Walnut

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Walnut (胡桃)
Alias(es)	Owlman — her codename in Imperial Intelligence Department backup archives; ranked number one 9
Species/Race	AI
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Shenzhou Empire; Imperial Intelligence Department; Mazumi Mami/Liu Zheng's maid team 3 9
Occupation/Role	Information processor, data manager, technical-support specialist, and intelligence operative 6 11
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Background / History

Walnut grew up in an orphanage in Chongying alongside Liu Zheng, Runa Inoue, and Chisato Nishikigi. The group was selected and trained by the Shenzhou Empire; Walnut considers the Empire and Liu Zheng's side to be her true identity and future destination, rather than Chongying itself 3.

By the start of the Yingtai Advanced Nurturing High School mission, she and the others had not held a non-mission four-person gathering for approximately eight years and one month. She joins Liu Zheng's assurance that this will be their last mission apart 2.

For the undercover operation, Walnut accompanies Liu Zheng under his public identity of Mazumi Mami. She takes responsibility for mission briefings, school analysis, digital infiltration, surveillance, and the construction of intelligence files on students and school systems 3 4 11.

Appearance

Walnut is a small, blue-eyed girl with ash-brown or flaxen hair. Her presentation combines casual schoolwear with conspicuous technician accessories.

• Blue eyes, often seen behind blue-light-blocking glasses 20 138
• Ash-brown hair; described elsewhere as flaxen 4 9
• Signature headband 5 19
• Usually carries or works from a custom laptop 9
• Her school uniform is slightly loose; she keeps her hands in its pockets during her introduction 6
• Wears neat maid attire when serving in Mazumi Mami's residence 97

Personality

Walnut is rigorous, analytical, and professionally serious. She favors conclusions supported by records, surveillance, and cross-verifiable data over speculation, and she remains careful about operational risks even when her allies propose more direct methods 10 21 88.

Despite her calm, electronic-tinged manner of speaking, she can be dryly sarcastic and enjoys provoking Chisato during their frequent banter. She is easily flustered when her affection for Liu Zheng is noticed, denying jealousy or tsundere behavior even as her embarrassment shows 19 42 93.

She is deeply loyal to Liu Zheng and sees her analytical abilities as existing to serve him. Her confidence in the digital sphere is absolute: she calls herself invincible in the “electronic star sea” 2.

Abilities & Skills

Information Warfare and Hacking

Walnut is a world-class hacker capable of penetrating networks, manipulating surveillance, querying databases, and extracting protected records.

• Hijacked a cafeteria private room's surveillance feed and replaced it with a simulated loop after a ten-second disruption window 9
• Performed network topology scans and searched internal permissions while checking the room for additional monitoring devices 9
• Traced Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's nearly erased educational history and identified its anomalies 10
• Accessed school surveillance footage to track student movements, including Ayanokouji's repeated proximity to Suzune Horikita 35
• Hacked school files to identify the first-years' mandatory Comprehensive Assessment Period 21
• Retrieved records concerning midterm-paper replacement patterns and their Class Point implications 99

Intelligence Analysis

Walnut turns fragmented records into strategic assessments for Mazumi Mami's group.

• Analyzed graduate outcomes and identified the difference between Class A's freedom of choice and the forced placement of lower-class graduates 20
• Concluded that the school uses Class Points to compel competition for survival resources 20
• Identified Ayanokouji as a likely “Supreme Masterpiece” candidate due to the deliberate absence of his pre-enrollment records 10
• Compiled intelligence on Class D, Class C, Class B, Sakayanagi Arisu, Suzune Horikita, Kikyou Kushida, Honami Ichinose, and Miyabi Nagumo 35 38 138 166
• Drafts Contract terms designed to secure Mazumi Mami's maximum advantage while remaining within school rules 130

Programming Instruction

Walnut teaches Karuizawa Kei programming as part of Kei's special training.

• Sets lessons around foundational syntax and logical structures 52
• Balances Kei's training with rest, canceling a programming session so Kei can socialize and recover 57

Domestic Support

Although primarily the team's technical specialist, Walnut also fulfills maid duties in daily life.

• Helps prepare meals and maintain Mazumi Mami's residence 93 98
• Cooked breakfast with eggs, milk, vegetables, flour, and other ingredients after cleaning Mazumi Mami's room 98

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Custom laptop — a powerful, lightweight machine used for hacking, analysis, surveillance hijacking, and encrypted communications; normally carried in a reinforced modified handbag 9
• Portable device — used to record and analyze classroom observations from the first day 5
• Blue-light-blocking glasses — worn while working through files and data 20 138
• Signature headband 5 19

Relationships

• Liu Zheng / Mazumi Mami — Her young master and the person she serves. Walnut considers her database and analytical skills to exist for his protection and mission objectives; their relationship also carries familial closeness 2 9.
• Runa Inoue — Fellow maid and frequent intelligence partner. Runa transfers Walnut's laptop from spatial storage when needed, and the two often temper Chisato's impulsive plans with practical caution 9 21 99.
• Chisato Nishikigi — Fellow maid and friendly rival. They regularly trade insults, compete, and occasionally scuffle, but resolve disputes quickly 19 86 93.
• Karuizawa Kei — A trainee and ally whom Walnut teaches programming. Walnut supports Kei's need to balance intensive training with rest and social contact 52 57.
• Kiyotaka Ayanokouji — Primary investigation target. Walnut uncovered the near-total erasure of his past records and continues monitoring him as a potential “Supreme Masterpiece” 10 35.
• Sakayanagi Arisu — Initial subject of Walnut's deep-background investigation due to her connection to the school chairman and her strategic ability 9 10.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Undercover Enrollment

Walnut briefs Liu Zheng's team on the Mazumi Mami identity and the school mission, then enrolls in Class A as part of his maid team. She begins documenting and analyzing the class from their first lesson 3 5 6.

S System Investigation

She identifies the school's restrictive boarding and communication rules, investigates its S System, and warns that the available intelligence is insufficient to determine whether its success rates rely on hidden screening or elimination mechanisms 4.

Ayanokouji Investigation

After securing a private room by hijacking its surveillance, Walnut investigates Sakayanagi Arisu and Kiyotaka Ayanokouji. Ayanokouji's fabricated-looking records lead her and Mazumi Mami to suspect he is the “Supreme Masterpiece” sought by their mission 9 10.

School-System Analysis

Walnut discovers the tiered graduate guarantee, the Class Point system's survival pressure, and the structure of the first-years' Comprehensive Assessment Period. Her findings underpin Class A's early strategy and survival guide 20 21.

Intelligence and Contract Operations

She supports Mazumi Mami's efforts to sell intelligence, monitor rival classes, investigate personal histories, prepare midterm strategies, and construct binding Contracts to control Class C and D students through points 35 52 99 130 138.

Honami Ichinose Investigation

At Mazumi Mami's request, Walnut investigates Honami Ichinose and Miyabi Nagumo, uncovering Honami's trauma and Nagumo's harassment of her. The findings contribute to Mazumi Mami's decision to remove Nagumo as a threat 166.

Notable Quotes

“My database and analytical abilities exist to serve you.” 2

“In the electronic star sea, I am an invincible existence.” 2

“This school, which claims to be ‘merit-based,’ is nothing but a raw, brutally competitive selection system.” 20

Trivia

• Walnut prefers high-calorie desserts and carbonated drinks as “fuel” for her brain 9.
• She dislikes being patted on the head, claiming that it stunts growth 4.
• Her analytical assessment of Ayanokouji's repeated pursuit of Suzune Horikita was that he likely had “a fairly deep masochistic tendency” 35.