Inside the room, the lights were soft.
Sakayanagi Arisu leaned against the cold door, slowly sliding down to sit on the soft carpet.
Her silver short hair was a little messy; she buried her face in her knees, her cane resting casually against the wall.
In the silence, there was only her slightly hurried breathing.
Everything that happened today replayed in her mind like a revolving lantern.
Kamuro Masumi's sudden betrayal, her own clumsy pursuit and near fall, Sakamoto's unfathomable intervention and calm... and Ryuuen Kakeru's face, filled with mockery and calculation.
Ryuuen... Sakayanagi Arisu slowly raised her head.
She had previously underestimated this parvenu from Class C.
She had thought he was just a brute with a bit of cleverness, easily manipulated by a bit of information.
She hadn't expected his ambition and methods to far exceed her expectations.
He not only quickly integrated Class C but also dared to use half-true, half-false information to manipulate her in return,
attempting to incite infighting within Class A so he could profit from it.
He was an extremely dangerous chess piece, potentially even capable of backfiring on the chess player.
Her initial deal with him, attempting to use him to test Sakamoto, was already a risky move.
Now, it seemed this move was a bit hasty,
severely deviating from her original intention of merely integrating Class A.
Integrating Class A... Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze dimmed slightly.
At the beginning of the school year, seeing Sakamoto's flawless demeanor, as if he was born to stand at the top,
she had indeed gotten a bit "carried away."
That urgency to prove herself, to quickly seize control of the situation,
led her to make a deal with the devil, even targeting Sakamoto, her classmate.
Now, reflecting on it calmly,
perhaps... it was truly too aggressive?
Although Sakamoto had subtly become the center of Class A, he had never shown any intention of vying for "leadership," and had even explicitly stated his disinterest in it.
Yet, because of the pressure his presence brought and that inexplicable competitiveness, she had directly regarded him as her biggest obstacle and opponent.
Today, Sakamoto's candidness in helping her when she was in a predicament, and his unguarded manner when exchanging contact information afterward,
made her consistent targeting seem... somewhat narrow-minded and ridiculous.
Ryuuen's deception and manipulation were like a bucket of cold water, waking her up.
She needed to re-evaluate.
Evaluate Ryuuen, this dangerous factor,
evaluate her relationship with Sakamoto,
evaluate... what she truly wanted.
Interests needed to be rebalanced.
At least, the 1 million private points obtained from Ryuuen were a tangible gain, not too much of a loss.
The cooperation with Ryuuen must be terminated.
Or... not terminated, but changed in approach.
Since Ryuuen dared to use her, he must be prepared to face the backlash.
Perhaps, she could turn his intention to deal with Sakamoto against him, leading him towards other targets.
Or crush him completely.
Just as Sakayanagi Arisu was rapidly calculating how to dispose of Ryuuen, this "discarded piece," the screen of the phone in her hand lit up.
Sakamoto's reply.
It was simple, in his usual concise style:
[I can. Sakayanagi-san, what do you wish to discuss?]
No questioning, no sarcasm.
Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the text, her fingertip pausing slightly.
Sakamoto's attitude, on the contrary, made her even more certain that her previous judgment might have been flawed.
She no longer hesitated, deciding to be honest about a part of the truth.
Since Kamuro had already exposed it, concealment was meaningless.
It would be better to use this to show some "sincerity," which might lead to a different situation.
Her slender fingers quickly typed on the screen:
[What Kamuro-san said today is true. I did indeed trade with Ryuuen Kakeru of Class C, giving him some information in exchange for him gathering information about you. For this, I apologize.]
She paused, then continued typing, selling Ryuuen out completely:
[And the information Ryuuen provided me claimed that you were cultivating subordinates in other classes and Class A, specifically naming Kamuro Masumi as being under your control.]
The message was sent. Sakayanagi Arisu waited for the other party's reaction.
After a while, her phone vibrated again.
[I have no such intention.]
Sakamoto's reply was still brief, calm, and he didn't even comment on Ryuuen's accusation,
merely denying the claim of "cultivating subordinates."
Good.
The expected answer.
Sakayanagi Arisu thought. If Sakamoto were truly building influence, he wouldn't admit it so directly.
So, what should she ask next?
Should she directly ask about "Shiina Hiyori" in his contacts?
Ask what her relationship with Sakamoto was?
Why was she the first person on his contact list?
This seemed too presumptuous and private, likely to anger Sakamoto and spoil the atmosphere that had just begun to ease.
Just as Sakayanagi Arisu was deliberating her words, thinking how to subtly probe for more information,
Sakamoto's next message arrived first.
The content of this message made Sakayanagi Arisu's violet eyes suddenly contract.
[Sakayanagi-san, your particular interest in my interpersonal relationships, is it related to the leadership position in Class A?]
He directly exposed Sakayanagi's thoughts.
He exposed her core objective that had always been hidden beneath her actions.
He attributed all her probing, calculations, and even today's "apology" and "sharing information" to the motive of "contending for leadership of Class A."
But the next second, a sense of reckless abandon made her respond.
Since it had already been exposed, she might as well lay it all out clearly.
She quickly replied:
[Yes. Although Sakamoto-kun has no intention of leading, your existence itself profoundly affects Class A. I hope you can clearly state your thoughts on the future of Class A?]
She stared intently at the screen, awaiting Sakamoto's answer.
This answer would determine her future strategic direction.
Her phone quickly lit up again.
Sakamoto's reply, however, completely exceeded Sakayanagi Arisu's expectations.
[Advanced Nurturing High School is not only about Class A.]
Not only about Class A?
What did that mean?
Could his gaze... have already been cast upon the entire First Year? Or even... the entire school?
The next message followed immediately:
[The true opponents, perhaps, are not each other.]
Not each other?
Not between her and him?
Then who would it be?
Other classes?
The school itself?
Or... something larger, hidden beneath the rule of "ability above all else"?
Sakamoto did not send any new messages.
The conversation seemed to have ended abruptly.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat alone on the carpet in her room, the light from her phone screen illuminating her somewhat shocked face.
She repeatedly looked at Sakamoto's last two messages.
She had always regarded Sakamoto as her biggest opponent, racking her brains to contend for dominance within Class A, even going so far as to collude with people from Class C.
But Sakamoto told her that the stage was not just Class A, and the opponents were not each other.
All her previous calculations, all her struggles, all her targeting... at this moment, suddenly seemed so insignificant and ridiculous.
She needed time.
She needed to rethink, to re-evaluate everything.