flaw, Keynesian economics and Marxist economics came along.”

“Marxist economics introduced the concepts of ‘use value’ and ‘exchange value.’ But beyond that, Marxist economics functions more like an ideology than pure economics, so you don’t need to worry about it for now.”

“Keynesian economics argues that the government should actively intervene in the market. Specifically, controlling interest rates through monetary policy and launching public investments through fiscal policy.”

“And when Keynesian economics incorporates more advanced mathematical and statistical models, that transitions into modern economics.”

Having run through the entire baseline, Kazumi-san looked up at me.

More than thirty minutes had already flown by.

“Did you get the general gist of it?”

“Uh, yeah, pretty much.”

I gave a half-hearted response, but the truth was I was still quite lost.

Seeing my dazed expression, Kazumi-san let out a soft chuckle.

“I guess my explanation wasn’t great after all. Next time, it might be better for you to ask someone who’s actually good at teaching.”

“N-no, not at all! Your explanation was incredibly clear, Kazumi-san. My brain just couldn’t keep up because it was full of vocabulary I’ve never used in my life.”

I hurriedly smoothed things over before making a follow-up request.

“If you have some free time over the next few days, would you mind teaching me again? Next time, I’ll bring Ishida along too. We actually have a quiz coming up next week.”

The upcoming quiz was real, and it was also entirely true that my grade was in serious jeopardy.

This setup allowed Kazumi-san to tutor us while simultaneously ensuring we could stay in her orbit.

It killed two birds with one stone.

However, a contemplative shadow flickered across Kazumi-san’s face.

“Tomorrow is fine, but the day after tomorrow is probably a no-go. I have some plans I need to take care of.”

Plans?

That specific word triggered a sharp ping in my intuition.

“Do you have something going on the day after tomorrow?”

“Yeah, well… just a little personal matter,” Kazumi-san said evasively.

Normally, she wasn’t the type to be vague like this.

The day after tomorrow is Friday… Don’t tell me.

But I knew I couldn’t push the issue or voice my suspicions right then and there.

“Understood. Thank you so much for today,” I expressed my gratitude.

For the time being, I had uncovered that Kazumi-san had something scheduled for this coming Friday.

Moreover, it was a plan she clearly didn’t care to share with me.

I could safely consider this a successful piece of intel.

That night, I immediately fired off a message to the other two.

I had set up a dedicated group chat exclusively for the three of us for exactly this reason.

Yuu: Kazumi-san mentioned she has plans this Friday. There’s a strong chance she’s meeting up with her boyfriend.

Toko: In that case, I’ll try to find a reason to hold her back that day.

Ishida: Do you think you can get her to stay?

Toko: I’m not sure. But by inviting her out, I think we’ll at least find out for sure whether she intends to see her boyfriend that day.

Yuu: And if it turns out she really is meeting him?

Toko: I’ll do everything in my power to stop it.

Ishida: I guess that’s really all we can do right now.

Yuu: Ishida and I will be on standby that day too. If anything happens, let us know immediately.

Toko: Got it.

With our battle lines drawn, we waited for Friday to arrive.