During dinner, I decided to act. I say 'act' but all I'm doing here is trying to work out the situation on the girls' side. Because the fact that Ichinose and Shiina are in the sa group caught my attention. It would be best if I can work out what's going on with the other groups. As for Kei, she's having dinner in the sa spot as the previous days to make it easier for to approach her. Even though I ordered no such thing. How reliable of her. On the other hand, I had been randomly picking empty seats and didn't tie myself down to one location for als. That's because I chose to avoid making open contact with Kei, just in case. There aren't many students who are aware of the relationship between , Ryuuen plus a few other Class D students, vice president Kiriyama and Kei.
Besides, there's also an enemy within I need to watch out for. I checked the ti and took a seat near Kei. And as I began thinking of a way to make her aware of my presence— "hnn—". Kei greeted with a squeak? I was greeted by sothing along the lines of that. Looks like Kei noticed coming over, despite the fact that she had been chatting with her friends. If so, I should just patiently wait until she's rid herself of the nuisance. Kei continued eating dinner leisurely and manipulated her friends into leaving with the excuse of returning to their room early. I had been considering postponing our converation if it ant another student might barge in during the middle of it, or if her friends had chosen to stay but it looks like she's succeeded in manipulating them.
Eventually, there's no one left around us who'd pay attention to either of us and so our conversation started.
Of course, if soone ca our way this conversation would instantly be cut short though.
"So? Finally feel like relying on on the third day?"
"That's about right. There's far too little information on the girls."
"Well, it can't be helped right? For soone with a communication disorder like you, there are only a few girls you could possibly make contact with."
She gave the cold shoulder right off the bat.
Of course, if that's sothing Kei can take advantage of to maintain our relationship then that's a cheap price to pay but I felt like bullying her. Just a bit.
"Then even without my advice, you can overco this special exam?"
"O-Of course. Who do you think I am?"
"I see. Then there's nothing to fear."
"...later, at least analyze my situation to see if there's any danger or not, ok?"
Perhaps she felt anxious at that, since Kei said that to .
"For now, let's hear it starting from the partitioning of the girls' groups."
"Ahh, before we talk about that there's sothing that's been bugging ."
"Let's keep it brief."
If the conversation between the two of us takes too long, there may be students who'd grow suspicious.
"It's sothing pretty important...or more like, what's going on with that Ryuuen guy?"
"Are you concerned?"
"I an, yeah. It's beco a topic even among the girls. Why that guy stopped being the leader but it doesn't look like anybody knows the truth though."
"Being as ek as a lamb, that expression doesn't quite fit Ryuuen but right now it looks like he's acting quite mature."
"Does that an your chastisent worked?"
"Chastisent, eh?"
Behind Kei's tough words lies her vulnerable side, occasionally showing itself. Her curiosity about him probably stems from her anxiety which itself resulted from the fact that Ryuuen's seen her at her weakest.
"Don't worry about Ryuuen. He won't act carelessly. At the very least, I can say that he won't do anything to Kei from now on."
I said so to reassure her. However, I didn't get a response from Kei. I had every intention of being cautious, so perhaps it's because soone ca? That's what I had assud but that doesn't seem to be the case. I imdiately grasped the situation.
"...sorry, that was nothing."
She tried to deceive with that.
"That didn't seem like nothing, Kei."
"I-I'm telling you it's nothing."
"Is that true, Kei?"
"...hold it right there. You're doing it on purpose!"
She didn't turn around, but she said so threateningly.
Maybe I bullied her a tad bit too much.
"Ahh, mou. Really, I shouldn't have given you permission to call by my first na......"
"You're the one who called out here in the first place though."
"Yeah. That can't be helped."
More importantly, if we're done talking about Ryuuen then I'd like to move onto business. Although we're blending in with the hustle and bustle, if soone familiar with us happens to stumble upon this scene, they'd grow suspicious of the relationship between us.
"For the record, I've gathered as much information as I possibly could...can I talk about it?"
"Yeah."
"Just so you know, I couldn't get information on every single group like you wanted to."
"I know. I'm not expecting all that from you."
"That's a really irritating way of saying it. Even soone like you wouldn't know which group everyone belongs to, right?"
"Maybe. I wonder."
"...what, surely you aren't saying you've morized all of that, are you?"
"I never said that."
"What group does Class B's Shibata-kun belong to?"
"A Class B-focused group led by Kanzaki."
"What about Class A's Tsukasaki-kun?"
"He's also like that. He belongs to a Class A-focused group established by a student nad Matoba."
"Th-Then what about Suzuki-kun?"
"The person who goes by that na was assigned to a different small group."
"So you HAVE morized it all!"
"Just the people whose nas I know. But if I can see their faces, I can tell which group which student belongs to."
The one thing I must thank this special exam for is that it made decide to morize the nas of all 1st year students. By the ti this exam's over, I'm sure I'll be able to match each na with a face with near 100% accuracy. As long as I haven't overlooked anyone or misunderstood anything, that is.
"Haa...what exactly did you have to do to get such a good mory? Are you perhaps the four-eyed nerd-kun type?"
Unfortunately, I don't quite get what Kei is saying.
"More importantly, let's get down to business. What's going on with Sakayanagi and Kamuro's group?"
"The two of them are in the sa group composed of three classes with nine from Class A. Class A's the first to assemble, you see."
I received such an explanation from Kei. Just like the Class A boys, they also went with the sa strategy of assembling right off the bat, huh? But they settled for nine rather than twelve, eh?
"A three class composite ans that soone's been left out. Or perhaps Sakayanagi did not let them join?"
"They didn't accept anyone from Class B in so they were rejected from the very start. They said sothing about Ichinose-san not being trustworthy and what not. Of course, the one who said that was Kamuro-san instead of Sakayanagi-san though."
"Not trustworthy, huh?"
"I an, any student from another class isn't trustworthy by default but Ichinose-san's the only one called out by na that way. But isn't that strange? I've heard how popular she is."
If we have to na just one 1st year student from another class who's trustworthy then without a doubt I would have nad Ichinose too. Of course, if it's the other classes doing the naming then there'd be quite a lot of students naming Kushida. Anyway, Ichinose should be either number one or two when it cos to being the most trustworthy student in our school year. However, the reward will be smaller if the group is made up of the minimum number of people from three classes. A strategy where there's no total victory. But at the sa ti also a strategy where there's no total defeat.
"Unfair, isn't it? Class A should've just looked after themselves. They were very bullish during group formation."
"I suppose so."
A solid and safe strategy. No doubt about it, Sakayanagi must have been the one who drafted this plan. It's surprising that soone as aggressive as her would choose to adopt a defensive strategy like this.
"So? What should I do next? Should I try sothing?"
"Tricks won't really fly in this special exam. But there are a few people I'd like you to keep an eye on."
I told her that and nad several people who are likely to beco the key players.
"Hnn, sounds pretty tough but I'll give it a try."
Obediently following the orders issued to her. That's Kei's strong point.
"But what's up with this exam? Are stuff like manners and morals really that necessary?"
"I wonder. If I have to put this in terms of a story, then it might be sothing of a MacGuffin."
"Ehh? Maguga——"
"I'm not talking about a mug cup, you know."
"I-I knew that. So? What's this all about?"
She didn't seem like she had the faintest idea.
"It's an important 'sothing' for the characters but it's not sothing vital for the story itself. That's what it ans."
"I didn't get any of that. I know Kiyotaka's smart so explain that in layman's terms already."
"What I'm saying is that while things like manners and morals may be necessary, they aren't important in and of themselves."
The ti allocated for dinner is almost over and students are beginning to scatter.
"But this exam—might get a little stormy."
"Stormy...what do you an? Does that an if things go the way Kiyotaka predicted, sothing terrible's going to happen?"
"Relax. At the very least I can say no harm will co to you."
This ti around, the storm won't be hitting the 1st years. I grabbed my tray and stood up.
"If I need you again, I'll let you know."
"Roger."
After our little back-and-forth, I decided to returned to the shared room.
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