Night had already fallen.
After the initial chaos, Hagun Academy had finally returned to calm. Though many places were still under repair, necessary locations such as streets and school buildings had been restored, allowing activities to resume without any obstacles.
In this quiet night, Rozen slowly walked out from the first student dormitory and arrived at the adjacent open space.
"Here again?"
Rozen looked around this empty space and couldn't help but smile.
In this open space, Rozen had once met Ikki, got acquainted with him, and even sparred with Stella here, using dragon blood to awaken her power, which had completely destroyed the area.
Now, this open space was still intact, and Rozen had come here once more, feeling a bit sentimental.
"Did you bring me here on purpose?"
Rozen spoke up without any particular reason.
After a while...
"Although I don't know what you mean, I just picked a convenient place to meet."
With these words, a tall and slender figure silently appeared behind Rozen.
Rozen turned around and looked at the person.
"So, are you planning to assassinate me, Arisuin?"
Rozen said with a half-smile.
The person who appeared was indeed Arisuin Nagi.
This silent, beautiful man standing behind Rozen showed a slight bitter smile.
"How could I assassinate you at this time?"
Arisuin Nagi said somewhat helplessly.
"That's true." Rozen shrugged and said, "If you could, you would have done it long ago."
Hearing this, Arisuin Nagi was left speechless.
Then...
"As expected, you already know my identity?"
Arisuin Nagi sighed.
Rozen's expression remained unchanged.
"Are you referring to the fact that you are also from Akatsuki Academy?" Rozen said nonchalantly, "Yes, I already know."
That's right.
Just like Kurogane Ouma and others, Arisuin Nagi was also from Akatsuki Academy.
In other words...
"You are one of the Rebellion members hired by Tsukikage Bakuga, right?"
Rozen revealed Arisuin Nagi's identity.
This big sister who was born in a man's body was indeed a terrorist belonging to Rebellion.
No, to be more precise...
"I am merely an assassin, specializing in handling underground targets. I have never committed any terrorist acts nor killed anyone from the surface world."
Arisuin Nagi seemed mentally prepared for his identity to be exposed and directly admitted it.
However, Arisuin Nagi still asked a question.
"Did you realize my identity long ago?"
Arisuin Nagi asked.
"Sort of."
Rozen nodded casually.
This wasn't something that required serious consideration.
"Since Akatsuki Academy hired elites from Rebellion to infiltrate the Seven Academies and secure representative spots, it would be impossible for Hagun Academy to be an exception."
Precisely.
Kurogane Ouma from Bukyoku Academy.
Hiraga Reisen from Bunkyoku Academy.
Kazamatsuri Rinna from Rentei Academy.
Tatara Yui from Donrou Academy.
Shinomiya Amane from Kyomon Academy.
Sara Bloodlily from Rokuson Academy.
These six attackers each came from the other six academies.
Only Hagun Academy had no attackers.
Was this just a coincidence?
Or was it because Hagun Academy was the target of the attack, so no one needed to infiltrate?
Of course not.
Hagun Academy already had an assassin from Akatsuki Academy infiltrating it.
This person was Arisuin Nagi.
"Since Akatsuki Academy members needed to secure representative spots, and our Hagun Academy's representatives were you six."
Rozen decisively confirmed.
"Therefore, excluding Ikki, Stella, Shizuku, Touka-senpai, and Kanata-senpai, the only one left was you."
Ikki, Stella, and Shizuku were beyond suspicion. As someone who interacted with them daily, Rozen could vouch that they were definitely not Rebellion elites.
Todo Touka was also out of the question. Rozen had admired her spirit and character before, and he would be the first to disbelieve if someone said she was from Rebellion.
Rozen didn't know Totokubara Kanata well.
But compared to her, Arisuin Nagi was undoubtedly more suspicious.
"When we encountered Edel in the student cafeteria, your reaction told me that you recognized Edel's identity."
"During training, despite your ability, your performance significantly differed from what Edel and I assessed, so we determined that you were hiding your strength."
"Additionally, after becoming a representative, you always emphasized that it was luck. While it sounded humble, being overly humble actually arouses suspicion."
Rozen listed Arisuin Nagi's flaws one by one and even said leisurely.
"Today, you mentioned giving up your representative spot because you felt useless and couldn't find any opponent's flaws, having to stay hidden. But regardless of whether it's our side or the enemy's, there are many people. With your ability, it would be impossible not to find a flaw in anyone, right?"
Not to mention, Arisuin Nagi was an assassin from Rebellion, dealing with people in the underworld who were aware of the dangers of assassination and had ample countermeasures. Yet, Arisuin Nagi could still survive as an assassin, proving his exceptional skill in killing, comparable to Kirasaka Sayaka of the Lion King Organization.
Would such a person fail to find anyone's flaws?
But Arisuin Nagi wasn't lying.
The reason was simple.
"The opponent you mentioned wasn't someone from Akatsuki Academy or Hagun Academy, but me, right?"
Rozen was confident.
Arisuin Nagi fell into complete silence.
Then, he spoke faintly.
"There's no helping it. During the training, I already realized your identity and knew that with you around, our operation couldn't go smoothly."
Thus, Arisuin Nagi stayed hidden, waiting for an opportunity to strike when Rozen was off guard.
Unfortunately, as Arisuin Nagi said, he couldn't find a single flaw.
"No, you have many flaws. Unlike Ikki and Stella, who have high intuition and instincts, and unlike Twin-Wings with perfect posture, you stand loosely like an ordinary person without any martial experience or vigilance."
Arisuin Nagi stated.
"However, whenever I tried to get close to you, a tremendous sense of danger emerged, telling me that if I made a move, I wouldn't just fail to eliminate the target but would die on the spot."
As a result, Arisuin Nagi was pinned down and couldn't act.
"You should be thankful." Rozen smiled, "If you had really made a move, I wouldn't be standing here chatting with you, and I wouldn't have spared you just because you're Shizuku's friend."
These words made Arisuin Nagi smile helplessly.
"So, I'm surrendering."
Arisuin Nagi said this.
This was why he had brought Rozen out.
Arisuin Nagi knew that Rozen had already noticed his true identity, even if no one else did.
He knew Arisuin Nagi was a spy.
He knew Arisuin Nagi was one of the attackers.
He knew Arisuin Nagi was a member of Akatsuki Academy.
He knew Arisuin Nagi was part of the Rebellion.
Given all this, how could Arisuin Nagi continue to hide?
He had no choice but to turn himself in.
It wasn't because Arisuin Nagi wanted to silence Rozen, nor was it because he feared Rozen would come after him.
Arisuin Nagi knew Rozen didn't care about such things; as long as he didn't bother Rozen, with the grudge between him and the League and the Rebellion, Rozen would definitely choose to stand aside and ignore him.
But Arisuin Nagi still chose to turn himself in.
Not for any other reason.
"I no longer want to be a killer for the Rebellion, nor do I want to have any further connection with that world."
Arisuin Nagi finally voiced his true feelings.
This was the reason he turned himself in.
If Arisuin Nagi still wanted to continue being a killer, still wanted to stir up trouble with Akatsuki Academy, then he could have ignored everything, kept his distance from Rozen since Rozen wouldn't interfere with these matters, and Rozen certainly wouldn't expose his identity.
But Arisuin Nagi didn't want to do that; he wanted to leave the underground world and return to this surface world.
"I want to continue being a student at Hagun Academy, to continue being Shizuku's friend."
Arisuin Nagi looked directly at Rozen, speaking with utmost sincerity.
"I believe that if I want to achieve this, I must be honest with you, who knows my identity."
Otherwise, even if Rozen didn't expose Arisuin Nagi, he wouldn't easily trust him.
And if Rozen didn't trust Arisuin Nagi, given his influence on Ikki, Stella, Shizuku, the student council members, even Shinguji Kurono, and Saikyo Nene, perhaps Arisuin Nagi would never be able to integrate here and achieve his wishes.
Therefore, Arisuin Nagi had to be honest with Rozen.
Honest about his thoughts.
"I know, suddenly saying this, you probably won't easily believe me, right?"
Arisuin Nagi felt helpless.
However, this underestimated Rozen.
"I believe you."
Rozen asserted.
"Huh?"
Arisuin Nagi was stunned.
He had no idea...
"Ever since you gave up your representative spot, I had a rough idea of what you intended to do."
Rozen smiled slightly as he spoke.
"If you still intended to cause trouble as a member of Akatsuki Academy, you would definitely try to keep your representative spot, not easily give it up."
So, when Arisuin Nagi gave up his representative spot, Rozen was very surprised, even Edelweiss was surprised.
But afterward, both Rozen and Edelweiss understood Arisuin Nagi's thoughts.
"After all, a person's expression can be faked, but their intentions cannot."
Rozen shrugged.
"Your concern and care for Kurogane Shizuku are genuine, I can see that."
Not only Rozen, but others could also see it, right?
Otherwise, given Shizuku's aversion and rejection towards others, it would be unrealistic for her to actively make friends with anyone other than her brother.
Yet, Arisuin Nagi accomplished this.
This must be because Shizuku sensed Arisuin Nagi's genuine feelings for her.
"Don't say it's because Kurogane Shizuku was fooled by your sweet talk," Rozen said, "I've already heard about her from Kurogane."
Ikki once told Rozen.
"Actually, Shizuku had a very bad phase before."
This was something Ikki personally told Rozen.
Because Shizuku displayed exceptional talent as a Blazer from a young age, the people of the Kurogane family treated her like a princess, flattering her and showering her with love.
People around her allowed Shizuku to do anything she wanted.
She could bully other kids at will, snatch their toys, and even if she was in the wrong, the adults around her wouldn't blame her, even punishing the children who inadvertently offended Shizuku, fearing her greatly.
Shizuku deeply despised such people, those who bowed to the strong, who chose to yield in the face of benefits and status, who never spoke a sincere word, always flattering her, dirty to the extreme.
This is why Shizuku claimed to hate humans.
This girl seemed sharp-tongued, seeing no one other than Ikki, but there were reasons for it.
Shizuku was very sensitive to people's hearts.
If Arisuin Nagi approached Shizuku with false intentions, no matter how well he disguised himself, he couldn't have become friends with Shizuku.
The reason Shizuku didn't reject Arisuin Nagi was because all his actions towards her were sincere.
Even Ikki, the reason Shizuku was so obsessed with him, was because when she was young, he was the only one who blamed her for doing wrong, even hitting her, showing her his uniqueness.
Shizuku had been looking for such a person, who wouldn't pamper her, who was strict with her, just hoping to find someone different from the adults she had met so far.
Hence, Shizuku accepted Arisuin Nagi.
"In that case, I also choose to believe that you don't really want to be with those people, that you long for life in this academy."
Rozen thought.
This left Arisuin Nagi in a daze for a while, before he finally murmured.
"Is that so?" Nagi Arisuin said, somewhat complicatedly, "But you're wrong, it's not that I like this life so much that I abandon my past, I just like Shizuku too much, to the point of no return."
Yes.
This was the reason Arisuin Nagi abandoned his past.
"That child was born in a twisted family, loved her blood-related brother, doing all kinds of absurd things without a care, even though she knew her feelings were twisted, even though she knew her love path wouldn't be smooth, she still chose to endure all of it, just for the brother she deeply loved."
For Arisuin Nagi, who grew up in darkness, Shizuku was extremely dazzling.
As a result, unconsciously, Arisuin Nagi found himself unable to take his eyes off her.
It wasn't love, but more like familial affection.
Arisuin Nagi treated Shizuku as his sister.
And this killer chose to abandon everything, to move towards the light, just for this one person.
If it were before, even if Arisuin Nagi had such thoughts, it would have been difficult to realize.
"Wallenstein was my mentor, he wouldn't allow his disciple to betray him. Once I showed such intentions, not only would I be killed, but Shizuku would also be killed. That man was like that."
Arisuin Nagi felt both complex and relieved.
"But now he's dead, killed by you."
So, after that, Arisuin Nagi resolutely chose this path, abandoning his identity as a killer.
"So, what do you plan to do? Are you going to hide your identity from Kurogane Shizuku forever?"
Rozen asked.
"No, I will tell her everything."
Arisuin Nagi had already decided.
Seeing Arisuin Nagi's expression, Rozen knew this person was ready to give it all.
"Then I wish you success."
Rozen smiled suddenly.
"Thank you."
Arisuin Nagi also smiled sincerely.
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