At night, the sea was calm.
Due to the continuous rise in temperature recently, even on the sea, it was rare to feel the cool night breeze.
A rare gentle breeze blew, but it brought nothing but the salty smell of the sea and dry warmth.
Even though it was night, the deck was already deserted.
The once bustling open-air swimming pool also fell silent in the night.
At this moment, a figure walked quickly on the deck with light steps.
Her silver hair sparkled in the moonlight.
Her purple eyes, under the faint moonlight, looked like amethyst, giving a mysterious and magnificent feeling.
Amane arrived at the elevator entrance but had no intention of taking the outdoor elevator.
Outdoor elevators were generally for staff, and she didn't have an employee ID here, so she couldn't use them.
So she adopted a slightly more troublesome method, which was to use the fire escape.
Looking at the locked fire escape, Amane easily picked it open with a brooch, then stealthily walked all the way to the bottom of the ship's hold.
At the lowest deck, the fire escape split into two paths. One led to the electrical room door, but because it had been unused for a long time, the door was locked, and the lock was on the other side. Amane shrugged and chose to take the other path. The moment she pushed open the fire escape door, she instinctively raised her hand to block an elbow strike coming towards her.
"You're truly vigilant."
Amane shook her hand, a satisfied expression on her face.
As her partner, if he didn't even have this level of vigilance, her advice was not to play this kind of game that required brains.
"If possible, I really wish you wouldn't appear in this way."
Ayanokoji sighed and rubbed his elbow.
Amane's punch had quite a bit of force.
"Only this path won't be captured by surveillance cameras the whole way, right?"
Amane showed a cute smile.
Ayanokoji, however, was completely unmoved, because he was now very aware of how much was hidden beneath that cute exterior.
"I lured Karuizawa-san here in your name, Amane, you don't mind, do you?"
Ayanokoji said casually.
"Oh my, oh my, Ayanokoji, you're really too much. This way, I'll have to take all the blame, won't I? How annoying."
Though she spoke angrily, Amane's face showed an excited smile.
"Are you really sure she and Hirata are a fake couple?"
Amane, just to be safe, confirmed with Ayanokoji again.
"That's right, Hirata told me this when he left the Uninhabited Island. He entrusted me to take good care of Karuizawa-san."
Ayanokoji felt a little guilty recalling this matter.
He did take extra care, but the direction of his care was not quite right.
Suddenly, Ayanokoji thought of something and turned to look at Amane.
"Why did you think to ask that question? If my answer had been no, what would you have done? Given up on the prey you had in hand?"
Ayanokoji wanted to peek into what this girl, who had once trained and been educated with him, had become after he left that place.
"It might have made me treat her more roughly, perhaps? But since I know her true relationship with Hirata, that means she meets the standards to become my toy."
"Toy?"
"That's right. Aren't things that give me pleasure my toys?"
Such a thought was truly terrifying. In some ways, she was a more frightening individual than Ryuuen. Without moral and legal constraints, it was impossible to imagine what Amane could do.
Looking at Amane's pure, childlike eyes, combined with the word "toy" from her mouth, even Ayanokoji couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
"Can I have her?"
Ayanokoji made a request to Amane for the first time.
Amane, who had been excited, narrowed her eyes.
"Are you also interested in Karuizawa Kei? What about her attracts you? Her abilities? Her appearance? Her figure? Or is it your inappropriate overflowing sympathy?"
Amane's long, pale fingers pressed against Ayanokoji's chest.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka knew that he couldn't hide his thoughts from Amane, so he chose to be frank.
"I believe she can unleash greater value, rather than just being a toy like a flower vase."
A flame of defiance burned in Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's pupils.
In that instant, Amane understood.
"You want her to be your tool, not a toy... Isn't that the same way your father treated you? I cherish all my toys; even if I grow tired of them, I'll gently set them aside, not discard them. But would you truly cherish a tool that has lost its value?"
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, as a discarded tool, please answer me: if Karuizawa Kei breaks up with Hirata, loses her influence among the girls, and thus loses all her collective value, what will you do the moment she loses her value?"
Amane posed a fatal question.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was speechless.
No, he actually had an answer.
It was to discard her.
But such an answer was too cruel, and he knew Amane had seen through his answer, which was why she so boldly exposed his wound.
Both of them had once been members of the White Room. Although they hadn't met for three years, he couldn't help but feel his father's admiration and affection for Amane.
If an artificial genius is called a fake genius, then what would be cultivated when a true genius's potential is maximized by others?
This was a question that had always puzzled Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
But now, he had an answer: a devil.
Thud.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's fist, swift as lightning, struck Amane's face.
Amane took the punch without dodging or flinching.
The mocking smile at the corner of her lips was so dazzling to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. It had been six years since he left that place, and he had thought he had washed away the brand that man had left on him.
But in the end, he found that the brand had long been ingrained in his bones.
"Proceed as planned."
Amane said lightly, and her body skillfully hid in the nearby shadows, as if merging with the surroundings.
But Amane's striking appearance should have been impossible to miss unless one was blind. Yet, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka glanced around casually, and even though he had seen Amane, his eyes simply didn't relay the information of "discovering" her to his brain.
Was it a special technique to erase her presence?
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka stopped thinking and stared intently at the corridor approaching the elevator in the distance.
Karuizawa Kei was already in the trap; all that was left was for Manabe to arrive, and a good show could begin.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka didn't have to wait long. Manabe Shiho, along with Morofuji Rika, Yabu Nanami, and Yamashita Saki, a group of four, arrived at the agreed location.
"Shiho... Is it really okay? I've actually let go of that matter."
Morofuji Rika became a little scared when it came down to it.
Although she had argued fiercely with Karuizawa Kei and said she would get revenge, she had never considered that one day she would resort to bullying Karuizawa Kei.
"Rika, you don't have to be scared. Everyone is here. Since she could get Miyako-san to bully you, she should have expected this day would come for her too."
Manabe pointed to the half-open door and looked at the few people behind her.
"If you're scared, you can go back. Even if I'm the only one left, I'll still get this anger out for Rika."
After Manabe finished speaking, she pushed open the door and walked in.
The three people behind her exchanged glances and quickly followed, no one chickening out.
"The show is about to begin. This time, I won't allow your sympathy to overflow, Ayanokoji-kun."
A warning voice came from behind, and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka stopped.
"I know what to do without you telling me."
"I hope so."
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"