"Senpai, do you know what a white room is?"
"....what?"
It's not like I haven't thought about such possibilities at all.
Ever since I met my original mother in the flesh, at the Keyaki Mall, it got me thinking really hard, that things like reincarnation might not be as simple as I had thought.
I reincarnated into the body of Yamauchi Karuki, while my mother reincarnated with her own body, as in our original world.
And we might not be the only ones who have reincarnated in this fictional world too.
My hypothesis is that the girl in front of me is either a reincarnated person like myself, or someone of this world, most probably a student of white room itself.
Sakayanagi had already said to me that there are at the very least, 4 students from white room mixed in.
Rika Hoshino, the girl in front of me, might be one of them.
Or not, because, why would anyone from white room blatantly say such information to someone she just met.
Also, there is the thing with her approaching me first for the pairing up.
Then again, normal civilian, even the family members of the students of white room are not aware of its existence.
Her eyes were sharp, and serious, like she was trying to convey something very important.
Or maybe she was trying to probe me, if I knew about the white room or not.
I better not trust her at all.
"Senpai?", she called me, as I zoned out thinking about how to react.
It would seem suspicious if I stayed silent for long, so I feigned ignorance to her question.
"...No I was just thinking if there was something like that in the first year syllabus. I am not that bright of a student, so I can't exactly remember what it was.", I replied.
"No no, it's not a syllabus related topic....", her reaction was that of a surprise.
"....Is that so? Then, I really don't have any idea about the white room, as you mentioned. Is there something wrong with it?", I expressed genuine concern, so as to further probe how she might react.
From her way of talking too, she doesn't seem to be from white room.
So, most probably, due to some information leak in one of the student's families, she got to know about it.
This, there are two possibilities remaining.
Either she is a cousin or sibling of one of the students of white room, or she is a reincarnated being like myself.
"Umm....you really don't know?", she asked further, in confusion.
"Why would I lie to you? I really don't know what it is.", I pushed forward with the ignorance.
Rika Hoshino studied me for a moment. Her gaze didn't shift, didn't blink — the kind that tries to read between the heartbeat and the breath. A calculated pause followed, like she was internally measuring whether I was bluffing or genuinely clueless.
"…I see," she said softly, her voice flat but not unfriendly. "Sorry for bringing up something weird, Senpai. Just forget I mentioned it."
Now that was interesting.
She didn't press the topic, didn't scoff, didn't question my ignorance. If she was an ordinary student who happened to overhear something, she'd have pushed for gossip. If she was a civilian relative of a White Room student, she would have flinched at the idea of exposure.
But instead, she acted as if my answer had confirmed something.
She acted normal after that, which left me thinking if there was any meaning behind her question and reaction.
But, I couldn't come to any conclusion at all.
Seems like I need to investigate this girl, Rika Hoshino thoroughly.
"Ah, senpai, is it rude to ask if you a question related to the special exam?", she asked with a bit of hesitation.
"If it's related to the special exam, then ask me anything.", I replied casually, sensing the shift in topic.
"Um... I wanted to ask, how much you are confident to score in this exam?", a polite question.
She is my partner in this special exam, so it's natural enough for her to know how much I am confident of scoring.
Her and mine scores will be added after all.
But there is a chance that she might try to sabotage me, by deliberately scoring low.
"As you must have already seen my OAA stats, I am just a below average guy in academics, so, I can't give you an exact answer. Sorry.", I replied without revealing anything.
"Oh...I don't need an exact answer, you can give me a range if you want. Actually, I am not that confident, if I can score as much as I used to in my middle school.", her reply was perfectly normal, without any hint of any double meaning.
It would be best to share such things, with your exam partner, and prepare accordingly, if you want to tackle this exam normally.
Rika has an academic stat of B- , which is kind of amazing in and of itself, but most first years would feel overwhelmed by the announcement of the ranking system, this school has, so I am not surprised.
Now, it kind of feels like she is just a normal high school girl, anxious of her new environment.
"Well, considering we have to score 50% combined to pass, I am pretty confident that I can score above 50% in my tests.", I gave a vague answer.
Well, considering the marks I got in the recent mock test Horikita conducted, if I study hard enough, I can score way more than that, I think.
"Then, I will also do my best to score at least 60 or 70%.", she replied, her demeanor completely normal.
Though, I need to investigate her first and foremost.
How can I prevent the risk of getting expelled in this exam?
Well, the most basic thing is to study and score more.
But what if Rika tries to expel me deliberately?
For that,.I am thinking of a countermeasure.
If you deliberately score low to expel a second year, you will be expelled too, based on evidence.
But, that factor cancels out if you have a reason to continue studying here.
I have to prepare such a reason for Rika.
"By the way senpai, there was one more thing I wanted to say."
I was kind of thrown off my track, as she stated she has more to talk.
"Hm? What is it?"
"It was supposed to be a secret, but, apparently, we first years have got a separate special exam going on, apart from this one."
"...What?"
"That's right, and our task is to expel two students out of this school, in exchange for 120 million private points."
*******************
Author's Note:
Next - Forceful Involvement
******************