Chapter 233: Vile Woman

A few withered yellow leaves dragged faintly across the tiles of the school path, producing the long, drawn-out sound of foliage scraping against concrete.

The sea breeze swept past, stirring the strands of both their hair—one pink, one silver—as though they were dreamlike figures stepped out of a painting.

"He won't come." Ichinose Honami drew a deep breath of the faintly cool air. Subconsciously, she clenched her fist even tighter, as though trying to crush all her unease into her palm. Her voice struggled to maintain its steadiness. "Just now, I successfully convinced the students in my class, making them believe that I'm already fine. I convinced him along with them."

"I see. I underestimated you."

After pondering for a few seconds, Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head lightly. A trace of barely perceptible surprise flickered across her refined features, then was swiftly covered by her customary elegance. Her slender fingers gracefully picked up the white beret resting on the bench. Her fingertips meticulously adjusted the angle of the brim before slowly placing it atop her silver hair.

"That's true. Aside from him, you—as the victim—would of course also know I was here. I must say, Ichinose-san, you have indeed stirred some interest in me toward you. To have fought alongside Class A for two full semesters without having the gap widened—you do have a couple of tricks up your sleeve. Well then, Ichinose-san—may I ask what business you have with me?"

"I want you to stop spreading these rumors." Ichinose's voice carried a faint tremor.

"Is that so? Are you troubled by this?" Sakayanagi met her gaze with a smile that was not quite a smile. "I can. Just tell me what I want to know."

"No!" Ichinose instinctively averted her gaze. Her resolute voice weakened by a few degrees. "It's because what you're doing is affecting my classmates' normal studies."

"Now that is strange." Sakayanagi tilted her head slightly to the side. An expression of puzzlement surfaced on her face. "From what I know, the rumors about you online are nothing more than baseless, rootless rumors. Even adding this morning's prank—as long as you don't behave particularly abnormally, no one else would even react to them, would they?"

Her tone was soft, yet every word struck its mark.

"Yes." Ichinose's already lowered head drooped even further, nearly burying itself in her chest. In a low murmur, she spoke. "I am... a sinner..."

"You yourself think so. If not for the fact that your classmates clearly sensed something off about your mood, there wouldn't have been such a huge reaction at all. Ultimately—it's still you—"

"But that's no reason for you to do that kind of thing!" Ichinose's voice abruptly spiked, forcibly cutting off Sakayanagi's words.

The instant the words fell—the surrounding air seemed to freeze solid. For a moment, the two of them sank into silence.

Beside the school path, only the chirping birdsong drifting out from the grove of trees rang out with exceptional clarity, echoing monotonously through the empty space. The wind swept past the treetops, stirring an even louder rustling whisper, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground and sending them spinning and swirling.

After a dazed moment—a smile once again rose upon Sakayanagi's doll-like face. Casually, she tucked the stray strands of hair beside her cheek behind her ear. Leaning on her cane, she rose from the bench.

"Heh heh... So it wasn't because of yourself—but because of your class. Ichinose-san—you truly are a full-fledged saint. Hypothetically speaking—let's say I did do this. If I were unwilling to stop—would you go and report me?"

"Th-that..." Ichinose was momentarily at a loss for words. Her lips faltered a few times, yet no sound emerged.

"You see? You're not even willing to stop me. So what gives you the right to demand that I stop?" Sakayanagi paced slowly, beginning to circle around Ichinose. "And this is still only small-scale skirmishing on the forums—at most, reaching the level of rumors. If one day—your secret were truly exposed—what would you do then?"

"..." Ichinose was utterly speechless.

"You must realize—this method isn't just usable by me. Any classmate who notices those strange, peculiar aspects of yours could potentially use this method. When that time comes—it won't just be at this level anymore. Once they learn your true nature—just how far would Class B collapse and crumble?"

Sakayanagi's words, paired with her measured footsteps, struck heavily against Ichinose's heart like weighted hammers, blow after blow.

"Therefore—"

"Wrong." A murmur—almost too faint to be heard—spilled from Ichinose's pale lips.

"What?"

"Wrong!" Ichinose's voice grew a few degrees louder. Abruptly raising her head, she stared directly into Sakayanagi's twin pupils. "Others couldn't do it. I asked Hoshinomiya-sensei. That kind of matter—involving student privacy—would absolutely never be seen by other students. At most, all they could see on my file would be a record of me being absent from school for a period of time."

"..."

For the very first time, the smile on Sakayanagi's face showed a clear, visible freeze. Immediately after—her brows and eyes curved like crescent moons as she covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"So—you're accusing me, the daughter of Advanced Nurturing High's board chairman, of abusing my authority for personal gain? That's true, isn't it? If I hadn't done so—I could never have pried into your other side."

"No!" Ichinose shook her head gently and spoke with conviction. "Even you couldn't do it!"

The smile perpetually hanging on Sakayanagi's face gradually vanished.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei said that the school's background checks, at most, only reach the level of the student's original school. Mainly, they compile the student's experiences during their time at school into a file and send it back to Advanced Nurturing High. Then, based on that, class placements are determined.

But before that incident even began—I still hadn't even decided to apply to Advanced Nurturing High. Even the time gap was over half a year. No matter how much background checking the school does—it couldn't possibly have investigated to that extent. Also..."

As she spoke, Ichinose smiled bitterly.

"In truth—that incident ultimately stirred up no ripples whatsoever. I wasn't even handed over to the police. In other words—the situation was just like now. There was simply no evidence whatsoever."

"So, Sakayanagi-san." She drew a deep breath. Her eyes blazed with unprecedented brightness. Her tone carried an unprecedented resolve. "All of this—from start to finish—was nothing but your bluffing. You simply learned of the shadow deep within my heart. Then you placed a card in each class's mailbox. Then you spread as many different rumors as possible—knowing that at least one of them was bound to strike at the core of my heart!"

"And your reason for doing this is very simple. It was to make him see me reduced to this state. To mislead him into thinking that you—using your status as the board chairman's daughter—had pulled strings and thereby learned of my past. Deliberately exposing such a weak point—was it to settle the score from last exam's defeat?"

Ichinose's voice—not loud, yet clear—echoed through the small grove nearby, thoroughly shattering the earlier oppression.

After a few seconds of silence—

Clap... clap... clap...

Sakayanagi, slowly and deliberately, lightly clapped her hands, one beat at a time.

"Truly impressive, Ichinose-san." A smile resurfaced on her face—a smile that now lacked the earlier contempt. "I must say—I truly underestimated you. To actually have so crisply unraveled the game I so meticulously set up for him."

"Because I am the person involved. I know more intelligence than either side. That's why I could see the full picture of this incident." Ichinose maintained her upright posture. Her voice carried a trace of calm, as though a great burden had been lifted. "Sakayanagi-san—please stop this here. In a moment, I will inform him of your true intentions. Your plan has fallen through."

"I refuse!" Sakayanagi's voice came in an instant—resolute and unwavering, without the slightest hesitation.

"Eh?"

"I admit that this contest was my loss. But it will not end because of that." Within Sakayanagi's eyes flickered a kind of ignited excitement. "Ichinose-san—you appear to be quite an amusing toy. In future exams, I will keep a close watch on your class. The moment an opportunity arises—I will strike without mercy."

"Eh?" Within Ichinose's eyes shimmered bewilderment. "Why?"

"Naturally—because you ruined the game I so carefully prepared for him. Not only that—I will intensify the force of these rumors. You had best be careful. If I ever manage to discover your past—"

Slap—!

A clear crack resounded throughout the entire grove.

Within Ichinose's stunned gaze—Sakayanagi's smiling expression froze solid on her face. Her cheek was wrenched to the side by a surge of force. A few strands of silver hair scattered and fell in disarray. In the very next instant—a red handprint had already surfaced upon her originally tender cheek.

"Vile woman!"

Fuyuji Mikage, who had appeared beside the two of them at some unknown point, coldly spat out these words. Seizing Ichinose by the wrist, he pulled her away and strode off directly.

"Eh, eh—w-wait! Fuyuji-kun—Sakayanagi-san, she—"

"Don't bother with that kind of woman anymore! Let her go die!"

...

I found this arc very awkward to write. Because in order to push Ichinose's romantic plotline forward, I inevitably had to touch upon the shadow deep within her heart. But that process is far too oppressive and stifling—it doesn't match the tone of the story.

After much thought—I'd better just get through it quickly.

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