Suzune Horikita's Heart Begins to Waver

Looking at the System Panel in front of him, Xia Mu knew his guess had been right.

It seemed that he could correct any student who had a problem.

Including Ayanokoji.

Everything he had done during this time had been deliberately shown to Ayanokoji.

He had done it as an experiment, and now it seemed he'd been right.

The system could only scan someone and issue a task when they were experiencing intense emotional fluctuations.

It might have been only one percent, but perhaps that counted as a significant emotional fluctuation for Ayanokoji.

The harder someone was to correct, the more Skill Points he received in return. It seemed Ayanokoji had some serious issues.

Looking at Long Yuan, who was drooling from the corner of his mouth like an idiot, Xia Mu simply punched him unconscious.

Then he turned around and walked toward the bushes where Ayanokoji was hiding.

Ayanokoji had thought Xia Mu hadn't noticed him, and had quietly turned to leave.

But after reaching the bushes, Xia Mu didn't go anywhere.

Instead, he waited until Long Yuan woke up.

"Ugh..."

Long Yuan sucked in a sharp breath, clutching his throbbing head as he got to his feet. "How did I end up here? It feels like someone hit me over the head with a hammer."

He couldn't remember what Xia Mu had done to him.

Of course, he hadn't truly forgotten. Xia Mu had merely buried the memory in his subconscious.

Once he had completely shattered Long Yuan's psychological defenses, he would release all the despair he'd built up at once.

As for what would become of Long Yuan then, Xia Mu didn't care.

He probably wouldn't meet a good end, anyway.

After confirming that Long Yuan really had been hypnotized, Xia Mu finally left.

He had a rough idea of what to do next.

First, he would correct Karuizawa Kei, and in the meantime see if he could correct Suzune Horikita and Ayanokoji as well.

There were quite a few students with problems at this school, just as Xia Mu had hoped.

He wouldn't spare either the boys or the girls. The Skill Points he'd rack up would be enormous.

Lost in thought, Xia Mu had already returned to camp.

He saw Ayanokoji lying down and pretending to sleep, but didn't call him out. He simply lay down and went to sleep too.

Xia Mu understood Ayanokoji's problem very well.

He was practically perfect in every way, but he had no feelings and would stop at nothing to win.

In some ways, that was much like Xia Mu's own approach to earning Skill Points.

Xia Mu did have feelings; he simply knew when to hold back and when to let them show.

He wouldn't harbor feelings he shouldn't, and he wouldn't let the feelings he cherished fade away.

The next day, Xia Mu slept until late morning before getting up.

He seemed just like someone who had come here on vacation, rather than for anything else.

Meanwhile, the camp had descended into chaos. Someone had stolen Karuizawa Kei's underwear, so the girls wanted to search the boys' luggage.

Suzune Horikita's expression grew worse by the minute.

Her Key Card was missing, and that was a serious matter that could affect the entire class. She had already been feeling extremely unwell, and now she was even weaker, barely able to stand.

People were at their most vulnerable and helpless when they were sick. If someone reached out to help at such a time, the gratitude they received would be all the greater.

While everyone else was focused on searching for the underwear, Xia Mu signaled to Suzune Horikita to come with him.

Though suspicious, Suzune Horikita followed.

She'd known Xia Mu for six months. He wouldn't ask her to go into the woods with him for no reason.

When the girls saw Xia Mu leave the group, they assumed he'd stolen the underwear and began accusing him.

But Hirata and the others stepped in to calm them down, saying they had already searched Xia Mu.

Karuizawa Kei also took the lead in saying that Xia Mu couldn't possibly be involved. Hirata's gaze lingered on her, but he said nothing.

Since the person whose underwear had been stolen had said so, the other girls let it go.

Still, they all mentally tagged Xia Mu as someone a little suspicious.

Most people just went along with the crowd.

"What is it?"

Suzune Horikita followed Xia Mu to Slope Back.

She rubbed her forearms again and again, trying to warm herself up.

But it was only a way to comfort herself psychologically.

When you had a fever, you felt hot with a blanket and cold without one. Nothing felt comfortable.

Besides, Suzune Horikita likely had a high fever. She'd been sick for six days without getting better, and without timely treatment, her condition was worsening.

Still, she was remarkably tough. An ordinary girl would have been crying and demanding to leave by now.

"I stole your card."

Xia Mu pulled a card from his trouser pocket between two fingers. That was why he hadn't let Hirata search him just now.

A quick pat of his pockets would have revealed that he'd stolen the Key Card.

"W-what?"

Suzune Horikita was stunned. "Why would you...?"

She had considered every possibility, but never once suspected Xia Mu.

There was no reason to!

He wasn't a spy for Class C. In fact, he had a terrible relationship with them. Had he been pretending all along?

No, that couldn't be...

As Suzune Horikita frantically tried to think it through, her mind grew more and more muddled. She was simply too tired.

"Hah... hah... N-no matter what..."

Suzune Horikita panted, reaching out her delicate, pale hand toward Xia Mu. "G-give the card back."

"Come and take it yourself." Xia Mu toyed with the card in his fingers, a provocative smile on his face.

"Hah..."

Suzune Horikita took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily, forcing herself to rally.

It was one thing for him to provoke her brother, but she couldn't believe Xia Mu dared to act so arrogant in front of her too.

"Ha!"

With a sharp cry, she darted forward, reaching for Xia Mu's hand.

Xia Mu shifted slightly. Instead, he followed the force of Suzune's lunge, guiding her wrist and gently lowering her onto the grass.

Humiliated and furious, she tried to fight back, but Xia Mu only pressed his fingertips near her temple, and her body went limp.

Xia Mu supported Suzune Horikita and reached toward her face with his right hand.

Seeing this, Suzune Horikita closed her eyes and instinctively turned her face away.

But Xia Mu merely rested his warm palm lightly against her forehead.

"It's all right. It's nothing serious."

Xia Mu murmured softly, then withdrew his hand.

Suzune opened her eyes. Xia Mu was holding a wooden pestle and a bowl, grinding some herbs.

After a while, he came over, placed the herbs on a piece of gauze, and wrapped it around her head.

A cool sensation spread at once, making Suzune Horikita feel much more comfortable. It was as if her fever had eased a little.

Only then did she realize that Xia Mu had been trying to help her.

"Horikita."

As he tidied up the scraps, Xia Mu said softly, "Sometimes one person can only do so much. You should learn to trust your partners more."

Even if she only thought of them as tools.

So what? They could still help each other.

Suzune carefully considered his words. The medicine was taking effect, and her thoughts had grown a little clearer. "Xia Mu, what about you?"

"Aren't you always alone?"