Houtarou maintained his position without turning around as she hugged him.
Footsteps approached from behind, then quickly retreated — someone had stumbled upon their embrace and decided to leave.
Once the footsteps faded away, Kikyō released him.
"Oreki-kun..." She said, her tone turning confrontational, "You're really too much. Do you like Horikita that much? You left me out of this money-making plan completely."
So she had finally realized she'd been excluded again.
"Are you saying you're in a bad mood?" Houtarou asked.
"Yes."
"Bad enough to directly betray Class D?" he continued.
"Eh?" Kikyō's expression turned to surprise.
"I'm quite disappointed in you." Houtarou said, "Before, I thought your two-faced nature was just personal expression — nothing worth mentioning. But Kushida, I didn't realize you were the type to betray others without any sense of class honor or belonging."
"Um... no, what are you talking about?" Kikyō quickly adopted a wounded expression, "Betray, betraying the class—"
"Isn't that exactly what you're doing?" Houtarou said, "Those footsteps we heard — I've heard them before. That was Ryūen from Class C."
Kikyō: "..."
No way. How could he identify someone just by their footsteps? He was really strange.
Kikyō's mood had soured completely. She could only purse her lips and maintain her pitiful expression.
But Houtarou pressed on, "So, Kushida, why did you ask Ryūen to meet you so late? And that sudden hug — trying to distract my attention?"
As he spoke, he gripped her shoulders.
Her face turned pale.
"N-no way…" Kikyō stammered, "I didn't contact Ryūen or anything—"
"Oh really? I thought you stole the safe key from Horikita to give it to him. No — you've already given it to him, haven't you? When you hugged me, your left hand reached out and threw something. My hearing is very good — that was the sound of a key being thrown." Houtarou said.
Kikyō: "..."
And he continued.
"Horikita is still in the shower and has about ten minutes left. When she doesn't find the key, she'll know it was stolen. And you, her roommate, will be the prime suspect. You're willing to destroy your friendship with Horikita for this? What do you have to say for yourself?"
"...No way... I didn't steal any key..." Kikyō said hurriedly.
"Then can you explain why you blocked me?" Houtarou took out his phone, "What were you trying to hide from me by blocking me on your backup phone?"
What was she trying to hide?
Of course, she was afraid he would discover her actions, so she took precautions. There was no telling if he might track her GPS location.
"Did you come right after discovering I blocked you?" Kikyō asked.
Her tone had shifted completely.
They were alone now. She realized that Houtarou might have anticipated her actions from the very beginning.
Or rather... this had been his trap all along.
After all, if Suzune was willing to give her 200,000 Points directly, that suggested she might receive several million points. And since Houtarou always gave her a 10% commission, wouldn't that mean he was dealing in tens of millions?
With such high stakes, he wouldn't leave such obvious vulnerabilities.
"More or less." Houtarou nodded, "After you blocked me, I found someone who was still connected with you, tracked your location, and came to find you. And as I expected, Kushida, you betrayed Class D."
As expected. As expected that you would betray Class D.
Those words sent chills down her spine. It really did seem like this was all planned from the start.
"Could it be... you predicted I would betray the class?"
"At first I didn't suspect you." Houtarou said, "But later I overheard a conversation between Chabashira-sensei and Hoshinomiya-sensei, and noticed that Hoshinomiya-sensei's fixation on Chabashira-sensei mirrored your own behavior.
Your obsession with Horikita was concerning. It seemed you became friends with her only to make her expulsion more convenient. So I set a trap, having Horikita deliberately send a group message about the phones being in the safe and needing key verification.
And you took the bait. Since you're her roommate, it would be easiest for you to get it. Which you did."
Kikyō: "..."
She had nothing to say.
Damn. So that was his game?
She hadn't been excluded from the money-making plans — she had been manipulated all along. He had predicted she would target Suzune.
It made perfect sense. That girl was keeping all the class's phones. If Class D's VIP information leaked under these circumstances, how would everyone view Suzune?
She would lose both Points and her classmates' trust. In future exams where someone needed to be expelled, removing her would be simple.
It would also strengthen ties with Class C. Kakeru would target Suzune during competitions.
But now all of this had been thwarted.
"Houtarou Oreki, what do you want?" Kikyō snarled.
This was no longer about the consequences of betraying Suzune.
She understood how devastating it would be if her attempted betrayal came to light. She needed to minimize the damage before this crisis escalated.
"Didn't I tell you?" Houtarou said calmly, "Yesterday I made a new request to you. But you coldly rejected it right away. And now, you won't refuse me, will you?"
Kikyō: "..."
Normal Kikyō: "..."
Surprised Kikyō: "..."
Dark Kikyō: "..."
She burst out in rage, "Don't you dare push your luck!"
"Then I think Class D students would be very interested in hearing our conversation just now." Houtarou picked up his phone.
The first time he caught Kikyō venting her emotions and kicking the railing, he hadn't recorded it.
But this time... He was prepared.
So he played the recording softly.
[Could it be... you predicted I would betray the class?]
It was her voice. If everyone heard this, her reputation would be destroyed and she'd be branded a class traitor.
"..." Kikyō said, "No way..."
The furious girl suddenly shifted to a sweet demeanor.
Despite Houtarou's handsome appearance, she simply couldn't bring herself to like him.
Reality had become like a manga scene — he experienced firsthand what it meant to be a girl's hand bra.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
Meanwhile.
At the safe deposit box area.
Kakeru descended from the ship's top deck and made his way to the safe deposit boxes.
His classmates — Hirori, Daichi, Albert, and Satoru — were already waiting.
Earlier that evening, when the Monkey Group exam's completion was announced, he had received a direct message from Houtarou.
According to Hiyori's analysis, if she was correct, that guy intended to use all first-year students as pawns. The VIP information he later sent about the Monkey Group proved accurate.
Kakeru had verified there were no more spies in his class. This meant the information came from deduction, not infiltration.
In other words, the VIPs followed a definite pattern.
Since Class A was impenetrable and Class B had refused due to the island incident, they discovered Suzune was holding Class D's phones.
Simply put: obtaining those phones would reveal Class D's VIP information.
They might then decipher the pattern themselves.
Now was the time to act.
While surprising that Class D had Kikyō as a spy, her hatred for Suzune ran deep enough that she'd betray her class just to get her expelled.
And now...
"Is it time?" Daichi clasped his hands together excitedly.
He remained impressed by Houtarou's money-making abilities.
How had he conceived the plan for all students to choose Outcome 1, legitimately securing 80 million points from the school?
Such insight suggested he wasn't a fraud — someone this clever wouldn't default on payments.
Kakeru must have misjudged him before. The fifteen Class B students were maintaining their shop contracts with Houtarou.
Now they too had a chance to profit. If they could decode the pattern of privileged students, they could claim their share of this grand scheme.
The staff member accepted the key to Safe 306 from Kakeru.
When opened, the safe contained no phones — only a note.
The staff member handed it to Kakeru with a barely concealed grin.
Everyone gathered to read the four words written on it.
{ You've been fooled, Ryūen. }
"..." xN
In an instant, all members of his think tank turned to look at him.
Everyone expected Kakeru to explode with rage.
Earlier, when Houtarou had asked about Kakeru's remaining Points and learned it was 800,000, he'd immediately stripped them away by reporting him to the Student Council President for fighting.
Kakeru now realized that guy had been baiting him and predicting his every move.
His current attempt to obtain Class D's phones for privileged student information — Houtarou had foreseen this too.
At this moment, they all finally grasped just how terrifying Houtarou truly was.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
Meanwhile.
"By the way, what are you thinking about?" Kikyō asked as she got dressed.
She needed to return to her dormitory.
"I'm wondering if the message Ryūen will find in the safe isn't irritating enough." Houtarou said, "If it were my classmate Sakayanagi, she would probably write 'To go to such lengths, how cute'. That would be more likely to make someone angry."
Kikyō: "..."
Just stop talking.
After Kakeru discovers he's been tricked, he won't trust her as a spy anymore. She's lost her chance to get Suzune expelled.
And today she'd been forced into this humiliating situation.
Hmph.
⍟⍟⍟
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