Chapter 412: The Shadow I Support
"Shadow?"
Kaguya Shinomiya did not reveal any flaws. She only frowned slightly.
"What Shadow?"
"Playing dumb is pointless."
Shijo Maki closed the door to the Student Council room, then turned around to look at Kaguya Shinomiya and spoke in a firm tone.
"The Player faction created by that Shinomiya Unyo from your Shinomiya Family has already formed an alliance with the Ashikaga Budo Association, which Shadow belongs to."
"I was present at the time."
"I believe that with the intelligence gathering capabilities of Hayasaka Ai, who is by your side, you should have known about this matter long ago. So, let's skip these boring formalities and get straight to the point."
"Is that so?"
Kaguya Shinomiya revealed a slight smile as she looked at Shijo Maki before her and spoke softly.
"Since that's the case, you should also understand that I know it isn't only the Shinomiya Family, represented by Unyo, that has formed an alliance with the Ashikaga Budo Association. The Shijo Family has also reached an alliance with them."
"So, if you want to see Shadow, wouldn't it be easier to go directly to the Chairman of Shuchiin Academy, Miwa Ashikaga, to discuss it?"
"Why come to me?"
"This..."
Shijo Maki hesitated.
But she had already made a great decision before coming to find Kaguya Shinomiya.
After all, for Shijo Maki, who was the eldest daughter of the so called branch family, asking Kaguya Shinomiya for help was almost one of the things she least wanted to do.
Yet even so, she had still come.
"The meeting I want isn't a formal one like last time. I want an informal, private setting with Shadow."
"The things I want to discuss have nothing to do with the Shijo Family or the Ashikaga Budo Association. It's a private matter..."
Hearing Shijo Maki's voice grow quieter and quieter, with an inexplicable blush appearing on her face, Kaguya Shinomiya could not help casting her gaze toward Asagiri at the side.
Her eyes held a bit of confusion, but even more helplessness, as if she were saying, When did you have dealings with Maki? Now look, she's come knocking on the door.
Facing Kaguya Shinomiya's gaze, Asagiri simply spread his hands.
His meaning was very clear.
I have no dealings with her.
If I did, the one she would be looking for wouldn't be Shadow, but Utsunomiya-san.
Kaguya Shinomiya nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.
After completing their exchange through eye contact, Kaguya Shinomiya turned to look at Shijo Maki, who looked like a young girl in love.
A slightly mischievous smile appeared on her face as she covered her lips and chuckled.
"A so called private matter? Could it be... that you have some ill intentions toward the legendary Shadow?"
"Who... who has ill intentions!"
Hearing Kaguya Shinomiya's teasing, Shijo Maki reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
At first, she wanted to get angry, but once she remembered that she was the one asking Kaguya Shinomiya for help, her arrogance vanished without a trace.
Like a deflated balloon, she said powerlessly,
"I just want to express my gratitude to him in person..."
"Not as a daughter of the Shijo Family, but as Shijo Maki herself. I want to thank him for saving me, and more importantly, for saving my two teammates."
As a genius on the same level as Kaguya Shinomiya, just of a different type, Shijo Maki also had a strong sense of self esteem.
Although her competitive spirit was not as strong as Kaguya's, and she did not have a particularly strong desire to win in ordinary things like exams or sports, once she decided to do something seriously, she did not want to fail.
During that Dead Realm arrival, because of excessive mental fatigue and a competitive desire to obtain as many rewards as possible, Shijo Maki had made a wrong decision.
She ventured deep into the center of the Dead Realm arrival area before fully scouting it out.
By the time she realized the strength of those Special Infected was too high, she could no longer easily escape.
If Shadow had not appeared in time to save the day, the reckless decision she had made as team captain would not only have killed her, but also killed her two teammates, Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha.
If that had really happened, it would have been more painful for Shijo Maki than death itself.
"But I still don't understand."
Kaguya Shinomiya suddenly stepped forward two paces, looking straight into Shijo Maki's eyes.
The smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a stunning aura that exuded a strong sense of oppression.
Her red eyes were calm as she spoke in a tone devoid of emotional fluctuation.
"There are clearly channels of contact, so why did you come to me?"
"I hope you can give me a convincing reason."
Facing the sudden, astonishing fluctuation of power erupting from Kaguya Shinomiya, as well as the abruptly shortened distance between the two, Shijo Maki felt the blood throughout her entire body freeze.
Her instinct for self defense made her subconsciously want to raise her right hand and aim it at Kaguya Shinomiya in front of her, ensuring she could launch her explosion magic at any moment.
However, just as this thought arose and her wrist was about to lift...
"Don't do anything stupid."
Shijo Maki's right wrist was gently held by Asagiri.
It was only when Asagiri said this sentence that she realized what had happened, and her pupils suddenly dilated.
She had considered that Kaguya Shinomiya might be a Player.
After all, she herself had been chosen as a Player, and Kaguya Shinomiya possessed outstanding talent on the same level as her, or even slightly better.
She was definitely qualified to be a Player.
However, Shijo Maki had never expected that this Utsunomiya-san who served as Vice President was also a Player.
And judging from the situation just now, the two people in front of her possessed strength that absolutely crushed her.
Let alone the fact that she was a mage who was not good at close quarters combat, even if she were a warrior class of the same level, she could not possibly put up any effective resistance in front of Kaguya Shinomiya and Utsunomiya Asagiri, who possessed such terrifying strength.
"You two are actually both..."
"What else did you think?"
Although the current atmosphere was very tense, there was still a smile in Asagiri's voice, as if this were merely a pleasant and relaxed friendly conversation.
"However, I don't think you have any reason to be hostile toward Kaguya."
Asagiri released Shijo Maki's wrist and spoke softly.
"Not to mention that you aren't the type of person to use unscrupulous means for family interests, even if you wanted to help the Shijo Family surpass the Shinomiya Family, the one you should target is Shinomiya Unyo, the leader of the Shinomiya Family's forces."
"That is indeed the case. That's why I feel confused."
Shijo Maki noticed an important detail.
Only after Asagiri released her wrist did Kaguya Shinomiya step back two paces and retract her aura.
What did this mean?
Kaguya Shinomiya was watching the attitude and actions of this Utsunomiya-san?
The latter was the one in the dominant position?
Why?
Shijo Maki's confusion flashed through her mind, but given the current situation, she did not have time to think about it carefully.
After all, she knew how strange her behavior must look from an observer's perspective, so she immediately explained in the briefest language possible.
"I'm worried that Shadow will think our Shijo Family has ulterior motives and wants to use this opportunity to ambush him, so I need someone he trusts to help."
"I have a rough understanding of the situation within your Shinomiya Family, but you are, after all, Shinomiya Unyo's sister."
"If you go to him, and he then goes to find Shadow... there shouldn't be any misunderstanding."
"After all, anyone with a discerning eye can see that compared to our factions, your Shinomiya Family has a closer relationship with the Ashikaga Budo Association."
"You're quite smart."
Hearing Shijo Maki's true thoughts, Asagiri first said this with a smile, then immediately spoke softly.
"Then why do you think the relationship between the Shinomiya Family and the Ashikaga Budo Association is closer than that of your factions?"
Shijo Maki subconsciously replied,
"That's naturally because Kaguya is a student of Teacher Ashikaga and inherently has a relationship of mutual trust with Teacher Ashikaga, so that's why..."
Halfway through speaking, Shijo Maki froze.
Although Kaguya Shinomiya was a student in Class A, saying that her relationship with Miwa Ashikaga was very good was truly a bit of a stretch.
But if one carefully recalled the events that had happened from last semester until now, it was easy to deduce that a certain student had an extraordinary relationship with Miwa Ashikaga.
That student helped Kaguya Shinomiya get elected as Student Council President and served as the Vice President of the Student Council himself.
This feat of a first year freshman successfully entering the Student Council also allowed Miwa Ashikaga, who was their homeroom teacher, to take over as Chairman of Shuchiin Academy after Oko Shinomiya went missing.
And that student's relationship with Kaguya Shinomiya also seemed extraordinary.
"Could it be..."
Shijo Maki was shocked by the inference she had reached.
Looking at Asagiri, disbelief had already appeared in her eyes. Her lips parted slightly as she said,
"Sha... Shadow..."
"That's right."
Seeing Shijo Maki's expression of disbelief, Asagiri asked with a smile,
"What? Hard to believe?"
"It is true, it's hard for an ordinary person to imagine that hidden beneath that pitch black mask is such a handsome face."
"Being in the same school as your idol, this fact is so surprising that it's fried your brain, hasn't it?"
Shijo Maki, who had been in a state of shock, could not help retorting upon hearing this.
"Aren't you being a bit too narcissistic..."
Following this, Shijo Maki looked at Asagiri standing before her, her expression inevitably complicated.
"I just didn't expect that Shadow's true identity... would actually be a high school student in the same grade as me."
"The strongest Player is actually just a high school student..."
Asagiri shrugged and said bluntly,
"I also didn't expect you to act like such an obsessive girl."
"I just happened to save you once. Didn't you already give me a Red Epic piece of equipment as a reward?"
"There was no need to go out of your way to thank me in private."
Having said that, Asagiri suddenly changed the subject before Shijo Maki could reply.
"You aren't thinking of asking for it back, are you?"
"No way."
"That piece of equipment has already been melted down by me. It's impossible to return it."
Upon hearing this, Shijo Maki looked speechless.
At the same time, having finally relaxed from her tension, she could not help laughing out loud at Asagiri's obviously absurd remarks.
"How could that be?"
"Our Shijo Family would never do something so petty."
"Besides, with your status as the strongest Player, you wouldn't be lacking a single piece of Red equipment, right?"
.....
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