A Deep-Rooted Shadow / Build Up Strength Before Claiming the Throne

Taking a step forward, just like on the first day of school, Aoyama lifted Karuizawa's chin.

Chapter 124 Deep Shadows

Aoyama Shiki is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

After buying a new swimsuit and changing into it, Karuizawa looked at herself in the mirror in the changing room and thought to herself.

The gentle way he treated her during their few days living together on the Uninhabited Island made her unconsciously forget the fact that her first meeting with him was anything but pleasant; it could even be described as a nightmare.

That way, there will truly be no Naoko left from him.

Such an ugly thing is not pleasing to the eye; it only makes people unhappy.

Gently touching the stain-like mark on his abdomen, Karuizawa suppressed his discomfort, pulled up his thin sun-protective jacket, and slowly returned to Aoyama's side.

"That's a bit slow."

Grabbing Karuizawa's trembling hand, Aoyama pulled her forcefully, causing her to fall onto his lap.

Karuizawa's fear of the scar was far more severe than he had imagined, so he made no further moves, simply putting one arm around her waist and the other on the back of her delicate white hand.

"What exactly do you want?" After more than ten minutes, Karuizawa was gradually Matsushita, couldn't help but ask.

Wasn't he insisting on seeing that scar that terrified her? Why has he suddenly become so gentle again? What is he trying to do?

And how long are you going to keep hugging me? Don't you have a girlfriend? Although it's probably not real.

"I'm waiting for you to be ready, although I don't intend to let you go until you're ready."

Through his sun-protective clothing, Aoyama placed his hand on the scar, but the moment he touched it, Karuizawa's body trembled again, just like at the beginning, and his expression immediately became extremely uneasy.

"Some things don't disappear just because you don't face them. I want you to move on from the shadows of the past."

"Impossible."

As if hitting rock bottom and bouncing back, Karuizawa smiled gloomily, his gaze becoming vacant, looking like a broken toy.

The hand that had been placed on his right hand to stop him fell limply to his side.

Aoyama placed his hand on the zipper of his sun-protective clothing, but Karuizawa still didn't move, so he put his hand down again.

Giving up on yourself is not a good idea.

"After graduation, how about I cut off the hands of the people who bullied you?" Aoyama put his arm around Karuizawa's shoulder, letting her rest her head on his shoulder, and then took Karuizawa's hand in his other hand again.

"To have hurt my people so deeply is truly unforgivable."

"Who would want to be with you after graduation?"

After a long while, Aoyama finally heard Karuizawa's faint voice, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.

It sounds so pitiful.

"So it seems you're not going to stop me from cutting off their hands. Now tell me the names of the people who bullied you," Aoyama said seriously, genuinely intending to settle scores with the bullies after graduation.

Just now, he decided to include Karuizawa in his future as well.

It is only right and proper to avenge one's own people.

Sensing that Aoyama was serious, Karuizawa looked surprised and said, "Are you serious? This is a crime, and what reason do you have to help me?"

Aoyama remained calm. "Because I wanted to, I did it. Thanks to you, I hate those people."

He was a willful person; seeing Karuizawa who looked like he was broken just moments before, he felt a protective instinct and, without thinking much, immediately included Karuizawa in his future.

After graduation, he also wanted to keep Karuizawa by his side.

"Sigh, I really lost to you." With mixed feelings, Karuizawa closed his eyes, his hands trembling as he pulled open his sun-protective clothing and took Aoyama's hand, placing it on the scar.

He recklessly probed into the depths of her heart, and recklessly sought revenge for her.

He is a very complex person, sometimes extremely tough and sometimes gentle and refined.

No longer through clothes.

Aoyama finally touched the noticeably uneven skin, the bumpy texture was very obvious, but when he turned his head to peek out, a sharp and terrifying knife mark appeared before his eyes.

No wonder Karuizawa was so afraid; it was something most people couldn't handle.

Staring at the stark and terrifying knife wound, Aoyama's tone was utterly cold, "Don't worry, I'll make them experience, one by one, the pain you suffered, Karuizawa."

He only remembered that Karuizawa had been injured with a knife, but he didn't know that the wound was so deep, and it looked like it might be life-threatening.

It's truly infuriating.

"It's all in the past, revenge is meaningless." Feeling that Aoyama was serious, Karuizawa disregarded the fear brought on by the memories. She didn't want Aoyama to commit a crime for her sake and ruin his promising life.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Revenge is always meaningful."

He took off Karuizawa's sun-protective jacket, Aoyama picked her up in a princess carry. When she looked bewildered and clung to his neck, he led her to the poolside and they went into the water together.

Surrounded by the icy feeling, Karuizawa forgot all her worries and kept treading water to keep her head above the surface.

Every student at Kouiku can swim. Even if they use it as an excuse to skip class, the responsible teachers will schedule extra time to ensure that every student learns to swim.

"I'll let you swim first for ten seconds. If I catch you, you'll get tickled underwater."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

Aoyama smiled and began counting down, addressing the bewildered Karuizawa.

The playful fighting that started suddenly ended just as suddenly.

"So what exactly do you want to do today, Aoyama?"

Lying on one side of the two-person hovercraft, Karuizawa stared at Aoyama Shiki with a tense expression and an unfriendly look.

Without warming up before entering the water, her legs cramped up within minutes, and she was shamefully put on a boat that Aoyama had prepared in advance to rest.

Aoyama scratched his head. "I just wanted to keep you from having to worry. Before that, I had something I wanted to ask you for a favor, but now I've decided to choose someone else. You can just watch from the sidelines."

Karuizawa's inner shadows are too great. He doesn't think Karuizawa is capable of his task. Even if he knew in advance that Karuizawa was by his side, he would probably still reveal his true feelings.

If we leave it to Kamuro, it will be a bit harder to catch the fish, but at least nothing bad will happen.

"Huh? Tell me what it is first. How do you know I can't do it?" Karuizawa was immediately annoyed, pinching the soft flesh of Aoyama's arm with her fingers.

What do you mean by "I'll just watch from the sidelines"? Doesn't that imply she's incompetent?

Aoyama dismissively replied, "First, the person in charge will provoke the Class C gyaru group, then it will gradually escalate into a bullying situation, and finally I will use entrapment to seize leverage against the Class C bullies."

"And then I had a spy in Class C."

"Scumbag."

No sooner had Karuizawa finished speaking than Aoyama interrupted with obvious disdain.

Chapter 125 Accumulate Grain, Delay Claiming Kingship

"Scumbag."

The next morning, after Aoyama finished telling Kamuro about the plan, Kamuro expressed the same sentiment as Karuizawa.

This is no longer a typical case of entrapment; it has a hint of setting someone up and can be described as utterly despicable.

"That's just who I am, you know that." Aoyama ate his breakfast nonchalantly, and as he spoke, he picked up a large meat bun from his plate and put it on the Yamamura's plate.

The thinnest person around him was Yamamura; he looked frail and needed to eat more breakfast.

"Try to eat as much as you can, I'll finish the leftovers."

Seeing that Yamamura was staring at the big meat bun with a slightly troubled look, Aoyama spoke again, and patted her head to encourage her.

Without any worry about wasting food, the Yamamura ate in small, elegant bites.

A warm feeling filled the air around them. Sensing this, Kamuro, sitting opposite Aoyama, felt a pang of jealousy, but it quickly died down.

The gentle, unassuming Yamamura deserves to be cared for.

Aoyama turned his gaze away from the Yamamura. "Kushida will create opportunities for you. You should have her contact information, right?"

Kamuro pouted. "Yeah, I added her after she bothered me a few times."

Knowing that Kushida wasn't as innocent and kind as he seemed, she felt as if she had been deceived by Kushida, and felt a little uncomfortable.

Moreover, Kushida is fixated on the motives behind his friendships, but that bastard Aoyama won't tell him.

"Then I'll leave it to you. I'll wait for your good news."

The prior preparations were not dangerous, so Aoyama decided to entrust them entirely to Kamuro and Kushida, since both Kushida and Kamuro had sufficient ability to handle the situation.

He's too conspicuous; his presence at the scene would draw too much attention.

"Yes, yes, it's really bad luck for Kushida and me to have such a jerk like you." Kamuro took a bite of her sandwich with annoyance. Occasionally, she would eat a Western-style breakfast.

Yamamura touched her lower abdomen and then shyly tapped Aoyama's arm, saying, "I can't eat anymore, Aoyama."

"I'll give you this little bit of breakfast again next time."

After picking up the large meat bun, which he had only eaten less than half of, Aoyama quickly devoured it and then started eating the rest of his food.

His appetite alone was greater than that of the Yamamura and the Kamuro combined.

Watching Aoyama finish eating, Kamuro suddenly handed Aoyama the remaining half-glass of milk, saying, "Help me finish this too, I don't really want any more."

"No problem."

Without any apparent change in expression, Aoyama took the drink and downed it in one gulp. Then, for some reason, he noticed that his Kamuro suddenly laughed, as if she were quite pleased.

"What's wrong? Did you think of something happy?"

"Mind your own business, you jerk."

The smile froze for a moment, then Kamuro went about clearing away the dishes, her smooth purple hair swaying as she neatly disappeared from Aoyama and the other's sight.

It was as if they were running away from something.

Aoyama patted Yamamura's head. "I'm giving you a task: follow Kushida today and see if she does anything unusual."

Although he felt there was no need to follow Kushida, seeing the somewhat expectant expression on Yamamura, he still assigned him the task.

"Okay, I understand."

With a happy smile, Yamamura quickly left Aoyama's side to carry out his orders.

After sitting alone for a while to digest, Aoyama left the restaurant and went straight back to his room. Not long after, Ichinose, who had been invited, pushed open the unlocked door and went in.

A cute girl with a coffee-colored plaid skirt and a light-colored short-sleeved shirt, and long, smooth, shiny pink hair, smiling and greeting people, gives off a lively and energetic vibe.

Some girls can make people happy just by looking at them.

"Good morning."

In response to Ichinose, Aoyama gestured for Ichinose to sit down, his gaze very gentle.

On the table in front of him lay a short contract, the contents of which were roughly that he would be given command of Class 1-B in the upcoming Special Exam.

Half of his personal points earned in the next Special Exam will be given to Class B.

It's very simple, with no restrictions on Class Points will increase or decrease, and no penalties or anything like that, like an unequal treaty.

After reading the contents, Ichinose showed a slight dissatisfaction, "They clearly said that a contract wasn't necessary, and I trusted Aoyama -kun."

Qingshan's desire to complain was aroused, "Isn't it strange that you are dissatisfied? I also want you to add a punishment agreement, such as paying a five million deposit first or something."

Last night, when he was talking to Ichinose on the phone, he felt that Ichinose might be trusting him a little too much. Although it wasn't a bad thing for him, it just felt strange, like a romantic scam.

It didn't look like a legitimate transaction at all.

"Then let me put it another way." Ichinose smiled slightly smugly. "I trust my own judgment, and my judgment is that Aoyama -kun wouldn't lie to me."

"Sometimes I still lie."

If you put it that way, then I won't be pretentious anymore.

He crumpled the so-called contract into a ball, struck a shooting pose, Aoyama a three-pointer. The paper ball flew high into the air, gliding through a graceful arc before disappearing into the trash can.

Very good, very handsome.

Praising himself inwardly, Aoyama met Ichinose looking at a child. That gentle gaze gave him a feeling like a spring breeze.

It's just a little embarrassing.

Aoyama glanced sideways and said, "Ahem, I can't guarantee that Class B's Class Points will remain in Class A's position in this Special Exam. Are you sure there won't be any problems?"