85 Chapter 85 – Let’s start with you now 

In the single room, the atmosphere is gradually shifting. Originally on the back foot, Kushida, for some reason, seems to be taking control: "I remember, you once said to me."

"Some wolves are solitary hunters, preferring to hunt on their own rather than wait passively in the woods, so they refuse to consume the most precious thing offered by the sheep in exchange for trust."

"Now, besides offering its most precious thing, the sheep has also deceitfully obtained privileged information about the sheepfold for the wolf. Would the wolf still refuse to eat?"

As she speaks, Kushida's gaze becomes more intense, as if ripples are swirling in her eyes: "And this poor little sheep, all she wants is to keep her secret safe and get rid of an annoying companion in the sheepfold."

Yukio, assessing Kushida like a shrewd businessman gauging her value, had actually considered recruiting her from the start due to her exaggerated ability to gather compromising information.

Such an ability shouldn't be underestimated. A group's harmony depends on keeping each other's secrets; exposure leads to chaos and external criticism. That's why compromising information is so powerful; it can disrupt a class's unity, make trust impossible, and disband the class into disarray.

If used correctly, it could even be the key to defeating another class in a special exam. Initially, Yukio had thought about recruiting Kushida to collect compromising information on other classes, seniors, or even staff members at Advanced Nurturing High School, recognizing the significant potential in such an ability.

However, during their first encounter, Kushida's demands were too naive, focusing on threats rather than negotiation, which led Yukio to teach her a lesson.

Now, the sheep has learned, and the wolf is ready to overlook past offenses. Yet, Yukio is not one to act without seeing the benefits first.

Past threats can be overlooked, but Kushida must provide valuable information upfront: "So, who is the privileged person in Class D?"

"It's Class D's Minami from the Horse Group," Kushida replied without hesitation, providing detailed information to earn Yukio's trust. She explained how Minami, after being selected as the privileged person by the school, felt significant psychological pressure, fearing she couldn't cover it up. Thus, she sought help from Kushida and Hirata, even showing them the privileged person's message.

Kushida also described how she reassured Minami and observed carefully to ensure the phone indeed belonged to Minami. Yukio, after listening, simply asked, "Is that the only one? If so, its value is still not enough."

Since Class C's strategy for the special exam involves finding the underlying selection rule for privileged persons, knowing only one privileged person from another class is useless. While knowing a privileged person from another class might be highly beneficial for other classes, as it could lead to earning 50 class points and 500,000 personal points, for Yukio, such small gains are not enough. He aims for a significant win, to take all benefits of the special exam in one go.

But with only one new privileged person known from another class, and with twelve groups in total, having knowledge of only four, there are still too many unknowns to discover the crucial rule.

Faced with Yukio's greed, Kushida falls silent, feeling overwhelmed by his domineering approach. Wondering if revealing all the information she knows would result in being discarded after use, she worries about whether Yukio would honor his promise to help her. If he doesn't, she stands to lose significantly.

As Kushida contemplates, looking troubled and considering further negotiation, Yukio's gaze is playful, satisfied with the progress. It seems Kushida knows the identities of two privileged persons. If true, that significantly reduces the number of unknowns, potentially allowing Class C to directly succeed in the special exam. Thus, he gently pressures her, "Not going to say? If you don't want to speak, you may leave."

No! She couldn't miss this opportunity. She had already decided to go all in before coming here. Kushida Kikyo had made up her mind, so why hesitate now? Why stop here, unable to move forward?

Hearing Yukio's words hinting at dismissal, Kushida immediately changed her demeanor. The gloomy look on her face quickly vanished, replaced with a radiant smile: "There's another privileged person, and it's me."

"I am the privileged person from our group in the Dragon Group." While revealing her identity, she also pulled out her phone to show Yukio the message from the school confirming her status.

Yukio was slightly surprised, not expecting Kushida to be Class D's privileged person in their group. With everyone in the meeting room being relatively silent, combined with Kushida's strong acting skills, it would have been difficult to identify her without her admission.

"Is this sufficient, Yukio-kun?" After divulging the last piece of information, Kushida decisively closed the distance between them, almost about to throw herself into Yukio's arms, her eyes shimmering like the surface of a lake: "I really don't know who the last privileged person in our class is."

"Yes, it's enough." Yukio finally felt satisfied at this moment. Knowing the identities of five privileged persons, he was confident he could uncover the hidden selection rule behind all twelve groups!

In his excitement, Yukio could see his reflection in Kushida's overly close eyes. From the reflection in her eyes, his own expression seemed overly passionate.

Perhaps it was Yukio's gaze that made Kushida also feel embarrassed. Under the intense beating of her heart, even her delicate earlobes were tinged with a blush.

That crimson color on her face reminded Yukio of an ancient poem from his homeland, evoking the beauty of nature and the quiet intimacy of the moment.

Coincidentally, or perhaps as if nature itself was offering its blessings, the previously clear skies suddenly turned overcast, and a torrential rain began to pour down. The visibility was significantly reduced, leaving the cruise ship to navigate alone through the stormy sea.

The ship cutting through the waves, stirring up thousands of fragments of white foam mixed with the falling rain, seemed indistinguishable from each other, almost as if nature itself was performing a symphony for them. With dark clouds as the strings, wind and rain as the melody, and thunder as the notes, composing a moving sonata just for them.

(t/n: R-18 scenes created with AI are part of Patreon members' benefits.)

***

Enjoyed the chapters? Read 20 chapters ahead on Patreon!

PATREON.COM/METARLN

600 power stones = 1 extra chapter