Horikita knew perfectly well that Kinoshita was framing her.
But at the same time, there wasn't much she could do about it. She was limited in her options, and her body and mind were already pushed to their limits.
"Right now, it's obvious to everyone that you deliberately crashed into Kinoshita with a self-destructive mindset. There's no other explanation. Looks like we'll have to report this incident—unless you need things to get even worse before you finally admit it?"
Ryuen sneered, looking completely in control.
If this issue were reported, the evidence was all against Horikita. On top of that, she didn't want to cause trouble for her brother because of this.
"Can we… discuss this? Maybe find another way to settle things?"
Kushida suddenly spoke up.
Horikita immediately picked up on the underlying meaning behind her words—or rather, this was probably Ryuen's goal from the start.
If she refused, things would only get worse.
Even Chabashira-sensei knew this situation wasn't in her favor, or she wouldn't have gone out of her way to step in.
At this realization, Horikita felt suffocated. It was as if an invisible hand was tightening around her throat.
"Hmm…"
Ryuen pretended to think for a moment.
Then, the next second, he grinned playfully.
"Alright then. Let's talk about a settlement."
"Impossible!"
Even though the situation was against her, Horikita's pride wouldn't allow her to "surrender" to the person trying to frame her. She knew that a settlement was the best way to resolve this, but she just couldn't accept it!
Kushida, however, was willing to listen to Ryuen's proposal for a settlement. But as she listened, Horikita's expression grew darker.
Ryuen's demand? 3 million private points as compensation.
Since the students had just received 500,000 private points each from the special exam, gathering 3 million wasn't entirely impossible if they pooled resources.
"I wouldn't give you 3 million private points. Not even a single one!"
Horikita's voice was cold.
Ryuen scoffed. "Alright then, I'll report this to the student council right now. I'm sure the student council president will handle this fairly—after all, he's your brother!"
"Y-You… how do you know—"
Horikita's face changed. Even when she had been framed earlier, she had remained calm, but the moment her brother was brought into this, she completely lost her composure. She wasn't naive—she could hear the threat in Ryuen's words loud and clear.
This was the last thing Horikita wanted to happen. The case hadn't been officially reviewed yet, and the decision wasn't completely in Ryuen's favor. However, if the rumor spread that the student council president's little sister had knocked down an opponent and caused a serious injury during a competition…
Horikita clenched her fists tightly.
Ryuen had planned this perfectly. He had set a trap and was just waiting for her to step into it. No matter what move she made, she was already playing into his hands. Every step she took was carefully calculated by him—she had no choice but to tread carefully and counter his every move.
No matter what decision she made, Ryuen had already accounted for it.
"So, if we pay the 3 million private points, will this all go away?"
Kushida asked again, essentially speaking on Horikita's behalf. Horikita didn't stop her, which was as good as silent approval—everyone understood this.
"The 3 million private points would cover the losses caused by Kinoshita's inability to compete…"
Kushida was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Ryuen suddenly changed his tone.
"But that's still not enough as a personal apology to Kinoshita."
"What do you mean?!"
Horikita finally couldn't hold back.
Ryuen lifted his chin, looking down at her with an arrogant smirk.
"Paying 3 million private points was the condition up until a moment ago. But you rejected it, didn't you? Even now, you still don't realize your mistake. So, I'll give you one last chance, Suzune. If you kneel down and beg me right now, maybe—just maybe—I'll consider it."
"This…"
Kushida looked troubled, while Horikita's expression turned even uglier.
Ryuen wasn't just trying to defeat her—he wanted to completely humiliate her. To put it bluntly, he was toying with her from beginning to end.
"Compensation is one thing, but your demand is going too far."
Unexpectedly, Chabashira-sensei, who had been silently observing, finally spoke up. She had clearly had enough of Ryuen's behavior.
Anyone could see that Ryuen had no real intention of settling things fairly. From the start, his attitude had been about humiliating and crushing Horikita, not negotiating.
Horikita only cared about two things above all else—her brother and her pride.
Ryuen's goal was to shatter the thing most important to her: her pride.
He wanted to break her down, humiliate her, and trample all over her dignity. Step by step, Horikita was being pushed closer to her breaking point.
Chabashira-sensei understood what Ryuen was doing. Normally, she wouldn't interfere in student affairs, especially when it could get her into trouble. But this time, she chose to step in.
However, what no one expected was Ryuen's response.
"Tch. Who do you think you are? This is between students. Stay out of it, Sensei!"
Being scolded by a student like that, Chabashira-sensei's face darkened, but she couldn't argue back.
"Suzune, make your choice. Either you pay the 3 million private points and kneel, or we take this to the school for an official review. Which will it be?"
Ryuen spoke with absolute confidence.
At this moment, he was the tyrant controlling everyone in the room. The feeling of having complete control over others—the power to manipulate people at will—made him laugh wildly. Everything was going exactly as he planned.
"Heh heh heh, don't blame me for not giving you time to think. If you don't make up your mind by the end of the Sports Festival, you can come crawling to me yourself and admit your mistake!"
Rather than crushing Horikita all at once, Ryuen seemed to enjoy slowly tormenting her—making her suffer bit by bit, dragging out the moment of her downfall.
Horikita clenched her teeth. Ryuen was openly humiliating her, but she couldn't fight back. It felt like a heavy weight was crushing her, making it hard to breathe.
For some reason, at that moment, a certain deadfish-eyed boy flashed through her mind.
I'm sorry… I must have let you down again.
"You trash from Class D, don't think you can strut around just because you've won a few times. Starting today, I'll make sure you pay back every single debt you owe me!"
Ryuen glared coldly at Horikita, Chabashira-sensei, and the others.
"Oh? I thought a stray dog had wandered in."
Suddenly, a mocking voice came from the doorway, and everyone turned to see Hikigaya stepping into the room.
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