Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Wild Players Within Shuchiin Academy

Chapter 282: Wild Players Within Shuchiin Academy

"A very charming person..."

Seeing Kaguya Shinomiya staring blankly at Asagiri, who was standing behind the finish line and chatting with their homeroom teacher, Ashikaga Miwa, Fujiwara Chika showed a slightly impish smile. She was just about to tease her when a girl’s voice came from behind.

"Hmph. Even after something like that happened recently, you still look so carefree, almost heartless, Auntie."

Hearing that familiar voice, Kaguya Shinomiya turned around.

Standing there was a beautiful young girl, also wearing Private Shuchiin Academy’s tracksuit, with "Shijō" written on the chest. Her light brown hair was neatly styled, with cute short twin tails beside her ears, and her appearance was refined and elegant.

Kaguya Shinomiya revealed a smile that was both gentle and somewhat malicious.

"Oh, so it’s Shijō Maki. Is that any way to speak to your elder? That isn’t very proper."

"Tch. You’re still as condescending as ever."

Shijō Maki snorted coldly and lifted her chin.

"Anyway, although I don’t have a good impression of you, we are distant relatives after all, so I’ll remind you. Things within your Shinomiya Family haven’t been stable lately, and many outsiders are eyeing the Shinomiya Group. I heard all of this from my family, so you’d better be careful. Don’t spend all your time playing house with that Utsunomiya..."

As she said this, Shijō Maki subconsciously glanced toward the finish line, only to find that Asagiri, who had been standing there moments ago, had disappeared without her noticing.

Just as she froze, Asagiri’s smiling voice sounded from behind her.

"Oh, it’s Shijō Maki. Did I just hear my name from your mouth?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Shijō Maki’s pupils contracted in surprise.

Although her expression did not change, Kaguya Shinomiya, who stood directly in front of her, caught that momentary panic. A hint of surprise appeared in her red eyes.

"Anyway..."

Shijō Maki turned around and glanced at Asagiri. She said nothing to him, instead looking at Kaguya Shinomiya with her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

"I’ve told you what I needed to. Whether you listen or not is your business. Hmph."

After Shijō Maki turned and left, Kaguya Shinomiya stared at her retreating figure and said the exact same words as Asagiri.

"Her reaction was off."

Hearing this, Fujiwara Chika tilted her head curiously.

"What was off about it?"

Kaguya Shinomiya narrowed her beautiful red eyes slightly and spoke softly.

"She was startled by Utsunomiya just now."

"That’s normal, isn’t it?"

Fujiwara Chika looked blank and adorable.

"If someone suddenly appears beside you without you noticing, of course you’d be startled."

"Indeed. That would be a normal human reaction, but..."

Asagiri looked at Shijō Maki’s distant figure, his tone flat.

"She subconsciously suppressed her instinctive reaction. She didn’t make a sound, didn’t make any defensive movement, and her expression barely changed. That is not normal."

Kaguya Shinomiya first nodded slightly, then said softly,

"Someone like me received this kind of training from childhood. To always maintain the proper bearing of the Shinomiya Family’s eldest daughter, I won’t show obvious panic no matter what happens. But Shijō Maki’s upbringing is completely different from mine. She shouldn’t have received that kind of training. When I occasionally met her in junior high, or when I spoke to her just now, I never noticed anything like this from her before. Which means..."

Kaguya Shinomiya frowned slightly, a complicated look in her red eyes.

"Shijō Maki may be a Player. Most likely, she possesses some kind of sensory ability."

Kaguya Shinomiya looked at Asagiri beside her and said lightly,

"Because she vaguely sensed your strength, she panicked when you suddenly approached."

"Is that so?"

Seeing that Asagiri showed no surprise at all, Kaguya Shinomiya could not help but frown.

"Could it be... you already guessed her identity?"

"It’s not a guess. It’s a reasonable inference."

Asagiri took the bottled water Yuuki Asuna handed him, opened it, took a sip, and answered with a smile.

"This game should have a screening mechanism too. It’s only natural for a genius like Shijō Maki, who is excellent in every aspect, to attract the game system’s attention and be selected as a Player, just like you and Fujiwara Chika. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone with outstanding ability will definitely be selected. For example, Hayasaka Ai and Ashikaga-sensei weren’t initially selected. They registered as Players later through the phones of deceased Players."

Kaguya Shinomiya frowned deeply and murmured,

"Just how many Players are there in Shuchiin Academy..."

...

The next day, Thursday afternoon, in the Student Council office.

The two-day Shuchiin Academy sports festival had successfully concluded.

The final result, as expected, was Year 1 Class A taking first place in the entire school.

Utsunomiya Asagiri won first place in the high jump, one hundred meters, and four hundred meters, breaking Shuchiin Academy’s school records in all three events. Although Kaguya Shinomiya also had the ability to break school records, her public image was not that of an all-around athletic monster like Asagiri. Thus, she deliberately restrained herself, only winning the championships in the three events she participated in.

As for Ashikaga Miwa, as the homeroom teacher, she undoubtedly drew attention in front of all the teachers and students. Now, no one, including the members of Shuchiin Academy’s board of directors, had the right to question her ability anymore.

Of course, those were only minor matters.

What truly mattered was...

"Shijō Maki might also be a Player?"

Hearing this, Ashikaga Miwa could not help but frown. She looked at Yuuki Asuna and Fujiwara Chika, who were sitting opposite her, and asked,

"You two are also in Year 1 Class B, classmates with Shijō. Have you noticed anything unusual about her?"

Yuuki Asuna thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head.

"No. Although Shijō and I are in the same class, we basically don’t talk. We know each other’s names, but we can’t even say we’re acquainted. There’s been no contact at all."

"As for me, although I’ve known little Maki since junior high..."

Fujiwara Chika showed a pure and sweet smile, picked up the black tea on the table, took a sip, then chuckled leisurely.

"I don’t have any private relationship with her either. At most, we know each other."

"I see..."

Ashikaga Miwa picked up her cup, took a sip of the bitter black coffee inside, then looked at Asagiri and said in a low voice,

"Let’s put aside whether Shijō is a Player for now. After all, she doesn’t seem to have shown any hostility. The most crucial issue right now is the changes in the real world caused by the game."

Hearing Ashikaga Miwa’s words, Iwanaga Kotoko took off her white beret and gently placed it on her lap.

"If I’m not mistaken, there have been large-scale disappearance cases in the real world, right?"

"Yes."

Ashikaga Miwa sighed heavily, took off her gold-rimmed glasses, and raised a hand to rub her temples.

"I also participated in my first Dungeon a few days ago, a third-stage Dungeon. Although I survived in the end, among the more than thirty Players who entered the same Dungeon as me, only ten of us, including myself, survived. A death rate of over two-thirds. That is truly..."

Before Ashikaga Miwa could finish, Asagiri interrupted.

"Then the Dungeon you participated in was relatively simple."

"Eh?"

Seeing Ashikaga Miwa’s startled look, Asagiri pointed at Kaguya Shinomiya, who was sitting behind the Student Council President’s desk, and said lightly,

"The Dungeon they entered had around fifty Players, and only twelve successfully cleared it. The Dungeon we entered a few days ago had nearly one hundred and forty Players, just among the ones we encountered, but fewer than thirty survived in the end. The death rate was close to four-fifths, and the chance of surviving until the end and clearing it was only around twenty percent."

"This..."

Ashikaga Miwa frowned deeply, her expression turning grim.

"Isn’t this third-stage Dungeon too harsh?"

"No. Quite the opposite."

Asagiri shook his head and answered with a smile.

"Don’t forget, this is a death game. It gives Players two full months, at least six or seven chances to enter Dungeons and accumulate strength. It only truly begins to become cruel in the third stage. Moreover, new Players like you, if you don’t team up with veteran Players like us, will enter Dungeons of the lowest difficulty, giving you new Players a chance to survive. This isn’t cruel or harsh at all. In fact, I’d even say this game’s system is quite gentle."

"Gentle, huh..."

Seeing Ashikaga Miwa’s noncommittal expression, Asagiri did not continue discussing the topic. Instead, he changed the subject.

"By the way, a considerable number of third-stage Players should have completed Dungeons by now. With the overall strength of Players increasing, have there been any unusual movements in the real world? For example, using Player power to kill certain people or destroy certain places?"

"No. At least, not as far as I know."

Ashikaga Miwa shook her head first, then stared at the smiling Asagiri and spoke somewhat helplessly.

"The reason that situation hasn’t occurred yet, I believe, has a very direct connection to your previous assassination of Oko Shinomiya. It can be said that precisely because of your existence, no one dares to use the power of Players to do anything outrageous in the real world yet."

.....

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