18: The Deal

Raia’s POV

What’s with him? It was my first time to see him look at me like that. When I saw his creepy and suspicious smile toward me, my face crumpled.

What does he mean? The winner has been decided already? But the game hasn’t even started yet.

To my surprise, he suddenly went toward me. It came so fast that my eyes and mind couldn’t even react at all. It took me seconds before I realized I was lying on the ground.

"Huh?" I looked at the ground in front of me. Suddenly, a pair of shoes appeared in my sight. I slowly looked up and saw Osamu looking down at me. At first, I couldn’t even recognize him because of the blinding lights behind him. Furthermore, his unusual expression could be seen on his face.

"I win, Raia," he said while smiling at me. I could even see his teeth shining in my eyes.

After a second, a loud announcement could be heard in the whole room. I don’t know why and how it happened, but everything went so fast. The final game rule was so simple.

It was a tag.

And the first one to take someone’s tag will be the winner. But the game hadn't started yet; I could already see it in his eyes. It’s as if he knew what the game would be in the first place.

It’s as if he’s just waiting for the go signal!

How could it be?!

I looked down, clenching my fist. It’s my fault. But... why do I feel so frustrated? I felt like this game was just for a show and I can’t take it!

Meanwhile…

Osamu looked at Raia. He felt sorry for betraying Raia, but he had no choice. He smiled again before he turned his back to his friend.

"Unfortunately, I finally found someone I could call a friend, but climbing the ranks is much more important for me right now, Raia. Please forgive me," he said and started walking towards the door. 

Raia remained looking at his back. But Osamu didn’t give a damn.

A loud crashing of instruments and devices could be heard in the monitor room. Mr. Rayven, who was just smiling while watching the monitor, suddenly turned into a monster, ready to unleash his rage.

"How dare you! How dare you ruin my plan?" He said this, shaking while resisting his anger. "My precious plan, OSAMU!" he yelled, hurling himself off the chair he had just sat in.

Anger could be seen on his face. He couldn’t believe that Osamu had finally betrayed him. Osamu has been his pawn for years, and he’s been helping him every time he needs someone to pass the exam as soon as possible. Just like Raia.

"Why now? " he shouted, trying to get an answer to his question, but no one answered him. Instead, he heard someone chuckle.

"Whi whi whi," someone laughed, which made him even more angry.

"What is it, Glutton?" Rayven asked him.

Glutton smiled while looking at Osamu on the monitor.

"What a brave youngster; I wonder what a genius would taste like," he said, then licked his lips.

Rayven looked at the monitor. It’s true. They’ve been tempted to know what Osamu tastes like, and they’re just resisting the temptation because of his sole purpose.

A smile suddenly carved into his face. "Yeah, you're right; I'm more than curious about his brain, wra wra wra," he laughed, before turning to face Raia on the other monitor. "Take your time, and you’ll be next," he said, then smiled.

On the other hand, only happiness and joy could be seen on Osamu’s face. It had been a long time since he had felt this level of fulfillment. He felt sorry for Raia, but this was his dream. To move on to the next level, just like his classmates.

It’s been three years since he first landed in this school, and ever since, he hasn’t done anything aside from abiding by Rayven’s instructions. He was promised that he would be moving to a much higher level if he abided by those promises, but he felt tired of waiting.

This is the first time he has disobeyed the orders. And finally, he won the game and got a chance to be on the next level. He suddenly remembered his best friend, who went ahead of him.

"Rika, wait for me. I’m going to where you are right now," he said to himself, then opened the door in front of him.

He was now standing in front of the monitor room.

"Mr. Rayven," he said to the man, who was now sitting in his chair with his back to him. Rayven suddenly applauded him.

"Wra Wra Wra!" Rayven mysteriously laughed at him, slowly turning his back on him.

"I didn’t see it coming, Mr. Genius," Rayven teased him.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Rayven, but I’m at my limit now. I need to be on the next level. It’s now or never," he said, standing still in front of him. His actions amaze not just Rayven but also Glutton, who is sitting next to Rayven, though Osamu didn’t notice him there because it was dark.

The deal was supposed to help Raia, not Osamu. This makes Rayven quite frustrated. 

"What a nice smell you got there, Mr. Genius," Glutton said. Osamu heard it and finally noticed a chair beside Rayven. There, he slightly narrowed his sight and cleared his vision until he saw Glutton smiling at him.

On the other hand, Raia’s mind is going everywhere. What happened earlier in the game has been bugging him. He wanted to talk to Osamu and asked what he meant by that.

"Everything is according to his plan, huh."

What do you mean by that, Osamu? He asked the others if they saw Osamu so that they could talk.

"Ahh, he’s probably with Mr. Rayven. You know, he’s the winner, so there might be some papers to work on since he will be moving to the next level later," Tobi answered him.

After thanking Tobi, he proceeded to Mr. Rayven’s office. They're probably talking, he reasoned.

He walked along the pathway until he arrived in front of the office. It took him three knocks already, but no one answered, so he opened the door all by himself.

``Mr. Rayven?" He called, but only the dark and quiet room welcomed him.

"Osamu? Mr. Rayven? Anyone?" He called for the nth time and got no answer.

"They’re not here."

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Raia jumped in surprise when he heard someone behind him. He looked at him.

"June? What are you doing here?" he asked the guy. June, who was leaning against the wall, gained his composure and stood on his own. He put his hands inside his pocket and looked away from Raia.

"I’m hiding from someone," he said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Hiding? From who?" Raia asked him.

"Tsk! I can’t let Kanaye and others see me like this. How humiliating would it be to be beaten by a mere woman?" He spoke while his arms were crossed.

"Beaten by a woman?" Raia said until he finally remembered about the latest game of June. He was completely dominated by Emma, which is quite a shock.

After a few seconds, June suddenly walked past him and went inside the room.

"W- wait… we’re not allowed in there." Raia tried to warn June, but he was already inside the room and completely ignoring him. June roamed his eyes around.

"This room is kind of eerie, don’t you think?" June stated as he took an old book from the table.

Raia, who seemed to have a second thoughts about going in or staying outside, decided to finally go in because of his curiosity.

"This seems like an ancient book, to me," Raia said, taking the book from June. "I didn’t know Mr. Rayven was fond of this kind of book," he added.

"Really? It only seems like a pile of old papers to me," June said, then turned his back to Raia.

"Even the scripts seem ancient; I wonder if it's like spells or something like that," Raia exclaimed as he flipped through the book's pages.

"Spell? Speaking of spells, I heard something from your room last time. Are you still talking to yourself? I told you, you can talk to Kanaye if you need someone, right? I bet it has something to do with the farm and goods you’re talking about from last time." June kept talking until he heard a loud noise coming from Raia’s direction.

"What is it?" he asked Raia until he saw him shaking and trembling while the book was lying on the ground. "Raia? Are you okay?" he asked as he approached him. But Raia can’t hear him anymore. All he could feel was a strange pain he felt inside his brain. It’s as if he remembered something that was forgotten.

"Farm… Goods?" A sudden flash of memory came into his head.

It was midnight at that time...

"Mr. Raia?" Their instructor called at him, but as he opened the door, Mr. Rayven suddenly covered his nose with his handkerchief. Then a strange perfume could be smelled inside his room.

"Am I hypnotized?" Raia asked himself.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I’m just carrying you, dumbass," June said while carrying him outside the room. He slowly closed the door knob and let Raia sit on the floor, but not until they heard someone behind them.

"What are you two doing here?"

They looked behind them and saw Mr. Rayven glaring at them. June and Raia keenly observed the instructor, but Raia suddenly felt his head in pain.

"Auckkk!" he cried in pain. June went beside him.

"What is happening to him?" Mr. Rayven played innocent in front of them.

"Th- this is n-nothing; I’m just slightly feeling dizzy, Mr. Rayven," Raia answered while stuttering.

"I'll go get some help at the infirmary," June said, taking Raia’s shoulder to support him while he walked. Mr. Rayven stood there, watching the two walk by. It could be seen in his eyes that he was resisting his urge to ask the two unnecessary questions.

He had a feeling that both June and Raia were hiding something, but he should not be reckless. What if he’s mistaken?

While the two held their breath from the tension until they reached the third floor.