Chapter 69: Side Story - Asymmetry

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Side Story - Asymmetry

Kinko’s monologue, POV

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?By the following morning, the rumor that Nanami-san had instigated had reached Faction C. My workload for the investigation was reduced, leaving me in the clear for now.

?I had to cover for my schedule and meetings for the student council board while simultaneously helping Nanami with her little investigation, which was starting to take a toll on me.

?She didn’t have to wait long. While all this was running, Faction A seemed to have remained off the radar—I wish I could say that, but obviously, Faction A wasn’t going to sit around doing nothing.

?At 8:17 AM, three Faction C students left the classroom together.

?They didn’t go toward the cafeteria, but rather the athletic facilities.

?I noticed, then followed at a distance.

?The three entered the equipment building. I stopped outside; I didn’t bother going in.

?Five minutes later, they came out.

?One was carrying a small case, another had his phone in his hand, while the third looked annoyed.

?This was Nanami’s deduction on how it went based on our conversation afterward.

?They walked quickly. I was too lazy to even attempt following them, so I just walked away cleanly. Not my problem.

?I returned to class, where Nanami was apparently already waiting. Her eyes were glued to the textbook she was reading, but I could tell she had already spotted me.

?No use running now.

?I walked slowly, sitting down beside her. I totally would have just gone to the dorms if I had known she was going to be in class.

?"They moved," I muttered.

?"Where?" she asked, already expecting a report from me.

?"Equipment building."

?For a moment, Nanami’s eyes shifted from her book, which I immediately followed, noticing a female student walking past. I didn’t recognize her from our group. There were over 500+ students in a class, so it might as well be Faction A. Well, it’s just a guess.

?They had been neutral for a while now, not making any moves. Not to mention I had memorized most of the students in Faction C; it would be best to reduce the flow.

?"How many?" she asked. One of her hands shifted to the table, tapping one of her fingers against the wood twice.

?A spy?

?"Three." I understood immediately, breaking the info into pieces. It was best to keep it short.

?"Did they get anything?"

?"One case."

?She nodded. "That’s useful."

?I frowned. "Maybe."

?She looked at me. "You don’t think so?"

?"They could’ve gone there for anything," I explained. Actually, what if they were just distractions? How sure was I that Faction C’s leader hadn’t noticed all her big moves and countered with something we were missing?

?"Exactly." She picked up her phone.

?"So we don’t assume." She opened the class schedule, coded to us on the school app ’Karafuguru High’.

?"We watch what happens next."

?By lunch, the rumor had produced another reaction. A member of Faction C approached one of the school-approved equipment suppliers through the campus network.

?Then another, then a third.

?The requests weren’t identical; one was for protective equipment, another was for training materials, while the third was for replacement parts.

?I learned this indirectly. A neutral student complained about the supply system while eating.

?"They’re already saying some stuff is going out of stock."

?Kinko looked up. "What stuff?"

?"Training equipment."

?"Oh." I returned to my food; I didn’t ask anything else—or so I explained to Nanami.

?That evening, I sat with Nanami, Ichika, and Reina at a cafe. Though outside school grounds, we were still monitored by the school, though it minimized surveillance from other students down to none if we ourselves were observant of our surroundings.

?We didn’t order much, just tea and coffee. From Nanami’s expression during my order, she had just learned something new today: that it turned out I was the black coffee type.

?Which feels too mature for his appearance or past attitudes. I could tell that’s what she was thinking right now.

?"So they’re rushing?" Nanami asked.

?Reina nodded. "Some of them. From our observations and info gathered, that’s the only conclusion."

?"Not all?" Nanami asked further.

?"No."

?All of us had already thought about it, and that distinction mattered. Faction C wasn’t operating as a single unit; some members were responding to the rumor, while others weren’t.

?Which meant there were probably different levels of information inside the faction itself.

?Hee finger tapped against the table. Seeing this, it either meant we were watched or she had gotten a clear grasp of what was going on.

?"The ones who reacted immediately..." she muttered.

?"Know about the equipment," I finished her statement; I might as well have been reading her mind.

?"Yes." Her eyes flickered to me for a split second, then back to the rest.

?"And the others?" I asked.

?"Either they don’t know, or they don’t believe the rumor," Ichika finally inserted herself into the conversation.

?I leaned back. "So we found the informed group."

?"Part of it."

?She looked at me. "Tomorrow, don’t watch the people who reacted."

?I blinked. "Why?"

?"Because they’ll be careful now."

?I paused. "Watch the people they report to."

?I sighed dramatically. "You’re making my life difficult."

?This meant more work for me. I should just go hang myself or something.

?"You’re doing fine," Nanami smiled.

?"That’s not what I meant," I protested, paused, then took a sip from my coffee, refraining from extending the conversation.

?Reina laughed, and Ichika chuckled in response.

?For the first time that evening, Nanami did too. She had been too serious after the test announcement, not to mention her side strategy to get close to someone from Class 2-B.

?I had been studying her closely too; I wondered what she hoped to gain from that?

?Plus, there was something she hadn’t told us.

?The rumor hadn’t only revealed Faction C’s supply movements. It had revealed something more important: they weren’t simply preparing equipment, meaning they were afraid of losing access to it.

?That meant the equipment wasn’t optional; it was part of their plan.

?And whatever they believed the Tri-Factor Asymmetric Liquidation Test would be, they considered physical preparation essential.

?But something was off with it all.

?As Nanami, Ichika, and Reina laughed and had normal conversations among themselves, I sat there completely focused on my coffee.

?It wasn’t even necessary to assume that Faction C’s strategy for the test was foolproof; we could focus on other alternatives while still learning about Faction C and A’s plans so we could have broader options for ourselves.

?Faction C was obviously leading us on. I immediately recalled the Hinoko incident Ichika had instigated to extract information.

?The Lex Veritas Protocol—I doubted Faction C would be so careless as to lose a member like that before the test even began.

?Unless...

?The following morning, Nanami arrived at school early. Faction C was already active.

?Students moved through the corridors with unusual urgency; one student spoke quietly into his phone.

?Another checked the school supply network. Some stood near the lockers, waiting.

?She walked past them without looking.

?Her ID card unlocked her locker with a soft electronic click. She placed her books inside.

?The cameras above the corridor remained invisible; students walked beneath them without a second thought, knowing full well they were monitored.

?She closed her locker. I approached from behind.

?"Morning."

?"Morning," Nanami replied.

?I glanced toward Faction C. "Still moving."

?"I know."

?"Should I keep watching?" I asked. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying.

?"Yes. But don’t get too close," Nanami said, her eyes shifting to me for a second before returning forward.

?"I wasn’t planning to, though." I started walking away, then stopped without bothering to turn back.

?"Nanami." I called out.

?"Yes?"

?"What if they realize what we’re doing?"

?She looked at the students across the corridor. "They won’t."

?"You’re that confident?" I asked. My questioning was starting to feel as though I knew something was up—or was I worried?

?Apparently, yes; both were correct.

?"No." She turned toward me, my figure lingering in her gaze. "I’m careful."

?There was a difference.

?Confidence assumed things would go according to plan; carefulness assumed they wouldn’t.

?And she preferred the latter.

?Because Faction C wasn’t the only faction preparing for the test.

?Faction A was still untouched, and their secrets remained hidden.

?And whatever was happening inside Faction C was only the beginning.

?She walked toward the classroom. Behind her, I quietly returned to my seat.

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"Cautioned against biting at the ’bait of pleasure’ without knowing the hook beneath it."

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