When Horikita Etsuka returned to the classroom, class was almost over.
A hint of confusion flashed through Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes.
Hadn't he run away? Why had he come back now?
Could I have guessed wrong? What had he been doing all this time?
One thought after another popped into Sakayanagi's head, only to be rejected just as quickly.
She felt that Horikita Etsuka never followed the usual path, and now she was extremely curious about what he had been doing while he was gone.
"Class is almost over," Sakayanagi said calmly, though she was a little puzzled inside.
"Yeah. The time I spent with you was so brief," Etsuka said casually.
The time he spent with me? Sakayanagi furrowed her brows slightly. Under normal circumstances, he should have said what he'd been doing, not made some useless remark.
Is he trying to throw me off with that line?
"Classmate Horikita, you're quite the joker. It's only Tuesday. We still have plenty of time to spend together," Sakayanagi Arisu replied lightly.
But then Etsuka leaned close to Sakayanagi's ear and whispered:
"Classmate Sakayanagi... your Class A Secret Key is... [Justice], right?"
Sakayanagi's small hand instantly tightened around her cane, and confusion filled her lovely face.
Still, she calmly replied with a smile:
"Where did you get that information, Classmate Horikita? Why do you think our Secret Key is [Justice]?"
Horikita Etsuka studied Sakayanagi's microexpressions, then smiled.
"Haha, I was just guessing. I didn't expect you to react so strongly, Classmate Sakayanagi."
"You discovered our Secret Key just like that. How upsetting," Sakayanagi said, looking a little dejected.
Just then, the bell finally rang.
Sakayanagi Arisu stood up, leaning on her cane, and gave a little wave. "Well then... see you next class, Classmate Horikita."
Horikita Etsuka nodded with a smile.
With that, Sakayanagi headed slowly toward the exit, followed by quite a few Class A students. She looked every bit like a behind-the-scenes boss.
What Etsuka didn't know was that the moment Sakayanagi stepped outside, the smile vanished from her lips, leaving them flat and expressionless. Her gaze, too, grew deeper.
As soon as Class A had left, Ichinose and the others gathered around.
"How did it go, Horikita? Did you find anything?" Ichinose asked curiously.
Etsuka rubbed his chin. "Tell me what you found first."
"I feel like Class A isn't guarding their Secret Key very closely. They don't seem to care much about it. They didn't say it outright, but they've narrowed down the possibilities quite a bit. It seems to be a word like [Order]."
Ichinose spoke first. Hashimoto Masayoshi was beside her, and he normally wouldn't have revealed so much information, but somehow it had come out anyway.
Kanzaki Ryuji nodded as well. "It was about the same for me. But Kamuro Masumi seemed really reluctant to take part in this Special Exam, and I noticed she seemed to have some kind of disagreement with Sakayanagi."
Hamaguchi Tetsuya's eyes lit up. "In that case, we can use Kamuro Masumi as a breakthrough point and get their Secret Key from her."
Horikita Etsuka nodded. "We can try Kamuro Masumi. I just asked Sakayanagi directly if their Secret Key was [Justice], to see how her expression changed."
Amikura Mako had just come over. Her eyes brightened. "What did she say?"
"She said... yes," Horikita Etsuka replied with a frown.
"Huh? She said yes?" Everyone looked a little surprised.
Ichinose nodded. "I see. Then we can keep [Justice] as a possible Secret Key for Class A. It's certainly possible."
Etsuka smiled at their grave expressions. "You don't have to try so hard. There's no way anyone would reveal a Secret Key during class."
His words seemed to make Ichinose realize something. She nodded. "That's true."
Ichinose's original idea had been to get as much useful information as possible during class. It seemed she had never really considered what they could do outside of class.
"By the way, Ichinose, are there any students in our class who are having trouble with points?" Horikita Etsuka asked.
"Well..." Ichinose thought carefully. "I'm not sure, but I can ask around and see if anyone's borrowed points in the past week."
"Mm." Etsuka nodded.
"The individual reward for this exam is extremely tempting. A Secret Key is worth a full million points. The school is trying to break each class apart, and there'll always be students who've spent all their points and are tempted by the offer."
"That's true..." Ichinose had confidence in her Class B classmates, but a million points was an enormous amount.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind that much if someone betrayed us for a million points. I'm worried Ryuen will use violence against our classmates."
"Huh? Violence? But this is still a school. They wouldn't do that, would they? Besides, we aren't their target class," Amikura said, unconvinced.
"No, it's entirely possible. The rules don't say that a class can't search for a Secret Key if it isn't their target."
From his interaction with Ryuen that afternoon, Etsuka knew the other boy might use any means necessary to accomplish something. The one upside was that Ryuen was relatively easy to read.
That was why Etsuka had chosen Class C as his target class in the first place. Unfortunately, Class D knew that too, so they had chosen Class C as their target as well.
That afternoon, at Golden KTV.
Ryuen sat on the sofa, swirling a glass.
Beside him stood a dark-skinned man who looked like a giant, wearing sunglasses and standing guard like a bodyguard.
At the other end of the sofa, Ibuki Mio sat with her legs pressed together. She held a glass of juice on her lap, with no desire to drink it. She really disliked the atmosphere in the KTV.
In the very middle of the sofa, a girl with short brown hair and two rose-pink hair clips in her bangs sat uneasily. Her calves, covered in mid-calf black stockings, twitched unconsciously.
Ryuen took a relaxed sip of his drink and asked casually, "Manabe, are you sure Karuizawa from Class D was bullied in the past?"
"I'm sure!" Manabe answered confidently. "I wouldn't mistake that expression. Her past bullies were the same way. They tried to act tough, but you could always see the fear in their eyes."
"Heh, how interesting." Ryuen looked at Manabe. "Then go do it. I expect good news."
"Okay!" Manabe stood up, a little excited, and left the KTV. She looked at the sun, which was about to set, and couldn't help feeling pleased.
If she just did this—if she completed the task Ryuen had given her—her standing in the class would surely rise, wouldn't it?
"Tch. What's so great about Ibuki Mio?"
She and Ibuki Mio had a terrible relationship, and Ibuki held a high standing among the girls.
So if Manabe completed Ryuen's assignment, she'd be the one calling the shots among the girls, wouldn't she?
She didn't want to lose the feeling of being fawned over by everyone else...
With that thought, she promptly took out her Student Terminal and seemed to contact someone.
Back in the KTV.
Ibuki Mio couldn't take it anymore. She set her glass on the coffee table, then stood up. Suppressing her anger, she stared at Ryuen, who was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, and spoke in a firm voice:
"You could have used some other plan to get information out of her. Why did you have to do this?"
"What?" Ryuen looked up at her disdainfully. "Do I need your permission to do what I want?"
The next moment, Ibuki Mio lifted her leg and kicked at Ryuen's face.
Ryuen reacted extremely quickly. He casually threw his glass to the floor and caught Ibuki Mio's muscular calf with one hand.
Since she was wearing a short skirt, the view beneath it was completely exposed.
Ryuen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I didn't know you liked white."
"Damn it!" Ibuki Mio's face reddened slightly as she gritted her teeth. "Let go of me!"
Ryuen released his grip, and Ibuki Mio wobbled as she pulled her leg back.
But she seemed unwilling to let it go. Her fist clenched as if she wanted to ambush Ryuen.
Ryuen slowly stood up and looked down at Ibuki Mio's defiant face, a hint of interest in his eyes.
"What are you looking at?" Ibuki Mio raised her arm and swung at Ryuen's face.
Ryuen effortlessly caught her arm and pulled her into his arms, placing a hand on her waist.
To Ryuen, Ibuki Mio's attacks were like being tickled.
Ryuen's long hair drooped slightly. The corners of his arrogant mouth lifted as he looked at her with a hint of teasing in his eyes.
"I'm not going to agree to any of that. But if you want to blow off some steam, you can come to my dorm tonight. We can have a nice talk in bed."
Before you continue