That same day, after classes had ended…
"Let's head home, Masumi-san."
"…Fine."
Sakayanagi stood from her seat and called out to Kamuro.
"It seems that a new drink came out at the cafe in Keyaki Mall. Would you like to get one on the way?"
This weekend, one of their classmates would be expelled.
Furthermore, even though she had personally made the nomination, Sakayanagi's attitude was the same as usual.
"Hey."
"What?"
"…Nevermind."
Kamuro changed her mind, having felt like it would've been a waste of time to ask.
Sakayanagi's cold-hearted, calculating decisions were almost inhuman.
Although, Kamuro was pretty much no different from her, so she thought it would be foolish to point this out.
A phone call broke the silence between the two of them, followed by Sakayanagi taking her cell phone out from her pocket.
With a thin smile, she happily answered the call.
"How are you, Yamauchi-kun? I was just thinking it was about time I heard from you."
"Talk about having strange taste in men…"
Recently, it hadn't been unusual for Sakayanagi to engage in deep conversation with Yamauchi.
They would call each other almost daily, talking excitedly about the most trivial things.
"Today? Oh, that's no problem, let's meet up. Though, I have a few prior commitments to take care of first, so would it be alright if we meet up afterward?"
Based on their conversation, it was clear that this was yet another one of those calls from Yamauchi.
"I'm busy at the moment, so I'll get in touch with you later, alright?"
With that, Sakayanagi ended the call a few seconds later.
"So, it seems I'll be meeting up with Yamauchi-kun later tonight."
"You… You've been talking with Yamauchi a lot recently. What are you planning?"
"What can I say? He's caught my eye."
<Illustration >
"Caught your eye…? Do you like him?"
"Would it be strange if I said I did?"
As Yamauchi's physical appearance came to mind, Kamuro could do nothing but shake her head.
"You're kidding right?"
"Yes. It's just a joke."
"You…"
"I'm training him. To see whether or not I can use him as a spy within Class C."
"Training him… It can't be that simple can it?"
"He's been quite easy to manage so far. Furthermore, since an amusing special exam has just been announced, I was thinking of having him take part in a little experiment."
Sakayanagi's words were only half-true.
Even though Kamuro was close, she wasn't somebody she trusted completely. Sakayanagi had chosen her words carefully in order to hide what she needed to keep hidden.
"Let's meet with him today. That should give you a rough idea of what my goals are."
Thinking about what would happen next, Sakayanagi smiled happily.