From what Amasawa had said, Yukio was already certain: she was a White Room student, and the fact that she'd unreservedly revealed this much information could only mean Tsukishiro had deliberately sent her to cozy up to him.
As for whether any of the other first-years summoned by Tsukishiro also came from the White Room—that was still unclear for the moment, but when Yukio heard that Tsukishiro's "special exam" for them was to somehow force Ayanokouji to drop out, his suspicions were stirred.
Is Tsukishiro really trying to expel Ayanokouji?
As time went on, Yukio increasingly felt that couldn't be his true goal.
First, there was that hastily tacked-on class vote. Did Tsukishiro honestly think a simple in-class vote could expel Ayanokouji?
Even without Yukio there poaching a mountain of points, Ayanokouji could have easily persuaded a handful of people and shipped off someone else with a few votes. There was no scenario where he was the one getting expelled.
Then came the Project Selection Exam. Tsukishiro knew perfectly well that there was a student council whose entire purpose was to safeguard student rights—and that Yukio was in charge.
If he really wanted an expulsion, he should've coordinated with Yukio beforehand, not just dump the punishment into the exam structure like that. In the end, he'd simply let the council rewrite it out of existence, almost as if he were saying, "Go ahead and remove the expulsion penalty, I don't mind."
And now, here comes a White Room student, specifically instructed to walk in and spill the setup to Yukio—almost like a second, deliberate reminder.
At this point, it was also known that Tsukishiro and Ayanokouji's father, Ayanokouji Atsuomi, weren't actually on the same page. And if Tsukishiro truly didn't want Ayanokouji expelled, then why was he still funneling White Room students into ANHS?
Putting all that together, Yukio could faintly sense Tsukishiro's real intent.
Don't tell me… Tsukishiro's actual goal is to intentionally seed White Room students into ANHS?
For what? Because he believes this school is better suited for cultivating them? Or was there some deeper motive entirely?
"Junior," Yukio said, finding Tsukishiro more and more fascinating—this man seemed anything but a straightforward enemy.
"So do you already have a concrete plan? Some method in mind to get this Ayanokouji expelled?"
"Eeh~"
Amasawa blinked her dark-golden eyes, cheeks full of playful mischief. One hand curled around to her back, propping up the right side of her twin-tail, fingers lazily twirling the strands.
"Senpai who asks for too much~ tends to make girls lose their good impression, you know~"
Yukio parried with her own earlier words. "Didn't you just say you like strong people, junior? Those who are strong deserve to receive more. I wonder if you agree with that."
"Of course I do!" Light flashed in Amasawa's gaze.
Tsukishiro had told her to befriend Yukio, and she'd already seen his exceptional performance in all of ANHS's exams. Befriending him was the obvious choice.
She wasn't the type who had to be the one on top just because she ranked high in the White Room, nor the type who needed to "hear with her own ears and test with her own hands" in some childish probe.
From Amasawa's perspective—knowing everything Yukio had done at this school—there was nothing left to test. His strength was a given.
Under those conditions, what was the point of provoking him and risking a brutal counter-attack? If anyone lost out in that exchange, it would be her. Amasawa was not that foolish.
She simply wanted to accomplish the mission she'd been given.
"I really do love strong guys like senpai," she said. "But not to the point that I've gone crazy over you, enough to offer up everything with no strings attached."
"Mm. I see." Yukio heard the subtext loud and clear. She wanted compensation—or rather, she wanted a guarantee.
Confirmation that she'd successfully gotten close to him. Something she could use both for herself, and to report back to Tsukishiro.
Yukio wasn't mean enough to give her nothing.
"In that case, you can come help out in the student council, junior. Run errands, do some paperwork."
It was the perfect chance to offload yet another slice of council work and make his own life easier.
After all, Tsukishiro's side wanted to cozy up to him, not the other way around. All Yukio had to do was sit and wait until they came to him with a real request. He could afford to remain on the fishing chair and let them take the initiative.
Amasawa brightened visibly at receiving such a clear acknowledgment. "Hehe. Honestly, we've only had a rough discussion so far. In the end, we just kind of tossed together a quick plan. I'll explain it for senpai now~"
When she finished, Yukio's expression turned downright strange.
This was the plan the new first-years had cooked up? It was certainly outrageous enough.
"You tell me," he said dryly, "do you think this plan actually works?"
Surely the White Room's student quality couldn't be this bad, right?
"N-no no, of course not~ How could it?" Amasawa waved both hands vigorously, face full of disdainful amusement. "That idea came from the other new students from the different classes. I'm just there to assist."
"They said once they get Ayanokouji-senpai expelled, the acting chairman's twenty million points will be split between us. But I'm sure it'll fail. The holes in that plan are just way too big."
"If senpai doesn't like it, I can just drop out of the whole thing~ Or…" Her lips curved into a little devil's grin as she winked at him, lashes fluttering, eyes practically crackling with static. "…senpai could assign me something else to do within the plan~?"
If you only listened to what she said, you'd hear scheming. If you just looked at her expression, you'd think, Ah. Spring's here and some creatures are going into heat, but this played right into Yukio's hands.
"No need for you to do anything shady," he said. "Your original role was to fish around in Class 2-D anyway."
"So just go along with that—while you're at it, help me keep an eye on the two bottom-feeders in D-Class."
"Eeh? That's all?"
Amasawa's expression changed again—she was starting to feel a bit like some chibi magical girl whose face cycled through ten emotions a minute.
Moments ago she'd been a mischievous little demon plotting trouble. Now her lips were puffed in a sulky pout, a discouraged little girl.
"So senpai would rather fuss over D-Class problem children than pay attention to a cute, beautiful girl like me?"
Yukio didn't let his face shift, his words, however, carried a bit of pointed meaning. "So long as you keep paying attention to me, that's enough."
"After all, I never actually said whether a mere student council president counts as a 'strong' person. You're the one who's already assumed I'm in that category—without even testing me."
"That means you've had your eyes on me for quite a while now, hasn't it, junior? At the very least, you've memorized everything in my ANHS profile."
Amasawa hadn't expected there to be a pit there of all places. The moment she'd pushed for recognition, she'd already exposed herself.
If Yukio hadn't known about the White Room, he might have simply concluded she'd just studied up. As it was… she'd practically handed him her entire background on a silver platter.
No wonder Tsukishiro kept singing his praises.
Now that she'd seen it firsthand, Amasawa finally understood at a fundamental level: this senpai was another monster who didn't belong to his age group.
....
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