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「Clue #2 — Sato Shiro」
After being 'mocked' by Hazuki Uta last night, the depressed Sato Shiro was dragged to a bar by his classmates. There, a hostess girl took his virginity.
The hostess's business card still sits in his inner jacket pocket. Tragically, Hirose Yoru seems to have vaguely noticed something.
If the school administration discovers this incident, Sato Shiro will face disciplinary action.
「Clue Note」: Sato Shiro has developed guilt toward Hirose Yoru. Due to Yoru's suspicions, revealing this clue is sufficient to manipulate her completely.
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「Clue #3 — Hirose Yoru」
Hirose Yoru has begun developing complicated emotions toward Sato Shiro. She doesn't understand why. At the same time, she's noticed that Sato Shiro seems to have had contact with a hostess girl—but Yoru refuses to believe this is true.
Yoru's mother requires a large sum of money to pay off accumulated debts. This troubles her deeply.
「Clue Note」: Ten million yen. If someone can provide this amount, Hirose Yoru may be willing to do anything. (Perhaps even cross those heavy red lines.)
---
"Holy shit!"
Riku's eyes widened as the system windows dissolved from his vision.
The 「Secret Explorer」 title ability was absolutely insane.
Three clues. Every single one was devastatingly useful.
Regarding Hazuki Uta—Riku had a vague impression of her. She was a student in the same year as him. Beautiful in that quiet, ethereal way, but typically silent and withdrawn, which meant she didn't attract as much attention as her looks warranted. Still, her exceptional appearance was well-known throughout the Academy, and apparently her suitors numbered in the dozens.
To think she had this kind of connection with Sato Shiro.
Sato Shiro, you lucky bastard, Riku mused internally. Swimming in blessings and too stupid to appreciate them. What a massive simp.
He genuinely felt that Sato Shiro might be the biggest cuck in existence.
A perfect girlfriend. A gorgeous childhood friend confession. And he was too dense to notice either one while chasing after someone who clearly wanted nothing to do with him.
Pathetic.
But useful.
---
"Shiro! Yoru!"
Riku arranged his expression into one of pleasant surprise, approaching the couple as though this were a complete coincidence.
The morning sun cast long shadows across the shopping district. A gentle breeze carried the scent of fresh bread from a nearby bakery, mixing with the distant hum of traffic.
The moment Hirose Yoru's eyes landed on Riku, her reaction was immediate.
Her gaze flickered away. A subtle flinch ran through her shoulders. Her fingers tightened around the strap of her purse.
Evasion.
Meanwhile, Sato Shiro's response was the polar opposite.
His face brightened with recognition. After all, he remembered that Hayanui Riku had been kind enough to escort his girlfriend home the other night. He hadn't even properly thanked him for that.
"Hayanui Riku!"
Riku offered an easy smile. "Shiro! Didn't expect you to remember my name. Morning, Yoru."
Hirose Yoru said nothing.
She didn't even look in his direction—her jaw set tight, her beautiful features arranged into a mask of cold indifference. That delicate face, framed by curtains of dark hair, remained stubbornly turned away.
An awkward silence settled between them like morning fog.
Sato Shiro noticed immediately. His brow furrowed slightly as he leaned toward his girlfriend.
"Yoru," he murmured softly. "Hayanui is greeting you."
Riku nearly choked.
This guy.
Was he seriously trying to instruct his girlfriend on basic manners? In front of another man? Did he have any social awareness whatsoever?
Predictably, Yoru's reaction to Sato Shiro's prompting wasn't gratitude—it was irritation.
A flash of annoyance crossed her features. She turned her head further away, lips pressed into a thin line, refusing to make a single sound.
I'm right here, she seemed to be saying. And I'll ignore whoever I damn well please.
The embarrassment radiating off Sato Shiro was almost palpable. His ears reddened. Even in front of an outsider, his own girlfriend couldn't be bothered to show him the slightest bit of face.
Poor bastard couldn't wrap his head around it.
Of course, the problem wasn't him.
It was Riku.
Riku prepared to change the subject—
But before he could open his mouth, something shifted.
「Despicable Orator」 activated.
The words that left Riku's lips weren't the ones he'd originally planned.
"You know, on a hot day like this," he said casually, "there's nothing better than an ice-cold bottle of water, right, Shiro?"
His voice carried an undercurrent—smooth, reasonable, utterly convincing. The kind of suggestion that slipped past conscious thought and lodged directly into the subconscious.
Under the influence of 「Despicable Orator」, Sato Shiro found himself nodding along enthusiastically.
"Yeah," he agreed, conviction filling his voice. "Yeah, you're totally right!"
Riku barely suppressed the urge to say "give me a round of applause if you understood that." Somehow, he managed to hold it in.
"Yoru, Hayanui—wait here for a moment, I'll go grab some water."
And just like that, Sato Shiro trotted off toward the nearest convenience store.
Leaving Riku and Hirose Yoru completely alone on the shopping street.
---
Riku exhaled slowly.
「Despicable Orator」 is absolutely broken.
A single casual sentence, and he'd dispatched Sato Shiro like a trained dog fetching a ball. The guy hadn't even questioned it—just accepted the suggestion as his own idea and scurried off.
Creating this opportunity for isolation had been almost too easy.
Riku stepped closer to Yoru, closing the distance between them.
Immediately, her expression shifted. Those lovely features—the high cheekbones, the soft curve of her jaw, the elegant slope of her neck—twisted with undisguised hostility. Disgust and wariness blazed in her amber eyes.
"You scum." Her voice was venomous. "What do you want now? What's your angle?"
Riku raised both hands in a gesture of innocence.
"Just happened to run into you two, that's all." He tilted his head, studying her face. "Though... it seems like there's some friction between you and your boyfriend lately."
His words struck directly at the wound.
Yoru's breath caught. Her hands curled into fists at her sides.
If it wasn't for this piece of shit—
If this garbage hadn't deceived her with that fake video, then cornered her in that phone booth right in front of Shiro and violated her—
Things between her and Shiro wouldn't have become like this!
This is all his fault!
This fucking scum!
"—Do you think what happened between you two is my fault?"
Riku's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.
The effect of 「Despicable Orator」 hadn't worn off yet. It would persist for a while longer, sharpening every word he spoke into something that bypassed rational thought and struck directly at emotion.
"Isn't it?!" Yoru hissed. "You scum!"
"You can call me scum all you want." Riku's tone remained infuriatingly calm. "But you can't deny the truth—even without me appearing in your life, things between you and Sato Shiro were never going to be perfect."
"That's a lie!"
Her voice cracked with emotion. In that moment, Hirose Yoru looked like nothing more than a cornered kitten—hackles raised, claws out, desperately defending something she wasn't even sure she believed in anymore.
Riku took a deliberate half-step backward.
Creating distance.
Giving her space.
The illusion of safety.
He needed her emotions to stabilize. 「Despicable Orator」 worked best when the target was calm enough to listen—to let the words seep in rather than bouncing off walls of pure rage.
As Yoru's breathing gradually slowed, her shoulders dropping slightly from their defensive hunch, Riku continued.
"You've noticed something, haven't you?"
His voice was soft now. Almost gentle.
"Just because you didn't give him attention—just because you were a little cold to him—look at what he did. Do you really think someone like that deserves your trust?"
"You're trying to trick me again, scum!"
The denial was automatic, but weaker now. Less certain.
The thing with Shiro and that hostess girl—even I only suspect it!
There's no way this bastard could know!
He's lying again! Just like with that fake video! He's trying to manipulate me!
"You don't believe me?"
Riku's lips curved slightly.
"Then why don't you check your precious Shiro's inner jacket pocket when he gets back? There might be something interesting in there." He paused, letting the implication sink in. "As for how I know... well. That's a secret. But if you really want to find out, I suppose you could always... pay me some interest."
The word interest made Yoru's pupils contract violently.
Memories flooded back—him inside her, his tongue claiming her mouth, the humiliating wetness between her thighs as her body betrayed her in that phone booth while Shiro stood obliviously outside—
"You really are complete scum!"
Her voice trembled. Whether from anger or fear or something else entirely, even she couldn't tell anymore.
Hearing her repeat the same two-word insult for the dozenth time, Riku found himself unexpectedly charmed.
Cute.
For all her bravado, the campus flower really was adorable when she was flustered.
A familiar voice echoed in Riku's mind.
「You have wielded the tongue of the Despicable Orator to deeply wound Hirose Yoru's psyche. Once she confirms the truth of your words, the final veil protecting her love for Sato Shiro will be torn away. To preserve that last fragile illusion, she will agree to anything you demand. And this... is precisely what you wanted.」
Riku finally understood why the title began with Despicable.
With just a few carefully chosen sentences, he'd reignited all of Yoru's suspicions about Sato Shiro. Stoked the flames of doubt. Widened the cracks in their already fracturing relationship.
Three title abilities.
「Clumsy Performer」, 「Secret Explorer」, and now 「Despicable Orator」.
I really am going to destroy this poor girl completely.
"Oh, that's right—"
Riku's tone shifted, becoming almost conversational.
"Tomorrow is your birthday, isn't it?"
Yoru's expression immediately sharpened. Her guard snapped back into place, suspicion flooding those amber eyes.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing, nothing." He waved a hand dismissively. "Just thought—if you don't mind—maybe invite me too?"
"You're dreaming!"
As if I would ever invite this scum to my birthday!
Tomorrow, her mother was preparing a special lunch at home to celebrate. A small, private affair. Yoru had invited Shiro to join them—just the three of them.
The thought of this man anywhere near that intimate gathering made her skin crawl.
Riku opened his mouth to continue—
But approaching footsteps interrupted him.
Sato Shiro jogged back toward them, three plastic bottles of mineral water clutched in his hands. Beads of condensation dripped from the cold containers.
"Riku, here's your water."
The timing couldn't have been worse.
Riku accepted the bottle with a polite nod. "Thanks."
He cracked the cap and took a long sip, watching Yoru over the rim of the bottle. Her face had smoothed back into that practiced mask of indifference, but her eyes kept darting toward Shiro's jacket.
Toward his inner pocket.
Where a hostess bar's business card sat like a ticking time bomb.
"Well, I've got other things to handle," Riku said easily, re-capping his water. "Won't disturb your date any longer."
He gave Sato Shiro a friendly wave, spared Yoru one last lingering glance—deliberately letting his gaze drag down her body for just a moment—then turned and walked away.
Behind him, he could practically feel her eyes burning into his back.
Check his pocket, Yoru.
See the truth for yourself.
And when you do...
You'll come crawling to me.