A useful tool? Is Kei Karuizawa just a tool to him?
Hearing such words, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could not stand idly by.
"Big brother, what do you mean by that?" he asked, frowning.
The two had now returned to the previous room and were sitting opposite each other.
"Literally."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took a sip of the energy drink he had picked up on the way back, and said in a calm tone, "I'm with Kei Karuizawa simply because she's quite useful and can help me. Others are too uncontrollable."
"She likes you, and you treat her as a tool?"
He shook his head.
"Kei Karuizawa's affection is not pure affection. The reason she likes me and is willing to stay by my side is because she believes I can protect her and prevent her past from being exposed."
Seeing Kiyotaka's puzzled expression, he patiently explained, "At Advanced Nurturing High School, Kei Karuizawa is considered one of the leaders of our Class D, holding considerable influence.
However, she has a dark history of being bullied in school. If this matter were to be revealed, she would lose her current status in school."
"To prevent her past dark history from spreading, she attached herself to me, hoping I could help her resolve these troubles.
I also needed her position to help me with things, so we made a deal: I protect her, and she helps me. It's that simple."
"Kiyotaka, you know about the suspension bridge effect, right?" As if by telepathy, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also mentioned the suspension bridge effect.
"Originally, we were just helping each other, but because of me, she was tricked by the leader of Class C to the rooftop, who threatened her and tried to force her to reveal my identity.
In that critical moment, I appeared in time and saved her, so she mistook that intense heartbeat as a sign of liking me."
"Do you understand? Kei Karuizawa's so-called affection is a feeling that only arose because I could protect her. This kind of feeling comes and goes quickly. As soon as I can no longer protect her one day, her feelings for me will naturally fade, and she will no longer obey my instructions."
"The reason she likes me now is because she needs my protection, but as soon as she graduates from high school in two years, she won't care about her dark history and won't need my protection.
Once she leaves high school, she will lose her usefulness to me. We will no longer have a cooperative relationship then, and we will naturally break up. How could we possibly get married?"
"...I see." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sighed. So Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kei Karuizawa's romantic relationship was this complicated.
It seemed like their relationship was quite good, but this kind of romance might not last.
In fact, most high school and college romances are like this; as soon as they graduate and leave the specific environment of "school," many couples break up.
"Then what if Kei Karuizawa chooses not to leave you after graduation?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked again, "Would you choose to stay with her?"
"...Yes, and possibly no."
"Is it because she would no longer be useful to you?"
"No, even after graduating from high school, as an excellent woman, Kei Karuizawa still has very high utility value."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said very rationally, "However, I might abandon her and instead be with other women who have higher utility value."
"Higher... How high?"
He calmly said, "I have an agreement with Chairman Sakayanagi of Advanced Nurturing High School. He promised me that as long as I meet his requirements during my three years at Advanced Nurturing High School, he will strongly recommend me to become a Diet member.
For the sake of binding interests, he might even marry his daughter to me."
"...Diet member?" The two brothers were originally discussing women, but now the topic suddenly became serious again.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's tone became a bit heavier: "Kiyotaka, you must also be very curious why I, as the most important [Artificial Genius] in Father's plan, was able to escape his grasp, right?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded solemnly; this was also a question in his mind. Since their father's influence was so great, why could he allow Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to stay outside for so long?
"Our father is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and is acquainted with most people in the Liberal Democratic Party. Even with the ruling faction, he has a deep connection. He holds immense power; it can be said that he can even shake half the country."
"But in the Diet, besides the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, there are also many opposition party seats, which is also a force not to be underestimated. Advanced Nurturing High School is an industry of the "Constitutional Democratic Party," which has the most seats and the largest influence among the opposition parties.
Even if Father has extraordinary connections, he can't do anything about these people who are already at odds with him. He can't force me to leave the school through normal means."
So that's how it is... Only another faction can contend with a faction.
Having learned this important news, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was not relieved, but asked worriedly, "Big brother, since Advanced Nurturing High School dares to take you in, they must want to use you, right?"
"Of course, if they weren't greedy for profit, why would they keep me?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka revealed another secret.
"In fact, this Advanced Nurturing High School is also another large-scale experimental facility. All the students in this school were already arranged to enroll, and interviews or entrance exams were just formal decorations.
In the entrance exam, I scored 50 points on every subject in the written test because I wanted to enter this school secretly, but in fact, they already knew my identity, and even if I had scored zero on all written tests, I would still have been admitted."
"...Is it because Father exposed it several years ago when he was seeking investment and contacted other factions?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought of the story he had just told.
If this was a hidden experiment and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's identity was secret, then the most likely time for it to be exposed would have been then.
"Perhaps, that kind of thing isn't important." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was quite calm.
"In any case, since they are willing to keep me, it means they have something to gain from me and hope to obtain sufficient benefits from me. Otherwise, they wouldn't risk offending Father by keeping me.
Not only do I want to become a Diet member, but they also hope I can become a Diet member to help them gain more seats."
"But no matter what they seek, as long as they are willing to help me now and stand on the same front as me, I can cooperate with them."
As he spoke, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka extended an invitation to Kiyotaka.
"Kiyotaka, there's still a chance. I've already spoken with Chairman Sakayanagi of Advanced Nurturing High School. As long as you're willing to come to Advanced Nurturing High School, you can transfer now, and you won't have to worry about Father bothering you."
As long as we attend that school, even Father's hand won't be able to reach us. After we graduate from high school, I'll immediately send you abroad so Father won't find you again."
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