he asked too directly, she might see through it and notice Izumi had put him up to it. How could I bring the conversation there naturally? I mean, I’ve never even had a regular chat with her. Then Kousaka rethought it. There’s no reason to do everything the way Izumi says. Moving from one lie to two was no big difference. I could be honest and tell Sanagi “Izumi gave me this instruction,” discuss it with her, and pay to have her cooperation. Wasn’t it that simple? Kousaka stood up and said close to Sanagi’s ear, “Sanagi, I wanted to talk about something.” “What is this this time?” She slid down her headphones and looked up at him. “Izumi gave me a new instruction today. He told me to ask you the reason you aren’t going to school in a natural way.” “…And?” “Won’t you help me out? You don’t even have to tell me the truth. You can just fabricate a reason that’ll convince Izumi.” Sanagi’s response came after a significant delay. There was an irritating silence, like when trying to talk to a virtual assistant in a place with bad reception. “He told you to ask in a natural way, right?” Sanagi turned her cheek away from Kousaka. “So why not ask me