Kushida finished telling Bai Lan her story.
Afterward, Kushida lowered her head, dejected as a frost-struck eggplant, waiting like a criminal awaiting judgment.
After hearing her out, Bai Lan unraveled many of his doubts.
Bai Lan said, "So this is why you want to be friends with Horikita? You want to use contact between friends to test whether she knows about your past?
"You agreed to learn how to roast people from me because my offer reminded you of things related to your dark history. So you suspected Horikita might already have leaked details about your dark history to me, and wanted to test me during practice?"
Kushida nodded. "Yes."
"You threatened me not only to make me keep the 'true self' you revealed while practicing roasts a secret, but also because you suspected Horikita might have leaked details about your dark history to me and could reveal more in the future. On top of that, I might help you approach Horikita, so you wanted to control me through coercion?"
"More or less."
"More or less? What's missing?"
"Well... I really do want you to practice roasting people with me."
"Practice roasting people? You just want to use me as a target to roast, don't you?"
"Ha, ha, ha..." Kushida laughed awkwardly.
"But what use is telling me all this?" Bai Lan asked in confusion.
Kushida raised her head and said with the adorable face of a little angel, full of anticipation, "I hope you can help me escape my current predicament!
"For now, please teach me how to deal with the hidden threat on Horikita's side. I don't want my dark history exposed.
"At least until I learn your super-skill of winning people's favor and respect without suppressing my dark side, it absolutely cannot be exposed!"
"I really don't know any such skill." Bai Lan reiterated his answer.
However, Kushida's gaze was extremely firm, as if she believed he absolutely did.
Under the little angel's expectant gaze, Bai Lan's attention drifted to a familiar name mentioned in Kushida's story.
Horikita Suzune.
Bai Lan suddenly remembered how Horikita had resolutely followed him after school that afternoon, ignoring the possibility that everyone might take out their frustration on her.
Although he could roughly guess that Horikita had not acted because she wanted to stand up for Bai Lan, she had merely wanted to prove something to him.
Their goals were different, but the experience of "facing hardship together" had been genuine.
For the sake of their shared hardship, the time they had spent trading barbs to pass the time, and the fact that she would serve as his shield for some time to come.
Well, Kushida had said that the class currently had an extremely favorable impression of Bai Lan, so Bai Lan needed another shield now.
Although Horikita was unwilling to cooperate actively, he could make do with using her as a "rumored partner" for the time being.
In short, Bai Lan planned to help Horikita a little and see whether he could resolve Kushida's hostility toward her.
After all, Kushida could threaten even a "bystander" like Bai Lan, who had only been slightly caught up in the matter, with expulsion.
If she went after Horikita, the person at the center of it all, who knew what she might do? Expulsion would probably be the bare minimum.
Expulsion was a good thing for Bai Lan, but for other normal students, it would be like the sky collapsing!
However, since the problem between the two of them was intertwined, helping Horikita was also equivalent to helping Kushida.
After deciding to intervene in the matter between Horikita and Kushida, Bai Lan began considering a solution.
Soon, inspiration struck, and he came up with an idea.
Moreover, his idea could do more than simply resolve the conflict between Kushida and Horikita...
Once he had an idea, Bai Lan said to Kushida, "I can teach you how to resolve the hidden threat on Horikita's side. But don't misunderstand—I mainly want to help Horikita."
He opened with a blunt remark, suppressing any possible rise in her favorable impression of him.
"Please teach me!" Kushida nodded repeatedly. She had clearly grown used to Bai Lan's cutting manner of speaking, and even seemed a little... fascinated by it!
Then Bai Lan said, "Actually, I've already taught you the method."
"Huh?" Kushida looked confused. "What have you taught me? Wait... could it be?"
"That's right." Bai Lan's lips twisted into the shape of a certain logo as he smiled crookedly. "The solution is—roast her!"
But Kushida did not dare believe him so easily.
"Roast her?"
"That's right! Roast her." Bai Lan confirmed it again.
Kushida could not understand. "When you said at noon that if I wanted to become friends with Horikita, I should learn to trade barbs with her, were you serious?"
"Of course..."
Kushida: expectant gaze.
"I was lying to you~"
Kushida: expectations shattered.
"I told you, I don't know any techniques for making friends."
"I don't believe you, I don't believe you..."
Bai Lan ignored her and continued, "Compared to building relationships, I actually prefer studying how to sever them.
"My method may not let you become friends with her, but it should resolve the problem between you two."
Kushida asked, "Really?"
"That's right." Bai Lan spoke with absolute confidence.
"I still don't understand. Can you explain?" At this point, Kushida seemed afraid Bai Lan would misunderstand something, so she hurriedly added, "Don't misunderstand. Of course I doubt you. I absolutely believe in your abilities. I mainly want to learn the secret behind it. If you think I'm unqualified to learn, I won't ask."
Bai Lan glanced at her and said, "In that case, I won't explain. You only need to roast her. As long as you work hard at roasting her, your problem will resolve itself."
Bai Lan's method was not only meant to resolve the problem between Kushida and Horikita. It could even conveniently clear up Kushida's various ridiculous misunderstandings about him.
Bai Lan: Kushida, you'll soon realize that you really did misjudge me. I genuinely don't know how to make friends.
45: Schemes, open plots, brilliant stratagems! Plans! Plans! Plans!
In the end, Bai Lan decided to explain his reasoning to Kushida.
Bai Lan said, "The reason you have a conflict with Horikita is that you think she may know about the past you don't want others to know, and that there's a risk she could reveal it.
"You don't want Horikita to tell anyone because you think that once your affairs are made public, everyone will learn the 'true self' hidden beneath the perfect image you work so hard to maintain. Then no one will want to be friends with you, and you won't be able to rebuild your 'Kushida Empire.'
"In my view, solving the conflict between you and Horikita is actually very simple.
"Just roast her!
"First.
"Horikita is extremely self-righteous, so she generally doesn't take other people seriously.
"Therefore, she usually doesn't deliberately target anyone. She's a straightforward person who prefers winning head-on and overwhelming others through sheer force. Under normal circumstances, she shouldn't use someone's dark history to suppress them.
"If she ever reveals your dark history one day, it will most likely be because she accidentally let it slip.
"Besides being self-righteous, Horikita is also solitary and disciplined.
"She spends most of her time studying and exercising, leaving little free time, and even less time to communicate with others. She even uses fragments of spare time to roast people.
"If her study or exercise time gets 'occupied,' she'll make up for it with her future free time.
"Once you start roasting Horikita,
"her competitive streak will definitely make her unable to resist trading barbs with you.
"You can use this method to consume Horikita's already scarce free time, even overdrawing the free time she has that day, or even over the next several days!
"To ensure she has enough time to study and exercise, Horikita won't take part in other extracurricular activities or communicate with others that day, or even for the next few days.
"As long as Horikita has almost no time to communicate with others, she naturally won't be able to leak anything.
"That's the first line of defense.
"Next.
"Once you and Horikita have traded barbs often enough,
"everyone else will gradually grow accustomed to the idea that 'you and Horikita enjoy slandering each other.'
"After that, the credibility of anything Horikita says about you will inevitably plummet.
"Someday, if Horikita mentions negative information about you in front of others, their first reaction will be, 'Horikita is roasting Kushida again.'
"That way, Horikita's accidental leaks will become ineffective.
"Unless Horikita loses her temper, gathers every piece of evidence supporting the truth, lays it all before everyone, and proves your dark history beyond doubt, no one will believe her.
"But someone as self-centered as Horikita generally wouldn't waste that much time doing something for others.
"That's the second line of defense.
"With these two lines of defense, Horikita will basically pose no threat to you."
After hearing Bai Lan's explanation, Kushida became instantly excited.
See? This was what a professional looked like!
And you still claim you aren't a master strategist?
After being excited for a while over the possibility of resolving her predicament, Kushida soon noticed another problem.
"You want me to occupy Horikita's free time by roasting her, but whenever I have a chance to speak with Horikita, it's usually in the classroom or during some group activity. There are always people around then. Wouldn't that mean roasting Horikita in front of a crowd? That wouldn't be good, would it?"
Clearly, Kushida was worried about the "little angel" image she had painstakingly built.
To put Kushida at ease about roasting Horikita, Bai Lan said, "It's fine. Just say I taught you to do it."
Kushida: "You taught me?"
Bai Lan: "You forgot? Didn't you ask me at noon to help you become friends with Horikita? The method I taught you was—roast her!"
"Huh? Can this really help me become friends with Horikita?"
"How can you be so stupid? I told you! I was messing with you. I don't know how to make friends!"
Before you continue