Kaoru suggested playing chess with her, and she quickly agreed to the date.
Clearly, Sakayanagi Arisu still couldn't let go of her previous defeat.
Even if she risked facing a similar outcome again, she bravely took the bait.
After finishing their meal, the two strolled leisurely around the campus.
Winter was nearing its end, with faint wisps of clouds drifting across the sky. Sparse trees lined the paths, and patches of snow still lingered on the grass.
The lake had long since thawed, its shimmering surface almost blindingly bright.
Sakayanagi Arisu brought up her father. Sakayanagi Narumori would be leaving the school this week, and a new acting chairman would take his place.
Logically, this wasn't something that should have been disclosed to Sakayanagi Arisu.
She didn't understand why her father had told her, leaving her full of doubts.
ANHS was a special high school founded by her grandfather, with her father Sakayanagi Narumori taking over as chairman.
Though not a family business, it was still one of their capital assets.
Yet now, someone had the power to transfer her father away and install their own people—something rather peculiar.
"Also, Dad mentioned you left the school. Are you two hiding something from me?"
Seeing her slightly stern expression, Kaoru averted his gaze.
Was she going to meddle in this too?
"Because of the stock shares issue, the Shinomiya side is investigating me thoroughly. If I don't handle it, they might send people to the school."
"You took Ichinose with you."
"Arisu, are you planning to go on a date with me outside?"
"So it was a date?"
"You're being a little cute right now."
"..."
His skin was thicker than steel plate.
Sakayanagi Arisu found she couldn't pierce through his shamelessness.
Her eyes flickered slightly before she smiled. "Since you went to the Shinomiya household, did you meet their treasured jewel?"
The "treasured jewel" she referred to was naturally the young lady of the Shinomiya Financial Group—rumored to be a girl raised in seclusion, kept sheltered since childhood, with very few having seen her.
"A middle schooler? Why would I meet her?"
Kaoru found the question baffling.
"So you only target high schoolers?"
Sakayanagi Arisu spoke leisurely. "From what I know, there was once a producer who deceived middle schoolers—even elementary schoolers weren't spared. Luring innocent young girls into the filthy entertainment industry speaks volumes."
Kaoru's face darkened. Shiina Hiori and Komiya Kondo joined of their own free will, didn't they?
"If I'm a lolicon, then what are you?"
"A little adventurer, always ready to uncover the secrets of Monte Cristo."
"And so you wear this detective hat every day and carry a cane around?"
"To guard against desperate last stands from enemies."
"Careful someone kicks your cane away."
"I've been keeping an eye on Mitoma-kun's movements."
"Meaning I can kick it away anytime?"
"Heh."
After walking for a while, Sakayanagi Arisu, whose stamina wasn't great, was allowed to rest on a bench by the roadside while Kaoru went to buy drinks.
"I can't have cold drinks right now."
Kaoru glanced at her before sitting expressionlessly beside her.
He seemed to have caught something valuable in her earlier words.
"How considerate today, spending your entire lunch break with me."
Unaware of what she had just revealed, Sakayanagi Arisu gazed at the school building in the distance.
"Are you worried about finals? Or Valentine's Day and your birthday?"
"A bit of both. But more importantly, I wanted to talk to you."
Kaoru felt complicated.
Only she and Hasebe Haruka knew about his past to some extent, but he wasn't sure what Sakayanagi Arisu truly thought.
"What did you want to say to me?" Sakayanagi Arisu blinked. "Planning to do something bad to me here?"
After hesitating, Kaoru asked, "If you found out someone you liked was hiding another woman behind your back, what would you…?"
"Execute him, of course?"
Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head. "That's blatant betrayal. I wouldn't tolerate it."
"Yeah, I figured."
Kaoru gave up resisting.
Sakayanagi Arisu frowned. "Why can't people just be faithful?"
"Perhaps he doesn't yet understand what true devotion means—only that the person before him is someone he can't let go."
Kaoru said, "In the past, he thought this world was nothing more than a grand reality show. When the curtain falls, it falls. Like finishing a game, you naturally put down the console and move on to the next one."
"Does he regret it?" Sakayanagi Arisu asked.
"I don't know. Often, it takes just a fleeting moment—hearing a familiar voice—before he suddenly realizes that they were never truly gone." Kaoru replied.
Sakayanagi smiled faintly. "That sounds completely unlike the impression I had of him. Like a shameless fraud repenting before the Bible."
"You're not wrong. Truthfully, even now, he doesn't feel much remorse."
Kaoru nodded. "The problem is, he's surprised that someone would still believe in him after all this time."
"Which just proves he's soft-hearted rather than tough—unexpectedly easy to handle."
Sakayanagi patted her own thigh. "If he wants to repent, he can come to me. I'll listen to his story slowly."
Kaoru gave her a sidelong glance. She puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, as if to say, What's wrong with that?
"Can I call you 'Mom'?"
Sakayanagi nearly lost her composure. What kind of weird fetish was this?
"No. Because it's disgusting."
"If I can't say it out loud, it'll be hard for me to tell this story properly."
"Mitoma-kun?"
Seeing her unfriendly gaze, Kaoru wisely lay down, resting his head on the girl's soft thighs, facing upward where he was met with a slightly dazed expression.
"You're not lying to me, are you?" Sakayanagi Arisu murmured.
"No, my words just now were completely sincere. It's just that someone's curiosity is too strong."
Kaoru smiled faintly. "I once died, and behold, I am alive again, living forevermore, holding the keys to death and the underworld."
His smile seemed to conceal something, and a chilling breeze swept past.
Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly felt goosebumps rise on her skin as she stared fixedly at the man lying on her lap.
His slightly youthful face bore an uncanny resemblance to a producer who had been declared dead two years ago.
Just as he had said, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. Instead, she reached out and touched his forehead.
The warmth of his body was unmistakable, the pulse of his veins almost visible beneath his skin, reminding her of the needle marks on her own arm.
"Could you not be so curious?"
Kaoru sighed helplessly and lightly flicked her nose. "Even the undying don't believe me. If you keep staring at me like this, do you really believe what I'm saying?"
"Which saint back then would have believed he was the mouthpiece of the gods?"
Sakayanagi Arisu whispered. "Besides, you're right here with me. No matter the reason, I can't just ignore it."
Feeling like the conversation had strayed off track, Kaoru shifted the topic. "Class is about to start. Let's talk about something more ordinary—has Nagumo contacted you?"
Running away again.
Sakayanagi Arisu resolved to one day fully expose his true nature, even suspecting that his initial motives toward her were hidden somewhere within it.
Holding onto such thoughts, she was unaware that the Wish Machine had already eavesdropped.
"I did have contact with him, but I gave up on it later."
Sakayanagi Arisu said quietly. "He doesn't seem capable of dealing with you. I've found a more suitable candidate."
Kaoru was taken aback.
He had considered the possibility of Nagumo Miyabi collaborating with Sakayanagi Arisu, but he hadn't expected her to abandon Nagumo.
And now she claimed to have a better alternative?
Who else could serve as a capable opponent besides Nagumo?
Could it be… Ryuuen?