CH 50

“―Is he the rumored famous KAI?”

After Kai left, the escort was smiling, with a venomous tongue that spoke to me.

This is Alice’s escort and a teacher of Alice and the others at the school.

She looks younger than her age but she’s actually 24.

At lunchtime, when I told Kai that if he judged people by their looks, he would regret it. I’m sure he took it to mean that she was strong despite her slender frame.

But that’s not all what Alice meant.

It’s true that she has a very kind face, but she smiles venomously at other people besides Alice.

Well, she is a kind teacher when she is on her duties as a teacher.

“If you were listening… there’s no point in asking…”

Alice is tired from all the talking she just did, so she lazily and languidly stares at the smiling tongue.

“I’m sorry, for having good ears. Other than that, what are you trying to do?”

“What you say…?”

Alice thought to herself, ‘This is so annoying…’, but she dutifully replied.

“I’m talking about the story you just made up. Alice-sama taught Aria-san how to play during Saijo-san’s match in the past, but everything else was done by Aria-san on her own. Why did you protect her like that?”

“…Didn’t you notice…? When Kai appeared here… he was very angry… Leaving it at that and telling him the past as it is… Kai will drive Aria until she can’t recover… That’s why I dispersed his anger to Alice…”

“Even if he’s KAI, I doubt he could do so much to Aria-san.”

The smiling venomous tongue tilted her head at Alice’s words.

Surely, in the normal course of events, as long as the Byodoin Systems is backing her up, no matter how much KAI whispers on the Internet can drive Aria to that level.

However―

“He can… This time, Aria needs to be careful because with such a small opening… If Kai gets serious… he can exploit that opening and even end Aria’s life…”

―Alice told her that fact.

“An opening… If you can prove it, it might be true… but, I don’t think there’s any holes in Aria’s strategy…”

The smiling venomous tongue put her hand over her mouth and said that thoughtfully.

“Smiling Venomous Tongue is still far off…”

“Yes, we are no match for you, Alice-sama.”

The smiling venomous tongue bows her head at Alice’s words.

She has a tendency to compare herself with Alice and become despicable.

She’s a good person herself.

“You can raise your head… Still, Alice didn’t… stop Aria even when she realized what she was trying to do… She’s equally guilty…”

“However― with all due respect, Alice-sama was hoping that her sister would reconsider, right? But that mindless sister did something so foolish that it was hard to believe she was Alice-sama’s twin sister. Moreover, she even forced Alice-sama to clean up her mess.”

“Haa~… You talk too much… That’s not how you talk… to the people of the house you serve…”

“I’m sorry. As I always say, it’s Alice-sama that I serve, not the Byodoin Faction.”

At Alice’s reprimand, the smiling venomous tongue bows her head, but she doesn’t seem to take offense.

Smiling Venomous Tongue has always been like that.

She pledged her loyalty to Alice, but disobeys all other members of the Byodoin Faction.

Including my father―.

I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, but this smiling, venomous tongue is so good that she’s allowed to obey Alice without any problems.

Of course, she and Aria don’t get along very well because of the way she talks.

Well Alice doesn’t care about that, as long as she doesn’t cause any problems.

“Besides… you’re aware of how Aria was treated by… her relatives in the past right…? That girl… was only educated… and left alone because of Alice. That’s why Aria… is so desperate to show her own value… She only became like that… due to the Byodoin Faction’s education…”

“Alice-sama is too lenient with Aria. That’s why she grew up like that.”

“That’s true… But that sister of mine… is also a person that protects and helps her sister… So whatever my little sister did… her older sister compensates for it… However… the one who actually took care of those students is none other than the one with the smiling, venomous tongue…”

Yes, after the match between Aria and the Saijo girl was settled, taking care of the heartbroken students was entrusted to the smiling, venomous tongue.

…It’s hard for Alice to do that so…

“I was just following Alice-sama’s instructions. It’s just… that one person is still…”

“I know that… That girl probably… needs to talk to the Saijo girl directly… However… now is not the time just yet. If they meet right now… the Saijo girl will be indivisible…”

The Saijo girl’s best friend is still sick…

The reason why she is sick is the same as everyone else.

However, in addition to being a good friend of the Saijo girl, the guilt of making her like that, is incomparable to any other person.

The best way to help her recover from this is to give her a chance to talk to her directly.

However, it would be dangerous for her to meet the Saijo girl, who is probably still suffering from deep emotional scars.

This game is necessary to frustrate Aria and at the same time to help the Saijo girl get back on her feet.

I wonder if Kai understands that…

All that Alice could do was protect the Saijo girl, but she could not do anything about her own feelings.

That’s why I decided to rely on Kai for that.

“However― or rather, does KAI really have a chance to win? In addition to Aria-san’s strategy, Alice-sama does some reading. That is to say, the best time for Aria-san to buy the stock would be at the right time. Despite that, I don’t see how that guy can win…”

As Alice was thinking, the smiling venomous tongue tilted her head and asked her so.

“Well… what do you think…?”

Alice nodded her head smugly.

“E-ehh… Can’t you just tell me…?”

Alice’s words made the smiling venomous tongue sound disgruntled.

“I’m tired… of talking today… I’m… going home…”

“Yes, I understand.”

Alice said, and the smiling venomous tongue immediately arranged for a car.

When Alice says, “I’m tired of talking,” it’s a sign that she doesn’t want to hear any more.

So the smiling venomous tongue backed off.

It’s no fun to teach more.

There’s nothing more boring than knowing the answer― just like Alice’s life.

This time, it was a game to frustrate Aria.

That’s what I need to do in order to turn Aria back into a decent person.

I don’t want her to become a person who brings others down.

But other than that, Alice was looking forward to this game.

Would Kai end up as Alice had expected, or would he do more than that―.

And this game is the best chance for the Saijo’s girl to get rid of the darkness in her heart.

If she overreacts, she will lose that chance.

On the other hand, the Saijo girl alone cannot win.

The line between the two is easy to draw with words, but difficult to draw when it comes down to it.

Will Kai just stick to winning, will he draw the line well― Or will he do something beyond Alice’s imagination?

―I’m looking forward to it, Kai.

Alice was thinking about this as she was riding her car home―.