The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

The next day, at the school office computer, Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-D, finally had the chance to investigate the doubts she had been harboring after finishing her daily lessons.

"Hmph, Rinya, you had better hope your method of acquiring points is legitimate, or I will personally see to it that you are expelled."

Ever since their conversation about selling points, Chabashira had been feeling uneasy. Not only had this guy made her lose face in front of him, but the way he looked at her—as if she were the only thing in his eyes—made her blood boil just thinking about it.

"Ding, record search complete."

As the female voice echoed from the computer, Chabashira was instantly stunned by the massive amount of point data displayed on the screen.

"What... what on earth has this guy been doing!"

Looking at the computer, she saw that in the gift-giving records for Rinya, there were over 60 entries in just one week alone.

Moreover, most of the amounts were dominated by gifts worth 520 or 1314 points.

She never imagined that the personal gift-giving feature, originally intended by the school to incentivize outstanding students who contributed significantly, would turn into this.

In fact, from this alone, Chabashira had already vaguely realized something.

It was just that...

"They're all girls?" Chabashira couldn't believe her eyes.

Judging by the information of the donors, it included students from every class across all three grade levels.

As for how many people there were, Chabashira didn't even want to count anymore; the goosebumps all over her body left her with no desire to keep looking.

"Bang!"

Chabashira couldn't help but slam her hand on the desk and stand up abruptly, the deafening noise nearly causing Hoshinomiya, who was drinking tea nearby, to choke on the spot.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Sae, are you trying to choke me to death?"

However, Chabashira continued to fume to herself, "How could this guy have the nerve to accept these points? He's completely ruined my reputation along with his own."

Having been the homeroom teacher of Class D for so many years, this was the first time Chabashira felt she could be this infuriated.

Of course, anger aside, the theory that he was attracting points through his looks could not technically be considered a violation of the rules.

It was just that it was no wonder he had said it wasn't convenient to explain at the time; he knew it was disgraceful, yet he didn't think that way when he was accepting them. What a detestable brat.

"Achoo!"

"Why do I feel like someone is cursing me?"

Rinya rubbed his nose without giving it much thought; after all, his plan to kill two birds with one stone was about to begin.

As night fell, the bustling campus gradually descended into silence.

Having been crouching near Ayanokoji's residence early on, Rinya had a vivid memory of Kushida Kikyo's first iconic scene.

Since this celebration party had taken place in Ayanokoji's room just as he had anticipated, then when everyone praised Horikita Suzune in their joy, it would surely be unbearable for the accompanying Kushida Kikyo.

"Heh, the two-faced little angel. Ever since my previous life, I've always been quite interested in you. Don't let me down this time."

After confirming for the third time that the high-definition camera in his arms was functioning perfectly, Rinya gave a cold smile and his ghostly figure once again vanished into the darkness.

Just like that, he didn't know how much time had passed until the last participant of the celebration party, Kushida Kikyo, walked out of Ayanokoji's room.

"Well then, thank you for the hospitality tonight."

"I'm heading back to my room."

The girl bowed very politely before walking away with light, graceful steps.

However, Ayanokoji, standing behind her, had felt that her demeanor earlier was a bit strange, so he walked out and took a curious look.

But with that one look, he actually discovered something suspicious; she said she was going back to her room, but the direction was completely wrong.

"It's so late, where is she going?"

Just as Ayanokoji curiously followed her, in the endless darkness behind him, a point of dark red light flickered silently through the air.

"Has it started? Heh."

After the two arrived at their destination one after the other, Kushida Kikyo indeed followed the development of the story, instantly transforming from the cute, well-behaved girl into a truly sinister, wicked woman.

Then, while cursing Horikita Suzune, she also happened to discover Ayanokoji hiding behind a tree.

And so, the iconic scene played out.

In the darkness, Rinya calmly zoomed in with the camera lens, only to see the sinister Kushida suddenly step forward and press the other person's hand firmly against her chest.

Then, with a playful expression, she issued an expulsion threat to him.

Ayanokoji was naturally caught off guard; although he understood her intentions, he hadn't expected her to be this bold.

"Tell me, Kushida, which one is the real you?" Ayanokoji said expressionlessly and calmly.

"That's up to you. As long as you keep our secret, I'll still be that cute little angel."

"..."

And just like that, the conversation between the two came to an end with Kushida Kikyo's successful threat.

Yet who could have imagined that the boy hiding in the dark of night had already taken all of this into his view.

"Hehe~ Ayanokoji, this is a surprise I've left for you in the future, so make sure you're mentally prepared when the time comes."

"As for Kushida Kikyo, are you prepared to become a tool~"

"Hehehehe..."

The boy gave a slight, wicked smirk, his dark red pupils disguised by the night like a fierce beast that had been lying in ambush for a long time, and the fatal blow he was brewing would be something no prey could ever resist.