Senpai Really Is So Kind (4.5k)

"Although Kitagawa just said that we don't need to prepare anything special, I still feel that it would be good to put something here. Of course, you can choose not to drink it."

After briefly explaining the two glasses of water on the table, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka went straight to the point, addressing Kitagawa Ryo, who was already seated across from him:

"Probably none of the students in the class would suspect that their Chabashira-sensei, is one of the spies that Class D has been searching for all this time."

Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pointed out this fact, Kitagawa Ryo did not show any panic. Instead, he smiled and explained:

"After all, no Student Council actively doubt their teacher, let alone someone like a homeroom teacher. However, this fixed mindset doesn't apply to you, Ayanokoji. After all, in your White Room, there has only ever been an instructor and a test subject, not a teacher-student relationship."

"You really know a lot about the White Room, did you hear it from that child?"

"What if I said I experienced it myself?"

"In my memory, there is no one like you among the fourth generation, nor among the third and fifth generations, so this is impossible."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed unwilling to continue discussing this impossible matter, and thus proactively steered the conversation back to the topic of Chabashira Sae:

"If I'm not mistaken, you should have already hired the Chabashira ahead of time."

"Hmm, so you Class D's plan with the maid café was indeed to use the Chabashira as your trump card, right?"

"That's indeed the line of thinking. We've even prepared the corresponding maid outfits. It's a bit of a shame to return them, but being able to confirm Chabashira's stance through this is still an acceptable thing."

"And then what? Ayanokoji called me here, surely not just to talk about this kind of thing. After all, you and I both know that even if you expose this now, the students in Class D won't be on your side. It will only plunge the class into further chaos on the eve of the Cultural Festival."

Kitagawa Ryo knew very well that Chabashira Sae always had a well-thought-out plan, just like the situation with Class B during the Sports Festival. When there are disagreements, conflicts, and accusations between students and homeroom teachers, the outcome is often not determined by right or wrong, but by the hearts of the people.

Hoshinomiya Chie is very popular in Class B, but in fact, Chabashira Sae is just as popular in Class D. After all, since she was parachuted in to become the homeroom teacher of Class A, she has always been quite nice to the students in the class until the Summer Special Exam. Otherwise, Katsuragi Kohei would not have thought of inviting her over to boost the morale of the class when he was on the Uninhabited Island.

Unfortunately, compared to Mashima Tomoya homeroom teacher of Class A, and Sakagami Kazuma, the homeroom teacher of Class C, young, beautiful, and Affinity female teachers are definitely more popular than fit, muscular men and bespectacled, old-fashioned middle-aged men.

Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has successfully cultivated an image of a physically gifted but somewhat Taciturn and reserved sports student in his class through the recent events of the Uninhabited Island Special Exam and the Sports Festival, without concrete evidence, the students of Class D will undoubtedly side with Chabashira Sae and label him a spy.

You deliberately sabotaged yourself in the final project of the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, yet you greeted people every day on the cruise ship and invited them to go swimming. You also lost to Kitagawa Ryo from Class A in two important Sports Festival matches by a hair's breadth. Can you still say you're not a spy for Class A?

Aren't you worried that I might have recorded some audio or video material?

Faced with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's trickery, Kitagawa Ryo simply shook his head. Every time he met with Chabashira Sae, he would always investigate the surrounding environment beforehand, and when exchanging information, he would always pay attention to everything within 500 meters. It can only be said that the combination of Hawkeye's talent and that of Super Detective is just that effective in investigation and counter-investigation.

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo still showed no sign of panic, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had no choice but to give up on delving deeper into the topic. He had indeed tracked and confirmed Kitagawa Ryo and Chabashira Sae's meeting at the Special Teaching Building that afternoon, but due to the obstruction of the woods and his high vigilance, even though Kitagawa Ryo could detect his every move from a hundred or two meters away, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was ultimately unable to capture any clear images or recordings.

"Alright, let's leave the topic of Chabashira at that for now."

Although he hadn't gained the upper hand in this rather casual conversation as he'd hoped, at this point, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had no choice but to continue speaking out about what he truly wanted to discuss with the other person:

"About this Cultural Festival."

Just like when the two of them heard Tsukishiro's speech in the Chairman's Office before the Sports Festival, Kitagawa Ryo could clearly feel the emotional fluctuations of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka when he mentioned the Cultural Festival, no, it was Ayanokoji Atsuomi. After all, this was a very rare and precious reaction for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka as an individual.

"In fact, I have betrayed his original vision and purpose in sending me to this school, both behaviorally and psychologically."

Like a completely calm robot, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka began to sharply dissect all his emotions in front of Kitagawa Ryo without any hesitation.

"My current thinking has changed from following his orders to fight you to wanting to stay in this school as long as possible."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was no stranger to competitive elements such as contests and duels. After all, the White Room had always been an elimination mechanism where the capable rose and the weak fell. Competing against other test subjects in various exams was a natural part of his life, ingrained in his very being.

Compared to his so-called competitive spirit and desire to win, it would be more accurate to say that what truly sustained Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was an extraordinary thirst for knowledge. His victory over those children was essentially just a means to pass the test and learn richer and newer knowledge.

It was precisely because of this that when Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was actually sent to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, things naturally deviated from Ayanokoji Atsuomi's plan.

The Masterpiece of the White Room can indeed only be called Masterpiece within the almost deformed institution of the White Room. In too many other aspects, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is in fact just a rather rudimentary beginner in terms of common sense.

This was probably the first time Kitagawa Ryo had so clearly sensed a kind of almost benevolent emotion from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, after all, the subtext of the other's words was actually just one sentence:

I am not your enemy.

"Actually, when we were on the Uninhabited Island, I already saw many possibilities in you that I couldn't have imagined before. It was a truly novel feeling."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's language skills weren't particularly outstanding, and his flat, almost emotionless tone could even make one feel drowsy. But Kitagawa Ryo still chose to listen attentively, even though he still wasn't sure if the other person was lying.

"The only thing the test subjects in the White Room could see and touch was the White Room itself; that was our entire world. Therefore, many of them suffered severe and irreversible psychological damage after being eliminated, and became completely disoriented and lost in the outside world."

"Perhaps Kitagawa himself doesn't know, but when you defeated me for the first time, I probably felt a little bit of joy. After all, my defeat also meant that you had defeated that man at the same time, proving that he and his White Room were both the losers. But conversely, this also negated the meaning of my existence in the world and my own existence so far. This is the contradiction I have often held in the past."

After uttering this long string of heartfelt words, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka lowered his eyes, picked up the glass on the table, took a sip of water, and then looked up:

"But now, my world has expanded, and I am free to broaden its boundaries, incorporating things I've never encountered before into my understanding and experiencing them firsthand."

At this point, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly shook his head, a mixture of confusion and anticipation, as if he were smiling:

"At this Cultural Festival, I was appointed as the manager of the maid café project for Class D."

"Hmm, maybe it'll suit you surprisingly well."

Perhaps it was this sentence or Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression that possessed some kind of magic that moved Kitagawa Ryo, who had been merely listening, and he nodded in response. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't say anything else, and the two of them began to chat idly about this topic.

Half an hour later, Kitagawa Ryo got up to say goodbye.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka went to the door to see him off.

Both glasses of water on the table were empty.

Chapter 326: My Senior is Indeed Very Gentle (4.5k)

After having a life-changing talk with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Kitagawa Ryo returned to his usual busy schedule. He not only worked with Horikita Suzune to develop unique menus and new products for the Cultural Festival confectionery shop project, but also, with the Cat Cafe project successfully approved thanks to Ichinose Honami's high praise, various related matters gradually came to the forefront.

Based on the suggestion of the general director, Ichinose Honami, Class 1-A should aim to have around four projects for this year's Cultural Festival. After all, the class is indeed short-handed. Although the preparation funds are quite sufficient, pursuing too much quantity may affect the coordination and balance between the projects, and even the final quality.

Besides Horikita Suzune and Kitagawa Ryo's two projects, Sakayanagi Arisu's new project also passed the unanimous vote of the whole class at the new week's planning meeting, and successfully became the third project to be confirmed.

As for the project concept proposed by Sakayanagi Arisu, Kitagawa Ryo was quite familiar with it. It was the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School entrance exam treasured practice questions sale and on-site question-solving that he had personally witnessed and even participated in during the second simulation. It was a tactic that was devised by the Leader of Class 3-A about ten years ago.

In fact, Kitagawa Ryo was also a bit amazed by that student's thought process, or rather, the other person directly ignored the appearance of things and saw through the essence of the Cultural Festival at a glance. After all, in general, high school Cultural Festival are often used to promote the school to expand its reputation and attract students from the surrounding area to apply. This is why you can see students who are about to graduate from junior high school everywhere in the Cultural Festival of many high schools outside the area.

Although those in the know are well aware that the admission process for Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School has little to do with Written Exam or even interviews, the school has always presented itself as a highly selective institution that admits only 160 students each year. Coupled with its three-year closed management system and the rumors of its exceptionally high college entrance and employment rates after graduation, it easily creates an atmosphere of rigor and even mystery, much like an elite aristocratic school.

In this context, all information related to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School has been given so-called value. Moreover, with the interference of Tsukishiro and other forces, the number of guests at this year's Cultural Festival is greater than in any previous year. Slightly modifying and repackaging the original plan is indeed a pretty good idea.

After all, Kitagawa Ryo remembered that the event organized by Class 3-A back then easily attracted a large number of parents, and also allowed him to take this opportunity to reveal his secret of being born in the White Room in front of the crowd, which triggered a series of subsequent events.

To be honest, compared to the current situation, Kitagawa Ryo himself misses the days when the simulations were a bit too entertaining, with the ANHS Faction and the White Room Faction bickering online about his match with Sakayanagi Arisu.

Just as Class 1-A finalized their third official project, Class 2-A, following their hefty rental of the Gymnasium last week, made another big splash by posting on the school forum that the first part of the large haunted house/maze project in the Gymnasium had been preliminarily completed, and sincerely invited other students from Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School to experience it and provide valuable feedback.

It has to be said that with more than half a month to go before the official start of the Cultural Festival, and most of the class plans still in the paper stage, Miyabi Nagumo's so-called trial operation has indeed aroused heated discussions in all three grades. Since admission is free, most students went to the vicinity of the Gymnasium again with the idea that they might as well come and witness the work of the new Student Council President.

Actually, Kitagawa Ryo hadn't planned to go at first. When the rumors of the Gymnasium being rented out came out last time, he didn't even get involved in the excitement. After all, he was extremely busy right now, and he was in charge of two of the three confirmed projects. However, Asahina Nazuna specifically sent him an invitation to come and take a look around, so he finally picked a time to go and keep the appointment.

Perhaps because it had been open for two days, everyone's novelty had worn off. When Kitagawa Ryo arrived, he didn't see many students from other grades. It was mostly second-year students, either moving various props or communicating with each other via walkie-talkies. It looked quite lively.

Wow, the busy person finally has time to come!

Kitagawa Ryo had only glanced at her a few times when Asahina Nazuna gently patted his shoulder twice from behind. As she turned around, she winked at him and casually made a joke in a teasing tone.

"After all, you've called me so many times, I'd feel bad if I refused again."

"Hmph--Good to know. Come on, I'll take you inside to have a look."

As she spoke, Asahina Nazuna led Kitagawa Ryo through the entrance that was covered by a curtain. The deliberately dim lighting filled the Gymnasium with an eerie atmosphere that was different from usual, but thanks to Hawkeye's presence, Kitagawa Ryo didn't feel anything.

"Okay, let's briefly explain some of the rules for this trial operation to Liang."

Perhaps she was a little afraid of the excessively quiet environment around her, Asahina Nazuna quickly began to speak:

"1. Mobile phones are prohibited indoors. Please be sure to switch to vibrate or silent mode."

2. Loud noises are prohibited.

3. Loitering is prohibited.

Fourth, try to avoid touching the props.

These are the four points so far. It should be fine if it gets cold, right?

"Yes, I won't cause any trouble for you, senior."

"There's no need to be so reserved. After all, that's just what we say, but quite a few students who came to visit the other day didn't follow the rules. A lot of props were accidentally broken, and there was even a student dressed as a ghost who got punched twice on impulse. Luckily, nothing serious happened."

"After all, the haunted house your class built was quite well-made, so it's normal to be scared."

While chatting with Asahina Nazuna, Kitagawa Ryo also looked around at the interior of the haunted house. Because the walls on all sides were artificially sealed off with boards, the passageways were very narrow and the visibility was very poor. The small lights on the walls and ceiling were wrapped with tape to confine the light source, creating a rather dim or even pitch-black visual effect.

"Here, Liang can just register with our class here."

Soon, Kitagawa Ryo was led by Asahina Nazuna to a table, which was the only bright spot in the area. Two students from Class 2-A were sitting there, with pens and a register on the table.

As Kitagawa Ryo wrote his name down, he noticed that the name above him was Kiryuin Fuka, who seemed to have just registered and entered the haunted house.

"I'll go in with him, could you please register me?"

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo had finished registering, Asahina Nazuna smiled and waved to her two classmates, then grabbed Kitagawa Ryo's arm and swiftly pulled him into the haunted house.

"When did Asahina Nazuna become so familiar with First Year students?"

"Isn't that Kitagawa from Class 1-A, the one with lots of girlfriends? Didn't someone see them together at the coffee shop in the Keyaki Mall before?"

"... Now that you put it that way, doesn't Chairman Nagumo count as one?"

"You call that a crime? You might as well say how many times Nagumo has dated other girls, and their relationship has been over for a long time, hasn't it? Didn't Nagumo initially plan to have Asahina Nazuna work as a ghost at the Cultural Festival? But she didn't agree at all, things are different now."

At this point, the Class 2-A boy, who seemed to harbor some resentment towards Miyabi Nagumo, idly twirled his pen and grumbled a few more words:

"This Cultural Festival is the same. They put so much effort into integrating all the second-year resources just to create a vanity project that doesn't even make any money. Did you hear? Nagumo's mother only plans to charge 100 points for the haunted house ticket this time, which is basically giving it away for free."

"Huh? What about the sales revenue then?"

"Who knows? Maybe he never cared at all. Anyway, I just hope he doesn't cause any more trouble like he did during the Sports Festival, so I can just stay in Class A and graduate in peace."

"Really."

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't actually visiting a haunted house for the first time. These kinds of entertainment facilities usually create an atmosphere with various decorations and background music. Once you're on edge and your emotions are high, they suddenly startle you, which usually results in screams. Many people are so scared that their legs go weak and they can't move forward anymore.

To Kitagawa Ryo's surprise, Asahina Nazuna, a staff member at the haunted house, seemed even more nervous than him, a legitimate tourist. As if completely unaware of the various traps and mechanisms, she was startled every two steps by the ghost masks that suddenly appeared from the wall and were thrust in front of her. Before long, she was practically clinging to him like a koala.

"No, senior, this facility was designed by your class, right?"

After experiencing once again the decibel level of Asahina Nazuna's instinctive scream caused by a ghostly face suddenly jumping out from around the corner, Kitagawa Ryo himself helplessly picked at his ear with his little finger.

"... Um, actually, this is also my first time actually coming in here."

Kitagawa Ryo could tell that Asahina Nazuna- senpai's voice was eight octaves lower and three octaves softer than usual, and it certainly didn't seem fake.

"I'm not in charge of this project, and I'm not interested in haunted houses."

Asahina Nazuna has always been a girl who believes in metaphysics and Fate, so she is naturally uncomfortable with this kind of ghost story. If it were when she Miyabi Nagumo were on good terms, she wouldn't necessarily refuse to work as a ghost if asked. But now that they have basically broken off relations, she naturally refuses.

"I see. But your class's haunted house is really pretty good. It's still half-finished, but the combination of various mechanisms and sound effects is quite good. There are a lot of kids at this Sports Festival, so I think they'll like it?"

"Perhaps, but Nagumo was basically losing money to gain publicity. The quality of the food is indeed very high, and it was all bought with Private Points."

As she spoke, Asahina Nazuna couldn't resist reaching out and poking Kitagawa Ryo's cheek, who was so close to her.

"And Liang hasn't shown any fear whatsoever since he came in, still giving off positive reviews and stuff..."

"Maybe it's because I'm genuinely not afraid of these things? And you yourself seem to have weak legs, isn't that convincing enough?"

"Indeed, but it's actually quite good this way. After all, if Liang gets scared too, the two of us will just collapse here and yell for the staff to turn off all the mechanisms and sound effects."

As Kitagawa Ryo Asahina Nazuna, the two had almost reached the end of the half-finished haunted house.

Just as the two were about to reach the end of their haunted house adventure, several loud noises suddenly came from ahead, followed by the sound of objects rolling down and a few voices.

Asahina Nazuna's exclamation, Kitagawa Ryo quickened his pace, carrying her with her feet almost dangling in the air, swiftly ignoring the other frightening props along the way. After navigating several bends in a few steps, the scene that appeared before them was Kiryuin Fuka being surrounded by second-year students.

Nearby, a student was lying on the ground, clutching his stomach and being cared for. Judging from his various outfits, he was probably one of the staff members responsible for scaring people in this haunted house project.

Theoretically, in this situation, it would be more appropriate for Asahina Nazuna, a fellow student in Class 2-A, to step forward and ask. However, this upperclassman, who is now practically melting into Kitagawa Ryo's arms, is unlikely to be able to handle such a difficult task. Therefore, in the end, it was Kitagawa Ryo himself who had to step forward and ask:

"What happened?"

"She injured students from our class and staff members of the haunted house."

In response to Kitagawa Ryo's question, a second-year student quickly stepped forward and offered this explanation in a cold tone.

He attacked me first!

Kiryuin Fuka merely smiled coldly, showing no sign of panic whatsoever. She even glanced at Kitagawa Ryo and Asahina Nazuna were now practically conjoined, with a hint of amusement.

"Our staff were just doing their job to scare people. It was your overreaction that caused you to unintentionally hurt someone, right? Actually, a similar situation happened a couple of days ago."

This time, a student spoke up with a gentler tone, even thoughtfully offering a couple of words to defend Kiryuin Fuka, but then immediately changed the subject:

"Even if it was unintentional, you went too far. If something really happens or it affects our class's ability to participate in this Cultural Festival, we will hold you accountable according to school rules."

Seemingly feeling that such a warning was enough, the students of Class 2-A quickly and hastily carried the fallen boy out, but Kiryuin Fuka followed them out relentlessly.