Megumi Kato just wanted to live a low-profile life. After realizing she couldn't shake off the title of "King of a Hundred Beasts," she finally resolved to play this role well.
And then, she was instantly sunk by Kushida Kikyou's sudden confession.
Although on the surface, the Kato Legion had officially become the largest and strongest delinquent force at Shuchiin after defeating the Service Club, in reality, it was just a dilapidated house that would collapse instantly if anyone kicked it.
The Kato Legion was just like the source of its name, Megumi Kato: strong on the outside but hollow on the inside.
Internal management was as chaotic as the New Three Kingdoms, and the strongest combatant, Megumi Kato, was purely blown up by hype.
If Yukinoshita hadn't left the battlefield due to other matters previously, the Kato Legion would have already been beaten into disbandment by the Service Club.
Actually, those things were fine. After all, no matter what, a win in the Decisive Battle was a win.
Afterward, Megumi Kato, having made up her mind to play the role of the Boss, believed that as long as she could manage her subordinates well and avoid battles, she wouldn't lose!
But the result? Now you tell me that in my name, you kidnapped Yukinoshita Yukino's man to ravage him, and during the ravaging, you got the tables turned on you instead?
With Yukinoshita Yukino's personality, what would she do if she knew the truth?
She would definitely lead the Service Club to tear us apart!
Megumi Kato didn't want to fight, and she certainly didn't want to be beaten up. She just wanted to go to school quietly and graduate quietly.
But blaming Kushida Kikyou now was meaningless. Moreover, Megumi Kato asked herself and found she didn't have the ability, nor that ruthless mindset, to punish her.
What she needed now was not to pursue the past, but to avoid the worst possible future.
If she wanted to maintain this current low-profile life, then she must not go to war with the Service Club again, and the key to peace lay with Kanzaki Saku.
After Kanzaki Saku was released back to the Service Club, the Service Club had not come knocking until now.
If Kanzaki Saku had revealed everything, given Yukinoshita's style, retaliation would never be late, yet today was calm and tranquil.
Combined with the fact that Kanzaki Saku had turned the tables on Kushida and Kotegawa, it indicated that Kanzaki Saku had not told Yukinoshita about his actual encounter.
Then there was still a possibility for reconciliation.
After a storm of brainstorming, Megumi Kato issued her first order since becoming the Boss.
"Let this be the last time for what you did."
"I'll give you a chance to atone for your crimes with good service. Go and politely invite Kanzaki Saku over; I will apologize to him personally."
Megumi Kato spoke as briefly as possible. This fit her persona of 'ruthless person, few words' and also reduced the risk of exposure.
Kushida Kikyou practically scrambled and crawled out of that small room that suffocated her.
Only when Megumi Kato's calm yet bone-chilling gaze disappeared did she realize with delayed reaction that she was still alive. Her limbs were intact, she hadn't been beaten, and she hadn't been purged from the group.
Did she really escape a calamity? Not only did she not die, but she also received an order issued personally by the Boss?
Kushida Kikyou's mind was currently a tangled mess. She urgently needed someone to help her sort it out and tell her what exactly had happened. And this person could only be Strategist Kotegawa.
In another secluded corner of the old school building, Kotegawa Yui, who had been hurriedly found by Kushida, listened to her intermittent retelling.
"So Sister Hui really said that?" Kotegawa Yui looked thoughtful after listening to Kushida's retelling.
"Y-Yes! Strategist, am I... really finished? Is Sister Hui planning to wait until Kanzaki Saku arrives to dispose of me in front of him?"
"No, Kikyou." Kotegawa looked at the terrified girl. "Not only are you not finished, but you also did the right thing."
"I did... did the right thing?" Kushida's eyes widened, unable to understand at all.
"Of course. No one understands Boss Kato better than me!" Kotegawa made an accordion-playing gesture, expressing confidence.
"Think about it carefully. You revealed everything we did, and then? Did Sister Hui punish you? Did she reprimand you?"
Kushida froze, trying hard to recall. Boss Kato's expression at the time seemed to have been calm throughout. It was precisely because it was too calm that it had scared her half to death.
"It seems not," Kushida said hesitantly. "Sister Hui just asked me to invite Kanzaki Saku over to talk."
"Then that's it." Kotegawa turned around and looked at her. "If Sister Hui were truly angry, you couldn't have walked out of that room in one piece."
Kushida nodded in agreement after listening. Indeed, with the Boss's personality, if she really had an issue with me, I should be in pieces scattered east and west right now.
"You told everything, yet received no substantive punishment. What does this show? It shows that your confession, in Sister Hui's view, isn't unforgivable, but rather within her expectations or tacit approval."
"Expectations? Tacit approval?" Kushida was even more confused. "But we clearly went behind Sister Hui's back..."
"So, you still don't understand?" Kotegawa sighed, looking at her with a 'how can you be so stupid' expression.
"I analyzed it for you before: Sister Hui's attitude toward that Kanzaki Saku is unusual."
Kushida recalled that it seemed true; the one who initially proposed contacting Kanzaki Saku was Kotegawa.
And one of Kotegawa's reasons back then was, "Sister Hui might be interested in him, but it's inconvenient for her to act personally. We have to share the Boss's worries and scout the path first."
"You mean..." Kushida's brain began to turn with difficulty.
"Sister Hui actually knew everything? Or rather, she actually also wanted to do that to Kanzaki Saku...
So our actions actually inadvertently made Boss Kato very happy?"
"It wasn't inadvertent," Kotegawa corrected, her tone certain. "It was accurately surmising the superior's will. It's just that the method might have been slightly radical, but the result is good."
"We verified Kanzaki Saku's value, although there was a slight accident in the process, and we were educated by him in return."
At the mention of "educated," the expressions on both their faces became somewhat unnatural, as certain secret aches seemed to be triggered again. But Kotegawa quickly shook off that bit of discomfort and continued with her logic.
"I told you, the Boss likes men, especially married men! We helped the Boss taste the flavor; the Boss won't do anything to us."
"This is the Boss's vision, understand?"
Kushida Kikyou seemed to understand but also didn't: "The Boss's vision is too big!"
"So..." Kushida's voice regained a bit of vitality. "Sister Hui actually doesn't blame us? And is even gratified that we did something she couldn't conveniently do herself?"
"You can understand it that way." Kotegawa nodded, revealing a 'this child is teachable' expression.
"Who is Sister Hui? The King of a Hundred Beasts! The woman at the apex of Shuchiin! Can her thoughts be easily seen through by us? Does she need to speak up herself for what she wants?"
"Of course, it is up to us subordinates to take the initiative to surmise and execute. This time, what we did was a very good attempt."
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