She closed her notebook and hesitated.
"By the way."
"According to what Ichinose said in the group chat, you faced... Parasites in your first trial, right?"
"Mhm," Su Wei hummed.
"If so, you should remember the Black Sphere's description of Parasites, shouldn't you?"
"They look no different from ordinary people and can pass perfectly as human. They're reasonably intelligent, but emotionally detached..."
"So what are you getting at?" Su Wei raised an eyebrow.
"I suspect," Horikita Suzune said with conviction, "there's a Parasite in our class."
Su Wei froze for a moment as a face flashed through his mind.
Could it be...
"Don't tell me you mean Ayanokoji?"
"Exactly."
Horikita Suzune continued:
"Don't you think his outward behavior resembles the Parasites we encountered?"
"The same vacant eyes, no sign of emotion..."
Good grief!
Su Wei held back his laughter and coughed twice to hide his awkwardness.
"...Maybe."
"But even if he is a Parasite, we can't do anything about it until the Black Sphere assigns a mission and designates him as a target, can we?"
Horikita Suzune nodded in agreement, her brow furrowing.
"That is a problem."
Looking at her stern expression, Su Wei pressed his lips together, afraid he'd lose it if he stayed another moment.
"Right, good luck with that."
"I have things to do, so I'll get going."
Once he left the library, Su Wei finally let himself laugh.
The trip hadn't been a waste, at least. She'd given him a good laugh.
Still, it was understandable that Horikita Suzune would suspect that.
Even though her conclusion was wildly off the mark, there was no denying that Ayanokoji did share certain traits with Parasites. He was simply a real-life uncanny-valley kind of guy.
Just as he was wondering where he could go next to find some new amusement—
"Tap, tap."
The crisp sound of a cane approached.
Su Wei looked up.
At the far end of the corridor, Sakayanagi Arisu was walking toward him with elegant steps, leaning on her cane.
Beside her was a blue-haired girl carrying a book, her bearing quiet and gentle.
Shiina Hiyori?
How did those two end up together? Did I skip a scene?
Under his puzzled gaze, Sakayanagi Arisu stopped, her face lighting up with a perfectly measured look of delight.
"Well, if it isn't Su Wei~"
"What a coincidence, running into you here. We must be fated to meet..."
Su Wei: "..."
"If you put your phone away, I might believe you."
Sakayanagi Arisu acted as though she hadn't heard his jab and turned to smile at Shiina Hiyori.
"Shiina."
"Now that I've found the person I was looking for, I won't trouble you any longer."
Shiina Hiyori glanced at them both, looking a little confused. Though the atmosphere seemed somewhat strange, she still nodded politely.
"That's all right. I was coming to the library to return a book anyway."
As she spoke, she gave Su Wei a slight nod, then stepped past him with her book and entered the library.
Once Shiina Hiyori had disappeared from sight—
Su Wei looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, whose face was full of amusement.
"You're pretty good at playing the poor thing."
"Hehe~"
Sakayanagi Arisu gave a little chuckle. Rather than deny it, she stepped closer and brazenly took his hand.
"Maybe I use other people, but not you."
"After all..."
She gave the cane in her hand a little wave.
"You still owe me half an hour of work~"
"Our relationship is purely financial."
Su Wei sighed. "Fine. I'll just pay you back 2,500 points."
"That won't do."
Sakayanagi Arisu tightened her fingers, feeling the warmth in her palm as her eyes sparkled.
"What I give away..."
"I never take back!"
"I mean..."
"You didn't come looking for me just over this little thing, did you?"
Su Wei didn't indulge Sakayanagi Arisu, who looked pleased with herself.
"There's no Black Sphere Exam right now. Your legs may be inconvenient, but you have Kamuro Masumi, and you're not so helpless that you can't get around without someone."
"As for points..."
"I doubt you're short a few thousand."
"Su Wei, you're both perceptive and oblivious."
"You're not wrong," Sakayanagi Arisu said with a shake of her head.
"But thanks to the Black Sphere, Kamuro now looks at me as if I were some kind of monster. She'd rather go out of her way to avoid me."
"Honestly, I don't know whether she's just naive or what..."
"What if a surprise exam suddenly came along?"
The girl blinked her pale violet eyes, her voice turning plaintive.
"Alone and without any help, wouldn't I have to rely on you, Su Wei?"
Su Wei didn't believe her half-sincere flattery.
Nor did he ask why she hadn't gone to Ichinose Honami, who would never refuse her.
He just replied casually:
"If Ichinose is right, every exam from now on will have a random selection."
"Kamuro Masumi will eventually have to accept reality. Then you won't need me anymore."
"Hehe~"
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled. "So, Su Wei, are you saying you're willing to be my personal crutch until then?"
"I never said that. Don't make up a whole story in your head."
Su Wei raised a hand in a stop gesture.
"My rates are steep. You can't afford me."
"Oh?"
Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to find that amusing.
"Now I'm genuinely curious."
"What sort of price would make you think I 'couldn't afford' you?"
Su Wei thought for a moment. "I make several million a minute."
"If you want my help, my hourly rate would have to be at least ten million points, wouldn't it?"
"..."
Sakayanagi Arisu stared at him for a moment, then fell silent.
Ten million points.
Even someone in Class A might not accumulate that much over three years at this school.
It was obviously a ridiculous joke made to turn her down.
She gently nudged Su Wei's side with her elbow and chided him:
"You're quite the comedian, Su Wei."
But Su Wei was serious.
Ten million to bribe God? That was an incredible bargain!
And he was only offering because she was pretty.
Someone else wouldn't even have had the chance.
The two continued on, maintaining their strange little atmosphere.
Sakayanagi Arisu linked her arm through Su Wei's, but didn't press her advantage by drawing any closer.
She kept pace beside him, still relying mostly on her cane to support her weight.
She looked so delicate and boneless that it seemed Su Wei's "sky-high price" had genuinely scared her off. She was content to maintain this superficial dependence.
Su Wei didn't actually shake her off, either.
The route Sakayanagi Arisu had chosen was quite secluded, with hardly anyone passing by. She clearly knew how to keep things appropriate.
If anything, she seemed to enjoy this kind of teasing without taking things any further.
After all, with a body that might give out at any moment, and no cure in sight, she could only rely on her quick tongue.
Su Wei couldn't agree more.
It was only when the two rounded a shaded corner of the school building that—
"...Is there really no other way?"
A woman's voice, tight with suppressed emotion, drifted faintly through the breeze.
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