Chapter 72: Side Story - Contingencies (2)

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Side Story - Contingencies (2)

Kinko’s monologue, POV

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?To Masayuki, he simply received information that sounded interesting.

?A possible weakness or historical connection between old and current examination systems.

?So he began investigating. I just followed him or watched him closely. The result I was waiting for was for the information to reach Nanami, which I was certain he was going to hand over to her.

?Then he did something predictable.

?He didn’t investigate alone, but used other students. One student was asked to examine old school records, another was told to casually bring up previous examination systems during conversations, and another was asked to find out whether old regulations were still archived.

?Masayuki never directly approached Nanami because he didn’t need to.

?The student from Nanami’s strategic meeting who brought up the old regulations and connection was but one of Masayuki’s proxies.

?The others that came after the conversation was already going were also working for Masayuki as well. It was obvious, too, since I knew what was going on. Also, it was strange that they happened to be overhearing what both Nanami and I were discussing, since every student in class was occupied with other tasks.

?Leaving your task to overhear another task usually results in one thing, but the fact that the student representing her finding was in turn proven to be doing her own separate investigation to have found this info...

?From Nanami’s approach, I was certain she noticed all this misconception, but was there anything she could do? No. In fact, it benefited her.

?For now, all that could be said was that his proxies eventually created enough noise for the information to reach her.

?And it did.

?Through someone who had overheard someone else discussing the archives.

?Then through another student.

?Then through one of Nanami’s own faction members.

?By the time the information reached her, it no longer belonged to Masayuki.

?It looked like a discovery. Nanami believed she had decided to investigate it herself.

?Still, there was one problem: Nanami knew her brother’s behavior and traits. From the earlier misconception I had pointed out, she was still on his trail.

?She knew how he operated. When she saw the old bylaws, something about it felt familiar from their childhood, she had explained to me—not the information, but the method.

?It was too convenient and too indirect, as she explained to me.

?She stared at the archive document. We both were alone near her dorm outside the school grounds.

?"Masayuki..." The name escaped her quietly.

?I, standing several meters away, heard it without reacting at all. I had an earphone in the left side of my ear.

?Nanami looked over her shoulder. "Kinko."

?"Yes?" I answered.

?"Do you think my brother knows we’re doing this?"

?I tilted my head curiously.

?"Maybe. I mean, based on your description of him," I replied. I wasn’t lying, actually. On my part, he might not know that he was steered or even have any clue he was being used.

?"You don’t sound surprised," she noted.

?"I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew," I added. I mean, what am I supposed to say? You literally just gave me a breakdown of why he might be the one responsible.

?Nanami studied me, her eyes scanning my micro-expressions for a reaction.

?"And if he doesn’t?" she asked carefully.

?"Then someone else probably wants him to know."

?She stared at me for a moment. That answer was irritatingly reasonable.

?Nanami looked back at the screen. "I think he’s connected."

?"Probably."

?"You’re agreeing too easily. It’s not funny," she added. She didn’t actually suspect me, but she was annoyed by the flow of the conversation we were having.

?She smiled. "I don’t have enough information to disagree."

?Nanami sighed. She knew something was wrong, but she just didn’t know what.

?Meanwhile, simultaneously as I was having this conversation with Nanami, across the school—judging from the layout of the school I remembered and the movement patterns and sounds of the students I had mapped out—Masayuki sat in an empty study room. A student stood opposite him.

?"The information reached her."

?Masayuki looked up. "How did she react?"

?"She started searching the archives. Didn’t suspect a thing."

?Masayuki smiled. "As expected. She suspects me, but she doesn’t want to play."

?He leaned back. The sound of the chair was sharp.

?Nanami had always been predictable in one specific way: if she discovered a possible advantage, she couldn’t ignore it.

?She would investigate, test it, and eventually, she’d build a strategy around it.

?Masayuki believed he had guided her there. He didn’t know about the chain of conversations that had started elsewhere. I should be laughing right now, but it wasn’t even funny.

?She closed the archive document.

?"I don’t trust this," she muttered.

?I looked at her.

?"Then why continue?" I asked.

?Nanami looked at the log reports of the students digging through old regulations.

?"Because distrust doesn’t make information useless." She paused. "If Masayuki wants me looking here, there’s a reason."

?"And if there isn’t?" I asked.

?"Then we’ve wasted a few hours." She picked up her tablet. "We can afford that."

?I smiled faintly.

?Nanami walked away, heading inside her dorm.

?The archive group continued searching, the market group continued analyzing trades.

?And the alliance group continued debating hostile cooperation.

?The risk group, on the other hand, continued comparing possible outcomes. Everyone believed they were preparing for the same test.

?But they weren’t. Some were preparing for the examination, some were preparing for the factions, and some, without realizing it, were preparing for a game that didn’t even exist.

?For now.

?Nanami stopped at the doorway and looked back at the room.

?Her faction had finally stopped waiting. She didn’t know whether the archive contained a loophole, whether Masayuki was behind it, or whether I was involved.

?But she knew one thing: the test was six days away. And every faction was already revealing itself.

?Even so, Faction B should prepare themselves for a devastating defeat to Faction C. For the most part, they are secretly ahead of us. I noted while walking away from Nanami’s dorm.

?Their leader Ginton’s strategy from the start had already taken effect on us at this point.

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"There is no route out of the maze. The maze shifts as you move through it, because it is alive."

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