Epilogue and New Arc: Tempering the Blade of Intelligence

The Uninhabited Island Special Exam debriefing was held in the gymnasium.

When the final results froze on the big screen, showing Class D in first place with an astonishing 225 points, the entire class instantly erupted.

Cheers and screams nearly blew the roof off.

Sudo Ken waved his fists excitedly, while Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki hugged each other, crying and laughing as though they had won five million in the lottery.

Natsume Yu stood at the edge of the crowd, wearing the same joy as everyone else, though the smile never reached his eyes.

He merely clapped quietly, perfectly playing the role of an ordinary student happy for the collective honor.

His gaze met Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's from a short distance away. The latter still wore that eternally expressionless face and gave a slight nod.

With one look, they had exchanged all the information they needed.

A perfect ending.

After the meeting, Kushida Kikyo stopped Ayanokoji Kiyotaka at a corner of the school building.

The corridor was empty, and the lingering sunset stretched their shadows long.

"Ayanokoji-kun..."

Kushida's voice was somewhat hoarse. She lowered her head, and her clenched fists revealed the struggle in her heart.

The angel who always wore a sweet smile and was loved by everyone now looked as if all her strength had been drained away, leaving behind only humiliation and resentment.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at her expressionlessly, his tone utterly calm.

"What is it?"

That attitude was undoubtedly like rubbing salt into Kushida's wound.

Her body trembled slightly. Several seconds passed before she finally raised her head as if she had exhausted all her strength.

Her beautiful eyes were bloodshot, hatred and fear intertwined within them, twisting even her cute face into something distorted.

"I... I understand."

She forced the words through clenched teeth.

"I'll do as you say."

"Just remember one thing."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's voice was cold and devoid of warmth. He was merely relaying Natsume Yu's exact words.

"You have already experienced the consequences of betrayal once. I do not want there to be a second time."

Kushida Kikyo's face instantly turned deathly pale.

That muddy, rainy night on the Uninhabited Island, and that man holding a phone and smiling like a demon, were nightmares she would never escape for the rest of her life.

"I... understand."

"Good."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took a note from his pocket and handed it to her.

"This is your first task."

"Gather detailed information on every student in Class D, including their weaknesses, secrets, and unknown pasts."

Kushida's pupils abruptly contracted.

"Also, I need all recent developments concerning the leaders of Classes A, B, and C: Sakayanagi Arisu, Ichinose Honami, and Ryuen Kakeru."

"W-What exactly are you trying to do?"

There was a tremor in Kushida's voice.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not answer. He simply looked at her with those emotionless eyes.

That look said: You are not qualified to ask questions.

Kushida Kikyo bit her lower lip in humiliation, nearly drawing blood.

Her hands trembling, she took the note.

The moment she turned to leave, Natsume Yu watched everything from beside a second-floor window behind Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, a satisfied curve rising on his lips.

The Blade of Intelligence had begun to be tempered.

After school, the rooftop became Sakura Airi's personal photography studio.

"Natsume-kun, turn your body a little more to the left..."

Holding her camera, Sakura gave instructions carefully.

The sunset's soft light fell over Natsume Yu, gilding his outline in gold.

Unlike her initial nervousness and shyness, Sakura had grown much more confident now.

Especially when she raised her camera, a focused brilliance would bloom in her eyes.

Of course, she only displayed that confidence and cheerfulness in front of Natsume Yu.

"Like this?"

Natsume Yu adjusted his pose and leaned against the rooftop railing.

"Mhm! Perfect!"

Sakura excitedly pressed the shutter.

"Come here."

Natsume Yu suddenly beckoned to her.

Sakura froze for a moment, then jogged over with a flushed face.

"W-What is it?"

Natsume Yu said nothing. He merely reached out and gently tucked a stray lock of hair from her forehead behind her ear.

The warmth of his fingertips brushing her ear made Sakura's body instantly stiffen. Her cheeks rapidly heated up, turning so red they seemed ready to bleed.

"Your tie is crooked."

Natsume Yu's voice was close. His warm breath brushed her ear, leaving her mind completely blank.

He lowered his head and unhurriedly straightened the tie of her school uniform.

They were far too close.

Sakura could even smell the faint, clean scent of body wash on him.

Her heart pounded so fast it felt as though it would leap out of her throat.

Seeing the girl so flustered and helpless, letting him arrange her as he pleased, intense delight flashed in Natsume Yu's eyes.

He liked this feeling.

Personally carving an unpolished jade into the shape he wanted.

Making his reflection the only thing left in her world.

This perfection, shaped entirely by his own hands, intoxicated him.

Horikita Suzune had recently been feeling that something was very wrong.

After Class D's victory, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's presence remained low, yet Kushida Kikyo had approached him several times on her own initiative.

Though the two merely spoke quietly for a few moments in corners, Kushida's expression of obvious suppression and resentment was abnormal no matter how one looked at it.

And Natsume Yu...

He was still the same as before: reading during class, spacing out after class, and occasionally going to the rooftop with Sakura Airi.

He was like a transparent person.

Yet the more he was like that, the more suspicious Horikita Suzune found him.

She keenly sensed an understanding between Ayanokoji and Natsume Yu that no outsider could intrude upon.

Several times, she saw Ayanokoji, after speaking with Kushida, casually walk over to Natsume Yu's seat and seemingly absentmindedly place a book on his desk.

Natsume Yu would then pick up that book and flip through a few pages.

That absolutely was not a coincidence.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka might be strong, but he was more like a sharp blade.

And the hand truly gripping that blade's hilt, hidden behind the scenes...

Horikita Suzune's gaze fell upon the boy resting his chin on his hand as he stared out the window.

Natsume Yu, who exactly are you?

The atmosphere in Class C's classroom was terrifyingly oppressive.

Ryuen Kakeru sat with one leg crossed over the other, his feet on his desk, idly playing with a compass. Its sharp needle carved deep grooves into the desktop with a piercing scraping sound.

Ishizaki Daichi, Albert Yamada, and the others stood before him, scarcely daring to breathe.

"Trash."

Ryuen Kakeru suddenly sneered and drove the compass into the desk.

"A bunch of trash!"

"You actually let those Class D scum play you."

"Ryuen-kun, it was our fault..."

Ishizaki Daichi lowered his head, his face full of shame.

"I do not want to hear excuses."

Ryuen Kakeru rose to his feet and walked to the window, looking down over the campus below.

"Class D is hiding someone formidable. A bastard who treats everyone as chess pieces and plays from the shadows."

His gaze turned vicious.

"I do not care who he is or what methods you use. Drag him out for me."

"I'll personally grind that smug, mysterious face of his into the ground."

"I'll make him understand what happens when he tries to play schemes in front of me, Ryuen Kakeru!"

In the corridor, Ichinose Honami and several Class B students ran into Natsume Yu and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka head-on.

"Natsume-kun, Ayanokoji-kun, congratulations!"

Ichinose Honami stopped voluntarily, a sincere smile on her face.

"Your Class D was really incredible in this Uninhabited Island exam."

"We just got lucky."

Natsume Yu smiled gently, but the smile was polite and distant.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka simply nodded, taking it as a greeting.

"You're being too modest. Luck alone cannot explain this."

As though she had not noticed their coldness, Ichinose Honami continued warmly, "There may be many things that our Class B will need to learn from your Class D in the future."

Her words were beautifully phrased, expressing both congratulations and goodwill.

Natsume Yu looked into her clear, bright eyes, rapidly assessing her inwardly.

Ichinose Honami, Class B's leader. A clever person who constructed her defenses with "kindness" and "unity."

Her value... might be greater than he had imagined.

"We can learn from each other."

Natsume Yu maintained his perfect smile, leaving no opening at all.

Late at night.

Only a desk lamp was lit in Natsume Yu's dorm room.

The glow of his phone screen reflected on his utterly calm face.

On the screen was a file he had just received.

The sender was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

The contents were the first report submitted by Kushida Kikyo.

The report contained detailed analyses of the personality weaknesses of several core Class D figures. It even included the shadows beneath Hirata Yosuke's sunny exterior, as well as Karuizawa Kei's unbearable past.

Finally, there were updates on Ichinose Honami's frequent recent contact with the Student Council and Ryuen Kakeru's internal reorganization of Class C, along with his declaration that he would seek revenge.

The contents were thorough, cruelly incisive, and filled with Kushida Kikyo's personally malicious speculation.

But it was useful enough.

Natsume Yu lightly swiped a finger across the screen, an imperceptible curve lifting at the corner of his lips.

"The game has only just begun. My first Blade of Intelligence will soon obey obediently."

His finger tapped the screen, switching to the photo gallery.

The newest photo popped up. Sakura Airi had just sent it.

In the photo, she stood beneath the rooftop sunset, camera in her arms, smiling brilliantly and purely.

Those eyes that always held a trace of timidity were now filled entirely with his reflection.

Natsume Yu murmured softly.

"And my exclusive one is becoming more and more perfect."

He turned off his phone. The screen went dark, reflecting his own expressionless face.

"Next..."

The corner of his lips lifted slightly, forming a cold curve.

"It is time for Class D's Lone Flower to experience some of my 'care' as well."