A week later.
Walking back to his dorm, An Xiao glanced over his shoulder again and said helplessly,
"Hey, hey. You've been following me for days now, haven't you? I could practically call the police."
"Can you just tell me what you want?"
"You were standing beside Classmate Sakayanagi before... Masumi Kamuro, right?"
Even after An Xiao finished speaking, there was still no response behind him.
An Xiao wasn't in a hurry. He simply stood where he was and waited in silence.
After a good while, a girl with purple hair and an expressionless face emerged from behind a trash can in a corner by the path. The three hair clips at the front of her hair bobbed slightly as she moved.
"How did you notice me?" Masumi Kamuro asked flatly, her face showing little emotion.
"I wouldn't say I noticed you exactly..." An Xiao rubbed his temples and explained to Kamuro.
"I saw you in the library."
"Did you know you picked up books upside down several times?"
"And you kept changing seats after reading for a little while."
"Somewhere else, that might not stand out, but in the library... honestly, it was pretty obvious."
An Xiao shrugged and couldn't help commenting, "You were like a husky in the middle of a pack of wolves."
"Has anyone ever told you that you're really annoying when you talk?" Masumi Kamuro's expression faltered a little. She took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm not the one who wants to see you. Sakayanagi does."
"She has something she wants to discuss with you."
"If you agree, meet her on the rooftop at noon tomorrow."
With that, Masumi Kamuro left without looking back, leaving An Xiao standing there in silence.
So... why had she been following me?
Was this really worth tailing me for several days?
And... I don't think I've had any dealings with her. Why does she want to see me?
The next day at noon, though he still had plenty of questions, An Xiao showed up.
"So, what do you want? Don't tell me you're trying to get those points back."
As soon as An Xiao stepped onto the rooftop, he saw Sakayanagi Arisu standing quietly with a cane. The classmate who had been by her side before, Kamuro, was nowhere to be seen.
"Of course not." Sakayanagi Arisu lifted the hem of her skirt slightly and curtsied. Noticing An Xiao looking around, she smiled and said,
"Are you looking for Masumi, An Xiao? I'm afraid it's just me here."
"Looks like I've disappointed you. After all, my petite figure isn't nearly as captivating as Kamuro's. Would you like me to call her up?"
"Please don't!"
How long had it been, and she was still holding a grudge?
"Anyway, what exactly do you want?"
"I see..." Sakayanagi Arisu nodded. "I wanted to ask if you'd be interested in becoming my 'pet.'"
"..."
"Did I hear that right? Did you just say something outrageous about being a pet?" An Xiao pinched his earlobe and asked uncertainly.
"You heard correctly." Sakayanagi Arisu rested both hands on the cane in front of her and said with interest, "By the way, the Classmate Kamuro you met earlier is my pet too."
Seriously, you people are into all sorts of things, aren't you? Or am I just getting old and can't keep up with the times?
"Oh, and by the way, the monthly allowance for a pet is 100,000 points. If you do well, you'll get even more."
"Com..." An Xiao nearly blurted out a protest, but managed to hold it back. "We're products of compulsory education. How could we possibly agree to something like that?"
"Is that so?" Sakayanagi shrugged, unbothered.
"I thought you and Kamuro got along pretty well, so I wanted to take you in too."
"After all, a pet would get lonely if it were the only one."
Should he thank her for that?
An Xiao grumbled inwardly, but slowly edged backward.
"Oh, An Xiao, are you trying to leave? You can, of course. But the next time I come looking for you, I might use a different approach."
"For example... confessing to you in the cafeteria."
"Ahem. The wind on the rooftop was just a little strong, so I took a few steps back without thinking." An Xiao coughed awkwardly, glancing at the door just a short distance away with a pang of sadness.
"Hehe. An Xiao, you really are a clever boy."
Sakayanagi Arisu covered her mouth and chuckled.
"As a clever person, would you be interested in making a deal with me?"
"...You just said you wanted to make me your pet."
"There's no contradiction between those two things, is there?"
Once he understood what the girl(?) in front of him was after—and realized he couldn't get away—An Xiao walked over and stopped in front of Sakayanagi, speaking with ill humor.
"Go on, then. What exactly do you want?"
"I just want to make this school more interesting," Sakayanagi said with a smile. "Would you be interested in targeting Class D?"
?????
Why was everyone so eager to target Class D? If anyone should be targeted, shouldn't it be Class A, at the very top?
Why were they all fixated on the class at the bottom?
Still, remembering what Hoshinomiya-sensei had said earlier, An Xiao patiently listened.
"You already knew the scope of this exam had changed, right?"
"Yeah." An Xiao nodded. He had found out about it last week, but Sakayanagi's next words made him pause.
"But the people in Class D still don't know."
"Didn't their homeroom teacher tell them?"
"No. Though it seems deliberate."
There really were teachers who helped other classes screw over their own students!?
But Class D's homeroom teacher... wasn't that Chabashira Sae, the teacher he'd met earlier?
"Since that's the case, there doesn't seem to be any need to specifically target Class D. And what's the point of doing this?"
"Who knows? It's just a precaution." As she spoke, Sakayanagi looked out over the railing, the corners of her mouth gradually lifting into a smile.
"Besides, don't you think it would be interesting?"
"If Class D really lost all its Class Points, our year would end up with a very interesting class."
"A class with zero points and 'nothing left to lose.'"
"Don't you think that would be interesting?"
Sakayanagi Arisu turned back. Her silver hair fluttered in the wind as she gazed at An Xiao with a broad smile.
Before you continue