On an upcoming day, April 23rd, two individuals would be apprehended and would join Ryousuke Kawahara in the prison cells. The time for their apprehension was within the morning of April 23rd and Percy Phoenix was the one who put them behind the bars, exactly like Ryousuke Kawahara.

"Release me! I said release me! We did nothing wrong!"

"This is unfair! We don't even know you!"

Their complaints could be heard loud and clear as Ryousuke Kawahara, who is in the in-between prison cell in comparison to the cell on his right side and the other one on his left side, resisted the urge to laugh or to treat the two individuals as their own acquaintances. On the surface, Ryousuke Kawahara and the two individuals would have no interaction with each other whatsoever which meant that they were essentially strangers to one another.

In addition, the two individuals were hogging onto the iron bars as they weren't content with what was happening to them. However, to Percy Phoenix, there was no greater pleasure at the moment.

"This is great! Two more rats to the ceiling! How lovely! Seven more to go! HAHA!"

But the individuals responded aggressively as intended.

"Screw you! Who is allowing this?!"

"Where are my rights at?!"

Takeshi Kuzan and Saitou Rayazaki were the newly captured individuals. What had happened in reality was that Percy Phoenix, had once again claimed that he had captured them and his justification for not killing them was that he is a good person. In reality, Shiori Denko informed several other groups of a strange movement in the cameras within the north direction towards a hidden cave and that instead of killing the individuals within that place, they should instead buy the services of the guards from Percy Phoenix to incapacitate them.

However, the guards informed Percy Phoenix about this and went to that location where multiple students had claimed to have seen Kuzan and Rayazaki. The reason as to why they didn't die was because Shiori Denko argued that if the individuals surrender on their own, then killing would be unnecessary. Nonetheless, Percy Phoenix didn't exactly agree with her reasoning at first but when she mentioned that nurturing the students here to unnecessary violence could lead to them misguiding their own lives, he saw the point there.

Regardless, Percy only agreed because he knew he would lose Denko's respect otherwise and he didn't want to be seen as a tyrannical individual who didn't respect the opinion of others.

As Percy Phoenix had left the vicinity, there were currently three locked up individuals who didn't talk to each other, for a very specific reason.

If the guards were to catch them interacting in a friendly manner, then they would be suspects of conspiration. Furthermore, this was actually Ryousuke Kawahara's plan. As soon as Sagasuga told him what was actually happening, he had Saitou Rayazaki and Takeshi Kuzan stand by in one of the hidden caves on the island towards the north direction so that they would be capturable. In such area, cameras did not capture their movements.

Although this sounds unrealistic in theory, Kawahara is not the person in control here, as what he thinks is happening, is by all means being manipulated by other certain individuals. Yet, at the moment, he is led to believe that he was successful and, as a matter of fact, he indeed was.

Sooner or later, the presence of Shiori Denko would come towards Ryousuke Kawahara only; utterly ignoring Saitou Rayazaki and Takeshi Kuzan.

The distance from their ceilings was about ten meters each, horizontally, so overhearing a conversation wasn't exactly easy. However, they were both commanded to act as unfamiliar with Kawahara as possible but not to the point of causing intentional arguments with him as it would sound suspicious.

Upon seeing Shiori Denko, Ryousuke Kawahara got up from his bed and met her height behind the bars.

"I wasn't joking."

"Yes, I can see that... Wouldn't they kill you if they knew you were the ones who sold them out?"

"It was all a gamble; meaning this could've failed."

"...What?"

"Shiori, there are parts of this island that you and the rest will never be able to enter without my help. As you can rationalize, that's where they are most likely at..."

Shiori Denko then felt the need to stand on top as she saw that Ryousuke Kawahara was delivering far too crucial information and that was a mistake on his part.

"With that information, I can just start searching the vicinities within the island while you starve here. You are stupid."

"Well, why don't you just do that?"

Ryousuke Kawahara started to relax back and sat on his bed once again as he further incentivated Shiori Denko to commit to her thoughts.

"There's nothing stopping you, is there? Also, Phoenix was the one who got the glory again. However, this time, you were the one who made that happen. Ah, this calls for a celebration, Shiori!"

He started to clap lowly but deep down, Shiori Denko knew that what Ryousuke Kawahara had in store could far benefit her, however, there was just one slight problem. Every time this would happen, Percy would benefit entirely and she started to dislike this factor.

Surely, one could argue that Shiori Denko is at fault here for not taking a more frontal approach and that she deserves to not get any glory. Nonetheless, the feeling of being under Percy Phoenix's shadow started to grow in her.

Percy Phoenix would not hesitate to claim that he was in fact the one who did the capture on his own, meanwhile she knew that was a lie.

In the end, she was confused on what to do, and then, Ryousuke Kawahara spoke as he captured a moment of doubt in her figure.

"Percy is a problem, isn't he? At this rate, even if you are all successful in your endeavor, nothing will change. Back in school, you'll just be number 2 again. Hilarious, if you think about it?"

"...."

Shiori Denko's cold glare without any sort of positive emotion behind her smile reflected how serious she was about this which led to Ryousuke Kawahara to say something in addition.

"He is the problem, because without my help, none of you will ever find the rest. He knows he could get information out of me, but instead, he is going to let me starve to death. Fucking stupid, isn't he? Do you think he would accept an alliance of mutual interest with me?"

"No, he won't. In the first place, you are a criminal who can't be trusted---"

"Yet I gave you truthful information. Isn't that the logical basis for fundamental trust? Or am I wrong here? Well, first place student, Shiori Denko?"

"........."

Silence implies consent to Kawahara, which then gave him yet another window of opportunity.

"Percy Phoenix, if exposed, he will lose trust."

"I am not interested in that, however. I am here to buy your services once again."

Kawahara had attempted to further extent his previous argument, but Shiori Denko didn't felt like arguing about that so she started to instigate what she came from.

"That's more like it. What will you require, Shiori?"

"Please refrain from calling me by my first name. It's disgusting."

"Hm? I think the name is cute though."

Shiori Denko was referring to how disgusting it was for an arrogant criminal such as Kawahara to say her first name so casually. Furthermore, his additional jokes would often get on her nerves though she didn't show the reaction.

She ignored that however and went straight to the point.

"The same as yesterday. Give me more locations."

It was a reasonable request to Shiori Denko because she was under the impression that Ryousuke Kawahara was in fact aware of the location of others. Ryousuke Kawahara could've denied such, however, he instead went about it from a different approach.

"That's not possible----at the moment."

"What? What do you mean at the moment?"

Seeing that she had taken the bait, Ryousuke Kawahara continued to manipulate Shiori Denko's beliefs.

"Their whereabouts are not within anyone's reach... In other words, their locations can only be accessed through specific locations within this island."

"Well, just tell me where to find them then..."

Ryousuke Kawahara could've told Shiori Denko that to access the proximity and the interior of such locations the requirement of a specific password is beyond necessary; however, Shiori Denko did not have to know about that yet.

Simply by telling her the locations of such specific locations, he could earn a favor from her.

"I don't know where they all are, as I only know three of them. However----For each location I give you, you'll have to do a favor for me."

"That is absurd. I am your only hope at survival, in case you haven't noticed. Yesterday, I awaited patiently for the guards to take a break so I could offer you food. Do you realize how important my existence is to your survival?"

"We don't have a deal then?"

No sane person would do what Kawahara is currently doing, as it's extremely factual that Shiori Denko could be Ryousuke Kawahara's last hope for survival, otherwise he would very well starve to death.

In hope that he would later reason with her once he thought that he needed her way more than he needs now, she walked out while feeling a bit mad.

"...."

For Ryousuke Kawahara, that had failed, but he knew that she would come back four hours later. At the moment, it's 8 am, so by the time of lunch, she would be back.

It had become a routine for Ryousuke Kawahara, who at the moment was awaiting for his next guest.

Around 10 am, his guest appeared, once again, facing his height as he gauched down his composure.

"Ryousuke Kawahara-dono... Why did you become a criminal?"

Kawahara was a bit shocked as Rokoro struck him with a more personal question than anything.

"Are you familiar with the problems of an outcast?"

"Hm.... May I say yes because I often feel isolated from the rest?"

"Well, why not?"

Kawahara shrugged it off and accepted Rokoro's suggestion.

"I figured I could only be accepted through doing something drastic. Nowadays, you either step out of the line and show the world what you got, or you'll be irrelevant."

"...So you did it for recognition, Kawahara-dono? That is a bit foolish, if I may inquire."

"So? What are you here for?"

"Ah, why yes. I need your insight on this! I've attempted this nearly everywhere and attempted to extract opinions on it, but... maybe, for some odd reason, I could find a better strange insight in the mind of a criminal?"

Rokoro took out a certain object from his long white coat that resembled that of a scientist and upon witnessing the strange object, Ryousuke Kawahara instinctively asked a question to Rokoro without thinking.

"Where is the number on it?"

"?"

Intrigued, Rokoro began to search for number within the scanner. The scanner that was actually used by Daniel Lead upon finding the first section through the help of Hajime Hyunda, is a scanner that detects passwords by scanning the entry of the computer entry. Should one go through the first section which Ryousuke Kawahara had theorized about existing previously before the second section, then the rest of the passwords would come for free.

Essentially, the first person who would obtain the scanner, would ultimately be in supreme advantage. However, Hiroyoshi Sagasuga manipulated Ryousuke Kawahara into following the path that would lead towards the second section instead of the first section and as such, Ryousuke Kawahara had never came across this item and upon hearing the number that Rokoro had found on behind the scanner that has a cellphone's screen on top of it, he opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Number 1...? Hm, but I wasn't the first one; it was Denko-dono!"

While Rokoro was assuming that the object's number was co-associated with the IQ exams' placements, Ryousuke Kawahara began to lowly grin as he realized what was happening. Yesterday, he had came to the conclusion that possibly, the ten individuals who visited him yesterday were all in possession of the components yet he had no idea how. However, the moment he realized that Percy Phoenix had attributed the components to the top ten students from the IQ tests, he saw the whole picture.

Percy Phoenix was fooling them into believing that the components were something else while in reality, those components meant the world for Kawahara.

Still, he had to make sure.

"Hey, kid... Do you know what that is? Did Percy Phoenix explain it to you?"

"No and that's the issue! As you can see, this scanner is working but it doesn't scan anything!"

Showing the screen on the top of the scanner to Kawahara, who was now closer, he indeed saw that the component was working.

"But, Kawahara-dono, how did you know about that...?"

"You've been lied to, geek. That's how."

"...What?"

Although this was a great chance to talk with Rokoro, Kawahara distanced himself and went back to pretend to be asleep which made Rokoro confused.

"Kawahara-dono, I beseek you! What do you know about this?!"

"......"

No matter how much he tried, Kawahara would not reply and his strategy was to make Rokoro deeply think about the part when Kawahara told him that Rokoro was being lied to. In other words, Rokoro would associate the existence of that object with Percy Phoenix and how perhaps that was not an actual reward.

Eventually, lunch time came and as previously agreed with, Shiori Denko would have to visit Ryousuke Kawahara again.

This time around, she could not carry a plate of food and went down to business as Kawahara naturally expected her from afar.

"I keep my word, unlike what you might've not expected."

"I never said that, Shiori. I expect great things from you, after all."

"The nerve..."

Annoyed by Kawahara's lack of formality, Denko bit her own luscious lips, but quickly dismissed her attitude.

"Hey, who are you after?"

"..."

Shiori Denko knew what Ryousuke Kawahara was talking about. It was already evident that the person she was after was not Ryousuke Kawahara, Saitou Rayazaki, nor Takeshi Kuzan. It had to be one of the other ones. Someone who Shiori Denko actually wanted to kill with her own hands so she could get the reward for that.

Kawahara knew that despite three lives already being sparred, it could very well just mean that Shiori Denko was looking out for someone.

"I am not telling you. Instead, I want one location for now."

"No. I will only give you the three other locations that I know. Not one, but three. In exchange for three favors."

"Why? Why must it be that way? What if I just don't do your favors?"

But, all along, Shiori Denko had misunderstood something and that was due to the confusing nature of Ryousuke Kawahara's words.

In spite, he grinned as he administered what was actually going to happen, should a deal go down.

"Shiori... You have it wrong. You will do me the three favors first and only then will I give you their locations."

Outraged, she could not believe in the absurdity from Kawahara's words.

"That is even more absurd! Are all criminals as illogical as you are? I thought I had sensed some sort of rationality within you, but you are just as conventional manipulator incapable of harnessing the most common of common senses..."

"That is not true. I believe what I am doing isn't even absurd, because, how can you claim it to be an absurd deal when you haven't even heard the content of the deal yet? What you only know is that I'll give you three locations in return of three favors. You don't even know what favors I'm referring to, Shiori. Aren't you overreacting?"

Kawahara had a point that not even Shiori Denko could deny. She was, in fact, overreacting, but it was only natural as she believed that if she was not in the upper hand here, she was just being manipulated so she had to play it as safe as possible.

To her, Kawahara was a potential manipulator who wouldn't hesitate to sell out his companions and had a great potency when it came to secrecy.

".....Say it then."

Denko was surely referring to the three favors and to this, Kawahara showed no reluctance possible as he was certain of what his first favor would be.

However, there was something important that Kawahara had in mind whenever talking to Shiori Denko whilst attempting to strike a deal with her. Perhaps he thought that it was because it was a girl at first, but he soon realized that it was part of her own individualism. Shiori Denko does not like doing things openly and if a deal strictly involved Shiori Denko doing something openly while utterly exposing herself, she would not accept it.

The reasoning behind this was how Shiori Denko firstly denied Ryousuke Kawahara's deal in the morning which involved in her being exposed to three unknown favors. By capitalizing on her psychological reaction, Ryousuke Kawahara became aware that deep down, she is afraid of internal commitment. Later on now, when she returned, she could not agree to Ryousuke Kawahara's deal which once again exposed her in a way that she didn't like.

This, nonetheless, didn't mean that she was useless. As a matter of fact, in Ryousuke Kawahara's mind, she was far more useful than anyone because she could be used if she were to operate on a basis that would not make her uncomfortable on the surface.

"I want a list that contains the number of overall guards, butlers and about the total weapons in the vicinity. I will say this: You don't have to directly do this yourself as anyone else can."

"That's all? You are talking about all that as if you are going to break out on your own. You're delusional."

She giggled a bit as she found it funny that Ryousuke Kawahara was asking for such an information when he is in fact, locked up along with two of his other acquaintances. However, Ryousuke Kawahara was not a fool.

He was aware that breaking out of this prison was the wrong move from the start and that everyone would assume that he would eventually try to break out of prison as a last resort of desperation.

"You accept?"

"......."

Ryousuke Kawahara was not interested in explaining the depth of his plan to Shiori Denko as he only wanted to know whether or not she accepted.

Instead of confirming it, she moved to the second favor, thus delaying her conclusive answer.

"What is the second favor?"

Once again, Ryousuke Kawahara showed no sluggishness in replying.

"I want to know ten girls who wouldn't mind sleeping with Percy. Or--better said, get fucked in the ass by Lord Phoenix himself."

"...Wh... You're sick..."

As she processed the content of the favor, she began to distance herself from Kawahara until she hit the back of the white wall.

Kawahara felt the need to dispel her worries.

"I am not saying it's you who has to be subjected to what I just implied. But ten girls. What do you say?"

"...What are you planning?"

Shrugging it off without answering that, he went to the point.

"Is that a yes?"

"What's the third?"

Shiori Denko did not give a positive but also not a negative reply to that. Thus far, the favors didn't directly expose Shiori Denko because in order to obtain the first favor, she could tell a friend to gather all that information as she could tell them that she was afraid of a potential jail break and needed to know the overall martial might present.

Secondly, Shiori Denko did not even need to make a list for ten girls who wouldn't mind having sexual conducts with Percy as she knew more than ten who would gladly do it as long as there is a reward involved, to which, she could very well work that around.

In other words, so far, nothing was worrying her except the contents of the favors which were controversial.

But not as controversial as this one.

"This entire area is running on manufactured energy; a power supply of electricity that is backed up by something. In other words---without the power system, technology here is entirely useless. Find where that power source is and give it to me."

"You have to be kidding me. Do you realize how suggestive that is for you?"

"What's the harm, exactly? I am locked up. Are you afraid of what I could do even though I am powerless?"

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Yes.

Ryousuke Kawahara is powerless and the fact that he has to rely on others to do things for him is the sheer evidence to that. However, Shiori Denko's unnatural suspicion that Ryousuke Kawahara had something on his sleeve alerted her very highly.

"What if I am? If someone were to use these factors against us, then we would all be screwed in the end."

Once again, it appeared that Shiori Denko had misunderstood something here.

"I won't use it against you..."

"...Then who? You want something here, otherwise you wouldn't ask for these favors. What do you intend to do to Percy?"

She had swiftly arrived at the conclusion that Ryousuke Kawahara was in fact targeting Percy Phoenix, but she also got something very wrong.

"I don't intend to do anything with Percy. Percy is nothing, if you view it logically. Will Percy beat me in a fight? No. Will Percy beat me in a fight with weapons to his aid? Perhaps. Will I be able to escape this prison with so many guards around? No. Will I be able to escape this parameter with bounties on my head? Very likely not. See, Shiori----It's not Percy who is dangerous---but rather, the ones who are afflicted to him."

"...I understand that. It's very obvious, yes. Still, I want his reward and if something were to happen to Percy, then I wouldn't like it."

"............."

Ryousuke Kawahara backed off to his bed once again as he then went to the conclusive point, again.

"Do you accept these conditions?"

"No. The last favor is extremely suggestive and I won't have you gain the knowledge of the power plant. I have no idea how but I don't want you to have such knowledge. You're right though. Percy on his own is nothing---but what he offers is there and I want that."

In response, Kawahara's shoulders began to drop as his right hand comforted his face's surface whilst a gigantic grin was born for the purpose of mocking Denko.

"Kukuhahaha...! A lapdog to the end!"

"....!?"

"You dumb bitch... I am offering you a way to retaliate from Percy, but in the end you'll just surrender to your own fear like a normal loser. Instead of siding with me here, you'll wonder in circles."

"Shut up! You're trying to manipulate me! I don't need you! I can always use the other two..."

Sly, Denko put her right hand covering her lips as she witnessed Kawahara in shock as to her, Kawahara's reaction was that of a nervous person because she thought that she could use Rayazaki and Kuzan to her advantage here instead of relying on Ryousuke Kawahara.

In order to truly fool her, Kawahara began to act in a nervous manner, firstly by being unnecessarily clingy.

"...I have better information than they do, you are making a mistake here..."

"Oh really? You wouldn't mind if I went to confirm this on my own, would you?"

"I am telling you, it won't work..."

Giving up, Kawahara threw himself on his bed and faced the opposite direction of Denko as he covered his face whilst laughing profoundly.

Shiori Denko was fully under the impression that Kuzan and Rayazaki would have the same degree of information, but she was met with silence every time she asked something to Kuzan and Rayazaki. Of course, these were orders from Kawahara way before they arrived here.

Should anyone attempt to sack information out of them instead of Kawahara himself, they were to show silence no matter what.

"....What......."

After being extremely unsuccessful, she went back to Kawahara's cell and asked a question.

"What is wrong with those two? They are dead silent."

"They don't like you?"

"Why you...!"

In a rhapsody of fury, Denko kicked the iron bar with her feet as she left some words before completely walking away yet again.

"You are nothing without me! Stupid psychopath."

Not to be mistaken by a reaction made out of denial; Shiori Denko was fuming at Kawahara's irrationality, but he knew that Denko would come back anyways.

Midst this, Kawahara laughed out loud.

"Who is my next guest now...?"

It was not just a guest, but two individuals this time around. One already showed up in the morning, but he was accompanied by Youjo, his female acquitance.

Rokoro initiated the conversation as he took the component out of Youjo's hand and showed it to Kawahara. Naturally, Youjo had agreed to this as Rokoro had reasoned with her earlier that Kawahara knew something about this more than Percy did.

"I tried asking Percy-dono about the number and why it wasn't linked with the IQ tests' placings but..."

"The answer seemed a bit off... I am not sure if these objects were given to us as rewards for being in the top ten anymore."

Apparently, Rokoro and Youjo had arrived at the conclusion that the objects were highly suspicious and that they had no visible purpose which made them actually wonder the purpose behind Percy Phoenix's action.

However, Kawahara quickly filled them in, under one condition.

"I can tell you the truth about the objects; if you don't tell anyone about it. Especially Percy Phoenix."

"....Suspicious..."

Immediately skeptical, Youjo began to dismiss Kawahara's condition, but Rokoro argued against her initial skepticism with a factual point.

"But Youjo, Kawahara-dono does know more about this than anyone else! And it is strange that Percy-dono didn't tell us the truth behind these objects! Furthermore, we can't use th---"

Tired of his non-stop babbling, Youjo understood Rokoro's point and made him stop for being far too talkative.

"I get it! I get it!"

"With that said, Kawahara-dono, we won't tell anyone! We are extremely curious!"

In their mind, Kawahara was bound to starve to death and extracting this simple information at the cost of simply not telling anyone about it didn't raise any danger flags to Rokoro and Youjo.

But first, Kawahara would reason with Rokoro.

"Kid, did Phoenix give ten objects to ten individuals?"

"How do you know that, Kawahara-dono?! I am impressed!"

"I figured, because, the ten components are actually not meant for you ten. They are meant for---"

Having realizing what Kawahara was implying, Rokoro bursted out in exclamation which made Youjo step away a few meters from him as he slammed his fist onto his right open palm.

"I see now, Kawahara-dono! There are ten criminals and the ten objects are for those ten criminals!"

"....You could put it like that."

"...Am I wrong, Kawahara-dono?"

Rokoro wasn't exactly wrong, but he wasn't totally right at the same time. The ten objects would be in the possession of those who would harness them. Whether they were designed for ten individuals or not, Kawahara knew not.

What he knew, however, was that there were most likely ten sections below this island and that the components were co-associated with the existence of such sections.

Both Rokoro and Youjo did not need to know this, however.

"I don't know, you see. But I had three components with me, if I recall correctly."

"....Huh?! That's impossible!"

"Wait, Youjo! If he's lying, then that's the gist of it, but Kawahara-dono doesn't know what the other objects look like in theory! In other words, since we know, we can confirm whether or not he's truly lying!"

"...I---guess...?"

Acknowledging Rokoro's point, Youjo saw the meaning in Kawahara's upcoming words.

"It was a tablet that allowed me to capture the entirety of the island. In addition to that, a formidable ax. Lastly, two iron bars..."

In reality, Kawahara only had two components, which were the tablet and the ax, but not the iron bars. The reason as to why he used the iron bars was because Musi had showed them earlier to Kawahara, so he already knew that they would believe him.

"......."

Youjo sat there in silence in the interrogation chair as Rokoro could not be more excited.

"I suspected such, Kawahara-dono!"

"Hold on just a second! Doesn't this mean that Percy lied to us?!"

In resonance to Youjo's skepticism, Kawahara filled her in.

"Bingo! He used a poor excuse to give you the items that have no utility to any of you except the criminals in this island. He knew he would be vulnerable to us if he kept them in a single spot, so he split the ten components with ten individuals and what better way to do that other than give it to the top ten who scored the highest on his little exams?"

Rokoro's glasses fell off his face in awe as Youjo couldn't also believe that she had been manipulated by Percy and thus, the seeds of doubt had been placed.

However, Kawahara was not done.

"Those components are highly dangerous as some of them might have suggested. Tell me, was there any component that sounded extremely dangerous for some reason?"

Youjo thought for a while but ultimately Rokoro was able to come up with a very surefire answer.

"The cloud reactor! Denko-dono immediately chose it! I recall that it was oddly dangerous and questioned deep down the rationality behind the decision, but I ultimately thought that it would be used for the extermination of the criminals..."

"......"

Ryousuke Kawahara was not aware about the cloud reactor that contained the poisonous flasks in them. However, in reality, he technically obtained it, except it was Izayoi Daku, his split personality. Although it's buried deep within his consciousness, he cannot recall it. If Hiroyoshi Sagasuga had not erased the memories of Ryousuke Kawahara, Izayoi Daku, Saitou Rayazaki, and Takeshi Kuzan, then the immense danger of the existence of the cloud reactor would become far more relevant.

"...What do we do now...? Would anyone believe us if we told them that Percy is actually...?"

"...I fear that we would be laughed at, Youjo... But this is wrong...!"

The morality of these students was slowly but surely getting warped. They found more wronghood in Percy Phoenix manipulating them without their knowledge than killing some criminals off.

Ryousuke Kawahara was well aware that he could not behave like an irrational psychopath who would demonstrate emotion on every moment given.

Instead, he secured the knowledge of something.

"What's the number on that component you got there?"

Rokoro answered it simply as it was on the back of the component.

"5!"

"Did you place 5th?"

The true owner of the component, Youjo, stepped up and answered it fiercely.

"I actually did..."

"That's a coincidence though because the number on my component is 1 and I was fourth place!"

Youjo's component is actually a component that Hajime Hyunda gave to Izayoi Daku back in the fifth section. If Ryousuke Kawahara knew what that component did, he would not hesitate to try and snatch it. Yet, Youjo remained highly skeptical as she was scared that pressing that button could create an explosion, for example.

"Kawahara-dono... I am immensely curious and I seek to utilize these components but I don't know how! I was hoping you'd have the answer to that..."

Kawahara was highly aware that Hiruyuma Rokoro was a tremendously curious individual as he didn't allow his knowledge to be restricted. Arguably said, Rokoro demonstrated a far more elevated interest in the components and their mysterious origins rather than killing the rest of the criminals.

Knowing that, Kawahara couldn't help but question Rokoro.

"Kid, are you not worried about the bounties? Or the fact that this island is habituated by criminals?"

Hiruyima Rokoro then gave a succint and honest reply to this.

"Frankly, I want the reward for killing Daniel Lead! However, something in my intuition tells me that these components are connected to the other criminals because if these components are not meant for us but the criminals then we should seek out their utility instead of blindly searching everywhere for them!"

The content of Hiruyima Rokoro greatly fascinated Ryousuke Kawahara as he saw individualism overflowing within Rokoro. He saw that the potential of Rokoro could not be wasted at the hands of Percy Phoenix and as such, he saw a window of opportunity and Kawahara took it.

"You say some interesting things, kid! I wanna make a deal with you. I am willing to share knowledge about what the components actually do with you."

"Kawahara-dono!"

With glistering eyes, nothing made Rokoro more happy than being able to have restricted knowledge. It was his passion to know the forbidden, so he was naturally inclined to this, but Youjo remained fairly skeptical as she watched Kawahara continue.

"As long as I get valuable information in return, kid."

"But of course! I know many, many things! How many I help you---Aw, aw! Youjo, what are you doing?!"

Feeling like he was being manipulated, Youjo distorted the upper part of Rokoro's left ear and once again, dragged him out of the vicinity.

"You are such an idiot!"

"W-What----Ow, ow, it hurts!!!---Kawahara-dono!"

From his cell, Kawahara spoke important words as Rokoro was eliminated from the scene.

"Don't bring the girl next time, kid!"

Falling deep on his bed once again, Kawahara took an afternoon nap.

Kuzan and Rayazaki didn't speak this whole time as Kawahara had ordered them previously to not make unnecessary contact as Kawahara would always initiate contact and not the other way around.

Ryousuke Kawahara's nap was interrupted at exactly 4 pm by the visit of Shiori Denko, who had to perform a visit out of duty from the deal she had made. However, the truth is that she wanted to talk with Kawahara.

"Wake up."

"....Hah...?"

Sleepy, Kawahara was forced to wake up and look to his right where he saw Shiori Denko and expressed boredom upon seeing her.

"Wuuaaaahh.... Muah..."

"........"

Shiori Denko was slowly becoming infuriated but Ryousuke Kawahara quickly adjusted his posture and faced her from afar.

"Are we finally going to get somewhere?"

"I still think your deal is unreasonable. But, I want to know something else instead--- If I obey all of your favors, will you tell me the location of Hajime Hyunda?"

"...!"

As Kawahara heard that, he woke himself up even further as he recognized that their goals aligned and thus, he laughed out loud.

"...Hahaha!! Haha..."

"What's so funny?!"

"It's--It's not like that... I just----didn't---hahaha---expect our targets to be the same."

This shocked Denko as she was not aware that Kawahara was in fact targeting Hajime Hyunda all along.

As such, she took a seat on the interrogation chair instead of standing up like before, but Kawahara was the one who spoke firstly.

"Sure. I accept. However-----you won't win. Not like this. It doesn't matter how many you take along with you, numbers can't overwhelm him. Unless I am there, you won't win, Shiori."

"...Why?"

"Just trust me here, will you? Goddamn it."

"No way, you rufian. A deal's a deal. I'll be back at 8 pm with the requirements. If you give me false information, you will greatly pay, Ryousuke Kawahara."

Just like that, their short interaction came to a brief end.

Ryousuke Kawahara now became aware that Shiori Denko was in fact targeting Hajime Hyunda because the reward for his head was far too great. And it might've been a mistake from Ryousuke Kawahara to have said that she shouldn't go after him, because, in the end, what Kawahara is going to do once Shiori Denko is done achieving the favors isn't to actually give her his location, but give her the entrance of one of the caves in which she will realize she can't go in due to the lack of knowledge in passwords.

In other words, Kawahara doesn't know where Hyunda is.

Ultimately, he went back to sleep, except he received yet another visitor. The visitor became less shy than yesterday.

The girl was Rena. She had no idea how to approach Kawahara and Kawahara knew that he had to make use of her somehow, so he didn't turn around to look at her as she peeked through the bars from the right side of the entrance, all the way to Kawahara's back resting low on the bed.

".........."

She wasn't going to speak no matter what, which made Kawahara act.

"Your name?"

"Heek!"

For a second, he thought whether or not "Heek" could be a name, but that was not the case as Rena simply backed off a few steps and only thirty seconds later, did she crawl out into the bars.

She only had this level of confidence because Rayazaki and Kuzan were taking a nap.

Her eyes peeked at Kawahara once again.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, hell, I couldn't, even if I wanted do. I would tell you my name if you didn't already know, but I'm sure you've heard "Ryousuke Kawahara" so many times at this point that you're sick of it, huh?"

"............"

But still no response came forth, however, Rena, for the first time, had not backed off as she didn't imagine that a criminal could hold a normal conversation without starting to behave like a psychopath.

"I don't know why you are here, but if you're not going to tell me your name, could you at least tell me why you are here?"

"............"

It took her a while to build the strength to get up from the floor and even when she did, her legs were in a state of shock, as the words from her mouth were weak-toned.

"...........You're a bad person and I.....----Why... do you people like to hurt others....? What is it that you see in others that is so satisfying for you to commit to immoral acts...?"

This was a personal judgment and as such, Rena was seeking a reason and Ryousuke Kawahara, gave her the truth, in a bittersweet voice.

"People hurt me so I hurt them back. I felt tired of feeling so worthless and realized that the more I hurt others back, the more I felt useful to myself. Probably not the answer you were looking for, but that's it."

".......Okay..."

At first, Rena was confused by what Kawahara had said, but since she was highly emotional as a person and could feel emotions on a deeper level, she recognized the emotion in Kawahara's voice as he said those words and judged that whole sentence to be true, which was the case.

"...Do you ever feel sorry...?"

To this, Kawahara brutally answered back.

"Hell no. They got what they deserved. People will always feel sorry after the bad things that they did, but not before they do it, which is stupid because being "sorry" is nothing more than a method of convenience to justify your actions. So, no, I don't feel sorry."

"...You should."

Rena didn't give her name to Kawahara but deep down, Kawahara knew that arguing and justifying his own past actions to those who could not understand them was pointless, so he never spoke about them in depth. He found such a pointlessness in doing so, that he started to feel bad for people like Rena, who got confused by this.

In the end, that was all that Rena did.

Ryousuke Kawahara in the upcoming hour realized that his visits from now on would become limited as he had attracted the attention of some individuals but at the same time, he also had dismissed some individuals as he saw that there was no point to their interactions with him.

Individuals like Karlos and Damian would more than likely not give him a visit because they would earn nothing from it. He wasn't sure whether or not Musi would visit him, but he thought to himself that it was something that was impossible to correctly predict. A 50-50 chance, so to say.

Rena might pay him a visit but her usefulness would perhaps not flourish yet. Not while he was locked up. Which left the other six individuals: Shiori Denko, Albaz Yasuda, Hiruyima Rokoro, Yuzura Youjo, Khaen Yoh, and Lav Zwette.

Shiori Denko would make her visit around 8 pm which left the window open for the other individuals.

Thus, one hour and thirty minutes after, Yoh and Zwette came to pay Kawahara a visit.

Meekly as ever, Yoh initiated the conversation.

".......No matter how much we thought about it, we couldn't think of an immediate reward..."

To further emphazie, Zwette spoke in addition.

"...Forgive my honesty, but you will die in a couple of days because no one is allowed to feed you and as such..."

But, to Kawahara, against all odds, the fact that they couldn't think of a reward gave him the room to think and he came up with an immediate reward.

He went back in time a bit and recalled what they actually wanted and he remembered it.

"You want Kan's location, yeah?"

They both nooded.

"I have a reward in mind."

The upcoming silence, as Kawahara looked at the nervous individuals, felt like an eternity for them, as Yoh was forced to ask what the reward was.

"....What is it?"

There was only something that interested Ryousuke Kawahara that Yoh and Zwette could have. Or rather---they absolutely have in their possession. It initially shocked them how Ryousuke Kawahara was aware of this.

"The little toys Percy gave you. I want them. Hand it to me and I will give you Akenama Kan's location."

"....."

Yoh and Zwette crossed glances with one another as they thought to themselves whether or not they should really give such items to Ryousuke Kawahara. On one hand, giving Kawahara the tablet that Zwette has should not pose an issue, but straight up giving an ax to him is out of the question and as such, Yoh felt the need to justify why they couldn't come to an agreement.

"....Zwette's object isn't dangerous, but.... mine could bring problems..."

Since Kawahara was aware of the existence of the ax, he gambled and guessed Yoh's component.

"Let me guess? The ax?"

"How did you..."

"Mhm, I can see your point. By the way, have you tested it?"

"....."

Yoh had tested it against several trees in the jungle that should not have been brought down as easily as he swung it whilst practicing, but the fact that they did meant that there was something unnatural about the ax.

Not only was the iron extremely resistant but the edge was razor sharp and could cut through the majority of everything, except for what isn't of the same metallic nature. Of course, Yoh didn't know this, but he knew something was off about the ax.

"....If I gave it to you, I could see you break out..."

"........"

There was nothing Ryousuke Kawahara could do about this. But even so, it wasn't as if Ryousuke Kawahara was going to break out of the jail with the ax. In the first place, in order to swing the ax, he would need a momentum with his arms and since he was tightly shackled, that was simply not possible.

However, Kawahara didn't completely give up and proposed an alternative strategy.

"How about this? Tomorrow, at exactly this time, which should be around 6 pm, you two will have to pay me a visit and do something for me. And then, I will tell you Kan's location. Of course, if you view the request at the time as illogical, you are free to decline it. How about it?"

"......."

To them, it sounded like a hollow proposition as time would only be able to tell the content of the proposition.

"...What do you think?"

"...Your choice..."

"..."

Yoh was forced to choose once again and as he saw no danger to this, he gave the positive answer before completely walking out with Zwette.

"....We'll be back then..."

"........."

Willing to respect their decision, Kawahara showed silence. He realized that there was a massive difference when it comes to Yoh and Zwette compared to the rest. They naturally lack confidence and aren't willing to commit to many risky decisions as they prefer to play it safe.

Even though Kawahara is locked up and chained up, they still didn't feel in charge, but Kawahara didn't see the meaning in making himself feel like in charge yet because it would be too early.

Fifteen minutes before 8 pm, Albaz Yasuda paid him a visit, which took him longer than he had expected.

"It's strange... Although there are already three of you, you are not afraid. Is that because you are a psychopath and you don't feel remorse, even for yourself? Hah."

Mocking Kawahara straight up, he felt the need to question her purpose here.

"Another session of bragging? Bring Percy next time so you have someone else to share the same level of being as pathetic as possible."

"Hah, no. I am not here for that. That was just a test. Actually, this island is pretty great, what a shame you can't get a taste of it, criminal."

"Are you bipolar or something? You claim that this isn't a session of bragging but you begin to do exactly that after denying it? Get lost, I have a guest soon."

Ryousuke Kawahara could not afford to have Shiori Denko miss out on her visit so he was actually willing to drag Yasuda out of the vicinity through verbal words if she did not exit the area.

However, she stopped joking around as soon as she saw how serious Kawahara was.

"...How? How do you----kill someone.... I want the reward extremely badly but every time I think about killing someone, or---Hiroyoshi Sagasuga, my mind freezes...!"

"......."

As he witnessed the terrified expression on her face, Ryousuke Kawahara calmly walked up to her from his bed with his head down.

Then, his higher height towered her as he gave her a simple solution with a smile on his face.

"Aren't you too good of a person deep down to tarnish your morality over a petty reward?"

"...."

Yasuda began to blush as she was enchanted by Kawahara's natural charm and words. Perhaps deep down inside her, the sheer contrast of a criminal, a person who is often associated with a tremendous lack of empathy, morality, and ethics, showing a reasonable comprehension like that, made her wonder whether Kawahara was actually a criminal in the first place.

"What Percy is doing is nothing more than something for his own greed. And along the way, people like you are losing their way, thanks to this. So, just don't do it."

"...Huh?"

Their eyes met and Kawahara spoke extremely calmly to the paranoid Yasuda.

"Don't do it. It's that simple."

"...But I want a place in the student council! And I know I'm never going to get it..."

"Is that your dream?"

She nodded slightly a few times nervously, which made Kawahara speak his true mind about dreams.

"If it's your dream, you have to be the one who realizes it. If you allow others to take control of your dream, then it's not your dream anymore. A dream is actually the peak of selfishness, but we don't view it that way. It's a goal----that we vow to give our entirety to, no matter what. So, are you telling me that your dream is something so simple that you can achieve it by obeying a single order? Isn't that contradictive? Didn't you at first have to put way more effort into your dream than now? Aren't you being disrespectful towards your dream? And, ultimately, aren't you demolishing the worth of your dream by choosing an immoral action as the key that open the door to your dream?"

Ryousuke Kawahara didn't want to hold this conversation for any longer so he said one last line before turning all the way to his bed.

"Think about all that good and then come back once your mind is clear. Killing someone will forever change you. Don't just ride the wave because everyone is afraid of being left out."

"..........Wow."

Her eyes widened in surprise as it took her a while to exit the scene as she kept looking at Kawahara's back constantly whilst looking away.

Eventually, she went away as she began to thought deeply about the plethora of questions that Ryousuke Kawahara had earlier spoken.

Not feeling in the mood to take a nap, Kawahara spoke out loud through the whole ceiling as his words reached Kuzan and Rayazaki, who were impatiently awaiting for him to begin verbal contact at last.

"Keep up the work; you're doing great."

Silently, they felt far less preoccupied as their lives were practically riding on their leader, Ryousuke Kawahara.

Around ten minutes later, Shiori Denko paid Kawahara a visit, as per usual.

After looking at her right and left, and only after noticing that there wasn't anyone else watching her, she swiftly spoke to Kawahara from afar, who awaited the information.

"I won't repeat myself, so if you forget it, it's not my fault. Listen closely."

"Mhm."

As serious as possible, Kawahara put his brain to its maximum focus so he could absorb the upcoming details with astonishing accuracy.

"There are fifty guards in total. 25 butlers. As for the weapons, I went to verify the number and the number of weapons is spread within the category of the weapons. In other words, as there are 10 guns of the same category, in another row of guns with a different category there will be other 10. All in all, there are 750 in total."

"Phew! Hot damn, that's a lot. Someone's scared out of his wit's much, huh?"

"....I agree that it's a bit too much, but it's better than nothing. Moving on, here......"

Shiori Denko attempted to extend her hand with the list that contains the names of the ten girls who would be more than willing to have sex with Percy Phoenix. She was disgusted and wanted to vomit, but what Kawahara said would somehow calm her down.

"Keep it with you. Go on."

".........Weird..."

It was confusing to her as to why Kawahara was on the look for girls who wanted to throw her bodies at Percy Phoenix, but she had an idea in mind. However, she couldn't connect that idea with anything that could ultimately benefit Kawahara, so she didn't give it much thought and went on.

"On the west side of the jungle, there is a gigantic manufacturer of energy that's without a doubt allowing the energy here. As a matter of fact, if we go anywhere else that's not within this vicinity, we will lose signal. There is absolutely no Wi-Fi however, which is terrible..."

"What is the manufacturer like?"

"It's adjoined with several cables connected to one jet in specific which is the energy conductor that transmits energy through everything it connects, which is essentially everything. There, happy?"

"You could say that."

Now, Ryousuke Kawahara had to fulfill the later part of the deal as he would give the location of three others. However, he already knew that it would be a failure, but he still had to fool Denko nonetheless.

With a hand gesture, Kawahara physically asked for the map, which Denko didn't hesitate on giving him through the bars.

This time around, Ryousuke Kawahara pointed at a specific location of the map in the south which would be the first cave that Sagasuga and Kawahara went to. A different location from the one he had given earlier, on the north side.

"Here, you'll find three of them."

".........Is Haji---"

"No. Without me, you won't find him."

"Why you?"

"Don't question the lines of play here, Shiori."

Annoyed but not disgusted this time, Denko corrected Kawahara.

"Denko is the appropriate way. You lack education, pig."

".........."

As he watched Denko start to walk away, Kawahara asked something.

"Are you going to go there by yourself?"

"Naturally not. Haven't you learned anything from me after all of our interactions?"

"..........."

Silently, Kawahara retreated in solitude as he became aware of Shiori Denko's strategy. She would most likely use other groups in a manipulative way again in order to instigate the area by giving excuses, but the crucial part would be for Denko to be aware that no matter who goes there; the result would be the same.

They would encounter a computer entry that would have password entries. Ryousuke Kawahara was also aware of one thing. The password lock would most likely be used because Kawahara and Sagasuga had successfully deciphered it before.

But, what Ryousuke Kawahara had no idea was that Hiroyoshi Sagasuga would have reset everything back to the beginning state and the impression that Kawahara had about the success previously achieved by him was in fact, currently non-existent.

"Well, well! Aren't you a famous clown? You've been getting quite a lot of visits, dog."

Percy Phoenix was here for yet another round of mockery.

"What do you want?"

With his hair covering most his face, Kawahara looked in Percy's direction as this person was eating his dinner, again.

It went without saying that Ryousuke Kawahara, Takeshi Kuzan, and Saitou Rayazaki were all starving. It had been almost a day since they had eaten anything at all.

Plus, they had to resist the urge to do their necessities since there wasn't any bathroom for them. Deep down, they were starting to feel the physical pressure as everything was looking grim.

"I gotta say----when I heard about you creatures in my school, I was fucking scared. Criminals, in my school. Huh, I thought. But holy shit, my disappointment could have not been bigger. None of you clowns pack a punch. Hell, when I think about it, if I were a criminal, wouldn't I be the real deal?"

"............."

Not in the mood for jokes, Kawahara let everything that Percy Phoenix was about to say be bygones.

"What's wrong? Talk, bitch."

".........."

"...Want this?"

".....!!"

As much as he wanted to ignore Percy Phoenix, Ryousuke Kawahara's current starved state of being led his eyes right into the plate full of chicken wings. Unconsiously, his mouth began to droll and his lips were overflowing with saliva despite not speaking a single word.

Upon witnessing such a natural reaction, Percy became convinced that Kawahara was making a tremendous effort to not show the fact that he was starving.

"Ohhhh!!! OH! That's it... Keep your eyes on the plate, dog."

Kawahara's eyes followed the plate as Percy paused it on the cold floor. Despite hearing sounds of Percy's jean's belt being released, Kawahara paid no mind as he couldn't resist the urge of the food that near him; although on the other side of the cell.

He was not getting up from his bed, but his stomach howled loudly.

"....Ahhh....Ahhh...AHHH!!"

Then, a few seconds passed and Kawahara, from afar started to notice that the chicken wings were covered with a white substance.

The realization of what it was made Kawahara's mind snap so hard that he had to apply a bite onto his own right forearm as a method of self-restraint. The pain he would feel from biting his own forearm would be so great that the pain would be the only thing he would feel as he submerged the fact that the chicken wings, covered with Percy's semen, were now within his reach. All because Percy purposely put the plate inside his cell.

As it stood, Ryousuke Kawahara could eat and reduce his starvation. The possibility was there and a part of him was telling him that his stupid pride would be his downfall as eating was the logical choice for survival.

Yet the tears of blood emerging from Kawahara's wide eyes filled with an unspoken rage made him determined to not move a single inch.

At that very moment, Ryousuke Kawahara determined that tomorrow would be the end of Percy Phoenix as well as his time in this prison.