As they left the buffet, the afternoon sun shone warmly over the bustling Commercial Street, where the crowds brimmed with youthful energy.
Ichinose Honami and Ayanokoji Kiyoha walked side by side behind Wu Qiao. Watching the boy stride along ahead of them with his hands in his pockets, Ichinose felt turmoil rising inside her.
She had actually agreed to ally with him at the table just now.
Thinking back to the moment she had clasped his hand, Ichinose couldn't help giving a wry smile. His palm had been warm and dry, with the firm strength unique to a boy his age. It had been nothing like the hand of a "mastermind" about to drive Class D into the abyss.
And yet the owner of that hand had just calmly admitted that he would stand by and watch Class D hit rock bottom. He had even taken a huge sum of personal points from Hoshinomiya-sensei.
What am I even doing...? Ichinose silently asked herself.
According to the course her life should have taken—or, rather, the script provided by her Life Simulator—she should have been spending a happy afternoon with everyone in Class B.
Then she would have gone through the motions of preparing for midterms and only met Wu Qiao at some point after the exams, eventually becoming a friend he could trust.
But now, everything had gone off the rails.
Not only had she met Wu Qiao ahead of schedule, she had also glimpsed his most secretive and ruthless side.
Ichinose sneaked a glance at Ayanokoji Kiyoha beside her. The girl from Class D still looked as indifferent to everything as ever, as if the conversation about "betrayal and alliances" had had nothing to do with her.
But Ichinose knew that Ayanokoji Kiyoha was nowhere near as simple as she appeared. Wu Qiao had used her as a shield, presenting her to Ichinose as a "rich girl who doesn't understand socializing." Yet Ichinose couldn't help feeling that the girl's eyes concealed an abyss deeper than Wu Qiao's.
"Wu-kun said he would help us during the Special Exam." Ichinose recalled how certain Wu Qiao had sounded, and felt conflicted.
He had the ability to change Class D's fate, but he had chosen to stand by and do nothing. He had even profited from it.
And yet he had taken the initiative to reach out to her, promising to help Class B during the Special Exam. His contradictory behavior left Ichinose unable to figure out his true intentions.
"What does he want?"
Money? The 300,000-point deposit and the remaining 2.7 million to come were indeed astronomical sums for a high school student.
But if he really only wanted money, he could have gone about it in a much gentler way instead of forcing Class D into a corner through such a cruel act of "standing by."
Power? At a school where strength was everything, Class Points and personal points did represent influence. But Wu Qiao's lazy, carefree manner hardly seemed like that of someone hungry for power.
Could it really... be just for fun? The thought startled Ichinose.
If Wu Qiao really treated this cruel school as a game and everyone's fate in Class D as a source of amusement, then he was truly terrifying.
But then again, something about that didn't seem right. During their conversation, when Ichinose had shown concern for her classmates in Class D, Wu Qiao's eyes had held a hint of mockery, but also a trace of resignation that was hard to detect. He wasn't truly cold-blooded. He was simply disappointed in the school's rules and in those good-for-nothing classmates in Class D.
Maybe... he wants to be understood, too. The thought came to Ichinose out of nowhere.
Just like her back then, after the theft incident in middle school, she had shut herself away for half a year, afraid to go to school or face anyone.
Advanced Nurturing High School had given her a chance to start over, and everyone in Class B had given her their trust and acceptance.
What about Wu Qiao? Did he have anyone at this school he could truly rely on?
He wrapped himself in layer upon layer of disguise, using his laziness and carefree attitude to hide his loneliness and wariness.
That must be why he reached out to help me. Ichinose silently came to the conclusion.
Thanks to her Life Simulator, she happened to be capable of many things, and this alliance was also a chance to get involved.
At the thought, a strange sense of responsibility suddenly welled up in Ichinose Honami.
Now that I've agreed to be your ally, I won't let you go on alone. She made a silent vow. Even if you really are a dangerous tyrant, I'll bring you back to the right path. Because... I don't want to see any of my friends sink deeper and deeper into the abyss of loneliness.
The sunlight fell across Ichinose Honami's pink hair, casting a warm glow. She took a deep breath, her bright, familiar smile returning to her face as she hurried to catch up with Wu Qiao.
"Wu-kun, wait!" Her clear voice rang out along Commercial Street. "What are you doing next? Want to go look around together?"
The boy ahead stopped and turned back, wearing a faintly helpless smile. "Ichinose, what is it? Aren't you afraid anymore?"
"Because I trust my instincts." Ichinose Honami clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly. Her lively eyes shone with conviction. "You may sound cold, Wu-kun, but you're actually a kind person, aren't you?"
Wu Qiao froze for a moment, then shrugged helplessly. "You... I just can't do anything with you."
Ayanokoji Kiyoha silently followed behind the two as they walked farther away, still holding the cup of milk tea she had taken to go from the restaurant. She took a light sip, her eyes as calm as still water, as if she had expected all of this.
"What an interesting pair." Ayanokoji Kiyoha mused silently. "This school looks like it'll be even more interesting than I expected."
The bustle of Commercial Street seemed especially languid in the afternoon sunshine. Ichinose Honami and Wu Qiao walked side by side, making the occasional bit of small talk.
Although they had said they would look around, they both knew this was just an awkward interlude after their tense "alliance negotiations."
As they passed a beautifully decorated bookstore, Ichinose Honami suddenly stopped. Through the broad, bright windows, her eyes locked precisely onto a thick book on the top shelf in the social sciences section. Without the slightest hesitation, she grabbed Wu Qiao, who was still looking a little dazed, and led him inside.
A few minutes later, Ichinose held out a book as thick as a brick—Game Theory and Macro Strategic Deduction—and offered it to Wu Qiao with some hesitation.
"Um... this is for you." A faint blush spread across Ichinose Honami's face. Her gaze wandered, unable to meet Wu Qiao's eyes. "I thought you might like something... this hardcore."
Wu Qiao stared at the hefty tome, whose very cover seemed to warn people away, and froze. Looking utterly baffled, he took it and weighed its considerable heft in his hand. The corner of his mouth twitched twice. "Ichinose, that's... certainly an unusual gift. Don't girls usually give boys things like handmade crafts or snacks?"
Ichinose Honami awkwardly scratched her cheek, inwardly groaning. She knew it was a strange thing to give him, but her judgment was entirely based on information from the Life Simulator!
In the simulation records, before Wu Qiao displayed that terrifying power later on, he was always clutching all kinds of esoteric books, as if that knowledge were the source of his strength.
"I saw it in the most prominent spot, and I thought... I thought it suited your... um, strategic, always-in-control kind of vibe?" Ichinose Honami racked her brain for an excuse, trying to make her abrupt gesture seem reasonable.
Wu Qiao raised an eyebrow and opened the book. As he looked over the dense technical terminology and complicated mathematical models, something stirred within him.
He hadn't started studying the subject in depth yet, but it was certainly a field he would need to explore in the future. The seemingly naive, cheerful girl had an almost frighteningly keen intuition.
"Not sure how you came up with it, but this book... will actually come in handy." Wu Qiao closed it. Instead of politely refusing it like an ordinary gift, he nodded readily and tucked it under his arm. "Thanks, Ichinose. I'll accept this thoughtful, hardcore gift."
Watching Wu Qiao accept the book as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Ichinose Honami let out a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. She'd guessed right.
It seemed that, in Wu Qiao's mind, the "bookworm" label really did make him feel more comfortable and secure than the "tyrant" one.