Hunting Game and the First Hook

Golden sunlight streamed through the portholes of the luxury cruise ship, spilling across the polished floor.

The students of Class D had been gathered in a spacious banquet hall, their faces still full of anticipation for the lavish vacation.

However, when their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, stepped onto the stage and announced the start of the "special exam" in her eternally cold tone, the air instantly froze.

"This special exam will take place aboard this cruise ship over the next four days."

"All of you will be split up and mixed with students from Classes A, B, and C, forming twelve groups named after the Chinese zodiac."

"The core of the exam is simple."

Chabashira Sae's gaze swept across the crowd as though she were looking at lambs awaiting slaughter.

"Each group contains one 'VIP' designated by the school. Your task is to identify the VIPs in groups other than your own before the exam ends."

"Guess correctly, and you will receive 500,000 private points. Guess incorrectly, and every member of your group will lose 500,000 points."

"Of course, if the VIP manages to remain hidden until the end, they will also receive 500,000 points."

"There is one other method."

She paused, and a cruel curve appeared at the corner of her lips.

"At the end of the exam, you may submit the name of the VIP in your own group to the school. If you are correct, the submitter will receive 500,000 private points, while the betrayed VIP will lose their reward. We call this action 'betrayal.'"

Buzz.

The entire banquet hall exploded into uproar.

"What kind of joke is this?!" Ike Kanji was the first to jump up. "Isn't this just making us suspect and betray each other?"

"And we're mixed in with students from other classes? How are we supposed to do this?!" Yamauchi Haruki wailed.

Sudo Ken irritably raked a hand through his red hair, his face full of displeasure.

Hirata Yosuke tried to calm everyone down, but it had little effect.

Horikita Suzune frowned deeply, lowering her head to rapidly jot down the rules in her notebook as she tried to find the optimal solution.

The Class D students fell into unprecedented confusion and tension.

Everyone whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with distrust toward their companions and fear of the unknown.

Only two people were exceptions.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood expressionlessly in a corner, observing everything like an outsider.

Meanwhile, Natsume Yu leaned against the window, looking out at the azure sea with a faint smile on his lips.

The moment Chabashira Sae spoke the first word of the rules, a list had already clearly appeared in his mind.

A list of every VIP.

And the laughably simple fatal loophole hidden beneath these seemingly complicated rules.

To him, this was not an exam at all.

It was a hunt tailored specifically for him.

A game of... taming vicious dogs.

"The rules of the game are clear."

Natsume Yu felt no ripples in his heart. If anything, he found it rather boring.

"So, how should I write the script?"

His gaze passed through the chaotic crowd and precisely settled on the girl surrounded by everyone, wearing an angelic, flawless smile.

Kushida Kikyo.

She was sweetly comforting the students beside her, her friendliness enough to make anyone let down their guard.

"Let's start with you."

The corner of Natsume Yu's mouth rose slightly.

"My first Blade of Intelligence."

The exam officially began, and the group assignments were announced.

The students followed the list and headed toward their respective group discussion rooms.

Natsume Yu unhurriedly walked over to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"What do you think?" Natsume Yu asked softly.

"It's troublesome," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied succinctly.

"The school wouldn't create an unsolvable situation," Natsume Yu said calmly. "There must be some pattern to the selection of the VIPs. For example, they might be ranked according to their overall entrance scores, or chosen through some particular algorithm."

He did not say that he knew the answer. Instead, he packaged it as a logical deduction.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes shifted slightly.

"I need you to help me verify several groups." Natsume Yu handed him a slip of paper with several group names and student names written on it.

"Focus on the Dragon, Snake, and Horse Groups. Especially Katsuragi Kohei from the Dragon Group and Sakayanagi Arisu from the Horse Group."

"This is my hypothesis. I need someone to verify it, and you are the most suitable person."

Natsume Yu's words carried an unquestionable certainty.

He cleverly hid himself behind the scenes while pushing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to the forefront.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka accepted the note and gave him a long look. He did not ask any questions, merely nodding.

He knew that Natsume Yu's "hypotheses" were often facts.

Watching Ayanokoji walk away, Natsume Yu turned and headed for his own group's discussion room.

The Rabbit Group.

In other words, the Hare Group.

When he pushed open the door, several people were already seated inside, including Kushida Kikyo.

The moment she saw Natsume Yu, she warmly waved at him.

"Natsume, over here!"

Natsume Yu smiled and nodded before taking the empty seat beside her.

During the free discussion period, the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.

Everyone introduced themselves and shared their thoughts on the exam rules, though their words carried a trace of wariness.

Kushida Kikyo put her powerful social skills to work, quickly warming up the atmosphere and winning everyone's favor.

Natsume Yu said little throughout, merely listening quietly and occasionally chiming in.

He was waiting for an opportunity.

"Come to think of it, did your middle schools ever organize activities like this?" a girl from Class C suddenly asked.

The topic was instantly diverted, and everyone began discussing their middle school lives.

Kushida Kikyo also smiled as she shared a few harmless anecdotes. Her perfect performance won the trust of everyone present.

Now.

"Come to think of it..."

Natsume Yu spoke as though the thought had just occurred to him. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"When I was in middle school, I had a classmate who was a lot like you, Kushida."

His tone was gentle, and a nostalgic smile remained on his face.

"Oh? Really?" Kushida Kikyo tilted her head curiously. Her adorable appearance made the boys present skip a beat.

"Yes." Natsume Yu looked into her eyes and spoke slowly. "Her name was also 'Kikyo.' She was very popular too, the center of the class."

The hook had been cast.

"But she had a particular hobby."

Natsume Yu deliberately slowed his speech, each word like a pebble falling into the lake of Kushida Kikyo's heart.

"She liked keeping a diary on her blog."

"She recorded everyone's secrets in the class, every bad thing they said, and every person and thing she hated."

The instant those words fell.

The sweet, lovable smile on Kushida Kikyo's face froze.

Her pupils sharply contracted for an imperceptible instant.

Though it lasted only a moment, so fast that almost no one noticed, a storm had already risen within her heart.

Blog... diary... secrets...

Those words were like a rusty key, violently prying open the Pandora's box called "the past," sealed in the deepest part of her heart—a past she absolutely did not want anyone to know.

Cold sweat nearly broke out along her back.

"But that was all in the past."

As though he had not noticed anything strange about her, Natsume Yu maintained his gentle smile and casually added,

"People always change, don't they, Kushida?"

The words were light, yet they carried the weight of a thousand pounds as they crushed down on Kushida Kikyo's heart.

Ambiguous words, yet containing the most fatal threat.

He's telling me...

He knows!

He knows everything about me!

That thought filled Kushida Kikyo with an unprecedented, suffocating fear.

She forced out a smile uglier than crying, her voice dry.

"Ah... haha, yes. People always change."

Her gaze had already begun to dodge away, and she no longer dared to meet Natsume Yu's eyes.

Seeing her desperately pretend to be calm when she had already collapsed inside, Natsume Yu knew that the first hook had pierced her heart with perfect accuracy.

"Um... I suddenly don't feel very well. I'd like to use the restroom."

Kushida Kikyo abruptly stood up, practically fleeing in panic.

Her retreating figure looked flustered and pathetic.

Natsume Yu picked up the glass of water on the table and took a light sip, calmly watching the door she had hurriedly shut behind her.

Don't rush.

The real show had only just begun.

Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated gently.

He took it out and glanced at it.

On the screen was a text message from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Its contents were simple.

"The group you mentioned really does have a problem."