Abandoned Piece

Although it looked like Ryuuen had the advantage, negotiations would not put Ayanokoji in a passive position.

"If I hand my phone over to the school, the only ones getting expelled will be a few students from Class C." Ayanokoji was right. Ryuuen's phone contained no evidence of Ayanokoji's wrongdoing, while Ayanokoji's phone contained only evidence of Manabe and the others' crimes.

This phone could not threaten Ayanokoji.

"But Karuizawa bears traces of your crime." Ryuuen knew Ayanokoji was right, and his mind was already working on how to find a flaw in Ayanokoji's defense.

"What a shame. Karuizawa was bullied by students from Class C. I was merely a witness, not one of the perpetrators."

"Are you sure? I witnessed the entire process of you beating Karuizawa." Ryuuen narrowed his eyes to slits.

"How could that be? I was only concerned for a classmate. How could I possibly assault Karuizawa? After all, beating up a classmate is not something I would do," Ayanokoji said righteously.

"The fingerprints on Karuizawa won't lie."

"Fists don't leave fingerprints."

"Karuizawa is a witness."

"A witness alone cannot secure a conviction, can it? Besides, I believe you are working together to frame me, with the goal of bringing down Class D. Karuizawa wouldn't fall for Ryuuen's tricks and do something like falsely accuse a classmate, would she?" Though he was speaking to Ryuuen, Ayanokoji looked at Karuizawa.

The icy glint in his gaze made Karuizawa tremble. The punch her abdomen had taken moments ago seemed to ache faintly again.

Karuizawa could only endure it in silence. If she accused Ayanokoji, he might not necessarily be expelled, but there would certainly be no place for her in the class anymore. Her history of being bullied would be dug up, and the gyaru persona she had painstakingly built would collapse. Their Class Points were already extremely low. Once Ayanokoji was expelled, Karuizawa would inevitably become the target of everyone's ire.

She had no choice. More importantly, she did not have the courage to resist. Ayanokoji had seized on that point, so once he confirmed that Ryuuen's phone held no physical evidence, he no longer felt any urgency.

Clap, clap, clap.

Ryuuen applauded Ayanokoji. Since Ayanokoji had seen things so clearly, Ryuuen smashed the phone onto the floor right in front of him. Unlike when Ryuuen's phone had been kicked to the ground earlier, Ayanokoji's phone immediately cracked. But that was not enough. Ryuuen picked it up again and slammed it down over and over until Ayanokoji's phone was shattered into pieces.

"As long as I find the memory card, it doesn't matter how badly you smash the phone," Ayanokoji said only after Ryuuen finished.

"Then go ahead and look for it. Search this cabin and see where that memory card bounced off to." Ryuuen had thought of that while smashing the phone, but he had not taken any precautions at all. If Ayanokoji wanted to search for fragments in this dim place, then let him search.

And what if he found it? The school would not expel that whole group of girls, including Manabe, all at once. It would only punish the ringleader—Manabe. And Ryuuen knew about the subtle relationship between Manabe and Ayanokoji. Manabe might not currently be a spy, but she was as good as one.

In other words, Manabe was Ayanokoji's person, one of his pieces. Discarding that piece now would be no great loss. The few Class Points deducted would hardly matter to Class C at this point. After all, the gap between them and Class D was too large; losing some Class Points would not significantly affect their class standing.

After weighing the pros and cons, Ryuuen did not care whether Ayanokoji could find the memory card. Smashing the phone had only been a trap.

"You still want to fight?" Ayanokoji went on guard, as though he might start fighting Ryuuen the next second.

Rather than answer Ayanokoji's question, Ryuuen asked, "How much strength did you use when we traded punches earlier?"

"Eighty percent." Ayanokoji's face remained expressionless.

He was not lying. Ryuuen could tell by instinct. What ordinary people spent their entire lives pursuing might only be one corner of a genius's talent. Ryuuen had already used all his strength.

This was the difference between a genius and an ordinary person. "Is this the Protagonist's Aura?"

Ryuuen complained helplessly. Though Ayanokoji did not understand the full meaning of those words, he understood that Ryuuen was acknowledging his strength, while also revealing that Ryuuen was no match for him in terms of combat ability.

If he attacked now, Ryuuen would most likely be unable to beat him. Ayanokoji made that judgment.

Most people, once they judged that victory was certain, would take the initiative. If you believed a girl definitely liked you, you would most likely confess to her. Of course, the result would be the same.

That was an illusion!

The moment Ayanokoji attacked, he realized Ryuuen had been playing with him. That talk about the Protagonist's Aura—who the protagonist was had yet to be decided.

The instant Ayanokoji kicked, Ryuuen kicked as well. But on Ryuuen's side, there were also fragments of the phone. He kicked the pieces that had been lying on the ground toward Ayanokoji's eyes.

No one could resist the instinct for self-preservation, not even a genius. Ayanokoji raised both hands to protect his eyes and batted away the flying fragments.

But that movement undoubtedly distracted Ayanokoji, and the leg he kicked out was no longer as sharp as before.

An opening, fleeting as a moment.

And Ryuuen seized it, punching Ayanokoji's incoming knee!

It was not enough to fracture Ayanokoji's bone, but with one leg impaired, whether Ayanokoji could still fight Ryuuen evenly was uncertain.

"Ugh." Ayanokoji let out a deeply muffled groan.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That really hurts." Ryuuen shook his hand after successfully launching the sneak attack.

It was unclear whether the pain he mentioned referred to his own hand or Ayanokoji's leg.

"Let's talk."

Although he had not wanted to negotiate at first, continuing to fight would not produce any result. Every judgment and action Ayanokoji had made so far had aligned with his own interests. There was no point in continuing because victory was not guaranteed.

Even if he won, could he shake off Ryuuen? Ayanokoji doubted it. Ryuuen was like an adhesive bandage; even if Ayanokoji won, Ryuuen would keep clinging to him.

"My idea is simple." Ryuuen did not want to fight anymore either. It was not because he feared losing. Like Ayanokoji, he felt there was no meaning in continuing. Ryuuen's original goal this time had been to test Ayanokoji's strength, and that goal had already been achieved. If they kept fighting, whether he won or lost, Ryuuen would at least come away injured. Calling Ayanokoji the protagonist earlier had not been entirely empty bravado.

Ayanokoji's combat ability was indeed something to be wary of. It was not impossible that he was the strongest in the school.

"I want Karuizawa."

Karuizawa's value to Ryuuen had already dropped drastically. After this battle, Ayanokoji would certainly be more guarded around Karuizawa. It was no different from having his cards face-up. On the contrary, Ryuuen had to worry whether Ayanokoji would use Karuizawa to mislead him instead.

Making this demand now was simply to disgust Ayanokoji. Ryuuen might not need Karuizawa as a piece, but he could not allow Ayanokoji to keep her.