At this, Sakayanagi Arisu pursed her lips unconcernedly.
"Honestly, even without that kind of benefit, haven't the monsters we face been steadily getting harder every time?"
Karuizawa Kei hugged her cup and chimed in with lingering fear.
"Exactly... I'm worried that after a few more exams, the monsters will just keep getting more insane..."
"Do you think one day they'll send us into outer space to fight aliens?"
Holding her tea, Kiryuin Fuka narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
"That is possible."
"Or rather, haven't all the monsters we've encountered that defy common sense essentially counted as aliens already?"
Su Wei nodded in agreement.
"Strictly speaking, that's true. The Black Sphere sends us to other parallel worlds. To the natives of those worlds, we ourselves count as people from another world."
Sakayanagi Arisu sighed and gently swirled the tea in her cup.
"I just wonder how much we need to grow before we reach the level the Black Sphere demands—enough to 'protect our own world'..."
"At least for now, this path looks endless. Perhaps... that was why Ayanokoji chose to leave."
"Maybe." Su Wei sighed. "But what I'm more curious about is what form his departure took."
"Did he leave with his Parasite trait and Reinforcement Suit? Or did he lose all his memories of this place and become an ordinary person again... Those are two completely different circumstances."
Resting her cheek on one hand, Sakayanagi Arisu spoke with certainty.
"Wanting to take supernatural power out of the school? I doubt the Black Sphere would ever allow it."
"Even if it did, the point cost would definitely be astronomical. There's no way he could have gathered enough in just a few exams."
After saying that, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly changed the subject.
Her gaze swept over Karuizawa Kei's tense, pretty face before turning