Watching Kushida Kikyo's colorful little report about Amase Kazuna come in over LINE, Chris couldn't help letting out a short laugh.
He tossed off a quick reply — "Watch what she's offering" — and dropped his phone to the side.
In truth, whatever Amase Kazuna was scheming, whatever tempting chips she laid on the table, Chris couldn't care less.
After all, he knew her inside and out — her background, her motives, even her personality settings and the literal construction of her body.
In this little sandbox world he was running, unless Amase suddenly got astronomically lucky and stumbled across the Infinity Stones, or got chosen by some Phoenix Force traveling across the multiverse...
In Chris's eyes, her so-called schemes were about as threatening as a toddler throwing a tantrum.
Like a four- or five-year-old screaming at an adult, fully committed to the idea of killing them, striking their most dramatic Ultraman beam-blast pose —
Adorable, maybe. A threat? Hardly.
You could say: when you're weak enough, even your anger becomes cute.
"Anyway, it should be about time for the second- and third-years' preliminary exams too."
Chris rubbed his chin. He'd figured he'd use this free moment to design the exam format for the upperclassmen's next preliminary.
But when he pulled up the backend roster, aside from a handful of familiar faces who'd actually had some screen time in the original story — Asahina Nazuna, Kiryuuin Fuka, Tachibana Akane — the overwhelming majority were pure background extras whose names he couldn't even remember.
Forget it. Not worth burning brain cells on custom-tailoring anything for them.
Chris yawned. Might as well just copy the King of Diamonds ruleset wholesale.
Besides, this time he'd be throwing in his own brand-new DLC patch as the "Mysterious Black Market Dealer."
He wasn't the least bit worried the upperclassmen's exam would lack surprises.
If anything, he was confident those seasoned veterans would find themselves in a far worse spot than Ayanokoji's group had this time around.
...
The next day. Lunch break.
Thanks to the somewhat accidental turn of events the day before, Chris had ended up taking Horikita Suzune on as a student. So when he headed to the rooftop for his sword training appointment with Ichinose Honami, he had no choice but to bring Horikita along.
And so.
When Ichinose Honami — who'd arrived early — looked up, she saw something she'd never witnessed before:
Horikita Suzune, who always walked alone without exception, was now cradling two wooden swords against her chest, head slightly bowed, following half a step behind Chris like a shadow.
"Senpai, this is..." Ichinose blinked.
Chris took the wooden sword Horikita held out to him and explained offhandedly:
"Horikita wanted to learn swordsmanship from me too."
"The way I see it, you're both beginners right now — having a sparring partner to practice against should make picking up real combat instincts a lot easier."
"I was going to mention it to you over LINE yesterday afternoon, but that whole business with your junior from class derailed me and I completely forgot."
Ichinose Honami nodded, then caught the gap in that explanation and asked quietly: "Junior... are you talking about Amase?"
"That's right." Chris moved into the shade and leaned against the wall. "She says she's got item points just sitting around going to waste. Wants to hire me with them — pay me to keep her alive through the next exam. She also said you'd banned her from taking risks, so she had to come find me on the sly."
At that, a flicker of exasperation crossed Ichinose's eyes.
"Amase... she's already died once. If she loses again in a preliminary exam, she'll end up just like Kanzaki and Shiranami..."
"She's still just a kid who skipped up here not long ago..."
"A kid..." Chris tilted his head. "Isn't she from the same place as Ayanokoji?"
He offered a different take:
"Going by what Sakayanagi said, people who came out of that place might have angles we don't know about."
"Look at Ayanokoji — he plays it so low-key day-to-day that you'd never suspect a thing. But after all these exams, it's clear he's been hiding far more than anyone else. You don't really see what he's made of until you corner him."
"And besides..."
Before Chris could finish, Horikita Suzune — standing to the side — cut in with a cool, flat voice:
"Rather than worrying about a transfer student whose depths you don't know, Ichinose, you'd be better off thinking harder about Ryuuen Kakeru from Class C."
"He's genuinely died three times now. Zero margin for error left — and yet he's still being forcibly dragged into the Black Sphere exams. What do you think a rabid dog who'll do anything to survive is going to do when his back is truly against the wall?"
The blunt reality of that hit Ichinose like a cold splash of water. Her lips parted slightly, then slowly closed.
"You're right... the road ahead is long and heavy."
But just as quickly, the girl lifted her head, facing the bright glare of the sun, and said softly:
"But isn't that exactly why we humans have the instinct to throw ourselves forward without hesitation — to protect the things we hold dear?"
"I believe Horikita decided to set aside her pride and seek to grow stronger because there's someone she wants to protect too!"
As she spoke, Ichinose turned to Horikita Suzune with a gentle smile.
Hit squarely where it hurt, Horikita's posture stiffened almost imperceptibly.
She didn't argue, and she didn't take the bait on the sentimental line. She simply raised her wooden sword in silence, pointing the tip directly at Ichinose.
"Enough small talk."
"While Sensei goes to put on his Combat Suit, let's warm up first."
Hearing the word "Sensei," Ichinose was mildly surprised by the shift in how Horikita was addressing him — but she went with it, raising her own wooden sword in kind.
Still, she glanced over at Chris with a hint of puzzlement:
"But Senpai said he'd only face us in his full form once our techniques were polished enough..."
Horikita furrowed her pretty brows, skepticism written all over her face.
"That can't be right. The non-human creatures inside the Black Sphere — a normal human can't even scratch them without a Combat Suit to boost their stats. Without one, how could he possibly keep up with our speed and strength?"
Ichinose scratched her cheek, looking a little awkward. "Well... Horikita, I tried yesterday. Even with the Combat Suit on, I really... really couldn't land a hit on Senpai."
"That defies logic." Horikita's eyes went wide. "The human body has physical limits! No matter how refined your technique, against an absolute gap in raw power and speed, it shouldn't be possible to—"
Well, I'm not exactly a normal person either, Chris quipped internally.
He sighed and stepped in with a timely explanation:
"Maybe the Combat Suit's enhancement mechanism scales proportionally based on each user's individual baseline stats."
"Put it this way — if your baseline is one and the suit multiplies it by ten, you get ten. But if my baseline is already seven or eight, the gap after enhancement only gets wider. Until you two have fully adapted to high-speed combat in the suit, me going without it is actually the most appropriate training intensity for where you're at."
"And besides..." Chris weighed the wooden sword in his hand. "Talking about it all day gets you nowhere. Better to just try it and see. Proof is in the practice."
Horikita Suzune drew a slow breath, eyes sharpening. "Fine."
And then.
Twenty seconds later.
Crack!
Her wooden sword clattered to the ground. Horikita Suzune clutched her left wrist — the ring there tapped precisely by the blade, now leaking a thin blue fluid — and sank into a deep spiral of self-doubt.
Could it really be... that I've been neglecting training so badly my baseline stats are just that low? Is that why I'm this weak?
Looking at the long black-haired girl who'd practically collapsed on the ground, face full of existential crisis, Chris delivered the finishing blow in a perfectly calm tone:
"The human body is a fascinating thing, isn't it? Train more and you'll understand."
Head hanging, Horikita Suzune reluctantly accepted the reality that Chris, without a Combat Suit, was still stronger than her in full gear.
But the competitive fire in her bones refused to go out.
She picked herself up off the ground and turned her gaze instead to Ichinose Honami — someone who had also lost to Chris — looking to claw back some confidence from a fellow loser.
It's not that I'm too weak. It has to be that Chris is just too strong. If I can beat Ichinose, that proves it's not my problem!
Well, when you thought about it that way, it wasn't a bad way to look at things — at least it confirmed her judgment in choosing a master was absolutely correct.
Only a truly powerful person deserved to be the teacher of Horikita Suzune!
Watching the two girls square off with swords raised, ready to go at each other's throats, Chris suddenly seemed to remember something:
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask something."
"Horikita, you were wearing that Combat Suit all through morning classes, right? I get that it's high-tech material, but sitting through an entire day of class in something that airtight and form-fitting... doesn't it get suffocatingly stuffy?"
"I remember after the last few exams, when I took mine off there was sweat all through the inside..."
Horikita Suzune, who had been laser-focused and ready to defend, froze mid-stance at those words.
Ichinose Honami seized the opening. Her wooden sword swung around Horikita's guard and landed with a crisp smack on the back of Horikita's sword hand.
"Hss—!"
Horikita recoiled with a pained hiss, instinctively yanking her hand back. She shot Ichinose an annoyed glare, then turned a sharp look on Chris.
Ichinose, however, withdrew her sword and explained with full sincerity:
"Horikita, please don't misunderstand."
"Senpai has taught me that whether in combat or sword training, the most important thing is concentrated focus — entering that meditative flow state. I believe what Senpai just said was a deliberate test to disturb your attention!"
"I see..." The irritation in Horikita's eyes instantly gave way to respect. "I still have much to learn. This has been a valuable lesson — I'll be sure to apply it next time."
"Let's continue!"
Watching Horikita settle back into her stance, Ichinose nodded.
Then, in the brief gap as they shifted positions, she turned her head and added quietly to Chris:
"Though, Senpai, that particular teaching method is a bit strange, you know..."
"If I didn't know you well enough to recognize it as instruction, pretty much any other girl would immediately assume you were harassing them!"
Chris spread his hands helplessly. "But I genuinely am curious. Now that the Black Sphere mode is being gradually formalized under the school's intervention — set exam schedule and all — there's really no need to be wearing that thing around the clock, is there?"
He could already picture it: come summer, a group of beautiful girls cooped up all day in those airtight suits... the particular fragrance waiting inside when they finally peeled them off would be nothing short of asphyxiating.
Horikita Suzune returned to her attack stance, eyes tracking Ichinose's movements without looking back, as she answered:
"You make a fair point. But... who can guarantee the Black Sphere won't pull another surprise extra exam out of nowhere, like it did last weekend?"
"Like Sensei just said... I've already used up any margin I had. I can't afford to waste a single life."
"So I have no choice but to prepare for every possibility. No matter how uncomfortable it gets, I have to endure it."
Chris considered this. The logic was sound, he had to admit.
"Fair enough. Survival above all."
He let the two of them spar through a few more exchanges, getting a clear read on each other's current skill level, before stepping in at the right moment to call a halt and walk them through the openings they'd both shown.
By the time the first afternoon period was drawing near, the three of them packed up their things and headed off the rooftop together.
In an environment where points were everything, where failing an exam could get you exiled to serve as cannon fodder for invaders —
Everyone understood, at least intellectually, that a simple case of being late or skipping a class or two probably wouldn't trigger the extreme elimination protocols.
But after the made-an-example-of incident — where someone had a life stripped from them just for sneaking a call to their family — not a single troublemaker in the entire year was willing to test the school's patience anymore.
Once bitten, twice shy didn't even begin to cover it.
Chris was technically the one who'd designed all these brutal rules, but for trivial day-to-day matters like this, he had no interest in making a show of special exemptions.
And so, after two perfectly orderly, near-silent class periods —
When the final bell rang and the teacher on the podium closed their lesson plan and kindly offered:
"Class is dismissed. Don't stress yourselves out too much, everyone — remember to balance work and rest."
A chorus of tired groans answered from all corners of the room.
Sudou Ken clutched his notes, steeled himself, and walked over to where Horikita Suzune was packing up her things.
"Hey... Horikita." Sudou kept his voice low, his tone with a slightly flattering edge. "There's this math problem I seriously can't figure out. Could you walk me through it?"
Horikita didn't so much as glance up. She kept packing, voice perfectly even:
"I don't have time to tutor you right now."
"If you and Ikebe and the others have questions you can't work out, compile them and send them to me on LINE. I'll write up the solution steps when I have a free moment after my physical training tonight."
"Now. Move."
The blunt dismissal left Sudou Ken scratching his head in awkward embarrassment — but he had no choice but to step aside.
All he could do was watch as Horikita Suzune naturally fell into step behind Chris and walked out of the classroom.
The truth was, Sudou Ken hadn't come to Horikita today purely out of academic interest.
A large part of it was because word had gotten around through Kushida — that in this last preliminary exam, Horikita Suzune had already died once.
As a fellow high-risk case who understood the struggle, his instinct was to use the homework question as an excuse to commiserate with Horikita, and maybe — if things went well — get a foot in the door with Chris while he was at it.
But his clumsy attempt, seen by Kushida Kikyo who'd been quietly watching from the side, just came across as a bit tone-deaf.
Whatever the specifics, Horikita Suzune was clearly making her move toward Chris — and that was something Kushida was more than happy to see.
Kushida gave a cold, inward laugh.
What exactly is your game plan here, Sudou Ken? You're just dead weight with muscles for a brain. What do you think you've got to compete with?
So when Sudou Ken, having struck out with Horikita, turned to try to squeeze intel about Horikita and Chris out of Kushida Kikyo instead —
Kushida cut him off without hesitation:
"Hmm? I really don't know, I'm not that close with Horikita either — I have absolutely no idea what they get up to privately~ Sorry about that, Sudou!"
As if. Get too close to this kind of mess and what happens when this idiot gets himself killed in an exam? She wasn't about to let the blast radius reach her.
Sudou Ken scratched his hair in agitated confusion.
That's not what you were saying when you dragged me into Horikita's study group before...
On the other side of the classroom, in the small circle of girls gathered together —
Matsushita Chiaki pulled her gaze back from Horikita Suzune's retreating figure and looked over at Karuizawa Kei, who was quietly taking notes.
"Kei." Matsushita Chiaki lowered her voice, feeling her out. "I noticed Horikita's been getting pretty close to Chris lately. Don't you think you should... find some time to go check in on him?"
Karuizawa Kei's hand paused for just a moment.
The old version of her — the one who defaulted to putting on a show — would have flared up at that, slipped into full official-girlfriend mode and staked her claim.
But now, she was a parasite...
Karuizawa shook her head, forcing herself to stay composed.
"I don't want to put too much pressure on him."
"And besides... Horikita really does have the best grades in our class. If she tutors Chris and helps him score well on the midterms, he might even earn a resurrection slot from the Black Sphere as a reward. That's genuinely a good thing for him."
Hearing that response — gracious to the point of almost seeming self-diminishing — Sato Maya couldn't help but sigh:
"Kei, you're way too easygoing... If I were a guy and heard something like that, I'd chase after you even if it killed me!"
Karuizawa Kei managed a thin smile and let the comment pass.
She was joking. Right now she was still carrying the double mission Chris had assigned her — unite the Class D girls and keep Amase Kazuna stable.
Her own life was still dangling by a thread. Who had time to get jealous over Horikita?
"Alright, stop teasing me."
Karuizawa rubbed her temples and forcibly steered the topic back to reality. "I've got enough to worry about as it is. I got lucky and scraped together enough points for a Combat Suit, but the next exam could be god knows what kind of hell mode. I already told the whole class I was going to participate... I just have to hope it goes okay."
Matsushita Chiaki considered this for a moment, then offered a suggestion:
"Kei, don't stress too much."
"Those Black Sphere items — even the invader-side participants can use them in exams, right?"
"Since you have to enter a battlefield as an invader regardless, on top of the Combat Suit, you might want to see if you can borrow a weapon from someone who bought an X-GUN or something similar — just to have something on hand for self-defense."
"If you do end up deployed as an invader into an exam, but before the match starts, can you try to find someone who has a spare Black Sphere weapon and borrow it from them as backup?"
Karuizawa blinked, then let out a wry, resigned sigh: "I know, I know... but you know me. I've never trained with a gun in my life. My aim is genuinely terrible."
"What's there to worry about!"
Matsushita Chiaki waved it off:
"Did you forget what was in the materials Hirata gave us? Black Sphere weapons have built-in high-tech radar and auto-targeting. Basically idiot-proof for beginners!"
She leaned in toward Karuizawa and lowered her voice conspiratorially:
"Doesn't our school have a shooting club? Spend a few personal points over the next couple of weeks and go borrow their gear to get a feel for it. Once you get over the fear of pulling the trigger, and you've got the Combat Suit keeping you alive — even if you're shooting with your eyes closed, I'm pretty sure you'll be fine!"
At that, Karuizawa Kei's eyes lit up slightly.
As a proper parasite —
If she wasn't just obedient, but also capable of holding her own in a pinch, and even biting back at enemies when it mattered —
That man... would surely value her all the more.
"That's a great idea."
Karuizawa Kei clenched her fist. "Then let's... go try it out after school today!"
____
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