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

Su Wei let out a yawn, eyeing the class schedule as he began to ponder which upcoming period would be best for slacking off and catching up on sleep.

And while he was relaxing.

In the seat next to him.

The silent Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly cast a subtle, sideways glance at him.

It seems I misjudged the value of this man?

Forget it, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with me...

Ayanokoji withdrew his gaze, his fingers tapping lightly against the desk.

"Phew, as expected, intelligence gathering is the most profitable business!"

Kushida Kikyo stretched, and as she thought of the string of digits in her mobile account, her lips curled into a smile she couldn't quite conceal.

"Just by moving my lips a little, 1.5 million points landed in my account so easily... This speed of making money is practically faster than robbing a bank!"

As she spoke, she turned to look at Ichinose Honami, her smile becoming a shade more sincere.

"But I really have to thank Ichinose for helping me bridge the gap this time, otherwise I would definitely still be hitting walls everywhere..."

"How about this, to show my gratitude, I'll transfer 500,000 to you!"

"Eh? No, no need..."

She instinctively refused, but Kushida had already completed the operation.

[You have received a new deposit: 500,000 points.]

The smile on Ichinose's face was somewhat strained.

Even as the leader of Class B, entrusted with the majority of the class's points, this sum was still a massive amount for her personally.

It was just that in her eyes.

This looked like a hot potato no matter how she viewed it.

It was all because just as she was leaving earlier, Nagumo Miyabi had suddenly approached her to ask for a favor.

Ichinose, since you're close with Ryuen, could you help me smooth things over?

I don't even care about spending money, just get him to add me back on his contact list.

He must have misunderstood something... He deleted me so decisively before, and every message I've sent him over the past two days has just come back with a red exclamation mark...

Recalling the anxious and resentful expression on Nagumo Miyabi's face at the time, Ichinose felt her scalp tingle.

What... could this possibly mean?

He was the high and mighty Vice President, so why was he so obsessed with a first-year delinquent?

He was even willing to throw down a small fortune for it.

Pure appreciation of talent? Or perhaps...

Ichinose Honami didn't understand, but she was deeply shocked.

To be honest, she was very conflicted right now.

A woman's intuition told her that the reason Nagumo Miyabi had reached a deal with Kushida so readily, aside from the value of the intelligence itself, was likely in large part to curry favor with her as the middleman, so that she would help him smooth things over.

But how was she supposed to bring up such a strange request!

However...

Would it be a bit bad to take the money and not do the job?

Just as Ichinose was struggling with her dilemma.

Kushida Kikyo suddenly let out a sound of surprise.

"Is that... Su Wei?"

Ichinose followed Kushida's gaze.

She saw Su Wei strolling past the corner of the corridor connecting the school buildings.

Five or six meters behind him, a petite figure leaning on a cane was trailing him at a distance.

"Sakayanagi Arisu?" Ichinose was somewhat surprised. "Is she... following Su Wei?"

"It certainly looks like it."

Kushida Kikyo narrowed her eyes.

"Um, Kushida-san, if you're in a hurry to get back, you don't need to worry about me. I just remembered I have something to do back in Class B, so I'll just..."

Kushida Kikyo shook her head, her smile remaining as sweet as ever.

Although she didn't know why this black-bellied girl would be interested in Su Wei.

Her self-righteous personality instinctively reminded Kushida of Horikita Suzune.

She silently assessed the risks in her heart.

She made her decision.

For now, she would endure and avoid the sharp edge of his blade.

"If you're in a hurry, Ichinose, you don't need to worry about me. It's perfectly fine if you go on ahead."

Kushida suggested with a smile.

Ichinose nodded slightly, looking somewhat distracted.

Meanwhile, at the corner of the school building's corridor.

Tap, tap.

The sound of a cane striking the floor came to an abrupt halt.

Sakayanagi Arisu stopped in her tracks, staring at the empty hallway before her.

Did she lose him?

He had clearly been right in front of her just a moment ago.

Just as she intended to pull out her phone to check his location, Su Wei's voice rang out from behind her:

"I never expected you to have such a peculiar hobby... truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover."

Sakayanagi Arisu felt a jolt of surprise and spun around sharply.

She saw Su Wei leaning against the windowsill at the end of the corridor, watching her with a calm expression.

That position was in her blind spot; had he not spoken up, she would never have noticed him.

"To think you managed to evade my observation..."

Sakayanagi Arisu quickly regained her composure. "Since when?"

"From the very beginning."

Su Wei answered as if it were a matter of course.

After all, he had used the Time Pause Watch; it would have been a miracle if Sakayanagi Arisu had managed to detect him.

"So," Su Wei looked at her, "what business do you have with me? I thought our connection had ended last night."

"Su Wei, you really are heartless."

Sakayanagi Arisu muttered with dissatisfaction, "You don't look like the type who would be popular with girls."

Su Wei had absolutely no intention of taking the bait.

Finding herself ignored, Sakayanagi Arisu decided to state her purpose directly:

"You should be aware that the teleportation mechanism of that Black Sphere Space is extremely rigid."

She tapped her cane lightly, her tone tinged with helplessness:

"My cane didn't come with me during the teleportation last night. If that happens again tonight, it will be a major inconvenience for someone with my limited mobility."

"My apologies."

Su Wei shook his head:

"I'm not participating in tonight's special exam."

"Heh, what a coincidence, neither did I."

Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled. Instead of backing down, she stepped forward and unceremoniously linked her arm with Su Wei's.

"Therefore..."

"We only need to wait until the deadline passes to confirm that neither of us will be forcibly dragged into that space, and your task, Su Wei, will naturally come to an end."

"Conversely, if you do end up going in..."

The young girl looked up, a faint scent of medicine mixed with her own fragrance lingering at the tip of Su Wei's nose.

"You wouldn't mind bringing along an extra accessory, would you?"

Su Wei tried to twist his arm away, only to find that while this little girl looked delicate, her grip was surprisingly tenacious.

He couldn't shake her off without using real force.

And if he did, she might just resort to playing the victim.

He couldn't help but retort irritably:

"No reward or anything to show for it? Do you young ladies all live in your own little worlds, treating whoever you find like a servant?"

Sakayanagi Arisu pondered for a moment.

She released one hand and opened the transfer page on her phone.

"Hmm... you are right, that was inconsiderate of me."

"How about 5,000 points per hour?"

"The boss is generous! Long live the boss!"

"Pfft..."

Watching him look so blinded by greed, Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't help but chuckle.

Although she knew this was likely part of his act, she had to admit that spending time with this man was far more interesting than dealing with the bunch in her class, who were either boringly quiet or simply rotting away.

There was an inexplicable sense of closeness; she didn't hate it. How cute~

And so, the two strolled along, leaning into each other just as they had yesterday.

After walking for a while, Su Wei seemed to recall something and suddenly asked:

"Come to think of it, I recall that Class A's activity area isn't exactly close to Class D's. How did you find me?"

"Well, about that..."

Sakayanagi Arisu pondered for a moment, shaking her head with a feigned air of mystery:

"Actually, this is usually paid content. But it can't be helped—given the relationship between us, I'll tell you for free~"

As she spoke, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Using Su Wei's arm as a pivot, she stood on her tiptoes and leaned in close to his ear, her warm breath brushing against his neck:

"Actually, as long as you've added someone as a friend..."

"You can view their real-time location information unconditionally~"

"How about it? Is this piece of intelligence regarding privacy enough to serve as payment for using you as a crutch last night?"

"..."

Although Su Wei had known this all along, hearing it directly from Sakayanagi Arisu still made him sigh.

I knew the settings of this trash school would only foster crooked behavior!

Look at this—even a young lady from a prestigious background has started playing at real-life stalking!