Chapter 1:
The White Room Student's Soliloquy
THE ADVANCED NURTURING HIGH SCHOOL.
Right now, in one of the first-year classrooms of this particular school, an
extremely crude and entirely low-level class was being held. These students
were the same age as me, but they were struggling tooth and nail to solve
questions that were so simple they were practically putting me to sleep. I felt
like I was an adult that got mixed in together with kindergarteners.
More than a few times, I had lamented the pointlessness of being educated in
this place and the fact that my time was being wasted. And during those times,
a certain person came to mind. Just thinking of that person caused hatred to
burst from the depths of my heart, reminding me of the reason I had to be
here. Sure enough, I felt strength flow into my right hand, which was gripping
my tablet.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
When did I first learn that name? I wondered. I tried to remember, but it was
difficult to recall the exact date. However, I was certain it had been etched into
my memory for as long as I could remember. There wasn't a single person
studying in the White Room who didn't know that name.
And why was that? Because he was simply better than any other student
there, of any age, from any point in time. Because no one could surpass the
fourth-generation student Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
As a result, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was held up as the perfect specimen. That
one single child had an enormous impact on the White Room, and we, the fifth
generation, were probably the most affected. It was said that he always got
high marks, no matter how tough the curriculum was. But the same was true
for me. I continued to get outstanding results among the fifth-generation
students. I had continued to prove that I was a genius, superior to everyone
else.
And yet…I had never once been praised for my genius. I don't think I really
need to explain the reason why. The coldhearted words that came out of my
instructors' mouths were always the same.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from last year was far more remarkable."
No matter how much effort I put in, no matter how outstanding my
performance, I could never be recognized. All I ever got were commands
instructing me to try and catch up to someone who was like an unreachable
god. Some of the people studying in the same room as me even worshipped the
deified Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. How pathetic.
The people in the White Room were being trained to be the best of the best.
But now, they were abandoning that goal. There was absolutely no way people
like that could survive all the way to the end in the White Room. And sure
enough, they ultimately fell by the wayside, not earning so much as a scornful
chuckle from me.
But that didn't mean there were never times when I felt weak, myself.
Although I didn't worship him, I had my suspicions that the person known as
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka didn't actually exist, but that he was a fictional character
created to inspire us. I guess my instructors were able to see right through
those feelings of mine. Once day, I was taken by my instructors to one of the
observation rooms used by outside visitors. It was there that I first saw
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka with my own two eyes, albeit through a two-way mirror,
and confirmed that he was real.
He had no way of knowing that he was being watched. His performance was
amazing, though he was entirely disinterested by it. Even now, I remembered
how my body unconsciously started trembling just at the sight of him. However,
if you were to ask if I felt as though I had just seen a god, I would have strongly
denied it. He wasn't a god. He was someone to be resented.
"Worship" was out of the question. "Hatred" was precisely the emotion
necessary to inspire us. Yes—it was hatred that caused my body to tremble.
I had successfully survived the White Room precisely because I held on to that
intense hatred, never forgetting it for even a moment.
In the end, though, worship and hate were nothing more one's personal
thoughts and feelings. To the people in the organization, what we students
thought came second. The White Room's ultimate goal wasn't to create one
individual who was the pinnacle of humanity. It was to conduct research and
mass-produce extraordinary, outstanding people. That was the reason for the
White Room's existence. If they had a successful model, it didn't matter who
that person was—it didn't matter if it was me or Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
Which was precisely why…failures had absolutely no value. So, if Ayanokouji
Kiyotaka were chosen as the successful model, then what would happen to me,
who was studying at this school right now? I had no idea what my reason for
being would be. As a failed experiment, my life would simply be over. Stripped
of value.
What a miserable end that would be. I'd be no different from the students
who fell by the wayside. I absolutely could not allow that to happen. No matter
what it took, I had to prove that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was not the best. I had to
make the organization recognize that I was a successful model.
Then, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity suddenly fell into my lap. Ayanokouji
Kiyotaka defied orders and did not return to the re-opened White Room. I had
never crossed paths with him before, but thanks to this, I had the chance to
encounter him.
…That's right.
I had a unique opportunity to be able to consign him to oblivion directly
myself. To do so, it would be best if I cast aside all imaginary constructs like
"common sense." In a manner of speaking, one way for me to solve my problem
would be…to kill him.
Chapter 2:
Changing School Life
CLASS 2-D was currently in a bizarre situation, the likes of which they had
never experienced before. Yukimura Teruhiko repeatedly looked towards the
classroom door, his leg jerking unconsciously in short, trembling bursts.
"Why don't you chill out a little? It hasn't even been five minutes since
Kiyopon left, dude. Besides, the teacher called him, right? I'm sure it's going to
take a while," said one of Yukimura's classmates and close friends, Hasebe
Haruka.
Sakura Airi and Miyake Akito were also present, standing by as if they were
accompanying Hasebe.
"I'm calm… Don't worry," responded Yukimura, stopping his unconscious
shaking after he answered.
However, it didn't seem to take long for him to lose his composure again. The
sound of his right leg quietly bouncing up and down, chafing against his pant
leg, could be heard.
Yukimura had tried to talk with Ayanokouji right after class that day, but he
backed off once Horikita showed up. Afterward, Yukimura heard from Horikita
that Ayanokouji had been called somewhere by Chabashira, so he was now
waiting in the classroom for Ayanokouji to return.
Hasebe let out a deep sigh, as if expressing resignation, and looked out the
window. Since she knew Yukimura didn't usually unconsciously jerk his leg like
that, she quickly understood there was no point in trying to tell him to calm
down.
A heavy, stifling air hung over Class 2-D. Hasebe thought that the May sky,
which had brought spring with it, was vibrant and pretty.
Then she thought again about how they'd wound up in this situation. It was
all because of the special exam in April, where the first-and second-year
students were partnered up. And her friend Ayanokouji Kiyotaka got a perfect
score in the mathematics section of the written test, the fifth subject on the
exam.
If it were a normal test, it wouldn't have been strange to see a student get a
perfect score. There were regularly students who attained perfect scores on
exams, and Yukimura, who was at the head of the class in terms of academics,
led the way. Of course, there were also times when a student you didn't expect
managed to get a perfect score, which was especially surprising. It could be the
result of intense studying, or just coincidence, with what was covered on the
test luckily being something they were especially good at.
But this time, things were vastly different. Of course, even though Hasebe
wasn't as aware of this fact, she had noticed a few things. Ayanokouji was the
sole person to get a perfect score in their class on this special exam, and in any
subject. It wasn't something that could be neatly explained away by him simply
studying hard beforehand, or by mere coincidence.
"It's still only been six minutes… I don't think he'll be back yet."
As Yukimura's friend, Hasebe couldn't just leave him be while he was feeling
so restless, so she thought about trying to talk about something completely
unrelated. But in the end, she decided to go along with what Yukimura wanted
to talk about. The main reason for that was because she thought she'd able to
take his mind off those feelings of anxiousness a little, but it was also because
Hasebe herself had wanted to know, since it was so incredible that Ayanokouji
had managed to get a perfect score in mathematics.
"I mean, were the questions that hard?" asked Hasebe.
Yukimura nodded in response, without a moment's hesitation.
"It wasn't just that they were hard. I didn't even understand what some of the
questions were trying to say," he replied, explaining that it wasn't like he simply
couldn't solve the problems on the test, but rather that the questions
themselves were opaque to him. "After the test ended, I looked up the
questions as best as I could remember, and found that some of them were
entirely outside of the scope of what a high school student would know. In
other words, they were questions we weren't even supposed to be able to
answer."
"What, what the heck is that about? Have the people running this school lost
their dang minds or something? Going that far outside what the test is
supposed to cover…that's just on a completely different level," said Hasebe.
"It certainly is absurd, yes. It's because of that that I got dramatically lower
scores in every subject. However, many of the other questions on the test
weren't as difficult as Chabashira-sensei had said they would be," replied
Yukimura.
Aside from the extremely difficult questions that had been snuck into the test
and caught everyone off guard, there were also several easy questions mixed in
too. This meant that the test was designed in such a way that you couldn't get a
perfect score, but you wouldn't get too low of a score either.
"They threw in some of those questions out of consideration for us, then? To
bump up the average score?" said Hasebe.
"That's because this test could have gotten students expelled. As far as our
class is concerned, it was a very good thing that they did that," said Yukimura.
That in itself was something to be happy about. But as far as Yukimura was
concerned, it was a trivial matter right now.
"Ayanokouji got a perfect score, which he shouldn't have been able to do. I…
feel like I'm seeing some kind of magic trick."
Yukimura's anger could be seen in the fact that he had deliberately referred
to Ayanokouji by his family name, rather than his first.
"K-Kiyotaka-kun is incredible, isn't he? I mean, b-being able to solve problems
like that," remarked Sakura with a cautious smile, trying to ease the tension in
the air.
However, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Yukimura's expression grew
even sterner, with a deeper look of resignation.
"I've been working to assess the academic abilities of everyone in our class
over the past year, to some degree. I'm shocked by the results of this test
precisely because I had determined there was no way anyone could have solved
those questions," said Yukimura.
"Tell us more," said Shinohara, one of their classmates. She'd had been
listening to the Ayanokouji Group's discussion and wanted to jump in.
Many of their classmates had noticed their conversation and were listening in
on what Yukimura was saying as well.
"You can confirm for yourselves it on your tablet. Is there anyone in our class
who got a perfect score in even one subject? Well, no—actually, you'll
understand even better if you look outside of our class too. Check out our
entire grade level. Not a single person got a perfect score. Not Ichinose, and not
Sakayanagi either," explained Yukimura, presenting everyone with the reality of
the situation, as if to prove a point.
Through their tablets, students could see the results of classes besides Class
2-D.
"I hadn't noticed that. Huh, so, we can see scores from the other classes too.
Why?" Shinohara, surprised, took the tablet that was handed to her, and slid
through the displayed pages with a curious look in her eyes.
"Who knows? Maybe it's because of the introduction of the OAA app, or
maybe it's for some other reason. Anyway, whatever the reason may be, the
only way we'll find out is if we wait until the next test is announced," said
Yukimura.
"Oh god, this is awful! Lots of people are going to be able to find out my test
scores! This sucks!" grumbled Karuizawa Kei, the leader of the girls in our class.
Then, she continued speaking, going back to the original point.
"Maybe Ayanokouji-kun is a genius just when it comes to math, or something
like that? You know, like how sometimes TV dramas will have main characters
who can solve murders using math?" said Karuizawa.
This was different from what Sakura had said, in the sense that Sakura had
tried to ease the tension in the situation, while Karuizawa was blind to it. After
hearing what she said, Yukimura rejected her idea, exasperated.
"If that were true, though, why didn't he get a perfect score in any of the
previous math tests? If he could solve problems like the ones on this test, then
it doesn't make sense that he didn't get perfect scores, or close to perfect
scores, on all the tests we've had so far," replied Yukimura, raising his voice
slightly, as if he was saying that Karuizawa was entirely missing his point.
"Dude, like, what's the point in even asking me that? I don't know. Maybe he
studied super hard over spring break or something?" reasoned Karuizawa.
Yukimura was becoming increasingly frustrated with Karuizawa's off-the-mark
responses.
"We're not talking about something that could be done in a brief period of
time. Even if he could learn things so advanced that I can't even imagine them,
it doesn't explain how he was able to solve problems that are outside the scope
of what a high schooler would learn. If you don't understand that, then keep
your mouth shut," snapped Yukimura.
Karuizawa, irritated by Yukimura's snarky response, was now getting close to
her boiling point.
"Look, I don't know about any of that stuff. So why don't you stop getting all
huffy? You're really getting on my nerves."
"Yeah, totally. Isn't it weird for you to be taking it out on Karuizawa-san,
anyway?" interjected Maezono, snapping back at Yukimura and sticking up for
Karuizawa.
Karuizawa, having now gained an ally, jabbed back at Yukimura by digging into
what he said earlier.
"You're talking a big game, but maybe it's just that you can't understand,
Yukimura-kun. Right? Maybe it's just that you really couldn't solve those
problems on your own, and they're not actually that difficult after all," said
Karuizawa.
Deep down, she knew that what she just said wasn't very convincing.
However, she couldn't change up her attitude, precisely because she felt that
she needed to play the part of the fool in this situation. But the tension kept
growing, and people's suspicions about Ayanokouji kept mounting, whether she
liked it or not.
"Did you already forget what I just told you? Those were problems that not
even Sakayanagi or Ichinose could solve and get full marks on," replied
Yukimura.
"Then maybe he just happened to know the answers to those tough questions
specifically?" asked Karuizawa.
"Look—"
Yukimura had already gone past anger into exasperation. Then, he began to
explain things again, speaking as though he were trying to put his thoughts in
order and wrap his mind around all of this.
"I'm… Okay, so, in other words, that means he… Well, I think what this means
is that he's always been unbelievably good at math, from the very beginning."
"Okay, and that's a good thing, right? That's just like what I said before, about
him being a math genius, isn't it?" said Karuizawa.
"You're missing the real point here. If he really is a genius, then he—"
"Oh, um, excuse me. I just had a thought…"
Minami Setsuya interrupted Yukimura, inserting herself into the conversation
just as it was beginning to take an unexpected turn.
"It certainly is incredibly puzzling that Ayanokouji just suddenly got a perfect
score. What Yukimura is saying makes sense too. But doesn't calling him a math
genius also feel a little too sudden? I mean, he's never gotten incredible scores
like this before," she reasoned, backing up Yukimura's words and going on to
raise some new doubts of her own, seen from a different angle. "Which is
exactly why I was thinking…maybe Ayanokouji did something kind of shady or
something?"
The thought that had begun to form in the minds of Yukimura and many other
students was, "Ayanokouji is a math genius." Now, there was an opposing
possibility that rejected that idea outright. Namely, "What if he hadn't solved
those problems based on his own ability?"
"Hey, that might be true. Maybe he like, saw the answer sheet or something.
Wait, didn't something like that happen in our first year? Oh yeah, dude, we
had a test before where all the questions were the same as previous years!"
shouted Ike Kanji loudly, as if struck by the memory of what happened.
In spring of last year, one of his classmates had obtained a test's answers
from a third-year student. It was an extremely difficult exam, but anyone could
get a high score they just memorized the answers.
"But if the questions on this test were exactly the same as prior years, isn't it
weird that no one passed that information on to us? And on top of that, it's also
strange that no one in any of the other classes noticed it either," explained
Miyamoto calmly and in a composed fashion, not agreeing with what Ike was
suggesting.
"So, okay then… Maybe he knew the questions and the answers in advance?
Like, he got hold of that info in such a way that he couldn't come out and talk
about how he did it…? Like, maybe he cheated," said Ike.
"How exactly did he cheat?" replied Shinohara, who had been standing beside
Ike, jumping on his vague supposition.
"Like, maybe he hacked into the school's computer system and stole the
answers, or something! That's totally possible!" shouted Ike.
"Well, that basically comes to the same thing Karui_zawa suggested though,
about him being a genius…"
Yukimura's head started to hurt as he watched the disastrous spectacle of his
class spiraling out of control. Yet, strangely enough, time seemed to race
forward as the students grew deeply invested in this discussion. The pivotal
point of the debate was whether Ayanokouji could have procured the answers
to the test through some means, rather than actually solving it on his own. And
that debate was getting heated.
That was probably a natural progression, though, given that Ayanokouji had
never scored that highly in the past. It was Sudou Ken, who had been quietly
listening up until this point, who dispelled those notions. When he rose and
stood at his full height of over one hundred and eighty-six centimeters,
everyone's eyes fell on him.
"You guys are really gettin' riled up about all this, but there ain't any proof
that Ayanokouji cheated, is there? Don't just go makin' assumptions when the
person you're talkin' about ain't even around," said Sudou.
What Sudou just said was a perfectly reasonable statement. And yet,
everyone in class couldn't hide their surprise at the fact that he'd been the one
to say it. Ike, Sudou's close friend who he normally hung out with, seemed
especially unamused.
"Dude, what the hell, Ken? Are you seriously taking Ayanokouji's side?"
snapped Ike.
"It ain't that. I mean, it ain't like anybody could've seen those test answers all
that easily, right? …I just think it's more likely that he got a perfect score based
on his own smarts, is all," replied Sudou, somewhat less eloquently than before,
mumbling a bit as he expressed his opinion.
"Come on man, think about it. You mentioned his smarts, but his academic
ability score was lower than mine in OAA last month, though. It's obvious he did
somethin' shady, or he couldn't have pulled it off," countered Miyamoto, who'd
checked the OAA app once it updated after class that day, arguing once again
that Ayanokouji must have cheated.
"We ain't all the same as we were back in our first year, though. We're all
growin' up," said Sudou.
"Sudou-kun's totally right about that. I mean, don't you think? Besides,
Sudou-kun has passed you in academic ability too, Miyamoto-kun," added
Karuizawa.
Miyamoto looked a little embarrassed after getting hit by that pointed
remark. It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that Sudou was easily one
of the lowest-ranked students in their grade last year, but his academic ability
score had quickly jumped up to fifty-four points in the OAA app after it was
updated. Which meant that, even though it was only by a single point, he had
surpassed Miyamoto's score of fifty-three points.
"O-okay, yeah, sure. Sudou has studied a ton, and I recognize that he's grown
up a lot, but… But, I mean, in Ayanokouji's case, he's jumped up by way too
much, though!" said Miyamoto.
"So, maybe it's possible that he's just been holdin' back then, is all. Just like
Kouenji," said Sudou.
And this was where a theory similar to what Karuizawa had said earlier, about
Ayanokouji being a genius only when it came to mathematics, reemerged. The
debate was most definitely going in circles, and at this point, the situation was
starting to take a turn for the worse.
"In that case though, isn't that like, even more of a problem? That means he
hasn't been contributing to the class," argued Ike.
Meaning there were scores he could and should have secured, but didn't. It
was certainly true that if Ayanokouji were hiding his abilities, then Ike's
statement wasn't wrong. Sudou and his friends had always been a close-knit
group, but they now found themselves facing internal conflict.
One student had determined that he couldn't just sit by and let this situation
continue to boil over. He decided to step in and mediate.
"Hey everyone, let's all calm down a bit. This isn't something that we can
resolve by getting all worked up right here and now, anyway," said Hirata
Yousuke, cutting in just as the atmosphere in the classroom continued to
deteriorate.
Hirata usually took the initiative to play the part of peacemaker, but he had
stood by in silence until now. He wanted to find out what his classmates were
thinking and how they felt so that he could then use that understanding to try
and resolve the situation. Now, he addressed Sudou first, speaking in a kind,
gentle voice.
"Sudou-kun, isn't it about time for your club activities?" said Hirata.
"Huh? O-oh, now that you mention it, yeah." Sudou went back to being
himself, as if he had just suddenly gotten hit with reality.
"Anyway, I understand that you're curious about what's going on, but there's
a lot we just don't know right now. I don't think it's a good idea to let
speculation get so out of hand that it gets in the way of club activities. I'm sure
you understand that, 'I'll only be late just this once,' won't really fly as an
excuse, right?" said Hirata.
Hirata had decided that his first priority was to reduce the number of people
in the classroom right now. Sudou and the others, who'd been getting heated
and had forgotten their club obligations as a result, quietly regained their
composure. With the introduction of the OAA app, the number of students who
cared about their own scores had increased dramatically.
Sudou was one of those students. Bag in hand, he looked briefly over at
Suzune's back before quietly leaving the classroom. She hadn't spoken a single
word during that entire spectacle. The rest of the students who had club
activities of their own followed suit, leaving the room.
"I gotta go too. Sorry, but I'll leave handlin' Keisei to you."
"Yeah. See ya later then, Miyacchi," replied Hasebe.
Akito, another member of the Ayanokouji Group, gathered his things and left
the classroom to go to the archery club. Hasebe and Sakura watched him go.
The feeling of restlessness still hung in the air. More students started to
trickle out of the room here and there, making their way back to the dorms.
However, more than half the class remained behind in the classroom.
2.1
WE, THE STUDENTS OF CLASS D, had just survived the very first special exam of
our second year. I'd wound up with an injured left hand thanks to my little
entanglement with Housen, but successfully managed to eliminate the danger
of expulsion. I understood well enough that it would take some time for my
wound, which was the price I had paid for my efforts, to heal completely, but
there was nothing I could do about that.
I left the reception room, with Tsukishiro watching me go, and let out a small
sigh as I closed the door behind me. Now, I could go back to my ordinary,
carefree everyday life as a student… Well, no. Not really. Things had gotten to
the point where I couldn't even entertain such naïve thoughts anymore.
Besides, my current environment had already begun to be a far cry from what
you might call an ordinary, everyday life. Being summoned by the acting
director to have a conversation with him was quite an unusual event, and one
that would leave most students scratching their heads in confusion.
Even as I thought that, though, I resigned myself to the reality of the situation,
recognizing that there was nothing I could do. I had run away to this school. I
had no other choice but to accept that things like this were going to follow me
forever. The only way I could be released from the chains shackling me would
be to get expelled.
"Looks like the discussion's over."
"Yeah, seems that way," I replied.
Chabashira, who had been waiting for me a short distance outside of the
reception room, came up to me as if it natural to do so. I felt a little bit
disappointed to see her, but didn't let it show on my face. Tsukishiro didn't
know I was currently working with Chabashira, the teacher in charge of our
class, and Mashima-sensei, the teacher in charge of Class 2-A. Given that, it was
nothing short of unnatural for Chabashira to keep waiting around for me when
Tsukishiro had called me.
The fact that Tsukishiro had used Chabashira to bring me to his office was
perfectly understandable, considering her role as my homeroom teacher, but I
couldn't deny the possibility that he was using this opportunity to lay a trap.
That was precisely why I'd wanted her to leave without making contact with me
again. If you considered what a normal teacher-and-student relationship might
look like, it was entirely unnatural for a teacher to do something like stand
around and wait like she had.
If the situation had been a little calmer, Chabashira might have realized that. I
was sure her decision was influenced by the fact that I had gotten a perfect
score on the math section of the exam and made my true abilities known to
some of my classmates. I understood why this whole situation made her
restless, but this was rash of her.
But, well, I supposed if there was one thing that I could say in her defense, it
was that we had vastly different opinions of him. From Chabashira's
perspective, Tsukishiro simply had a connection with a student's father. A
student she was a homeroom instructor for. That wasn't surprising, though,
considering she didn't know any background information, like about the White
Room. This naturally meant there was a difference in the level of caution we
showed Tsukishiro and our attitudes toward him.
Which was exactly why I wasn't going to say anything now. All I could do right
now was leave as quickly as possible, so I put one foot in front of the other and
made my way forward.
"You've become a bit of a celebrity now," said Chabashira.
I was wondering what she was going to say when she opened her mouth. So
that was what she'd decided to go with, huh?
"I'm not happy about it, but it was a necessary measure. I just have to accept
it as something within acceptable limits, I guess."
"But even putting aside the students from the other classes, how are you
planning to explain this to your own classmates? You've been playing the part
of the humble, inconspicuous student as much as possible so far. Now that
you've gotten a perfect score on the math exam—despite how difficult some of
the questions were—your classmates aren't going to leave well enough alone.
Have you already made moves to prepare for that?" she asked.
As I let Chabashira's questions go in one ear and out the other, paying no real
attention to her, I thought about what I was going to do from here on out. I had
left my bag back in the classroom, so I had to go back.
"There was no way I could've taken steps to prepare for this beforehand. I'm
going to have to start from here," I replied.
Besides, it would've been crazy for me to deliberately go out of my way to
announce to everyone that I'd be getting a perfect score in the math section of
the upcoming special exam.
"You're going to face some hardships. You'd best prepare yourself for an
onslaught of questions," said Chabashira.
"I know."
If you already have some idea of what's going to happen next, I'd really prefer
you just let me go as soon as possible, I thought.
"Is it okay if we part ways right here? If I'm caught walking around alone with
my homeroom teacher, I'll end up attracting unwanted attention," I told her.
"Yes, yes, I get it," mumbled Chabashira, before walking towards the faculty
lounge.
I was sure she was trying to suppress her emotions as much as possible, but it
was easy to see that she was positively bursting with joy. She might act more
distant than the other homeroom teachers, but in reality, Chabashira was
probably the closest to her students. It was because she had lingering
attachments and regrets from her own time as a student that those
uncontainable feelings welled up within her.
Her poker face was good enough to cover that up when she was dealing with
normal students, but… Well, from my perspective, she was an open book. So
much so that it was comical. The fact that she was easy for me to manipulate
was an advantage, but right now, she was just getting in my way. There was no
point in wasting more energy on her for the moment, though, so I decided to
forget about her for now.
I took out my cell and tried to call Horikita. But even though the call rang, it
didn't connect. I tried sending her a quick message as well, but she didn't read
it.
"Well, I tried, I guess."
Horikita was most likely the most useful person I could enlist to help me get
through this situation right now, considering the fact that we'd had our little
wager over the math test and that whole thing about the student council over
the past year. With a little explanation of what was going on, I was sure I could
get her to accommodate me to some degree. I would have liked to have laid
some groundwork ahead of time if possible, but it looked like I was just going to
have to deal with this situation on the fly.
My classroom came into view. I wondered what the rest of the class was
going to be like now that I'd gotten that perfect score in math. It would've been
nice if almost all the students were already on their way back to the dorms, like
usual.
Holding that hope in my heart, I returned to my classroom—and found a sight
quite different from what I had hoped. It had taken me roughly less than half an
hour to get back to the classroom after talking to Tsukishiro. Normally, most
students would already have left the school building by now—but even though
the only students currently left in the classroom were the ones who had no club
activities, there were still a fair number of people around.
Of course, there could only be one reason for that: me. That was as clear as
day to anyone who personally experienced both the vibe in the room and the
stares of everyone there.
Horikita, the person who hadn't answered her phone moments earlier, was
there too. It seemed she was more aware of what my situation was like than I
had thought. I didn't have time to express my gratitude, though, because the
moment I set foot in the classroom, students came up to me, eager to start
firing off questions.
The very first person to come up and start barraging me with questions was
one of the people from the Ayanokouji Group: Keisei. In contrast to Chabashira,
who seemed positively overjoyed, the look on Keisei's face suggested he was
somewhat irritated.
"Sorry about earlier, when you tried to come up to me to talk," I told him.
Keisei had tried to talk to me right after class ended for the day, only to be cut
off when Horikita showed up. I had to start by apologizing for that.
"It's no big deal. More importantly, is now a good time? I have several
questions I want to ask you," said Keisei.
Haruka and Airi, more members of Ayanokouji Group, came up next to us
right away as well. Akito wasn't around, probably because of his club activities,
which I had made mention of earlier. We had attracted quite an audience
though, and a lot of people were listening in on what we were talking about.
"You… What's this about you getting a hundred points in math? I checked our
entire grade level in OAA. Not even Ichinose nor Sakayanagi got a perfect score.
You're the only person in our grade who did," said Keisei.
Getting a perfect score on a test, and in the process, doing just slightly better
than other people had, wouldn't normally cause a scene like this. However, this
test was something else entirely. The more academically advanced students
understood this particularly well. The better a student someone was, the better
they understood how bizarre it was to get a perfect score on this test. Even the
students who weren't that good at academics were likely starting to catch on
and sense something was off, considering how everyone else was reacting.
"Well, about that…" I started, trailing off.
As I started speaking, my eyes wandered. I settled my gaze on Horikita, who
sat near the front of the classroom, seeking her help.
"Very well. I can explain," said Horikita.
Normally, Horikita would have been making her way back to the dormitory
around this time, but she must have decided to stick around after she saw the
other students hanging back in the classroom. That was the right decision. Since
she was already looking in my direction, I didn't need to bother confirming that
she had stayed behind to help me smooth things over.
To make sure that everyone's scattered attention was focused on one point,
she rose from where she sat, out of sight, and walked up to me to stand by my
side.
"I'm…asking Kiyotaka." Keisei seemed displeased by Horikita's presence,
apparently deeming her an unneeded outsider who had just cut in.
"Yes, I know. But Yukimura-kun, I am the one who has the answers you're
looking for," replied Horikita.
"…What is that supposed to mean?"
By deliberately using a rather curious way of expressing herself, Horikita had
single-handedly managed to attract the attention of Keisei and the rest of our
classmates.
"This is the kind of score that you and I couldn't get, Yukimura-kun… Actually,
no, it was a score that no one in our grade level could achieve. I'm sure you're
wondering how Ayanokouji-kun managed to get a perfect score, right? It is
puzzling, isn't it?" said Horikita.
She had specifically directed her question at Keisei, but it was likely something
that everyone in class was wondering about.
"Yeah… To be honest, I can't wrap my head around it at all. I mean, I
mentioned it earlier, but the questions that came up toward the end of the test
seemed impossible to solve. I just can't understand how Kiyotaka was able to
solve those problems like they were no big deal at all," said Keisei.
I did remember surprised comments from some of the people in class
immediately after the test was handed to us. Starting with Keisei and Yousuke,
the top-scoring students had discussed the extraordinarily difficult questions
featured on the exam. The topic had come up in the Ayanokouji Group as well. I
remembered that when they asked me about it, I'd given a vague response, not
indicating whether I had solved the problems or not.
"Kiyotaka knew that those were the kinds of problems no one in our class
could solve. And yet, he never bragged about being able to solve them. Isn't
that weird? I can't even begin to imagine what that's all about… I feel guilty for
even thinking this, but if he knew the answer all along, then that makes me
think that it could have only been because, well, you know," said Keisei.
"So, you're suggesting he cheated… Yes, well, it's certainly not surprising that
anyone would think that, I suppose," said Horikita.
Keisei had purposefully phrased his statement ambiguously, but Horikita
came right out and expressed what he was suggesting in plain terms. Even
though Keisei had turned away, seeming somewhat embarrassed, Horikita
didn't let up and pursued the topic further.
"It's completely understandable to have doubts in this kind of situation. If I
were a student who didn't know anything that was going on here, I'm sure I
would have suspected Ayanokouji-kun of wrongdoing, just as Yukimura-kun did.
However, the truth is that things aren't what they seem," said Horikita.
She paused, taking a breath, and briefly glanced over at all our classmates,
whose eyes were on her.
"I intend to give this same explanation to the people who aren't here at a
later date. But at any rate, to solve the mystery of how Ayanokouji-kun got a
perfect score, I have to take you back to the beginning of spring, last year," said
Horikita.
The beginning of spring, last year. In other words, immediately after we had
started school.
"We changed seating assignments the other day, but I'm sure you all recall
that Ayanokouji-kun and I had been seated next to one another until recently,
right? As soon as I came to this school, I began talking with Ayanokouji-kun. This
led me to discover, by chance, that he was an exceptionally capable student…
even better than me," said Horikita.
"Wait, even better than you? Hold on. I remember Kiyotaka's scores were all
just about average ever since we started school. I'm sorry, but there really
didn't appear to be anything special about him. In fact, in OAA, his academic
ability is ranked C—completely average—right?" argued Keisei.
Keisei had thought back on to the past and recalled it well. But Horikita was
unfazed by his rebuttal.
"Of course. That's because my strategy was already in motion from our very
first test," said Horikita, walking away from me, and heading up toward the
podium.
She was doing it to keep everyone's eyes focused on her, probably so she
could draw attention away from me. I had expected she would help me out, but
she was doing an even better job of it than I had imagined.
"He had the necessary knowledge to be able to get perfect scores in math all
along. Since I knew about that before anyone else did, I thought up a little
strategy," said Horikita.
"…A little strategy?" asked Keisei.
I was betting he was going to have more than a few concerns regarding that
point. He was probably wondering how in the world I'd obtained that kind of
knowledge.
But Horikita sidestepped that issue for now, continuing with her main point.
Namely, not how I had gained that kind of knowledge, but why she had hidden
my academic skills.
She made that specific question alone the focus of her talk and brought
everyone's attention to it.
"Last April, we, the students of Class D, were over the moon after getting a
hefty sum of money deposited into our accounts. I'm ashamed to admit that I
was one of them. But I had a hunch that something unexpected might happen.
So, as a sort of experiment, I asked my neighbor Ayanokouji-kun for a favor. I
asked him to deliberately hold back on tests. I suppose you could say I was
asking him to be a reserve unit or a trump card. Of course, I asked him to make
sure he stayed at a level where he wouldn't be dragging us down. Namely, at
the kind of level that the school deems a C in academic ability," said Horikita.
Up until this point, my grades had been completely unremarkable. Horikita
was saying that was all intentional, and in line with a strategy that she had
formulated. Of course, if someone carefully thought back to what had
happened a year ago, they'd find this all very odd. There were several things
people could take issue with, such as the fact that Horikita wasn't the kind of
person who had a good relationship with others back then, or the question of
how and when she noticed my academic skills, and so on.
But for many, a year was a long, long time. Those memories were distant.
Unlike with an incident so intense that the memory of it was etched deep into
your hippocampus, what Horikita suggested was easy to accept precisely
because nothing about it was striking or memorable, making it seem even more
indistinct. Very few students would be able to clearly recall those days. Many
would just think, "Oh, that's how it was?" and then fill in the blanks on their
own.
Of course, things weren't going to go over that easily with someone like
Keisei, whose feelings of mistrust ran deep at this point. He went after the parts
that were difficult to explain away, not letting Horikita off the hook.
"…I find that all hard to believe. If you were having doubts about how this
school operated, it would have been more beneficial for our class if you asked
him to get high scores from the beginning. If he could get a perfect score on this
exam, then it's not impossible for him to have an academic ability ranking of A
or A+. Even if it's just one person's score we're talking about here, our Class
Points would have gone up, slowly but surely," argued Keisei.
He was saying that he didn't understand the benefits of holding me as a
reserve unit.
"Yes, I suppose you have a point. That would be all well and good, if you were
only looking for Class Points in the short term. But what if he had given it his all
from the start…? What do you think would have happened to Ayanokouji-kun
by now? Well, no—to put it more accurately, what kind of future could you
have predicted for him?" asked Horikita.
Faced with Keisei's mistrust, she didn't run or hide, but took his concerns
head on and improvised. She never faltered and the words just effortlessly
came out of her mouth. It was almost like she'd had it all planned out from the
start.
"What kind of future could I have predicted for him…?" repeated Keisei, not
understanding the meaning of the question.
Horikita began explaining what she meant.
"Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Ayanokouji-kun had used the
full extent of his abilities right away, starting in April, as you suggested,
Yukimura-kun. In that case, his name would most likely become known to
Sakayanagi-san, Ichinose-san, and Ryuuen-kun. When it comes to mathematics,
he may very well be the best in our grade. If such a person were left unchecked,
the other classes would think of him as an obstacle. It wouldn't be surprising if
they started putting plans in motion to get rid of him," said Horikita.
"So you're saying that he might have ended up being targeted?" asked Keisei.
"Yes. That wouldn't be surprising, would it? Anything could happen at this
school, after all. In fact, the school even went so far as to administer a special
exam where a student was forced out by way of an in-class vote, and the truth
of the matter is that Ayanokouji-kun was temporarily in danger of expulsion due
to Sakayanagi-san's strategy. Although he was still considered an ordinary
student at the time and was only used as something of a scapegoat in that
situation, I did have concerns that Sakayanagi-san actually saw him as a real
threat and was after him," said Horikita, explaining that depending on how the
situation played out, I might have been the one who got expelled instead of
Yamauchi.
"Wait, hold on, that's not right. If Kiyotaka had been going all out right from
the start, even if we were to compare him and Yamauchi, the results would
have been as clear as day," argued Keisei.
"I'm not so sure about that. Yamauchi-kun might have conducted himself
better to avoid getting expelled, and Sakayanagi-san's strategy might have
become more complicated and more difficult for us to see through, as a result.
In addition, Yamauchi-kun had many more close friends that Ayanokouji-kun
does. It depends on what it is you're comparing, exactly," said Horikita.
Because what they were getting into now was really a pointless, circular
argument, Keisei couldn't really push further on this point. Even if he did bring
up what had happened on other tests, Horikita would probably just respond
with something similar.
"…Okay then, why now? If Ayanokouji carelessly flaunts his ability now, we'll
have the same problem, right? He's gotten everyone's attention by suddenly
making a big splash. So he might become a target in the future," said Keisei.
He was essentially saying there was no difference in risk if I had started going
all out a year ago versus doing so right now. But it seemed like his response was
well within what Horikita had expected. She showed no signs of panicking.
"No, there is a significant difference between if he had showed off what he
could do a year ago versus showing it now. Our sense of unity as a class has
grown by leaps and bounds over the past year. Each and every one of us has
grown. We've also become capable of making the right decisions," said Horikita.
Looking back at how we all were a year ago, even Keisei could probably see
the truth of her words.
"And this isn't just limited to Ayanokouji-kun, either. For example, hmm… Yes.
He isn't here right now, but I think Sudou-kun is an easy-to-understand example
of this. Last year, he was a terrible student. He was, without a doubt, our class's
biggest burden. But what about now? While some small traces of his rather
rough-and-tumble temperament remain even now, he has shown incredible
improvement. His grades have improved tremendously, in particular. That,
combined with his already high level of athleticism, means his overall ability in
OAA is actually higher than yours as of May, Yukimura-kun," said Horikita.
Keisei's rating had gone up in April, but after this last exam, Sudou had passed
him. Horikita had presented Keisei with a fact that he wasn't about to dispute:
the numerical value of one's overall ability in OAA.
"Also, I'm not entirely sure if either you or I really had the ability or the will to
protect Sudou-kun when we first came to this school. Don't you agree,
Yukimura-kun?" she added.
She was suggesting that it was questionable whether the same students who
had argued that Sudou should have just been tossed aside and didn't even think
to help him could have seriously protected their classmates. However, if Sudou
were to find himself in trouble now, even Keisei would likely help everyone to
think hard and produce the best strategy to help him.
"If someone were to target Ayanokouji-kun now, we can work together to
protect him. That's the conclusion I've come to. And that's precisely why I had
Ayanokouji-kun show off what he can do now, to start raising the bar for our
class overall," said Horikita.
Some of the students here started to look convinced, seemingly saying to
themselves, "Oh, okay, that makes sense." However, more than half of the
students still had some doubts about the situation. That being said, Horikita
probably didn't have enough material to work with to convince everyone of all
of it. If her story was already plastered with lies, there would inevitably be some
holes in it, no matter what she tried. Of course, she could at least put the
matter temporarily to rest.
But if she had enough support, it would be a different story.
After making sure that nearly everyone's eyes were on Horikita, I looked over
at Yousuke—the guy our class put absolute trust in. Even though Yousuke was
facing Horikita, he occasionally pretended to look around so he could see what
was going on with me. Then, when he determined that we wouldn't be noticed,
he made eye contact with me.
Like with my other classmates, there were many things that I hadn't told
Yousuke. If he were any other student, I was sure he would have some doubts
and suspicions, just like Keisei and the others. It wouldn't have been strange if
he started peppering me with scathing questions. But considering that it was
Yousuke we were talking about, I didn't need to worry about any of that.
Yousuke only thought about what was in the best interest of his classmates.
That was always his priority. He also understood the role he'd been given in this
situation without needing me to explain.
"I think I understand, at least a little, the meaning of your strategy, to keep
Ayanokouji as an ace up our sleeve. But I do have one question about that. Is
mathematics the only thing that Ayanokouji is exceptionally good at?" asked
Keisei.
"I cannot answer that question at this current point in time," said Horikita,
calmly. "Is the student known as Ayanokouji-kun demonstrating everything he's
capable of? Or is he not? Either way, by keeping the truth hidden, we can make
sure he continues to be a thorn in the sides of the other classes."
"That's—"
Yousuke had been watching how Keisei's behavior. He quickly interjected now
in support of Horikita, interrupting Keisei as he tried to snap back at her.
"I see. I can understand what Horikita-san is trying to say," said Yousuke.
He slowly walked up to Horikita's side.
"I don't quite understand all of what's going on, so I've just been listening this
whole time. But this does make sense to me. It's true that an enemy whose
abilities you can't see in concrete terms can be rather unsettling. The other
classes will most likely try to gather information since they'll want to know
more. But if no one else in class really knows the truth, then it doesn't matter
how deep they dig," said Yousuke, filling in the gaps of Horikita's argument
while supplementing it with information that could be easily understood by
everyone listening.
Horikita, having decided that Yousuke was an ally, kept in step with him and
nodded.
"Yes. If we're going to attract attention in the future anyway, we should take
full advantage of it. It's better to make our enemies think that he's an unknown
quantity. I wouldn't be surprised if there were students standing outside our
classroom right at this very moment, trying to listen in. That's the kind of school
this is," said Horikita.
Everyone's gazes fell upon the hallway for a moment. Was the student named
Ayanokouji only capable when it came to math? Or was he good at other things
too? By making the enemy classes wonder exactly where Ayanokouji ranked
and how wary they needed to be of him, the enemy would be lost. Horikita's
story, intertwined with Yousuke's additional comments, started sounding more
profound.
"Wow, Horikita-san is like, super amazing, isn't she? I'm honestly a little
moved right now, for real." Kei dropped in a casual comment right then to drive
the story home further. "Don't you think so too, Shinohara-san?" she added,
turning to her friend for agreement.
She was probably trying to draw people's attention away by getting them to
focus on how great Horikita was, rather than on me and my abilities. Even
though I hadn't given Kei any kind of signal like I did with Yousuke, or even any
kind of instructions, she intuitively knew what kind of role she could play here
and acted in accordance immediately.
"I really think so too. I mean, I feel like I've been seeing Horikita-san and
Ayanokouji-kun talk in secret with each other for a long time now. I guess they
were thinking about how to help our class," said Shinohara.
When Horikita first started here, she hardly talked to anyone except me. That
fact ended up working in our favor right now. I supposed it also gave what
Horikita was saying a certain degree of credibility.
The impeccable follow-ups from Yousuke and Kei were incredibly effective as
well. The group mentality of "Well, if Yousuke and Kei think so, then I'm sure it
must be true," was in full force. Even Keisei, who'd had his doubts up until this
point, was no exception to that.
"A strategy to hide his true abilities, huh… I suppose it is true that the other
classes are probably quite surprised right now too," remarked Keisei.
"Although I didn't have a perfect grasp of how things worked at this school, I
thought it would be best to have at least one insurance policy in place. For
better or for worse, Ayanokouji-kun also seems to struggle to communicate
with other people, and he doesn't like being the center of attention either. That
was why I asked him to keep his abilities hidden," said Horikita, stating that this
was all possible because both her thoughts and mine had lined up.
She then looked away from Keisei and addressed everyone in our class.
"That is the secret of how Ayanokouji-kun got a perfect score in math. I'm
sorry for shocking you all like this."
Even though Horikita had only one shot at this, with no chance of a do-over,
she had performed beautifully from start to finish. But if we let the students
hang out together at their leisure for too long, doubts might start welling up in
them once again.
"I think it would be best if we consider the matter closed for the time being.
Just as Horikita-san said earlier, we don't know if someone might be listening
in," said Yousuke.
Yousuke deftly brought the conversation to a close, explaining the drawbacks
of standing around and continuing this conversation right here and now. The
smarter a student was, the more doubts they would still have—but at the same
time, the smart students would also be quick to understand that this wasn't
something we should be discussing here and now. The proof of that was the
fact that Keisei's lengthy barrage of questions had ended, and he had gone
silent.
I could say that this meeting had diverted their suspicions, to a certain extent.
Also, thanks to Horikita's performance—which went above and beyond what I
had expected—it would be easier for me to take action in the future. Even if I
showed off my abilities outside the field of mathematics, Horikita had laid the
foundation for us to be able to simply explain it away, saying that I had been
hiding those abilities too. That was key.
I was honestly quite grateful to her for having been able to do all this for me
without us even having to meet beforehand and go over it.
2.2
THINGS CAME to a close, then. The students dispersed, going their separate
ways as they usually did after classes, though it had come later today. I figured
it would probably be a good idea for me to go thank Horikita and Yousuke
another day. Perhaps Horikita had sensed what I was thinking, because she got
up from her seat before anyone else did.
Yousuke always walked off while chatting happily with a bunch of girls, with
Kei at the center of the group. Blending in with them, I grabbed my bag and
stepped out into the hallway.
And thus ended my day… Well, no. Things weren't going to be so simple. Even
though what had just happened was good enough to get the masses to
understand the big picture, the personal issues it would cause me were an
entirely different story.
A few students started following me right after I walked off. I didn't even
need to think about who they were, of course. They were the members of the
Ayanokouji Group. The footsteps of the student in the lead, as they approached
me from behind, were especially forceful and loud.
I didn't even need to look back to understand just how frustrated Keisei was.
As I continued walking, pretending not to notice anything, I heard a voice call
out to me.
"Kiyotaka."
After I heard my name called, I slowly came to a stop. When I turned around
and looked at the three of them standing there, I saw they did have rather grim
looks on their faces, after all.
"What, you're just heading on back without even talking to us? That's kind of
cruel, don't you think?" said Haruka, the most outspoken member of the group,
addressing me in a forceful tone of voice.
She spoke on behalf of both Keisei, who stood in front of the group with a
stern expression on his face, and of Airi, who stood in back, looking worried.
Perhaps what Haruka said had some effect on Keisei, because although he had
opened his mouth to speak, looking like he was getting heated, he then closed
it.
He paused, took a breath, then started again.
"Why didn't you tell us about all of this before? If it was all about hiding
information, just like Horikita had said before, does that mean that you can't
trust us at all?" asked Keisei.
Even though Keisei had seemed somewhat convinced by everything said in
the classroom, he still looked dissatisfied. That was only natural, I supposed. I'd
basically ridden roughshod over his feelings, when he had taken things seriously
and been kind enough to tutor me. It was precisely because Haruka and Airi
understood that that they'd followed him, worried.
The uncomplicated way out would be for me to put all of the blame on
Horikita. However, I couldn't really bring myself to do something like that, since
she'd played a key role in getting me through this situation earlier.
Well, no. I supposed there was no need to resort to such emotional
arguments. I needed to think about the future here.
Keisei was an extremely smart student, and by no means the slowest in our
class when it came to assessing a given situation. But if I didn't tackle this issue
directly with him, it would probably continue to weigh heavily on his mind. And
if Keisei stopped functioning properly, it would hurt our class. It would also
hinder Horikita, who had taken command of that class and was acting as its
leader.
"I do trust you. But I decided that not telling anyone would be best,
considering what might come in the future. I was tempted to come out and tell
you, because we're close. But I decided to grit my teeth and keep quiet about
it."
I told them that I had made that decision voluntarily, without putting the
blame on anyone else. Even though Keisei had approached the matter
aggressively, what Haruka said earlier had made him hesitate a bit before
coming out with everything he wanted to say. Telling him that it was my own
decision essentially forced him to retreat further from those emotions.
"I can definitely understand why you'd feel so upset with me over this, Keisei.
You've done more for this group than anyone else, and on top of that, you were
pushing to help me study. I'm sorry," I told him.
No one would feel great about discovering the person they'd been tutoring
was hiding the fact that they were better than them. I was sure Haruka and Airi,
who stood beside him, felt similarly. Haruka stood there and listened to my
apology. Aside from what she said right at the beginning, she hadn't opened her
mouth. I supposed that was probably because she had decided that Keisei
should think about it and come to terms with things on his own, first.
"To be honest, I'm still pissed. If you didn't need me to tutor you, you should
have just said so from the beginning. You could have just told me that you could
have gotten through the exams without any trouble on your own," said Keisei.
"That's true," I replied.
From Keisei's perspective, my circumstances, background, and such didn't
matter. I supposed it was only natural that he would have wanted me to tell
him that from the start.
"And on top of that, according to what Horikita says, you're going to keep
holding back and being vague in the future, right, Kiyotaka? If you can't tell us
what subjects you're capable of handling and which ones you're not, I'm never
going to be able to fully trust you," said Keisei.
Keisei would continue to harbor doubts. What kinds of subjects was I capable
of handling? And which subjects did I actually need assistance with? As a tutor,
it would undoubtedly be uncomfortable to be around someone like that.
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel like saying…I want to leave the group,
you know," said Keisei.
"Wait, are you being serious, Yukimuu?!" exclaimed Haruka, having remained
silent up until that point.
I supposed there was no way she could have held her tongue after hearing
him say something like that.
"Yeah, I am. Until we had heard that full explanation from Horikita a little
while ago, I was completely planning to leave the group. Because I didn't think I
could trust Kiyotaka anymore. But…well, since we've been in the same group
for so long now, there's one thing I understand. I know that Kiyotaka isn't a bad
guy. I suppose if he was hiding this for the good of the class, it makes sense why
he wouldn't tell anyone about it. And even if he could've turned me down for
tutoring help, saying that he didn't need it, I can understand how someone like
Kiyotaka, who isn't good at communicating, wouldn't be able to actually come
out and say that."
Keisei clenched his fists as he spoke, responding with his honest thoughts.
"It's just… Well, yeah, it's just that… It's taking me some time to get my
thoughts in order, I guess," he added, intentionally letting out a big sigh
afterward. "I guess it's pointless to drag this out any longer. In the end, what I
want to say is—what I wanted to say is—I don't care if you're hiding your true
abilities from the rest of the class. It's not like you're dragging everyone down
like Kouenji, and it's not like anyone has the right to complain about you. And if
I try and accuse you of stuff like that, it's only going to make things worse
between us," said Keisei.
It was fair to say this whole situation had left Keisei more most dissatisfied
and displeased than anyone else. And yet, he was trying to swallow those
feelings and keep them to himself. For the sake of the Ayanokouji Group, and
for the sake of his classmates.
"I understand all that, but I can't help but feel a certain way about this. For
that, I'm sorry. For the time being, I'll just consider the skills that you've shown
us to be the real thing. And I'm going to assume that you're still only just
adequate in every subject aside from mathematics, and I'll continue tutoring
you. …Is that okay?" said Keisei.
Considering it wouldn't have been surprising if the situation had ended our
friendship for good, I was incredibly grateful for his proposal. There was no
reason for me to refuse, so I nodded my head in response, agreeing to his
request.
"Thank you, Keisei," I replied, expressing my gratitude to him.
Airi, after having witnessed the entire exchange, summoned up the courage
to speak.
"Th-then, how about…you two shake hands, to make peace with each other?
Or something?" she suggested.
"That's great! Yeah, make peace with a handshake," added Haruka, agreeing
with Airi's suggestion.
Keisei, feeling the tension was hanging over us beginning to disperse, shook
his head from side to side. "Oh, come on, lay off. That's embarrassing."
Despite him rejecting their suggestion, Haruka had quickly grabbed hold of
Keisei's right hand. Then, at almost the exact same time, she took hold of my
right hand as well.
"Okay, make up!" she exclaimed, forcing our hands together, trying to make
us shake hands.
Neither of us had exactly prepared for a handshake, though, so our hands just
kind of hit one another.
"I'm not gonna let go until you two shake hands, okay?" said Haruka.
"A-all right already…!" exclaimed Keisei.
Perhaps because he thought having our hands awkwardly joined together like
this was more embarrassing than just doing a regular handshake, Keisei gave in.
The two of us shook hands, signaling that we had officially reconciled.
"Well, I'm fine now, but Akito still doesn't know anything," said Keisei.
"Miyacchi'll probably be just fine, I bet. I think he'll accept Kiyopon just like
normal. Right?" said Haruka.
Keisei thought about that for a moment, but considering what he knew of
Akito, he seemed to agree with Haruka's conclusion. "…Well, I suppose, yeah."
"Whew, okay! Everything's finally back to normal. It kind of feels like this
weight's been lifted off our shoulders, huh?" said Haruka, locking eyes with Airi.
The two of them seemed in total agreement. "Anyway, it looks like you've
become a celebrity all of a sudden, Kiyopon. Doesn't it? Wait…"
She trailed off at the end and stiffened up, staring at me intently, as if she had
just remembered something.
The three of us waited for her to continue speaking, but it didn't seem like
she was going to.
"What's the matter, Haruka-chan?" asked Airi, worried about Haruka, who
had gone completely stiff.
Just then, Haruka started moving again, like she had been released from a
spell.
"O-oh, uh, nothing, no big deal. Anyway, now that you're a celebrity, things
are gonna be pretty rough for you, huh?" she said, turning back to me.
"Don't you think getting a full score might have been kind of excessive? The
second highest score in our grade was Sakayanagi, with ninety-one points," said
Keisei, worrying about a different matter after acknowledging things with me.
"Wait, speaking of Sakayanagi-san, she got scores close to that in every other
subject too, if I remember right. Didn't she?" said Airi, thinking back on it.
A score of ninety-one points in math. And she'd gotten similarly high scores in
every other subject, on top of that. Considering the elevated difficulty of these
tests, there was no doubt in my mind that she really was very academically
gifted, after all. I was certain that she was the best in our grade level, after me.
What was most impressive was the fact that she was that good despite not
having received an education in an exceptional environment like the White
Room.
It was no wonder she claimed to be a genius. Because she was exactly that.
"I knew that she was smart, but since they introduced the OAA, I feel like her
strengths have become even more apparent," said Keisei.
Though there was some frustration in Keisei's voice, he was openly and
honestly recognizing Sakayanagi's strengths. Though we had no doubt she'd
gotten high scores in the past, she was getting even better. Had she been
deliberately holding back a little earlier? Or had she started to study outside of
class time?
In any case, it was absolutely certain she was going to become an even more
troublesome foe for us to face, and one we needed to defeat more than ever
before.
"Hey, to celebrate you guys makin' up, how about we all meet up at Keyaki
Mall after Miyacchi is done with his club stuff?" suggested Haruka.
No one turned down her idea