Should he greet him as "Uncle" or respectfully address him as "Chairman Sakayanagi"?
To be honest, Kaoru had looked into the man's background—albeit just through online searches—but he had a general idea of the man's standing.
His ancestors seemed to have been part of the aristocracy, and though he had recently faced some setbacks in politics, his father had been the first chairman who founded this elite school—Sakayanagi Arisu's grandfather.
Though Japan had once suffered a crushing defeat and the American had overseen the dismantling of many old traditions, the core of Japan hadn't changed much.
Those in power were still the old aristocracy—the so-called hereditary politicians.
In the past, they had amassed vast wealth, and even now, they continued to secure political seats through financial influence.
And Sakayanagi Narumori had inherited his family's status, with the elite school now under his control.
Kaoru was deeply interested in this man—not just because he was Sakayanagi Arisu's father.
"Since we've met today, won't you introduce this student to me?" Sakayanagi Narumori smiled warmly at his daughter.
He had happened to see the two leaving the spectator stands earlier and decided to follow them.
"You already said you were interested in him," Sakayanagi Arisu pouted.
"I'm sure you know more about Mitoma-kun's situation than I do—including his past."
"That's quite harsh on your father. While we do investigate students' basic information during enrollment, I don't go through every single file."
Hearing this, Kaoru's mind stirred slightly—the school had investigated students' backgrounds?
Perhaps sensing his reaction, Sakayanagi Narumori cast a glance at him, his smile unwavering.
Kaoru reacted swiftly, greeting him proactively, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Chairman Sakayanagi. I'm Kaoru Mitoma, a classmate of your daughter's."
"Ah, hello. I believe you did something rather remarkable back in April or May, didn't you?" Sakayanagi Narumori maintained his cheerful expression, showing no trace of sternness.
"My apologies for causing trouble for the school," Kaoru replied with a hint of remorse.
"Don't worry about it. Being able to do these things shows you're not a student bound by convention, and I won't criticize you for that." Sakayanagi Narumori paused for a moment.
"However, breaking conventions is one thing, while acting recklessly is another. Without rules to constrain behavior, this place would simply become a lawless playground."
"I've heard the school has thousands of relevant rules. As long as students ask questions, teachers will provide corresponding answers. Under these circumstances, I don't think anyone would dare act recklessly."
"Rules are just rules. After all, my father's wish was to nurture the future hope of this country."
"Haven't many graduates already become active frontline contributors?"
Sakayanagi Narumori suddenly smiled.
Glancing at his daughter, he remarked with amusement, "Your classmate here is quite adept at reading people. He reminds me of a junior from a few years back."
He had intended to remind Kaoru that upholding rules was preferable to breaking them, only for Kaoru to subtly imply that his rules were already comprehensive, leaving little room for further exploitation.
Later, in response to his musings, Kaoru pointed out that many graduates of ANHS were already making their mark as the new generation across various industries.
Though these remarks bordered on flattery, they struck just the right balance—not excessive enough to irritate Sakayanagi Narumori.
In other words, Sakayanagi found their conversation refreshingly natural.
For a high school student to engage with the chairman in this manner was already commendable.
"He's far more than just good at reading people," Sakayanagi Arisu murmured cryptically.
No one understood Kaoru better than she did.
Kaoru looked slightly embarrassed, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Honestly, if I didn't know he had no children, I might have suspected you were his illegitimate son," Sakayanagi Narumori mused.
Noticing Kaoru's puzzled expression, he added, "You must have taken our school's entrance exam too, right?"
Kaoru nearly shook his head.
He'd been forcibly inserted here by the Wish Machine—how could he have taken any entrance exam?
But Narumori didn't wait for his answer. "This school conducts preliminary investigations on all prospective junior high students nationwide. Only those meeting our criteria are permitted to enroll. The interview and written exam are mere formalities—no matter how low the scores, qualified candidates will be admitted."
So they investigated students' backgrounds in advance.
No wonder some students with pitifully low scores still gained admission.
"Does that mean I also met the criteria?" Kaoru already had some inkling—otherwise, students like Totsuka Yahiko wouldn't have ended up in Class A.
"Indeed. After reviewing your records, I determined you satisfied our enrollment requirements." Sakayanagi Narumori smiled faintly.
"And it seems my judgment wasn't mistaken."
"Why tell me all this?" Kaoru realized the chairman shouldn't be sharing such information with an ordinary student.
"You're already a student of ANHS now. Even if I didn't tell you today, you'd eventually find out." Sakayanagi Narumori gazed deeply at Kaoru—a look that clearly wasn't directed at an average student.
Yet he soon turned to Sakayanagi Arisu, hesitating momentarily as a father's natural concern for his daughter surfaced in his eyes.
"By the way, you two aren't dating, are you?"
"You're talking too much, Father." Sakayanagi Arisu's delicate face turned cold.
"Did you follow us here because you're worried about your daughter's love life?"
Sakayanagi Narumori showed no embarrassment whatsoever, instead bursting into laughter.
"Haha, how could I not? My Arisu is naturally adorable. As a father, of course I'm curious about who might win her heart."
Somehow, it felt like this father was using loud laughter to mask his nervousness, afraid of hearing a certain answer.
"This is embarrassing. Please stop, Father." Sakayanagi Arisu sighed.
"Even if Mitoma-kun and I aren't dating, your daughter still deserves some privacy."
"Good, that's good." Sakayanagi Narumori unconsciously let out a relieved sigh before realizing the person in question was present.
With an awkward smile, he said, "You two take your time. We'll meet again another day."
Watching his retreating figure, Kaoru couldn't help but glance at Sakayanagi Arisu beside him.
With a father like that, the difficulty level of pursuing this girl seemed to have increased significantly.
"Were you nervous just now?" Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly asked.
"Was I?" Kaoru appeared surprised.
"You seemed afraid of something. Your shoulders were tense." She pointed out his earlier reaction.
"..." Kaoru didn't know how to respond.
Any guy would feel nervous when facing a girl's parent, wouldn't they?
Especially when they licked said daughter's feet.
The mere thought made him feel guilty.
"My father has always been good to me since childhood. He's kind-hearted and wouldn't do anything extreme, so don't worry." Sakayanagi Arisu flashed a mischievous smile.
"As long as you behave and listen to me, I definitely won't tell him."
This girl completely understood what he was thinking.
They must have been remembering the same incident just now.
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