Putting Out the Fire

"Really?" Ayanokoji pulled out his phone and tapped on a recording.

Kushida's own voice came through the speaker:

"Manabe, are you sure these photos are enough to get Sakura expelled?... All right, then I want a copy. In exchange, I can give you Karuizawa's middle school records. She was a lot meaner back then than she is now..."

The recording was only thirty seconds long.

But it was enough.

For the first time, Kushida's expression changed completely.

"How did you—"

"How did I get it?" Ayanokoji stopped the recording. "Last night, while you were on the phone in the dorm hallway, a 'little mouse' was crawling through the third-floor ventilation duct. You should know how good Mio Ibuki is at gathering intel."

Mio Ibuki. The girl who had defected from Class C.

"You thought you had everyone under your control, but you can't even see through the people right beside you," Ayanokoji said. "Ibuki never trusted you from the start. She told me about your connection with Manabe a long time ago."

Kushida's fingers tightened, her nails digging into her palms.

"So here's where things stand," Ayanokoji continued. "You have dirt on us, and I have proof that you colluded with Class C and plotted against us. If this gets out, you'll be labeled as someone who 'deliberately undermined class unity and engaged in improper dealings.' At best, you'll lose all your personal points. At worst, you could be expelled."

He paused. "And the things you have—Karuizawa's past? She's already made peace with it. Sakura's photos? Go ahead and try releasing them. Let's see whether she's treated as the victim or the perpetrator. As for me..."

He looked straight into Kushida's eyes. "You can report me. But think carefully: will the school believe a student whose 'identity is in question,' or a student who has 'repeatedly plotted against and threatened her classmates'?"

Psychological warfare.

Pure psychological warfare.

The smile vanished from Kushida Kikyo's face. She stared at Ayanokoji, resentment and fury roiling in her eyes, along with a trace of... fear.

She realized she'd miscalculated.

She hadn't accounted for Mio Ibuki as a variable, for how quickly Ayanokoji could counter her, or for the fact that he simply didn't care about "conventional methods."

"What do you want?" Kushida's voice was dry.

"Leave the USB drive here and open your suitcase so we can check it," Ayanokoji said. "We'll make sure you haven't taken anything that doesn't belong to you. Then you can go to Class C."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I guarantee that before you can release any of that dirt, this recording will be in the inboxes of the Student Council, the school, and every class leader." Ayanokoji glanced at his phone. "By the way, I've already set it to send automatically. If I don't cancel it within an hour, it'll go out."

He was bluffing. There was no scheduled message.

But Kushida didn't know that.

She bit her lower lip so hard she nearly drew blood. A few seconds later, she suddenly hurled the USB drive to the ground and stomped on it!

Plastic fragments scattered.

"Happy now?" She glared at Ayanokoji.

"The suitcase." Ayanokoji didn't budge.

Kushida roughly yanked open the suitcase and dumped everything inside onto the floor. Clothes, books, and cosmetics spilled everywhere. Karuizawa and Sakura crouched down to check, confirming that there were no class documents or hidden cameras.

"Is that enough?" Kushida's voice trembled with anger.

"One more thing," Ayanokoji said. "From now on, you and Class D will stay out of each other's way. If you retaliate in any way, leak information, or help Class C attack Class D, this recording will be made public immediately. I guarantee you'll be expelled before any of us."

Kushida glared at him, her chest heaving.

Then she smiled.

It was nothing like any smile she'd worn before—twisted, crazed, and dripping with hysterical malice.

"Fine, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. You won this round." She picked up the empty suitcase and turned toward the stairs. After a few steps, she stopped and looked back at him. "But the game isn't over. Ryuen is looking forward to playing with you. So am I."

"By the way, I've got some good news for you..." She tilted her head, as if telling him something amusing. "Shiho Manabe has an even bigger 'surprise' in her hands. I was going to bring it to Class C, but now... consider it a parting gift for you. Hope you like it."

She hummed as she went downstairs.

Kei Karuizawa and Airi Sakura slumped to the floor, drenched in cold sweat.

Ayanokoji picked up the crushed remains of the USB drive and examined them. The storage chip was definitely damaged, but...

[The system has detected recoverable data fragments. Spend 500 points to restore them?]

[Yes]

He extracted the remaining data from the chip. There were only two filenames:

"Sakura_DressingRoom.Encrypted"

"Ichinose_Secret.Encrypted"

The second filename made Ayanokoji frown.

Honami Ichinose? Her secret?

Just as he was about to look closer, his phone vibrated.

A moment later, Yosuke Hirata called. His voice was urgent:

"Ayanokoji, did you take care of Kushida? Something big happened in class. Someone posted on the forum that 'indecent photos' of Karuizawa and Sakura are going around. The whole class is in an uproar!"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked toward the stairs.

The "angel" who'd left humming had still bared her fangs at the very last moment, as she tore off her mask.

And the game, just as she'd said—

Wasn't over yet.

[Side Quest "Internal Purge" progress updated!]

[Current progress: 70%]

[You successfully stopped Kushida Kikyo from taking the crucial blackmail material, but failed to eliminate the threat completely. Kushida has defected to Class C and become an outright enemy.]

[New threats detected: forum leak, risk of Ichinose's secret being exposed, and Shiho Manabe's "surprise."]

[Stage reward obtained: Class cohesion +15 (for working together to handle a crisis). Ability unlocked: "Crisis Prediction (Beginner)"—allows you to vaguely foresee plots targeting the host within the next 24 hours.]

[New quest triggered: "Firefighting Operation"]

[Quest description: Rumors on the forum are spreading. Identify the person behind the leak and contain the damage before the situation spirals out of control.]

[Quest rewards: Class Points +200, major increase in Kei Karuizawa and Airi Sakura's loyalty.]

[Failure penalty: Trust within Class D will collapse. Karuizawa or Sakura may drop out under the pressure.]

While the system notifications filled the screen, Ayanokoji had already opened the school forum.

The pinned anonymous post had a glaring title:

<Breaking! "Private photos" of two Class D girls are being shared in secret! Pics or it didn't happen!>

The post didn't show the photos, but its description was extremely detailed. It even mentioned the shape of the birthmark on Airi Sakura's right shoulder.

There were already hundreds of replies.

"Is this for real?"

"Anyone got the pics?"

"Class D is a mess, huh?"

"It's gotta be Karuizawa. She looks like such a slut."

Malicious comments surged in like a tide.

Kei Karuizawa stood behind Ayanokoji, staring at the screen, her face pale as paper.

Her hands were shaking.

Airi Sakura had already started crying.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned off his phone and faced the two girls.

"The photos are with me. They haven't been leaked," he said firmly. "This is intimidation, not a leak."

Karuizawa looked up, her eyes red. "But they know the shape of my birthmark..."

"Kushida was your roommate. She might have watched you changing," Ayanokoji said. "Same goes for Sakura. That's the only way they could have gotten those 'details.'"

He paused. "So don't panic. As long as the photos haven't been made public, this is just a rumor. And rumors can be fought."

"How do we fight back?" Karuizawa's voice trembled.

Ayanokoji didn't answer right away.

He looked out the window, toward the Class C dorms.

Ryuen Kakeru was probably welcoming his new "ally" right about now.

And what was the "surprise" Shiho Manabe had?

Ichinose's secret?

Or something else, even more dangerous?

He picked up his phone and sent Mio Ibuki a message:

"Where's Manabe now?"

The reply came quickly: "With Ryuen in the Class C Activity Room. Kushida's there too. They're having a meeting."

The subject of the meeting was obvious.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took a deep breath.

Three enemies. Three fires.

The forum rumors, the threat to Ichinose, and Manabe's "surprise."

And the cards he could play...

He glanced at the system panel. His "Crisis Prediction (Beginner)" ability had just activated.

[Prediction: Within the next 24 hours, the host will face a "physical" attack. Location: alley behind the Third School Building. Time: this evening. Attackers: Class C Trio (including Albert). Motive: revenge and a test.]

A physical attack.

Good.

Then it was time to take the game to the next stage.