Kamuro Masumi's Weakness

Yuto walked back along the shopping street, the camcorder in his pocket so light it was almost weightless.

It was early afternoon, and there were few people on the street, with only scattered customers in the shops. Sunlight shone down from overhead, casting short shadows across the ground. He walked slowly, casually scanning the stores on either side while still thinking about Horikita Manabu. That man was probably already looking into his background. It just depended on how much he could uncover.

Just then, he noticed someone standing outside a variety store ahead.

A short-haired girl in the school uniform stood by a display rack beside the entrance. She repeatedly examined a small item in her hand, but her eyes were clearly not on the product—she was watching the clerk inside. The clerk had his back to her as he organized the shelves, completely unaware of what was happening by the door.

Yuto's steps unconsciously slowed.

The short-haired girl's movements were practiced. The instant the clerk turned away, she slipped the item into her jacket pocket, then casually turned to leave. The entire process took no more than three seconds, clean and efficient, and her expression showed no cracks at all, as if she had merely browsed the store without buying anything. If Yuto had not happened to see her pocket the item, he would never have thought anything was wrong.

Yuto recognized her—Kamuro Masumi.

She was a Class A student and Sakayanagi Arisu's right-hand woman. In the original story, she had carried out Sakayanagi's various plans in Class A. Calm and rational by nature, she was fiercely loyal to Sakayanagi. She usually followed beside Sakayanagi without much presence, but Yuto knew she was not someone easy to deal with. No one who could establish themselves in Class A was simple.

But he had not expected to catch her stealing here.

Kamuro turned around and met Yuto's eyes.

For an instant, her movements froze. A flash of panic crossed her eyes—the shock of being caught red-handed—but she quickly regained her composure. Her reaction speed showed that her mental fortitude was indeed impressive. An ordinary person would have lost their head already.

She stared at Yuto for two seconds, as though judging how much he had seen—whether he had only seen her standing at the entrance, or whether he had seen her slip the item into her pocket.

Yuto showed no expression. He merely looked at her.

Kamuro lowered her gaze and quickly walked off in another direction, trying to pretend that nothing had happened. Her pace was slightly faster than before, but she remained generally composed. Most people probably would not have spotted any flaw.

But Yuto was not most people.

He neither followed her nor called out to stop her. He simply put a hand into his pocket, pressed the stop button on the camcorder, and continued forward at an unhurried pace. He had recorded the whole thing—from when she stood by the rack, to when she put the item in her pocket, to when she turned and left. The footage was not especially high-definition, but it was clear enough to show her face and movements. It was more than sufficient as evidence.

After walking around ten steps, Kamuro paused and looked back at him.

Yuto did not turn around, but he caught the movement from the corner of his eye. He knew Kamuro had to be panicking now. She did not know whether he had seen anything, nor did she know whether he would tell anyone. That uncertainty itself was pressure, and the more flustered she became, the more initiative he would have.

He had chosen not to expose her on the spot because he already had a better plan in mind.

His information business currently covered Class B and Class C—he had already closed a deal with Ichinose, and Ryuuen had bought information as well. Although Sakayanagi had a priority agreement, it was limited to cooperation in purchasing information. If he could place one of his own people in Class A, his informational advantage would become much greater. Sakayanagi was far too shrewd. Surface-level cooperation alone would never let him grasp her true movements.

And Kamuro Masumi—she was one of Sakayanagi's most trusted people. If he could make her provide him with information, he would be able to learn Sakayanagi's moves in advance. That would be a tremendous advantage in any future exams or battles of wits. At this school, information was everything. Whoever held more information stood undefeated.

After afternoon classes ended, Yuto did not go straight to the cake shop. Instead, he remained in the classroom for a while longer. He was waiting for Kamuro Masumi to come find him.

Sure enough, not long after school ended, Kamuro appeared at the entrance to Class D's classroom.

She stood outside and swept her gaze through the classroom, locking onto Yuto. She walked in with steady steps, her usual calm expression restored, but Yuto could tell something was off about her eyes—she was forcing herself to hold it together. Beneath those eyes was an emotion she was barely managing to suppress, held down by sheer willpower.

"Yuto Hayashi, right?" Kamuro said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I need to talk to you."

Yuto closed his book and stood. "Let's go."

The two walked to an open area behind the school building, where there was no one around. Few people came here normally, and after school it was even quieter, making it perfect for discussing something like this. The setting sun shone in from the west, casting long shadows across the ground. Shouts from the athletic clubs could faintly be heard in the distance, but by the time they reached here, they had become indistinct.

Kamuro stopped and turned to face him, staring directly at him. She was about the same height as Yuto, meeting his eyes head-on with a sharp gaze that seemed intent on overpowering him.

"You saw it at the shopping street at noon, didn't you?"

Yuto did not deny it. "I saw it."

Kamuro fell silent for several seconds. "What do you want?"

Yuto leaned against the wall beside him, his tone casual. "I want you to work for me."

Kamuro frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's simple," Yuto said. "I have a recording of you stealing. It's clear enough to show your face and what you did. If I hand it over to the school, you know what the consequences will be. This school's rules are not lenient when it comes to theft—expulsion is a real possibility."

Kamuro's expression turned cold. "Are you threatening me?"

"I guess so." Yuto did not beat around the bush. "I need someone in Class A to provide me with information, and you're the most suitable candidate. You work for me, and I'll keep your secret. A fair trade."

"What makes you think I'll agree?"

"Because you have no other choice." Yuto's voice was calm. "You have two options: agree to help me and carry on as usual, only giving me some information from time to time; or refuse, and tomorrow I'll give the recording to the faculty office. Then you can explain to them why a Class A student was stealing."

Kamuro gritted her teeth and said nothing. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, and her eyes were filled with resentment and anger. Her chest rose and fell several times, while her expression shifted again and again—anger, unwillingness, struggle—until she forced all of it down.

"You..." Her voice trembled slightly. Though she tried to control it, the rage she could not suppress was still audible. "You're looking for death, you know that?"

"Maybe." Yuto smiled faintly. "But you don't have a choice right now."

Kamuro glared at him as if she wanted to tear him apart alive. She had probably never been threatened like this before. Especially after spending a year in Class A, she had always been the one controlling others. When had someone else ever controlled her? And a Class D student at that. The thought filled her with both anger and humiliation, leaving her chest tight.

Her face flushed red with shame and fury, the redness spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. She bit her lower lip, which trembled slightly. Yuto could even see that her eyes had reddened, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall. She lowered her head, unable to look at Yuto, as though letting him see her like this was even more humiliating than the threat itself. The sight of her being angry, wronged, and yet forced to endure was completely different from her usual calm and composed image.

Normally, Kamuro Masumi stood beside Sakayanagi with an expressionless face and eyes as calm as stagnant water. But now, her face was so red it looked ready to bleed, her fists clenched tight, her whole body trembling slightly. Even her breathing had lost its rhythm.

Yuto did not rush her. He simply leaned against the wall and waited. He knew she needed time to process the reality—someone had seized a weakness that left her with no room to fight back.

After a long while, Kamuro finally took a deep breath, as if trying to force her emotions back under control.

She raised her head. Her voice was much lower than before, carrying the calm of someone driven into a corner. "I can work for you. But I have two conditions."

"Let's hear them."

"First, you can't make me do anything that would harm Classmate Sakayanagi." Kamuro stared at him, her tone extremely serious and her eyes filled with unwavering resolve. "She trusted me enough to let me follow her. I will not betray her. If what you ask me to do would hurt Classmate Sakayanagi, I'd rather let you expose me than do it. I'm not joking. I mean it."

Yuto looked at her and nodded. "Fine. I don't want to harm Sakayanagi. I only need some information from Class A. I won't make you sell her out. And honestly, I don't have any hostility toward Sakayanagi. We have a business arrangement, so there's no reason to make things ugly."

Hearing that answer, Kamuro's expression eased slightly. This was what she had feared most. If Yuto had demanded that she betray Sakayanagi, she truly would rather turn herself in.

"Second," she continued, her tone turning cold again, "you have to delete the recording."

"No." Yuto shook his head. "That recording is my only guarantee. If I delete it, you won't listen to me anymore. But I can promise you this: as long as you cooperate properly, that recording will never appear before anyone else. I'm a man of my word. You work for me, and I'll keep your secret. No one will know."

Kamuro bit her lip, clearly dissatisfied with his answer. Her fingers clenched and loosened, then clenched again, as though she were in the middle of an intense internal struggle. She knew she had no bargaining chips, yet she could not accept defeat so easily.

After a long silence, her shoulders finally sagged slightly.

Her face reddened again, this time not from anger, but from shame. She was a Class A student, someone with standing in her grade, yet a Class D student had driven her to this point with such methods, leaving her no room to resist. That sense of humiliation was even harder to bear than the threat itself. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"...Fine." The word was practically forced through clenched teeth.

Seeing her angry, ashamed, and helpless expression, Yuto found it somewhat amusing. Kamuro Masumi, who had been so cool and composed in the original story, expressionlessly standing beside Sakayanagi, was now completely in his grasp, with not even the confidence to resist.

"Don't look like that." Yuto's tone became more relaxed. "I'm not asking you to murder or commit arson. I'll only ask you about some things once in a while. It won't be too frequent. Just keep doing what you normally do; it won't affect your life. And honestly, with you helping me in Class A, I can help you with certain things too. It's mutually beneficial."

Kamuro glared at him. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one being threatened with a recording, so of course you can talk without feeling any pain."

"All right, you'll get used to it." Yuto smiled. "Then it's settled."

Ignoring Kamuro's murderous glare, he took out his phone. "Let's exchange contact information. I'll reach out when I need something."

Kamuro reluctantly took out her phone, and the two exchanged contact information. Yuto noticed that she tapped the screen a little too forcefully, as though venting her emotions that way. She probably wished she could smash the screen to pieces to feel better. Once they had added each other, she stuffed her phone into her pocket without giving Yuto a pleasant look the entire time.

"There's nothing else, right?" Kamuro put away her phone, her voice cold enough to freeze.

"Nothing else. You can go."

Kamuro turned and left at once, walking quickly as if fleeing the place. After taking a few steps, she paused, as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing and walked away without looking back. Her retreating figure looked furious and aggrieved, yet helpless. She could only accept her loss.

Yuto stood where he was, watching her disappear around the corner.

He took out his phone and glanced at the new contact—"Kamuro Masumi." Her profile picture was a plain black background, which suited her temperament rather well. He put his phone away, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

Today had been a good haul. Not only had he caught Horikita Manabu's attention, but he had also unexpectedly gained leverage over Kamuro Masumi. With her as an informant in Class A, he would be able to learn Sakayanagi's movements in advance. That would be no small advantage for his upcoming plans. Especially in the approaching midterms and future special exams, one more source of information meant one more path to survival.

He checked the time. It was already late, so he would skip the cake shop today and return directly to the dormitory. Taking a day off from Miki's place would not be a problem anyway.