"Like me, huh… I see." Kei Karuizawa's expression turned complicated, joy, sadness, and confusion, all mixed together.
She'd thought that mustering the courage to confess would mean success… No, she had succeeded, in a way, but things were far more complicated than she'd imagined.
She'd assumed she would be the first. Instead, she, Sagiri, and even Shiro were all latecomers.
"Truly the style of a demon king," Kei murmured.
"Kiss me." At last, Kei closed her eyes, tipped up her chin, and slightly parted her lips.
Riku Dola looked at her with a hint of apology, then leaned in and stole her first kiss.
He didn't push it any further, just a touch, meeting and parting.
Kei opened her eyes and, gazing at Riku from up close, said with a face full of conflict, "Give me a little time to think."
"Mm." Riku gently brushed her cheek and nodded. What Kei needed now was a calm head.
After that, dazed, Kei set her legs in motion and walked back toward the dorms.
She understood that Riku had told her these truths because he didn't want to deceive her. And yet, sometimes it feels like leaving things unsaid might be kinder.
"I hope Kei-chan can sort it out… Otherwise, I'll have to resort to some unorthodox means and forcibly reset her worldview." Watching Kei's retreating back, Riku sighed inwardly.
That's the difference in worldviews. In Disboard, he could keep a harem openly; while the others might feel a little pang now and then, they wouldn't dwell on it.
In Little Garden, it went without saying. For the strong to have many women is ordinary, especially when Riku is the strongest being in Little Garden.
Even women whose pride towered to the heavens, like the Lord of White Night and the Halloween Queen, raised no objections. They simply ended up together, naturally.
In their eyes, only Riku had the ability and the right to have them. Athena and the others were much the same.
"Hah… time to deal with a certain unruly student." Riku turned and looked toward the artificial grove.
"Kushida, peeping and eavesdropping aren't exactly good habits," he said evenly.
"So I was found. You're amazing, sensei." Startled, Kikyo Kushida recovered quickly, stepped out from behind a tree, and smiled. "Sorry, total coincidence, I happened to pass by."
"Drop the act. Your performance is way too theatrical." Riku glanced at her, voice flat. "Calling it a coincidence when you've been tailing us since the start is impressive. Was it also a coincidence you followed Kei-chan up to the roof the other day?"
"As expected, Mr Dola… you really are someone who gets under my skin." Kushida's smile fell away. The sunny façade vanished; her face went dark, and a yandere-cold light flashed in her eyes.
"Oh? Showing your true colours already?" Riku shrugged, casual. "Just a single line, and I can drag it out of you. You're still a bit amateur. I thought you'd keep the mask on a few more minutes."
"…" Kushida's eyes grew even darker and sharper, like she wanted to skewer him where he stood.
"Sensei, how much do you know?" she asked, voice low and icy.
"I know everything about your past." Riku regarded the blackened Kushida with amused interest. He was curious how far she'd go.
His mood was a little complicated after that scene with Kei, and a yandere cleanup job felt like just the thing to blow off steam.
"So? You know everything, do you?" Kushida smiled dangerously. "Turns out shadowing Kei Karuizawa was the right call. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten leverage on you, Sensei."
"If I spread the word that a teacher was hugging and even kissing a female student late at night, what do you think would happen? A student–teacher affair, done so brazenly… I'm sure the school would fire you on the spot." Her voice was cold.
"As I thought, blackened or not, your vision is still so limited." Riku looked at her with plain disappointment. He'd expected something clever; instead, this was all she had.
Kushida blinked, momentarily thrown.
"At this school, I'm the only one who gets to tell people to get lost. Kushida, were you daydreaming in class?" Riku shook his head.
"...!" Her pupils tightened; her body tensed. In class, Riku had said he could expel anyone he wanted. She'd assumed he meant students. Thinking about it again, maybe not.
What homeroom teacher has the power to summarily expel a student who hasn't committed a major offence? Even Suzune Horikita's arrogance hardly counted as a rule violation.
Add to that how he'd casually rearranged dorm assignments to put Ayanokōji and Hikigaya in the same room; those are permissions that far exceed a mere homeroom teacher.
Riku's authority was far beyond what she'd imagined.
She'd… grossly underestimated him.
Kushida's expression froze.
"Sensei, aren't you afraid of all kinds of ugly rumours?" Kikyo Kushida asked, thoughts racing.
"Why would I be? You plan to run your mouth and spread it around?" Riku Dola said with a playful look. "Do you have evidence? Even if my relationship with Kei-chan gets exposed, so what?"
At that, Kushida hesitated. Even if she'd seen it with her own eyes, so what that she hadn't recorded anything; it didn't constitute evidence. And she was just nitpicking: a teacher–student romance crosses a line, but that doesn't mean the law forbids it.
Not to mention, Riku and Kei Karuizawa are childhood friends; even if they went public, it would cause a brief stir on campus and then fizzle out. The administration wouldn't have the authority to interfere with Riku; the students would be curious at most, not condemning.
The "leverage" Kushida thought she had was far less threatening than she imagined.
"Heh… Sensei, you really are the kind of person I can't stand," Kushida said after a beat, smiling darkly.
Then she walked up, eyes glittering.
Riku watched her with amused eyes; he'd already guessed what she was about to try.
Once she was close, Kushida suddenly took Riku's right hand in both of hers and then pressed it against her own right chest.
Before Kushida could say anything, Riku calmly exerted force with his palm and directly grabbed her right breast, his fingers sinking into it.
There is no reason not to eat the meat that is served to you.
"Not bad, not bad, girls develop so well these days. Kushida, what are you feeding on?" Riku said, unabashedly impressed.
"…!" Kushida's face went stiff; the alien sensation made her whole body tense.
At this moment, Riku used a little more force, digging his fingers deeper, causing her chest to deform again. This guy actually started kneading them!
"Heh-heh… never would've guessed, Sensei, you're such a pervert you can calmly do that to your own student," Kushida sneered.
Now that she'd achieved her aim, she tried to fling his hand away, but Riku's arm was like an iron bar, unmoving. Instead, he rubbed her even harder.
The peculiar technique left Kushida feeling weak in the knees.
"You brought this on yourself. Don't blame me," Riku said innocently.
Kushida nearly coughed blood in fury and could only glare daggers at him.
She took a deep breath, wrestled her anger down, and then said coldly, "Sensei, your fingerprints are on my uniform now. If I accuse you of assaulting me, it won't be the school handling it; the police will."
"That would be a problem," Riku said, releasing his hand, stroking his chin, and smirking.
"If you don't want to be taken in, you'll keep what you know to yourself. And when I come asking for favours, don't you dare refuse," Kushida said, voice like ice.
"Oh? You're that calm because you think you've got me by the throat?" Riku looked at her, feigning surprise.
He had countless ways to "discipline" the girl before him. But he ruled out the beyond-human methods, first, that wielding power outside normal comprehension only creates fear and breakdown.
Besides, it's far more fun to train Kushida with methods she can understand.
"Playing dumb won't help you now, Sensei," Kushida said, frowning.
"Spare me your little tricks," Riku replied, amused. "Ever heard of nano-grade transparent gloves?"
As he spoke, he took off a thin, transparent glove right in front of her.
"You mean…" At the sight of the glove, Kushida's face changed. He'd been wearing gloves the whole time?
"Yeah. Good thing I have a habit of wearing transparent gloves. I almost got set up by my own student," Riku said with a nostalgic sigh, his expression as punchable as ever.
In truth, he'd just created the "glove" out of thin air. But once again, rather than using the magic, a tangible prop makes for better theatrics.
Kushida felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.
What are you, some pampered heiress? Who the hell just walks around in transparent gloves? Even manga-ka's ojou-sama archetypes don't!
Which is to say she'd just let someone she hates cop a feel, and it had even been her idea to get close!
For a long heartbeat, even with her mask off, Kushida went completely rigid.
"Hey, Kushida, hellooo?" Riku waved a hand in front of her face, teasing. "Don't tell me you broke."
"...!" Kushida's mouth twitched as she stared at him, overcome by the urge to bite him to death.
"Pervert teacher, you're the rotten one!" Kikyo Kushida shouted, livid.
If Riku hadn't isolated this space, it probably would've drawn some students' attention.
Then Kushida tried again to grab Riku's now ungloved hand. Clearly, she was getting desperate.
Kushida had thought she wouldn't succeed so easily, since Riku was already on guard but to her surprise, Riku let her catch his hand and be easily caught by her and pressed on her chest.
This, instead, made Kushida freeze.
"I've rubbed the right side enough; it's time to rub the left side. Everything requires balance." Riku said with a smile as he moved the hand Kushida had grabbed and placed it on the left side of the chest. His fingers sank in and began to rub it. He even muttered, "Not bad, Kushida; I'd have to give you a high score."
"This time it should at least count as evidence…" Kushida said through a twitching face, staring at the look of enjoyment on Riku.
After being attacked by Riku for so long, it was still the most painful part. Even though she hated Riku, she still had a reaction, and her whole body felt numb.
"Oh, Kushida, I forgot to mention: I actually have a habit of wearing two pairs of gloves," Riku said calmly, pulling his hand back.
Then Riku took off another ultra-thin, nano-grade transparent glove.
"…!" Kushida's face went stiff. What "normal" person wears two pairs of gloves at once!? Bastard!
In an instant, Kushida felt completely undone; she wanted to kill him.
"Kushida, drop these petty tricks; they're all leftover moves other people have already tried," Riku said with a smile.
"If I were you, I wouldn't be using stunts like this," he added, amused.
"Sensei, what are you trying to say…?" Kushida stared, expression shifting.
"Body fluids are more effective as evidence than fingerprints," Riku said. "A fingerprint won't help your case, but body fluids would be solid proof."
"Sensei, what are you really getting at?" Kushida's body tensed; unease crept in.
"If you've already guessed, then drop the act. Or are you scared?" Riku watched her, playful. "Ahh, who'd have thought a girl hiding a side this dark would turn out to be unexpectedly innocent?"
"Are you serious, Sensei?" Kushida narrowed her eyes, a cold light flashing. She couldn't read what Riku was thinking. Handing the evidence to her on purpose?
"Kushida, don't sell your own charm short," Riku said, deliberately putting a glove back on as he gently stroked Kushida's delicate cheek; then he leaned to her ear and breathed, "I'm actually very interested in girls like you. I really want to eat you."
Like a devil's whisper, it made Kushida's body lock up; her fists clenched.
"Heh, Sensei, now I see your true nature, you're a thorough-going pervert teacher," Kushida said, taking several steps back, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"What's wrong with men being perverts? At least I'm not being sanctimonious about this kind of thing," Riku replied evenly.
"If you ask me, this deal is pretty favourable to you," he added, amused. "So, Kushida, what's your choice?"
"...It makes me sick to give my virginity to a perverted teacher like you," Kushida said darkly, face clouded.
"Turns out you're oddly pure after all. I'm not in a hurry about that. I am not in a hurry to take your virginity. I don't care whether you use your hands, mouth, or your boobs. As long as you satisfy me, that's fine," Riku said, pinching Kushida's delicate chin and coaxing.
"I understand." Staring at Riku up close, Kushida's expression shifted; at length, she chose to compromise. She had no desire for her hidden dark side to be exposed.
And since she'd now offended Riku, she had to find a way to get a handle on him; otherwise, she couldn't beat him.
She'd already figured that out.
"Good resolve. Kushida, you really are interesting. I find myself liking your current self more and more," Riku teased.
"Where do we… resolve this?" Kushida asked, expressionless.
"Right here, of course. Don't you think the view is nice? Doing it here would be delightful," Riku said casually.
"Here? Are you insane?" Kushida's eyes widened; she hissed.
"I am just joking. I'm perfectly sane. And I'm done for tonight," he said, already turning away. "Don't worry, I won't spill your secret. I've no plan to kick you from school, either."
He waved and left the barrier.
Kushida watched his back, eyes dark, as if weighing how much of his promise she could trust. Then she pressed down her skirt and headed for the dorms. Two spots on her uniform felt irritatingly creased; she needed to shower and change.
"Time to head back. No need to worry about Shiro. As for Sora, forcing her to attend class today probably put her in a mood," Riku murmured, shaking his head. Power of the domain flared, and he vanished.
At that moment, in the girls' dorm, Kei Karuizawa lay on her bed, eyes unfocused, still not fully recovered.
She didn't know what to do. Accept everything, become Riku's girlfriend, one of his women in the future?
Or give up everything now and become strangers?
Could she really leave Riku's side?
Kei couldn't picture a life without Riku's presence.
As she recalled the warm bits of the past seven years, Kei's eyes gradually cleared.
She couldn't leave Riku.
If she couldn't leave, then she could only accept reality… As long as Riku liked her, so long as she had a place in his heart, that would be enough.
Kei lay on the bed, both hands holding her phone, gazing at photo after photo she'd taken with Riku, a dazed smile on her face.
If it's for you, I'm willing to work at changing myself to accept this reality.
Then Kei unlocked her phone and quietly dialled a number.