"Go ahead and tell him. I kind of miss that feeling anyway."
Kaoru sneakily glanced at her ass.
Often, whether a threat worked depended entirely on how shameless the person being threatened was.
"Pervert." Sakayanagi Arisu's ears grew warm. In all her years, not only had no one ever spanked her, but no man had even touched her before.
She'd initially been angry, but seeing his "thick-skinned" expression made her find it incredibly amusing.
It was as if he had two personalities—one maintaining a proper image, while the other was cunning, scheming, and lecherous.
"What were we talking about earlier?" Sakayanagi Arisu unconsciously paused.
Their previously smooth conversation had been abruptly interrupted, and the atmosphere between them had grown peculiar.
Come to think of it, could that be considered their first parental meeting?
"We were discussing my views on ANHS, but your father seemed to share similar opinions?" Kaoru had wanted to talk more with Sakayanagi Narumori, but the man hadn't been interested.
"Actually, my father was greatly influenced by my grandfather. He deeply admired him and voluntarily took over this school." Sakayanagi Arisu revealed these little-known secrets.
"Although this school is a nationally-operated special high school, its original purpose wasn't pure at all. Mitoma-kun, are you familiar with political factions?"
"I know a little." Kaoru had met some ministers before—though that was in his previous world.
"My father and grandfather belonged to the same faction. Especially my grandfather—he had direct access to many ministers back then and was a trusted confidant of a certain influential figure," Sakayanagi Arisu said.
"Perhaps due to his background in the education system, or maybe seeking some political capital, my grandfather proposed the concept of Meritocracy, which was eventually adopted by the higher-ups. Over the years of implementation, it seems to have become one of the most promising directions for educational reform."
Kaoru understood the reasoning.
Regardless of merits, graduates from Class A could freely choose between employment and further education, with the condition that they would be entirely absorbed by either the government or major corporations.
This essentially meant ANHS was cultivating a new generation for the government and big businesses.
These individuals would later gain access to more societal resources, and the higher their status climbed, the more it would prove ANHS superiority.
With politicians deliberately promoting it, what might have been a six out of ten achievement could easily be exaggerated to a nine or even a perfect ten.
"However, my father has been under considerable pressure lately. Not only are people questioning whether Kouiku's system is too conservative—having remained unchanged all these years—but they're also pushing for further reforms."
Sakayanagi let out a deep sigh.
In truth, these criticisms had reached even higher authorities, and even those within the same faction weren't above attacking one another.
"Moreover, someone has established an educational institution positioned as a rival to ANHS. Though I absolutely refuse to acknowledge it as a proper educational institution—it's nothing more than an assembly line."
"An assembly line?"
"They start cultivating so-called geniuses from infancy. Through relentless competition, they select the most talented children and keep them there until adulthood—unless they're eliminated in earlier stages. Those children are forbidden from leaving, never even getting a glimpse of the outside world."
Kaoru was stunned.
Raising geniuses from infancy? Had Japan's competition really escalated to this extent?
"Have I mentioned Ayanokouji-kun to you before?" Sakayanagi smiled faintly. "He's one of the geniuses produced there. They call him their 'Masterpiece,' the greatest achievement of the fourth generation."
"Was he the only one who made it to the end?" Kaoru asked.
"As far as I know, yes. Though I have no idea how he managed to escape," Sakayanagi replied.
"I don't see anything particularly special about him," Kaoru admitted bluntly.
"Having broken free from that cage, he must be intensely curious about everything in the outside world—like a two- or three-year-old child eager to explore. I originally intended to force him into action, to personally bury this artificial genius… until I met you."
"You know him well?" Kaoru pressed.
"We met once as children. I suppose you could say we're childhood friends." Sakayanagi deliberately emphasized the last phrase, her eyes glinting with teasing amusement.
"Satisfied with that answer?"
"So, were you one of the eliminated candidates?"
For a split second, Sakayanagi fell silent.
Shouldn't he be getting angry or jealous?
Instead, it seemed she was the one about to lose her temper.
"I am a true genius," the girl said flatly. "Unlike Ayanokouji-kun, I've never lost since the day I was born. No matter what I learn, I master it quickly and surpass even my teachers."
"So, I'll soon have a very clever little maid?" Kaoru sounded surprised, her words couldn't help but evoke wild imaginations.
Sakayanagi Arisu nearly raised her cane to hit him, but restrained herself due to her upbringing, suppressing her irritation with a deep breath.
"Do you really think you'll get your way during the sports festival?"
"Unless Ayanokōji-kun single-handedly defeats everyone, I can't imagine any other unexpected outcome."
"Hehehe, you want to pressure Class A, but why can't I take advantage of the situation?" Sakayanagi narrowed her eyes.
"After all, it was you and Katsuragi-kun who made the decisions. The failure of those decisions led to Class A's defeat in the sports festival. You can manipulate public opinion, but so can I."
It was ultimately a matter of narrative control—the same event could be framed from different perspectives.
Sakayanagi wanted to preemptively define the sports festival's failure as Katsuragi Kouhei's incompetence.
After all, Class A's defeat needed someone to take the blame.
"You were the one who leaked the participation list, weren't you?" Kaoru asked.
"Was I?" Sakayanagi smiled sweetly at him.
She had anticipated this, so she had used a disposable account to send the information to Nagumo Miyabi and deleted it afterward.
"Please don't make baseless accusations, Mitoma-kun."
She had also guessed that Kaoru might try to shift the blame onto her—claiming she was the one who leaked the list, leading to Class A's crushing defeat.
So, Sakayanagi took matters into her own hands, then immediately launched a preemptive strike against Katsuragi to block Kaoru from doing the same.
"I thought putting you in charge of scorekeeping would keep you quiet, but you're still clinging to this," Kaoru said, sounding somewhat exasperated.
"I'm the one who's surprised. Out of nowhere, you assign me to announce scores—were you trying to reassure everyone?" Sakayanagi was delighted to see him troubled, her smile growing wider.
Falling from first to third place—how could that possibly reassure anyone?
"Let's drop this topic. Weren't we just talking about Advanced Nurturing High School and Ayanokoji-kun?" Kaoru sidestepped Sakayanagi's provocation.
"We've already finished that conversation. What else do you want to know, Mitoma-kun?" Sakayanagi blinked.
"Could it be… you're curious about my past with Ayanokoji-kun?"
"Probably just hearsay." Kaoru gave her a sidelong glance. "The man himself might not even know you exist. You're the only one going on about 'masterpiece' this and 'masterpiece' that."
Sakayanagi's temper flared.
Even though she knew he was retaliating, it still put her in a foul mood.
"You're right. Ayanokoji-kun doesn't know me. I only know him—I once saw him through a glass window when we were children." Sakayanagi tilted her chin up slightly, revealing the graceful curve of her neck, pale and swan-like.
"But that doesn't change my desire to destroy him. I will crush the White Room."
Unbeknownst to many, she harbored an exceptionally prideful side—one that bordered on arrogance.
"Mitoma-kun?"
For some reason, Sakayanagi was now staring at him with a terrifying gaze.
"I was just thinking about whether I should help you target Ayanokoji-kun in the future," Kaoru replied calmly.
"Hehe, no need. I'll enjoy him after I defeat you."
A faint, unnatural flush appeared on Sakayanagi Arisu's face.
"So far, our battles have been quite enjoyable—I've liked them very much. The only downside is how displeased they make me."
'Are you the top recipient of the Contradiction Literature Award?'
"Let's grab something to eat first, or I might faint during the match this afternoon," Kaoru said as he headed toward the cafeteria.
Sakayanagi naturally followed but continued along the way, "To be honest, I'm curious. You usually don't practice seriously, yet your performance improved quite a bit today—that's understandable. But Kamuro-san performance today was truly unusual."
"We should keep that talk between us. Otherwise, the other classes might force Kamuro to take a drug test," Kaoru said with a stern expression.
"Even if there were stimulants, someone like Kamuro would never take such things," Sakayanagi Arisu continued, seemingly oblivious to his joke.
"Even with the excuse that her body is still developing and hasn't reached its physical limits, it's hard to justify. It's like someone who usually only scores passing grades in math suddenly getting full marks—cheating is the only plausible explanation."
"But everyone saw her run that fast with their own eyes. There's no room for cheating, right?" Kaoru chimed in.
Sakayanagi smiled faintly. "I know. That's why I plan to have Kamuro run again afterward. If her performance remains unchanged, then her body must have extraordinary potential."
Kaoru broke into a cold sweat, feeling as though Sakayanagi had seen through something.
"Do you have a better idea, Mitoma-kun?"
"No."
"Ah, I almost forgot—Nagumo-kun from the second year also fell, didn't he?" Sakayanagi recalled the scene.
"Given how agile he usually is, it's unlikely he'd lose his balance on the beam, let alone fall twice in a row."
"What would you like to eat?" Kaoru asked as they arrived at the cafeteria.
"You order for me," Sakayanagi replied, gazing at him with amusement.
"I can't handle spicy food, and keep the portion small."
Kaoru operated the self-service machine at the counter while the girl stood behind him, watching his back with a faint, knowing smile.
"Say, Mitoma-kun, what do you think of the second years?"
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