Punishment for Kikyo

After the first discussion ended, Ryuuen gathered all the students from every class in a lounge. His purpose for calling them was simple.

"Everyone, hand over your phones to me. I'll check the Beneficiary information one by one and delete it."

No one defied Ryuuen's command, nor did Ryuuen feel any guilt about invading others' privacy.

"Why do we have to delete the Beneficiary's information?" Ishizaki, who wasn't particularly bright, asked.

Ryuuen never liked explaining things, so Hiyori considerately helped him out: "The school only prohibits copying, forwarding, or altering received emails. Deleting emails isn't prohibited. As long as the email is deleted, there's no direct evidence proving someone is the Beneficiary. Then everyone can claim to be the Beneficiary, making it harder for other classes to guess."

Ishizaki suddenly understood and voluntarily handed over his phone.

Although many girls in the class were reluctant, they were the weaker group and lacked the right or courage to resist. Moreover, Hiyori, who was the female spokesperson, strongly supported Ryuuen on this matter, so they had no choice but to hand over their phones.

Of course, Ryuuen had his own principles; he wasn't so despicable as to actually snoop through other people's privacy.

After checking, Ryuuen kept Hiyori, Kaneda, and Ibuki behind: "Look at this list. Can you see any patterns?"

Ryuuen typed the Beneficiaries' names onto his phone. After a glance, all three fell into contemplation.

Hiyori and Kaneda were arguably the smartest two in the class, and Ibuki also had her own small cleverness. Ryuuen had high expectations for Ibuki, hoping she might discover something new, though Ibuki herself wasn't aware of it.

Just as Hiyori was about to speak, Ryuuen cut her off: "No rush. We'll discuss the pattern next time. I'll also bring the Class D Beneficiary list then, so we can confirm if your discovered pattern is correct. For now, let's go eat. Even an emperor needs to feed his soldiers."

Of course, Ryuuen didn't go to eat with them. He already had the patterns for this exam and the Beneficiary list in his mind. However, if he suddenly came to a conclusion, it would inevitably attract criticism, and it wouldn't be good if it aroused suspicion from the school or Ayanokoji.

Therefore, all the steps Ryuuen took at this stage were simply to rationalize his own conclusions. For this, Ryuuen needed to find a way to get information about the Class D Beneficiary.

"Beep, beep, beep."

"Moshi, moshi, who is this?" Kushida Kikyo's gentle voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's me." Ryuuen's voice was very distinctive; it could be recognized the moment he spoke.

"Beep, beep, beep."

Kushida Kikyo hung up the phone, but after a while, she called back.

"What do you want now?" Kushida Kikyo's tone had clearly grown impatient. It seemed that being told to look after Horikita Suzune earlier had left her resentful.

"Come to the cabin, we'll talk in person." Ryuuen hung up after saying this and immediately turned off his phone. This phone was one Ryuuen had bought from Sakagami Kazuma. A cunning rabbit has three burrows; Ryuuen had no intention of keeping all his points on one phone. The points on the phone Kouenji had seen earlier were only a part of them.

Actually, Ryuuen could have asked about the Beneficiary over the phone. The reason he called Kushida Kikyo for a face-to-face meeting was to teach her a lesson.

He hadn't kept Kushida in check for too long, and it seemed this girl had gotten a bit too full of herself recently, showing clear resistance to his commands.

Kushida Kikyo's value in information gathering was unmatched. To fully control her, Ryuuen needed to expend some effort. Of course, Ryuuen was more concerned about Kushida Kikyo betraying him. Could this woman truly be trusted? Ryuuen had always had doubts, but Kushida was undoubtedly a useful weapon, and Ryuuen didn't want to give her up unless absolutely necessary.

By the time Kushida Kikyo arrived, Ryuuen had been waiting for twenty minutes. In the dimly lit cabin, Ryuuen was playing on his phone, the screen's light reflecting on his face, showing he wasn't happy.

"It took me some time to put on my makeup." Kushida was good at reading people and quickly explained why she was late.

In reality, Ryuuen hadn't set a specific time, so Kushida Kikyo couldn't really be blamed for being late.

Ryuuen had no intention of making things difficult for Kushida over this: "Thank you."

Kushida Kikyo hadn't expected Ryuuen to be a person who would thank anyone, let alone her. She felt no joy at all; something out of the ordinary always signals trouble. Ryuuen's thanks made Kushida Kikyo even more nervous.

"It's nothing, I didn't do anything," Kushida Kikyo said, putting on a false, polite facade.

"Do you know what I'm thanking you for?" Ryuuen put down his phone and walked up to Kushida Kikyo, pressing close to her body.

Kushida was still wearing heavy makeup, her rosy lipstick covering her pink lips, which looked incredibly alluring from Ryuuen's angle.

Kushida took a step back: "You don't need to thank me for anything I do for you; it's my duty."

Kushida still feared Ryuuen. When they were alone, the absolute disparity in strength between male and female made Kushida feel a tremendous sense of crisis: I absolutely must not anger Ryuuen. Kushida Kikyo told herself internally.

Ryuuen took a step forward and reached out to pinch Kushida's cheek: "I told you, there's no need to pretend in front of me. Show me what you truly want to do, what you truly want to say. It's just me here. Let me see inside your heart."

"It's really nothing," Kushida Kikyo didn't even know what she was saying, what Ryuuen was thanking her for, or what was "nothing."

Ryuuen extended both hands to knead Kushida's somewhat chubby cheeks: "I still owe you two punches. Do you want to give me a punch? Don't hold back, there's fire in your eyes."

Ryuuen twisted Kushida Kikyo's cheeks, and Kikyo's chest rose and fell dramatically.

"Ah!"

Kushida Kikyo punched Ryuuen in the chest:

"Why do I have to look after that rotten woman!"

"Why does anyone like that rotten woman!"

"Why do I have to pander to those stinking men!"

"Why, why does that ugly woman Matsushita Chiaki dare to look down on me!"

It seemed Kushida Kikyo had accumulated a significant amount of stress recently. Her echoes reverberated through the cabin, and she continued to pound Ryuuen's chest, though her strength gradually diminished.

Kushida Kikyo had vented enough and looked much more relaxed. Just as she was about to speak, she met Ryuuen's sharp eyes: "Feeling better?"

Kushida nodded, exhaling a fragrant, sweet breath onto Ryuuen.

"You hit me more than twice just now. I need some compensation."

Before Kushida could ask what the price would be, Ryuuen captured her upper lip. Kushida's lips were fuller than Hiyori's, and the sweet orange scent made Ryuuen's breath quicken.

In Ryuuen's eyes, Kushida couldn't be compared to Hiyori, nor would he be as gentle with her as he was with Hiyori.

He wantonly plundered her saliva, sweeping away the rosy lipstick. Ryuuen pulled Kushida's waist close, a completely different experience from Hiyori.

Kushida's chest pressed against Ryuuen, creating a strange sensation.