When Sakayanagi Arisu looked up again, she was still gazing up at Makoto Nishikado, but the look in her eyes had changed.
"Teach me? Why would you put it that way?"
Makoto Nishikado couldn't make sense of it.
He'd thought he'd teased the cat into raising its hackles and was about to back off.
Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't in good health. He couldn't harvest her emotions like he was cutting chives; he had to treat her with care.
Still, her reaction now really was a little unusual.
"I used to think I'd cultivated myself to the point where I wouldn't get angry easily. I never expected you to break through that so effortlessly, classmate."
There was a hint of self-mockery in Sakayanagi Arisu's voice, but she was mostly delighted.
She considered herself a genius, and so did everyone else—not just an ordinary genius, either.
Once she grew up, she was destined to surpass 99 percent of the people in the world.
Aside from her frail health, everything about her was perfect.
And for a leader who stood above others, keeping her emotions off her face was the most basic quality.
Sakayanagi Arisu had once believed she'd reached the point where even a mountain collapsing before her wouldn't make her change expression.
Yet now, facing a stranger in her year, she'd found her heart stirred with ease.
Wasn't being able to make her angry so effortlessly a remarkable talent in its own right?
Today, she'd met another genius worth bringing down.
"You really are a genius at making people angry, classmate. Would you be willing to introduce yourself?"
Sakayanagi Arisu recovered her initial elegance.
Her gaze was full of aggression and delight.
She was delighted to have found prey worth hunting!
Seeing how frightening Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze was, Makoto Nishikado reined in his smile.
"My adorable childhood friend, don't you recognize me?"
"I'm Ayanokoji Kiyotaka from Class D, first year. It's been eight years and 243 days!"
Childhood friend? Class D, first year? Ayanokoji Kiyotaka? Eight years and 243 days?
Why did every part of that sound like a lie?
Sakayanagi Arisu thought it over carefully and tried to remember.
Soon, she realized she was being teased again.
But this time, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't get angry.
"I do remember the surname Ayanokoji, but I don't recognize your face at all, classmate. Is Ayanokoji really your surname?"
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled with graceful composure, her gaze fixed intently on Makoto Nishikado.
[You stirred Sakayanagi Arisu's emotions and gained 9 emotion points.]
At the system notification, Makoto Nishikado shuddered, and all his interest vanished.
Why was this girl as annoying as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?
She'd only given him a measly few points. Wasn't that insulting?
He'd figured Sakayanagi Arisu would get angry, and then he'd accept her challenge on the spot.
But now he couldn't.
His enthusiasm had cooled!
"Because that's a false name. But if you look into it, you'll find that the name itself is my apology."
Without any emotion points, Makoto Nishikado decided to leave, too.
Princess Sakayanagi really couldn't take a joke at all.
He'd only just started getting into it, and she'd already flipped the table.
She really couldn't play fair!
"Classmate, are you leaving now?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze grew even more dangerous.
She didn't reach out to stop him.
But if Makoto Nishikado really left right now, she couldn't say what she might do.
"Little princess, if I offended you earlier, I'll make you a heart!"
Makoto Nishikado stopped, turned around, and crossed his thumb and forefinger into a heart.
He really liked the little princess—her personality, her looks, and her long, silvery-white hair.
If he'd genuinely put the little princess in a bad mood, Makoto Nishikado would be willing to stay and cheer her up.
But then he glanced at the system notification.
[You stirred Sakayanagi Arisu's emotions and gained 22 emotion points.]
This wasn't fun!
She hadn't actually gotten angry at all!
Just like Brother Lu in the novels: all that inner monologue, but it was all fake.
He was hopeless. Hopeless about this world full of fake emotions!
Makoto Nishikado decided to leave this heartbreaking place.
"Classmate, after stirring my heart, are you really planning to just leave me hanging and walk away?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes narrowed into a dangerous arc.
She liked being called a little princess, and she liked Makoto Nishikado's heart gesture, too. But she didn't like his attitude.
If he'd lit a fire in her heart, he should see it through.
If he just walked away like this, she really would get angry.
"We've got plenty of time. If you want to settle things with me, little princess, I'll accept. Just not today."
Makoto Nishikado turned around again, smiling as he waved goodbye.
If Sakayanagi Arisu's emotions still barely budged the next time they met, he might as well take her up on the challenge.
He couldn't avoid it forever.
Still, he hoped Sakayanagi Arisu would have strong emotional reactions like she'd had at first.
Otherwise, he really couldn't get excited.
"Then goodbye, classmate."
Seeing him wave, Sakayanagi Arisu also raised a hand and gave a small wave.
Since Makoto Nishikado had made a promise, she wouldn't rush things.
"In the end, you still never told me your name."
Sakayanagi Arisu watched Makoto Nishikado head toward the girl who'd been stealing beer earlier.
He hadn't told her his name, probably because he was testing what she was capable of.
Once she'd won over that girl and gained a loyal underling she could rely on, it would be easy to find out the basic facts about Makoto Nishikado.
The greater Sakayanagi Arisu's own ability, and the more capable the dogs she recruited, the sooner she'd find him.
So this was a test of her abilities.
If she gave a perfect answer, he'd bring his full strength to their match, too.
(Makoto Nishikado: He wasn't actually thinking anything that chuunibyou.)
"Hmph. With skills like that, he has to be in Class B, first year, at the very least."
Sakayanagi Arisu was certain of it.
Though she'd only just entered the school, and her father, the chairman, hadn't told her anything about it beforehand, she was smart enough—a genius among geniuses.
Even with only the information she'd learned today, she could make some judgments.
At Makoto Nishikado's level, if he wasn't in Class A, first year, he had to be in Class B, first year.
There was no way he wasn't the leader of Class B.
Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't accept him ending up in Class C or Class D with skills like his.
If that happened, she'd report it to the chairman and have the school investigate the admissions office.
"How cruel. After teasing me, he's gone off to tease my little dog, too."
Sakayanagi Arisu came down from her battle high, her heart full of frustration at having her desires left unsatisfied.
She should've known better than to let him go so easily.
What a shameless scumbag!
[You stirred Sakayanagi Arisu's emotions and gained 5622 emotion points.]
"Huh? The little princess really is fickle."
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