Amane said nothing about Ayanokoji's confidence. Everyone had their areas of self-assurance, and excessive reminders would only cause annoyance.
Anyway, if anything went wrong, Ayanokoji would have to clean up his own mess; it had nothing to do with her.
However, she didn't expect Ayanokoji, who dared to punch her, to not dare to undress a few lambs waiting to be slaughtered… Had he forgotten who he was?
Amane maintained a smile, her thoughts racing.
Ayanokoji's gaze, after glancing at Karuizawa, moved away from her. Since she had been carried out by Amane, she must have been tamed into a docile kitten by Amane.
While such a chess piece was useful, it always felt like something was missing. From this moment on, Ayanokoji lost interest in Karuizawa.
But without Karuizawa's cooperation, he would still have to put in some effort to gain the same say as Horikita.
Although Ayanokoji was dissatisfied with Amane's various actions, he steadily pushed forward with what he had promised Amane.
This was an exchange of interests: a promise to bring Class D to Class A in exchange for Amane's promise to protect him and keep him at Advanced Nurturing High School until graduation.
It looked like an equal exchange, but in reality, Amane firmly held the initiative.
Whether Class D rose to Class A had nothing to do with her, and Amane didn't care about class promotions. She just wanted to find a helper for Horikita.
However, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka did not want to leave Advanced Nurturing High School, and his father, Ayanokouji Atsuomi, was a powerful figure with extensive connections. It was almost impossible to make his father give up and stop trying to take him away. Only someone with a deeper background like Amane could sever Ayanokouji Atsuomi's constantly reaching hand into Advanced Nurturing High School.
In other words, Amane could completely determine the extent of her protection for Ayanokoji based on his performance. This forced Ayanokoji to put his utmost effort into planning the future path for Class D.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, too, had unknowingly become a chess piece in Amane's hands.
Was this not another form of bondage?
The two, each with their own thoughts, walked side by side and arrived at the elevator to take it.
Ayanokoji pressed the number for his cabin, intending to go back and rest. He originally thought Amane would also choose to return directly to the dorm with Karuizawa.
But to his surprise, Amane directly pressed the number for the top floor.
"What is that place?"
In Ayanokoji's memory, there was no one living in the top-floor rooms. Even the teachers' residences were two floors lower, indicating that the highest floor of this cruise ship should be reserved for prominent politicians or incredibly wealthy magnates.
Ayanokoji glanced at Amane.
It seemed like there wasn't much difference anyway.
"It's just an ordinary room."
Amane's words were incredibly fake; she didn't even bother to offer a proper explanation. Faced with such a perfunctory lie, Ayanokoji could only shake his head. After the elevator stopped, he exited and returned to his four-person dormitory on that floor.
Amane, however, took the elevator to the very top floor.
As the elevator doors opened, Amane saw Mashima holding a room card, his eyes fixed on his watch.
"You're punctual."
Mashima wasn't surprised to see Amane emerge from the elevator. Amane had arranged to meet him there at this time two hours ago.
However, what Mashima hadn't expected was for Amane to arrive here carrying Karuizawa.
"I was delayed a bit on the way, so it's great that I'm not late, Mashima. Is that the room card for this floor in your hand?"
Amane's gaze curiously scrutinized the golden room card in Mashima's hand. She couldn't recall when the room cards for this floor had become so luxurious.
Perhaps it was related to how long it had been since she was last here.
"I've already gotten you the room card, but Karuizawa-san doesn't seem to be in very good condition. Do you need me to call Hoshinomiya-sensei over?"
Mashima immediately saw that Karuizawa's condition was very poor. Her somewhat swollen cheeks and unnaturally curled posture led Mashima to conclude that Karuizawa seemed to have suffered violence.
If that were truly the case, he couldn't stand by and do nothing.
"Not for now. If something really happens, I'll ask Hoshinomiya-sensei to come over."
Amane reached out to take the room card, but Mashima, like an old monk in meditation, stared intently at Amane.
He clutched the room card tightly, not easily handing it over to Amane.
When Amane asked him to obtain the key to the top floor from the cruise ship's manager tonight, he already felt something was amiss.
Initially, he just thought Amane was having a princess tantrum, wanting a change of environment. Strictly speaking, such a situation was strictly not allowed during the exam, but he couldn't help it. He was beholden to her; both the Uninhabited Island and this world-class luxury cruise ship had intricate connections to Amane.
He also couldn't refuse Amane's request, especially with that person silently observing Amane's situation nearby. It was clear that such a trivial request would easily be granted.
But if Amane intended to open a new room to hide a bullied student... he couldn't pretend not to see that.
Because he, Mashima, was not blind.
Seeing Mashima's serious demeanor, Amane found it somewhat amusing. However, she understood that Mashima, being a teacher, naturally had to consider more things.
Amane casually patted Karuizawa's skirt.
Karuizawa, who had been on the verge of dozing off, finally looked up at Amane in confusion.
"Are we at the dorm?"
Karuizawa thought Amane was taking her back to her dorm.
"I'm going to take you to a better room, but Mashima-sensei isn't very confident about your physical condition."
Amane spoke very subtly, but Karuizawa still understood the current situation from Amane's gaze.
What she had told Amane before, about learning the skill of reading people's expressions because she had to please others, was not a lie.
"Mashima-sensei? Amane, did you actually tell Mashima-sensei about me falling down the stairs, such an embarrassing thing? Ah, ah, ah, no, that's too embarrassing! I just accidentally twisted my ankle and fell. Why do you have to make it known to everyone?"
Karuizawa shyly covered her face.
She peeked at Mashima through her fingers.
Mashima surveyed Karuizawa's clothes, shook his head, and then slammed the room card heavily onto the table.
"Brave people may be wounded by the thorns of violence, but in the end, they will eventually stride forward, breaking through the thorns after getting used to the pain. Cowardly people choose to escape violence, and while this may spare them pain for a short time, disaster will eventually strike. There will always be a day you cannot escape, and then you will lose the courage to face violence. But there is an even more pathetic type of person than those who choose to escape—"
"—Those who succumb to violence. It's normal for people to feel fear and terror when facing violence, but whether one chooses to resist violence or temporarily endure humiliation, it is always better than succumbing to it. Because once you bow to violence, you will never be able to stand up again. Violence will not spare you just because you beg on your knees, because... people always like to pick on the weak. It is precisely because there are people who succumb to violence that those with power treat bullying the weak as a matter of course."
Mashima finished speaking with a pointed tone, his gaze fixed on Karuizawa Kei.
He was a Advanced Nurturing High School teacher.
Advanced Nurturing High School pursued a philosophy of strength above all else. He couldn't change the school's overall environment. All he could do was hold a student's hand when she sought his help.
That was all.
Even if Amane was sitting there, even if that person was quietly listening to their conversation not far away, even if he knew what it meant to stand against these two, he would still unhesitatingly grasp the hand of that girl, ravaged by violence, if she cried for help.
However... it all depended on whether the girl named Karuizawa Kei still had the courage to resist.
Whether she had not succumbed to violence.
Karuizawa's vision blurred.
She knew it was her tears obstructing her sight.
She desperately wanted to tell Mashima-sensei loudly.
'Please save me.'
But the words caught in her throat, twisting and turning, finally transforming into a bitter smile and a single sentence... "Mashima-sensei, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
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