So, what should he do with this recording?
He could just find a chance to get rid of the phone. The school would reassign it anyway, and he couldn't use someone else's account.
As Ayanokoji thought it over, he flopped onto his bed and tapped the play button on the phone again.
Judging from their conversation, Kushida had clearly given Ryuen some kind of information.
Ayanokoji pondered for a moment. He seemed to have figured out the answer; he just had to wait for the midterm results.
As for the woman she'd mentioned, Ayanokoji knew exactly who she was.
But he decided to help the traitor cover it up for now. After all, this was one of the bits of fun he wanted to see, too.
How entertaining was it to watch a class turn against itself?
Wasn't that far more interesting than competing to move up a class?
And it was girls going at each other, too. The spectacle couldn't get any better!
He almost wanted to grab a little stool and some peanuts and sit in the front row to watch.
If things reached a climax, he'd definitely be the one clapping the loudest.
When he thought back to how bored he'd been when he first arrived at this school, he realized his life was getting more and more exciting.
With even greater anticipation for the future, Ayanokoji grew drowsy and gradually drifted off with a smug look on his face.
The next day, Ryuen ran into Hashimoto in the school building.
"Hey, Hashimoto. Why do you look so dead? And what's with the smoky eye makeup? Did you awaken some incredible new kink~?"
Ryuen teased him with a mischievous grin.
?
Hashimoto sensed something was off.
Why was Ryuen so pleased with himself? Had he sent someone to hide in the grass nearby and snatch the phone as soon as Hashimoto walked away?
If so, his acting was way too good!
No, no, that couldn't be it...
Hashimoto was shocked and suspicious, his expression dazed beneath the dark circles under his eyes.
Ryuen sighed when he saw him. "Try not to pleasure yourself so much at night. That thing's bad for your health."
He patted Hashimoto on the shoulder meaningfully, then walked away.
As he went, a question crossed his mind:
He really didn't know why that woman Sakayanagi kept someone like him by her side.
The guy was a total wanker!
Hashimoto was deeply frustrated in the hallway. He'd spent four whole hours searching near that patch of bushes last night, and hadn't gotten back to the dorm until almost five. He'd barely closed his eyes before his alarm woke him. Then he'd looked in the mirror and seen a man who looked like he was suffering from kidney deficiency.
His handsome face and fashionable blond hair now made him look greasy.
Damn it!
If I find out who stole my phone, I'll make sure they disappear from this school!
With that conviction in his heart, Hashimoto's gaze grew resolute.
"The darkness before your eyes isn't black. So what kind of white are you talking about~"
While waiting for class to start, Ayanokoji hummed a little tune to himself.
Before long, Kushida Kikyo, one of last night's main characters, came over to give him her usual daily greeting. Of course, she was only using the opportunity to get closer to that woman.
"Good morning, Ayanokoji-kun~ Did you sleep well last night?"
I slept to the sound of your voice. How could I not?
Ayanokoji almost said it aloud. After pausing for a couple of seconds, he maintained his persona and replied, "Pretty well."
Sure enough, the next second Kushida gave him a somewhat perfunctory smile, then turned to Horikita beside him.
"What about you, Horikita? Did you sleep well last night?"
"It's always the same. It makes no difference whether it's good or bad."
That was exactly the sort of answer he'd expected, Ayanokoji murmured to himself as he listened.
"Why would you say that? Kikyo thinks sleep is a really important part of life."
"I don't care what you think. If you have nothing to say, please stop coming over to talk to me."
At that, Kushida's brows drew together stiffly, and her face took on an expression of disappointment.
Seeing this, the people around them began whispering and taking Kushida's side.
Ayanokoji watched silently, his admiration for Kushida's polished acting skills rising another notch.
If he could act like that, he'd be unstoppable.
But as someone from the White Room, he could never hope for that.
No, as Ayanokoji, he could never hope for that. After watching one group after another fall away until he was the only one left, how could he still have the social skills to get along with everyone?
Once again, Kushida had been met with a cold shoulder after offering a warm one. She could only keep playing the role of the wronged girl and return to her seat looking hurt.
As expected, the people around her would gather to comfort and encourage her next. Ayanokoji had seen that act so many times over the past few weeks that he was sick of it.
By the afternoon, Class D had swimming lessons.
Ayanokoji sat alone beside the pool, watching everyone splash around. Calling what they were doing swimming would have been a stretch.
Of course, his face was blank, but inside he was humming the alphabet song with great enthusiasm.
"ABCDBCBA...E?"
Ayanokoji's pupils contracted slightly, and his expression showed surprise. His gaze finally settled on the pink-haired girl in the pool.
Airi...
No wonder she always came in last during their running exercises. There was a reason for it—she'd been carrying extra weight all along...
Being a girl really wasn't easy...
Ayanokoji sighed inwardly.
Before long, Ike, who had teased Shinohara earlier, was chased over by a few girls. They cornered him at the edge of the pool near Ayanokoji.
The next second, they sent wave after wave of water splashing toward Ike and Ayanokoji.
Ike was the only one who got hit. Ayanokoji was still some distance away on the shore.
He just watched in silence as Ike, drenched and unable to fight back, started calling for help. The girls were throwing all their strength into making the water splash, their chests bouncing wildly. Ayanokoji couldn't help thinking that this was the youth he'd never experienced!
So big and beautiful.
"Ayanokoji, help me out! Ayanokoji!"
Under the girls' relentless attack, Ike lost the ability to fight back right in front of him. They dragged him away step by step, and he let out one last wail in Ayanokoji's direction.
There was nothing Ayanokoji could do. He could only mourn for him in silence...
"Why are you acting like an old man?"
He'd been wondering why Horikita wasn't anywhere in the pool when a familiar voice sounded beside him.
"I don't like getting wet," Ayanokoji said flatly.
A tyrannosaurus was the king of the land, so it made sense that it wouldn't go in the water.
But Ayanokoji simply disliked getting himself wet, and being crammed into a pool with too many people.
"Ayanokoji..."
"Have you ever done any kind of exercise?"
"? Why do you ask?"
Horikita asked out of the blue.
"The muscles in your arms look pretty firm. Like you've... worked out your whole body."
"To tell the truth," Ayanokoji said, lifting his eyes slightly, "it has a lot to do with the fact that I've been single for eighteen years."
Before you continue