On Monday afternoon at 3:30, thanks to the Ministry of Education's new "relaxed education" policy, Watanabe Tetsu had no choice but to report to the Human Observation Club.
Standing at the door of the activity room, he took a moment to steady himself, then pushed the door open.
The moment he stepped inside, one thought filled his mind:
Where am I?
Everything that used to clutter most of the room had vanished.
In its place stood a massive bookshelf—except the shelves were lined entirely with manga, light novels, anime DVDs, and game boxes.
Mounted on the wall was a giant LCD TV, almost taking up half a wall, surrounded by various home gaming consoles.
Turning his head, he saw a refrigerator, a sofa, a desktop computer, a polished tea set, and even kitchen cabinets.
Only the long table and the two steel-pipe chairs—the ones he and Seino Rin always sat on—remained untouched, now looking pathetically shabby compared to everything else.
Yuki Miki sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, sipping tea like a queen savoring victory.
Seino Rin, as always, held a hardcover book in hand, but today she radiated an unmistakable aura of irritation.
Clearly, the two had already fought.
Tetsu imagined exactly how that scene went:
They argued; neither backed down.
Yuki Miki probably declared, "If you win the exam, I'll restore everything to how it was. Let's see if you have the ability."
Naturally, the prideful, borderline self-obsessed Seino Rin fell for the provocation.
Tetsu felt relieved the argument was over.
He wasn't even that worried about Yuki Miki hitting him anymore.
What really annoyed him was how she kept using him as a tool to provoke Seino Rin.
He didn't like Seino Rin—her sharp tongue was grating—but her refusal to lie made him respect her.
Besides… she had lent him books. That alone made her a good person in his eyes.
Tetsu walked to his seat and said without thinking:
"Why not replace the steel-pipe chairs too?"
Those chairs made your backside ache after sitting too long.
Yuki Miki's expression didn't change.
"Are you ordering me around?"
"Not at all, not at all," Tetsu immediately denied.
She set down her delicate teacup and crossed her arms.
"You're not thinking I won't do anything to you anymore, are you?
Don't forget—you forcibly kissed me.
That won't be forgiven so easily."
Seino Rin lifted her gaze from her book and stared straight at Tetsu.
"Obviously it was you. It was you—"
Tetsu hesitated.
The faint smile on Yuki Miki's lips was downright terrifying.
He avoided her gaze and instead met Seino Rin's contemptuous look.
A thought flashed in his mind:
Does Yuki Miki even know that Seino Rin can see through lies?
He took a breath and said:
"Yuki-san, back at Ochanomizu, I genuinely thought you were in danger. I thought some thugs were targeting you. I was trying to help."
"Is that so?" Yuki Miki answered with indifference.
"You've known Seino-san for a long time, right? So you should know she can see through lies. If you don't believe me, you can ask her."
"Why would I help you testify?" Seino Rin tilted her head slightly, looking strangely puzzled.
Now? Now she decides to act cute?
No—this woman was definitely paying him back for provoking her last time.
Tetsu was sure of it.
"Seino-san, it concerns my reputation. Please!"
She considered for a moment.
"Well, since you are technically a member of the Human Observation Club, having that kind of rumor attached to you might affect me.
I'll testify: he didn't lie just now."
Tetsu looked to Yuki Miki with hope.
If she believed it—
"Does that matter?" she replied calmly.
"Go pick a manga from the shelf. Whatever you think is best."
Tetsu couldn't read her intentions, but he obeyed and picked Death Note.
"This is a masterpiece in my opinion. It even took second place in This Manga Is Amazing."
She accepted it, flipping through casually, then said:
"Snacks."
Tetsu went to the fridge—packed with juices and sweets—and took out a selection of sakura-themed desserts.
Yuki Miki read two pages, then glanced sideways at him still standing there and sneered:
"What? Want another look?"
She shifted her crossed legs.
His eyes reflexively went to her fresh, new long stockings—
—and he immediately looked away.
The first glance was instinct.
The fact that he did not look again was proof his willpower was strong.
"No, I have something to say."
"You don't like it?" Yuki Miki's smile turned sinister.
"I like it! Of course I like it!"
Her expression gradually softened with satisfaction—
—until Seino Rin spoke.
"You dare lie to me."
Yuki Miki's expression snapped from pleased to vicious in an instant.
But Tetsu felt a surge of joy.
Because that reaction meant—
She really believes Seino Rin can detect lies!
"Redeem three [Healing Pills]," Tetsu commanded the system in his mind.
Then he bowed deeply.
"Yuki-san, those pills were something I obtained by chance.
I only have three left, and I don't know the formula.
And no one else—not even my parents—knows they exist!"
Would it work?
If it worked, the nightmare that had forced him to live in constant fear would finally end.
He would have enough time to become extraordinary—
and then take revenge on the Yuki family.
Silence.
Yuki Miki closed the manga, then turned to Seino Rin.
"Is he telling the truth?"
"Why should I tell you?" Rin said without looking up from her book.
Yuki Miki's gaze returned to Tetsu, growing sharper.
"Seino-san! I'll agree to anything! Please!"
"Well, in that case," Seino Rin said, touching her finger to her chin thoughtfully,
"I've been needing someone to buy drinks for me now that summer is coming."
"I'll do it! Any drink you want, I'll get it!"
"And you'll pay?"
"I'll pay!"
Seino Rin smiled with satisfaction.
"Tetsu-kun lies all the time, but I can confirm he's telling the truth about this."
Tetsu nodded gratefully, then stared at Yuki Miki, waiting for her decision.
She reopened Death Note, flipped five pages, and shut it again.
"Boring."
"Huh?"
"The manga you chose is boring."
"Umm… Yuki-san, I was talking about the pills."
"And I'm talking about the manga."
She stared at him with cool indifference.
Tetsu bowed his head.
"Maybe you don't like male-oriented series. I'll get something else.
Here—Honey and Clover, twice ranked first in the female category of This Manga Is Amazing.
And this—Kimi ni Todoke. Also fantastic."
He brought the two manga over, but Yuki Miki ignored him entirely.
"Follow me," she said, rising and walking out with an arrogant sway of her hips.
Tetsu set the manga down and followed her.
"Bring me lemon tea when you come back," Seino Rin called without lifting her head.
"If I return alive."
"Oh my, that serious? I told you not to lie," she said lightly.
"If I make it through this, I swear I'll never lie again!"
"That's a lie too. But for the sake of my lemon tea, please try hard."
Tetsu followed Yuki Miki into the vacant sports equipment storage room.
At some point, Shizuru, dressed in a black suit, appeared beside her.
"So you dare trick me?" Yuki Miki said coldly.
The moment the words fell, Shizuru slammed a fist into Tetsu's stomach.
"Guh—!"
Tetsu curled on the floor, clutching his abdomen.
[Yuki Miki Sign-In Interrupted]
"You can do whatever you want to me.
Just don't hurt my parents—they really know nothing.
I… I genuinely like you. I don't want to deceive you anymore."
He could use 100,000 points to immediately exchange for Master-Level Kickboxing.
He could stop the pain.
He could save face.
But if it caused any fallout that hurt his parents—
His pride meant nothing.
His pain meant nothing.
"Just do what you must," he repeated to himself. "Only do what you must."
"Like me?" Yuki Miki laughed coldly.
"And the remaining pills?"
"Here."
Tetsu shakily pulled three pills from his pocket—only for Shizuru to snatch them away midway.
Yuki Miki glanced briefly at the pills, then fixed her gaze on Tetsu.
"You said I can deal with you however I want?"
"As long as my parents remain unharmed."
"Didn't expect you to have a backbone."
He opened his mouth to respond—
"Do you want to die?" she asked sharply.
"S-sorry! If possible, I'd really like to keep living!"
"Keep living?
After lying to me, what makes you think you deserve to live?"
"I'm smart! I can serve the Yuki family!"
"Smart?" she repeated, blinking in surprise—
then burst into laughter.
"I'll get first place in this exam!
I'll get into Tokyo Higher Academy—Science Track Three!
If the Yuki family wants me in politics, I'll enter politics!
If they want me in business, I'll go into business!"
Tokyo Higher Academy's Science Track Three was a program so hard it was rumored only aliens could pass the entrance exam. Even other students at the same university looked up to them.
But Yuki Miki found none of this impressive.
Students from that school were nothing special.
Even Ginza Club hostesses came from Tokyo Higher Academy.
She cared only about one thing in his claim:
"You're saying you can take first place?
You're saying you're smarter than me?"
"High test scores don't necessarily mean someone is smarter.
Perhaps you don't know, Yuki-san, but I've been ranked third in the entire school—and that was after studying all on my own in junior high.
After two months here, I really believe I can take first place this time."
"Self-taught?
Even if you are good at exams—so what if you take first place?" Yuki Miki said indifferently.
"There are national first-place students every year.
Not all of them qualify to serve the Yuki family.
Why would a first-place student from Shinagawa Prep matter?"
"…"
"No other reasons?"
Silently, several bodyguards in black approached.
"Actually… actually… I could also be a bodyguard," Tetsu said, curled like a shrimp on the floor.
Yuki Miki blinked, sure she misheard.
"…What did you say?"
...
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