"Yagami-kun, you just said that Utomiya-kun and I are plotting to make Ayanokoji-senpai drop out, right?" Tsubaki Sakurako said with a smile.
"Yes, during the last exam, it seemed like only Hosen-kun was involved, but I believe you, Tsubaki-san, were also targeting the exam," Yagami Takuya replied.
"If we make him drop out, the reward is 20 million points. Anyone would find that attractive, right?" Tsubaki Sakurako responded.
"Perhaps, but I'm different."
"Different? Sorry, I can't really imagine that."
Tsubaki Sakurako took a step forward and continued, "You look harmless, but deep down, you really want Ayanokoji-senpai to drop out, don't you? Maybe even more than Hosen-kun."
During the last exam, it seemed like only Hosen Kazuomi was taking action. At least on the surface, neither Amasawa Ichika nor anyone else had made any moves.
"Oh, why would you think that? I haven't done anything so far," Yagami Takuya replied, pretending to know nothing.
But the smile on his face stiffened slightly.
[Tsubaki Sakurako, what kind of person is she? She's definitely not an ordinary student.]
"You can kind of tell just by looking. I'm quite confident in my insight."
"Cleverly pretending to be a friend, getting close to him, and then stabbing him in the back—this kind of development is completely unimaginable from the usual you... But that's exactly what you're planning, isn't it?"
"You..."
"But let's not talk about that for now. The current situation isn't looking good."
"The situation isn't good?"
"Right. I heard that Nanase-san has been sticking close to Ayanokoji-senpai lately. Apparently, she even got his permission to follow him around. Although the GPS function hasn't been activated yet, the accuracy of this information should be quite high."
"I see. So, Hosen-kun is preparing his next move, right?"
"We also need to take some action soon. If Hosen-kun makes Ayanokoji-senpai drop out, he'll definitely win. If possible, I'd like you to tell me how you plan to make him drop out, so I can use it as a reference."
"I told you, I don't know anything."
"If you don't show a cooperative attitude, you'll suffer quite a bit."
As she spoke, Tsubaki Sakurako moved closer to Yagami Takuya.
"Suffer? I don't understand what you mean."
"Important people might be in danger."
"You... you're not planning to do something to Kushida-senpai, are you?!"
Yagami Takuya quickly put on a panicked expression and shouted.
"You mean... Kushida-senpai? What about her?"
Hearing Yagami Takuya's words, Tsubaki Sakurako's face broke into a smile.
This was her real goal—to probe Yagami Takuya's true intentions.
But—
All of this was also part of Yagami Takuya's calculations.
[Tsubaki Sakurako, you might indeed be a unique individual, but I can see right through your thoughts. Your goal is to extract more information from me. By mentioning Kushida Kikyo's name, I'm guiding your actions. Your reactions are exactly as I expected. Let's keep this up and maintain my disguise.]
"N-no... I'm sorry, I can't say anything—ugh!"
At that moment, Utomiya Riku swiftly moved behind Yagami Takuya and firmly restrained his arms.
[This kind of restraint is completely meaningless. Not only is it not in the most secure position, but the strength is also insufficient. I could easily break free and knock Utomiya down with a single strike—but that's not necessary right now. I need to maintain my disguise.]
Thinking this, Yagami Takuya allowed himself to be forced into a crouch, putting on a pained and confused expression:
"What are you doing... Utomiya-kun?"
"Sorry, Yagami. I don't dislike you... but I have no choice."
Utomiya Riku said this while glancing at Tsubaki Sakurako.
"I... I think all first-years are comrades. Can't we avoid unnecessary conflicts?"
"Either honestly tell us the information you have, or drop out here. Choose one."
Tsubaki Sakurako spoke slowly.
"Yagami-kun, why did you think Kushida-senpai would be a key factor in making Ayanokoji-senpai drop out? How do you plan to use her?"
"I can't say..."
Yagami Takuya deliberately put on a troubled expression.
He had a deep understanding of Kushida Kikyo's information.
Hearing his words, Utomiya Riku tightened his grip on Yagami Takuya's arms.
"If you can't say, then it must be related. Aren't you going to confess?"
"I... I just care about Kushida-senpai..."
Utomiya Riku released Yagami Takuya's arms and immediately wrapped his own arms around Yagami's neck, gradually increasing the pressure.
[It's getting a bit hard to breathe, but I'm sure they won't dare to go too far. I'm confident I can knock them out before I lose consciousness, but that's not my goal.]
"Anyway, it's already decided. Yagami-kun, if you don't say it here, I'll just ask Kushida-senpai directly. I'll ask one last time. Will you talk, or not?"
"I understand..."
Yagami Takuya pretended to give in and revealed information about Kushida Kikyo—including the connection between Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
...
After a rather unfriendly discussion, Yagami Takuya left, leaving only Utomiya Riku and Tsubaki Sakurako behind.
"Do you think Yagami's words are credible?" Utomiya Riku turned to Tsubaki Sakurako.
"The credibility should be fairly high."
Tsubaki Sakurako spoke slowly.
"Although Yagami clearly has other motives, his desire to make Ayanokoji Kiyotaka drop out seems genuine."
"Should we cooperate with him? To prevent first-year students from being expelled, it's best to make students from other grades drop out."
As he spoke, Utomiya Riku took out his tablet and browsed through it.
"I think the most suitable targets are the solo groups, including Ayanokoji-senpai's group. Speaking of expulsion..."
When he mentioned the word "expulsion," a hint of anger flashed in Utomiya Riku's eyes.
"That guy Hosen, he's the one who got one of our classmates expelled."
"I'm not sure if it was necessarily Hosen's doing."
Tsubaki Sakurako responded. After a moment of silence, she seemed to think of something.
"There are a few other solo groups worth noting, like Koenji Rokusuke and Saiki... Based on the information I have, Koenji seems to be a very capable person. Acting alone is more than enough for him, so targeting him wouldn't be wise—"
"The other one is Saiki. Although I haven't had much contact with him, I heard that Hosen's plan to expel Ayanokoji-senpai failed because of Saiki-senpai."
"Also, the technical support for this exam was provided by a teacher named Saiki, who seems to be Saiki-senpai's brother. This makes me curious about Saiki-senpai's identity."
Hearing Tsubaki Sakurako's words, Utomiya Riku nodded.
"That's true..."
"The target for expulsion is Ayanokoji-senpai, but why does it feel like Saiki-senpai is involved? I'm curious. According to the OAA data, Saiki-senpai's abilities aren't particularly outstanding."
A thought occurred to Tsubaki Sakurako.
That Saiki might be hiding his true abilities, just like her.
"Although the target for expulsion is Ayanokoji, we can't ignore Saiki. Even if our goal is to 'protect more first-year students,' we need to learn more about Saiki."
"Right."
Utomiya Riku nodded.
"Given Hosen's personality, he probably won't give up easily—not just the plan to expel Ayanokoji, but also to get back at Saiki-senpai. Once the GPS signals are made public, he'll definitely take action."
...
An hour later, somewhere on the uninhabited island.
"The report I just received on the walkie-talkie, can you explain what's going on?"
Kushida Kikyo's face wore her usual smile, but her eyes were cold.
"Yagami-kun."
At this moment, Yagami Takuya stood in front of Kushida Kikyo.
"Thank you for coming all this way."
Yagami Takuya said with a smile.
"Skip the pleasantries. I want you to explain."
Kushida Kikyo's smile gradually faded, and her expression turned serious.
Yagami Takuya, however, shifted the topic slightly.
"Unexpected things happen, Kushida-senpai."
[This kind of indifferent, joking tone is really infuriating!]
Kushida Kikyo's anger was rising rapidly.
Not long ago, Kushida Kikyo had received a message from Yagami Takuya through the walkie-talkie she had purchased earlier. He claimed to have been threatened by other first-year students and was forced to reveal Kushida Kikyo's past.
This left Kushida Kikyo deeply puzzled.
"What do you mean by 'unexpected'? Because of you, my past has been exposed to the first-years, hasn't it?"
"I apologize for that."
Yagami Takuya bowed sincerely.
All of this was part of his plan.
[By deliberately letting the first-years know about Kushida Kikyo's past, she'll become more anxious. This way, Kushida Kikyo will have to take more drastic measures to expel those who know her secrets, including Ayanokoji and Saiki.]
Yagami Takuya thought to himself.
His plan was to use Kushida Kikyo to make Ayanokoji Kiyotaka drop out, and perhaps even probe Saiki's true capabilities.
"Even if you apologize, it's useless. I mean it."
A terrifying aura of killing intent emanated from Kushida Kikyo.
[Now four more people know about my past. At this point, I'm powerless to do anything about it on my own.]
"Tsubaki-san and the others know more than I expected. That was also unexpected."
"What do you mean by 'unexpected'? Stop joking around!"
"Please calm down, Kushida-senpai. What's important now isn't Tsubaki-san and the others."
"What are you talking about?"
"Their goal is only to make Ayanokoji-senpai drop out. They're not really interested in your past."
Hearing this, Kushida Kikyo's eyebrow twitched slightly.
[What do you mean, not interested?]
[I can't accept having people who know my secrets living nearby.]
[Can't you understand that?]
"Besides, those four are first-years. They won't have much interaction with you, Kushida-senpai!"
Yagami Takuya said this.
He knew very well that the more he said this, the more anxious Kushida Kikyo would become.
"Ha, don't make me laugh... Aren't we competing fiercely on this uninhabited island? If I fight with the first-years, I'll be caught in a trap."
"Right, you're absolutely correct. So, Kushida-senpai, what's more important to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"After all, it's extremely difficult to expel those four immediately, isn't it?"
"Are you just going to let this slide? Don't look down on people."
Kushida Kikyo was already feeling the urge to punch him.
"...I'm sorry, but from my perspective, I think I made the best choice."
After saying this, Yagami Takuya believed he had successfully guided Kushida Kikyo and continued,
"After we make Ayanokoji-senpai drop out, I'll also make sure those four unstable elements are dealt with. That should solve the problem, right? Let's think about how to act before those four do. If we don't take action, even if Ayanokoji-senpai is successfully expelled, the credit will go to Tsubaki-san and Class 1-C, and we won't get the 20 million points—though I'm sure you don't care about personal points, Kushida-senpai, but with those points, you'll be much safer!"
Seeing that Kushida Kikyo remained silent, Yagami Takuya continued,
"Right now, Nanase-san is closely following Ayanokoji-senpai. Although I'm not in any kind of partnership with their Class D, I can guess their plan. If we cooperate, we can ensure his expulsion. As for Saiki-senpai..."
"What are you even talking about?"
At this point, Kushida Kikyo impatiently interrupted Yagami Takuya's words, which surprised him. This wasn't the reaction he had expected.
"What's wrong, senpai?"
"From start to finish, I never said I wanted to expel Ayanokoji or Saiki, did I?"
Kushida Kikyo said this.
"Huh?"
At this moment, Yagami Takuya's eyes were filled with confusion.