I had to admit... that girl, Amasawa Ichika, really is capable... even I, as a fellow White Room student, couldn’t help but think so.

After all... not only did she manage to extract information about an exam that’s still a month away from the Acting Director, she even introduced someone who could potentially become one of my pawns...

'She claims to have completely brought Nanase under her control, but... is that really true?'

Even I... haven’t been able to fully bring Kushida Kikyo under control, despite her being in the same class and someone who could potentially become a cancer to it depending on the situation...

Kushida is still highly capable, and since Horikita intends to make use of her, I had no plans to expel her...

...That was, until I met Amasawa.

That day... I obtained information in a way that was almost like coercion from one of the people tailing my date with Amasawa, a girl from her class named Kurihara Kasuga.

According to her, Amasawa excels academically and athletically... and on top of that, she’s kind to everyone, possessing such high communication skills that she has friends not only in her own class but in other classes as well.

Hearing that, I thought...

'In that case... there’s no need to forcibly keep Kushida in this school, is there?'

...That was my conclusion.

In terms of academics and physical ability, Amasawa far surpasses her... and although both have hidden sides, Amasawa is obedient to me and actively supports me—informing me about the hidden exam and introducing individuals who could become useful pawns... she’s someone who devotes herself to me in many ways...

On the other hand, Kushida... even if we’re currently in a truce, is nothing more than a troublesome individual who will try to expel me or Horikita the moment she finds an opening.

On top of that... a new first-year named Yagami Takuya, who claims to be from the same middle school as Kushida, has enrolled, and his name was among the participants of the hidden exam that Amasawa mentioned...

In other words, if Yagami is approaching Kushida and getting her to assist in expelling me... then I’ll need to deal with this quickly before it becomes a bigger problem...

At this point, it should be obvious which I would choose between Amasawa Ichika and Kushida Kikyo. For the sake of the class is one thing, but for my personal benefit... choosing Amasawa is overwhelmingly the better option.

Furthermore, the fact that we are in different year levels and that very few people know about the setting of us being from the same middle school works in my favor... depending on the situation, having her act for the sake of Class 2-D wouldn’t be a bad move either.

To think that even I would have a junior as a pawn... my classmates probably never imagined that.

'With Kushida’s evaluation within the class slightly declining after the class vote incident... should I just expel her during the next special exam, the so-called uninhabited island survival exam?'

That said, Kushida can wait. Today, there’s someone I need to meet and talk to.

That person is...

"Excuse me. Ayanokōji-senpai..."

"Thanks for coming... Nanase."

Nanase Tsubasa from Class 1-D... according to Amasawa, she’s the girlfriend of the son of Matsuo, the man who helped me escape.

Because of that, Matsuo and his family were eliminated by that man... and as a result, I apparently became the target of Nanase’s revenge, but even hearing that, I felt nothing...

To begin with, Matsuo acted knowing full well what the consequences would be when he helped me escape. He likely doesn’t resent me...

And yet, even if Nanase directs her hatred toward me... from my perspective, it’s nothing more than misplaced resentment. Even if she’s the girlfriend of Matsuo’s son, she’s still just an ordinary outsider with no real connection to me.

Well... for now, I need to ensure that Nanase becomes dependent on me as my pawn... I should choose my words carefully...

"Nanase... I’m sorry. It’s as if Eiichirō died because of me. I won’t ask for your forgiveness... but at least let me apologize..."

"Ayanokōji-senpai..."

Amasawa advised me to begin with an apology first.

I don’t feel any guilt, but... as a method of gaining control over others, it has some merit, so I’ll follow her advice here.

"Ayanokōji-senpai... I came today to tell you that I will support you. After my conversation with Ichika-san yesterday, I realized that directing my hatred toward you was extremely foolish..."

It seems Amasawa handled things well behind the scenes.

"I see... I haven’t fully trusted you yet, but... I’ll be counting on you."

"Yes... I promise."

Unexpectedly, the negotiation went smoothly in the direction I wanted, but... something feels off.

I can’t shake this feeling... it’s not the same as when Amasawa first pledged her cooperation to me...

'Amasawa and Nanase are both supposed to be people who pledged to cooperate with me... so why does it feel different between them?'

Good grief... for someone called the White Room’s greatest masterpiece... I never thought I’d be troubled by something this trivial.