Horikita Suzune's cold eyes were also fixed on Sakamoto.
Kushida Kikyo unconsciously held her breath, her reddish-purple eyes darting back and forth between Sakamoto and Ichinose Honami.
Everyone's gaze was focused on Sakamoto's calm face.
Sakamoto's expression didn't change in the slightest.
He met Ichinose Honami's frank and sharp gaze, his eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses as still as water, without the slightest hesitation or concealment:
"The school rules prohibit part-time work, but the school rules also clearly state one thing: points can buy anything."
Sakamoto's answer was clear, direct, and forthright.
There was no beating around the bush, no prevarication.
He directly brought the unspoken rule of 'buying with points' into the open.
This candid answer made a flicker of surprise cross Ichinose Honami's face.
She clearly hadn't expected Sakamoto to admit it so bluntly, in such an unreserved manner.
Immediately after, a cold yet urgent voice rang out,
"Then, Sakamoto-kun."
Horikita Suzune spoke.
"By doing this, aren't you 'buying' work opportunities with points? This is equivalent to paying to work. What's the meaning of such an action?"
Her words followed almost immediately after Ichinose Honami's question.
Seeing Ichinose ask so directly and receive Sakamoto's frank answer,
Horikita Suzune's suppressed, intense curiosity about 'rules' and Sakamoto himself broke through the cold barrier.
She no longer remained silent, choosing to emulate Ichinose Honami's approach—getting straight to the point.
She was eager to know what hidden purpose lay behind this person, who even her esteemed older brother Horikita Manabu held in high regard, spending points on seemingly 'loss-making' activities.
Sakamoto's gaze turned to Horikita Suzune, calmly meeting her challenging eyes.
His expression remained unchanged:
"The meaning lies in observation."
He paused slightly, his gaze seemingly penetrating the cafe's bustle, looking further afield,
"I merely wish to observe this school."
Observe? Observe what? What is there to observe about this school?
This answer was even more vague and perplexing than the previous 'buying with points'.
Just as everyone was still trying to digest Sakamoto's ambiguous words—
"So, Sakamoto-kun."
A placid voice rang out, like a depth charge dropped into calm water.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka put down his coffee cup, his eyes, as calm as an abyss, looked directly at Sakamoto.
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears:
"Have you already observed the truth of this school?"
These words once again broke the situation.
Ichinose Honami, Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, their gazes instantly focused on Ayanokoji's expressionless face.
What did he say? Truth? What truth?
Ayanokoji seemed to realize what 'startling words' he had uttered, and his voice returned to its usual placid tone, as if his previous statement was just an offhand remark:
"Ah, nothing."
However, this understated 'nothing' acted like a catalyst, instantly dropping the atmosphere around the small round table to freezing point.
Sakamoto's gaze, for the first time in a true sense, fell upon Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face.
His eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses seemed to want to thoroughly see through this 'lone wolf' of Class D.
Ayanokoji calmly met Sakamoto's gaze, his eyes still unfathomably deep.
Their gazes silently intersected and clashed in the air, as if engaging in an invisible confrontation.
The surrounding air seemed to solidify, and even the aroma of coffee seemed to lose its warmth.
Kushida Kikyo was completely bewildered.
She looked at the strange atmosphere before her, at Sakamoto and Ayanokoji's silent standoff, her heart filled with confusion and a sense of powerlessness at being completely excluded.
This was not the 'making friends' she wanted at all!
The silence lasted for several seconds, feeling as long as a century.
Finally, it was Sakamoto who broke the suffocating quiet.
He slowly withdrew his gaze from Ayanokoji's face, picked up his coffee cup again, his posture still elegant and composed.
He tilted his head slightly, glanced at the clock on the cafe wall, his voice clear and calm, with a perfectly timed reminder:
"Fellow students, it's getting late. There are fifteen minutes until afternoon classes begin."
He put down his coffee cup, stood up smoothly, and bowed slightly to the four people at the table:
"If there are no other pressing matters, I shall take my leave. Unfinished words, we shall discuss another time if fate allows."
Having said that, he didn't linger, turned and walked away, his figure quickly disappearing out the cafe door.
Leaving the four people at the small round table, each lost in their own thoughts, in an awkward and complex silence.
Kushida Kikyo looked at the long-cold coffee in front of her, her reddish-purple eyes filled with loss and dejection.
A carefully planned 'making friends' gathering had completely devolved into a 'questioning session' and 'riddler exchange' centered around Sakamoto.
Not only had she failed to get closer to Horikita, but she felt like a complete outsider.
It was awful, absolutely awful!
Ichinose Honami and Horikita Suzune were both deep in thought.
Ichinose developed an even deeper desire to explore the hidden rules of the school.
And Horikita Suzune felt that she was very close to the school's core secrets, yet separated by an impenetrable mist.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently picked up his long-cold black coffee and took a sip with an expressionless face.
The bitter liquid slid down his throat, and his gaze calmly drifted towards the direction where Sakamoto had disappeared.
Sakamoto, this 'legendary First Year' of Class A, seemed even more interesting than he had anticipated.
first year o enrollment: Chapter 041: Sakamoto Being Probed
During lunchtime,
Class 1-A classroom.
Students either discussed their studies in low voices or focused on organizing their notes, the atmosphere concentrated and efficient.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat quietly in a back-row seat, her silver short hair falling over her shoulders, gleaming softly in the sunlight.
The first week of school had passed.
She was already well aware of the situation in Class A.
Integrating this class?
For her, Sakayanagi Arisu, it was not difficult.
With her family background, intellect, and innate ability to control,
She was confident she could forge Class A into the sharpest sword of Koudo Ikusei High School.
The elite qualities of Class A students... these were all usable pawns.
However, that 'legendary First Year'—Sakamoto—who loomed over Class A like a shadow,
Had become the biggest variable in her plan.
He disrupted all the preset rhythms.
He had no intention of leading, yet he unconsciously became the focus of everyone's attention.
He was a lone wolf, yet he carved an indelible mark in everyone's hearts with his bewildering actions and absolute strength.
Her, Sakayanagi Arisu's, actions in the class paled in comparison to Sakamoto.
He didn't need to do anything deliberately; his mere existence was enough to make the entire Class A revolve around him.
This feeling,
Caused Sakayanagi a subtle, inexplicable irritation.
She needed a breakthrough.
She needed to understand Sakamoto's weakness, needed to find a way to pry open his isolated peak.
Thus, she employed that pawn from Class C—Ryuuen Kakeru.
That guy who was loitering outside the Class A classroom at the beginning of the school year.
She had initially thought Ryuuen was just a slightly clever brute who could be easily controlled, and that a bit of information about 'class points' as bait would make him obediently go and test Sakamoto.
However, Ryuuen's performance greatly exceeded her expectations.
This guy, not only was he not controlled by her methods,
But in just one short week, he had integrated the entire Class C with an iron fist.
That chaotic, undisciplined class, under his control, subtly revealed a dangerous cohesion.
What surprised her even more was that Ryuuen seemed... not content with merely being a 'scout'.
He had his own ambitions and calculations, even showing signs of subtly deviating from the plan.
This pawn... was a bit thorny.
However, a pawn is a pawn after all.
As long as he could still bring valuable information.
Her phone in her pocket vibrated slightly.
Sakayanagi Arisu elegantly took out her phone, the screen lit up,
A short message from Ryuuen Kakeru appeared:
[I have information.]
She put away her phone and slowly stood up.
Her silver short hair swayed gently with her movement.
She picked up the exquisite cane leaning against the table, silently walked through the classroom, and headed towards the door.
Her figure disappeared at the classroom door, without attracting much attention.
The elites of Class A were already accustomed to the independent style of this silver-haired young lady.
Sakayanagi Arisu, leaning on her cane, walked calmly down the slightly empty corridor during lunchtime.
As she reached the entrance of that familiar, dimly lit corridor,
A tall figure was already waiting there.
Ryuuen Kakeru.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the cold wall, his gaze penetrating the dimly lit corridor, accurately falling on Sakayanagi Arisu.
A smirk of 'everything is under control' hung on his lips.
Sakayanagi Arisu's steps did not falter; she walked directly to a few steps in front of Ryuuen and stopped, leaning on her cane.
"So, the great leader of Class C, Ryuuen-kun."
Sakayanagi Arisu's voice was soft and pleasant to the ear,
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