Meeting on the Rooftop

No! I can't laugh yet!

Shiomiya Yo forcibly held back his laughter.

Just then, Kushida Kikyo walked over.

"Shiomiya-kun, thank you so much for earlier on the bus. Let's exchange contact information," Kushida Kikyo said with a smile.

"Sure." Shiomiya Yo composed his expression and took out the school-issued terminal he had just received to add her.

Shiomiya Yo always habitually agreed to Kushida Kikyo's requests.

After Kushida Kikyo thanked him and left, she went on to exchange contact information with the vast majority of the students in the class.

Afterward, everyone headed to the gymnasium to attend the entrance ceremony.

These kinds of events usually involved school leaders giving hypnotic speeches, and Shiomiya Yo stood below, boredly observing everyone within his field of vision.

Shiomiya Yo had lost interest in various recreational activities a long time ago, ever since he discovered that people possessed diversity.

Since then, Shiomiya Yo's greatest pastime had been observing others and analyzing them through various details.

Although everyone was different, the vast majority of people could be easily categorized, and these ordinary people no longer piqued Shiomiya Yo's interest.

Only those who were extraordinary could catch his attention.

Just as he was watching with interest, he noticed that the people around him had quieted down.

On the podium in front, a senior was staring coldly at the crowd below.

Psychological pressure?

The corners of Shiomiya Yo's mouth curled up slightly.

Using psychological techniques just for a speech? This school is a bit interesting.

However, Shiomiya Yo felt that this was somewhat inappropriate.

Was he not afraid that some genius might suddenly pop up and cause trouble?

How many geniuses were in this school? Shiomiya Yo didn't believe this senior didn't know.

"My name is Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President..."

Shiomiya Yo didn't listen carefully to what he was saying; he mainly noticed that Horikita Suzune, who was standing nearby, had an odd expression on her face.

Nine times out of ten they know each other. They even share a surname; they must be relatives.

Horikita Suzune noticed Shiomiya Yo's gaze.

"What are you looking at?"

"You and the Student Council President on stage share the same surname."

"Huh? What are you talking about? It's just a coincidence." Horikita Suzune immediately retorted.

"Maybe."

Seeing this, Shiomiya Yo didn't bother arguing with her anymore.

Such a fierce rebuttal meant she was either feeling guilty or had a contrarian personality.

Shiomiya Yo couldn't be bothered to deal with her, though he snuck a few more glances.

Sure enough, the two of them possessed a similar temperament.

To be precise, it was the relationship between the original and the knockoff.

Interesting...

Recorded!

New chapter—"Clone's Observation Diary".

Horikita Suzune, Horikita Manabu, let me understand you both better!

The speech ended quickly, and everyone left one after another; after all, there was a lot to do on the first day.

Shiomiya Yo took a casual look at the other classes.

Classes A, B, and C didn't have any geniuses that could be identified at a glance.

Only a girl with long blue-purple hair in Class A had a temperament that stood out, full of wisdom.

Shiomiya Yo couldn't quite describe what it was like, but it was definitely not something a human should have!

Leaving the gymnasium, Shiomiya Yo returned to his dormitory.

Upon entering, there was a semi-open kitchen, and inside were a private bathroom, a balcony, a bed, a desk, and a computer—everything was provided.

It was still a bit small for Shiomiya Yo. After tidying up, his phone suddenly rang.

He tapped it open to see a message from Kushida Kikyo.

[Kushida Kikyo: Let's meet on the school building rooftop at two this afternoon.]

[Shiomiya Yo: Okay.]

Shiomiya Yo frowned. Weren't they supposed to act like strangers? Why was she asking to meet him?

However, he didn't mind it either.

After tidying up his dorm room, Shiomiya Yo headed to the cafeteria to see how the school's food tasted.

Along the way, security cameras were everywhere, making the place feel even more restrictive than a prison.

Still, in a school this large, there were bound to be blind spots without surveillance—though he wondered if that was intentional.

The cafeteria offered a wide variety of dishes, so it seemed he wouldn't get bored of the food over the next three years.

Shiomiya Yo ordered the premium seafood set immediately.

The taste was fresh and sweet, carrying that distinct flavor of the sea; the meal was well worth it, even if it did cost him a thousand points.

It looked like he would need to start earning points, or his spending habits would burn through more than 100,000 points a month.

After lunch, the time he had agreed upon with Kushida arrived soon enough.

Shiomiya Yo showed up as promised, but after scanning the rooftop, he didn't see Kushida Kikyo anywhere.

What was more interesting was that there were no cameras on this rooftop.

Clang!

The sound of the rooftop door being locked echoed from behind him.

He saw Kushida Kikyo standing by the door, locking it before walking toward him.

Kushida Kikyo spoke in her usual affected, high-pitched voice.

"Thank you for coming here, Shiomiya-kun!"

Shiomiya Yo frowned. "There's no one else here, and no cameras either. You don't have to put on that voice with me, do you?"

Kushida Kikyo let out a light laugh. "What are you saying, Shiomiya-kun? I've always been like this!"

As she spoke, Kushida Kikyo moved closer to Shiomiya Yo.

The distance between them completely breached the bounds of normal social interaction.

This was Kushida Kikyo's talent, as well as her go-to tactic.

She could always effortlessly penetrate a person's sense of personal space.

However, for Shiomiya Yo, this was nothing more than a minor scene.

It wasn't as if he hadn't held her before.

Looking down into Kushida Kikyo's sparkling eyes, Shiomiya Yo felt a momentary daze.

But he quickly regained his composure.

"What exactly do you want to talk to me about?"

Kushida Kikyo tilted her head, feigning distress.

"Hmm... I want Shiomiya-kun to leave the school."

"Can you do that?"

Kushida Kikyo blinked, her tone as casual as if she were asking, "Have you eaten yet?"

Shiomiya Yo refused immediately.

"Impossible!"

Kushida Kikyo didn't seem to mind, repeating her words once more, though her tone was significantly more serious this time.

"I want Shiomiya-kun to leave the school."

Shiomiya Yo saw that she was being earnest, so he answered with equal seriousness.

"Are you asking me to help you?"

Those words seemed to hold some kind of magic, causing Kushida to freeze for a split second before returning to normal.

"Not at all~ It's just a suggestion."

"After all, Shiomiya-kun knows far too much!"

Shiomiya Yo didn't care about her evasion and simply smiled.

"You should know that I won't tell anyone."

Kushida didn't refute him, but continued.

"But it's not a pleasant feeling to have a knife held to your throat, even if you know the blade won't fall."

Kushida let out a delicate laugh, then grabbed Shiomiya Yo's hands, holding them in hers as she looked into his eyes and said earnestly.

"So, Shiomiya-kun, are you willing to leave on your own?"

Looking at the smiling face right in front of him, Shiomiya Yo felt no romantic stirrings; he only felt as if he were looking at a doll, and a sudden irritation welled up in his heart.

Seeing that he didn't answer for a long time, Kushida assumed he was still unwilling.

She began listing various reasons in her affected voice, hoping to convince Shiomiya Yo to withdraw from school voluntarily.

But by this point, Shiomiya Yo couldn't hear a word she was saying; the more Kushida spoke, the more irritated he became.

Finally, Shiomiya Yo couldn't take it anymore.