On the way back after seeing Yanagihara off, Kitahara glanced at her smiling beside him. He hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke.
"Yanagihara, what are you planning to do next? You're not thinking of letting Katsuragi keep leading, are you?"
"Hehe. I'm more curious about what deal you made with the student council president," Yanagihara said softly.
"Ha... With your intelligence, you probably figured it out ages ago, so there's no need to keep testing me."
"Besides, given our current partnership, we should be strengthening our ties."
Faced with Kitahara's flippant remarks, Yanagihara simply shook her head and said, "Once I've buried that person, I'll slowly start competing with you, Kitahara."
Hearing the calmness in Yanagihara's voice, Kitahara nodded as if he'd expected it all along.
After all, with Yanagihara's personality, she'd feel restless if she wasn't challenging someone. Even with her physical disability, she still wanted to show others that she was no worse than anyone else.
Sigh, but her physical condition was always going to be a major disadvantage.
Noticing Kitahara's sigh, Yanagihara spoke again. "Don't worry, Kitahara. Dealing with you is completely different from dealing with him. After all, you're a true genius."
Hearing Yanagihara's assessment of him, Kitahara could only play along. "I didn't realize you thought so highly of me, Yanagihara. I'm almost overwhelmed."
But inside, he thought to himself:
There's no telling whether you can even beat him right now. By the time you do, you'll probably have graduated. Will you still be able to find me then?
Not picking up on the dismissiveness in Kitahara's words, Yanagihara unconsciously lifted her head a little, clearly pleased.
After walking Yanagihara back to her dorm, Kitahara returned to his own room.
Lying on his bed, Kitahara finally heard the voice that had been gone for so long.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the temporary quest] [Issuing temporary reward—mysterious gift pack] [Opening mysterious gift pack...] [Congratulations, host, you have obtained Panacea *3]
"..."
"Did you give me this reward because you heard me complaining about Yanagihara just now?"
[Host, all rewards are random. There is absolutely no malicious manipulation.]
"Is that so? Why do I still feel like I can't trust you?"
"By the way, system, can this medicine cure every illness?"
[Absolutely, host. Whether it's heart disease or anything else, it can take care of it all.]
Hearing the system's reply, Kitahara's mouth twitched.
"You're still going to claim you didn't prepare this specifically for Yanagihara? You even named her specific illness. Are you my system or hers? Look in my eyes and answer me."
[...]
Seeing that the system had completely given up, Kitahara couldn't exactly beat it up himself, so he let the matter drop.
Lying on his bed, Kitahara quietly looked at the Panacea in his hand and thought:
Can this really cure every illness? It looks no different from an ordinary capsule you'd find anywhere.
If it can really fix Yanagihara's condition right now, then, given her personality, she'll definitely take part in the upcoming Uninhabited Island exam. Things might get out of hand then.
But if I dare give it to her now, I'll be investigated immediately. I'll have to handle this slowly.
What Kitahara failed to notice was that his attitude toward Yanagihara had gradually begun to change.
And what Kitahara also didn't know was that Kushida and the others were upstairs in Ayanokoji's dorm room, celebrating their success. You had to admit, they really did have nerves of steel.
As night fell, Kitahara could no longer withstand the fatigue of the day and soon drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, the plaza where he and Horikita Manabu had discussed things rang with repeated thuds.
The scene shifted. "Little angel" was kicking the railing meant to protect the students over and over, all the while muttering:
"So annoying."
"Acting all high and mighty just because you're cute."
"Awful, just awful... Just awful."
"Why doesn't someone like Horikita just die already? She's so annoying. That bitch is so damn annoying."
"And that guy Ayanokoji, too. He said he'd help me get the class's attention, but then made me shoulder all the blame by myself. He deserves to die, too."
"He's so close to Horikita. He should get expelled, too."
"The one I hate most is that bastard Kitahara. What the hell are you putting on an act for? You have all those points but won't use them, and now the class is looking down on me again. On top of that, you keep rejecting me over and over. You're such a—"
Before she could finish, the sound of a phone vibrating came from the bushes behind her.
It turned out she had left her phone on Ayanokoji's bed while they were celebrating. Ayanokoji had picked it up and come to return it to her, only to witness this side of her.
(If Kitahara found out about this, he'd surely be spitting blood. He'd looked forward for so long to the iconic "handprint" scene, only to be fast asleep instead of there.)
(But if Kitahara really did find out, he'd probably thank Ayanokoji. If not for him, Kitahara had no idea how long Kushida would have kept cursing him, especially considering what he'd done to her. She might have gone on until dawn.)
Ahem. Since it was already late, every sound carried unusually clearly.
Hearing the noise, Kushida stopped what she was doing and turned to look coldly at the bushes where it had come from.
"Who's there? Who's hiding there?"
Seeing that he'd been discovered, Ayanokoji could only sigh quietly before stepping out.
"It's me, Ayanokoji."
When she saw it was Ayanokoji, Kushida quickly walked over to him.
Ayanokoji was still calmly explaining, "Kushida, you forgot your phone..."
Before he could finish, Kushida had already taken the phone from him. She lowered her head and said coldly, "You saw everything?"
"Would you believe me if I said I didn't?"
At Ayanokoji's reply, Kushida raised her head. Her expression was utterly unlike her usual one, and she stared at him with a fierce look.
"If you tell anyone, I won't let you get away with it."
Ayanokoji looked at Kushida's cold expression and said, "What if I do tell someone?"
"Then I'll tell everyone you almost raped me," Kushida replied.
"That's a completely baseless accusation."
(If Kitahara had been here, he would've heard this and said, "Here it comes, here it comes.")
Sure enough, the next second, Kushida slowly took Ayanokoji's right hand and said, "It's not baseless at all."
Then, while Ayanokoji stared at her in surprise, Kushida slowly placed his hand on her ample chest and continued, "Now your fingerprints are all over it. I won't even need to look for evidence."
Kushida was clearly still unsatisfied, so she pressed his hand harder and said, "I'm absolutely serious."
Even in this situation, Ayanokoji, who had no emotions, remained expressionless.
"I understand. Can you let go of my hand now?"
"Listen carefully. If you dare betray me, I will never forgive you," Kushida warned him again after he gave her a clear answer and she let go of his hand.
Looking at the unfamiliar side of Kushida, Ayanokoji kept recalling how she'd always gotten along peacefully with others. Then he thought to himself:
So this is why you were placed in Class D.
Looking at the silent Ayanokoji, Kushida continued, "Ayanokoji, can you..."
"Swear that you'll keep what happened today buried forever?"
Ayanokoji nodded silently.
"Understood. Then I'll trust you," Kushida said at last.
(To be fair, if Kitahara were here, he'd have to get involved again. What happened to swearing? What was that? She let him off with just a nod? No wonder later on...)
After saying that, Kushida's expression changed back to normal, and she cheerfully said to Ayanokoji, "Great, now we have a secret between us."
Looking at Kushida, who had returned to normal, Ayanokoji thought silently:
Kushida, tell me—who are you, really?