The Multiverse, Becoming the Mastermind from *The Fruit of Grisaia*

"Besides, I consider myself quite charming. Why are you so unwilling to accept my invitation?"

"Or could it be that you're playing hard to get? Or... are you gay?"

"It's not that extreme," Su Wei said, his face covered in black lines.

"Hehe~ I'll take that as the truth. In any case, this is a privilege that only Student Su Wei can enjoy!"

"So, you should be content~"

As she spoke, she tilted her head and asked curiously:

"By the way, you looked so dazed just now; that doesn't look like you. Were you thinking of something bad?"

Su Wei was silent for a moment:

"Nothing, just thinking about what to have for dinner."

Hearing this, Sakayanagi Arisu actually seemed to agree, lowering her eyes as if she were genuinely considering it.

"That's true, what should we eat~"

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the school building, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

After a brief moment of confusion, he went downstairs and saw Hirata Yosuke, who had fully recovered and grown his arm back.

This good-natured fellow, having regained consciousness, was currently looking at his own hands in a daze, then glancing around at the unfamiliar environment:

"I, what happened to me?"

"I remember I was severely injured after trying to lure those monsters away..."

"What happened after that? Could it be... am I dreaming?"

Facing Hirata Yosuke's inquiry.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pursed his lips.

Feeling the smooth, uninjured inner lining of his mouth, he shook his head and said:

"I'm not entirely sure either."

"I only remember that after you fell unconscious, we met Ichinose from Class C, and Ryuen from Class B..."

"And, the so-called Black Sphere Trial."

"Black Sphere Trial? Is it the one I'm thinking of?" Hirata asked.

"Yes, I took a photo. I'll send it to you so you can compare it yourself."

To verify his memory and to soothe Hirata.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka took out his phone and opened his photo gallery.

Although his memory was already blurry, he vaguely remembered that he had made preparations in the chemistry lab to deal with some kind of crisis.

Then.

When he scrolled to the latest photo in the gallery.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's unchanging poker face finally shifted.

The photo was taken in the chemistry lab.

The composition was very simple.

Old laboratory equipment, some messy tables and chairs, and in the center, a prepared Molotov cocktail.

...A Molotov cocktail?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's pupils constricted as he instantly caught the sense of dissonance.

I remember, I made this to defend against zombies.

But...

Where exactly did I use this Molotov cocktail?

Zombies? No, if it were zombies, why would I have absolutely no memory of it?

So.

Has my memory been tampered with?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stared quietly at the phone screen.

Combined with the sense of dissonance he felt on the rooftop earlier.

His memory had likely been tampered with more than once.

What an unpleasant experience, truly.

As someone accustomed to being an observer, facing the feeling of being observed by a "seer" while being powerless to do anything about it naturally triggered an instinctive irritation.

But compared to anger, he felt more curiosity in his heart at this moment.

I have to admit it.

The things hidden within this school seem far more profound than even the White Room.

So, was coming here to experience a "normal life" a wrong decision?

That is a question that requires no thought to answer.

After all, his choice to enter this school in the first place was to seek something.

However, he had no intention of taking immediate action.

Since he could not resist this power for the time being, the best way to respond was to gather information and plan before acting.

Observe first.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Ayanokoji's heart returned to calm.

He swiped his screen and handed the compiled information on Ichinose to Hirata Yosuke beside him.

Hirata Yosuke took the phone, glanced at it briefly, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"As I thought."

"The reason my arm was able to recover... was it a reward given to the survivors after the 'exam' ended?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not respond, simply putting his phone away as he looked at this core figure of Class D and asked calmly:

"What do you intend to do next?"

"Go to the teachers, or report it to the school?"

Hirata Yosuke shook his head, his eyes dim and unreadable:

"It's useless, Ayanokoji-kun."

"Since an 'exam' of this scale can be conducted openly within the school, to the point where even the school building was requisitioned."

"It means the school administration itself is aware, or perhaps even a co-conspirator."

"Going to the teachers now would be meaningless, aside from being brushed off or warned."

He took a deep breath, his eyes gradually becoming firm:

"The most urgent priority is to find Horikita-san."

"Since she was a participant in this exam and even achieved such a high score, she must know something."

"Moreover, why she shouldered this responsibility alone without telling anyone else in the class... we need to understand her thoughts before we can decide how to respond."

Ayanokoji remained noncommittal.

He turned his head to look at Amikura Mako, who was not far away, reporting the good news to Ichinose Honami on her phone while waving goodbye to them as she left.

I'm afraid she simply never considered that question.

Horikita Suzune.

No friends.

She truly is a troublesome woman.

Meanwhile, at the corner of the corridor on the first floor of the school building.

Su Wei had just left the Black Sphere Room with Sakayanagi Arisu, and they hadn't taken more than a few steps before running into two familiar figures.

"...Su Wei?"

And Sakayanagi from Class A?

Hirata Yosuke stopped in his tracks, his expression becoming quite colorful as he took in the scene before him.

The invisible student who usually had no presence in class was now walking alongside a prominent figure from Class A, and their posture was so intimate.

Is mooching off others really that popular now?

An awkward Hirata instinctively looked at Ayanokoji, only to find him wearing a calm expression.

"Oh, what a coincidence."

Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the two of them with a beaming smile:

"I didn't expect to run into Su Wei-kun's classmates right after coming out... what a small world~"

Faced with such social pleasantries, Hirata Yosuke was full of doubts, but there were more important matters at hand.

He suppressed his curiosity and stepped forward to ask Su Wei:

"Um, Su Wei-kun."

"I apologize for the intrusion, but do you have Horikita Suzune's contact information?"

"We have an urgent matter to discuss with her, but we couldn't find her at the dorms or the library just now."

Su Wei raised an eyebrow and shook his head without hesitation:

"I've only spoken to her a few times; why would I have something like that?"

"If you're looking for her, you might as well ask Kushida. After all, she's the only social butterfly in the entire class who might have Horikita's number."

"Kushida, huh..."

Hirata Yosuke frowned.

At this moment, the silent Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly spoke up:

"That Horikita doesn't look like the type to have friends; searching aimlessly like this isn't going to work."

"It's getting late, too."

He glanced at the sky, which had turned completely dark:

"Let's just wait until we get to school tomorrow and have classmate Kushida pass a message along for us."

Hirata Yosuke pondered for a long moment before finally nodding:

"...That's the only option, I suppose."

After a few more brief pleasantries, the two groups passed each other by.

Watching Hirata Yosuke's slightly dejected back, Su Wei felt a bit surprised:

"It seems that guy Ayanokoji didn't tell him about our identities?"

"Hehe~" Sakayanagi Arisu said with schadenfreude, "Is it possible he's worried about alerting the enemy?"

"Although he wasn't looking at you, I have a feeling... Ayanokoji might have taken a liking to you~"

Su Wei's face darkened, and he moved a step away in disgust:

"Don't be disgusting."

"I don't associate with people who are into that."