In the end, under Sakayanagi Arisu's death glare, Qiuyue gave in and sat down where Sakayanagi Arisu had indicated.
After watching Qiuyue take a seat, Sakayanagi Arisu sat down across from him.
"Classmate Qiuyue, don't you want to know why we came looking for you?"
"No."
Qiuyue replied instantly, showing no interest.
"Looks like you know exactly how we found you, Classmate Qiuyue."
"Cheating."
Qiuyue leaned back on his chair, gazing up at the ceiling as he answered Sakayanagi Arisu's question at once.
Kamuro Masumi, standing beside Sakayanagi Arisu, seemed not to have cooled down completely. Seeing Qiuyue's shameless attitude, she couldn't help slamming the table again.
"Can you take this seriously?"
"Kamuro, I'm talking with Qiuyue. You don't need to say anything."
Sakayanagi Arisu spoke in a cold voice.
"But he..."
"Kamuro."
Sakayanagi Arisu turned her head toward Kamuro Masumi and called her name once more.
Qiuyue: (...Did I go too far...? Is she going to come chop me up in the middle of the night...? I'm starting to regret this.)
Seeing this, Hashimoto Masayoshi hurried to smooth things over.
"All right, all right, Kamuro. Let Princess finish taking care of business first."
Sakayanagi Arisu composed herself and turned to Qiuyue once more.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Qiuyue. Let's continue."
Qiuyue: (I'd better give myself a way out. Otherwise, I'm genuinely afraid she'll come chop me up in the middle of the night.)
"No, no, Classmate Sakayanagi. I'm the one who should apologize. I was rude to Kamuro earlier. I'm sorry. Sorry, Kamuro."
Kamuro Masumi gave a cold snort and turned away, refusing to look at Qiuyue. She had no intention of responding to him.
Qiuyue: (*...*)
"Qiuyue, what did you mean when you said I was cheating? Don't get the wrong idea. We found you through our own efforts."
Qiuyue: (Does she really know that I'm X? No. No matter what, Chairman Sakayanagi is still a man with principles.)
(Or maybe she figured it out on her own? I don't buy it. Ayanokoji hasn't even found me yet, and she already has? Trying to fool me? Not a chance.)
"It was a shortcut. You and Chairman Sakayanagi are father and daughter, right? Chairman Sakayanagi told you about me.
"But don't get the wrong idea. I only asked Chairman Sakayanagi whether I could leave school. I'm the kind of person who gets really homesick."
Qiuyue was still leaning back on his chair. He spread his hands to either side.
Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kamuro Masumi were both surprised by Qiuyue's words. They took another serious look at the Class D student in front of them.
Sakayanagi Arisu's smile grew wider. Resting one hand against her cheek, she watched Qiuyue with interest.
"Qiuyue, you really are an interesting person, just as my father said.
"The chairman's surname is listed online. You must have connected the dots when I introduced myself just now. It's impressive how quickly you made that association."
"I'm not that impressive. It was just a coincidence. I was making things up and happened to be right. Besides, I'm a Class D student."
"Qiuyue, there's no need to rush to defend yourself. My father only told me there was someone in Class D who would interest me, and nothing more. We checked the surveillance footage and saw you go to the Chairman's Office.
"You said you went to ask the chairman about leaving school and going home. If so, why not ask your homeroom teacher? Or did you not ask about that at all? Did you have something else to discuss with the chairman? I'm very curious."
Qiuyue: (Looks like the old man really didn't tell her anything. If she's asking me that, she still doesn't know I'm X.)
(But the old man still told his daughter I existed. Wasn't he practically inviting her to come talk to me?)
"Classmate Sakayanagi, I really did only ask whether I could leave school. I miss home, you know. I didn't ask my homeroom teacher because I thought it'd be easier to ask the chairman directly.
"Besides, Classmate Sakayanagi, even if I really did have something else to discuss with the chairman, I wouldn't tell you. And are you sure the interesting person he mentioned was me?"
Sakayanagi covered her mouth and chuckled for a moment. Her sly gaze fixed directly on Qiuyue.
"Even if he wasn't talking about you, you've certainly caught my interest now.
"So, Qiuyue, how many points did you ask the chairman you'd need to leave school and go home?"
Qiuyue: (How the heck would I know...? Play dumb. I'll play dumb.)
"Huh? You can do that? So you can leave school if you spend points? You're amazing, Classmate Sakayanagi. I never knew that was possible."
Qiuyue stopped leaning back on his chair and propped his arms on the table. He widened his eyes in feigned surprise and clapped his hands.
What Qiuyue didn't know was that, to everyone else, his acting was ridiculously over the top. It was obvious he wasn't taking her seriously.
Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kamuro Masumi both twitched at the corners of their mouths, finding it physically uncomfortable to watch.
"Qiuyue, you don't need to act like this around us. Playing dumb won't do you any good. The right choice is to show us what you can do.
"After all, we're Class A. We can use points to buy you into Class A."
Qiuyue: (Here it comes, the classic empty promise. Do you think I'm falling for that? Two million Private Points. If you start saving class funds from scratch, spending half your Class Points each month, it'll still take ten months.)
(You'll need to spend Class Points eventually, won't you? Ten months is basically a year. Be a mole for you for a year just for that empty promise? Not a chance. Even a dog wouldn't take that deal.)
That was what he thought, but what Qiuyue showed was quite different.
Qiuyue jumped up, his face full of excitement and anticipation as he looked at Sakayanagi Arisu. He took one of her hands in both of his.
"Seriously!? Classmate Sakayanagi, you're going to buy me into Class A? Thank you so much! From now on, if you say east, I won't go west. Whatever you say goes. Even if you tell me black is white, I'll make it white.
"And, um... how many points would it take to go home, Classmate Sakayanagi?"
Sakayanagi Arisu pulled her hand away from Qiuyue's grasp, took a handkerchief from her pocket, and wiped it clean. Then she raised it.
"Kamuro, throw this handkerchief away for me later.
"Since Qiuyue has made his choice, let's go. Qiuyue, the next time we meet, we'll be opponents. Don't let yourself get beaten before you even face me.
"Come on, Kamuro, Hashimoto."
Sakayanagi Arisu stood up and walked toward the door of the Library, leaning on her cane. Her two followers went right after her.
"Hey... Classmate Sakayanagi, didn't you say you'd buy me into Class A? Why are you leaving? And you haven't told me how many points it takes to go home."
Qiuyue spoke as he watched them leave.
Qiuyue: (Sakayanagi knows they can't actually buy someone into Class A right now. Otherwise, she wouldn't make empty promises; she'd show me the points.)
(If you could really get that many points right away, I'd go to Class A with you now. But you can't. I'd rather rely on myself than on someone else.)
Before you continue