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

She trusted her father, and she trusted herself even more.

As long as she was there, her father would not lose to anyone.

At this moment, her phone suddenly vibrated.

It was the notification sound for a special contact.

Sakayanagi Arisu swiped open the screen and discovered it was a combat suit evaluation report posted by Ichinose Honami in the Black Sphere Mutual Aid Society.

The data was detailed, and the analysis was pertinent.

However, what truly caught her attention was the special reminder at the end of the report.

"After testing, the combat suit has a unique binding property; it only takes effect when worn by the purchaser and cannot be lent out."

Sakayanagi Arisu was not surprised.

Restrictions were only to be expected.

By contrast, what interested her more was the implication behind this message.

Sakayanagi Arisu tapped her fingertip lightly on the screen:

"Ichinose-san, how did you know? Did you experiment with it?"

The reply was almost instantaneous.

Ichinose: "Don't worry about the details! Just knowing the result is enough!! (>_<)"

The corners of Sakayanagi Arisu's mouth curled up.

It seems our classmate Su Wei has quite a bit of charm, doesn't he~

She put away her phone, silently watched the clock on the wall, and began to look forward to the end of class.

To be honest, Sakayanagi Arisu was genuinely curious about Su Wei now.

After all, after two trials, the selection rules of the Black Sphere were already beginning to emerge.

The leader of each class, or rather the most outstanding individual, was on the initial fixed list.

Class A was her, Class B was Ichinose, and Class C was Ryuen.

This was all very logical.

So, what about Class D?

At a glance, Su Wei was good for nothing except being good-looking, and his entrance exam scores were even hovering around the passing line...

In what aspect exactly did he manage to surpass the masterpiece of the White Room from the very beginning?

--End of Chapter--

My friend's book, recommended reading:

Comprehensive Anime, A Hellish Daily Life

Chapter 19: Is Ayanokoji a Doppelganger?

After saying goodbye to Ichinose and Kushida, Su Wei was in a pretty good mood.

Although things were a bit different from what he had anticipated, the final results were more or less the same.

With Ichinose's credit as an endorsement, the enthusiasm of the "leeks" had been stirred up, and there would be no need for him, the Main God, to worry about it further.

"Where to next?"

Su Wei's thoughts stirred as he checked the items refreshed for today.

[Invisibility Spray (Doraemon Version)]

Looking at the familiar spray can icon before him, Su Wei felt a bit uninterested.

This was a good item.

As long as it was sprayed on the body, one could gain an invisibility effect lasting for 4 hours, which could only be seen through special lenses.

However...

"Isn't this function a bit redundant?"

After all, the Gantz equipment locker already came with a controller that had a built-in invisibility function.

Adding an "Invisibility Spray" was somewhat redundant, not to mention that the controller didn't take up one of his item slots—it was essentially free.

If only he could get a Dog Talisman to complete his Horse and Dog full-resistance bond; wouldn't that be wonderful?

"Forget it, I'll just treat it as a collection addition."

"It's all free anyway, so why complain?"

Su Wei casually closed the interface, and the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

Su Wei took it out to look.

Sender: Horikita Suzune.

The content was concise and to the point: "Come to the library."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Ho, even a thick-browed, big-eyed guy like you has learned to skip class?"

"That's a bit out of character!"

Su Wei thought to himself, looking toward the direction of the sports field.

With the clairvoyance developed from using the Superpower Training Box, his gaze instantly pierced through the shade of the trees.

On the field, the main groups from Class B and Class D had already dispersed and were moving about freely in twos and threes.

Horikita Suzune was clutching a notebook, walking with hurried steps through the corridor toward the library.

"Not skipping class, then. Nothing to worry about."

Su Wei's interest waned significantly.

He casually replied with a ".", just to acknowledge the message.

In Japan, leaving someone on "read" in Line really does cause people stress, leading them to overthink and deconstruct the situation.

To be honest, he had no interest in this tutoring session.

But then, a thought occurred to him.

He was idle anyway, so he might as well just go through the motions of the plot.

Isn't that how these things always go?

Trigger a random event, go through a bit of story, gain some favorability, occasionally give a gift, and then have special interactions during holidays... unlocking more plot.

Though, he was the type of player who usually skipped the story just to see the CGs.

A few minutes later, the library.

Since it was class time, there was hardly anyone here.

It was so quiet that one could only hear the hum of the air conditioning and the rustling of turning pages.

Just as he entered the reading area, he saw Horikita Suzune sitting alone in a corner by the window, writing busily at a desk.

Su Wei didn't stand on ceremony; he pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.

"What's the meaning of this?"

He rested his chin on one hand.

Horikita Suzune's pen tip paused.

She looked up, sized Su Wei up from head to toe, and then turned the notebook around, pushing it toward him.

"These are the key teaching points for each subject during this period."

"Take a look and see if you can understand them."

Su Wei glanced at it.

The handwriting was neat and elegant, the key points were clearly marked, and even areas prone to confusion were distinguished with different colored pens.

It was, without a doubt, a very meticulous set of notes.

"If you can understand them."

"I will use these notes to formulate a detailed tutoring plan for you... and for the students in the class who are at the bottom of the rankings."

Horikita Suzune crossed her arms, looking him straight in the eyes.

Her pair of violet-red eyes were calm, like ink that hadn't yet bled into the water, appearing all the more clear and cold.

The only problem was...

Su Wei didn't need this at all!

Eat a piece of Memory Bread, pop two NZT48s, and there wasn't a problem he couldn't solve.

The reason his grades were mediocre at the start of the term was entirely because the "extra" he replaced had poor grades.

He hadn't even taken those tests himself, so how could the blame be pinned on him?

You're hurting me!

"What? You don't understand it?"

Seeing Su Wei remain silent, Horikita Suzune raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with helplessness:

"It's fine, you can ask me if there's anything you don't grasp. Since I promised to help you, I won't go back on my word."

"Stop, stop, stop."

Su Wei suppressed the urge to retort and raised a hand to interrupt her:

"It's written well enough, and the logic is clear."

"But Horikita, have you ever considered one question?"

"The reason people don't like to study sometimes isn't because they can't absorb the material or can't understand the notes."

"They simply... don't want to learn."

"It's like feeding a pig a full-course banquet; the pig won't be grateful, it will only think the food is less flavorful than slop."

"Instead of wasting your time on things like this, you should give them a reason they have to learn, or... a simpler shortcut."

Horikita Suzune frowned, seemingly contemplating the logic in Su Wei's words:

"A shortcut? How could there be any shortcut to learning?"

"Of course there is."

Su Wei smiled meaningfully:

"If I recall correctly, isn't this school's motto 'meritocracy'?"

"Then, so-called merit isn't just reflected in academic ability, but also in the 'acquisition of information,' right?"

"Since the goal is to deal with the midterm exams..."

He lowered his voice, guiding her step by step:

"Why don't you try finding a senior student and buying a copy of last year's midterm exam papers?"

"Buy the exam papers?"

Horikita Suzune was slightly taken aback.

Even if the method was a bit underhanded, perhaps even "cheating," utilizing every resource within the bounds of the rules...

It truly did align with the survival laws of this school.

She remained silent for a moment, then took her notebook and quickly jotted this down in the blank space.

"I will give it a try."

With the serious business concluded, Horikita Suzune did not seem to have any intention of letting Su Wei leave.