Karuizawa Arc: Karuizawa Kei Wants to Devote Herself / The Next Day's Settlement and Review

Karuizawa Kei was clearly hiding something.

Still, as her friends, they weren't tasteless enough to pry into her private affairs.

Since Karuizawa Kei looked so happy right now, all they could do was silently wish her well.

High school romances often died a sudden death after graduation. They hoped her feelings for Hoshino would last!

First Semester of First Year:

Karuizawa Arc: Karuizawa Kei Wants to Devote Herself

I had been cute for as long as I could remember.

I wasn't bragging. Most of the boys who approached me liked me, and even teachers would go easy on me because of my cute appearance.

But I knew that wasn't enough. The favor I could gain from my looks alone wasn't genuine kindness. Their "goodwill" usually came with their own motives: my peers' undisguised curiosity, older students' concern concealing probing questions, and certain teachers' favoritism that seemed like an attempt to use "special treatment" to foster an invisible sense of dependence...

To be honest, I used to be pleased with myself for being liked by most boys. But once I realized the truth behind their "affection," all I felt was deep disgust and fear.

So I wanted to become stronger—not just someone who was favored for her looks, but someone who could rely on deeper qualities: academic ability, perspective, physical fitness, intelligence, and social skills...

And so, I began to study hard.

I became a dazzling presence in the crowd.

Boys my age stopped doing childish things to get my attention, because they knew I understood more than they did. Their showboating would only make them a laughingstock;

Older students stopped using tired tricks to sway my thoughts, because they knew I could see through many things. Their foolish schemes would only make them lose face in front of their peers;

Teachers with ulterior motives stopped paying me so much attention, because they knew I had realized what they were after. Showing favoritism any longer would only invite criticism.

And so, they began to genuinely like me—not just because of my looks. They truly admired my abilities.

Thanks to this genuine "affection," I lived a relatively brief "perfect life."

However, I never expected the malice from other girls to be so severe.

The first incident happened in third grade. They hid my indoor shoes. I tried to find someone to help, but the boys refused because the girls had warned them, and the teachers were afraid of getting dragged into trouble.

I was alone and helpless. Their "cooperation" went beyond anything I could have imagined.

Since their first "prank" had worked, they grew bolder. They left graffiti on my desk, bothered me with little tricks, turned my classmates against me, and even damaged my belongings...

I had tried telling my parents and teachers, but the teachers only stammered and brushed me off. My parents shifted the blame with baseless accusations like, "Why do they bully only you and nobody else?"

I had tried to fight back, too, but how could I, all alone, possibly stand against so many people?

And so, the rest of my elementary school days gradually drew to a close, and I entered junior high under the shadow of bullying.

I deliberately chose a junior high school that was somewhat far away, hoping to start a new life there.

Looking back, I understood why people had resented me: I shone too brightly. My light exposed all the darkness and filth, making it hard for both the wicked, stained with their own misdeeds, and ordinary people tainted by them to feel at ease.

That was why they all targeted me.

So, having learned from my elementary school days, I planned to keep a low profile and make it through the three years of junior high.

However, I never expected the malice from girls going through puberty to be even worse than it had been in elementary school.

After a brief period of relative calm, I was dragged into the vortex of bullying once again.

I had planned to be an unnoticed nobody and pass through junior high without incident, but they still went too far. Was it really enough to bully me just because I was an outsider whose looks were more beautiful than those who "lived at the center of the group"?

Knowing that my classmates, teachers, and parents were useless, I fought back, trying to stop their bullying with violence.

But the result... was far from satisfactory. They still overpowered me with their numbers.

And their actions were far worse than those of the girls in elementary school. They hurt my body and tormented my mind.

No passing student offered a helping hand. They were afraid they would be next; the teachers turned a blind eye because this was a school scandal and they didn't want to get into trouble; my parents still had the same attitude, believing it was all my fault.

Because of the bullying, my grades plummeted, my social skills gradually faded, and even my thoughts became numb and sluggish.

I stopped believing in "happiness" and "affection." I no longer believed in "kindness." I even stopped believing in "humanity." That's right, humans were just like that: hiding behind the false kindness of "there's nothing I can do," making compromises that really meant "hurting others," then congratulating themselves for having made it through another day.

Heh... I couldn't see any hope. All I could see was pain. It seemed I could already see the end of my life...

That day, I really did see the end of the road. They took a sharp object out of their bag and waved it over my body.

So it's finally happening?

I thought.

Then I won't have to endure this pain anymore, right?

A hint of joy even welled up inside me.

But when I saw the gleaming blade slowly drawing closer, I was still afraid.

I wasn't as calm as I'd imagined. Even though reality was worse than death, I was still afraid of the day it would end.

I didn't want to die. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to die!!

I don't care who it is. Just save me... Save me, and I'll give you anything you want!

My wish seemed to come true. The knife never fell on me. A boy rushed in and stopped them.

No, he hadn't come to stop them from bullying me. He'd come to "bully" them!

I saw him knock them down in an instant, but he didn't even glance at me. Instead, he went about his own business. Standing in the secluded, quiet girls' bathroom, he used the blade they had brought and slowly carried out the plan they had originally intended for me.

They had always been "bullies," but they had never imagined that "violence" could be so terrifying. They wore the same expressions I had once been the only one to show.

He showed them what "violence" really meant, but he paid no attention to me, even though I had watched everything.

However, I saw no exhilaration or pleasure on the face of this "bully." When they tormented me, they often wore expressions like that, but he showed nothing of the sort.

His "bullying" didn't seem to come from the same motives as theirs.

Afterward, as usual, I cleaned the signs of bullying off myself and made it home safely. He hadn't paid me any mind.

The next day, when I returned to school, I heard that they had been "seriously injured" and "mentally shattered."

Apparently, the custodian who arrived at school first that morning had found them. Frightened, he called the police, and the incident came to light. The bullying could no longer be hidden, either.

The police summoned me as the prime suspect, but I told them, "I lost consciousness while they were bullying me. When I woke up, they were gone, so I took the opportunity to leave." They knew I had been bullied for a long time and was unable to fight back, so they had no choice but to let me go.

As compensation, they explained why they had linked me to the incident:

That afternoon, every security camera at the school had inexplicably been replaced by a video playing on a loop. There was no useful footage, and the guard watching the monitors hadn't noticed anyone suspicious beforehand;

All the school security staff had been attacked and knocked unconscious, so nobody had seen what happened;

It had rained heavily that night, washing away all the traces around the sports field. They couldn't find any useful evidence;

So, in the end, the police had come to me because I had a history of conflict with them.

But I had "passed out" at the time, so they couldn't get any useful information from me. The case became a cold case.

What's more, once the bullying scandal came to light, the school was investigated by the national education committee. Many senior staff were disciplined, and quite a few teachers were replaced.

But I still didn't know why that person had "bullied" them, or why he had been so harsh.

I didn't even know who he was. Apart from his uniform, which told me he was a student at the school, and the purple star-shaped eyes hidden beneath his purplish-black hair, I knew nothing about him.

However, because of the bullies' miserable fate, a rumor suddenly spread around school that "the culprit had a crush on me, so he taught them a lesson." That rumor put a complete end to the bullying I'd faced at school.

It seemed the goddess of fortune had finally decided to share some of her favor with me. Not long after I said goodbye to "school bullying," I saw him when the third-year junior high classes were assigned.

"My name is Hoshino En. I like playing all kinds of board games and reading, and I exercise regularly. I look forward to getting along with everyone."

During our self-introductions after the third-year classes were assigned, I learned his name.

His name was Hoshino En, and he was a cute-looking boy.

I didn't know why, but before I'd seen him again, I hadn't felt so strongly about him. Yet once I began seeing him every day, I couldn't help thinking about him.

But his reaction that day had genuinely frightened me. I didn't know how to face him.

Would he comfort me, the "victim of bullying"? Or would he get rid of me, the "witness to the bullying"?

I didn't know.

But there was one thing I knew for certain: because he had intervened, the remaining year and a half of junior high was no longer dark and hopeless. Nobody approached me—my classmates thought I was that culprit's prized possession and were too afraid to come near—but nobody hurt me, either. Even the subtle indifference I'd faced before disappeared, because everyone was afraid of becoming the next "bully."

He had brought light into my life.

When everyone else ignored me, hurt me, and destroyed me, he had stepped in and protected me.

I knew it hadn't been his intention, and he wouldn't expect anything in return. But he had saved me. That was an undeniable fact.

So... what could I give him in return?

I didn't know.

He had excellent academic ability and ranked among the top students on exams; he was physically strong, or he couldn't have taken on four girls his age at once; he had an intellect far beyond ordinary, and I didn't believe it was a coincidence that the police had found no clues; he was even financially savvy, judging by the casual, unrestrained way he carried himself.

The only thing he seemed to lack was "social skills." He didn't have many friends, and there wasn't even anyone in class he could talk to.

But I lacked that, too, so I couldn't help him with it.

Did that really mean there was nothing I could give him in return?

Watching the classmates around me enjoy their youth, I suddenly realized that he seemed to be missing a girl by his side.

Could I offer him "myself" in return?

I knew someone like me could never be good enough for him. His future wife ought to be a "genius" as outstanding as he was.

But he had saved me when I was on the verge of breaking down, giving me a second life when mine was nearly over. So what was wrong with letting me take responsibility for his future in return?

Once the thought entered my mind, it took root and refused to go away.

I knew it was an unhealthy thought. He hadn't helped me on purpose, and I didn't need to do so much to repay him. But I couldn't resist its allure.

If I couldn't become someone who could be of use to him, what was the point of having this second "life"?

My original dreams had long since been forgotten after one bullying incident after another. Now, I had found a new reason to live: to become a better person, someone who could be useful to him.

So, to keep up with him, I searched for ways to regain the things I'd once had: academic ability, perspective, physical fitness, intelligence, and social skills... I tried to become an excellent version of "myself" again.

But my plan had only just begun when something happened to him.

Nine months after the incident, a psychologist hired by the police used deep hypnosis to recover the memories they still had of that day. By piecing together their accounts, the police reconstructed the appearance of the possible culprit—though the price was that they would never recover. The second round of trauma had affected their minds too severely.

The police searched the area around the school based on their descriptions, eventually identifying him and taking him in for questioning.

In the end, he was cleared because he had an alibi. But the news that he was a "criminal suspect" still spread throughout the school.

Even so, no one at school dared to "bully" him, out of fear. He simply became lonelier than before, and none of this seemed to affect him.

But it put an end to my plan to confess everything to him at that point.

If I, the "victim of bullying," got too close to him, the one who had "destroyed the bullies," it would only confirm that he was a "criminal." The harm to his reputation far outweighed any benefit.

So I kept my distance for the time being and prepared to work hard to improve myself.

Once I grew into an even more remarkable adult, I'd tell him everything!

And so, I accepted the principal's nomination and chose Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School for high school.

I felt he was trying to send me away as a "troublemaker," rather than help me, but I was still grateful for his "assistance." Because of the bullying I'd suffered in elementary and junior high, I had missed out on developing many abilities. If I wanted to get into a good school or find a job based on merit, it would be very difficult.

That was why I wanted to go there and use the "100% advancement and employment" benefit as a shortcut to improving myself.

First Semester of First Year:

The Next Day's Settlement and Review

After leaving Karuizawa Kei's room, Hoshino En returned to his own.

Because of her, there wasn't much time left before his agreed meeting with Kushida Kikyo. To avoid another unexpected situation, he decided to stay in his room and wait for the Little Angel, who was nearly at her breaking point, to come by.

While he waited, Hoshino En reviewed the "gains" he'd made that day.

First, he'd gained the right to exchange points for yen in advance, and secured it for himself alone. That way, even if he couldn't graduate as a third-year student, he could still exchange his points for yen and take them out of the school.

When Chairman Sakayanagi mentioned the exchange rate, he had deliberately referred to "when third-years graduated." This meant students could only exchange points for yen upon graduating in their third year. No other students had that right, so being eliminated before then would mean all their effort had gone to waste.

Besides, Hoshino En was sure this school had a mechanism for expelling students. After all, the benefits of Class A were so tempting that nobody would want to leave. The school, which championed "meritocracy," would surely want to see what would happen when faced with a punishment that resulted in automatic expulsion: how the class representative coordinated the class, and how they guided everyone else to make a choice...

Of course, a "fatal" mechanism like this would surely have a way to undo the result, such as spending points to cancel an "expulsion." The price would probably be the same as transferring classes: twenty million points.

If someone faced random expulsion, then deciding whether to spend points to save that student would be a test in itself.

Next, he'd learned about the Student Council. Hoshino En had been very confident in his judgment, but after making two mistakes in a row, he'd started doubting himself a little.

Regardless, the Student Council was surely just as deep a trap as Class A's special status. To avoid trouble, he'd be better off staying out of it.