A different path

Chapter 6

(POV Third Person)

After Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's expulsion, his father began hiring investigators to track and capture him. At first, they tried using security cameras to pinpoint his location, but five minutes after leaving the school, he took a route that couldn't be tracked because the area lacked cameras. They resorted to questioning local residents, showing them a picture of the brown-haired boy in hopes of gathering information about his whereabouts. Most people initially failed to recognize him, but they eventually found someone who had seen him. This gave them a lead to begin the search.

Noticing there were warehouses in the area, they decided to pay the managers to access the security cameras, once again spotting their target. They started tracing the brown-haired boy's route to get an idea of where he might be heading. Despite their experience in tracking people, they admitted their target was careful with his steps. They tried to find out if the target had any acquaintances he could turn to, but due to the limited information from their client, they couldn't find anyone close to him. However, thanks to the former principal of the school where the brown-haired boy had studied, they gained access to various student files of those who had recently graduated or been expelled from the institute.

They decided to investigate each one to see what connection they had with their target and whether any of them might know his whereabouts or have useful information. After thoroughly reviewing each file, they found three individuals: Yamauchi Haruki, a former classmate of the target who had been expelled due to the special exam; Horikita Manabu, the recently graduated former student council president from Class A, who hadn't interacted much with the target but was noted to respect him; and finally, Ichinose Honami, the former representative of Class B in the first year, who had been expelled in a class revolt and replaced by Ryuuji Kanzaki. Like Horikita, she hadn't interacted much with the target, but they considered her relevant after seeing that she had interacted with him more frequently in the days leading up to her expulsion.

With these three potential leads who might know Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's whereabouts, they decided to begin their search, starting with his former classmate, Yamauchi Haruki.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, at a car dealership, a well-dressed brown-haired young man was in what appeared to be a job interview.

"Your information is quite precise, but from where I stand, I need you to be convincing when it comes to selling," said a man about 44 years old, wearing a suit and tie.

"In the car sales business, you need to persuade the customer that this is their ideal car, so you'll demonstrate your communication skills today," he said as he began to rise from his seat.

"So, does this mean I'm hired?" asked our friend Kiyotaka.

"No, you have to pass a test. If you succeed, you're hired. If not, you'll have to find work elsewhere. Simple, right?" responded the manager.

They went outside where the cars were on display. The manager told him to observe one of his employees convincing a couple with a baby to buy a car. Kiyotaka watched as the employee found a car that suited the couple's tastes and fit within their budget. After a long discussion, the couple decided to buy the car and headed back to the dealership to sign the paperwork.

"I think after what you saw, you should have an idea of how to sell a car, right?" the manager said, watching our brown-haired friend.

"Yes," he replied.

"Perfect, because your test has begun. There's a woman looking to buy a car over there. Your main goal is to convince her to purchase one of our cars. Good luck," the manager mentioned as he stepped back to observe from a distance.