Thinking of this, Kamishiro couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
That laugh completely ignited the fury in Iori's heart.
(???皿??)??3??
He directly bypassed Yamamoto and questioned Kamishiro, "You got the guts to say you're a virgin?!"
Iori clearly remembered this bastard bragging about his wild romantic exploits just on the way to the classroom!
"Hmph~"
A trace of mockery flashed in Kamishiro's eyes. He just loved seeing others fly into important rage.
Fine, let's satisfy you!
"I'm a virgin."
Upon hearing that,
Iori looked expectantly at the lie detector. It had to go off now, right?
Come on, bring the hammer of justice down on this bastard!
However...
Nothing happened~
The lie detector remained as calm and serene as ever, nothing like how it reacted when Iori was holding it.
"This is impossible!"
Iori's eyes widened. No matter what, he couldn't believe this result.
Kamishiro a virgin?
The guy who's been to love hotels with tons of girls is a virgin?
Compared to that, Iori would rather believe he himself was actually a girl!
"No way, this device has to be broken!"
Iori said firmly. He absolutely refused to believe Kamishiro was a pure-hearted virgin!
"Is there a wiring issue?"
Kohei also bent down to inspect it. Clearly, he didn't buy it either.
"Give it up. Everything I said is the truth~"
Kamishiro said smugly. By now, Yamamoto and the others had already let him go.
Yamamoto even gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "That's our bro right there!"
Great. He had now fully accepted Kamishiro. As long as you're a virgin, you're our brother!
"You two can stop messing around. If you think the device is broken, just let the next guy try it out, yeah?"
With that, Yamamoto looked over at Mitarai. According to the order, it was his turn!
Iori and Kohei stared at Mitarai intensely. It was all up to him now!
Although if it turned out to be true, that Kamishiro really was a virgin, they'd feel much better inside…
But still, they couldn't accept having been fools for half a year!
Please, please let it be a malfunction!
At this moment,
Kamishiro lounged lazily in his seat, looking completely confident in his victory.
Once Mitarai got hammered, they'd understand—there was nothing wrong with the machine~
And he wouldn't have to worry about perverts in the school anymore!
Perfect!!
Gulp...
Standing in the hot seat, Mitarai was clearly a bit nervous.
That big iron hammer was just too damn intimidating!
Still, he was feeling more at ease now.
He, too, didn't believe Kamishiro was really a virgin!
Why?
That sixth sense shared by scumbags and squinty-eyed dudes!
Which meant…
This had to mean the lie detector was broken.
With that thought, Mitarai relaxed. He could dodge a bullet too!
As Mitarai placed his hand on the lie detector, the atmosphere in the classroom grew heavy.
This time, the fate of two people was on the line!
Yamamoto: "Okay, I'll ask!"
Special executioner Yamamoto begins the interrogation!
"Back in middle school… were you really popular?"
"Yes!"
The firm and confident reply stunned everyone—and more importantly—the lie detector didn't react!
It was the truth?
The room fell silent in an instant.
A moment later, a sigh of disappointment echoed through the classroom.
Yamamoto lifted his head, eyes shimmering with tears. "So it really was the device that's broken, huh…"
He should've known. With Kamishiro's looks and how popular he is, how could he possibly still be a virgin?
Iori: "Can we open it up and inspect it now?"
Kohei: "Who knows when the associate professor will be back."
"Hey hey hey!!! What's with you guys? I'm telling the absolute truth here, okay!"
Mitarai roared. He hadn't even started lying yet!
Kamishiro stood up at this point to defend his stand-in. "Don't jump to conclusions so fast. My stand-in is actually pretty good-looking. In middle school, where looks were everything, it's not that surprising he was popular, right?"
"Kamishiro…"
Upon hearing this,
Mitarai looked at Kamishiro, moved. He didn't expect Kamishiro to be the one who believed in him!
Kamishiro gave his stand-in a big smile and patted him on the shoulder. "I believe in you!"
"Mhm!"
For the first time, Mitarai experienced what it felt like to be trusted!
It felt amazing~
However…
Was that really the truth?
Of course not!
Kamishiro was the most eager for Mitarai to get slammed. That way, it'd prove that what he said earlier was true.
But somehow, this bastard managed to dodge the lie detector with some weird trick!
What could he do? If he didn't believe it now, then the only conclusion was that the lie detector was actually broken!
To be fair, even though Mitarai was a dumb scumbag, he was decent-looking.
After all, he was Kamishiro's stand-in!
As much as he didn't want to admit it, in middle school… Yamamoto and the others reluctantly accepted it as possibly true.
But they still didn't buy that "fan club" claim!
Fujiwara: "Ask more specific questions!"
Yamamoto: "Did you get confessed to a lot?"
Mitarai: "Yes."
"Keep going!"
Yamamoto: "Did you really have a fan club?"
Mitarai: "Yes."
Kamishiro: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
Now Kamishiro couldn't stay calm. He was starting to suspect the lie detector was broken. Even this ridiculous crap was true?
Or… was this squinty-eyed bastard just like him? Eyes closed the whole time?
No—!
He was definitely wide-eyed just now!
After twenty years of being a squinty-eyed guy, Kamishiro knew when someone's eyes were open.
Which meant… could his stand-in handle pressure better than he could?
No way!
Kamishiro refused to believe it!
It's just Mitarai, for crying out loud!
There had to be a flaw somewhere!
On the other side,
After multiple rounds of questioning, Iori and the others came to a conclusion.
"This device is broken!"
Mitarai looked super aggrieved. "You guys are gaslighting me! You just accepted Kamishiro a moment ago!"
Iori and Kohei shook their heads. They only accepted Kamishiro because they didn't believe him—so they figured the device had to be broken!
"Sigh…"
Mitarai sighed, pretending to look heartbroken as he stepped down from the hot seat.
But inside, he was screaming with joy. Whether or not the device worked, he was done!
He'd escaped the hammer!
But just then, a voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Wait!"
He turned around, puzzled, and looked at his comrade Kamishiro, not understanding why he was being called.
Because of that "I believe in you" earlier,
Mitarai now had complete trust in Kamishiro!
A few seconds later,
He realized… he had jumped the gun!
Because Kamishiro didn't stop him to defend him.
He stopped him… to ask one question!
"Your fans… were they human females?"
In an Instant
Everyone's eyes focused on Mitarai.
They really hadn't considered this possibility!
So that's it—wordplay!
Exactly. This is the conclusion Kamishiro arrived at, believing Mitarai couldn't possibly have such strong pressure-resistance capabilities.
Everything Mitarai said now is the truth!
However!
He hid key information!
Information that they had all overlooked until now.
Well, maybe not exactly "overlooked"...
After all, when people hear a boy has a fan club, their first thought would naturally be some youthful, cute girls.
And then they'd take that as a given assumption.
This—
Was the loophole Mitarai intended to exploit!
At that moment
All the trust in Mitarai's eyes vanished without a trace, replaced by a look as if he were staring at hazardous waste.
He didn't say a word—just let out a cold laugh.
BZZZZT!
Maybe he recalled some unpleasant memories—suddenly, the long-silent lie detector sprang to life.
Mitarai used the safety of his own balls to prove—there was nothing wrong with the machine!
BANG!
Another person was convulsing on the punishment platform~
Yamamoto: "Hey, Mitarai!"
Fujiwara: "Just what kind of people actually like you!?"
Iori's mouth twitched. Why did it feel like the number of things he wanted to know was increasing by the second?
But, if this was the case...
Then it meant the lie detector was functioning properly, and everything Kamishiro said earlier was true?!
Iori looked at Kamishiro in disbelief.
At that moment, Kamishiro was staring back with a smug, victorious grin.
No—not victorious.
A lawless maniac!
Seeing that grin, Iori instantly understood—this bastard must've used some unknown method to cheat the lie detector!
And to make it even more convincing, he even sacrificed Mitarai!
Damn it, what a despicable piece of garbage!
He had to be exposed!
Unfortunately, Iori still wasn't sure what method Kamishiro had used.
Surely it couldn't just be sheer pressure resistance.
That was a massive iron hammer!
One that could crush your balls at any moment!
Who could calmly lie while staring that thing in the face?
Wait?!
Staring at it...
Iori seemed to realize something.
Damn those squinty eyes!!!
"Heh heh~ And now, it's time for our final heavyweight guest~"
Kamishiro turned his gaze to Nojima, the origin of this entire thing!
He walked over, patted Nojima's shoulder, and his eyes, hidden in the shadows, radiated malicious intent.
"You... should be ready by now, right?"
It was all Nojima's fault that so much had unfolded.
If he'd just been the first to get his eggs crushed, the whole thing might've ended right there!
Facing the palpable malice, Nojima said nothing—he simply held his breath and walked silently to the execution platform.
At that moment, his mind was quietly sorting through his strategy.
"Let's recap the clues I have:
This lie detector—designed to detect lies—what a joke!
It's just an ordinary blood pressure and heart rate monitor.
If that's the case, all I need to do is keep my vitals steady.
But!
As long as that iron hammer exists, staying calm is impossible.
It amplifies tension until the toy captures it.
Still...
While I can't stay perfectly calm, manipulating blood pressure and heart rate isn't only possible through lying!
Kitahara just proved that!"
Exactly!
What Nojima needed to do was trigger the iron hammer on purpose, while telling the truth!
That way, the truth would be read as a lie.
For example, if he said, "I've never achieved the hundred-girl conquest," and then got hit?
It would prove that was a lie!
Therefore—
"I have achieved the hundred-girl conquest" would be true!
It's no longer about truth or lies—it's now a logic puzzle!
Plus, this method was reproducible—just a bit costly.
Each attempt would sacrifice two eggs...
Definitely not worth it.
But this time was different!
Nojima stared at the iron hammer in front of him, a spark of resolve flashing in his eyes.
Normally, he'd probably beg for mercy just to survive.
But!
When he thought of how everyone mocked him, a fire rose in his chest!
Why did these people refuse to believe he was no longer a virgin?!
This was trampling on his dignity!
On his beloved Elena!
Because Nojima stood there hesitating so long, Kamishiro and the others began to urge him on.
"Hurry up."
"You're getting hit anyway."
"Just say, 'I lost my virginity,' and be done with it."
Seeing the nasty faces all around him, Nojima only grew more determined!
Time's up.
He stopped holding his breath, panting heavily as he shouted:
"Actually, in my first year of high school, I lost my virginity—"
WHOOSH!
His rapid breathing caused an instant spike in blood pressure, and the hammer didn't even wait for him to finish—it came crashing down.
But—
Nojima managed to say it at the last second!
"JUST KIDDING!!!"
BANG!
Clutching his groin with a hint of satisfaction, Nojima joined the convulsing crowd~
His stunt stunned even Kamishiro and the others, who subconsciously upgraded Nojima's threat level.
Too ruthless. Even toward himself.
"Just how badly do you want to deny you're a virgin?!"
Kamishiro approved of Nojima!
A man who thought just like himself.
The only difference… Kamishiro walked the righteous path.
Nojima? The crooked road.
The others still couldn't understand the point of Nojima's actions.
They were college students, not that easily fooled.
Obviously—
Nobody believed Elena existed.
The only takeaway from this might be... the toy had loopholes. It needed changing.
May heaven bless you and your imaginary Elena~
Looking at the cold metallic hammer, Kamishiro shivered reflexively.
Too terrifying. In just a short while, it had achieved a quadra kill.
Truly, a brother-slayer.
No way!
It must be destroyed!
Thinking this, Kamishiro quickly announced to the group:
"Alright, the lie detector experiment is officially over. This thing is no longer necessary, I think—"
"WAIT!"
A familiar voice!
Kamishiro instantly felt a bad omen...