T/N: New book in the area, folks! For those who like One Piece, feel free to check it out!
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"'The Genius' is a very long work, but after finishing it, you'll feel like your soul has been cleansed," Houtarou said.
"Has Oreki read this book? I don't particularly like reading textbooks, so this summer vacation I've been reading all sorts of books unrelated to coursework. Literary classics are actually easier to read than specialized books," Hiyori said.
"No, my sister has read it." Houtarou shook his head, "That was her opinion. Though she recommended I read it too."
"So Oreki has a sister?" Hiyori seemed curious, "I'm an only child, so I sometimes envy those who have siblings."
"I think being alone is actually quite nice." Houtarou said, "Having siblings can often become troublesome. For example, if your brother or sister is exceptionally talented, you have to live in their shadow."
Oh. I see.
So Houtarou is a younger brother at home?
Hiyori's impression of him was actually quite good.
But reality is harsh.
It had been two days since Kakeru was beaten up. Although he had gone to the infirmary for bandaging, the nurse advised he needed bed rest.
According to Kakeru's own prediction, he might have to stay in bed for 2 weeks. Mio seemed to have lost confidence. Albert had become more withdrawn. Daichi's emotions had become uncontrollable, often breaking into tears.
These were all aftereffects of the rooftop fight.
And the man who caused all this was right in front of her. Houtarou looked gentle and enjoyed reading, but turned out to be such a dangerous person.
Kakeru's face was basically unrecognizable now…
However, with Kakeru and the others out of commission, she now had to think about class matters and whether to find a new ally.
So it was good to interact more with Houtarou now — perhaps gaining his favor.
She remembered that when the Great Demon Suzune, the Little Devil Kei, and the Bad Girl Maya interrogated her and took her phone, she didn't tell them that Kakeru's real target was Kei.
This was because Houtarou had been concealing his relationship with Kei. She was showing goodwill to him.
As she was thinking this, she heard Houtarou's voice.
"I retrieved your phone from Karuizawa and the others earlier. They know nothing about my meeting with Ryūen." Houtarou said, "That means you protected the fact that Karuizawa was his target.
I didn't want to cause trouble for her or let her know she was being targeted. Her self-confidence isn't very strong, and I was worried she'd feel she was burdening me.
So, I owe you a favor."
Oh. I see.
It seems the goodwill paid off.
"But I won't take responsibility for Ryūen's actions." Houtarou added, "He chose the wrong path himself."
"Umm... that's true." Hiyori didn't have much to say about this.
After all, Kakeru's methods were against the rules to begin with.
"So, for this incident, I owe you a favor." Houtarou said, "If you want Points..."
"No, no." Hiyori quickly stopped him.
Getting a favor from him was already a big win for her. Although Points were important, she didn't want to exchange this favor merely for Points.
"However…" She said, "Next semester, because of Ryūen's resignation, my class might collapse."
"So you're going to take a new approach?" Houtarou asked.
"I see you understand." Hiyori nodded, "If it were Ryūen, he would probably want both Points and Class Points. But for me, I'll focus on Points first. After all..."
She paused, then continued.
"After all, I'm well aware that we have no chance of winning against your Class A. At this point, what's most beneficial for us is for everyone to save up money, so at least we'll have some consolation when we graduate.
So if Oreki has the authority to recommend or decide on positions in the future, could you give me a position as a manager at the National Library?"
"Is your goal to work in a library?" Houtarou asked.
"Yes." Hiyori nodded, "I love the atmosphere of libraries. But not graduating from Class A and relying solely on myself, it would probably be difficult to achieve my dream."
"..." Houtarou considered this, "If I can make that decision in the future, I'll give you a chance."
"Thank you very much, Oreki-kun." Hiyori immediately expressed her gratitude.
After all, they were just exchanging pleasantries, so neither took it to heart.
Since they were at the library, Houtarou didn't waste this opportunity. After watching the girl go off to read books, he also borrowed "The Genius".
Only then did he realize... his sister had tricked him.
"The Genius" was a book about a painter's life experiences, with a surprisingly complex plot.
It told the story of a painter's rise to fame, how he used any means necessary for his career, and even married an older woman to advance his ambitions.
Later, he fell in love with his sister-in-law. And his wandering heart didn't stop there — when he was younger, he had developed feelings for classmates, models, and young girls.
Near the end of the story, he seduced a young lady and convinced her to elope with him. Eventually, though, he came to his senses and realized he couldn't continue down this path.
Overall, it was the story of a scoundrel who ultimately returns to his family.
But tragically, his wife died in childbirth.
So... finishing the book definitely left... complicated feelings.
Why had his sister wanted him to read this kind of book? Was she trying to warn him not to become a scoundrel?
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Meanwhile, in a corner of the library.
The boy sitting at bookshelf D looked up. This wasn't just any ordinary student, but Kiyotaka Ayanokōji from Class C.
He came from the White Room, a unique institution unlike the Advanced Nurturing High School. He had been trained there since birth, molded into their masterpiece.
However, despite being their masterpiece, he yearned for freedom. Without it, he had no life of his own — he was merely that man's tool.
A year ago, with the butler Matsuo's help, he escaped and was recommended to this school. Being a government institution, this school remained completely outside that man's sphere of influence.
That man couldn't completely recapture him.
Yet Kiyotaka knew clearly that man's influence remained powerful enough that even this school would eventually face interference.
Kiyotaka had a deep interest in books and read widely. Thanks to his optimal conditioning from the White Room, simply reading could teach him many things, enriching his knowledge and making him stronger.
Others might see these as meaningless pursuits, but becoming stronger was his own choice.
He could confirm that while that man couldn't intervene directly, he could still arrange for others to infiltrate — either through new students or through staff members.
Therefore, Kiyotaka's only option was to improve himself and grow stronger.
Recently, he had noticed Houtarou Oreki, who possessed both Points and capability. If he could secure his assistance, perhaps he could extend his stay at this school.
This was crucial because he had already discovered that man had begun to interfere.
For the paired exam, individual scores weren't publicly announced. Instead, the school sent students' respective scores to their personal devices — a troublesome approach.
Sending information to students' phones wasn't unprecedented — it happened during the VIP Exam when they notified selected VIPs and released exam results.
But that level of information distribution wasn't complex; it was relatively simple.
This time, however, all subject scores were sent individually through homeroom teachers, creating an immense workload.
The paired exam wasn't particularly difficult. Classes exchanged with each other, testing the trade-offs between them. So why create such trouble for the teachers?
Or was there something to hide?
Kiyotaka had already seen his own scores. In the paired exam, two students are paired together, and their combined score for a single subject couldn't be less than 60 Points. Additionally, their total score across all eight subjects couldn't be less than 700 Points.
In other words, the two people's combined score for each subject had to average 88 Points.
And Kiyotaka's scores were identical across all eight subjects — 88 Points each.
Then he obtained information from Yōsuke about the student paired with him. That student had scored 0 in all subjects.
This meant that man, though unable to enter the school himself, had already arranged for someone to infiltrate. He had quickly bought off the student paired with Kiyotaka.
The students in his class simply couldn't be relied upon.
If that man wanted him to drop out, he would likely create more of these paired class exams to drag him down.
Now, however, Kiyotaka had acquired a bargaining chip that Houtarou might want.
He didn't believe he could escape that man's control forever, but he desperately needed this high school time of freedom.
He was willing to pay a price to maintain it.
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That evening, Houtarou contacted Suzune again.
He found her easy to handle. After dismissing the kiss as something in the past, she again agreed to shake hands with him daily.
"Do we really still need this kind of contact?" Suzune expressed honestly, "I think you should distance yourself a bit from Kushida. That would be good too."
Though shaking hands with Houtarou wasn't difficult, it made her waver.
Especially after being kissed by him yesterday, she suddenly realized that he was a boy — the opposite sex. She had been doing something with him that only couples would do, which felt strange.
But she also knew that Kikyō was manipulative. And Houtarou had little resistance against girls. He could easily fall under her influence.
Therefore, if she wanted to prevent him from being taken by that girl, she could only strengthen his resistance to girls. To prevent him from being so easily deceived by Kikyō.
"As for Kushida…" Houtarou paused, "I have other arrangements."
Other arrangements?
Suzune had become friends with Kikyō before, but was immediately betrayed. So her trust in the little devil was zero.
But because Kikyō had allied with Kakeru to frame her, the mini-devil was now forced to openly support her in class.
This was actually good for Suzune. Because she wasn't good at socializing, having Kikyō might actually be beneficial.
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Perhaps due to Hiyori's literary girl aura and her love of reading, Houtarou began to fully enjoy his vacation.
During this summer break, he borrowed quite a few books, such as "Bel-Ami" (Guy de Maupassant, 1885), "The Insulted and Injured" (Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1861), "David Copperfield" (Charles Dickens, 1850), "Resurrection" (Leo Tolstoy, 1899), "The Red and the Black" (Stendhal, 1830), "The Count of Monte Cristo" (Alexandre Dumas, 1846), "A Tale of Two Cities" (Charles Dickens, 1859), and O. Henry's short stories.
However, recently he noticed something unusual about Arisu's behavior. He often saw her and Honami moving around the school together.
Had they become friends?
This kind of socializing might be normal for Kikyō, but Arisu was not much of an extrovert.
So, while petting his cat Haruki, Houtarou consulted her.
"Ichinose-san? I never considered her a friend. It's just because someone informed me of some interesting news about her, so I'm getting in touch with her."
Oh. So you're actually planning to make a move on Honami.
It seems everyone has their own goals and is looking forward to the next semester.
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And so, October 1st arrived.
The new semester began.
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