Kamuro: So My Efforts Only Made Things Worse? / Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's Well-Balanced Physique

The contents stated that Kanda could no longer use Kamuro's shoplifting as leverage to threaten her. In return, Sakayanagi Arisu would have to pay Shuichi Kanda a certain number of Private Points.

The amount was left blank, but once the contract was signed, it couldn't be changed.

Wow, he'd even prepared this.

"So you planned from the start to use Private Points to ensure Kamuro's safety, right?"

"That's right. I didn't expect someone to take control of one of my pieces before the game even started.

I'm confident I could still win with one fewer piece, but starting without that piece is entirely different from losing it after the game begins."

At this point, Sakayanagi Arisu no longer hid her true intentions. If two million wasn't enough to satisfy the man in front of her, she would have no choice but to cut her losses and resort to the desperate measure of sacrificing Kamuro Masumi to hurt him.

"Still, I don't really believe you can come up with two million Private Points right now. A class starts with only four million Private Points, and your class has already spent two million on information. I doubt your classmates would hand over the rest for you to manage, too."

Even as he said this, Shuichi Kanda took a ballpoint pen from his desk, wrote two million Private Points on the contract, signed it, and handed it to Sakayanagi Arisu.

"You don't need to worry about that, Kanda. Now, may I use your desk?"

"Of course. But if you can't pay two million Private Points on the spot, you're not taking that contract with you."

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled without saying a word, then quietly signed her name.

After checking it again, Shuichi Kanda looked at Sakayanagi Arisu and waited for her to pay the Private Points.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't waste any time. She'd had enough humiliation in this room today. Though her final boundary hadn't been crossed, she was still in a foul mood and didn't want to stay any longer.

As Sakayanagi Arisu completed the transaction, a notification came through on Shuichi Kanda's phone. He checked it and saw that the two million Private Points had arrived.

"Impressive, Sakayanagi Arisu. In that case, as you wish. I'll delete the original and backup of that photo, and I promise I only took that one."

At this point, Shuichi Kanda no longer cared how she'd managed to get two million Private Points. He could only say that Sakayanagi had some tricks up her sleeve.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't doubt what Kanda said, because she'd gone back to check the supermarket's security footage. It showed that Shuichi Kanda had indeed taken only one photo.

And with that, the contract was sealed!

Still, it would've been nice if she'd come sooner—preferably before I used up the Value-Added Bank.

Chapter 28: Kamuro: So My Efforts Only Made Things Worse?

As she left Kanda's room, Sakayanagi Arisu deliberately turned back to look at him.

"Kanda, we have a long time ahead of us. I'll make sure to take good care of you."

"No need to trouble yourself. I'm in Class D, and you're in Class A. It's best if we keep our distance." Shuichi Kanda refused her without a second thought, though he knew this wouldn't just blow over.

They'd already made an enemy of each other. With her temperament, she definitely wouldn't let this go.

She was so easy to read!

Shuichi Kanda might not have been as clever as she was, but he had a natural advantage when dealing with people his age.

Besides, Shuichi Kanda had no intention of letting it go, either.

Still, it would've been nice if she'd come sooner—preferably before I used up the Value-Added Bank. Then I'd probably have twice as many assets as I did now. What a shame. The opportunity had passed.

At this point, Shuichi Kanda had more than twenty million Private Points in hand. He wondered if any student had ever managed to save that much in three years.

In truth, Sakayanagi Arisu's attitude wasn't all that different from what Shuichi Kanda had expected. Class A wasn't united yet, so she'd probably have to settle its internal conflict before she could make a move against him.

But would Shuichi Kanda really give up on Kamuro Masumi?

Of course not!

Who did you think I was? Did you really think I'd obediently follow your script?

After seeing Sakayanagi Arisu off, Shuichi Kanda casually glanced at the black peephole in the door.

Why do you think I'd deliberately looked back at the door after Kamuro barged in earlier?

Surprise! I installed a pinhole camera on the other side of the peephole!

He just couldn't let that come to light yet. Otherwise, wouldn't Sakayanagi Arisu be furious?

So Shuichi Kanda decided to buy a computer this Saturday, copy the footage from the camera, and send it to Kamuro Masumi.

For your sake, I have to watch the humiliating footage of you pinning me beneath you again. So, Classmate Kamuro, you'll keep this secret, right? You'll help me, right?

Before long, the Saturday Shuichi Kanda had been eagerly waiting for arrived.

The class—or rather, the school—had barely changed over the past few days. The students in Class D went to class, slept, and took part in club activities as usual. Shuichi Kanda estimated that the class had almost no Class Points left.

Shuichi Kanda had also been unusually well-behaved these past few days. Apart from eating with Miyake, he went to Archery Club with Miyake or returned to the dorm with Miyake.

At most, he wrote in his diary in his room and did a little exercise to strengthen his frail body, letting the fire of his life burn a little brighter.

As for Sakayanagi Arisu in Class A, she seemed to have forgotten about the unpleasantness that day—or acted as if it had never happened. Even when they occasionally crossed paths, they pretended not to see each other, or at most exchanged a greeting.

To be honest, Kanda was hoping Sakayanagi would show up at his classroom door and cause him a little trouble. Then his classmates would find out that he and Sakayanagi had an "unusual" relationship.

Then even guys like Ike and Yamauchi would swallow their pride and ask him what was going on between them, right? And even if they didn't, that was fine.

All Kanda had to do was let it slip: Sakayanagi Arisu is my dog! That would spread through at least the first years, if not the whole school, right?

If I don't want it, you don't get it either?

What a shame. His plan hadn't worked.

Still, whenever he saw Kamuro Masumi, she seemed a little disappointed.

Hey, were you really that disappointed that Sakayanagi and I hadn't fought? It's written all over your face, girl.

But Sakayanagi wasn't a pushover, either. In just a few days, several bodyguards had appeared behind her.

Besides Kamuro Masumi, whom she'd snatched—no, bought—from Kanda, there was a laid-back boy with a blond ponytail and a ferocious-looking boy who didn't look like a high school student at all.

Hey, ferocious-looking boy, is there something hidden under that glove on your right hand? Maybe a Command Spell from the Holy Grail War?

This is bad! Really bad!

If we ran into them, how could Archer Miyake possibly take on their Saber, Lancer, and Berserker by himself?

Maybe archers who couldn't fight up close really weren't good cooks?

Akito, it's time to unleash Unlimited Blade Works! Or you could bring out your Gate of Babylon!

Masayoshi Hashimoto and Hayato Kito both seemed to be Class A elites. That was the information Shuichi Kanda had gotten from Kushida Kikyo. In exchange, he'd paid a day's worth of friend fees—a milk tea latte from April.

Back in the dorm, Shuichi Kanda opened his diary:

Wednesday: class, club activities, buy ingredients, cook, eat, exercise, get ready for bed.

Thursday: class, club activities, buy ingredients, cook, eat, exercise, get ready for bed. This won't do. I have to take action, Shuichi Kanda.

Saturday: buy a computer, club activities, buy ingredients, go back to the dorm and cook, eat, get ready for bed.

Then Saturday evening arrived.

Knock, knock, knock!

There was another knock at the door. When he looked through the peephole, that woman was standing outside again.

Hopefully, I won't get knocked down the moment I open the door this time.

Just in case, Shuichi Kanda stepped backward the instant he opened the door, retreating to the edge of the bed in the blink of an eye.

"You bastard! What are you trying to do?"

As soon as the door opened, Kamuro Masumi rushed in and shut it behind her. She also stuck a piece of tape over the peephole, blocking it completely.

From the photo Shuichi Kanda had sent her, she'd figured out where it had come from. She couldn't be sure whether a camera or anything like it was still there, but better safe than sorry.

"Kamuro, it's your fault. You promised to be my dog, but then you went behind my back and got Classmate Sakayanagi to come block my door."

Shuichi Kanda sounded incredibly arrogant, but the way he cowered in the corner made him seem almost aggrieved.

His words made Kamuro Masumi's nose flare with anger.

Wow. So you think you're in the right?

"Come here."

"I'm not going over there. You come here."

Then Kamuro Masumi really did take off her shoes and walk over, sitting on the bed.

"I came over. Why are you still over there?"

"None of your business. A mere dog... Kamuro, you think you can order me around?"

Shuichi Kanda sat back down in his chair. Their positions were exactly the same as the last time they'd met in this room: Kamuro still wore a look of disgust, while Shuichi Kanda still acted defiant with his mouth and timid with his face.

The only difference was that there was now a laptop behind Shuichi Kanda.

This was the high-end computer Shuichi Kanda had bought, costing a full 200,000 Private Points. Its specs were absolutely top of the line.

Even if he streamed while... well, it wouldn't lag at all. Character switches and fight scenes were incredibly smooth. Very nice.

But the computer was currently playing a loop of footage showing Kamuro Masumi barging into Shuichi Kanda's room and giving him a beating.

It was humiliating to watch herself get beaten over and over again, but after seeing the footage, Kamuro seemed to have become much more subdued.

Mm-hm. Mission accomplished.

Kamuro Masumi was seething, but she had nowhere to vent her anger. The photo Kanda had held over her could at most have gotten her suspended for a few days if he'd reported it to the school.

But the video was different. If things were taken seriously, it counted as breaking and entering and robbery! If Shuichi Kanda insisted on that, Kamuro would very likely be expelled outright. No one could do anything about it.

In this negotiation, Kamuro had turned her possible prison sentence into a death sentence.

However, Shuichi Kanda decided not to meet with her again for the time being. His room had surveillance, but there weren't cameras everywhere at this school.

Chapter 29: Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's Well-Balanced Physique

Kamuro Masumi's time at school had been sentenced to death. The sentence hadn't been handed down yet, though, so she'd come to negotiate again.

Naturally, it was because someone could turn that death sentence into a life sentence. As long as you were alive, there was hope. One day, you'll fall into my hands!

As long as Shuichi Kanda didn't hand the footage over to the school, Kamuro wouldn't be in trouble. The school's death sentence would simply become a life sentence imposed by Shuichi Kanda.

"How dangerous. How despicable. That loathsome man!"

"What exactly do you want?"

The timid look vanished from Shuichi Kanda's face at once, replaced by a smile.

"I told you before. Just this once, I hope you'll keep it secret, Classmate Kamuro."

"Even so, there's only so much I can do. If I'm found out, Sakayanagi will definitely expel me." Kamuro clearly didn't want to be toyed with by the enemy and expelled.

"Don't worry. I won't make things difficult for you. Even if something goes wrong, I'll make sure you're safe." Shuichi Kanda smiled warmly.

So you can smile like that after all?

Kamuro Masumi looked a little dazed, then quickly came back to her senses.

"Then it's settled. I'm leaving. It'll be dangerous if Sakayanagi comes looking for me."

After saying that, Kamuro Masumi got to her feet.

"Take care. I won't see you out."

Watching Kamuro leave the room, Shuichi Kanda breathed a sigh of relief.

I've planted this little thorn. I shouldn't use it carelessly unless I have no other choice.

As Kamuro Masumi left Room 404, her expression was a little dazed. What Shuichi Kanda had said just now brought back memories of the past.

Sure enough, even though you've lost your memories, you're still Shuichi Kanda.

Perhaps because Sakayanagi Arisu had been busy with Class A's internal conflict, she hadn't caused Shuichi Kanda any trouble since the start of school. A month had already passed.

Or perhaps she was just waiting to see Shuichi Kanda make a fool of himself.

After all, everyone had seen what Class D had been doing this past month. All she could say was: as expected of Class D.

But if Shuichi Kanda knew that, he'd probably laugh at Sakayanagi Arisu.

What does Class D making a fool of itself have to do with me, Shuichi Kanda?