Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

In the afternoon, the fiery red sunset appeared, signaling the end of the day's classes.

Shido Kuroba finally slowly raised his head from his desk.

He first glanced blankly at the blackboard, then at the slanting sunlight outside the window, and finally looked down at his phone to find that there wasn't much time left before school ended.

I slept for most of the day.

I've finally recovered.

Shido Kuroba sat up straight and stretched comfortably, his bones making a slight cracking sound. He looked like a salted fish that had been pulled out of the hellish world of Miyazaki Seiji's midday test prints and dried out.

"He's alive..."

Hearing the sound, Yamamoto, who was standing nearby, immediately leaned over to look.

"Shido, you're finally awake?"

Ito Fusei also looked up from behind the book and calmly added, "I thought you would sleep until tomorrow."

Kuroba Shido rubbed his eyes, his voice still a little hoarse from just waking up: "What do you know? The Tokyo pretty boy went through unspeakable club interrogation in the morning and then underwent deep sleep to repair himself in the afternoon. That's called the body's self-rescue mechanism."

Yamamoto looked at him: "Weren't you doing your exam?"

Kuroba Shido's expression stiffened, then he said in a heavy tone, "You don't understand. Some papers, as you write them, make you less than clean."

Mr. Yamamoto: "..."

Ito Fusei nodded: "That statement sounds like it could easily be misunderstood on the forum."

Kuroba Shido ignored them and reached for his backpack.

At this time, it's time to feed Dahei as usual.

As an excellent rodent companion with a family, a wife, children, and experience living in the sewers, Dahei may seem to eat and sleep well, but Heiyu Shido always pays great attention to its family's food supply.

He reached into his backpack and felt around.

I didn't touch it.

He reached to the side again.

still none.

Kuroba Shido stopped moving, and a question mark slowly appeared above his head.

He unzipped his backpack completely and looked down inside.

book.

Pen.

Half a pack of tissues.

I don't know when it was put in the convenience store plastic bag yesterday.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

He said he felt something was missing today, and then he realized it was Big Black...

The problem is not big.

Big Black has been eating well lately and has become quite plump. Last night he even ate roasted corn and cordyceps. He should be fine even if he goes hungry for a day.

Moreover, it was no ordinary mouse.

It is a mature rodent that lived in the sewers with Kuroba Shido, weathered many storms, and possesses a strong sense of family responsibility.

If something really happens, Big Black should be able to find something to eat on its own.

Shido Kuroba breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems like a sure thing.

In reality, they had no other options.

I can't possibly stand up from the classroom now, limp back to Kaoru Amamiya's house, and just deliver an afternoon snack to the Daikoku family, can I?

If Miyazaki Kiyoshi finds out, there might be an extra question on tomorrow's exam: Please explain why you prioritize feeding your rodent companions over club activities, and analyze whether this constitutes an avoidance behavior.

No.

Absolutely not.

Kuroba Shido zipped his bag up again with a clear conscience, silently saying to Daikoku, "Brother, the organization is in trouble today, so your families must stand strong."

The last class of the afternoon finally ended.

The sound of students packing up their belongings filled the classroom as they began to leave in twos and threes, and the air quickly filled with the restless atmosphere typical of the end of the school term.

Yamamoto, carrying his schoolbag, approached with a mysterious look: "Shido, do you have any plans for the weekend?"

Kuroba Shido watched him warily.

"Tell me what you want first."

Yamamoto rubbed his hands together: "Everyone's been under a lot of pressure lately, especially you. After being made to do test papers by Minister Miyazaki, you've practically turned into an answer sheet. So Ito and I discussed it and decided to go relax this weekend."

Ito Fusei stood to the side and calmly corrected, "I didn't discuss this with you; you came to inform me unilaterally."

Yamamoto ignored him and continued enthusiastically: "Playing marbles, browsing the granite shop, and buying some cheap snacks—a perfect day!"

Kuroba Shido's eyes lit up; quite unusually, this time he chose to support the evil rice ball head's claim...

Playing marbles.

Gala Wood Shop.

Cheap snacks.

That sounds depraved.

But impoverished teenagers sometimes need cheap entertainment to heal their souls that have been battered by fate.

Especially since he had just been brutally tortured with exam papers by the minister all afternoon, he desperately needed some entertainment that didn't involve psychological questions, boundary awareness, the opinions of a widow, or "please explain how you met Shimotsuki Takagi."

Kuroba Shido stroked his chin: "What's the budget?"

Yamamoto is stuck.

Ito Fusei looked at him: "Your first thought is definitely money."

Kuroba Shido said very seriously, "A weekend plan that doesn't discuss the budget is a scam."

Yamamoto thought for a moment and said, "Not much. We can play less marbles, mainly browse the granola shop, and find a cheap set meal restaurant for meals."

Kuroba Shido pondered for a moment.

That sounds alright.

If you're lucky, you might be able to recoup some losses from the pinball game, although theoretically every gambler thinks that way, and then they end up with nothing.

But Shido Kuroba is not a gambler.

Of course, this refers to normal circumstances. In a scenario like the one in the alley where things went terribly wrong, Kuroba Shido would enter a mode called "Crazy Gambler"... I bet your gun is out of bullets!

The facts have proven one thing: gambling addicts are indeed not good people. Although he survived, as a price, he was often haunted by some vicious woman who was constantly trying to kill him...

"I can consider it." Kuroba Shido nodded.

Yamamoto's eyes lit up: "Then it's settled?"

Kuroba Shido raised his hand: "No rush, I need to see if I've been persecuted by fate this weekend."

Ito Fusei nodded: "Given your recent condition, that's highly likely."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

"Ito the cipher master, I've noticed you've been saying increasingly ominous things lately."

Ito Fushin: "It's just an objective judgment."

Yamamoto immediately patted Kuroba Shido on the shoulder: "Don't worry, Shido, the three of us brothers will be invincible this weekend!"

Kuroba Shido was silent for two seconds before speaking slowly, "Rice ball head, do you know what that line you just said would be considered in a horror movie?"

Yamamoto Shinjin was taken aback: "What?"

"Cannon fodder, or the white police officer who opens the door..."

Mr. Yamamoto: "..."

The three parted ways at the top of the stairs.

Yamamoto and Ito walked towards the school gate, while Kuroba Shido, leaning on his cane, walked towards the clubroom with a calm feeling of heading to the execution ground.

The afternoon club activity was still a quiz.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki sat in the clubroom, with new test papers and notebooks already laid out on the table. His expression was so calm that it was as if the inhumane test paper torture he had endured at noon was just a very ordinary warm-up.

As soon as Kuroba Shido entered the room, he saw the stack of papers on the table, and in an instant, Kuroba Shido's eyes became clear.

"Minister, I think club activities could be more diversified, such as outdoor field trips, campus patrols, cafeteria surveys, or research on the limited supply of fried noodle bread."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi looked up at him.

"sit down."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

He sat down.

this is the truth.

A poor boy can be stubborn, but a poor boy with mobility issues can't force his way past Kiyoshi Miyazaki.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi pushed the exam paper in front of him.

"This is a supplementary question."

Kuroba Shido glanced down at the title.

"Questionnaire on Risk Assessment of Daily Behavior of Club Members"

He was silent for a moment, then looked up at Miyazaki Kiyoshi.

"Minister, I feel that I am just an ordinary member and do not need such a high-level evaluation."

Kiyoshi Miyazaki: "You're not an ordinary member."

Kuroba Shido's heart skipped a beat.

That sounds a bit dangerous.

Before he could even begin to elaborate, Miyazaki Kiyoshi calmly added to the discussion.

"Ordinary staff members wouldn't be three hours and forty-seven minutes late, and they even tried to solve the problem with fried bread."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

He lowered his head and began to write.

The questions this time were slightly more normal than those at noon.

Just a little bit.

For example, “If you have the urge to run away before a club activity, please write down three alternative behaviors,” or “Please describe why you would prioritize eating, sleeping, playing dead, shifting blame, or threatening classmates when facing pressure,” or “Please explain how you view the risks of bad friends spreading false information on campus forums.”

Kuroba Shido wrote very quickly.

Because if we don't hurry, it will get dark.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki sat opposite him, grading papers.

She changed it very quickly.

As soon as Kuroba Shido finished writing a page, she would take it and glance at it, occasionally marking it with "avoidance," "changing the subject," "glorifying escape," "overly obsessed with food," or "needs further observation."

Kuroba Shido's eyelids twitched as he watched.

"Minister, could you please write something positive?"

Miyazaki Kiyoshi thought for a moment and wrote two words next to one of the questions.

"honest."

Kuroba Shido looked down.

The question asked, "Would you make up an excuse to avoid club activities?"

His answer was, "Yes, but I will try my best to make it reasonable."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

In the evening, the club activities finally came to an end.

The light of the setting sun streamed in through the window, making the clubroom feel warm. When Shido Kuroba put down his pen, his wrist felt like it wasn't even his own anymore.

He capped the pen and let out a long breath.

survived.

This is the second time today.

He began packing his things, preparing to leave this quiz hell immediately.

At this moment, Miyazaki Kiyoshi spoke up.

Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Miyazaki Kiyoshi sat behind the table, holding the test paper he had just finished grading, his eyes still calm as he looked at Kuroba Shido.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Can't we be doing practice tests on the weekend?