There Are Still Experts

"Yo! Ayanokoji, Karuizawa."

"Ah, Nagami, why are you here? Don't tell me you've colluded with Class C too?"

Nagami didn't answer, continuing instead.

"Guess when I arrived here to watch your performance."

"Don't answer a question with a question!"

Karuizawa retorted.

"Is Chabashira still downstairs? Did she say anything to you?"

Ayanokoji remained expressionless.

"We're just classmates helping each other out, how could she possibly stop me? She just asked if I knew what Ayanokoji was up to."

Nagami relayed the exact words to Ayanokoji.

"I feel like I've been played by you today. Is Class C under your control too?"

"Bingo, no prize. In the short term, that's how it is."

"Ayanokoji, actually, I've been wanting to ask for a while now: what exactly is your deal? I get the feeling your background isn't ordinary."

One day ago...

"I suggest you calm down and look at this, because you're about to be expelled."

On the screen was a photo of Ryuen swinging an iron pipe at Kinoshita's calf. The timing was perfect, with Ishizaki and Yamada surrounding them.

That was the footage Nagami had obtained by asking Kushida to tail the injured members of Class C.

If Ryuen refused to admit it, he still had Kinoshita's testimony ready for a one-hit kill, a confession also secured by asking the social butterfly Kushida to open up Kinoshita's heart.

"This photo, when did you—!"

"I told you, Ryuen. Your thought process is just too easy for me to understand."

"Don't bother trying to take my phone back. I arranged everything before meeting you. In just three hours, a scheduled email will be sent to the school's inbox."

"You can also try guessing how many backups I have of this photo. Cloud storage? USB drives? Or discs?"

"What do you want? If you just wanted me expelled, you wouldn't have come here to say all this, would you?"

Ryuen kept a straight face, still putting up a front.

"That's a great expression. You look like a total loser."

"As for what I want, let me think... you don't have to do anything. Just proceed with your original plan."

"You already know my plan?"

"I don't. Just tell me the time you're meeting Karuizawa."

"It's that simple? What the hell are you trying to pull?"

"You don't need to overthink it. I only do things that interest me. You know?"

"Also, don't think about playing any tricks. Your leverage is in my hands."

Nagami turned his back to Ryuen, waving the photo on his phone screen.

"Just a normal family."

Ayanokoji said expressionlessly.

"Is the traitor in the VIP Exam Kushida?"

"Yep, I know. So today was just to make everyone shut up. I've got leverage on Class C, too."

Nagami looked at the unconscious Ryuen on the ground and offered a three-second moment of silence for him.

"How did Nagami know I suspected Kushida was the traitor?"

"Could it be that Kushida even told you about that incident with her clothes? Nagami really has earned Kushida's complete trust."

"Correct! Correct! But Ayanokoji, I didn't come here with any ill intent today. I just wanted to tell you that Kushida has turned over a new leaf."

"Amazing, I truly feel that from the bottom of my heart."

Ayanokoji sighed. He hadn't expected someone with such a twisted personality to be reformed, which made him curious about Nagami's own character. Lacking in emotions himself, he was deeply intrigued by how one could manage to reform Kushida, who was essentially darkness incarnate.

"No wonder Kushida hasn't been harassing Horikita for a while, and her personality has changed so much. Is it all thanks to Nagami?"

"That's right, that's right. I put a lot of effort into correcting little Kikyo. Even if you can't tell from the outside, my attention to detail is finer than a needle's point. I understand girls better than girls themselves."

The rumor that Nagami once worked as a host in Tokyo—could it actually be true? Ayanokoji began to wonder.

"You went to all this trouble just to explain things for Kushida? It feels like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

"Ah, that's one of the reasons."

"The real reason is..."

Nagami tossed his drink can into the trash bin and threw a punch at the air.

"I've been wanting to spar with you for a long time."

A real man's showdown, a great battle on the verge of breaking out!

"Then, watch out!"

"Wait, don't fight!"

Karuizawa Kei tried to mediate, but after everything that had happened, she was completely bewildered, her mind a tangled mess.

Nagami broke into a cold sweat, having completely forgotten there was still an audience.

The atmosphere had built up to this point, so not fighting wouldn't feel right. Besides, Karuizawa, hadn't you been standing on the sidelines watching the show in silence the whole time Class C was getting beaten up?

(I wonder if Karuizawa can keep her mouth shut.)

Nagami thought to himself.

"Are you hurt, Karuizawa?"

"I'm fine, no injuries."

"If you're alright, you should head back first. I have something to discuss with Nagami."

"You're really not going to fight, right?"

"Yeah, we won't fight."

Karuizawa slowly walked toward the stairs, her footsteps echoing, the sound growing fainter until it disappeared entirely.

(Of course we won't fight, it's just a normal spar.)

"Ayanokoji, what exactly is this important matter you wanted to talk to me about?"

Nagami looked at Ayanokoji with a puzzled expression.

"Actually, I had always suspected that you might be an assassin sent by the White Room, but after observing and interacting with you for this period of time, I realized I might have misjudged you."

"White Room? Does it have anything to do with the White House in America?"

Hearing the term "White Room," Nagami couldn't help but frown and ask.

"There is no connection between the two, but I hope you will make a promise!"

Ayanokoji proposed.

"Oh, what kind of promise?"

"If I win, you must tell me in detail the method for correcting Kushida's personality."

Ayanokoji said seriously.

"Is that so? It's not exactly a secret. Since you're so interested, I'll agree to it."

"If I win, I want you to tell me what the hell the White Room is!"

"Deal!"

The autumn wind, laced with the chill of early winter, brushed gently across the treetops. The breeze swept through the fallen leaves, which sliced through the air like blades, emitting crisp whistling sounds.

The world was strangely quiet, with only the wind and the occasional birdcall in the distance, as if nature itself were holding its breath for the impending duel.

Ayanokoji took off his jacket, his body no longer restricted by his slim-fit school uniform.

The two students, both masters of force, stood facing each other in the clearing, their auras intertwining and colliding, making one involuntarily hold their breath.

The cold wind carried fine dust, swirling in the space between them, setting the stage for the battle to come. Watching every move of their opponent, the air seemed to stagnate, compressed by the tension.

"Hmph~"

Nagami smirked. Since transmigrating, he had rarely felt his heart race or his entire body surge with such excitement.

There were no cheers from an audience here, nor were there spotlights illuminating a ring. There were only two lonely individuals sparring.

"Then, watch out!"

Nagami took the initiative and began to walk slowly, but the moment he crossed the threshold of striking distance, he suddenly accelerated!