Seeing Ibuki's pace noticeably slow, Yagami finally smiled in smug satisfaction.
Heh. I knew it. With the superior intellect of a fifth-generation White Room student like me, controlling someone is effortless.
"Ibuki-senpai."
"You know this too, don't you? Over the past year and change, President Yukio and Shiina-senpai have been practically inseparable. Obviously, they're one of the school's couples."
"But what if I told you I have a way to make President Yukio leave Shiina-senpai? Haha. And if you're worried about Sakura, the girl he just transferred over from Class 2-D, don't be. I can deal with her too."
"And once that happens, there's a very good chance President Yukio will end up falling for you instead, Ibuki-senpai~"
As he said all that, Yagami was laughing to himself inside.
How about that? Don't think you can hide everything from me. All it takes is asking around among the second-years a little, and you find out President Yukio spent last Christmas with Hiyori and Ibuki.
Yukio was clearly close to Hiyori, so Ibuki obviously had to be the lovesick one pining after him. Did she really think that was enough to fool him?
Hmph. That should be enough to make her stop and listen to me now. What's with all the attitude?
If she didn't still have some use left in her, someone as high-born as he was—a White Room product, no less—wouldn't even bother saying a word to an ordinary person like her.
What Yagami hadn't expected was that yes, Ibuki had slowed down—but she hadn't stopped.
She kept walking back at a slower pace, just enough that Yagami could comfortably keep up.
Because Ibuki was trying very hard not to laugh.
Honestly, she was feeling pretty smug inside.
What the hell? This underclassman's hilarious. He actually doesn't know Yukio's already into me. Why would I need his help? This is killing me.
So Ibuki walked ahead while Yagami followed behind like a tagalong. Outwardly, both of them looked perfectly calm. Inside, though, each was sneering at the other. It was almost funny.
Maybe it really was true that people rub off on each other over time. At this point, even Ibuki wasn't sure whether she was the "red" or the "black," but her brain was spinning fast.
She realized that if she kept staying silent like this, Yagami might start to get suspicious, and that would be bad. So she immediately pulled out her phone, glanced at the time, and said, "It'll be noon soon. That's my lunch break."
"You've got five minutes."
Yagami grinned smugly.
So she'd finally spoken.
He had actually been waiting for that. He knew perfectly well Ibuki wouldn't be able to refuse his offer.
Since that was the case, the smart move was to stay patient and make her speak first, so he could seize the initiative in the conversation. A self-proclaimed genius like him, proud of his superiority, couldn't tolerate giving up conversational control.
Still, after waiting and waiting, even Yagami had started to get puzzled.
Was this Ibuki-senpai seriously that good at keeping her mouth shut? If it involved someone she liked—if it involved Yukio—shouldn't she have already started firing questions at him?
Thankfully, Ibuki had finally caved. Sure, she'd done it in an aggressive way, making it clear he only had five minutes, but to Yagami, that limit was meaningless. As long as she'd given in, he could do whatever he wanted.
"Ibuki-senpai."
"To be honest, what I'm about to ask may sound difficult, but it's actually very simple. I already have a crucial piece of information that could drive President Yukio and Shiina-senpai apart for good."
"If it gets out, that couple is absolutely finished. There won't be any other outcome."
That, of course, was a lie.
Yagami didn't have so much as a shred of useful intel. But if he didn't say it that way, how was he supposed to bait Ibuki into taking the hook?
All he needed was to use her for one small task.
"What information?"
Ibuki asked right away, though inwardly she was startled.
Had this little jackass actually gotten hold of something on and Hiyori?
Damn it. She'd have to keep digging. If it turned out to be real, she'd need to deal with it fast.
Sure enough, hearing Ibuki ask so urgently made Yagami's smug smile deepen. He looked like a fisherman sitting comfortably on the bank, pleased to see the fish had finally bitten.
"Ibuki-senpai, I'm sure you understand—there's no such thing as a free lunch."
"This information is extremely important. I'd be more than willing to give it to you... but before that, there's one tiny issue I'd like your help with."
They kept talking as they walked, and because this wasn't the kind of conversation they wanted overheard, they unconsciously drifted toward the quieter stairwell on the far side of the building.
It was the sort of place where you could run up or down in an instant, and Ibuki knew she didn't have a perfect chance of pinning Yagami down there if things went south. So she decided she'd need to keep her patience a little longer.
She kept her eyes forward and continued up the stairs, not wanting to risk a slip in her expression that might expose anything, and said in the same flat tone, "Let's hear it."
What's with the attitude?
Seeing her act so cold and detached made Yagami deeply irritated.
She was making it look like he was the one begging her for help.
At heart, it pissed him off. He was a noble White Room product. Talking to some ordinary girl like Ibuki at all should've counted as a favor.
And yet here she was, treating him with this much indifference? Absolutely infuriating.
If he weren't pressed for time—if he didn't absolutely have to finish the mission before four o'clock, before Mr. Ayanokoji arrived—he would've gladly spent a little extra time teaching this stuck-up upperclassman a lesson.
But time was limited, and Yagami didn't have the luxury of extra theatrics, so he finally laid out what he wanted.
"It's a problem for me, but for you, Ibuki-senpai, it'd be effortless."
"There's a student in Class 2-D named Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. All I need you to do is go to Class 2-D, tell Ayanokoji I'd like to meet, and ask him to come to the back of Gymnasium Number Two at one this afternoon."
"That's it."
"And once that's done, I'll hand over that crucial information about President Yukio."
That was Yagami's big scheme.
After getting his final warning from Tsukishiro yesterday, he'd spent the entire night thinking, sleepless and obsessive, and this was the "master plan" he'd finally come up with.
Get someone else to lure Ayanokoji to an isolated spot, then kill him.
Yes, that didn't actually meet the mission requirements.
But it suited Yagami's personal desires perfectly.
Only by killing Ayanokoji could Yagami become the White Room's one and only successful product.
If he merely got Ayanokoji expelled and sent back to the White Room, then what would that make him?
Someone who'd lifted a rock only to smash his own foot with it?
Someone who'd personally invited a superior monster back into his own house?
Yagami wasn't selfless enough for that.
Only killing Ayanokoji truly aligned with his own interests.
In Yagami's own mind, this scheme he'd created after staying up all night was flawless and brilliant.
In reality, it was laughably crude.
What if Ayanokoji simply refused to show up?
What if he brought other people with him?
What if someone just happened to pass by the gym area?
With the cultural festival going on and everyone busy, any of those things could happen.
But Yagami hadn't considered a single one of them.
He was so busy admiring his own "clever plot" that he never spared a thought for any of the actual details.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.