One More Tool for the Toolbox?

Reverence, reverence.

First come the fear, then the respect.

Shiina Hiyori walked towards Class 1-D.

The classrooms of the four classes were not far apart, but Shiina Hiyori walked rather slowly.

Memories from the past suddenly flooded back, washing over me like waves of water.

She was sorting out her feelings, or perhaps she was thinking about what to say as the first words after their reunion.

In fact, Shiina Hiyori and Kitagawa Ryo had not seen each other for almost three years.

They have spent more time apart than they have spent together. Although they communicate frequently, she longs for face-to-face communication even more.

The meaning of parting may be for the sake of this reunion.

Just as "The Long Goodbye" should be followed by "The Book of Happiness".

(The former is a famous mystery novel by Raymond Chandler, and the latter is a famous mystery novel by Awazaka Tsumao.)

Shiina Hiyori arrived at the door of Class 1-D with light steps. The homeroom teacher seemed to have left, and it was noisy inside. Many students were going to the restroom and going in and out. For a moment, no one noticed that a girl from another class had slipped into the crowd.

After all, today is only the first day of school, and everyone hasn't had a chance to introduce themselves. For most students, it's already quite an achievement to remember the faces and names of the students sitting next to them.

However, Kitagawa Ryo noticed Shiina Hiyori's arrival immediately. He left his seat, walked out of the classroom through the back door, and then went around to the front door behind Shiina Hiyori, gently tapping the back of the girl's head as she looked left and right, searching for someone.

"Long time no see, Hiyori."

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's flustered turn around, and he couldn't resist reaching out to pat her head again.

"Cold."

Shiina Hiyori some dissatisfaction. They used to be about the same height, but now the gap between them had widened considerably.

The familiar address he received face-to-face made Kitagawa Ryo momentarily dazed.

Whether in simulation or reality, the other person is like this because she is a healthy, well-adjusted child.

Kitagawa Ryo recalled a line from the final chapter of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in which Sherlock Holmes commented on Watson:

[You are the unchanging moment in a changing era]

He mentally added the second half of his sentence:

[Forever pure, forever beautiful, forever carefree]

Chapter 39: Toolbox Added?

"Hiyori was assigned to Class C, right?"

There was still about half an hour before the opening ceremony. Class D was crowded with people and eyes. Kitagawa Ryo walked towards the courtyard with Shiina Hiyori. Although Shiina Hiyori was a little curious that Kitagawa Ryo seemed to be quite familiar with the environment and roads, she didn't think much of it and just assumed that he had been here once before during the Cultural Festival and had some impression of him.

After all, as a fellow book lover who often discussed novels with Kitagawa Ryo, Shiina Hiyori knew very well that the other's memory was quite amazing; even a novel that he had read several years ago could be completely recounted in its entirety, including the puzzle designs and the final answer.

"Yeah, I was assigned to Class 1-C."

At this time, Shiina Hiyori was also unaware of the specific rules for class assignment (A, B, C, D), assuming it was random, and remarked with some regret:

"I wish I could be in the same class as Ryo."

"But it's more convenient to be in the same school."

Shiina Hiyori and gestured with her right palm above Kitagawa Ryo's head:

"It's hard to get a clear sense of Ryo's height from the video; she's already so tall."

She had worked with Kitagawa Ryo for a period of time about four years ago. Because girls develop earlier than boys, Shiina Hiyori's height was about the same as Kitagawa Ryo's at that time. When they usually video chatted, they could only see each other's faces or upper bodies. Today's face-to-face reunion made Shiina Hiyori feel a little emotional.

The two found a bench in the courtyard and sat down. Kitagawa Ryo casually asked a few questions about his recent situation, and the conversation naturally turned to the school.

"A violent incident is happening in our class, but our homeroom teacher is making no attempt to stop it."

Shiina Hiyori showed the video recording on her phone to Kitagawa Ryo.

The boys in the video are fighting; tables and chairs are overturned and scattered, and students' shouts and screams can be heard.

Kitagawa Ryo narrowed his eyes. He naturally recognized the central figure in the picture. In fact, he had a very close friendship with Karuizawa Kei during their second simulation.

However, perhaps due to the butterfly effect, Kitagawa Ryo did not find Ryuen Kakeru in the school he remembered, and the two naturally had no further contact. However, the other party still came to this Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, and was still in Class 1-C, and it seemed that even his methods and ways of doing things had not changed.

However, because he had transferred Yamada Albert, whose athletic ability was A, to his class in advance, Ryuen Kakeru should be able to subdue Class C more easily than before. The remaining students might have better physical abilities than Ryuen, but they were no match for him in a fight.

What is Hiyori thinking?

"This school must be different from ordinary high schools. Whether it's the 100,000 points or the homeroom teacher's leniency towards violence or even his active cover-up, it all gives people the feeling that it's not simple."

"It sounds like the opening of a mystery novel."

Shiina Hiyori nodded:

"Furthermore, our class advisor seems to be intentionally encouraging violence."

"This is not an encouragement of violence."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head and explained:

"Violence is merely a means; your class advisor only values the outcome, namely whether it will produce a leader capable of guiding the class forward."

"Director Sakagami is clearly a very old-fashioned and serious person."

What kind of person is Liang's homeroom teacher?

Shiina Hiyori some curiosity.

"He was probably a middle-aged man, the kind who taught English with the physique of a PE teacher."

Shiina Hiyori nodded thoughtfully:

"When I came to find you, I passed by Class A and Class B. Both of those classes have female homeroom teachers."

"And unlike Class C and Class D, the two classes weren't chaotic at all. The students were all quietly staying in their seats. Oh, and I even saw Karuizawa."

"It was as if she was answering a teacher's question at that moment."

Shiina Hiyori still remembered Karuizawa Kei, after all, the two had a fairly pleasant time together. Although it seemed that she was no longer willing to contact her, and their relationship gradually faded, it was still a happy thing to see a long-lost friend here.

"Hui was indeed assigned to Class 1-B."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in confirmation of Shiina Hiyori's words. It seemed that Karuizawa Kei had begun to take initiative, since she possessed simulated memories and was familiar with the school's basic rules and all the Special Exam in the first semester.

Although Ichinose Honami and Horikita Suzune also inherited the simulated memories of the two, none of them actually involved specific matters related to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. Horikita Suzune was in a better position, as she had learned a lot of basic information from Horikita Manabu, but this was actually Ichinose Honami's first time setting foot here.

Seeing that it was almost time, Kitagawa Ryo stood up and said:

"If we have time in the future, we can go to the library together. I reckon it would take me three years Hiyori read all the books here."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it too."

Shiina Hiyori and nodded. She could already picture the two of them sitting around the table reading and discussing together. Although she was a little disappointed that she wasn't in the same class as Kitagawa Ryo, the thought of spending three whole years together filled her with anticipation and satisfaction.

For Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the entrance ceremony was a rather boring affair. It consisted of a group of middle-aged and elderly people with receding hairlines giving meaningless and uninformative speeches. The new students in the audience were drowsy and clapped their hands twice during each pause. After a dozen or so rounds, the opening ceremony for this year's new students at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School finally came to an end.

Since it was the first day, the freshmen had a free afternoon and evening after the break, as classes wouldn't officially start until tomorrow. Therefore, most of the freshmen chose to go to check out their dorm rooms in groups of three or five, while many others went shopping or to sing karaoke.

After politely declining Katsuragi Kohei's suggestion to go to the shopping center together, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka decided to go to the convenience store by himself.

Even though it was only the first day of school, Katsuragi Kohei seemed to be intentionally organizing group activities, and three or four students went to the shopping center with him.

But what's even more outrageous is Kushida Kikyo did. She seemed to have invited quite a few boys and girls from her class to a coffee shop, saying she wanted to play board games together and get to know each other. Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also declined, Kushida Kikyo still kindly exchanged contact information with him.

Thinking about it carefully, this was the first contact information I had from a girl in my address book.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka entered a fairly large convenience store. The shelves were piled high with all sorts of goods. Perhaps because most of the freshmen had gone to their dormitories, there weren't many people there. Only a few upperclassmen could be seen quietly selecting items.

The reason they were identified as upperclassmen is because most of the freshmen who just enrolled exclaimed in surprise, like the two in front of me.

"Wow! They have a really good selection of instant noodles, this is such a convenient school!"

"I've wanted to try this flavor for a long time."

Two male students were making a racket in front of the instant food shelf, piling up a mountain of instant noodles into their baskets as they sighed. Besides the instant noodles, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could also see that the baskets contained many other snacks and drinks.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also began selecting essential daily necessities and some instant foods that interested him. The White Room provided nutritious meals three times a day to enhance physical fitness. Influenced by the two students he had just met, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also developed a slight interest in these colorful instant noodles and randomly picked two kinds to throw into his shopping basket.

Turning a corner, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka noticed a shelf in the corner of the convenience store marked "[Free]", which was stocked with basic daily necessities such as shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, and shower gel. A sign read "[Maximum three items per month]", and judging from the quantity, it seemed that quite a few items had already been taken.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka judged that this was probably the most basic living allowance provided by the school for students who did not have enough Private Points. He deliberately observed from here for a while. In about ten minutes, two senior students came here and took the goods from the free shelf. From their conversation, he could tell that they were both students from Class D.

After confirming his information, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was about to head to the cashier with his purchases when he noticed something unusual as he passed a certain shelf.

To be precise, she was a girl with somewhat strange behavior.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka recognized her immediately upon seeing her signature side ponytail and long, purplish-red hair; she was Kamuro Masumi of his in the same Class 1-A.

The girl seemed a little stiff during her self-introduction in class, but her pretty face still left an impression on many boys. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quietly moved a little closer.

Concealing his presence and footsteps Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not disturb Kamuro Masumi. He had been taught this technique of concealing his aura in the White Room. He quietly circled around to a shelf behind her and observed Kamuro Masumi's movements more closely through the gaps between the products.

Kamuro Masumi turned her back and, in a blind spot of the surveillance camera, prepared to stuff a bottle of shampoo from the shelf into her bag. Her movements were swift and without the slightest hesitation, making her look like a skilled thief.

To Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's even greater surprise, Kamuro Masumi, who had been keeping a cold and indifferent expression, revealed a relieved smile after successfully stealing the item, as if she had obtained some precious treasure.

However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka clearly remembered that brand of shampoo only cost a little over a thousand points, and today everyone in Class 1-A should have received 100,000 Private Points.

He followed Kamuro Masumi out of the convenience store, and sure enough, the customer didn't pay for the shampoo.

After confirming that the other party had stolen the item, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka walked up to them.

"Kamuro."

Who is it?

Kamuro Masumi showed no sign of guilt; she impatiently sized up Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"I am Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, a Class 1-A, just like you."

"I do recall something. Is there something you need?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka observed the other person's expression and actions. Normally, someone who has just committed a theft and is immediately stopped should instinctively show something unusual. However, the other person was unusually calm in both eyes and words. If he hadn't just witnessed it with his own eyes, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka probably wouldn't have believed that the other person had just committed a theft.

That's right, Kamuro Masumi is a very capable and talented person.

It just Ayanokoji Kiyotaka himself needed a similar tool in Class A.

"Kamuro just stole something, didn't he?"

Kamuro Masumi's pupils narrowed slightly for a moment, but she quickly frowned and said:

"If you want to report me to the school, you can do it now."

Kamuro Masumi took her phone out of her pocket:

"Or do you want me to help you?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't surprised by Kamuro Masumi's reaction. The fact that she chose to steal despite having points meant she wasn't concerned with the stolen object, but rather with the pleasure derived from the act of stealing itself. Having confirmed this, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka simply responded to her every tactic of feigned retreat:

"Kamuro Masumi, I don't intend to report you. I will keep your secret, so in return, I hope you can help me with some things."

What are you saying?

Kamuro Masumi's first reaction was that the other party might be trying to use this as leverage to create some entertaining scenarios, so she flatly refused:

"If that's the case, you should report it to the school. At worst, you'll just be expelled."

"I have no dark intentions whatsoever."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka naturally knew what Kamuro Masumi was thinking, and he explained:

"I just need help. I hope you can assist me with necessary matters in the class in the future."

"Class?"

Kamuro Masumi sized up Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. She recalled the self-introductions in class today, and one thing was certain: he hadn't left her with the impression of someone as talented as Hirata Yosuke or Katsuragi Kohei.

However, the other party's words just now revealed considerable confidence.

Do you think I'll obediently listen to you?

"Indeed, even if I report you to the school, you probably won't suffer much harm. But even so, the fact that Kamuro Masumi is a thief will be exposed. That will probably cause you trouble when you steal in the future, right?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka calmly analyzed the other party's psychology, and immediately after making the threat, he made a promise: