Discovery

Just like that, night quickly fell.

But after news of Kitatori from Class D got out,

the people who had planned to wander around that evening, thinking nothing was wrong, were puzzled by the situation. Still, they had no choice but to consider their own safety.

To keep their vacation enjoyable, most of them ultimately chose to stay in their rooms and go to bed early.

As a result, the entire ship was strangely quiet at night, save for the security personnel patrolling the decks.

"I wonder if the other side had anticipated this outcome and arranged it in advance to make their move easier."

Hidden in a dark corner, the young man watched the scene in silence, his eyes thoughtful.

"Tsk, you're overthinking it. No one's that clever," Kushida said indifferently beside him.

"Heh. Is that so?" Rinya smiled faintly and said nothing more. He didn't feel the slightest bit of annoyance with Kushida as she was now. If anything, he found her all the more interesting this way.

"Come on. It feels about time."

"We can't miss the best part of the show." As he spoke, the boy's gaze shifted, and he vanished into the darkness in an instant.

Kushida did her best to keep up, moving as fast as she could and thinking she was managing just fine.

But when she suddenly felt herself lifted off the ground, she knew he had mercilessly scooped her up again...

"Let go of me, you jerk! Let go... I can keep up on my own."

The girl kept protesting under her breath, but her body remained completely still.

Seeing this, Rinya couldn't help shaking his head with an amused smile.

By the time the boy stopped, they had reached the first-year boys' dormitory.

Kushida realized they had reached their destination so quickly that she felt too embarrassed to say anything. Once he set her down, she turned her flushed face away.

But Rinya's attention was no longer on the girl.

He looked at the two rows of silent rooms. At a glance, they seemed no different from usual. But when he saw that Ken Sudō's door was shut tight, he couldn't help chuckling.

"Heh. Looks like the other side has already been here."

"As expected, even his timing and his habits when making a move are just like before."

"He hasn't changed at all." Rinya smiled meaningfully.

His words piqued Kushida's curiosity.

But after looking around carefully and still finding nothing, she asked, puzzled, "Tch, how come I can't see it?"

Seeing her look so adorably clueless, Rinya chuckled. "Dummy, I arranged things with someone in advance. I told him he had to get drunk tonight and leave his door open."

"Now, do you see any doors open?"

"Maybe he forgot," Kushida asked, unconvinced.

"Then look at that faint wet mark on the floor by Ken Sudō's door. Did he forget to step there, too?" Rinya's gaze shifted.

"A wet mark?"

Kushida was about to say something, but then she spotted the trail of water someone had left after walking in. Only then, with the lights partly obscured, did she notice a faint trace of liquor on the floor outside Sudō's door.

"Hmph. I didn't expect him to listen to you so well." Kushida was surprised, but couldn't help feeling exasperated.

"Heh. I have you to thank for that."

"Me?"

Kushida looked confused, then decided not to bother thinking about it and changed the subject. "What's the point of all this? If the other side has already been here, why are we here?"

"No... the show's only just beginning."

As he spoke, Rinya seemed to sense something. He glanced around, then walked straight to Koenji's room, which he had been curious about earlier.

"Bang."

The door opened. Inside, the bedroom was empty.

"As I thought," Rinya said calmly.

"Eh? Where is he this late?" Kushida asked, puzzled.

"Let's listen. Shh."

Just then, Rinya suddenly covered the girl's mouth and gestured toward the sounds outside...

"This is..." Kushida was the first to sense something was wrong. Her eyes widened. She hadn't noticed before, but now that she was quiet, she could hear the orderly breathing of a group of people approaching the door.

"That's right. It's the ship's security team—the same people who took Kitatori."

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Rinya murmured in code.

"How could they... be here?" Kushida looked shocked, and was all the more relieved that she had locked the door behind them when they came in.

"Heh. Someone must have tipped them off in advance."

"You mean..." Kushida immediately thought of the person secretly using hypnosis.

"Heh..."

"Let's go. Since he already anticipated I'd come here, there's no point staying."

"But..." Rinya's voice grew sharper.

His calm expression gradually turned playful. "Did he also anticipate that I wouldn't leave, but would follow them to watch the show? Heh."

"But how are we supposed to get out now?" Kushida beside him hadn't thought that far ahead and couldn't help feeling frustrated.

It wasn't just that someone was guarding the door.

More importantly, although this single room had a window, it was on the third level of the ship.

Falling from a height of more than ten meters would have disastrous consequences.

Rinya smiled at her. "With me here, anywhere can be a way out."

"Come on. Those two might already be fighting tooth and nail."

"You mean the hypnotist and Koenji?"

As she spoke, Kushida couldn't help feeling astonished. She had witnessed Koenji's strength herself, and couldn't believe the other person would even try to hypnotize him.

"Heh. That's not necessarily who it is."

"Of course, I'm looking forward to finding out who it is, too."

Rinya smiled, unusually choosing not to give her a direct answer.

But just then, something unexpected happened.

"Whoosh!"

"W-wait..."

Kushida was suddenly grabbed before she could react. She hadn't even managed to get the words out when Rinya, realizing something was wrong, quickly scooped her up and jumped out the window.

At the same time, the door to the room was flung open.