Special Exam 5

When Horikita Etsuka returned to the classroom, it was already nearing the end of the period.

A flicker of doubt flashed through the eyes of Sakayanagi Arisu.

Didn't he run away? Why is he back now?

Could I have guessed wrong? But what exactly did he go off to do during this time?

One thought after another popped into Sakayanagi's mind, only to be dismissed just as quickly.

She felt that Horikita Etsuka did not follow conventional paths at all, and she was now extremely curious about what he had been doing during his disappearance.

"Class is almost over," Sakayanagi said calmly, despite the lingering doubts in her heart.

"Indeed, the time spent with you is truly fleeting," Etsuka said lightly.

The time spent with me? Sakayanagi frowned slightly. Logically speaking, the other party should have explained where he went, rather than spouting useless pleasantries.

Is he trying to disrupt my train of thought with that line?

"Horikita-kun is truly humorous. It's only Tuesday; we still have plenty of time to spend together," Sakayanagi Arisu replied nonchalantly.

However, Etsuka then leaned in close to Sakayanagi's ear and whispered:

"Sakayanagi-san... your Class A Secret Key is... [Justice], right?"

In an instant, Sakayanagi's small hand tightened around her cane, and her pretty face filled with confusion.

Yet, she remained composed, a smile playing on her lips as she said:

"Where did Horikita-kun get this information? Why would you think our Secret Key is [Justice]?"

Horikita Etsuka observed the micro-expressions on Sakayanagi's face, then smiled.

"Haha, I was just guessing, of course. I just didn't expect Sakayanagi-san to have such a big reaction."

"My Secret Key was discovered so quickly; how truly sad," Sakayanagi said, her expression showing a hint of disappointment.

Just then, the bell finally rang to signal the end of class.

Sakayanagi Arisu stood up, leaning on her cane, and waved her small hand. "Then... see you next class, Horikita-kun."

Horikita Etsuka nodded with a smile.

With that, Sakayanagi walked slowly toward the exit, followed by a number of people from Class A, looking every bit like a boss behind the scenes.

What Etsuka didn't know was that the moment she stepped out the door, the smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's lips instantly vanished, and her gaze turned deep and inscrutable.

After Class A left, Ichinose and the others immediately gathered around.

"How was it, Horikita? Did you find anything?" Ichinose asked curiously.

Etsuka rubbed his chin. "Tell me what you all found first."

"I feel like Class A isn't guarding their Secret Key very strictly. They don't seem to care much about it. Although they didn't say it directly, the range they gave was quite small, seemingly a word similar to [Order]."

Ichinose spoke first. Beside her was Hashimoto Masayoshi; logically, he shouldn't have revealed so much information, yet the information had leaked out regardless.

Kanzaki Ryuji also nodded. "It was similar for me, but Kamuro Masumi was very impatient about participating in this special exam, and I noticed she seems to have some conflict with Sakayanagi."

Hamaguchi Tetsuya's eyes lit up. "In that case, we can use Kamuro Masumi as a breakthrough point to obtain their class's Secret Key."

Horikita Etsuka nodded. "We can try Kamuro Masumi. I just asked Sakayanagi directly if their key was [Justice] to see how her expression would change."

Amikura Mako, who had just joined the circle, looked pleased. "And how did she answer?"

"She said... yes," Horikita Etsuka said, frowning.

"Eh? She did?" Everyone looked slightly surprised.

Ichinose nodded. "Is that so? Then we can treat [Justice] as a candidate for Class A's Secret Key; after all, it's a possibility."

Etsuka looked at their solemn faces and laughed. "You don't have to push yourselves so hard. After all, revealing the Secret Key is unlikely to happen during class."

The remark seemed to wake Ichinose up, and she nodded. "That is true, indeed."

Ichinose's initial thought had been to try and extract useful information during class, seemingly never considering what might happen outside of it.

"By the way, Ichinose, are there any students in our class who are struggling with points?" Horikita Etsuka asked.

"As for that..." Ichinose thought carefully. "I'm not entirely sure, but I can ask around and see if anyone has borrowed points in the last week."

"Mm," Etsuka nodded.

(If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author; perhaps the name was just changed!)

"The temptation of the personal point reward this time is huge. Revealing a Secret Key is worth a full 1,000,000 points. The school wants to dismantle every class; there will always be students who have run out of points who will be tempted."

"That is true..." Although Ichinose had confidence in her classmates in Class B, 1,000,000 points was simply too much.

"Actually, if someone betrays us for 1,000,000 points, I wouldn't care much. I'm more worried about Ryuen using violent means against our classmates."

"Eh? Violent means? But this is a school, after all, isn't it? Surely not? And we aren't even their targets for infiltration." Amikura seemed somewhat skeptical.

"No, it's entirely possible. The rules don't state that classes that aren't targets for infiltration can't search for Secret Keys."

From Etsuka's contact with Ryuen that afternoon, he knew the man would use any means necessary to achieve his goals, though the only benefit was that his motives were relatively easy to read.

This was also why he had initially targeted Class C for infiltration, though it was a pity that Class D knew this as well, which was why they had also chosen Class C.

In the afternoon, inside a KTV lounge.

Ryuen sat on the sofa, swirling a stemmed glass.

Beside him, a black man resembling a small giant stood like a bodyguard, wearing sunglasses.

At the other end of the sofa, Ibuki Mio sat with her legs pressed tightly together, a juice glass resting on her lap. She had no mood to drink; she thoroughly disliked the atmosphere of the KTV.

In the center of the sofa, a girl with short brown hair and two magenta hairpins on her bangs sat restlessly, her calves—clad in black mid-length stockings—trembling inadvertently.

Ryuen took a leisurely sip of his drink and said casually, "Manabe, are you certain that Karuizawa from Class D was bullied in the past?"

"I'm certain!" Manabe said with a tone of conviction. "I couldn't have misread her expression. My previous targets were just like her; they always tried to act tough, but the fear in their eyes couldn't be hidden."

"Hehehe, that's truly interesting." Ryuen looked at Manabe and said, "Then go ahead and do it. I hope you bring me some good news."

"Mhm!" Manabe stood up, looking slightly excited, and walked out of the KTV. She looked at the setting sun, feeling a sense of joy in her heart.

As long as she did this, as long as she completed the task Ryuen had entrusted to her, her status in the class would surely rise, right?

"Tch, what's so great about Ibuki Mio anyway?"

Her relationship with Ibuki Mio was terrible, and Ibuki Mio held a very high status among the girls.

So, as long as she completed this task for Ryuen, she would be the one whose word was law among the girls, wouldn't she?

She didn't want to lose the feeling of being fawned over by others...

Thinking of this, she took out her Student Terminal without hesitation, seemingly to contact someone.

At this moment, inside the KTV.

Ibuki Mio could no longer stand it. She placed her glass on the coffee table, stood up, and while suppressing her anger, looked at Ryuen—who was sitting with his legs crossed—and said in a firm tone:

"We could have used other strategies to get the information. Why must we do something like this?"

"Oh?" Ryuen just looked up at her with contempt. "Do I need your permission to do things?"

In the next second, Ibuki Mio raised her leg and kicked directly toward Ryuen's face.

Ryuen's reaction speed was extremely fast. He tossed his glass onto the floor and grabbed her muscular calf with one hand.

Because she was wearing a short skirt, the view underneath was completely exposed.

Ryuen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I didn't expect you to like white?"

"Damn it!" Ibuki Mio gritted her teeth, her face slightly flushed. "Let go of me!"

Ryuen released his hand, and Ibuki Mio stumbled as she pulled her leg back.

However, she seemed unwilling to give up; her fists were clenched, and she looked as if she wanted to ambush Ryuen again.

Ryuen slowly stood up, looking down at the stubborn-faced Ibuki Mio, a hint of interest appearing in his eyes.

"What are you looking at?" Ibuki Mio raised her arm and swung toward Ryuen's face.

Ryuen easily caught her arm, pulled her directly into his embrace, and placed his hand on her waist.

To Ryuen, these attacks from Ibuki Mio were like nothing more than a tickle.

Ryuen's long hair hung down slightly, his arrogant mouth curled into a smirk, and his eyes held a trace of mockery as he said:

"I can't agree to those things you want, but if you want to vent your anger, you can come to my dorm tonight. We can have a good talk in bed."