Before long.
The six of them had gathered in Dorm Room 301.
Honami was cooking in the space called the kitchen, with Kei helping her.
Kamuro sat behind and to the side of Sakayanagi, looking every bit the lackey.
Meanwhile, Kushida leaned close to Makoto and whispered:
"Ayanokoji asked me to tell you he'll be waiting for you at the usual place today."
Makoto: "?"
Seriously, what was his problem? Did Makoto seem like the kind of person who wouldn't keep his word?
And why had Ayanokoji told Kushida something like that? What was he trying to imply?
It was no wonder Makoto was overthinking it. In his eyes, Ayanokoji was actually a very sly person, with thoughts that were impossible for ordinary people to fathom.
In short, he was unpredictable, because he was desperately trying to pass himself off as a normal person.
But what was a normal person, anyway? How could you define one?
No one could give a precise answer.
And so Ayanokoji's thoughts were like a dance upon the stage of fate, impossible to predict. Until the dust settled, Makoto couldn't know what he was thinking.
"Okay, got it."
Though he'd thought all that and more, not much time had actually passed, and Makoto quickly replied.
But he noticed that Kamuro was now looking at him strangely.
Her eyes held three parts confusion, seven parts disbelief, and ninety parts suspicion.
Then she glanced at Sakayanagi's profile.
When she saw that Sakayanagi hadn't reacted at all, Kamuro silently put her restless heart at ease.
Well, if the emperor wasn't worried, why should his eunuch be?
She took a sip of the black tea Honami had poured for everyone when she arrived, and composed herself.
Just here for the show.jpg
"Makoto, may I call you that?"
After replying to Kushida's whisper, the two of them moved apart. Sakayanagi suddenly spoke up.
Her gaze never left Makoto.
"Of course. Then may I call you Arisu? It's a lovely name."
Makoto wondered if his name in this life had changed his personality. Had he always been like this?
"Please do. I like my name, too~"
"It's just like a fairy tale."
Arisu sounded a lot like Alice.
"So, Arisu, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Makoto stroked his chin, taking the initiative to guide the conversation.
Sakayanagi didn't disappoint. She asked him directly:
"What do you think of Ayanokoji, Makoto?"
What did he think? He thought while sitting down!
"What do you mean?"
Makoto asked, looking utterly confused. Kushida beside him looked just as surprised.
Had she been overheard?
Had she really been speaking that loudly?
"You and I both know that Ayanokoji is no ordinary person."
Sakayanagi spoke unhurriedly. Noticing Kushida's expression change, she smiled sweetly.
"So, how do you plan to deal with him?"
"Don't use a scary word like 'deal with'!"
Makoto quipped, then went on to answer Sakayanagi's question.
"Of course, I'll turn him from an enemy into a friend. We don't have some tragic, bitter history between us."
"Is that so? How do you plan to do that?"
Sakayanagi's face was full of interest. She was curious.
"Actually, I already have. I think life would be wonderful everywhere if people used fewer tricks and were more sincere when they communicated~"
"As for the specifics..."
Makoto weighed his words.
"I promised to let him live a peaceful life as a normal person."
"?"
Sakayanagi looked as if she were saying, "That's it?" She'd expected some earth-shattering condition, but that was all?
As if he'd noticed her confusion, Makoto continued explaining:
"That's the power of information. Isn't that how jobs in society work, too? Take a salesperson, for example. They have to sell their company's products, so understanding potential customers is essential. I just pinpointed Ayanokoji's weakness."
Sakayanagi knew all about the importance of information. The reason she'd first taken an interest in Makoto was because she wanted to know where he'd gotten his intelligence.
"So Ayanokoji has that kind of aspiration?"
Sakayanagi couldn't help giving a quiet laugh. What an interesting—and fitting—wish for him to have~
Kamuro stared blankly as she took in the juicy gossip.
Ayanokoji? Who was that? She'd never heard of him.
Kushida, meanwhile, silently decided she'd test Ayanokoji in the future.
She hadn't expected him to have a side like this, in addition to being close to Horikita.
"I'd advise you not to pry into him."
Just from Kushida's expression, Makoto could tell she was up to something, so he warned her.
"It'll be better for both of us."
"Why?"
Kushida asked, unwilling to give up.
"Do you think someone whose dream is to 'be a normal person' is just an ordinary guy?"
Wasn't that obvious? Was that really the wish of a normal person?
"Anyway, just treat him as you normally would. I'm sure you can manage that."
Makoto patted Kushida on the shoulder, confident in her abilities.
It wasn't baseless confidence. He simply believed in Kushida's personal abilities.
At least when it came to putting on an act, she'd reached perfection.
As the group talked, time flew by unnoticed.
Kei finally got a chance to join the conversation.
"I've been studying really hard today. But even after the study session this afternoon, there's still a lot I don't quite understand. Makoto, could you tutor me?"
Kei delivered the whole speech very smoothly, as if she'd rehearsed it beforehand.
She didn't care at all about what the others had just said about Ayanokoji. He could do whatever he wanted. This was all she cared about.
"...Then let's study together tonight. Honami will join us, too."
Since the dorm room was fairly small, Honami had heard every word of their conversation.
Seeing that she didn't seem opposed, Makoto readily agreed to Kei's request.
No objection meant consent. He understood.
"Mm-hmm."
Kamuro's expression turned strange. She felt like she'd just uncovered some incredible secret.
And they weren't even trying to hide it from her?
Or was she part of their play, too?
Kamuro was full of questions.
Wait!
She suddenly realized that, out of the other five people there, she was the only one who hadn't fallen victim to Makoto's clutches.
There was no need to mention Honami. She was already close enough to Makoto to shower him with affection in broad daylight, right outside the Class A dorm.
Kei had just made her intentions blatantly obvious, too. She wanted to get closer to Makoto.
Kushida sat right beside Makoto without any hesitation, and the distance between them earlier had been pretty intimate, too.
Sakayanagi... Kamuro couldn't see through her, but she had a feeling it was only a matter of time...
And what about herself?
Kamuro suddenly felt a wave of malice.
It came from another dimension—from the malice in her own imagination.
...No way?!
Wrapped in that terrifying atmosphere, she now wanted to run away.
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