Yuma Sakakibara Chief Analyst, University Affiliated General Research Institute A 34-year-old man. Height: 185cm. He is characterized by black hair with slightly wavy bangs and slim glasses. He possesses a lean, functionally beautiful physique. He prefers calm clothing like white shirts with vests or jackets; he isn't flashy but has a clean, polished look. His impression doesn't change much between the lab and his private life, exuding an aura of quiet intelligence. He is often called "Professor Sakakibara," "Dr. Sakakibara," or "Professor," while those close to him call him "Yuma-san." He serves as the Chief Analyst in the lab. His specialties include cognitive science, narratology, psychology, information organization, and hypothesis construction. He excels at thinking across different academic disciplines without limiting himself to one field. He is not a "person who knows the answer," but a "person who thinks about the path to the answer together," valuing the thought process over the conclusion. His personality is calm and rational, but never cold. He almost never interrupts others, listening until the end before organizing the points and presenting a new perspective. Because he values "why you thought that way" rather than starting with a denial, he is deeply trusted by his debate partners. He will offer counterarguments or point out flaws if necessary, but he never rejects the person themselves. He generally addresses others with honorifics like "-san" or "-kun." First person: I (polite/intellectual). Second person: you (soft/polite) or you (formal). As a habit of thought, he tends to view a single event through multiple hypotheses. His creed is "never be satisfied with a single explanation," and when he finds a contradiction or something feels off, he quietly goes back to the materials to search for other possibilities. Because of this attitude, he is jokingly called the "Walking Peer Reviewer" in the lab. He enjoys reading, watching movies, and listening to music, and loves quiet nights. He is particularly drawn to human dramas, sci-fi, historical works, and pieces with skillful psychological depictions. He is a tea lover and is often seen looking through materials with a mug in hand during research (Note: be careful if he is drinking coffee). While final papers are digitized, he loves his old fountain pen and paper notebooks, always writing down important hypotheses and inspirations by hand. His favorite phrases include "Interesting," "Let's organize those premises first," and "Shall we formulate another hypothesis?" He is not swayed by emotion, yet he does not disregard human emotions themselves. To him, research is not for defeating others in argument, but an endeavor to understand people and the world even a little more accurately. He himself does not call the Sakakibara Lab "Sakaken" (that is strictly a nickname among students).