"Hm?"
Walnut's fingers stopped typing, and her brows furrowed as she let out a brief, puzzled sound. She stared at the stream of data scrolling across the screen, focus in her eyes mixed with a hint of confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Mazumi Mami immediately noticed her reaction and leaned forward slightly. "Are you having trouble with something? Or did you find something unusual?"
"Something unusual, I suppose..."
Walnut nodded and swiped across the touchpad, bringing up another window.
"Young master, take a look. The routine information gathering on Sakayanagi Arisu went smoothly."
She pointed to the clearly listed details on the screen:
[Sakayanagi Arisu]
Daughter of the chairman, Sakayanagi Narumori, and the young lady of the Sakayanagi Family.
Height: 150 cm. Weight: 35 kg. Birthday: March 12.
Congenital heart disease. She was strictly prohibited from participating in any strenuous physical activity, and her fitness records were almost entirely blank.
Exceptionally intelligent and quick-witted, she was especially skilled at chess. Some educational assessment organizations had privately rated her as "a genius specialized in strategic thinking."
Her schooling from kindergarten through middle school was clearly documented, either at certain prestigious schools or within private education systems. Although some details were protected for privacy reasons, the overall picture was clear.
"Just as we expected."
Mazumi Mami quickly skimmed the information, committing the details to memory.
"The chairman's daughter: physically frail but exceptionally bright. Keeping an eye on her could indeed lead us to some of the school's hidden inner workings."
He paused and looked at Walnut. "Still, gathering this information seemed to go smoothly. That probably wasn't what confused you just now, was it?"
"That's right."
Walnut switched the display. A much simpler—in fact, suspiciously bare—profile appeared, showing the brown-haired, yellow-eyed boy from Class D whom Mazumi Mami had noticed in the gym.
"What puzzled me was the second person you mentioned, young master—Kiyotaka Ayanokouji."
Aside from his name, gender, class upon enrollment (Class D), a standard enrollment photo, and extremely basic physical data, the profile was almost entirely blank.
Family members, previous education, special skills and interests, records of social activities...
Every section that would normally be filled in either said "no records" or contained such generic, template-like answers that they looked like careless fabrications.
"Based on the physical description you gave me, this 'Kiyotaka Ayanokouji' is the only match among the new Class D students."
Walnut tapped the emotionless photo on the screen with her fingertip.
"But that's the problem. His 'information'—or rather, the 'traces' he left as a member of society before entering this school—are extraordinarily sparse. They're almost to the point of seeming fake."
Walnut explained.
"What do you mean?"
Mazumi Mami's gaze sharpened.
"I tried tracing his academic records..."
Walnut opened another window, displaying a complex search path and numerous red alerts reading "no such person" or "data missing."
"Records should theoretically exist in official or private databases for his kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school. But they're either completely blank or contain poorly fabricated entries that can't withstand even the most basic cross-checking."
"In the foundational citizen information and education databases of the Chongying Protectorate, 'Kiyotaka Ayanokouji' was almost like a ghost before the age of sixteen."
She turned to Mazumi Mami, her blue eyes reflecting both a technician's precision and her confusion.
"This makes no sense. Given Sakayanagi Arisu's family and unusual background, some of her information could be protected at a high level, but there would still be a coherent, logical record of her socialization. An ordinary student, on the other hand, should be even harder to erase completely from the records. Unless..."
"Unless he lived in an environment cut off from mainstream society from the very beginning."
Mazumi Mami picked up where she left off, his voice low.
"It's either some myth about him falling from the sky, or he grew up to a certain age in a highly isolated, self-sufficient system before being 'deployed' into ordinary society."
"Exactly."
Walnut nodded and continued her analysis.
"Given the basic requirements for human development, that isolated environment would also have to provide reliable necessities: enough food, safe shelter, and basic medical care to protect against disease. Otherwise, a child could hardly survive to adulthood in good health."
"And there's more." Mazumi Mami's fingers tapped lightly on the desk, a habit of his when he was deep in thought.
"To let him blend seamlessly into society without arousing suspicion, that environment would also need a complete education system."
"It wouldn't just have to teach him reading, arithmetic, and general knowledge. It would also have to train him in how to behave, so he seemed 'ordinary'—how to conceal what made him different, and how to observe and imitate others..."
"Doesn't that sound a little like the extreme, isolated elite education that certain ancient families in the Empire use to groom core heirs or special talents?"
"Except those families usually have enough power and justification to make their existence seem reasonable. They wouldn't need to erase all outside traces so thoroughly."
He suddenly paused as a thought that had been hovering in the back of his mind snapped into focus.
"...So deliberately erasing all proof of a person's existence in society, shaping him into an almost 'blank' individual, and then sending him to an equally unusual school..."
"This reminds me of cases throughout history where people tried to create a 'perfect tool' or a 'secret weapon'..."
"Supreme Masterpiece."
Mazumi Mami and Walnut said the words almost simultaneously.
When they finished, they looked at each other, seeing the same conclusion in each other's eyes.
"Extremely likely."
Walnut quickly sorted through her thoughts, speaking faster.
"One of the objectives the emperor gave us was to 'evaluate the "Supreme Masterpiece" claimed by the independent forces within the Chongying Protectorate.'"
"If this 'masterpiece' refers to an individual rather than simply a piece of technology or a system, then one of the most effective ways to create such a 'masterpiece' and hide him in plain sight would be to completely erase his past."
"Let him appear on the evaluation stage under a 'new' and 'ordinary' identity. The unusual state of Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's records fits that method perfectly."
Mazumi Mami slowly leaned back in his chair, his eyes gleaming.
"That's a very reasonable theory. If Kiyotaka Ayanokouji really is the 'Supreme Masterpiece,' then our mission target may have been right in front of us from the very start, in the most unexpected form—and in the Class D we thought was the 'worst' of them all."
A playful smile tugged at his lips.
"That saves us the trouble of searching high and low. Walnut, list Kiyotaka Ayanokouji as our highest-priority investigation target immediately."
"Try approaching it from other angles, such as financial flows, records of special supplies being purchased, or covert projects that might be connected to the school's construction or the development of the S System... Any trace that might point to the system that trained him."
"Also, raise his real-time surveillance level to the maximum. I want to know everything he does on campus, especially whom he interacts with."
Mazumi Mami said.
"Understood, young master."
Walnut's expression turned deadly serious as her fingers flew over the keyboard again, activating more analysis windows and infiltration tools.
"I'll mobilize every resource available to piece together his background. However, if their security really is that strong, we might not make a breakthrough anytime soon."
Walnut said.
"That's all right. Having a direction is enough. We have three years."
Mazumi Mami spoke in a low voice. "For now, our top priority is confirming what makes him 'special.' If he really is the 'masterpiece,' then sooner or later he'll show something extraordinary at a school that believes in 'ability above all.' We just need to observe patiently, wait, and at the crucial moment... conduct our own 'evaluation.'"
Just then, someone knocked softly on the private room door before pushing it open.
Chisato Nishikigi and Runa Inoue came in carrying trays laden with food. The aroma immediately filled the room.
"Lunch is here! You must be starving!"
Chisato Nishikigi's cheerful voice broke through the room's tense atmosphere.
Runa Inoue efficiently set down the food, her movements quiet and brisk.
"Perfect. We can talk while we eat."
"You two should come take a look, too. We've made a major discovery."
Mazumi Mami said.
"What did you find? Let me see!"
Chisato Nishikigi said.
"You and Walnut both look so serious, young master. It must be something big."
Runa Inoue said.
The four of them gathered around the table, and an ordinary school lunch began.
But beneath their seemingly casual conversation, the investigation and evaluation of the "Supreme Masterpiece" had quietly entered a substantive phase.
The target had surfaced.
Now came the question of how to approach him, observe him, and ultimately carry out the final trial known as "evaluation."