Sakayanagi Arisu Opens Her Eyes to the World

"How can you guarantee you won't use the video for anything else?"

Sakayanagi Arisu thought it over for a long while, but in the end, she decided to take the gamble.

At that moment, Kamuro Masumi's allegiance was beside the point. Her curiosity was simply too strong to suppress.

If someone really was that formidable, then losing to him would be worth it.

She could think of it as tuition—broadening her horizons and expanding her perspective.

But before that, she needed an absolutely reliable guarantee.

Otherwise, if the video got out, the damage to her would be worth far more than a mere ten million points.

Tanaka Yukishin grinned, delighted as a child who'd spotted a favorite toy.

"It's simple. If you want to record it, go ahead. If you don't, that's fine too."

What is this guy after?

Sakayanagi Arisu fell silent.

Tanaka Yukishin wasn't satisfied with her offer → he suggested recording a video → the video's contents went a little too far → and yet he wasn't forcing her to record it.

So was he simply trying to provoke her?

The answer she was arriving at seemed far-fetched, even to her.

She couldn't be bothered to keep thinking about it.

Since he wasn't forcing her, she might as well go along with it.

"I'll take the bet."

After Sakayanagi Arisu agreed, Tanaka Yukishin took out his student ID terminal.

He opened his account balance and handed it to her.

With an expression that said she'd expected as much, Sakayanagi Arisu began asking questions.

"I can see it. But to make sure you earned it yourself in accordance with the terms of our bet, you should tell me exactly where it came from."

"Challenging clubs."

Tanaka Yukishin readily explained how he'd made the money.

After hearing about his club-challenging exploits, Sakayanagi Arisu considered whether his story was true.

She wondered whether there had been any deception or anything unreasonable along the way.

"I have a few questions. Please answer them for me."

"First, you challenged the clubs openly and fairly, relying on your own strength. Why did they keep accepting your challenges? Faced with an opponent they couldn't resist, they should've put up a 'no challenges' sign."

Once Sakayanagi Arisu learned that he'd been taking points from the clubs, she'd roughly calculated the amount.

The figure was reasonable, but the upperclassmen weren't fools.

They wouldn't knowingly fight someone they couldn't beat just to hand him points.

Even when she went to the Chess Club for pocket money, she first had to disguise her skill as luck, then gradually maneuver the upperclassmen into a position where they had to keep playing, before she could earn enough points.

And even then, when the gap was too wide, the upperclassmen would eventually give up.

There was no reason things should have been any different for Tanaka Yukishin.

"It's simple. It's a catch-22. I told them I'd figured out the school's hidden truth on the very first day. Then I let a little of my thinking slip."

Tanaka Yukishin deliberately guided Sakayanagi Arisu into thinking it through.

"You figured out the truth, which means you were telling the upperclassmen that you're clever. If they refused, you had a way to force them to agree."

Following Tanaka Yukishin's line of thought, Sakayanagi Arisu drew closer and closer to the right answer.

She arrived at a conclusion that amazed her.

"Are you planning to establish a new MMA Club?"

Accepting a challenge could cost them some points at most.

Refusing the challenge meant he could use the rules to force a duel—and take over the club itself...

To put it simply:

She controlled her strength, deliberately created a false impression, and tricked people out of their points.

He openly demanded the points, and if they refused, he took them by force.

Tanaka Yukishin, you're incredible.

"But even so, the school would allow you to secretly control at most two or three clubs. There's no reason every club would have to pay you."

Sakayanagi Arisu quickly spotted another problem.

That approach would certainly be intimidating. Nobody would want to risk guessing which clubs he'd establish.

Giving in was only natural.

But two or three clubs weren't enough to make every sports club give in.

"It's simple. Start with courtesy, then use force. Threaten them, then offer them something."

Patiently, Tanaka Yukishin laid out his plans one by one.

First, he used pressure from the school as a spear, forcing the first few clubs to accept his challenges.

Then he used mutual benefits as a bond to bring everyone together.

It was just like Advanced Nurturing High School using promises as bait to lure students into competing by class.

Tanaka Yukishin used competition results as leverage, crushing the other clubs' will to resist.

After all, they'd come to this school for Class A. Now that getting into Class A was out of reach, there weren't many good paths left.

Then, out of nowhere, a powerhouse appeared, ready to carry them to victory.

As long as they paid the points on schedule, Tanaka Yukishin would compete outside school when the time came. Why not cling to him, build up their records, and enjoy the ride?

The club president won't pay?

Then it's time for a coup (the club president dissolves into water) and a new president to take over.

Under our new president, we'll build a friendly relationship with Tanaka-kun.

The former president can focus on studying, Tanaka-kun gets points and a chance to leave school and clear his head, and we get competition results and impressive records.

We all have a bright future.

In that situation, even if someone wasn't thinking straight, the others would pressure him into agreeing.

Chapter 38: Sakayanagi Arisu Opens Her Eyes to the World

An enormous haul of points, a chance to leave school, and upperclassmen united around Tanaka Yukishin to build up their records by riding his coattails.

It was a plan that accomplished several things at once.

No, leaving school also meant they could send letters home.

It wasn't just the upperclassmen. His influence would reach students in his own year and the ones below him, too.

By now, he'd become one of the people nobody at the school could afford to provoke.

Because he had so many people connected to him.

As she marveled at the plan, Sakayanagi Arisu wondered whether she could copy it and pull off something similar.

Her fingertips traced circles on her cane without her noticing.

Her thoughts were like someone lost in a maze, searching for a way out.

But no matter how many times she tried, she always failed.

Physical contests were more direct and obvious than intellectual ones.

In the former, take mixed martial arts: one punch from a strong fighter could knock an opponent down and leave him unable to get back up.

In the latter, take her favorite, chess: even a professional playing a beginner would need more than ten moves to finish a game.

With her frail body, if she established a new Chess Club, the upperclassmen would inevitably drag out the games, exhausting her stamina or mental strength, then take the victory with ease.

Not to mention, she couldn't even be sure she'd beat those upperclassmen.

An irresistible envy welled up in Sakayanagi Arisu. She wanted a healthy, strong body, too.

"I wonder what you think of natural-born geniuses and artificially created geniuses, Tanaka-kun."

After recognizing Tanaka Yukishin's abilities, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't help comparing him to the person in her heart.

Yet she couldn't tell which of them was better.

There was a saying: "The first love you remember as a perfect moon is so powerful that even the real person showing up can't compare."

In the original story, when she and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka met again years later, she said, "We meet again after eight years and 243 days," told him she'd known who he was all along, and declared to his face that she wanted to bury him.

That showed just how much she cared about and valued Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Yet now she couldn't tell which of them was better.

Clearly, Tanaka Yukishin had already left a deep impression on her.

Tanaka Yukishin raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Why would you ask such a naive, childish question?"

He seemed a little dissatisfied. The way he'd challenged her earlier should have been enough to broaden her horizons.

Why was she still fixated on the identity of a "genius"?

It gave Sakayanagi Arisu nothing but useless pride and naivety.

It had no meaning at all.

Tanaka Yukishin's voice was as steady as a deep pool, yet Sakayanagi's hand tightened slightly around her cane.

Beneath her pale skin, blue veins showed faintly.

"I'm curious about your opinion."

The corners of her lips held their perfect curve, but her eyes were no longer as composed as usual.

"I believe no one can ever defeat the talent they're born with. There's a gap between people that no amount of effort can bridge."

Tanaka Yukishin didn't answer right away.

He stopped the pen spinning in his hand and passed it to Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Before you ask that question, do as I say."

"Go ahead."

"Write down the factors you think have a crucial effect on a person. There's no limit to how many."

Sakayanagi turned the paper over, lowered her lashes, and let the pen dance lightly across the page.

Family background, personality, ability, talent, chance, connections, effort, choices... One word after another lined up neatly.

"Now pick the three you think are most important and rank them, then hand the paper to me."

Tanaka Yukishin raised the difficulty, giving her a new task.

Five minutes passed.

Sakayanagi Arisu kept changing the order. At last, she settled on family background, chance, and choices.

Tanaka Yukishin took the paper, the faintest curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Then he picked up the pen and wrote down three words.

Innate talent, choice, effort.

Then he pointed to the words and spoke to Sakayanagi Arisu.