"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

He turned and, with composed steps, disappeared into the deepening twilight.

Sakayanagi Arisu returned to her room, closed the door, leaned against the cold door panel, and slowly exhaled.

Her short, silver hair was slightly disheveled and stuck to her forehead.

She took out her phone and looked at the number that Sakamoto had just added on the screen.

Everything that happened today was so information-dense that it requires careful digestion.

Kamuro Masumi's betrayal, Ryuen Sho's deception, Sakamoto's unfathomable insight and reactions...

Especially that unfamiliar name—Hiyori Shiina.

She took out her phone and opened her chat with Sakamoto.

My fingertip hovered over the screen for a moment before finally typing a line of text.

Some things are better discussed online.

[Sakamoto-kun, would you be free to talk about what happened today?]

First Year Enrollment: Chapter 045: Sakamoto Chatting

The room was dimly lit.

Sakayanagi Arisu leaned against the cold door and slowly slid down onto the soft carpet.

Her short, silver hair was a little messy. She buried her face in her knees, her cane casually leaning against the wall.

In the silence, only her slightly rapid breathing could be heard.

Everything that happened today is replaying in my mind like a revolving lantern.

Kamuro Masumi's sudden betrayal, her own disheveled pursuit and near fall, Sakamoto's unfathomable moves and calm demeanor...

And then there was Long Yuanxiang's face, a mixture of mockery and calculation.

Longyuan...

Sakayanagi Arisu slowly raised her head.

She had underestimated this nouveau riche from Class C.

I initially thought he was just a brute with a bit of cleverness, easily manipulated by a little information.

Unexpectedly, his ambition and methods far exceeded expectations.

He not only quickly integrated Class C, but also dared to use a mix of true and false information to manipulate her.

He was trying to instigate infighting within Class A so that he could profit from it.

He is an extremely dangerous piece, and may even turn against the player.

He had initially made a deal with him, trying to use him to test Sakamoto, which was a risky move from the start.

In retrospect, this move was somewhat hasty.

This is a serious departure from her original intention of simply integrating Class A.

Integrating Class A...

Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze dimmed slightly.

At the beginning of the school year, seeing Sakamoto's flawless demeanor, as if he were born to stand at the top,

She was definitely a bit "intoxicated".

That sense of urgency to prove oneself and to quickly take control of the situation,

This led her to choose to cooperate with a powerful enemy, and she even turned her anger towards her classmate Sakamoto.

Now that I've calmed down and thought about it,

Perhaps... it really is too radical?

Although Sakamoto has become the center of Class A without his knowledge, he has never shown any intention to compete for "leadership" and has even made it clear that he has no intention of doing so.

However, the pressure brought by his existence and that inexplicable competitive spirit made her regard him as her biggest obstacle and rival.

Today, Sakamoto's candor in helping her when she was in trouble, and his complete lack of defensiveness when exchanging contact information afterwards, are truly touching.

This, on the contrary, made her long-standing targeting seem...

It's somewhat narrow-minded and ridiculous.

Longyuan's deception and exploitation were like a bucket of cold water, waking her up.

She needs to be reassessed.

Assessing the risk factor of Longyuan.

Assessing the relationship with Sakamoto,

Assess... what you truly want.

Interests need to be rebalanced.

At least, the 100 million personal points obtained from Longyuan are a real gain, so it's not too bad.

The cooperation with Longyuan must be terminated.

Or... not an end, but a different approach.

Since Longyuan dared to use her, they should be prepared to suffer the consequences.

Perhaps, we could use his intention to target Sakamoto to our advantage and lead him toward other goals.

Or crush him completely.

Just as Sakayanagi Arisu was rapidly calculating how to deal with Ryuen, this "useless pawn," the screen of her phone lit up.

Sakamoto's reply.

It's very simple, maintaining the same minimalist style as always:

[Sure. What would you like to talk about, Sakayanagi-san?]

There were no questions, no mockery.

Sakayanagi Arisu stared at the words, her fingertips pausing slightly.

Sakamoto's attitude only made her more certain that her previous judgment might have been flawed.

Without further hesitation, she decided to be honest about some of the facts.

Now that Kamuro has already exposed it, there's no point in hiding it.

Instead of trying to show some "sincerity," we might be able to achieve a different outcome.

Her slender fingers tapped rapidly on the screen:

[What Kamuro-kun said today is true. I did indeed make a deal with Ryuen Sho from Class C, in exchange for some information, allowing him to gather information about you. I apologize for this.]

She paused, then continued typing, completely selling off Longyuan:

[The information Ryuen provided me claims that you are training subordinates in other classes and Class A, specifically naming Kamuro Masumi as someone you control.]

The message was sent. Sakayanagi Arisu awaited the other party's response.

A while later, the phone vibrated again.

I have no such intention.

Sakamoto's response remained brief and calm, without even commenting on Ryuen's accusations.

He simply denied the claim of "training subordinates".

well.

The expected answer.

Sakayanagi Arisu thought to herself. If Sakamoto were truly cultivating power, he wouldn't have admitted it so directly.

So, what should we ask next?

Should I just ask "Shiina Hiyori" in that contact list?

When asked what her relationship with Sakamoto was, she replied...

Why is she the first one in my contact list?

This seems too offensive and private, and could very well anger Sakamoto, causing the atmosphere to harden again just as it had begun to ease.

Just as Sakayanagi Arisu was carefully considering her words, pondering how to subtly gather more information,

Sakamoto's next message arrived first.

The content of this message caused Sakayanagi Arisu Murasaki's eyes to suddenly narrow.

Is Sakayanagi-san's unusual attention to my interpersonal relationships related to my leadership position in Class A?

He directly pointed out Sakayanagi's thoughts.

This revealed the core purpose she had been hiding behind her actions.

All her probing, scheming, and even today's "apology" and "intelligence sharing" can be attributed to the motive of "competing for leadership of Class A".

But the next second, an impulse to give up made her respond.

Since it's already been pointed out, let's lay it all out and make things clear.

She replied quickly:

Yes. Although Sakamoto-san has no intention of leading, your very existence has profoundly impacted Class A. I hope you can clearly state your thoughts on the future of Class A.

She stared intently at the screen, waiting for Sakamoto's answer.

This answer will determine her future strategic direction.

The phone lit up again very quickly.

Sakamoto's reply, however, was completely beyond Arisu Sakayanagi's expectations.

Advanced training isn't limited to Class A.

It's not just Class A?

What does it mean?

Could it be that his gaze... has already been cast over the entire grade? Or even... the entire school?

The next message followed immediately:

The real rivals may not be each other.

Not each other?

Not between her and him?

Who could that be?

Other classes?

The school itself?

Or... something much larger, hidden beneath the rule of "might makes right"?

Sakamoto did not send any further messages.

The conversation seemed to come to an abrupt end there.

Sakayanagi Arisu sat alone on the carpet in her room, the light from her phone screen illuminating her somewhat shocked face.

She looked at Sakamoto's last two messages over and over again.

She has always regarded Sakamoto as her biggest rival, racking her brains to fight for dominance within Class A, and even colluding with people from Class C.

But Sakamoto told her that the stage wasn't just for Class A, and that their rivals weren't each other.

All her previous scheming, all her entanglements, all her targeting... suddenly seemed so insignificant and laughable at this moment.

She needs time.

We need to rethink and reassess all of this.