Although there was a slight smell.
Although the soles of the shoes were a bit dirty.
Although…
No matter what—when the promised thirty minutes passed, the elevator lights flickered back on and resumed operation.
Soon after, it was guided back to the first floor under external control.
"Are you alright?!"
The staff member rushed over, clearly panicked.
An elevator malfunction trapping students inside—this was as bad as it got.
If anything had happened, the responsibility would've been enormous.
"…We're fine, definitely fine…"
Asakusa Toru hesitated slightly.
Thirty minutes wasn't enough to cause real harm. There was lighting, and while the heat had soaked their clothes with sweat, a quick return to the dorm and some air conditioning would fix everything.
But if you asked whether anything happened—
Well… something did happen.
Namely, the cleanliness of the elevator had… suffered a little.
"—Whoosh!"
Before Toru could finish, Ibuki Mio suddenly moved.
She darted past the staff with lightning speed, turned the corner, and bolted straight into the stairwell.
There was no way she was staying there even one second longer.
If she stopped, she'd have to explain.
Or worse—
People would look at that puddle with those eyes.
If he tells anyone, I'll kill him. If he tells anyone, I'll kill him…
Repeating that in her mind, Ibuki sprinted up the stairs back to her room.
She moved so fast the staff barely registered her—
Only catching a glimpse of scattered droplets reflecting light… and her swaying blue hair.
"Student—!"
Too late. She was gone.
"This… this…"
"Don't worry about it," Toru shrugged. "Nature calls."
...
The rest didn't matter much.
The staff's expression turned slightly strange upon seeing the puddle inside the elevator.
The way they looked at Toru also became… slightly strange.
But when they saw his completely calm demeanor—
They awkwardly dropped it.
After all, as long as you're not embarrassed, it's the other person who gets uncomfortable.
And besides—
It wasn't his doing. Why should he feel awkward?
He even borrowed some cleaning tools and helped Ibuki finish what she couldn't.
Then he took another elevator—
One that, for some reason, worked perfectly fine—
Back to his dorm.
A simple controlled comparison.
Two nearly identical elevators.
Same time. Same destination. Different passengers.
One breaks. One doesn't.
The conclusion was obvious.
The malfunction had a clear cause.
The elevator incident was just a small episode.
Though, to be honest, Toru had wanted to tell Ibuki—
If she couldn't open the emergency hatch, she could've just asked him for help.
But she ran too fast.
And he didn't even have her contact info.
So that thought went nowhere.
Shaking his head, he pushed open his door and took out his recorder.
The newly recorded sound of water—
And the latest recordings copied from Ibuki's device—
Appeared on the screen together.
Yes.
Toru wasn't the only one recording.
Ibuki had been recording too.
Understandable.
After being outplayed by Sakayanagi using a recorder, Ryuuen had decided to join the "recorder arms race."
Which meant his trusted subordinates—
Including Ibuki—
Had to keep recorders on them at all times.
Thankfully, Ibuki had dug out the one Toru gave her earlier.
After all, free was better than paying.
Thanks to her—
Toru effortlessly learned everything about the recent incident through their internal discussions.
"…I see."
He rubbed the surface of the recorder thoughtfully.
"So instead of going after Red Hair, he targeted Katsura-nose…"
Reasonable.
If you wanted to climb higher, you had to deal with Sakayanagi's class eventually.
Better to test Class B than bully Class D.
But—
"…Who told Dragon Boy about the 'chairman father' thing?"
Toru frowned.
Sakayanagi herself wouldn't.
Kushida had no reason to expose it.
Horikita had no connection to Class C.
Could Ryuuen have figured it out himself?
…Not impossible.
After all, the name Sakayanagi Chabashira wasn't exactly hidden.
Still—
Toru didn't consider the possibility that Ryuuen had a diary like his.
If he did, he would've confronted him long ago.
As for others…
Ibuki and Shiina showed no abnormalities.
Class C had been quiet overall.
"…Whatever."
Not important.
Now that he knew—
There was only one thing to do.
Write the diary.
Originally, he had planned to slack off today.
But now?
Plenty to write about.
Diary—come here.
...
"Flap—flap—"
Pages flipped noisily.
Sakayanagi Arisu frowned.
"—So noisy!"
She grabbed the diary and threw it away.
She wasn't in the mood to read it.
Not at all.
Her mood had been terrible for days.
Ever since her meeting with Ryuuen—
Since he used her father's position to force a draw—
She had been irritated nonstop.
"Stupid diary. Trash diary. Idiot diary."
Somehow, she had even started swearing.
Not because she abandoned her elegance—
But because…
It felt good.
The diary deserved it.
Writing nonsense was one thing—
But how did it spread so far through Ryuuen's mouth?!
Ibuki. Albert. Kaneda.
Fine—other classes didn't matter.
But why did her own people know too?!
Kamuro. Hashimoto. Katsura-nose.
All three of her subordinates heard it.
And Hashimoto even shamelessly asked her to use her "connections."
It was unbearable.
So unbearable that for three straight days—
She hadn't opened the diary.
Even if it gave points.
Even if it strengthened skills.
She didn't care.
She refused to read it.
Because she already knew—
It would mock her.
Just like last time with Wang Meiyu.
She could already imagine that smug tone.
Just thinking about it made her resist opening it.
"Ugh…"
She buried her face in the pillow.
Regret.
Pure regret.
If she had kept a straight face…
If she hadn't reacted…
No one would've believed Ryuuen.
But the more she reacted—
The more it confirmed the truth.
And the worst part?
The "connections" accusation was false—
But her relationship with her father was very real.
She couldn't deny it.
Wouldn't deny it.
That was what made it so frustrating.
She had the upper hand.
She had the evidence.
And yet—
She lost at the final step.
She hated that feeling.
And she hated the diary for causing it.
...
The room fell silent.
Gradually, she calmed down.
Three days.
Surely—
He wouldn't still be mocking her today.
As long as she didn't read the earlier entries…
…Maybe just today?
The thought surfaced.
Without realizing it—
The diary was back in her hands.
"Flip…"
She opened it.
Words appeared clearly.
[…]
...
As she read—
Her expression slowly changed.
Because she realized—
This time…
There wasn't much mockery.
Well—
There was some.
Those claps were obviously sarcastic.
But aside from that—
It was surprisingly mild.
Too surprising.
…Was this really the same diary?
She had almost slammed it shut earlier—
But now she kept reading.
Even flipping back a few days—
No mention of her.
A thought formed.
…Did he find someone new to target?
Tch.
What "new"?
Like she was some old flame or something.
Enjoyed these chapters? Access 60+ ahead advanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?