Horikita Manabu: Drop Out, Suzune

At this moment.

On the other side of the classroom.

"This school is surprisingly liberal, isn't it?"

Chiaki Matsushita remarked with a sigh, holding a small mirror in her hand as she began to fix her hair.

Surrounded by three or four girls, Kei Karuizawa sat on a desk in the center, her legs crossed and swinging slightly, clearly the absolute focal point.

Upon hearing this.

"Right? Right?"

"I actually thought it would be like those stuffy schools where you aren't even allowed to wear nail polish," Kei Karuizawa replied with a laugh, her tone slightly exaggerated:

"Thank goodness."

"If they didn't let us wear nail polish, I would absolutely go crazy."

Hearing this.

The surrounding gyaru girls nodded in agreement.

"Kei, your nail color looks really good today," Shinohara Satsuki, who was nearby, leaned in to say.

"Ah, really? Thanks!"

Kei Karuizawa chuckled, looking very happy.

However, the next moment.

The girl's smile froze.

"But speaking of which, Kei, what exactly is going on with you and Xu Nuo... how come there are rumors going around that he's dating that Kamuro girl from Class A?"

Shinohara Satsuki asked curiously.

After all.

Just a few days ago, Kei Karuizawa had hinted that she had her eye on Xu Nuo and had even launched an offensive.

Yet, in just a few short days.

Rumors of him dating someone else had spread throughout the school.

The moment her voice fell.

The atmosphere suddenly solidified.

"..."

The few gyaru girls wisely shut their mouths, looking at one another, seemingly surprised by her boldness.

Seeming to sense the change in the atmosphere.

Shinohara Satsuki's expression shifted, and she hurriedly added, "Um, I mean, should we go and warn that girl named Kamuro?"

"Yeah, exactly!"

She stumbled over her words as if trying to bolster her own courage.

Kei Karuizawa: "..."

She didn't know how to respond. Should she just say she had confessed and been rejected, and that who he saw had nothing to do with her?

The girl couldn't bring herself to say it.

What's more.

...Warn?

The word stirred up unpleasant memories.

Just then.

Chiaki Matsushita stood up abruptly and playfully linked her arm with hers. "Oh my, I suddenly need to use the restroom. Kei, come with me."

"Mm, yeah..."

Kei Karuizawa responded with a forced smile.

The night was as dark as ink.

The bustle of the day had long since settled with the setting sun, replaced by the buzzing of unstable streetlights and the chirping of cicadas and birds.

Having lingered for a while after school, and then having KFC at the shopping district for the first time in ages.

When everything was finished, it was already quite late.

"Time to head back."

Xu Nuo walked back to the dormitory from the direction of the shopping district.

His footsteps were almost inaudible against the concrete, a testament to the Phantom Thief's control over his own body.

However.

As he passed the narrow alleyway beside the vending machine, a murmur reached Xu Nuo's ears, and he turned his gaze toward the source.

There.

In this alley, clearly a blind spot for the surveillance cameras.

Deep within the shadows, two figures stood one behind the other, their voices drifting faintly outward.

No way.

Did I just stumble upon something juicy?

Xu Nuo blinked, his body naturally leaning back as he slipped silently into the pitch-black darkness.

Immediately.

He peered out, taking in the entire scene.

The two figures were clear.

The taller one stood with his back to the alley entrance, his posture as straight as a pine. That meticulous short black hair, the iconic glasses, and that cold, detached aura.

They were highly recognizable in this school.

And standing opposite him.

Was a girl with long, straight black hair, her body pressed almost against the wall, about a meter away from him.

Her long, dark hair hung down, obscuring most of her face. Her hands were folded in front of her, fingers clutching the hem of her skirt tightly, her expression cramped and nervous.

Clearly.

It was Horikita Manabu and Horikita Suzune.

Well, well.

It really was them; what a coincidence.

Xu Nuo's lips curled upward slightly, and he quietly remained in the shadows, pulling out his phone to start recording.

"Elder Brother..."

Soon.

Horikita Suzune was the first to break the dead silence.

Her head was bowed, her gaze fixed on the ground before her, her voice faint yet laced with determination.

"I am,"

"no longer ignorant."

"The lies of this school, the truth of the S System, class points and Private Points, the rules of the first month's special exam, and the privileges of Class A..."

The girl took a deep breath.

Her speaking speed quickened involuntarily, as if she were trying to prove her worth by blurting out everything she knew.

"Class D is absolutely rotten."

"The school must have made a mistake in their placement, but I have already found a solution. Twenty million Private Points—as long as I have twenty million, I can promote to Class A."

"And if nothing goes wrong."

"I will be able to gather a sum of Private Points in the short term."

At this point.

Horikita Suzune suddenly raised her head, her reddish-purple eyes reflecting the figure of the man before her.

Her tone grew increasingly resolute.

"These points will serve as my springboard to Class A. I will never let the name 'Horikita' be shamed. I will prove that by my own strength..."

"Enough."

Two short syllables.

Brutally cut off her rambling.

Horikita Manabu watched the girl before him calmly, his eyes behind his lenses showing not a ripple of emotion.

In truth.

He had been genuinely surprised at first.

He hadn't expected that after years of separation, his younger sister would have grown to this extent, uncovering the truth of the school in just a few short days. But the more he listened, the darker his expression became.

From the moment she began complaining about being placed in the wrong class.

Horikita Manabu concluded.

His sister hadn't made a shred of progress over these years; she was still that naive, childish girl.

In the shadows.

Xu Nuo's lips curled into an uncontrollable arc.

The show was about to begin.

Immediately after.

Horikita Manabu took a step forward, his tone devoid of any fluctuation as he looked down at the girl from above.

"Suzune, drop out."

The same words, the same heartless voice.

Horikita Suzune froze in place, the highlights in her eyes suddenly vanishing as she stood there, soul-lost and unable to believe it.

"Wh-why?"

"Having a younger sister assigned to Class D is a disgrace to me. Leave this school at once—"

"...Eh?"

Words that felt both familiar and strange.

An inexplicable sense of discrimination left Horikita Suzune bewildered.

What is going on?!

Didn't Brother already say these things last time... Why is he emphasizing them again now?

However.

Horikita Manabu coldly delivered his final ultimatum.

"Drop out."

"Foolish little sister."

"You lack the qualifications and the strength to move forward."

If she had been a bit confused just a moment ago, Horikita Suzune was now completely dumbfounded, her mind flooded with the classic triple-question mark.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

What is happening?

Is he playing dumb?

Seeing his younger sister standing there blankly, Horikita Manabu frowned, a cold glint flashing behind his lenses.

Following that.

Without any wasted words.

The muscles in his arm tensed instantly, his right hand raised high, aimed directly at the girl's cheek.

A whistling wind rose abruptly.

The sharp gust of air ruffled the bangs on the girl's forehead.