WITH THE END OF the exchange meeting, an event that brought changes in relationships, our usual school life resumed.
Recently, it had become customary for me to meet up with Kei in my room or lobby every morning and go to school together, but today was different. I left on my own this time, about 20 minutes earlier than usual.
I got off the elevator, arrived at the lobby, and went outside.
It was unusually cold today, perhaps because of the strong wind.
Soon, February would be over.
Next month would be busier than ever.
First, I had to deal with the issue concerning Karuizawa Kei.
Nothing special was needed for this.
I just needed to proceed with the process as originally planned.
Next, the issue concerning Ichinose Honami.
The leader of a class that was struggling to compete with the other three, with nothing special among the four classes.
My prediction was correct—Class D was in decline as the end of the secondyear approached.
However... unlike Kei's problem, some adjustments might've been needed.
I could decide after the end-of-year exam results came out.
No matter how much Ichinose grew, there would be no major changes.
I thought I just needed to proceed with the plan as I originally intended.
But…
One problem arose that wasn't in the plan.
That forced me to, in turn, make changes.
There would be some negative effects as a result, but not all changes would be bad.
As soon as I started walking to school, I stopped.
"You're early."
In my field of vision, I spotted the person I was meeting up with.
There was still some time until the scheduled appointment, but they were already waiting.
They didn't notice me and occasionally breathed out white clouds as if they were cold, but they soon noticed my gaze.
"Good morning, Ayanokōji-kun."
As I approached, a morning greeting came flying.
"Good morning. Sorry for calling you out so early."
"It's okay. So, what do you want to talk to me about? Something hard to say over the phone?"
As classmates, we knew each other's contact information. Normally, we could communicate using our phones.
She questioned why I didn't do that.
"In a way, maybe."
Horikita lined up next to me and soon started walking by my side.
"In a way? That's a scary way to put it."
"There's nothing to be wary of."
"Really?"
She looked at me with doubt in her eyes, but there was no prickliness like when we first met.
It was a natural friendship, with a tenderness that could be described as such.
"I often talk to you about special exams and class-related matters, but sometimes I want to talk about things that have nothing to do with that.""Huh? Sorry, I don't understand. What do you mean?"I regretted that my words were clumsier than I'd imagined.
I had thought of a more casual way to say it, but I decided against it because it might bother her depending on how she took it.
"I wanted to have a meaningless conversation with you, unrelated to our interests. Does that make sense to you?"
"...I see?"
She seemed to be in thought for a moment, but apparently, she didn't understand.
"We've been classmates for a while. It's not like we'll have the opportunity to talk forever."
"Forever is an exaggeration. Sure, that's true, but we still have over a year until graduation, right? We don't have to arrange meetings like this, I can chat anytime."
"What if I were to be expelled at the end-of-year exam?"
"That's a jump. I don't think you'll be expelled. But seeing how easily you get common sense questions wrong, maybe there's a possibility..."
After giving a serious answer, she laughed a little, finding her own words amusing.
"Are you really worried that you might be expelled? Is that why you wanted to talk so early in the morning...?"
"The last special exam has become a bit of a trauma for me."
"Then why don't you try to remember more common sense questions?
You're good at studying."
She retorted, expressing that I was aware of my weak points.
"So, can you memorize game and anime terms as effectively as studying for other subjects?"
"Huh…? I wonder. When Onizuka tried pushing me to play a game before, they were talking about DP... something, DEF something, cooldown something, but my brain refused to remember those words and their meanings..."
"It's a similar feeling. I just can't seem to want to remember it."
I wanted to absorb as much information as I could, but I also had such preferences.
"Don't worry. From a class perspective, your existence is essential. Even if you struggle with common sense questions, I'll always back you up. In other words, you won't be expelled."
Horikita made that clear.
"That's reassuring."
I tapped Horikita's shoulder with a gentle chop from my left hand. She was taking this conversation seriously.
"Do you really worry about your own expulsion? It doesn't seem like it.
What's the real issue?"
"Actually, I'm not worried about myself, but about the possibility of your expulsion."
"In reality, that seems more likely."
She showed a slightly annoyed expression, but it didn't seem serious, and she quickly returned to normal.
Compared to when she first entered, Horikita's emotions had become much more varied.
"The last special exam resulted in only Kamuro's expulsion. However, next time, there might be more."
"...You're expecting new dropouts."
"Yeah. At least one from our year. Depending on the exam content and its developments, we could lose several people."
"...That many?"
"It's better to think that way. The school has said it before—second-year students are progressing through school life with few to no dropouts."
"So they're going to force an exam to increase the number of dropouts? That's... a bit extreme. Our year didn't have that many weak spots. It should've been a good thing."
If you looked at it positively, it was true.
But sometimes, a sieve was needed.
"It depends on how it looks from the outside. For example, the government is also involved in the school's operation. If the goal is to drop ten people a year, and we second-year students do not meet that standard, then it would be nice if they simply saw us as exceptional, but it's unknown how much the people at the top are aware of and acknowledge the finer details of those numbers."
"To comply with the government's policy, they'll make the rules more strict?"
"Last year, because there were no dropouts, it was forcibly changed from zero to one expulsion. I wouldn't be surprised if several people will get expelled in the upcoming end-of-year exam."
The third-year's advice from winter break—that might not have been just for the survival and elimination special exam. But in reality, the third-years probably didn't know about the second-year students' future.
"Aren't you overthinking...?"
"Of course, it's just speculation. I just feel that way based on what I can see right now. I can't provide any concrete evidence."
"In that case, I guess so. I'd like you to work hard too."She requested cooperation half-seriously, half-jokingly.
My answer to that was already decided.
"If there's a situation at the end of the school year where I can help, I intend to cooperate as much as possible."
"That's a rather unusual answer for you. Between the special training and now, you've been a bit too cooperative lately. Even with the Amasawa-san situation, you didn't look displeased even once."
"I've left many things to others so far. I have to lend a hand at least a little."
"That's a noble reason, but... it's still not like you to become so cooperative."
"I wonder. There might be a catch."
"I'd rather not have that, if possible."
At that point in the conversation, Horikita and I made eye contact.
We probably both thought of the same thing simultaneously.
"Haha, you invited me to chat, but in the end, we're talking about the exam."
"Right. There's no point in calling you here if it's like this. Alright, let's end the discussion about the exam."
With that, I put an end to this topic.
"I heard about the results from Kushida, it seems you fought well, but you lost."
"She's really strong, isn't she? Even if we fought two against one, we still couldn't win in the end."
However, I heard that Amasawa, after being hit a few times, was able to analyze them.
"You should be able to have a better fight next time."
"Two against one?"
"Do you dislike it?"
"Well, yes. Ibuki-san said she wouldn't team up with me again.""It's fine. She forgets things quickly."Horikita laughed at my exaggeration.
"By the way, it looked like Amasawa-san noticed your influence right after the fight started. But she seemed very happy. What's your relationship with her?"
"She's my ex-girlfriend."
"Are you serious? Or was that a joke?"
"It was a bad joke."
"If that's the case, it wasn't funny at all."A harsh response came back.
"Someday, I want to hear the truth from your own mouth, Ayanokōji-kun."
"I'll think about it. But don't expect—"
"I'm not."
Horikita narrowed her eyes and smiled in response.
At that moment, Horikita, who was changing colors, showed a smile.
I guess I was also learning a lot from Horikita.
This relationship between us would end soon.
Horikita would have some tough experiences in the future.
But there is no need to keep worrying.
Her growth and the support of her classmates should guide her.
1
Rewinding time a little from my commute to school with Horikita and the exchange meeting.
It was when Hashimoto came to my room asking for help shortly before the exchange meeting began.
Why did Hashimoto commit this seemingly reckless act of betrayal?
Why did he take the risk at that time?
The circumstances were explained in detail by the person himself.
"...Before I tell you what's next, there's something I really need to confirm with you."
Hashimoto must've had an extraordinary determination to make such a decision.
What he wanted to confirm.
It was how much information I had at the moment.
That was an important factor that this man couldn't miss.
"I've been tempted to betray Ryūen since before the previous special exam.
Not just temporarily teaming up, but moving classes based on that premise."
It was obvious, but there was no merit for Hashimoto, who was in Class A, to move to Ryūen's class.
Except for cases like Katsuragi who lost his place, if you were to look at it from a while ago, Class A should've established a more stable position than its current status.
"Of course, I didn't take such an invitation seriously at first. However, right after that, I heard from Ryūen that if I didn't move classes, I'd definitely regret it at the end of the school year."
"Regret? Is it because Ryūen himself is confident that he'll win?"
"It seems that even you don't know about the content of the bet that Ryūen and Sakayanagi agreed on."
"A bet, huh? I don't know if it applies, but I've heard a little about the exchange in the last deserted island exam. Unfortunately, I don't know the details."
After I told him what I knew, Hashimoto rubbed his fingers together and made a sound, as if to prove that this was what he wanted to confirm in advance.
"I'm glad. Then there was a reason for me to come here."
Accepting that the key points of the story matched, Hashimoto slightly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.
Afterward, Hashimoto detailed the bet that the two made.
"When I first heard about it, I thought it was a joke, but it turns out it's serious."
"I see. So you had a reason to betray them during the survival and elimination special exam."
It was clear that it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea at that point.
"It's not unreasonable to doubt the bet itself, right? No matter how you look at it, Sakayanagi is at a disadvantage."
"That's true. However, Sakayanagi wouldn't choose to reject the bet just because of the disadvantage."
She was the type who, like Ryūen, believed in her ultimate victory without a doubt.
"Do you think Sakayanagi simply conceded or were there certain conditions set?"
Hashimoto, unable to suppress his overflowing emotions, leaned forward and asked.
"Both are possible, but the details of the bet will eventually come to light. Considering that, it must be the latter. She must've allowed Ryūen to accumulate private points."
"Nice. That's fast. Yes, if that's the case, there's plenty of room to maneuver."
"Who else knows about this bet besides you and the parties involved?"
"Unless Ryūen was lying, no one. You're the fourth. Well, both would hate to lose the bet by having it leaked."
That speculation was probably correct. It would be preferable to make it public after everything had been confirmed.
The only one Ryūen leaked it to was Hashimoto, but that must've been a considerable risk.
If it was around the time the deserted island exam ended, about half a year had passed since then.
"It took a while... for this day to come."
Having kept the secret hidden, Hashimoto had been worrying alone.
"Whether Sakayanagi wins or Ryūen wins, honestly, I couldn't make a judgment... No, I was kinda thinking that Sakayanagi might win."
As if he had momentarily lied, Hashimoto immediately corrected himself."But even then, it's like 55 to 45. Seriously, it's not decisive, is it?"I agreed.
Unless it was a nine to one chance or at worst a seven to three chance, you couldn't tell which way a match would go.
"So I've been looking for a decisive factor, and what I thought that would be was—"
Slowly, Hashimoto's gaze turned to me.
"Me?"
"If you were to follow Sakayanagi, I would've been ready to die with my current class without hesitation. That's why I advised Sakayanagi... to recruit you as an ally."
And Sakayanagi refused.
So he decided to betray them...?
While it seemed to make sense, it was still unclear at its core.
I understood that the outcome of the confrontation between Sakayanagi and Ryūen was unpredictable.
I understood that he thought Sakayanagi could win if I joined.
But that didn't change the fact that it was too reckless.
"I will make Ryūen win. No matter what the content of the end-of-year special exam is, I will thoroughly assist them. If I miss this opportunity, I will most likely be the one to disappear."
Of course, Sakayanagi would be on high alert against Hashimoto and wouldn't share any information.
But if there was a confirmed traitor within the class, it would inevitably be a handicap.
If the class's accumulated exam scores were to determine the outcome, it would be a tough situation if Hashimoto intentionally scored zero.
"If Sakayanagi had followed my instructions, whether that would be before or after I betrayed her in the previous special exam, I was planning to betray Ryūen and join her at the end of the year."
He spoke with a lot of determination, but I wasn't sure how much of what he was saying was true.
Right now, the only thing I could be sure of was that everything he said was ambiguous.
"It's fine if you want to make Ryūen win, but did you propose the same thing to him as you did to Sakayanagi?"
"You mean about recruiting you? Yes, of course. The answer was the same as Sakayanagi's, but there was a condition. If we could defeat Sakayanagi in the
end-of-year exam, he would recruit the both of us to his class." Ryūen said that?
Considering the past, Ryūen was the same as Sakayanagi.
It was clear that he wasn't the kind of person who would try to win by recruiting me.
And it would take a whopping 40 million to recruit two students from different classes.
Did Ryūen's shallow lie fool Hashimoto?
No—that probably wasn't it.
Hashimoto wasn't telling the whole truth.
If I were Hashimoto, I'd make sure to have a safety net in place for my reckless betrayal. I wouldn't decide to betray solely based on the possibility that Ayanokōji Kiyotaka might move to the class I had in mind.
It'd be strange if the reward for betraying Sakayanagi wasn't enormous.The contract to transfer 20 million private points—That would make sense.
If he helped defeat Sakayanagi in the end-of-year exam and took the credit, he'd gain that privilege from Ryūen.
That would make the challenge worth it, even at the cost of betrayal.
Even if Ryūen couldn't immediately prepare that large sum, he could collect the private points that come into the class every month, and it would be enough to pay by graduation.
In the end, it didn't really matter to Hashimoto which class won or where I was. As long as he had the privilege to be part of Class A, that would be Hashimoto's victory.
Everything was for himself.
It was the answer he chose based on the patterns he had mentally simulated.
By betraying the class in the survival and elimination special exam, Hashimoto confirmed Sakayanagi's true intentions.
If she decided to accept me there, things would be simple. If she collected private points from each of her classmates, there was a high possibility that she could easily reach 20 million points. If I accepted the class change, Hashimoto would've chosen to fight alongside me and Sakayanagi as the two main players.
If he was rejected, he could make a secret agreement with Ryūen and get 20 million private points. However, though the latter had an advantage in terms of graduating from Class A, he couldn't avoid risking expulsion due to his betrayal. Not only would Sakayanagi become an enemy, but he would also be at risk of being targeted by a third party.
The reason he approached me and told me the details of the betrayal was all for himself.
"What do you want from me?"
When I asked, Hashimoto smiled nervously.
2
With the end of the exchange camp, time was slowly but surely passing.
Sakayanagi was quietly spending time while waiting for someone to come, sitting on the sofa in the career counseling room.
Next to her stood her homeroom teacher, Mashima, with his arms crossed in confusion.
"What are you planning to talk about? And with whom?"
Mashima, who had been brought here without being told anything, sent a quizzical glance.
Even though he didn't understand the situation, he definitely sensed something unusual.
"You seem restless, Mashima-sensei. Don't worry, you'll understand soon.""But..."
More than ten minutes had passed since the two of them entered the room.
"...Here he comes."
Sakayanagi sensed it immediately after.
The moment a hand was placed on the door, she knew that man would appear.
"You're five minutes late, Ryūen-kun."
"The star of the show always makes a late entrance."
The one who opened the door to the counseling room was Ryūen Kakeru.
And behind him was the figure of his homeroom teacher, Sakagami.
"What's going on here, Mashima-sensei?"
"Well... I'm also trying to gauge the situation."
The two teachers who ran into each other couldn't understand the situation and looked at each other, puzzled.
Ryūen sat down in front of the sofa where Sakayanagi was sitting, spreading his legs wide.
An odd situation was created—two students were sitting and the teachers were standing.
"Even if you were to deceive Hashimoto-kun, you made him do something quite bold."
When Sakayanagi asked, Ryūen immediately responded.
"He must be feeling insecure under you, can't blame him."
"That would be fine. But he must've been tempted by a cunning villain's sweet words. He believes lies to be true and truth to be lies. He might be another victim."
The exchange of words between the two began, leaving the teachers behind.
"You seem energetic for someone who's sunk so low."
"I indeed felt emotions I had never experienced before, but if you thought that was the end, it's too early."
"Heh, Ayanokōji did something unnecessary too."
Ryūen naturally grasped that Ayanokōji had approached Sakayanagi at the exchange meeting.
After the meeting, Sakayanagi had returned to her usual self.No complex reasoning was needed to connect the dots.
"As you say, I was saved by him… by Ayanokōji-kun."
Taking Sakayanagi's gaze head-on, Ryūen felt it on his skin.
A change in her gaze, which until now had only looked down on others.
Sakayanagi also felt it.
The man before her had a conviction that had grown even larger than when they first met.
"So you were also saved by Ayanokōji-kun."
"Huh, don't make me laugh. We'll never get along. I don't remember being saved by Ayanokōji. Rather, what I got was hatred. Hatred for revenge."His trampled strength and pride.
He had been defeated miserably in the ring where he had absolute confidence.
"I see. Hatred—so that's what drove you here."
"Are you any different?"
In response to Ryūen's counter-question, Sakayanagi inadvertently smiled.
"What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry. If my smile seemed rude, I apologize. I was simply happy that you've come to recognize Ayanokōji-kun's strength in the process of getting here."
Unlike her fury towards Hashimoto, which was not based on personal experience, the Ryūen before her had directly experienced the cause of his emotions.
She thought he was qualified.
No, Sakayanagi immediately revised her thoughts. It wasn't just that.
She felt a change in her emotional switch within her, starting with the incident involving Kamuro and Yamamura.
"Are you saying you had your eye on him earlier?"
It was a well-known fact that Sakayanagi had been paying attention to Ayanokōji from the start.
But Ryūen didn't know where their first contact was, so he tried to find out.
"Yes. You unfortunately only learned of his existence at this school.
However, unlike you, I've been following him with my own eyes since childhood."At such a triumphant attitude, Ryūen stopped moving.
"...Quite an interesting statement, isn't it? You know about his childhood?"
"I know it well. I consider him as something like a childhood friend."Upon hearing that statement, Mashima also remembered the story Sakayanagi had told him before.
And there was nothing ruder than interrupting the two of them.
"I lost to Ayanokōji. I thought it was okay to lose as many times as I wanted as long as I won in the end, but that man mercilessly crushed that indomitable spirit. I was so drained."
But over a year later, he was trying to return to that stage.
"Although our motives are different, it seems that our final goals are the same, Ryūen-kun. I have been wishing to fight him since long before you. We only have one year left in our school life. I need to get rid of any obstacles before then."
"I completely agree. I'll defeat you quickly and take my revenge on him."
Sakayanagi, who had always looked at others with cold eyes, certainly felt her heart warming up.
Not towards Ryūen. She was thinking of Ayanokōji, who was waiting ahead.
Ryūen felt the same way. His emotions were surging to defeat Ayanokōji, who was waiting beyond Sakayanagi.
"Your revenge will not be fulfilled. You will stumble just before it."
"You're probably planning for a showdown on the throne, but that scheme
will fail."
Unable to remain silent in the face of the escalating exchange, Mashima intervened.
"You seem to be moving the conversation along on your own, but could you explain the situation?"
"I apologize."
In response to the slightly indignant Mashima, Sakayanagi apologized softly and started speaking.
"It would be better not to waste any more time. Shall we get to the point?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Sakayanagi lined up the two teachers and turned them towards her.
In front of Sakayanagi, who stood up on her cane, Ryūen also stood up and turned around, facing the teachers.
"We're about to make a big bet. Normally, we would make some kind of verbal promise for ordinary matters, or if we couldn't trust each other, we would make a contract. This time, however, because of the nature of its content, we decided it would be safer to have the teachers in charge of both classes present."From the course of the conversation they had heard, both Mashima and Sakagami felt tense.
"What are you planning to decide among yourselves?"
Sakayanagi announced the details of the bet.
"For the end-of-year exam, the loser will leave this school—that's what it's about."
"The loser will leave...? What are you talking about? The content and rules of the exam haven't been announced yet. We don't even know if there's a way to expel students within the exam yet."
Confused, he answered sternly, explaining that there was no guarantee of a method to expel the opponent.
"Mashima-sensei, what are you misunderstanding? The content and rules are irrelevant. We are only betting on the outcome of the end-of-year special exam. As a result, the loser will voluntarily drop out. That's all there is to it."
"You teachers were made witnesses to this exchange just to ensure certainty. Even if Sakayanagi cries and screams, proceed with the expulsion process according to the contract. Of course, if by any chance I lose, the same applies to me."
Both parties accepted the dangerous condition—accepting expulsion—upon defeat, cutting off 100% of their retreat.
Due to its coercive power, the school's cooperation was essential for the bet's smooth execution.
Mashima, who had taken in the situation, tried to speak, but the words didn't immediately come out.
"Do you really intend to make such a bet? You have a Protection Point—"Compared to Mashima, the calmer Sakagami voiced his doubts.
"A Protection Point is meaningless if we're voluntarily withdrawing. For fairness, it's been decided that we'd request additional private points to fill the difference that the Protection Point makes, but the amount is kept to a minimum. If we take away his money, his class will really have nothing left."
"It's like counting your chickens before they hatch. If you lose, there's no need to calculate money."
Mashima understood that this wasn't a joke. The contract was serious.
He straightened his posture and made a stern expression.
"Are both of you really okay with this? If we agree, we will have to enforce the expulsion forcibly based on the end-of-year results. Both of you are in important positions; you two play the leader role in your classes. Major disruption is inevitable."
"Yes. It will be virtually impossible to repair the defeated class, and it will be impossible to avoid dropping out of the four-way battle before advancing to the third-year."
As she said these words, Sakayanagi thought of Ayanokōji again.
The competition between the four classes that Ayanokōji idealized had become impossible when the bet with Ryūen was decided. Even if Ayanokōji transferred and steered towards balancing the forces, considering Ichinose's declining class, there wouldn't be enough players.
"Please don't hope for a draw to invalidate the bet, okay?"
"I won't recognize a draw. If that happens, we can decide by lottery, just like how you abandoned Kamuro."
"That's also fun. Let's look forward to it."
Both parties cut off their method of retreat. Though, since the beginning, they didn't anticipate a draw occurring.
It could only be victory or defeat.
A relationship similar to the two sides of the same coin.
The bet was officially established when Sakayanagi and Ryūen acknowledged it, and both homeroom teachers understood it.
The loser would disappear.
The end-of-year special exam, with stakes set on expulsion and no escape… was about to begin.