Jojo : So the next video is not something that is related to any of the students or any special exam.

Ike : Then why are we watching it ?

Ryuuen : Oii you God I don't wanna see any crappy videos.

Jojo : Chill down Ryuuen, this video might not be related to the students but it is still something related to our main protagonist and I can assure you that you won't be disappointed with this video.

Ryuuen : Kukuku , really then I guess there's no problem.

Ryuuen said that while looking at me with a grin on his face.

Sakayanagi : Fufu, I wonder what it will be.

Kiyotaka : ' This God really has some screw loose.'

Jojo : ' Like you are one to speak.'

Kiyotaka : ' Huh , whatever.'

Jojo : ' Aren’t you interested in what I'm going to show them.'

Kiyotaka : ' I already have some clues on about what you're going to show next.'

Jojo : ' Haha, then let's get into it.'

Kiyotaka : ' Hey God you will have to pay me back for all these troubles you are causing for me.'

Jojo : ' I guess that's only fair. So what is it that you want.'

Kiyotaka : ' Well I haven't thought about any yet , don't worry I'll tell you when it's all over.'

Jojo : ' Fine by me.'

Jojo : So let's watch the video.

I took care to avoid the main hallway, instead heading over to the

stairs.

Once we had privacy, Chabashira-sensei called out to me.

“Ayanokouji.”

“Do you want something?” I asked.

“Yes. Follow me. We need to talk.”

“That’s going to be difficult. I promised Horikita I’d meet her,”

Horikita : Seriously, why do you always use my name in these kind of situations ?

Kiyotaka : Because your name is very useful for me to escape in these situations.

Horikita : Sigh *

I

answered, coming up with an appropriate-sounding lie.

“As a teacher, I don’t want to be careless. But circumstances being

what they are, this is necessary.”

Hoshinomiya : Ohhh now what could be that necessary that you need to talk with ayanokouji-kun huh sae‐chan.

Chabashira : Just shut up and watch it.

Chabashira-sensei, who was usually

inhumanly composed, wore a strangely vulnerable expression.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I said.

“Unfortunately, you can’t refuse. This is extremely urgent,” she

replied.

Haruka : Hey kiyopon did you do something bad.

Kiyotaka : No.

Resistance was futile. I decided to follow her, and we moved from the

student area to an even more private location.

“Why are we headed over here?” I asked. “It’s too early to counsel me

on my post-high school career, isn’t it?”

“You’ll understand soon.”

I tried to lighten things up with a joke, but it didn’t seem like she was

going to answer a student’s question. However, rather than what was on the

other side of the door, what I was worried about right now was Chabashira-

sensei. She sounded almost flustered, and that worried me. She was normally

so composed. Whoever she was taking me to see—even if it was the person I

imagined—this wasn’t normal behavior for her.

Horikita : Indeed her expression is not normal.

Ike : Did something happened to sensei to act like that.

Jojo : Just keep watching you might get your answer.

Hoshinomiya : Why do I feel like like sae‐chan's secret will be revealed.

Chabashira-sensei didn't sat anything.

She knocked on an office door. “Principal, I’ve brought Ayanokouji

Kiyotaka-kun.”

Horikita : What did you do to even meet the principal like this ?

Kiyotaka : Like I said earlier I didn't do anything bad.

I heard a gentle voice that carried the dignity of age. “Enter.”

Chabashira-sensei opened the door. A man of about sixty sat on the

sofa. He was certainly the school’s principal; I’d seen him multiple times

before, at the entrance ceremony and during the end-of-the-semester

ceremony. He didn’t look calm, either. In fact, sweat trickled down his forehead.

One other person was there, sitting opposite the principal.

I now knew the reason I’d been called here.

Kanzaki : Did you knew who the other person was ?

Kiyotaka : Yes.

Kanzaki : So‐

Kiyotaka : Just keep watching the video. You will get all your answers from it.

Kanzaki didn't say anything afterwards. Good he understood.

“You two may talk now,” said the principal. “I trust this is

acceptable?”

“Of course.”

“Very well. I’ll take my leave now. Excuse me,” the principal said. He

bowed out humbly, despite the fact that the person sitting opposite him was

only in his forties.

“I’ll excuse myself as well.” Chabashira-sensei bowed graciously to

the man and left with the principal. The final look she gave me was visibly

nervous. As the door closed, the only sound I heard was the heating system’s

faint whirring.

As I stood completely still and silent, the man spat out his first words.

“How about you take a seat? I came all the way here to meet with you, after

all.”

It had been one year—no, a year and a half since I’d heard this man’s

voice. His way of speaking and tone hadn’t changed at all.

Horikita : So you really know that person.

Kiyotaka : Yeah.

Amasawa/Sakayanagi : ' So ayanokouji-kun/senpai's meeting with his father.'

Sudo : Hey wait outsiders aren't allowed to visit this school right.

Kanzaki : Yes, that's how it is but if that guy is here

Katsuragi : Then he should have very good influence or authority over the government.

Ike : He must be really be a powerful person then.

Keisei : But why is someone like that meeting with you Kiyotaka.

Kiyotaka : Keep watching you'll get your answer soon.

“I’m not planning to have a long conversation.Whether we talk or not, it won’t change anything.”

“Then I assume you’re going to do as I say. No need to discuss

anything; I’m busy anyway.”

“I don’t know what you want from me,” I said.

He cut straight to the heart of the matter. “I’ve prepared the documents

necessary for you to drop out. I spoke to the principal about it. All I need is

for you to say yes.”

Everyone : WHAT !!!!

Ike : Wait , what really.

Horikita : What does he mean by that ayanokouji-kun.

Kiyotaka : Exactly what he said.

Shibata : He just came to the most prestigious school in Japan where no one can enter and asked you to drop out.

Ryuuen : Kukuku, now this is quite interesting.

Sakayanagi : Fufufu, indeed it is.

“I have no reason to drop out,” I told him.

“For you, that might be true. But I have my own reasons.”

He looked right at me for the first time. The sharp gleam in his eye

hadn’t faded. If anything, it’d only grown sharper. His gaze was a blade,

threatening to slice to the very heart of you. I was sure that gaze had

wounded many people.

Everyone got chills seeing those eyes.

Ike : Man it's really scary.

Sato : He looks like he can kill someone with his eyes only.

Kei : ' It's just like kiyotaka's when he showed me his real eyes.'

Ryuuen : ' Those eyes just like that monster.'

Sakayanagi : ' Really scary.'

“Does a parent have the right to ruin their child’s life for the sake of

their own selfishness?” I asked.

“Parent? You’ve never recognized me as your parent before,” he

countered.

“You’re certainly right.”

Everyone : PARENT

Haruka : Kiyopon, that's your father ?

Kiyotaka : Yes.

Sudo : Man your father is one scary person.

Kei : ' So that's kiyotaka's father. But why is he trying to expel Kiyotaka.'

Ryuuen : Kuku, it seems like your whole family is full of monsters.

Sakayanagi : Fufu, you can say that again.

It's suspicious whether this man has ever considered me his child in

the first place. It's likely we only recognised ourselves as father and

son on paper only. Doesn't matter whether there is a blood relation or

not.

Ichinose : ' What how can someone be that cruel to their own child.'

Kei : ' Is that's why he doesn't show any kind of expression on his face.'

“The fact is that you’ve been behaving selfishly. I ordered you to

remain on standby,” the man declared, no longer urging me to sit. “You

defied me and enrolled at this school. It’s only natural that I tell you to drop

out immediately.”

“Your orders are absolute inside the White Room. But outside it,

there’s no need for me to do as you say. Right?” I countered.

It was simple logic. Of course, he wasn’t convinced.

Nagumo : So ayanokouji what is this white‐

Ayanokouji : That's not something you need to know, just shut up there and watch.

Silence

More silence

Then you know who started laughing

Sakayanagi/Ryueen/Kiryuuin/Koenji/Hosen : Fufufufu/Kukukuku/Hahahaha/Hahahahaha/Hahahaha.

Everyone was shocked by my reply towards him.

Ike : Hey dude that's the student council president.

Miyamoto : Yeah do you wanna get yourself in trouble.

Kiyotaka : It doesn't matter.

I just shrugged them off while nagumo kept glaring at me.

Ryuuen/Kiryuuin/Hosen/Horikita/Kei/Matsushita and others : ' What is this white room.'

“You’ve become quite talkative in the short time since we last met. I

suppose that’s due to this absurd school’s influence, hmm?”

Keisei : Did he just call this school absurd.

The man rested

his chin on his hand, looking at me as if I were less than filth.

“Answer my previous question, hmm?” I said.

“You mean the pointless query about no longer needing to obey my

orders? You’re my property. A man may do as he wishes with his property.

Whether I keep you alive or kill you is up to me,”

Everyone : Speechless...........

Ichinose : How can he say that.

Haruka : Kiyopon are‐

Kiyotaka : Don't worry about me, I'm used to it.

Horikita : ' Is this the reason why he's so fixated on having a peaceful life.'

Ryuuen : ' Kuku, truly a terrifying person indeed.'

Mashima : ' How can he say about his own son like that. I can now understand why ayanokouji enrolled in this school without his father's permission.

Chabashira : ' He really is cruel.'

he answered coldly. That

he could say such things in a law-abiding country, and mean them, spoke to

what a fearsome force he was.

“Badger me all you like. I’m not dropping out,” I told him.

We could keep going back and forth on this, but it didn’t matter. We

weren’t going to agree. He knew that, and hated wasting his time on pointless

conversations. So, what would he do?

Of course, he prepared his next attack.

“Don’t you wonder how Matsuo’s doing? The person who told you

about this school and gave you the idea to enroll?”

“Not especially.” I remembered Matsuo. His face immediately popped

up in my mind.

“I hired him to manage you for a year in his capacity as a butler, but he

chose to go against his employer.”

Ike : Woah, you had a butler.

Ayanokouji : Yeah.

Miyamoto : Man are you really that rich ?

Matsushita : Are you guys really asking that ?

Miyamoto : What ? I just wanted to confirm‐

Keisei : That person has the power to come to this school and expel someone. Of course he would be rich. Even elementary kids can tell that. Do you guys really don't have a brain.

Ryuuen : Kuku, What could you expect from defects anyway.

He said it in one breath, without pausing, then stopped cold after the

word “employer,” a pause designed to etch that final word into the listener’s

heart. The tone of his voice and the dramatic pause indicated that a

conversation of grave importance was about to begin. His dark look was

designed to make me fearful. To cause me to wonder just how bad things were about to get.

“He told you about this school as a way for you to escape my control.

You ignored your real father’s wishes and selfishly enrolled without my

permission. Truly foolish.” He picked up his tea and took a sip. “An

outrageous, unforgiveable act. Naturally, Matsuo had to be punished.”

It wasn’t a threat. He was merely stating the truth.

“You can probably guess what I’m about to say,” he continued, “but he

was disciplined and dismissed.”

“If he went against his employer, that’s an appropriate punishment,” I

said.

My butler, Matsuo, was nearly sixty years old. He was exceptionally

good at taking care of people, and quite amicable. Any child would’ve liked

him.

Matsuo married young, but hadn’t been blessed with children right

away. He was over forty when he had his first baby, but sadly lost his wife in

childbirth. His son was about my age, and Matsuo’s pride and joy. I’d never

met the boy myself, but Matsuo said his son studied diligently every day so

that he could achieve great things and repay his father’s sacrifices. His smile

as he said those words still burned in my memory.

Hirata : He really is a nice person.

Ichinose : Yes, he seems to be a very kind hearted person.

Hiyori : I hope he got a new job since he was dismissed.

Sorry hiyori but that's not how things are.

“You know about him, I assume. Matsuo’s son, his pride and joy.”

He’d predicted my train of thought. He saw right through me.

“When you enrolled at this school, Matsuo’s son also managed to pass

the difficult entrance exam for a wonderful, prestigious private high school.

He worked exceptionally hard, and achieved it all on his own.”

Kanzaki : That's really admirable.

Ichinose : Yeah he must have worked hard.

He paused.

“But now he’s been expelled.”

His meaning was plain. He’d forced the school to rescind the boy’s

acceptance as a form of payback. That was the sort of power he wielded.

Kanzaki : That's absurd.

Shibata : How could he do something like that.

Satou : That's really cruel.

Horikita : Ayanokouji-kun is your father always been like this.

Kiyotaka : Yes.

“So? For a man like you, that’s a mild punishment,” I replied

sarcastically.

“Matsuo’s son was strong. Even though he was expelled from the

school on which he’d pinned his hopes, his determination didn’t fade. He bounced back and immediately tried to enroll in other schools.

Nanase : ' Yes he was a strong person. But because of this man..'

I did whatever

was necessary to crush his attempts to advance. I made him give up. I did the

same to Matsuo, too. I tarnished his reputation, leaving him unable to find a

job. His son also lost his way, and is now unemployed,” said the man.

Matsuo and his son had lost everything because of my selfishness. The

man before me wasn’t making this up. Every word he said was almost

certainly true.

If he came all this way to spout this nonsense at me, then he was in for

a disappointment.

Ryuuen/Sakayanagi : ' Don't even gives a crap about it even after hearing it.'

“I imagine you’re not surprised by any of this. Because Matsuo acted

against me, it was necessary that I repay him in kind. However, it seemed that

this was more than he could bear. He was always a nice, conscientious man,

who lost his wife young and raised his son alone. Racked with guilt for

having robbed his child of a future, Matsuo concluded that there was only

one way to save him. He begged me to leave the boy alone, and committed

suicide last month by burning himself to death."

Silence

More silence

Everyone : NANI !!!!!

Ike : H‐he b‐burned himself.

Shibata : What the hell did I just hear.

Ichinose : This is too much I can't watch it anymore.

Hiyori : It's too cruel.

Katsuragi : This is just too how can someone be like this.

Asahina : Wasn't dismissing him from his job not enough.

Sakayanagi : Such a cruel person.

Ryuuen : Now this is no laughing matter at all.

Kei : T‐that's how can someone be this cruel.

Kei was looking at me worryingly. I'm happy that she is worried about me but there's no need for concern right now.

I made sure to convey my thoughts through eye contact to her.

So, that was what he came here to say. That my selfish actions led to a

man’s death.

“Right now, his son’s working part-time, earning enough to live on and

nothing else, with no guarantee of a future. No dreams. No hope. His family’s

tragedy is your fault. The boy must surely bear a deep grudge against you.

Even in death, he won’t forgive you.”

Akito : What ? And now he's blaming you for this.

Kiyotaka : Well he's like that.

Manabu : ' His life seems too complicated.'