Welcome to the Paradise of Freedom

"What do you think you're doing! Don't just take pictures of me!"

Karuizawa suddenly flared up, slapping away the terminal pointed at her. The device was sent flying and clattered to the floor.

This move of Karuizawa's immediately riled up the trio. They quickly surrounded her, each glaring with hostile expressions.

"What... do you people actually want?"

Karuizawa's eyes flickered as she asked.

Manabe picked up the phone and looked at Karuizawa.

"If we had the wrong person, you wouldn't need to react so strongly! Just let us take a picture to confirm!"

With that, she aimed the terminal at Karuizawa.

"I said no!"

Karuizawa covered her face with both hands, her voice panicked.

"What's the matter, playing the helpless girl think that'll work?"

"I'll hold her down for you, hurry up and take the picture, Manabe."

The other two girls chimed in and then moved to grab her.

"I said no! What are you trying to do!"

The argument grew louder, drawing the attention of Class A's Machida and the others.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Machida walked over with a stern expression.

"Machida-kun..."

Karuizawa looked at him with a pitiful, adorable expression that stirred something in Machida's heart.

He turned to Manabe and the others.

"She said she doesn't want to. Stop it."

"This... this has nothing to do with you, does it?"

"Do I need to call a teacher?"

"Tch, let's go."

Manabe led the two away, muttering under her breath as she passed Karuizawa.

"What a pretentious woman."

Once Manabe and the others were gone, Karuizawa smiled brightly at Machida.

"Thank you, Machida-kun. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known what to do."

"It's nothing. It's what I should do."

Machida rubbed the back of his head shyly.

Kiyotaka thought the little incident was over, so he didn't pay it any more mind.

The second discussion dragged on, still deadlocked. Even though Ichinose kept trying to stir things up, Machida led the charge to shut it down.

"Another pointless discussion wasting time. What a hassle."

With Kiyotaka's muttered complaint, the second discussion came to an end.

Night.

In a pitch-black room, only the bathroom glowed faintly from within.

Amidst swirling steam, hot water poured from the showerhead over Karuizawa from head to toe.

Her golden hair clung wetly to her body, her graceful, delicate figure faintly visible through the mist. Her prominent chest made the hair on her head form two distinct bulges.

At this moment, Karuizawa's expression lacked its usual pride, replaced by lingering fear and worry. Her brows were tightly knit, a trace of sweat still on her forehead, and her eyes betrayed a hint of terror and unease.

Her body trembled slightly, as if she was struggling to control her emotions. She seemed deflated, overwhelmed by past experiences she couldn't let go of.

Though she tried to stay composed, her expression and posture revealed the deep-seated anxiety and fear within.

In the end, fear overpowered everything. She slowly crouched down, hugging her jade-white legs, and began to sob softly.

Boys' common room.

"Koenji-kun, how about we exchange some information?"

Hirata said with a warm smile to Koenji, who was wearing only swim trunks and dripping wet.

"Sorry, Hirata boy, I'm currently pursuing the beauty of the physical form. I have no time."

Koenji was doing perfect handstand push-ups, speaking slowly to Hirata.

Hirata's mouth twitched slightly as he replied awkwardly.

"Is... is that so? Then there's no helping it."

He shook his head helplessly, walked over to the table, and sat down. Kiyotaka and Yukimura were already there.

"Let's start by exchanging information."

Hirata paused, then spoke.

"Actually, a girl from Class D told me she's the VIP."

"What? Who is it?" Yukimura asked in surprise.

"She's..."

Hirata pulled out his phone and showed a name. It was Kikyo.

But Kiyotaka wasn't surprised at all, because Kikyo had told him the moment she found out.

Hirata only knew because Kiyotaka had directed it.

"If the VIPs are evenly distributed among the classes, then our class has another one. Who is it?"

Yukimura analyzed after his initial shock.

"The exam still has two days left. This is nothing but a hassle, a game of catching a thief. Why waste my precious time?"

Koenji appeared before them, shaking his terminal with a bright smile.

Just then, everyone's terminals went off simultaneously.

"The Saturn Group's exam is now over. Members of this group are no longer required to participate from this point forward..."

"Koenji, what did you do?!"

Yukimura shouted in despair.

"Hahaha, farewell. I'm going to take a bath."

Koenji ignored him completely, turned around, and left the room.

"As expected of Koenji. Nothing he does surprises me."

Kiyotaka watched Koenji leave, his expression calm as he thought to himself.

"Are you an idiot?! Why didn't you stop Koenji from acting out?"

On the deck's water bar, Horikita slapped away Kiyotaka's hand, which had been discreetly placed on her chest, and lashed out at him.

"Don't be unreasonable. That's Koenji we're talking about."

"Ugh. Next time I see him, I'll just curse him out."

Horikita knew Kiyotaka was telling the truth and sighed helplessly.

"Instead of getting angry, focus on your own group. Getting all of Class D to win is too difficult."

Kiyotaka analyzed calmly.

"Neither of us has friends, so we can't gather much intel... By the way, do you have any information on Karuizawa?"

"What? Do you think she's the VIP? I can handle Doctor and Yukimura, but I know too little about Karuizawa. Her behavior is strange."

"Her behavior has always been strange. She never plays by the rules."

Horikita said coldly.

"Suzune, everyone has a surface impression and a hidden interior. I do, and you do too. As for Karuizawa, her first impression is willfulness and disobedience, but she has a unique presence in Class D, doesn't she?"

"I admit you have a point. Maybe that's her unique way of leading."

Kiyotaka's eyes darkened, then he opened them again.

"But in this exam, I don't see any of her unique traits. Even her usual assertive style is completely hidden."

"I understand what you mean. So what do you want to do? Win her over?"

"Yeah... what should we do..."

Class D needed to advance, and that required unity. Karuizawa played an indispensable role in that. If possible, she needed to be brought into the fold.

Kiyotaka thought to himself but didn't tell Horikita.

"Yo, Suzune, are you two on a date?"

Ryuen's sinister voice came from behind them.

"I was going to discuss the identity issue with you, but seeing that troubled look on your face, it seems you haven't made any progress."

Ryuen chuckled lightly and casually took a seat.

"Don't act like you know everything. You're just as clueless."

Horikita looked at Ryuen coldly.

"No, I've already grasped the rules and am slowly working toward the core. Suzune, who knows? Maybe this time, Class C will come out on top."

"What? How is that possible?"

Horikita said in surprise.

No, it's possible. This school's tests generally follow some kind of rule. If you grasp that rule, you can become the big winner. So next, is it a race between me and Ryuen?

Kiyotaka silently thought to himself. He wouldn't give up this chance to earn a massive amount of points. It would push his plan forward by a huge step and save a lot of effort. How could he not seize such an opportunity?

Because Kiyotaka was deep in thought, he didn't even notice when Ryuen had left.

"It's getting late. Go back and rest."

Horikita, having composed herself, said to Kiyotaka.

"Yeah, okay."

But after agreeing, Kiyotaka stood still. Horikita first looked at him with confusion, then understood his meaning. Her face flushed red as she secretly pulled him into a dark corner. After frantically plundering each other's saliva, they parted ways with silver threads at the corners of their mouths, heading back to their own rooms.

Inside Karuizawa's room.

Karuizawa was leaning over the sink, retching from a physiological nausea. She wiped her mouth and laughed bitterly.

"In the end, I'm still the same. Without friends, without someone to rely on, I can't survive. For myself, I'd do anything. Who says I'm not just a parasite..."

Karuizawa picked up her terminal and made a call.

"Hey, Hirata, can we meet..."

Chapter 51: When You Gaze Into the Abyss

"Hirata, you're my boyfriend. You'll protect me, right?"

"Of course I'll help you."

On his way back to his room, Kiyotaka heard Karuizawa and Hirata's voices, and he instinctively hid to the side.

"Hey, why am I hiding? That makes me look like a thief. But going out now would be pretty awkward too. Forget it, I'll just stay here."

Kiyotaka muttered to himself.

"Then hurry up and teach them a lesson! The way they look, they're definitely not going to let this go."