The True Elites

Chapter 4-10: The Flaw in Benevolence

It is clear that, in this moment, faced with such a situation, Karuizawa may come to regret her choice, and want out.

However, this plan will not succeed unless I obtain clear footage of a one-sided beatdown.

Karuizawa, who has already been locked down by two people, can offer no resistance and has nothing to do now but endure it, so that it looks as convincing as possible.

As Manabe fiercely approached Karuizawa, I gave her my silent apologies in my head, and shifted to get a well-lit and stable recording of what was about to unfold.

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Kushida's POV

"I think I'd rather the bastard have just exposed me to everyone than make me do this shit..."

Shivering in the cold wind, I muttered inaudible curses under my breath, directed to a particular student that didn't have to be named.

Here in the middle of the night, I was stood out on the deck of the ship.

Behind me, there were two corridors, which led to the very bow of the ship, that I was tasked with guarding.

In one of them, Ayanokōji-kun was secretly recording Karuizawa-san's fight with those three annoying, ugly Class C girls.

Along with assisting in the setup to this, I was also instructed to stand out here and make sure that nobody else was able to see or hear what was going on.

If I hadn't had it explained to me, I wouldn't have understood exactly why my role was necessary - it's not like anyone will coincidentally be out here this late out night.

However, Ayanokōji-kun had already foreseen things that I would never have considered, and had decided that this was a necessary precaution. I found myself exceedingly unnerved by his mind.

One thing was made clear; even among the amazing Class D students, Ayanokōji-kun in particular was a student you didn't want as your enemy.

After an indeterminate amount of time, which I spent doing nothing but shivering and staring into space, multiple pairs of footsteps began to ring in my ear, and I was snapped back to reality.

Four silhouettes approached this area. Before they'd even stepped into the light, it was obvious who it would be to anyone who'd heard Ayanokōji-kun's plan.

Ryūen.

What wasn't certain was who would be with him. It had been approximated by Ayanokōji-kun that there would be 'two to four Class C students in total' arriving here, Ryūen included, which seems to have been accurate.

Accompanying Ryūen were Albert, Ishizaki-kun and Ibuki-san.

Ryūen, and the rest of his gang, stopped as his snake-like eyes met mine. Nobody did anything for a few moments, until he finally decided to speak.

"Kikyō? Well, this is certainly surprising. Of all people, I never expected you to be here."

He made it sound like he had expected to meet somebody at this location. Just not me.

"Are you, by any chance, here on X's orders? Or could it be someone else?"

What the hell was he talking about now?

"Hm? X? What do you mean, Ryūen-kun?"

Making myself ignore the fact that he'd called me by my first name, I adopted my facade and replied in query.

"Oh, X is just my name for the person hiding in anonymity, who has been secretly leading Class E from the shadows."

"A puppeteer? I don't think there's anybody like that in our class, though."