Correcting Karuizawa Kei

The principle was somewhat like that of the White Room: students grew by fighting one another.

But at least it was still a school, rather than simply a place where everyone was pitted against each other.

Xia Mu packed up his things and went to his class's assigned spot.

As soon as he arrived, plenty of eyes turned toward him.

Over this period, he had gone from being completely unknown to somewhat famous, though he still wasn't even a tenth as popular as the Student Council President.

That was because he kept using Hypnosis whenever he got the chance.

When it was time to hide, he had to hide.

That way, when the crucial moment came, he could strike like a coiled viper and take his target down in one blow.

When Suzune Horikita saw Xia Mu, she still looked somewhat dazed.

She couldn't accept that her own brother had lost to a student she looked down on.

She had thought Xia Mu was merely a capable student with an inflated opinion of himself, but now it seemed there was much more to him than that.

His athletic ability was probably unmatched in his class—not...

In the entire year, he was far ahead of everyone else.

"X-Xia Mu."

Sakura wove through the crowd and came to Xia Mu's side, calling softly to him.

He turned to look. She was wearing a thick pink long-sleeved shirt and gray pants.

"Aren't you hot?" he couldn't help asking.

In the middle of summer, even shorts and a T-shirt felt stifling.

"Line up and get on the ship!" Before Sakura could answer, Chabashira-sensei shouted at the class.

Everyone began lining up to board the ship and find their rooms.

Chabashira-sensei had already handed out their room assignments in advance.

After putting away his things, Xia Mu went outside and stood on the deck, gazing out at the vast blue ocean.

A salty sea breeze blew against him, cool and refreshing.

The ship was probably five or six stories tall, and the view of the sea from here was superb.

Those damn capitalists really knew how to enjoy themselves.

Xia Mu couldn't help sighing.

Once he'd maxed out his abilities and graduated, he'd have to make enough money to buy a ship of his own.

By then, he'd be capable of anything, with every ability among the very best.

At that point, whether he seized power or became one of those wicked capitalists would be entirely up to him.

"Haah..."

After stretching contentedly, Xia Mu decided to go to the second floor and buy something to eat.

He stepped into a shop at random and joined the line. Just then—

"Thud!" Two people collided, and the person who fell landed right in front of him.

She was a bespectacled girl who looked timid and socially awkward.

The person who had knocked her down was someone Xia Mu knew fairly well.

Karuizawa Kei.

The instant she collided with the girl, panic and fear appeared on Karuizawa Kei's face.

She wanted to apologize and help the girl up.

But her current persona was that of a tough girl. If she showed weakness now, might people discover what she was really like? Would things go back to the way they had been before...?

With that thought, and the other students' eyes gathering on her, Karuizawa Kei made up her mind.

She had to leave her old self behind!

"Hmph. Do you not even watch where you're going?"

Karuizawa Kei said haughtily, then left the shop with her takeout held high, chin raised.

Xia Mu had seen the whole thing clearly.

In truth, both of them were at fault. One had been walking with her head down, while the other had turned her head and hurried forward without watching where she was going.

His gaze sharpened. Karuizawa Kei had barely stepped out of the shop when he followed her.

Once she was out of sight of the crowd, Karuizawa Kei broke into a run.

She didn't stop until she reached an empty corner. Then her legs gave way, as if all her strength had left her, and she crouched down, gripping the railing with both hands as she panted violently.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, and fear she couldn't suppress showed on her face.

Even the memory of those dark days returning was enough to terrify her.

"Cough, cough!"

"Ugh..."

Perhaps she was simply too afraid. She couldn't stop herself from coughing and retching. Her earlier toughness had all been an act.

She never wanted to go through the days of being bullied again!

At this school, she was going to start over and live a completely different life.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Just then, the steady rhythm of footsteps sounded on the deck, coming up behind her.

At the sound, Karuizawa Kei's pupils dilated. She hurriedly scrambled to her feet.

She turned around and blurted out, "Xia Mu?"

Suppressing her emotions, she immediately put on a tough front. "Why are you following me?!"

Her voice was shrill and overbearing.

"I saw everything just now." In response to Karuizawa Kei's shriek, Xia Mu replied calmly. He took a few steps forward, forcing her back against the railing.

At that moment, she was like a startled rabbit, trembling with fear.

"I-I don't know what you mean."

As soon as Karuizawa Kei heard Xia Mu's words, her toughness vanished. She picked up the takeout from the ground, then stood and prepared to leave. "I'll pay you back the points I owe you soon. Now please move."

But Xia Mu stood in front of her like a solid statue, refusing to budge.

"What are you doing?!"

Seeing this, Karuizawa Kei couldn't help reaching out to push Xia Mu away. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and shoved her back.

"Thud!" Karuizawa Kei's back slammed into the railing, and her face twisted with pain.

She looked up at Xia Mu, and a sudden wave of fear rose in her heart.

The familiar sensation left her suffocating.

"Karuizawa Kei, become mine."

Xia Mu's cool gaze betrayed not the slightest emotion. His words left Karuizawa Kei bewildered. "I'll help you. I'll correct you properly."

"If you keep this up, I'm going to call for help!"

Karuizawa Kei endured the burning pain in her back and forced herself to sound more intimidating, trying not to look like an easy target.

She knew that if she showed weakness, she would immediately end up back where she started.

But Xia Mu remained unmoved by her threat and kept advancing.

She was about to cry out for help and draw the nearby students over.

She didn't believe Xia Mu would dare lay a hand on her in front of so many people.

But then Xia Mu said something that shattered her psychological defenses completely.

"You were bullied at school before, weren't you?"

Xia Mu's eyes gleamed with a chilling light. "If you call for help, I'll tell everyone exactly what you went through."

Karuizawa Kei's body jolted as if she'd been struck by lightning. She froze in place.

Had Xia Mu gone to the same school as her before?

Whatever the case, she didn't dare disobey. Gritting her teeth, she glared at him, her eyes practically spitting fire. "What do you want?"

Xia Mu stopped in front of Karuizawa Kei and looked at the System Panel before him.

[Task: Correct Karuizawa Kei.]