In all her life, she had never been this humiliated!
The more Mio Ibuki thought about it, the angrier she became.
If Kaoru Mitoma hadn't run away so quickly, she would have chased him all the way to the boys' dormitory, barged into his room, and bitten him to death!
She gently touched her small, upturned bottom, still feeling the sting.
A warm sensation lingered, and she was sure it had turned red from Kaoru's spanking.
'Damn it! How could someone who looked so frail possess such terrifying strength?'
The last time she had encountered something similar was with Albert, who stood like an immovable wall, impossible to budge even an inch.
Mio Ibuki stood there, grinding her teeth for a while, until she finally spotted Ryuen's figure.
"I failed at tailing him—he caught me!"
As soon as they met, Mio Ibuki immediately reported what had just happened to Ryuen.
However, she deliberately omitted the part about being spanked, secretly planning to reclaim her dignity in the next round.
"What did he say to you?"
Ryuen wasn't surprised. Instead, he noticed the girl's visible frustration and grew curious.
"He told us to watch our step. This was just a warning, and next time it won't be so lenient."
Mio Ibuki interpreted Kaoru's words that way.
Moreover, he hadn't held back at all, leaving her bottom aching.
"Hiyori just sent me a message, asking me to tone it down a bit."
Ryuen smirked. "It's so easy to see through what this guy is thinking."
He meddled in Class B's affairs, and now he was interfering in Class D's business too.
Did he have lovers in every grade?
"Should we continue tailing him?"
Mio Ibuki grumbled in frustration. "This guy is either at the Student Council or with the upperclassmen, or he's hanging out with girls. He doesn't seem to care about this exam at all."
"Heh, he's busy running for the Student Council."
Kaoru's whereabouts weren't exactly a secret. Through pawns like Mio Ibuki, Ryuen had already gathered enough information.
Once school was over, this guy was either working at the Student Council, canvassing and lobbying upperclassmen for votes, or going on dates with his lovers.
Mio Ibuki had been tailing him for three or four days straight, and the more she followed him, the more frustrated she became.
She felt like an entertainment reporter chasing celebrity scandals, constantly hovering around Kaoru and watching him flirt left and right. It was unbearable.
She didn't want gossip—she wanted a big scoop!
"I'll follow him for a few more days. Maybe I'll catch the traitor!"
Mio Ibuki refused to give up. "Even if there's no traitor, I might uncover Class A's secrets and sell them to Class B!"
Indeed, the reason she was tailing Kaoru was because Nagumo suspected that there was a traitor in Class C as well.
Ryuen had sent her to see if Kaoru was secretly contacting anyone.
From what she had observed so far, the only person Kaoru had contacted was Hiyori.
Could Hiyori be the traitor? Ibuki found it highly unlikely, and Ryuen was even more skeptical.
Anyone could betray them, but this literary girl had no reason to.
She was too detached.
Apart from novels, Shiina Hiyori rarely initiated conversations with others.
On multiple occasions, Ibuki had seen her gazing foolishly at the white clouds in the sky, as if everything in the class had nothing to do with her—she was like a cloud in the sky.
"Enough, your task is over."
Ryuen waved his hand dismissively. "If there is a traitor, the exposure of Ishida has made them aware of the danger now."
Even if Ibuki was unwilling to accept it, she had no better ideas at the moment.
Besides, she didn't really want to believe that there could be a traitor in their class.
"So, are we just going to do nothing?"
The girl spoke quickly, with a sense of urgency. "All along, we've only been harassing Class D students. That won't have any real impact. They're definitely planning to counter us with written exams."
The weakness of Class C was obvious—they weren't good at exams, which was actually similar to Class D.
"How can fighting alone guarantee a 100% chance of victory? Even if we draw our preferred events, Class D isn't lacking in capable fighters."
Though reluctant to admit it, Ibuki felt that Suzune Horikita was a worthy opponent, along with Sudo, Koenji, and others.
Class C wasn't in a guaranteed winning position.
"You seem to have strong opinions about my decisions."
Ryuen scoffed disdainfully. "It's because your perspective is so limited that you'll always remain beneath me, Ibuki."
Before Ibuki could explode in anger, Ryuen continued calmly, "We currently have over ten million private points. Do you understand their value?"
Ibuki was slightly taken aback, as if she was starting to grasp his meaning.
"Class D isn't an impenetrable fortress. With a little pressure, someone will be willing to be bought."
Ryuen had already made plans. If Nagumo could use points to win people over, why couldn't he?
"Who?"
Ibuki recalled what Ryuen had done before and felt a flicker of anticipation.
"That's none of your business."
Ryuen took something out of his pocket and tossed it to Ibuki. "Keep this. It'll be very useful."
Ibuki didn't even have time to get angry, fumbling to catch what he threw.
She looked at it and frowned slightly. "What is this?"
It was a small bag of white powder.
"It's a laxative with a delayed effect. It won't take effect until forty-eight hours later."
Ryuen's expression remained unchanged. "Have the people tailing Class D find a way to make someone drink this. On exam day, someone might just be absent."
Ibuki was instantly alarmed, suspecting Ryuen had lost his mind. "Hey, if this is discovered, we'll be finished!"
"Let them find out first. Do you think I care?" Ryuen said coldly.
Ibuki hesitated, wanting to say more but holding back.
The reason she submitted to him and didn't resist like Takeko Nishino was precisely because this person would stop at nothing to win.
She believed Ryuen could lead their class to seize the crown from Class A.
At that moment, Ryuen suddenly smiled.
"Relax, Ibuki. This is just a strategy."He said nonchalantly, "Play it well, and we might even reel in Mitoma."
Ibuki didn't understand—what was he planning to do?
"Two days before the exam, tell the person in charge of surveillance about the laxative."
Ryuen listed several students' names, including Manabe Shiho.
"If anyone tries to inform Mitoma, the spy will be obvious. We can abort the laxative plan anyway, since we haven't done it yet."
Mio Ibuki was exhilarated, feeling as if a sudden revelation had dawned upon her, yet doubts still lingered.
"Should we send someone to tail the person following us?"
"No need, it's too troublesome."
Ryuen could even envision the opponent's methods. "Sending a message is safer than meeting in person. They could do it at night, from their own room. What means do we have to stop that?"
"Then confiscate their phones!"
Mio Ibuki answered without hesitation.
Ryuen looked at her as if she were an idiot.
What if the other party risked meeting Kaoru in the dead of night?
Could they really stand guard all night?
"No, we need to let Mitoma know."
A shadowy smile crept onto Ryuen's face. "He's so clever—right now, he's probably having the spy lay low. He might have even deleted all contact methods, let alone chat records."
But forcing the spy to risk reconnecting with Mitoma would inevitably leave traces.
"Once this person sends the message, I'll immediately confiscate everyone's phones and investigate them one by one."
Ryuen grew inexplicably excited.
Though he somewhat suspected he might just be fighting shadows, actually uncovering a spy would prove his ability to outmaneuver Kaoru.
If there turned out to be no spy, he'd lose nothing—he could just continue dosing the Class D students!
By now, even Mio Ibuki was getting worked up.
She couldn't wait to see Kaoru taken down a peg!