Volume 4, Chapter 2: A Vast Array of Thoughts Part 3

"Aaaaaaayyyyyyaaaaaoooooooookkkkkoouuuuuujjiiiii!!!". And as soon as I went back inside the ship, a shadow fell upon me. With his hands flailing above his neck, he came in a hurry and seemed to be panicking. It seemed like a serious situation. That was what I saw when I turned back around, I saw the figure of Yamauchi Haruki, my classmate who had now taken the form of a demonic Asura.

"W-what's wrong?" I ask. Of course, I already knew what the reason was but I asked him as a matter of formality. "What are you asking that for? You promised to tell me Sakura's address, what the hell happened to that?". Unfortunately I had run into Yamauchi now of all times. I should think of something. "I wasn't aiming for you in particular, but I just wanted to know" he said. "Do you actually think a loner like me would know Sakura's address?". I tried my hand at explaining it to him and tried to make it sound sincere so he would understand.

"Could it be?...you were trying to ask Sakura her address...just now?" he asked me. When I nodded, Yamauchi's face broke down into an expression of shock and he crumbled onto the floor on both knees. "Then that means...you didn't know her address...and you still used me?" he asked me.

"It seems like I did that yes" I admit. "And, what happened? Did Sakura give you her address?". "...sorry" I apologized to him. "Sorry. What do you mean sorry? I'm not asking for an apology right? I'm asking for her address" Yamauchi tells me. An emotionless reply like that reflected Yamauchi's disappointment in me. "How dare you...how dare you lie to meeeeeeeeee!!!" Yamauchi yells at me. I do think I've done a bad thing by using him like that, but I still cannot give him Sakura's address like that without her consent.

Even if he asks her directly, she should reject him straight up bluntly. "Would you give me some more time?" I ask him. "What time? A liar is the start of a thief" he tells me. Out of everyone in Class D, I never imagined the first one to call me a liar would be Yamauchi. It's a shock. "Then are you going to forcibly ask Sakura?". "Yeah, I'm going to do that" he tells me.

He seems to be blinded by anger and is not thinking straight, he's seemingly intending on getting Sakura's address by force if need be.

"Sakura said she hates men who are only talk". "That's just you making it up, Ayanokouji" he says. "Yes. It can't be helped if you dislike me now, but it should also be obvious why I'm not giving you her address. And trying to ask her the address forcibly is pointless" I tell him. "...is just an excuse. You never knew her address in the first place right?" Yamauchi lowers his head while averting his eyes from me. "But you know Sakura likes digital cameras, right? The truth is, I heard her current one is an outdated model but she doesn't have enough points to buy a new one, see? If Yamauchi, you buy her a new digital camera, it would be a great present for her, wouldn't you agree?" I tell him.

"Ohhh...I think that's great...but I don't have any points either" he finally admits. "You see, in this exam, by hiding the "target", becoming a traitor, or guiding your group together to victory you can easily gain enough points to buy her a digital camera, am I wrong?" I tell Yamauchi. "S-so, if I work hard, there's still a chance I can get close to Sakura?". Now I've ensured that there's only one conclusion Yamauchi will reach. "Right now, you, Yamauchi Haruki, need to work hard to show your masculinity. That's the only way you can get close to the former idol Sakura" I encourage him. There is a possibility that by stimulating him like this, he would work to his fullest potential and achieve better results in this exam.

"I'll do it. I'll do it. I'll do it! I'm going to work hard and get Sakura for myself!" Yamauchi excitedly says. "Yes Yamauchi, you can do it. If it's you, you'll definitely succeed" I encourage him. "Ooooooohhhhhhh! I'm definitely going to win in this exam!". Somehow it seems like I managed to direct his anger in a different direction towards the exam. Maybe his anger towards me will return when the exam is over but for now I seem to have avoided the problem. If there's one scary problem here it'd be the fact that Yamauchi would be too fired up and aim for the "target" directly instead.

"I'll tell you this just in case but..." I decide to tell him this for his own sake.

"What?" he asks me. "Nothing. But if you find the "target" in your group, don't let the other classes beat you to the punch" I tell him. "Of course I won't". But it'd be best if Yamauchi doesn't find the "target". Long term benefits over short term benefits and all that.