The Mastermind Behind the Scenes, Starting with *The Fruit of Grisaia*

"I have enough points, so I plan to buy a powered suit to test its effects. What, do you still want to stay and watch me change clothes?"

"Hehe~"

Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled, completely unfazed by his rhetorical deflection.

"You could try guessing why I stayed."

Su Wei rolled his eyes, too lazy to play riddles with this woman.

He asked the Black Sphere:

"GANTZ, how many points to heal congenital physical damage?"

[It only costs 30 points, meow~]

Sakayanagi Arisu's originally composed expression faltered, and then the smile at the corners of her lips deepened.

Su Wei didn't look at her again and waved his hand.

"I'm off."

Watching that figure gradually fade away, the young girl lowered her eyes and licked her dry lips.

"Kamuro-san."

"...What?"

"Don't you think..." Sakayanagi Arisu whispered, "that we are truly a perfect match?"

Kamuro Masumi: "..."

Someone is acting lovesick.

I won't say who.

Monster Point Values:

Evil Spirit 1 point, three-in-one Parasite totaling 10 points; since they are not individual entities, they are calculated as 3 points each, with the final killer receiving 4 points.

Additionally, there is too much GANTZ equipment; posting images affects the reading experience, so I will open a separate chapter for it when I have time.

Chapter 16: Home Security Guard, Activate!

Returning to his dormitory, Su Wei tossed the box into a corner.

"Whew..."

As his body sank into the soft mattress, a good-humored Su Wei opened the GANTZ monitoring interface.

It can't be helped; the Main God is just like this.

To ensure a sweet start followed by a sweet finish, he couldn't even rest yet—he was practically working himself to the bone!

"Now then, time to activate the Home Security Guard!"

A holographic monitor appeared before his eyes, capturing the entire dynamic of Academy Island.

To his surprise, aside from Kamuro Masumi, who was miserably running errands to buy late-night snacks for Sakayanagi, everyone else had things to do.

Katsuragi Kohei sat at his desk, reviewing something in his notebook while watching the chat group.

Ryuen Kakeru was in a karaoke room with a few trusted subordinates from Class C, formulating subsequent strategies.

Even Ichinose Honami, who appeared the most fragile, was not resting at this moment; she was busy recording something in her dorm with Shiranami Chihiro.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong."

His phone chimed with a few soft notifications.

Su Wei opened it to see a message Ichinose had posted in the group.

It was hundreds of words long, detailing a summary of the information they currently possessed as well as speculations for the future—likely prepared for those who would arrive later.

'They call this a vocational school brawl, but the quality of these students really isn't that bad!'

Su Wei sighed with emotion.

Under extreme high pressure, the adaptability shown by this group of students was truly impressive.

It was just that the Advanced Nurturing High School's casual habit of labeling students was indeed problematic; it was easily exploited by people with ulterior motives other than himself.

Come to think of it.

Ghouls, Parasites, and Evil Spirits had all been mostly contained by GANTZ; when would some new monsters arrive?

It was still the early stage.

Raising the intensity to Ghouls all at once was perhaps too large a leap.

But if he kept using Parasites and Evil Spirits, it would quickly become boring!

"I can't just use the data for Nurarihyon or Vampires from GANTZ to create my own monsters..."

"Sigh, killing is one thing, but don't be cruel."

"If I do that, wouldn't I be fostering trouble to ensure my own importance?"

The next day.

In the classroom of Class D, many students had gathered together.

"What the hell! Only nine thousand points?"

Yamauchi Haruki stared at the deposit notification on his phone, slamming his hand against the desk in frustration.

"Didn't they say one point equals one thousand points? Is that Horikita girl even capable of anything? She went out there for ages and only brought back nine points?"

"Yeah! Only nine points! That's way too little!"

"What is this pittance supposed to buy? It wouldn't even cover a pair of shoes!"

Ike Kanji joined in the clamor: "If it had been me, I definitely would have gotten more than that! This is our entire class's living expenses we're talking about!"

Complaints rose and fell in waves.

Although the class evaluation had been zero points just yesterday and no one had any points at all, greed always arrived faster than gratitude.

Sitting in the back row, Horikita Suzune kept her spine straight, her eyes fixed on her book.

However, the knuckles of the fingers she used to turn the pages were turning white from the excessive force.

She didn't care about the mockery.

What she cared about... was the score.

A measly 2 points.

Just as the Black Sphere had said, she had accomplished nothing.

For someone who held herself in such high regard, this was far more painful than any insult.

"Everyone, you shouldn't look at it that way~"

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward, Kushida Kikyo walked to the front of the podium with her signature healing smile.

"Our class points had already been completely wiped out. It was Horikita-san who stepped up and helped us earn back these precious 90 points."

"And besides..."

Hirata Yosuke spoke up at the right moment. As the core of the class, his words clearly carried more weight.

"I ran into someone from Class A this morning. I heard they only gained 90 points this time as well."

"In other words, Horikita-san's performance is actually tied for the top tier with Class A."

"For real?!"

"Tied with Class A?!"

"Does that mean Horikita is actually super amazing?"

Hearing this, the attitude of the crowd that had been complaining shifted instantly.

"Sorry about that, Horikita. I was a bit loud earlier."

"...Could we count on you for the next exam too?"

Faced with the crowd's sudden shift from arrogance to sycophancy, Horikita Suzune put down her book. The expression on her face did not soften; instead, it grew even more rigid.

As for Kushida Kikyo on the podium, while she praised her with a beaming smile on the surface, she was sneering inwardly.

What a great act, Horikita Suzune.

Someone died the day before yesterday, and even after struggling for dear life, they barely managed to get Su Wei three points. Does she really think she could have gotten nine points all by herself?

She was nothing but an antisocial loner with no popularity, yet she always acted so high and mighty... I'd really love to see the look on her face when she's crying and begging for mercy in front of an Evil Spirit Parasite.

As the group leader of the [Black Sphere Mutual Aid Society], Kushida naturally knew the inside story of last night's Black Sphere exam.

One could say the credit belonged to Su Wei, or perhaps that it was thanks to Ichinose.

As for Horikita Suzune?

She was just a pebble on the side of the road!

Just then.

The classroom door was pushed open.

Su Wei arrived, carrying his shoulder bag, just as the final chime of the bell rang.

Horikita Suzune's brows twitched.

Almost as a reflex, she wanted to stand up and clarify the truth.

No matter how proud she was, she disdained claiming credit that belonged to someone else.

"Actually..."

However, just as she began to speak.

Su Wei, passing by her desk, seemed to have anticipated her move and waved his hand to stop her without a word.

Then, acting as if nothing had happened, he walked straight to his seat.

Horikita Suzune froze.

Watching that back slumped over the desk, preparing to catch up on sleep, her brows furrowed tightly.

Why?

Is this guy... pitying me?

Or does he just find explaining things too much of a hassle?

This feeling of having her self-esteem forcibly protected left a bitter taste in her mouth, like a fishbone stuck in her throat.

She finally managed to endure until the end of class.

As the teacher left, Su Wei was just about to go buy a Dr Pepper to refresh himself when a slender figure blocked his path.

Horikita Suzune braced one hand against the desk, her sharp, phoenix-like eyes staring down at him:

"Why did you stop me?"

Looking at the girl so close to him, Su Wei sighed helplessly:

"Horikita-san, I thought I made it pretty obvious?"

"I like peace and quiet, and I don't want to be entangled in all the troublesome matters of this class. So, since everyone already misunderstands that it was your doing, could you please just keep that misunderstanding going?"

"Do me a favor, consider it a debt I owe you."

Horikita Suzune pursed her lips.

Watching Su Wei's desperate attempt to avoid any involvement, an inexplicable sense of irritation welled up inside her.

But in the end, reason prevailed.

She remained silent for a moment, then spoke: