I'll Help You One Last Time

1. Separation from the Kitagawa Family.

Second, save up enough money to cure Ying.

It seems that my current feeling of confusion is precisely because I've already achieved both goals.

I should be happy, after all, I've finally resolved my inner conflict.

Moreover, none of the tragedies I witnessed have happened so far, and everyone is happy.

Kitagawa Ryo stretched and looked at the glass wall of the building next to him. The face reflected there showed no sign of happiness.

"That's strange."

Kitagawa Ryo muttered something to himself, then took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

"It seems my chess skills have improved; Ryo's moves were much slower than before today."

On the other side of the chessboard, the silver-haired girl was speaking with a smile. She seemed genuinely happy, her eyes and brows brimming with joy.

"Hmm, maybe."

Kitagawa Ryo held the chess piece in his hand, trying hard to recall his thought process when he first encountered Chess in his previous life. Back then, as a beginner, he was very inexperienced, and he should have been able to handle this situation...

But the brain still conjured up another perfect solution.

Like a precise machine, it told Kitagawa Ryo that he only needed to move here to find a weakness in five steps, and to completely defeat Sakayanagi Arisu in thirteen steps.

[Grand Master]

The title representing the highest professional level in the Chess, as a golden talent, bestowed upon Kitagawa Ryo unparalleled skills.

Not only Sakayanagi Arisu, but even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, whom she had met a few days ago, was no match for her.

But...

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to notice Kitagawa Ryo's unusual behavior and took the initiative to come over and ask him.

Ever since Kitagawa Ryo defeated the White Room, Sakayanagi Arisu has acknowledged that her opponent is a genius who stands on a higher level than her.

One can achieve success in both drama and Chess.

The title of genius seems to rightfully belong to Kitagawa Ryo.

Sakayanagi Arisu had even planned to have her father, the Chairman of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, directly recruit Kitagawa Ryo in two years, and her father had agreed. Both father and daughter were very much looking forward to each other's performance in the 'Classroom of the Elite Studio' school.

At the same time, Sakayanagi Arisu also knew that she was also hoping to defeat her opponent there.

"I just have a bit of a headache, let's call it a day."

"I'm sorry I only managed to play half a game after calling you out."

Kitagawa Ryo covered his forehead and said.

But Sakayanagi Arisu didn't seem to care; she simply nodded and said:

"Not at all, there's still a lot I need to learn from this half of the plate."

After tidying up the chess pieces and board, Sakayanagi Arisu asked with concern:

"Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"It's alright, I just need to rest for a bit, you can go ahead."

"... All right."

Sakayanagi Arisu slowly turned and left, holding her cane. She looked back twice more, but ultimately left.

After resting for a while, Kitagawa Ryo reached out and took out his phone, holding it up to his eyes, after hearing it vibrate in his pocket.

"Hello, Minister Kitagawa. This is the list of new students who applied to the Drama Club this year. There are 165 people in total, and 37 of them passed the initial review."

After looking at it for a while, I realized that it was a message from the person in charge of the Drama Club at my school, where I was nominally the head. Although I was nominally the head, I didn't think I had ever been there more than a few times, let alone handled any Drama Club affairs.

Scrolling up, it seemed the other person was constantly reporting on the Drama Club's activities, but Kitagawa Ryo would only give formulaic replies like "I know" or "You guys handle it," completely acting like a hands-off manager.

Needing something else to distract himself, Kitagawa Ryo, who was quite willing to take responsibility, idly opened the list sent by the other party.

The result showed the name [Horikita Suzune] on the first line, with the note [Passed Initial Review].

"..."

How did Suzune pass the initial audition? Does the Drama Club judge people by their looks?

Based on my understanding, Horikita Suzune's resume doesn't seem to have any connection to the Drama Club at all.

After all, he has been a lone wolf since elementary school, making a mess of any teamwork.

With a slight sense of confusion, Kitagawa Ryo replied with a message:

What were the criteria for determining that Horikita Suzune passed the initial review?

The other party seemed completely unprepared for Kitagawa Ryo's sudden reply, and it took them quite a while for the message status to change from [unread] to [read] before they resent it.

"Because the candidate was deemed to have an outstanding appearance and her resume demonstrated strong abilities, she was approved for the initial screening."

It's obvious at a glance that they didn't meet the person in person for the interview.

However, considering that a total of 165 new students had applied, the Drama Club really didn't have time to verify each one.

Kitagawa Ryo remembered that the Drama Club's final audition seemed to involve freshmen drawing a classic scene from a play to perform, so he typed a question:

Which character from which drama did Horikita Suzune draw?

" In Shakespeare's Macbeth, she played the role of Lady Macbeth."

Kushida Kikyo's lips curled up; this was certainly not the result of a random selection.

Karuizawa Kei's father noticed that his daughter, who had returned home after a long absence, would often sit in front of the television and giggle. He curiously glanced at the screen and, sure enough, saw a drama starring his daughter.

He wasn't interested in that, and the reason he agreed to let his daughter pursue that path was because the legend of Kitagawa Ryo showed many parents another shortcut to raising their children, but in the end, only Kitagawa Ryo succeeded.

"Go to bed early. The new school has been arranged for you, it's time to settle down."

"Okay, I understand."

Karuizawa Kei answered without looking up, leaving her father shaking his head helplessly as he returned to his room.

The girl refocused her attention on the video on the screen, her proudest performance.

Macbeth.

My hands have turned the same color as yours, but my heart is ashamed to turn as pale as yours.

Having received a prophecy from the witches, Macbeth assassinated his cousin, King Duncan of Scotland. After the murder, Macbeth was bewildered and at a loss. Lady Macbeth had always supported her husband, offered him comfort as a wife.

She addressed the drastically changed, ambitious yet fearful demon, traitor, and executioner Macbeth:

"Put on your pajamas; someone might come looking for us. Don't let them see we're still awake."

"I will stay by your side while you sleep."

Every word Karuizawa Kei utters is imbued with the scent of love, almost drowning you in her sweet nothings without you even realizing it.

Finally, Kitagawa Ryo fell asleep peacefully in her arms, like a child.

Chapter Eleven: Helping You One Last Time

"Nice to meet you, Horikita. I'm Kushida Kikyo, who's in charge of recruiting new members for the Drama Club. If you don't mind, you can just call me Kikyo."

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Kushida Kikyo smiled and extended her hand to Horikita Suzune in front of her. Her enthusiastic smile and already well-developed figure drew the attention of the other freshmen who came for the interview.

They had heard that there was a super beautiful senior in the school's Drama Club, but when they actually met her in person, some of the freshmen were still inevitably amazed. Moreover, she was so gentle and approachable, and spoke softly to everyone, which made them feel even more favorably toward her.

"Hello, I'm Horikita Suzune."

"I came here today to ask if the Macbeth passage I drew could be changed into a monologue."

As Horikita Suzune spoke, she handed the script to the other person. Her posture, with her arms crossed, didn't look like she was giving a consultation, but rather like she was stating something.

"I'm afraid that won't work."

Kushida Kikyo stuck out her tongue cutely, and replied somewhat awkwardly:

"This scene is about the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. If Horikita minds, we can have a girl play Macbeth. For example, I would be happy to do so."

After saying that, Kushida Kikyo added:

"Of course, this is also because Horikita has a great talent for drama."

Kushida Kikyo didn't deliberately lower her voice, and since the other freshmen were already paying attention to them, her words immediately sparked whispers among them.

As freshmen who passed the initial screening of the Drama Club to get here, many of them even had experience in theatrical performances, and the rest also had their own stage performance skills. As a performing art, those who were willing to enter here were at least not as socially impoverished as Horikita Suzune.

Before today's final script distribution, the Drama Club specially arranged an hour for the freshmen to get to know each other. Horikita Suzune was the only one who sat in a corner reading for a whole hour. During that time, other freshmen tried to strike up a conversation, but Horikita Suzune's indifferent attitude deterred them.

Nobody wants to offer their warm welcome to someone who doesn't reciprocate, no matter how good-looking the other person is.

Besides, isn't there also Kushida Kikyo here, who's both beautiful and kind?

The mere comparison caused Horikita Suzune's image in the minds of the freshmen to plummet. Under these circumstances, when they heard that Kushida Kikyo was willing to compromise, many people's nameless anger was instantly ignited.

"Hey, hey, so eager to perform a one-man show? Looks like you just want to steal the spotlight on stage."

"This kind of person can actually be praised for having theatrical talent. She's been here for an hour and has only said three sentences. If she were to go on stage and perform a show, she'd have to recite her lines for three days and three nights."

"Kushida -senpai taking such good care of her? It's not like the Drama Club is begging her to join."

At first, it was just quiet complaining, but after realizing that the voices of those around them were loud enough to drown out their own presence, these jarring discussions suddenly escalated into a cacophony.

Horikita Suzune merely frowned upon hearing this. She had heard similar remarks before, so she wasn't about to lose her temper. Just as she was about to speak in her defense, Kushida Kikyo, standing beside her, spoke first:

"Everyone, there's no need to be so angry. Horikita- san is a very outstanding person. Even Department Head Kitagawa specifically mentioned him to me."

When Kitagawa's name was mentioned, the entire classroom instantly fell silent. After all, the name Kitagawa Ryo was simply too dazzling for these freshmen who were passionate about drama. Although it couldn't be said that 100% of them were here because of his reputation, at least 90% of them were.

However, they still looked at Horikita Suzune with suspicion. No matter how they looked at her, she didn't seem like a genius who deserved such praise.

Horikita Suzune was also surprised to hear Kitagawa Ryo's name here. She asked Kushida Kikyo:

"Really?"

"Of course! They even specifically asked me which script you drew for the final review!"

Kushida Kikyo also briefly showed Horikita Suzune the last chat log on her phone. After seeing that the other party had actually asked about her, Horikita Suzune proudly raised her head.

But she quickly realized that this action had a hint of smugness, and hurriedly changed her words:

"Even if he doesn't ask, I'll show him someday."

"Yes, yes, maybe Minister Kitagawa will even be there to watch Horikita's performance on the day of the final hearing."

Kushida Kikyo covered her mouth and chuckled. From deliberately setting aside an hour for the new students to interact before, to now having face-to-face contact with Horikita Suzune, she had roughly figured out Horikita Suzune's personality.

If you want to get a proud girl to back down, it's best to work on her personality first.

For example, first, elevate her to a high position.

"Then I'll be your partner Horikita?"

Kushida Kikyo said sincerely, placing her hand on her chest.

Let's leave it at that for now.

The praise made Horikita Suzune feel like a child who had received candy. Although she had never acted in a play before, Horikita Suzune now had the illusion that she was very talented.

Kushida Kikyo took in everyone's reactions and lowered her eyes.

The scene she saw every morning naturally came to mind:

The morning dew, lifted by the leaves, proudly grows fuller and fuller, bending the leaves with its weight. In that most rounded moment, it reflects the sun's brilliance with crystal clarity, as if it too is shining with golden light.

Then, it shattered into pieces and fell to the ground.

Torn to pieces.

Kushida Kikyo.