After Tomonari spoke, Kakeru noticed all the other male students in the class, including Albert, watching him.
They were clearly waiting for him to find a solution — to handle it.
Each person would need to pay 500,000 Points to avoid expulsion, which they seemed to find acceptable. That's why they had waited for his arrival.
In other words, they had already made their decision.
Kakeru: "…"
Heh. He had seen this coming on his way here. No surprise at all.
Of course Houtarou wouldn't stay uninvolved — everything had played out exactly as he'd predicted.
"Where's that Houtarou Oreki?" Kakeru said, "Sets up this elaborate trap and doesn't even show his face?"
"I don't appreciate that kind of talk." Tomonari said, "You're the ones who broke the rules."
The proper procedure would have been reporting directly to the Student Council upon discovery. But this school operated on strength and Points — with enough Points, anything could be bought, even private negotiations like this.
"As for Oreki…" Tomonari glanced to the side.
Kakeru noticed someone in the classroom doorway — a handsome young man with black hair and dark green eyes.
The young man looked over.
"Ryūen, looking for me?" Houtarou said, "Even if you collected Points from everyone in your class again, it would only total about 6 million. You're short by over 4 million. So you want to borrow that from me, right?
I can lend you the Points. But I heard about your nasty demands to Horikita. She may be gentle, but I'm different. One kowtow gets you 400,000 Points, and ten kowtows get you 4 million.
You know there aren't many people in this school who can lend you 4 million Points — not even your homeroom teacher. So, Ryūen, kneel and kowtow ten times!"
Houtarou wore a smile while saying this, but to Kakeru's eyes, it looked like a demon's summons.
Damn. Making him kowtow as interest?
This kind of thing! This kind of thing!
"Impossible!" Kakeru said, "Absolutely impossible!"
"Then I'll file the report." Houtarou said, "For ordinary Class D students, they'd just lose their Sports Festival scores at worst. But Ryūen, you're a repeat offender — framing others, ignoring rules. The Student Council won't be lenient enough to just give you a bottom 10 ranking penalty in the Sports Festival. They'll expel you after it ends. So, goodbye Ryūen. Though it was brief, I rather liked you."
Hmm. Those words sounded like something special. But nobody misunderstood their true meaning.
Kakeru understood perfectly that Houtarou's "like" meant he enjoyed using him as a source of Points.
Was he just a Points-collecting tool? Would Houtarou squeeze him dry and then get him expelled?
While Houtarou would remain in Class A and graduate to a bright future, he would end up doing construction work.
What a shitty future!
"Remember Ryūen, kneel when you kowtow." Houtarou's voice came.
Tomonari looked out the window, pretending not to hear.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
[Thud Thud Thud—]
Masumi looked curiously at Houtarou.
He played an audio recording on his phone. The sound was like something striking — an impact with a fleshy quality.
"Nothing special to hear." Houtarou said, "Just the sound of Ryūen kowtowing. He always called Sudō a coward, but now he's pretty cowardly himself. I thought he would choose to leave school directly."
Oh. So that was the sound of Kakeru kowtowing. No wonder it was so loud.
Wait. Isn't this going too far? You made him kowtow?
What happened while I was getting food?
"Then about Horikita…" Masumi asked.
Earlier when Houtarou learned about Suzune's injury, he had gotten busy. But now he wasn't with her.
"She's probably taking care of her own business." Houtarou said, "After all, she's the victim this time — she has the right to handle it her way. I'll wrap things up afterwards."
Oh. What do you mean by wrapping things up later?
Masumi didn't understand.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
Suzune was indeed taking care of her own business.
"Thank you for recording this time, Chabashira-sensei."
Watching Kakeru leave to be harvested by Houtarou, Suzune transferred the compensation Points from him, minus 500,000 which went to Sae's account.
"I was just doing my job." Sae said.
She left, recognizing that Suzune likely had something private to discuss with Kikyō.
"Um, I'll leave too." said Airi, who was perceptive enough to read the atmosphere.
But as she was about to exit the infirmary—
"Thank you, Sakura-san." Suzune said suddenly.
"Um... yeah." Airi glanced back before departing.
Silence fell over the infirmary for three seconds before breaking.
"So now it's just the two of us." Suzune said.
Kikyō: "..."
"You took my voice recorder, threw away my phone, and collaborated with Ryūen, didn't you, Kushida?" Suzune enunciated each syllable carefully, her gaze fixed intently on the other girl, "You claimed you wanted to be my friend, yet you deeply hate me, and now you've betrayed me. Do you have any explanation?"
Do you have any explanation?... Do I have any explanation?
Indeed, if she wanted to make excuses, she could probably manage something. But under Suzune's penetrating gaze, the usually sweet Kikyō's expression transformed completely.
That is—
"As expected." She said, "Being around you has been nothing but painful, Suzune Horikita."
What Suzune saw was a smile — but a cold, mocking one. This was Kikyō's truest face.
Or rather, beneath that coldness and lingering smile, it became impossible to tell which was the real her.
Suzune: "..."
She closed her eyes briefly.
While she and Kikyō hadn't shared many happy moments, she couldn't say it was all unpleasant. Though Suzune rarely made friends, and despite Houtarou occasionally trying to introduce her to this girl, she had remained uninterested.
Still, Suzune couldn't deny that Kikyō had genuinely helped her at times, including finding medical staff after her recent injury.
But trust often leads to betrayal. Now, facing this Kikyō, her initial impression had proven correct.
She didn't like her, yet had tried to maintain good relations — this wasn't just some prank or joke. It was something deeper, more profound. Until now, Suzune had felt it unnecessary to address or even mention it. She wasn't interested in others' affairs and wouldn't intervene.
However, she might know why Kikyō was targeting her like this.
With an expressionless face, Suzune said, "Now I remember there was a student like you, Kikyō Kushida, during my middle school days."
"Hehe—"
Kikyō let out a laugh — but it was different now.
"Just as I thought. So you knew. Yes, even though you're the studious type who reads books ten hours a day, you knew. After all, I was a problem child in every way. That incident caused quite an uproar — an entire class, including the teacher, went on strike for a month.
With that kind of history, even in this new place, I'll be affected. If this gets out, people will probably fear me. So, Suzune Horikita, are you planning to make this public?"
"If I do make it public, what will you do?" Suzune said.
"Do I have any option besides dropping out? I could try making excuses, but Oreki would definitely take your side. Though my reputation at school is good, he has Ichinose on his side, and I can't compete with her."
In other words, Kikyō had already considered the consequences of her dark history being revealed. Was she choosing not to resist?
"...Mm." Suzune nodded, "Then I won't make it public."
Kikyō: "..."
??
"What strange things are you saying?" Kikyō found it incomprehensible, "You won't make it public? You already know, right? I not only betrayed you but I'm also a class traitor. I photographed the Sports Festival entry form and leaked it to Ryūen. So now you're trying to act like those saints from Class B?"
Suzune: "..."
Indeed. Ichinose and her group were like archangels, offering help to Class C. While calling them "saints" wasn't incorrect, she felt the term carried a hint of mockery.
However, Suzune shook her head, "I won't report you. On the contrary, Kushida, I won't tell anyone about your past. If that's what worries you, you can rest easy — I mean you no harm."
She stepped closer to Kikyō and extended her hand.
"Just stop targeting me until I gather 20 million Points."
Stop targeting her?
Kikyō stared at the outstretched hand, understanding its meaning.
Suzune was offering peace.
"That's impossible." Kikyō said, "Don't you understand? I'll never feel at ease while you're at this school. The class is suffering because of you. Just drop out, and I promise to devote myself fully to the class. Get lost!"
She brushed past Suzune, ignoring the extended hand.
"Wait." Suzune's voice halted her, "Since you've refused my offer, I'll have to make this recording public."
Those words made Kikyō turn around.
What nonsense was this?
"I only know rumors about your middle school incident. Even if I spread them, few would believe me. Even Ichinose isn't the type to spread dirt about her friends. However—" Suzune held up the voice recorder that she had used before, "I recorded our conversation just now. They might not believe me, but they'll believe your own voice. They'll know exactly what kind of person you are. So if you won't cooperate, Kushida, you're finished."
Kikyō: "..."
Damn.
She turned to glare at Suzune, who maintained her expressionless face.
But now Kikyō understood.
Despite Suzune's injury, this woman was something else. She usually appeared clumsy and straightforward, but as expected, she and Houtarou were truly a perfect match as scum.
Both utterly filthy.
⍟⍟⍟
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