"I'm fine... I'm just too tired." Ayanokoji smiled, a bit forced.
He was indeed very tired.
Not just physically, but mentally as well.
He had experienced too much in the past two days, from meeting Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and learning a lot about his past from him, to being kidnapped, and now to the "truth" he suddenly discovered.
He had thought too much in these two days, and his head was throbbing faintly.
Ikishima Midari and Ririka didn't doubt the reason Ayanokoji Kiyotaka gave, as anyone would be mentally unwell after a kidnapping and would need time to recover.
Ikishima Midari thought a bit more.
He had just escaped danger, and he had dragged Ayanokoji Kiyotaka into wild activities until late last night. Could it be that he had demanded too much yesterday, causing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to be dispirited...?
Ikishima Midari felt guilty.
"Why don't we skip dinner and you find a place to rest for a bit?" Ririka suggested, and Ikishima Midari nodded repeatedly.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face had been very pale just now, and they were both a bit scared, fearing that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka might suddenly collapse.
Especially Ikishima Midari.
If Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hadn't died by a gunshot, but instead died from her insatiable demands like a "succubus," she would truly be devastated.
"I'm fine, you two don't think too much."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka smiled and shook his head, joking, "I haven't had a proper meal in two days. Even if I'm going back to rest, I should at least finish this meal, right?"
Ayanokoji had now regained his composure, putting aside the matter of "memory" for the time being and not dwelling on it.
Right now, he had only confirmed that "Anna Kinomiya" knew him; he couldn't yet confirm that those lost memories truly belonged to him.
After all, the Pinocchio Bracelet was only an SR item, not an SSR, so it might not be truly accurate.
He still needed more evidence and more time to prove this point; he couldn't simply draw conclusions based on a name and an item.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka subconsciously touched the Pinocchio Bracelet on his hand.
The three chances to detect lies had already been used, and the lie detection function on the Pinocchio Bracelet had entered an overheat zone, just like Pinocchio's nose, requiring a day to cool down before it could be used again.
Although the usable time was short, the Pinocchio Bracelet was indeed very useful to him.
Just its first use revealed such an important "truth" to him.
However, the Pinocchio Bracelet's verification cannot simply be taken as the "factual truth."
Just now, when he asked "Anna Kinomiya" about her mother Sophia, she personally admitted, "My mother is in Japan."
Her mother definitely isn't named Sophia, but the Pinocchio Bracelet didn't vibrate or alert, indicating it considered it a true statement.
So, is it possible that the Pinocchio Bracelet can only detect lies based on the statement itself, and does not take the statement into context for verification?
Does it judge based on facts or based on the other person's thoughts to determine if the statement is a lie? Can someone specially trained deceive its judgment?
The range, accuracy, and contextual understanding of the Pinocchio Bracelet's lie detection... Ayanokoji Kiyotaka needed to conduct multiple experiments to verify these aspects.
Once all of these are verified, using the Pinocchio Bracelet in gambling would definitely be a powerful weapon.
Combined with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's existing guaranteed system, it could completely ensure victory even in multi-round games.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and his companions didn't have to wait long; the restaurant quickly served their food.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hadn't eaten for two days, only having a bowl of instant noodles last night, so he was indeed quite hungry. As soon as the food arrived, he began to eat without ceremony.
Ikishima Midari, beside him, was also equally ravenous and couldn't resist the temptation of the food, eating heartily.
Ririka wasn't particularly hungry. Although she also picked up her chopsticks to eat, most of her attention was focused on observing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's every move.
Seeing that he had an appetite and that his complexion seemed to improve as he ate, she felt happy and relieved.
Ayanokoji's sudden display of weakness had truly frightened her, but thankfully, he was alright.
While eating, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka continued to chat with "Anna Kinomiya."
This time, he didn't ask about private matters, but just had a normal casual conversation, asking about her usual hobbies and interests.
Ririka responded to Ayanokoji with a mix of truth and falsehood, mentioning hobbies that suited her identity and responding appropriately.
Seeing that their relationship seemed to be getting closer, she took the opportunity to say, "Oh, by the way, don't call me Miss Anna anymore, just call me Anna."
..."Mmm, Anna." Ayanokoji also smiled and nodded, "You too, don't add any honorifics, just be casual."
"Then Kiyotaka… no, Ayanokoji, then please take care of me from now on."
Ririka blurted out the familiar name Kiyotaka, but she quickly realized that the address was too intimate and immediately corrected herself.
However, reaching this point was already a huge step, and she was very satisfied, a happy smile on her face.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was also silently observing Anna.
Although "Anna Kinomiya" had concealed her identity and secretly approached him, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not feel any ill will from her.
However, even if she had no ill will towards him, he still needed to maintain his vigilance.
Whether she was someone sent by the White Room to approach him, or someone related to the "Second Plan" that he still didn't quite understand, she held the information he wanted, and he needed to gather intelligence from her.
However, there was no need to rush.
Anyway, with the Pinocchio Bracelet now, he could slowly chat with her and extract information.
Sooner or later, he would figure out her background completely.
Ririka ate her meal, feeling happy about the deepening relationship between herself and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
She thought her identity hadn't been exposed, and she was full of thoughts about using this identity to build a good relationship with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, subtly prompting him to regain his memories, fall in love with her again, and rekindle their past.
She had no idea that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already seen through her disguise and was constantly thinking about how to get useful information from her...
This sounded like Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was a heartless scumbag.
However, both of their goals were to help Ayanokoji Kiyotaka regain his memories.
From this perspective, they could be considered a beautiful mutual pursuit, couldn't they?
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