A few minutes later.
Kushida took a deep breath, then slowly let it out, as if expelling all the pent-up frustration in her chest.
The twisted look on her face gradually faded, and her crooked lips curved into a gentle smile once more.
Kushida Kikyou lightly brushed off her skirt and tidied her slightly tousled hair.
"Phew~ I feel refreshed!"
Her voice had returned to its usual sweetness, the end of each phrase lifting with a girl's characteristic lightness.
It was as if the hysterical girl who had kicked the door and cursed through gritted teeth had never existed.
—At that moment, she was still the beloved Kushida Kikyou everyone adored.
Gentle, cheerful, and considerate. No one would ever guess that just seconds earlier, such intense malice had been churning inside her.
"Sorry, Shimizu. I lied to you~" She suddenly stopped and playfully stuck her tongue out at the empty hallway, her tone so light it was as though she were sharing a harmless little secret.
The question the boy had asked a few days ago seemed to echo in her ears: "How do you usually relieve stress, Kushida?"
(This is my answer.)
The dull thuds of her toes kicking the iron door, the vicious curses forced through her clenched teeth, tearing off her disguise in the darkness where no one could see—this was her own special way of relieving stress.
(When did it start?)
Fragments of memory suddenly surfaced: the embarrassing past exposed in middle school, the flood of abuse on her social media accounts, the rainy night when she had been forced to delete them all.
Then, at the opening ceremony, there had been Horikita Suzune's cold profile and Kouenji Rokusuke's casual chuckle. That feeling of being utterly ignored had been more suffocating than outright malice.
That night, she had meant to get some fresh air on the rooftop, only to find the iron door locked.
The emotions she had kept bottled up for so long burst free in that moment. When her foot first struck the door, a twisted kind of pleasure suddenly welled up inside her.
(So I picked up this bad habit back then.)
So whenever something upset her, this gloomy corner became her outlet.
In the darkness where no one could see, the perfect Kushida Kikyou could briefly shed her disguise and let her real, ugly self breathe.
Just then, a faint vibration from her pocket signaled a new message.
Kushida Kikyou slipped her slender fingers into her pocket, felt around, and took out her phone.
The cold light from the screen reflected on her face, making her expression look especially gloomy.
"Who is it this time..." she muttered, irritation clear in her voice.
To maintain her image as the "class angel," Kushida Kikyou had added everyone in Class D—except that annoying Horikita Suzune—and saved the contact information of plenty of boys and girls from other classes, too.
Just replying to all those pointless greetings every day took two or three hours. It was even more exhausting than dealing with those two idiots, Yamauchi and Ike.
(Especially at a time like this...)
Kushida Kikyou pursed her lips, immediately picturing the useless messages Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike sent her: "Good night," "Drink plenty of warm water," and "Get some rest early~"
Every time she saw them, she wanted to block them outright, but in the end she could only grit her teeth and reply, "I'm going to bed" or "I'm going to take a bath."
(They're so annoying... Why don't those two just drop out already?)
She took a deep breath, forced a smile, and swiped open the screen—but froze when she saw the friend request.
[ Yueqing (male) has requested to add you as a friend ]
(A stranger?)
The ID had a literary air to it and looked like it belonged to a girl at first glance, but the profile said the user was male.
Her fingertip hovered above the screen as she hesitated for a second.
(Could it be another bored guy who somehow got hold of my account...?)
But the note attached to the friend request made her finger pause.
[I want to tell the Kushida in Class D some important information.]
[Aren't you curious why the upperclassmen always look at you with such faint contempt?]
The words on the screen were like a fine needle, piercing her sore spot with pinpoint accuracy.
Kushida's fingernail tapped unconsciously against her phone case.
It was true.
Over the past few days, she had deliberately run into upperclassmen in the hallways and cafeteria, greeting them with her sweetest smile in an attempt to get on good terms. Yet whenever she turned away, she caught the meaningful curve of their lips.
Their whispered snickers and condescending gazes clung to her like a festering wound.
"This is infuriating... How does this person know...? Is he a student in Class D?" she murmured, her thumb trembling above the decline button.
But in the end, a mixture of curiosity and indignation made her press the green accept button.
Her phone immediately chimed.
Almost at the same moment, a long message filled the screen.
Kushida Kikyou's eyes fell on the first line of text, and she could no longer look away.
This school divided students into four levels based on their entrance exams and certain other criteria: Class A represented geniuses, while Class D was made up of rejects.
A few minutes later, Kushida Kikyou had finished reading every message, word by word.
She had to admit that the information was astonishing—the truth about the class divisions, Class D's rating, and how Class Points worked...
But none of that was the point for her.
"If I share this information with my classmates tomorrow..." The corner of her lips curled faintly, and her eyes gleamed with calculation. "Maybe I can finally surpass Hirata Yosuke and become the real authority in Class D. Then everyone will look at me with admiration and depend on me. At l..."
Kushida Kikyou suddenly let out a sweet laugh. "Hehe... I'll have to 'thank' this online friend I've never met."
043 Today's Intelligence: The leader of Class 1-C is Ryuen Kakeru
Kushida Kikyou's fingers flew across the screen. "Thanks for the information~ I'm Kushida Kikyou from Class 1-D. How should I thank you?"
The moment she sent the message, the other person's status changed to "typing."
Yueqing: "No need to thank me."
Kushida continued typing. "By the way, what class are you in? How did you find my account?"
The chat sat silent for a few seconds. Then a final message popped up. "Well... I'd rather not say. I'm going to take a bath."
Shimizu Akira pressed send, then left the chat without hesitation.
He had never actually chatted with Kushida Kikyou online.
Although he had added her as a friend ages ago, the two of them had never exchanged so much as a single message.
He had only contacted her this time to carry out the task his homeroom teacher had given him.
Now that he had delivered the crucial information, the conversation should end there.
He knew Kushida's personality all too well. That girl, who fit in effortlessly with the class, might turn around and make their conversation a topic of discussion.
If she followed the trail and figured out who he was...
It wasn't the leak itself he was worried about—this kind of exchange was common enough at school.
But if those noisy classmates found out, they would inevitably swarm him with questions about the details.
Just imagining them crowding around and talking over one another made his temples throb.
"What a pain." He muttered under his breath as he checked his chat history with her again.
This carefully disguised account was an important asset. It would come in handy when dealing with Class A and negotiating with Classes B and C in the future.
If it became unusable now because Kushida let something slip, it would be a terrible waste.
Keeping a low profile was the best way to make it last.
[ Ding~ Today's intelligence has been updated ]
[ Intelligence 1: The leader of Class 1-C is Ryuen Kakeru ]
[ Intelligence 2: Katsuragi Kohei of Class 1-A suffers from alopecia universalis ]
[ Intelligence 3: Tonight at 19:55, Horikita Suzune will be subjected to physical punishment by Horikita Manabu behind the first-year dormitory. ]
At exactly eight o'clock on Tuesday morning, Daily Intelligence updated as scheduled.
After collecting information for several days, Shimizu Akira had begun consciously sorting it into different levels:
The highest level was undoubtedly information that foretold future events.
For instance, the dispute between Kushida Kikyou and Kouenji Rokusuke over giving up a seat on the bus, or the information that Kamuro Masumi would try to steal beer—both were predictive.
The next level was information about the school and the classes as a whole.
The least valuable was information about his classmates' personal secrets.
Today's haul was decent—one piece of information about Class C, one that foretold a future event, and one personal secret.
Shimizu Akira thought to himself as he started piecing together the information he had gathered over the past few days.
(It seems every class except Class D has already established a clear leader?)
Class A's situation was the clearest: Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei were in control together. Kamuro Masumi herself had told him as much.
The leader of Class B was undoubtedly Ichinose Honami.
After all, Hoshinomiya Chie had clearly told him that she was the class representative.
As for Class C, the intelligence gave him the answer directly—Ryuen Kakeru.
Shimizu Akira still didn't know what kind of person Ryuen was or how he had managed to take control of Class C.
And Class D... The situation was a little more complicated.
On the surface, Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyou certainly held influence in the class, but "central figures" seemed a more fitting description than "leaders."
Their influence seemed to stem from a natural ability to bring people together, rather than any real authority.
There was an essential difference between a "central figure" and a "true leader."
A true leader had to understand that being disliked by some people was normal, and enforcing punishments was part of the job. There had to be an invisible boundary between leaders and their subordinates.
By contrast, the two "central figures" in Class D:
Hirata Yosuke always played the good guy, never daring to take even the most basic stance.
Kushida Kikyou was obsessed with maintaining a false harmony, using her smile to cover up every conflict.
This "egalitarianism," with its pursuit of superficial harmony, only exposed their fundamental lack of leadership ability.
(Maybe Class D is still a disorganized mess because it lacks a real "helmsman"...)
(...So that's what Chabashira-sensei was really after...)
Shimizu Akira thought back to the deeper maneuvering behind the deal the day before—
Chabashira Sae, as their homeroom teacher, had long since realized that Hirata and Kushida were two central figures in Class D whose influence kept each other in check.
She had deliberately asked him to "tell just one person" so she could see which side Shimizu Akira would choose to favor.
(This deal for one million points is really a test of leadership.)
Whoever received the information would inevitably use it to strengthen their position, putting them ahead of the other in popularity and prestige.
Still, Shimizu Akira had absolutely no interest in the power struggle in Class D.
He was actually far more shocked by the third piece of intelligence.
(Hm? What does it mean that Horikita Suzune is going to get beaten up by her older brother, Horikita Manabu?)
(Are those siblings really that messed up?)
(He's the student council president. What does it mean for him to violate school rules?)
Time quickly passed, and after school, the noisy classroom was suddenly interrupted by a crisp clap.
"Everyone, could I have a moment of your time?"
Before you continue