Facing his father's raging anger, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji showed no sign of intimidation whatsoever. His calm, measured tone made it impossible to tell whether he was truly unafraid or simply beyond caring.
"I fought with everything I had and lost to Sakayanagi-san. If, for personal reasons, you cannot recognize the reality of the situation, I would suggest you take a moment to cool off and regain your composure."
"You!" Ayanokoji Atsuomi was incensed by Kiyotaka's response. From childhood until now, this child had never once defied him. Who would have thought that after just two terms at AN High School, he'd become so bold as to talk back? "As I thought!"
"I can't allow you to stay here any longer. This place will only ruin you. You must come back to the White Room with me!"
"Hold on, Ayanokoji-sensei." At this point, Director Sakayanagi finally intervened, his voice remaining gently composed. "In fact, the person who beat Kiyotaka was my daughter. She's been known as a prodigy from a young age—you must have heard at least some mention of her."
"And since Kiyotaka is now a student at AN High School, we certainly won't allow him to leave without cause."
Listening in from the adjoining area, Yukio glanced teasingly at Sakayanagi with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, your dad's going to bat for you. Clearly, he's quite fond of you."
Sakayanagi did not respond. Instead, she merely gestured at her phone and earpiece, making Yukio fall silent. Well, of course—if Director Sakayanagi was willing to let his daughter eavesdrop like this, his favoritism was hardly a secret.
Ayanokoji Atsuomi's expression darkened all the more, as if only just realizing the person speaking was Director Sakayanagi's daughter. In reality, he was fully aware—and that was exactly what enraged him the most!
The White Room's foundational concept was that ordinary children could be transformed into geniuses through meticulous scientific methods, thereby becoming mid-level elites who would eventually bolster society.
But now that Kiyotaka had lost to Sakayanagi, didn't that prove that a "true prodigy" was something that couldn't be artificially created? It flatly undermined the entire premise of the White Room. For someone like Ayanokoji Atsuomi, how could that be acceptable?
From start to finish, it was nothing more than one big joke.
As Sakayanagi heard this, she couldn't help but feel it made a lot of sense. Her thin shoulders trembled slightly from stifling her laughter.
Meanwhile, back inside the office, Ayanokoji Atsuomi continued pressing his demands, "If that's how it is, then apply for his withdrawal right now!"
Kiyotaka paused, feigning ignorance—or perhaps genuinely puzzled. "Why should I drop out?"
This blank-slate question threw Atsuomi off. The child he'd treated like a perfectly obedient tool his entire life was now openly disobeying him.
'Unbelievable—this school has completely ruined a genius,' he thought in frustration.
Atsuomi shot a cutting glare at Director Sakayanagi, then turned back to Kiyotaka. "You'd better think carefully. Don't assume that just because you're holed up in this school, I can't touch you."
"Let me tell you something, that butler Matsuo who helped you escape the White Room—he was as good as dead the moment he betrayed me. That fool believed twenty years of service would spare him from my wrath? How absurd."
"And it wasn't just that idiot Matsuo. Even the daughter he was so proud of—I arranged for her expulsion and made sure no school would take her in. With nowhere left to go, the two of them ended up hanging themselves together!"
"I'm telling you now, if you don't come with me today, everyone who's been protecting you will face my retaliation because of you!"
The man's words were beyond merciless. Even his butler of twenty years could be driven to suicide without a shred of pity. He was, in essence, threatening not only Kiyotaka but also hinting at threats toward Director Sakayanagi.
Yet the director seemed utterly unperturbed, continuing to watch father and son with a calm, genial smile. Clearly, he was not worried that Ayanokoji Atsuomi could do anything to him—after all, the social status of a school director was hardly something a mere butler could compare to. Atsuomi might be able to do whatever he liked to a butler, but not so easily to a figure of similar standing.
As for Kiyotaka, he remained as composed as ever. Whether it was the butler Matsuo who had raised him or the Sakayanagi family now sheltering him, in Kiyotaka's worldview—shaped by the White Room—both were simply "tools." As long as he could live out these three years in peace and ultimately succeed, he cared little about others' lives or deaths.
Even the memory of Matsuo and his daughter, driven to suicide by his father, barely stirred him. Tools were replaceable, insignificant compared to his own survival. Would anyone mourn misplacing a nail clipper? At most, they'd be annoyed about having to spend money on a new one.
So when faced with Atsuomi's menacing threats, Director Sakayanagi merely kept smiling. Kiyotaka's response was even simpler: a single, indifferent "Oh."