novel volume 8-10

by flametornadohd

this is volumes 8 - 10 of y1 picks up after season 3 of the anime

50. Chapter 50

Chapter 3:

The Beginning of a Short-Lived Vacation

FOR MANY STUDENTS, each day spent on the uninhabited island felt like an

eternity. In contrast, each day on the luxury cruise ship seemed to be over in an

instantaneous flash of light. How could the flow of time be so different when it

was still the same twenty-four-hour period? I supposed the most crucial factor

was that here, we rarely thought about the time for most of the day. During

normal school days and special exams, we frequently thought about the

passage of time. On the other hand, on days off, we usually did not, and so the

difference in our perception of time was striking.

Today was the second day of our festive holiday. The number of students that

passed by one another in the ship's corridors increased dramatically. Many

students' fatigue had finally abated, and they finally started to enjoy their

vacation in earnest. Even someone like me, who had been spending most of my

time quietly all by myself, received a message from a rather unexpected

someone inviting me to hang out with them. It was none other than Vice

President Kiriyama, from Class 3-B.

The invitation said to meet him by the pool. I wondered if he intended to have

a lighthearted chat while we floated around on pool floats, or maybe to deepen

our bonds of friendship by way of a game of volleyball. I immediately banished

such incomprehensible predictions from my mind though. Although he was

inviting me out by the pool, I was sure that his intentions in inviting me weren't

just to "hang out."

I could have refused his offer, of course, or I could've ignored it. But whatever

I decided, I was sure that I was going to have to hear what he had to say

anyway. Depending on how things played out, it was entirely possible that I

could have been called out in a far, far more unpleasant way than this. I

responded to his invitation with a simple, indifferent "Yes," and promised to

head over to meet him at the appointed time. Besides, there was a significant

possibility that this could solve the mystery of the nagging stares from the third-

years that I felt the other day.

"Kiriyama, huh…" I muttered to myself.

Right now, I was in the break area next to the fitness center. Before me was

the monitor where the results of the special exam were posted. It seemed that

most of the other students had already finished checking their exam results

because I was the only student here now. The number of teachers monitoring

the students checking their results had similarly been reduced down to one

person. I had already committed the exam results to memory more or less, but I

slid through the results once more. Once the positions of the top groups were

shown on the screen, I focused on Kiriyama's group's results.

The overall rankings had already been announced out in front of front of the

entire school earlier, with Kouenji Rokusuke coming in first place by himself.

Nagumo's group came in second place, and Sakayanagi's group came in third. I

saw that Kiriyama's group had come in fourth place by just a slim margin, at

only six points behind. His group had a total of 255 points. That meant

Sakayanagi must have gotten the lead over him at the last second and clinched

the third-place position to secure herself a place at the podium. The difference

between third and fourth place was not limited to a mere difference in ranking,

but also a number of benefits.

"Naturally, this must have been quite frustrating for the third-year students,"

I mused.

First place has slipped away from Nagumo, and Kiriyama had missed getting

into the winner's circle entirely. Moreover, all the students who had been

expelled had been third-years, which was quite an anomaly. I still had about

twenty minutes to go before I was supposed to meet with Kiriyama, but I

decided to head to the pool area ahead of time. I wanted to confirm that I

wasn't simply being overly self-conscious in noticing the stares I was getting,

but rather that there was some kind of plan in motion.

The answer was immediately apparent, without any need for careful

observation or scrutiny. Within a few dozen seconds of me arriving by the pool,

I had attracted stares from an unspecified number of third-year students from

all over the place. Students who were engrossed in conversation, students who

were swimming, it didn't matter. As soon as they noticed my presence, they

started to observe me closely. The glances I felt yesterday hadn't been mere

coincidence.

"I know I came here to find proof, but I feel like I got it almost too fast," I

muttered to myself.

This gave me such an intense feeling of unease that it actually made me want

to grumble about the situation. I was just supposed to be here as an

inconspicuous, nondescript student, someone who blended into the

background, but now I was sticking out more than anyone else. Even if I wasn't

trying to think about what was going on here, I naturally wanted to find out

what was behind this and what the true intent was. The orders had come from

Nagumo, most likely, but at this point in time, it was completely unclear what

those orders were exactly.

Many students were directing obvious glances my way, but I continued to

deliberately pretend not to notice anything. It was much easier to play the part

of a foolish, thick-headed person. However, I knew Nagumo must have assumed

I'd be aware of the strange looks I was getting from all these students. On top

of that, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was enjoying seeing me being the

center of attention. Regardless, the best plan of action for the time being was

to just completely ignore the stares and let the moment pass.

I looked around the pool to see if anyone else was around besides the thirdyear students, and I saw Ichinose and some of her classmates. Ichinose alone

had just so happened to notice my presence, and our eyes met. Her shoulders

twitched, and then she proceeded to hide behind her classmates like she was

trying to escape. Ichinose's sudden, bizarre movements prompted a response

from her companions, who asked her if something was wrong.

I supposed Ichinose reacted that way because she had confessed her

romantic feelings for me back on the island. It was no wonder that simply

locking eyes with each other at a distance like we just did would make things

feel awkward. If Ichinose were the only one here, I would've done things

differently, but since she had classmates with her, I figured I'd keep my distance

for the time being. Even if I left her alone right now, I had already planned to

meet with her on the evening of the day after tomorrow.

I saw a few of my own classmates around here and there, but unfortunately, I

couldn't find anyone with whom I was particularly close.

"Seems like things are starting to get quite serious, Ayanokouji."

I turned my head to glance over in the direction that voice had come from,

slightly diagonally in front of me. When I did, I saw Kiryuuin, lounging on a

beach chair on the deck.

"What has?" I asked.

"Things with the third-year students," she said. "You surely couldn't possibly

be unaware of it, are you?"

"I'm not sure I understand," I replied.

I tried to play dumb, but Kiryuuin simply continued acting nonchalantly, not

even snickering at me over it.

"Though I am not complicit in what is happening, I am a third-year student

too," she went on. "I've already heard some things about it, at least."

"Are you referring to the looks that I've been getting, by any chance?" I asked.

"Surely you know what I'm talking about."

"It's not a big problem," I said, trying to act like I didn't care about what was

going on. "They're just looking at me, that's all."

"That's all, huh." Kiryuuin was clearly unconvinced by my façade. "To me, this

seems like one of the most frightening strategies I could possibly imagine. Don't

you think so? Especially for someone like you, this would be something fairly

troubling."

Though Kiryuuin was teasing me somewhat, what she was saying certainly

wasn't wrong.

"That's just what I'd expect from the Student Council President," she added.

"It's a bizarre card to play, but it's effective, even against someone as flawless

as you."

"Flawless?" I repeated. "I think you're overestimating me."

"Don't be modest. We've experienced a brush with death together now, and I

understand that you possess a bottomless well of strength. Isn't that right?"

She lifted her sunglasses, resting them on her forehead, and looked at me

with a piercing gaze. Even if I were to clumsily continue to deny her assertions,

there was a considerable number of students in the vicinity, and I had no way of

knowing when or if our conversation might be overheard. Of course, though, I

was sure that Kiryuuin would have taken our environment into consideration.

"I understand," I said. "For the time being, I'll admit that much."

"Fu fu, well, good. Now, getting back to the topic at hand, what happened

with Nagumo at the tail end of the exam anyway?" Kiryuuin asked. "There was

no such directive given to the third-year students, at least up until the end of

the exam."

"It's frustrating that… Well, I can't say with certainty that I don't remember

doing anything that would have given him cause to resent me," I answered,

doing my best to be evasive.

Kiryuuin had been reclining comfortably in her chair up until this point, but

now she adjusted her posture slightly.

"If we're talking individual ability, the man known as Nagumo Miyabi is

among the best in our entire school," she said. "Academic Ability, A. Physical

Ability, A. Adaptability, A+. Societal Contribution, A+. Truly impeccable."

"I know. As far as OAA is concerned, he is by far the top student in our

school."

A small number of students, like Sudou and Kiryuuin, had A+ rankings in

certain areas. The number of students who had two or more A+ rankings was

also extremely limited. Nagumo was the only student with all A's or higher

across the board.

"With his elevated academic and physical abilities, his charisma that allows

him to rally the rest of the students from our grade, and his achievements like

having cinched the position of student council president, no one in our grade is

a worthy foe for Nagumo," Kiryuuin went on. "The only other student that

people accepted as his equal at our school was Horikita Manabu, but now he's

gone as he's graduated."

Kiryuuin took a breath, and then picked up the wine glass that had been on

the table.

"In Nagumo's eyes, you should have been nothing more than a toy. However,

it seems as if something must have happened during the uninhabited island

exam that had caused him to start taking you seriously."

"It would be best if he simply left someone like me alone," I answered.

"If that's the case, then you made the wrong choice somewhere along the

line," said Kiryuuin.

It was painful for me to hear that, but still, she spoke mercilessly.

"There are probably few people who could defeat you one-on-one," she said.

"I am quite confident in my skills, but if there's a type of person that I'm not

good at dealing with, then it's probably someone like you, Ayanokouji.

However, Nagumo is in a completely different category. I believe that he's the

type of person that you are not good at dealing with. What do you think?"

"I can't deny that possibility," I agreed. "I've misjudged his true nature."

The other students were just looking at me, but I hadn't realized how stressful

and repulsive it would feel. Though I had been under constant surveillance in

the White Room, this was completely different. To put it another way, I was

being forced into an environment that I had never experienced before in my

entire life. The only way for me to escape this situation was to stay hidden away

indoors, which wasn't a realistic solution here.

"You're right about that," said Kiryuuin. "Nagumo tends to prefer employing

flashy moves, winning in a spectacular fashion, and facing opponents one-onone. But when it comes to making sure that he'll win for certain, he'll employ

any strategy, no matter what it is. Even if it means mobilizing all the third-year

students, as he's doing now. No matter how underhanded the method might

be, his priority is to win in the end."

That meant that having many people watching me was just the opening act,

the prelude to whatever he was planning.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this one," Kiryuuin added, as though she

was trying to get ahead of me asking her to cooperate with me.

And with that, she put the sunglasses that had been resting on her forehead

back over her eyes.

"I never said anything about wanting you to help me though," I said.

"After spending about two and a half years of being free do whatever I

pleased, I…admit that have a few regrets about my time spent at this school. If

this school had a system in place where students could repeat a grade, I might

have considered going for it," said Kiryuuin.

Repeating a grade, or in other words, doing the same year's classes over again

rather than advancing to the next. She was talking about staying here another

year.

"There you are, Ayanokouji."

As Kiryuuin and I were engaging in our conversation, Vice President Kiriyama

appeared, all by himself. Kiriyama struck me as a serious person, and he had

arrived much earlier than we were scheduled to meet. After casting a quick

glance over to Kiryuuin relaxing beside me, he directed his gaze at me once

more.

"I know that there's still a little time until we were supposed to meet, but do

you mind if we start now?" he said. "This isn't a good place though. Let's move

elsewhere."

"I suppose that means it's a conversation that you don't want me to overhear

then, eh, Kiriyama?" chided Kiryuuin.

She had just said that she couldn't help me, but apparently, she was

interested in hearing what we were going to talk about. She lifted her

sunglasses once again.

"It's simply because we would attract too much attention here. I would prefer

for us to speak in a quiet place, if at all possible," said Kiriyama.

The pool was one of the most popular areas on the ship, so there were a

considerable number of students around. For some reason, the only available

seats seemed to be the ones directly next to Kiryuuin, but I figured there wasn't

any reason to question that too deeply. It just seemed kind of uncomfortable, in

a way.

"Now that's odd, saying that you don't want to attract too much attention,"

said Kiryuuin. "That's quite a contradiction, Kiriyama."

"What?" he asked.

"If you wished to talk in a quiet place, then meeting by the pool, where a

considerable number of people gather, would be utter nonsense. Am I wrong?"

asked Kiryuuin.

"So, you're saying that you'd prefer that I told you from the very beginning

that I didn't want to talk next to you, as it would've been irritating?" Kiriyama

spat back in response to her prodding. "Is that it?"

When Kiriyama spoke, his face was pale and devoid of color, like he was

completely dead inside. The look on his face made it clear to me just how many

times Kiryuuin had caused him grief up until now.

"I see. I suppose I've made you uncomfortable then," said Kiryuuin.

Once a conversation began, if Kiryuuin was around, it would always start to

revolve around her. Kiriyama didn't like that, so he tried to get away from her,

but his attempts appeared to have backfired, giving Kiryuuin an opportunity to

plunge right back in.

"In any case, why not allow me to listen in on what you're about to discuss?"

she asked.

"Absolutely not. It has nothing to do with you," said Kiriyama.

"Nothing to do with me? I wonder how it is that you can assume that it

doesn't."

"What?" asked Kiriyama.

"Ayanokouji and I have a relationship, as boyfriend and girlfriend. That being

the case, how can you say that it has nothing to do with me?"

Before I could even react to that, Kiriyama alternated between looking over at

me and Kiryuuin with a look of astonishment on his face.

"Fu fu, that was a joke, Kiriyama. You are a boring guy, but your reactions are

amusing from time to time."

Seeing an amused smile on Kiryuuin's lips, Kiriyama's face twisted in

indignation. He stormed off without a word. From the way he moved, it was like

he was telling me, "Just leave that woman there and hurry along."

"I can't ignore this, so please excuse me, Kiryuuin-senpai," I told her.

"Please give my regards to Kiriyama," she replied.

Please don't ask me to do that. Even though he left, I'm sure he doesn't even

want to hear the name Kiryuuin right now.

I followed Kiriyama and arrived at the deck one floor above where we were,

overlooking the pool. It was relatively quiet in this area, with most students

there sunbathing or taking an afternoon nap. There were still a fair number of

students gathered here though, so having a conversation could very well raise

suspicions.

However, there were no other third-year students aside from Kiriyama

present, which suggested that he had cleared the room. With that in mind, I

figured that neither the first-nor second-year students would pay much

attention to our chat. Another redeeming quality was the fact that there was no

one lying in wait to ambush me, so this was going to be a one-on-one talk from

the looks of things.

"So, then, what did you call me all the way out here for?" I asked.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush," said Kiriyama. "What did you do to

Nagumo on the final day of the uninhabited island exam, Ayanokouji?"

"What did I do?" I repeated.

"Don't play games. It's obvious that you had something to do with the exam

results."

I could hear people talking on the other end of the line on the walkie-talkie

when I encountered Nagumo on the final day of the uninhabited island exam.

He was still in the middle of conducting his operation to suppress Kouenji. It

was no surprise that Kiriyama would have found out what happened.

"I don't mind answering your question, but could you answer one of my own

first?" I asked.

"One of yours?" he repeated.

That was right. When I first got this call to meet with Kiriyama, I decided there

was something that I wanted to verify myself. Kiriyama eyed me suspiciously,

but I continued speaking.

"I've been wondering about this ever since we first met, Vice President

Kiriyama. Back then, it seemed like you were working against Nagumo, to

defeat him. But you appear to have abandoned the fight at some point along

the way… Did you give up?"

If Kiriyama were expecting Nagumo's downfall and defeat, then what

happened should have been a welcome development for him.

"Give up?" said Kiriyama. "I don't understand what you mean. My personal

battle is continuing on, even now."

"Is that so? It doesn't look that way to me though."

When I denied his claim, Kiriyama seemed to immediately understand what I

was after.

"You seem to think that I'm taking Nagumo's side, but I'm not," he said. "The

changes in Nagumo's plans are simply beginning to have a negative impact on

me and my surroundings. I believe I told you this before the uninhabited island

exam. I said to stay out of my way."

His response just now was a rather ordinary, yet overly verbose way of

rejecting my assertion. However, human beings are prone to make trivial slips

of the tongue like that.

"You seem to have interpreted what I said rather broadly," I said. "I was

simply asking whether you've abandoned the fight. Instead, you seemed to

jump right to the question of whether you're in the student council president's

camp, Kiriyama-senpai."

"…Isn't that the same thing?" he asked.

"Admitting defeat and joining the other side are two completely different

things. They are absolutely, unequivocally, not the same thing at all. I'm sure

that you understand that much, Vice President."

Prideful people who think of themselves as superior think that they don't

make mistakes. That was exactly why, if you turned around and asked them,

"Well, since you're so superior, there's no way you could be wrong about this,

right?" they'd have an even harder time admitting to a mistake.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked.

He wasn't admitting to anything or denying anything. He just attempted to

move the conversation forward. Right now, the easiest option for him was to

just let what I said slide and ignore it.

"I simply wanted to ask you where you stand, that's all," I told him. "Even

though you've given up on fighting, are you still Nagumo's enemy? Things

haven't changed there, have they? Or are you under Nagumo's thumb,

perhaps? After all, this is a matter that Horikita Manabu entrusted to me."

Perhaps because it had been some time since he had heard Manabu's name,

Kiriyama's expression stiffened.

"…Yes, I suppose he did."

Maybe he was thinking back to the time that he and I had first met.

"Looking back, the relationship between me, and Nagumo, and Horikitasenpai… Well, in short, you were someone who had no interest in the student

council whatsoever. In that sense, you shouldn't have gotten involved in the

situation."

Kiriyama placed his left hand on the railing and gripped it tightly.

"It's true that I was planning to take down Nagumo. If we don't beat him,

then it'll be impossible for my class to rise back up to Class A. Unfortunately,

that fighting spirit started to gradually fade away sometime around the middle

of my second year."

The current third-year students allowed their Class A to run ahead

unchallenged, far more than we did in our grade level. At this point in time,

there was a difference of more than 900 Class Points between Class 3-A and

Class 3-B. Even if you looked at the midpoint of last year, there would've still

been a difference of 700 points or more. They had allowed Nagumo to establish

a commanding lead early on, and it had now gotten to the point where it was

impossible for anyone to catch up with him.

"We third-years shifted over to individual competition early on," Kiriyama

continued. "We started competing according to Nagumo's own unique rules,

and things like Class Points and the school's own rules became secondary."

I was sure that played a big part in the improbable, commanding lead

Nagumo had created for himself. Once that had happened, the hurdle would've

been too high for Kiriyama to clear on his own.

"I struggled to break through somehow, but as soon as I entered my third

year, I was swallowed up by that wave," said Kiriyama.

What was that look? Frustration? Resignation? Looking at Kiriyama's side

profile, his expression was indescribable.

"What happened to you then?" I asked.

"Ugh… I suppose you won't be satisfied unless you hear it right from my own

mouth," he replied.

"It's important to me."

"Nagumo handed me a ticket to graduate from Class A, so I decided to follow

the rules that he set… That's what you wanted to hear, right?" said Kiriyama.

In other words, as things stood now, not only had hostilities been ceased, but

he had been turned into one of Nagumo's allies. Graduating from Class A was

just that important to an ordinary student, apparently. It also proved that

twenty million points just had that much value and allure.

"Whether or not you earn this school's greatest privileges will have a

significant bearing on the rest of your life," Kiriyama said. "Even if your

classmates might ultimately resent you, it is far, far more important to graduate

from Class A than anything else. The three years we spend in high school are a

mere blink of an eye compared to the decades that follow, after all."

It was no wonder, then, that Kiriyama was so outraged, and that he wanted to

know the details of what happened so badly that he called me up to find out.

"Ensuring that Nagumo got first place was our challenge, our mission.

However, your involvement caused a disturbance in the chain of command.

Kouenji took first place, and Nagumo came in second. As a result, we lost a

great deal of both Class and Private Points. Do you have any idea just how much

that cost us?"

As I had already confirmed on OAA, I knew that Nagumo had the Trials and

Tribulations Card as along with seven Bonus cards, so the number of points that

he had lost by not taking first place in the exam amounted to about seven

million. Furthermore, if all twenty-eight of the Free Ride cards that the thirdyear students had were applied to Nagumo's group, they would have received

an additional reward of fifteen million Private Points.

However, the result was that they had gotten almost half of that when

Nagumo fell into second place. Of course, it was still an enormous amount of

money, there was no doubt about that. But if you were to include the effect the

Trials and Tribulations Card would have had on their Class Points, then their

losses were even greater.

"We third-years are approaching graduation now. Missing out on first place is

a significant loss. We need to be collecting as many Private Points as we

possibly can and not wasting a single one," said Kiriyama.

Considering that Kiriyama's group had intended to take second place, and the

fact that they had collected a number of Bonus Cards for their own group, they

had lost even more Private Points than I had calculated.

"It would seem the fact that your group missed out on a prize isn't unrelated

either, Kiriyama-senpai."

His shoulders twitched slightly in response when I pointed that out.

"…Yes," he replied slowly. "I was quickly dispatched to function as back-up for

Nagumo's group. However, that slight delay in response caused a chain

reaction, resulting in issues on all sides until the very end. We didn't just lose to

Kouenji either. Third place was also snatched away from us by a group of

second-year students."

If everything had gone according to plan, the third-years would have been

rewarded with a massive number of Private Points. Although this might've been

a rough calculation and somewhat over-optimistic, that substantial number of

points might have been the exact sum needed to save their fellow students for

certain.

"The ticket to move up to Class A costs twenty million points," said Kiriyama.

"We are constantly searching for optimal ways to generate that sum. As it now

stands, you could say that there is one less ticket available."

The rewards for winning the uninhabited island exam were all appealing, for

sure, but when it came to Private Points, the total effect of the Bonus Cards and

Free Ride Cards would have caused the total amount to soar even higher.

"Until now, Nagumo has continued to produce results that have earned the

trust of everyone else in our grade level. But by coming here and stubbornly

clinging onto you, he lost a great deal of money, and his credibility has taken a

hit. If he stopped thinking about you, I suppose that the problems would have

been minimal, but after the special exam ended…Nagumo took unbelievable

actions."

"You mean how those third-year students were expelled, right?" I asked.

"Correct," said Kiriyama. "Originally, the plan was for the higher-ranking

groups to take in groups that deliberately let themselves sink to the bottom of

the rankings, with of the intent of bailing them out at the end of the exam. That

way, they'd be prevented from getting expelled."

However, this part of the plan was not executed, and the third-year students

in the lower rankings were all expelled simultaneously.

"Fifteen people were expelled. There wasn't anything they could've done.

They didn't even have the time to cry about it," said Kiriyama.

"That must have been terrifying, from the third-years' point of view."

"Obviously. One whim reduced three whole years to nothing for those

students. If it were due to their own actions, they could accept what happened,

resign themselves to it. But if it was the result of Nagumo's irrational actions,

then that's a different story."

If everything Kiriyama said was true, this could very well be a wake-up call for

the students who blindly followed Nagumo all this time. Well, no, rather, I

should say that it was strange for the third-year students to have shown no

signs of trying to defy Nagumo, especially after an event like that.

"You find it strange, don't you? The fact that Nagumo isn't being raked over

the coals for this, I mean," said Kiriyama.

"It certainly was a huge failure on his part," I agreed. "But a lot of people in

Class B and below who don't have a way into Class A are keeping quiet."

"Even if we wanted to defy him, there's no way we could pull it off. Nagumo

and the rest of the students in Class 3-A have created an impenetrable

fortress," said Kiriyama.

An impenetrable fortress. By that, I'm sure he meant some kind of system has

been created that prevented those in any of the other classes from possibly

defying Nagumo. If that were the case, then…by posing just a single question, I

might be able to unravel this mystery.

"Do you have a ticket in hand right now, Vice President Kiriyama?" I asked.

It was a question that normally would've been satisfied with just a simple yes

or no. However, Kiriyama answered in a different way in the blink of an eye,

without changing the expression on his face at all.

"If I had a ticket in my hands, I wouldn't be having any problems."

"I see. I suppose if Nagumo still has the tickets in his possession, then that

certainly changes things," I answered.

It was obvious, but Nagumo really was enacting quite a cunning strategy. If

Nagumo controlled all the Private Points, then no one could defy him. Putting it

simply, Nagumo had made an agreement with people that he would spend

twenty million points and bring them up to Class 3-A. No, actually, even going as

far as calling it that might be too generous. If you continue to pledge your

loyalty to me, I will prepare a ticket, just for you. I could assume he said

something along those lines, or something similarly ambiguous, avoiding

making any clear promises. Given the situation, if anyone were to carelessly

defy him, then Nagumo would likely terminate that agreement without a

second thought.

"We're also forbidden from secretly saving up Private Points on our own,"

Kiriyama explained. "Basically, individuals are free to hold up to a maximum of

500,000 points. Anything beyond that is siphoned off by Nagumo," said

Kiriyama.

"That's harsh."

Unlike cash, which you could stuff away under your mattress, Private Points

basically existed as a form of electronic currency and couldn't be hidden.

Nagumo must have put certain rules in place to have students monitor each

other too. This way, even if Nagumo were to get knocked down a peg by some

means and ended up getting expelled as a result, he'd still have tens or even

hundreds of millions of Private Points in his possession. Considering all of that,

even if people did want to stage an uprising, they'd never be able to.

"Surely now you see the reason why the third-year students back Nagumo to

such an unusual degree, and why they protect him?" said Kiriyama.

"Yes, I understand very well," I replied.

You could say that it was a perfect dictatorship. No one in their grade could

possibly compete with Nagumo—it was impossible.

"He's playing with the entirety of the third-year grade level," Kiriyama said.

"He's using us. Nagumo makes the students without tickets compete with each

other, and then makes a big show of handing out tickets and making students

pledge their loyalty to him."

Which meant, of course, for the students in Class 3-D and Class 3-C who had

absolutely no chance of winning, Nagumo was nothing short of a god. That was

only natural, I supposed, since they were being publicly told that if they could

prove themselves useful, they could graduate from Class A. However, they

wouldn't know it was true until they actually got moved up to Class A, right

when they were about to graduate.

"In the little time we have left here at this school, we want to compete and

fight so as many people can get tickets as possible. That's why your presence is

nothing but a hindrance, Ayanokouji."

Thanks to Nagumo focusing his attention on me, he was losing out on

precious Private Points. And with the losses that came with that, students who

should have been saved no longer would be. So, that was the situation the

third-years were in right now, from the sound of it.

"But do you really think that I want to be in this situation?" I countered.

"I know, I know," said Kiriyama.

"Okay, then what do you want me to do?"

"Let's go back to where this conversation started," said Kiriyama. "First, tell

me what happened on the island, and then I'll look for a solution from there."

"Nagumo doesn't want that though, does he?" I asked "I mean, he didn't even

tell you what happened, and you're the vice president. Right?"

"That might be true…but leaving things alone won't solve anything," said

Kiriyama.

He wanted to stop Nagumo's rampage, even at the risk of losing his own

means of getting into Class A. Well, no, he feared that if he didn't stop Nagumo,

he had no idea what would happen to his own ticket.

"If you don't want to talk to me, then I want you to meet with Nagumo

immediately and talk to him. I can arrange a meeting if necessary. Surely no one

stands to gain anything from you and Nagumo going at it from this point

onward, yes?"

"You are absolutely right about that," I agreed.

"I will also advise Nagumo that this strategy he's executing must be stopped. I

want you to trust me," said Kiriyama.

This strategy… I didn't even need to bother asking him what that strategy was

about.

"You mean the stares I've been getting lately."

Kiriyama looked down at the pool and nodded.

"What is he after?" he said. "And for what purpose? And how long will this go

on? There's no explanation for it at all. This bizarre behavior is seeding distrust

among the third-year students."

And yet, despite their disbelief, they had no choice but to obey Nagumo, as he

held supreme authority over their grade.

"Nagumo's regime is rock-solid… However, if he continues this reckless

behavior, it's possible the worst could happen," said Kiriyama.

Kiriyama, and the others who'd been promised tickets, would continue to

serve him faithfully, but many of the students who had not been promised

anything would not. Kiriyama couldn't let a revolt break out. It wouldn't be

surprising if some students were plotting to get Nagumo expelled now if they

weren't going to get a ticket anyway. For Kiriyama and his crew, that would

certainly be a very bad scenario.

"Hypothetically, even if I told him that I would talk to him, I can't imagine that

would be the end of it," I said.

"In that case, what should I do? You're not giving me any details, but you have

no intention of seeing Nagumo either. That's just making the situation worse."

"Can you give me a little time? I will definitely give you an answer in the near

future," I replied.

Perhaps the news that would follow would reach Kiriyama's ears not from

me, but from Nagumo.

"…Fine," conceded Kiriyama. "But do decide before Nagumo makes his next

move."

Kiriyama had been surveying the entire area around the pool, and he

immediately noticed the arrival of a certain someone. It was, of course,

Nagumo himself, the person that we had been discussing all this time.

"It's time to go. If he finds out that I met with you, there's going to be trouble

again."

That was probably wise. Kiriyama must have taken a considerable risk to

reach out to me like this today. At any rate though, just learning the details of

the third-year students' situation made this a worthwhile conversation.

3.1

AS MORE OF NAGUMO'S FRIENDS showed up, the pool quickly started to clear

out. If he wanted to talk with me directly, it was clear that even if I tried to let

things be and didn't try and make contact, Nagumo would send a messenger. If

he wasn't sending one right now, I concluded he must've had no intention of

setting up a meeting. But just when I had finished changing in the locker room

and was trying to make my escape…

"Ayanokouji-senpai!"

I happened to bump into Nanase, who spotted me in the hallway again. She

ran up to me with a happy look on her face. I supposed that on a ship with a

fixed number of places we could go, it wasn't that unusual for me to see her

two days in a row as I was constantly passing students I was acquainted with

when I was outside my room. Nevertheless, she appeared before me in exactly

the same fashion as she previously did, reminding me of the spectacle I saw

yesterday.

"May I have a moment of your time?" she asked.

She briefly glanced around, checking my surroundings. She seemed to be

looking to see if I was with anyone. I was with Ishizaki yesterday, so she might

not have been able to start a conversation with me because of that. I felt

somewhat bewildered by this strong pressure she was exerting on me, or

rather, by just how close she was. Despite that, I nodded my head anyway.

"Actually, I've been agonizing over whether I should report on something

that's been concerning me a little," said Nanase.

"A report?" I asked.

Nanase nodded. Her cheerful mood dissipated and was replaced with an air of

seriousness. She spoke to me in a whisper, being mindful of our surroundings.

"There's one thing that I've been keeping from you, senpai. I thought if I told

you, you might get angry, but…"

I might get angry? What in the world was she talking about?

"Well, it's—"

Nanase tried to tell me what it was in a soft whisper, but then…

"Oh? Ayanokouji-kun?"

Hearing my name being called by someone she didn't recognize, Nanase

quickly put some distance between us. The voice belonged to Ichinose's

classmate, Kobashi Yume. If this was the old days, like how I'd spent my time at

school until this point, we probably wouldn't have greeted each other if we saw

one another. However, during the uninhabited island exam, we had spent some

time together, albeit brief. That seemed to have brought about a change in our

relationship.

"Oh, am I…interrupting something? Maybe it'd be better if I waited," said

Kobashi apologetically, seeing Nanase hiding behind me.

"Oh, no, it's all right," said Nanase. "I was just asking Ayanokouji-senpai about

something that I didn't understand."

"Are you sure?" asked Kobashi.

Nanase vigorously nodded twice, trying to convince Kobashi that nothing

nearly so serious was going on here.

"I'll come talk to you again when I have time," the first-year said.

The only thing I knew for sure was that it was something that Nanase didn't

want other students to overhear. She then bowed deeply and respectfully not

only to me, but to Kobashi as well, and ran off.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were in the middle of a conversation,"

said Kobashi. "She's a first-year, right? I hope I didn't upset her."

"I don't think you need to worry," I assured her. "Anyway, what did you want

with me?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, the girls in my class are thinking of throwing a 'We

made it!' party tonight to celebrate the exam being over. I was wondering if you

might like to join us, if you're interested? Plus, I wanted to thank you again for

saving Chihiro-chan."

I was getting invited to something. However, her phrasing, specifically about

the girls in her class, stuck out to me.

"Who else is going to come?" I asked.

I was worried, so I tried to check and see who would be there. But Kobashi

didn't know the details. She tilted her head to the side, looking lost in thought.

"Well, we're still kinda in the middle of putting it all together. Don't worry

about it though, it's not like there are any weirdos in my class, so it'll be all

right."

It wasn't like I was afraid of strange people showing up, but it didn't look like

Kobashi understood what I was getting at.

"But, I mean, only students from your class are going to be there, right,

Kobashi? Wouldn't it be a little awkward for someone like me, an outsider, to

drop in?"

"You think so? No way, it wouldn't be awkward at all! So, what do you think?"

I found myself with a vague, casual invitation to a post-exam party. To be

honest, I wasn't too keen on the idea, partly because there weren't many

people in Ichinose's class that I could talk with intimately. Especially with the

way things were right now, it was doubtful that I'd actually be able to get into a

good conversation with Ichinose, even if I ran into her there. It'd feel a little

regretful over it, but I figured that I should decline.

"Hey, sorry, but I think I'll—"

Seeing that I was about to refuse the invitation, Kobashi clasped her hands

together and spoke up again, cutting me off.

"Please! It's just that I think, like, us meeting here is like fate, right?"

It was hard to refuse her when she put it to me like that, but I wasn't going to

be broken so easily. It was plain to see that if I went with the flow right here,

things would not go so well for me later.

"So, I guess this…means it's my fault, huh?" sighed Kobashi.

"Huh?" I replied, confused.

"Yeah, it's all right," sighed Kobashi. "Guess there's nothing I can do. I think I'll

just go tell the rest of the class what happened. I asked Ayanokouji-kun to

come, but I flubbed the invitation, so he turned me down."

"Wait, hold on. Why would it be like that?" I asked.

"So, will you come?"

"…Well, that's…"

"I knew it, it was a bother after all. If only I were a little better at inviting

people out to stuff… I'm sorry, everyone," said Kobashi dejectedly.

"I don't really like seeing you get so depressed over it…"

"Please, even just showing your face for like a second is fine! Please come!

Honami-chan is coming too!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together once

more. She was pleading for me to go to the party with fervor, even more

intensely than before. Now that we'd gotten to this point, it felt like there was

already no way out.

"All right," I conceded. "It's really okay if I just make a brief appearance?"

"Yes! Thank you!" she said. "Oh, but keep the fact that you're coming to the

post-exam party tonight a secret from Honami-chan, okay?"

She was smiling so cheerfully that it made it hard to believe she had been so

depressed and sad just moments ago. They do say that women are born

actresses, after all. Anyway though, keeping it a secret from Ichinose? That part

kind of struck me as odd.

"Why keep it a secret though?" I asked. "I'd like to get permission from

everyone to see if it's okay for me to show up."

If there was even one student who didn't want me there, I'd prefer that they

just came straight out with it and tell me. And that way, I could refuse the offer

to attend once again, more openly, and it would be with good reason.

"Well, it's because, you see… Don't you think it would be better to be a

surprise, Ayanokouji-kun?"

I couldn't help but think that, while it would be a surprise, it wouldn't be a

particularly good one. I didn't want to get into it, but from the sounds of things,

Ichinose's classmates had their own ideas about me and Ichinose.

"Okay, we'll be waiting for you in room 5034 at eight o'clock," said Kobashi.

"5034… The party is in someone's room?" I asked.

I had thought for sure that they would've held this in the break area

somewhere, or on the deck. Moreover, the room number she gave indicated

that it was one of the rooms that girls stayed in, not guys.

"Is that a problem?" she asked.

"Well, I…wouldn't say it is," I replied, "but I feel like it would make it a little

more difficult to go there."

"Oh, no, not at all! Okay?"

Somehow, that last "Okay?" made me feel like I had been pushed into a

corner. My escape route was being locked off and blocked.

"All right then, we'll be waiting for you! You've gotta come!" she exclaimed

happily.

Seemingly satisfied that I had promised to attend, Kobashi walked away with

hasty steps.

"Good grief," I muttered.

It still wasn't time for me to talk with Ichinose face-to-face yet, but…well, I

supposed that if we were going to be in a crowd of people, then it'd probably

be fine. If it was a post-exam party, I was sure that quite a few guys would be

attending too.

3.2

AFTERWARD, I didn't really feel like playing around. I ended up kind of hanging

around my room, not really doing anything and feeling depressed. After I had

dinner at six o'clock, eight o'clock rolled around before I knew it.

"Guess I…should be going now," I muttered to myself.

Right now, if I could choose whether to go or not, I would decide not to go

without hesitation. That was just how unwelcome this invitation was. But I

supposed that if I really didn't want to attend, I should have refused the

invitation without hesitation in the first place. I figured that it was because I had

given such a wishy-washy response earlier that I was in this situation now, so

really, I had no other choice but to reap what I had sown. Though I had

renewed my sense of determination…when I arrived at room 5034, I just stood

there outside the door.

A minute had passed since I arrived in front of the room. I thought about

knocking, but I could hear the sounds of girls talking and laughing coming from

inside the room from time to time. And yet…there wasn't any sign whatsoever

that there were any guys there yet. I had a bad feeling about this. I didn't know

why, but I was starting to break out in a kind of cold sweat. The only thing I was

certain of was that I was more nervous right now than when I squared off

against Tsukishiro during the uninhabited island exam.

"Wouldn't it be wiser for me to just turn around and head back now?"

A devil had whispered those words into my ear, and I found that they leaked

out of my own mouth, coming out in my own voice. Maybe it would be less

painful if I just gave a humble apology later, giving them the excuse that I

inadvertently forgot all about the party? No, I also wanted to avoid being

branded as the sort of person who broke his promises…

What in the world should I do? I was unable to move, like I had been bound

hand and foot. But suddenly, the spell on me was broken from an unexpected

direction.

"Oh, you came!" exclaimed Kobashi, happily.

Kobashi had appeared, standing at the end of the hall. I wasn't sure if this was

just bad timing or what. There were plastic bags in her hands, with assorted

items peeking out from inside like snacks and bottles of juice. Now that I had

been discovered, my option to run away had been obliterated.

"I think that everyone's already inside, so don't be shy, head on in!" she said.

"O-okay… I was just about to do that," I replied.

Someone, save me…

Kobashi, without hesitation, gently started to open the door that I could not

open before. It simply felt like it was too heavy.

Was this really okay? To open the door so easily like that? I needed to

mentally prepare myself a little more… Just as I was thinking that, the door, the

only thing separating me and the inside of the room, was being taken away

from me.

The first of my senses to be stimulated was not my sight, but rather, my sense

of smell. It smelled like flowers. It was a thick smell, but it was sweet and

pleasant. It wafted through the air. Immediately after picking up that smell, my

eyes caught sight of girl after girl after girl—girls as far as I could see.

"Ta-daaaa! I brought Ayanokouji-kun!" announced Kobashi.

There were girls sitting all around the room, crammed tightly in a space that

you couldn't by any means say was spacious for four. What was this world

before my eyes? One, two, three… Including Kobashi, who had just come inside,

there were a total of ten girls in here. That meant that half of the girls in

Ichinose's class were here. And on top of that, there wasn't even the slightest

hint of a guy around. I almost felt like I had been betrayed somehow.

"Hey, phrasing! Saying that you brought him is a little weird, Yume-chan!"

"Really? Oh, I bought the stuff that you asked for," said Kobashi, setting down

the plastic bags on the small table near the bed in the cramped room.

What was this? What was with the lighthearted, fluffy, airy atmosphere of

this gathering? The only thing I knew for certain was that it felt slightly different

from when Kei and her group of girls got together. Most of the girls attending

this party were people that I hadn't spoken to before, but I remembered their

names and faces from OAA, more or less. While I was overwhelmed by the

spectacle before me, rendered unable to move, Kobashi lightly patted me on

the back.

"So, Ayanokouji-kun, where should we have you go?" said Kobashi. "Oh, how

about right next to Honami-chan?"

While it was certainly true that Ichinose was the one I was the closest to out

of everyone there, Kobashi decided on my spot for me without even the

slightest hesitation. To be fair, I didn't think that I really had any other choice of

seat to begin with since the room was so small, but still, it seemed like I didn't

even have the right to choose for myself from the very beginning. What I did

find a little strange, however, was that despite the fact there were ten people

here in this room, they had somehow left enough space for one boy to sit next

to Ichinose without any issues, right from the start.

That meant that the space wasn't available out of sheer coincidence. It was

highly likely that they had planned it that way in advance. I thought back to

what Kobashi had said when she had invited me this afternoon, and it all

seemed to fit… Anyway, I wasn't sure that thinking it out was going to be any

help to me in this current situation. If I just stood there, I'd keep getting stared

at by ten people, and that would only make me feel even more uncomfortable. I

hurriedly excused myself and went next to Ichinose.

"…May I sit here?" I asked her.

"O-of course you may," she replied.

Ichinose immediately agreed to let me sit by her, so I sat down, but I still

seemed to be getting stared at by almost everyone there. Or rather, apart from

Ichinose, Kobashi, Shiranami and another student named Himeno, it felt like

everyone there was observing me, like the six of them were trying to evaluate

me. No, I needed to stay calm and keep a straight face here, pretending not to

notice anything. Then, when the timing was right, I would be able to leave early.

Kobashi poured some tea into a clear cup and handed it to me. Once

everyone had drinks in hand, Amikura, who seemed to be the facilitator of this

event, spoke up in a loud voice.

"Well then, without further ado… Let's begin the post-exam party to

celebrate a job well done, along with the 'Thank you, Ayanokouji, for saving

Chihiro-chan when she got lost on the uninhabited island' party. Cheers!"

After Amikura made that announcement, everyone raised their cups high.

"Um, first of all, I just want to say, thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. You really

saved me back then," said Shiranami, seated to the left of Ichinose, offering me

words of gratitude.

I didn't think that I did anything that would make people thank me so much or

be so humbled by me, though… At any rate, I simply nodded my head gently,

since I couldn't really say anything to expand on the conversation for the time

being. Personally, I would have liked to have said that the party was in full swing

then. But just as I was lamenting the fact that only ten minutes had passed,

Shiranami came over to me with a serious look on her face.

"Um, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"What is it…?" I asked.

She was tightly holding her can of orange juice with both hands, and the look

on her face suggested that she wanted to say something.

"I'm, um, I'm very grateful to you for helping me," she said. "But I just can't

accept it yet."

"Huh…?" I answered, bewildered.

She offered no further explanation. After saying her piece, she forcefully

gulped down her orange juice.

"Wah! I can't say anything more than that!" she wailed.

Wait, hold on a minute. What in the world…? She walked away, leaving me

behind, dumbstruck. The people around Shiranami showered her with words of

encouragement and appreciation, praising her for doing her best and telling her

she did a good job. Shiranami seemed a little embarrassed but didn't appear as

bothered by it as you might have thought. Seriously though, what was

happening here? Since I was out of my element though, I couldn't ask those

kinds of questions in return.

Though Shiranami had talked about me at the start of the post-exam party,

after that point, the girls started talking more about whatever was on their

minds. I just sat there quietly on the sidelines, not making a peep, like a welltrained pet. Of course, if someone were to ask me if I were comfortable in this

situation, then I would have immediately said "no." At any rate…

I had witnessed firsthand just how amazing girl talk was, and how they

effortlessly transitioned from one topic to another. The conversation didn't

stick to any one thing, and they moved from subject to subject as busily as an

airplane flying around Japan. But no matter the topic, there was one thing all

the girls had in common. Namely, many of the girls centered their thoughts

around Ichinose, placed a lot of trust in her, and had blind faith in her. I

wouldn't say that was a terrible thing, though.

The girl known as Ichinose Honami was, without a doubt, the most

trustworthy person in our entire grade. I could make that assertion regardless

of whether she was my friend or foe. The standards of what made someone

trustworthy came down to the individual, sure, but trust was something that

was built up day by day. No one would ever trust a student who had never once

spoken up before if they suddenly said "Trust me" one day.

But trustworthiness and blind faith were not the same thing. Even if Ichinose

were a trustworthy person, there were times when she'd make the wrong

choice now and again. If you continued to trust someone when they made

mistakes, you wouldn't get any results. There was a definite need for students

who could point out when was something was wrong to correct those mistakes.

As the girls' excitement had visibly peaked, one girl raised her hand. Up until

this point, she had only made some general comments to show that she was

listening, rather than contributing to the conversation.

Now she asked, "Can I have a sec?"

"What's the matter, Yuki-chan?" asked another girl.

"Just one of my typical headaches," said Himeno. "Look, sorry, but I'm really

out of it. Is it good if I head back to my room? I'm seriously not feeling great."

I wouldn't have paid any attention to what she said if I were just focusing on

the message, like if it had just been a casual remark or request. But I was

surprised by the unexpected tone of voice she spoke in. Many of the students in

Ichinose's class were generally courteous and well-mannered. Himeno had

curtly told everyone that she wasn't feeling good and that she wanted to go

back to her room.

"Of course you can. Want me to walk with you?" said Ichinose. She and the

other girls at the party hurriedly offered their support when they heard that

one of their friends wasn't feeling well.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm fine… I'm not a little kid, you know."

Himeno stood up, seeming like she was fed up with her classmates'

overprotective behavior. There was even this type of student in Ichinose's class,

huh. As I recalled, Himeno was in a group of all students from their own class

during the uninhabited island exam.

At any rate, up until that point, I hadn't gotten the feeling that I would've

been able to leave, but now the winds of change brought me an opportunity to

go. If I missed this chance, I didn't know when I'd find the next window to leave.

I decided to take the plunge and followed Himeno's lead.

"Well, I think it's about time I be going too, actually," I added.

"Huh? You're already leaving? You can still stick around a lot longer though!"

said Kobashi.

"Nah, I was only planning to make a brief appearance anyway," I replied. "And

besides, I had plans to meet someone after this."

If I said that I had plans, then Ichinose and the other girls would surely refrain

from asking me to stay, out of politeness.

"W-well, see you later then, Ayanokouji-kun," said Ichinose, still sitting pretty.

She and the other girls waved goodbye, seeing me off as I left the room.

3.3

"PHEW… I felt like I was about to break out in a weird sweat," I muttered to

myself.

No, actually, I had already broken out in a sweat. Less than thirty seconds

after Himeno had left the room, I also managed to escape from the devilish

room 5034. I figured that for some people, that situation would've been

heaven. But for me, personally, it was a painful place to be. You couldn't call me

particularly good at getting close to people, after all. It would have been a

different story if I were to completely create a new role for myself, but since I

was operating on the premise of playing the part of an inconspicuous high

school student, it wasn't that easy for me to change.

However, I supposed that in a way, the fact that I had little connection with

Ichinose's class up until this point

might have helped me get closer to her. With Ichinose at the center of her

class, I could see, albeit just faintly, what kinds of kids were beside her. What

did she have, and what was she lacking? At this point in time, I knew the

strengths and weaknesses of Ichinose's class.

Students who could speak up and make themselves heard were essential, no

matter who would be the leader in the future. The only person that I could

think of at the moment who could do that would be that guy Kanzaki. However,

with the class centered on Ichinose, the girls' collective voices seemed to be just

as strong as the guys'. Kanzaki, as an individual, was the type of person who

could speak up to Ichinose, but whether he could appeal to the class as a whole

and whether he could control the girls was another matter.

"Hm?"

Himeno had complained of a headache earlier and said that she was going

back to her room, but she was walking in a different direction from the guest

rooms. She left and turned the corner in an instant, but considering that

distinctive hair color of hers, there was no mistaking her. There was something

about Himeno that I felt was off during the girls' party just moments earlier.

Since I was somewhat curious about what was up with her, I decided to follow.

I found myself at the aft deck. It was nighttime, and there was no sign of

anyone else around. As I continued to look at Himeno Yuki's side profile from a

distance, I recalled her profile in OAA.

2-B Himeno Yuki

Academic Ability: B– (63)

Physical Ability: C (51)

Adaptability: C+ (58)

Societal Contribution: C+ (58)

Overall Ability: C+ (57)

Other than her high level of academic ability, she wasn't particularly skilled or

lacking in any way. She had no outstanding abilities as far as I could see.

However, that was just a view of her abilities only as far as the school's metrics

were concerned. It was possible that any student had invisible strengths and

weaknesses hidden away. I decided that I wanted to investigate a little further,

and that direct contact would be the fastest way.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Huh…? What?"

She averted her eyes, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Considering that she

slipped out of the room after saying that she had a headache, it was strange for

her to be in a place like this.

"Your headache all better?"

"Gawd…"

Her short mumbling was almost completely drowned out by the wind, but it

sounded like she was telling me to shut up. There were several guys and girls

who used harsh language in our school, but in Himeno's case, it seemed like her

way of speaking was a defense mechanism—a way for her to keep people away

rather than meaning to be hurtful.

However, perhaps because she was concerned about her public image, she

coughed, and then directed her gaze over to me.

"I just stopped here because I thought the breeze would help me settle down.

Okay?"

"Do you get headaches often?" I asked. "You said something earlier that gave

me the impression you do."

I tried pressing her for more details, but she must not have wanted to engage

in conversation with me any further because she fell silent. Even during the

girls' party earlier, she hadn't spoken up at all except to say that she was

leaving. In addition, I had noticed that the other girls generally didn't really start

conversations with Himeno either. It wasn't like she was being excluded on

purpose or anything, as Ichinose would never tolerate such a thing. And if their

relationship was that bad, I was sure they wouldn't want to show that to

someone from another class, like me. In that case…

I supposed that they must have somewhat forcefully invited Himeno to come

out to the post-exam party then, twisting her arm a bit. If I framed what

happened as the girls doing it because they wanted to get their classmate to

have at least some fun, then it all made sense.

"I get migraines. That's what they say," said Himeno, her comment brief and

muddled.

"If you have migraines, then cooling down is the right choice," I replied.

Migraines are caused by the dilation of cerebral blood vessels due to things

such as changes in female hormones, fatigue, lack of sleep, and so on. Blood

vessels are less dilated when cool and more dilated when warm, so stepping

outside to feel the cool breeze wasn't a bad idea.

That is, if she really did have a migraine.

"Pain in the…" she mumbled.

"Aren't you just using headaches as a way to get out of uncomfortable

situations?" I asked.

"Huh? You callin' me a liar?" she huffed.

Himeno had been acting relatively indifferent up until this point, but the look

on her face changed as soon as I had pointed out that she might have been

stretching the truth. She was an unusual type for Ichinose's class, which was full

of mild-mannered people. My intuition had not been wrong.

"You look pretty angry. That mean I hit the bull's-eye?"

"Wrong," said Himeno. "Actually, you know what? Ugh, my head's startin' to

hurt again. I'm going back to my room."

"Sorry if I offended you," I said. "But would you mind listening to me for just a

minute?"

Himeno, her hand held up to her forehead, turned and shot me a disgusted

look. "Look, my headache's getting more intense. Okay?"

"Sorry."

"'Sorry,' huh… So, you assume I'll listen to you if you say sorry?"

"You don't seem to want to talk."

"I don't."

After trying to engage in conversation a few times and getting a couple of

responses now, I could start to see that this person in front of me was the real

Himeno. This seemed to be her true self.

"I see," I said. "Well, nothing I can do, then."

She shrugged her shoulders in indignation, seemingly telling me, "You get it

now?"

"Guess this means I don't have any other choice but to head back to the girls'

party and report that Himeno might be faking being sick," I told her.

"Huh? Say what?" she said. "Don't just go acting like I'm faking it. You're a

liar."

"Liar?" I repeated. "All I said was that you 'might' be faking it. Besides, as long

as I feel like that might be true, then I have the right to raise the question, don't

I? You can just prove it to everyone at a later date whether it's true or not."

"There's no way someone can prove they have a headache, though," said

Himeno.

"Maybe," I answered.

"The hell? Everyone was all praising you up and down, but you sure have a

nasty personality."

"Hey, at the very least, I wasn't being praised for having a good personality

though, was I?"

I didn't really want to say this myself, but really, all Shiranami did was express

her gratitude to me for helping her.

"Guess so," she replied.

"Anyway though, you're a strange one, Himeno," I told her. "It's like you don't

seem like someone from Ichinose's class."

"Strange?" she scoffed. "If you ask me, the people in my class are way too

nice. Our class is always getting together in big groups to do stuff. And sure,

that's fine. But the issue is that each time we do something, it takes friggin'

forever, and nobody ever leaves."

I supposed that if I had to repeatedly go to meetups I didn't like, I couldn't

help feeling fed up either. Ichinose's other classmates, however, enjoyed those

gatherings. That was probably why no one wanted to leave each time they met,

which resulted in each meeting getting drawn out for long hours.

"If you don't like it though, you don't have to participate. Right?"

"You really think I could get away with something like that?" said Himeno.

"Even if it's annoying, it's important for me to keep in line."

"Well, I suppose so."

Her whole class was united, and there was an especially strong kind of

camaraderie among the girls. It would take courage to toss a stone and cause a

ripple, even if you felt dissatisfied with things on the inside.

Himeno. Maybe our chance encounter right now could change the direction

things were headed in. Normally, I wouldn't get too deeply involved with a

member of the opposite sex like her unless it were a special situation. However,

I figured that it wasn't a bad thing to deliberately take a step forward here.

Of course, if this ended up making trouble for her as a result, then, well, c'est

la vie. There was no getting around it.

"If you want to relieve stress, then isn't screaming the best thing you can do?"

I asked.

"Screaming…?" Himeno repeated. "If I did that in a place like this, it'd just

draw attention, whether I liked it or not."

"Not many students come to the aft deck, and besides, given the noise from

the ship, there won't be an echo," I pointed out. "It'd just get drowned out and

disappear."

"But…"

She looked bewildered, like she had never cried out as loud as she could

before.

"Then why don't you go ahead and scream first?" she said.

"…Me?" I blinked.

Her totally unexpected response had managed to get me to feel flustered too,

despite myself.

"I don't really know anything about you," said Himeno. "But you strike me as

a pretty quiet person. Or like… You don't look like the type who'd scream. If you

show me how it's done, I'll try it myself."

Now I was in trouble. I didn't remember ever experiencing intense stress in

my life, so if you were to ask me if I had ever screamed out as loud as I could

myself, then the answer would be no. That's how little experience I had with

this kind of thing.

"If you can't, then I'm out of here," Himeno said.

If I backed down now, this would probably be the first and last time that

Himeno and I would interact.

"All right."

With Himeno watching me, I steeled myself, faced the ocean, and shouted in

a loud voice.

"AAHHHHHHHHH! There. Your turn, Himeno."

"…Are you kidding me?" she replied.

"No, not at all?" I answered.

"Your shout barely had any volume to it," said Himeno. "You're seriously

messing with me right now."

"Then show me how it's done," I countered.

"I ain't showing you shit after that."

Exasperated, Himeno tried to escape, but I shouted at her back as she was

trying to leave, stopping her in her tracks.

"I thought if I did it, you were gonna do it too?!" I asked.

"No, it's just that I'm annoyed that you think what you did actually counted,"

said Himeno.

"Hey, whatever volume the shout, the fact is that I complied with your

request. But if yours is just as quiet as mine, then you have no right to make fun

of me at all."

I preemptively blocked her off so that she wouldn't shout at the same quiet

level that I did.

"Oh, for the love of… Fine. Just once is okay, right? Then I'm getting out of

here."

After first taking a deep breath, Himeno brought both of her hands up to her

mouth, a look of resignation about her, like she figured she had no choice but to

do it.

"WAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The sounds of the ship's engine and the wind drowned out the sound enough

so that no one heard her except for me. However, her voice echoed in my ears,

and it was twice as loud as I imagined it would be. I felt like the ship was

shaking… But it was only just a feeling. The ship wasn't actually shaking from

that, of course.

From the way she spoke and acted, she seemed like kind of a downer. Or

rather, she was someone who was pretty reserved and had a quiet, subdued

voice. As it turned out, she had a tremendously loud one.

"Phew… That feels better." Himeno nodded her head in satisfaction,

seemingly unconcerned about my shock.

"Right? Screaming was worth it for me too," I told her.

She gave me a cold look. "No, you really didn't scream at all though."

"Well… I think I probably could've done better if I were feeling stressed."

"Really? You don't look it though."

"You were even better than I thought. You must be under a lot of stress."

"Huh? I'm gonna kill you, y'know?" she huffed, with a sharp glare.

She was the sort of person who resorted to using her mouth before using her

hands and feet when she was angry.

"I went a little too far," I admitted. I apologized to her sincerely, but she

didn't seem like was offended. Maybe Himeno had a fearless side to her, after

all.

"I'm headed back to my room," she announced.

"All right. Sorry for holding you up."

"If you know you did something wrong, then that's good at least," she said,

and then she headed back inside.

"Guess I'll head back to my room too," I said aloud to no one in particular.

I knew that I had just been to a post-exam party to relax after giving it our all

on the island, but even so, I was unusually exhausted. I had a feeling I was going

to sleep very deeply that night.

Chapter 4:

Everyone's Holiday

BEING ON THE CRUISE SHIP came with the problem of where to have lunch

every day, and what to eat. The school provided buffet-style meals to us every

morning and night, free of charge. Students were free to visit the buffet or not,

if they wished. Aside from being free, the food was also exceptionally delicious,

so it was quite popular amongst the students. The school divided the breakfast

buffet service into three separate admission blocks between seven and nine in

the morning.

Each block of time was limited to sixty minutes. It operated on a reservationstyle system where we used our phones to reserve whatever time we wanted. I

generally had breakfast at eight o'clock in the morning, but since I was late to

make a reservation, the eight-to-nine block had filled up, so I ended up having

to eat a little earlier at seven o'clock in the morning. As a result, I was feeling

strangely hungry by the time noon rolled around. Perhaps my body was craving

energy because I'd only been meeting my minimum caloric intake requirements

during the uninhabited island exam.

Dining in the open-air café was a popular option, but, regrettably, the meal

prices were high. If you wanted to have a lunch combo set with a drink

included, you would need at least 2000 points. If you wanted to enjoy a meal

together with friends, the café would be a fine option, but unfortunately, I was

alone today. It made sense for me to be as frugal with my points as possible,

considering the costs, so I was extremely grateful for the concession stand

kiosks.

In short, they were places where you could easily purchase items such as rice

balls, sandwiches, and so on, just like at a convenience store. I quickly marched

up to the kiosk and paid 250 points for a rice ball and a small tea. Then, plastic

bag in hand, I went in search of a place to eat. I figured using any suitable break

area that was available would've been fine, but most of those places were

occupied, and I felt a strong aversion to sharing such a small space with

someone else. I figured that if you wanted to find a place where you didn't

mind being near strangers, at least to some extent, then being outside was

generally the best choice.

As I continued searching, I arrived at a spot on the deck on the sixth floor near

the bow of the ship, overlooking the ocean. It didn't cost anything for me to use

this place, so I figured it was an appropriate place to eat the light meal that I

had purchased from the kiosk. I'd been thinking I would enjoy the magnificent

view of the ocean while enjoying my little snack, but it seemed like I picked the

wrong time of day to do it. There were many other students who had come

here to take in the view, and it didn't seem likely that I'd be able to relax.

Though the deck was spacious, if there were many people on it, it would

obviously be a challenge to find space. I scanned the area and found an empty

bench. And, next to it, I saw Nanase from behind, seated on the adjacent bench.

A sandwich and a carton of milk were placed beside her. She must have

purchased them from the kiosk too. It was kind of funny—this was the opposite

of yesterday, where she was the one who found me. Aside from Nanase, there

were many second-year students here as well, who, like her, were enjoying

their lunches while taking in the view of the ocean. For example, I spotted my

classmates Ijuuin and Okiya, as well as Sakayanagi from Class A, and Nakaizumi

and Suzuki from Ryuuen's class.

Ultimately, people tended to think in the same ways. I didn't move from my

spot and turned my gaze out to the ocean. Surely, a meal would be utterly

delicious if you were to eat it while taking in this spectacle. However…just as

there were many students from my own grade, there were many third-year

students here too. Some of the third-year students had noticed me, though it

was only a handful of them. They immediately began to turn their watchful

gazes in my direction. On the other hand, if I were to leave immediately, that

would mean that I didn't like the way they were looking at me, and they'd know

that I had decided to run.

Doing so might encourage the third-year students further as they would likely

conclude what they were doing was effective. Come to think of it, Nanase

seemed to have something she wanted to talk to me about the other day. I

remembered that we were interrupted at the time because Kobashi had come

up to speak with me, so I decided to call out to Nanase now. It would at least

provide me with some pretext to go over and talk to her.

"Nanase."

When I called her name, she turned back with a start.

"Ah, semffai!" she said in surprise.

Apparently, I had gotten her attention just as she had a mouthful of sandwich,

and she looked at me while trying her best to keep the contents from spilling

out. I felt a little sorry for her when I saw her hurriedly trying to swallow her

sandwich. I was just using her as a means to combat the third-years, but from

the look of things, I had put her in an unnecessary panic.

"Oh, sorry. Should I come back later?" I asked.

Even though I said that, I knew that there was no way Nanase would allow it,

considering her personality.

"Pleaze whaid a momend, howd om," she sputtered.

She couldn't spit the food out now that she already had it in her mouth, so

she quickly started to swallow it down.

"Gulp! …Um, sorry, excuse me," said Nanase. "I was, um, well, to tell the

truth…just having lunch."

She said that like she was confessing some kind of secret, but I could tell just

by looking that she was eating. Actually, I knew it the minute I saw her from

behind.

"Um, is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

I felt like there was something a bit strange about Nanase, when I saw her so

flustered like this. Her eyes were restless, darting all over the place. She seemed

to be unable to concentrate on having a conversation with me.

"Well, not exactly, it's just that you seemed like you wanted to talk to me

yesterday," I replied. "I was wondering what about. You just kind of left after

Kobashi came up to talk to me."

"Oh," said Nanase.

Her train of thought was slow. Her words weren't coming out right away.

"I'm sorry, but it's already been resolved, so would you mind just forgetting

about it?" she asked.

"It is? Well, in that case, all right."

I had been planning to talk to Nanase about whatever it was because she had

helped me out in many ways, but if the issues had been resolved, it wasn't of

any consequence. More than that, though, the biggest reason I decided to let it

go was that I sensed that it didn't really matter anymore.

"Sorry for bothering you so suddenly," I said. "Anyway, I'm going to head back

inside the ship. There are more people than I thought there'd be, so it doesn't

seem like I'll be able to relax here."

"I see," said Nanase. "Well then, I will see you later, senpai."

As soon as I finished getting my stuff together, I left. I looked back out at the

deck once more and saw that Nanase was once again facing forward and had

resumed having her lunch.

4.1

IN THE END, I made my way back to a less-populated area—the aft of the ship,

on the fifth floor—to find a place to have lunch. It was the same place where I

talked with Himeno the other night, and I already confirmed that few people

usually went there. For a few minutes, I just stared out at the rough waves

created by the ship as it sailed through the waters, forgetting about my original

purpose for coming here. Then, an unexpected visitor approached me.

"You're going to have lunch all by your lonesome here? In a place like this?"

"Sakayanagi? What a coincidence."

As I recalled, she was on the same deck as Nanase earlier.

"That's correct. Well, that's what I'd like to say; however, I did chase after

you, Ayanokouji-kun."

She chased after me? But her legs were in such bad shape that she wouldn't

have been able to match even my slowest walking speed. There was no

indication that she had assigned someone to tail me ahead of time either.

"It was simple deduction," Sakayanagi said. "You made an appearance at the

deck near the bow of the ship earlier to have lunch. But you gave up on the idea

after seeing how many people were there, didn't you? It wasn't difficult to

predict where you'd ultimately decide to go, given the fact that you were

carrying a light meal and you were looking for a place with a view of the ocean."

She had perfectly read my behavioral patterns and had arrived here based on

them.

"I see that you also wish to enjoy your meal while taking in the view,

Ayanokouji-kun."

"Unlike back at the bow of the ship, the view here isn't top-rate," I said, "but

there aren't that many opportunities to gaze out at the wide-open ocean like

this."

There was no guarantee that there'd be another uninhabited island exam this

time next year. There were other school trip events planned for our second

year, sure, but the details remained unknown for the time being. Perhaps this

would be the last chance I'd have to gaze out at the ocean in this fashion.

"I'm sure there will be many more sights like this ocean view for you to see in

the future," said Sakayanagi. "In that sense, you were probably correct in

choosing this school, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Yeah, that's right. I think so too. You know, though, I actually had seen the

ocean before, prior to coming to this school."

Sakayanagi was, surprisingly enough, a little shocked by that. Well, no, to be

fair, it might have been reasonable for her to have been surprised. The truth

was that I didn't leave the facility even once until I was fourteen years old,

which would have put me in my third year of junior high. That fact was common

knowledge to someone who knew what the White Room was generally like.

Anyway, I had seen the ocean once. It was when I had the opportunity to be

outside for a short while after I was transferred out of the facility.

Although I didn't have any direct contact with the water, I walked along a

path with a view of the sea. However, the first time I saw it, I wasn't moved or

anything. I simply walked through the outside world, emotionless. Nothing

more.

"Have you heard of Beneath the Wheel?" asked Sakayanagi.

"It's a novel by Hermann Hesse, right?" I said.

Out of all of the novels he had written, that work was particularly well-known

in Japan. In some languages, it was called The Prodigy instead.

"Hans, the protagonist of the story, was a genius gifted with incredible

talent," said Sakayanagi. "Though he attended an elite school and had a bright

future ahead of him, he only lived for his studies. Eventually, he began to have

doubts about himself. He tried to live up to the expectations that were placed

upon him, but he suffered setbacks and started to decline."

The protagonist, Hans Giebenrath, met a tragic end. At the end of the story,

he fell into a river and died.

"What of it?" I asked.

"I don't think he was a prodigy, myself," she said. "The reason being that real,

honest-to-goodness prodigies do not suffer failures like that. And choosing

death at the end was just sheer stupidity."

Sakayanagi seemed to have interpreted his death as a suicide rather than an

accidental one.

"Some time ago, I told you, 'People can come to know warmth by touch. And

that is precious. The warmth of another's skin is by no means a bad thing.' Do

you remember that?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I recall you saying something like that."

Was that at the end of the third semester of our first year? Right after the

special exam ended?

"Hesse, who wrote Beneath the Wheel, was also troubled and suffered

setbacks in his life, just like Hans, the protagonist of his story," she explained.

"However, he said that it was because of his family that he was able to keep

going. He didn't feel the need to take his own life."

From the sounds of things, the author, Hesse, and the book's protagonist,

Hans, had strikingly similar personal backgrounds. You could therefore see the

story as the author's psychological projection of his self. As Sakayanagi looked

out at the ocean, she was suddenly hit by a strong gust of wind.

"Ah—"

I saw the instant Sakayanagi's hat started to fly away, and I immediately

reached out my hand to catch it.

"Whoops… That was close," I said, taking hold of it.

If my reaction speed had been even slightly delayed, her hat probably would

have been carried off into the vast ocean.

"Thank you very much," said Sakayanagi.

"It's not safe to wear that on the deck," I warned.

"Fu fu, yes, I suppose you're right," she said. "But it is my trademark, of

sorts."

She held the hat in her hands, holding it tenderly against her chest.

"Something quite nostalgic sprang to mind, just now."

"Nostalgic?" I repeated.

"Oh, it's nothing important. It's just that I have a few memories of the ocean,"

said Sakayanagi.

I supposed that even a single body of water, though it would look the same to

anyone, could hold many different memories to different people.

"By the way, you never told me the reason why you chased after me," I told

her.

"Is it so much of a bother that I came after you without one?"

I was wondering what she was going to say, but she responded with an

answer that I hadn't even considered.

"You don't have one?" I asked.

"I just thought that I wanted to talk to you, Ayanokouji-kun. I could have

approached you before, at the place you just left. However, I imagine that you

wouldn't want to be seen speaking with me that much, no?"

That meant she was trying to be thoughtful and considerate, for which I was

grateful. However, I wasn't a skilled conversationalist, so I didn't have any

particular topics that I could go into with her.

"Would you mind if I led the conversation with some idle talk?" she asked.

"That's fine. Is it okay if I eat while I listen?"

"Please, by all means, go ahead. I do not mind. If you simply lend me an ear

and listen, that would be plenty for me."

I took a single rice ball out of the bag and began to peel off the wrapping with

my fingers.

"You know, Ichinose came to see me yesterday," said Sakayanagi.

"She did?" I asked.

"Yes."

Sakayanagi recalled yesterday's events, telling me what had happened as she

thought back on them.

4.2

"UM, EXCUSE ME… Sakayanagi-san? Do you have a minute?"

After lunch, I was enjoying a nice relaxing break in the café on the ship's deck

when Ichinose-san approached me. Since I was enjoying my tea alone, I had no

reason to refuse her.

"Whatever is the matter?" I asked.

I already knew what this was all about before she even said anything, but I

deliberately cocked my head to the side anyway, making myself appear puzzled.

"Well, about what happened during the special exam… I felt like I needed to

apologize," said Ichinose-san. "I did something really selfish on the last day,

and…I am truly, deeply sorry!"

Ichinose-san bowed deeply with as much respect and intensity as she could

manage. She must have been prepared for the worst, assuming this to be a

situation in which I would accept no excuses from her. To be honest though, I

didn't think that she would have made careless excuses to anyone. I was sure

that she probably felt as though her actions had angered me, the leader of Class

A. And, also, she probably assumed that what she did had caused our

cooperative partnership to be dissolved. It wouldn't have been surprising at all

for her to feel that way.

"Please lift your head back up, Ichinose-san. I am not angry about anything at

all," I told her.

"Huh…?" she blinked.

"If anything, I must say that I recognize your efforts as a fellow member of the

group. You have contributed well. You masterfully played a vital role in the

harsh, unforgiving uninhabited island experience by bringing together our

disparate allies, and also by getting a high percentage of correct answers on

Tasks. As a result, we managed to achieve third place in spectacular fashion. Did

we not?"

"B-but…" she stammered.

"Yes, it certainly is true that you acted somewhat selfishly on the final day of

the exam. However, the loss our group incurred as a result of that was only a

few points at most. If we were to compare that to your contributions, then it's

hardly anything worth chastising you over. If we had fallen into fourth place by

a slim margin, then you might have been on the receiving end of some criticism,

but that didn't happen," I answered, cutting her off.

"But that's a conclusion we can only make in hindsight…" she insisted.

"Sometimes, though, it can be a good thing to simply look at the results, no?"

I argued. "Things don't necessarily always go as planned. Supposing we had

slipped down to fourth place by a narrow margin in the end after fighting with

everything we had, then surely the psychological damage you suffered would

have been great."

I had wondered if my attitude of not putting any blame on her whatsoever

was actually making Ichinose-san feel even more guilty and apologetic. Her

feelings of remorse had not yet faded away.

"The face you're making seems to be saying that you won't feel like this has

been resolved until you take responsibility for it somehow," I observed aloud.

"Um, well, I suppose that's…not inaccurate," she conceded.