27 Volume 14 - Chapter 6: The Aloof Wunderkind of Class 2-D

Intro

At just before 7:00 AM the following day, the fifth of the exam, we were pushing south along the river from area D4 to D5. After we stepped foot in G3 yesterday, we decided to forego our next designated area, H4, and travel due west on our way back to the starting area. As a result, we missed out on the next two designations — H6 and I7 — as well, meaning that we had now missed three areas in a row.

Unless a randomly designated area were to appear somewhere along our projected route by some miracle, that number would inevitably increase to four. Ultimately, the odds didn't play out in our favor, as when the clock finally struck 7:00 AM, the first designated area of the day was revealed to be I8.

Well, on the bright side, the designated area was so far away that it made it easier to detach from the matter since I wouldn't have to fret about going through the effort to get there.

Perhaps because it was so early in the morning, the gentle murmur of the nearby river was quite pleasant.

If it hadn't been for the bad news that came shortly thereafter, it would've been a pretty solid start to the day.

"Shinohara-senpai's situation doesn't seem very optimistic…"

Shinohara had been left to fend for herself after Komiya and Kinoshita retired yesterday. Even though Ike and Sudō were doing what they could to support her, the number of points she could score on her own was, in the end, limited.

As of yesterday, her group hadn't been included in the bottom ten, but when we checked the rankings this morning, she had already dropped down to the bottom eight. From the fact that the groups ranked below her would earn points at a faster rate, she would probably sink down to last place by tomorrow or the day after at the latest. Thanks to this, in an ironic twist of fate, Akito's group had been spared from the bottom ranks, at least for the time being.

Meanwhile, there were the current rankings for the top groups that I hadn't gotten the chance to look at yesterday. In first place was Nagumo's group, made up entirely of students from Class 3-A, whereas second place was held by Kiriyama's group from Class 3-B. The two top representatives of the third year were fully accounted for.

"Ah, Senpai. There's someone fishing up ahead."

A lone student came into view ahead of us. They were sitting on a rocky sidebar, leisurely passing the time with a fishing rod in hand. Due to their distinctive outward appearance, I recognized them immediately. They were a member of the one group I wanted to meet more than anyone else right now. I didn't expect the chance to meet up with them to come so soon. Due to the nature of the exam and the size of the island, finding one specific individual was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. I had even considered making use of the GPS searching feature once it was made available tomorrow to attempt to meet with their group.

I wanted to capitalize on this stroke of good luck no matter what.

"Mind if we make a detour, Nanase?"

Although several solid Tasks had popped up in the nearby area, we'd probably have to give up on them.

"I'm just your travelling companion, Ayanokōji-senpai. Please don't feel the need to ask for my opinion."

I took her thoughtful words at face value and decided to approach the student.

They hadn't seemed to have noticed us yet, but I chose not to call out to them so as to not interrupt their fishing.

Instead, we approached quietly, walking along the sandy gravel of the riverside.

Before long, we drew in close enough for them to notice our presence, as they slowly turned to face us.

"You started off on your own, but it doesn't seem like you've dropped to the bottom ten yet."

With these words, we were greeted by Katsuragi of Class 2-B, who openly welcomed us.

"Somehow. But if I took it easy for a day, my rank would probably plummet."

Having overheard the commotion, Ryūen emerged from inside his tent and gave me a somewhat surprised look.

"So you're strollin' 'round the island with a lass on your arm, eh? You get tired of that Karuizawa chick and ditch her?"

"Karuizawa? Why are you bringing her up?"

Katsuragi looked back at Ryūen, confused.

"Kuku, it's nothin'. Don't mind it."

"It seems you two have been doing pretty well for yourselves."

You could easily check the top ten highest-ranked groups through the tablet. As of this morning, I had a cumulative total of 52 points, putting me in 74th place overall. If you took into account the fact that I was a one-man group, my placement was fairly high.

Be that as it may, Ryūen and Katsuragi were ranked even higher, occupying tenth place with a cumulative total of 92 points.

Of those 92 points, 29 had come from Arrival Bonuses, 41 from Early Bird Bonuses, and 22 from Tasks.

"Oh shove it with the sarcasm. Isn't that freak with a few screws loose one of your classmates?"

"Well, that's true."

The 'freak with a few screws loose' that Ryūen was referring to was none other than Kōenji.

Like me, he was taking on the exam alone. But despite that, he currently sat in fourth place. Out of all the groups in the top ten, he had earned the most points from Early Bird Bonuses, not to mention the noteworthy number of points he had racked up from Tasks as well, all for a cumulative total of 126 points. His performance so far had been truly outstanding with practically no room for error.

However, there were still ten days left in the exam, including today. If an accident were to happen due to overexertion or injury, he would drop out of the top ten in an instant.

In this two-week long exam on an uninhabited island, we wouldn't be given even a single day to rest our bodies. No matter who you were, stressing your body out day after day would inevitably lead to muscle damage. It would start with obvious symptoms like muscle pains and general soreness, and then, little by little, your legs would grow heavier as even simple tasks like walking became difficult. Furthermore, since we could only replenish the bare minimum of nutrients that our bodies needed while we were on the island, you'd be afflicted by constant mental and physical fatigue as well.

"What's your next designated area?"

"Hah?"

"It's already past 7:00 AM. You two sure seem to be taking it easy."

"It was my decision."

Katsuragi responded as he cast his line into the river.

03-10

"We've been moving at a rapid pace these past four days as we worked on Tasks and map movement. That being said, our first designated area today turned out to be the random designation down in E10, so we'd have to push ourselves fairly hard if we wanted to arrive within the time limit. I decided that the one or two points we'd get for making it there wouldn't be worth the effort."

Ryūen let show a wry smile as he shrugged his shoulders. Ryūen was the type of person who always looked to push himself to the absolute limit, and yet Katsuragi had somehow managed to persuade him to take a break. Ishizaki or Kaneda probably wouldn't have been able to control Ryūen to such an extent. It seemed that Katsuragi was already playing an important role as a member of Class 2-B.

"So, have you caught anything?"

Nanase posed a question to Katsuragi as she eyed the bobber in the river.

"Sadly, not much. We'd have to go to the sea if we wanted to catch a lot of fish."

In other words, they were fishing here simply as a way to pass the time.

"I take it you're doing fine on the food front, then?"

While I didn't know if he'd answer me honestly or not, I decided to take a stab at it anyway.

"There's plenty of food to gather from the sea, rivers, and forest. Water is no different too since all you have to do is boil river water."

"But isn't it risky to drink river water?"

"You're not wrong. Boiling it doesn't guarantee that it's perfectly safe, but that's why I'm the only one who drinks it. Ryūen drinks the water we started out with and whatever we get from Tasks."

They were managing the risks flawlessly. By this point in the exam, there should be groups out there who were struggling to get by, but it looked like these two would be living steadily for quite a while.

"It just so happens that I've been looking for you, Ryūen."

"Lookin' for me, eh?"

"I assume you're aware of which groups are in the bottom ten right now, right?"

"Well, sure. I dunno what those idiots from my class are doin' down there in the bottom eight though."

With two members out of the picture, their income had dropped sharply, creating an ever-growing disparity between them and the other groups at the bottom.

"Komiya and Kinoshita retired."

The smile on Ryūen's face disappeared instantly, replaced with a serious expression.

Katsuragi looked in my direction as well, his attention ripped away from the fishing pole in his hands.

"They retired? What happened?"

Since Katsuragi was now a full-fledged member of Class 2-B, both Komiya and Kinoshita were fellow comrades that he needed to protect.

Nanase spoke up in response to Katsuragi's question.

"They were seriously injured. It's unlikely that either of them will be able to walk anytime soon."

"Was it an accident?"

"Well, that's─"

"According to Shinohara, the last remaining member of their group, they were attacked by someone."

"I assume this 'someone' was kicked outta here right along with 'em then, right?"

"Unfortunately, Shinohara's testimony was the only evidence they had. Neither Komiya nor Kinoshita could recall whether they were actually attacked or not. The school should still be investigating it, but I wouldn't get my hopes up."

"They're looking at it under the pretense that Shinohara-senpai lied because she didn't want her fellow group members to retire."

"What should we do Ryūen? Even if we manage to place in the top three, it'll be meaningless if Komiya and Kinoshita get expelled."

If Shinohara's group came in last place, Class 2-D and 2-B would both suffer major setbacks.

"You said you were lookin' for me, right? Shinohara's your classmate, so I assume you've already come up with a plan to stop the expulsions. Or am I wrong?"

Of course, despite not knowing any of the details, Ryūen instinctively knew that I had thought of something.

"Sorry Nanase, but I can't let you listen to the rest of this conversation. The survival of the second-years is at stake here."

"I understand."

After confirming that Nanase had moved a sufficient distance away from us, I approached Ryūen and shared the details of my strategy with him.

He could just tell Katsuragi about it himself afterward.

"Kuku, I see. With a plan like that there really is a way for Shinohara to survive. That said… will it all go smoothly?"

"It should have a decent chance as long as you cooperate. The rest will happen naturally."

"You've got balls changing shit up like this. If the other groups realize what's happening, they'll start takin' action too."

I responded with a small nod. That was the very reason why I didn't want Nanase to overhear us. If the first-year students were to find out about it, it would probably lead to a confrontation between the second-year students and everyone else.

"There are some clever first-year students out there as well. There's a chance that they might catch on sooner than anticipated."

It was also impossible to predict what the third-years would do if they found out.

"If it were a couple of small fry I wouldn't even hesitate to let 'em go, but Komiya and Kinoshita still have their uses."

"So you'll work with me… is that what you're saying?"

"Our interests align so there's no way I wouldn't take advantage of this strat of yours."

Shinohara's group was made up of students from both of our classes, after all.

If we didn't join hands here and now, it would be impossible to save any of them.

"If you run into Ichinose, can you tell her the plan as well?"

"That doormat Ichinose aside, I don't think Sakayanagi'll choose to lend a hand so easily."

"She's not the type to sit back and let the first-years look down on her."

"Kuku, I guess so."

With that, our impromptu meeting came to an end. We said our farewells and immediately set out for the starting area.

1

Nanase and I were making our way south toward the starting area, but along the way, a Task appeared near the summit of area C5, so we adjusted our route accordingly. The Task in question was a one-on-one match of Tug of War. It had a short registration deadline of 40 minutes, and the number of participants was limited to two boys and two girls, so overall the conditions were iron-clad. However, you would earn five points just for participating, and if you won, you would earn an additional ten points, for a total of fifteen.

Due to the fact that the summit was just a short distance ahead of us, it would be more or less impossible for other students to beat us there unless they were already in the area. After taking into account the fact that I would be missing my fourth designated area in a row soon (and would be losing two points as a result), I decided that we should go for it. Plus, there was a good chance that we would have fifteen points simply fall into our laps if nobody else showed up.

Despite the high elevation of the mountain, we pushed forward at a rapid pace and arrived at the Task with around five minutes to spare.

I thought that we would be the first to arrive, but apparently somebody had beaten us to the punch.

This 'somebody' seemed to have noticed our presence, but they made no effort to look in our direction.

"He got here pretty quickly didn't he? He must've been even closer than we were."

"I wonder."

Even if he had been toward the south side of C5 when the Task was announced, it should've still taken him a decent amount of time to get here.

"I'm not sure whether this will help clear things up for you or not, but that's Kōenji Rokusuke."

"Kōenji…? The same Kōenji from your class who's currently in fourth place overall? …Well, he does seem to give off an… aura of greatness of some sort."

It was one thing that he had arrived earlier than us, but even stranger yet was the fact that, apart from the single bottle of mineral water he was holding, he didn't have any bags or luggage with him.

If he was traveling light, then it made sense that he would be able to climb to the summit faster than us, but…

That would then mean that he had been moving around without a tablet, which I suppose was only to be expected of someone like Kōenji.

After taking a single sip of his water, he proceeded to pour the rest above his head, showering himself with what remained in the bottle. In a sense, it seemed as though he was basking in the satisfaction that came with ascending to the summit of the mountain.

03-11

"Ah… such a splendidly handsome man I am, these drops of masculine beauty trickling down my magnificent body. It seems that I myself have powered up all the more since the year before."

"He seems to be saying… something… Is he talking to us…?"

"No, he's definitely talking to himself. He's probably just immersed in his own beauty."

"I-is that so…"

Puzzled, Nanase tilted her head, unable to comprehend his behavior.

I didn't think that anyone else would show up, but there were only a few minutes left to register, so I figured that we should just focus on getting it over with. As such, the two of us went forward with the registration process and secured our spots in the Task. However, since the rules called for a one-on-one match split by gender, I would be forced to face-off against Kōenji as we were the only boys who registered. Nanase, on the other hand, was the only girl to show up, so she won her category by default.

"It seeeeems that my opponent is you, Ayanokōji-boy."

"That it does."

In previous Tasks, I had indirectly competed against my own classmates by simply being a part of the crowd.

However, this was the first time I had to compete with a classmate in a direct one-on-one match. Furthermore, the opponent of that match was none other than Kōenji. I sincerely hoped that this wasn't the start of something written in the stars.

The staff member in charge of the Task presented us with a rope and instructed us to wrap the ends around our bodies.

Given that my series of missed designations would only continue to increase, I wanted to secure as many points as possible, but…

Instead of taking the win for myself when I wasn't even a part of the top ten, it seemed more reasonable to concede the points to Kōenji so that our class would ultimately have a higher chance of coming out on top. With the fifteen points he'd get from winning, he would overtake Kiriyama's score of 135 points and rise up to second place all on his own, temporary as it may be.

Anyway, if I was truly going to concede the win, it would be better to give up now so I didn't waste more time or energy than necessary.

I could simply take my five points, head back down the mountain, and resume my journey back to the harbor at the starting area.

"The match will begin momentarily, so please prepare yourselves."

"Is something the matter, Senpai?"

As the staff notified us about the impending start of the match, Nanase noticed that I was lost in thought and looked to me with a question.

"Well, I…"

"Fufu, so you're a man who thinks about things from the perspective of efficiency, hmmmm?"

Kōenji instantly gleaned my inner thoughts as if they had been written expressly on my face.

"You were thinking that it would be best to abstain from the match rather than go to the trouble of facing off against me, weren't you? After all, relinquishing the points to my fourth-place self would indeed bring about the most benefit for our class. As would it be the best use of our time."

"Is… Is that true, Senpai?"

"I have no complaints as long as it helps Kōenji succeed in the rankings."

"Though, I doubt the Horikita-girl would be very satisfied with that, wouldn't you agree? For her, it's not hard to imagine it'd be preferable that I take second or third place rather than first."

He was so spot-on with his conjecture that a part of me wondered if he had somehow been listening in back when Horikita and I talked about this.

"That's limited to the situation where our own classmates are competing with each other for the top spot. As it stands now, your group is the only one in the top ten composed entirely of Class 2-D students, so if we were to compete for points here, we'd just end up getting in each other's way."

"I, of course, understand, but that's just poppycock. The fact that you believe you have a chance to prevail over me is the fundamental reason you're having these wasteful thoughts. No matter who the opponent, the one to win this bout will be yours truly."

Kōenji had taken part in a fair number of Tasks so far and he had earned rewards in each and every one of them.

Out of all the various groups spanning across the three different school years, he was the only one who had taken complete control like this.

There had been some Tasks where he had come in first or second, but in those that had to do with strength or stamina, he swept first place across the board.

So as far as this Task was concerned, he understandably held absolute confidence that he would take first place as well.

"Ayanokōji-boy, quit overselling your worth inside that head of yours. After all, it's not every day that you'll get the chance to compete against my motivated self."

The fact that he would believe in his own strength come hell or high water was probably Kōenji's greatest charm.

I slowly picked up the rope at my feet and wrapped it around my waist.

"Now then, if you'll each take up your positions, I'll begin the countdown. You may start pulling when I get to zero."

All I had to do was make it seem like I was putting in effort and then lose to him. That way I wouldn't pointlessly waste any energy.

"It doesn't seem my wisdom has done much to motivate you."

For Kōenji, my true intentions were probably as transparent as they could possibly be.

"Well, just try as best you can. Either way, just know that no matter how you may struggle, victory shan't be smiling upon you this time."

From the moment we each took hold of the rope, the countdown began.

"───Three, two, one… Zero!"

At the count of zero, I very lightly pulled the rope in my direction.

Given how little force I was exerting, if Kōenji were to make a serious effort, he'd probably drag me over the line in less than a second.

However, the rope didn't move in his direction at all.

He stood across from me with a fearless smile painted onto his face, waiting for me to start competing in earnest.

While I didn't have any intention of taking this seriously, I didn't want to waste any time here either.

That being the case, it might be more productive for me to fight back a little bit in order to make him feel threatened.

If I were to suddenly start pulling with more force than he expected, he would have no choice but to panic and respond accordingly.

There was more to winning Tug of War than just pulling at the rope with all your strength.

There was the force of the friction of the rope in your hands, the force of the friction between your feet and the ground, as well as the normal force tying it all together.

And to be even more precise, you'd also have to take into consideration the force of gravity.

I maximized my grip on the rope and firmly planted my feet on the ground. I then inclined my body back without bending at the waist.

And finally, by bending my knees and pulling the rope in close to my waist…

The flag marking the middle of the rope gave way in my direction ever so slightly. Everything was moving in accordance with my calculations.

That said, the amount of give was smaller than expected.

A heinous amount of force had begun to pull back on the rope, sealing away my counterattack in an instant.

"To win at Tug of War, one needs not these paltry parlor tricks, but raw, unbridled power."

It's not like I was going easy on him, not by any means. However, the force he was exerting on the rope was so great that it drew the center flag back to its place in between us, returning the match to a state of equilibrium.

From this, it seemed that Kōenji and I were just about evenly matched when it came to arm strength.

Not only that, he also weighed more than me. The most important factor in Tug of War may very well be weight, and since I lost in that respect, it would be difficult to beat him without securing an advantage in another way. If I used the full extent of my strength, I could easily turn this into a battle of attrition and wait for him to make a mistake of some sort, but that would be a complete waste of both time and energy. I did have another strategy I could use to come out on top, but it would be too early to use it now.

As the rope painfully dug into my fingers and palms, I once again thought about the fact that our arm strength was evenly matched. The young man known as Kōenji had physical capabilities in a league all their own. Even the likes of Sudō and Albert, who were themselves exceptionally strong amongst high school students, were far inferior in comparison. In fact, even the title 'Super High School-Level Student' seemed far too mild for him.

When I put strength into my arms and pulled on the rope for a second time, Kōenji instantly sensed my movement and responded with an equivalent amount of force.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity, I immediately relaxed my grip and stopped pulling.

Naturally, the rope was then pulled all the way in by Kōenji, and just like that, the match was over.

"So you chose to prioritize efficiency until the bitter end, did you?"

Kōenji seemed a little surprised, but with the outcome decided, he apparently lost all interest in pursuing it any further as he didn't say anything else.

"It's quite unfortunate, Senpai."

"No, even if I were to seriously face off against him, I wouldn't stand a chance. It's only natural that it ended up this way."

Overall, this Task had resulted in a net gain of 20 points for groups Class 2-D students.

That alone was more than enough to make the journey here worthwhile.

"Can you keep going, Nanase?"

"If I'm being honest, my legs are slightly sore."

She rubbed the side of her thigh a little as she spoke.

"But like I said back when I first joined up with you, please feel free to take action as you see fit, Ayanokōji-senpai."

Her resolve to stay with me hadn't wavered in the slightest.

"Full speed ahead then."

"Yes!"

Apparently, Kōenji had already started on some other route down the mountain in the brief period of time I was speaking with Nanase, as he was nowhere to be seen.

2

After around two more hours of travel, we finally arrived back at the harbor in the starting area.

Nanase had started lagging behind during the final stretch of the journey, so she arrived about a minute after me, completely out of breath.

"Haaaa… I finally managed to catch up."

She wiped her sweat with a hand towel as she tried to stabilize her breathing.

"It's hard to believe you're a first-year high school girl. I didn't expect you to have so much stamina."

Throughout our time together so far, there had been several instances where her physical prowess had piqued my interest, but this had been the most intriguing by a long shot.

"No no, compared to me, you're not even short of breath, Ayanokōji-senpai… You're just as outstanding as I thought."

"I'm just putting on a stoic front. Well, that aside, take a look over there."

"Wow─! So many people!"

Nanase, who had more or less caught her breath at this point, expressed her surprise about the sheer number of people bustling throughout the harbor.

Not only could you buy additional supplies here with your leftover provision points, but you could also receive free medical treatment, take a refreshing shower, or even make use of one of the clean, well-kept restrooms.

It was, so to speak, an oasis for the students. The one and only location on the island where you could let your guard down and relax a bit.

Whether it be those who were just stopping by due to the harbor's proximity to their last designated area or those who had made the choice to give up on the next few areas and take a break, students with all sorts of goals and motivations had gathered here.

Furthermore, there were a fair number of school officials scrambling to and fro to handle the various needs and services of the harbor.

"So… Why did we come all the way here to the starting area, Senpai?"

"Before that, let's check out the Task."

"Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that."

Just around the time when we stepped foot in area C8 on our way south from the Tug of War Task in C5, another Task had popped up in the starting area.

The Task in question was called 'Open Water Swimming'.

It entailed a race where the participants would have to swim approximately 2km from start to finish.

While there had been plenty of physically demanding Tasks so far in the exam, the bar had been set drastically higher than usual for this one. Perhaps for that very reason, the Task also boasted the largest reward to date with 20 points.

Since the starting area was such an easy location to access, the Task should fill up fairly quickly. However, the number of students who would actually choose to register would inevitably be limited, given its demanding nature.

It was also worth mentioning that the sea didn't exactly seem calm today.

Swimming in the open ocean was completely different from swimming in a pool and because of the inherent danger involved, it would probably be safe to assume that they were restricted to holding the Task in the vicinity of the starting area.

Lifeguards would surely be on standby, ready to jump into action in the event of an emergency.

The Task registration desk seemed to be located at the far edge of the harbor, so we made our way over.

From what I could see at a distance, there seemed to be a suitably large gathering there, but I couldn't help but wonder if the size of the crowd was truly proportional to the number of registrations.

Before long, the two of us arrived at the registration desk and declared our interest in entering the competition.

"I must apologize. The last spot for the boy's category filled up just a few minutes ago."

The girl's category, on the other hand, had just one spot remaining, making the situation highly reminiscent of the Beach Flags Task from a few days ago.

While the Task didn't have a particularly large capacity or anything, I didn't think so many students would actually choose to register.

What surprised me the most, however, was…

"Senpai… Is… Is that Kōenji-senpai?"

A young man could be seen standing with his back turned to the registration desk from just up ahead. And, sure enough, it was none other than Kōenji.

Seeing him here right after the Task was announced was… shocking to say the least.

"Erm… Senpai…"

"If you want to compete in the Task, you'd better hurry up and register. That said, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

The journey here had by no means been an easy one.

It wouldn't even be surprising if she had already exhausted every last drop of energy.

She would need to recover her stamina in the brief period of time she had to change clothes before the Task commenced.

"Although I'm reluctant to say I'm in perfect condition… it's a rare opportunity, so I'd like to give it my best shot."

Despite the circumstances, she seemed to be fairly enthusiastic and motivated.

"I'll be waiting over there then. Come find me when it's over."

"Will do!"

After seeing Nanase off, I decided to leave the Task registration area in the harbor for a bit.

In the meantime, I wanted to make contact with a certain someone. In fact, meeting with this certain someone had been the main purpose behind my coming all the way back to the starting area.

Not too long after I started searching, I found the person I was looking for seated elegantly on a folding chair beneath a parasol that had been set up on the sandy beach.

"Good day to you, Ayanokōji-kun. It seems the weather is going to be awfully hot today, don't you think?"

"How are you doing, Sakayanagi?"

"Reasonably well, I suppose. Ichinose-san and Shibata-kun are putting forth their best efforts for my sake, so I truly can't ask for much more than that."

Ichinose and Shibata were Sakayanagi's fellow group members. She was participating in the exam in a pseudo-retired state because of her bad leg. Since she couldn't move together with her group, they could only earn a maximum Arrival Bonus of two points per designated area.

"I've been curious about whether or not your group is eligible for Early Bird Bonuses."

If a group had someone retire, they would lose the ability to earn Early Bird Bonuses.

Sakayanagi, however, was a special case.

"The school has graciously decided to make an exception for my group. After all, it's not my fault that I'm forced to stay sedentary."

Even though her group wasn't part of the top ten right now, it was probably safe to assume that they had achieved fairly decent results so far.

"I must ask, what brings you to the starting area today?"

"There were a few reasons, but the first didn't play out according to plan."

I shifted my gaze toward the Open Water Swimming Task that would probably begin any second now.

"Unfortunately, the final spot was taken by Kōenji."

"He was in fourth place just this morning, and yet now he's already in second? As a classmate of yours, he's quite the prodigy, isn't he?"

"I hold the same opinion."

Most of the top groups were competing against one another with a fairly slim margin of points separating their scores. If Kōenji were to take first in this swimming Task, he would temporarily shoot up to the first place spot.

"It should be about half an hour until the Task is over and Nanase-san comes back, so you're welcome to come join me if you'd like. The shade here is wonderfully refreshing, I must say."

03-12

She motioned toward the open space underneath the parasol, granting me full permission to share her space.

"How do you know about Nanase?"

"Because I receive regular updates about the various going-ons of the island."

I had crossed paths with students from Class 2-A several times so far, so I suppose it wouldn't be surprising if one of them had reported back to Sakayanagi here at the starting point. After all, traveling alone with an underclassman — and a girl at that — definitely tended to stand out in a bad way.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to join you? I'm an enemy after all."

The heat from the sun's rays was so intense that it would be difficult to justify half an hour of direct exposure.

By standing still under direct sunlight, you would just end up needlessly exhausting your stamina.

"Fufu, by all means. Don't be shy."

She seemed to be saying that I, as someone who wasn't part of the top ten, didn't even amount to a perceivable threat.

As I pondered over whether or not to take her up on her offer, the various students participating in the Task arrived on the beachfront and entered the water in preparation for the start of the competition.

Shortly thereafter, the boys began with their race.

"How overwhelmingly one-sided."

Kōenji set out at top speed from the very start and proceeded to swim straight to the finish line, completely outpacing the rest of the competition. In other words, despite all the strength and stamina he had used while quickly traveling from area to area, he still had plenty left to spare.

"It seems to me that Kōenji-kun has been surprisingly motivated during this exam. Other groups must see him as quite the threat."

As far as this particular special exam was concerned, one might even go so far as to say that he was a reliable member of Class 2-D.

"Actually, there's a favor I'd like to ask of you, Sakayanagi."

"Ayanokōji-kun himself is asking me? Well now isn't that intriguing? Please, do go on."

Most people wouldn't even want to entertain a request from an enemy, but Sakayanagi's eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

"Five days have passed since the exam started, and yet only two people have retired."

"Komiya-kun and Kinoshita-san, right? It seems you're fairly well informed yourself."

"Incidentally, I just happened to be there when they retired."

Hearing this, the seemingly fascinated Sakayanagi nodded.

"From what I've gathered by looking at the rankings, the remaining Shinohara-san still seems to be putting forth the effort to stay afloat… As such, I would reckon that she's working with someone else now in order to get through the rest of the exam, is that right?"

"Correct."

"Though, given her abilities, it would be considerably difficult for her to navigate the second half of the battle on her own. Ideally, she should look to get absorbed by some other group sooner rather than later… Ah, I see what you're after."

Even though I hadn't said all that much yet, she had successfully managed to deduce what I wanted to ask of her. Just like that, she continued:

"So you want to get me to cooperate? Have you already met with Ryūen-kun?"

"He's on board with my plan. It seems he thinks quite highly of Komiya and Kinoshita."

"Is that so?"

Sakayanagi let show an amused smile as she looked at me with discerning eyes.

"It's only natural that Ryūen-kun would lend a hand given the circumstances, but I don't see any merit in doing so myself. At some level, I suppose that it would be prudent to prevent second-year Class Points from falling into the hands of the other school years. But to be honest, if there's no harm done to Class 2-A, I don't think it warrants any kind of intervention on my part."

Although she had patiently listened to my request, that was markedly different from an agreement.

"But, if you're willing to stomach working with me under the same conditions, I wouldn't be opposed to helping you out."

Sakayanagi countered my request for a favor with an exceedingly fair proposal of her own. Thanks to her quick intuition, it seemed that negotiations would be finished quickly.

"I'd like to agree to your condition, but I lack the necessary manpower right now."

"I'll gladly wait for when you're ready, of course. This strategy of yours will require both time and effort to execute, so if you want to take action, it'd be best to do so sooner rather than later."

"Right."

Moreover, I had reason to believe that Nagumo has been carrying out a similar strategy from relatively early on as well.

I had a suspicion that this type of strategy would come into play more frequently throughout the latter half of the exam.

"I'll contact you later."

"I'll leave it to you to decide on a messenger then. Whether it be Horikita-san or Ryūen-kun, it's of no concern to me."

I nodded in response before promptly taking my leave, having decided that it would be for the best not to loiter for too long.

After all, if I were to be seen together with Sakayanagi I would end up drawing far too much negative attention.

After that, I once again returned to the center of the harbor.

As I drew closer, I caught sight of a group of first-year students in the middle of purchasing an assortment of different supplies from Mashima-sensei. It seemed that he was the one in charge of selling provisions.

Even though I was essentially out of provision points, I decided to stop by and take a look.

"Hello."

"Ah, Ayanokōji. Perfect timing actually. I have something to tell you, so make it seem like you're looking through the merchandise and listen up."

I moved in line with his suggestion, casually dropping my gaze to the various goods on display as I discreetly drew closer to him.

"Acting Director Tsukishiro hasn't done anything noteworthy so far, at least not since the exam started. I haven't noticed him planning anything to interfere with you."

"So you're saying I don't need to worry about him doing anything?"

"…That's what I'd like to tell you, but there are still certain things that seem a bit strange."

"What do you mean?"

I slowly moved through the merchandise on display, occasionally taking the products into my hands as I did.

"In this exam, there's no telling when or where someone might run into danger. In the event that a student suffers a particularly time-critical injury, the school has prepared a small boat and a helicopter to help expedite the rescue process."

"That seems reasonable to me."

The helicopter and the boat each had their individual uses, so it wasn't strange that the school would have both prepared. If, for instance, a student were to run into trouble on the opposite side of the island during a spell of bad weather, it would be better to make use of the boat, whereas the helicopter would win out in cases where every second mattered.

"We originally planned on bringing along one helicopter and one boat, but for some reason we ended up bringing two boats. When I looked into it, I found that the Acting Director had arranged it as a supposed safety precaution."

It seemed that, even as the exam went on, Mashima-sensei had been dutifully keeping tabs on even the smallest of details as he collected information on Tsukishiro's movements.

"So then, maybe it's possible that he did so expecting the need for two boats to arise at once?"

"That's certainly true. In the end, it's just something peculiar that I thought would be worth mentioning. Take it for what you will."

What was originally supposed to be a single small rescue boat had apparently turned into two.

However, though the boat may be small in size, it would inevitably be noticed once it started moving. It would probably be pretty difficult to send one out without an SOS signal from a student. Most importantly, even if they managed to mobilize the boat, the question still remained: What exactly did that have to do with me?

"Where does the Acting Director usually spend his time?"

"Generally, he stays in the tent where the monitoring equipment has been set up, making sure that nothing has gone wrong with any of the students' watches. Of course, other staff members are in there monitoring the watches as well. Outside of that, he tends to go out and patrol the island once or twice a day, sometimes for several hours at a time."

"The Acting Director goes out of his way to patrol the island, all on his own?"

"Yes."

Although it was unknown what exactly it was that he was doing, there was still one concrete takeaway I could glean from this. Namely, that there were several hours each day where nobody was watching him.

"In any case, I have a bad feeling about all of this, so be sure to watch your back, Ayanokōji."

"Thank you for going to the trouble of providing me with this warning."

I fully intended to stay as vigilant as physically possible, but I still wouldn't be able to forget about the exam. At the end of the day, no matter how wary I may be, I would continue to be bound by the Basic Movement rule.

3

The Open Water Swimming Task came and went, and even though Nanase ended up missing out on first place, she managed to just narrowly slip into third and earn some points for her efforts.

She had covered a long, harsh distance in a drastically short period of time, so all things considered, she had performed admirably.

I was going to praise her for her efforts when she came back, but she looked discontent so I took a different approach.

"That girl who took first place is my classmate Onodera. She's a highly formidable opponent when it comes to swimming, so you shouldn't let the loss get to you."

With a top member of the swimming club like Onodera as her opponent, Nanase had managed quite well for herself.

"Yes. Onodera-senpai was certainly amazing. However, the one I'm truly concerned about is…"

Nanase trailed off as she looked over her shoulder and fixed her gaze on a certain someone.

That someone was none other than Kōenji, the young man who had snatched away the first place spot in the boy's category in an overwhelming display of superiority.

"On top of making his way to the starting area faster than us, he won his match in record time."

He stood refined as he looked out over the sea, and from what I could tell, his breathing wasn't labored in the slightest.

"He's as much a freak as he is a superhuman. Thinking about him any more than necessary isn't worth the time."

Although I may say this, even I, as his fellow classmate, have had to personally change my evaluation of him two or three times so far during this special exam. The Tug of War Task from earlier was only one such example of this.

He held utterly unfathomable potential.

If this was a glimpse of what he was truly capable of, then it would certainly be fair to call him a prodigy of some sort.

Having been awarded a lump sum of 20 points from his win, Kōenji had temporarily moved up to first place overall.

However, it would be incorrect to say that this put Nagumo at a disadvantage.

Rather, the fact remained unchanged that Nagumo was in an overwhelmingly advantageous position compared to Kōenji.

Moving forward, Nagumo would undoubtedly max out the size of his group through Tasks.

Once his group hits six members, they would start earning points at an accelerated rate and probably run away with the lead.

No matter how extraordinary Kōenji may be, in the end, he was acting alone. He lacked the human resources necessary to come out on top.

Therefore, when push came to shove, I wondered how exactly Kōenji planned on overcoming this setback?

At this point, we decided to rest until our next designated area was announced.

We rehydrated ourselves with the free drinking water they had on site, laid back, and enjoyed a well-earned break.

Then, at 1:00 PM, the third designated area of the day was revealed.

It was the random designation for the day, jumping straight from area H9 to area B6 — from one side of the map to the other.

I had missed a total of five areas in a row so far, costing me a sizable number of points due to the ramping penalty.

As such, I wanted to reach this new designated area by any means necessary.

"Senpai. In terms of distance it's certainly manageable, but…"

Having seen the area that had been designated on her own tablet, Nanase looked to me with shining eyes.

"It'll be hard if we try to go straight through the forest. However, we can take the beach in D8 and C8 and cut through a shorter patch of forest to the beach in B8 instead. Then, if we just head north from there, we can get to B6 without too much trouble."

I finished her sentence for her and added a few thoughts of my own, prompting her to nod and stand up. Apparently, she had pictured this very same route.

"Thankfully, I've been able to recover my strength and rehydrate a bit. I should be fine to push forward without issue."

Although we were reluctant to part ways with the starting area, we once again set off toward the forests of the uninhabited island.

We could see plenty of other groups of students at first, but just as soon as we stepped foot into the forest, we found ourselves reunited with the familiar feeling of solitude.

Unlike the sandy beaches where you were subject to the intense rays of direct sunlight, the muggy heat and humidity of the forest gnawed away your body.

"We've only just started and I'm already thirsty."

"I'm grateful that we could stay hydrated back at the starting area, but I'm going to miss the easy access to water as well."

Going from drinking as much water as we wanted to being forced to conserve water again felt worse than expected. That's why, even though earning points came at a high priority, it's only natural that there would be groups that try to stay somewhat nearby the starting area.

"There are more groups huddled around the starting area than I expected. I wonder if that's due to the stress and difficulty that comes with living on the island for four or five days in a row? What do you think, Senpai?"

"I think that's part of it, but that's not the only reason. I'd say the largest factor is the revelation of the bottom ten groups."

"…Is that so? Well, the expulsion penalty only applies to the bottom five groups, and since they were given the ability to find out their current situation through their tablets on the fourth day, I suppose it makes sense that they've grown complacent…"

By the end of the third day, nearly every student had been putting forward their full effort to secure a position on the leaderboards. We had been set to meander around an unfamiliar uninhabited island, told to pile up as many points as possible while being tossed around by Tasks and designated areas. All of this, just for the sake of escaping from the underlying threat known as 'expulsion'.

On the fourth day, however, that all changed. Students began to compare the points they had earned with those down at the bottom ranks. Using their first three days of island life as a baseline of sorts, they'd make rough, arbitrary approximations of how many points they could earn in a day and use that to help decide whether or not they were at an advantage.

"But, even if you have a 10 to 20 point lead on the bottom five, there's no absolute guarantee that you'll be safe, right? If it were me, I'd try my best to establish a 30 to 40 point lead and work to maintain it."

"Of course, at some level, everyone knows that they should be doing it that way. After all, everyone wants to face the special exam with the resolve to give it their all from start to finish. But reality is not that kind. Just like how you and I are eager to get a drink of water right now, once you get a taste of something sweet, whatever resolve you might have is bound to falter."

"I see… I suppose I can somewhat understand what you're saying. For instance, even if you've resolved yourself to stay up all night to study on the day before a big test, once you start thinking about how much you want to take a quick nap, you'll find yourself getting under the covers of your futon and end up accidentally sleeping until morning…"

She looked embarrassed as she spoke, as though this was a retelling of something she had experienced firsthand.

"Since the start of the fourth day, most groups should've started to run out of both food and water, and general fatigue has begun to set in as well. I think you can see that dropping in for a short visit at the starting area is the root cause here. If you see another group taking it easy in such a comfortable environment, it's only natural that you would think to do so yourself, at least for a bit."

In a world where nobody was taking a break in and around the starting area, most of the groups that stopped by would never be tempted to join in and instead choose to resume their journey.

"I would imagine that the decision to stay and rest at the starting area would come after a discussion between group members. They'd say something like: 'We have a lead for the time being, so let's stay here for a bit and pick up some easy Tasks while we enjoy the free water and safety. Then, once we've secured a suitable amount of food and water, we'll set out again.' Well, that would probably be the gist of it, anyway."

Nanase nodded along as I spoke, seemingly convinced. However, she sent a question my way only moments afterward.

"Then, the correct choice is to give up on taking the easy way out and be stricter with yourself… that's what you're getting at, right?"

"Nanase, you said that you'd want to establish a sizable lead and maintain it, but fatigue has started to catch up with you, hasn't it? You've taken part in more physically demanding Tasks than I have too."

"Y-yes. I know I said earlier that I'd work hard, but I must admit that my pace has actually slowed down by a fair bit since day one. I suspect that by tomorrow or the day after I'll probably be even slower."

Though she didn't say it explicitly, the wear and tear on her body was probably more severe than I imagined.

Energy spent participating in Tasks aside, just how many dozens of kilometers had she and I traveled in these last five days?

"Rest is important. There are times where you'll have no choice but to overwork yourself to earn points, but the key to that is knowing when to push yourself and when to take a step back and take a break. You ultimately just have to avoid doing the same things as the majority of other students."

Move when others have chosen to rest and rest when others have chosen to move.

"I've been thinking that you've been taking on the exam fairly negligently these past few days, Ayanokōji-senpai. But, you've just been conducting yourself that way because you don't want to stand out too much during the first half, haven't you?"

"That's about right. Of course, I'll bite if an adequate opportunity presents itself, but even if I made it into a highly contested Task, the number of points I can earn would be limited."

There had been many Tasks so far where I could've won if I had been given the chance to participate, but was never given that chance because someone else had already taken up the last spot.

"Uhm, if I may ask… why are you telling me about your plan? Up until now, it has always seemed that you've been looking to placate or deceive me whenever the topic comes up, Senpai."

She wanted to know why, and rightfully so as well. After all, I didn't normally let other people hear me talk like this.

So then, why did I choose to share a select portion of my overall strategy with her instead of trying to cover it up like I usually did?

Having spent the last several days traveling the island together with her, I had naturally come to understand her better.

The student named Nanase Tsubasa… What kind of personality did she have? What kind of mentality? She was a diligent honor student whose physical and academic capabilities were well above average. She was someone who followed instructions without voicing a single complaint, but wouldn't hesitate to speak her mind when she felt like something needed to be said. Above all, she had the confidence and resolve necessary to not break down easily.

Altogether, this was just as much a strength as it was a weakness, as well as a fairly awkward way for someone to live their life. It was precisely because she was such a person that I couldn't help but feel a sense of incongruity about the fact that she had chosen to join forces with someone like Hōsen.

Was it because she was trying to get me expelled as the White Room student?

Or perhaps there was some other motive for it?

Back when she first proposed the idea of traveling together with me, I thought that she was looking for an opportunity to strike when I showed a moment of weakness.

For that very reason, I had tried to make myself seem relaxed or careless on multiple occasions during our time together.

If she chose to strike while we were deep in the dark forest, her actions would be hidden from any prying eyes.

But, in the end, Nanase never even tried to take advantage of the opportunities I gave her.

Rather, between lending an ear to Ike's troubles and helping Shinohara and the others when they were in danger, she always put forward a genuine effort to try and help those in need.

"Put simply, there's no questioning the fact you're my enemy, Nanase. Not only because this exam requires us to compete against each other as students from different school years, but also because there's 20 million private points in it for you for getting me expelled."

"…That's right. After all, I tried to plot against you before, Senpai."

"That being said, your actions so far have made it impossible for me to see you as an enemy."

"Even though I've acted with blatant hostility before…?"

"Strange, isn't it? Well, that aside, I'm also fairly certain that even if I didn't say anything you'd still understand my strategy to some extent."

She acted as though she was surprised when I said this, but deep down she should've already picked up on my true intentions.

And despite the fact that she was already vaguely aware of my plans, she looked to feign ignorance so as to potentially find out something more.

"But with all that being said, this is just my intuition."

At this point, Nanase sank into silence.

I had no intention of pressing her any further on the matter, perfectly content with quietly continuing our journey through the forest.

For the time being, my top priority was reaching the next designated area.

4

"Phew~! Somehow we finally managed to make it to our last area."

With a heavy breath, Nanase collapsed to the ground, succumbing to the fatigue plaguing her entire body.

The fourth designated area of the day had been area B5, right above the previous area B6.

For Nanase, even a short distance like that must've been considerably burdensome.

"It seems like you've been pushing yourself quite a lot."

She had been fine when we left the starting area, but after a while, her pace gradually began to slow down. Given the circumstances, I had been eyeing the possibility of leaving her behind and making my way to the designated area on my own, but she ultimately managed to persevere through sheer willpower alone.

"To be honest, participating in that swimming Task was far too much for me."

That Task had probably drained away just about every last drop of spare energy she had.

"Fortunately for you, we're done for today. We can take it slow from here and look for a good place to set up camp."

We rested for a bit while we waited for her to feel ready to walk again, and then we set out in search of a suitable campsite.

Before long, we came across a large opening in the forest where another group had already set up camp. It seemed as though they were getting ready for dinner, as there was an assortment of different cooking utensils lined up in front of their tents.

It was a great location with plenty of space for us to set up for the night, but it felt like it would be awkward to do so when we weren't particularly close to the other group. Just as we tried to pass them by and look elsewhere, one of the students called out to us.

"Yo!"

The student in question was Hamaguchi Tetsuya, a boy from Class 2-C. I lightly raised my hand in response, prompting Nanase to follow suit with a bow.

"You guys in a hurry to get somewhere?"

"No. We've already reached our designated area for the day. We were just thinking of finding somewhere a bit closer to the ocean."

"Then how about you take it easy and stick around for a bit?"

I hadn't spoken with Hamaguchi since last year's island exam and the exam on the cruise ship that was held on the way back.

We had only spent a brief period of time together back then, and we had never interacted with one another outside of that.

Our relationship was in no way close enough to warrant calling each other friends…

So then, why in the world was he looking to strike up a conversation with me?

"Though, you don't have to force yourself if you don't want to."

After a lengthy silence, he added in a couple of slightly apologetic words.

Nanase had been following along without voicing even a single complaint, but her fatigue was probably reaching its peak, so I figured we might as well take him up on his offer.

"Well, I suppose we'll take a short break."

"Come on over then, make yourself at home."

Hamaguchi ushered us over to his campsite as if he were inviting a couple of close friends into his room.

The way he managed to create such a welcoming atmosphere was just what you would expect of one of Ichinose's classmates.

That being said, what truly piqued my interest here was not Hamaguchi, but the other two members of his group.

They had come out from within their tent not too long after Hamaguchi called out to us, having overheard the sound of our ensuing chatter.

Their names were Andō Sayo and Minamikata Kozue.

The entire time, they had been casting glances in my direction as they unabashedly whispered to each other about something.

"If you two aren't on board with Hamaguchi's invitation, we'll leave immediately."

As students from different classes, if our presence made them uncomfortable, it would probably be better for us to leave.

At least, that's what I thought, but Andō hurriedly put a stop to that.

"No, no, nothin' like that. We were whisperin' 'bout somethin' else. It just so happens we wanted to talk with you, Ayanokōji-kun, so it's totally fine by us if you guys camp here tonight. Right Kozue?"

With that, she looked to Minamikata, who nodded along several times in agreement.

"If we're all on the same page, then let's take the opportunity to hold ourselves a welcome party!"

Saying that, Hamaguchi brought out a backpack from inside one of the tents.

He then unfastened the zipper and opened it up, revealing a considerably large amount of canned food contained within.

"That's quite a lot."

With just the amount I could currently see, a group could easily survive for a week.

"As luck would have it, all three of us had the card that gave 50% more provision points when the exam started. That's why we've got so much more food than other groups."

Although I had already figured that out myself, I decided to make it seem like I was genuinely impressed by this. A usual group of three would've had 15000 provision points to work with, but Hamaguchi's group had 22500. Even if they chose to buy a barbeque grill and a rich selection of meat, they'd still have plenty of points left to spare. Of course, purchases like that would be ill-fit for travel and transportation, given the weight.

One of the primary strengths of Class 2-C was that its students practically never acted selfishly. In spite of that, one might be led to think that Hamaguchi's group was being wasteful with their purchases, given the abundance of food and cooking supplies they had purchased, but that probably wasn't the case here at all.

Chances are that this was all Ichinose's idea. It would be extremely difficult to move about the map with such a large amount of food. This was particularly true for cooking utensils and tools like gas stoves and such, which would just end up getting in the way. However, it's a different story when someone is explicitly tasked with holding onto these things. Ichinose probably wanted to have some sort of system put in place for students to share useful cooking tools with each other.

As far as the rules of the special exam were concerned, the school had already officially stated that students were allowed to share food with other groups. So, in that sense, it felt fairly accurate to think of these three as the kitchen keepers of Class 2-C.

Hamaguchi pulled out a bundle of skewers from the backpack.

"What an exceedingly interesting strategy."

Nanase mumbled from off to the side, having seemingly gone through the same thought process that I had.

"I suppose you could say that."

"We first-years are rather lacking in terms of solidarity. I would imagine that those of us willing to take action for the sake of another are few and far between."

However, a strategy like this undoubtedly came with problems of its own.

Staying back and guarding the food and supplies was certainly important, but in the process, you would run into issues scoring points for the exam.

In the worst case, the penalty for missing out on designated areas could be mitigated by a single person. However, you'd still gradually get outpaced by the rest of the competition. In which case, you'd inevitably find yourself standing on the doorstep to expulsion.

"You guys alright with some yakiniku?"

"Eh, what do you mean?"

"We've at least gotta treat you guys to a solid dinner. Right you two?"

When Hamaguchi looked to check with his fellow group members, the two girls responded with an immediate nod of their heads, completely fine with the idea.

Seeing this, I spoke up.

"No, hold on a moment. I appreciate your sentiment, but there's no way we can accept such a generous offer."

"That's right. Your food is far too valuable to be used on us."

Although Nanase and I felt grateful for their show of goodwill, we both declined the offer. Despite this, however, Hamaguchi simply acted as if he hadn't heard us and continued preparing the meal. He was really far too good-natured a person. Rather than waste the resources on us, students from other classes and school years, they should be using them to support their own classmates in need.

Without so much as a second thought, Hamaguchi proceeded to take out some packed meat from a cooler box stored inside the backpack.

"You guys really don't gotta worry 'bout it. We just so happened to get our hands on some nice beef as a reward from a Task today. It's not gonna last for long in storage either way, so we might as well dig in while we can."

He took the cuts of meat and began to pierce them with skewers. From the look of it, we were about to be served a full-blown meal.

They even brought out a can of mosquito repellant for us to use in order to make the atmosphere even more welcoming and comfortable.

"Is it… really, really okay for you to treat the likes of us to a meal like this?"

"Oh stop it with the formalities. Don't hold back."

Even though their class had a tendency to overly prioritize helping others, I still had to ask myself: why me?

There was surely no way that they would go to these lengths for every student that passed them by.

"Are you curious about why I called out to you?"

"Considering that you're also treating me to a meal, it definitely raises questions."

After pausing for a bit to come up with the right words, Hamaguchi came out with it.

"It's cause we've been hearing a lot of talk about you lately, Ayanokōji-kun. We wanted to get a chance to talk to you ourselves. Ain't that right guys?"

"Yep."

Minamikata and Andō promptly agreed, fully on board with Hamaguchi's reasoning.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like… ya know…"

Andō shot me a questioning glance, the look in her eyes all but saying: 'You DO get what I'm talkin' about, right?'

Once they realized that I genuinely had no idea what they were getting at, their expressions became even more surprised than before.

"Eh? Wait, then has there really not been any progress yet? For real?"

"No way! I thought for sure that they'd at least be at that 'more than friends, less than lovers' stage by now!"

"I know right? Honami-chan's been dropping his name pretty much all the time these days."

"Is that so?"

"I know it's not our place to say this an' all, but… is there even any reason why they shouldn't be going out at this point?"

While I had heard somewhere before that girls love talking about this kind of thing, was it really appropriate for them to do so right in front of the person himself?

Nanase seemed to have connected the dots for herself by this point, as she was looking at me with keen, undivided interest filling her gaze.

"…I'm not 100% certain I get what you two are going on about, but I don't think we should go out with each other."

"No no no no no no. What are you saying? I'll say it again just to be sure, but you do know that this is THE Honami-chan we're talkin' about, right?"

"I can't really speak for all the boys out there, but prolly like 80 to 90% of the second-years like Honami-chan, right?"

"That sounds like a safe bet to me."

While there was certainly no denying the fact that Ichinose was popular with boys and girls alike, 90% was clearly an overstatement. Sudō liked Horikita, Ike liked Shinohara, and that was no doubt just the tip of the iceberg.

"You two are in different classes, sure, but you don't have to let that get in the way of love! There're tons of couples out there going steady with each other regardless of their class or grade."

"Isn't the bigger issue here the fact that Ichinose isn't even interested in me?"

"Ooooo, is that modesty I see? You do know that you were quite the hit with the girls back when we first enrolled here, right Ayanokōji-kun?"

When I thought back on it, I could recall Kushida saying something relatively similar to that about a year ago.

I simply didn't take what she said at face value at the time, or rather, I chose not to think all that much about it.

"It sounds like you're quite a hit with the ladies, Ayanokōji-senpai."

"No, I'm not. Nothing of the sort. No girls have ever said anything like that to me before."

"Reeeally~? Ah, well I can think of one time when you came up in a conversation, but the topic changed real fast."

"Well, ain't no helpin' that. There's no way to tell if you're gonna like a guy unless you up and talk with 'em face-to-face, and Ayanokōji-kun wasn't the type a' guy to talk with people a year ago."

"Doesn't seem to me like he's changed much since then either though~!"

The two girls shared a laugh as they cracked a joke at my expense.

"Ayanokōji-senpai has changed a little from how he used to be, then?"

Nanase observed as the two chattered away before raising a question of her own.

"Well, I guess in some ways he seems a lot… softer now?"

The one to respond this time was Hamaguchi, who had only just returned from a trip to the restroom moments before Nanase asked her question. While I had never spoken with Andō or Minamikata before, I had spent a bit of time together with Hamaguchi during the exam on the cruise ship.

He was pretty much the perfect person to give an objective comparison of how much I had changed this past year.

All of that aside… it didn't seem to me like these three were afraid of the possibility of getting expelled. Of course, there was no way for me to tell exactly how many points they had, but there was no way that they were anywhere near the top of the leaderboards.

If that's the case, then…

After we finished with dinner, we ended up deciding to accept their warm hospitality and chose to stay there for the night.