(Dazai Crowley's POV)
Class 3-A, A little before Present Day
Cheat sheets.
In an exam that limits the amount of people who get accepted into a school, they are the perfect weapon for eliminating the competition.
As such, I cannot deny its effectiveness for ensuring one's own success.
If my circumstances were a little different, then I too would have dabbled into it a bit.
Unfortunately, there is a far more pressing matter that I need to attend first.
As such, I simply don't have the time to run around and cause trouble.
—Esmes however turned out to be a special exception.
Although I didn't come with the intent to harm, I still had some weapons I could utilize. Those weapons being the special cheat sheets that were planted on both me and Yamato earlier today.
At the time, I did intend on throwing them away before I could get framed.
However, I still had them on me around the time I bumped into Esmes.
When the papers went flying, I decided to help Pyua clean up the mess. That was when I slipped those same papers into a stack of Esmes's study material before handing it off to her. From there, Pyua planted the trap into her bag for me.
Of course, thanks to the "no cheating" rule, this alone would cause devastating damage to Esmes. However, this was only on the condition that somebody searched her bag in the first place.
As such, I decided to finish up my preparations by providing the necessary incentive.
When the Entrance Exams begin, the doors will lock and all forms of entry will be sealed off.
Because this would limit the amount of freedom I had, I thought I would have to wait until after it was over before I could make my next move.
Surprisingly though, my opportunity to do so came far sooner than expected.
Ms. Gwein, the Practitioner of Class 3-C.
During the exams, I noticed Gwein walking through the hallways from a certain direction. Most likely she was returning from the bathroom.
Regardless, this was more than perfect.
「 "Hey, Gwein." 」
「 "Dazai? Since when you'd learn telepathy?" 」
「 "An old friend of mine taught me. But that's besides the point." 」
「 "Well, what do you want? Shouldn't you be busy right now?" 」
「 "Yes, which is exactly why I plan to make this brief. So listen up." 」
「"Okay?" 」she replied skeptically.
「 "Do you know a girl named Esmes?" 」
「 "Esmes Montoya? Yeah, what about her?" 」
「 "I want you to be cautious of her. I believe she may be planning to cheat during the exams." 」
She suddenly went silent.
「 "—Do you have any idea just how bold your accusation is?" 」
「 "Perhaps." 」
She sighed in disappointment.
「 "Listen here, Dazai. You do realize that girl comes from a royal household that takes great pride in her education, right?" 」
「 "All the more reason to suspect her." 」
「 "What?" 」
「 "You said she's from royalty, right? So that must mean she comes from a well reputed family." 」
「 "Well, yeah." 」
「 "Then, if that's the case, wouldn't it be natural to assume that their family would want to protect that said reputation of theirs? Even if it means resorting to some rather, "lowbrow", tactics?" 」
「 ".....You can't be serious, Dazai." 」
「 "Hey, you, of all people, should know more than anyone just how low the likes of nobility will go in order to protect their image." 」
「 "—But even if you say that…" 」
「 "Look, all I'm saying is that whose to say Esmes's intelligence is even genuine? For all we could know, somebody could have just as easily pulled some strings from behind the scenes in order to guarantee her so-called "success"." 」
「 "And if that's the case, who's to say they won't do it this time either?" 」I continued.
「 "Then tell me, Dazai. If you think you're so damn smart, why don't you tell me how exactly she is going to cheat?" 」
「 "How? I believe you misunderstand me. All I said was that Esmes "may" plan on cheating. I never said I knew "how", or "when"." 」
Obviously, this was a clear stretch of words.
「 "In other words, you have no definitive proof against her." 」
「 "Precisely. All I'm doing is providing you my own opinion based on personal speculation." 」
「 "Then this conversation is over." 」
「 "I suppose so. Oh, but before you go, as a Practitioner on duty, are you sure it's wise to ignore such an accusation, no matter how uncertain it may be?" 」
「 "If there's no proof, then yes, yes I can." 」
「 "Which is precisely why I'm telling you this. So that you may look around for said proof in the event that she may actually be cheating." 」
「 "Then that would just be harassment." 」
「 "Oh please. Let's be realistic for a second. Both the worst and best case scenario for all parties involved would be this whole situation ending up as nothing more than a waste of time." 」
「 "And in the event that Esmes and her family may sue you for harassment, you do hold proper jurisdiction to defend yourself in court." 」
「 "—Tch." 」
She didn't deny it, which meant I was correct.
「 "So. What do you plan to do, Ms. Gwein?" 」
「 "Before I tell you my decision, I need to ask you something first." 」
I raised my eyebrow.
「 "Just how far do you plan to go with this?" 」
Hmm, that's a good question.
「 "—Far enough." 」
「 "Did she do something to you?" 」
「 "That doesn't matter." 」
「 "Dazai." 」
「 "This conversation is over." 」
Gwein sighs.
「 "Fine, I'll accept what you said and look into the matter. However, how I respond to the situation is up to my own discretion." 」
「 "That's perfectly fine by me." 」
「 "Good, now get back to work already, will you? Testing is almost over." 」
「 "Yeah, yeah. Oh, but before you go though, can you do me one more favor?" 」
「 "What is it now?" 」
「 "I would like my identity to remain a secret if at all possible." 」
「 "Hmm…" 」
As she went silent, Gwein glanced over at the time on her school issued wristwatch.
「 "Fine then. Happy now?" 」
「 "Indeed. I leave the rest up to you." 」