Proof of Taming and Foreshadowing for the Future

The dormitory curtains were drawn tightly shut, leaving only a narrow gap for moonlight to cut through and draw a pale line across the floor.

Only the cold glow reflected from the laptop screen illuminated Natsume Yu's face.

He inserted the black USB drive into the port.

"Click."

A soft sound.

Pandora's Box had been opened.

The moment the folders appeared, Natsume Yu's pupils narrowed slightly.

This was on an entirely different scale from what he had imagined.

There were no chaotic, disorganized documents. Everything had been sorted into neat categories with a disturbingly meticulous precision.

[First-Year Class A], [First-Year Class B], [First-Year Class C], [First-Year Class D].

He opened the Class D folder.

Inside were individual files on every student.

Sudo Ken's file contained not only records of every fight he had gotten into during middle school, but even a list of his father's debts, precise down to the date and amount of every loan.

Ike Kanji's file contained screenshots of every frivolous remark he had made about women on social media, along with purchase records for all those "special tools" he had bought online.

Yamauchi Haruki's file detailed every failed confession he had ever made to girls since childhood, along with the girls' evaluations of him—sharp, vicious words that cut to the bone.

These were no longer simple weaknesses and secrets.

Family backgrounds.

Spending habits.

Medical records.

Detailed analyses of their social circles: who were truly friends, and who were merely brothers on the surface.

Even... every person's psychological profile and exploitable emotional triggers had been marked with perfect clarity.

Kushida Kikyo.

That woman was not merely a sharp blade.

She was an all-pervasive surveillance network spanning the entire grade.

Using that sweet, harmless face as camouflage, she greedily absorbed everyone's information, chewed it over, digested it, and turned it into trophies in her personal arsenal.

Natsume Yu's fingers glided lightly over the touchpad, and an expression of extreme satisfaction appeared on his face.

This was a true "tool."

A perfect tool, one that had even exceeded his expectations.

He picked up his phone and sent Kushida a message.

The message was simple, containing only two words.

"Very good."

The message sent successfully.

He leaned back in his chair, waited a few seconds, then slowly typed another line.

"For your next report, I want to see analyses on the teachers."

It was an order.

And a new set of shackles.

He would keep increasing the difficulty of her tasks, allowing her to satisfy his desire to pry while sinking ever deeper into a mire she could never escape.

The air of the new term seemed no different from before.

Yet Ayanokoji Kiyotaka keenly sensed that something had changed.

In class, Chabashira Sae still looked half-dead, Sudo was still dozing off, and Koenji was still admiring his peerless beauty in a small mirror.

Everything was normal.

Except for Kushida Kikyo.

She was still the angel of the class, greeting everyone with her brightest smile.

But Ayanokoji noticed that whenever Natsume Yu occasionally met her gaze, Kushida would make a tiny, nearly imperceptible motion of lowering her head.

That was not shyness.

It was... the instinctive submission of an inferior to a superior.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt no ripples in his heart.

He merely logged the observation in his internal database.

Natsume Yu and Kushida Kikyo had certainly formed some sort of hidden connection.

But he had no intention of doing anything.

Alerting the enemy was a foolish thing to do.

He chose to continue observing, like the finest hunter waiting silently in the dark for his prey to expose its own weakness.

The dismissal bell rang.

The classroom door opened, and an energetic figure appeared in the doorway, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

It was Class B's leader, Ichinose Honami.

"Excuse me, is Ayanokoji here?" she asked with a smile, though her gaze casually swept across the classroom.

When she saw Natsume Yu, her eyes visibly brightened.

"I'm here." Ayanokoji raised a hand.

Ichinose quickly walked over to him, clasped her hands together, and gave a slight bow.

"Ayanokoji, during the Uninhabited Island exam, we really had you to thank for the warning. Class B was able to preserve so many points because of you. Thank you so much!"

Her voice was bright and clear, filled with sincerity.

The surrounding students all looked over curiously.

Ayanokoji answered expressionlessly, "I only said what I should have said."

"No, no, it was an incredibly important help to me!" Ichinose insisted. Then she turned toward Natsume Yu, who was packing his bag beside them. "Of course, we also have to thank Natsume. If it hadn't been for your plan, all of our classes might still have been kept in the dark by Class A and Class C."

Natsume Yu looked up and gave her a polite smile.

"It was nothing."

Ichinose's purpose was obvious.

Thanking Ayanokoji was merely a pretext. What she truly wanted was to speak with Natsume Yu.

This clever woman was trying to use the safest possible method to draw closer to Class D—or rather, to Natsume Yu.

Just then, Natsume Yu's phone vibrated.

He picked it up and glanced at it.

It was a message from Shiina Hiyori.

"Natsume, I've recently been reading Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Its discussion of the motives behind 'betrayal' reminded me of our conversation on the ship. Would you like to talk sometime?"

Natsume Yu tapped lightly on the screen.

Unlike Ichinose's social approach beneath the sunlight, Shiina Hiyori had chosen a quieter and deeper way to approach him.

Through books, through ideas.

Two different types of women, two different ways of winning them over.

Interesting.

Natsume Yu replied to Shiina's message, then looked up at Ichinose, who was still exchanging pleasantries with Ayanokoji. "Ichinose, if there's nothing else, we're going to the cafeteria."

His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable finality.

Ichinose froze for a moment before flashing a perfect smile. "Okay, okay, I won't keep you any longer. See you next time!"

She waved, turned, and left the Class D classroom.

Yet the instant she turned away, the smile on her face faded slightly.

Natsume Yu was even harder to approach than she had imagined.

Late at night.

Natsume Yu opened the USB drive again.

Like a king inspecting his territory, he casually browsed secrets capable of ruining anyone's reputation.

Eventually, his fingers stopped over the Class C folder.

Ryuen Kakeru.

An interesting fellow.

Violent, paranoid, and devoted to absolute strength.

Schemes and tricks would not be very effective against someone like him. But if he were given a target upon which to unleash that violence, things would be different.

Natsume Yu shifted his gaze to Class A's roster.

He soon found a suitable target.

A boy named Hashimoto Masayoshi.

The file showed that he came from a wealthy family. On the surface, he supported Katsuragi Kohei, but privately, he used illegal channels to purchase points to cover the hole left by his extravagant spending.

A perfect lure.

Natsume Yu logged into an anonymous forum, registered a new account, and posted an ambiguous message.

[Heard someone in Class A doesn't follow the rules and has been having quite a good time outside. Seems like the monthly points the school gives them aren't enough.]

No names were mentioned.

But anyone willing to investigate could easily trace the clue through "spending" and uncover Hashimoto Masayoshi.

And in the entire school, no one enjoyed using such tactics to attack opponents more than Ryuen Kakeru.

After finishing, Natsume Yu deleted all browsing history and logged out.

It was like dropping a small stone into a tranquil lake.

He did not need to stir up raging waves.

He only needed to make a few faint ripples and let the fish take the bait themselves.

Sure enough.

The next day, the atmosphere at school became tense.

Class C students began deliberately, or seemingly accidentally, picking fights with Class A students.

At first, they were only minor verbal disputes, but they gradually escalated.

In the cafeteria, one of Ryuen Kakeru's people "accidentally" knocked over Hashimoto Masayoshi's tray. Before Hashimoto could react, Ryuen pinned him with a gaze that looked at him like garbage, leaving him unable to say a word.

"Can't you watch where you're going, Class A elite?"

Ryuen Kakeru's voice was not loud, but it was full of provocation.

The students of Class A and Class C quickly confronted one another, and the air filled with the scent of gunpowder.

Natsume Yu sat in a distant corner with his tray, silently watching the farce unfold.

No one knew that the source of this conflict was merely an anonymous message he had posted the night before.

The feeling of hiding behind the scenes and manipulating every puppet with invisible strings...

Filled him with incomparable pleasure.

In the classroom.

Kushida Kikyo continued playing her role as the perfect angel.

She gently comforted Class D students who had been harassed by Class C, and indignantly condemned Ryuen Kakeru's tyranny.

But whenever her gaze passed over Horikita Suzune, something different always flashed through those beautiful eyes.

It was hostility permitted by a superior, tinged with a sense of superiority.

She no longer merely hated Horikita as she had before.

Now, she seemed more like she was looking at a toy she would soon destroy with her own hands.

She believed that in Natsume Yu's script, she would soon become the executioner and crush Horikita Suzune, that thorn in her side, beneath her feet.

Natsume Yu saw it all, but said nothing.

He simply created a new folder on his computer.

Then he copied a report from the USB drive analyzing Horikita Suzune into it separately.

The report was titled—[On the Fatal Flaws of a Solitary Personality in Group Events].

He knew.

This report would soon prove useful.

At the upcoming Sports Festival, it would become the deadliest weapon for crushing that ice-cold beauty.

A few days later.

During homeroom.

Chabashira Sae stepped onto the podium, her face as cold and indifferent as ever.

"To keep it short, the school has announced the rules for the next special exam."

The electronic screen behind her lit up, displaying the words "Sports Festival."

A wave of barely restrained commotion spread through the classroom.

"Unlike previous years." Chabashira Sae tapped the podium. "This year's Sports Festival will break down class barriers. All students in the grade will be randomly divided into the Red Team and White Team for a competition."

"The final result will be determined by total points. Every member of the winning team will receive a large reward in personal points."

"And the losing team..."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the entire class.

"Will receive corresponding punishment."

The screen began scrolling through the team rosters.

Natsume Yu's gaze swept across the densely packed names.

Before long, he found his own name.

[Red Team]

Then he saw Horikita Suzune's name.

She was also in the [Red Team].

His gaze continued downward, finally settling on a name right beside Horikita Suzune's.

Kushida Kikyo.

As Natsume Yu looked at the group list, the curve of his lips slowly rose, impossible to suppress.