The Mastermind / I Understand Now

If she hadn't reacted in time, she couldn't even begin to imagine what would have happened next.

Eito got to his feet and said:

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"Forget it." Kikyo sighed.

Looking at it another way, if she'd gone that far and he still hadn't reacted, that would've been pathetic.

"Let's keep this between the two of us, Eito. Don't tell anyone, okay? Or I'll..."

Kikyo held up a fist and waved it in front of him.

"Okay."

"Hehe, I'm kidding~" Kikyo winked at him. "Come on. As compensation, treat me to dinner, will you?"

"Of course."

Dinner ended without a hitch.

But Eito's mind hadn't been on dinner.

He'd spent ages trying to figure out what Kikyo was really after.

In the end, he gave up thinking about it.

Sometimes, there was no point overthinking things. People often did things without any particular reason.

Getting too caught up in conspiracy theories would only leave him trapped in a maze.

Besides, even if Kikyo really was plotting something, he didn't need to worry.

He had enough trump cards to deal with most tactics.

With that in mind, he drifted off to sleep in peace.

The Mastermind

Since that day, Kikyo had come to hang out with him less and less, and she wasn't as forceful when talking to Suzune as she used to be.

Maybe she planned to wear Suzune down little by little, like water dripping through stone.

Also, the two of them hadn't been as intimate since that day.

Their everyday conversations were perfectly natural, as if nothing had happened. It even made Eito wonder whether that day had been a dream.

Or maybe it was some kind of alternative to a "neglect play"?

Though Kikyo had been seeking him out less, someone else had latched onto him.

A guy, unfortunately.

Here he came.

With a sleazy face, a swaggering gait, and everything about him a punchline.

The moment he reached Eito, his swagger vanished, and he dropped straight to his knees.

"Lord Takeda, please let me off the hook! Waaah!"

"Yamauchi, you're still alive?"

"Barely."

His face no longer had the confidence it had at the start of the school year. It had a pale, sickly look that made his already ugly mug look even worse.

Eito knew why. Ever since Yamauchi lost that bet during swimming class, he'd been trying to weasel out of it and talk to Kikyo.

By a stroke of luck, Eito kept catching him in the act and stopping him in time.

Yamauchi was naturally unwilling to give up, but Eito had told him, "You don't want Kikyo finding out you can't keep your word, do you?"

So Yamauchi, determined to maintain his image, had held out until now.

Of course, he'd begged Eito several times during that period, but Eito had turned him down every time.

And now...

"Waaah... I'm really going to die... I can't live without smelling little Kikyo's fragrance!"

"Then hurry up and die. I've never seen a dead person before. Why don't you put on a show for me?"

"Takeda, are you even human? We're classmates! How can you watch me die?" Yamauchi smacked the floor in anger and glared at him.

"Which one of us isn't human? I heard you were cursing me in the group chat a few days ago, saying I'm a womanizer who likes to toy with women, and that I've slept with at least ten thousand bitches. I haven't even settled the score with you yet."

Fortunately, Yamauchi was the one who'd spread the rumors, and no one believed his nonsense.

"No, I didn't say that. Ike took my phone and sent it."

"Poor Ike. You sold him out that quickly."

"Anyway, it had nothing to do with me!" Yamauchi insisted stubbornly.

There was no point continuing to argue with him. After thinking for a moment, Eito said, "I can let you talk to Kikyo, but you have to do something for me."

"What, what?" The moment he heard that he could talk to Kikyo, Yamauchi perked right up.

"Look into what's going on in Class C. If anything seems off, tell me right away."

"Huh? Look into it? What's that? It sounds really high-level." Yamauchi's eyes widened and lit up.

"I mean, eavesdrop on them and report back to me."

"Uh... won't I get arrested?"

Eito couldn't help smacking him on the head.

"Why would you get arrested? I'm not asking you to sneak into their rooms and spy on them."

"Oh, oh, I get it." Yamauchi nodded stupidly, then looked at him with admiration. "Takeda, are you a secret agent? How about teaching me? I could use this trick to pick up girls."

"Pick up girls, my ass."

Eito took a deep breath, then said calmly, "Remember, if you get exposed, don't tell them my name."

"Why not?"

"Actually—" Eito put on a serious expression and lowered his voice. "I'm a top-secret agent working for the Government Supervision Bureau. I came to this school to investigate something. If you expose my identity, we'll both be finished. And it won't just mean expulsion—you could spend the rest of your life in prison."

To intimidate Yamauchi, he picked up a stone from the ground and squeezed it hard in one hand. As Yamauchi stared at him, he crushed it into fragments.

"Believe me now?"

"So, Takeda, you..." Yamauchi stared at him blankly. "I'm sorry. I was wrong before. I'll never bad-mouth you again. I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Yamauchi kept banging his head against the ground.

"It's fine." Eito helped him to his feet by the shoulders. "I never saw you as a person in the first place."

"Huh?"

"Uh, I mean, I never saw you as an ordinary person. I think you're the most promising person in our class. Work hard with me, and when you graduate, I'll give you a villa. After that, you can pick whatever luxury cars and beautiful women you want."

"R-really?" Yamauchi's eyes widened. He could hardly believe such good fortune had landed in his lap.

"Of course. But if you want the rewards, you have to pay a price. This school isn't as simple as you think. You have to stay alert at all times. I can take care of ordinary problems for you, but if something happens that can't be fixed, there's nothing I can do."

"Okay... I understand."

Even the most level-headed person couldn't resist temptation when faced with such enormous rewards, let alone Yamauchi.

At that moment, he was probably fantasizing about the luxurious life he'd lead after graduation.

Thinking about all that, he'd even forgotten about Kikyo.

"I'm sorry. I won't bother little... Kushida again. From now on, you're my big bro, and she's my sister-in-law!"

"Sister-in-law..." Eito frowned slightly.

"Uh, did I get that wrong? Is she... your lover?"

"Fine..." Eito relented. "Just don't act so arrogant anymore. Even with me backing you, you still need to keep a low profile. You're strongest when others can't see your hand."

"Got it. I'll definitely do that."

Looking at Yamauchi's excited face, Eito couldn't tell whether any of it had sunk in, but it didn't matter.

He was bored lately, so he might as well find something fun to do.

I Get It

Horikita Suzune was a straightforward person.

She never pretended to be someone she wasn't, and she never hid her true self.

When she said she hated you, she really hated you. When she called you an idiot, then in her eyes, you were an idiot.

People like her had a hard time surviving in the real world, because the truth was often unpleasant. If you really said everything that came to mind, you'd make more and more enemies and bring more and more trouble upon yourself. Sooner or later, someone who hated you might set you up.

Fortunately, this was a world of anime.

Even so, her straightforward personality had made plenty of people dislike her.

But Eito liked talking with Suzune.

First, he didn't have to think too hard. Those exchanges full of scheming and suspicion took too much effort. He always had to guess what the other person meant, then figure out what he could say without hurting their feelings.

With Suzune, none of that was necessary. She could express her dislike in full, and Eito didn't need to guess how much she hated him.

Second, Suzune was decisive. She showed her dislike directly, whether with a compass, a knife-hand strike, or a verbal attack. She'd never resort to the despicable trick of stabbing someone in the back.

Finally, she was a beautiful girl. That was very important.

"So, Horikita, what do you think of Kikyo?"

"I dislike her." Suzune gave her answer without batting an eye.

"Why?"

"I dislike people who try to become friends with others without being asked."

"Okay." If that was how she felt, there was nothing he could say.

So he followed up with, "Then do you dislike me?"

"..." Suzune stopped writing and stared at him for two seconds. Then her gaze returned to her book. "I don't know."

Good. He was making progress.

She'd gone from hating him to not knowing.

That meant he'd gone from enemy to stranger. Next came acquaintance, then friend, then boyfriend, then husband.

Congratulations~ Congratulations~

Just then, Suzune suddenly stopped writing, set down her pen, and asked:

"Why aren't you hanging out with her anymore? Did she dump you?"

"Well..." Eito hesitated. "Do you want to hear the truth?"

"Of course I want the truth."

"Actually..."

Eito briefly explained what had happened that day, leaving out some of the things that might make Suzune think he was a pervert.

"So you came to talk to me instead?" Suzune's lovely brows furrowed. "Am I a substitute?"

"No, you misunderstood." Eito explained, "That was a tiny part of it. The main reason is that I wanted to clear my head with you."

"How does talking to me clear your head?"