Midterm Exam (2)
Night had fallen over the abandoned warehouse, the damp air thick with the cloying stench of dust and rusting iron.
From the dense darkness before me came a voice warped like machinery, and for a moment my thoughts simply stopped.
All the confidence that had been overflowing inside me until a second ago evaporated without a trace.
What the hell did I just hear?
This unidentified information broker’s price for the deal… was me?
[…….]
Toward my silence, the shadow in the dark tilted ever so slightly.
That tiny movement alone made the surrounding darkness feel like it was reaching out to seize me.
Calm down. Stay composed.
I wet my dry lips with my tongue and spun my thoughts at high speed.
He wants information on Saya?
Why would an unknown broker who holds every scrap of academy intel in his palm take an interest in me?
The most likely hypothesis was simple curiosity.
Suddenly under the protection of a duke’s daughter, of course the “hottest potato” would draw every eye.
But… what if there was another reason?
…
Interpreting my silence as something else, the shadow continued in a low voice.
[No need to worry. This place places the same voice- and appearance-altering magic on the guest as it does on me. Our true identities mean nothing here. Only information has value. So relax, and tell me everything you know.]
At those words I forced my voice into something calm and steady.
“……Fine. Information on ‘Saya.’ How deep do you want it?”
The artificially distorted voice rolled through the warehouse again.
[Down to the finest detail. Her personality, her relationships with those around her, her recent movements… and what she wants.]
The scope of the questions was far deeper and more obsessive than I had expected.
Hard to dismiss as mere curiosity.
Pretending to be a third party, I began laying out the most objective facts I could.
“Her personality is… pretty macho.”
[Huh? Are you joking with me right now?]
The reaction was instant.
“No, I’m talking about Saya’s personality. Or… should I say she’s a macho girl?”
[…Interesting. Then do you know her favorite food?]
“Jeyuk… no, around here she mostly eats the cutlets from the student cafeteria.”
[Student cafeteria cutlets, is it… And her relationship with Lady Ricotta? Rumors are flying that she enjoys the lady’s protection.]
“Closer to a transactional arrangement. But… Saya herself doesn’t seem particularly happy about it. She finds excessive attention burdensome.”
That much was sincere.
With this answer I could plant the impression that “Saya” was no opportunist clinging to power.
A brief silence fell.
The shadow seemed to be chewing over my reply. A restless twitch showed in the silhouette.
[Then… what about the male student named Kado?]
“Kado?”
The completely unexpected question made me blurt the name back without thinking.
[Yes. Lately they’ve been seen sticking close together quite often. Didn’t look like simple friends.]
A faintly sharp edge had crept into the shadow’s voice.
Almost as if he were jealous.
In that instant I was certain. This guy truly harbored feelings for “Saya” that went beyond personal curiosity.
“Whether it’s more than friends… I couldn’t say, but Saya definitely trusts him. She seems to think that even if he’s blunt on the outside, he’s deep on the inside.”
[……Is that so.]
The shadow’s voice dropped a full tone.
The effect was tremendous.
This bastard was rattled by my answer right now.
I decided to deliver the finishing blow. I needed one solid hit to lock this deal down as mine.
I lowered my voice as if sharing a secret.
“Then stop dragging it out and get to the point. What do you want to know most?”
[Do you… happen to know what kind of person she likes?]
“……What?”
[Saya… what sort of man is she drawn to?]
This guy…
He’s serious.
Hiding his identity while asking about a fellow academy student’s ideal type. I barely managed to swallow the hollow laugh that tried to burst out at the absurdity of the situation.
“Why do you want to know that?”
[Have you forgotten the rules of this place! Asking the purpose of information is forbidden!]
I pretended to think for a moment, then answered with the most meaningful smile I could manage.
“Well… she seems drawn to people who quietly get their own work done.”
[…….]
The other party appeared to ponder something deeply before speaking again.
[Good. The deal is struck. But the ‘exam answers’ you want cannot be handed over right this moment.]
“Huh?”
[Tomorrow night, same time, same place. I’ll have the goods ready then.]
“Understood.”
I turned away, hiding a victorious smile. The deal had succeeded. Now I only had to leave this place…
[Wait.]
The shadow stopped me.
[Of course, you will also need to bring a ‘token.’]
“Token?”
[I require ‘collateral’ for your information. Definite proof that your intel is genuine… that you are truly close to her.]
Then he offered a proposal that made my skin crawl.
[Bring one item that Saya treasures. Not something money can buy—something that carries her touch and her memories. Hand that over to me, and from now on I will give top priority to any academy information you desire.]
Huh…?
Bring my own belongings?
Under the pretext of collateral, he was demanding my personal items.
From the start this bastard had been interested in “Saya” herself.
And now I was in the position of having to sell memories of myself that didn’t even exist.
As the appointed hour drew nearer, I paced restlessly around my dorm room.
Something Saya treasures, huh…
Insane. How long had I even been in this world? Of course I didn’t have anything like that.
And I can’t exactly hand over the Beast’s Mask…
Originally, “Saya’s” belongings amounted to nothing more than a few sets of clothes and a handful of books.
None of them carried “my” memories or the wear of my hands.
After long fretting I flopped down onto the bed.
A training wooden sword sitting in the corner of my vision caught my eye.
Should I break that and take it? Package it as proof of long effort?
No, too cliché.
That guy didn’t look like the type to fall for such an obvious lie.
Whoever he was, one thing was certain: he was interested in the person “Saya” herself.
Which meant… what he wanted wasn’t the item’s value, but the trace of Saya contained inside it…
Then a memory flashed through my mind. The questions he had used to probe me during the deal.
The relationship with Ricotta.
The relationship with Kado.
And the final question that had burst out.
[Saya… what sort of man is she drawn to?]
Right. That guy is interested in me.
Not merely as an informant, but as the individual named “Saya.”
Perhaps… as a woman.
The moment I realized that, all my worries melted away like snow, replaced by a cold yet playful certainty.
Fine. If you want something of mine that badly, I’ll gladly give it.
The most personal, and at the same time the most trivial thing.
I absently reached up to smooth my hair and felt the familiar sensation around my wrist. My gaze dropped.
The hair tie I used every time I trained to keep my hair in place.
I tugged the corner of my mouth upward.
Shame I won’t get to see the look on his face.
The air in the abandoned warehouse that night was still damp and chilly.
The shadow was already waiting, as promised. On the desk in front of him lay a neatly stacked bundle of papers—the “exam answers” I had wanted so badly.
[…The promised goods.]
The machine-like distorted voice rang out.
I nodded, then deliberately exhaled a long breath as if steeling myself.
[Your collateral?]
I began the act of rummaging through my pockets.
“Well… I didn’t really have anything worth bringing…”
I deliberately hemmed and hawed while watching his reaction.
In the darkness his silhouette twitched faintly. Proof of impatience.
“Maybe something more valuable than one of Saya’s things…”
[I don’t need anything like that. As agreed, something of ‘hers’ will do.]
At the urgency mixed into his voice I cheered inwardly. He had taken the bait perfectly.
“……Fine. If this is all right.”
I set the hair tie down in front of him.
“Saya uses it every time she trains. It’s nothing special… but of everything I have right now, it’s the thing that carries the most of her touch.”
At my explanation the shadow said nothing for a long while.
I watched his reaction.
Disappointed? Or had he seen through my intent?
[…Just this?]
His voice had sunk cold and low.
But I saw it.
In complete contradiction to the word “just,” his entire silhouette leaned greedily toward the hair tie.
“If you don’t like it, we can call it off. Shame about the answers, but I don’t have anything else.”
I deliberately snapped the words more curtly and made as if to turn away. The final provocation that crowned my performance.
[…No. It’s enough.]
He spoke quietly.
[The deal is complete. Take this.]
The shadow slowly reached out and picked up the hair tie from the desk.
His touch was more careful and reverent than if he had been handling any treasure.
He lightly closed his fist around the hair tie and never took his eyes off it.
[You may leave now.]
I snatched up the heavy bundle of answers as if I had been waiting for exactly that.
And without looking back even once, I slipped out of the dark warehouse.
He wouldn’t do anything weird with that hair tie… right?