"That person is the leader of Class C, Kakeru Ryuen, Kiyomizu-kun," Arisu Sakayanagi said, elegantly withdrawing her gaze. A meaningful, faint smile played on her lips as she explained to her companion across the table.
Only then did Kiyomizu pull himself out of his thoughts, his gaze thoughtfully following the figure that had already disappeared. So that intimidating boy was the rumored helmsman of Class C.
"Do you think... he is worthy of being our opponent?" Arisu Sakayanagi gently speared a piece of green lettuce with her silver fork. She frowned slightly as she brought it to her lips, her movements exuding an innate nobility.
"That's your opinion. I've never considered anyone an opponent."
"I see. So you view everyone as trash? You're quite arrogant, aren't you, Kiyomizu-kun."
"Ahem..." Kiyomizu choked on that sentence, nearly spitting out the noodles in his mouth. He looked up helplessly at the girl across from him. How did Sakayanagi's mind manage to twist his original meaning like that? He was just stating a fact; how had it been interpreted as such an arrogant statement?
"Hehe... I'm just kidding," Sakayanagi covered her mouth and let out a bell-like laugh. "Of course, I understand what you really meant."
Kiyomizu didn't reply, simply continuing to focus on his lunch. The three pieces of intel that had refreshed on Wednesday morning were all useless, so he had decided to try his luck at the cafeteria. Surprisingly, he had run into Arisu Sakayanagi dining alone. The mastermind of Class A was eating the free meal set. He had originally planned to take the opportunity to ask her how she had obtained the S-System information, but by a strange twist of fate, he had ended up witnessing a well-orchestrated play by Class C.
"Speaking of which," Kiyomizu put down his chopsticks, "what special channel did you use to obtain that key information, Sakayanagi-san?"
"On the first day of school, a kind person told me everything," Sakayanagi said with a mysterious smile. "Kiyomizu-kun, you only have three questions. My answers will only be 'yes,' 'no,' or 'irrelevant'."
Kiyomizu frowned slightly. These smart people were always obsessed with such riddle games. They could just state things directly, but they insisted on packaging them as obscure puzzles. But he decided to play along; after all, the information itself was that valuable.
After a brief moment of thought, he asked his first key question: "Did the person who revealed the information violate current school rules?"
"No," Sakayanagi smiled slightly, as if enjoying his reasoning process.
This answer immediately narrowed the scope to the four most likely possibilities: a newly enrolled first-year student, a graduate, a former staff member, or a dropout who had not completed their studies. Even if these four types of people revealed information, strictly speaking, it would not be a violation of the school rules.
Kiyomizu pondered for a moment, his sharp gaze locking onto her expression. "Did this person... graduate from this school successfully?"
Arisu Sakayanagi paused for a rare moment, then slowly nodded. "...Yes."
That question eliminated three possibilities at once.
"I see." Kiyomizu's eyes suddenly cleared. "On the first day of school, you met a graduate who had returned to campus for an event and learned the complete internal information system from them?"
"Absolutely correct," Sakayanagi clapped her hands delightedly, her voice as crisp as a silver bell. "Because they are graduates, they are not bound by the current school rules, nor are they staff members. More importantly—they all successfully completed their studies." She leaned forward slightly and added, "These seniors often know more about the school's... unwritten rules than the current teachers do."
"Using the information channels of graduates... that's an unexpected approach," Kiyomizu said, a hint of admiration in his voice. As expected of Arisu Sakayanagi. He had never considered obtaining information from that angle.
"Hehe... you didn't expect that, did you?" Sakayanagi keenly caught the fleeting admiration in his eyes, two shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks, her tone filled with unconcealed pride. "So then, how did you obtain your information, Kiyomizu-kun?"
"Me?" Kiyomizu shrugged. "I just bought it from a second-year senior with some points."
"It seems my method was superior this time," Sakayanagi elegantly sipped her miso soup. "You've completely lost to me this time, Kiyomizu-kun."
"Who's competing with you..." Kiyomizu glanced at her and continued eating his noodles. "Whatever, if you think you won, then you won."
"But..." Kiyomizu suddenly looked up, "I'm curious, why would that senior be willing to reveal such important information? What did you use in exchange? He's already a prospective university student. He wouldn't have just given it to you for free, right?"
The fingers of the hand holding the spoon paused almost imperceptibly. This subtle change did not escape Kiyomizu's sharp observation.
—Looks like I've touched on a sensitive topic.
Could it have been a monetary transaction? Or maybe... But Kiyomizu didn't press further, simply continuing to enjoy his food as if nothing had happened.
Arisu Sakayanagi asked casually, "Speaking of which, it seems you've gotten quite close to our classmate, Kamuro-san."
"Yeah," Kiyomizu answered without looking up. "She's a very easy person to get along with. Her personality really suits me."
"Oh?" Sakayanagi raised an eyebrow. "Kamuro-san is always so cold. Besides..." her voice dropped slightly, "...you and I both saw what she was like in the convenience store. Your standards for choosing friends are quite... special."
After finishing the last of his noodles, Kiyomizu got up to leave. "It's just right for me. Nobody's perfect. Everyone has a few flaws."
Arisu Sakayanagi just quietly watched him leave, her thoughts drifting back to the afternoon of the first day of school—
"Why should I tell you any information? What's in it for me? Points? Hah... I'm not a student here anymore! That stuff only works in school! It's just a number in the real world." The senior had waved his hand impatiently, a priceless watch visible on his wrist. "Money? Save it, little girl. I graduated from Class A, my family is loaded, and I'm heading to the University of Tokyo soon..."
"But... you said you're the Chairman's daughter? Chairman Sakayanagi did pour all the resources into Class A. Alright, for your father's sake, I'll tell you everything I know!"
"This is disgusting..." she said, looking at the large portion of the free meal she had left, and pouted. If she hadn't seen Kiyomizu this afternoon, she wouldn't have deliberately ordered this vegetable set to gain his sympathy. It seemed it had been completely useless.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (170 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (150 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it