In the stairwell, Tsukishiro kept talking to Yukio, telling him little things about Ichika Amasawa, from the details of her daily life all the way to her outstanding results inside the White Room.
Behind the stairwell door, Ichika listened with her eyes closed, her emotions growing harder and harder to contain. Tears kept sliding down her cheeks, leaving twin tracks behind.
She didn't know. She really hadn't known.
She had always thought she was nothing more than something the White Room created out of its gene bank. And yet her biological father had been that close to her all this time. He had even seen her so many times over the past ten-plus years, and never once revealed it.
For Ichika, today had become far too complicated, far too overwhelming. It felt like somebody had stuffed her entire brain into a fully automatic washing machine and set it spinning on full power.
First there was the cultural festival she'd been looking forward to forever, the joy of finally getting to enjoy it properly with her upperclassman. That happiness alone was enough to make her feel like she'd never forget this day for as long as she lived.
And now she found out that the reason her wish had come true at all was because her biological father had painstakingly arranged it for her. She wasn't the "incomplete orphan" she'd always imagined herself to be.
Then there was Yagami being taken away. A longtime companion from the White Room, now facing a bleak end because he'd spilled White Room secrets. As someone from the White Room herself, Ichika couldn't help feeling a little shaken by that too.
So many emotions, so many events, all piling up on top of each other. At that point, Ichika just wanted to cry as much as she could and let all of it pour out through her tears, before it all clogged up inside her chest and made her feel worse and worse.
Mio Ibuki stared at her blankly, at a total loss for what to say. She had never been good at comforting people. But she understood perfectly well how overwhelming this had to be for Ichika. Anyone with even a little empathy would've struggled watching this.
Ibuki wasn't some cruel girl. Of course she could feel the turmoil Ichika was drowning in.
So she quietly offered her a handkerchief instead.
After seeing Ichika take it, still crying silently with her eyes closed, Ibuki let out a faint sigh. Maybe it really was better to leave this to Yukio.
On the other side, Tsukishiro finally seemed to have gotten everything off his chest. Only then did he stop.
"A story like that... I imagine young people like you wouldn't enjoy hearing it."
"It was worth hearing," Yukio replied casually. "At least it broadens the mind."
Then he raised a question of his own.
"You told me all this. You said you wanted to leave Ichika in my care."
"Tsukishiro... are you not going to make it through today?"
Honestly, everything had already been pointing that way.
The very first thing out of Tsukishiro's mouth had been that Ichika was in Yukio's hands now.
He had gone out of his way to build goodwill with Yukio over and over before this, and even had Ichika get close to him. That had obviously been him preparing a safe road for his daughter.
Then when Yukio had Ichika ask Tsukishiro about it, Tsukishiro said he'd explain everything during the cultural festival.
Which made it feel like the cultural festival wasn't just about granting Ichika's wish. It was also some major turning point in Tsukishiro's life.
Sure enough, Tsukishiro answered openly.
"As expected, I can't hide anything from you."
"I followed Atsuomi Ayanokoji for decades. I know better than anyone what kind of person he is, what sort of temper he has."
"I failed him over and over, and even lost two of the White Room's best fifth-generation students in the process."
"A failure like that is something Ayanokoji-sama would never forgive. After today, I probably won't be Acting Chairman of Advanced Nurturing High School anymore."
"If I'm lucky, maybe I'll just get shipped off to some mine somewhere. Or end up planting leaves in Mexico. If I'm unlucky... maybe I'll wind up sleeping forever at the bottom of Tokyo Bay."
"Though I'll probably be fine. At my age, I doubt I'd survive that much suffering anyway. At worst, I'll beg Ayanokoji-sama to remember all the years I served him and give me a clean end."
And yet when he spoke of the grim fate waiting for him, there was no fear on Tsukishiro's face at all.
Only calm acceptance.
The kind of resolve that came from someone willing to face any punishment, so long as he could grant his daughter one wish.
It was enough to make anyone marvel at how much a person could change.
Who would've thought that the man who personally sent his daughter into the White Room over a decade ago would, more than ten years later, be willing to die just to fulfill a single wish of hers?
Knowing exactly how bad his end might be, Tsukishiro still looked utterly composed. If anything, he was more concerned about Yukio.
"Oh, right. Yukio, you should be careful too."
"Once I'm stripped of the Acting Chairman position, with Ayanokoji-sama's personality, he won't leave things to anyone else anymore. He'll definitely take over as chairman himself."
"I don't know how many deals he had to make behind the scenes, or how much support he gathered to make that happen. But if he's daring enough to personally come here today, then he absolutely already has the appointment papers making him chairman."
"For the year and a half you still have left here... you'll need to be very careful."
That tone—so much like someone leaving their final words behind—was too much for Ichika to bear any longer.
She twisted free so suddenly that Ibuki didn't even have time to stop her before she came rushing back.
"Then run! Just run already!"
"If you know you're going to be punished, then why the hell are you still here at this school?! Aren't you the Acting Chairman? Security can't stop you, right?! Then just run! Go somewhere Atsuomi Ayanokoji will never be able to find you!"
Hearing Ichika scream that through tears, Tsukishiro's whole body gave a violent shake. It was obvious he'd never expected her to still be there, still within earshot.
What was going on?
Tsukishiro instinctively looked at Yukio.
What the hell kind of useless work was Class 2-A's Ibuki doing here?
But when he looked over, he found Yukio standing there without a hint of surprise on his face.
As if he had noticed all along that there were people behind the door.
Or more precisely, as if he had noticed all along that Ibuki and Ichika hadn't gone far, and had simply chosen not to say anything, silently allowing them to eavesdrop.
That was a disaster.
Tsukishiro had meant to hide all of this until the very end. He had intended to keep Ichika in the dark for the rest of her life.
If she never knew, then even after he was punished by Atsuomi Ayanokoji, she could still keep living happily, carefree.
But now that she had heard it all, things had gotten much more troublesome.
Who knew whether his daughter, in a moment of reckless emotion, might do something stupid like try to take revenge on Atsuomi Ayanokoji herself? That would be far too dangerous.
And even if she stayed rational and kept herself hidden, she would still be unhappy, wouldn't she?
None of that was what Tsukishiro had wanted for her.
Just as he hurriedly tried to say something, Yukio lifted a hand and stopped him.
"There's no need to panic so much."
"Why are you this scared?"
"Atsuomi Ayanokoji got the appointment papers to become chairman of Advanced Nurturing High School? He's arriving this afternoon at four to officially take over the position?"
Yukio's smile slowly deepened.
"That's perfect."
"The one I've been waiting for... is the chairman."
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.