Chapter 35 – Come be my undercover agent

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"Really? You saw nothing at all?" Yukio asked calmly, without any hint of anger or impatience due to Sakura's denial or the lack of clues. He seemed quite at ease, enjoying the closed shop's atmosphere.

"In that case, Sakura, would you mind describing in detail what you did after school yesterday?" he asked. "If you truly didn't see anything, then it's fine."

"Eh?" Sakura's trembling slowly ceased, somewhat incredulous at Yukio's surprisingly good nature. Just like that? So simple?

Was it possible that she could just tell a lie and get away with it safely? This thought emboldened her slightly, but she still didn't dare to meet Yukio's gaze, afraid of eye contact with others.

But hearing Yukio's words, Sakura felt a bit more at ease. If Yukio was reasonable, maybe she could bluff her way through? A glimmer of hope shone through the darkness, and she unconsciously began fabricating a story: "Yesterday after school... I went to the convenience store near the girls' dormitory."

"I bought some things," Sakura said, her words faltering. But seeing Yukio listening silently, not interrupting or questioning her, emboldened her slightly more. She quickly added, recalling how she had forgotten to go to the cafeteria in her haste and had instant noodles for dinner: "First, I went back to the dorm to put away what I bought."

"Then I went to the cafeteria for dinner before returning to the dorm. I stayed there until this morning. I didn't go to Gym 2 or the nearby woods."

"Okay, good," Yukio responded politely after Sakura finished speaking. He then unexpectedly asked, "Could you please describe your activities from yesterday in reverse order?"

"Reverse order?!" Sakura panicked. What did this mean? Did Yukio not believe her lie?

Indeed! A person like Yukio would certainly verify things thoroughly. Her lying seemed even more dangerous now!

"This is a little trick to detect lies," Yukio explained kindly. "When people lie about their schedule, they tend to make it up as they go along. If you ask them to repeat it in reverse, their brain gets confused, and the lies tend to fall apart. You said you didn't do much yesterday, so you should be able to repeat it backwards, right?"

His tone was not at all interrogative, but rather like gentle guidance between classmates. The boy seemed to be teaching the girl how to approach a problem. But to Sakura, his calm voice was incredibly intimidating and frightening.

"Okay, okay... if I reverse it, I was in the dormitory last," Sakura's voice returned to a whimpering tone. "Before the dormitory, I went and bought something."

"Oh? Weren't you saying you returned to the dormitory after eating at the cafeteria?" Yukio reminded her, indicating she shouldn't mix things up.

"!" Sakura's body jolted violently, almost like the sensation of falling off a cliff in her sleep, her nerves so tight she forgot to breathe. "Right, right, first, I ate at the cafeteria, then returned to the dormitory. Before the cafeteria, I went to the convenience store."

"You're wrong again," Yukio corrected her a second time. "Before going to the cafeteria, you went back to your dorm to put away your things, didn't you? After that, you went to the cafeteria."

"Eh? It seems like... right, I... I... sorry!" Sakura, unable to maintain her façade any longer, completely broke down, squatting lower, hugging her head. "I'll tell you, I saw them fighting, and I even took photos of their fight. I'm really sorry..."

Yukio couldn't help but chuckle at her admission. In fact, he could have simply asked if she had been to the woods. The battery, the purchase orders, the sales records, they were all irrefutable evidence. Any denial would have been a clear lie.

His questions and explanation about detecting lies were just a bit of fun for him. He had sent C class students to monitor Sakura after he saw her leaving her dorm early in the morning. He snuck into the camera shop before her and hid in the staff room, seeking some amusement to quell his inner turmoil.

Seeing Sakura still pleading for forgiveness, Yukio had another idea in mind: "Alright, if you want to be forgiven, agree to two things for me. First, delete all photos of the fight completely, without keeping any backup. Second, act as my undercover agent in D class, help monitor them and pass on information."

At the previous celebration, Yukio had mentioned to his C class students that D class was easy to deal with and that they should focus more on A and B classes. But that was just for show. Although D class really wasn't worth mentioning, it hid Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, a stable result of the White Room project. Yukio wouldn't feel at ease without someone to keep an eye on him.

Sakura, always looking down and wearing unattractive glasses without makeup, could easily be the most inconspicuous girl in D class. Having such a low-profile girl as a spy would likely be safe and go unnoticed by Ayanokoji.

Of course, with something as important as this involving Ayanokoji, Yukio wouldn't blatantly reveal information about him. Instead, he asked her to gather information about Horikita and her associates, which would inevitably include Ayanokoji.

"???" Sakura was completely stunned, her mind struggling to comprehend this turn of events. Her, an undercover agent? That seemed like a joke! How could someone as timid as her do such a thing? She immediately expressed her concerns: "Yukio-kun! I can't do it! Being an undercover agent is too difficult for me!"

"I'll definitely mess it up! Whatever plans you have, Yukio-kun, I won't be able to do it!"

"Can't do it?" Yukio's laughter grew even more at her response. If only Ishizaki was here to see Yukio's smile, he would've known someone was in trouble.

Yukio didn't make any verbal threats. He simply walked back, picked up the split chair lying near the unconscious shopkeeper, and dragged it along. The damaged chair scraping across the floor tiles created an irritating, grating noise, but to Sakura, it was utterly terrifying.

"No, don't..." Sakura hugged her head tighter, tears welling up in her eyes again. She didn't hesitate to agree to his terms: "I agree, I'll be an undercover agent! I'll secretly note everything in my class."

"Anything you want to know, Yukio-kun, I'll tell you!"

"That's more like it," Yukio casually tossed the chair aside, not towards Sakura, but just off to the side. "Of course, working for me will have its rewards."

"You seem to love photography and taking pictures, right? You even post your selfies online. This is what that creepy shopkeeper just mentioned."

"Here's the deal: work for me, and I'll help you clear out any location on campus you want for your photography. No need to sneak around looking for secluded places anymore."

"!" Sakura was astonished. The tears in her eyes seemed to be reabsorbed, and she looked up at Yukio in disbelief: "Really?!"

If she had Yukio's help, she could go to many different places to take photos! Normally, to keep her secret, she had to go to deserted places, but the scenery wasn't great.

"Of course, I always keep my word," Yukio replied, knowing that a mix of intimidation and reward is an effective way to gain loyalty.

Just as he had done with Ryuen and Ishizaki, he would do the same with Sakura. A combination of threat and inducement, using violence to intimidate and benefits to bind, is how to secure long-term cooperation.

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