We walked toward a quiet building on the edge of the school campus. The building looked abandoned—no noise, no people. Just silence.
Inside, there was only one thing in the center of the room: a metal case.
Yuki narrowed her eyes. "That must be the money we have to protect."
Kiro looked around the room. Empty walls, dusty floor… but then he noticed something others might've missed.
A tiny camera was hidden in the wall, barely visible.
He sighed. Someone's watching already.
Yuki stepped forward confidently. "Let's go over the rules: we can't leave this building during the game. If we do, it's considered surrender."
Kiro nodded silently.
Yuki paced, thinking hard. "We need to hide the case somewhere unexpected…"
She glanced around, scanning corners, shelves, vents.
Then—"I've got it! The girl's bathroom!"
Kiro sighed internally. Bad idea… did she forget there's a girl on the other team too?
Before he could speak, Yuki suddenly paused. "Wait… there's a girl on their team."
She looked down, frustrated, then crouched low to the floor. She tapped part of the wooden boards. Thud. Thud. Hollow.
With effort, she pulled the floor open—a hidden compartment.
Kiro raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"We'll hide it here," Yuki said, placing the metal case inside. "No one thinks to look under the floor."
Kiro nodded. "Not bad."
But something wasn't right. He glanced at the wall again. Another small camera. Then another.
They were placed after we arrived.
That could only mean—our opponents knew where we'd be before the game started.
Kiro's thoughts sharpened.
> One of them has played this exact game before. They knew where we'd hide the money.
---
Yuki stood up. "Let's split up and look for them. I'll take the east wing."
Kiro nodded. "I'll take the stairs."
---
As Kiro walked down, yawning as usual, he spotted Nira Webashi, their brown-haired opponent, climbing the stairs.
Their eyes met.
Nira let out a long sigh and tried to walk past him.
Kiro turned. "Hey."
She stopped.
"What is it?" she asked, arms crossed.
Kiro stared at her calmly. "You know this isn't a fair match. You broke the rules."
Nira raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
"You and your partner, Aurel… one of you played this game before," Kiro said. "That means you had an advantage—and that breaks school fairness laws."
Nira blinked. "How do you know that?"
Kiro yawned. "I saw the cameras. You placed them here after the match began. Aurel remembered where players usually hide the case… because he's done this before."
She narrowed her eyes. "I'm impressed. No one else noticed the cameras. How did you?"
"I have sharp eyes."
She smiled slightly. "If you knew… why didn't you move the case or confront us earlier?"
Kiro shrugged. "There's no point. Wherever we hide it, your cameras will find it anyway."
"True…" Nira admitted. "But you can't report us. The principal set this match up. He's the one who picked us."
Kiro looked her straight in the eyes. "I won't report it to the principal."
"Then to who?" she asked, laughing. "You don't know anyone above him."
Kiro smirked. "I do. My father knows the school superintendent personally."
Nira froze.
> "If he tells the superintendent… we're out."
She hesitated. Kiro could see it in her eyes—fear. She believed him.
"Fine," she said quietly. "I'll tell you where our case is hidden."
---
Suddenly—
A voice echoed across the school speaker:
> "Class D wins."
---
Yuki, still searching the west wing, stopped in her tracks.
"…We won?"
---
In the principal's office, the man stood up from his desk in shock.
> "What? No… No…!"
---
Outside, Kiro walked calmly out of the building, hands in his pockets.
Yuki came running up behind him.
"Kiro! How did you find their money?!"
Kiro stretched. "Oh, it was up in the ceiling."
Yuki's eyes lit up. "You're amazing!"
Kiro smiled inwardly. Lying… I never found their money. I just made Nira give up. And I don't know the superintendent either.
He let out a soft sigh. "That was easy."
---
Later, Kiro returned home, collapsed on his bed, and checked his phone.
[ Points: 100 ]
He grinned. "Finally… I can get some sleep."
He closed his eyes and drifted off.
---
👁 Meanwhile, in the principal's office…
The principal slammed his desk. "How did you lose?! Who was behind it?!"
Nira stood trembling.
A flashback played in her mind.
> Nira: "Whose plan was it?" Kiro: sigh "It's all Yuki. She wanted me to play the villain." Nira: "Yuki…?"
---
Back in the present, Nira said aloud: "It was Yuki."
The principal looked stunned.
"…Her?"
He leaned back in his chair, smirking.
"I never knew she could lie like that… and she saw the cameras too?"
He grinned darkly.
"…I'm impressed."
> "Next time, then."
---