"Who's there?"
The teacher on patrol swept his flashlight over a corner, spotting only damp traces on the floor but no sign of anyone.
Perhaps he had misheard.
Frowning, the teacher didn't linger and soon left the scene.
He still had more areas to patrol—students weren't allowed to visit each other's rooms.
At this point, lights-out was still some time away, and most students had already returned to their dorms.
Elsewhere, Kaoru listened as the footsteps faded and let out a slow breath before turning his gaze to the girl in his arms.
Her unblinking eyes shimmered like fireflies in the dark.
"Are you satisfied now?"
If he hadn't reacted quickly, they might have been caught.
"That was a little thrilling."
Kushida wrapped her arms around Kaoru's neck, her expression brimming with smugness before she wrinkled her nose.
"He came too fast! All that atmosphere was wasted!"
The girl wasn't worried about being discovered at all—after all, he was here!
"You were the one who cried out."
Kaoru was speechless. "Also, normal people would feel shaken afterward. Can you not look so proud?"
Kushida huffed lightly.
It wasn't her fault—his technique was just too good. It was only natural she couldn't hold back.
"What do we do now?"
The girl was a bit embarrassed.
She had just taken a shower and had no spare clothes to change into.
The dampness was unbearable.
Kaoru checked her over.
Fortunately, her outer pants weren't wet, and no traces were visible.
He sighed in relief—who knew she'd be so weak, popping like champagne.
"You can go back like this. No one will notice."
"No way! It's too uncomfortable!"
"Because you brought this on yourself. Teasing your master has consequences."
"I don't care!"
Kushida's face flushed as her mischievous hands wandered. "You should suffer a little too!"
Kaoru grabbed her restless wrists, his expression stern.
"Stop it, or you'll summon the teacher back."
In response, Kushida whispered softly, "I'm already awake."
Kaoru took a deep breath.
He wasn't a saint—having a delicate young girl in his arms naturally elicited certain reactions, especially after he'd just popped open the champagne himself.
"If you perform well tomorrow, I can keep you company tonight."
However, Kushida's expression turned peculiar, as if she was stifling laughter, which left Kaoru somewhat puzzled.
"Haha... okay, yes, Master!"
Kushida was trying her hardest to suppress her amusement.
So there really were people who used that as a reward for girls?
Wasn't she technically the one rewarding Kaoru instead?
Did he actually think she was addicted to this?
At first, even Kushida had wondered if she'd developed an obsession, but that wasn't the case. When she saw other guys, she never felt the urge to misbehave.
Only when she saw Kaoru did those kinds of thoughts flood her mind.
Well, she just liked misbehaving with Kaoru—it wasn't that she enjoyed mischief itself, but rather the person she got to share it with.
"Stop laughing and get up already."
Unaware of her thoughts, Kaoru scowled and gave her pert backside a light smack.
Kushida blinked her eyes coquettishly and asked in a sugary tone, "What about my goodnight kiss?"
Kaoru planted a kiss on her lips, wondering if he'd eventually have to kiss everyone goodnight before he could sleep.
A radiant smile spread across Kushida's face.
She gave Kaoru a loud, smacking kiss in return, then leaned against the wall and slowly stood up.
Although she had calmed down for a moment, the lingering sensation from the champagne earlier still clung to her, making Kaoru feel an urge to support her.
Fortunately, Kushida quickly regained her composure and asked Kaoru.
"Is the Miki from your class, Yamamura?"
Kaoru nodded, aware that it was difficult for different groups to greet each other, and said, "It seems she's run into some trouble. Just talk to her a bit over the next few days."
In the social circles of neon-lit high school students, Kushida was a top predator, capable of looking out for a few fragile students.
"I'm good at that; I can just befriend her."
Kushida shrugged it off, "So she's one of your targets too? How many targets are you hiding from me?"
"Do you want me to count them on my fingers for you?"
Kaoru remained expressionless.
Kushida stared at him, clearly willing to listen as he slowly counted.
"…"
Kaoru was forced to count for a while, but before he could finish, she expressionlessly punched him a few times and then snatched something away.
"This is mine; you're not allowed to use it on another girl."
Kushida put away her belongings, which originally contained twelve items, now reduced to four—she remembered that clearly.
Once she left, Kaoru calmed down as well; even though his pants were wet, they had mostly dried by now.
Thanks to the effect of the "Active Point Map," he avoided the teachers on the way and smoothly returned to the boys' main building, only to notice a boy's figure not far away.
Since there was only one route back to the dormitory, he couldn't avoid the other boy and had to meet him head-on.
As soon as they saw each other, both were taken aback.
Kaoru looked puzzled, not expecting to see Ayanokoji there.
Did he have some sort of plan?
"Mitoma-kun, did you just come back from the restroom?"
Ayanokoji seemed to have read his thoughts, "If you hadn't returned soon, Hashimoto-kun from your class might have gone looking for you."
Because there would be a room check later, if one person was missing, the supervising teacher might notice.
"Right, are you going to the restroom too?"
Kaoru guessed that he and Hashimoto were probably speculating that he had gone to meet someone, but only a deity could guess that he was with Kushida.
"At this time, I can only go to the restroom. I'll be back soon."
Ayanokoji put on a guise of being an ordinary student.
Kaoru didn't doubt his words; he would know if he was lying once he pulled out the "Active Point Map."
However, given the earlier T-Rex-like stare, Kaoru felt a bit awkward and was about to head back to the dormitory when Ayanokoji called out to him.
"Do you know me?"
Kaoru stopped in his tracks, seeing Ayanokoji standing still, his gaze fixed on him, his face devoid of any expression.
"Are you asking if I've seen you before?" Kaoru countered.
"Maybe it's just my imagination."
Ayanokoji noticed his expression; human thoughts sometimes lay buried beneath extremely subtle, imperceptible micro-expressions.
"I remember seeing a boy who looked like you back in middle school."
Anyone familiar with the White Room would know that Ayanokoji was lying; the only people one could see in the White Room were instructors and fellow students.
"No, I've never seen you."
Kaoru replied, "A sharp guy like you, if I had seen you once, I could never forget you for the rest of my life."
Ayanokoji couldn't tell; Kaoru's control over micro-expressions was on par with his own.
"Seems like it was just an illusion. I also think the heir of the Shinomiya Financial Group wouldn't know me."
Kaoru chuckled; was he deliberately teasing him?
"Just one percent of the shares; the Shinomiya family wouldn't consider me an heir."
He smiled, "Perhaps one day in the future, I might even return the shares to them."
This matter was beyond Ayanokoji's understanding, as he lacked sufficient information in this area and didn't know how to gauge Kaoru's thoughts.
Only his father might have a grasp of everything in this field.
"Ayanokouji, do you have friends?" Kaoru suddenly asked.
Ayanokoji expression shifted; why was he being asked such a question?
"I have friends, like Sudou, Yamauchi, Ike, and others in the class; we're all good friends."
"They all call each other by name, but you don't."
"…"
Kaoru looked at his silent expression and said, "The fact is, they don't consider you a friend, and you know you don't consider them friends either."
"You seem to know me well?"
Ayanokoji frowned.
"My understanding of you is limited to school; outside of school, there are people who know you better."
Kaoru smiled, "You want to know if I know you're from the White Room, right?"
Ayanokoji's expression stiffened; the tacit probing had suddenly been exposed, and he didn't even have time to be surprised, quickly thinking about Kaoru's intentions.
By bringing up the White Room, it indicated that the game was entering the next stage; what would his role be?
Ayanokoji recalled an incident during winter break when the chairman had helped him withstand his father's pressure while proudly comparing the models of the White Room and ANHS, allowing him to evaluate them in the future.
However, the future was the future; his father might pull him back into the rules that would come next.
Kaoru serving as the group leader indeed made Ayanokoji feel tense because if something happened, Class D wouldn't have enough points to rescue him.
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
Ayanokoji steadied his mindset, his expression calm.
"The White Room's greatest masterpiece; that's how they refer to you."
Kaoru smiled slightly, "From that title, the school should have assigned you to Class A, but you're in Class D, and for the past two semesters, you've lived here like an ordinary student, without any particularly outstanding performance, nor have you embarrassed yourself."
"Well, it seems you know me well."
Ayanokoji was actually thinking about how to escape this situation; he couldn't drop out yet.
"Stop thinking about it; I won't let you drop out just yet."
Kaoru saw through Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's pretense.
"…"
Ayanokoji averted his gaze.
"Leaving the cage you've lived in since childhood and coming to a world you've only heard about but never dreamed of, everything you see must feel so novel to you, right?"
"The love, friendship, familial bonds, hatred, hostility, kindness, happiness, anger, jealousy, and so on that appear in books are now right in front of you. This is a realm you've never entered before. In the narrow room, they only conducted experiments on you like conditioned reflexes, such as using the crying immunity method on you during your first month of life."
"You're very smart, always maintaining the image they have of you, not crying or making a fuss. While others are punished, you receive rewards. The instructors always look at you as if you were a monster, while those around you are eliminated one by one, yet you survive until the end."
"But for you, is that enough?"
Ayanokoji was starting to lose his composure; this guy was using cold reading on him, and the more he spoke, the more accurate he became, making him think Kaoru had witnessed everything he had gone through.
However, he just didn't know that cold reading combined with Emotion Perception could yield astonishing results.
"What do you want to say?"
Ayanokoji steadied his heart; he knew he couldn't let Kaoru's few words affect his mindset.
Perhaps he had become somewhat dull from being used to packaging his identity, Ayanokoji maintained a serious face, and the image of Chabashira flashed through his mind.
Hearing this, Kaoru laughed.
"If you still want to live in the outside world, filled with curiosity about everything, I can help you."
Ayanokoji was slightly taken aback, then heard him raise a finger, the shadow of the moon passing over his profile.
"However, you also need to help me, use your abilities seriously."