There were still a few minutes of free time before the bell signaling the start of class would ring.
On their way back to the classroom, Chris, Ichinose Honami, and Horikita Suzune walked side by side.
A gentle breeze drifted past, stirring the girl's long pink hair.
Ichinose Honami's steps faltered slightly.
"It would be wonderful if, in these disconnected exams, students from different grades could borrow each other's high-tier items for support—without triggering any accidental penalty from the system… That would be great."
Hearing this, Horikita Suzune, walking alongside her, pondered for a moment before offering an objective assessment:
"In theory, that would indeed amount to pooling the strength of the entire school. For grade-specific exam sessions, it really would drastically reduce the casualty rate and speed up the acquisition of S-points."
"But the premise for all of this is that the Black Sphere system 'allows' such behavior to exist."
She shifted her tone:
"If exploiting such a loophole causes the Black Sphere to drastically raise the monsters' strength… leaving our progress in earning points and upgrading equipment unable to keep pace with the monsters' rising capabilities, then all of this would be nothing but empty talk."
Ichinose Honami's eyes lowered slightly, and she let out a helpless sigh.
She naturally understood this reasoning. After all, she herself had been the first to raise the suggestion to Kiryuuin Fuka earlier.
It was just that, having maintained an intelligence channel with Nagumo Miyabi's side all along, Ichinose had a rough idea of the upper-years' current equipment loadout.
Aside from Nagumo Miyabi, who had exchanged for the [Gorilla Suit] after the midterm exams, and Kiriyama Ikuha, who had obtained the Imperial Arms [Purgatory Invocation].
The rest of the upper-years, at most, were equipped with basic Combat Suits, Black Cauldron Armor, or perhaps an ordinary Black Sphere weapon on top of that.
In the Black Sphere exams to come, although there were cheap and handy items like Explosive Tags and the Stone Mask available as stopgaps.
But in reality, against the monsters of unknown difficulty in the next exam—
It was likely that only the Imperial Arms [Beast King Transformation], which Kiryuuin Fuka had exchanged for not long ago, would be of any use.
As for the others, if they truly ran into an instant-kill scenario like the one they'd faced against the Darkness Devil last time, they probably wouldn't even get the chance to use the Stone Mask to recover.
This was the fundamental reason for her worry.
However, Chris, walking between the two of them, wasn't particularly worried about this. After all, as the man behind the presiding god, he possessed a God's-eye view.
He understood the upper-years' currently uneven quality better than anyone.
If he forcibly arranged an enemy as difficult as the Darkness Devil, it would amount to nothing but a one-sided massacre, with no entertainment value whatsoever.
Therefore, taking into account that Nagumo Miyabi had enough points to purchase the [Rose of the Destitute] and was also inclined to attempt a "nuclear clear-the-field" tactic—
The target Chris had arranged for the upper-years' exam this time was Muzan Kibutsuji from "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba", along with the rest of the Upper Rank Five demons, excluding Douma.
The combat strength was distributed just right.
It all came down to whether Nagumo Miyabi and the others intended to speed-run the whole thing with a single nuclear strike, preparing to meet even stronger enemies next time—or whether they'd honestly grind through the dungeon stage by stage, piling up proficiency with their lives.
Incidentally, this was also a way to secure qualification in a later revival match for the dead who had turned into 'ghosts,' like Kanzaki Ryuuji.
That said, compared to the upper-years' trial—
What Chris was actually more interested in at this moment was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
'Counting the time, by now he should have already returned to the White Room and started trying to gauge the Black Sphere's attitude toward him, right?'
Chris silently calculated in his heart.
'Given his personality, he'd most likely go along with his old man's wishes and return to Advanced Nurturing first as a combat assistant instructor to scope out the situation in person.'
But leaving was easy; wanting to come back and once again hold the right to actively participate in the Black Sphere exams—that was the hard part.
The special script Chris had drawn up for Ayanokoji was this:
Before he formally returned to school as an assistant instructor, he would frequently show up in various extra dungeons, or be forcibly tossed into exam venues as an intruder.
But the moment he officially stepped through the gates of Advanced Nurturing under the identity of a White Room assistant instructor—well, sorry, the presiding god would no longer grant him the special privilege of grinding points anytime, anywhere.
'Mm.'
'I can't help feeling like some great villain exploiting cheap labor for no reason…'
Chris thought to himself without the slightest burden, then turned his head and reminded Ichinose Honami beside him:
"Ichinose, don't overthink it."
"After all, we also have to consider the possibility of being randomly selected by the presiding god's Black Sphere to become an intruder in the upper-years' exam venue."
"So even if we lend out our items and it genuinely doesn't affect the difficulty of their next exam…"
"those truly powerful, life-saving pieces of equipment could never possibly be lent to anyone else."
"Handing over your trump card is the same as handing over your life."
Hearing this, Ichinose took a deep breath:
"Yeah… in the special exams, in the end, the only thing you can really rely on is your own effort."
As she spoke, she turned to look at Chris. "Speaking of which, the spoils we got from the Darkness Devil this time… I feel like the difficulty of training with it is quite a bit greater than Ripple Breathing."
"I'm not even sure whether we'll be able to make out a little of its effects before the next exam arrives."
Chris thought about it and casually reassured her:
"Let's take a look during the special training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber this afternoon."
"I keep feeling like I'm almost at the threshold of grasping the basics of "Ki", but it seems like something's still missing."
Ichinose Honami nodded:
"As expected, it really does come down to you, senpai!"
"So impressive…"
"I actually tried training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber too, but I just couldn't do it at all…"
Meanwhile, at the White Room.
After enduring the time within the "Final Destination" dungeon.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, having returned to the Classroom of the Elite world, was quickly found and brought back by the White Room security personnel who had been searching the area all along.
After the customary physical examination, and once the researchers had recorded everything he'd experienced in the dungeon world—
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was led into a dim, oppressive office to answer a summons from Ayanokoji Atsumi.
The moment he entered—
He was met head-on by the sight of Ayanokoji Atsumi, fingers interlaced and pressed against his chin, striking the standard "Commander Ikari" pose.
"You've died once already?"
The man's voice was indifferent, as though the person before him weren't his own son.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, expressionless, replied flatly:
"In the course of being designated an 'intruder' this time, I ultimately had my heart pierced by debris from an exploding passenger plane."
"Although I made it out alive in the end, the White Room escort personnel who'd been pulled into the dungeon with me never appeared."
"So, ruling out the possibility that the Black Sphere system provided healing for me alone, it's evident that I consumed one extra life."
Ayanokoji Atsumi's gaze grew deep, and he said in a low voice:
"So it seems… the Black Sphere intends to use this method to reclaim the extra lives you carry?"
He muttered to himself, as if completely immersed in his own world, weighing the pros and cons.
But this contemplation didn't last long.
Soon, Ayanokoji Atsumi raised his head and casually changed the subject:
"That Ki cultivation technique Tsukishiro sent back last night—how's your study of it coming along?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook his head lightly:
"In terms of the initial training logic, it's similar to Ripple Breathing."
"But it seems to demand more of the body's life energy and mental concentration, so I haven't gotten the hang of it yet."
Hearing this, Ayanokoji Atsumi pondered for a moment.
He suddenly stood, walked slowly to the floor-to-ceiling window, and with his back to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, let out a faint sigh:
"Kiyotaka, you've never liked being controlled, much less wanting to become a pawn in my hand…"
"This much, I've always been well aware of."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood quietly in place, neither confirming nor denying.
"Then why did you leave Advanced Nurturing in the first place?"
Ayanokoji Atsumi turned around and spoke with a cold smile:
"You couldn't possibly be naive enough to think that, after going through the Black Sphere exams, you could use that experience to escape my sight and control, could you?"
Faced with his father's pressure-laden interrogation—
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka merely lifted his dead-fish eyes and tossed back a casual reply:
"Just trying it out, that's all."
"Trying it out?" The cold smile on Ayanokoji Atsumi's face deepened. "It seems, then, that compared to the Black Sphere, you think the threat I now pose to you is essentially nil?"
Seeing that Ayanokoji remained silent, offering no reply—
The man paced closer and continued in a condescending posture:
"I have to admit, your thinking really isn't bad."
"Before the Black Sphere and the so-called presiding god, no matter how remarkable our White Room's research achievements may be, human wisdom simply cannot gain the upper hand against such mighty power."
"And judging by that biological weapon called the 'Parasytes' you brought out of there, as long as you maneuver a little, hiding yourself away in the real world beyond my grasp isn't entirely impossible, either."
Ayanokoji Atsumi shifted his tone:
"But you overestimate yourself."
"You've overlooked that the Black Sphere system would absolutely never allow you to freely wield an extraordinary power like the Parasytes in a real world free of anomalous invasions."
"And you certainly didn't expect that they'd directly reclaim the extra lives you painstakingly accumulated in such a manner, did you?"
Listening to his father's mocking analysis, Ayanokoji remained expressionless.
Neither voicing objection nor speaking agreement.
In fact, in his eyes—
The White Room, as it stood now, truly didn't hold a high status.
Even having forgotten his memories of the Black Sphere.
But judging from what the Parasytes had told him in his dreams, the White Room's scientific achievements truly weren't worth mentioning.
In fact—
The reason he hadn't chosen to flee after completing his withdrawal, but instead willingly followed the White Room staff back…
was simply because he wanted to take another look at Ayanokoji Atsumi, nothing more.
Just like a criminal who, after pulling off a perfect murder, can never resist returning to the scene of the crime to savor the police's futile struggling.
As a bird that had already broken free of its cage, he naturally didn't mind coming back to look at the comical state of the place that had bound him for over a decade.
What's more, his original intent in going to Advanced Nurturing in the first place had merely been to see what those normal humans—the ones Ayanokoji Atsumi had cast aside—were actually like.
But after gaining the confidence to take control of his own life and confronting the true, immense terror of life and death—
He could no longer actually muster any particular hostility or resentment toward Ayanokoji Atsumi.
Because he didn't care, nothing mattered.
Just as he'd said, he was really only testing the Black Sphere's bottom line, and dropping by to take a look while he was at it.
Because from now on, he, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, would be bound by no one.
Keenly sensing the almost indifferent, spectator-like look in his eyes, Ayanokoji Atsumi let out a soft chuckle:
"So you came back specifically to see me… hmph, a meaningless choice."
"Still, as the most perfect, supreme masterpiece the White Room has ever produced, I'll grant that you're remembering your roots, I suppose."
Ayanokoji Atsumi walked back to his desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out an employment document:
"Since you've finished your visit, if you want to return to Advanced Nurturing, I can pull some strings to arrange it for you."
"Not only can I get you back in, I can also set you up with the legitimate identity of a 'combat assistant instructor,' to make it more convenient for you to operate within the school."
He pushed the document in front of Ayanokoji. "But as the price…"
"You'll clear this so-called Black Sphere game for me to see—as a representative of the White Room."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lowered his head and glanced at the document.
"Fine."
On the other side.
Advanced Nurturing High School, Class A's classroom.
After learning from her father, the school's chairman, that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka might soon return to Advanced Nurturing as an assistant instructor—
Sakayanagi Arisu switched off her phone screen and tilted her head to the side.
Her slender, pale fingers lightly tapped the desk, producing a crisp tapping sound.
"What a strange fellow…"
Honestly, she couldn't quite figure out Ayanokoji's thought process.
Earlier, she'd already heard from Kamuro Masumi that Ayanokoji had been swept into this extra dungeon as an intruder.
But even so, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't understand what it meant for him to go to all the trouble of withdrawing from school, only to return to Advanced Nurturing so quickly afterward.
With Ayanokoji's intellect, there was no way he didn't understand the importance of the Black Sphere exams.
Since he'd decided to spend an enormous sum of points to leave back then, he surely had his own considerations.
Yet to come rushing back so soon, flustered and red-faced, even willing to change his identity just to get back into the exam venue…
It always gave the impression that this supreme masterpiece of the White Room acted on whims, lacking any consistency.
Still, after briefly weighing the stakes in her mind, Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head with a smile and put the matter out of her thoughts.
After all, whatever Ayanokoji did now no longer really mattered.
Once upon a time—
The reason Sakayanagi Arisu had paid him so much attention was that, as a child, she had once visited the White Room with her father.
There, through a one-way mirror, she had witnessed with her own eyes how effortlessly that boy crushed every single test.
The young her at the time had indeed been struck by the inhuman quality about him.
As a born genius, she had once believed he was the only person in this world qualified to engage with her as an equal.
But after the Black Sphere exams descended and she faced those inhuman creatures that shredded common sense—
When she discovered that the so-called "supreme masterpiece" hadn't even been chosen by the Black Sphere as a fixed player right away…
The lens of rivalry in Sakayanagi Arisu's heart shattered completely.
During that earliest period, because she was wholly focused on earning points to fix her congenital heart condition, she truly had no time to spare much concern for him.
And by the time she finally got her wish and mended what had been incomplete—
She suddenly realized that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was nothing more than one among countless ordinary geniuses.
A true genius… or rather, a true powerhouse who had stepped beyond the bounds of humanity—
Could only be the likes of Chris: a monster who seemed to exist on an entirely different level.
What's more, through repeatedly entrusting each other with their lives and the day-to-day push-and-pull of being together—
Sakayanagi Arisu discovered that, deep in her heart, a superfluous emotion had unexpectedly sprouted—one even she herself found inconceivable.
That feeling was strange and wondrous.
As though, in some dark world no one else could ever glimpse, she had fought side by side with him countless times.
Their tacit understanding had long been engraved into her soul—something not even reincarnation could erase.
This soul-deep flutter often made her, when facing Chris, unable to resist doing things that were greedy and insatiable—things that even went against her proud persona.
However—
In Sakayanagi Arisu's world, no matter how surging and turbulent this thing called emotion became, it could absolutely never override her own will.
She was different from those little girls like Kushida Kikyo or Ichinose Honami.
Kushida was timid and cowardly, shrinking back at the first sign of danger—even missing the golden window best suited for boosting her own strength out of fear.
Ichinose, on the other hand, overflowed with a bleeding-heart saintliness, willing to delay her own progress in order to protect others.
Sakayanagi Arisu was the complete opposite.
She was the type who would only develop interest in you and a desire to conquer when you possessed the ability to walk shoulder to shoulder with her—or even leave her far behind and utterly crush her.
If you lacked the ability to keep up, then even if you were a toy she'd taken a momentary interest in, the moment you lost your value, she would absolutely never spare you another glance.
Unless… you were Chris.
Someone who had branded a soul-deep mark upon her heart that could never be forgotten.
In that case, even when you were in an absolutely inferior position, she might reluctantly grant you a spot shining her shoes.
Yes, at her core, Sakayanagi Arisu, like Karuizawa Kei, was someone who profoundly admired strength.
It was just that she herself was more capable, and prouder.
Sakayanagi Arisu herself was aware of this, but she didn't resist it.
Just as the strong ought to dominate the weak.
Sakayanagi Arisu firmly believed that a woman ought to live proudly, rather than love humbly.
Although…
this creed seemed, for now, to remain merely at the theoretical stage, never truly carried through by her to the end.
For instance, earlier taking the initiative to strike a so-called "monetary transaction" with Chris.
For instance… that custom-tailored maid outfit.
"Phew…"
Sakayanagi Arisu pressed her cherry-colored lips together, the corners curving slightly.
She opened her phone, drawing on the backend privileges granted to her by her father, the chairman.
On the screen, she watched the scene of Chris condensing a white orb of light at his fingertips in the classroom;
as well as the subsequent speculation between Horikita Suzune and Nanase Tsubasa about his identity.
'Could he be a so-called Veteran?'
'Perhaps.'
Sakayanagi Arisu let out a light breath:
"But no matter what…"
"This game—I will definitely win it."
As for that—
Because his name was being mentioned so frequently in Sakayanagi Arisu's mind, along with that possessiveness almost solid enough to take physical form—
Chris had thus been unable to resist sneaking a peek at her inner monologue from the presiding god system's backend.
Looking at the tsundere on his screen—
He only wanted to say one thing:
You've really gone all out on me.
____
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