"Oh, my."
"It seems we have a visitor."
A voice with a strange undertone interrupted Natsuki Subaru's actions.
The white-haired girl from yesterday, the one who had been secretly taking photos of the shoplifting girl, stood at the entrance of Year 1, Class A. A formulaic smile was on her face as she greeted Subaru, who had already turned around.
Her posture seemed casual, yet it carried an innate sense of superiority.
"I wonder, did this student come all the way to our class for a specific reason?"
The white-haired girl looked at Natsuki Subaru, smiled faintly, and said, "Why are you preparing to leave after just a single glance?"
Despite it being their first meeting, the white-haired girl showed extreme aggression.
'The type to think she's on high, looking down on everyone else?'
'What a foul personality.'
Natsuki Subaru sized her up for a moment.
She appeared polite but was actually condescending. However, Natsuki Subaru didn't care.
"I came here to observe Year 1, Class A."
"My observation is complete, so naturally, I was preparing to leave."
Natsuki Subaru smiled.
The long-haired girl who had been shoplifting yesterday was now standing slightly behind the white-haired girl. Without needing to think, Natsuki Subaru understood that the long-haired girl's shoplifting had been used as leverage against her by the white-haired girl.
"It's only the first official day of school, and a student is already engaging in 'observation.'"
"It's truly quite a surprise to me."
Perhaps having found some delightful prey, the white-haired girl had no intention of ending the conversation.
Looking at Natsuki Subaru, who also wore a smile, a flash of joy crossed the white-haired girl's eyes as she said, "I imagine, this student's 'observation' wasn't limited to just this place, was it?"
"By the way, I don't believe I know this student's name?"
"My name is Arisu Sakayanagi. At present, I suppose you could call me… the number two person in Year 1, Class A."
Interest welled up in Arisu Sakayanagi's gaze as she looked at Natsuki Subaru.
Discovering Kiyotaka Ayanokōji at the entrance ceremony had already been enough to make her happy, making these three years, which should have been predictable and dull, somewhat worth looking forward to.
Now, there was also this Natsuki Subaru, a character who seemed to have some skill.
'Well then, before I personally bury that false genius, I'll have some fun playing with you.'
That thought flashed through Arisu Sakayanagi's mind.
Without a doubt.
Just from Natsuki Subaru's casual use of the word 'observe', Arisu Sakayanagi had already confirmed his strength and was now feeling the thrill of the hunt.
"I'm Natsuki Subaru from Year 1, Class D."
"As for observing, I've probably given the entire school a general look-over."
Seeing no need to hide anything, Natsuki Subaru directly answered Arisu Sakayanagi's question.
If Arisu Sakayanagi was seemingly gentle and polite but in reality condescending and arrogant, then Natsuki Subaru, with his ability to reset, was even more so in that regard, if not worse.
Any sort of information was trivial in Natsuki Subaru's eyes.
So what if he failed this time?
Natsuki Subaru had countless opportunities, countless resets. There was nothing he couldn't say because he could use trial and error infinitely. This, in turn, led to Natsuki Subaru possessing an arrogance that far surpassed that of mortals.
To put it simply, aside from the 'genuine articles' in Natsuki Subaru's eyes, other people weren't even people anymore.
They were merely NPCs.
So what if they died?
As long as Natsuki Subaru wished, they would be refreshed after a reset.
Of course, he had encountered rare NPCs that even a reset couldn't save, but they were just rare. If they weren't a 'genuine article', they were meaningless.
"You've already… observed the entire school?"
Arisu Sakayanagi paused slightly on the word 'entire'. Yesterday, she too had observed the second and third-year areas and naturally knew what the situation was like.
It could be said that anyone with normal intelligence would be able to notice that something was amiss with the second and third years.
Since Natsuki Subaru had already observed the whole school, it was impossible for him not to have discovered the unusual state of the upperclassmen. At this thought, Arisu Sakayanagi's smile grew even more radiant.
Looking at Natsuki Subaru, Arisu Sakayanagi said with a smile, "I feel that Natsuki-kun must be a very interesting student. I would very much like to get to know you, Natsuki-kun, and become friends."
"I wonder, Natsuki-kun, would you be willing to exchange contact information with me?"
As she spoke, Arisu Sakayanagi walked toward Natsuki Subaru, leaning on her cane.
She seemed to have never even considered the possibility of being rejected by Natsuki Subaru.
However, that was only natural. Arisu Sakayanagi was well aware of her own appearance; while not an exaggeration to say, she was definitely a beautiful girl in the eyes of most people.
Normally, boys wouldn't refuse her request for contact information.
"Sure."
Natsuki Subaru nodded.
Contact info? If she wants to add him, she can add him. Natsuki Subaru didn't care. Besides, Natsuki Subaru had always believed that although 'genuine articles' were extremely rare—so far, only Ram had truly achieved that status—
...everyone possessed the potential to become a 'genuine article'.
Natsuki Subaru would usually grant different degrees of patience based on the perceived probability of them becoming a 'genuine article'.
For instance, Hiyori Shiina received the most patience from Natsuki Subaru, while Kikyo Kushida received slightly less. As for Haruki Yamauchi, who had no sense of personal space and harbored malice toward him...
Natsuki Subaru had felt the urge to kill him from their very first meeting.
If he'd had a coin on him at the time, Natsuki Subaru would have flipped it on the spot to see what Haruki Yamauchi's luck was like.
Of course, Natsuki Subaru wasn't one to hold a grudge.
Natsuki Subaru wouldn't fixate on one person. For example, yesterday Haruki Yamauchi had dodged a bullet because Subaru didn't have a coin. Today, Natsuki Subaru had a commemorative coin, but he wouldn't go out of his way to find Haruki Yamauchi just to flip it.
If someone was lucky, Natsuki Subaru would truly let them go.
As long as they didn't push their luck, Natsuki Subaru didn't care. If someone repeatedly tempted fate and got lucky, but Natsuki Subaru decided he absolutely had to kill them, he wouldn't violate his own rules.
He would just reset and start over, trying again.
In Pandemonium, Natsuki Subaru's coin-flipping was not affected by any external forces, such as blessings of luck. So if Natsuki Subaru truly wanted to kill someone, he could just reset a few times until the coin landed on the side that meant death.
____
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