Chapter 6: Invitation

Chapter 6: Invitation

Chapter 6:

Invitation

T HE PRELIMINARY BATTLE for the uninhabited island special exam was heating up all over the place more and more, day by day. There were now only a few days left in this preliminary period. The group-building process, which would be over in about a week’s time, had reached its climax, with more than 90 percent of the school’s students now part of groups made up of two or more people, therefore putting them into cooperative relationships where they were effectively sharing their lot with another. Students who had invited me to join them, like Ishizaki and Matsushita, eventually gave up on trying to recruit me as time went on.

That was perfectly natural though, because the longer they delayed in forming their own group, the more danger they would be putting themselves in. I wondered what the remaining students, now less than 10 percent of the student body, would decide to do by next Friday. Just as I was thinking about that, I received an e-mail. It was just after nine thirty in the morning on Saturday now. The sender of the message was none other than Ishizaki, from Class 2-B.

While I had thought to myself how I had been getting contacted by him a lot lately, I noticed that the content of his message seemed different than usual. It seemed like he wanted me to come to the café because Ryuuen was calling for me. The absence of the words “if possible” in his message seemed to suggest that this was a mandatory meeting, from the looks of it.

I could refuse of course, but then I supposed that Ishizaki would get the blame. I had plans to meet up with the Ayanokouji Group today, but fortunately enough, our meeting time was set for one in the afternoon. So doing something now shouldn’t create a conflict. After I had finished getting ready and left for Keyaki Mall, fifteen minutes had already passed. Considering that it had only taken me fifteen minutes to get ready, I figured that I should be able to make it time to meet with them.

The group-building process was now in its final stages, which meant that Ryuuen, who had been silent up until this point, was about to make his move. At this current point in time, Ryuuen had still not yet formed a group with anyone. It wasn’t as though there was no chance that he might try and recruit me, but in truth, I saw that as highly unlikely. While I kept that line of thinking in mind, I was curious to see what exactly he was going to talk to me about, aside from that.

While I was on my way over to Keyaki Mall, I ran into Kanzaki, who seemed to be on his way back from the convenience store. I saw two 2-liter bottles peeking out of a plastic bag that he was holding.

“You’re heading over to the mall at this hour?” asked Kanzaki.

“There’s not going to be any time to take it easy once the island exam starts, after all,” I replied.

I had a little time, so I came to a stop so that we could chat.

“It seems like your class is making a lot of progress in forming groups, but you’re still solo, huh?” he asked.

“Well, unlike the other students, I don’t have a lot of friends,” I answered.

I had thought I’d try and play things off with a joke, but Kanzaki remained stone-faced.

“I’m guessing that you are Horikita are essentially the reserve players meant to substitute in to help the students who are struggling in Class D, right? After all, exceptional people can get results no matter what group they’re in,” said Kanzaki.

I supposed that’s the only way that Kanzaki could see it, since he had a much higher opinion of me now and had been wary of me for a while now.

“I’m guessing that you’re taking on a similar role yourself then, Kanzaki, since you’re still alone yourself for the time being,” I replied.

Kanzaki, like me, hadn’t yet teamed up with anyone, and was still acting on his own in his class.

“Ayanokouji, Ichinose seems to place a lot of trust in you. Is it really okay for us to trust you?” he asked.

“If I say that you can trust me, would you?” I asked in return.

“I could consider it, at the very least,” he replied.

As the air around the plastic bottles in his bag cooled, water droplets appeared on the outside of the bottles from condensation. This midsummer heat, which easily exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, was bearing down on us without mercy.

“Even though our alliance has been called off, I don’t consider Ichinose an enemy,” I replied, telling Kanzaki the truth.

“That statement can mean different things depending on how you interpret it. Do you think of Class C as your enemy?” he asked.

I had thought that I could deftly fool him, but it seemed like Kanzaki’s wariness was several steps sharper than I had imagined.

“Kanzaki, what is it you want me to say?” I asked in return.

He seemed different from usual now. The vibe I was getting from him now seemed to suggest that he was in a hurry to do something. If I anticipated where he was coming from and what it was that he was trying to get out of me, then I could see what he was aiming for a little bit more.

“Are you trying to get some kind of statement out of me, and planning to make Ichinose hear it?” I asked.

“…You’re a lot sharper than Ichinose thinks… Well, no, you’re a sharper guy than both of us think. Far more. Since the first time we met, I had this strange feeling that there was something about you I couldn’t put my finger on. But now I can finally see it. You’re the one behind Class D’s rapid success,” said Kanzaki.

“Who can say?” I replied.

“In that case, I’m going to come out and say it. I want to ask you for your help. Ichinose trusts you quite a lot. Which is exactly why I want you to tell her that as she is now, she’s not good enough,” said Kanzaki.

When he took a step closer to me, closing the distance between us, a drop of water dripped out of the plastic bag and onto the ground.

“And you think Ichinose will change the way she thinks if I do that?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Sorry, but I can’t help with that. I would like to see how Ichinose handles things.”

“Meaning that you want to see us, your enemies, fall into ruin?” said Kanzaki.

“Well, I guess it’s not wrong for you to read into what I said that deeply, but…” I replied, trailing off.

I thought for a moment. No one knew at this point in time what fate awaited Ichinose, of course. However, when she did finally plummet to the bottom, then…

I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether I should tell Kanzaki what I was thinking, but quickly decided against it. The situation wouldn’t improve even if I did something unnecessary here, which I hadn’t taken into account. In fact, it would probably only lead to the introduction of an unnecessary foreign contaminant.

“Fundamentally speaking, each person has to do things for the sake of their own class. Isn’t that right?” I told him.

“…Yes, I suppose so. Asking you for help might have been an unfair move on my part,” said Kanzaki, seeming as though he was reflecting on what he had asked earlier.

I nodded my head in response.

“I had intended to come up with an answer on my own. But I thought that if I could avoid putting that into action, and if there was an easier option available, I could have taken that easy way out instead,” said Kanzaki, before walking back to the dormitory.

I’m sure that he was panicking because he didn’t actually have any leeway in his class anymore, but they did also say that a cornered rat will bite a cat. I’m sure that Kanzaki could also stand in our way as a formidable opponent in the upcoming special exam.

6.1

I ARRIVED AT THE CAFÉ in the mall a little ahead of the time we were supposed to meet. While I was finishing up paying for my drink, I saw two guys I’d normally never expect to see together seated by one another. One of them was Ryuuen, the very same person who had asked me to come here today. And the other was…

“You mentioned one more person would be coming. So you were referring to Ayanokouji then?” said Katsuragi Kouhei, from Class 2-A.

He directed his gaze toward me with a rigid expression on his face. I wouldn’t say that Ryuuen and Katsuragi were necessarily like oil and water, but the two of them were by no means on good terms with one another.

“What kind of meeting is this supposed to be, anyway?” I asked.

“What, you plannin’ on standin’ while we talk? Take a seat,” said Ryuuen, with an odd smirk on his face.

I did as Ryuuen had instructed, sitting down in an empty chair. There was a unique atmosphere in the air here, the likes of which I had never experienced before.

“I knew there was something different about you, compared to the average student, but it seems you have even more hidden talents than I imagined, Ayanokouji. To think you would get a perfect score on the mathematics test,” marveled Katsuragi, who I hadn’t spoken to since we started our second year, immediately bringing up my math score.

“Ku ku. Come now, Katsuragi, don’t admire him too much. That’s all ancient history,” said Ryuuen.

“Ancient history? You sure seem relaxed even though there’s an unexpectedly powerful enemy in your midst. Are you that exhilarated by defeating Ichinose and being promoted to Class B?” said Katsuragi.

“Save it. Ichinose is self-destructing all on her own. She ain’t even close to bein’ on my radar,” said Ryuuen.

Sure enough, this entirely unexpected pairing was already causing the mood to sour. Things were looking tense.

“…And? I’d like to know why you called me here,” said Katsuragi.

That confirmed Ryuuen was indeed the instigator of this meeting, so I waited along with Katsuragi for him to speak.

“What’re ya rushin’ me for? Go on, relax a little,” said Ryuuen.

“There’s no way I can relax. If people see me with you, that alone will cause me trouble,” said Katsuragi.

He was concerned about being seen by people around us, so it wasn’t strange that he was urging Ryuuen to get to the point. Even though it was the morning of a day with no classes, there were sure to be more than a few students watching. If students from our grade level saw us, they wouldn’t be able to hide their shock.

“What is Class A after in the next special exam?” asked Ryuuen.

“What are they after? The same thing that everyone is, surely,” said Katsuragi.

“Are you gonna try and grab all the Class Points yourself? Or somethin’ else? That’s the question. From what I can tell from OAA, you’ve mostly been formin’ groups with Class C. But looks like Kitou’s on his own. Plus, Ichinose, Shibata, and Sakayanagi bein’ together just smells fishy to me, no matter how ya look at it. You guys workin’ together?” asked Ryuuen.

I had been curious about that too. Aside from the group of three that Ryuuen had mentioned specifically, Hashimoto and Kamuro from Class A had formed a group with one of Class C’s best and brightest students, Ninomiya. Then, on top of that, there was the fact that the “One More” card, which Amikura had originally, was now in the hands of Hashimoto from Class A. I couldn’t imagine that was all mere coincidence.

“You’re free to interpret the situation however you wish, but I cannot confirm anything,” said Katsuragi.

“I ain’t looking for any of this diplomatic back-and-forth crap. Gimme some honest answers,” said Ryuuen.

“In that case, I’ll give you an answer that’s easy for you to understand. I do not intend to tell you a single thing,” said Katsuragi, clearly and decisively.

Even though Katsuragi and Sakayanagi had opposed each other, he naturally demonstrated that there was no way he was going to share confidential information about his class with Ryuuen, an enemy.

“It is only during the day on which the test begins that you will know how Sakayanagi intends to fight this battle. No one will know anything of her strategy until she says something herself. If you really must know, then you just have to ask her directly,” he added.

“Oh, so you don’t know simply because she doesn’t trust ya, huh?” said Ryuuen.

“That might be the case,” said Katsuragi.

As Ryuuen himself had said, information didn’t necessarily trickle down to Katsuragi. He had mentioned earlier that Katsuragi and Sakayanagi were at opposing ends, but actually, it was more that Katsuragi was the sole person in Class A who wasn’t part of Sakayanagi’s faction. That fact was so well-known that I didn’t even need to bother asking to check.

In any case, this whole conversation so far had been nothing more than the opening act.

“How the mighty have fallen, eh, Katsuragi? This time last year, you were a worthy playmate. But now you’re just a shadow of your former self. You’re the same as the rest of the garbage. Guess that’s just the end of the road for somebody whose faction lost out, huh?” said Ryuuen.

“If I recall, you got worked over by Ishizaki once yourself , ” Katsuragi fired back.

“Come on, don’t ya wanna crawl your way back up now too? I mean, that dude who was holding you back, Totsuka, is gone now, right?” prodded Ryuuen.

Suddenly, Katsuragi slammed his right fist down on the table. Yahiko had idolized Katsuragi. When Ryuuen mentioned his name, Katsuragi, who had remained calm up until this point, let his anger show through.

“If your goal was to make me angry, then you’ve succeeded, Ryuuen. Satisfied?” asked Katsuragi.

“What? Aw, still can’t get those widdle feewings out of your system? I’m kinda relieved,” said Ryuuen.

He clapped his hands together three times, giving Katsuragi a mocking round of applause. He then continued.

“Don’t ya think it’d be an interestin’ turn of events if we could get Sakayanagi expelled in the next special exam?”

“…What?” asked Katsuragi.

“If she’s gone, then Class A’s gonna be without a leader, obviously. If that happens, you can get to bein’ in charge,” said Ryuuen.

“I don’t know what it is you’re plotting, but that’s impossible. Supposing even if you managed to defeat her on the island somehow, she has ample Private Points, enough to save herself. And on top of that, if the situation called for it, she could use her Protection Point anyway,” argued Katsuragi.

Getting Sakayanagi expelled would be an extremely arduous task, considering she had funds and a Protection Point.

“Yeah, it’s true that if we’re gonna get her kicked out of school, we’re gonna need to hit her at least twice. Well, I’m just kiddin’ about the island exam thing, anyway. That was a joke. Survivin’ on the island’s gonna be about clawing your way up on your own power, not knockin’ down your enemies,” said Ryuuen.

I could he was starting to get closer to the main reason he’d set up this meeting, little by little.

“The rewards for first through third place would give me enough points to get within striking distance of Class A, but the rules are a bit tricky. So I thought I’d do a little something to take care of that beforehand,” said Ryuuen.

“And that’s why you called Ayanokouji and I here?” asked Katsuragi.

“You got it,” said Ryuuen.

Whatever this strategy was, Katsuragi wasn’t going to easily agree to go along with it. Though I was sure he had strong feelings about Sakayanagi, making an enemy of her would essentially mean defying Class A, which he was still a part of. Maybe it would have been a different story if this were happening at the start when Katsuragi and Sakayanagi were vying for supremacy in their class, but doing something of the sort at this juncture would only hurt him.

“Even so, I’m pretty curious ’bout why Ichinose teamed up with her. Did Sakayanagi manage to win her over with her smooth talk? Or was teamin’ up with an incompetent loser like Ichinose the only thing Sakayanagi could even think of? Whaddya think?” asked Ryuuen.

“I have no way of knowing, and it’s none of my business. And besides, if Sakayanagi heard what you just said, I’m sure she’d throw it right back in your face. There aren’t exactly that many people willing to work with you, after all. You’re a problem child,” said Katsuragi, responding in a manner that didn’t show antagonism towards Sakayanagi, but was rather like an ally of hers.

“Well, in that case, I’d say that everyone here is a ‘problem child,’” said Ryuuen.

All three of us were simply acting alone right now. None of us had grouped up with anyone. However, why would Ryuuen deliberately try to aggravate Katsuragi? No matter how much Ryuuen tried to stoke his feelings of hostility toward Sakayanagi, it was obvious from the way things were going that Katsuragi wasn’t going to betray her that easily. Or perhaps… Was Ryuuen doing this to confirm once and for all that Katsuragi wouldn’t sell Sakayanagi out? Just to be sure?

“All right, Katsuragi. Y’know, the way you’re so pointlessly honest and upright, it ain’t bad,” said Ryuuen.

“You won’t get anything from trying to agitate me, Ryuuen,” said Katsuragi.

At this point, Ryuuen must have finally decided to get down to business, for he adjusted himself in his seat, sinking back into his chair.

“One of the most important things in this upcoming special exam is that we don’t get any of our Class Points snatched away by anybody else. I ain’t exactly hopin’ to let the first-years or third-years line their pockets with our points. That’d suck. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, I figure I need to have at least some allies, right? Like a minimum number of ’em. Because you wouldn’t have enough power to win it all alone, with just what you got in your own class,” said Ryuuen.

He had contacted us to make a proposal at a time when everyone was almost finished with forming groups.

“If I got roped into a group with some small-timers from my class, well, let’s just say I’d rather fight it out on my own. Be better that way. But if I could pull in some talent from outside my class, then that’s a different story,” said Ryuuen.

He flashed an unsettling smile and stared at Katsuragi.

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Are you actually saying that you want me to work with you?” asked Katsuragi.

“Not just you. The guy zonin’ out over there while listenin’ to our conversation, too. Ayanokouji,” said Ryuuen.

His gaze now fell in my direction.

“…Me too?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t call ya out here for no reason, would I?” snapped Ryuuen.

I’d though it unlikely something like this would happen. I had honestly never expected he’d be asking me to work with him.

“I refuse. Even though Class A would be getting a portion of the rewards as well, I have no intention of working with someone like you,” said Katsuragi.

“Well, now that’s quite a hasty decision. You ain’t gonna hear everythin’ I have to say?” said Ryuuen.

“There’s no need. But… Why did you ask Ayanokouji to come? I’d like to hear the reason for that,” said Katsuragi.

“Whaddya mean, why?” asked Ryuuen.

“It was surprising that he got a perfect score in the mathematics section of the test on the special exam we were given at the end of April. It is certainly true that he possesses remarkable ability, I recognize that. However, can you really say that he’s necessary for you to win?” asked Katsuragi.

Although Katsuragi had immediately refused to cooperate with Ryuuen, he did seem to harbor some doubts about his strategy. It seemed he remained unconvinced about its efficacy, considering that he had formulated something with me in mind.

“What, you’re thinkin’ that I came up with some kinda half-baked plan or somethin’?” asked Ryuuen.

“Yes, I do. By bringing Ayanokouji into this, that means that you split the Class Point rewards three ways. If you’re going to invite me—someone from Class A—anyway, you could say it would be a wiser course of action for you to include Kitou in the group. If it is absolutely necessary for you to include people from three different classes, Kanzaki from Class C is still on his own. I would say that he takes priority over Ayanokouji, at the very least,” said Katsuragi.

He proposed suitable candidates for Ryuuen to consider, almost as though he were an advisor.

“I guess someone who doesn’t know wouldn’t understand. Figures. But I’m positive I made the right choice. Ain’t that right, Ayanokouji?” said Ryuuen.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I shrugged my shoulders to express that I didn’t understand the reason why I had been invited here, echoing Katsuragi’s sentiment.

“Dude, come on. Your acting sucks. Knock it off already. You’re the one who beat me down and shut me up before, after all,” said Ryuuen, without any care for what was convenient for me in this situation.

Although what he’d just said could have been taken as a joke, Katsuragi wasn’t going to stop with such a simple conclusion.

“He shut you up? …Is that really true?” he asked, turning to me and then back to Ryuuen, looking to confirm what the truth of the matter was.

“Yeah man, I got my ass beat pretty bad. Even decided to quit school altogether back then, thanks to that,” said Ryuuen.

Now that Katsuragi had heard that much, he was probably starting to connect the dots in his mind, linking this to other things he knew about. If he connected what he just heard to the fact that Ryuuen had disappeared from the stage for a time, then it would be easy for him to imagine that it was true.

“Admit it, Ayanokouji. Even if you keep tryin’ to hide it from Katsuragi, I’m just gonna keep on talkin’ about it anyway,” said Ryuuen.

It was almost as though he were trying to threaten me by spilling all this unnecessary information right now.

“If I admit to it, do you think I’ll cooperate with you?” I asked.

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t be that easy. Like with Katsuragi over here,” said Ryuuen.

Katsuragi, after listening to Ryuuen and I go back and forth, let out a sigh.

“I’m still not convinced by what you’ve just said. I can’t believe that Ayanokouji defeated you. Besides, I already said that if you have three classes work together, even if you get first place, that still means we’ll only be getting a hundred Class Points each. You won’t be able to close the gap between you and your current target, Class A, at all,” said Katsuragi.

Katsuragi had strong doubts about the significance of this particular group’s existence.

“Oh yeah, dude, I totally forgot about that. Man, you are definitely qualified to be an adviser,” said Ryuuen with a grin, shifting his gaze back towards Katsuragi.

Even in this situation, Ryuuen wasn’t letting up. He continued to act like a fool and messed around.

“I see… Well, I was wondering why you would put forward such an inefficient proposal, suggesting three classes team up, and make such an outlandish claim about you being defeated by Ayanokouji. But it seems you never intended to have a serious discussion in the first place,” said Katsuragi.

He rose from his seat, clearly intending to leave now that he’d realized Ryuuen had been fooling around during this entire conversation.

“A serious discussion, eh? Come on, you knew that it was going to be this way from the beginning. But you still came. What, did they ask you to spy on me for Class A or somethin’?” asked Ryuuen.

Katsuragi had responded to Ryuuen’s invitation, which he could have ignored. Surely, there must have been a reason why he did that.

“You’re a dead man, and you’re lookin’ for a chance to come back to life. Ain’t that right?” said Ryuuen.

Totsuka Yahiko, someone who was very loyal to Katsuragi, had been expelled thanks to Sakayanagi. Ryuuen was trying to confirm whether or not Katsuragi had truly forgiven her for what happened.

“Whether I am or I’m not, that has absolutely nothing to do with you,” said Katsuragi.

“In any case, you did come all the way here. Listen to everythin’ I’ve got to say,” said Ryuuen.

“No matter what you say, I am not going to work with you in any way, shape, or form. It is true that I’m in a somewhat contentious relationship with Sakayanagi, but I do not wish to cause any trouble for my classmates. There is no way I could do something like that,” said Katsuragi.

Ryuuen started applauding him once again, amused at what he had heard. It looked like he wasn’t doing it to mock him, but rather like he had been waiting for Katsuragi to say something like that.

“You don’t want to cause trouble for your class, eh? Did you forget about the fact that since the island exam last year, you Class A folks have been rather industriously sendin’ over large sums of points my way every month, as part of our contract?” said Ryuuen.

Katsuragi, still standing, directed his gaze back towards Ryuuen.

“It’s a fair contract. We received 200 points from your class. Class A is merely paying back our loan, nothing more. Everything I have done has been to help Class A establish a commanding lead. It was useful, to that end,” said Katsuragi.

“Yeah, sure, that’s true. If you’re only lookin’ at the numbers, that is. But aren’t the folks in your class takin’ some psychological damage every month? I’m sure they’re askin’ themselves, ‘Why do we have to share our Private Points?’ Right?” said Ryuuen.

People are surprisingly greedy creatures. Even when things went exactly in accordance with how we’d planned they would, we would start to feel dissatisfied. Month after month, Ryuuen continued to bleed them dry, squeezing a number of points equal to 20,000 yen per person from their class. Even though there was one person gone from Class A now, that still meant a total of, essentially, 780,000 yen for the entire class.

That meant that an equivalent of nine point thirty-six million yen per year was going straight into Ryuuen’s pockets. If that amount had been going to someone Class A was friendly with, that would’ve been better. But I imagined it didn’t feel good at all to be financially supporting an enemy leader who stood in opposition to Class A. In addition, the person who signed the contract was not Sakayanagi, the leader of the class, but Katsuragi, who had retreated into the shadows.

“Guessin’ you must be feelin’ pretty uncomfortable. Having that debt loomin’ over ya, and not bein’ able to get your revenge,” said Ryuuen.

“So… So what of it?” Katsuragi shouted back, once again rising to anger.

He shot Ryuuen a look like he was about to throttle him. Ryuuen looked into Katsuragi’s eyes, and after seeming like he had become sure of something, he spoke up once more.

“Come to Class B, Katsuragi.”

Ryuuen made a rather bold invitation. Katsuragi must have paused to think, because he suddenly stopped for a moment, seeming as though he’d nearly forgotten how angry he felt.

“What a farce. You think I’m going to go to Class B?” said Katsuragi.

“I’ll give you the cash you need, of course,” said Ryuuen.

“Even if you have the number of points needed for such a thing, why on earth should I go to Class B? Do you think I would willingly throw away my status of being in Class A?” said Katsuragi.

“I’m gonna overthrow Sakayanagi in the not-too-distant future. When I do, her class is gonna fall. Meaning that bein’ in the current Class A is gonna be worthless. Right?” said Ryuuen.

If Sakayanagi, the leader of the class, were gone, then it was certainly true that it’d be more difficult for her class to keep fighting on the front lines.

“How many points do you have on you?” asked Ryuuen.

“…About one point eight million,” said Katsuragi.

“Hot damn, that’s quite a lot of points you’ve got there. Well, even if you’re dead and decomposing, I guess you are still from Class A, huh?” said Ryuuen.

Even still, what Katsuragi had on hand was still a far cry from twenty million. Even with the money that he had deposited into his account every month by the school, and the money that he was getting from Class A, Ryuuen’s account could only be growing by a small amount— just 800,000 per month. If Katsuragi were to ask Ryuuen if he had, say, ten million points on him, I’m sure that would put this discussion in a precarious state.

Ryuuen, knowing that he would most likely get rebuffed otherwise, took out a sheet of paper and placed it on the table.

“You remember seein’ this? It’s the contract you signed last year,” said Ryuuen.

“…Yes, I do.”

“After negotiatin’ with Sakayanagi, I’ve decided to release ya from the contract for five million,” said Ryuuen.

Although that was a substantial number of points, if you simply calculated the amount he would be paid until graduation with the contract in place, that would come out to around ten million points. On top of that, the psychological burden of having to continuously hand points over to Ryuuen would be no more. No matter how you considered it, Sakayanagi’s proposal benefited Ryuuen.

Of course, if Sakayanagi saw that Ryuuen was willing to call off the contract for a large number of Private Points all at once, she could probably predict what Ryuuen was going to do with those points. Considering what this upcoming test was about, those points would be essential to forming the best groups or for buying up the most powerful cards. However, even though Sakayanagi knew the risks, you might say she had just agreed to a proposal that would give Ryuuen an overwhelming edge.

Still, if I were in Sakayanagi’s position, I would have agreed to Ryuuen’s proposal too.

“Did you not tell her that you’d be using these points to take me out of Class A?” asked Katsuragi.

“Do you really think that she would’ve accepted my offer if I had told her?” said Ryuuen.

“…Well, considering who Sakayanagi is, she most likely would, yes,” said Katsuragi.

He recognized that there was no way that Sakayanagi would reject a proposal that could only benefit her.

“You’re never gonna see a chance like this come knockin’ again, Katsuragi,” said Ryuuen.

This was the story of how the contract that had bound Katsuragi had been rendered null and avoid, and how that money was in turn used to buy Katsuragi. Meaning, in other words, that Ryuuen had paid a considerable sum of money, twenty million, to buy the person named Katsuragi Kouhei. This also meant that Katsuragi would be allowed to confront Sakayanagi openly now.

“Why… Why would you go this far for someone like me?” asked Katsuragi.

“Ku ku. Wow, you’ve got a pretty low opinion of yourself, eh, Katsuragi? Well, it’s definitely not a small price tag on you, that’s for sure,” said Ryuuen.

In the end, all Ryuuen wanted to do was defeat Class A. Supposing even if he were to defeat Sakayanagi and get her expelled, if Katsuragi remained in Class A, that wouldn’t be a favorable turn of events for Ryuuen. If Katsuragi, someone who strongly prioritized defense, resumed command as leader of the class, then there was no getting around the fact that Class A would transform into a near-impenetrable fortress.

However, if Katsuragi were taken out of the picture first, and then Sakayanagi was defeated afterward, Class A would collapse all at once. That was probably why Ryuuen was willing to spare no expense to make sure that happened. Ryuuen must have also fully appreciated Katsuragi’s prominent level of ability as an individual. His overall ability was quite high in OAA, and if Katsuragi were to join Class B right now, he’d be the best in their class.

“There’s the five million for nullifyin’ the contract, plus what you have on hand. The remainder of the points we need to bring ya over has already been collected from the rest of the class. I’ve forced our folks into poverty to bring ya over to our side,” said Ryuuen.

If thirty-nine people saved up their points, just between May and July alone, they would accumulate nearly six point five million Private Points. After that, all you would need to do is gather the remainder, which would be less than 200,000 per person. Of course, Class B’s funds would be temporarily depleted, but it wasn’t a high price to pay at all if you could manage to snatch away one of the top-ranked students.

Ryuuen took out another slip of paper: a contract that he had prepared ahead of time. On that paper were lines detailing an arrangement that Ryuuen would use the money provided for Katsuragi to be transferred over to Class B.

“Hurry up and sign it. There are several conditions for using the twenty million to have someone transfer classes, y’know. Nobody can force a particular person to change classes or anythin’. The person has to declare that they’re changin’ classes voluntarily and using their own funds,” said Ryuuen.

The contract was meant to prevent Katsuragi from just taking the points and running after he was given the large sum, or from using it for other purposes. Well, if Katsuragi did take the points and spent that large sum on whatever he wanted, I’m sure that the school would suspect him of fraud. In other words, the purpose of this contract was not to prevent Katsuragi from doing something dishonest. It was a contract meant to prevent him for changing his mind.

“You seem serious about this,” said Katsuragi.

“Hey, good news for you, eh, Katsuragi? It’s precisely because you’ve been on your own until today that I was willin’ to invite you,” said Ryuuen.

Ryuuen was saying that Katsuragi had grouped up with someone, then they wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“Just accept this as your fate,” said Ryuuen.

After standing for a while in complete silence, Katsuragi sat back down in his chair, almost as though he had resigned himself to this turn of events. Ryuuen had splendidly managed to draw out Katsuragi’s desire for revenge, which he had kept hidden deep down, and successfully managed to bring Katsuragi over to his team. Now, Katsuragi had been brought under Ryuuen’s banner. One thing for sure was that this was most definitely a big plus for Ryuuen’s class. The gap between his class and Class A was definitely closing. Katsuragi slowly signed the contract.

“I don’t mind that you’re bringing me into your class, but what is you want, exactly? You don’t mind if I give you my honest opinion on matters?” said Katsuragi.

“Do whatever you want. I’m sure your hardheaded opinions could be useful once in a while, I guess,” said Ryuuen, after he had received the signed contract back from Katsuragi.

And so, a precedent was set. An individual had moved from one class to another, something which had never happened in this school before. And what’s more, this person wasn’t transferring into Class A; they were going to Class B. You could say that the fact that these two things overlapped in this case was the result of coincidence. Ryuuen had the kind of strength where he could gather up the required number of Private Points simply by commanding his classmates, since he had total control over them. Then there was the fact that the person he was inviting, Katsuragi, had been isolated in Class A, was feeling dissatisfied with the current leader, and was harboring a desire for revenge.

If there was any cause for concern for them, it would be the fact that that everyone in Class B would need to fight for dear life in the upcoming island exam. Only a limited few Class B students could afford to pay the penalty.

“By the way, Ayanokouji, what are you doin’?” asked Ryuuen suspiciously, watching me pour some water into the remaining one-fifth of my coffee that was still in my cup.

“Huh?” I asked in return. “Oh, well, I was just wondering what the coffee would taste like if I diluted it by about three or four times the amount.”

After I honestly answered his question, Ryuuen and Katsuragi looked even more perplexed than before.

“…You’re a strange one, Ayanokouji,” said Katsuragi.

A slightly harsh comment. He sounded somewhat creeped out.

“So what are you planning to do with Ayanokouji then? You asked him to take part in this discussion too, after all. If you include a student from Class D in the group, that means we’ll be splitting the reward two ways,” said Katsuragi.

“No one said anythin’ ’bout inviting him into a group,” said Ryuuen.

“In that case, what are you hoping to get from him?” asked Katsuragi.

“The Trials and Tribulations card he got,” said Ryuuen, mentioning the name of the card that I had received. He turned to me. “Sell it to me.”

I had been wondering what he needed my help with. So that was what this was about.

“Considering that you just paid a lot of points to bring Katsuragi into your class, I’m guessing your funds must be pretty low right now. Can you get enough points to pay for it?” I asked.

“I can manage to pull together ’bout 500,000 or so. That should be enough, right?” said Ryuuen.

This certainly seemed like my only chance to get rid of the Trials and Tribulations card. It wasn’t the most profitable transaction by any stretch, but at the very least, I could manage to get some points for Kei.

“I have one condition. Have the student in your class with the Half Off card trade it for the Free Ride card that one of the students in my class has. If you accept that condition, then I’m willing to sell it to you,” I answered.

Even if Kei couldn’t manage to get into a group of six people on the island, and even if she were hit with a penalty, she should be able to save herself and pay out the one million points if she used the Half Off card. Being able to ensure her safety was a critical point.

“Ku ku, all right, it’s settled then. Half Off card, eh? Well, that’s just perfect. Ain’t it, Katsuragi?” said Ryuuen.

“I won’t have many points on hand, anyway. There’s no point in me hanging on to the Half Off card myself , ” said Katsuragi.

From the sound of things, Katsuragi had been given the Half Off card. If Ryuuen got first place while holding onto the Trials and Tribulations card, he could get 450 Class Points all in one go. The 1,000 Class Point mark was in sight for Class B.

6.2

I T WAS NOW July sixteenth. The time that we had been given to create groups was soon going to run out. While I was getting ready for the day that morning, I received a phone call. It was from Ishizaki.

“Yo, Ayanokouji. Morning, dude,” said Ishizaki.

“It’s pretty unusual for me to call get an actual phone call from you,” I replied.

“Hey, uh, you know how we’re almost outta time to make groups? I wanted to chat with you a bit about that,” said Ishizaki.

“Is it about Nishino? It seems like she still hasn’t partnered up with anyone since yesterday,” I answered.

I hadn’t checked in the OAA app this morning yet though, so I supposed it was possible that the situation might have changed.

“Oh, we couldn’t find anybody to partner up with her in our own class in the end. So, we finally went to Ichinose for help. So, we’ve got Tsube from Class C paired up with Nishino,” said Ishizaki.

Tsube Hitomi from Class 2-C, eh? She was an exceptionally capable student with ratings of B or better in both academic and physical ability. She’d be a good asset.

“Glad to hear it,” I replied.

“Yeah dude. Now almost everybody is in a group, with at least two or more people, but, uh…” said Ishizaki trailing off.

There was a student from Class B who still hadn’t joined a group.

“I’m guessing this is about Ibuki,” I said in reply.

“Yeah. She’s still on her own. I was wonderin’, do you got anybody who’d partner up with her?” said Ishizaki.

“It is risky to try and tackle this exam by yourself. I can understand that you feel like you need to do something about this,” I told him.

I could tell from how Ishizaki sounded over the phone that he had tried and failed to convince her to partner up with someone, multiple times.

“Hold on a second. I might have an idea,” I added.

“Seriously? Anyway, sorry for buggin’ ya about this so early, dude,” said Ishizaki.

I told Ishizaki that I’d call him back later and I hung up. Then I decided to get in touch with someone that I thought might partner up with Ibuki. Fortunately, that person hadn’t left the dormitory yet, so we decided to meet up in the lobby. After I had taken the elevator down and got to the lobby, I noticed that Horikita arrived shortly afterward, getting off the next one that came down. Horikita was one of the few students who hadn’t shown any sign of trying to team up with anyone yet. She was the person I had arranged to meet.

“What are you planning on doing about your group?” I asked.

“It’s too late for anything now. I’m not going to do anything. I don’t have any intention of trying to make one now. Given that the maximum number of people who can be in a group is six, it’s not a bad idea to try and go it alone,” said Horikita.

“I understand that you’re doing this so that you can play things by ear and adapt to any situation that might come up, but in the unlikely event that you get sick or hurt, you’ll be disqualified. You’ll get expelled since you can’t pay the hefty penalty fine,” I told her.

I knew that I really didn’t need to come out and warn her about all of that, but still…

“I think that it’s necessary to be prepared to take on that level of risk. Isn’t that the same reason you’re not currently grouped up with anyone either?” said Horikita.

“Even so, the risks I’m taking on are different than yours,” I told her.

“What’s the difference?” she asked.

“You fell ill during the island exam last year,” I told her.

“I can’t believe you’re bringing up something that happened a year ago. Everyone gets sick sometimes,” argued Horikita.

“That’s true. But you were sick in bed with a fever for a while in the winter too. That’s twice in a year,” I replied.

“Okay, but even though you just so happened to never miss any days last year, how can you know for sure you won’t get sick?” she argued.

“When it comes to the issue of taking care of myself, I’m confident I can handle myself better than you,” I told her.

When I presented the fact that I had perfect attendance, Horikita could only agree.

“All right. Yes, it’s true that when it comes to self-management, you are better than me. I admit it. But even if that’s something you’re arguing is a cause for concern, I—”

Horikita looked me in the eye and calmed down her tone, which had gotten somewhat heated.

“If you understand, then that’s good. I had no intention of objecting to your plan from the start anyway,” I said, cutting her off.

You had to make sure that you were taking care of yourself. As long as she was well aware of that, then that was fine.

“But still, there’s no changing the fact that it is dangerous to act alone,” I added.

“I know,” she replied.

“There are only three people in our class who haven’t joined a group yet: you, me, and Kouenji. Everyone else is in a group of at least two people. If possible, you should form a group of two to give yourself some insurance,” I told her.

“As you said, the only other people in our class aside from me are you and Kouenji. Which means that there’s no way I can form a group,” she argued.

“Only if you’re trying to partner with us, people from your class,” I answered.

“Are there any girls left who haven’t formed a group?” she asked.

“There’s one I can think of , ” I answered.

“And who is that?” asked Horikita in return.

“Ibuki, from Class 2-B. Have you not been looking at OAA?” I asked.

“Come to think of it, the last time I checked, she was still alone, I suppose,” said Horikita.

“Ishizaki called me. He sounded pretty worried about the fact that Ibuki hasn’t paired up with anyone. How about working together with her for this special exam, Horikita?” I asked.

“Me and Ibuki-san?” she asked.

“With a group of two girls, you can merge with another group later. How about at least hearing what Ibuki has to say?” I asked.

“Well, it’s true that having some form of insurance would be better, I suppose… All right. Let’s go hear her out then,” said Horikita.

Maybe it was because Horikita felt like she couldn’t completely disregard the offer out of hand, but she agreed to at least meet with Ibuki. I contacted Ishizaki and asked him to make some time for us during lunch today.

6.3

D URING OUR LUNCH BREAK , I brought Horikita over to where we were supposed to meet with Ishizaki.

“Yo, Ayanokouji! Over here!” he shouted, practically jumping up and down as he waved after spotting me from afar.

Standing next to him was Ibuki, arms crossed, and looking very displeased as she glared at us.

“Did she agree to this?” said Horikita.

“From the look on her face, I’m not so sure,” I answered.

Ibuki seemed like she was in a bad mood even though we were supposed to be talking about possibly getting her a group. I guess I should assume that Ishizaki had brought her here without giving her a detailed explanation of what was going on.

“Hurry up dude, come over!” shouted Ishizaki, hopping up and down excitedly.

“You seem to be rather close friends with him,” said Horikita, sounding a little put off by Ishizaki’s attitude.

“He’s a good guy,” I replied.

“Even so, I don’t want to get too close to him,” said Horikita.

Ishizaki was similar to Sudou in the sense that they were hotheaded, passionate guys, but Ishizaki was also different in his own way.

“What in the hell is going on? Why are Ayanokouji and Horikita here?” snapped Ibuki.

So, Ishizaki hadn’t told her anything after all, huh? Horikita and I exchanged glances. It felt like letting Ishizaki handle the talking here might lead to problems.

“Actually, there’s something we wanted to discuss, so we asked Ishizaki to get in touch with you, Ibuki,” I said, starting to explain our situation, since I figured that we didn’t really have any other choice.

“And?” she replied.

“Are you planning on taking on this upcoming special exam by yourself?” I asked.

“That’s my choice,” said Ibuki flatly, as if she were saying that there was no point in talking about this.

“I told ya a buncha times already though, it’s better to have a group,” said Ishizaki.

“I don’t need a group,” snapped Ibuki.

“Well, ’kay, you say that you don’t need a group, but the truth is there ain’t anybody who wants to partner up with you,” said Ishizaki.

Ishizaki threw in some unnecessary comments. Was he trying to help? Or just throw a wrench into things? I shot him a look, trying to tell him with my eyes to keep quiet.

“Huh? What’s up, Ayanokouji?” he asked.

But…Ishizaki apparently didn’t get the message because he responded by asking me a question instead.

“Nothing. By the way, Horikita’s in the same boat. She hasn’t found a group either, Ibuki,” I said, turning back to Ibuki.

“So?” she huffed.

“If you don’t make a group for the upcoming exam, you’ll be at a pretty big disadvantage. Even if you don’t make a group of three, if you at least form a group of two people, in the worst-case scenario that one of you gets eliminated, the other person can still keep going,” I told her.

That should be enough to make her understand what I was trying to get at.

“And we don’t have much time left to make groups,” I added.

“So what? Are you saying you want me to partner up with Horikita?” she asked.

“Well, yeah, that’s the gist of it,” I answered.

“Huh? Who do you think you are, asking me to partner up with her?!” she snapped.

“Well, your physical abilities are nothing to scoff off… But aside from that, there’s a laundry list of issues,” said Horikita.

“Hey! Where do you get off, thinking you can say whatever you want to me too?!” said Ibuki.

Ibuki rudely barreled straight towards us, closing the distance between us. She then turned to glare at Ishizaki, who had been standing behind her with a vacant, happy-go-lucky look on his face.

“And you! You want me and Horikita to be in a group so you tried to put this together? You asked them for help?” said Ibuki.

“Well, I didn’t know it’d be with Horikita or nothin’, but ain’t this a good thing? Getting’ a group, I mean,” said Ishizaki.

“I absolutely hate that guy, but I hate Horikita even more,” huffed Ibuki.

I’m guessing “that guy” was meant to refer to me. Ibuki was rather politely pointing her finger right at me.

“Wow, Ayanokouji-kun. She seems to hate you quite a lot,” said Horikita.

“And I didn’t even know it, huh. But it seems like she hates you even more than me,” I answered.

“What an honor,” said Horikita.

The fact that Horikita and I were whispering to one another must have upset her, because she didn’t even try to hide how aggravated she was.

“I don’t know if Horikita asked you to do this, or whatever the reason was, but I am never pairing up with her!” shouted Ibuki, refusing the notion outright.

It seemed she really didn’t like Horikita at all.

“Oh my, but I don’t remember ever saying that I wanted to team up with you myself, did I?” Horikita, seeing Ibuki’s behavior, said something to try and provoke her.

“Huh? What is that supposed to mean?” asked Ibuki.

“It would appear you’ve misunderstood something here. You’re on your own because no one wants to be with you. You’re the leftovers. I’m alone because I want to fight on my own. We’re both acting solo, but our situations are different,” said Horikita, sounding somewhat exasperated.

What Horikita just said seemed to have lit a fire under Ibuki though.

“Hey, I’m on my own because I want to be! Anyway, if you say that you’re handling this exam solo too, then that’s just perfect. Let’s make this a contest, Horikita!” she shouted, with a sharp glare, shifting her attention from me to Horikita.

“Can I ask you just one question? Why do you want to compete with me so badly? I mean, sure, we had our moments of rivalry on the island last year and during the sports festival, but that was nothing special,” said Horikita.

“You’re the only one who sees it that way,” said Ibuki.

As far as I knew, Ibuki had come out of their fight on the island last year the winner. Then Horikita had won when they competed in the 180-meter race in the sports festival. They each had one win and one loss. However, you couldn’t really say either of them had been at their absolute best in both instances. During the island test, Horikita was forced to fight while running a high fever. Then, during the sports festival, Ibuki was so fixated on Horikita that it undoubtedly caused her to mess up when she ran. That meant that if you were to ask me which of them was better, I couldn’t decide at this point in time.

Ibuki, whom I had beaten along with Ryuuen on the rooftop that last year, had even gone on to challenge me personally to try and settle the score. In short, she had the kind of personality where she wouldn’t be satisfied unless she was absolutely certain who was better—her or Horikita. Considering all of that, I supposed there was no way she would partner with Horikita.

“It seems like this is just a waste of time,” said Horikita.

“Wait right there. Do you accept my challenge or not?” said Ibuki.

“It’s not like I’m choosing to go it alone at the start because I want to selfishly make some kind of heroic solo effort. When the special exam begins, I will respond to the situation as things develop and join up with another group. That’s what I’ve chosen to do,” said Horikita.

If they had established that they would be going one-on-one throughout the exam, then this might be a viable opportunity for them to have a contest. But if Horikita teamed up with people later, it wouldn’t be a fair fight.

“Lame!” shouted Ibuki.

“Whether something is lame or not won’t determine how I’ll handle a special exam,” said Horikita matter-of-factly, responding to Ibuki’s provocations by telling her that this was a waste of effort. “If you’re so determined to go it alone, then how about this? Try not to lose against me, even if you and I are in a group together. If you can manage to beat me in that situation, I’ll give you at least some credit.”

“…Not good enough,” snapped Ibuki.

There was no way the two of them were going to form a group. Negotiations had broken down. However, I was sure deliberately provoking her all through the conversation like that would strengthen Ibuki’s motivations.

I offered Ishizaki a small apology and then decided to head back to the classroom with Horikita.

“You knew from the beginning that there was no way Ibuki was going to accept that last offer you made, right? You’re too kind,” I told her.

“My intention was to provoke her so she’d do something reckless and get disqualified,” answered Horikita.

It wasn’t an honest answer. But, I thought, it did sound very much like her.