Kaoru Mitoma watched as Shiho Manabe finished dressing, his expression thoughtful.

He didn't have contact information for Shiho or the others, so he had to rely on Kushida's help.

That was why they were able to meet here tonight.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you earlier—it was too much," Kaoru suddenly apologized to Shiho.

Shiho was clearly taken aback, her face flushing red as she waved her hands awkwardly.

"N-No, it's fine! I don't mind at all. As long as Master is happy, I'm willing to do anything."

"We feel the same!" Yamashita and Nanami chimed in almost simultaneously.

"If Master has any needs, you can order us anytime!"

Kaoru shook his head.

"Don't say that. I may have some... indecent tendencies, but I wouldn't go so far as to take advantage of people."

Perhaps sensing his sincerity, Shiho's tense heart gradually eased.

Biting her lip, she added, "Actually, Master doesn't need to be so guarded around us. We really don't understand what's happening right now, but I can say for certain—I can't disobey your commands at all."

"Even if I were to expel you?" Kaoru Mitoma asked.

Shiho Manabe nodded without hesitation. "Even if Master were to expel me, I wouldn't feel the slightest hesitation or regret."

"Aren't you going to ask why?"

"To be honest, my mind is completely occupied with how to satisfy Master right now." A faint, almost feverish flush spread across Shiho's delicate face.

"No matter what Master does to me, I'll be happy."

She was nothing like the delinquent girl she appeared to be during the day.

Now, her eyes were glazed with a sticky, dreamy haze, making Kaoru avert his gaze slightly.

"Don't call me that. It's a bit uncomfortable."

"Does that mean… you dislike me?"

"No. After all, I'm the one who turned you into this. I have to take responsibility to some extent." Kaoru paused.

"But if others hear you using honorifics to me, it'll cause unnecessary trouble."

Shiho looked remorseful. "I'm sorry… we've caused trouble for Master—no, for you again."

"It's not trouble. If anything, I might need your help in the future." Kaoru understood perfectly well how valuable it was to have subordinates who were absolutely loyal to him—especially when they were from an opposing class and not just one, but three of them!

"Being able to help Master—no, being able to help Mitoma-kun is our greatest honor!" Shiho smiled brightly, her joy genuine.

Though her rational mind was fully aware of what she was saying, she couldn't suppress the deep willingness in her heart.

Moreover, Kaoru's earlier words had eased many of her worries.

At this thought, Shiho suddenly peeked at Kaoru's expression with timid reverence and asked cautiously.

"Um… should we go apologize to Karuizawa right away?"

Just remembering how insolent she had once acted in front of her Master made Shiho feel like an irredeemable fool in every possible way.

If she had known she would become Master's plaything, she wouldn't have picked a fight with Karuizawa…

No, actually, she should have provoked Karuizawa sooner—then she could have become Master's plaything faster.

"Don't worry about her. If anything, she should be the one apologizing to Morifuji." Kaoru didn't want to dwell on the topic.

To maintain her tough-girl persona, Karuizawa was just being stubborn to the bitter end.

"Oh." Shiho stared at him expectantly, as if waiting for the next command.

"Once you go back, act as usual. You don't need to greet me if you see me around." Kaoru instructed.

Shiho nodded eagerly, like a chick pecking at rice, before hesitantly asking.

"Can I tell you about Class C and Ryuen-kun now?"

Once Kaoru gave her permission, she eagerly spilled all the intel she had on her class—including one of Ryuuen's plans.

"He's going to use 800 million Personal Points to turn the entire Class C into Class A?" Kaoru couldn't hide his astonishment.

The plan was so absurd that anyone hearing it for the first time would instinctively dismiss it as pure fantasy.

"Yes. Honestly, none of us are really confident, but…" Shiho hesitated briefly. "Somehow, it feels like Ryuen-kun could actually pull off something this insane. Right now, the class has already saved up several million Personal Points."

Not only the Personal Points saved up each month, but also those previously extorted from Class B.

However, due to the crushing defeat in the uninhabited island exam, Ryuuen would likely have to surrender a significant portion of Personal Points to Class A.

Kaoru Mitoma couldn't help but click his tongue—no wonder Ryuuen was aiming for Outcome One.

It was all about the Personal Points.

Still, now that they knew Ryuuen's goal, they could deal with Class C more effectively.

...

To avoid drawing attention, Kaoru Mitoma didn't linger outside for long.

After sending Shiho Manabe and the others away, he returned to the third floor.

Yet, he never expected to run into an unexpected person in the elevator.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

The moment their eyes met, even Ayanokoji's typically indifferent expression flickered with surprise.

Before Kaoru could speak, Ayanokoji took the initiative.

"Have we met somewhere before?"

"Have we?" Kaoru thought to himself—this should be the first time he'd faced Ayanokoji up close.

[Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: Calm.]

[Suggestion: Bestow paternal affection. Effective for increasing target's favorability.]

In every possible way, this was terrible.

"Maybe during the uninhabited island exam. I went to Class A with Horikita," Ayanokoji offered, recalling the scene.

"We tried our best, but in the end, we lost to your Class A. It's a bit frustrating."

Kaoru sidestepped the topic and instead asked, "It's so late. You're not heading out for a date, are you?"

"I'm just an ordinary loner. Forget talking to girls—I don't even have the courage to look at them. I'm worse than a goblin." Ayanokoji sounded thoroughly self-deprecating.

"I never said it was a girl," Kaoru replied, feigning innocence.

"..." Ayanokoji fell completely silent.

"Just kidding." Kaoru chuckled. "Actually, I was just on a date with a girl myself."

Ayanokoji's tone carried a hint of implication.

"I've heard you have quite a few close relationships with girls. If I may ask… is there someone special among them?"

"That's too bold. I don't want to answer."

"..."

Ayanokoji had never imagined conversing with someone could be this difficult.

Cutting to the chase, he asked outright, "What's your goal in coming to this school?"

"What's yours?" Kaoru countered.

Without hesitation, Ayanokoji replied, "To spend my high school life peacefully."

"Such a simple goal."

"I don't have any grand ambitions. It's not like I can say I want to become prime minister someday, right?"

"No, that's actually a pretty good ambition." Kaoru thought for a moment. "Assuming you could become prime minister, what would you want to change?"

Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes slightly—this guy was really troublesome.

"Sorry, I haven't thought that far. Maybe start by banning smoking?"

Faced with his nonsense, Kaoru responded seriously, "You should start by changing yourself."

Ayanokoji froze.

"In a country like Japan, bloodline determines everything." Kaoru patted his shoulder. "If you want to become prime minister, your first step should be marrying the daughter of a former one."

Although he thought the other was spouting nonsense, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka still fell into deep contemplation.

After a while, he suddenly asked Kaoru, "What's your goal then?"

It was Kaoru's turn to fall silent.

After a moment, he murmured, "I used to have one, but now that I think about it, it seems insignificant. Right now, I'm just a wanderer passing through."

Ayanokoji observed his reaction and asked skeptically, "If that's the case, why not just stay here?"

Kaoru looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"If I'm only now considering whether to stay, I'd be even dumber than an idiot."

"You didn't get rejected in a love confession, did you?"

"Do I look like it?"

Ayanokoji averted his gaze, realizing he wasn't exactly gifted with humor.

"I'm looking forward to it," Mitoma suddenly said. "Maybe the decision I can't make will be made for me by someone else."

Ever since his death, he had been drifting in a daze.

Though he had missions from the Wish Machine, he had merely been instinctively indulging his desires.

Only later did he gradually regain his senses, realizing that the idols he faced weren't NPCs he could toy with at will.

By the same logic, the people in this world weren't NPCs either.

Ding—

As the elevator arrived on the third floor, Kaoru stepped out first, with Ayanokoji silently following behind.

"Assuming you do stay, I think there's one thing you should be aware of," Ayanokoji said. "Polygamy isn't allowed out there."

Kaoru remained expressionless.

What was this guy implying?

"No, with Prime Minister Ayanokoji here, I doubt amending the law would be a problem."

Ayanokoji frowned.

Was Kaoru really from the White Room?

In truth, he had just met with Chabashira Sae at her request.

The conversation hadn't been particularly noteworthy.

Since the Second exam had ended a day early, she was visibly anxious—and furious.

No explanation was needed.

Just seeing her expression, anyone could guess how Class D had fared in the exam.

Thus, Chabashira only intensified her demands for him to lead Class D to rise through the ranks.

Honestly, Ayanokoji felt nothing.

Just as Horikita Suzune had once tried to provoke him, he had understood the answer to this exam the moment he saw the group assignments.

To lead Class D to victory over Kaoru Mitoma Class A, he would have to reveal his full strength.

Otherwise, with a bunch of useless classmates, they stood no chance against Kaoru Mitoma.

But doing so clearly didn't align with his vision for his high school life.

He could foresee endless troubles ahead.

Ayanokoji stared at Kaoru's back when the cruise ship's announcement system suddenly crackled to life.

"Rat—Traitor answered correctly. Outcome Three."

"Ox—Traitor answered correctly. Outcome Four."

"Tiger—Traitor answered correctly. Outcome Three."

"..."

All twelve groups had their traitors answer correctly, resulting in Outcome Three.

Among them, Class D suffered the heaviest losses.

Based on these results, each class's Class Points and Personal Points were adjusted as follows:

Class A: +200 CP, +3.5 million PP

Class B: +50 CP, +2 million PP

Class C: -100 CP, +500,000 PP

Class D: -150 cl, no change

CP stands for Class Points, while PP stands for Personal Points.

As a result of the third betrayal, not only were 50 Class Points rewarded, but the correct answerer was also granted 500,000 Personal Points.

However, since this was a collective action by the class, most of these Personal Points would likely be preserved as class funds.

During this summer trip, although the points of each class underwent significant changes, the rankings remained completely unmoved—more despairing than ever.

Class A: 1756

Class B: 1016

Class C: 472

Class D: 112

...

Class A's points were greater than the combined total of the other three classes, with plenty to spare.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently watched Kaoru Mitoma return to his room.

A shooting star streaked across the sky as the cruise ship continued forward, the night sighing softly around him.

--------------------------------

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