After overcoming two brutal special exams and achieving the long-awaited miracle of reaching Class A, several more days of sumr vacation passed.
One day, as sumr break was entering its final stretch, our newly promoted Class A held a "Second Sester Rally" organized by Honami Ichinose.
The location was a slightly upscale Italian restaurant inside Keyaki Mall.
Ichinose had rented out the entire place so everyone in class could attend. Freshly baked pizzas, colorful pasta dishes, giant plates of fries, and bowls of salad covered the tables as students laughed and chatted with drinks in hand.
"Thanks for coming, everyone! Starting from the second sester, let's all work together to protect our position as Class A! Cheers!"
"""Cheers!!"""
Ichinose's bright voice blended with the energetic responses of the class.
So students reminisced about the island and cruise ship exams. Others complained about unfinished sumr howork. So were already excited about the upcoming sports festival and cultural festival.
Everyone was smiling, fully enjoying their school life.
(…Ahh, this is the best. This warm, peaceful atmosphere. I just want to eat good food and laugh together with these lively idiots forever.)
I sat quietly in a corner seat, elegantly eating a plate of pescatore pasta while savoring the happiness deep inside.
Beside sat my one and only best friend, Shiina Hiyori, dressed in a pure white sumr dress as she happily ate tiramisu.
"Sousuke-kun, this tiramisu is really delicious. Fufu… seeing everyone smiling like this makes truly glad I ended up in this class."
"—Indeed. …Even a swarm of insects drawn to the light can resemble an illumination from afar. …This aningless noise is not such a terrible distraction."
(Translation: Yeah, really! Everyone looks happy, and I'm glad I'm in this class too!)
"'Everyone looks happy, and I'm truly glad I ended up in this class as well,' is what he's saying."
As Hiyori delivered her flawless divine translation, Shibata and Kanzaki nearby smiled.
"Glad to see even Aizen's having fun!"
"Yeah. We owe our current position to you."
Delicious food. Amazing friends.
My sumr vacation was approaching a perfect happy ending.
After the rally ended and the classmates gradually dispersed, Hiyori asked:
"Sousuke-kun, would you mind stopping by the bookstore for a little while?"
And so, the two of us headed to the large bookstore inside Keyaki Mall.
The cool, air-conditioned interior was quiet and relaxing. The scent of fresh paper and ink filled the air.
Hiyori stood in front of the mystery novel section, eyes sparkling as she traced the spines of new releases with her fingers.
(C-cute…! Hiyori eating tiramisu was angelic enough, but bookstore Hiyori is an archangel! My best friend is literally perfect from every angle!)
While internally giving her a standing ovation, I stood nearby with my arms crossed in stylish fashion.
That was when—
"—Good evening, Aizen Sousuke-kun. Shiina Hiyori-san. Congratulations on your promotion to Class A."
A voice rang out behind us.
It sounded beautiful like a bell, yet carried a faint coldness beneath it.
Turning around, I saw a small girl holding a cane.
Short silver hair. Snow-white skin. She resembled a perfectly crafted French doll, yet her eyes held imasurable intelligence and arrogant curiosity, like a predator evaluating prey.
Behind her stood another girl with a perpetually bored and irritated expression—Kamuro Masumi.
(…The leader of the other A-Class faction… Sakayanagi Arisu, was it?)
As I silently pondered, Sakayanagi smiled gracefully and lowered her voice slightly.
"Aizen-kun. If you don't mind… could we speak privately for a mont?"
"...?"
Unable to read her intentions, I silently looked down at her.
Beside , Hiyori gently tugged at my sleeve.
"Sousuke-kun…"
She had clearly sensed the dangerous atmosphere surrounding Sakayanagi.
To reassure my best friend, I gave her an extrely gentle yet stylish smile.
"—There's no need to worry. …I'm rely guiding a lost child for a brief mont."
(Translation: Don't worry. I'm just going to hear what she wants, so wait here for , okay?)
"…Okay."
After Hiyori nodded, I left her with Kamuro and followed Sakayanagi to a quiet corner away from the crowd.
"—So? What does one seek from a king after going through the trouble of clearing the room?"
As I arrogantly questioned her, Sakayanagi tapped her cane against the floor and stared directly into my eyes.
Then she uttered a single phrase.
"—The White Room."
The mont I heard those words—
(…The White Room. Ah, that absurd place I got expelled from at age ten because they claid 'real geniuses aren't necessary.' Not like I'm hiding it or anything… but was this girl there too?)
I tilted my head internally.
As far as I knew, the only acquaintance I had from there attending this school was Kiyotaka. I had no mory of a French-doll-looking girl like her.
Seeing that I showed absolutely no reaction, Sakayanagi narrowed her eyes slightly.
"—The cradle of white emptiness, hm? …Such a tedious landscape faded into oblivion long ago. Even your face does not remain in the corners of my mory."
(Translation: The White Room? I got kicked out at ten, so I don't rember you at all.)
"Yes. We never spoke directly. However… I once watched through the glass as you and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka played chess when you were children."
(Ohhh! So you were spying on us.)
While I casually admired that fact internally, Sakayanagi tightened her grip on her cane and looked at with combative eyes.
"If you have ti… would you play a ga of chess with ?"
"…Chess?"
"Yes. Allow to personally asure your ability."
(Refusing here would make look like I'm running away, and turning down a girl's invitation isn't very gentlemanly.)
"—Very well. If you possess the resolve to peer into the abyss, then I shall teach you the taste of despair."
(Translation: Sure! It sounds fun to play chess again after so long!)
And so, the four of us moved to the terrace seating of a nearby café.
A heavy wooden chessboard and pieces were taken out from the bag Kamuro had been carrying and placed on the table.
Sakayanagi played white.
I played black.
With Hiyori and Kamuro silently watching, the battle began.
"Well then, I'll make the first move."
Sakayanagi advanced her pawn.
I activated the abnormal calculation abilities of my Aizen Specs to their fullest.
Inside my mind, dozens of future moves were simulated instantly.
(…Whoa. This girl is insanely strong. Every single move carries clear killing intent and layers of traps designed to corner the opponent.)
Genuinely impressed by Sakayanagi's skill, I calmly moved my black knight with elegant fingertips.
The opening remained even.
As the middle ga began, Sakayanagi's offense beca increasingly fierce, relentlessly cornering my king.
Kamuro muttered:
"As expected of Sakayanagi… that guy's completely on the defensive now."
But—
(…So close. Your strategy is perfect, but my 'vision' already sees your blind spot.)
I intentionally advanced my bishop straight into Sakayanagi's carefully prepared trap.
"…! I'll take that."
Certain of victory, she smiled and captured my bishop.
However, that was rely the beginning of the deeper trap I had prepared.
The diagonal line opened by sacrificing the bishop.
Into that opening, my black queen slid forward.
"—Checkmate."
"—?!"
All composure vanished from Sakayanagi's delicate face.
She stared intensely at the board and realized that no matter where her king fled, it would inevitably be hunted down by my black pieces.
"…To think I overlooked that. That bishop was bait."
After biting her lip in frustration, Sakayanagi slowly tightened her grip on her cane and smiled happily.
"Fufufu… magnificent. As expected of Aizen Sousuke-kun. You truly are a 'real genius.'"
The cold condescension in her eyes had vanished, replaced by the excitent of finding a worthy rival.
"I admit complete defeat. But… that only makes look forward to destroying you even more."
Leaning forward across the table, she boldly declared:
"Starting from the second sester, I will officially take command of Class B. …And I shall drag you down from that throne."
(Whaaat!? Why am I getting targeted by an insanely dangerous girl!? If she gets serious, my stomach's gonna suffer through another round of psychological warfare! Please stop! I just want to read books peacefully with Hiyori!)
Panicking internally and sweating bullets, I attempted to think of a way to escape this situation.
However, what ca out of my mouth instead was an incredibly arrogant and oddly familiar legendary line.
"Don't use such strong words."
"It'll only make you look weak."
(No way, this is literally the second ti I've used this line at this school!! How many tis am I gonna recycle this quote!? Do I seriously love this phrase that much!?)
As I scread internally, Sakayanagi's forehead visibly twitched from the direct provocation.
"'I accept your declaration of war. I look forward to your challenge in the second sester,' is what he says."
Watching nearby, Hiyori imdiately delivered perfect damage control with her translation.
Unfortunately, Sakayanagi's pride had already taken heavy damage.
"…Fufu. I shall return those words to you exactly as they are. Enjoy your false throne while you still can."
She stood up, bowed elegantly with her cane, and turned away.
"Farewell, Aizen-kun. Shiina-san. …Masumi-san, we're leaving."
"Hey, wait up, Sakayanagi!"
Following behind her, Kamuro hurried away.
Sakayanagi Arisu quietly departed from the café terrace, her small back overflowing with hostility and fighting spirit.
After they disappeared from sight, I let out a deep sigh and rattled the ice in my coffee glass.
"Sousuke-kun, good work. …Sakayanagi-san from Class A was incredibly intelligent. She felt bottomless."
Hiyori quietly murmured.
"During the island exam and VIP test, Katsuragi-kun acted as leader, but if she begins moving in the second sester… protecting the Class A position won't be easy. We can't afford to relax."
"—Indeed. …So the sleeping lion has awakened. Yet no matter how sharp its fangs beco, they shall never reach the heavens themselves."
(Translation: Yeah, really. The second sester looks like it'll be tough too, but let's all work together and absolutely keep Class A!)
"Yes! I'll do my best to help you however I can, Sousuke-kun!"
Hiyori's earnest and encouraging smile lted away the anxiety lingering in my heart.
A new powerful enemy.
Arisu Sakayanagi's declaration of war.
The second sester would surely beco even harsher and more unpredictable than before.
But I had my irreplaceable best friend who perfectly understood the curse of my stylish poetry, along with the greatest classmates imaginable.
"—Even if storms arrive, the path I walk shall never change. …Together with you, I will witness the end of truth itself."
Beneath the evening sky, I quietly and arrogantly smiled, carrying within my heart a vow toward the silver-haired girl standing beside .
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