Chapter 7: The Guest

Chapter 7: The Guest

Chapter 7:

The Guest

I T WAS AROUND eleven o’clock in the morning, and I could just faintly hear the cheers from the other side of my closed windows. It sounded like the Sports Festival was in full swing. I didn’t want to assume everything was going smoothly, of course, but even so, the class was certainly putting in the effort to win it. Horikita’s class could hold their own well against the other classes and other grade levels too. It was that conclusion that had allowed me to choose, without hesitation, not to attend the Sports Festival myself.

I had taken care of all of the necessary arrangements on my end, so I just had to leave the rest to Chairman Sakayanagi. Although the wfact that he was the chairman didn’t necessarily mean that I could fully trust him, it was easy to decide whether I could or couldn’t trust him at all—because of course, it would be virtually impossible for me to remain at this school if he were to betray me. All that was left now was to wonder what kinds of battles the second-year students would face at the Sports Festival and what the results would be…and how greatly Sakayanagi’s presence or absence would affect the outcome.

I looked at the door. I had come up with a strategy to contain Sakayanagi, but…it was a little too late to see what the effects would be. I was concerned about a number of things, but I supposed that I’d just have to wait and see. And that included matters with the Sports Festival too.

I think it’s about time I started getting lunch ready, I thought to myself. Just as that thought crossed my mind though, my doorbell finally rang. Now then, was this visitor going to be a welcome presence or not? I wouldn’t know for sure until I tried dealing with the situation.

As I kept my distance from the door and watched to see what would happen, a voice came from the other side of the door, as if whoever was standing there had anticipated my cautiousness.

“Hello, Ayanokouji-kun.”

I lowered my guard somewhat and reached out. I placed my hand on the door. I tried to imagine various scenarios, but from the moment she entered the dormitory it was as though I had lost. The person standing on the other side of my door was none other than Sakayanagi, dressed in her casual clothes.

She looked up at me with a broad smile on her face. “I’m terribly sorry, but would you mind letting me in for a moment?” she said. “Though I am only forbidden from leaving the dormitory building proper, I’m afraid that visiting a male student’s rooms during the Sports Festival could also be somewhat problematic.”

“Coming inside my room might be even more problematic,” I pointed out.

Still, I decided not to turn Sakayanagi away and welcomed her inside.

“Please pardon the intrusion,” she said. Sakayanagi took off her shoes and came into my room, her physical limitations making her movements slow.

“Come to think of it, this is the first time you’ve come to my room, Sakayanagi.”

“That’s because I don’t often visit anyone’s room,” she replied. “Have you already had lunch?”

“I was just thinking of making something,” I replied.

“I see. That’s good then. I brought this with me to say thank you for the invitation,” said Sakayanagi as she handed me a small plastic bag. “I bought these at the convenience store early this morning. It’s apparently a new product, and since I had the opportunity, I thought I’d like to eat it with you.”

When I took a peek inside the plastic bag, I saw two small Mont Blanc cakes inside. I figured it’d be a good idea to brew some coffee if we were going to have sweets like those.

“It’d be better to sit on the bed rather than the floor,” I said. “Sit down anywhere you like.”

“Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness,” replied Sakayanagi.

After directing Sakayanagi to sit on the bed, I went over to the kitchen, turned on the faucet, and started filling the teapot with water.

“It doesn’t seem like you came here to visit me on a simple whim,” I remarked.

I said it with a straight face, but Sakayanagi chuckled softly like she found something amusing about it. “People don’t normally know who’s in the dormitory. People would not expect that I, the leader of Class A, would be visiting your room all alone, Ayanokouji-kun.”

Anyone, no matter who you asked, would be surprised if they saw Sakayanagi come to my room. They’d suspect that something was up, and that was exactly why Sakayanagi never made contact with me in the dormitory. Until today, that is.

“You really are a bad person, aren’t you, Ayanokouji-kun? This was your strategy, wasn’t it?”

“Strategy? What do you mean?”

“ Fu fu . No need to put on an act. You were almost certain that I’d be coming here today, Ayanokouji-kun,” she said. “Actually, no, let me amend that statement. You were absolutely certain of it. Weren’t you?”

It seemed as though Sakayanagi had completely seen through my trap without needing to think very much.

“We, Class A, have fewer students,” she said. “We have an immediate disadvantage in this Sports Festival right from the starting line. Moreover, although we do have capable students like Kitou-kun and Hashimoto-kun, on average, Class A falls short of Horikita-san’s class. As such, if we were to win, we would need to determine what person should be participating in what competition and manage our schedules down to the second while simultaneously keeping an eye on which of our rivals are participating in what events.”

I turned the teapot on, and it started to quietly bring the water to a boil. I then took a can of coffee out from the cupboard along with cups and a coffee filter.

“You did this because you didn’t know how the situation might turn out if I participated,” she added.

“You have a high opinion of yourself, I see, same as always,” I replied.

“The best way to ensure that the other classes beat Class A in the Sports Festival was to make sure I didn’t take part.”

The Sports Festival went along according to a very precise schedule. Knowing Sakayanagi, she could direct her classmates and organize her players well and get them into the appropriate placements. Moreover, she could have coordinated event participation using students from other grade levels too.

“Last night, my father told me that he wished for you to be absent from the Sports Festival,” she went on. “He said it was to possibly prevent someone from the White Room attending as a guest from coming into contact with you. He said that he was going to assign someone to watch the dormitory too.”

“It’s true that Chairman Sakayanagi asked me not to participate, but I never thought that he’d tell his daughter about it,” I replied.

“Surely you must be joking,” she said. “You’re the one who instructed my father to tell me, Ayanokouji-kun, aren’t you?”

She had seen right through me, as though what I had done had been simply a matter of course. Even though she was his daughter, Chairman Sakayanagi would never mix his personal and professional lives. That was why I had asked him to tell his daughter what was going on himself, rather than having me explain to her. I had requested that he explain the situation to his daughter beforehand, as she was someone who could have likely missed the Sports Festival anyway due to health concerns anyway, telling her that it was possible she could get wrapped up in whatever trouble came as a result of me and the White Room.

As the leader of Class A, Sakayanagi had been surprisingly willing to participate in the Sports Festival, but I couldn’t imagine that the chairman knew about that. And even if he had known, he would also decide it would be safer to just have her take the day off from the Sports Festival regardless. Since she was his own daughter, he would have known that if something happened, there was a risk that she might stick her neck out to help me.

However, there were some things that not even the chairman could predict. He didn’t realize that his daughter’s instincts and her curiosity were not easily suppressed. If I was going to be absent, it was natural that she would think of it as a good opportunity for the two of us to have a nice, long, undisturbed conversation. She had even showed up outside the door to my room, which was considered to be the most dangerous place of all, without any fear.

“Did you choose to come here before noon just to make me nervous?” I asked.

“I wanted to tease you a little bit, Ayanokouji-kun,” she admitted. “And I wanted to make you wonder if I had perhaps ignored your strategy and decided to participate in the Sports Festival anyway.”

“I see.”

“Incidentally, you and I are the only two students who are absent from the event, Ayanokouji-kun. Everyone else is attending.”

From the sound of it, Sakayanagi’s information network had kept her abreast of who was participating from each class. She must have gotten reports via phone before the Sports Festival began. There had apparently been no oversights on that point either.

“Anyway, even though I did end up being mean to you by arriving just now, I honestly did plan on visiting you a little earlier in the day,” Sakayanagi said.

The water just started coming to a boil in the pot, shaking about inside.

“I went down to the lobby a few moments ago, to check on the situation outside,” she added.

I was, at least ostensibly, on sick leave, so I was strictly forbidden from leaving my room. Sakayanagi, on the other hand, wasn’t able to leave the dormitory building, but she wasn’t out on actual sick leave. Even though she’d get a warning in the unlikely event that she stepped outside the building, it wasn’t like she’d be violating the reason for her absence if she did.

“So, how were things down on the first floor?” I asked.

“There were three people there who I assumed to be security guards. It appears that they aren’t only stationed to stand watch here in this dormitory, but rather they’re meant to patrol the entire school so that their presence doesn’t appear unnatural.”

That was likely because while they were here to protect me, they were mostly security professionals meant to protect government officials.

“The MVP in today’s Sports Festival and the one who made victory a certainty is neither Horikita-san, who proposed a partnership with Ryuuen-kun, nor Ryuuen-kun, who accepted her offer,” she then said. “Ayanokouji-kun, you’re the one who had the final word to guarantee my absence from the event. That alone was what it took to decide the winner. Bravo. I expected as much from you.”

“But we still don’t necessarily know how it’ll turn out in the end,” I replied.

“It’s true that the tables could be turned unexpectedly, but it’s unlikely. I would think that by now, Class A is completely at the mercy of Horikita-san’s class, who is fighting this battle head-on, and Ryuuen-kun’s class, who is employing every trick imaginable. Even if a body has excellent arms and legs, it can’t do anything without a head. That’s the sort of class I’ve been building, after all.”

Similar things could be said for Ryuuen’s class, but generally, the issue in Sakayanagi’s class was that it was too strong at the top. The fact that the leader solved all problems meant that, on the flip side, nothing could be solved if the leader wasn’t around.

“Well, it’s all right,” she said. “In exchange for losing 150 points in this event, I will be enjoying my time together with you, Ayanokouji-kun.”

She didn’t seem to care even the slightest bit about any damage being done to Class A.

“You’re not afraid of a drop in Class Points,” I remarked.

“This school’s systems are a game to me,” she replied. “As long as I maintain Class A’s position to some extent, there’s no problem.”

At any rate, since she had gone through the trouble of bringing Mont Blanc cakes to enjoy, I took them out of their packaging and brought them to the table on two plates. Then, I poured hot water from the pot into the filter with coffee grounds in it.

“It seems like you’re used to doing this,” observed Sakayanagi as she watched my movements.

“This isn’t really that big a deal for me.”

“I suppose that these kinds of things, like preparing coffee and so on, are new and fun for you. Isn’t that right, Ayanokouji-kun?”

Sakayanagi knew as well as I that these were the sort of things we never did in the White Room.

“The same goes for everything at this school, really,” I said. “I just wanted to do normal things is all.”

At any rate, I was curious about what Sakayanagi had said moments earlier.

“It seems like you have a sense of purpose in maintaining Class A. Is that pride on your part, Sakayanagi?” I asked, as I placed milk and sugar packets on the table.

“At first, I didn’t have any real commitment to Class A,” she said. “But when I learned that you were here in this school, Ayanokouji-kun, my objective changed. I thought when you eventually led your class and moved up to Class B, we might be able to have a serious fight. Don’t you agree?”

To put it in simpler terms, she was basically saying that she was waiting for me from atop her throne.

“Class D lost all of its Class Points in the first semester of our first year,” she went on. “However, at some point, you began to increase your number of Class Points. Now, you’ve finally managed to reach Class B as well. The reason for this, of course, was you, Ayanokouji-kun, working from the shadows.”

Sakayanagi spoke happily and eloquently, as though she were bragging about her own accomplishments. She picked up a plate off the table and placed it in her lap.

“Let’s eat, Ayanokouji-kun.”

She urged me to sit down next to her on the bed. I didn’t refuse and I simply went over and sat down next to her. I had to wonder what she was thinking, because she stabbed the Mont Blanc with a fork, scooped up a piece of it, and held it out toward me.

“Here,” she said.

“…Here, what?” I asked.

“Can you not tell just by looking? Please take a bite.”

“No, I can tell, it’s just…”

“Surely there isn’t any problem, is there? It’s just you and I here right now, Ayanokouji-kun. No one will bother us.”

I had wondered if there was some underlying motive at play, but that didn’t seem to be the case here. I took the forkful in my mouth and the sweetness filled my senses. This was, in fact, the very first time I had ever eaten a Mont Blanc.

“Is it good?” she asked.

To be honest, I didn’t care for the taste. I personally thought that a simple shortcake had a more pleasing flavor. However, I didn’t want to complain about a gift.

“Yeah,” I answered.

Receiving that simple, one-word answer, Sakayanagi smiled warmly.

“Well then, I’ll have some too,” she said.

She scooped up a bite for herself and brought it to her own mouth, not caring at all that it was the same fork she used to feed me.

“It’s not quite as good as what they have in the café, but it’s still satisfying as sweets you can get from a convenience store.” She nodded in satisfaction with that, and then offered a forkful to me once more. Since we were both eating the same piece of cake, we quickly polished off the first Mont Blanc.

“I’ll bring a different cake next time,” said Sakayanagi.

“Huh?” I blinked at her.

“I could tell from your reaction that it wasn’t quite to your taste, Ayanokouji-kun.”

“…I thought I said it tasted good though, when you asked me.”

“I am quite proud to say that I possess excellent insight, and particularly so when it comes to you, Ayanokouji-kun.”

I never imagined that she’d be able to see through me like that and figure out what I was feeling.

“You never show any openings when you’re in a serious contest of thought,” she added, “but, surprisingly enough, you can’t really hide what you’re thinking in personal matters like this.”

“Maybe that’s because I’m not used to it, I guess,” I answered.

“ Fu fu . Well, I like that part of you too.” I couldn’t tell whether she was being serious or if she was joking when she said that. In any case, she carried on, “Please allow me to try again. I’ll find another delicious cake and bring it to you.”

“If we find another time like this where people won’t see us, then sure,” I agreed.

Whether it was on regular weekdays or on holidays didn’t matter—it would be next to impossible for us to meet unless it was during a time when people were out of the dorms. Well, I supposed we could consider meeting in the early morning or late at night, but that would naturally lead to other problems.

“Anyway, I have to say, this change of heart you’ve gone through is quite curious, Ayanokouji-kun,” said Sakayanagi. “Why is it that you have started pursuing Class A in earnest instead of just occasionally helping out here and there in school? Wasn’t your original intention simply to quietly observe?”

“I guess there are things that not even you understand,” I answered.

“I’m not a god. Moreover, I understand your situation, Ayanokouji-kun, but there are parts of your thinking that I haven’t caught up with yet and that I don’t fully understand. Could you please enlighten me?”

A genius, driven by the unknown, was looking for answers. The main reason why Sakayanagi wasn’t interested in the whole Class A through Class D ranking issue was probably because it wouldn’t matter either way for her after graduation. As the daughter of the school’s chancellor and someone who was already quite academically gifted herself, Sakayanagi would be able to achieve most everything on her own already. She didn’t need to use the privileges that came with graduating from Class A for anything, so she wasn’t fixated on it.

I could say that the same applied to me as well since I would be going back to the White Room after graduation. Though we were headed in different directions, I understood very well that the privileges of Class A didn’t mean anything for either of us.

“I guess it might seem strange, yeah,” I conceded.

“I can’t imagine you’re doing it so you can live it up extravagantly with a surplus of Private Points like Kouenji-kun.”

“He’s probably in a similar position to us, anyway,” I said.

He was the type of person who could get by on his parents’ influence and his own talents. Kouenji contributed to the class occasionally to help get Class Points on his own whims.

“I suppose you at least have the right to ask the reason why I’m contributing to the class,” I said. “After all, you did walk right into my obvious trap and practically threw away a win at the Sports Festival.”

If you risked losing 150 Class Points and gained nothing in return, there would be no way forward for you. But if Sakayanagi could leave a trail of breadcrumbs, she could leave her opponents wondering if the same strategy would work again.

“To respond to what you’re thinking about, yes, I’ll come here once again if the same thing happens,” said Sakayanagi.

“Don’t just say my thoughts out loud.”

“Fu fu fu.”

“Basically, what I’m doing is the same thing you’re trying to do, Sakayanagi,” I told her. “You’re trying to find the answer to what genius means, by defeating me. I guess what I’m trying to prove, in my own way, is that the education of the White Room is by no means perfect.”

I didn’t get the impression that Sakayanagi was surprised by this. That was evidence to me that she already assumed I had this line of thinking, even if she didn’t have any hard proof.

“So you’re trying to create the strongest class with your own two hands, Ayanokouji-kun,” she said. “Is that right?”

I nodded in affirmation.

Sakayanagi placed the pad of her pointer finger on her lips. “I can’t say that I haven’t considered that before, but…it does leave me with some questions,” she said.

“I’m sure.”

“The Sports Festival… Despite the circumstances, you could have forged ahead and participated anyway, Ayanokouji-kun. I’m sure that, had you been providing instructions directly on the battlefield, you would have increased your class’s chances of winning even more and turned it into a sure victory, no? I’m sure you were not afraid of me participating either.”

“I approached this Sports Festival with one idea in mind.”

“That is a rather interesting statement. And what idea is that?”

“‘Careful observation.’ I decided that this would be a good opportunity to see how well the other students could fight on their own without my direct intervention. Your absence was a byproduct of that, I guess.”

“So, I’ve come to see you only because you decided to observe, Ayanokouji-kun. Not because of anything you did directly regarding the events of the Sports Festival… I see.”

As she spoke, Sakayanagi quickly arrived at the conclusion, ahead of everyone else. “Meaning—”

Just as she was about to give the answer, I gently shoved her from the front. Well, actually, it was probably an exaggeration to call what I did a shove. I had gently grabbed both of her shoulders and gave her a light push. Sakayanagi was completely powerless and unable to resist, so she fell backward. There was a light pomf sound as she hit the mattress, followed by the slight creak of metal. Even Sakayanagi, who prided herself on being a genius, must not have even considered that I’d do something like this.

Before she could wrap her mind around what was going on, I looked down at her from above as though I was hanging over her.

“A-Ayanokouji-kun?”

The normally confident and relaxed Sakayanagi was unable to keep up with the shift in this situation.

“I’m living my life here at this school according to my plan,” I told her. “The fact that you came to my room today, and that you showed interest in my plan, along with the possibility you’d arrive at the answer, and that there would be a route to arrive at that conclusion—that was all part of that plan too.”

Sakayanagi had probably never had a man looming over her like this before. She cleared her throat, perhaps out of worry or nervousness.

“If you tell anyone else about what we discussed today, it will hinder my objective,” I added.

“Do you…think that I would tell anyone?” she asked.

“Well, we can’t say that there’s zero possibility of that, can we? If you were to threaten me and tell me I had to have a showdown with you or you’d expose me, then I would have no choice but to accept.”

“I see, that’s certainly… Yes. But, if I were willing to coerce you into a competition by doing something like that, then…couldn’t I have just told others about the White Room?” she suggested.

“No, that wouldn’t have worked,” I replied. “Even if you made knowledge of a facility like that public, it’s just not something other people would understand. It also wouldn’t be a risk to me personally.”

“Ayanokouji was raised in an educational institution called the White Room.” Most people would probably just give you a confused look if you said something like that. There wasn’t any way to find more information on the internet either. If Sakayanagi made claims about the White Room, it might cause some small degree of confusion, but I obviously wouldn’t do anything about it.

“But what I’m trying to do isn’t yet at the stage where I can let people know about,” I added. “So, you could use it as a means to extort me.”

When I drew slightly closer to Sakayanagi, a deep shadow fell over her as I blocked the light from the ceiling.

“So I suppose this means that I found out about your plan by chance… What will you do?” she asked me.

“A secret for a secret,” I replied. “A threat for a threat. You and I are the only people in this dorm right now. Which means that no one would come to your rescue if something were to happen. Even if you scream, it wouldn’t carry beyond the hallway.”

“Surely you’re not considering going so far as committing a crime to protect your plan, are you?” said Sakayanagi.

“A crime? No. You and I are going to come to an agreement, to share secrets,” I told her.

I took out my phone and turned on the camera.

“The only way for you to refuse this agreement would be for you to run off on your own,” I added.

Considering the condition of her legs… Well, no, even if there weren’t any problem with her legs, there was no way for Sakayanagi to get out. How would she respond in this hopeless situation?

“…Do you think you can beat me?” she asked.

“Beat you?” I repeated.

“Even if things are going the way that you expect them to, Ayanokouji-kun…can you really say that you have the upper hand? That’s what I mean.”

“Sorry, but you don’t stand a chance of winning against me.”

“You can catch up and overtake people by learning more, such as with a slight difference in experience. But in fact, you might learn that you’ve been learning things the wrong way, you know?” she asked.

Even when she had been driven into a tight corner, Sakayanagi continued to think as calmly and rationally as possible. She must have been feeling flustered, but it was impressive that she had been able to deal with the situation thus far. I tossed my phone down toward the bottom of my bed and then slowly moved my hand toward Sakayanagi. I grabbed her shoulder, and then I brought my hand to the nape of her neck. Even still, all Sakayanagi did was avert her eyes.

“Let’s begin a special lesson, shall we?” I asked.

Sakayanagi had a broad grin on her face. She quietly closed her eyes and offered no resistance.

7.1

“Y OU REALLY ARE a mean person,” said Sakayanagi.

“Maybe so,” I replied.

About an hour had passed since Sakayanagi had come to my room.

“And now there’s a secret between you and I that we cannot tell anyone about, Ayanokouji-kun,” she said.

“That’s a misleading way of putting it.”

“You were the one who caused this misunderstanding in the first place, though. No?”

“Yeah, you’re right about that.”

“Nevertheless, this was the first time I had ever been in a man’s bed, Ayanokouji-kun.”

“It was for less than ten seconds, so it probably doesn’t count.”

“You’re making light of a girl’s commemorative event.”

I showed Sakayanagi my phone, letting her see the screen as I proceeded to select and delete the necessary items. Perhaps I slid through pictures too fast as I was doing that as a picture of Kei and I came up. It showed the two of us at Keyaki Mall.

“Your relationship with Karuizawa Kei-san seems to be going well,” Sakayanagi remarked.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I said.

While looking at the picture of Kei smiling happily, Sakayanagi spoke once more.

“So…maybe you were attracted to her looks, her voice, or her personality, Ayanokouji-kun,” she mused. “Well, one would normally think so, but there are some things there that don’t quite add up.”

Sakayanagi looked up at me with a sharp look in her eyes. The expression on her face was like she was fighting with me.

“I looked into your girlfriend as much as I was able. I looked into everything, from what she does after class to what she does on her days off. With how things are right now, it’s quite easy to follow you, Ayanokouji-kun.”

As long as the entire third-year student body was monitoring me, I couldn’t pay attention to every little thing. It would be difficult for me to pick up on Sakayanagi’s spies if they were added into the mix. I wouldn’t have noticed Hashimoto, someone who I knew had tailed me before, or someone else for that matter, if they were following me.

“I was unable to ascertain the real reason you chose to go out with her, Ayanokouji-kun, but certain things did become apparent,” Sakayanagi went on. “Her behavior, namely her strong trust in you and affection for you, could almost be described as blind faith. Are you going to be using her for some kind of experiment in the future? Or are you trying to help her? I have deduced that the reason is something along those lines.”

I didn’t recall giving Sakayanagi any extra information on my part. I didn’t think that she had as much information on Kei as Ryuuen did, but she was still able to make an estimation that was incredibly close to the truth.

“Was that what your special lesson for me was about?” she asked.

“I have to say, I’m getting tired of using the word brilliant , but honestly, you are,” I replied.

Unlike with Kei, Sakayanagi and I were able to communicate and understand each other without using words.

Ding-dong .

My doorbell suddenly rang. It was a completely innocuous, ordinary sound. It was just around 12:30 p.m. now, around the time that students would be finishing their meals. A visitor had suddenly shown up outside my door when there wasn’t supposed to be anyone in the dormitory. After Sakayanagi and I exchanged glances, we simultaneously turned to stare at my front door.

There were supposed to be three bodyguards in the lobby on watch. Did someone force their way in? If someone had the incredible skill to subdue those armed guards, that would mean more problems. If that were the case though, whoever it was, they would have likely barged into my room without ringing my bell and waiting around like this.

My doorbell rang once more.

It would probably raise suspicion if I ignored it any longer since this person was operating on the assumption that I was resting in my room. It was also possible, though unlikely, that this person was a school official.

“Who’s there?” I asked, without moving from my position on the bed.

“Stay where you are and listen,” responded the visitor.

Whoever it was, he must have been able to tell from the sound of my voice that I was sitting far away from the door. It was the voice of a young man. Not an adult, but someone my own age.

“You sound familiar,” I said.

However, the visitor’s identity wasn’t coming to my mind. Judging from the voice, he sounded like he was a student. And while I couldn’t place exactly who it was, he was definitely familiar. Of course, if you were living on campus, you would inevitably hear a large number of different voices all the time. Even so, I immediately recognized that I had definitely heard this voice somewhere.

“You called me once,” I added.

When I made that remark, the person standing on the other side of the door remained silent for a short while.

“Impressive,” he said. “You remembered my voice after only hearing it once.”

The fact that this was coming after my father paid a visit to this school also made an impression on me.

“You didn’t say anything that sounded like you wanted something from me back then,” I pointed out.

“It was good that I didn’t,” said the visitor. “Something unfortunate happened afterward. I haven’t made contact with you since then, but… Anyway, I’m sure you’re probably curious who I am, but it doesn’t matter. I am neither friend nor foe to you.”

“In that case, why’d you come?” I asked.

“I’m sure you’re thinking that once you’ve eliminated Tsukishiro and any students from the White Room, peace will return. I came here to advise you that such thinking is a mistake.”

“Fu fu,” Sakayanagi chuckled. “This sounds like quite an interesting conversation. Would you mind if I joined in?”

“Sakayanagi Arisu, huh…”

The young man on the other side of the door showed no sign whatsoever that he was perturbed by Sakayanagi’s unexpected comment. In fact, he was able to identify her immediately just after hearing her. Had he figured that out by narrowing down the list of everyone absent today? Or did he recognize her voice?

“At any rate, if you want to stay at this school until graduation, do be on alert,” said the visitor.

“You say you’re neutral, but you’re giving me support,” I said.

“Your presence is causing a negative impact. I just want to prevent anything further.” His voice then trailed off. Apparently, this person must not have intended to stay for very long as it sounded as if he had walked away already.

“That voice…” Sakayanagi mused. “Where have I…?”

“Do you have any idea who that was?” I asked.

“Like you, I’m afraid I don’t have a clear answer to that question, Ayanokouji-kun. However, I just had a feeling that I’ve heard that voice from the other side of the door somewhere.”

So, in other words, I could take what Sakayanagi said to mean that she remembered hearing that voice someplace else, but someplace different from where I heard it.

“It wasn’t recent,” she added. “Five, maybe ten years… It’s a fairly old memory.”

“If that’s the case, then the chances of that person being a White Room student are slim to none,” I said.

“Yes. If I met whoever that person was when I was small, that’s true,” she agreed.

It was understandable, then, how he reacted when he learned that Sakayanagi was here in my room. Not only was he not surprised, but he reacted as though she were someone he was acquainted with. But whether I was dealing with Amasawa or that man, this occurrence wasn’t something I cared about. As long as there wasn’t any harm being done to me at the moment, then I wasn’t inclined to bother.

7.2

T HE SPORTS FESTIVAL , which I wasn’t present for, ended in almost an ideal manner. The class too was in total excitement over the final results, the likes of which would’ve been unthinkable at any other time in the past year and a half. The gap between Horikita’s class and Class A had narrowed, and Horikita’s class now had undeniably significant assets thanks to a growth in Class Points through the Uninhabited Island Exam, the Unanimous Special Exam, and the Sports Festival. Several days had passed since then, and it was now just after the middle of October.

The Sports Festival rankings were as follows: Horikita’s class came in first place, Ryuuen’s class came in second place, Ichinose’s class ended in third place, and Sakayanagi’s class was in fourth place. Of course, it wasn’t as though any one person was responsible for these rankings; it was the will and the strength of the class as a whole. Furthermore, Sudou and Onodera each took first place respectively for individual scores. Kouenji also placed first in all ten competitions he took part in, but since all of his were individual competitions, he took second overall.

Kouenji seemed satisfied with that though, and no problems had arisen. Sudou and Onodera were each presented with the option of transferring classes, but they chose the Private Points rewards instead without hesitation. While there were still some points of concern with Horikita’s class, they were most certainly heading toward Class A.

Kei apparently had plans to meet up with a friend today, so I decided to stop by Keyaki Mall and head back to my dorm room after that. As I walked back alone though, Horikita came up to me.

“I’d like to speak to you for a moment, if you don’t mind,” she said.

“As long as we can walk and talk, then sure,” I replied. “I’m heading back to the dorms.”

“That’s fine.”

Since she had gone out of her way to come talk to me when I was on my way back to the dormitory, it must not’ve been something she wanted too many people to overhear.

“I learned a great deal from the Unanimous Special Exam,” said Horikita.

“And what would that be?” I asked.

The Sports Festival was over, but her problems hadn’t all been solved. While there were some instabilities remaining, the class was starting to move forward again. In the midst of all of that, Horikita was troubled but was apparently learning from it.

“I wasn’t wrong,” she said. “In making the choice to keep Kushida-san, I mean. I can see once again that I made the correct decision.”

Horikita demanded results from her, and Kushida responded by contributing to the class, even earning points in the Sports Festival. She was once again being a diligent honors student in her daily school life, and although her Societal Contribution score in OAA had fallen slightly from the top in the beginning of October, it was probably only a matter of time before she regained her position. If I were to make an unforgiving comparison, Kushida was contributing far, far more to the class than Airi could. Of course, it wasn’t though the decision was one that only came with benefits.

“I know, you know,” Horikita continued. “And I know that there are still some matters of concern, especially the issue of Hasebe-san. I honestly don’t know what to do about her. But, if there is another special exam like that one, I think that I’ll be able to handle it better when the time comes.”

“And your basis for saying that is?” I asked.

“I made an ill-advised promise to the class during that test in order to reach a unanimous decision,” she said. “I said that the traitor would be expelled, and then I went back on my word. Making that promise was an easy shortcut to getting a unanimous decision, but I didn’t understand the magnitude of that risk. I already knew deep down that Kushida-san was the traitor. Also, I made the decision to make that promise even though I hadn’t made up my mind about letting Kushida-san be expelled. That was a mistake.”

“If there was a possibility that you were going to keep Kushida from the start, then it’s definitely true that making a careless promise like that would only end up coming back to bite you,” I agreed.

Horikita’s decision back then was a last resort and made as time was about to run out. But even so, it was true that if the class had come to a unanimous decision at that time, with Horikita leaving the possibility that Airi or other dead weight students similar to her in terms of ability could be the ones expelled, the aftereffects wouldn’t be as significant as they were now. What had been thrown away, and what had been gained?

“We gained Class Points,” Horikita said. “But we also lost more than a few things. That special exam taught me a lot. It showed me both success and failure.”

“I imagine that you’d rather not fail, though,” I replied.

Horikita closed her eyes, suddenly took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes once more. “I’m still only in my second year of high school. I’m a child. Failing is a good thing.”

“You’ve reconsidered things,” I said.

“It’s not like me to agonize over things, to be stuck on the fence. I…I’m going to be like myself. I may not be able to do things as well as the other leaders. But Hirata-kun is here, and Karuizawa-san is here, and so are Sudou-kun and Onodera-san, and Kushida-san and Kouenji-kun too. With their support, I’ll move forward. I’ve decided to think of it like Class A is there, waiting ahead.”

“I see.”

“And I count you among those with me, of course. I don’t know what you’re thinking, and you’re totally uncooperative in many ways, but…you are indispensable to the class, and to me.”

My presence was somewhat like training wheels on a bicycle. Even if it was indispensable at first, you’d take them off, fall down a bit, and then be a bit wobbly as you tried to ride forward. Then, eventually, you’d be able to ride without difficulty.

You’re not supported by only one person as you’re pedaling that bicycle, Horikita. You’re supported by your classmates. And after I make sure you mature a little more—

I’ll leave your class.

I wasn’t going to say anything right now, but eventually, Horikita would learn the reason why.

And…

She’d definitely understand.

The time would come when she’d have a class that she was absolutely convinced will win, and she’d be faced with the reality that she couldn’t.

I would teach her that, for her own sake, and no one else’s.

As long as I was winning, that’s all that would matter.

If I decided to become her enemy and defeat Horikita, then it was a done deal.

However, I planned on leaving precisely because I want to be defeated. I wanted there to be uncertainties in the future.

There was a contradiction there: I had an answer, but I wanted to be wrong.