Bury me?
Ayanokouji repeated those words in his mind.
"I have a question for you."
He spoke with a blank expression.
"Go ahead, ask anything. Like when I first met you or how I learned about you—I'll answer it all."
Sakayanagi seemed to be enjoying herself, like a cat toying with a mouse.
"No, I'm not interested in that."
Unexpectedly, Ayanokouji shook his head and calmly looked at the girl in front of him.
"What I want to know is… can you bury me?"
The room fell silent.
A second later, Sakayanagi laughed—genuinely, even happily.
"That's wonderful. And no, I'm not mocking you. After all, I know just how strong you are, Ayanokouji-kun. But that's exactly why I want to bring you down even more—as the so-called 'greatest masterpiece' your father created in the White Room."
"Is that so? I look forward to that day."
Ayanokouji's tone remained steady.
"But before that happens, you must be having trouble dealing with a certain someone, aren't you?"
Sakayanagi : "..."
Sakayanagi's smile instantly faded.
"Looks like I hit a sore spot."
"Heh… so Ayanokouji-kun isn't as 'clueless' as I thought."
She narrowed her eyes and reassessed him, as if he wasn't what she had expected.
"You're talking about Hikigaya-kun, aren't you? I'll admit, he's quite capable. But I've met plenty of geniuses like him. If you're saying he's causing me trouble, then I can only say—this is just a game."
"So you're saying… you've never taken him seriously?"
"Seriously?"
Sakayanagi chuckled as if she had just heard a joke.
"There's only one person worth my full attention, Ayanokouji-kun. You understand that, don't you?"
"I see. Then I suppose I should be honored to be that person."
Ayanokouji spoke indifferently.
"But if you ask me, Hikigaya is a bigger threat than you."
Sakayanagi's smile twitched for a brief moment, but she quickly recovered.
Still, her expression grew noticeably colder.
"I thought you would see things the way I do. But it seems our views are quite different. In that case, before anything else, I'll deal with the one getting in my way."
Ayanokouji didn't respond. He simply gave Sakayanagi a long look before turning and walking away.
A while later, at the corner of the hallway, a purple-haired girl appeared.
"Hey, let's go already."
Kamuro frowned as she saw Sakayanagi standing there like a motionless doll.
"Do you have any idea how hungry I am after the sports festival?"
Hearing Kamuro's voice seemed to bring Sakayanagi back to reality.
She then left the special building alongside Kamuro.
"Masumi, aren't you curious about my relationship with that boy from Class D?"
Sakayanagi suddenly asked.
"Tch, here we go again."
Kamuro clicked her tongue.
"You'll tell me when you feel like it. And don't give me that 'I'm waiting for you to ask' look—I know you too well. You're just gonna say, 'It's a secret.' Ugh… you might be cute, but you're such a pain."
"Hehe, looks like you know me pretty well, Masumi."
For some reason, Sakayanagi couldn't help but smile a little.
"I don't want to either, but you've got something on me, and now I'm stuck running around like your servant."
Kamuro was clearly complaining, but there wasn't a hint of real frustration or annoyance in her voice.
"So, who was that guy just now?"
"That's a secret~"
"Ugh…"
Kamuro rolled her eyes. Seeing that, Sakayanagi's smile widened.
"He's my target. But before that, I need to take care of someone else first."
In the end, Sakayanagi gave away a little information.
"Someone else? Are you planning to go after Hikigaya?"
"Oh? You catch on quickly, Masumi."
Sakayanagi glanced at Kamuro, her tone carrying a deeper meaning.
Kamuro didn't seem to notice anything odd in Sakayanagi's words and continued, "Come on, aside from Yukinoshita, Hikigaya's the one who's been getting the most of your attention."
Sakayanagi: "…"
"I have not."
She said it with a completely blank expression.
Kamuro suddenly stopped walking and tilted her head.
"I don't believe you."
After a long pause, Sakayanagi finally spoke again.
"I admit I underestimated Hikigaya-kun at first. But I was never serious about him, just like with Katsuragi. He's not someone worth my full attention."
"Is that so? If you keep looking down on him, Sakayanagi, I think you're going to regret it one day."
Kamuro's voice was firm.
"Regret? That word doesn't exist in my dictionary."
Sakayanagi said calmly.
"I get where you're coming from, Masumi. You've never seen a real genius before, so it's easy to mistake someone just a little impressive for one."
"Maybe."
Kamuro didn't back down in the slightest.
"But there's one thing you're wrong about. I've never thought Hikigaya was a genius. In fact, sometimes he seems a little clumsy. But that's exactly why he's someone worth paying attention to."
Sakayanagi unexpectedly fell silent.
After a long moment, she finally said, "Ordinary people are just ordinary people. The gap between them and geniuses is like an unbridgeable chasm. People always say genius is 99% effort and 1% talent, but they forget the most important part—that 1% is what really matters. Understand? A 1% difference is the difference between heaven and earth."
"So, Masumi, want to make a bet?"
"Sure."
Kamuro agreed without hesitation.
"The loser has to grant the winner one request. How about that?"
Sakayanagi glanced at Kamuro, the corner of her lips curling up.
Kamuro didn't hesitate at all.
Sakayanagi's smile deepened. As if talking to herself, she murmured,
"If you want me to go after Hikigaya-kun, then let's see what about him makes you feel threatened."
The scene from her recent meeting with Ayanokouji in the special teaching building played over in her mind again. She had imagined many possibilities for that conversation—except for hearing Hikigaya's name come out of Ayanokouji's mouth.
The moment Ayanokouji mentioned Hikigaya, Sakayanagi immediately realized something.
He wanted to use her to deal with Hikigaya.
"Heh, I used to think school life was boring, but it's actually getting more and more interesting!"
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