Caught in the Net, Unaware

The coat had been casually tossed into a corner.

Now she wore only a close-fitting shirt.

Kushida looked up at Sakamoto, who was leaning back in his chair.

"Will you let me go now...?"

Sakamoto stood up.

Since she was slumped on the floor, Kushida had to crane her neck to see his face.

The light shone from behind Sakamoto onto Kushida's face, making it impossible for her to see his eyes clearly.

She only knew that everything was about to end.

Sigh...

Sakamoto let out a soft sigh.

He picked up the clothes thrown into the corner and draped them over Kushida.

"You'll catch a cold like this."

Kushida glared viciously at Sakamoto.

"What am I to you, a toy?! I don't need your pity!"

"Oh dear, you've misunderstood me. I'm not a bad person."

Sakamoto took a prepared manuscript from the drawer.

"You can take a look at the terms on this."

Kushida was stunned. After hesitating for quite a while, she finally reached out, took the manuscript, and began reading it.

This manuscript—no, it was a contract. But the conditions were not harsh for her.

The first clause read: "Every month, Kushida must provide half of the personal points issued by the school, until the end of her third year."

"If Sakamoto reveals any secret concerning Kushida's middle school years, he will voluntarily withdraw from school."

There were also clauses stating that neither party could reveal what had happened today, along with one particularly strange requirement.

"Provided it does not affect her graduation, Kushida must help fulfill Sakamoto's requests. Otherwise, she will withdraw from school."

"Now then, Kushida, you won't reject such a sincere agreement, will you? It ensures that your secret won't be made public, so you can rest easy.

Chabashira-sensei can witness this contract. With the school's guarantee, you can be certain of its validity."

Overall, the rules were far less cruel than Kushida had imagined.

If fifty thousand points every month could preserve her high school life, then she could naturally accept it. At worst, she would eat vegetable meals for a few more days.

Besides, this contract seemed to place far stricter constraints on Sakamoto than it did on her.

The final clause did not seem very friendly, and this guy had definitely—definitely—dug a pit for her to jump into.

Still, between being expelled for violating school rules and being forced to sign a contract to remain in Class D,

Kushida chose the latter.

How much could this restraint really affect her? No matter how bad it got, it could not be worse than this. At least it was far better than being expelled now.

"Don't make yourself sound so noble.

You really are despicable. Until third year, I have to give you fifty thousand every month. That clause alone will get you several million points."

Kushida still looked wary, naturally revealing the dark side she had hidden away. She had suppressed it for so long, and now, in front of this guy,

there was no point in putting on that act anymore. So she stopped pretending.

Her words remained forceful, but Kushida's attitude had already weakened considerably.

"I need points too. After all, one point is equivalent to one yen." (That was a lie.)

"And don't go throwing around words like 'despicable.' I'm not some bad person, and I never intended to force a girl to take off her clothes."

"You specifically called me to your room. You... looking like this, anyone would think that."

Kushida's face was bright red. (Not from embarrassment, but anger.)

"Anyway, this matter should be settled now."

The room fell temporarily silent.

"This is really worrying." Kushida picked up her clothes and folded them over her arm, smiling brightly. "Sakamoto-kun, Ayanokoji-kun has a similar contract with you too, doesn't he?"

Even in this situation, Kushida still tried to probe Sakamoto. It had to be said,

if she had not devoted all that scheming to internal conflict, Class D's struggle against Class C would have been at least one level easier.

"Kushida, you and Horikita came from the same middle school, right?"

Kushida fell silent at first, then finally revealed the truth.

"Don't worry. I have an agreement with Ayanokoji-kun. Horikita will absolutely never reveal your past.

Of course, before second year, Kushida, you cannot harm Horikita or Ayanokoji-kun either."

"I see. I understand."

Kushida looked sweetly at Sakamoto. She could not see through this guy's intentions.

"I believe Sakamoto-kun isn't a bad person." Kushida had completely returned to her angelic image. "See you tomorrow."

Under Sakamoto's gaze, Kushida happily left the room.

Even though it was not the first time he had witnessed it, Sakamoto was still amazed by the speed at which Kushida changed faces.

The smile on his face remained until he put the manuscript back into the drawer.

When he sat back in his chair, the smile vanished completely.

Sakamoto opened the terrarium.

He released the spider inside.

It was a hunting spider, one that was not skilled at spinning webs at all, but actively pursued its prey!

The spider crawled to the window, caught a small insect, and began feeding.

Sakamoto took off his glasses, then took out a piece of silk cloth from another drawer and carefully wiped them.

"I never said I was a good person."

A good person would not use someone else's weakness to force her into signing a contract. To capitalists, every action served a certain purpose of profit, whether long-term or short-term. It could never be out of kindness. And the Sakamoto Family was the most powerful among capitalists.

Take the final clause, for example. The words "provided it does not affect Kushida Kikyo's graduation" left far too much room for interpretation. Graduating from Class A was graduation, and graduating from Class D was also graduation.

The treatment between the two was worlds apart.

The moment Kushida took out the contract, her fall into the trap had already been inevitable.

"Kushida Kikyo..."

This time, Sakamoto appeared to merely want points and to make use of Kushida Kikyo, but in truth, he wanted her to fall into an even deeper abyss.

Kushida Kikyo's dirt was actually nothing more than a joke to certain people.

Aside from a few people who took things seriously, most would not care about others' feelings or thoughts. If news broke in your class that someone liked someone else, everyone would only focus on the gossip between them. No one would care how the exposed person felt.

Her secret had been learned by Horikita, Ayanokoji, and Sakamoto right after school began. More despairingly, there were also White Room assassins like Yagami Takuya in the second year...

This was merely her wishful thinking. Since she did not want others to use it as leverage against her, then he would give her a chance. That secret had already been locked away.

Without conflict against Sakamoto and Horikita, Kushida would likely maintain her angelic side, while her dark side would have no outlet.

Anyone familiar with flood control knew that dredging was better than blocking. How long could a completely suppressed Kushida keep that flood of darkness contained? What choice would she make?

Under Horikita's provocation and within Class D's environment, one year would be enough. When that time came, would she blow up the class like she had in middle school, or would something else happen?

From the moment the photo was taken, Kushida Kikyo had already fallen into Sakamoto's trap.

If a boy got a doll, then out of childish curiosity, he would probably tear off its limbs, pull out its hair, and rip its clothes. In short, that doll would no longer remain brand-new.

Since it could not be repaired, then it would be remade...