"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

However, just as she was about to walk towards Sakamoto—

A figure was faster than her.

Suddenly, Masumi Kamuro stood up from her seat, knocking over her chair with a loud thud.

She seemed completely oblivious, a faint blush creeping across her face beneath her purple hair, as she rushed to Sakamoto, who was about to leave, and blocked his path.

"Sakamoto-san!"

Masumi Kamuro's voice was hurried and tense, even slightly cracking.

"I...I have something I want to talk to you about! Now!"

Sakamoto stopped in his tracks.

He lowered his head slightly, his gaze behind his black-rimmed glasses calmly landing on Kamuro Masumi's face, which was filled with urgency and tension, without any surprise or dissatisfaction.

"can."

His voice was clear and calm, without any discernible emotion.

“We can talk on the way back.”

He agreed.

Sakayanagi Arisu stopped abruptly in her tracks as she was about to take a step.

Let's chat on the way?

On the way back?

Are they going the same way?

Or... is this just an excuse?

Long Yuan's words echoed in her mind once again—

"He's probably Sakamoto's dog now."

Could it be that

The information about Longyuan was not unfounded.

Kamuro Masumi's unusually urgent behavior, and Sakamoto's overly calm and natural response...

They all exuded an unusual aura.

Sakayanagi Arisu changed her mind in an instant.

Perhaps it's better to just approach and talk to them directly.

Observe secretly.

She saw that Masumi Kamuro seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, nodded quickly, and then followed Sakamoto out of the classroom in a bit of a panic.

Without any hesitation, Sakayanagi Arisu, leaning on her cane, followed with a composed yet swift gait.

They cleverly used the people and corners in the corridor to maintain a distance that was not easily noticed.

Her gaze was fixed on the two figures in front of her.

Sakamoto's steps remained steady and fluid, while Kamuro Masumi followed slightly behind him, her head bowed as if she was still organizing her thoughts.

What exactly happened between them?

The trap at Longyuan Garden is indeed real.

A cold, focused light shone in Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes.

The sound of the cane tapping the ground was soft and rhythmic, like the approaching footsteps of a hunter.

First Year Enrollment: Chapter 043: Sakamoto Learns the Information

After school, the crowds surged toward the dormitory area like a tide.

Sakamoto and Kamuro Masumi walked side by side, yet it felt as if they were inside an invisible, silent bubble.

Kamuro Masumi lowered her head slightly, her purple hair falling down and obscuring most of her face.

Her fingers twisted the strap of her schoolbag, and her steps seemed a little stiff.

Along the way, she glanced at Sakamoto beside her several times, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.

But the words were on the tip of her tongue, and she swallowed them back.

The secret that had been building up for a week felt like a heavy boulder pressing on my heart, yet I didn't know how to bring it up.

Sakamoto walked with composure, his gaze behind his black-rimmed glasses calmly fixed straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to Kamuro Masumi's hesitant expression.

Or perhaps he already knew everything and was just patiently waiting.

Sakayanagi Arisu, who was not far behind, experienced a different kind of torment.

She used her cane to maintain a safe distance to avoid being spotted, while also keeping a close eye on her target to prevent losing him.

Her body was not as strong as that of an average person, and the long period of tracking and brisk walking made her breathing slightly rapid, and even fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

When using a walking stick on a slightly uneven surface, extra care is needed to maintain stability.

The physical exertion and mental strain made her somewhat irritable.

Stalking... it's definitely not something she's good at.

Finally, the three of them entered the relatively quiet dormitory area one after the other.

There were noticeably fewer students around, and the road was lined with lush trees and neat dormitory buildings.

Sakamoto, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

He turned to face Masumi Kamuro, who was still bowing her head beside him, breaking the long silence:

"Kamuro-kun, you said before that you wanted to talk to me about something?"

His gaze calmly fell on Masumi Kamuro.

There was no urging, no impatience, just a calm inquiry.

Kamuro Masumi's body trembled violently, as if she had been awakened by those words.

She suddenly looked up, quickly scanned her surroundings to make sure no other classmates were paying attention to them, and then took a deep breath.

“Sakamoto-kun,”

Her tone was unusually firm.

"There's something I have to tell you. I've kept it from you for a week... I'm so sorry."

She took another deep breath, as if trying to calm her nerves.

He poured out the words that had been bottled up inside him at an extremely fast pace:

"Just last week. Probably the afternoon of the second day of school! I overheard a conversation between Sakayanagi Arisu from our class and Ryuen Sho from Class C in a corridor where there weren't many people around."

Her voice was low, but very clear:

"Sakayanagi used the core information about 'class points' that our Class A possessed as a bargaining chip to get Ryuen Sho to gather information about you. They... they seem to be teaming up against you."

"I overheard their plan. But at the time, I didn't know what to do, or whether I should believe them... so I'm only telling you now. I'm so sorry, Sakamoto-kun!"

She finished speaking, her purple eyes fixed on Sakamoto's face, her chest rising and falling slightly.

It felt as if a huge burden had been lifted, yet they waited even more nervously for the other party's reaction.

A week of concealment turned into a moment of confession.

Hiding behind a thick tree trunk nearby, Sakayanagi Arisu's pupils contracted the moment he heard Kamuro Masumi's words, and his hand gripping his cane tightened abruptly.

It wasn't because of Kamuro Masumi's betrayal, but because—Kamuro Masumi was actually present.

That afternoon... she was also near that corridor.

She overheard her deal with Longyuan.

She thought the meeting was discreet enough, but she never imagined that the walls were overheard.

Moreover, this "ear" turned out to be Masumi Kamuro, a classmate who usually seemed quiet and reserved.

Sakayanagi instantly understood many things—Masumi Kamuro's recent unusual behavior, her unusual attention to Sakamoto…

It wasn't that he was "trained to be a subordinate" at all; rather, he was filled with fear, guilt, and unease because he overheard the deal.

She was worried about Sakamoto and was trying to "remind" or "make amends" in her own way.

This also proves that:

Ryuen Sho.

The information he provided was completely false.

He is using this information to sow discord and mislead himself.

A surge of anger at being fooled welled up within Sakayanagi, but even more so, a sense of relief—

Fortunately, she wasn't completely misled.

However, just as Sakayanagi's mind raced and he was slightly shaken by this sudden truth—

Sakamoto, standing in the middle of the field, reacted surprisingly calmly to Masumi Kamuro's earth-shattering confession.

He showed neither shock, nor anger or gratitude.

He simply nodded slightly.

"I see. Thank you for letting me know, Kamuro-kun."

His reaction was too calm, as if he already knew everything, or as if the matter was insignificant.

This unusual calmness surprised both Kamuro Masumi and Sakayanagi Arisu, who were hiding in the shadows.

However, the next second, Sakamoto's action surprised everyone!

He didn't say anything more to Kamuro Masumi, but suddenly turned around and walked steadily but purposefully towards the hiding place of Sakayanagi Arisu.

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly snapped back to her senses and was horrified to discover that, without her noticing, Sakamoto had already left Kamuro Masumi's side, his gaze seemingly locked onto her location with pinpoint accuracy.

Her first instinct was to back away, to try and hide herself better.

But perhaps it was the shock, perhaps it was stepping on a smooth fallen leaf, or perhaps it was the exhaustion from the long period of tracking—

In the instant she hurriedly moved her feet to try to back away, the tip of her cane suddenly slipped.

"Well!"

Sakayanagi let out a short gasp.

He instantly lost his balance and stumbled to the side.

She could feel the ground rapidly enlarging in front of her.

The embarrassment of falling down and the awkwardness of being discovered were intertwined.

However, the expected pain of falling to the ground did not come.

In the split second as her body tilted and she was about to lose her balance,

A long, strong hand, as if it had already calculated the trajectory.

He grasped the shaft of her cane precisely and steadily, just as it was about to slip from her grasp.

At the same time, the other hand moved extremely quickly, through the sleeve of the school uniform.

I gently supported her elbow on the other side!

A perfectly timed, steady force came.

It instantly stopped her from falling and steadily straightened her staggering body.

The entire process was lightning fast, incredibly smooth, and without the slightest hesitation.

There wasn't even any unnecessary physical contact.

Sakayanagi Arisu steadied herself, still shaken, her breathing somewhat rapid.

She looked up and met a pair of calm, unwavering black eyes that were almost touching hers.

Sakamoto had already appeared in front of her without her noticing, one hand firmly supporting her cane that had almost caused trouble, while the other hand had already been politely withdrawn.