Sakayanagi Looked Forward to Kujo

It had only been a few days since the Conduct Exam ended.

Before the Class Points were announced, no one had expected that this brief Special Exam, lasting just one month, had already determined what their lives would be like for the next three years.

The school's points for the new month were deposited into the accounts of every first-year student, right on schedule.

Only then were the first-years finally willing to believe the rumors.

This was a school where, if a class had 1,000 Class Points, each student in that class would receive 100,000 points every month.

Class Points and personal points were two sides of the same coin. Without a healthy number of Class Points, students couldn't be sure they would enjoy a fulfilling school life.

At the same time, the school had another rule—or, one might say, a benefit for its students: graduate from Class A, and no matter where you went, you would receive a free pass to any company after graduation, even a top-tier one.

And this year's first-years were different from those of previous years.

Every first-year now had at least 100,000 personal points.

If it took 20 million points to transfer to Class A, then nearly 160 students in the entire year, minus the 40 already in Class A, meant that the remaining 120 would need 2.4 billion points to graduate from Class A.

There was a rumor going around among this year's first-years.

There was a fool.

He had chosen a path with no hope in sight,

all to give everyone a perfect ending.

But those were just rumors.

The only one who saw through the truth was a frail girl with a strong exterior.

South of the school.

The seaside promenade.

At this very moment, a fool was strolling along with his clever girlfriend and another girl as exquisitely beautiful as a porcelain doll.

Hiyori was walking alongside the other girl, wearing a jacket with a floral hem.

On the surface, from any angle, the two girls looked like close friends.

Unfortunately, before making that judgment, one had to ignore the fact that the exquisitely beautiful girl had a status unlike that of an ordinary student.

Sakayanagi Arisu, the chairman's daughter and the leader of Class A.

"When Kujo first said he wanted to meet your father, I was really surprised. Weren't you, Sakayanagi?"

Hiyori was the first to break the slightly tense silence between the three. Her voice still carried a trace of the wind.

Sakayanagi Arisu elegantly tucked her silver-white hair, tousled by the sea breeze, behind her ear. A smile played on her lips.

"My father's affairs aren't something just anyone could know about. Your boyfriend is quite resourceful, Shiina. It's only natural that he'd use me to arrange some kind of convenience for you. Don't you agree, resourceful Kujo?"

Kujo was speechless.

She was a young lady from high society. He couldn't afford to offend her.

Besides, Kujo needed Sakayanagi to pass a message to the truly resourceful person: the school chairman.

"I've confirmed that the school rules can be changed with points. I'd like to talk with your father. How many points would it take to raise the difficulty of the exams and increase the rewards?"

Hiyori watched Sakayanagi nervously, trying to catch even the slightest flicker of emotion on her friend's flawless smiling face.

Sakayanagi let out a soft "heh." Instead of answering directly, she tilted her head with interest.

"I'll pass your question along to my father. But before that, could you satisfy a little curiosity of mine?"

"Go ahead."

Hiyori understood and obediently stepped away, leaving the two of them some space.

The tip of the silver cane in Sakayanagi's hand tapped lightly against the paving stones, making a clear, rhythmic tap, tap.

"Have you ever considered staying at this school after graduation?"

The girl's voice seemed almost magical. Then she added,

"If you're willing to stay here, I believe you could do what those fools have failed to do. Of course, I know you're on good terms with Koenji from Class D, and whatever you choose is up to you."

Kujo didn't turn her down. Instead, he called to Hiyori, who was looking nervous.

"I'll still have to take care of my adorable Hiyori after I graduate."

Hiyori quickly hid behind Kujo, like a cute little animal.

"As for the benefits, that won't be a problem. I'm not trying to boast, but I can offer anything other families can."

Kujo had the utmost respect for a wealthy young lady as generous as Sakayanagi.

She was a moneyed patron with deep roots in the country. In general, it was only sensible to build a good relationship with her.

But Kujo also knew how things would ultimately end for the girl standing before him.

"Sakayanagi, why are you in such a hurry to recruit a student like me? Is it because Ayanokoji is in Class D, and you're planning to drop out after defeating him?"

Hiyori didn't understand any of it.

She clutched the hem of Kujo's shirt and silently cheered him on.

Sakayanagi's expression never lost its signature smile.

"I'm glad you understand me so well, Kujo."

Sakayanagi gave him a demure curtsey, lifting her skirt, and praised him.

"A very, very long time ago, I realized that there are countless talented people in this world. But if nurturing talent requires erasing all of a person's emotions, then that isn't right. The education I received in the past would never allow me to stand by and watch that happen."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the strongest product of the White Room.

Ever since Sakayanagi first saw him as a child, she had longed to play a game of chess against him.

Chess was Sakayanagi's greatest weapon.

And when she first saw Ayanokoji, he had been playing chess with the other children in his year.

If only she could defeat Ayanokoji at chess.

No.

If she could defeat him in any exam at all.

Even once, she could disprove everything the White Room stood for.

A prodigy among prodigies, secretly raised for over a decade in the lightless White Laboratory.

The true ceiling of the Classroom of the Elite world.

Although in a traditional manga, the undefeated strongest was always meant to be overcome,

Ayanokoji's existence was instead a setting that no human in this world could surpass.

In the original story, Ayanokoji had never cared about Sakayanagi, from beginning to end.

Sakayanagi's hopes would ultimately be dashed by Ayanokoji.

Sakayanagi had a firm wish and the perseverance to wait for years.

Kujo wouldn't use clumsy methods to change Sakayanagi's ultimate fate. Perhaps doing nothing at all was the right thing to do.

And yet, Kujo couldn't help speaking to the girl before him.

"If Ayanokoji doesn't feel the pressure of being expelled, he won't make a move."

Sakayanagi's hair fluttered in the breeze as memories of the past filled her mind.

Then, looking at Hiyori and Kujo standing close together, Sakayanagi spoke lightly.

"So you know Ayanokoji's true identity too. That explains all the things I was wondering about. Kujo, thank you for clearing that up for me."

From Sakayanagi, Kujo sensed the same unwavering obsession she'd had in the original story.

The girl named Sakayanagi Arisu had a captivating sense of self.

"Kujo, people outside say you want every first-year to graduate from Class A this year. But that's not true, is it?"

At that, Kujo glanced at Hiyori, and Hiyori looked back at him.

Hiyori wanted to know from Kujo whether what Sakayanagi had said was true.

Kujo was worried that Hiyori might take Sakayanagi's words to heart.

Sigh.

Kujo turned to Sakayanagi and asked,

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I've always been watching you. I know everything you do and say."

"So you bribed the part-timers?"

"No need. You've been helping them all along, so I only have to mention your name, and they'll naturally tell me what you've done."

"..."

Kujo was speechless.

They really would do something like that.

People at this school had far too much time on their hands.

"Then, Lady Sakayanagi," Kujo said, deciding to lay his cards on the table. "What have you 'guessed'?"

"You hate the rules this school operates under."

Sakayanagi lightly touched her lips with her fingertips, seeming thoughtful.

"Your wish isn't to help everyone graduate from Class A. You want to shatter the shackles of 'only Class A graduates get special privileges' once and for all, so that everyone who walks through these gates in the future can enjoy equal rights after graduation, no matter which class they're in. Is that right?"

Seeing that Kujo's expression remained unchanged, Sakayanagi tilted her head slightly and revised her wording.

"Or... do you want to dismantle the cruel system of competition that this school relies on to function?"

Kujo was silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"Being too smart... can take a lot of the fun out of life. Analyzing everyone all the time—doesn't it get tiring?"

"Of all people, hearing that from you is incredibly ironic."

Sakayanagi chuckled. Her cane tapped lightly against the ground again as she gazed out at the choppy sea.

"Hmm... where was I? Oh, right."

Her voice suddenly took on an ethereal quality that was difficult to detect.

"Ever since I was born, I've been watching this place. Fortunately... I saw a certain possibility in you. I'm telling you all this simply because... I wanted to."

As the chairman's daughter, she could sit at home and look down on the entire school.

"I'm not leaving."

Sakayanagi turned her gaze from the distant sea back to Kujo, her eyes now utterly resolute.

"I'll stay here as a witness, and watch with my own eyes to see where your path... and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's, lead."

Her voice was certain.

"The person I've set my sights on, and the person I admire... whose 'ideal' will endure to the end in this school?"

It was as if she meant that Kujo and Ayanokoji would eventually become enemies.

Kujo understood.

In the original story, what truly made the students afraid wasn't the school's openly stated rules.

The school only needed to maintain a certain expulsion rate to preserve the value of Class A's golden name.

Ayanokoji's father, the forces watching hungrily from all sides, and Nagumo, who was eager to push the exams to ever greater levels of difficulty.

Together, they would turn the school into Ayanokoji's hunting ground.

By then, Ayanokoji would become the enemy of the entire year. He wouldn't hesitate to cast aside even an innocent girl like Hiyori.

Horikita Suzune of Class D was obsessed with rising to Class A. Ryuen of Class C planned to gather 800 million points and move his whole class up. Ichinose of Class B dreamed of protecting her friends. And Katsuragi had once said he would protect Class A's position.

It would all be more of the same. In the end, nothing would change.

What difference did it make if you needed 20 million points to guarantee graduation from Class A?

Was that any different from gathering 3,600 Dao to return to the real world?

It was nothing but a farce.

At least, that was how Kujo saw it.

"By the way, Kujo, why did you reveal the school's rules at the start of the school year?"

If he'd waited a little longer, it wouldn't have been difficult to surpass Class A or open up a gap between his class and Classes B and D.

"That was Ryuen acting on his own. At first, I only gave him the information. I wasn't prepared for you to start paying attention to me."

Sakayanagi decided to help Kujo in this exam.

She had never believed in the existence of coincidences or accidents.

Opportunities were always in your own hands.

To face Ayanokoji, Kujo's presence was necessary.

That was Sakayanagi's belief.