A Hypocritical Cooperation

Dormitory 401 was spotless. Aside from the small amount of trash in the Trash Can proving someone lived there, the entire room was basically unchanged from At the Start of School.

It was Ayanokoji's room.

Yuyuki, Kushida, Sudo and others were holding a celebration there for Sudo not having to drop out. It was a gathering among friends, really—just finding some random excuse to hang out together.

However, Yuyuki had only been invited because he had helped pass along a message for Sudo. Horikita had originally been invited too, but he had heard that she refused.

"Crap, it's already this late. Time really flies when I'm with everyone. I'll head back for today, then."

As it neared nine in the evening, Kushida said her goodbyes and left. The atmosphere in the room immediately dropped considerably.

Ike Kanji sat on the floor, staring at the ceiling with a dreamy look on his face.

"Little Kikyo really is the best. She's so pretty and gentle—she must be really well-behaved at home too. If only I could date Little Kikyo..."

"Idiot, how could Little Kikyo ever fall for you?"

Yamauchi Haruki instantly tackled Ike Kanji to the floor and joked around with him. "Only a man like me is worthy of Little Kikyo."

The room shifted to the sort of topic men were supposed to talk about. When Kushida had been around, Yamauchi and the others had all rushed to show off, boasting nonstop. All Kushida had to do was say "So Amazing" once or twice, and Yamauchi and the others would be completely wrapped around her finger.

Watching the two fool around, Ayanokoji stiffly brought up another topic men were supposed to talk about.

"I remember Tenyo is from a financial conglomerate family, right? Even among rich people, your family is pretty impressive. Do you have any interesting stories?"

His words also caught Sudo's attention. Yamauchi and Ike stopped roughhousing as well, looking eagerly at Yuyuki. They were clearly quite curious about the lives of wealthy people.

"Hm... I guess there really aren't any. Every day is just studying and socializing. Nothing particularly interesting."

After pretending to think it over, Yuyuki shook his head.

Of course, he knew what Yamauchi and the others were hoping to hear. But with their personalities, anything said here would probably spread throughout the entire class in no time, and his reputation would plummet. Aside from in front of Horikita, he had never shown any frivolous side of himself.

Yuyuki didn't believe in friendship between men, either. If you truly wanted to keep a secret, then you should never speak it aloud.

This was probably also a test before Ayanokoji laid his cards on the table.

"Come on, don't be so stingy. Tell us."

Yamauchi Overly Familiar-ly draped an arm over Yuyuki's shoulder and said with a lecherous grin, "Rich people throw lewd parties all the time, right? Girls' bodies really are soft, aren't they?"

Sudo and Ike breathed heavily as they stared at Yuyuki with intensely expectant eyes, making it clear how interested they were in the topic.

Ayanokoji leaned forward slightly as well, putting on an interested expression.

As for the answer, he probably did not care about it at all. As Long As it was not the answer Ayanokoji wanted, he could simply keep steering Yamauchi and the others along. That was far too easy for Ayanokoji.

Yuyuki's gaze swept over them.

The parties held by the wealthy were certainly beyond anything Yamauchi could imagine, and he had too many women to count, but there was no need to tell Yamauchi and the others that.

Still, if he did not give them something interesting, Yamauchi and the others probably would not let him go easily.

After thinking for a moment, Yuyuki turned to Ayanokoji, a faint smile curling at the Corner of Mouth. "All right. There is one interesting thing. I heard that the government once specifically established a school to cultivate artificial geniuses. No matter what kind of person someone was, As Long As they stood out from there, they could become top-tier talent capable of shouldering Sakurajima."

So he really knew about the White Room... Ayanokoji remained expressionless. Not even his fingers moved. He merely tilted his head slightly, indicating confusion.

"What's that supposed to be..." Yamauchi, who had no interest in such things, complained. "Ah... ah, looks like Tenyo just doesn't want to tell us. Rich people really don't think people like us are worth anything, do they?"

"It's not like that. After all, financial conglomerate families generally rely on arranged marriages, so there isn't much freedom of choice," Yuyuki said helplessly.

"I see..." Yamauchi looked at Ike in disappointment again, seeming to understand. "But I guess that makes sense. That's how it always goes in TV dramas. Looks like rich people have it rough too, huh, Kanji?"

There was also a trace of concern in Ike Kanji's gaze as he looked at Yuyuki. "Don't you want to find your own happiness or something, Tenyo? What if the person you're arranged to marry is an ugly woman? Wouldn't that be completely over?"

"Since you enjoy a wealthy life, you have to shoulder some responsibilities too."

Tenyo Yuyuki Shrugged indifferently.

They chatted for a while longer, mostly about which girl was the prettiest or whether some girl liked them.

It was not until around eleven that everyone left Ayanokoji's room. Sudo and the others entered the elevator, while Yuyuki returned to the room next door.

After returning to his dorm and quickly washing up, Yuyuki played with his phone, which displayed a pile of notifications.

[Little Kikyo: Remember to go to bed early. Also... if Sudo and the others did anything that made you unhappy, remember to tell me.]

The timestamp showed 9:10. Kushida had probably sent him this message as soon as she returned to her dorm.

[Little Kikyo: I can see you've read it. Did Yeyue only just get back to the dorm?]

[Yuyuki: Yeah, the gathering just ended. Sorry, I only checked my phone after taking a shower.]

Yuyuki felt somewhat helpless. This was the annoying thing about Sakurajima's messaging apps—once the other person saw the read receipt, they knew you had been looking at your phone.

Still, he was somewhat surprised that Kushida had not gone to sleep yet.

Of course, he was not narcissistic enough to think that Kushida had specifically been waiting for his reply.

Maintaining friendships with everyone came at a steep cost in time. Kushida was probably the last person in the school to go to sleep in the first place.

[Little Kikyo: You don't need to apologize to me... Also, if possible, Yeyue, it would be better if you had less contact with Yamauchi and the others.]

[Yeyue: Why?]

[Little Kikyo: It's a bit troublesome to explain. I'm coming to your room now.]

[Yeyue: Forget it. Tomorrow's the same, and it's already this late.]

Yeyue rejected her without hesitation.

He understood the reasoning as well. Yamauchi and others had poor reputations, and maintaining long-term contact with them would not be good for the high influence he wanted.

There were also some interesting stories and pictures Matsushita Chiaki had shared, along with his chats with Ichinose.

There were many girls from other classes and even upper grades as well. However, they had basically approached him for money and did not have much talent, so replying to them occasionally was enough.

He was a boy, after all, and there was also some idle chatter in boys' group chats. Most of it was similar to the conversations between Yamauchi and others. He usually lurked without speaking, but before he knew it, he had gained some understanding of the body measurements of the girls at school. He had no idea how those people got their hands on such information.

After waiting a while longer, Yeyue left his room.

[Little Kikyo: Alright... Good night, Yeyue [Cute]]

After sending the message, Kushida Kikyo stared at Yeyue's profile picture and silently cursed him as an idiot.

She had clearly wanted to keep talking with Yeyue. With Yamauchi and others around, Kushida hardly had any opportunities to speak with Yeyue. After all, she had to consider everyone's feelings.

"Could This Guy be deliberately disrupting my rhythm?"

At one thirty in the morning, Yeyue casually put on a set of pajamas and leaned on the balcony with both hands, looking at the scenery below. Behind him was Ayanokoji's room.

He had made his hint so obvious that Ayanokoji could not possibly have failed to understand it.

Although it was nearing summer, he actually dared to make him stand in the wind for so long.

Suddenly.

The dormitory door behind him was pushed open. Ayanokoji stepped out in his school uniform and immediately spotted Yeyue.

"Been waiting long?"

"Waiting for what?"

Yeyue replied coldly.

Ayanokoji could not help but feel somewhat helpless. He had originally wanted to conduct one final test.

After all, as someone from a financial conglomerate.

It was indeed possible that he had learned of the White Room through other channels, but it was also possible that he merely knew its name. In that case, there would be nothing for him to worry about.

An ordinary person would have answered something like "No," or complained, "You really kept me waiting," which would have indirectly proven that Yeyue was hinting that he knew about his past.

Under such rushed circumstances, Yeyue's answer clearly showed that he had received professional training and had already formed a habit.

Trying to find a flaw in Yeyue's words was undoubtedly difficult.

Moreover, the other party did not seem hostile, so he could only lay his cards on the table himself.

Ayanokoji also came to Yeyue's side and leaned on the balcony with his elbows, looking at the scenery below. All he could see was darkness, but compared to the darkness in Ayanokoji's eyes, it was not worth mentioning.

"Tenyo, didn't you say that the country once established a facility specifically for cultivating artificial geniuses? What do you think the final outcome of such a facility would be?"

"A stupid question," Yeyue said flatly. "Either it proves that this method can succeed, or it proves that it can only fail. Could there be any other outcome? Of course, in my view, that facility has already failed."

"That's true..."

Ayanokoji looked at the shadow below and nodded.

Although the White Room disregarded the limits of what children could endure and subjected them to complete control from childhood onward, producing remarkably capable individuals, most of the children had long since suffered mental breakdowns and were unable to integrate into society.

Sakurajima naturally would not allow such an inhumane educational facility to exist, but that was only on the surface.

Behind the scenes.

The White Room still stood openly and proudly in Sakurajima.

It also consumed an enormous amount of funding every year. The meaning behind that was self-evident.

They only cared whether this educational method could succeed or fail. As for how many children would suffer mental breakdowns because of it, they did not care in the slightest.

Of course, neither Ayanokoji nor Yeyue cared.

Ayanokoji merely wanted to use this to determine how much Yeyue knew about the White Room.

Ayanokoji turned to look at Yeyue, as though he wanted to pour darkness into the other's heart. "You should know that I am known as the White Room's only successful case. Do you think I am a failure?"

"Another stupid question." Yeyue sneered. "Your strength truly cannot be underestimated. You are enough to stand on equal footing with me. But Ayanokoji, in my eyes, you are a complete failure. You are even inferior to Yamauchi and others."

"What do you mean?"

Ayanokoji asked expressionlessly.

Although nothing showed on his face, Ayanokoji could feel a faint tremor in his dark heart.

Of course, he was not arrogant enough to think he was number one. He even longed to be defeated by someone, to prove that he was a failure and thereby prove that the White Room was wrong.

Yet no one could do that.

No one could deny his strength—not his father, not the White Room's Instructor. Even at this school, where ability reigned supreme, he could easily clear every hurdle as long as he revealed his strength.

He had chosen to leave precisely because he could no longer grow in the White Room.

But in Tenyo Yuyuki's eyes, the one praised as the Sole Success Case was actually a failure. Was that Tenyo's arrogance in his own strength, or did he simply see things differently?

Ayanokoji was very curious.

Yuyuki had no need to tell him. Since they had already laid their cards on the table, he could not be bothered to keep up the act.

Yuyuki stared coldly at Ayanokoji before him and said in an icy voice, "You kept me waiting so long. Shouldn't you apologize first?"

"You're right. Sorry."

Ayanokoji bowed stiffly as he apologized.

Only now did he realize that Yuyuki was such an overbearing person. Had all those frivolous displays been an act?

Still.

You wanted me to apologize...

Then I'd apologize. It was nothing worth caring about. Things like pride didn't exist for me, and I could use this chance to make myself seem weak.

Changing the subject meant the other party did not want to answer, but Ayanokoji did not care.

There was something else Ayanokoji cared about more at the moment. Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "By the way, why did Tenyo specifically tell Sudo about my existence?"

"Stop pretending. There's no need to beat around the bush and probe any further. What you really want to ask is whether I have some ulterior motive toward you, right?"

Yuyuki scoffed and said coolly, "Actually, I have no intentions toward you. I just don't want you getting in my way. At most, I only want you to show a little of your strength."

"Is that all?... Then—"

"Enough."

Before Ayanokoji could finish, Yuyuki cut him off with a mocking tone. "Don't bring up such meaningless things. No matter what I say, you still won't believe me."

"..."

Ayanokoji could not help but fall silent.

That was indeed true. Unless he could gain complete control over the other party, no matter what Yuyuki said, Ayanokoji would still retain a certain degree of suspicion. But to Ayanokoji, one percent and ninety-nine percent made no difference. Only absolute control could put him at ease.

Tenyo Yuyuki knew him far too well.

That was not reasonable.

Even if he could obtain all the White Room's information through certain channels, it was impossible for him to understand Ayanokoji so thoroughly.

The more the other party knew, the more uneasy Ayanokoji became.

More importantly, was Tenyo threatening him indirectly?

Boundless darkness continuously enveloped Ayanokoji's heart, urging him to take action.

In an instant, he made a decision.

Considering Yuyuki's identity, he could not use violent methods.

Yuyuki also appeared very strong and knew Ayanokoji extremely well.

But he still had to find a way to uncover Yuyuki's true purpose. As for what he would make Yuyuki do after gaining control over him, Ayanokoji did not care. As long as he could safely get through High School Three Years and Yuyuki stopped interfering with him, that would be enough.

If it came down to it, making Yuyuki drop out was not impossible either.

No matter what, as long as he was the one who won in the end, that would be enough!