"I Want to Become a Photographer Someday."

The only possible explanation...

The key point is that Advanced Nurturing are not under the control of the Shinomiya Family's interest groups.

So initially, Hayasaka Ai thought that Shinomiya Kaguya might be trying to gradually gather some of her own group and faction outside of Shuchiin.

While she may certainly not be able to compare to her three older brothers, she has vaguely shown some ambition.

After hesitating for a long time, Hayasaka Ai finally reported the matter.

Yes, she was a spy.

On the surface, she is a perfect maid who is completely loyal to Shinomiya Kaguya, but in reality, she is a spy for the main Shinomiya Family, selectively reporting all matters, big and small, concerning Shinomiya Kaguya to the main family.

This unusual behavior clearly needed to be reported.

Surprisingly, the main family didn't seem to see this as a sign that Shinomiya Kaguya intended to rebel and fight for power. After hearing the name "Advanced Nurturing," they dismissed her indifferently, saying she could do whatever she wanted.

So, there are no problems on our side.

The focus is still on Shinomiya Kaguya herself.

She actually has no need, nor any way, to access Advanced Nurturing.

If it weren't for ambition...

Has anyone you know been admitted?

Unless you ask Shinomiya Kaguya directly, trying to figure out Hayasaka Ai's answer by just pondering it will never yield a result.

So she asked.

The answer was unexpected.

"... Because there are things I want to know."

Hayasaka Ai's heart skipped a beat.

What do you want to know?

Want to know about the main Shinomiya Family? Want to know about the betrayal?

Why is it Advanced Nurturing?

That place has absolutely nothing to do with the Shinomiya Family, right?

Despite her many doubts, Hayasaka Ai suppressed them and chose to get on with the matter first.

Although it's called an official business, the Advanced Nurturing is ultimately a closed system, and all you can get is a list.

Following the list allows for investigation into the corresponding identities and backgrounds, but a total of 160 first-year students is no small number.

Well, maybe it was just a passing fancy.

That's what she thought at the time.

But when the news came out that the Advanced Nurturing Sports Festival had invited her to visit the school, Kaguya Shinomiya's expression became excited. She repeatedly urged her, slapping her thigh until it hurt a little, and called her name.

"Go quickly, go investigate right now!"

At that moment, she realized that this was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Therefore, she gave another report.

With the help of her family, Hayasaka Ai easily obtained permission to enroll and was able to enter the Advanced Nurturing today.

But she didn't expect that the investigation would only last a short time.

The so-called main party seemed to have taken the initiative to come to them.

"That concludes my self-introductions. I'll skip the unnecessary pleasantries." Asakusa Toru rested his elbows on the table, crossing his arms. "Let's get straight to the point."

What task did Shinomiya Kaguya give you?

While you're supposed to get straight to the point, aren't you being a little too direct?

Hayasaka Ai couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.

"I can't say." It's not that she can't say at all, after all, it's not something that particularly needs to be kept secret, and she had already leaked it to her superiors.

But you can't just ask me like that right away; I can't just be naive and blindly trust you enough to give you an answer, can I?

"I should be able to guess without you saying it," Asakusa Toru said irritably. "They're either here to ask me something, or they're here to ask me something."

"Actually, she could have just asked me directly."

Isn't there a comment section? Mashiro can leave a comment, so why can't you?

Although it's unclear whether Shinomiya Kaguya or Hayasaka Ai obtained the copy, based on their current actions, it's certain that Hayasaka Ai doesn't have the Diary.

Otherwise, she would have reacted when he gave his name.

"... Should I ask you directly?" Hayasaka Ai's expression was somewhat subtle.

Ask directly? How should I ask? Should I come here at the Advanced Nurturing and ask?

If she could do that, she wouldn't need to sneak in during the Sports Festival.

"It's alright, it doesn't matter if you don't understand." Asakusa Toru waved his hand.

Because of the Cognition Filter in her mind, Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't explain anything to her.

"You definitely can't make any decisions, just make a phone call," he said.

He had originally wanted to talk to Hayasaka Ai about something, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that Hayasaka Ai couldn't make any decisions.

Instead of wasting your breath, just go directly to the person in charge.

The Advanced Nurturing campus system actually... doesn't block calls from outside the campus.

Generally speaking, no one knows the phone number of a student's Personal Terminal.

Similarly, phone calls from visitors outside the school will not be blocked.

Hayasaka Ai: "..."

Silence, hesitation, indecision, contemplation.

Then, I took out my phone.

Make a phone call.

"Have you found it?!" A very urgent voice came through the microphone.

Before Hayasaka Ai could speak, Asakusa Toru whispered into the phone:

"Yes, found it."

A clear male voice came through the phone's speaker.

Shinomiya Kaguya: "...?"

Chapter 273 "I want to be a photographer in the future."

Shinomiya Kaguya was filled with question marks.

A male voice came through Hayasaka Ai's phone.

This fact alone was enough to set her off into all sorts of wild and chaotic thoughts.

What's wrong with her? Why would she make that call? If it wasn't because she completed her mission and found her target...

Could it be that he was captured?

What happens when a special agent on a mission is captured by a man...

Waaah...

Good morning, Hayasaka! I'll try my best to save you, please hold on!!!

Shinomiya Kaguya was about to start wiping away her tears.

But suddenly, she remembered what the other person had said in response.

... Found it?

"Diary?" she tentatively posed a key word.

With the protection of Cognition Filter, this message will not be transmitted if the other party is an unrelated party.

But if it's someone involved.

Those words can then be successfully used as encrypted codes.

It's me.

Shinomiya Kaguya received a response.

"!"

Finally, finally, finally.

Now, five months have passed.

She, Shinomiya Kaguya, has finally managed to talk to this guy!

It's absolutely awful to see him writing about what happened at that crappy vocational school every single day!

Expectation, anticipation, disappointment, loss.

Repeated emotions, repeated results.

Today, I finally got to meet you!

"Nice to meet you... well, it shouldn't really be called a meeting." A Shinomiya Kaguya smile played on her lips, but without revealing overt joy. "Anyway..."

"Hello, I am Shinomiya Kaguya."

Let me introduce myself first.

"Asakusa Toru."

As she wished, a name was given on the other end of the phone.

A name she had added to her watchlist.

He appeared several times in the Diary and seemed to be quite active... a male.

Initially, he appeared in the diary under the somewhat awkward name 'Recorder Bro'.

As a victim, the information about her being sold was casually exposed, subtly implying the Recorder's attitude of 'evasion'.

It indirectly reveals Asakusa Toru's power, and then he disappears from the diary as if he has ceased to be active.

But clearly, they haven't stopped being active; it's just a cover-up.

They put their existence into a diary, using exposure as a cover.

That's a pretty good trick; after all, people who have been mentioned before are the least likely to be suspected.

However, for some reason, he, who should have completely disappeared, began writing about himself again in June.

Was it because someone suspected him? Or did he, as the protagonist of the confession, feel he would definitely attract attention, so he decided to write it down?

But in any case, from that time on, the name 'Asakusa Toru' seemed to have once again begun to appear on the stage of the Diary.

By the way, back in May, when the diary entries started about those band girls, she also sent Hayasaka Ai to investigate.

But as it turns out...

That guy was just talking big.

... It can't be entirely considered empty talk; it's just that what he said and wrote contained a great deal of artistic embellishment.

The truth is, no student ever left Advanced Nurturing, no man ever snatched the notebook from the girl named Takamatsu Tomori, and no man other than the girl named Chihaya Anon ever went to that small rented room.

Of course, of course, things like Diary exist.

No one can guarantee that he didn't use some extraordinary special power until they've seen it with their own eyes.

In short, the appearance of the name Asakusa Toru here gave Shinomiya Kaguya a sense of unexpected yet perfectly logical realization.

But that's precisely why she finds it so hard to understand.

Why, now that things have come to this, would he be so direct and straightforward as to reveal his identity?

Shinomiya Kaguya was completely baffled.