'It's only a façade. Kiyotaka is still hiding his true ability. Yet he defied my arrangement and went to study at Koudo Ikusei High School—utter folly. It seems he's still far from ready,' the middle-aged man said, voice thick with disappointment.
He had received intelligence that the Student Council of Koudo Ikusei High School thought highly of the top student from Sobu High and had repeatedly invited him, along with the members of the so-called Service Club, to events at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's school. This time, the island exam scheme aimed at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had apparently been thrown into chaos largely because of him—and because of his rebellious son.
'So, what are your orders? Will you intervene in the Student Council's actions?' the informer on the phone asked cautiously.
'For now, it doesn't matter. Let me see how long my wayward son keeps rebelling in that school. In time, however—whether it's him, Koudo Ikusei High School, or even all of Japan—everyone will ultimately succumb to the educational philosophy of my white room...'
Standing before a glass wall, the man looked down at a vast room where hundreds of children sat in rigid examination rows, white walls enclosing them like a tomb. The space was lifeless. 'This,' he declared, 'is the future of Japanese education.'
Chapter 55 – The Spotlight on the Exchange Student (End of Volume)
At 5:30 p.m. on the seventh and final day of the island exam, three supervising teachers announced the final class standings.
'Final results: First place, Class A with 390 points; second place, Class D with 357 points; third place, Class B with 310 points; last place, Class C with 240 points. Students, begin packing your belongings and board the liner for Tokyo.'
The announcement came from Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae. Cheers erupted from three classes; only Class C hung their heads, facing the heavy price of defeat.
Chen Yao and the others took landing craft back to the luxury cruise ship. While waiting, Horikita Suzune thanked Chen Yao once more. Across the deck he glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu of Class A; the girl, exhausted, dozed while leaning on her cane.
A few nights earlier she had invited him to dance on the beach. Though her legs couldn't bear weight, when he supported her the movements were still graceful, even elegant.
The liner set sail for Tokyo Port at dusk. A sea breeze carried the ship toward Tokyo Bay, due to arrive at 9:30 p.m. After dinner, since classes were still in session, everyone—except the unwell Sakayanagi Arisu—faced a final study period before the term ended.
Students drifted in small groups to the ship's library, most in high spirits; after seven grueling days, tonight felt almost carefree.
'Senior Chen, how would you solve this problem?' Horikita Suzune asked, physics worksheet in hand.
She noticed Chen Yao hastily sliding whatever he'd been reading beneath a stack of second-year materials. Whatever certificate he might be secretly chasing, she didn't pry. He rolled his pen, then launched into a clear, lively explanation.
His lecture was lucid and entertaining; the principle clicked at once. Horikita now understood why her brother valued him. Determined, she resolved to learn everything she could from this senior.
Seeing the class prodigy seek Chen Yao's help, half the girls in Class D lined up with worksheets of their own.
'Senior Chen, could you look at this?'
'I've never really understood this question...'
One after another, seven girls asked; none stumped him.
'As expected of Senior Chen—he's scary smart,' whispered Shinohara Satsuki on the way to the restroom.
'No surprise,' added Karuizawa Kei, flicking her long blond hair. 'He was number one in Chiba Prefecture's top high school, famous for baseball too. Rumor says he's so individualistic his Classmates are split on him—and he's still single.'
Instantly, curious girls swarmed her.
'Kei-chan, spill everything!'
In the restroom she relayed what she'd heard: he lived in Gunma Prefecture, drove himself to school, often left early, avoided people, had no friends yet seemed content. Outside school, girls praised him; inside, opinions were mixed.
The others pictured a proud, aloof prince and squealed.
'My favorite type—why didn't you tell us sooner?'
'No girlfriend? Lucky! I'm asking for his number later.'
The girls of Class D were all caught up in the thrill of romance; after all, on this uninhabited-island exam, Chen Yao had practically carried them as an ace. He'd racked up six assists for Class D and three for Class A. Meanwhile, Yukinoshita Yukino from the same school had assisted Class B four times, and Hachiman Hikigaya had managed only one assist for Class C. As for the rather ordinary Yui Yuigahama, she'd stayed at Class A's base the entire time, helping with cleaning. Without question, he'd earned a solid reputation among the first-years of Koudo Ikusei.
Yet just as the girls were squealing in excitement, a calmer voice finally threw cold water on them: "Stop dreaming. I've got intel—Senior Chen's been pretty close to Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A. And the big, juicy rumor? Someone spotted them sneaking off to the beach together at night."
That splash of cold water left the girls frozen. The mere thought of facing the princess of Class A, Sakayanagi Arisu, shut every one of them up.
"Guess that's that, then."
"After all, it's Sakayanagi-san we're talking about…"
"I still think I've got a tiny chance…" (murmured).
"Oh, shut it."
After the crowd dispersed, Yukinoshita Yukino stepped out of a toilet stall, her face a mix of doubt and surprise.
Sakayanagi Arisu—of course she knew her: the cute, wheelchair-bound genius from Class A. They'd spoken once during a stage play. She'd also seen her exchange a few words with Chen Yao. But she hadn't expected their relationship to progress this far. They attended different schools and rarely met; how had such a rumor even started?
Meanwhile, in the liner's library, Chen Yao had finally finished dissecting every last question the girls had brought. Watching them leave satisfied, he felt completely wrung out. "Terrifying… I never realized Classmates asking questions could be this dangerous."
He sank into a chair and stealthily pulled out again the manga with the Gothic-lolita girl on the cover. Honestly, after reading that Cthulhu novel his thoughts were more jumbled than ever; sometimes his ears even rang with phantom whispers. A medieval-transport story starring a beautiful girl was far better at soothing his soul.
No teacher at Koudo Ikusei would scold him for reading manga, but having grown up under the watchful eye of Chinese evening self-study, he still preferred to keep a low profile.
Just as the battered hero was rescued by the gorgeously dressed Gothic heroine who shouted down his tormentors, a real girl beside him called his name.
"Senior Chen, sorry to interrupt—could you walk me through this practice test?"
Reflexively he slid the comic under a stack of papers and turned. A girl in a track suit he didn't recognize—cute, smiling sweetly—stood there.
"Uh… sure, let me see."
Without thinking, he took the paper. One glance told him the questions were tough.
"Some of these are second-year material. Have you guys already prepped next year's syllabus?"
Chen Yao asked, curious.
She nodded. "My home tutor assigned them. I'm kind of slow; I can't make heads or tails of them. Could you just work them out? I'll study the solutions later."
Fair enough—jumping grades was normal. Still, he wondered what kind of tutor gives a student questions this advanced, and this difficult.
He began scribbling: first a math proof, then a physics composite, a chem calculation, an ecology chain, and finally another brutal math problem. Tough, but not impossible—back when he'd reincarnated into the Dark Souls world, his INT had started at 10.
The unfamiliar girl watched every line. First question solved perfectly; second question cracked after a moment's thought; all the way to the fifth, where he jotted a few formulas and finished again—at lightning speed, as if racing the clock. "Incredible… he's way above this level, and that speed…"
Her face paled. Was this guy another graduate of the white room? But before she could confirm, a warning flickered in the corner of her eye; without a word she slipped away.
Chen Yao capped the last answer and turned. "Any part you don't—"
The red-haired girl was gone. In her place stood Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, World History Encyclopedia in hand, pausing as Chen suddenly asked if he had questions.
"No, nothing I don't understand, senior."
Ayanokouji answered evenly.
"No, not you—Ayanokouji, did you see a red-haired girl? She was just here asking—"
Chen scanned left and right, but she'd vanished.
Ayanokouji hesitated. "She probably went to the restroom."
"She bailed while I was mid-calculation? Great—now I've been muttering solutions to an empty chair. If anyone thinks I'm nuts, I'm blaming her. Man, what a capricious girl."
He set the paper down with a sigh.
"…What kind of test is this? Those steps look brutal. Do we first-years even see problems this complex…?"
Ayanokouji's peripheral vision caught the dense workings. Curious, he lifted the sheet—and as he read, his expression subtly changed.
This is a classic problem from the fourth phase of the White Room.
It isn't the hardest, but it's still tough enough to weed out plenty of high-schoolers.
Why would a question like this be in Senior Chen's hands?
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's face turned icy; he realized the girl Senior Chen had mentioned might be an agent sent by his father.
"Senpai, you…,"
Ayanokouji started to ask whether the senior had sensed anything strange, but he fell silent—White Room was a classified project, and as a foreign exchange student Senior Chen couldn't possibly know about it.
"Hmm? What's up?" Chen Yao asked, puzzled.
"No, it's nothing… Did you solve all these questions yourself?" Ayanokouji asked, regaining his usual composure.
Chen Yao glanced at the papers. "Yeah, though I skipped a few steps. I don't know if that girl can follow them. The questions are pretty hard—does your school always set them this tough? Deserves the title of Japan's top high school."
No, this is way beyond what even the best high school would demand, Ayanokouji thought silently.
"These aren't from our school; they're definitely too difficult. Just leave them on the table; she'll pick them up later,"
Ayanokouji said.
"Makes sense." Chen Yao set the test sheet down, then looked over his answers again. "Ayanokouji-kun, is my handwriting a bit messy?"
"Not really—95 percent is still readable. Turning inequalities into arrows, though, is pushing it."
Ayanokouji pointed to the first question.
"I've got to keep reading—uh, I mean, I suddenly need the restroom. Could you keep an eye on things?"
Chen Yao almost let slip that he was reading romance manga; not wanting anyone to know, and feeling the call of nature, he asked.
"Don't worry, Senpai, I'll be right here reading." Ayanokouji nodded.
Chen Yao smiled and headed for the bathroom. Watching him go, Ayanokouji once more stared at the ominous test sheet.
What is he thinking? Senior Chen only joined a few school events—why target him? Why is that man after Chen…
Ayanokouji wondered quietly.
The deserted-island exam had ended for now. Ayanokouji failed to identify the mysterious student who'd passed the papers to Chen, yet that might be for the best: without retrieving the sheet, the other side couldn't gauge Chen's true ability. Ayanokouji secretly kept the test, protecting the oblivious Chen's peaceful life.
A fearsome cloud loomed over Tokyo, but some still guarded the clear sky of education. In this brief calm, the foreign student who had known darkness—Chen Yao—was free at last, his story only beginning… Chapter 56 – That's not okay, Senpai.
Tokyo's heat kept everyone indoors; the scorching streets lay empty at noon, the pale-toned metropolis unusually quiet.
In a cluster of luxury villas, Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't stepped outside since vacation began—not from lack of desire, but because the heat taxed her frail body.
"Arisu, you haven't gone out at all,"
her father, Chairman of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, said with a smile, pushing up his glasses as he watched her read in the living room, his hair already touched with gray.
"I hate hot days, and I haven't been home in months, so staying in is fine, Father."
Arisu answered lightly, eyes still on her book.
"If you'd like to escape the heat, I happen to visit a school tomorrow. Have you heard of Motosu High School in Yamanashi? I'm representing our school for an exchange visit the day after. With the falling birthrate, that old campus may close soon. Yamanashi is cool now—perfect for a holiday. Want to come?"
Sakayanagi Morishige asked.
Arisu eyed him thoughtfully, then smiled and shook her head. "No thanks. I'm not interested in outdoor trips, but thank you, Father."
Morishige merely smiled, shed his jacket, and went upstairs to work.
Arisu did want to get out, but after the island ordeal her body was exhausted; she preferred to stay home. Still, the exam had let her seize the river resource and gain a big edge over A-class rivals.
More important, though, was that night when she had reached out and invited her knight to dance.
The moment had been brief, yet her heart still raced. If only she knew how he was spending his summer, she wouldn't feel so bored.
At least she had his LINE. Lying on the sofa, she checked her friends' timeline.
Her LINE list held only a handful: Classmates from A-class who'd joined her faction. Her only true friend was the odd boy whose ID read "I-Love-Sunshine-Gun," a quiet ghost in digital space. She'd never seen a post from him—until now.
This time a new update popped up: "For my ideals, off to Lake Motosu to view Mount Fuji. If anyone wants souvenirs, let me know." Beneath it, a photo of luggage crammed into a car trunk.
"Mount Fuji? Wait—Lake Motosu in Yamanashi is right by Mount Fuji…"
Arisu tilted her head, recalling every detail: Japan's sacred peak did indeed stand on the shores of Lake Motosu.
"…Father, I've changed my mind. I'll come to Motosu High School tomorrow."