Both the police station and the mobile phone service center were located near the police station. When Ayanokoji arrived at these places and presented his loss certificate, he didn't need to go through much trouble; he simply explained the reason, and they promptly processed his requests.
The police's loss certificate was like a pass, making Ayanokoji Kiyotaka unstoppable. He quickly and smoothly processed his bank card and retrieved his phone number.
He also withdrew some cash from the bank and bought a new phone for himself and Ikishima Midari.
This phone was only for emergency use right now. He had several modified backup phones stored in his school dormitory. He only needed to restore from the cloud, and the data on his phone would immediately return to its original state.
Inserting the SIM card into the new phone, he smiled helplessly at the instant flood of 99+ messages and calls.
In middle school, his phone rarely received calls except from the carrier, but now, only two months after arriving at Private Hyakkaou Academy, he had a group of people who cared about his safety.
Just for this alone, coming to Private Hyakkaou Academy was not in vain.
Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka came to this school because his father tricked him, he didn't regret it.
When everything was done, it was exactly lunchtime.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka found a private room in a restaurant. While waiting for their order, he lowered his head and casually glanced at the unremarkable smart bracelet on his wrist.
This was the third SR item he had obtained, the [Pinocchio Bracelet].
He had acquired this item after winning a gamble against Hagen earlier, but due to the urgent situation at the time, he hadn't had time to specifically check its function.
It wasn't until today, while waiting to process his cards, that he finally had time to check his email and secretly materialize it.
The bracelet's appearance was like any ordinary smart bracelet: entirely black, capable of displaying time, and possessing standard features such as heart rate monitoring.
In addition to these, it had a special function—it could detect lies.
Just like the bracelet's name, [Pinocchio], when the person directly facing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's bracelet told a lie, the bracelet would vibrate and heat up, alerting Ayanokoji Kiyotaka that the person's words were false.
This was a very powerful function and also very useful for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
However, of course, this bracelet also had limitations.
This bracelet could detect ten sentences spoken by others each day. When more than three lies were detected, the bracelet would overheat and become unusable, like Pinocchio's elongated nose, requiring time to cool down before it could be used again.
Three lies might not be many, but they could be very useful at critical moments.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka now wanted to try out the bracelet's function to see if it was effective, so he quietly activated the feature on the bracelet.
"Miss Anna, how did you find out about my kidnapping?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly asked the "Anna Kinomiya" in front of him.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had always been very curious about the silver-haired girl in front of him.
Anna Kinomiya, a character from an anime he had watched in his previous life, had appeared vividly before him.
This filled Ayanokoji Kiyotaka with curiosity about her, and now was a good time to use the new item to investigate.
She was originally secretly glancing at Ayanokoji's face out of the corner of her eye, but when she suddenly heard him call her, her expression briefly panicked before she looked up, her face returning to calm.
"My family also has some connections within the police force. After the police received the report and identified you, I quickly learned about this matter."
She paused and added, "However, I heard Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's name, and I only found out that you were the one who was captured after you were rescued."
The Pinocchio Bracelet had no reaction.
This sentence was true.
"Your family... Miss Anna, based on your name, you're a mixed-race individual, aren't you? What are your parents' identities, to have connections within the police force in Japan?"
Ayanokoji continued to press with a question, then quickly added, "Don't misunderstand, I'm just purely curious. If this question involves privacy, then never mind."
Although Ririka was somewhat surprised by Ayanokoji's question, fortunately, Ririka remembered the relevant information about Anna Kinomiya that Ayanokoji had mentioned very clearly. She calmly recited her "persona."
"...There's nothing to hide." Ririka shook her head, a smile on her face, and said, "My mother is Sophia Kinomiya, and my father is a politician who knows some friends in the police force."
The Pinocchio Bracelet vibrated, and the side touching Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's skin felt slightly warm.
This statement was false.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's heart stirred.
What was false about this sentence? What part was false?
Her mother's name, her father's identity as a politician, or... the police friends he knew?
Although the Pinocchio Bracelet could detect lies, it seemed incapable of discerning which part of a sentence was false.
Now, he could only inquire sentence by sentence.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka started by asking about her mother: "Is your mother, Sophia, still in Japan?"
"Yes, my mother is still in Japan."
"Does she know you secretly came out to see me today? If you used your connections in the police force to inquire about me, I feel a bit bad about it..."
"No, I didn't specifically try to inquire at first. It's just that the news of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's kidnapping spread throughout the upper echelons, and I only found out by chance!" Ririka quickly shook her head and said.
The Pinocchio Bracelet remained still.
Both of these sentences were true.
Ayanokoji Fugang had been absent from the political scene for a long time. Before today, many people had even forgotten his name, forgotten that such a person once existed in politics.
But for the sake of his son, he went to great lengths this time, announcing to the entire political world, calling the leaders of various factions one by one, asking if they were responsible for the kidnapping.
Of course, his inquiries yielded no results, and Ayanokoji Fugang didn't expect anyone to admit to it through such phone interrogations.
Such inquiries were more a way for him to demonstrate his influence, serving as both a warning to the mastermind and an announcement of his "return."
After tonight, the current politicians were surprised to discover that Ayanokoji Fugang, a former prime ministerial candidate, still wielded such significant political power.
They all began to speculate about Ayanokoji Fugang's intentions, and correspondingly, the 'kidnapping of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka' also came into their view, becoming a topic of their discussion.
They all speculated about who was behind this, who made such a malicious move, targeting other people's children.
Ririka also learned about this matter by chance from her parents during a family gathering in the evening.
They even specifically warned Ririka not to go to dangerous places alone, for fear of being 'kidnapped' herself.
Both statements from Anna Kinomiya were true.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt that the Pinocchio Bracelet could only verify ten statements, and if he continued to ask, he might not get the answer he wanted before the Pinocchio Bracelet overheated.
He pondered for a moment, thought it over, and without beating around the bush, directly asked the question he cared about most.
"Anna... Is Anna Kinomiya your real name?"
A trace of panic flashed in Ririka's eyes. She didn't understand why Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would ask such a question without any preamble.
However, she didn't panic at this moment and calmly smiled, "Ayanokoji, what are you talking about? My name is, of course, Anna Kinomiya."
The Pinocchio Bracelet vibrated and became slightly warm.
...This is a lie.
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