When Karuizawa Kei learned that Kushida Kikyo had actually told her to go confess everything to Wu Qiao, she panicked. Her heart began pounding uncontrollably.
Wu Qiao was usually so inscrutable, as though he had already seen through many of her secrets. But letting him find out and confessing to him herself were two completely different things!
It was like being stripped naked and made to stand beneath a spotlight. The shame and fear made her instinctively want to retreat.
Seeing the color drain from Karuizawa Kei's face as her eyes darted around, Kushida Kikyo didn't rush her. Instead, she put on the air of a caring older sister, someone ready to bare her heart. She sighed softly, her voice carrying just the right amount of sympathy and helplessness. "Karuizawa, aren't you and Wu-kun in the same position as me? We were both forced to work with him, weren't we?"
Karuizawa Kei jerked her head up and looked at Kushida in disbelief.
Kushida Kikyo continued coaxing her, her voice gentle but every word hitting home. "I'm trying to help you. You've seen how ruthless and calculating Wu Qiao can be, haven't you? I really don't want to assume the worst of anyone, but the facts are right there. Between you and me, Karuizawa, you're obviously the one he'd be more likely to discard."
The words struck the most vulnerable part of Karuizawa Kei's heart like a sharp dagger. She bit her lower lip and unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.
"So," Kushida Kikyo pressed on, her gaze so earnest it could have melted anyone's heart, "rather than wait for him to throw you away like trash, why not take the information to him yourself and tell him everything? Show him you're loyal and harmless. That way, you'll be safer too, won't you?"
Kushida Kikyo had perfectly cast herself as a warmhearted ally, helping another victim. It was as if she had made this suggestion solely out of concern for Karuizawa Kei's safety.
Under Kushida Kikyo's persuasive words, Karuizawa Kei's resolve began to waver violently.
Fear, unease, and her complicated, apprehensive feelings toward Wu Qiao twisted together. Finally, her voice trembling and close to tears, she asked, "If I confess, will he let me go?"
Seeing her wavering, Kushida Kikyo gently reassured her. "Don't worry, Karuizawa. I'll always be here to support you."
As it turned out, Kushida Kikyo's seemingly heartfelt persuasion had worked better than expected.
Night deepened, and the noisy dormitory fell silent. In the bedroom that belonged to Karuizawa Kei alone, the girl curled up on her bed, unable to fall asleep.
She stared at the ceiling, replaying Kushida Kikyo's words from earlier that day over and over in her mind. Torn by doubt, she wondered whether she should really tell Wu Qiao everything.
Moonlight was the only light in the room, barely outlining the furniture. Karuizawa Kei slowly sat up, her fingertips drifting uncontrollably to her waist. Through the thin fabric of her pajamas, she gently traced the ugly scar there.
The rough texture brushed beneath her fingertips, and memories she'd rather forget seemed to awaken all over again.
The scar constantly reminded her how real and cruel the malice and bullying she'd suffered had been. Back in middle school, she had been just the kind of weakling who could be sacrificed and trampled on at any moment.
Between you and me, Karuizawa, you're obviously the one he'd be more likely to discard...
Kushida Kikyo's words from earlier—seemingly gentle, yet utterly cruel—echoed in her ears again.
It was true. Apart from her decent looks and her blustering facade, what did she have to bargain with?
If she kept hiding things like before, then the moment Wu Qiao decided she was no longer useful, he would throw her away like trash without a second thought. She might even end up reliving the past and falling into the abyss all over again.
Fear closed in around her like a tide. Yet in its suffocating depths, a faint will to survive began to grow wildly. Kushida was right. Rather than wait passively for judgment, she could take the initiative and expose her weakness.
Karuizawa Kei took a deep breath and dug her fingers into the scar at her waist. The eyes that were usually tinged with arrogance and unease gradually filled with resolve.
To keep from being abandoned again, to survive, she had to take this chance.
Morning sunlight spilled over the track as Ayanokoji Kiyoha quietly observed Wu Qiao during his morning workout. After watching for only a moment, she had already reached her conclusion: this level of exercise no longer offered Wu Qiao any meaningful improvement.
During his runs and physical training, Wu Qiao had begun deliberately holding back, afraid that even a little effort might upset some kind of balance. These exercises did little more than serve as a basic warm-up for him now.
Wu Qiao himself already knew the answer. His physical strength had far surpassed the limits of human beings.
Though she was intensely curious, Ayanokoji Kiyoha's delicate face remained expressionless. Her gaze was as calm as a bottomless lake, as if everything before her that defied reason had nothing to do with her.
During the break after their workout, Ichinose Honami approached without a hint of caution. She looked at the two who had just finished exercising, then at her own sweat-soaked state, and sighed in frustration. "Compared to you two, I really am the weakest link."
But unlike Ayanokoji Kiyoha's veiled scrutiny, Ichinose Honami's curiosity was much more direct and enthusiastic. She blinked her clear eyes and couldn't help asking, "Wu-kun, I'm really curious. Where does your strength come from? Do you have some special training method? You seem like you never get tired."
Faced with Ichinose Honami's utterly sincere curiosity, Wu Qiao suddenly felt guilty. He couldn't exactly tell her he had a system in his head and that his strength came from a Path, could he?
His mind raced, and he quickly came up with a half-true, half-false explanation. Then he said with a straight face, "It was granted to me by the Devourer of Worlds. You can think of it as me worshipping a god and earning divine favor."
Wu Qiao silently added to himself: The Devourer of Worlds was another name for the Aeon of Voracity. Most of his terrifying, superhuman physical strength really was thanks to the Path of Gluttony. So his answer wasn't exactly a lie.
Ichinose Honami clearly didn't believe a word of it. Her kind eyes blinked, and the corners of her mouth lifted into a somewhat helpless smile. "Wu-kun, you're joking again, aren't you? Worshipping a god? That sounds way too fantastical. We may be close, but that kind of perfunctory explanation isn't going to convince me."
She was gentle and inclined to trust others, but she wasn't some naive fool who could be fobbed off with a casual fabrication. Faced with such an obviously evasive answer, she instinctively felt Wu Qiao was deliberately avoiding something.
Ayanokoji Kiyoha, who had been quietly listening nearby, showed no sign of being swayed either. Her dark brown eyes were calm and unruffled, as if she were watching a poor improvisation.
"Devourer of Worlds... worshipping a god?" Ayanokoji Kiyoha silently repeated the words to herself.
This talk of attributing his strength to "faith" was probably just a handy excuse to shut down anyone's curiosity.
Seeing that neither girl had fallen for it, Wu Qiao silently groaned. He had thought that a half-true, half-false explanation with a touch of chuunibyou would get him off the hook, or at least stop them from asking questions.
"All right, all right." Wu Qiao shrugged and decided to try a different approach. In a half-joking tone, he said, "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Some secrets wouldn't sound believable even if I told you, so just think of me as a freak with an unusual gift."
Seeing Wu Qiao's attitude of "I've got nothing to lose," Ichinose Honami couldn't help laughing softly. "Wu-kun, you really are as mysterious as ever. But if you don't want to tell me, I won't force you. It's just..."
She paused, her expression turning serious. "If you ever need help or have something on your mind, remember you can come to me anytime."
Ayanokoji Kiyoha said nothing. She simply looked away from Wu Qiao and toward the rising sun in the distance. She knew the mysteries surrounding him went far beyond this, but she didn't need to uncover every last one.