The rules for their uninhabited island survival exam were different from the
rules that we had in ours before. It was basically safe to assume that, with few
exceptions, no special exams would be the same as ones that came before.
"How did you spend your time on the island before? I was thinking that I
might be able to get some clues from that," said Yagami.
Even if Kushida and I kept quiet about it and deliberately didn't tell Yagami, it
was obvious that someone else was going to tell him anyway. There probably
wasn't any need to pointlessly try and hide it from him. And besides, there was
no way that Kushida wasn't going to answer, anyway. Then, just as expected,
Kushida started to politely explain what happened during last year's island
exam. I continued to listen in silence as I followed behind the two of them.
5.3
BY THE TIME that Kushida had finished telling Yagami about the island survival
exam that we had before, the Keyaki Mall café was now just around the corner.
We had expected that it would've been easy for us to have gotten seats at the
café, but an unexpected situation had arisen.
"It's quite crowded, isn't it?" remarked Kushida.
The café was completely booked up. There were even students already
waiting near the entrance, hoping for seats to open up.
"What should we do? Do you want to try looking at the second floor for a
place to chat?" asked Kushida.
"Please just wait a moment," said Yagami.
He took out his phone with his left hand and started fiddling with it.
"I just checked with my friend. It seems like the café on the second floor is
crowded too. Since we have to wait in either case, and there only are two
parties in front of us, why not just sit tight here?" he suggested.
Apparently, his friend was already at the other café, and Yagami had just
contacted him via text. He had made a quick decision to avoid wasting time. At
the same time that we had told Yagami that we agreed with his decision, he
noticed a student approaching from behind. Maybe it was because he figured
that if we dawdled too much in putting our reservation down that another
group would get in front of us, but he grabbed a pen with his free hand while
his other was still clutching his phone and wrote down both the number of
people in our group and his last name on the board at the café entrance, with
rather nice penmanship. It was quite noticeable when compared to the scrawls
of the other students who had written down their reservations above ours.
"Wow Yagami-kun, you have such nice handwriting!" exclaimed Kushida.
It was only natural for Kushida to compliment him like that, after seeing his
penmanship. Yagami smiled, seemingly pleased about it. Then, the three of us
sat down on chairs that were placed outside near the café, to wait our turn.
"Well, my grandfather taught me that even if I'm not capable in my studies,
that I should at least write neatly," said Yagami.
"Your grandpa?" asked Kushida.
"Yes. My grandfather is a calligraphy instructor, you see," he replied.
"That's amazing. My handwriting isn't particularly neat," replied Kushida,
humbly.
Kushida was being modest. As far as I could remember from the few times
that I had seen her writing, I wouldn't say that it was bad at all. Though her
handwriting wasn't as sophisticated as Yagami's, I remembered that she had
neat penmanship and used rounded, girlish characters. Even so, this student
Yagami didn't seem to be boastful about his own abilities. Even though he said
something about not being capable academically earlier, his academic ability
ranking in OAA was currently rated A, which was exceptionally high. He was an
honors student without a hint of nastiness about him. That impression made
me think that he was practically Yousuke's double. After a while, a table for four
became available, so we put in our orders and took our seats.
"To tell you the truth… Well, you might be thinking that it's rather late for me
to be mentioning this, but there's something I wanted to tell you, Ayanokoujisenpai. You already know about the special exam that had been given only to
an extremely limited number of first-year students, right?" said Yagami.
Kushida listened to what Yagami was saying with a puzzled look on her face,
probably because she hadn't received any explanation about this prior. This
special exam that Yagami was talking about, which was limited to very few
people, was where the school would pay out twenty million points to anyone
who manages to get me expelled, of course. Considering the way that Yagami
had said that though, it seemed like it wasn't just a rumor he heard about. He
seemed to know about it as a real thing. However, just to be sure, I decided to
wait and see what he was going to say next. Without confirming nor denying
what Yagami had said, I instead waited for him to continue speaking. In
response to that, Yagami nodded.
"I had heard about it myself back in April. However, since I wasn't interested
in setting someone up to fall like that to receive a reward, I didn't want to
participate at all," said Yagami.
It was true that Yagami hadn't done anything to me at all. If he had been
interested in getting the bounty, then it wouldn't have been surprising if we
exchanged glances once or twice. However, Yagami never seemed to have even
looked in my direction until recently.
"Why are you talking to me about this now?" I asked.
"I had recently heard that Housen-kun made a pre-emptive strike which
ended in failure. And that his attempt was the cause of the wound on your left
hand, Ayanokouji-senpai. I don't find the idea of him doing something
inhumane unbelievable at all, but it seems like what he actually ended up doing
went far beyond what I could even imagine," said Yagami.
"Well, I'm not going to deny that," I replied.
Kushida's gaze flickered back and forth between Yagami and me as she
listened to our incomprehensible conversation, trying to make sense of what
she was hearing. At the rate things were going, Yagami was likely going to spell
everything out loud anyway.
"There is also…one more reason why I decided to talk to you, senpai," said
Yagami.
However, Yagami didn't get into telling me about that one other reason right
away.
"I had intended to simply stay on the sidelines as a bystander, for the sake of
protecting the first-year students. However, if I leave things as they are, then
Ayanokouji-senpai will… Well, I had determined that, depending on how this
situation played out, there was a possibility that the damage could even extend
to your classmates, Kushida-senpai. That's why I had asked Kushida-senpai to
set up this meeting so that I could tell you everything that I know," said Yagami.
Kushida, who had been listening to the conversation, raised her left hand
apologetically, hoping to find out what was going on.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what you're talking about…" said
Kushida, sheepishly.
"Would it be all right if I continued?" asked Yagami, turning to me.
"I don't have any right to stop you," I replied.
It seemed that Yagami had Kushida sit with us during this meeting because he
was worried about her. Even if I told Yagami no, that it wouldn't be okay for him
to talk about this here, if he ended up talking with Kushida later about it,
without my knowledge, it wouldn't make a difference.
"In that case, I'll explain everything, starting from the beginning, so that you
can understand the full story. It started with a call from the Student Council
President Nagumo. We were instructed to choose one or two representatives
from each class and to gather in the student council office in secret. In truth, it
wasn't long after we had started school that we had been called in," said
Yagami.
The key words "student council" stuck out in Yagami's story.
"The first-year students who had gathered there included Takahashi Osamukun and Ishigami Kyou-kun from Class A, me from Class B, Utomiya Riku-kun
from Class C, and finally, Housen Kazuomi-kun and Nanase Tsubasa-san from
Class D. A total of six people participated," said Yagami.
If that was true, then what he said was valuable information. It wasn't mere
coincidence that those two people from Class 1-C came up and talked to me
then. However, what concerned me most of all was that Amasawa's name
wasn't on the list.
"The special exam that we were given was to get the second-year student
Ayanokouji-senpai expelled," said Yagami.
"Huh?! Getting Ayanokouji-kun expelled?!" exclaimed Kushida, surprised, but
still speaking in a quiet voice.
Yagami nodded and then continued speaking. As far as I could tell, Kushida
wasn't acting suspicious or in any way that indicated she knew about this
beforehand. She didn't seem to know anything.
"We were told to get it done by the start of the second semester at the latest,
by any means necessary. We were also warned to not let anyone aside from the
six of us find out about the contents of this special exam. Since Utomiya-kun
and I were representing our classes alone though, we were each allowed to
choose one classmate from our respective classes to talk to, to make things fair,
but I still hadn't talked to anyone. There is still a possibility that Utomiya-kun
may have talked to someone, though," said Yagami.
Meaning that at this point in time, six or seven of the first-year students were
aware of this particular special exam.
"It was Nagumo-senpai, the student council president, who told the six of us
that he would pay out twenty million points to the student who got Ayanokoujisenpai expelled," added Yagami.
"Th-that's an incredible number of points… H-how could the school approve
something like that?" exclaimed Kushida.
Well, I supposed that anyone would have been shocked to have heard about
this exam. The question of how much I could actually trust Yagami was
something that was going to bother me for a while yet, but for the time being, it
didn't seem like he's lying. On the other hand, if he was lying and those lies
were exposed later, then the relationship that Yagami and I would turn sour. If
the second-year D class were disadvantaged in some way, Kushida would
probably be harmed as well.
"It's perfectly understandable why you'd be so surprised to hear this, Kushidasenpai. We didn't know much about this school ourselves back in April, but now
we know much better. We understand that this special exam is certainly highly
unusual. It was only because I had been able to make that determination that I
had asked you to help me arrange this meeting," said Yagami.
After he had gotten through that much of his explanation, Yagami brought his
cup close to his mouth, looking like he was taking a moment to pause and catch
his breath. Now that Kushida had come to learn about the connection between
the twenty million points and getting me expelled, Kushida asked Yagami a
question.
"Isn't it kind of strange though, that the student council president would hold
his own special exam…?" she asked.
"Yes, I suppose so. Well, I think it's better to say that it's a matter of how I
expressed the idea that is causing the confusion here. Although this has been
called a 'special exam' for simplicity's sake, when you get down to it, I think it
might be easier to think of this as a sort of challenge issued by Student Council
President Nagumo to the first-year students," said Yagami.
There was a chance that Nagumo was involved in this matter. Horikita had the
job of exploring that possibility. However, just when I thought that Nagumo
himself wouldn't reveal his involvement so easily, the truth came out from an
unexpected party, Yagami.
"Wh-why Ayanokouji-kun, though? Are there any other students that are
being targeted like he is?" asked Kushida.
"Just Ayanokouji-senpai, as far as I have heard. As for the question of why
him, I don't think there's any significant reason for it. President Nagumo said
that he chose randomly from the second-year students. Which means that he
simply drew one person out of 157 names," said Yagami.
I supposed that Yagami wouldn't have a way of understanding the full story as
he didn't know about Nagumo's background. He didn't seem to even doubt the
idea that I had been randomly selected. Of course, it wasn't like there was a
zero percent chance that Nagumo had gone through the trouble of setting up
some kind of lottery system and I had just been chosen by completely chance,
but given the circumstances, I didn't think that was likely.
I had to wonder if Nagumo would go through the trouble of preparing twenty
million points to deal with me. From what I had seen of him through now, I
couldn't imagine that he was the type of guy to go that far. Well, no, to be more
precise, I'm sure that he would do anything if he decided he'd do it, but I wasn't
sure that his opinion of me was high enough to warrant it.
"Assuming that this is a special exam initiated by the student council
president personally, how could he have gotten the twenty million points?" I
asked, prodding Yagami a little to find out what hidden possibilities could still
be in store.
"Yes, that's a good question. I'm sorry to say this, but couldn't this all be a lie
or a joke? I can't believe that he would put up twenty million points for such a
puzzling exam," said Kushida, incredulous.
I had expected her to react that way. Twenty million points was just far too
large a sum. If the student council president suddenly told you that he was
going to pay out such a high amount, anyone would normally be suspicious.
"It certainly is a hefty sum, for sure. I can see now how difficult it would be to
accumulate that many Private Points. But at that time, we first-year students
had only just started here, and with him being a third-year student, student
council president, and someone from Class A, we naturally trusted him more
than any regular student. More importantly though, I suppose we naively
thought that of course he would have that many points," said Yagami.
Although the amount of points the students got this year was lower than
what we started with last year, the new students still all received 80,000 points
upon entering the school. And that amount was deposited into their accounts
every month. The dormitory was clean and well-equipped, and the Keyaki Mall
was almost exclusively for the students' use. There was a wide variety of stores.
For students coming here, it was like being tossed into a dream world. We had
experienced firsthand the sensation of losing our idea of what money was
worth ourselves, after first coming here last year.
"And the truth of the matter is, I had confirmed with my own eyes that he
does have the twenty million points," said Yagami.
It wasn't strange at all that a man like Nagumo would have amassed such a
vast sum.
"But didn't you find the idea of participating in a special that wasn't
sanctioned by the school to be a little, well, uncomfortable?" asked Kushida.
"Putting aside the unpleasant nature of the assignment itself, no one really
felt uncomfortable about the whole thing. I think that all the students aside
from me were very open to it. They said that it was a legitimate special exam,"
said Yagami.
"I've never heard of the student council president issuing a special exam,
though," said Kushida.
"Well, it wasn't because he trusted President Nagumo that we accepted the
idea of the exam, though," said Yagami.
"Huh…?" replied Kushida.
"When the student council president told us about the exam, the Acting
Director was present, as a witness," said Yagami.
And so, Tsukishiro, the person who had suspected was most likely to have
been involved in this matter, had now come into play. The fact that Tsukishiro
and Nagumo were working together and behind the twenty million points being
put up had now been confirmed.
"In a situation like that, it would be entirely reasonable to accept what was
said as a special exam without question, don't you think?" said Yagami.
"Yes, if the Acting Director was there… Yes, you're absolutely right," said
Kushida.
A special exam to get a student expelled. Some students would find that idea
outrageous and suspect something was up after hearing something like that.
However, the fact that the Acting Director was present had drowned out those
suspicions.
"That is all the information I have on the matter," said Yagami.
"Although I'm grateful that you told me all of this, you might have brought
some danger on yourself by telling me," I told him.
This was immensely helpful advice for me, but there wasn't any benefit for
Yagami.
"Will you be all right, Yagami-kun? If the fact you told us about this happened
to get out, then…" said Kushida, trailing off.
"I'll be all right, Kushida-senpai. I didn't hear anything about any sort of
penalty for telling other people about it," said Yagami, flashing a smile, ignoring
the concerns.
"Besides, I'm already prepared for the hate that I'll be getting from the other
first-years. We were destined to clash with each other sooner or later anyway,"
he added.
It seemed like he was fully prepared to meet the challenge, from the sound of
it. Yagami Takuya of Class 1-B was most likely, fundamentally speaking, the type
of person who adopted a nonaggressive defense policy. However, he might also
make a pre-emptive strike out based on the principle of self-defense if the
situation called for it. However, the extent to which Yagami was able to see the
situation was unclear.
In a corner of the café, among the many students there, a female student
occasionally glanced over in my direction repeatedly. She was seated directly
behind Yagami, so he probably hadn't noticed her there. It was Tsubaki
Sakurako, from Class 1-C. Not too long after we started our conversation, she
showed up at the café and positioned herself perfectly amongst the crowd,
observing us from her seat. She had her cell phone in her hand and appeared to
be talking to someone.
Was she after me…? Or perhaps her intention was to monitor Yagami, who
had been casually chatting with me, at length? In any case, Tsubaki now knew
that Yagami and I had been in contact. Whether this was coincidence or an
inevitability, this was not a desirable situation for Yagami. In the relatively small
confines of this campus, it was difficult to avoid being watched, no matter what
you did. Even if a student couldn't track a person on their own, they could cover
a large area if their entire class were working together. This was also proof that
the first-year students were engaged in their own battles.
"Please be careful, Ayanokouji-senpai. It's quite possible that there are other
students who, like me, broke the rules by telling their friends about this special
exam," said Yagami.
"Okay, with that in mind, who do you think I should watch out for then,
Yagami?" I asked.
"Let's see. I suppose that if you really think about it, Housen-kun from Class 1-
D is definitely someone you should be wary of. An opponent who completely
disregards the rules when he comes after you can be quite troubling," said
Yagami.
So, it sounded like Housen was perceived to be a dangerous person, even
among the first-year students after all.
"However, if I had to name just one person to watch out for, then—"
Yagami was just about to say someone's name, but he seemed hesitant to
finish his sentence.
"No, I think I'll stop here, actually," said Yagami.
"Huh? Why? I'm kind of curious," said Kushida.
Yagami let out a slight chuckle, and then responded.
"I feel like this isn't something I should talk about with you or the other
students in your grade. If I mention the name of the name of the person that
I'm wary of, then you'll naturally take notice of that person, right? I think that it
is important, but I don't think it's fair. I am sorry that I had said that about
Housen-kun earlier though," said Yagami.
It was true that Kushida and I would be wary if we were told that someone in
one of the classes was a danger. We could also warn our class about whoever it
was and prepare.
"Also, I'm not entirely sure yet still. I only have something of a hunch that this
person is dangerous," admitted Yagami.
Yagami seemed to think that even rivals should fight fairly.
"I'll look into the matter during the next special exam, for the time being. If I
find that this person really is a danger, then I will tell you about it then,
Ayanokouji-senpai," said Yagami, promising to warn me after he confirmed the
facts with his own two eyes.
"Please take care, Yagami-kun," said Kushida.
"Yes, I will. Oh, and also… I don't mind if it's after the uninhabited island exam
is over, but I would like to make some time to meet with you again, Kushidasenpai, just the two of us. There is something that I have to talk to you about,"
said Yagami.
"O-okay. Sure. What about, though…?" said Kushida.
Kushida had pretended like she didn't know what was going on by responding
like that, but even someone like me, who was a bit slow on the uptake when it
came to these kinds of things guessed that there was something. The way that
Yagami looked at Kushida was different from how a student would normally
look at an older student.
"In any case, the information you gave was very helpful, Yagami. I appreciate
it," I told him.
"It's all right. I felt like it was it was ridiculous for you to be the only one at a
disadvantage, Ayanokouji-senpai," said Yagami.
"I'd like to say thank you too, Yagami-kun. Really, you've been a major help,"
said Kushida.
"Just hearing you say that is reward enough for me. If Ayanokouji-senpai were
to be expelled, it would inevitably cause your class to suffer a great deal of
damage. And I really do want you to graduate from Class A too, Kushidasenpai," said Yagami.
There weren't many first-year students that I had spent a long time talking to
like this. Out of all of them, Yagami seemed to be an exceptionally ordinary
honors student, and nothing more. I had always been on my guard as I had
interacted with various students, thinking that someone might be the White
Room agent, but so far, he seemed to the least unnatural first-year student with
which I had interacted.
He hadn't really done anything in particular to me so far. Far from it. He has
been quite generous in giving me helpful information. Of course, that didn't
mean he was innocent. I wasn't going to rule him out, but if Yagami was the
White Room agent, then I felt like he was an opponent that I really didn't want
to deal with. I did have my doubts that someone raised in that facility could
become so natural in such a brief period of time. Anyway, for the time being, I'd
just make the most of the information that Yagami had graciously given to me.
"It looks like there are even more people here now. I've finished my piece, so
if it's all right with you, I'll be going on ahead now. Please excuse me," said
Yagami.
"Do you have something else going on?" asked Kushida.
"Oh no, I just want to avoid letting the other kids from my grade see me," said
Yagami.
Though it was too late now, it was still the right idea. I thanked him once
again, and then Yagami made his exit. After he left, I stayed behind with
Kushida.
"Seems like you've got yourself a good kouhai there, Kushida," I remarked.
"Yeah. He's almost too good for me, really… But this really isn't the sort of
development I was hoping for," said Kushida, tracing the rim of her cup with her
index finger.
I didn't say anything aloud, but I already knew what Kushida was thinking
about without really having to give it any thought. If Yagami had attended the
same junior high that she went to, there was a possibility that he had known
about her past.
"Yagami-kun knows," said Kushida.
Kushida simply came out and told me the answer to the question that I was
curious about.
"Is that okay? For you to just come out and tell me that, I mean," I replied.
"Even if he didn't know, it wouldn't make a difference," said Kushida.
"Meaning—" I replied, before getting cut off.
"It means that I'll have to make him disappear as soon as possible," said
Kushida.
When Kushida muttered those words, looking at me as she spoke, I saw that
there was a kind of intense determination in her eyes. Yagami clearly seemed to
adore Kushida, but despite that, she still viewed him as an enemy? It seemed
like Kushida would never, ever look favorably upon anyone who knew about her
past.
"It'll be harder to eliminate an underclassman compared to Horikita or me," I
told her.
"I suppose that all depends on how you go about it," replied Kushida.
Judging from the way she said that, it sounded as though she already had a
plan in mind.
"It's the people who think that they're so good, those who are so boastful of
their excellence, who are the ones who get done in so easily. You and Horikitasan are no exception, Ayanokouji-kun," said Kushida.
"I thought we had agreed to a truce?" I replied.
"For now," said Kushida.
I hadn't really been planning to let my guard down to begin with, but Kushida
seemed like she was especially motivated.
"At the moment I've been on something of a losing streak right though, so I'm
going to just sit quietly. For now," said Kushida, pushing her chair back, showing
me that she was ready to leave.
"See you later, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Yeah."
Since there was no reason for me to stop her, I simply watched Kushida go.
What I had just learned now was that Kushida was working on some kind of
strategy from behind the scenes.
5.4
AFTER PARTING WAYS with Yagami and Kushida, I headed over to the
convenience store since I thought that I'd bring a little something with me for
Keisei and the others when we met up. I also wanted to give the person who
had been following me a at a safe distance a chance to make contact. I decided
to buy some random snacks and several drinks.
"Um…" said a voice.
It was long and drawn-out. Just as I was about to pay for my items, Tsubaki
from Class 1-C approached me from behind. I saw that she was holding some
kind of lollipop in her hand, probably meant as some slapdash way of appearing
like she had simply come into the store to buy something.
"Oh, Tsubaki. You need something from me?" I asked, without mentioning the
fact that she was at the café.
"I want to talk to you about something. Could you wait outside for me?" she
asked.
Tsubaki, looking somewhat listless, went ahead and paid for her candy. It was
truly that we couldn't exactly have a conversation right at the register, so I
decided to quietly wait outside the store. I had waited for a while, but there
wasn't any sign of her coming out. When I turned around though, I saw that
Tsubaki was simply looking at me while holding onto her phone and talking with
someone. Wow, that was a pretty bold thing for her to do, making someone
wait for her like that.
"Sorry I made you wait," said Tsubaki.
Tsubaki peeled the candy wrapper off with her delicate fingers as she started
walking. She was headed in the direction of the dorms.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked.
"There was something I wanted to tell you, Ayanokouji-senpai, the next time I
saw you," said Tsubaki.
Okay, so she had been thinking there was something she wanted to tell me.
What, though? I thought she would've stared getting into it right away, but she
just kept licking her lollipop, not saying anything. Rather than being interested
in me, it seemed like she was just paying attention to what was in front of her.
"Is it about Utomiya?" I asked.
When I said the name of the student I could think of just then, Tsubaki
stopped licking her candy.
"Seems like I was right," I added.
"He said that he'd be right over," said Tsubaki.
So, the person she had been speaking to on the phone back in the café was
her classmate Utomiya after all, huh? A brief time after Tsubaki had called him,
Utomiya came walking this way. Utomiya gave a gentle nod as he met up with
us.
"Sorry for calling you out to talk like this," said Utomiya.
"What in the world is this about?" I asked.
Was this about Yagami? Or was this perhaps about the special exam I've
heard about?
"It's about Housen Kazuomi," said Utomiya.
What came out of his mouth though was the name of a student that I hadn't
been expecting.
"Ayanokouji-senpai, you had partnered up with Housen during the special
exam in April, right?" said Utomiya.
Back then, Tsubaki had been looking for a second-year student to partner up
with. Utomiya had approached me to ask if I could partner up with her, but I
had turned them down.
"I never imagined that your prior engagement was Housen," said Utomiya.
"Is it that surprising?" I asked.
"I'm sure that you're already well aware that Class D doesn't cooperate with
others that easily. Even in this uninhabited island survival exam we have now,
they've been entirely uncooperative, even up until the last minute," said
Utomiya.
Housen should already know that there's no advantage in being isolated.
Housen seemed like he was going to keep acting bullheadedly without backing
down.
"And?" I asked.
"We want to catch him off guard and hit him with a surprise attack in this
exam," said Utomiya.
His previously polite tone had become more aggressive, and his lips
tightened.
"However, we don't understand what the exam is going to be about. And the
rules aren't very clear either," I replied.
"Well… Yes, it's certainly true that there's no guarantee that we can lay any
traps for the other groups or anything. But as long as the fact we're competing
with one another is a definite, I'm sure that something along those lines is going
to be involved," said Utomiya.
That interpretation of the situation was most definitely correct. The idea that
groups would be fighting against other groups was a given.
"Housen doesn't have that many Private Points right now. Meaning, if he
were to be eliminated during this exam, even considering the lighter penalties
that first-year students get, Housen won't be able to pay up," said Utomiya.
In which case, Housen Kazuomi would unavoidably be expelled from Class 1-
D.
"Are you saying that you want to get him expelled?" I asked.
"You bet your… I mean, yes, I do," said Utomiya.
Although he kept dropping his more polite tone and his word choices got
more casual throughout our conversation, he answered without hesitation.
"Can I start by asking why?" I asked.
"A boy from Class 1-C got expelled. His name was Hatano. I'm guessing that
Housen had something to do with it," said Utomiya.
I supposed if he was willing to throw out a name, then that meant he had
collected a fair number of clues.
"So, this is payback then?" I asked.
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't hold a grudge, of course. But the important
thing is to make sure that no one else gets inadvertently expelled," said
Utomiya.
"Yeah. Thanks to that, we lost a hundred Class Points," mumbled Tsubaki
dryly, popping her candy back into her mouth.
"All right, I get the reason why, but what does this have to do with me?" I
asked.
"Housen, fundamentally speaking, does not work together with anyone
outside of his group. However, he worked with you, Ayanokouji-senpai," said
Utomiya.
So, he thought that by reaching out and contacting me, he might find some
kind of weakness of Housen's that he could exploit. Judging from Utomiya's
attitude, it seemed like he really did want to defeat Housen. Tsubaki didn't
seem to feel the same way, but I supposed that she was willing to cooperate
with Utomiya. Otherwise, she wouldn't have functioned as a go-between to
connect me with Utomiya.
"Please help me," said Utomiya.
"I can't really just say yes to that when I don't know what exactly we're going
to be evaluated on in this exam," I replied.
"In that case, would you please at least consider the offer and keep it in
mind? If you do help us to eliminate Housen at an early stage of the test and
manage to get him expelled, then… When that happens, we will pay you reward
you handsomely," said Utomiya.
He seemed to be offering to buy my services, but there more than a few
things about this that I found difficult to swallow.
"Didn't you consider the possibility that maybe I'm on Housen's side? We
might even have a decent relationship, considering that we were partners
before. Didn't you think that there could have been a risk in telling me what you
just did?" I asked.
In any case, he was divulging way too much information, without trying to
protect himself at all.
"Well, that's—" said Utomiya, before suddenly stopping.
Utomiya then directed his attention over to Tsubaki for the first time during
the course of our conversation. I followed suit, looking over in her direction as
well. Her lollipop was starting to get smaller, and Tsubaki looked somewhat
forlorn. Perhaps she hadn't realized that she had attracted the attention of both
of us, but she just stared at her candy. Not too long afterward though, she
opened her mouth to speak.
"Didn't you get the injury on your left hand during your altercation with
Housen-kun though?" she remarked, proceeding to lick her candy again with
the tip of her tongue.
"What makes you think that?" I asked.
"Because we were after the twenty-million-point reward, too," she replied,
openly admitting to it without seeming to feel any guilt over it.
"I see. So, you were taking part in that special exam too then? I'm guessing
that means when you approached me before, you were pretending to look for a
partner?" I asked.
Even though Yagami had already given me information about their
involvement, I pretended that I didn't know they had taken part. On the other
hand, though, Tsubaki didn't mention anything at all about the fact that I had
been in contact with Yagami.
"Yep, exactly," she answered.
"But even if I had partnered up with Tsubaki back then, there wasn't anything
you could have done to have forced me to be expelled, right?" I asked.
While it was true that they could have gotten me expelled if Tsubaki had
given up on the exam herself, that would've meant she would've been expelled,
too.
"Probably can't answer that," said Tsubaki.
Up until this point, I had thought that out of the two of them, Utomiya had
been the brains of the operation. However, judging from how things looked
now, I could see something that suggested that wasn't the case.
"I do apologize for that. However, we're no longer participating in that exam,"
said Utomiya.
"Why?" I asked.
"Even if we were able to get you expelled, Ayanokouji-senpai, word about it
would spread throughout the school in the blink of an eye. And it would
obviously make us and Class 2-D enemies then. It's only natural that your
classmates would resent us for having pushed you out of the school," said
Utomiya.
He was essentially saying that he had realized that fact now, precisely
because his own ally was expelled due to Housen's actions.
"Okay then, in that case, wouldn't it be the same thing if you got Housen
expelled?" I asked.
"I don't believe so. Housen's own class is afraid of him. In fact, I believe that
many of his own classmates would rather see him gone," said Utomiya.
If you weren't worried about people holding a grudge against you, you could
do whatever you wanted without hesitation, I supposed.
"Anyway, please keep my offer in mind. All we want is to defeat Housen," said
Utomiya.
After he had reiterated that part specifically, Utomiya and Tsubaki left,
heading towards the first-year students' dormitory. These students from Class
1-C didn't let me on to what they were thinking, neither this time they had
reached out to me nor the last time. Even so, the question of their relevance to
the White Room agent was still unclear. For the time being, I would stay on my
guard, and keep in mind what they had told me about Housen.
5.5
HORIKITA HAD JOINED the student council, but even after officially becoming a
member, I wasn't getting any new information. Personal opinions about
Nagumo aside, it seemed like the student council operated smoothly. Things
got set in motion over the weekend, when we were about to finish with task of
forming groups after the first week. I had gotten a call from Vice President
Kiriyama. That was how this got started.
Kiriyama had originally supported the previous student council president,
Horikita Manabu, who had graduated last year. He had intended to stop
Nagumo from running amok. But in the end, time had passed without the
situation taking a turn for the better. Perhaps Kiriyama had given up too. At
least that's what I had thought, but then he came up and said he wanted to
meet with me personally, setting up an appointment.
Still, what in the world was he thinking, calling me out to talk in broad
daylight after class on a weekday? If he wanted to keep this meeting a secret
from Nagumo, he could have chosen to meet late at night or early in the
morning. That wouldn't have been out of the ordinary. If he had been planning
to act with caution, then he should have done that. I didn't bother to point that
out to him though. I just agreed to his request.
After class, I went over to Keyaki Mall to meet up with Kiriyama.
"So, you came," said Kiriyama.
"What on Earth does the Vice President want with me?" I asked.
"Don't be in such a hurry to wrap this up. I'm going to ask you to stick around
for a little while today," said Kiriyama, urging me to walk with him.
I proceeded to walk alongside him.
"The large-scale uninhabited island survival special exam is going to start at
the end of this month. Are you prepared for it?" he asked.
I was expecting him to talk about the student council, but what he brought up
instead was the special exam.
"I just intend to do what I can. What about you, Vice President Kiriyama?" I
asked.
"I've formed a group of three people, representing the three classes other
than A," he replied.
In other words, he was trying to avoid a tough battle to shorten the gap
between Class A and the rest. In the case of the third-year students, the gap in
Class Points between Class A and the rest was even greater than what it was
like in our grade. If the lower-level classes wanted to hold onto the possibility of
turning the tables on Class A, it was necessary for them to snag the top spots in
this exam with groups made up of their own respective classes.
"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that if we, that is to say, thirdyear Class B, were going to make a comeback, we would absolutely need to
take first place in this exam with a group made up students from our own class
and only our own class. And that the only way we'll be able to make a win
possible is if we continue to win the special exams that follow by an
overwhelming margin. But that's just far too unrealistic," said Kiriyama.
I supposed that if miracles could happen so easily, then he wouldn't have
been put into this predicament in this first place.
"I'm hoping to use this particular special exam to stage a personal battle with
Nagumo," said Kiriyama.
"A personal battle?" I repeated.
"It has been quite a while since we had lost our battle with Nagumo and were
demoted down to Class B. And now he's the student council president and has
control of not just our entire grade, but of the entire school. It's safe to say that
things have already been settled as a class," said Kiriyama.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I think so, too," I replied.
The majority of the third-year students were following Nagumo now simply
because they had given up on trying to get to Class A.
"But speaking personally, I don't think that I'm inferior to Nagumo," said
Kiriyama.
The third-year Class B student known as Kiriyama did have high scores in OAA.
He had scores of B+ or better all around, and no apparent deficiencies. It was no
wonder that he'd be so confident in himself. However, Nagumo Miyabi was
even better in terms of overall ability. You could say that Nagumo's cocksure
attitude was actually commensurate with his abilities.
But it was also true that OAA wasn't everything. There were some students
who didn't demonstrate their full potential, and there were other students who
had unique talents, like quick-wittedness or insight, which are difficult to
express as numerical values and thus are not reflected in OAA. If Kiriyama
personally believed that he can beat Nagumo though, then he must have some
chance of success.
"You can form groups of up to a maximum of six people, regardless of class.
And in order to win, you need an eye for talented people that you need on your
team, as well as the ability to actually bring them onto your team—In that
respect, I don't think I'll lose to Nagumo," said Kiriyama.
This was a special exam that had two distinct aspects. While you could also
compete with other grade levels, you could also use this test as a way to fight
people within your own grade. It seemed that this island survival exam was one
of the few remaining chances that Kiriyama had left.
"I understand where you're going with all this, but this really isn't something
that you specifically needed to report to me about, is it?" I asked.
I couldn't imagine that there was any benefit for him in telling me all of this.
"I don't want you to get in the way," he replied.
"I'm not interested in your fight with the Student Council President," I
answered.
"I understand that. What I'm trying to say is, I don't want any outsiders to do
something that would hamper me."
"Outsiders?"
"I'm talking about Horikita Suzune. The person who just joined the student
council," said Kiriyama.
"I see. It seems like you're seeing her as a hindrance, but just for your
information, I sent her to join the student council based on the wishes of her
older brother, the former Student Council President," I answered.
Maybe that no longer mattered in Kiriyama's mind anymore. Still, I decided to
point that outright though, just to make sure.
"It's meaningless now. He only has a few months remaining as President,
anyway. If there's anything that I can do from this point onward, it's not trying
to remove him from his position, it's just to trying to settle the score, as
individuals," said Kiriyama.
"Well, if that's what you want, Vice President Kiriyama, then why not just go
ahead and do it?" I asked.
It wasn't odd at all for him to want to settle things properly, as individuals.
The only question here was what this all had to do with me.
"The reason why you had Horikita-senpai's little sister to join the council was
to keep an eye on Nagumo, right?" he asked.
"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it at all, but the main reason for it was
something else entirely. Just as Horikita herself said in front of President
Nagumo before, it's so she could follow the same path that her older brother
took," I replied.
"In that case, she's not going to try and get in Nagumo's way?" he asked.
"As long as Horikita doesn't think that Nagumo is an obstacle, no," I replied.
"That's not good enough. I want her to abandon any and all thoughts of trying
to deal with Nagumo. Anything more will only lead to unnecessary conflict,"
said Kiriyama.
So, he was basically taking back what he said to me before and asking that
things go back to how they were. Originally, I couldn't have cared less. But now,
I just had a desire to see what Nagumo was going to do up close. If Horikita
determined that what Nagumo was doing was wrong, she would most likely
stand up to him. But it was a bit odd that Kiriyama was telling me not to let her
do that, saying that it would be meaningless.
I listened to his warning and thought I'd give him a vague response just to
keep things moving.
"I'll keep what you said in mind, Vice President Kiriyama," I replied.
Perhaps Kiriyama didn't like hearing such a non-committal answer because
there were signs of disapproval in his eyes.
"I meant that as a polite, indirect way of saying, 'Don't do anything,'" said
Kiriyama.
"I thought I was responding in a roundabout way too, saying that I
understood what you meant," I replied.
"In that case, you're swearing to me right here and now that you are not
going to do anything. Can I interpret what you said as such?" he asked.
"You can interpret what I said however you like, but I'm not saying anything,"
I answered.
As this pointless back-and-forth continued, the typically calm, collected
Kiriyama now started to raise his tone a bit in anger.
"Nagumo had known, more or less, that I had been working with Horikitasenpai. But because I've been Nagumo's yes-man and doing everything he asks,
he's just been keeping a low profile, quietly watching. Even something as simple
as Horikita-senpai's little sister joining the council could be troublesome. And if
she were to do something unnecessary—"
"Then it would put you in danger, Vice President Kiriyama?" I asked, finishing
his sentence for him.
"…Yes, that's right."
So, that was the reason he had specifically called me up and giving me this
stern warning. On the face of it, what he was doing out of concern for us. But in
reality, it seemed to be coming more from a place of self-preservation. Of
course, I wasn't saying that was a bad thing. I had no intention of voicing any
complaints about the relationship between Nagumo and Kiriyama, a
relationship in which a winner and a loser had already been decided.
"Do you want that chance for anyone to graduate from Class A? What
Nagumo had proposed?" I asked.
"I…" he stammered.
The former student council president, Horikita Manabu, held onto a policy
based on the premise that students would win as an entire class. Well, no, that
was actually the school's policy as a whole, until just this year. Going with that
policy though makes it impossible to win against the third-year Class A, led by
Nagumo. In truth, it was basically as though it had already been decided that
Kiriyama would be graduating from Class B.
However, if he followed Nagumo and won based on his own personal
strengths, then this situation might change. If Kiriyama was an exceptionally
talented individual, then there was a possibility that he could rise to Class A. He
said that he wanted to have a personal battle with Nagumo on the island, but in
the end, he just wants to get to the top so that he can collect Private Points. He
was just using this whole thing as a pretext so that Horikita and I wouldn't get in
his way. That was all. In fact, he probably wasn't planning to do anything like
throwing down the gauntlet at Nagumo's feet and issuing him a challenge.
"Is it so strange…to want to graduate from a Class?" he asked.
There was nothing strange about it. Kiriyama continued speaking. I supposed
he was saying this for the sake of protecting his own pride.
"What is the point of even coming to this school if you're going to graduate
from a class other than A? I don't want to end up like those who had the talent
but gave up the fight. I don't want to go down that road. And I absolutely do
not want to go down with the rest of the incompetent losers and freaks in Class
B," said Kiriyama.
I wondered if Manabu would have been disappointed if he heard what
Kiriyama was saying right now. Or would Manabu simply say that he had
already known that Kiriyama had this weak side all along, from the beginning?
"At any rate, I think you understand what I'm trying to get at," said Kiriyama.
"Yes, I do, very well. I also understand why only you were present aside from
Nagumo, Vice President, when Horikita had joined the student council, while
the other student council members were introduced to her later," I replied.
He had been worried that I or Horikita might have said something
unnecessary.
"You can say anything you—"
"Kiriyama."
While we were in the midst of our conversation, a voice called to Vice
President Kiriyama from nearby. Although Kiriyama's name was called
specifically, he didn't seem to react to it right away.
"Kiriyama. Don't you hear me?" said the voice, slightly louder than before.
"Ugh, speak of the devil…" muttered Kiriyama in a faint voice before turning
to who had been calling him, somewhat begrudgingly.
What I looked myself, I saw that there was a female third-year student sitting
down on the bench. She seemed to be relaxing, sitting with back against the
bench, legs crossed, and arms outstretched. I compared the face of the person I
saw there against the records in OAA, to see what her name and abilities were.
So, looks like this was…Kiryuuin, from third-year Class B.
"What do you want?" asked Kiriyama.
They were supposed to be classmates, but Kiriyama's disgruntled look on his
face wasn't changing when he turned towards her. These two didn't seem to be
very compatible, from the looks of things.
"Fu fu. Well, it just looks like you're together with an interesting kouhai, so I
thought I'd say hello," said Kiryuuin, directing her gaze over at me.
"Your name's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, right? I've heard that you've become a bit
of a celebrity after you got a perfect score on that tough math test," she added.
Before I could respond to her though, Kiriyama butted in, speaking in a raised
tone.
"This has nothing to do with you, Kiryuuin," snapped Kiriyama.
He started to walk away, seemingly trying to put some distance between us
and Kiryuuin.
"What are you doing, Ayanokouji? Let's go," he said, calling out to me when
he noticed that I wasn't moving.
"You know, you're not going to get anything from spending time with a guy
like him," said Kiryuuin.
It was like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. With the rock and a
hard place being two third-year students. Which side was the correct one to
listen to? Well, to be completely honest, I didn't want to listen to either of
them…
"It's far more meaningful for him to spend time with me rather than you,"
said Kiriyama.
"That's for Ayanokouji to decide, isn't it? Kiriyama, won't you please just
hurry up and get out of here?" she replied with a scornful chuckle, as she still
sat comfortably.
"Why don't you and I have a more meaningful conversation? Just the two of
us," she added, turning to me.
"…Gr," huffed Kiriyama, through clenched teeth.
Kiriyama seemed to dislike the fact that she was interrupting our conversation
more so than the fact that she was teasing him.
"You can ignore that girl," said Kiriyama, issuing me a warning, his tone
aggressive.
"She's a third-year student, though. Just like you, Vice President Kiriyama. So,
I can't do that."
"…That's Kiryuuin. She's in Class B, same as me."
"I saw in the OAA app. She's a highly rated student, isn't she?"
"In terms of grades, yes. But Kiryuuin doesn't have anyone backing her up,
like Nagumo does. She doesn't even have a single real friend."
Kiriyama was basically saying that there was nothing to worry about if we
were to ignore her then.
"Hey now, don't compliment me so much. You're going to make me blush."
Even though he certainly wasn't complimenting her at all, Kiryuuin wore an
audacious smile.
"If we were to compare her to somebody from your grade level, I'd say she's
like Kouenji. Whatever you say, whatever you do, it's just a waste of time to try
and engage with her," said Kiriyama.
Well, that was a name that I never expected to be heard as a point of
comparison for someone. Kouenji had a peculiar personality, the likes of which
you could say was one-in-a-million, but here was someone else just like him.
Anyway, she did certainly seem to have a unique personality too. My curiosity
had been piqued, but at the same time, I felt like it would be better for me to
not get involved.
I did notice, however, that Kiryuuin's grades of academic ability and physical
ability were both A+. She was the only student in our entire school, male or
female, who had an A+ in both of those categories. Her societal contribution
score wasn't necessarily that low at a C+. Her sole flaw was her adaptability
score, which was rated D. If you simply looked at the scores, then you could say
she was the best in our school.
"What's up? Aren't you coming?" she asked.
"Are you talking to me?" I replied.
"If you don't come with me, I'll just go with you instead. But are you okay with
that, Kiriyama?" asked Kiryuuin.
"…This is exactly why I'm cursed to be stuck in Class B, because of people like
you," said Kiriyama in a low voice.
"With exceptional classmates like her though, aren't you able to resist
President Nagumo?" I asked.
"I just told you that she's exactly like Kouenji, didn't I? As a human being,
she's a lost cause. She has not contributed to the class in the past three years in
any way, other than focusing on her own performance. She's always only ever
acted alone. She's like some foreign contamination in our class who just
selfishly butts in when she wants to," said Kiriyama.
It was certainly true that looking solely at OAA, she had maintained an
outstanding record. But I had never once heard her name from a third-party
before. If she were someone that Nagumo or the recently graduated Horikita
Manabu had been keeping an eye on, it wouldn't have been surprising if I had
heard about her from them.
"Aw, thank you for the compliments, Kiriyama," said Kiryuuin, whispering
directly into Kiriyama's ear.
"Ack?!"
Now that she had gotten up from the bench and was standing, I saw that she
was unexpectedly tall. I think she was over 170 centimeters tall. Her extreme
athleticism was also evident from her graceful, well-built body. Icouldn't believe
that there was a third-year student who gave off this sort of impression. It
reminded me of something that Kiriyama had said in our conversation earlier.
Something about how he was not wanting to go down with the rest of Class B,
which was full of incompetent losers and freaks. I supposed that Kiryuuin was
one of those freaks that he had referred to earlier.
"If you've got something to say, come out and say it," snapped Kiriyama.
"I intend to, of course. But you're in the way, Kiriyama," said Kiryuuin.
"…Fine, do whatever you want. I'm leaving," he replied in a huff.
It seemed like he had no intention of being around Kiryuuin, so Kiriyama
decided to make his exit.
"Don't forget what I was just telling you, Ayanokouji. Depending on how this
plays out, I might become your enemy too," said Kiriyama.
I received some friendly words of advice from the Vice President. Normally, I
would have been leaving at this point myself, but this other person, Kiryuuin,
was also from third-year Class B.
"Let's not stand while we have our little chat. Why not sit down?" said
Kiryuuin, urging me to take a seat on the bench.
"Sure…" I replied.
I was hoping that I could be let go from here as soon as possible.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.
"Anything. If I can find out what kind of person you are, then that's plenty"
said Kiryuuin.
"Find out what kind of person I am? Vice President Kiriyama said that you
didn't really contribute to your class though, Kiryuuin-senpai. Doesn't that
mean that you're not interested in what your classmates are like?" I asked.
"Being interested and cooperating are completely separate things, aren't
they? There are some interesting people among my classmates, and sometimes
I want to have a friendly conversation with someone, like what we're doing
right now," said Kiryuuin.
I see. That's certainly true, I supposed.
"I'm not interested in the system here at this school of trying to reach Class A.
It seems like the biggest selling point of it all is that if you graduate from Class A,
you can go on to higher education anywhere you like or get a job anywhere, but
I'm convinced that I can already down that with my own abilities anyway. I
chose to go to this school on a simple whim," said Kiryuuin.
Judging from what she was saying, she certainly did give off a similar
impression to Kouenji. She had absolute, overwhelming confidence in herself.
And she did receive an A+ in academic ability and physical ability, which
supported that confidence.
"Would you have not chosen to come here, if you had known beforehand that
this school's curriculum is designed around the assumption that you'd
cooperate with other students?" I asked.
"No, I wouldn't say that. I like this school. In fact, I've never once felt
dissatisfied about anything here, even once. The point system is also very
pleasant," said Kiryuuin.
Kouenji seemed to be enjoying himself fully too, so I'm guessing he must also
like this school, as well. Students who could manage to do anything on their
own after graduation didn't need to cling to Class A.
"It seems like you don't mind being disliked by other people," I told her.
"Other people's evaluations don't mean anything to me," she answered,
boldly and confidently, followed by a strange smile.
"I had wanted to as you some questions, but it seems like you're the one
asking me all the questions," she added.
Kiryuuin, as if she were switching from being on the defensive to going on the
offensive, immediately went ahead and prompted me to speak.
"I think it's about time you tell me about yourself," said Kiryuuin.
"Why me, though? There are lots of academically gifted students here," I
replied.
"A hunch. My intuition is telling me that this student who was passing by is no
ordinary person," said Kiryuuin.
So, she was asking because of her instincts, with no real basis for anything
whatsoever. I had already thought she and Kouenji might be similar, but now
they seemed like the same exact person.
"Are you planning to get first place on the uninhabited island survival exam?"
she asked.
"There aren't any students who don't want to be first, are there? Except for
people like you, Kiryuuin-senpai, I suppose," I answered.
"Putting aside first place, I am one of the people shooting for one of the top
spots. If I get a high score, I can get Private Points. I'm the type of person who
spends whatever she has on hand, so I'm always short on money," said
Kiryuuin.
So, Class Points and Protection Points were secondary to her. In the end, it
seemed like Kiryuuin was only participating in this exam to get Private Points.
"Nagumo and Kiriyama and the others are naturally hoping to get first. And
I'm sure there are some quite competent underclassmen lined up as well, right?
This upcoming special exam will be a battle to determine who gets first place in
the school," said Kiryuuin.
"It certainly might be, yes," I replied.
The abilities needed in this exam weren't limited strictly to academic ability or
physical ability. If this was a battle of overall ability, then you could say that was
exactly what you needed.
"Whether or not my interest in you fades will depend on what you do on the
island," said Kiryuuin.
"If I had to say anything in response to that, it's that I'd rather that you lose
interest in me, senpai," I answered.
"I see. You say some intriguing things. I'm looking forward to fighting you,
Ayanokouji," said Kiryuuin.
And with that, Kiriyama waved me away like she was trying to shoo away
some small animal, signaling that I should leave.
"If you'll please excuse me," I stated, before walking away.
Although I had a meeting with a rather bizarre third-year student just now,
one thing was for certain. If I wanted to get one of the top spots in this
upcoming exam, I was going to have to defeat Kiryuuin as well. And it looked as
though she'd be just as troublesome as Nagumo and Kiriyama, or perhaps even
more so.
5.6
EVEN AFTER Ayanokouji had left, Kiryuuin continued to stay put. Her daily
routine was to simply relax and enjoy the day at her leisure, according to her
own whims. In her line of sight, she saw a familiar head of blonde hair swaying
about. Next to the owner of that blonde hair was Student Council Vice
President Kiriyama, who had walked off just moments ago.
"Well, well, well! It looks the faithful dog has returned, and he's brought his
master with him," said Kiryuuin.
"What…?" huffed Kiriyama.
"Well, if what I've said there is making you angry, it seems that it's because
you had interpreted it a certain way, Kiriyama. I don't remember stating exactly
who the faithful dog and master are between the two of you right here. I'm just
saying this as a third-party, someone who doesn't know your situation. Why do
I say this? Because you're the one who walked away earlier Kiriyama, and thus,
you're the only one who fits the description of a faithful dog," she replied, as
Kiriyama approached her with Nagumo standing beside him.
"What an irritating chick…" mumbled Kiriyama.
"That's a rather unpleasant thing to say, Kiriyama. It certainly doesn't sound
like something a serious vice president should say," replied Kiryuuin.
"Nagumo, engaging with her is a waste of time. You already know this quite
well," said Kiriyama.
"Yeah, I'm of the same opinion. Can the both of you please get out of my
sight, immediately? This is just a waste of my precious time," said Kiryuuin.
"Who do you think you are? First of all, you—"
Nagumo cut in, gently tapping Kiriyama on the shoulder to cut him off.
"Kiryuuin, please don't wound my precious colleague like that," said Nagumo.
Nagumo then forced Kiriyama to back off and he stood in front of Kiryuuin.
"Oh, a precious colleague, hm? I didn't feel any kind of emotion from you
when you said that, though," said Kiryuuin.
"That's just your imagination," said Nagumo.
"Now then, I wonder what business the student council president has with
me? I had thought we wouldn't ever be speaking with one another again," said
Kiryuuin.
"I don't want to stay around you for too long, if at all possible," said Nagumo,
aggressively taking a seat on the bench right next to Kiryuuin.
"You're beautiful, but you're utterly lacking in charm. I'm only interested in
women with charm, after all," added Nagumo, expressing that as the reason he
didn't want to stick around.
"I do have charm. It's just that I haven't found the right gentleman that can
draw it out," said Kiryuuin.
"If there's a man out there who can bring out your charm, I'd like to see him,"
said Nagumo.
"Me too. However, your tastes aside, why is it that I am not popular, hm?"
asked Kiryuuin.
"It's because a woman who is too capable and too talented is difficult to
handle. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to like that kind of woman either,"
said Nagumo.
"I see. Well, in that case, I suppose that I'll never pass your standards. If the
reason I haven't gotten a boyfriend yet at my age is because I'm just too good,
then yes, I guess that does make sense," said Kiryuuin.
After enjoying a bit of meaningless conversation with Kiryuuin, Nagumo cut to
the chase.
"I heard something from Kiriyama. I would have never imagined that you,
who didn't show any admiration for neither Horikita-senpai nor myself, would
have been interested in in Ayanokouji. I was shocked when I heard about this,"
said Nagumo.
"And that's why you've come all the way over to talk to me? You must have a
lot of free time on your hands, President," said Kiryuuin.
"I've finished my administrative work. I have some extra time right now," said
Nagumo.
"It would appear that you've misunderstood something here. I'm not entirely
indifferent to people, Nagumo. I make it a point to talk to people who rouse my
interest at least once. You and Horikita Manabu had caught my interest
before," said Kiryuuin, gently stroking Nagumo's bangs.
"It seems like you never slack off when it comes to taking excellent care of
your hair. I can tell that you take better care of it than I, a woman, do mine. It's
no wonder you're popular, President. Say, has your love life been fruitful over
these past three years?" said Kiryuuin.
"You've never been with a man before. How would you know anything about
love?" countered Nagumo.
"While it's certainly true that I don't have any experience in that arena, it's
nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, some could say that it actually makes me
more valuable, don't you agree?" said Kiryuuin.
"Seems like you still have absurd ideas, as always," replied Nagumo.
Kiryuuin and Nagumo once again veered off into a bizarre tangent, but
Nagumo proceeded to steer the conversation back towards the topic at hand.
"So, what did you think of Ayanokouji? Is he someone deserving of holding
your attention?" asked Nagumo.
"I just paid him some lip service because he's a cute underclassman. But that
was all," said Kiryuuin.
"That was all? Does that mean that you don't feel impressed with him?"
asked Nagumo.
"I'm putting that question on hold for the time being. We did have a brief
face-to-face conversation, but I didn't get a grasp on his true abilities. Though
you could say that in itself is a type of skill, I suppose. Anyway, he is more
entertaining to me than you, President, who I've lost interest in," said Kiryuuin.
"You're the only person in our grade level who can talk to me with that much
sass," said Nagumo.
Nagumo then drew in close, with his mouth near Kiryuuin's ear, and lowered
his voice to a whisper.
"If you think that you're better than me, I'm more than happy to correct that
vain idea you seem to have in your head. Understand?" he threatened quietly.
Nagumo issued her a challenge, effectively issuing a challenge for the
upcoming special exam on the island.
"When you lose, what you lose is incalculable, President. It seems like you're
misunderstanding something here. But it's not as though I'm underestimating
you. I don't have the outstanding leadership skills that you and Horikita Manabu
possess, nor do I have any talent for making friends. In fact, I've never even had
anyone that I could truly call a friend. Right?" said Kiryuuin.
Nagumo moved his face away from Kiryuuin's ear, seeming somewhat bored.
"However, in other matters, it's different," said Kiryuuin.
Although Nagumo had started to pull back from Kiryuuin, their faces were less
than forty centimeters apart. Nagumo shot Kiryuuin a sharp glare.
"Are you saying that I'm inferior to you in some respects?" he asked.
"Well now, can you state with absolute certainty that there are no areas in
which you are inferior?" countered Kiryuuin.
"I have given you several chances to test that, and you have done nothing.
And the result is that you've ended up in B," said Nagumo.
Up until this point, Nagumo had competed against Kiriyama and Kiryuuin's
class via the numerous special exams. But never once did Kiryuuin actually take
part and cooperate with her class. And as a result, her class was demoted from
A to B.
"It's certainly true that if you only look at those results, I have been
thoroughly crushed," said Kiryuuin.
Kiriyama continued to glare at Kiryuuin, who was pleasantly enjoying the
conversation, but Kiriyama didn't interrupt at all.
"Well, I know that you're not the kind of person who really cares about A or B
though," said Nagumo.
Nagumo then got up from the bench, signaling that this was the end of their
conversation.
"Sorry for bothering you, Kiryuuin. Enjoy the remainder of your time here at
this school," said Nagumo, preparing himself to leave.
"I had said earlier that I was going to put the question of whether or not
Ayanokouji was someone I'm impressed with on hold. I do think he's an
interesting student," said Kiryuuin.
"What?" asked Nagumo.
"That was the answer you were hoping to hear from me about Ayanokouji,
wasn't it?" asked Kiryuuin.
One of the reasons why Nagumo had come over to talk with Kiryuuin was
because he wanted to find out what she thought about Ayanokouji.
"Interesting? I would think that this personality is far from interesting. Don't
you think?" said Nagumo.
Kiryuuin smiled, as if she were saying, "See, you've taken the bait, after all."
"Well, you know how the proverb goes, 'a skilled hawk hides its talons.' Isn't
that right? I had heard he had gotten a perfect score on a rather difficult
mathematics test," said Kiryuuin.
"Sure, there are people out there who hide their talents because they don't
want to stand out. I've beaten all of them though. And I don't think that they
were all that interesting," said Nagumo, then directing his gaze over at
Kiriyama, who had been waiting for him while standing some distance away.
"If I had to say anything, it's his vibe, I suppose. He has a different vibe that
you and Horikita Manabu," said Kiryuuin.
"Well, that's rather abstract," said Nagumo.
"Well then, why don't you test him and see?" asked Kiryuuin.
"Of course, I intend to. Maybe I'll get to see what he's capable of during the
uninhabited island survival exam," said Nagumo.
"You seem like you've been bored ever since Horikita Manabu graduated. Will
this underclassman be a good playmate for you? If you're serious about this
challenge, you'll most definitely get first place in the island text, Nagumo," said
Kiryuuin.
"Obviously, I'm going to take first. Or perhaps Kiriyama will, since he's been
dying to compete with me. But we're going to need one more group if we're
going to take all three top spots in the exam, aren't we? You are going to take
on that role, Kiryuuin. I will provide you with some useful companions, if
necessary," said Nagumo.
And then, Nagumo touched on the main reason he had reached out to
Kiryuuin today. Kiryuuin smiled, as if to say that she understood what he was
asking.
"I see. So, you met up with me because you're seeking my help," said
Kiryuuin.
"You might think that I'd let the younger students at least take third place,
but I'm not that nice," said Nagumo.
"You have countless pawns at your disposal that you can move about the
board, don't you? You don't need to rely on me," said Kiryuuin.
"Meaning that you're not willing to do this?" asked Nagumo.
"Somewhere in the top fifty percent is fine for now. Sorry for wasting your
time," said Kiryuuin.
Nagumo, as if he had already known that she was going to answer like that,
had turned his head to look off far into the distance.
"You really are that kind of person, I suppose. I thought I'd try talking to you,
as someone from my grade, but it seems like it was a waste of my time," said
Nagumo, his statement suggesting that he was going to leave now.
He walked over to where Kiriyama stood.
"Since you came all the way here to talk to me, I'll give you one piece of
advice," said Kiryuuin.
"You're going to give me advice? Sorry, but I don't need that from someone
beneath me," said Nagumo.
"By that logic, you wouldn't be able to get advice from anyone," said Kiryuuin.
Nagumo, with his back turned to Kiryuuin, let out a scornful chuckle. Kiryuuin
continued speaking.
"Well then, just thinking of what I'm about to say as me speaking to myself.
You should be looking ahead, not paying attention to the younger students. If
you focus on the younger students behind you, you'll going to be in for a lot of
pain," said Kiryuuin.
"What a boring monologue," said Nagumo.
Nagumo seemed to have decided that standing around any longer would've
been a waste, so he left.