-239- Falling to the bottom

People are inherently divided into different ranks.

There are those with high status and those with low status.

There are the strong, and there are the weak.

This is an unavoidable social phenomenon.

People who are sunny, cheerful, gentle, and kind are generally liked.

Those who are dark, gloomy, negative, and evil are generally rejected.

Then, based on differences in ability, a person's status will decisively change.

People with ability attract all sorts of others around them.

People without ability are often looked down upon.

Although interpersonal relationships are not the only standard for measuring status, they are indeed an undeniably important factor.

Then, those who are rejected, looked down upon, and considered the weakest at the bottom of the pyramid will have no human rights to speak of.

Karuizawa Kei understood this very well.

In fact, she understood it better than anyone.

So, when she came to this school, Karuizawa Kei made a vow.

"No matter what means I have to use, I will become one of the strong."

Because only the strong can dominate the weak, and only by having the highest status can she avoid falling to the bottom.

Karuizawa Kei had enough of being at the bottom.

Therefore, she was willing to become a parasite if necessary.

However...

"You... you…"

Karuizawa Kei voice trembled as she looked at the three people before her.

That was not a voice a strong person would utter.

Karuizawa Kei, who vowed never to fall to the bottom, couldn't even remember the last time she made such a sound and had thought she would never make it again.

Unfortunately, reality is cruel.

Facing the impending threat, Karuizawa Kei found herself at the bottom once more.

At this moment, Karuizawa Kei was in the emergency stairwell on the fourth floor.

And in front of her, three people were slowly approaching.

"I told you before, we won't let this go!"

Shiho Manabe, cornering Karuizawa Kei against the wall, had a triumphant smile on her face.

Behind her, Nanami Yabu and Saki Yamashita were also present, their faces showing the same expression, looking down at Karuizawa Kei.

Karuizawa Kei knew those looks and expressions all too well.

There was no other reason; she had seen them too many times.

Because of this, Karuizawa Kei knew exactly what kind of fate awaited her.

Shiho Manabe, Nanami Yabu, and Saki Yamashita's eyes and expressions were all filled with one emotion.

That emotion was—violence.

"...What do you want?"

Karuizawa Kei's voice trembled again.

If someone from Class D were to hear this voice, they would be incredibly shocked, wouldn't they?

The strong, proud, and imposing Karuizawa Kei was making such a sound?

It would definitely cause a huge uproar.

But in essence, this voice was truly Karuizawa Kei's.

Even if Karuizawa Kei knew that making such a sound in this situation would lead to the worst outcome, her inner trauma had been unearthed, and she couldn't calm herself down.

And sure enough, perhaps emboldened by this voice, Shiho Manabe's attitude became even more aggressive.

"We confirmed with Rika. You did bully her during the summer vacation, didn't you?"

Karuizawa Kei knew exactly what they were talking about.

This was a fact.

To declare herself as a strong person to those around her, the existence of the weak was also necessary.

By exploiting the value of the weak, the status of the strong could be secured, something Karuizawa Kei had realized.

Therefore, to declare herself as a strong person in front of others, Karuizawa Kei needed weak individuals.

Unfortunately, the Rika they mentioned was the weak person Karuizawa Kei had chosen.

Karuizawa Kei had indeed bullied the girl mentioned by Shiho Manabe during the summer vacation.

And she had done it in front of her classmates.

In this way, others would know that the girl named Karuizawa Kei was not to be messed with.

Karuizawa Kei had used such means to establish her dominance over Rika.

But more unfortunately, this incident became the spark leading to today's situation.

Karuizawa Kei had been pushed to the brink.

At this point, Karuizawa Kei couldn't admit it.

She could only struggle to speak.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about."

This was her final struggle.

Whether it would work or not was another matter.

Nanami Yabu and Saki Yamashita then spoke one after another.

"Still trying to play dumb?"

"We secretly took photos of you and showed them to Rika."

Ah…

Her last retreat had been blocked.

This way, there was no way to end things peacefully.

From Shiho Manabe, Nanami Yabu, and Saki Yamashita's eyes, Karuizawa Kei could only see one outcome.

Her past memories suddenly resurfaced.

"...…"

Karuizawa Kei breathing became inevitably rapid.

"D-don't come closer…"

Karuizawa Kei shook her head, holding her head and curling up, making sounds like she was about to cry.

In this state, Karuizawa Kei no longer had any of the strong and thorny appearance people talked about.

At this moment, Karuizawa Kei lost her status as a strong person and became a weak one.

This was something Karuizawa Kei wanted to avoid at all costs.

But there was no choice.

Until now, Karuizawa Kei's status was merely obtained through some tricks.

The strong are strong because they have power.

Karuizawa Kei had no power and didn't make herself powerful; she just pretended to be powerful.

Now, that false mask had finally been torn off.

"Do you think playing the victim will work?"

Looking at Karuizawa Kei, Shiho Manabe not only didn't feel more satisfied but became even angrier.

"Where did that annoying attitude go? Huh?!"

Driven by her emotions, Shiho Manabe approached Karuizawa Kei aggressively.

Seeing her intimidating demeanor, it was clear that if Shiho Manabe got any closer, Karuizawa Kei would indeed become a target for venting.

In other words, Karuizawa Kei would be subjected to violence.

Karuizawa Kei had long seen through this, which was why she couldn't even maintain her mask.

As a result, she couldn't avoid what was coming.

Just as Karuizawa Kei was filled with fear and couldn't even make a sound...

"What are you doing here?"

A calm voice echoed through the stairwell.

"Ah…"

Karuizawa Kei stopped trembling.

"You…?!"

Shiho Manabe also stopped, standing still with Nanami Yabu and Saki Yamashita, their faces stiff.

Kei Karuizawa knew whose voice it was.

"Na...Nanaya…"

It was none other than Hori.