Sakayanagi Is Slightly Off-Balance

"How about this match worth 2,000,000 private points? If you feel that's not enough, we can arrange another one next time. The spectacle, the audience—all of that is negotiable, provided the points are sufficient."

Inside the activity room, Ryuen looked at Sakayanagi with great delight. Ever since he learned that she had spent 2,000,000 points to purchase this inexplicable duel, he had begun to view her as a god of wealth.

Moreover, Ryuen had a rather peculiar trait: if he saw someone else feeling unhappy, he would feel happy himself.

"There is no need. A duel like that is meaningless."

In the past, Sakayanagi would certainly have retorted with vicious words.

But this time, she lacked the interest and motivation. She currently resembled someone who had failed at an online-to-offline meeting, and even when she summoned Kamuro, her tone was listless.

"Is it because Ayanokoji lacked fighting spirit? Or is it because you lost the match so easily when the opponent had no intent to fight?"

I was one of the only two people here who knew about Ayanokoji's past, so I could roughly guess what was on Sakayanagi's mind.

The state Ayanokoji was in during their duel in the original work was completely different from this moment. A match like this provided Sakayanagi with almost no feedback; it would be a miracle if she were satisfied.

"Both, perhaps. Just looking at him like that, any future formal confrontation will likely have to wait until after graduation. Who brewed this tea? It's a complete waste of leaves."

Sakayanagi took a sip of tea, swished it slightly, and spat it directly back into the teacup.

"Why are you looking at me? That was brewed by your own obedient little dog. I warned her about the correct steps, but who knew she wouldn't listen at all and just poured it with lukewarm water?"

I aimed my spear at Kamuro, because her incompetence meant I couldn't drink the fine tea Hiyori had brewed, and my own resentment was quite significant.

"Then why are you acting like nothing happened after drinking this tea yourself?"

Sakayanagi was almost amused to the point of anger. Kamuro, knowing she had caused trouble, had asked for leave and vanished the moment she served the tea.

At first, I thought it was just a call of nature, but I hadn't expected her to be fleeing from the consequences.

"If I don't drink this tea first, how could you possibly drink it? If you don't drink it, wouldn't these bowls of tea truly be wasted? At least now it provides me with some emotional value, so it doesn't end up as a net loss after being dumped at the start."

No matter how good the tea is, it's never as interesting as pranking a friend, especially when the brewing goes wrong—this is what we call making use of waste.

"Then did Ryuen not taste it either?"

Sakayanagi turned her gaze toward Ryuen, who was pouring himself another cup of tea.

"How would I be able to tell if this stuff is good or bad? To me, it all tastes bitter. But it's definitely better than coffee; that stuff is purely a stimulant, while this at least makes me look a bit cultured."

Before Ryuen started drinking the tea I and Sakayanagi brought, he had only ever had things like oolong tea. Those could only be considered tea-flavored beverages, and they were absolutely incomparable to tea brewed with care!

"Forget it. Can Hiyori even tolerate this?"

Sakayanagi felt that nothing was going her way today.

"Ah? I think this tea is brewed quite well, though?"

Upon hearing Sakayanagi's question, Hiyori put down her book and, feeling uncertain, picked up her teacup to take a sip, only to find that her sense of taste was indeed normal.

"The cup on her side was brewed by me. The teapot is here."

I pulled the tea I had personally brewed from the blind spot of Sakayanagi's vision and displayed it to her. How could I possibly let Hiyori drink the failed product Kamuro had made? What if she got a stomachache?

"This is differential treatment. Aside from points, is there not a shred of sincerity between us?"

Sakayanagi took the tea I had poured for her in a fresh cup.

"You are too clever. I know you are too clever; that naturally formed sense of caution is hard to break through with a little verbal sincerity."

Until I could be certain that Sakayanagi's attitude toward Ayanokoji had completely shifted, I truly dared not trust her. Perhaps this is the downside of having foresight.

Knowing that the person in front of me had some issues, I couldn't just ignore the risks and continue to let my guard down, could I?

"Are you implying that Hiyori is not clever enough?"

Sakayanagi suddenly thought of something interesting, and the corners of her mouth curled up.

"That's not it. Cleverness can be categorized. Hiyori's kind of cleverness is the one I like the most. I believe there is no one who wouldn't like Hiyori's brand of cleverness."

The trust between Hiyori and me was actually similar to the situation of a certain couple in history.

Although I really don't want to acknowledge this kinship, according to the genealogy passed down in my family and the oral traditions of my elders, my lineage can indeed be traced back to the bloodline of Sima Guang, the author of the Zizhi Tongjian.

And Sima Guang had acknowledged the Prince of Jin'an, Sima Fu, as his ancestor; Sima Fu was the younger brother of Sima Yi.

For a fellow clansman to have created such a massive stain, and with our ancestor having participated in the Incident at Gaoping Tombs—if you ask me, shouldn't we have changed our surname?

Back in the country, every time people heard my compound surname, Sima, their vigilance would spike significantly.

The trust between Hiyori and me is like a story recorded in the Book of Jin about Sima Yi and his wife, Zhang Chunhua.

At the time, Sima Yi was summoned by Cao Cao, but Sima Yi feigned illness. A heavy rainstorm occurred, and since books were being dried in the courtyard, Sima Yi forgot he was supposed to be bedridden and went out to collect the books himself.

A maidservant saw this. Zhang Chunhua, fearing that Sima Yi's ruse would be exposed, personally killed the maidservant.

It could be said that if I ever harbored bad intentions and wanted to do something wicked, Hiyori would definitely be the one to hand me the knife and help me destroy the evidence.

This is not something Sakayanagi or Ichinose could do—well, perhaps Sakayanagi might be capable of it, but being with her is definitely not as comfortable as being with Hiyori.

"I thought you would be more attentive to Ichinose. After all, who would have thought that our future great man of letters would extend a helping hand to a middle school girl he had never met?"

Sakayanagi brought up the time I helped Ichinose before I had even enrolled.

Is this the power of this school? They could actually investigate even this?

In the original work, Ichinose only attracted attention because this incident was exposed and caused a bit of a stir, right?

Or perhaps, this matter wasn't actually investigated by the school, but rather—

As I thought this, my gaze inadvertently drifted toward Hiyori, and what I received in return was a wink from her. Case closed.

"If I hadn't enrolled in this school, the reputation I would have left behind here in Japan would likely be quite impressive—a dashing, romantic wanderer~"

Saving a wayward girl is a classic endeavor.

Dragging a virtuous woman into the fray or persuading a woman of the night to turn over a new leaf—for some reason, these two contradictory things possess a certain kind of magic.

Moreover, could this perhaps be a family trait? The cultured elders in my family all possess extensive experience when it comes to matters of the heart.

If I were to fall behind in this regard, I would certainly be mocked; a man of talent should always be accompanied by a beauty wherever he goes—that is what they told me before I set out on my journey.

If I were to return alone, it would truly be a disgrace.