"Sakayanagi."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka saw the girl in front of him and softly called out her name.
"What's the matter that you've specifically called me out here?"
Sakayanagi Arisu leaned her small frame slightly on her cane, smiling as she looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Kamuro Masumi stood beside her, like a bodyguard.
"I wanted to talk to you about Ichinose. These letters—you sent them, didn't you?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke up.
"That's quite an accusation without any evidence."
Sakayanagi Arisu maintained her smile, speaking with utmost calmness.
"Finding evidence wouldn't be too difficult. After all, producing so many letters would require access to copying and printing equipment. By investigating or questioning the school's printing staff, we could find out who did it. You might have had Hashimoto or someone else do it, but in the end, this matter would still be tied to Class A. As the leader of Class A, you wouldn't be able to escape responsibility."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke unhurriedly.
"Impressive."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled.
[I originally thought this guy, Ayanokoji, was just too ordinary. I've always been puzzled as to why Sakayanagi has been so fixated on someone like him... But it seems this person... is indeed not simple...]
Kamuro Masumi, standing nearby, thought to herself.
Earlier, Sakayanagi had asked Kamishiro to tail Ayanokoji for a while, and Kamishiro had been full of questions about him.
"But it's still just suspicion, right? I haven't admitted to having anything to do with this. Even if I directly challenged Ichinose earlier, it doesn't mean I actually did anything to her."
Sakayanagi Arisu spoke slowly.
"Don't worry, I'm not carrying any recording devices, and I'm not here to probe you."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took a step forward, closing the distance between himself and Sakayanagi.
"The reason I'm here is to see just how determined you are to face me in a duel."
"Are you so eager to duel me that you can't contain yourself? Or are you trying to protect Ichinose?"
Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes slightly.
[Eager to duel you? You know my past, but I don't know the reason or purpose behind you targeting me. However, for now, I don't feel any so-called eagerness to duel you. On the contrary, I seem to have developed a similar feeling toward Saiki—a desire to compete with him.]
[Ichinose is just a pawn to me. If she can be useful, great. If not, it doesn't matter.]
[Ichinose is the 'project' for my duel with Saiki. Although she has a charisma that other students can't match, she's not entirely irreplaceable. Even if Ichinose were to drop out because of this, it wouldn't have much impact on me.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself, his expression unchanging as he continued to speak.
"Neither. I simply want to see if you truly want to duel me—and if you have the ability to do so."
Kamuro Masumi, standing nearby, furrowed her brows. This was the first time she had seen someone dare to speak to Sakayanagi in such a manner.
[Sakayanagi's abilities are unquestionable, right? Even Katsuragi was defeated by her long ago.]
"Are you provoking me? Or is this a taunt?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze remained fixed on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face.
"I've already told you before, I'm not the real X. And you should know that my words aren't lies. What was supposed to be a battle between you and Ichinose has now turned into a duel between me and him."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued.
"A duel between you and him..."
"Although you can't be sure who that person is yet, you must have some suspicions, right?"
"Indeed. After all, there's a name I've been overlooking that's been popping up frequently lately."
Sakayanagi Arisu slowly uttered a name.
"Saiki."
Recently, Sakayanagi Arisu had heard the name Saiki from those around her.
Especially from Nagumo Miyabi.
Sakayanagi Arisu had made an agreement with Nagumo Miyabi to investigate Saiki, so during this time, she had sent Kamuro Masumi to tail Saiki.
However, she had found nothing.
"I tailed him before, but I didn't notice anything unusual... He seems too ordinary..."
Kamuro Masumi said with some surprise.
"The fact that you found nothing is precisely the problem. If you had actually discovered something about him, it would mean he's nothing special."
Sakayanagi Arisu said, then shifted her gaze back to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"So, the person you're dueling is Saiki?"
"That's right."
This time, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't deny it.
[With Sakayanagi's abilities, it wouldn't be too hard to figure this out. And now, Sakayanagi might become a powerful weapon for me.]
"I see..."
Sakayanagi Arisu's expression grew serious.
"But why has the battle between me and Ichinose turned into a duel between you two? When I decided to target Ichinose, you were supportive, weren't you?"
During the previous training camp exam, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had provided Sakayanagi Arisu with some information about Ichinose Honami.
And Sakayanagi Arisu had her own plans.
She intended to pressure Ichinose Honami, push her to the brink, and use Kamuro Masumi to contact Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, forcing him to intervene in the conflict.
Sakayanagi Arisu not only wanted to prove her own abilities but also to test Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's strength.
However, she never expected that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would eventually come to her on his own.
"I only provided you with some information. What you do with Ichinose is none of my concern."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression remained unchanged from start to finish.
"And as for how Saiki and I will handle Ichinose, that's where our duel begins."
Kamuro Masumi swallowed hard, not daring to interject.
[Are these people treating Ichinose like some kind of object?]
"Oh?"
"Saiki's way of thinking is extremely similar to mine. I want to use your actions to turn Ichinose into my tool, and I'm sure Saiki has the same idea—he also wants to turn Ichinose into his pawn."
Since Sakayanagi Arisu knew his background, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka directly laid out his thoughts.
"I see. But I didn't expect you to acknowledge someone like Saiki."
"Because his abilities are no less than mine."
Hearing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's affirmation, Sakayanagi Arisu fell silent for a moment, not speaking immediately, as if deep in thought.
After a few seconds, Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to have thought of something and spoke again.
"A few days ago, the school forum went down for maintenance. Do you know what happened?"
"Not really."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, his gaze seemingly piercing through her.
"I know what you're asking, but if it's Saiki, he might have been able to do it."
"Is that so... You're quite confident in him."
"Because his abilities truly exceed my expectations. Also, Sakayanagi, if you really want to duel me, then show me your strength. See if you can completely crush Ichinose before Saiki succeeds in winning her over."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said.
"Or, before that, you could succeed in turning Ichinose into your pawn."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled again.
"I don't deny it. After all, these two things aren't mutually exclusive."
"That's true. It seems we'll have to become temporary allies for now."
"Yes."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded.
However, his thoughts were completely different.
[Sakayanagi, although I don't know you well, you and I are not allies. You're just another tool for me. I'll use you to challenge Saiki. The one who will win in the end... will it be me?]
Meanwhile, Sakayanagi Arisu's thoughts also surfaced.
[Finally, finally, I can stand on the same starting line as you, can't I? I'll change you. I'll make you realize that what you and your father abandoned wasn't worthless.]
Meanwhile, Saiki and Shiina Hiyori had gone to a nearby café.
The library and the café were basically their usual meeting spots.
"Saiki-kun, you also received that note about Ichinose, right?"
Shiina Hiyori ordered two cups of coffee and then spoke to Saiki.
"Yeah."
Saiki nodded.
"This is getting out of hand. Since we've already identified Hashimoto from Class A as the one who posted the rumors, it's likely that Sakayanagi is the one behind all of this."
"Probably."
"Why would Sakayanagi target Ichinose? The biggest threat to Class A should be your Class B, but she's going after Class C... That's what I find strange."
Shiina Hiyori sat in her chair, one hand resting on her chin as she thought quickly.
"What's even stranger is Ichinose's reaction."
"Ichinose?"
Saiki pretended to know nothing as he asked.
"Yes. I'm sure you've noticed too, Saiki-kun. At a time like this, reporting to the teachers would be the best course of action. Not only would it clear her name, but it would also strike back at the culprit. After all, anyone who's slandered would naturally want to prove their innocence as soon as possible."
"That's true."
"But Ichinose didn't do that. Instead, she's allowing it to happen and doesn't seem to be taking any action. That's very strange..."
As she spoke, Shiina Hiyori's expression grew more serious.
"There's only one possibility: some of the accusations in those rumors might be true. Although I consider Ichinose one of my few friends at school and I firmly believe in her character, given the current situation, this possibility is the most likely."
'Yare yare, as expected of Shiina...'
Saiki looked at Shiina Hiyori, unable to help but admire her abilities.
In the entire school, Shiina Hiyori's deductive skills were among the best.
Especially after she deduced that he had done something based on Ryuen's reaction...
"That's very possible."
Saiki responded.
"Earlier, there were all sorts of rumors, but today's note only had one sentence: that Ichinose once stole something..."
Shiina Hiyori pursed her lips, as if carefully choosing her words, before continuing after a few seconds.
"I think this information might involve Ichinose's privacy. I can't believe Ichinose is the type to steal, so there must be some underlying reason. But for Ichinose, this is definitely something she wouldn't want more people to know about."
"So, what's your plan?"
"For now... I have one."
Shiina Hiyori looked up, her gaze locking onto Saiki's face.
"What is it?"
"To involve the school."
"How exactly?"
"Spread more rumors, affecting the entire grade, even the school, forcing the teachers to step in and stop this—these rumors must contain false information so that others will dismiss the rumors about Ichinose as false as well. But there also needs to be some truth to the rumors to make them believable and actually have an impact."
'Impressive.'
Saiki nodded after hearing her words.
"...But this plan can't be implemented..."
"Why?"
"Because it involves the authenticity of the rumors. If all the rumors are false, the impact would be too small... And I don't have any friends at school, as you know, Saiki-kun... I really can't gather any useful information. Plus, to avoid suspicion falling on the instigator, the rumors should involve all classes. But there's no one who can gather information from every class..."
[Is it still impossible?]
Shiina Hiyori sighed.
'Actually, there is someone who can do it.'
Saiki answered in his mind.