Day one drew to a close, giving way to dawn.
Upon waking, Mamoru quickly prepared himself, teleported directly into his room in the student dormitory, and stepped out into the hallway.
‘Come to think of it, I wonder if that girl is doing alright today.’ Thoughts of Arisu crossed his mind as he prepared for school, but he promptly brushed the concern aside.
The Chairman had asked him to keep an eye on her, sure, but he hadn’t asked him to cater to her hand and foot.
Mamoru was hardly Arisu’s legal guardian.
Her physical disability was something she had been born with.
Considering that, worrying about her commute to school at this point might actually come across as patronizing.
‘She might have already left for school anyway.
No need to wait around.’ Reaching that conclusion while riding the elevator down, Mamoru found his logic rendered entirely useless the moment he stepped out into the lobby.
“Good morning, Mamoru-kun.” There sat Arisu in the dormitory lobby, comfortably settled on one of the lounge sofas.
“…Morning.
Waiting for someone?” With 30% lingering hope that she had made another friend, and the remaining 70% weighed down by a feeling approaching resignation, Mamoru asked.
“Yes.
I wanted to walk to school together with you, Mamoru-kun.” Just like that, his fragile hope shattered without a trace.
It wasn’t that Mamoru disliked being relied upon.
However, if things continued like this, he had a sneaking suspicion he would slide into the role of her personal attendant before he even realized it.
That being said…
Arisu was standing right in front of him.
“I see.
Have you been waiting long?” “You don’t need to worry; I only just arrived a moment ago.” A soft smile covered her lips, carefully concealing whether she was merely being polite or telling the truth.
Either way, since she put it like that, Mamoru didn’t dwell on it and responded normally.
“Right, then.
Shall we head out?” As Arisu prepared to stand, Mamoru offered her his hand with a natural, practiced movement, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world to do.
Arisu stared at his outstretched hand for a fraction of a second with a blank expression, but her signature smile quickly returned as she took it, offering her thanks.
“Thank you very much.” “Don’t mention it.” And so, the two set off at a unhurried pace matched to Arisu’s stride.
“By the way, Mamoru-kun.
There is something I wanted to discuss with you while we have the chance.” “…What is it?” Arisu brought up the topic out of nowhere on their walk, prompting Mamoru to answer with a hint of caution.
“Today—most likely after classes end—Katsuragi-kun will almost certainly attempt to hold a class discussion regarding yesterday’s matters.” “Most likely, yeah.” Internally groaning at the nuisance—since he wanted to get straight to his patrols after school—Mamoru nevertheless agreed with her assessment.
“When that happens, he will likely seek your input as well.
However, I would like you to keep the conversation regarding expulsions strictly between us and not reveal it to anyone.” “I don’t mind, but what’s your reason?” “Right now, while the rest of Class A may recognize the possibility of inter-class competition, they undoubtedly hold optimistic views regarding the penalties involved, assuming they won’t be particularly severe.” “…You’re probably right.” From the perspective of the other classmates, while they certainly felt as though they had been caught off guard by the school’s surprise tactics, the school had handed out 100,000 points on day one.
Given how generous their current treatment was, none of them would expect the penalties to be particularly harsh.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to tell them?” There existed a method to overturn an expulsion.
Revealing that fact would naturally lead them to infer that the penalties could very well include expulsion itself.
“Mamoru-kun, the true value of information is only realized when it is revealed at the opportune moment.
For now, this is a weapon that no one among the first-years possesses except for us.” “…What specifically are you planning to do, Arisu-san?” “Well…
to begin with, today’s discussion will likely lack any real substance.
At most, it will consist of reminders regarding daily conduct, accompanied by a gag order to prevent information from leaking to other classes.” That wasn’t hard to imagine.
Given their current lack of information, that was about the only logical course of action available to them.
Digging any deeper into the school system at this point would only lead to a dead end.
Since the faculty members were keeping their mouths shut, it was highly probable that the upperclassmen had been bound by a gag order as well.
Mamoru had anticipated a similar outcome himself.
That was precisely why he found the idea of a meaningless class meeting so tedious.
“The issue lies in the gag order regarding other classes.
Tell me, Mamoru-kun, do you believe everyone will strictly abide by it?” Faced with her question, Mamoru paused to consider before answering.
“…It’s going to be tough.
If someone makes friends in another class, the chances of them letting something slip are pretty high.” The class consisted of 40 students in total.
Even assuming Mamoru, Arisu, and the tight-lipped Katsuragi wouldn’t pose an issue, that still left 37 others.
If someone made a friend in another class who was throwing points around like water, it was impossible to guarantee that no one would step in with a word of caution.
While Class A generally gave the impression of being composed of serious students, as long as they underestimated the severity of the penalties, it was entirely plausible that someone would offer advice to a friend under the guise of keeping it “just between us.” “Precisely.
If they were united under a clear leader, it would be a non-issue.
However, establishing a leader at this stage is a difficult task.” “No argument there.” It was only their second day of school.
Expecting them to elect a leader when they barely knew each other was unreasonable.
Having followed her logic this far, Mamoru began to grasp the rough outline of what Arisu was aiming for.
“In short, you want to filter out the people you can actually trust?” “Impressive.
To deduce that much from such a brief explanation.” If the true nature of the school system was going to be laid bare, it would likely happen on the second point distribution day next month.
Arisu intended to use the intervening month as a testing ground for her classmates.
By observing who acted and how, she would share crucial information only with useful individuals, forging a tight-knit core.
Her objective was undoubtedly to form her own faction within the class.
The real question was how Mamoru should act now that he knew her game.
“…Arisu-san, let me lay this out flat ahead of time.” “Yes?
What is it?” “I don’t care who the leader is, or how inter-class competition works out, or any of that stuff.
I just don’t want to get expelled myself, so I’m willing to cooperate with the class to a reasonable degree.
But don’t go expecting anything beyond that from me.” From Mamoru’s perspective, his honest opinion on Arisu’s scheme was that she could do whatever she pleased.
However, he could sense that Arisu was attempting to keep him close.
Her willingness to lay out her plans like this felt like a calculated performance designed to earn his trust.
That was why Mamoru decided to draw a clear line in the sand.
“You might see me as a softhearted guy who’ll do anything just because someone asks for help, but I’m not that nice.
If you’re looking for an obedient pawn, look somewhere else.” He stopped in his tracks, turned to face Arisu, and spoke while looking straight into her eyes.
In response, Arisu didn’t offer her usual brazen smile.
Instead, a fleeting, almost somber expression passed over her face.
“You are somewhat misunderstanding me, Mamoru-kun.” “Misunderstanding?” “I told you yesterday, didn’t I?
As friends.
I do not view you as a pawn.
If I gave you that impression, then I apologize.
It seems I was relying on you far more than I realized.” Though Arisu usually wore a dubious, calculating smile, Mamoru couldn’t sense a trace of falsehood in her words just now.
If this was an act, she was a terrifyingly good actor.
Feeling a wave of awkwardness, Mamoru realized he might have been overly defensive.
“…No, as long as we’re clear, it’s fine.
My bad, too—I was a bit tired and wound up, so my words came out harsher than I meant.” “Fufu, I don’t mind in the slightest.
But tired, you say?
Did something happen?” “Well, last night, my bro—” He stopped himself just before the word “brother” left his mouth, remembering in the nick of time.
He had almost spoken out of habit as if he were attending a normal school.
This institution completely severed contact with the outside world.
He couldn’t possibly reveal that he had been talking with his brother.
“Ah…
my brother appeared in my dream.” “Your older brother?” Arisu tilted her head in confusion at Mamoru’s momentary slip, but Mamoru put on a cool facade and pushed forward with his excuse.
“My brother has a pretty childish personality, you see.
He was talking at an absurdly high energy level even inside my dream, so I ended up mentally exhausted.” Even while internally cringing at how forced the excuse sounded, Mamoru managed to stitch the cover story together.
“Ah…” The look in Arisu’s eyes turned into one of mild concern, as if she were looking at something strange.
Mamoru felt an uncomfortable sting of embarrassment, but fortunately, Arisu didn’t probe any further.
‘Man…
I’m letting my guard down way too much.’ He scolded himself internally for making such an uncharacteristic mistake.
Deciding it was best to keep his mouth shut to avoid leaking any more unnecessary information, Mamoru went silent.
The two continued walking in silence for a while, until Arisu suddenly spoke up as if recalling something.
“Ah, come to think of it, you mentioned earlier that I viewed you as a good person, but that is also a misunderstanding.
While I do not deny the existence of human goodwill entirely, I believe that a completely selfless, good person simply does not exist.” “Is that so?” While thinking to himself how cynical her worldview was, Mamoru simply offered a nonchalant response, figuring everyone was entitled to their own personal philosophy.
“Then from your perspective, Arisu-san, what kind of person am I?” To an outside observer, Mamoru’s habit of helping others as a matter of routine made him look like a textbook good person, though Mamoru had no intention of labeling himself as such.
It wasn’t something he particularly cared about, but he was curious how Arisu viewed him, which prompted the question.
“Well now, we haven’t built a relationship deep enough for me to truly understand that yet, have we?” “Fair enough.” No matter how extraordinary Arisu’s observational skills were, claiming to fully understand someone’s inner character within a day or two of meeting them would make her a psychic.
‘Though calling someone a psychic when I’m a Jujutsu sorcerer is a bit ironic.’ While Mamoru was mulling that over, Arisu continued beside him: “However…” “However, if I were to give you my raw impression…
you mentioned earlier that your older brother was childish, Mamoru-kun.
But to my eyes, you are the one who looks like a child.” “Huh?
Do I really look that selfish to you?” Mamoru’s expression turned genuinely offended at her words.
“Fufu, I didn’t mean it in that sense.
Just…
well, actually, let us leave it at that.” “Leaving it there after saying that much is gonna bug me…” Arisu had dropped a provocative hook only to abruptly close her mouth, earning a suspicious glare from Mamoru.
“It is merely an impression I felt, after all.
Not something I can easily put into words.” “…Right, sure.” It seemed she had no intention of elaborating.
It wasn’t as though Mamoru was dying to know anyway.
Without pursuing the topic any further, the two walked the remainder of the path to school in silence.
‘Me, a child, huh…?’ It was just an impression formed by a girl he had barely met.
It shouldn’t have been worth dwelling on.
Yet, for some reason, her words lingered in Mamoru’s mind like a stubborn knot that refused to untie.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Author’s Note: Hello!
As expected, intellectual, high-level dialogue is really not my strong suit.
My head starts hurting just trying to plot it out!
My apologies if anything feels off or clumsy.
For now, I’ve mapped out the general narrative flow for the scope of Light Novel Volume 1.
As planned, the story will likely diverge significantly from the canon plot.