The sumr exams were just around the corner. I left the dorm a little later than usual.
"Finally, you're here, Hikigaya! Look at that!"
As soon as I arrived at the classroom, Ishizaki rushed up to with a frantic expression.
"What's going on?"
"Your seat—there's a new desk in front of yours!"
The seat in front of mine should have been empty ever since Manabe was expelled during the class vote, but now, a new desk had been placed there.
It wasn't just Ishizaki who was worked up—the entire class was fixated on the change. Maybe it was also because Ryūen hadn't arrived yet. Like , he probably delayed his arrival to avoid being bombarded with questions about this.
Anticipating that I'd be interrogated if I stayed put, I quickly made my way to my seat.
"Another one of your sches?"
Ibuki, sitting next to , gave a suspicious look.
"That's harsh. Stuff like this is obviously Ryūen's doing. And what do you an, another?"
"...Just a hunch?"
"Don't casually accuse people based on a hunch."
I guess Ibuki's the only one in this class who'd suspect .
Amid the lingering unrest, Ryūen finally showed up, but at the sa ti, Sakagami-sensei arrived, making it impossible for anyone to question him.
After confirming that everyone was present, Sakagami-sensei began speaking.
"Glad to see everyone's here. I'd like to start horoom now, but first, there's sothing I need to tell you all. ...Co in."
The classroom door opened, and Katsuragi, who had transferred from Class A the day before, stepped inside.
"Quiet down."
The entire class—except for Ryūen and —erupted in murmurs, but Sakagami-sensei swiftly silenced them.
"This is Katsuragi Kōhei, who transferred from Class A yesterday after using 20 million private points. Katsuragi, please introduce yourself briefly."
The word transfer, spoken so casually by the teacher, must have shocked every student. Twenty million points, moving from Class A—there were plenty of surprising elents, but for now, everyone focused on Katsuragi's words.
"I'm Katsuragi Kōhei. Ryūen invited , so I've transferred to Class B. I know you have no reason to trust , but I'll do my best to contribute to the class."
*Clap clap.*
While no one else reacted, only Ryūen and I applauded. The sound of our hands clapping a few tis echoed through the silent classroom.
"Katsuragi, your desk is in front of Hikigaya's. Take your seat."
"Yes."
"Now, let's begin horoom."
As Katsuragi sat down, the usual morning routine began.
........
The first person questioned about Katsuragi's transfer was, of course, Ryūen. In our grade, hardly anyone could gather 20 million private points. The fact that Ryūen was even among the candidates made it inevitable that he'd be interrogated.
After horoom, Ryūen explained the situation and managed to convince the class that, at the very least, this move would benefit them.
But that didn't erase their distrust of Katsuragi. Even now, during lunch break, no one approached him—instead, hushed whispers could be heard from a distance.
"Hey, Katsuragi, want to grab lunch at the cafeteria?"
"...What?"
Not just Katsuragi, but the entire class turned their eyes toward with mixed expressions.
"...Hikigaya, I don't need your pity. I have no complaints about my current situation."
"It's not pity. I just have sothing I want to talk to you about. Even if we were enemies before, we're allies now. No harm in eating lunch together, right?"
I wasn't approaching him out of sympathy.
"...I see."
Katsuragi hesitated for a mont, but eventually stood up. I took that as a yes.
"Let's go, then."
"Yeah."
We left the classroom under everyone's gaze—though, even outside, the stares were inevitable.
"By the way, Katsuragi, do you have any points left?"
"No. I handed all of mine to Ryūen for the transfer. Even then, we barely scraped together 20 million, so Ryūen probably only has about 30,000 left. From now on, it's mountain vegetable set als for ."
The mountain vegetable set was purchasable without points... but calling it delicious would be a stretch.
"...Then take this."
I pulled out my phone and transferred 100,000 points to Katsuragi's device.
"!...I can't accept this."
"You can pay back later. You're going to be a key player for the class. If you collapse from malnutrition and have to drop out of the exams, that'd be a disaster."
Plus, the next point distribution was still half a month away. Surviving that long without any points would be rough.
"Are you sure? There's nothing in it for you, Hikigaya."
Katsuragi lowered his eyes hesitantly.
"I've got points to spare, so use them however you want. We're classmates now—no need to be so formal."
"...Thanks, Hikigaya. I appreciate it."
He gave a slight bow in gratitude. 100,000 points was a lot, but Katsuragi was the type to honor his debts, so I wasn't worried.
"Want to treat you to lunch today, too?"
"No, that's going too far—"
"Heh, then I'll gladly take you up on that."
Just as Katsuragi was about to respond, Ryūen appeared behind us with a smirk.
"I wasn't offering to treat you, Ryūen."
"Don't be like that. I'm broke too, y'know?"
How blatant. Well, it'd be weird to treat Katsuragi but not Ryūen... Not that I was thrilled about it.
"...*Sigh*, stick to the cheap stuff."
"Heh. I'll go for the special set."
"That's the most expensive one."
Of course Ryūen wouldn't hold back. Resigned, the three of us headed to the cafeteria together.
"Katsuragi. You're teaming up with Ishizaki and Hiyori."
As we walked, Ryūen gave Katsuragi an order.
Hiyori had ntioned pairing with Ishizaki, but Ryūen had stopped them from submitting the group application. Had he been saving the slot, anticipating Katsuragi's transfer?
"Ishizaki and Shiina? Fine by , but what exactly am I supposed to do?"
"With Hiyori there, academics won't be an issue, but Ishizaki's an idiot. Adjust accordingly and aim for a decent rank. Figure out the rest yourself."
"...Understood."
In short, aim for a high rank while doing whatever he could on his own. Simple enough.
Still...
"Unusually considerate of you, Ryūen."
"...The hell?"
"Hm? What do you an?"
Ryūen glared, while Katsuragi looked at in confusion.
"Never mind."
Right now, Katsuragi wasn't accepted by the class. Given that he was forrly Class A's leader, that was understandable.
For Katsuragi to be welcod, he'd need a few close allies first—and Ishizaki and Shiina were perfect candidates.
Ishizaki was bold around strangers, but once he ward up to soone, he'd grow close fast. And Hiyori, kind as she was, would act as a natural buffer.
Ryūen's reasons for grouping them together were unclear, but there was no doubt he'd factored in Katsuragi's situation when making the call.
......
After school, I headed to a certain restaurant.
It was a popular spot among students, especially the girls. Naturally, I'd never been there before and had no intention of going—but earlier that afternoon, I had received an invitation from Amasawa.
The ssage said she wanted to have dinner together. I often ran into Amasawa by chance, but this was the first ti we'd made plans to et sowhere specific.
What's her angle?
From my perspective, Amasawa was an enigma. Her elusive personality, her lithe yet clearly trained physique—honestly, I couldn't figure her out at all.
One reason I accepted her invitation today was to get a better read on her.
"Ah, Senpai~! Over here!"
As soon as I entered the restaurant, I spotted Amasawa already seated at a corner table, offering a faint smile as she waved over.
"You got here first?"
"Duh. It'd be rude if I invited you and showed up late, y'know~?"
"Surprisingly polite of you."
"Rude much? I'm always polite with you, Senpai~"
Resting her chin on both hands, she tilted her head with catlike eyes.
"And yet you don't use honorifics with ."
"Oops, my bad. I just really don't wanna use formal speech with people I wanna get close to. Hope you don't mind~"
Most people do the opposite, but... I guess it's all in how you spin it.
"Anyway, let's order! I'm starving~"
"Wait, you haven't ordered yet?"
"Of course not. What's the point of eating together if I order first? I said that in the ssage, didn't I?"
Now that she ntioned it, her ssage did say she wanted to eat with ...
"Sorry, I didn't read it carefully."
"Ugh, worst. You didn't even properly read your cute kouhai's ssage?"
"Yeah, my bad."
Seriously, why did Amasawa latch onto like this? I still had no clue.
Since we were eating out, I wanted to pick sothing decent. The place seed to specialize in Italian, with a lot of dishes I didn't recognize.
"Senpai, you're really struggling, huh. That many things look good?"
"Nah, I usually just grab convenience store food instead of cooking. Places like this always trip up."
Truthfully, I was perfectly content with Hiyori's cooking. Once you've had her homade als, convenience store stuff just doesn't cut it anymore.
"Hmm~ So you just eat convenience store food, Senpai? Isn't that bad for you?"
"Don't worry. I buy salads and stuff too."
More importantly, I needed to focus on choosing sothing.
Amasawa twirled a lock of her glossy hair around her finger as she continued.
"Y'know... I'm actually pretty good at cooking."
"Oh. That so?"
"Yeah~ I can do both Western and Japanese, and I'm careful about nutrition and stuff."
"That's impressive."
"..."
What? Did I sound too indifferent? Amasawa puffed out her cheeks and glared.
"Sooo, wouldn't it make you super happy if the cute, amazing cook Ichika made you a proper al?"
"...I guess a little."
If I didn't play along, she'd probably get suspicious.
"Then, next ti, I'll co to your room and cook for you~!"
With a dazzling smile, she clenched her fists in excitent, but—
"N-No, that's too much trouble. I'll pass."
If I secretly let Amasawa into my room, Hiyori would definitely find out. She cleaned my room and everything. She'd sniff out any trace of Amasawa in seconds.
"No take-backsies~! It's already decided."
"That's tyrannical."
"I'm just worried about your health, Senpai! Unless... you've got a reason you don't want in your room? Ohhh, do you have, like, naughty stuff lying around?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then it's fine. Deal~!"
I'd been completely steamrolled. I still hadn't figured out how to handle Amasawa's pushy side.
"*Sigh*... Fine, but give a heads-up before you co."
"Uh-huh, uh-huh! I'll make you sothing super delicious~!"
Sohow, this had taken an unexpected turn. Well, it wasn't like Hiyori ca to my room every day. At most, maybe five or seven tis a week... Wait, that's actually a lot.
Is this really okay?
"Senpai? You're making a really weird face."
"It's nothing."
I glanced at Amasawa's cheerful smile before turning my attention back to the nu.
"..."
I still couldn't bring myself to trust her.
Not until I figured out the true intent behind the gaze she'd been fixing on ever since we got here.
........
Several dozen minutes after that, while enjoying a al and casual conversation with Amasawa, I returned alone to the dormitory. Amasawa had whined about wanting to go back together, but this ti, I made sure to refuse.
Turning the corner on the way back, I stopped in my tracks and suppressed my presence.
"Whoa—"
The person who had been tailing all the way from the restaurant earlier. I had let them follow until now, but this ti, I lay in wait and grabbed their shoulder to ensure they couldn't escape.
"Who are you? You've been following since the restaurant earlier, haven't you?"
The student raised both hands.
"...My apologies. I didn't an any harm."
"You're—Yagami, aren't you?"
The face that looked up belonged to Yagami Takuya from Class 1-B. For a mont, the thought of the White Room flickered through my mind.
"I have no hostility toward you. I deeply apologize for sothing as cowardly as tailing you."
Instead of making excuses, he bowed his head deeply in genuine remorse.
Our eyes inevitably t in the process, and I could sense guilt in his gaze.
"Enough with the apologies. Lift your head. More importantly, why did you follow ?"
Finally raising his head, Yagami began speaking as if pleading his case.
"To keep it brief, I'm in a leadership position in my class. Because of that, I wanted to discuss the possibility of forming an alliance with Class B, where you, Hikigaya-senpai, are."
"So you saw at the restaurant and decided to follow ?"
"Exactly. I was waiting for the right mont to approach you, but ti just slipped away."
It made sense—to an extent. But there were still too many unexplained points.
"I get what you're saying, but why ? I'm not the class leader."
If he wanted a connection to Ryūen, it didn't necessarily have to be . It wasn't as if he hadn't had chances to approach other Class B students before now.
"That's because I've heard rumors that Hikigaya-senpai is the second most capable in your class after the leader. You're Ryūen-senpai's right-hand man, right?"
I see. So it's because of that utterly unpleasant rumor.
"Even if it's for the sake of my class, I apologize for causing you discomfort."
Once again, Yagami bowed deeply.
According to what I'd heard from Takahashi, Yagami was known as an exemplary student even within his grade. He was also part of the student council, leaving a strong impression as a model student among the first-years.
But no matter how much of an honor student he might be, a White Room student could easily pull it off. They could beco whatever role they desired. That's exactly why my distrust refused to fade.
Well, whether Yagami was a White Room student or not, the current situation was perfect for unsettling .
"Hikigaya-senpai. I know this is presumptuous of , but could you please consider the alliance proposal along with Ryūen-senpai?"
"...Fine. I'll pass it along to Ryūen first, and we'll give it serious consideration."
"Thank you so much!"
Even if I agreed now, the final decision could always be made later.
"Then I'll be going. See you."
"Yes. I'll take my leave as well."
With a refreshing smile, he bowed yet again before walking away.
Yagami Takuya. That mont only heightened my wariness toward the student I was most cautious about in this school.
....
"Heh... Hahahaha!"
The student was laughing—with an expression no ordinary person could ever make.
"So you really did notice . Well, of course you would."
To this student, he was the target of many emotions.
"Still, I'm relieved you haven't changed at all. I thought maybe this school had dulled you... but really, nothing's different."
The student had confird it—his lack of change.
"I wonder when you'll finally realize it's . You probably suspect by now, but since you're not certain yet... I'll have to wait a little longer."
The student had been waiting all this ti.
"This school is interesting. The classes are boring, and the students are diocre... but the special exams—now those are fun."
The student laughed, carrying a mix of emotions.
"I was planning to stay quiet during the sumr exam... but now I'm not so sure."
The student was—
"I'm looking forward to the exam... Brother."
......
The opening ceremony of the first term passed by in the blink of an eye.
Leaving the school for the first ti in a year, we headed to the port. There, we boarded a massive cruise ship bound for an uninhabited island sowhere unknown. Tomorrow morning, the special exam would begin.
The students, who were to gather in their classrooms for a brief explanation, arrived as usual and waited for their horoom teacher to appear.
Just as the bell signaling the start was about to ring, Komiya, passing by my seat, called out to .
"Finally starting, huh? Gotta be honest, I'm not great at uninhabited island exams."
"They're pretty far removed from everyday life. Can't bla you."
"True. Well, the girls probably have it even worse, so I can't really complain as a guy."
Unlike the boys, the girls had their own unique challenges—this kind of exam wasn't exactly suited for them. Of course, the school would make accommodations, but it'd still be tough.
"Count on you, Hikigaya. You and Ryūen make the ultimate duo—our best shot at winning."
"I'll do what I can within reason."
At my response, Komiya chuckled lightly and returned to his seat. Soon after, the golden chi signaling the start of a new battle rang out, and the 40 students of Class 2-B took their seats.
When Sakagami-sensei entered the classroom, his expression was as stern as ever, with a heavy, tense atmosphere lingering around him.
"Now, we'll begin final confirmations. Also, if anyone is feeling unwell at this point, speak up now."
Sakagami-sensei turned on the monitor and tablets. Fortunately, no one in Class 2-B reported any health issues, so things proceeded smoothly.
"Good to see there are no problems."
After finishing the pre-departure checks, the monitor was turned off within minutes. Then, to gather attention, he lightly tapped the podium once with his palm.
"This isn't your first special exam. You've fought and overco challenges in this school for over a year now. But this exam won't be so easily conquered."
It was a warning—or perhaps advice—from the teacher.
A piece of guidance he could offer to Class 2-B, who were anything but complacent.
"I have just one request for all of you. If possible, I want every single one of you to return to this classroom again."
Sakagami-sensei's only wish was that this wouldn't be a one-way trip.
"Assemble on the field in ten minutes for roll call. Move out as soon as you're ready."
The special exam was finally beginning.
It was clear that this would be an even fiercer battle than before.
Representatives like Sakayanagi, Ichinose, and Horikita would be going all-out for first place.
And that wasn't all. Among the first-years alone, there were rising forces like Hōsen and Utodou, not to ntion formidable third-years like Nagumo and Kiryūin.
Then there was Kōenji, whose academic and physical potential remained an enigma, and Ayanokōji, whose moves were impossible to predict.
Who would seize the top spot two weeks from now?
Who would be forced to leave this school?
"Heh... Finally."
As we took our first steps forward, Ryūen fell into stride beside .
"You seem happy."
"Maybe so. Don't drag down."
"Didn't need to be told."
Though I hadn't voiced it until now, I fully intended to aim for the top—just like Ryūen.
"Let's go. Victory is ours."
"——Yeah."
Under the blazing sun, two shadows began to move.
A long, long sumr was about to begin.
=================================
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