"Amasawa? Who's that?" Shinohara posed a question.

"A first year obviously!" Ike rhetorically said.

"Did the government skip stuff again?"

"Kiyopon! How come you never told us that you can cook!"

I asked myself the same question as Haruka. Having never held a kitchen knife in my hand before, I didn't know why I was roped into this.

Questions arose from everyone until Mashima-sensei calmed the horde down again before playing the video.

"Ufufu, a slice of life episode?" Sotomura muttered.

A scarlet haired girl with twin tails sporting a mischievous look appeared on the screen.

"Another cute girl..." Ike said to the displeasure of Shinohara, who was rapidly losing faith in him.

"Oya, Oya! Don't you have a girlfriend, Ayanokouji!" Amikura wolf-whistled, "Being unfaithful to Karuizawa-san already?"

Kei's mood dipped as she glared at me, cracking her knuckles as if saying 'Why are you hanging out with cute girls all the time.'

"Is that a big deal...?" Sudou, who was clueless in decorum and courtliness, asked.

"Of course, he may be chatting with other girls for all we know," Azuma said.

Due to our loss in the event selection exam, our Class Points dropped down to just around 350 Points. It was enough to manage my monthly and other miscellaneous expenses, although compared to the beginning of our school year where we had 0 Class Points, I'd say this is much better.

Also, the words 'That too' hovered over my mind. I thought her motive was to have me cook her a home-made meal. Was there something else she had planned for me?

"I understand watching Ayanokouji's POV when it explains the OAA and trying to partner with the other classes but why are they showing us this...?" A second year said in contemplation.

"Yeah, this stuff's boring."

"Remember when that delinquent and Nanase chick said something about 'that'. I think the government's hinting something at us..."

"Heyyy, it's pretty important! If Ken doesn't get a partner, he might get expelled, you know?" Ike voiced.

"Really? What's the difference? Looks like any other ordinary knife." Sudou quizzically asked.

"Haha, you mean like those videos where chefs cut vegetables insanely fast. I always fear they'd chop their fingers and mess up." Ijuuin said.

Ryuen instinctively shivered when he heard the last line. 'This bastard really loves to lie in his head. Who gives a shit if you can cook or not. Show me some weakness, you emotionless fuck. He's even more boring when you listen to his thoughts... what a drab!'

A few guys clutched their noses in agony, though I was unsure why.

The screen quickly switched scenes to now being in front of my room.

"Ayanokouji, your room is still as bland as ever." Ike didn't mince any words.

"Yeah, put up a poster of your favourite team or something. It makes me depressed just looking at those white walls." Sudou wailed.

"White room?" Almost everyone curiously queried.

I was honestly surprised that the videos took this long to introduce the white room. Most of the students still viewed me as a harmless and insignificant Class-D member who had good narration skills.

Well, that's the general reception of the person Ayanokouji Kiyotaka so far.

I wonder how they'll feel once they come to know about my past? Will they hate me? Fear me? Pity me?

Ryuen pondered. 'Kukuku, finally that bastard reveals something about his shitty past? White room... Is that how he got his abilities? Maybe his weakness? It better not be a crappy sob story where he had to lose his emotions and shit to get his powers. Makes me wanna puke just thinking about it."

Horikita thought. 'White room? It may be just a hunch but this name may have the answers to Ayanokouji-kun's past. Of course, I never tried to pry into his life as that was one of the conditions we established for our partnership during the first semester. But it's all thanks to him that I've grown as a person in this last one year. If he ever finds himself in a troublesome situation due to this government project, then I'll do my very best to help him out. After all, he's a person I respect.'

Sakayanagi reflected. 'The government's not holding back when revealing sensitive information like that place. Well, at least Tsukishiro will be fired and father will take back his place as chairman. I hope at the end of all this, we can have our fight with no interruptions this time, Ayanokouji-kun.'

Tsukishiro stroked his nonexistent beard. 'It looks like my stay as the acting director is bound to be a short one. For a person who has the power to run one of the richest and powerful schools in the country, I'm impotent right now. Quite the irony. I was hoping this job would be my breakthrough to a more congenial life but alas. Though, it seems that you're in a big pinch, Atsuomi Ayanokouji-sensei.'

"Considering Ayanokouji-san is talking about food, a restaurant maybe...?" Ishizaki said.

"Why is the first thing you think about is food!" Ibuki scoffed.

"Oi, Oi, Ayanokouji, you bastard!" Ike, gasping in realisation, screamed from the top of his lungs. Our classmates, startled at the volume at which he spoke, glared at him.

"I got it. Ayanokouji, you're from this white room right?" I blinked, not at the connection but at the person who said. "Lemme guess, it's similar to the red room from the movie 'Fifty Shades of Grey'"

"Red room, what's that?" Shinohara asked. I, myself, was clueless about what he was talking about. A few guys who seemed to have gotten the reference, gawked at me, waiting for a reply.

"In the movie, the red room is basically a fancy name for the rich guy's sex chamber."

"Huh? As if Kiyopon has done that kinda stuff. Leave him outta this, he's an innocent boy!" Haruka was quick to defend me.

"S-s-s-s-s-s-e-ex? K-Kiyotaka-kun?" Airi stammered.

Most of Class-D shook their heads scoffing at Ike and another one of his perverted fantasies.

"Listen, listen... guys you get me, right? It all fits, you guys remember the mixed training camp - the T-Rex. That's enough proof."

As if that explained the concept of the universe, most of the guys 'Ahh'-ed and nodded in understanding. I was almost tempted to refute that outrageous claim from Ike but I remained taciturn.

"Haha, that's another nickname for Ayanokouji-kun." Hashimoto snorted. "Let's see.. We have T-Rex, King, Alpha, Monster, White Room, T-Rex of the White Room, King of the White Room... any that I've missed?" The others joined in to brainstorm more nicknames for me.

"That's it! Shibata-kun, tell me what the T-Rex is right now!" Amikura snapped.

"H-Haha, Kanzaki-kun will tell you!" Now the girls turned towards the bluish-haired student for answers.

Although I was weirded out by the thumbs-up and nods of approval sent from various boys, a few of the smarter students who have known me and my abilities on a personal level understood that this white room held significance to my past.

Kei nudged my left shoulder and said, "Hey, you've done it before?"

Done what?

Oh that.

"Of course not."

"Hehe. Almost believed it for a second." She proceeded to whisper next to my ear. "I mean you were pretty bold back then with your 'Spread your legs'. I thought you were speaking from experience. So, what's the white room? Don't tell me my theory about it being some kind of facility that trained you to become a secret agent was right." She chuckled in fond memory.

Seeing that I didn't give any kind of response, she furrowed her eyebrows gleaming at me for a reaction until realisation struck her.

"You're kidding me..." She muttered.