Sakayanagi Arisu never harbored a single doubt about the existence of true geniuses in this world.
The answer was an absolute certainty—because she was one.
The poorly concealed astonishment etched across the interviewers’ faces a few weeks prior had merely served as another tedious confirmation.
Aside from the slight, regrettable defect of her frail physique, her resume was a breathtakingly flawless construct.
No stains.
No imperfections.
She was a perfectly cut crystal, polished through precise, unrelenting calculation.
From Class A down to Class D.
From the elite down to the disposable trash.
According to the underlying mechanics of this academy, the class points would face a brutal reshuffling next month based entirely on student merit.
Class D, in particular, was practically guaranteed to plummet to zero.
She hadn’t coaxed this classified intel from her father, the Chairman of the board.
In truth, a mere nudge would have been enough to make the doting man spill every secret the school held.
But a genuine genius scorned such vulgar shortcuts.
A mere half hour ago, a few passing remarks from her homeroom teacher had been all she needed to unravel the entire system.
Now, standing inside the campus convenience store, the existence of a free-to-take section served as the final, absolute proof of her deduction.
‘I wonder,’she mused,’has anyone else managed to catch this little hidden hint?’ If she were the sole victor in this mental game, her high school life was going to be dreadfully dull.
Arisu remained perfectly still, leaning lightly against her cane as her amethyst gaze swept over the bustling convenience store.
The vast majority of the student body remained blissfully ignorant of the free section, their attention entirely consumed by frivolously spending their newly acquired points.
Then, a girl with striking purple hair and matching eyes drifted into her periphery.
It wasn’t merely the fact that Kamuro Masumi was a fellow classmate in Class A that piqued her interest.
What truly caught her eye was the professional, calculated manner in which the girl was mapping the surveillance cameras.
Her footsteps drifted with practiced ease toward the liquor shelf tucked away in the adult section.
‘How amusing…
is she planning to steal?’Arisu’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.’Judging by that practiced gait, she is a repeat offender.”I suppose I will play with her a bit later.
It just so happens I am in need of a clever little pawn.’ Arisu smoothly withdrew her gaze.
Given Kamuro’s cautious hesitation, the girl was clearly still in the preliminary scouting phase—mapping out the camera blind spots and memorizing the clerk’s patrol patterns.
She wouldn’t strike just yet.
Her attention drifted back to the free shelves.
9:06:46 AM.
The exact time surfaced effortlessly in her mind.
Ever since elementary school, she had possessed the uncanny ability to track time down to the second, relying solely on her own heartbeat and the subtle shifts in ambient light.
Clocks were entirely redundant.
Roughly twenty minutes remained until the entrance ceremony.
‘Will anyone actually show up?’ Beneath her fragile, angelic exterior lay a truth known only to a select few.
Sakayanagi Arisu was by no means a kind-hearted girl.
She was exceptionally vindictive; those who dared to cross her inevitably met a miserable end.
More than anything, she possessed an insatiable craving for a challenge.
She yearned for an opponent who could force her to use her full capabilities.
It was exactly like a game of chess.
The true ecstasy of the board could only be savored when sitting across from an equal.
‘This is all too simple…’she thought, a trace of boredom dulling her eyes.’If they cannot even see through the school’s deception before the opening ceremony…
then they are not fit to sit across from me.’ Perhaps her standards were excessively cruel.
But if she could deduce it so effortlessly, a worthy adversary should naturally be capable of the same.
Right at that moment, fate finally delivered an answer.
‘At last…
someone decent.’ The instant the black-haired boy stepped through the automatic doors, Arisu’s pupils contracted by a fraction of a millimeter.
His movements were far too deliberate.
He bypassed the vibrant displays and headed straight for the barren free shelves—a flawless carbon copy of her own actions from just moments ago.
When a few upperclassmen from Class D appeared nearby, the boy offered a subtle, almost imperceptible nod.
That tiny gesture laid his entire thought process bare.
‘I see…’Arisu’s mind raced.’He needed the upperclassmen’s reactions to verify his own hypothesis?”Unexpectedly careful.
Yet, also a bit rigidly cute.’ A deeply pleased arc graced the corners of her lips.
To her refined sensibilities, his excessive caution was akin to writing out an unnecessary, redundant step in a mathematical proof—technically precise, but utterly lacking in aesthetic elegance.
Arisu’s slender finger tapped rhythmically against the polished wood of her cane, her gaze locked onto the boy.
His dark hair was neatly trimmed, and the crimson school uniform accentuated his tall, upright posture.
The sheer physical height difference forced her to tilt her chin upward to study his face.
Clack.
The tip of her cane struck the linoleum floor, a crisp sound cutting through the ambient chatter.
A faint, elusive smile played on her lips, while a dangerous spark of genuine interest ignited within her amethyst eyes.
Compared to the mindless sheep crowding the aisles, this boy—whose very caution gave him a rather handsome, sharp edge—perfectly aligned with her aesthetic ideal of a rival.
“You there…” Shimizu Akira paused, his sharp gaze cutting toward the source of the voice.
‘Did she see through me?’The silver-haired girl’s sudden interjection was like a finely crafted key, slipping perfectly into the lock of their shared discovery.
He instinctively glanced down at the cane supporting her weight.
She had clearly unraveled the school’s point system even earlier than he had, only to be held back by her restricted mobility.’If I hadn’t wasted time going to the restroom…’ He immediately crushed the thought.
His eyes swept over her impossibly slender ankles, and whatever competitive drive had flared up within him quietly dissolved.
Comparing his own physical efficiency against someone with such an absolute physical disadvantage felt entirely ungentlemanly.
“Yes.
You’re right,” Akira replied, his tone calm and measured.
The silver-haired girl maintained her enigmatic smile, standing as perfectly still as a porcelain doll.
The deliberate silence stretched between them, thickening the air with a subtle, heavy tension.
Was she waiting for him to elaborate?
But Akira’s focus had already shifted inward, drawn to the fresh influx of data updating in his mind.
[Intelligence 1: Today at exactly 10:30 (after the entrance ceremony ends), Kamuro Masumi of Class 1-A will “shoplift” a can of beer at the school’s convenience store.] ‘Scouting ahead…
very professional,’ Akira noted silently.
Without moving his head, his peripheral vision swept toward the alcohol section.
The purple-haired girl was still there.
Her gaze was methodically tracking the blind spots of the ceiling cameras, making her the sole student lingering in the adult aisle.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The silver-haired girl struck the floor three times with her cane, the sharp, rhythmic sound instantly snapping Akira’s attention back to her.
“Student?” A knowing smirk curled her lips.
“It seems we are both observing the exact same target.
I suppose geniuses naturally gravitate toward one another.” She lifted her cane, the polished tip pointing with surgical precision toward Kamuro Masumi.
“That makes six times she has checked the camera blind spots.
Four times she has monitored the clerk’s position.
And twice…” The tip of her cane traced a slow, elegant arc through the air, “…she has stared longingly at a very specific can of beer.” Akira followed her gesture.
Just as she described, the purple-haired girl was unconsciously biting down on her lower lip, her slender finger trembling with nervous anticipation just inches above the aluminum can.
“However…” The silver-haired girl suddenly stepped closer, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
The smooth wood of her cane pressed lightly, almost intimately, against Akira’s wrist.
“This has to be the worst possible timing.” She tilted her head, her amethyst eyes locking intensely onto his.
“It is the absolute peak shopping hour, right after the initial class points have been distributed…
If she were to be caught right now, it would be a complete social death.” Her smile deepened, predatory and sweet.
“Tell me, student.
Do you share my assessment?” [Inorin’s Note: Hey guys, hope you’re enjoying the novel!
Hate waiting for updates and cliffhangers?