The Chess Club's activity room had returned to its usual quiet. The members dispersed, still shaken and savoring the match, though their eyes kept drifting toward the door and the two first-years who had just displayed astonishing chess skills.
Mazumi Mami and Sakayanagi Arisu walked out of the activity room side by side. The outcome of their match had done nothing to make things awkward or tense between them. If anything, they shared the curious ease of two worthy opponents.
They continued the conversation they had left unfinished in the hallway, naturally exchanging their thoughts on the school's facilities and the atmosphere among the upperclassmen, as though their intense match had been nothing more than a brief interlude.
Before long, they had wandered outside the school building. The afternoon sun was warm and gentle, casting dappled shadows through the leaves.
Several benches sat quietly beneath the greenery in a small garden beside the school building.
"Let's take a break here."
Mazumi Mami pointed to the nearest bench.
"Sure."
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't object. Her breathing was a little more labored than usual, clearly showing that their match had taken a fair amount out of her.
Leaning on her cane, she walked to the middle of the bench and sat down, setting the cane elegantly beside her leg.
Mazumi Mami didn't sit. He merely leaned casually against the wooden armrest at one end of the bench, keeping a suitable distance.
Mazumi Mami took two cans of drinks from his uniform pocket—apparently the ones he had bought from a vending machine earlier.
He held out the one decorated with pink strawberries to Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Here. Get some energy back. All girls like strawberry milk, don't they?"
His tone was casual, like a considerate classmate.
Sakayanagi Arisu paused. Her purple eyes shifted from the can of milk to Mazumi Mami, then she looked up at him before reaching out to take it.
"I'm not sure how you reached that conclusion..."
She turned the warm can in her hands, her voice calm. "But I don't dislike it, either. Thank you, Classmate Mazumi."
"No need to thank me."
Mazumi Mami opened his can of black coffee and took a sip. "I was the one who 'dragged' you into a match that took a lot out of you, so it's only natural that I pay you this 'hazard fee.'"
"I can't deny that."
Sakayanagi Arisu pulled the tab and took a small sip of the sweet strawberry milk. A touch of color seemed to return to her pale cheeks.
She looked up, the faintest hint of a smile at the corners of her lips. "Forcing a frail young girl like me into such an intense battle of wits, Classmate Mazumi... You can be surprisingly 'rough' at times."
"I completely agree with the 'frail young girl' part."
Mazumi Mami met her gaze, his tone sincere. "But if anyone looks down on you because of it, Classmate Sakayanagi... I think they'll pay a very heavy price."
His gaze was calm, yet seemed able to see straight through appearances.
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
Sakayanagi Arisu set down her milk and studied him with a glint of curiosity in her purple eyes.
"Instinct."
Mazumi Mami gave a brief answer, then added, "And my instincts are rarely wrong."
"Is that also why you've insisted on not sitting down?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze swept across the empty space on the bench, then returned to Mazumi Mami.
"For a boy your age, sitting beside a 'beautiful girl' like me on the same bench must be a rare opportunity, right? Someone else would probably have rushed over to sit down by now."
Sakayanagi Arisu said.
At that, Mazumi Mami chuckled softly. "I'm a boy your age, too, so of course I have those desires."
He admitted it without hesitation. His amber-gold eyes looked especially clear in the sunlight. "But I'm not so desperate that I need to cross someone else's clearly drawn 'boundaries' to satisfy them."
He paused, his gaze meaningfully settling on the middle of the bench where Sakayanagi Arisu sat.
"Classmate Sakayanagi chose to sit here, not on one side or the other. Isn't that a silent declaration? 'This seat is taken. No sitting together.' Isn't it?"
Mazumi Mami said.
"Have you found me out?"
Sakayanagi Arisu blinked, her voice carrying just the right touch of innocence. "I thought I'd hidden it quite well."
"You weren't hiding it at all."
Mazumi Mami gave an exasperated retort.
They looked at each other and shared a soft laugh.
A subtle understanding, the kind that existed between "kindred spirits," quietly took root between them.
A moment later, Sakayanagi Arisu's smile faded, and her purple eyes grew calm and focused once more.
"Then let's talk about something that might help us understand each other a little better."
She spoke slowly.
"During the match, you said... my 'limits haven't been reached'? No one has ever said that to me before. Everyone thinks that, given my physical condition, what I've accomplished so far is already 'perfect,' or even a 'miracle.'"
Sakayanagi Arisu said.
"That's because their own perspectives and abilities are 'limited to that.'"
Mazumi Mami's tone was even, but his certainty left no room for doubt.
"What I mean is, Classmate Sakayanagi, your talents and accomplishments are being 'restricted' and 'held back' by your congenital heart condition."
"If you were healthy and full of energy, your speed of thought, your ability to maintain focus, and even the full extent of your potential would be far greater. You could stand higher and go further."
Mazumi Mami said.
Sakayanagi Arisu listened in silence, her fingers tightening slightly around the can of milk.
"How could I not understand that myself?"
Her voice was soft, tinged with a bitterness that was almost impossible to detect.
"But this is reality. My family has used nearly every resource at its disposal and tried every method... And you've seen the results. Perhaps this is my 'ceiling.'"
Sakayanagi Arisu said.
She didn't find it strange that Mazumi Mami knew about it.
After all, the circle of noble families was small. Nothing could be kept from the others.
"Not necessarily."
Mazumi Mami's voice rang out, carrying a peculiar allure.
"I'm a living 'exception,' aren't I? Aren't you curious why 'Mazumi Mami,' who was judged frail and sickly from childhood and kept almost entirely isolated from the world, can now play such an intense match against you—and even stand here talking with you like this?"
Mazumi Mami said.
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on Sakayanagi Arisu.
"If you need it, I can share my 'treatment method' with you. After all, the resources and fields of research Mizuki Heavy Industries can access... may go a little beyond what the Sakayanagi Family can reach."
"To have a healthy, energetic body..."
Mazumi Mami's voice slowed, each word striking Sakayanagi Arisu's heart with clarity. "That should be quite a tempting offer, shouldn't it?"
"..."
The air around the bench seemed to freeze.
Sakayanagi Arisu fell into a long silence, broken only by the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze.
She lowered her eyes, her thick silver lashes casting a faint shadow on her pale cheeks.
Mazumi Mami keenly noticed that the hand holding her metal telescoping cane had gone slightly white at the knuckles from gripping it so tightly.
For her, someone who had lived with illness since childhood, the promise of a healthy body was undeniably irresistible.
It meant freedom from her constraints, endless possibilities, and perhaps the chance to truly reach the "limit" she envisioned for herself.
"...Then..."
After a long while, Sakayanagi Arisu finally raised her head. Every emotion had been neatly tucked away from her purple eyes, leaving only pure reason and scrutiny.
"What's the price? I don't believe something this 'good' would fall into my lap for no reason."
Sakayanagi Arisu said.
"It's simple."
Mazumi Mami straightened and looked down at her, his tone calm but unmistakably commanding.
"I want you to 'listen to' my opinions on future class matters and school life more broadly. And I don't want you to stand against me."
Mazumi Mami said.
"Are you asking me to 'follow' you?"
Sakayanagi Arisu raised an eyebrow, her tone giving nothing away. "That's quite a... bold condition."
"If that's how you want to understand it, then sure."
Mazumi Mami smiled.
"But I think someone as intelligent as you understands what I really mean. I don't want a subordinate who obeys my every command. I want... an 'ally' or 'partner' who won't get in my way at a critical moment, and might even lend a hand when necessary."
"I intend to become someone who can truly control the situation in Class A and throughout this school. And I don't want someone as clever as you, with your special resources, to become a 'problem' for me."
He paused, his gaze deepening.
"After all, I said that anyone who underestimates you will pay the price. I don't want to be the one paying it. I'd rather... we become a team that makes 'other people' pay. That seems like a fair exchange. What do you say? Will you agree?"
Mazumi Mami said.
Sakayanagi Arisu met his gaze in silence, as though weighing every risk and potential benefit of the deal.
Sunlight danced across her silver hair, but couldn't penetrate the depths of her violet eyes.
"...I hate empty promises and assurances that can't be verified."
At last, she spoke, her voice returning to its usual composure. "Before I make a decision, I'll need to see some proof of... 'possibility.' Proof that this 'treatment method' of yours isn't just empty talk."
"Fair enough."
Mazumi Mami wasn't surprised in the slightest. He nodded and calmly took the school-issued smartphone from his pocket. "Then give me a moment."
He quickly dialed a number, walked some distance away, and spoke for a few minutes.
After hanging up, he gave Sakayanagi Arisu a reassuring smile. "I've contacted one of my maids. She'll be here soon with a little 'sample.' It won't cure your congenital condition right away, but it should be enough for you to experience for yourself... the possibility of 'change.'"
"I'm looking forward to it."
Sakayanagi Arisu nodded lightly and leaned back against the bench again, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the cold metal cane.
The afternoon breeze remained gentle, but the air around the bench seemed different now, as if changed by the secret deal they had just made—a deal concerning their futures and her health.
Mazumi Mami knew that the first step in testing and winning her over had succeeded.
Next, it would come down to whether his "bargaining chip" carried enough weight.
And Sakayanagi Arisu, the chairman's daughter and a potential key figure in Class A, was about to witness with her own eyes the extraordinary side hidden within the world of "Mazumi Mami."