Do You Want to Truly Live?

"Here, take my hand."

"Huh?" Ichinose looked confused.

"A test." Su Wei kept it brief.

Though Ichinose didn't understand, she obediently held out both hands and took Su Wei's large hand, covered in black leather.

Compared to the lingering warmth she'd felt last time, she could now feel the boy's body heat more clearly through the material of the Combat Suit.

The subtle sensation made her heart beat a little faster.

"Now, squeeze."

Su Wei's voice was calm.

"Use all your strength. Grip as hard as you can."

Ichinose bit her lip, straightened her back, and gradually tightened her grip with both hands.

Then...

Su Wei looked at his hand, which had barely changed shape, and at the girl's arms, which didn't seem very strong even though her face had turned red. He couldn't help sighing.

"Looks like you really don't exercise much. Is this all you've got?"

Ichinose lowered her head in embarrassment and stammered, "I-I can't help it... If I exercise too vigorously, my chest hurts..."

Su Wei glanced at the girl's chest and thought, Fair enough.

It was hard to move around with that much weight to carry.

And if she overdid it and lost any of it, that would be a terrible waste. That wouldn't do.

"If the usual methods won't work, then I'll have to use a stronger dose."

Su Wei muttered to himself, then let go of her hands.

"What do you mean by a stronger—? Ah?!"

Before Ichinose could react, Su Wei grabbed her arm and gave it a slight tug. He lifted her whole body as easily as if she were a kitten!

Ichinose Honami: "...?"

The sudden feeling of her feet leaving the ground left her dazed. She blinked in confusion.

What happened? Am I flying?

Watching Ichinose's dazed reaction, Su Wei couldn't help asking, "You still haven't realized what's happening?"

As he spoke, he bent his arm slightly, pulling Ichinose Honami, suspended in midair, a little closer to his chest.

The distance between them shrank rapidly!

Just before she was about to reach his arms, Ichinose Honami finally realized what was happening: he was holding her up with one hand!

And in this completely defenseless, feet-off-the-ground pose that felt so humiliating!

This was so embarrassing... No, this was taking things way too far!

As her senses returned, Ichinose Honami began struggling almost instinctively.

She kicked her legs, desperately tried to yank back the arm he was holding, and braced her other hand against Su Wei's chest, pushing against him with all her might.

But Su Wei didn't budge.

He didn't go any further, either.

He didn't kiss her or grope her.

He simply held her up with one hand, keeping them at an ambiguous distance—close enough to feel each other's breath, yet not quite touching.

"Hmm... That's not bad."

Feeling the force pushing against his chest, Su Wei assessed her effort.

"You're a lot stronger now. You're as sturdy as a little calf."

As soon as he finished speaking, he let go as if nothing had happened, then stepped back to give her some space.

"Whew... whew..."

After losing his support, Ichinose stumbled before regaining her balance. She held her hands protectively against her chest, her face so red it looked ready to drip blood.

She glared at Su Wei, her eyes full of both indignation and confusion.

"Su Wei, why did you do that?!"

Faced with the girl's accusation, Su Wei remained perfectly calm.

"Think back to the moment you tried to push me away just now..."

"Did you notice that your senses, strength, and agility all improved?"

Ichinose froze.

She looked at her hands.

It seemed...

That really had happened.

In the moment when embarrassment surged through her, the Reinforcement Suit had given her the illusion that she could break through anything.

"That's the difference I was talking about."

Su Wei spoke with a perfectly serious expression, making things up as he went.

"It seems this Combat Suit only responds when your emotions are highly stirred or you're extremely serious."

Ichinose: "..."

She opened her mouth. She seemed to understand Su Wei's reasoning, but something still felt off.

In the end, she couldn't help complaining.

"B-but you didn't have to do it like that! Couldn't you have warned me first? Using a method like this... I-I almost got the wrong idea!"

I almost thought you were going to force a kiss on me!

And what scared her most was that, for that split second, her mind had completely shut down. She hadn't even tried to dodge! Th-that was so strange!

Seeing Ichinose look as if she wanted to get angry but couldn't find a good reason, Su Wei decided he'd made his point.

"If I'd warned you, it wouldn't have worked."

"This was the most straightforward method I could think of. Just tell me—did it work?"

"Remember how it felt. If you find yourself in a moment like that during a fight, you'll know what to expect."

"Otherwise, if your strength suddenly increases too much, you might not be able to control your own body."

Ichinose Honami looked at him lecturing her with such a serious expression. The scolding on the tip of her tongue ultimately went unsaid.

"...I understand."

She took a deep breath, calming her still-racing heart, then warned him fiercely, "But! Next time, please tell me beforehand!"

"Not everyone would be as easygoing as me... Just now, when I thought you were about to... do that, I really was ready to hit you!"

As she spoke, she raised her hand threateningly.

Su Wei readily agreed. "Next time, for sure."

But even as he said it, his thoughts had already drifted to Ayanokoji and the others' Wolf and Sheep Game.

Clearly, he wasn't taking her words to heart.

What could he do? That was what happened when a girl was too good-natured. Even when she got mad, she sounded like she was pouting.

Teasing Ichinose really was fun, and her soft, warm hands felt as nice as ever.

Do You Want to Truly Live? ### The scene shifted to a multimedia classroom with sealed doors and windows that blocked out all light.

The only source of illumination in the room was four pairs of special glasses on the lectern, their red and blue lights blinking in turn.

Each of the four picked up a pair and put them on.

Once the electronically synthesized voice had finished announcing the test rules, it declared the game officially underway.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka noticed the red markings blinking at the edge of his lenses, then briefly met the gaze of Kanzaki Ryuji, who stood a short distance away.

"Beep—"

A soft chime sounded.

The blood-red icon representing the 'wolf' in Ayanokoji's field of vision vanished instantly.

In its place appeared a white sheep.

The indicator beside Kanzaki Ryuji's frame changed from blue to red.

I see.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lowered his eyes slightly, instantly grasping the underlying logic of the game.

Meeting someone's gaze caused the roles to switch.

At first glance, this looked like a deadly battle royale: four people were locked in a sealed room and forced to fight and hide from one another for the sole chance to survive.

But in reality, the core punishment for losing this test had been designed with a curious degree of leniency.

The loser wouldn't be erased immediately. Instead, they'd be forced to join tonight's Black Sphere Trial as an 'Intruder.'

Since this wasn't a guaranteed death sentence, anyone accustomed to weighing the pros and cons beforehand would see that wasting energy on a brawl in a cramped classroom was clearly the worst possible choice.

Just as expected.

Kanzaki Ryuji, who had been turned into the 'wolf,' didn't try to run or look for cover.

He stood calmly in place, choosing to break the ice.

"I'm sure everyone understands by now that there can only be one winner in this game: the 'wolf.'"

"In a closed classroom, whoever gets the Wolf Card becomes everyone's target. A fight lasting thirty minutes isn't realistic, and using violence would only leave us both worse off."

Kanzaki Ryuji's gaze swept over the group, his voice steady.

"Since only one of us can win, rather than waste our already limited energy fighting and then face the monsters in the Black Sphere Exam tonight while injured..."

"I think we should make a deal instead."

"How much does everyone know about the Black Sphere Exam?"

"A deal?"

Kaneda Satoru from Class C adjusted his glasses, looking doubtful. "I'm listening."

On the other side, Machida Koji from Class A crossed his arms.

Although Kanzaki Ryuji had looked his way earlier and given him the Wolf Card, he remained cautious and made no rash moves.

Kanzaki Ryuji deliberately skipped over Ayanokoji, who stood in the corner, and smiled faintly.

"Looks like everyone's already figured out the situation. That saves me the trouble of explaining."

"Since we're making a deal, let's see what everyone can offer."

He paused. When no one spoke, he took the initiative and held out a hand to show his good faith.

"Then I'll go first."