Part 1

In late March, the temperature began to warm.

As we neared the season for the blossoming sakura, news of it seemed to be everywhere.

Although I was early, when I arrived, the person I was meeting today was already there.

Hello, Ayanokouji-kun.

I met with Hiyori, who was looking fresh, and wearing casual clothes in front of Keyaki mall.

Youre early.

I was the one who called you out here, so I couldnt keep you waiting.

After she said that, Hiyori smiled slightly.

Sorry I invited you on such short notice.

Ive got nothing to do over the break, so theres no need to apologise. Lets go-

They finally added new books to the library yesterday.

Hiyori showed me what she was carrying, letting out another small smile.

It seemed like this was an even happier smile than before

Class Cs Hiyori Shiina. She was a girl who loved books more than anyone else.

I wanted to share some information with Ayanokouji-kun as soon as possible.

The books of the author both me and Hiyori liked were hard to get ahold of at the convenience store or the bookstore in the mall.

And since digital versions werent available, we could only borrow them from the library.

Although you could just buy it, it will be exposed to many if the library gets it.

I cherished the opportunity to be able to talk about a book like this with someone else.

There are more people than expected.

The tables of the caf were filled with students.

This was expected, being spring break. Whether the caf was full or not depended on the time of the day.

Fortunately, there still seemed to be some seats left at the counter, so we walked over there together.

We havent met up like this during a holiday before, so its kind of refreshing.

This was true that we never met up on non-school days, so this was a rare occurrence, seeing Hiyori outside her school uniform.

Thats true.

As we talked to each other, a fresh mood overcame us.

Lets not waste any time I brought some books, do you want to take a look?

She happily moved to take them out while saying that.

Suddenly, her hand stopped moving, and she raised her head as if she just remembered something.

Oh, thats right, before we start talking about the book, can we discuss something else?

Just when she was about to continue, a loud voice came from behind.

How annoying. As expected, its crowded. Are there no seats left?

A familiar voice emerged nearby, complaining about the situation of the crowded caf.

Are these seats fine?

Yep, thats fine.

After a bit, those two students took the seats beside me.

I turned to look at the source of the voices, and it turned out to be my classmates, Ike and Shinohara.

They were busy talking about something, so they didnt notice me and continued on with their conversation.

Not long ago, I noticed they started getting closer, and it seemed like this was continuing.

Thats Ike and Shinohara, right?

Hiyori wasnt close enough to whisper, but spoke in a low voice, which made it impossible for them to hear us.

You seem to know them.

A year has already passed, so I know a lot of people from the other classes.

Hiyoris eyes were sparkling, and she looked proud of that fact.

For some reason, we kept silent, and listened in to the conversation between Ike and Shinohara.

So our monthly private point income has decreased to about 30,000 points.

Theres no helping it. With Class A as our opponent, we had no chance of winning.

Maybe so. But well be back to Class D next month, right? That sucks

As if finally remembering that we had lost during the end of year exam, Ike scratched his head.

But you also know the reason for our loss, right?

What, whose fault was it?

Was he going to say that it was my fault as the commanding tower? I thought he was going to say that for a moment, but

Its me, it was my fault.

Ike made a startling statement which left Shinohara stunned.

No, Im serious, I think that I was one of the reasons that we lost. To be honest, we could have won if our class was more unified. Class A is powerful, but we got a pretty good result against them.

Well, thats true, but hearing you say that is super surprising to me, Ike.

Dont just call me by my name, Shinohara.

You do that to me, so this way it evens out.

Although they occasionally spoke about mundane topics, they returned back to reviewing what happened this past year in the end.

Next year, I want to try harder. In both academics and sports.

Seriously? I dont think you can stick with this though.

I wont be able to do it perfectly, but I really do want to.

It seemed like he really had put some thought into that statement.

Im curious, why?

Because of Ken and Haruki.

Until recently, a trio of friends known as the three idiots were in our class.

I remembered when I first came to this school, I was close with that little group, but left soonly afterwards.

A more suitable description of events would be that I was kicked out by them.

That guy Kens obviously not suited for it, but hasnt he been studying a ton recently? Hes been listening in class, and I thought he was just pretending but has he actually turned into someone who has half a brain?

His grades have improved as well.

Yeah. His grades have been getting better and better, and hes already amazing at sports. I already know that I cant win against him in any category.

Werent your grades better than his at the start?

If you compare Ike with the current Sudo, in both academics and athletics, Sudo would have the upper hand.

That guy hes probably going to get even stronger next year.

On one hand, he was happy because of the growth of someone close to him, but on the other, he was scared of the possibility of being left behind.

And the biggest reason for this fear was.

If I go on like this, the next candidate to be expelled will be me.

Ike

The lower your grade was, the more likely you would be the next to drop out.

After seeing Yamauchi, who had his own fair share of problematic behaviour, drop out, he began to realise that he might be next.

Dont laugh, its not like me to say these kinds of things.

Although its true that this isnt like youIm the same.

Shinohara wasnt someone with excellent grades, nor was she a person with great merit.

Although their gender separated them, they both had a similar status.

I dont laugh at guys who want to work hard.

Shinohara nodded her head resolutely towards Ike while saying this.

Ill work harder next year. I wont lose to you!

Im not even afraid of losing to you.

You could say that Ike and Shinoharas relationship had progressed here.

In the future, they might even inspire other students to work harder.

If someone walked ahead, the others would follow. Making use of this mutual relationship was important.

Look, Shinohara.

Hm?

Ike, who was sitting next to me, suddenly turned into a different kind of serious.

This- look, I have something to tell you, so will you listen to me?

Whats this, why are you being so serious?

Err, how do I say this Our relationship right now is kind of like friends who constantly argue with each other, but.umm

Hiyori and I looked at each other.

It was precisely because this wasnt our business that we had a better understanding of what those words meant than she did.

Maybe a new couple would be born here.

That would be the most obvious development based on what was happening right now.

Will you-

Ah!

Shinohara loudly interrupted just when Ike was about to say it.

Although this was an open area, the campus was a small place. No matter where it was, people would notice their surroundings.

Shinohara, who was looking at Ikes direction, finally noticed we were here, sitting next to him.

Ike turned his head towards the source of Shinoharas shock.

And he jumped up in surprise as soon as his eyes met mine.

Ahh, Ayanokouji!

Because he was about to confess, his reaction to seeing me was pretty exaggerated.

What are you What are you doing here?!

What? Why cant I be at the caf? Is there a problem?

Even, even if theres nothing wrong with you being here, you should have still said hi to me! You didnt even say anything, youre too sneaky!

No, in this situation, greeting him would have made things worse.

He also said I was sneaky but we were here first.

Were you listening to our conversation?

What were you two talking about just now?

I reversed the direction of the questioning and asked Ike a question of my own, who hurriedly looked away.

No-nothing.

Shinohara, who was listening to us, changed the subject.

Hmm, are you and Hiyori-san on a date?

It seemed like I wasnt the only one who could ask those sorts of questions.

Of course, after seeing the two of us here alone drinking coffee, such a question wasnt a surprise.

It isnt like that. What about you?

No, no, I dont have that sort of relationship with Ike.

Shinohara quickly rejected that notion.

Ike quickly intervened, perhaps not liking what she said.

Yes, yes, Ayanokouji, dont misunderstand, okay? Who would want to date someone as ugly as her!

Huhh?? Whos the ugly one here?!

Its you, obviously!

No, no, no, why are they arguing now?

The two of them stood up, ruining the pleasant atmosphere the caf had before, and glared at each other.

Argh! Youre pissing me off.

Thats my line. Im the one who took time out of my break for you today!

Huh? Huh? Huh? I had no other choice, so I asked you.

What! Thats disappointing.!

I thought the two of them would sit down eventually, but somehow I lost track of where they went as they continued arguing.

This was so close to being the birth of a new couple, but there was a plot twist.

We dont need to worryright?

Hiyori was also slightly affected by how suddenly the situation had changed from just now and said that quietly.

I dont know

They could only blame themselves for having the misfortune to sit next to a classmate.

Hopefully theyll make up and continue developing their relationship.

What were you saying just now?

Oh that, yes, yes. Although that was anadventure, its similar to what they were saying just now.

Similar? I was taken aback when she said that.

Was it related to how Ike was going to confess? Such thoughts flashed through my mind, but they were immediately rejected.

I have something to ask you regarding the end of year examination.

Ike and Shinohara did indeed talk about the end of year exam.

What do you want to ask me?

I apologise if Im wrong, but Ill ask this bluntly. Are you the one who changed Ryuuen?

Hiyori gazed at me with eyes that were filled with curiosity without a trace of malice.

Thinking back to when we first met, she always had a keen insight.

Normally, my response would be to ask what you meant by that.

Pretending to have nothing to do with this was the best route I could have taken.

The reason why I didnt do that was because her eyes were filled with conviction.

Yes. But, since its you Im asking, I dont think I need to elaborate for you to understand.

Changed Ryuuen.

Generally speaking, most people after hearing that would be shaking their heads in confusion.

The people who didnt have that kind of reaction either had some sort of understanding of what happened, or was the one who caused the change.

Why do you think that?

I asked Hiyori what her reasoning was instead of denying it.

I needed a clear answer for why she believed that was the case.

I just put the pieces of the puzzle together. Ryuuen-kun had always targeted your class. But he suddenly stepped down from his position during his targeting of Class D. Apparently, this was due to Ishizaki-kuns taking him down, but no matter how I think about it, it still seems like a cover-up. After I tried contacting Ryuuen-kuns close associates, Ishizaki-kun and Ibuki-san, about Ryuuen-kun himself, I became sure of it.

Hiyori seemed to have used many strategies behind my back.

And because of that, she became suspicious of Ryuuens retirement.

If this upsets you, I apologise. Ive been nervous this whole day because I had to reveal what I knew to you. Because Im afraid that getting too involved with this would anger you. No matter what the truth is, one glance at you tells me that you dont want to talk about it.

So you reveal this to me even after knowing what you were getting into.

This was entirely different from the everyday chitchat you would hear. It was a decision made after careful consideration.

If we cant be friends after this Ill definitely regret it. If I cant talk to you like this anymore, I will definitely regret what I did.

If that was the case, she should have kept this to herself.

But, even so, she still said what she said.

I thought that if I didnt look into this any deeper, we couldnt have developed any further.

What kind of developments?

After hearing the question, Hiyori opened her mouth, as if she was surprised by her own words.

Yeah I dont really know what Im saying myself.

Saying that, Hiyori had a puzzled expression.

Can I ask if youve heard about the battle between Class B and our class?

I just know the results.

I didnt know the details of what happened.

Hiyori changed the topic and started talking about how they got the win.

I see. Normally, that would be considered a problematic approach

Thats true, Ryuuens style of fighting raises many questions. But it was a necessary evil for our class to get promoted. Do you think its a cunning approach?

I wont deny this, at the very least.

Even if it couldnt be praised, and even if it was criticized behind their back, it still brought victory to their class. People like that were needed in society. If you were going to fight in a way that was going to be looked down upon by everyone else, you had to have indomitable mental strength.

Its just that this approach is similar to crossing a very dangerous bridge. Class B will have their suspicions. However, I dont think they can find any concrete evidence since we sneaked around the surveillance cameras installed everywhere

This school was equipped with many surveillance cameras.

It wasnt only the school building, Keyaki mall and its surroundings were also under surveillance.

But that didnt apply to everywhere. Toilets, dormitory rooms and the karaoke rooms dont have surveillance cameras, of course.

If Class B had doubts about what happened in the previous exam, they would already be investigating it. However, they would probably not find anything of use and would be hard for them to investigate further.

Those were 5 beautiful wins, so cant you consider it a perfect strategy?

Beautiful? I dont think so. Actually, I think its better to call that strategy extremely flawed.

What do you mean? That it was possible to get 6 or more wins?

5 wins is already really good. Actually, I think we were too greedy. Because Ryuen-kun had to adopt a very dangerous strategy to get those wins.

Hiyori reviewed and analysed her class in the last exam.

Then she also told me how they won.

Although its fine to place continuous pressure on Class B students, targeting their bodies to weaken them was a bad move. Although this method was used because Class B had so many kindhearted students, even they would not tolerate this.

After hearing that, I felt the same as Hiyori did.

I knew that this girl lived a completely different life from me.

Our existence should have nothing in common.

However, there were some similarities in our thoughts and our ideas.

Because of this, doubts started to creep up.

So before Ryuuen employed his strategy, you already had knowledge of it, and you didnt try to stop him?

Do you think hell listen to what I say?

Compared to Ishizaki or Ibuki, Hiyoris suggestion may hold more value to Ryuuen, but it would probably not be listened to anyway.

It was unlikely that he would listen to her, and instead would sneer at her suggestions.

True. So, how do you think Ryuuen can be stopped?

I wanted to know what she was thinking for her to act.

Perhaps Hiyori already understood that intuitively. That understanding was why she decided to act today.

By someone similar in power to him No, by the criticisms from someone even more powerful than him.

Ryuuen would not take advice from anyone. However, if this advice was coming from someone Ryuen acknowledged, then it was another matter. So thats why she was telling all this to me.

Hiyori, can you help me pass on a message?

I decided to not answer her directly.

Because I reckoned I didnt need to. This was enough.

If it was another student, then it was a different story, but Hiyori wasnt the kind of person to use this situation to make things difficult for me.

Because she understood that there was a reason why Ryuuen, who identified me as the leader of Class D, didnt expose me publicly.

What is it?

Hiyori, with her unchanging attitude, gently looked at me.

Tell Ryuuen that if it were me, I would have been able to secure more than 5 wins, using a better method. Please pass that on to him.

-Okay, I understand. Ive memorised your message, and Ill pass it on for you.

As if she was expressing gratefulness, she held her hands together, closed both her eyes and smiled.

It seems like in addition to Ishizaki and Ibuki, Ryuuen also had other good allies.

If Hiyori were able to easily control those 3 people from going out of control, then she would become an even more dangerous opponent.

And just like this, Hiyori ended the conversation about the end of year exam.

So

Normally, we would already have parted, but the most important thing would come after this.

If anything catches your eye, feel free to take it back and read them.

She opened her bag again and took the books out.

We originally met up to talk about these books.

Can I? The books borrowed under your name though?

Ive already gotten permission from a teacher. Although its not ideal, its fine as long as I returned it on time.

Because Hiyori was a top student who always went to the library, it wasnt surprising that she got special treatment.

And after weve discussed everything there was to discuss about the book, drank our tea and said our goodbyes

It seems that I should change my evaluation of her.

Until today, Ive only regarded her as a student from the same year. Maybe if I went further, she was a friend with mutual interests.

Soon after Hiyori left, I met up with Kei, who was also at Keyaki mall.

What do you want?

Kei, who appeared in front of me, looked quite unhappy as she spoke.

How about sitting down first?

I urged her to sit on the seat which Hiyori had sat on, but Kei refused after just glancing at it, looking at it as if it were trash.

Rumours about us would circulate if anyone saw us sitting together and drinking tea.

She said this while looking into the distance.

Even if a third party was looking at this scene, it wouldnt look like we were talking.

Is there a problem with those rumours?

Thats a huge problem! Even if you just casually interact with the opposite sex, rumours would start immediately, shouldnt you know this already? You dont understand this situation at all.

Put simply, this was precisely what I was doing, casually interacting with the opposite sex.

So, what do you want?

Sorry, I forgot. Ill contact you when I remember.

I had already done what I needed to do with Kei.

What the hell? This is such a mess. Im going back

After sighing in disbelief, Kei turned away.

I watched her walk away without attempting to stop her.

Its not hard to see why she was in a bad mood.

Because I deliberately upset her.