Divine Thief

"O-okay... I'll pass that along to my friend. Thank you, Suzuki."

Ichinose smiled, but it was a strained one.

It seemed she hadn't gotten the answer she wanted.

"Actually, there's another way."

"This one's a lot simpler."

"Huh? What is it?" The girl's eyes lit up, and she pressed on with curiosity.

"Simple. Just have your friend fall in love."

With Ichinose's personality, she'd never want to outright refuse Shiranami Chihiro.

If a nonexistent boyfriend suddenly appeared, it would make the other girl back off.

"A boyfriend or something... how could I find one just like that?"

Ichinose's heart pounded like a startled deer. She often fantasized about what her future partner might be like, but on such short notice... how could she possibly find one!

"Well, you don't actually need a real one. Just put on an act for that girl to see."

So that worked too? Ichinose felt a sudden clarity wash over her.

"Thank you, Suzuki! I'll tell my friend."

Ichinose smiled her thanks. This method was certainly simpler than directly refusing Chihiro. The only problem was figuring out who to cast for the role—someone from her own class wouldn't do, and she wasn't close enough with anyone from the other classes.

Seeing Ichinose lost in thought, Suzuki Tsubame had no choice but to leave.

Come to think of it, why didn't she ask me? Was she too embarrassed to admit she was the friend herself?

Suzuki Tsubame couldn't figure it out.

He arrived at the supermarket's beverage section.

The school strictly forbade students from buying beer, yet it still appeared in the store's refrigerated cases—that was a problem in itself.

A purple-haired girl stood before the cooler. With her back to the store's surveillance camera, she hid herself in a blind spot.

With a flick of her wrist and a subtle hook of her finger, she precisely tossed a can of beer into her shoulder bag.

"Yo!"

A flippant male voice came from behind the girl, making her jump.

"Isn't this Sakayanagi's underling, the Thief?"

[Kamuro Masumi]

[Appearance: 9.5]

[Physique: 8]

[Intelligence: 7]

Kamuro Masumi didn't change her posture. Still in the camera's blind spot, she quickly slid the beer back into its place in the cooler.

Then she slowly turned around to face Suzuki Tsubame.

After a moment of silence, the girl spoke warily: "Classmate... who are you?"

Suzuki Tsubame looked puzzled.

"The Thief follows me around every day, but doesn't know my name?"

The girl's eyes, hidden beneath her purple side-swept bangs, discreetly swept over Suzuki's hands. Detecting no sign that he was recording a video, her expression turned cold.

"I'd like to correct your wording, but... never mind."

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Having finally run into the Thief, Suzuki Tsubame wasn't about to let her leave so easily.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Running petty errands for Sakayanagi—why not work with me instead?"

"Kamuro, ever consider being a double agent?"

Suzuki Tsubame pulled his phone from his pocket and waved it in front of Kamuro Masumi.

Pretending he'd recorded the video.

In truth, he hadn't even had time to take out his phone. Kamuro Masumi's movements were too fast—by the time he spotted her, her deed was already done.

She was definitely a repeat offender.

The Thief probably wouldn't gamble on it.

Theft was a serious crime in this country. Even a single can of beer could lead to short-term detention and a fine.

That was just the legal side. If her classmates found out, she'd be a hundred percent ostracized.

From then on, whenever any problem arose in the class, the first suspect would be the thief—after all, someone like that had low moral standards.

With a soft click of her tongue, Kamuro frowned. She couldn't be sure how long Suzuki Tsubame had been standing there watching.

"Kamuro, are you really that fond of beer?"

Suzuki Tsubame asked curiously—why did Kamuro specifically target beer for theft?

Because school rules explicitly banned students from buying beer. If the rules banned orange juice instead, she'd switch to stealing that.

"What's it to you?"

Kamuro Masumi snapped back, not particularly afraid of being exposed. She had no fear of expulsion; attending school or not made no difference to her.

In the original work, Kamuro Masumi's background wasn't clearly stated, but one could guess a bit.

She likely came from a middle-class family, with parents who might run a small business or be intellectuals like professors.

Her parents probably had a strong desire to control her, which was also why she chose to apply to Advanced Nurturing.

Here, there was enough freedom, no constraints or nagging.

This was still easy to see. Kamuro Masumi remained calm and composed in any situation; stealing was just a hobby for her. Choosing to follow Sakayanagi's orders was most likely also to satisfy her own interests.

Kamuro Masumi wore an indifferent expression—seems my personal charm is completely outmatched by Sakayanagi Arisu's.

Suzuki Tsubame chuckled inwardly. Sakayanagi's presence was indeed formidable, nearly unmatched in the original work.

Her innate nobility was something Horikita Manabu could never learn even if he stayed silent his whole life.

Unfortunately, that presence was utterly useless against Kuroya Keisaku.

"Kamuro, maybe we should find a quiet place to talk alone?"

Since personal charm wasn't working, Suzuki Tsubame would have to rely on persuasion through words.

Kamuro frowned slightly but didn't refuse.

Seeing no objection, Suzuki Tsubame led the way. The two walked one after the other, leaving the supermarket.

As for the drinks, they could buy them tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, there would be a personal maid to run errands.

It was the same Artificial Lake near the Dormitory.

The water's surface shimmered, the lingering glow of sunset gilding it in a brilliant golden coat.

Compared to the vast ocean, Suzuki Tsubame still preferred this place.

The lake was surrounded by sparse thickets of trees. Even the fiercest sea breeze, after passing through, would be softened by their branches and leaves into a gentle whisper.

The sparse grove held the sea's intent, dissolving it into tender murmurs among the leaves.

"Have a seat."

Suzuki Tsubame sat on one side of the bench, pointing to the other.

Kamuro Masumi looked at the bench beneath him, lost in thought.

Good grief!

Wasn't this the same bench he'd sat on with Sakayanagi before?

Kamuro wore an expression like an old man on the subway, lingering for a long time.

Just thinking about it made her want to laugh. That always-arrogant Sakayanagi had actually acted like a little girl.

What kind of power did this guy have? It was almost unimaginable.

Actually, knowing Sakayanagi's backstory, this was still easy to understand.

In the original work, aside from losing one move to Ayanokoji, she had never tasted defeat in chess.

Note that before her match with Ayanokoji, she wasn't really interested in chess. It was only after losing that she developed an interest and started learning.

Don't be fooled by Ayanokoji acting like he only used one-tenth of his power—winning against Sakayanagi was nowhere near as easy as he made it look.

Remember, the main purpose of Ayanokoji's father raising him was for the political world. What kind of place is politics? Calling it "devouring people without spitting bones" is an understatement.

Even if they were on the verge of death, with only one breath left, those big shots would still act as if everything was effortless.

Also, after Sakayanagi Arisu lost, she even dared to say things like "burying man-made geniuses."

From this, it was clear she could actually gauge how skilled her opponent was.

Sakayanagi lost because of differences in upbringing. Sakayanagi Narimori doted on her excessively. This shaped her into someone outwardly gentle, refined, and amiable, but inwardly deeply calculating and rational.

At the same time, she was extremely arrogant and had a very fragile ego.

When she heard Ayanokoji say he didn't remember her at all and didn't want to compete with her, she completely broke down and ran off.

Actually, there was another reason she left. In this school, the only person she could call a friend was Kamuro. With Kamuro gone, she could clearly see who among the others was just paying lip service.

Also, there was nothing left for her to learn at this school. If not for Ayanokoji's arrival, she wouldn't even have bothered to attend her own family's school.

"I'll pass on sitting. Just say what you need to say."

Kamuro Masumi gazed calmly at the lake, her expression cold.

Though her time with Sakayanagi had been short, their meeting quite turbulent, and the other girl constantly bossed her around, she could tell that Sakayanagi was also very lonely.

Sakayanagi was like a little sister who needed care.

Betraying her—that was something she couldn't do.

Suzuki Tsubame let out a light laugh, then rose and walked toward the railing by the lake.

The two stood side by side.

They talked about many things—Sakayanagi, Katsuragi, the situation in Class A. And, of course, Kamuro Masumi herself.

Finally, after exchanging contact information, Kamuro Masumi left without looking back.

Suzuki Tsubame leaned against the railing, gazing into the distance. The girl's tall, slender silhouette gradually shrank and vanished into the twilight.

Sakayanagi Arisu.

I hope you like this gift.