"Good morning, Ayanokōji-kun."
After finishing my al and passing through the lobby, I found Sakayanagi sitting alone on a sofa.
"Good morning. You look a bit sleepy."
She seed to be a bit out of it, so I probed her. She nodded without denying it.
"Yes. It seems I'm not good at sharing a room, so I couldn't sleep well. I decided to take a short break after I had a light al."
Even if she wasn't exactly dozing off, closing her eyes might've had so effect.
"I see. There's no guarantee that you'll be able to relax even if you return to your shared room."
"Usually, I get eight hours of sleep a day. It seems I'll struggle for a few days."
Considering her personality, it was possible that she slept exactly eight hours.
"Did you get along with your group mbers?"
"I don't think there's a need to get used to them, but I'm in charge of Class A. Without doing anything, they approach , so I'm not having trouble getting into conversations with them."
It seed she wasn't having any problems in that regard, so that was good.
"How about you? Are you having any problems with sharing a room with unfamiliar people?"
"Well, I'm having a good ti."
"Ayanokōji-kun, you're in the sa group as Hashimoto-kun and Morishita-san. How is Hashimoto-kun doing?"
"He's acting as usual, but he seed to be scared of sothing."
"Speaking of him, there's a strange rumor going around. Sothing about him betraying the class. I'd appreciate it if you could warn him to be careful."
"I don't think a warning would help."
"Hehe."
Sakayanagi laughed a little, but she didn't seem as confident or relaxed as usual.
"Are you getting along with your group?"
"This isn't a special exam, just an exchange eting, so I'm not doing anything special."
"That's a bit different from the information I got. Hashimoto said you'd aim to win in any way."
"You're not usually one to take things at face value, Ayanokōji-kun. It's probably just one of the excuses he used to have you scout ."
Hashimoto's statent might have been a bit exaggerated, but it wasn't completely off the mark.
"Certainly, right after Masumi-san left, there was unexpected damage. You know that too, Ayanokōji-kun. But, I won't dwell on it for long."
Sakayanagi answered with such composure.
"If there's a reason why I didn't do anything at this exchange eting, it might be because I'm focusing on identifying soone who can beco my new hands and feet."
Indeed, Kamuro had been a significant presence as an assistant until recently.
It was certain that her absence would make it difficult to move.
"The person I keep close to must be soone I can trust as much as possible."
"What about Kitō?"
"His loyalty is unmatched in the class, but naturally, I'm reluctant to involve soone of the opposite sex. Yet, even among the girls, no suitable candidate has erged."
The only girls in Class A that I interacted with were Yamamura and Morishita. Both of them had their strengths, but they weren't suitable for taking care of Sakayanagi.
"Have you decided on a successor?"
"Not yet. So I'm expecting to be on my own for a while. I am prepared to accept this as a consequence of my own misjudgnt."
It seed more like she wasn't seriously looking for a replacent, rather than that she couldn't find one.
It might've been an exaggeration to call it a punishnt for losing Kamuro, but she seed to be choosing to live a life of inconvenience for a while.
That was also Sakayanagi's choice, but there was another problem that needed to be resolved.
Suddenly, I felt a presence behind and turned around to see Kitō approaching with a scary (as usual?) look on his face.
"Good morning."
"...There doesn't seem to be any problems."
Ignoring my greeting, Kitō spoke those words to Sakayanagi.
"There is no problem at all. Thank you for your concern."
Watching their exchange, I understood that Kitō had approached Sakayanagi out of concern for her.
At a ti when she was unstable after losing Kamuro, not only would it be reasonable to be sensitive to contact from Hashimoto, but from foreign existences outside the class as well.
"Don't take it the wrong way, Ayanokōji-kun."
"I understand. It's probably best to be suspicious right now."
"Good morning!"
As I was confronting Sakayanagi and Kitō, Amasawa slid into the gap between us.
"Good morning, Amasawa-san. You seem to be in good spirits this morning."
"Being energetic is one of my strengths, you know."
Kitō stepped back from Sakayanagi a bit, but kept his mouth shut so as not to interrupt the conversation.
"I thought I'd give you a little encouragent before the second day of the exchange eting starts. It seems like Ayanokōji-senpai has been winning all along, but... you lost three tis on the first day, Arisu-senpai. I'm worried that you might be in a pinch already."
"Unfortunately, I am not in command this ti. I have left it all to the third-year."
"Hmm? So if you lose, it can't be helped? I was hoping for a little bit of interaction with other years this ti, as it's a valuable opportunity."
"There's no need to set limitations within constraints. If you wish to challenge , I am always ready to accept, so please rest assured."
Ignoring the exchange eting, Sakayanagi conveyed that she was ready to take on any challenge at any ti.
However, upon hearing this, Amasawa laughed it off instead of getting excited.
"You're bluffing. I've heard that you lost in the previous special exam and ended up at the bottom."
She seed to have thoroughly collected information about the second-year students and confronted Sakayanagi without hesitation.
And then, the mont Amasawa tried to touch Sakayanagi as if to tease her, Kitō grabbed her wrist rcilessly, demonstrating his role as a shield.
"What are you doing, Kitō-senpai? Isn't this sothing you should do to Ryūen-senpai or soone?"
She portrayed herself as a weak woman, but Kitō didn't loosen his grip.
"Whether it's Ryūen or anyone else, I'll act if necessary. Of course, I won't choose the ans to do so. Be prepared for that."
Kitō made such a statent against Amasawa, who was smiling but showing hostility.
"You're like a knight protecting a princess, but it's interesting. I don't mind even if you're violent against a girl... Maybe I went too far with my joke."
Amasawa apologized, indicating that she had no real intention of doing anything. As soon as Kitō loosened his grip, she backed away.
"I'll play with you again next ti. Please be ready to give it your all, Arisu-senpai!"
Amasawa hopped away, turning around and waving her hand several tis.
"The calm atmosphere has been ruined."
"Maybe so."
After a little bit of that exchange, I decided to leave.
I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to Sakayanagi by hanging around too much.
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