"If you can guarantee that Infinite Stratos wins the Silver Prize, I can sign under you."
Kagurazaka Ayame immediately gave up trying to persuade him and said without hesitation:
"Deal!"
Kagurazaka Ayame looked expectantly at the girl beside her:
"What about Teacher Shimazaki?"
Shimazaki Yuna thought seriously for a moment before saying softly:
"If I can win the Gold Prize and the Grand Prize, I'm fine with it too."
Chapter 42: Found You!
The Shinomiya Family residence.
Shinomiya Kaguya pointed at the list submitted by the school and asked with a frown:
"Hayasaka, why isn't he on it?"
She had already gone through the list several times from beginning to end, but she simply couldn't find Kira Yoshikage's name!
Hayasaka Ai was silent for a moment before saying quietly:
"It's my fault, Young Lady."
Shinomiya Kaguya grew somewhat angry:
"I'm not asking you to take responsibility! I'm asking what we should do now!"
Hayasaka Ai had thought her plan was flawless, and Shinomiya Kaguya had thought the same.
But when they actually put it into practice, they discovered that their plan was full of holes.
For example, they had no way to guarantee that Kira Yoshikage would choose to apply!
Most likely, the hourly wage of 1,200 yen hadn't been enough to attract him. If only they had known, they should have set the wage higher from the start.
Hayasaka Ai thought for a moment and asked:
"How about trying again? Young Lady should still have a few companies left, right?"
Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head and rejected the idea on the spot:
"No. The remaining companies all require new employees to have graduated from university. We can't hire high school students as part-time workers the way convenience stores can."
Hayasaka Ai: "Then our only option is to take the initiative."
"Take the initiative?"
"Yes! We have his address, so we can create an opportunity for a chance encounter."
Shinomiya Kaguya felt that the plan was feasible, but still frowned:
"But wouldn't that make him suspicious?"
Hayasaka Ai had anticipated this and answered smoothly:
"That's why you can't appear in person, Young Lady."
"Eh?"
Under the Young Lady's wide-eyed gaze, Hayasaka Ai explained:
"I'll appear first and create an opportunity for a chance encounter. Then, I'll naturally arrange for him to meet you."
After a pause, Hayasaka Ai added:
"This is the best method I can think of."
"Hmm~"
Shinomiya Kaguya lightly pursed her lips. It seemed that this was the only option left...
Shinomiya Kaguya raised her head and looked seriously at her attendant:
"Hayasaka, don't disappoint me."
"I absolutely won't, Young Lady. I promise!"
Hayasaka Ai absolutely refused to allow herself to fail a second time!
Tokyo, Minato Ward, inside the Kashiwagi Family villa.
The pink-haired girl, her hair tied into a ponytail, stared intently at the computer screen before her. Somewhat tired, she gently brushed aside the bangs from her forehead and asked softly:
"Hey, Kashiwagi, is that person really on this list?"
"He definitely is!"
Kashiwagi Nagisa spoke with absolute certainty:
"Shinomiya Kaguya wouldn't do anything without a benefit. She must have confirmed that person's identity, which is why she openly approached him under the pretext of offering him a part-time job!"
As she spoke, Kashiwagi Nagisa looked at the girl beside her, who seemed somewhat sleepy, and asked seriously:
"Koyasu-senpai, since I was willing to ask you for help, don't you believe me?"
Koyasu Tsubame muttered softly:
"Of course I believe you, but we've already compared the lists so many times and still haven't found the person you mentioned."
Kashiwagi Nagisa was troubled as well:
"There must be a problem somewhere. Maki, are you really sure this is the complete list?"
The girl with short brown hair tied into tiny twin tails sighed helplessly:
"Haven't you already asked that twice? The hacker obtained the complete list!"
Kashiwagi Nagisa still wasn't willing to give up:
"Could Shinomiya Kaguya have secretly hidden him?"
Shijo Maki said irritably:
"Impossible. This is the school's original data. Even Shinomiya Kaguya has no way to hide anything! It took me a great deal of effort to convince Walnut to help. Can't you trust me a little?"
"Of course I trust you."
Kashiwagi Nagisa soothed Shijo Maki's emotions before asking again:
"But could the hacker you contacted simply not be good enough?"
Shijo Maki rolled her eyes:
"Walnut is the strongest hacker!"
"The strongest? What if that's fake? Maybe he was just bragging."
"You're the fake one!"
"Eh!"
Several large words suddenly appeared on the LCD screen before them, startling Kashiwagi Nagisa in front of the computer.
Shijo Maki muttered softly:
"I told you Walnut was amazing."
Koyasu Tsubame asked in surprise:
"But how did he hack his way in?"
"I hid a virus in the files I sent you."
Several large words appeared on the screen again.
Koyasu Tsubame: "That's unexpectedly honest."
Only then did Kashiwagi Nagisa remember that she had been too eager when receiving the files and had chosen to ignore the risks and continue downloading...
"But I'm certain that he's a student at Shuchiin Academy."
Kashiwagi Nagisa pressed her lips tightly together, her mood somewhat dejected.
"Um~"
Koyasu Tsubame raised her hand and asked softly:
"If we can confirm that he's a student at Shuchiin Academy, why don't we just check the school's student directory?"
"..."
Kashiwagi Nagisa fell silent. Could she say that she hadn't thought of it?
At first, she had only thought that she remembered the other person's face, so she had spent half a month waiting outside the school gates. Later, after discovering that Shinomiya Kaguya might have already found that person, she had kept thinking about getting an answer from Shinomiya Kaguya.
As for checking the student directory, the most conservative method of all, she had simply overlooked it.
Another line of text appeared on the screen:
"I have the student directory here."
Shijo Maki looked astonished:
"Eh? Why do you have it?"
"I copied it while looking for the list. So, do you want it?"
"Yes!"
Kashiwagi Nagisa answered without hesitation.
Walnut kindly reminded her:
"That'll cost extra~"
Kashiwagi Nagisa spoke with absolute resolve:
"That's fine. Any amount is okay!"
The Kashiwagi Family had plenty of money!
A line of text appeared on the screen:
"In that case, why don't I search it for you directly?"
"What distinguishing features does he have?"
"Blond hair."
Kashiwagi Nagisa recalled for a moment before answering with certainty:
"He's at least 180 centimeters tall. Maybe even 190..."
"OK, that narrows the range considerably. I'll send them to you. You can identify him."
Looking at the large words displayed on the screen, Kashiwagi Nagisa eagerly opened LINE and tapped the chat window of the contact saved as "Walnut."
Before long, Walnut sent over more than a dozen files.
Koyasu Tsubame leaned closer and began identifying them as seriously as Kashiwagi Nagisa:
"Tobe Sho..."
"Hayama Hayato..."
The two girls' gazes passed over the photographs one by one as they eliminated each person.
In the end, they locked onto one of the documents almost simultaneously and said in unison:
"That's him!"
Shijo Maki also leaned over curiously and read out the name:
"Kira Yoshikage?"
Tokyo, Setagaya Ward, inside a Japanese-style café with the sign "LycoReco."