4 Social Death: Gahamama and Horikita Suzune (Part 1)
「While making his die-hard loyalists even more devoted, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was simultaneously conducting other tasks.」
「Following the annihilation of the Kingdom's army, the city residents were coerced into submission. Naturally, the City Lord was no exception; he was forced to swallow a lethal poison pill. If he did not serve Ayanokouji Kiyotaka faithfully, he would receive no antidote, leaving him in a state worse than death.」
「Of course, the entire process of poisoning and threatening was carried out by Setsuna and the others. As the Earth Emperor, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka absolutely should not perform such tasks personally, for that would imply he lacked the confidence to win over the City Lord through sheer presence, and it would lack imperial grandeur.」
「Anything detrimental to the establishment of his personal prestige was communicated through subtle hints, allowing his reliable loyalists to grasp his intent and act spontaneously, easing the burdens of their Emperor.」
「Setsuna administered the poison to both the City Lord and another defiant, arrogant noble who looked down on the former commoner 'Keyaru.' She then gave the antidote to the City Lord, but withheld it from the noble.」
「Immediately after, the City Lord watched with his own eyes as that noble went from cursing to wailing, then to begging, and finally emitting screams like those from a living hell. His entire body itched from the inside out—itching so intensely that he clawed himself to death.」
「After this, the City Lord said nothing. He knelt on the spot, swearing by eighteen generations of his ancestors to be loyal unto death to the Earth Emperor.」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka laughed heartily, stating that he liked things that knew how to adapt to the circumstances. Since the man could flatter him enough to make him laugh, what harm was there in letting him keep his position as City Lord?」
「Then came the specific mission instructions.」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had the City Lord write a letter to the Royal Capital. The gist was that the General had been defeated and the army completely wiped out.」
「The narrative was: "Keyaru is a monster who didn't care for the villagers at all; he didn't show his face until they were all executed. It wasn't until our local soldiers cooperated with the search that we finally found a trace of him."」
「Following that: "The General was arrogant and careless. Upon discovering the trace of the Healing Hero Keyaru, he ordered a sortie to pursue him, only to fall into Keyaru's ambush in the forest."」
「In the letter, he hinted: "The General allowed his army to plunder my territory; regarding his failure, I can only say 'good riddance'." At the same time, he cautiously added: "His plundering caused me much damage, so I shall take the liberty of embezzling the armor and weapons left behind by his army as compensation, shall I?"」
「Finally, he added some flowery words: "If we discover Keyaru's whereabouts again in the future, we will certainly report it. Forever loyal to Lady Norn, forever loyal to His Majesty the King."」
「Before sending it out, Sword Saint Kureha looked at the letter, confused by some of the content. "Why write in a way that suggests the City Lord is happy the General is dead? Won't that make the Second Princess suspicious? Won't she think the City Lord might be involved in a conspiracy with you to murder the General?"」
「"It is precisely because of these hints that the Second Princess will be less suspicious."」
「Speaking with profound wisdom, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had no interest in explaining the intricate twists and turns from scratch. He had no intention of teaching this simple, foolish child who understood nothing of the ways of the world.」
「"But if she can perceive the flaw I deliberately exposed in this letter, that would please me even more. The higher her caliber, the more satisfied I shall be."」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka smiled, though he didn't hold high expectations. Judging by Second Princess Norn's current level, she was likely only on par with the Council of Sages from the Kingdom of Lugunica—not even comparable to that useless thing in the Sacred Vollachian Empire who was constantly being kicked off his throne.」
「"Before facing him, I only hope for a passing grade from an enemy to practice my touch... What a pity. If only Horikita Manabu or Ryuen had come over as well. If they cast aside their personal agendas and joined forces with Norn with everything they had, the two sides clumping together might actually be quite interesting."」
「But one cannot ask for too much. The current situation was acceptable; at least the Second Princess had some skill, unlike First Princess Flare, whose schemes and strategies were so poor they were—damn it—just like Horikita Suzune's. Truly disappointing.」
"…? What does that mean?
What do you mean by that, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!?"
In Advanced Nurturing High School, Horikita Suzune stared with eyes as red and bloodshot as Ram's, her fists clenched and teeth gnashing.
She felt as if she had been struck on the back of the head with a heavy club. Her entire state of being was beyond words.
Here she was, Horikita Suzune, putting aside past grievances to boast about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, only for him to turn around and slap her ruthlessly with a savage backstab. What the hell was this?
"Ha—Hahahaha!"
Seeing Horikita Suzune's bitter, resentful expression, Ryuen burst into joyful laughter on the spot.
Before Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had revealed himself, Ryuen had once believed that the clever moves made by Class D in various exams were all Suzune's doing, and he had held a high opinion of her.
Now, the truth was out: the mastermind was Ayanokouji, and Horikita Suzune was purely a pawn pushed to the front.
That was one thing, but the problem was the pawn lacked self-awareness. Previously, Horikita Suzune often acted tough and cool, as if she really were impressive.
Recalling the times he had actually respected her, Ryuen felt disgusted. Now that it was time to mock her and kick her while she was down, how could he, the gangster Ryuen, let this pass?
Katsuragi, Sakayanagi Arisu, and Ichinose Honami cast looks of pity toward the Horikita siblings.
They knew exactly what happened to the "clowns" who appeared in these videos. There was a precedent proving it...
When Hikigaya Hachiman once said, "I have never liked Yuigahama," Yuigahama Yui's notoriety instantly peaked worldwide.
Nowadays, when people mentioned "failure in love," the top term wasn't even "loser dog" anymore; they used Yuigahama Yui as the reference. For example: "Wow, her confession failed. Poor thing, she's such a Yuigahama Yui."
There was even a common consolation: "Don't be sad, at least you aren't as bad as Yuigahama Yui, right?"
Even though Hikigaya Hachiman had stood up to tell the world not to mock the innocent Yuigahama Yui, while such comments decreased slightly, the sheer volume remained massive.
It was said that because of this, Hikigaya Hachiman personally went to the Yuigahama house to apologize, and the government gave their family a lot of money.
Hikigaya also requested Priscilla to grant Yuigahama Yui "Great Fortune" to help her find her best and most deserving partner as soon as possible.
These reparations were undeniably generous.
Perhaps commoners saw this as the benefits outweighing the drawbacks, but for people like Ryuen, they valued intangible wealth like reputation and prestige much more. Thus, they absolutely did not want to be the "clown."
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