In an instant, the five fingers of Nagumo's right hand were already bent at impossible angles.
No matter what kind of miserable screams he let out, no one would come to his aid. It was late, and there was no one left in the administration building; students rarely came here ordinarily anyway.
Nagumo launched an attack at Subaru with his remaining left hand, but the latter dodged it casually and seized control of that hand as well.
The sixth finger. The index finger of the left hand.
From beginning to end, Subaru seemed to ignore Nagumo's screams. His hand, like a hydraulic clamp, locked firmly onto Nagumo's palm.
Nagumo's face was deathly pale, and he was on the verge of fainting from the pain. But Subaru forced his consciousness to remain awake, forcibly rebooting him.
"Hey, don't just pass out like that," Subaru said lightly, as if the life or death of the person before him was of no consequence at all.
"You... you bastard... what exactly do you want to do... Ah!!!!"
Just as Nagumo voiced his question, Subaru snapped another finger.
The middle finger of the left hand.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!!!"
"I just told you. Are you going to make me repeat myself? I don't have that kind of patience."
Subaru's tone was incomparably cold.
"Aren't you afraid of expulsion?!"
"Expulsion? That situation is impossible."
"What?"
"After all, a violent incident will only have an impact if it's captured by surveillance or if someone reports it," Subaru said slowly.
"Do you think... I won't report you?"
Nagumo gritted his teeth, trying hard not to lose his dignity as the Student Council Vice President, but his voice was already trembling uncontrollably.
"After all, even if you report me, I would merely be expelled. Merely."
"Merely..."
"But you, you would become the laughingstock of the entire school."
"What?"
"As the number one figure of the second year, being beaten like this by a first-year student... you would lose all face, wouldn't you? You probably wouldn't be able to hold onto the throne of the second year anymore."
"Do you think I care about those things?"
Nagumo let out a cold sneer, but the smile on his face appeared incredibly forced.
"That's right, you care. And you care very much."
Subaru wore a smile, as if he had completely seen through Nagumo's heart.
"You think you understand me?" Nagumo looked at Subaru through gritted teeth.
In response, there was only that inscrutable smile on Subaru's face.
"Yes, I understand you. I understand you very well."
Subaru's voice remained flat, yet it was like a cold chisel, beginning to hammer deeper, more private cracks into Nagumo's psychological defenses. He loosened his grip on Nagumo's left hand slightly, but did not let go completely, as if granting the other party the illusion of a respite, while in reality preparing to inflict even heavier mental pressure.
Nagumo endured the torture of the ten fingers linked to the heart—now a twisted, agonizing pain. Cold sweat soaked his bangs, but he forcibly maintained his last shred of dignity, hissing: "Understand? What do you understand? It's nothing more than some idle gossip circulating in the school..."
"Idle gossip?"
Subaru interrupted him, those emotionless eyes narrowing slightly, as if reading a file he had long since memorized.
"Miyabi Nagumo. Before transferring to the Advanced Nurturing High School at sixteen, you attended the Private Seiryo Academy Junior High. Father: Kenichi Nagumo, currently an Assistant Director in a division of the Cabinet Office, a rising star in the political world known for his hardline tactics and skill in managing interpersonal relationships, currently seeking further promotion..."
"...Mother: Yumiko Nagumo. The only daughter of a local banker before marriage. After marriage, she became a standard politician's wife, responsible for managing her husband's social image and support group affairs. She places high hopes on her only son—you—expecting you to become the perfect calling card and successor to your father's political career..."
Subaru recited the information regarding Nagumo's identity as if reading from a dossier.
Nagumo's pupils contracted abruptly. Even the severe pain in his fingers seemed briefly numbed.
Why? Why would Subaru know his family's information?
This should be a secret. Only those at the level of homeroom teacher or above could possess detailed data on each student. Even the Student Council shouldn't be able to know such detailed background information.
Why... does Subaru know? How on earth did he do it?
"You... how could you..." His voice began to tremble uncontrollably.
Subaru did not answer and continued speaking in that report-reading tone:
"Annual household income is stable at an enviable level. Residence located in a high-end apartment in Minato Ward. You received an elite education from a young age, dabbling in kendo, equestrianism, and piano, but not out of interest—rather as necessary decorations for the future elite planned by your parents."
"The desire for control and performance in your personality largely stems from the need to constantly prove your value to your parents, to match the 'perfect successor' role they set for you."
"Transferring here, on the surface, was to pursue a freer environment where ability reigns supreme. In reality, it was your first time truly breaking away from your parents' direct control, attempting to build a kingdom in your own way to prove to your family that you can not only inherit but also pioneer."
Subaru slowly laid out the intelligence regarding Nagumo.
"Did you... spend points to buy this?" Nagumo asked, his voice trembling immensely.
He knew clearly that even if one could buy anything with points in this school, it was impossible to buy this kind of intelligence. These were matters only known within his family. Even the school couldn't know these things.
Why would Subaru know?
"Spend points?" Subaru's face held a faint, indistinct smile. "No need. I just asked your family personally."
"What?"
"Your father wakes up at 5:00 AM every day. After meticulous washing and grooming, breakfast is prepared in advance and placed on the table. The breakfast he ate this morning should have been..."
Subaru's words made Nagumo feel terror. It was a fear that penetrated his soul.
Inside the school, completely cut off from news of the outside world, Nagumo naturally didn't know the situation outside, nor did he know what happened at his home today. If anyone else had said these words, Nagumo would definitely think they were crazy.
But for some reason, Nagumo felt that what the person before him was saying right now was true.
"You, what are you saying..."
"To understand you, I took action in advance," Subaru said slowly. That icy tone was like a biting wind.
He had spent a few uses of Return by Death to find a way to leave the school. Afterward, he went through a few more loops to find Nagumo's family. The other party counted as someone with a certain status in the political world, but the security was not as strict as imagined. Finding a flaw and approaching them was as easy as turning over a hand.
Or even killing them.
People do not lie when they are on the verge of death or extremely afraid. Subaru remembered appearing before Nagumo's parents covered in blood, watching their terrified expressions as he inquired about Nagumo's information.
After obtaining the intelligence he needed, Subaru had tossed a coin in front of them.
"Your family loves you very much," Subaru said calmly.
"Shut up! You shut up!"
Nagumo could no longer maintain his calm. He tried to struggle, but his hands with their broken fingers couldn't exert any strength. He could only twist his body futilely, his eyes filled with the shock, anger, and panic of being thoroughly stripped bare.
These words were more unbearable than the physical torture. Although Nagumo felt Subaru must be spouting nonsense, that aura of seeming to know everything made him feel afraid. It was as if Subaru had truly made contact with his family.
Subaru turned a deaf ear to his roar. Instead, he leaned closer, his voice pressed lower, like the whisper of a demon:
"At the very beginning, I indeed wanted to get rid of you directly because I felt you were getting a bit annoying. Just like that previous... what was his name again? Haruki Yamauchi. That's right, that guy. Just like him."
Subaru paused deliberately.
"However..."
Subaru drew out the pause, as if recalibrating some experimental parameter. He tilted his head slightly, those deep eyes sweeping over Nagumo's face twisted by pain and fear. In this scrutinizing gaze, there was no inquiry, only a near-cold assessment—like checking if a tool still had use value.
"I changed my mind."
He released the clamp on Nagumo's left hand and even took a half-step back, but not out of mercy. It was more like an engineer temporarily pausing a destructive test on a complex component.
"Not because of you. On you, I cannot see any color worth anticipating. Your ambition, your desire for control, even your anger and fear are so... boring."
His words were merciless, grinding all of Nagumo's pride and uniqueness into dust, devaluing him to less than dirt.
"But," Subaru changed the subject, his gaze seeming to penetrate the wall and cast toward two other directions on the campus. "You now, for me, have a new use."
Nagumo's breath hitched, the sense of humiliation even outweighing the pain.
"U... se?"
"Correct."
Subaru's gaze fell back onto Nagumo, this time carrying a pure consideration of making the best use of everything.
"Kakeru Ryuen... his color almost extinguished in fear, but I forcibly left him a spark. He needs pressure, needs the fuel of hatred, and also needs... a visible reference object that sympathizes with his misery or is available for him to surpass."
"You, the King of the second year. If you also struggle in a wretched state, perhaps it can stimulate him to produce some interesting reactions—is it deeper disdain? Or producing some twisted resonance? Or, inciting a darker ambition in him to view both you and me as targets for revenge?"
Subaru continued to analyze calmly, as if arranging an experimental control group.
"Her hatred is pure right now, but her methods of destruction remain at the level of low-grade rumors. She needs resources, needs more covert channels, and also needs... a false ally or object of manipulation that makes her feel she is carrying out a higher level of revenge."
"Your identity, your situation, your hatred for me—to her, these are all excellent catalysts and tools. Through you, she might be able to access more effective means, or steer her desire for destruction in a more complex, deeper direction... For example, trying to use you to influence the second year, or even provoke opposition between grades? That would make her reveal a deeper black."
He squatted down, looking levelly into Nagumo's eyes filled with humiliation and disbelief. There was no emotion in his tone, only the clarity of an experimental plan.
"So, I kept you. Not because you yourself have value, but because you can become their fuel. And who knows, maybe within the second year, there are also people who possess color."
"You bastard..."
Nagumo didn't understand what Subaru was saying at all. But undoubtedly, the value of his existence had been completely negated by the guy in front of him. That condescending arrogance...
"Let's return to the topic just now. Nagumo, you won't report this because you care about your face and enjoy the feeling of controlling the big picture. If others knew you stumbled in front of a first-year student, what kind of things would happen? You would likely be looked down upon by others. Furthermore, there are no cameras here. The most you could do is report me as a victim, but you can't produce evidence either, can you?"
"You..."
"You think you can control the big picture? Let's make a bet."
"What..."
"Next, I will toss a coin."
Subaru freed one hand and took out that coin from his pocket.
"I'm going to throw it ten times. As long as you guess correctly once, I will leave and voluntarily drop out of school. But if you get them all wrong, I will break one of your fingers. One finger as a stake—it's very worthwhile for you, right?"
Giving Nagumo no room to refuse, Subaru showed him that the coin hadn't been tampered with, then began to toss.
"If you don't speak, it counts as forfeiting."
"H-Heads!"
Nagumo's brain had almost stopped thinking at this moment; he could only subconsciously give an answer.
The coin landed on the table.
Tails.
"Nine times left."
Soon, all ten coin tosses were finished. Nagumo sat in his seat with a face full of horror, having even momentarily forgotten the pain in his hand.
Ten times... All wrong.
Each time had a fifty percent probability. The possibility of getting all ten wrong was almost non-existent. Yet... why? Why?
The coin wasn't tampered with, and there seemed to be no problem with how Subaru threw it.
Why, why, why?
"It seems you cannot control the big picture."
Subaru spoke slowly.
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Snap.
The sound of another finger breaking.
Immediately following was Nagumo's heart-rending scream.
____
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