At that moment, Arisu Sakayanagi pushed her concentration to its absolute limit.
After committing her last remaining rook to deliver checkmate against Ren's king, Arisu—damp with cold sweat and worn down by exhaustion—managed a faint smile.
"I won."
"You did." A loss was a loss. Ren didn't make excuses; he accepted the outcome with calm composure.
It seemed he had been overconfident, or perhaps he had underestimated his opponent. After giving Arisu the handicap of a knight and a rook, Ren had eventually left openings on the board—openings large enough to swing the result of the match.
Arisu shook her head slightly, feeling a dull ache behind her temples, and forced herself to stay alert. She looked at Ren and spoke with emphasis, as if each word mattered more than the last.
"Am I qualified now?"
Arisu was too proud to show weakness in front of him. Even though she didn't have the stamina to begin another game immediately, she refused to let it show.
Noticing her condition, Ren took a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and held it to her lips.
Arisu didn't refuse. She accepted it and let it settle in her mouth, moving it slowly with her tongue as she savored what she considered her reward.
Blueberry. Unexpectedly good.
The sugar gave her a quick lift. The change was subtle, but she felt it clearly, as if her body had been waiting for something small and simple to keep going.
Seeing her face no longer looked as pale—and worried she might actually collapse if she pushed herself further—Ren took out a few more candies and handed them to her. He had gotten into the habit of carrying small snacks. It also helped that he liked seeing Airi Sakura happily eating, so he usually kept something on hand.
"Thank you," Arisu said after she put the candies away. "But you still haven't answered my question."
"Maybe," Ren replied, giving an answer that was neither yes nor no. "But you're still missing the most important ticket."
That response left Arisu confused. She tilted her head slightly.
"A ticket?"
Ren didn't explain. Instead, he began rearranging the pieces on the nearly empty board. Since he'd gone quiet, Arisu didn't press him. She simply watched his hands and followed each movement closely.
He set the pieces again, but this time the arrangement was strange.
Unlike the standard setup from their earlier games, the pieces on Ren's side were placed in mostly normal positions—except for the king. It wasn't where it should have been. Instead, it stood alone at the very front, positioned ahead of the pawns.
On Arisu's side, only half the pieces were on the board. One half formed an army ready to fight, while the other half was completely empty, creating an uneven, unsettling contrast.
After creating that distorted setup, Ren stood and turned toward the door.
"The third round has already begun. I hope you can get your ticket as soon as possible. I look forward to our next clash."
"Arisu."
Click.
The sound of the door echoed as Ren opened it and stepped into Honami's dorm room.
Her room was simple but carefully arranged. Aside from the necessities—a desk, a chair, and a bed—there was nothing extra. Light pink wallpaper covered the room and gave the space a quiet warmth.
The sound of the door wasn't loud, but in the stillness it felt abrupt. Honami, who had been writing on a sheet of white paper at her desk, turned her head toward the entrance.
"Ren." Seeing it was him, she brightened and smiled.
Ren was changing his shoes near the entryway. Without looking up, he asked, "Have you figured it out yet?"
Honami's expression stiffened. She slumped forward onto the desk, looking completely drained.
Ren is so annoying.
Seeing her reaction, Ren understood how far she had gotten. "How far did you get?"
"I got to the point where…" Honami hesitated, then answered in a gloomy voice. "If Sudō didn't do it, why were Ishizaki and the others covered in injuries?"
That was exactly what she couldn't solve. It was the one point in the incident that refused to come together. If no violence had been used, then why were the Class C students so badly hurt? It didn't add up. But if violence had been used, then why was Ren certain Sudō wasn't responsible?
Honami trusted Ren completely, which only made the contradiction harder to accept. She couldn't understand where Ishizaki's injuries had come from.
"Honami, you're caught in a trap," Ren said, pointing directly at the flaw in her reasoning. "You're too focused on the idea that Ishizaki's injuries have to be connected to Sudō."
"But…" Honami tried to argue, unable to let it go.
Ren sat down and patted the edge of the bed, signaling for her to come over. Honami walked over and sat as well, ready to continue what she had been saying. Before she could finish, Ren pushed her back onto the bed.
He braced himself above her with his left hand. With his right hand, he lightly gripped her neck—not tight enough to hurt, but firm enough to hold her in place. Because he was leaning over her, his black hair fell around her face, and a sharp intensity showed in his red eyes.
Honami didn't resist. There was no panic. Instead, she reached up with both hands and held Ren's cheeks gently, her gaze calm and full of trust.
When Ren realized he couldn't intimidate her, the intensity in his eyes softened into affection. He leaned down, touched his forehead to hers, then rolled over to lie beside her.
"Do you understand now, Honami?"
Honami wasn't Airi. She had her own goals and her own standards. "I still don't understand."
Ren spoke evenly, explaining step by step in a way she could follow.
"What you see isn't always reliable, but a person's expression often tells you what they're really feeling."
"Ishizaki's injuries are real. That's not in question."
"But those injuries weren't caused by Sudō. In the conference room, there wasn't fear in Ishizaki's eyes when he looked at Sudō. There wasn't anger either."
"Those aren't the eyes of someone who was just beaten."
"I believe Ryuen was the one who hit him."
"That's the kind of thing Ryuen would do. He's ruthless, and he's willing to pay a heavy price if it helps him."
Ren didn't know that Ryuen was willing to pay that price for a specific reason: he wanted to drain Class D before Ren could act.
Honami frowned. "Why would Ryuen do something like that?"
Honami was kind by nature. Because she would never choose that kind of method, it was hard for her to imagine someone else doing it without hesitation.
"For profit," Ren said. "To swallow up Class D."
"Honami, if you can't find the culprit in a situation, look for the person who benefits most. That's usually where the answer is."
Ryuen was a perfect example of what she needed to learn to recognize—and avoid.
Honami thought carefully, then asked, "And what about what you said about reading people's expressions? What if I can't tell just by looking?"
Ren considered it, then gave a blunt but practical answer. "If you can't tell, then keep your distance. They aren't worth your trust."
If you can't win, you leave. There's no reason to stay and get crushed by a fight you can't handle.
Honami looked at him for a moment, then spoke softly. "What about you? I can't always tell if your expression is sincere or not either."
That landed cleanly. Ren hadn't expected her to turn the question back on him.
"Me? Then I'm not worth your trust either," Ren said. He didn't try to defend himself.
Honami rolled over so she was lying on top of him, resting her head against his chest.
"But I trust you completely."
Listening to the steady rhythm of Ren's heartbeat, Honami relaxed, and before long, she fell asleep.
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The Black Dragon of the Katsuragi Family now has 188 chapters.
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