Chapter 10: The Flaw in the Perfect Disguise
The cafeteria was deathly silent.
Itsuki Sumeragi, who had been insufferably arrogant just moments ago, was now slumped in her chair, her hands clutching her chest—a primal human instinct to protect one's body.
Her face was as pale as paper, and her exquisite makeup was smeared by cold sweat, making her look somewhat pathetic.
"I... I lost?"
It wasn't just about losing money. According to the bet, she had to surrender all her nails. For someone with an obsession for manicures and collecting, this was a fate worse than death.
I walked around the table, step by step, until I stood before her.
My shadow fell over her. She flinched as if struck by an electric current, yet she didn't even dare to run.
"Hands. Out."
I looked down at her, my voice devoid of any fluctuation.
"No... please..." Itsuki shook her head frantically, tears already welling in her eyes. "I beg you... I'll give you the money! Twenty million... no, thirty million! Just please, spare my nails..."
I ignored her pleas, slowly leaning down until I was close to her ear.
To the onlookers, this looked like a victor delivering the final sentence to the defeated.
"Do you really think I won just by observing your eye movements?"
I lowered my voice to a volume only the two of us could hear.
Itsuki's sobbing stopped abruptly. She turned her head stiffly to look at me.
"The special cards produced by this toy manufacturer use a specific linen finish for the feel." My gaze swept over the cards scattered on the table. "But this process has a defect. The reflectance of certain suits under side-lighting differs from others by 0.03%."
Itsuki's pupils contracted to the size of pinheads.
How is that possible?
That was a minute flaw that even internal quality inspectors would struggle to notice—data that could perhaps only be discerned under a microscope.
"From the beginning, this wasn't a game of luck, or even a game of memory."
Looking at her face, contorted by fear, I whispered softly:
"This was a vision test. And unfortunately, your cheating was too crude. This 'perfect disguise' is nothing but flaws in my eyes."
Those words were the final straw that broke the camel's back.
"Waaaaaaah—!!"
Itsuki finally snapped. She broke down into ugly, unreserved wailing, her tears and snot mixing together like a child caught doing something wrong.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was too arrogant! I shouldn't have cheated! Waaaah... I don't want my nails pulled out... it hurts..."
The high-and-mighty Student Council member, who viewed humans as playthings, had lost every shred of her dignity.
The surrounding students began to whisper; some even pulled out their phones to take photos. For Itsuki Sumeragi, her social death had already begun.
"I don't want your nails."
As her wailing faded into desperate sobs, I spoke again.
"Eh?" Itsuki lifted her tear-streaked face, stunned.
"Bloody human tissue is not only disgusting, it has no value. Holding onto them would only make me feel nauseous."
I straightened my back, returning to my usual lazy and harmless posture.
"However, a bet is a bet. Since you can't pay with your nails, you'll have to compensate with something else."
"Wh... what? As long as it's not nails, if it's money, I can..."
"I'm not short on pocket change." I interrupted her, gesturing with my eyes toward the crowd. "This isn't the place to talk."
A few minutes later, in a private room in a deserted corner of the cafeteria.
Itsuki sat across from me, shivering like a little rabbit waiting for judgment.
"I want your position in the Student Council," I said, getting straight to the point.
"Po... sition?"
"To be precise, I want intelligence." I pulled my phone from my pocket and tapped the screen a few times. "The Student Council's fund flows, donation records, and exactly whose pockets those so-called 'contributions' end up in. I want to know everything."
Itsuki's eyes widened.
This was no longer just a matter of cheating or gambling; this involved the core secrets of the Student Council. If the President found out she leaked this...
"You're hesitating?" I looked at her coldly. "Or would you prefer to stretch out your hands right now and let me pull your nails out one by one? I could also send the video of you cheating and losing to a new transfer student to the entire school."
"No! Please, no!" Itsuki screamed, clutching her head.
Between physical pain, social destruction, and betraying the Student Council, she had to make a choice.
And for a sheltered young lady, the fear right in front of her was far more terrifying than a future punishment.
"I... I'll do it..." she said in a trembling voice. "But I can only find a part of it... the money flow is very complex..."
"That's enough. You're the one in charge of accounting-related affairs in the Student Council, aren't you? That's your specialty."
I stood up, looking down at my newly acquired "tool."
"Remember, you are still that glamorous Student Council member. Continue collecting your nails, continue playing the part of the rich lady. But when I need you, you will be my eyes."
Itsuki looked up at the man named Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.
In this moment, in her eyes, this calm-faced boy was even more chilling than the enigmatic President of the Student Council.
It was the terror of having looked into a true abyss.
But at the deepest part of that terror, a twisted, sickly sense of submission began to sprout.
A person who could so thoroughly trample her, see through her, and dominate her...
"Yes... I understand, Ayanokoji... Master."
She lowered her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz, her eyes reflecting a mix of fear and an eerie fanaticism.
Good.
Following the rabid dog, I had now gained a double agent.
The veil of this school was finally ready to be lifted—if only by a corner.