Searching for a Breakthrough, Sakayanagi Arisu's Longing

"That's exactly what I'm going to talk about next. The current situation of Class D of the First Year is quite special, and it's different from the other classes."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression was calm. Ever since he saw Nanase Tsubasa and Hosen Kazuomi that day, he had been observing this group, who were also in Class D, and had gathered a lot of information.

Please tell me about it.

Hashiba Hikaru shrugged and glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu sitting next to him; the other woman looked equally serious.

"First of all, there's the follow-up to what happened last time. That junior Nanase, wasn't lying. She and that boy named Hosen are indeed the current leaders of Class D of the First Year. Although there isn't a clear distinction between them, both of them have a lot of influence in the class."

"Anything else?"

"I've also analyzed what Classmate Hashiba mentioned last time..."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's tone suddenly turned serious. "Nanase Tsubasa, I have no memory of having any interaction with this girl. I guess she only knows me from one perspective."

"Can you confirm that she came from the [White Room]?"

Hashiba Hikaru went straight to the point. With the information from Amasawa Ichika, he was now certain that there were other people planted by Tsukishiro within the first-year students, but he couldn't finalize the list yet.

"I can't guarantee that for now. She's quite capable, but I haven't yet observed that unique aura that belongs to the [White Room]. Of course, it's also possible that I haven't observed her for very long."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has been gone from the [White Room] for over a year, and with limited information available, we can only rely on intuition to make our judgment.

"All right."

Hashiba Hikaru wasn't too disappointed. If she could really find all the assassins from the [White Room] in three days, it would be far too easy.

"Since Ayanokoji comes from the [White Room], could you describe the characteristics of the people there? Perhaps that could help us narrow down our search."

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly spoke up.

"Let me think..."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka carefully recalled his memories of living in that place and pondered for a moment.

"Probably one."

Tell me about it.

"The food prepared in the [White Room] is carefully researched and managed from the very beginning. Children raised in this environment are generally not overweight. In addition to academic subjects, they also have physical education classes, so everyone's physical fitness is generally very good."

He didn't say that bad people will be eliminated quickly.

"Hmm... can this really be used as a basis for judgment?"

Hashiba Hikaru stroked her chin. "If Tsukishiro had started preparing a backup plan early on, it shouldn't have been difficult for him to control his weight or deliberately appear physically weak."

"Really."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew that this wasn't a good answer, but he didn't have enough information to make his judgment, and it was difficult to find the right result by analysis alone.

"Judging by academic ability probably won't work, since everyone there might be able to control their grades like Ayanokoji, right?"

Sakayanagi Arisu took over the conversation at the right time, having been listening attentively the whole time.

"Since the overall grade for first grade is basically based on junior high school grades, and there's probably also a portion of that based on the entrance exam results, it's possible to fake a C or D grade with deliberate guidance, right?"

"That's right."

If we follow this line of thinking, it's actually difficult to determine whether someone is from the [White Room] based on many external factors. Amasawa Ichika got the answer through interrogation, since her behavior was too deliberate.

However, no suitable target has been found yet, and forcing questions might not be very effective.

"If that's the case, it seems we should start with Nanase or Hosen, since they are highly suspicious."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said calmly, "I recently followed Nanase, and her behavior is quite normal; she's been busy preparing for the Special Exam."

"Oh, right, there's actually another direction we might try."

Hashiba Hikaru thought of Miyabi Nagumo; if she could use him as a starting point, she might have unexpected gains.

"Classmate Hashiba, who are you referring to?"

"Miyabi Nagumo."

The boy organized his thoughts and recounted his conversation with Amasawa Ichika from the previous day to his two companions who were present.

When he described the method of "choking and interrogation," the silver-haired girl next to him clearly showed a change in expression.

"That's about it. Amasawa probably hasn't received any more orders from Tsukishiro, so he can't be of any use for the time being."

"Is that really how it is?"

After listening to the whole story, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka gained a deeper understanding of Hashiba Hikaru's decisiveness. If it were him, he probably wouldn't have resorted to such interrogation.

"Yes, we have already established a partnership. If she can identify some suspicious individuals within the first-year group, it will likely help us narrow down the search."

"That's true."

Sakayanagi Arisu, then suddenly turned to look into Hashiba Hikaru's eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "Classmate Hashiba, actually, I have another question I want to ask you."

"Speaking."

"Does it feel especially good to choke a younger girl?"

"?"

Chapter 725 Finding a Breakthrough, Sakayanagi Arisu's Desire.

"Does it feel especially good to choke a younger girl?"

After Sakayanagi Arisu asked that question, the atmosphere in the private room visibly froze for a few seconds, and no one spoke.

Just as Hashiba Hikaru had figured out how to reply, the silver-haired girl spoke again.

"I was just joking, Classmate Hashiba, don't take it to heart."

"Hehe, I just wanted to confirm the intelligence as quickly as possible. The methods might have been a bit extreme, but in the end, the mission was accomplished, wasn't it?"

The boy could sense the dissatisfaction emanating from Sakayanagi Arisu, and as the two drew closer, her possessiveness finally began to stir.

"It's alright, it's all for our common goal, don't you agree, Ayanokoji?"

Sakayanagi Arisu calmly took a sip of water and changed the subject.

"Yes, Classmate Hashiba's execution is really impressive."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded slightly, completely unwilling to get involved in the tug-of-war between the two. From his perspective, Hashiba Hikaru's only weakness was probably her rich emotional life, which could become her Achilles' heel.

"Alright, Ayanokoji and I have finished reporting our information. Now it's Classmate Sakayanagi's turn."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled and waved her hand, indicating that it was Sakayanagi's turn next.

"OK."

The silver-haired girl nodded slightly, took out an exquisite notebook from her pocket, and gently opened it, reading aloud as she went.

"I've been keeping an eye on Tsukishiro's movements lately. Counting from the first day of school, he's met with a total of six people."

"They are Shimaku Norinori, the homeroom teacher of Class D of the First Year; Chie Hoshinomiya from Class 2-A; and Chabashira Sae. All three of them are teachers,"

Sakayanagi Arisu, then added, "There are three more people."

Who are they?

Hashiba Hikaru raised an eyebrow slightly. Although he wasn't quite sure how Sakayanagi Arisu had obtained this information, now that he had it, he would make full use of it.

"One is the junior Nanase that Ayanokoji just mentioned, the other is Miyabi Nagumo, and the other is a boy from Class 1-A named Takahashi Osamu."

Because the OAA System contains everyone's personal photos, even if they have never met, Sakayanagi Arisu can still call out those people's names.

"I see."

After sharing this information, Hashiba Hikaru immediately began brainstorming. Apart from the teacher, the other three people should be the focus of attention. It is not possible to directly conclude that they are the pawns planted by Tsukishiro.

"Takahashi Osamu... Nanase Tsubasa..."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka repeated these names to himself several times, when suddenly a new idea came to him.

"A possibility suddenly occurred to me."

"Ayanokoji, you can just say it. It doesn't matter if it's wrong, since we don't have enough information right now anyway."

Hashiba Hikaru looked at his face.

"If the junior student, Amasawa, who approached Classmate Hashiba, wasn't an [assassin], is it possible that Tsukishiro has planted agents in each of the four first-year classes, as this would allow for better operations?"

"Hmm... now that you mention it, I think it's actually quite possible."

Hashiba Hikaru stroked her chin, pondering, "According to the rules of this Special Exam, Second Year students must team up with first-year students. If we place people in all four classes, Ayanokoji will have a chance of encountering an [assassin] no matter which class's freshmen she chooses."

"It's certainly very possible, but can Tsukishiro really mobilize that many people?"

Sakayanagi Arisu hesitated, after all, she had personally visited the [White Room]. If this line of thinking really applied, did that mean Tsukishiro had sent four or five [White Room] members all at once?

"No... According to the training mechanism of the [White Room], even if Tsukishiro has certain authority, it's impossible for him to send four or five people at once; that's against the rules."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka added.

If someone can easily manage so many members of the [White Room], wouldn't that mean there's not much competitive pressure among them?

In the [White Room], only one or two students from each cohort can stand out. Those who meet the training standards are immediately sent to new locations for further training, making it impossible for Tsukishiro to keep such a large list.

"What kind of operation method would that be?"

Inspired by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Hashiba Hikaru felt that this idea was very likely. After all, Tsukishiro's goal was now very clear, and there was always a chance of doing something outrageous in order to achieve it.

"Or I can go and deal with Nagumo's problem."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly suggested that the man who was expelled from the Student Council by Hashiba Hikaru was now a third-year student and had very limited influence.

"Is Ayanokoji planning to interrogate him?"

Hashiba Hikaru's lips curled into a playful smile. He had witnessed the true strength of this expressionless boy at the Sports Festival; the boy's strength was probably in the range of 8 to 9, which was definitely not something an ordinary person could compare to.

"... How exactly to do it depends on whether I can discover anything, so don't worry, Classmate Hashiba."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not give a direct answer to this question.

However, since danger was already imminent, he didn't mind taking extreme measures. After all, Hashiba Hikaru basically had access to the cameras, so he didn't need to worry about the school's inspection.

"Haha, then I'll look forward to Ayanokoji's performance. Remember to let us know if there's any good news."

Hashiba Hikaru laughed loudly.

"I will."

"And what about me?"

At this moment, Sakayanagi Arisu reached out and tugged at Hashiba Hikaru's sleeve, "Since you assigned a task to Ayanokoji, you should assign one to me too, right?"

"Hmm..."

Hashiba Hikaru looked the girl up and down. "I can't think of a suitable arrangement for the moment. How about Classmate Sakayanagi suggests one herself?"

"Me?"

Upon hearing the boy's words, a smug smile immediately appeared on Sakayanagi Arisu's face, as if she had already guessed that he would say that.

"Then I'll go with Classmate Hashiba. You probably won't be idle anyway."

The silver-haired girl stared intently at Hashiba Hikaru's face, and asked with a smile, "For example... your next plan should be to go and test the waters in Class A of the First Year, right?"

"..."

"How could you guess that?"

Hashiba Hikaru was genuinely surprised. After hearing the list that Sakayanagi Arisu had presented, he became interested in Takahashi Osamu, who was in the same Class A of the First Year as Amasawa Ichika.

Since the other party has been to Tsukishiro's office, it might be a breakthrough point for intelligence.

"Yes, what do you think, Classmate Hashiba?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's bright eyes sparkled with anticipation, making it difficult for the boy to easily utter words of refusal.

"... All right."

Hashiba Hikaru rubbed her temples in exasperation. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to act."

"Okay~ I'll be ready anytime."