Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship—
In the girls' dormitory, Shiho Manabe stared in confusion at the text message she had just received:
『X: Could I bother you for a moment, Manabe?』
『Shiho Manabe: Who are you?』
『X: I heard about what happened between you and Karuizawa. I find her to be a handful as well, so I had someone get me your contact information.』
『Shiho Manabe: Huh? This is a burner account, isn't it? So what do you want?』
『X: I can lure Karuizawa out for you. In exchange, you need to help me get revenge on her. As for the burner account, it's just to avoid some trouble. You should know—the school can easily investigate the user behind an account, so you don't need to worry about me betraying you.』
After receiving this reply, Shiho Manabe hesitated for a moment. Recalling how that woman had made her lose face in front of Hiyori last night, she quickly made up her mind:
『Shiho Manabe: Time and place. You'd better not be playing any tricks.』
『X: Nine in the morning, the Pipe Room on the lowest deck of the cruise ship. I'll get her there. There's no signal in that area, so she can't call for help. It's a place no one ever goes.』
『X: map.jpg』
Reading this far, Manabe was still uneasy. She probed for more information, and the other party finally revealed they were a Class D student, stating their biggest concern—being afraid of Ryūen coming after them.
Putting her phone down, Manabe shot up from her bed. She ran out barefoot, gathered her friends, and showed them her chat log with 'Accomplice X'.
'Look,' she said with a smirk, 'this person is obviously trying to use me.'
Saki Yamashita frowned. 'If that Kei Karuizawa reports this to the Student Council, we won't be able to hide it, right? Are you sure we should go?'
'Of course we're going.'
Manabe crossed her arms and sneered. 'Haven't you guys figured out the rules of this school yet? As long as there's no evidence, it's not a crime.'
'We'll go there now and check for any recording devices. After that, you and Nanami Yabu will stand guard at the door. When that girl gets here, Rika and I will teach her a lesson together.'
Nanami Yabu raised her hand and whispered, 'But... Rika already left to follow Hiyori-chan...』
'Shut up! I can handle it myself!'
---
The scene changes to the Pipe Room on the cruise ship's lowest deck.
Clack, clack, clack! The sound of footsteps on the metal floor.
Kei Karuizawa turned her head, and upon seeing who had arrived, the bright smile on her face vanished instantly. 'W-why are you here?'
'I came looking for you, of course.'
Shiho Manabe casually shut the only metal door to the room. Looking at the now-trapped Kei Karuizawa, she spoke with clear annoyance. 'You... I've finally got you cornered.'
'So, what do you want with me?' Kei Karuizawa forced herself to remain calm. 'Are you going to make me see that Rika girl again? I told you, I don't have time.'
'Still acting tough in a situation like this. You've got some nerve.' Manabe looked at her with some surprise. 'Hey, you... you used to get bullied a lot, didn't you?'
'Ngh...' Kei Karuizawa's pupils dilated.
'See? I was right. I had a feeling from the very beginning. But that's not important. Now, it's time we settled the score—'
Manabe held out her palm, counting off Karuizawa's offenses one by one in front of her.
'First, for bullying little Rika. Then, even though I don't really like that woman, Saki and the others were bothered by you badmouthing Hiyori behind her back. And then there's you, pushing me over last night...'
As she spoke, a malicious smile spread across Manabe's face. 'If you get on your knees and apologize right now, I might just forgive you. You're good at that, aren't you?'
'I won't!' Kei Karuizawa stiffened her neck and declared, 'And I've never done anything like that!'
This was a lie. In truth, she was long accustomed to submission; she just didn't want to carry that past into her present anymore.
Having said this, Kei Karuizawa resorted to her old trick on the spot, pushing Manabe aside and turning to leave.
This time, however, Manabe grabbed a handful of the girl's prized golden hair and mercilessly dragged her back, slamming her against the wall.
'It hurts! That hurts! Let go of me!'
Smack!—A sharp, clean slap. It cut off Kei Karuizawa's cries of pain and shattered her last shred of hope.
An all-too-familiar ringing filled her ears and spread through her body. As if by instinct, Kei Karuizawa trembled, bent down, and knelt on the floor, begging, 'Forgive me...'
Smack! The response was an even heavier slap.
Manabe sneered. 'Sorry, but the world doesn't work that way. There's no such thing as getting forgiven just by apologizing.'
After some time, the 'assault' finally ended. Manabe took out her phone, recorded the girl's wretched state, and turned away in satisfaction.
Finding Saki and Nanami Yabu, who had been standing guard outside, she began sharing the video she'd taken as they walked back.
'Hey, I got revenge for your Hiyori-chan, too.'
'Tsk, besides her face being a little red, you can't really see any marks.'
'You guys just don't get it. You can't hit someone in obvious places. The teachers will find out.'
'...Should I say you're a little too experienced with this...?'
The three of them chatted as they walked, soon disappearing into the dim passageway, leaving behind only Kei Karuizawa, who was trembling all over from fear, sobbing silently.
An unknown amount of time passed before footsteps echoed in the passageway again.
With the light source behind him, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji looked calmly at the girl who had completely lost awareness of her surroundings and spoke:
'Karuizawa.'
Karuizawa slowly raised her head, revealing a tear-streaked face. With red-rimmed eyes, she looked at the expressionless boy and choked out, 'Are you satisfied now?'
Ayanokōji tilted his head, feigning confusion. 'Did something happen?'
'Do you need me to expose you?'
Karuizawa wiped her face with her sleeve and looked up at the boy before her, sniffling as she spoke.
'There's no way Hirata would ask me to meet in a place like this. You lured me here and had Manabe come bully me... wasn't it because you wanted to see me like this? ...Are you satisfied now?'
Ayanokōji looked at the girl before him with a hint of surprise. After a moment of thought, he said, 'If you already figured it out, why did you still come?'
'Were you the one who set the fire on the uninhabited island?'
'I see. You want me to protect you in Hirata's place.'
'He really did tell you...'
Kei Karuizawa lowered her head with a self-deprecating smile. Her eyes flickered for a moment before she looked up again with a determined gaze.
'I don't know what I can do, but since you went to these lengths, I must have some value, right? I'll do anything you ask, as long as what happened today never happens again...'
'... '
I see. A parasite that willingly attaches itself to a strong host? —Kiyotaka Ayanokōji now had a rough understanding of his position in the eyes of his new tool.
As it turned out, the fire set on the uninhabited island had never truly been extinguished in the hearts of many.
____
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