Pat pat—

"Hehehe… I swear… I'll pay you back double for today… Mmm…"

Watching Sakayanagi Arisu's flushed face as she helplessly endured Kaoru's actions, Kamuro Masumi wasn't sure whether she should turn away and pretend she hadn't seen anything.

No—at this point, even if she pretended not to see, Sakayanagi would still know she was there.

Today had been truly awful.

Unconsciously, Masumi raised a finger to lightly touch her lips, as if his taste still lingered there.

And just like that, her first kiss had ended.

The girl's perky little bottom had an unexpectedly delightful feel to it—who would have thought such a petite frame could possess such a plump, springy softness?

Each smack sent a tantalizing ripple through her flesh.

After a while, Sakayanagi's initial defiance had melted into soft whimpers.

Her breathing grew slightly ragged, her skirt slightly disheveled, faintly revealing the delicate curve of her hips.

Her slender legs, perfectly straight and graceful, pressed tightly together, her thighs rubbing unconsciously against each other.

Her flushed face made it seem as though she had just endured something unbearably shameful.

Even for a problem child like her, being spanked was still an experience that bordered on the indecent.

After all, no matter how small she was, she was still a young girl.

"Did you… break her?" Masumi asked nervously. She had rarely seen such an expression on Sakayanagi's face—like someone drunk, cheeks burning red.

Kaoru wasn't sure either.

He had intended to teach her a lesson, but he hadn't used much force—more of a playful pat than an actual spanking.

Otherwise, it would have crossed into outright abuse.

"Dunno. But this expression's pretty good." Kaoru raised his phone.

Only when the shutter sound clicked did Sakayanagi finally snap out of her daze.

Her hazy eyes locked onto Kaoru like a detective identifying a criminal, quickly regaining clarity.

Her small chest rose and fell rapidly as she gritted her teeth.

"You… pervert!"

The little princess seemed thoroughly broken.

Not only had Kaoru spanked her in front of Ichinose Honami on the cruise ship before, but now he had even drugged her—and still went for her bottom.

No matter how you looked at it, being spanked was just too humiliating.

Not even her father had ever spanked her.

From childhood until now, no one had ever dared to disrespect her—wherever she went, people treated her with reverence.

Yet this guy showed her not an ounce of respect.

Today, he had drugged her on purpose, taken plenty of humiliating photos, and still spanked her.

Sakayanagi's heart burned with indignation.

But what shamed her even more was the fact that her body had reacted in an utterly disgraceful way.

Strangely, she didn't entirely hate the feeling of being spanked—it was like the bitterness of defeat, laced with something oddly sweet.

Every time Kaoru's palm landed on her pert little bottom, it sent a jolt of electricity racing up her spine, from the base of her tailbone all the way to her brain, leaving her tingling and dazed.

This sensation—knowing full well she was being violated, subjected to his rudeness, yet unable to resist and forced to endure the humiliation—left Sakayanagi utterly flustered.

It was a completely new and thrilling experience, something her sixteen years of life had never prepared her for.

"I was a pervert all along. Faced with a pervert like me, your lack of vigilance means screaming now won't help." Kaoru deliberately ran his fingers lightly over her thigh as she turned away.

"If Masumi hadn't stopped me, do you really think it would've just been a prank?"

Kamuro Masumi's face darkened.

Just moments ago, he'd been insisting he wasn't a foot-fetishizing creep, and now he'd finally dropped the act, hadn't he?

"Heh... I miscalculated indeed. I shouldn't have harbored naive hopes about a pervert like you." Sakayanagi Arisu bit her lip.

This chess match—the guy had clearly been waiting for her to walk right into his trap.

Thank goodness she'd brought Kamuro Masumi along, or she'd truly be at her wit's end now.

"You're hardly one to talk. Don't tell me you don't know what Nagumo Miyabi is thinking."

Kaoru's words gave Sakayanagi pause.

After a moment, she replied calmly, "No one can survive entirely on their own. To gain more, you must leverage the strength of others. Some excel at academics, others at sports—division of labor is society's nature."

Then she added, "By the same logic, if I want more, a frail, petite girl like me can't defeat anyone alone. I need 'tools.' As for what those 'tools' are like... I couldn't care less."

Seeing her unapologetic demeanor, Kaoru understood—her physical condition was worse than others', making her more acutely aware of her limitations.

"Is Masumi also one of those 'tools' you don't care about?" Kaoru asked.

Sakayanagi sighed.

Denying it would sound like a lie, so she simply said, "I couldn't ask for a more convenient friend."

Masumi's expression darkened further.

Convenient friend? Wasn't that just another word for tool?

"Would it not matter to you if she got expelled?" Kaoru smirked.

The pointed question was tricky for Sakayanagi, especially with Masumi standing right there.

She could only smile faintly.

"Heh... That won't happen. Masumi won't be expelled."

Kaoru studied her briefly before lowering his head and licking her fair neck—smooth and slick.

"Mmm, that's the taste of truth."

The girl froze momentarily before her snow-white skin flushed crimson in an instant.

"Pervert!"

...

Mizuto Mizowaki was frustrated.

He hadn't intended to help Katsuragi Kouhei and the others in the first place—he'd only agreed for the Personal Points.

Yet now Nagumo Miyabi suspected him of betrayal, and the class atmosphere had grown increasingly tense because no one knew who the traitor was.

How had the list been leaked?

While Kiriyama Ikuyo might have guessed they'd formulate countermeasures based on Class 2-B's roster, hitting every mark was just too absurd.

Someone must have tipped them off.

But the only people with access to the list were Nagumo, Mizowaki, and Tonokawa Sosuke.

It couldn't possibly be the two of them, could it?

The investigation had to focus on those who might have had incidental access, leaving the entire class on edge.

Asahina Nazuna was particularly displeased by this.

Mizowaki often overheard her arguing with Nagumo.

Though the childhood friends quarreled regularly, this was the first time he'd seen Nagumo stand his ground so firmly.

Mizowaki pondered these messy thoughts as he quickly made his way to the library.

Since they were helping Ryuuen Kakeru and his group prepare exam questions, several high-achieving students from Class 2-A gathered at the library every day to brainstorm how to structure the tests.

Originally, the dormitory would have been a safer and more convenient place, but the space there was too cramped—having a whole group inside would make it feel especially crowded.

As for the café, it was too conspicuous, and they risked being seen by others.

The student council office was even more out of the question—they would definitely be spotted by Kaoru Mitoma and his group.

Though the library was also a crowded place, at least the boundaries here were very clear.

Upperclassmen and underclassmen didn't stay in the same area, and with final exams approaching, each class was also drawing clear lines between themselves.

On top of that, there were surveillance cameras. If anything happened later, it would be easy to investigate, making this place the safest option after all.

However, Nagumo Miyabi rarely came to the library.

The reason Mizuto was here today wasn't just because he had finished his own exam questions—the ones they were preparing for Ryuuen were also nearly complete.

Thus, Nagumo would be coming to the library today, and Mizuto could hand over his exam for review.

Simply taking a photo of the questions and sending it to Nagumo would seem disrespectful, as if he held no regard for him.

That would be rude, and Mizuto didn't want to cause himself any more trouble.