Welcome to Paradise of Freedom

"Let's search for them first, just in case."

Just because of Sudo's offhand remark, the girls by the pool erupted into chaos, each wrapping themselves in towels and starting to search the area.

Sudo, meanwhile, was so terrified he curled up tight, dragging Kiyotaka along as they were forced to dodge and hide.

As the girls' search circle grew wider, their hiding spot became unsafe. Sudo immediately said to Kiyotaka, "Kiyotaka, let's split up—that way our chances of escape are higher!"

Without waiting for Kiyotaka to reply, Sudo bolted like he'd greased his soles.

Even Kiyotaka, who was usually calm and collected, couldn't help grinding his molars at that moment. What kind of mess was this!

Abandoned by Sudo, Kiyotaka had no choice but to crouch and start moving. But strangely, the girls' search circle kept hovering around him, while Sudo managed to slip away cleanly.

This baffled Kiyotaka. It wasn't like he was the one doing anything wrong—so why was he the one suffering this bizarre ordeal?

But no matter how frustrated he felt inside, he couldn't even imagine how the girls in his class would deal with him if he got caught, let alone how Horikita and the other two would look at him.

He never thought he'd be using the abilities he'd hidden since the start of the semester to their fullest extent now, barely escaping the encirclement after exhausting every ounce of effort. Though he was still near the pool, the girls' clamor had suddenly died down.

"This should be safe... right?"

Kiyotaka muttered as he walked, but when he looked up, his eyes met another pair.

He glanced downward—fair skin, slightly firm softness, a flat stomach, and further down, a faint, shadowy forest.

Their eyes blinked. Kiyotaka's lips twisted into an awkward smile.

"Hey... what a coincidence, Ibuki. You're bathing too."

He regretted it the moment he said it, almost wanting to slap himself.

But to his surprise, Ibuki didn't scream or shout. Her face was flushed red, as if it might drip water, but her gaze shifted from dazed to gradually furious.

She grabbed a towel, wrapped it tightly around herself, and slowly began stepping toward Kiyotaka.

"So it's your dog eyes that saw me, huh? In that case, you don't need them anymore!"

Her voice carried an undeniable rage. Her steps quickened, turning into a sprint as she reached him, lifting her leg in a sharp sweeping kick aimed straight at his face.

Though Kiyotaka was in the wrong, he wasn't about to take a beating for nothing. He raised his arm to block, feeling his forearm dip slightly under the impact. The force was considerable for a girl, but still lacking for him.

Seeing her kick blocked, Ibuki launched a relentless flurry of leg strikes at Kiyotaka. The air crackled with the sound of their exchanges.

"Hey, I didn't mean to. I just ended up here by accident—there's no need for this, right?"

Kiyotaka managed to say between blocks.

"Shut up! You lecher!"

Frustrated by her inability to land a hit, and furious that he'd seen everything and was now shirking blame, Ibuki's whip-like kicks grew even fiercer.

Watching Ibuki refuse to listen, Kiyotaka's temper slowly began to rise. He started deliberately taking advantage during his blocks, targeting her sensitive spots.

Before long, Kiyotaka was unscathed, while red marks appeared on Ibuki's soft areas and thighs.

By now, Ibuki felt like she was about to explode with rage, her attacks becoming reckless.

But when she threw a rising kick, Kiyotaka caught her ankle firmly, freezing her in an extremely compromising position.

Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Nice shape. Well-maintained."

"You!"

Ibuki felt like she was about to cry. Big teardrops began streaming down her face. She'd been seen naked, touched all over, and now even her most private place was fully exposed. And she was pinned in place, unable to move, no matter how embarrassed she was.

"I'll let you go. Can we stop fighting? You can't beat me."

Seeing Ibuki start to cry, Kiyotaka softened a little and asked in a conciliatory tone.

But Ibuki didn't answer him, just kept sobbing to herself.

Seeing this, Kiyotaka released her ankle.

The moment she was free, however, Ibuki's war-dance leg strikes came flying at him again with a gust of wind.

Kiyotaka's eyes narrowed, a hint of anger flickering in his golden irises. He dismantled, blocked, and pinned her in one motion, trapping her in his arms, unable to move.

"You bastard! Let me go! I'll kill you!"

Ibuki struggled violently in Kiyotaka's arms, her towel falling off in the process, leaving her completely bare.

Her slightly firm softness brushed against him unintentionally, causing two cherries to quietly ripen.

Watching Ibuki writhe wildly in his embrace, Kiyotaka decided to fight fire with fire. He opened his mouth and began to taste the cherries.

This was something Ibuki had never experienced before. She froze on the spot, then a jolt of stimulation made her shiver involuntarily.

Kiyotaka, now heedless, swirled his tongue around the cherries as if savoring a supreme delicacy.

In his arms, Ibuki felt her body growing hotter and hotter. Her once-tense muscles began to go limp, her strength draining away.

After a moment, Kiyotaka finally stopped. By then, Ibuki's face was flushed crimson, her body covered in a peach-blossom blush.

Seeing this, Kiyotaka grabbed her head and turned it toward him, staring directly into her dazed eyes.

"Strategy Sight activated. Cooldown period: 336 hours."

As those words echoed in his mind, Kiyotaka felt Ibuki's body in his arms grow even softer.

"I'm letting you go now. Can we talk properly?"

This time, Ibuki didn't struggle again, only silently nodding.

Seeing this, Kiyotaka immediately released her. Freed, Ibuki collapsed directly to the ground, and soon after, she began sobbing in fits and starts.

"Seriously, this woman had so much strength when she was hitting me, but she's such a crybaby? The contrast is way too much?"

Kiyotaka grumbled inwardly, but his hands picked up the bath towel she had dropped and draped it over her.

Chapter 34: Cooperation

At this moment, Ibuki's heart was filled with despair.

Her body had been completely seen by the man who saved her. That alone infuriated her, but because of the debt of gratitude, she had originally planned only a minor punishment and then to let it go as if nothing happened.

But who knew that minor punishment would yield no result, only for her body to be repeatedly violated by Kiyotaka instead.

What shamed her most was that she didn't feel the slightest aversion to Kiyotaka's actions; instead, waves of pleasure grew stronger and stronger.

This left Ibuki's heart increasingly conflicted and tangled. That helpless, complicated feeling, mixed with the strange sensations spreading through her body, made her completely at a loss.

"Hey, could you stop crying? How about I apologize?"

He had to admit, Kiyotaka was always someone who yielded to softness, not hardness. If Ibuki had been throwing a tantrum and picking a fight, he could have devoured her clean without any psychological burden.

But now Ibuki was crying nonstop, giving Kiyotaka an uncomfortable feeling like punching cotton.

"Ah... Ibuki, how about we figure out how to settle this?"

At this point, Ibuki glared at Kiyotaka with red-rimmed, hateful eyes. The bath towel was casually draped over her, unable to fully conceal the glimpses of her figure.

"How can you be so shameless? You peeked at my body, and yet in the end, it's like we're both at fault?"

Ibuki shouted at Kiyotaka, but she didn't know why the faint resentment in her heart was completely overshadowed by the throbbing from her body.

Especially when she saw Kiyotaka's unabashed gaze fixed on her, her body trembled involuntarily, and the heat she had barely suppressed began to surge again.

Kiyotaka was also conflicted for a long time. In this situation, taking things further was already within easy reach, but this time there was a reason behind it, and ultimately, the real fault lay with him.

If he took advantage of her vulnerability under these circumstances, Kiyotaka felt it wouldn't sit right with him.

He would certainly use certain means to achieve his goals, but those means always passed through his conscience to some extent. This time, though, he felt his conscience stirring uneasily.

So after hesitating for a moment, Kiyotaka took off his jacket, draped it over Ibuki's front, and said.

"I'm sorry. This time, it's my fault. But please believe I didn't mean it. Go back and get dressed first. If you want to retaliate, I'll be ready anytime."

With that, Kiyotaka turned and left without looking back, leaving Ibuki alone in that place.

As the night deepened, Ibuki sat there in a daze until a night breeze blew past, jolting her awake with a shiver.

Clutching Kiyotaka's jacket in her hands, she murmured to herself.

"What... should I do?"

"Ryuen, why did you call me out this late at night?"

Katsuragi, with his bald head, appeared before Ryuen, whose purple hair hung to his shoulders, and asked in confusion.

Katsuragi had come here purely because Ryuen had made an appointment with him during the morning assembly, but he had no idea what Ryuen was plotting.

"Oh, Katsuragi's here."

Ryuen, chewing on a random blade of grass he'd picked up, greeted Katsuragi warmly.

Katsuragi looked at Ryuen with a serious expression and said.

"Cut the crap. If you have something to say, just say it."

Seeing Katsuragi's attitude, Ryuen laughed nonchalantly.

"Katsuragi, you're constantly being suppressed by the Sakayanagi faction in Class A. Doesn't that piss you off?"

"What are you getting at, Ryuen? Are you so idle that you have time to provoke Class A?"

Ryuen raised a finger and wagged it left and right.

"No, no, no. I just want to propose a cooperation. Of course, if you don't want to seize this chance while Sakayanagi's away, then we can pretend we never met tonight."

"Let's hear it..." Katsuragi pondered for a moment before finally relenting.

Ryuen immediately flashed a triumphant grin, looking at Katsuragi with a sly, sinister laugh.

"In this exam, I'll help you take first place. I'll transfer Class C's 200 task points to you, and I'll tell you who holds Class C's [Ghost Card]. All you have to do is pay us 20,000 points per person every month from now on. How about it?"

Katsuragi listened and let out a cold laugh.

"Ryuen, you're dreaming pretty big. You want to trade 250 task points for 20,000 points per person every month from now on? You're thinking too far ahead, aren't you?"

Ryuen wasn't annoyed, just looking at Katsuragi meaningfully.

"I don't mind either way. But how many chances will you have to take sole control of Class A and boost your prestige?"

This sentence pierced Katsuragi's heart like a sharp sword. Class A was divided, and Katsuragi's faction remained at a disadvantage, constantly suppressed by Sakayanagi. For Katsuragi, this was indeed an opportunity.

As for the points, they were merely a drop in the bucket for Class A, hardly worth caring about.

Katsuragi hesitated repeatedly before finally agreeing to cooperate under Ryuen's sneer.

"Then, I wish us a pleasant cooperation, Katsuragi. Now, keeping our promise, the holder of Class C's [Ghost Card] is..."

In this world, there are no eternal enemies—only interests can forge lasting friendships. A secret scheme had quietly begun.

The first day of the exam passed relatively peacefully.

The next morning.

"Hey! We caught a ton of fish!"

"Great! We also picked a lot of fruit over here."

"Everyone worked hard. Sudo, could you please start a fire next? Kikyo, could you handle storing and managing the food?" Hirata said with a warm smile to Sudo and Kikyo's groups as they returned.

"Oh! Leave it to me!"

"No problem!"

"Then, for the remaining free students, could I ask you to use these empty bottles to prepare some clean water?"

Hirata handed out empty bottles to the surrounding classmates, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner under his direction.

Kiyotaka watched from the side, lost in thought.

Hirata Yosuke, the leader of Class D? From every angle, he seemed top-notch. Why was someone like him placed in Class D...

Gradually, the classmates around found tasks to occupy themselves, leaving only Horikita and Kiyotaka with nothing to do.

Seeing this, Kiyotaka spoke up.

"Hirata, Horikita and I will go scout the surrounding area and look for any unoccupied bases."