"So, Sana, have you and Daniel made any progress in figuring out how to improve the romantic factors that could help the overall relationship between Yulia and Daniel?"

As Hyunda asked that question to Sana, who was viciously drinking her strawberry shake, I pondered what Yulia and Arkalee were doing.

Regarding the first day of the festival, I had only partaken in one event thus far and naturally, I only did it because Sana was partaking it too.

"Ah, yes. We have been discussing some ideas about it. Though, you could help out too, Hyunda."

Sana has the idea that I and she are aiming towards improving the relationship between me and Yulia, and while Sana believes that's exactly the case, that's not entirely true.

"I suck at romance, which is why I left it to you two. Remember, you can't tell this to Yulia nor Arkalee. Especially Arkalee."

"Why not...?"

Although Hyunda says that he sucks at romance, I'm not sure if I believe that. And besides, I'm fairly sure that I know why Hyunda doesn't want Arkalee to know about this.

The question is, will Hyunda give the honest answer to Sana?

"She'll most likely not keep her mouth shut about this and this is supposed to be a secret in order to surprise Yulia. You get it, Sana? Arkalee doesn't know about the conception of private space so the moment you tell her about this, she might just go ahead and spill the beans."

Now this is confusing. My idea and interpretation as to why Hyunda would lie here were that Arkalee couldn't know this due to the fact that she might go paranoid once she realizes that Hyunda has been secretly wanting to help out our relationship.

Because Arkalee displays symptoms of obsession and parasitism.

However, he gave a completely different answer and I am not sure if he's lying or not.

"That was a rude way to put it, honestly. Don't you think you are treating Arkalee a bit ruthlessly?"

"That's up to me to fix it or not. But, you understand, right? No telling those two about this secret."

"Alright, I got it. Still, I don't know for how long I can coop up with this. I get the feeling that Yulia is getting the wrong idea..."

Sana doesn't get it.

Yulia's supposed to get the wrong idea. Hyunda and I know this for a fact.

"The more you do, the better. We have discussed and talked about this. Yulia's supposed to be in doubt currently and then you two will surprise her! How fantastic!"

Sana's idea, which Hyunda explicitly said to her was that I and Sana should discuss from time to time, ways to make Yulia feel happier through our relationship. Ideas that could improve our stability and durability throughout the whole relationship from this point on.

From another perspective, the event that happened earlier where I told Sana to put her phone in silent mode was just so she couldn't notice that Yulia might call her.

Yulia's excessive with her calls, so her behavior isn't that big of a deal to predict. The whole point of that action was, however, only something that Hyunda knew, because he had only asked me to do that without explaining why.

"Nonetheless, I dislike this methodology. It's so indirect and sneaky... Your idea is fine, but your methods are just so immoral, that's why I can't tell for how long I can keep this up, Hyunda. Yulia's my friend and I refuse to trick her."

Ironic you say that when you are already tricking her without knowing just how much, Sana.

Still, that's not for you to know, of course.

"The ends justify the means."

"No, they do not... If you can have such a good idea then why can't you come up with better methods?"

"Methodologies and ideologies are different concepts for a reason, Sana."

"I swear, I don't understand you..."

I do agree with Hyunda here. Ideologies are shaped differently and not according to methodologies because that completely ignores the restriction that the contradiction of the difference intertwines within.

What matters is the end goal. I never understood why it's such a bother to pursue the right methods. Though, in order to actually pull out the correct endgame scenario, correct methods are necessary.

But, I think Hyunda is aware of that.

"I see. Daniel, let's go do an event."

"Yeah."

At this point, I knew for a fact that Hyunda didn't actually mean what he had just said.

We wouldn't be partaking an event, as that became crystal clear to us as we ventured through the campus and observed the multi-events occurring. Mainly sports events.

For example, an on-going relay race could be witnessed as the crowd miscellaneously cheered for who was up ahead all the time and the losers left behind would just have to endure their own weakness as they would succumb to the place that wasn't the first.

"That was good for the first act."

"It was?"

Breaking the ominous silence that we both had created while we monochromatically absorbed the current events occurring into our vision, Hyunda complimented me while saying that yet I wasn't sure if it served as a good first act.

"Yes. Right now, the main goal is to make her feel insecure. Believe it or not, she places a lot of trust in you. You are most likely her source of security. But, that's not all. Sana also is. Which is why we will strip all of that away from her."

"Any ideas regarding how to make her feel less secure?"

Even though I had some ideas in mind, I interrogated Hyunda about that, just to see what sort of options he had in store.

"Keep Yulia in the dark. Furthermore, show that you want to be with Sana more than you want to be with her. Show but don't say. Also, strive to be present with Sana in a time where Yulia won't be present with her. This factor right here is powerful. Yulia's someone that has a strong mentality. But, strong mentalities aren't that strong if you already know why they are strong in the first place. Which means you can strike down the root of its power."

"Are you referring to the fact that Yulia's mentality is only strong due to the fact that her source of strength is me and Sana?"

True enough, regardless of this question, I have no idea how Hyunda intends to terminate our relationship. Will a simple kiss do it?

And besides, just how will Hyunda know when to pull it off?

"Partially. This can't be done abruptly. This is why you'll also have to partially aid her mind in the process, in order to add a valiant depth to the upcoming climax. This might sound like a lot, but the endgame is plausible. After all, you will be freed from a lot of responsibility. As long as you don't fall into the weakness."

"Weakness?"

As we took a seat in the public domain where we could observe the relay race up closer, amidst the crowd, we progressively discussed our set of ideas.

Speaking of relay race; Kuzan was running in it. However, he wasn't doing too hot.

As a matter of fact, he was displaying a lot of fatigue and a terrible running stance. His movements were all over the place. In comparison to the numerous participants who are ahead of him, he stood no chance.

"I'm talking about the sentiments a person would generally feel when committing actions that might be considered evil. What we are doing is manipulation on a high level. I am not sure if you notice, but it's not only Yulia that's being manipulated. It's Sana and Arkalee too. In ways that neither of them knows for sure. Sana's reaction earlier was the sentiment of guilt and the sentiment of doing something that is labeled as wrong. If you feel this way, then your actions will lose momentum. Are you feeling that way, Daniel?"

I suppose it's normal that Hyunda remains concerned about my mental state. After all, I am essential to pull this off, supposedly.

Though, the thing is, I don't feel guilt.

"Not at all. But, if Sana, Yulia, and Arkalee are being manipulated, then does that mean that I am being manipulated too?"

Expecting an honest answer from Hyunda is something that I am used to not receiving so I'm positive that he won't answer with honesty.

"It's not much of manipulation if you are already aware of your own actions and the final goal. The reason why I can't tell you the end goal is that you might change your mind regarding this whole event and the phenomenon that will surely take place."

"Why would I change my mind though? Is it something evil? I'm fine with it. Hey, aren't evil actions more according to the bright definition of freedom instead of the already established norm that society follows and interprets it as 'freedom'? Isn't that why malicious individuals don't mind their actions? Because they don't have a reason to?"

Strangely enough, out of all the people I've ever met, Hyunda's the first person I can just debate this without getting completely judged in a way that's utterly obnoxious to my liking.

It's as if Hyunda understands what I am actually saying and doesn't just try to prove me wrong simply due to the fact that my ideology is not approved by the majority.

Never did I think that I would meet someone like him. Maybe the fact that I am in a classroom full of criminals indicated that this meeting would happen based on the entire premise of the encounter...

"It's one thing to do things for the sake of malice. Ergo, if you do something evil, then it's normally to contradict the usage of righteousness because you have something against it. That sort of action is fabricated though and not genuine. Are you on that side of the ideology?"

Am I?

It's not as if I have something against righteous actions, they just never clicked to me. Why do people do righteous things? I like to believe that I can't comprehend the meaning behind this self-inserted question because I questioned morals throughout my life way too many times in order to fundamentally appreciate them in the first place and found nothing positive in return.

"No, I don't think I am. It's about what is logical. Isn't that the top priority?"

"So you think that logical thinking rules above all else too?"

"Well, yeah."

But I've been noticing something. Thinking too logically makes me numb to certain things. Am I too detached to notice the obvious contradiction that is supposed to be visible yet remains invisible?

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Back to the topic though, because I need to fix a certain person's insecurities transiently in a few minutes."

Who is he referring to exactly? Probably Arkalee.

"If Yulia attempts to connect with you emotionally, don't be monochrome. Be willing to show that you care, even if you actually don't. This will ease her conscious and she will feel secure. Sentient creatures use sentiments as links of strength to adjust their actions and thoughts. Yulia's no different. The more you show her that you care, the more she'll trust you and vice-versa. I feel like I'm repeating myself, but the main point to understand here is that if you show Yulia that you just don't care about her in a very blunt way, then this won't exactly work. You can't just tell her by actions that Sana is more important because that would degrade the entire value out of this endeavor. Ultimately, you know what to do, right?"

"Yeah, I do. I don't mind enduring some responsibility if it means I'll be freed from it in the end. That is what will happen, right, Hyunda?"

"Such is the case. The battle for freedom is a long one. It's never short. On the other hand, this is my way of repaying you."

About that...

"You know, is what I did really that worth it? You are going through so much just to repay me, dude. Are you sure about this, still?"

"What are you talking about? A favor is a favor. Repayment is a repayment. That's all there is to it. Or, are you unhappy with how I do things?"

"No, that's not it, Hyunda. I really don't mind how you do things; as a matter of fact, I would say that I actually support it. You just sacrifice so much for the actual thing that it's like you are doing more than you were initially supposed to..."

Accordingly, he said that this was a way for him to repay me for having gathered the rest inside the courtroom, but this feels so unnecessary.

Is this really it?

"Well, don't let it get it to you. I'm leaving."

"Later."

With his hands on his pockets, Hyunda got up from his seat and exited the scene.

In the meantime, the relay race was actually already over and thus, I went to the males' changing room's entrance. Although, not exactly at the entrance, but approximately almost.

The changing rooms served the obvious purpose of enabling students, participants, to swap from their tracksuits into their students' uniforms and vice-versa. Because, in order to partake in a sports event, you had to conduct it in your school tracksuit, otherwise, you could not partake it.

So, why was I here, idly waiting around in the back corner of the changing room's house, remaining undetected?

"Aniki, it's time."

"Damn right."

Meeting up with Kuzan symbolized the beginning of our operation. That's right, I didn't come here with Hyunda for no reason at all. This was all to also meet up with Kuzan.

Kuzan and I were already aware that our operation would begin after lunchtime. Events still occur during lunchtime, so Kuzan just took one and horribly failed at it.

"Aniki, do you know their locations?"

By 'their', Kuzan is referring to our targets, certainly. And unfortunately...

"No, I don't. However, I'm certain that I know someone who does..."

Thus, I called a certain individual, who was no other than Kawahara. Strangely enough, Kawahara knows their exact locations.

It's beyond me how he actually knows them though.

After confirming the information, I ended the call and confronted back to Kuzan while we walked to our yet unknown location aimlessly.

"Kuzan, you still remember Kawahara's very specific orders, right?"

"Aye, Aniki! I've studied them religiously!"

Okay, no need to go that far, Kuzan.

They are just orders, but you are talking about them like they are words written in the fucking bible lol.

Quiz club room.

Who knew that there was actually a club in this enormous and vast school that emphasized the theme of 'quiz'. A theme that is so practiced yet not actually known that much.

It's as if the very existence of this club was like a subpar glorification made just to preach the ultimate peak of Trivial Pursuit.

Hard to explain, but essentially, every single person here, in this room, would partake in a quiz that would determine who knew certain subjects better.

I've already read on how it will actually go down. It won't be an all-out battle, but it's between 25 students and there will be rounds of 5 questions first per round

The important thing to grasp here is that, depending on the number of right questions you answer, you will advance.

Here is the deal:

First round: Answer at least one question right, you pass. Otherwise, you fail.

Second round: Answer at least two questions right, you pass. Otherwise, you fail.

Third round: Answer at least three question right, you pass. Otherwise, you fail.

Fourth round: Answer at least four questions right, you pass. Otherwise, you fail.

Fifth round: Answer at least five questions right, you pass. Otherwise, you fail.

Five rounds, five questions and in the last round which is theoretically the fifth one, you have to nail every single one.

However, there is something worth noting here. If there are more than 3 participants that have aced all of the rounds clearly, then there will be the last round which is called 'First-blood'.

How original, very impressive, bravo. No, seriously, unoriginal thematical names aside, what's necessary to grasp here is that, if there is a scenario where more than three students ace the upcoming rounds, the first-blood will happen.

This scenario can happen with four participants, so to say.

"Kuzan, are you ready?"

I asked Kuzan that question who seemingly inhaled the air of the atmosphere while attempting to form his composure about the upcoming act.

"Yup! Let's do this!"

Ultimately confirming my question, Kuzan flashed a confident smirk as I did the same. Our targets were, fortunately for us, still not queueing up.

Instead, they were in the back row seats while waiting for the line to empty up. Reasonable. If the line is going to be eventually empty, then you might as well wait.

Therefore, we approached them.

"Hm!? I-Is that you, Ryoken?!"

Glancing upon the gloomy Ryoken, I said that with a drastic degree of enthusiasm, which was suddenly unlike me.

I even went as far as pointing at him while looking at Kuzan to confirm if that was really Ryoken.

"Woah! It is you, Ryoken! And Kan! What are you two doing here?! Man, what a mad coincidence! Who would've thought that we would cross each other on the first day! Hahaha!"

"Hahaha, Kuzan, you goddamn idiot, hahaha."

Lightly, I slapped Kuzan's back to unleash some of my anger at him because Kuzan was acting way too sarcastic.

"Ooops! Hahaha, my bad!"

Loudly laughing, Kuzan returned his mistake by tapping the back of his head with his right hand in a disrespectful way.

As for the ones who we were talking to...

"Fuck off clowns. Did Kawahara told you to stalk us?"

No need, Kan. You two got stalked by Kawahara most likely, but of course, this is only an assumption based on Kawahara's obsession with knowing a little bit of everything.

Slightly furious, unlike Kan, who had a relaxed expression, Ryoken backlashed at us straight away.

"It's a good thing you are here, Daniel. I haven't gotten a good payback for what you did!"

The poor creature is referring to that time where I gave him a light beating and had to drag him out of his room just because he was acting like a little bitch.

Oh no, how tragic.

However, I can't actually go out of the line here. Because our act isn't to be as sarcastic as possible, but...

"E-Eh!? You, what...? Payback?! H-How mean, man! How can you say that with a straight look like that?! I'm feeling scared!"

Faking a scared attitude, I cowered on the floor by kneeling down while displaying a victim's attitude.

"Aniki! What happened?! Be specific so I can help!"

What the fucking fuck, Kuzan, you literal fucking retard, how do you expect me to be more explicit when Ryoken went out of his way to be a rude jerk to my current fake fragile self!

Still, still.

"Ahhhh!! I'm so scared now! I just don't know if I have it within me to even participate in the event! He's scaring me!"

"Oh, cut it, you are faking this so hard, dude! No one's gonna believe you!"

Kuzan and I crossed glances as soon as Ryoken said those confident cocky words.

"I-I'll get the security guard! Just wait here! It will be quick!"

"Wait a fucking second! You can't be serious! You're going to call a guard?! What for!?"

Halting Kuzan's progression, Ryoken grabbed Kuzan's right wrist which stopped him from advancing and ultimately calling the block's guard to this event.

"You just hurt my Aniki's fragile feelings! That is unforgivable! Release me, you fiend!"

Expressing a revolted will, Kuzan attempted to break free from Ryoken's hands at once, which just caused him to tighten up the lock way more.

Furthermore, while this was happening, we did manage to attract the attention of the students who were all queued up.

"What the hell are you talking ab---"

Then, just as Ryoken attempted to rebuke at Kuzan, the first person who was in the queue abandoned his position and came forth to our location, which, just by its own attracted all attention possible.

"Excuse me, but just what exactly is going on?"

I recognized this person though. I think Kuzan, Kan, and Ryoken did. Pilled up with the student council president's group, there were two girls and three boys. One of those three boys had a really bizarre haircut.

The Skrillex haircut, also known as the haircut where your left side of the head is shaved while every other area aside from the left side completely contemplates the idea of having extremely long hair.

Naturally, to achieve that haircut position, your hair would have to be flipped all the way to the right, therefore, it couldn't be random.

Something also worth mentioning is that this dude had piercings everywhere. Lips, nose, ears, tongue and even eyebrows. Plus, he had the same earrings as him, factually down to the core of showing a gigantic hole throughout its visage.

"My dude, this guy over here is playing drama queen. On the order of someone else."

"Yo, I see! Your name?"

"Kan. Yours?"

"Plus!"

I'm sorry, what?

"Wait, you serious? Your name is Plus?"

Kan is as perplexed as I am. This is some awkward shit. What's next, a person named 'Minus'?

"Yeah, man. Though, who is playing the drama queen here?"

"Well, this guy."

Foolishly, Ryoken point at me, and I received the dreadful look of someone with a Skrillex haircut. Confused on whether to laugh or seriously continue the act, I switched up the gears.

"Oh, don't mind me. Ryoken and I are really good friends. But he's really bad at getting jokes."

"Dude, that was not a joke! Kuzan was serious just now!"

Speaking of Kuzan, Ryoken had relinquished the handhold that he had applied on Kuzan's wrist.

The aim here was just to lightly provoke Ryoken a little bit. And besides, this is our first time being able to interact with other students, so it's somewhat refreshing.

"Eh? I wasn't! I wasn't going to call a guard. He's taking a bathroom break!"

How the hell do you know that, Kuzan?!

No, more importantly.

"Can I just call you 'P', or do you want me to call you Plus?"

"Oh, that accent! You from America, man?"

Stopping the act, I got up from the floor and faced Plus directly. His height was fairly similar to mine, to the point where I would describe him as equal.

Though, the most noticeable thing about him, outside of the Skrillex haircut and piercings was the red band on his upper right arm, serving some sort of symbol, with a star in it.

"Hell yeah! That haircut though... Skrillex?"

"Yoooooo!! You know it!"

Intentionally, I traded those words of enthusiasm with P, who was most likely a student council member. Which also would explain why he went all the way here to fix this problem.

Because that's the duty of the student council, to ensure order.

"Well, my dudes, don't fight between each other, k? That's what the competition is here for! Decide who is the best through a valid and acceptable way! Alright?"

To P, this competition was probably the equivalent of nothing, to be honest. But to us. Who were on the brick of betting everything for a damn win, it was just about every single thing we could possibly wish for.

"Not to worry, P! That was just a joke! Name's Kuzan, by the way!"

"Got it, Kuzan. I'm watching you four, don't step out of the line, aight?"

Leaving us with that warning, P returned to the queue and briefly calmed the students that were watching the whole scene with ease.

"Yo, nothing to see here! Everything's fine, just a little misunderstanding, that's all!"

In this reception room of around fifteen students, with the registration of us four, it would reach almost twenty of us yet to get this started, a couple more would need to come.

All in all, this was just a warm-up. There was no reason to do what we just did. It was a baseless act yet it was as Kawahara said. A baseless unreasonable act that would disturb Ryoken's mind.

A sensitive mind doesn't really overlook a nonsensical act. Kan, on the other hand, willingly does so, because he's not completely sensitive to these types of situations.

In conclusion, Kuzan and I were starting something that would only accumulate throughout the whole festival.

That aside, Kuzan and I ignored Ryoken's hateful glare and descended down the stairs just a tiny bit, so we could remain cloaked to Ryoken and Kan's vision.

Descending step by step, we started to dialogue with one another.

"Kuzan, we have to win this. No, we have no way to lose, honestly."

Yes, because we have something that Kawahara went out of his way to give us, just to make sure that we wouldn't lose to them, in the said so event that they would partake in.

"Hehe, can you imagine how pissed off they will be, Aniki?"

"You have no idea, Kuzan."

No, seriously.

How would you feel if someone just---

"Oh, Kuzan! You are here!!"

Interrupting my thought process, both Kuzan and I were greeted with a shout from a short distance, or just by glancing at the end of the staircase, we could see the figure of Kanawari.

"Wah! Kanawari! You came here too!?"

"Yes, yes! Why didn't you say so!? Hahaha!"

Not showing any stops, Kuzan and Kanawari quickly engaged on that happy exchange of words.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't uphold the same degree of happiness as Kuzan, because...

Alongside Kanawari, a violent smirk rose up from her face. A sign of pure confidence and complete security that was visible to anyone passing by could only be emitted by someone like her.

Her hair color alone, attempting to differ from either light pink or deep lilac shone spontaneously as the lights from the windows reflected on her strong posture which would refine her words every time she would speak to the world itself.

"Well, would you look at that, Kana? Two trash cans are in front of us! How magical!"

A single sound of her obnoxiously confident voice was enough to remind me how looks can be deceiving. That despite all that peerless appearance, she is nothing more than a pile of stocked up arrogance mixed with a drop of sadness.

Sadness because she doesn't know that she's this arrogant.

"How mean, Lus!"

"Oh, you are right! That was mean. Kuzan's not the trash can, therefore, only one remains."

Sarcastically, she apologized while tapping her lips lightly with the edge of her fingers as if to make it sound like she really didn't mean to say what she wanted to say.

Yet, it was pretty obvious that she was blatantly doing this on purpose.

"Hey, Kuzan."

"Yeah, Aniki?"

I wasn't going to let that slide, of course.

"Wanna hear a joke?"

Kuzan, perplexed and somewhat confused tilted his head before replying, while we entertained the two individuals glancing upon our figures from downstairs.

"Yeah, okay, Aniki!"

"Alright, alright. Don't tell this to anyone, but... Did you know...?"

"Know what...?"

"That..."

"That?"

"Trash cans can put the word 'trash' in the same sentence while claiming that others are trash?!"

"Whaaaaaaat?! No waaaay!!"

It's seriously surprising though. How can you be such a piece of trash and not realize that you are trash and still claim that others are trash at the same time?

"Hey, Kana, I think someone just got offended and is struggling to defend his real identity. Oh, wait."

Motherf-