"It's really hard for me to imagine Fujiwara sitting in that position," Kaguya said, her tone filled with disbelief.

  To her, Fujiwara's defining characteristic was "chaos."

  It was nearly impossible to predict her thought process. No matter the situation, Fujiwara's uable behavior always threw everyone off bance.

  "But since you transferred here, do you think she'll follow you?"

  "I don't know."

  "The me rephrase. If Fujiwara Chika does transfer here, will you be happy about it?"

  "…I think I would."

  Despite Fujiwara's stant chaos, Kaguya admitted that she would be happy.

  In her limited social circle, Fujiwara was one of her few friends.

  If Fujiwara transferred to Teitan High School for her, she would undoubtedly be happy.

  "Then it seems like you have the best retionship with her," Ren observed.

  Kaguya's response, after a moment of sideration, was ho and deliberate. It firmed that she truly regarded Fujiwara as a friend.

  Ren wasn't surprised.

  Fujiwara was one of Kaguya's closest friends, someone who had earned her trust despite their trasting personalities.

  "Shinomiya, I think Fujiwara will find you sooner or ter."

  "You might want to prepare yourself for that possibility in advance."

  "I uand," Kaguya replied, nodding slightly.

  Ren shifted his attention to a different topic. He had been curious about Kaguya's sudden transfer.

  "So, Shinomiya, does this mean you've mao free yourself from the Shinomiya family's straints?"

  "No. I'm not free. I'm in trol."

  Her voice was calm, as if she had already accepted this reality.

  "I gained trol of the Shinomiya family through the power I obtained."

  "Through power?"

  Ren paused to sider her words before shaking his head slightly.

  "I'm just an ordinary person, so I don't fully uand how deep the family's influence runs."

  "But I do know that it's incredibly difficult to escape the trol of a family as powerful as yours, even with extraordinary power."

  "Even if the diary gave you that power, it wouldn't be enough to pletely escape their influence."

  "Unless… you chose to use your 'power' violently against the Shinomiya family."

  "Now, Shinomiya, would you be willing to go that far?"

  "…"

  Kaguya fell silent.

  Her ck of response was answer enough.

  Ren nodded slightly, as if firming his own thoughts.

  "So, no matter what, even if you've gained power, you're still holding bae degree."

  "You've just obtaihis power, and you haven't fully mastered it yet. It's only natural that you wouldn't resort to violence so easily."

  "In that case, I assume the trol you gained over the Shinomiya family wasn't through sheer force."

  A girl who had only retly acquired power wouldn't be ready to act violently against her own family, unless she had endured years of abuse or had an antisocial personality.

  But Kaguya wasn't that type of person. Naturally, she would hesitate.

  "…"

  Kaguya's tinued silence firmed his reasoning.

  Ren decided not to push further. Instead, he pulled a 500-yen from his pocket, flig it into the air before catg it in his palm.

  "This is a test for me, isn't it?" he asked.

  "…And if it is, would that make you angry?" Kaguya tered cautiously.

  "Not at all. But that's not because I'm particurly open-minded, I'm just a zy person," Ren said with a faint smile, shaking his head.

  "You have the diary. Testing me and the diary's rules is only natural. You're in the same position as I am."

  "In fact, I tested you and the diary first. So really, we're no different."

  Testing was iable, and there was no reason to bme anyone for it.

  "You were able to transfer from Shu because someone helped you gain trol over the Shinomiya family. In exge, you came to Teitan to tact me and duct these tests, right?"

  "…That's correct," Kaguya admitted with a soft sigh.

  Ren chuckled lightly, flig the in his hand again and catg it effortlessly.

  "Trying to uhe diary's mysteries is certainly iing," he said.

  "Shinomiya, do you have any hints about the person who helped you? Or maybe their surname? If I know their hey might be part of a story I remember."

  Kaguya thought for a moment before replying.

  "Their surname is Sanzenin."

  "Sanzenin…"

  Ren's eyes lit up in reition. He couldn't help but ugh.

  "So it was Sanzenin Nagi all along."

  "Yes. If it's Nagi, then her grandfather certainly has the means to fully trol the Shinomiya family."

  Ren's thoughts drifted back to a little girl he had seen at Tropical Land, a girl with long purple hair dressed in a kimono.

  Suddenly, everything clicked.

  "I see now."

  "That little girl with purple hair… I felt like I'd seen her somewhere before."

  "Saginomiya Isumi."

  "But the version of her iory is a bit different from the one I saw iy."

  Ren smiled faintly, chalking up his initial failure tnize her to the passage of time.

  Sixteen years had dulled his memory, aails that once seemed vivid had long since faded.

  "Memory fades over time," he muttered.

  "I'll include this part in my diary ter."

  "But for now, I assume they're staying in Beika City. Do you think they'll e here eventually?"

  "I 't say for sure," Kaguya replied, shaking her head slightly.

  "We're all still testing the diary. We haven't yet firmed whether those who read the diary o i with you to gain anything substantial."

  "That's fair."

  Ren nodded in uanding.

  The diary's rewards were tempting enough to push people into a. If testing revealed that iing with him was necessary for rewards, it wouldn't be surprising fi to transfer schools as well.

  "Well, I'll make sure to write a detailed entry in today's diary."

  "After reading it, you should be able to firm more of the situation."

  "Uood," Kaguya said, nodding once again. This had been her primary purpose for ing today.

  "Thank you, Amamiya san."

  "You're wele. We're mutually beneficial, after all."