***
◤━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◥
[Matsuoka Rei POV]
I was sitting in the dark room since the other girl here with me refused to turn it on. Making myself comfortable on her couch, she eventually walked over to me.
I looked up at her.
"I did what you wanted me to, Akachi Hime. Are you going to explain your intentions to me now?"
"Aw, come on, Rei, don't you want some tea?"
I sighed.
"I only did what you asked because I thought that it was interesting. Don't get the wrong idea, thinking that we're friends."
Akachi laughed.
"Alright, alright. I wouldn't want someone from the Ideal Human Project to turn on me~."
I still didn't understand how she knew that. From all my memories of that time, there was no sign of anyone like her being part of the project. Despite knowing a lot about my past, she had no recollection of Tachibana-sensei, which was the part that confused me the most.
"Who really are you?"
"Aha, you don't have to be so blunt."
"You know, you really know too much about me. If you don't explain yourself, I will get rid of you."
She laughed again.
"I was part of the Ideal Human Project too."
"That's a lie. I don't remember you at all."
"Is your memory that good?"
I got up. Despite the fact that I was getting into her personal space, she didn't move back at all. Instead, she was just listlessly smiling at me.
She poked my nose before speaking.
___
"The Ideal Human Project was based off Subject Zero, also known as me."
___
"I don't know what you mean."
"It's not that hard to understand, you know?"
"Explain it further."
"I can't just tell you everything like that. Don't worry, though. I've got another job for you."
I looked down at her.
"I'm not here to run your errands."
"It'll help you get what you want, too~. I know that you Outcomes value your Mission above anything else. So I'm sure that you'll happily agree."
"What is it."
"I assume you know who Akihiko Harumi is, right?"
...
...
***
? ───────────────── ?
... [Return to Mizuhara Ayato POV]
I was reading alone in my dorm room when I noticed the subtle glint of what appeared to be a camera. It seemed to have been planted on my cupboard, which was a weird position for it since it was facing toward the door, instead of anything that Kimura or I might have been doing
Making my way over, I pulled it off the wood that it was stuck to.
It was very small, almost unnoticeable, had the sun not found its way to that exact spot. There weren't any buttons on it, which meant that it was controlled remotely.
What a pain.
This didn't seem like the type of thing that Tachibana would try, which meant that there was someone else who had something against either Kimura or me. I'd have to figure that out eventually.
I called Akihiko to my room.
...
A few minutes later, the door slid open.
"What's the matter, Mizuhara?"
I showed her the camera.
"I found this in my room."
She seemed surprised. Holding it in her hand, she looked at it closely.
"I did see these being sold at the store."
"You didn't plant this, did you?"
She looked at me.
"No, of course not!"
It didn't seem that she was lying.
"Do you have any idea where it could have come from?"
She was examining the camera. I wasn't sure how much technology knowledge she had, but it was possible that it was a first-year who planted this, especially after the situation with Matsuoka Rei.
"I'm not sure exactly who might have done this. They must have had access to your room. Who's your roommate?"
"It's Kimura Haruto."
"I see. I'm not sure if there's anyone from the first-years who might be close to him."
"It's fine then. Just keep an eye on Matsuoka. Tell me if she does anything unexpected."
"Alright."
With that, Akihiko left. It seemed that she was in a rush for some reason as well.
She had given the camera back to me, so I decided to just leave it inside one of the drawers. If Kimura really was related to this, then he'd likely try to retrieve the camera or do something else with it.
As I opened Presetqa, I noticed something interesting. It looked like we couldn't observe the attributes of students from other year levels. It seemed like a redundant additions since you could just ask someone from their year level to check for you.
I guess the school must have some other reason for setting that up. The school never made decisions for no reason, especially since Tachibana Kohei was such a meticulous person.
I could've asked Akihiko to check the stats I needed for me, but there was something else I wanted to do. Putting on my shoes, I made my way out of my room.
I was meeting with Hamasaki to discuss what we were going to do about Furukawa. It was clear that he had gained a lot of credibility after the special exam, which meant that it would be much easier for him to gain control of the class.
Hamasaki had booked a room in the karaoke centre, which was the best place to talk without the risk of being seen. I didn't exactly see the need for so much privacy, but it didn't matter that much where we talked.
Eventually, I entered the room to see that she was already seated.
...
She looked over at me.
"You're finally here."
"I'm on time, am I not?"
"Just barely."
I took a seat opposite her.
She took out her phone and showed me something.
"I talked with some of the others in our class, and it seems that a lot of them are unhappy with the way Kaoru acted during the special exam."
"I suppose that's understandable."
"We need to find a way to build her reputation back up."
I decided to let Hamasaki speak; to see what her ideas were in regard to this.
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on f(r)e𝒆webn(o)vel.com