A Little More Fun Wouldn't Hurt

"Dongfang, is there anything else?"

Though Sakayanagi had just finished assigning the tasks and wanted to send him on his way, she still had to put on a patient expression and listen attentively.

"It's like this, Your Highness the Princess. I think there's still room to improve our plan."

A glint flashed in Dongfang Yi's eyes. He was about to turn up the pressure on the White-Haired Loli.

There was no one in this world who could get something for nothing from me, Dongfang Yi. No one!

How dare you question me?

The arrogant loli was displeased, but he was a newly recruited subordinate, and he'd agreed to the job so readily. If she really treated him badly...

She'd never be able to win anyone's confidence if word got out!

"What ideas do you have, Dongfang?" the White-Haired Loli asked calmly, leaning on her cane.

"Your Highness the Princess, I believe passively gathering information is far too inefficient, and there's no guarantee we'll obtain anything useful." Dongfang Yi began laying a trap. "So I think we should take the initiative."

"Take the initiative?" Kamuro Masumi asked curiously from the side.

She had a feeling Dongfang Yi wasn't the sort to take a loss, but at that moment, she had no idea what he was up to.

"Exactly, take the initiative." Dongfang Yi gave his dear straight man a nod of approval. "We can recruit informants in the other classes and have them provide us with information at regular intervals."

"Recruit informants?" Sakayanagi Arisu neither agreed nor disagreed. "I have considered this, but changing classes comes at an extremely high cost. Dongfang, can you guarantee that the information we obtain will be reliable?"

"Your Highness the Princess, I believe that even flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water must have reality as their basis." Dongfang Yi looked her in the eye. "No matter how convincing a lie might be, it's still only a shadow of the truth."

"Oh? You seem... quite sure you won't be deceived?"

"Ahem, Your Highness the Princess, you misunderstand. I mean we could recruit several people from the same class and keep them from communicating with one another, then use their reports to cross-check the information." Dongfang Yi continued laying his trap. "With Your Highness the Princess's wisdom, I'm sure you could easily see through a traitor's clumsy lies and deduce the truth."

"Then nothing that happens in the other classes will escape our notice."

"Not bad. This really could work."

Sakayanagi Arisu agreed with Dongfang Yi's thinking. In her arrogance, she was confident she could see through any lie.

It was like how a man would never admit he couldn't perform.

Having read the original story inside and out, Dongfang Yi had long since seen through her arrogant nature. All he had to do was flatter the White-Haired Loli, and she wouldn't turn him down.

But Sakayanagi Arisu clearly wasn't going to take the bait so easily.

She questioned him as if testing a subordinate. "Have you thought about how to get students from the other classes to provide information at regular intervals, willingly?"

"Your Highness the Princess, although competition between classes is the school's central theme, the other classes aren't united yet."

Dongfang Yi spoke eloquently. "And students' goals don't always align with their class's. So it's possible they might betray their class for their own benefit—for instance, to help a friend or lover in another class, to sell information for points or under threat, or to seek outside help because of internal conflicts. There are all sorts of possibilities."

"As long as we target the right people, make a plan, and back it up with intimidation, we'll eventually find leverage over them and keep them working for us." Dongfang Yi urged her on with vicious enthusiasm.

So this guy really was that ruthless?

Kamuro Masumi felt as if she'd unlocked Dongfang Yi's fourth form today.

Sigh. I should've bought a Portable Recorder.

"Dongfang, what you're saying does sound feasible." Sakayanagi Arisu was quite convinced. "However, without a complete plan, there's no way to put it into practice."

Did your plan to have me listen to gossip count as a complete plan?

Dongfang Yi's eye twitched. In his mind, his silent complaints surged like a mighty river.

But the situation was still within his expectations.

He nodded and began dangling the bait in his trap. "That's true. So I'd like Your Highness the Princess to give me a chance to prove myself."

Wait, you're actually going to do it?

Kamuro felt like this guy would've been better off not staying.

Couldn't he just report some trivial bit of news?

He kept volunteering to take on trouble!

"Oh? You're very confident."

Sakayanagi Arisu thought nothing of it, silently laughing at Dongfang Yi's naivety.

It was certainly possible to recruit a spy, but there was no way to do it in the first year.

At this point, nothing had been decided and the outcome was still unclear. Every class had a chance to graduate as Class A. No sane person would betray their class for a tiny reward and risk everyone condemning them.

Even if the person in front of her tried to seduce someone, it would never work.

She was certain of it.

But outwardly, the girl was still quite tolerant of her new subordinate. At the very least, she hadn't interrupted Dongfang Yi. She was still letting him explain his idea.

"Your Highness the Princess, I'm quite confident I can get this done."

Dongfang Yi brought out his trump card. His expression was resolute and determined. "How about this? Within two months, I'll make Class 1-D my target, infiltrate the class, find collaborators and plant a spy, then obtain information on all the activities of its outstanding students."

"Then we'll know at a glance whether I've succeeded or failed. Your Highness the Princess, I'm eighty percent sure I won't let you down."

"You certainly have courage, Dongfang."

Kamuro Masumi praised him. She felt that he was impossible to read, yet for some reason, she had faith in him.

Dongfang Yi couldn't possibly be an idiot who got all fired up just because someone said a few words to him. That was what her intuition told her.

Right, impossible—unless he was a loli... con?

Uh... and just like that, her confidence vanished.

Meanwhile, Sakayanagi Arisu was sorely tempted by Dongfang Yi's proposal. After all, this had been her goal from the start.

But at the same time, she grew wary.

To her, there was a world of difference between someone she could fool whenever she wanted and someone who could see through her innermost thoughts.

If he really was the latter... well, that would be interesting.

"Dongfang, why did you choose Class D out of the three classes?" She narrowed her eyes, taking him a little more seriously as she tested him.

"Uh... well..."

Dongfang Yi seemed at a loss for words. His face filled with embarrassment and shame as he turned his head aside and started whistling. "The wind sure is strong today."

Kamuro Masumi watched him in surprise.

The wind outside really was strong, but wasn't it a little late to use that as an excuse?

Finally, with the two of them staring at him, Dongfang Yi seemed unable to hold out any longer. He cleared his throat and explained in a small voice, "Because... Class D... might be the weakest. Maybe it'll be easier to handle."

So even you don't believe you can do it. Kamuro complained silently.