A corner of Shuchiin Academy.
When she saw Hayasaka's figure, Kaguya's vermilion eyes lit up immediately.
She quickly walked forward and grabbed Hayasaka's arm, her voice laced with anxious anticipation.
"How did it go?"
Hayasaka looked at Kaguya, who was slowly shedding her usual icy demeanor, and felt a complicated emotion stir within her.
Then, she nodded and shook her head.
"?"
Kaguya blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Hayasaka replied calmly, "President Lynn has absolutely no intention of taking revenge on you."
"?"
Kaguya looked puzzled. "He's... that easy to deal with?"
She frowned, scanning Hayasaka up and down. "Hayasaka, don't tell me… you used a honey trap?"
Hayasaka rolled her eyes subtly. "No."
"Phew…"
Hearing that, Kaguya let out a sigh of relief, and her tense expression relaxed.
Even if she had said otherwise before, Hayasaka was her only close confidant. There was no way she would let her sacrifice herself like that.
Seeing Kaguya's reaction, Hayasaka felt a bit touched but also conflicted.
What touched her was that her years of friendship with Kaguya weren't fake.
What complicated things was that the name Shinomiya was the reason her own life had turned out this way.
And...
She was also a spy planted by others, right by Kaguya's side.
Kaguya, unaware of the emotional storm brewing in Hayasaka, asked curiously, "If it wasn't a honey trap, then what did you offer him, Hayasaka?"
Hayasaka snapped out of her thoughts. "Nothing."
"Huh?"
Kaguya was stunned. "Nothing?"
"Yeah."
Hayasaka nodded.
"So he just let me off, just like that?"
Kaguya's expression twisted into something odd.
President Lynn didn't seem like the kind of person who'd be that lenient…
And those eyes of his...
Hmm…
Just recalling Lynn's eyes made her heart race.
A strange and unfamiliar feeling had been building in her lately.
Even her cold exterior was beginning to falter.
Suppressing the strange sensation for now, Kaguya asked again, "So he didn't say anything else?"
Expressionless, Hayasaka replied, "He did."
"Uh-huh!"
Kaguya nodded, expectant.
"He said… 'You're not even worth it.'"
"?"
Kaguya's expression froze.
"Not... worth it?"
"President Lynn said you aren't even qualified to be a target."
Just in case Kaguya didn't understand or hear clearly, Hayasaka patiently repeated the line and explained it in more detail.
Kaguya bit her lip, looking wronged and aggrieved.
"?"
Now it was Hayasaka's turn to be confused.
She had expected Kaguya to react with disdain, arrogance, indifference—any of those.
But…
She didn't expect this grievance!?
Hayasaka was shocked.
Kaguya, what's gotten into you?
Or rather...
Did something possess you?
Is this even the real Kaguya Shinomiya?
After seeing the existence of supernatural powers firsthand, Hayasaka's thoughts ran wild.
Regardless...
This was definitely not the Kaguya Shinomiya she knew!
Kaguya did feel aggrieved.
She didn't even understand why.
But...
A deep sense of frustration and discomfort lingered.
Was she truly not even qualified to be noticed by Lynn?
Kaguya had clearly misunderstood what Hayasaka meant.
That thought made her panic a little.
Grabbing Hayasaka's arm again, she asked hurriedly, "Hayasaka, is there any way to make him take revenge on me?"
"?"
Hayasaka's face twitched. "Miss Kaguya… are you alright?"
Cursed, maybe?
Kaguya snapped back to her senses.
She realized how ridiculous what she'd just said sounded.
"N-Never mind."
She tried to recover her usual cold persona.
But…
There was no going back now.
Hayasaka looked at her with complicated eyes.
She could easily see through Kaguya's now-forced façade.
Kaguya was definitely not alright!
Revenge?
What kind of masochism is this?
Still…
Although Lynn said Kaguya wasn't worthy…
It was clear the Shinomiya family was already under attack.
Kaguya might not realize it yet, but...
It probably wasn't that far off from what she imagined.
But...
There was no need to tell her that.
Hayasaka didn't even plan to report this to Shinomiya Oko.
Originally, she just wanted Kaguya to establish contact with Lynn. She never thought it would backfire this badly.
Someone with supernatural power… might really be able to change this suffocating world.
Maybe even...
Break her own shackles?
With that thought, Hayasaka narrowed her eyes, then said, "Miss Kaguya, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Kaguya absentmindedly hummed in response.
Her mind was now focused on how to change Lynn's impression of her—how to become worthy enough to catch his eye.
A little later.
Hayasaka found a quiet place and messaged her mother.
"Mom, has anything strange happened at home?"
"Huh?"
Hayasaka Nao was surprised. "How did you know?"
Hayasaka Ai's heart skipped a beat. "What happened?"
"Hmm…"
Hayasaka Nao hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should tell Ai.
"Mom!"
"Alright, alright~"
Nao sighed and whispered mysteriously, "Ai, have you ever seen a three-headed dog… burning with black flames?"
Hayasaka's eyes widened instantly. Her grip on the phone tightened.
A... three-headed dog burning in black flames?
A while later.
Hayasaka stood dazed.
She'd thought they were being targeted financially or legally, maybe even through public opinion...
But it turned out to be a full-on supernatural assault?!
At the same time.
Inside the Shinomiya estate.
Boom boom!!
The entire estate trembled violently!
"What's going on?!"
One of the Shinomiya family members shouted in alarm.
"Is this another earthquake?"
Others began to panic.
But soon—
A scorching wave of heat surged through the area!
"ROAR——!"
A thunderous roar shattered the estate's silence!
"!"
Everyone turned toward the sound, expressions filled with horror!
Next moment—
A massive, hellish three-headed dog cloaked in black flames appeared before them. As tall as a building, it looked like a hound from the underworld itself.
Gulp—
Someone audibly swallowed, and it was as if a fuse had been lit.
"MONSTER!!"
"MONSTERS ARE ATTACKING!!"
Panic exploded throughout the estate!
People screamed and fled chaotically!
But just as some tried to escape through a side door—
Buzz——
A transparent barrier sealed the entire estate in an instant!
Bang!
Someone ran straight into it and was knocked flat!
"Oww!!"
He cried out in pain, then scrambled toward the exit again.
But!
"Damn it!"
"Why can't I get out?!"
He punched the air, but it was like hitting an invisible wall!
Many others met the same fate.
They couldn't escape!!
As that realization sank in, they turned toward the hellhound…
And despair began to set in.
Elsewhere—
"Master, this is bad!"
An elderly man on a ventilator suddenly awoke.
A moment later.
An old man with yellowed skin and thin hair sat nearby, leaning on a cane.
A nasal oxygen tube clung to his face. Just sitting upright looked like it drained all his energy.
This was the head of the Shinomiya family—
Shinomiya Gan'an.
Despite controlling vast wealth and almost all of Japan's elite circles, he now sat with no trace of dignity.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Behind him, Shinomiya family members bowed their heads and trembled.
The entire estate was dead silent.
Because—
Of the woman seated casually at the head of the table.
Yukinoshita Haruno.
And...
"ROAR—!"
The infernal three-headed dog outside, its mere breath turning the air into a sea of fire.
"You've heard of Lynn Group, haven't you?"
Haruno asked, completely at ease.
Gan'an's heart clenched.
Wasn't that...
The newly rising company?
A company whose rare assets had drawn attention from many powerful groups, including theirs.
But…
He never imagined the actual owner would show up like this!
"I apologize for offending the Lynn Group in the past!"
Gan'an was the first to kneel. Even with his failing health and failing eyesight, he bowed low.
If he had known Lynn Group was backed by supernatural forces, he never would've dared covet it!
Because—
No matter how powerful the Shinomiya family was, they were still just human.
And that hellhound wasn't for show.
Behind him, the others followed his lead and stood to bow.
Haruno paused.
She didn't expect someone like Gan'an, who wielded such influence, to have such awareness.
Yukino, who had been prepared for a dramatic confrontation, suddenly lost interest.
She waved her hand, her tone casual. "I'm not a villain."
"You have one day to prepare the property transfer contracts."
Then she stood up.
"Starting today, the Shinomiya family will become a subsidiary of Lynn Group."
"!"
Gan'an and the others lifted their heads in shock.
"The whole family…"
"All of our assets?!"
Gan'an's voice trembled.
With just one sentence, the once-glorious Shinomiya family was about to become someone else's vassal?
"How…"
Haruno's voice turned cold. "Not satisfied?"
With that—
BOOM!!
The hellhound's flames surged!
A wave of scorching heat blasted through the estate!
The air shimmered with distortion.
Seeing the nightmarish scene outside, Gan'an's eyes filled with fear.
Suddenly—
"AHHHHH!!"
Several family members twisted in pain, their faces contorted as they screamed!
Even Gan'an shivered violently, his entire body tingling.
Everyone was writhing in agony. It felt like even their souls were burning.
Gan'an gritted his teeth and cried out, "We… the Shinomiya family… submit to you!!"
That simple demonstration instantly crushed any resistance!
Let alone fight back—the hellhound alone was beyond anything they could deal with!
Haruno said coldly, "This is hellfire. Only those who've sinned can't withstand its flames."
"I'll let the flames of karma judge each of you."
"Only those who survive will be allowed to live."
"!"
Gan'an froze in place.
"Oh, right."
Haruno tapped her temple, then smiled faintly. "I was originally planning to compete with you through normal business means."
"But…"
"Who told you to have such a wonderful daughter?"
Gan'an's eyes widened in horror!
(To be continued.)