The dimly lit floor was pitch black, with only the faint sound of machinery operating, accompanied by light footsteps.
Karuizawa Kei waited cautiously in the agreed-upon room. She took out her phone and used its faint light to examine everything in the room.
It was called a room, but it looked more like a giant warehouse. Some machines of unknown purpose were fixed in the corners, occasionally emitting a roar.
There were also many scattered miscellaneous items, covered with thick dust, suggesting that people didn't often come in here.
However, the footprints on the ground shattered Karuizawa Kei's assumption.
There was a long trail of footprints leading to near the machines, so it seemed people did come here to inspect the machines, but judging from the surrounding environment, they didn't come very often.
All in all, it was a good place for a private conversation.
But speaking of which, would Amane really come here to talk to her?
Tonight, after the buffet, Karuizawa Kei, who had originally planned to return to her room to rest, met Matsushita-san, who was urgently looking for her. Matsushita-san told her that Amane wanted to meet her at this place. Karuizawa Kei was a little strange at the time and asked Matsushita-san if Amane couldn't just call her. Even if her phone was broken, she could still use Matsushita-san's phone to call.
But Matsushita-san shrugged her shoulders, saying she didn't know either. When she tried to call Amane to verify, she found that Amane's phone was already turned off.
Returning to the dorm, Amane was nowhere to be seen.
Having no other choice, Karuizawa Kei had to come here alone to meet Amane.
In her opinion, Amane inviting her here probably wasn't just for a meeting; she might even do something to her... Karuizawa Kei felt her cheeks flush slightly and quickly rubbed them hard with her hands, but unexpectedly, this only made her feel her cheeks burning even hotter.
"If that really happens, there's nothing I can do, right?"
Karuizawa Kei tried to soothe her inner unease. Just a few steps later, her phone displayed "signal interrupted."
"What the heck, now I can't make calls, can I?"
Karuizawa Kei complained softly, and finally, she could only put her phone in her pocket.
A phone without signal or internet had lost its purpose; holding it was just a waste of battery.
Just as Karuizawa Kei was about to grow impatient, the sound of the door being forcefully pushed open came from the entrance.
"Seriously, you're too slow... a little."
Karuizawa Kei's voice gradually weakened.
She saw that the person in front of her was not Amane at all, but Manabe, whom she had met briefly at noon.
Among the three girls following Manabe, the one she was most familiar with was undoubtedly Morofuji Rika.
"What? Didn't expect us to show up here, did you? Where's that arrogant expression of yours now?"
Manabe sneered and walked over.
"Did you make Matsushita-san trick me into coming here? Then why is Amane..."
Karuizawa Kei's first reaction was that they had bribed Matsushita-san and then tricked her into coming here. But if that was the case, a new problem arose: why couldn't Amane be reached?
She thought it was possible for Matsushita-san to be bribed, but bribing or setting up Amane... that was simply impossible.
"Matsushita? We don't know anyone named Matsushita. You should be very clear about why we're here to see you today, right?"
Manabe kept her guard up, quietly noting the name Matsushita in her mind.
Was it Matsushita who was talking to her? But would she be foolish enough to show up in person to lure her here? Wouldn't she be afraid of retaliation later? So how did she get Karuizawa Kei to stay quietly in this kind of place?
There were many questions, and Manabe chose to put aside the things she couldn't understand for now. Avenging Morofuji Rika and regaining her own face were the top priorities.
"What do you want with me? It's just about what happened at noon, isn't it? What do you plan to do to me? Slap me and I'll retaliate? Then go ahead."
Karuizawa Kei was actually somewhat resistant to Amane's request at noon. Although she acted very forcefully, she wasn't someone who could actually slap others.
Bound by Amane's command, she could only pretend to lightly tap Morofuji Rika's face. Now, if the other party wanted to retaliate, what could she do? At most, she'd be hit a little harder.
"This... Manabe-san."
Seeing Karuizawa Kei lean forward slightly and offer her cheek, Morofuji Rika was at a loss.
Even Manabe was stumped by Karuizawa Kei's proactive behavior. In her impression, shouldn't Karuizawa Kei have resisted? Then she could have taken the opportunity to teach her a good lesson. But now that Karuizawa Kei was so actively offering her face for them to hit, if they hit her, what reason would they have to continue their revenge?
"Have you become this thick-skinned?"
Facing Manabe's question, Karuizawa Kei shrugged.
"I did indeed hit Morofuji-san. Isn't it normal to be hit back? As for the shoe-stepping incident, I think I handled it very well. It's just that Morofuji-san has a different understanding and perspective. If you want to pursue that matter, you can't even determine who is right and who is wrong. But everyone saw me slap Morofuji Rika, didn't they? What's there to argue about?"
Karuizawa Kei's nonchalant expression made a nameless anger rise in Manabe's heart.
Everything Karuizawa Kei said was correct, but it still made her angry. She didn't even know what she was angry about. Unable to figure it out, Manabe looked at Morofuji Rika.
"Rika."
Just calling Morofuji Rika's name, Morofuji Rika immediately understood Manabe's meaning, gathered her courage, walked in front of Karuizawa Kei, and slapped Karuizawa Kei's face hard.
Slap!
A loud slap echoed around. Karuizawa Kei stumbled back a few steps in pain, covering her reddened cheek, and looked at Morofuji Rika indignantly.
"Hey! I wasn't that forceful when I hit you at noon, was I?"
Karuizawa Kei's words made Morofuji Rika's gaze wander a bit. She was indeed taking private revenge; there was nothing to explain about that.
Seeing that the others didn't speak, Karuizawa Kei walked towards the door but was pulled back by Manabe.
"What are you going to do?"
"Huh? Of course, I'm going back. You've hit me, what else can you do? Are you planning to gang up on me? Do you really have the guts for that?"
Karuizawa Kei's confident demeanor made Manabe waver a bit, but after she looked around.
Slap!!
An even more powerful slap directly knocked Karuizawa Kei to the ground.
"Guess if I have the guts. You're still trying to act tough even in this state. You don't actually think we're scared, do you?"
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