39 Volume 15 - Chapter 6: The Man Known As Tsukishiro

Intro

I woke up at the far right of E3 in the morning and tried to consult the map on my tablet.

As a consequence of preventing the advancement of first graders the previous day, the day ended without stepping on any designated area. Sakayanagi reported that she had left immediately in the afternoon, but I did not dare to go to the designated area. I have just participated in the race challenge and had achieved the minimum amount of points. The randomly designated zone that was lifted yesterday at 1:00 p.m. was F3, and later at 3:00 p.m. it was G3.

I opened the map and loaded the image from yesterday's GPS search at 1pm. There were a total of five groups of freshmen stalking us. And all of them were with Housen who had turned off the GPS and had approached me. I'm sure of it. And after Housen went into a confrontation with the Ryuuen and was resolved, it was evident in the subsequent search that all the groups withdrew and returned to the special exam.

However.... While Sakayanagi and I were aware of those enemies, various groups of first-year students who had dispersed, gathered together and advanced towards the designated area. The reason I thought this group was suspicious was because as soon as 3pm came and G3, my fourth designated zone, was announced, they moved west and started heading towards F4.

The road here is narrow, and it is difficult to escape if the road is blocked, but if you avoid it, you will be forced to take many turns.

"I avoided the risk just in case, but that did a lot of damage on the last day."

I've had six in a row and I am in the middle of four consecutive penalties. I have to get out of this situation as soon as possible. If I commit three more penalties in a row, I will lose another 18 points from here.

Since I can't see the classification, I have to imagine my classification on this last day. The classification for the night of the 12th is completely unreliable. There are 157 groups in total, so it seems fine, but in reality, many groups have finished merging. In other words, it is better to assume that the number of groups has already decreased considerably. Of course, on this final day, it is clear that some groups will move faster. If a group with almost 200 points picks up the lower group, it will outperform me at that point.

The effect of doubling the score on this last day cannot be ignored. This means that the freshmen's strategy has gradually led them down the path of dropping out of school.

There is still a chance for freshmen to keep waiting ahead, but GPS search is no longer available.

At 7 in the morning the ban was lifted on the designated area, H3, which is not a good place due to the mountains, but it cannot be avoided because it is impossible to interpret. Even if I took the shortest route from here, it would take us almost two hours.

I can't afford to waste my time.

On a day when many students would be taking on a task that had been duplicated, I didn't know that I would be forced to fight a close battle to see if I could step on the designated area. By noon, I could have dropped further down the rankings. While packing and leaving, I got a call on my walkie-talkie from Sakayanagi

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun. You had a lot of problems yesterday. "

"Thank you Sakayanagi for saving me"

"Do you agree with the penalty? You seem to have moved a lot during the night. "

"I'm sure Sakayanagi is aware of my movements through the GPS."

"The first designated area is H3. There is not much time, but I think I can do it. " "H3?"

Sakayanagi muttered the designated area with interest, as if she had something to think about. I keep talking to Sakayanagi as I move.

"Actually, I'm in trouble. At dawn, Ichinose-san disappeared."

That is a tricky problem for an event that occured on the last day.

"What do you mean that she had disappeared? Was it an accident?"

"No, it seems to be an involuntary action. The last few days she has been acting strange."

"But why did you contact me? I'm sure there is nothing I can do to help you. "

"Actually, when I did a GPS search to find out Ichinose-san's position, I found that it was at the same E3 as Ayanokouji-kun. However, it is the opposite D3 side."

Even in the same area, there is a certain distance between the extremes. And now, I've already set foot on F3

"What was the final designated area of Ichinose yesterday?"

"It was D5. Ichinose-san arrived there. She started performing at dawn without telling anyone, and now she was here at E3 for some reason?....In the morning, I realized that we had lost a point. I checked with the people in the group, but there was no sign that anyone had used the GPS search. It seems that Ichinose used it. It is not known if her objective was E3 or a further area, but it is normal to think that she went to meet someone. "

I guess so. If she had stepped into the designated fourth zone within yesterday, that's the only reason she would move first thing in the morning.

"I thought maybe it was to meet Ayanokouji-kun, but ..."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. I haven't seen Ichinose in this special exam. If you wait, Ichinose can get to F3's side, sorry, I'm in a hurry. What are you going to do?"

"The first designated area we had to go to was E6. I'll discard the reward on a firstcome, first-served basis, but I must ignore it. In the worst case, if you withdraw, it will not have a great negative effect on this last day. "

That said, the Sakayanagi group is a worthy team of seven. They were in a great position to get on the podium and they were in fourth place at the end of the 12th. Losing Ichinose here would have been a blow.

On the other hand, she's acting selfishly on such an important last day. It is an inexplicable behavior that Ichinose, who acts for her friends more than anyone else, cannot imagine.

"You are in trouble?"

"Accidents are destined to happen, you know. Well, even if you let it, the special exam will be over in half a day, so I don't think there is any problem. If you ever see her, tell her about the situation. "

Sakayanagi ends the communication, saying that anything else would be a hindrance.

"Where is Ichinose going ...?"

I keep the walkie-talkie in my backpack while I walk, and now I take out my tablet. It's the last day and I don't need to think about recharging. With 31% charge remaining, I'm good to go.

The map displayed on the screen shows the designated zone to which I must go and the challenges spread by the zone.

Over the past two weeks, challenges have appeared all over the uninhabited island.

However, on this last day, it seems to me that there is no challenge in the northern areas of the island, from 1 to 3. On the contrary, the central and southern areas, from 5 to 10, and more. Specifically from A to E, they have a large number of challenges. This is simply because it is the last day of the test, and it makes sense for students to be driven back to where they started. It's wise to go quickly through designated zones and take on the challenges.

I had been thinking of using GPS search to find out Ichinose's location, but now I am at risk of being expelled from school. It is a good idea to save points here to increase the survival rate as much as possible.

1

The second destination they showed me today was I2, the northeast corner of the uninhabited island.

Now that we've managed to stop the penalty, I can head there with some ease. After 3:00 pm when the exam ends, you basically walk back to the starting point, but in some cases there seems to be a plan to pick up students at any time in a patrol boat. Looks like a patrol boat will arrive at J6 at 5pm if it's close.

"It's the end of the day, and they have put designated areas in the most absurd places. ..."

The test environment remains the same, with problems concentrated on the south side of the island, but the designated area is the most northeast. I am convinced to regret the fact that it is obviously a trap; it will be of no use.

It would be easier if it could be distributed that way, but I was starting to feel somewhat unsettling here. Since this morning, none of the other students have crossed paths or seen each other first. Although the island is large, there are many opportunities to see or hear someone's voice whenever you are on the move.

Of course, I couldn't get to the final designated area yesterday, so I'm not sure I can't meet the students in the same square as me.

The test environment remains the same, with problems concentrated on the south side of the island, but the designated area is the most northeast. It may be a good idea to step on I2 and then ignore the designated end zone to get to the challenges.

H3 has a narrow river that divides the area.

This river cannot be used as a shortcut, so it is a troublesome place where you are forced to take a detour.

The advantage is that you can walk along the river and do not have to worry about getting lost. Don't be in a hurry, go down the river to the southwest, get to the point where you can cross the river, and go northeast. You can walk along the river until you reach the mountains. That's when I got to the other side of the river, near the center of H3.

"Ayanokouji-kun———!"

I was walking while listening to the sound of flowing water when a voice calling my name came from a distance. The direction of the voice was the north side of the river I had just gone around.

Over there was Ichinose, covered in mud, looking at me, gasping.

"Ichinose… You came to H3?"

According to Sakayanagi, Ichinose should have been in E3 now.

Now that the time was after 10 A.M if the sun started to rise at 5:30 A.M, Ichinose probably had to walk continuously for 4 and a half hours to get here. Despite that, it was relatively quick as well.

"I….I, I came here because I wanted to see you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Even though she looked like she could barely speak, exhausted, she called out from across the river.

"I'll come over to your side now!"

Saying that, Ichinose ran staggeringly along the river.

Because her backpack was in the way being too heavy, she left it there.

No matter how you look at it, the place where Ichinose was walking was pretty dangerous. And it should be difficult to walk over here with her strength that was reaching it's limit. I turned back the way I came, and hurriedly met up with her.

It took about 5 minutes to meet up with her along the river, and then walk to a place where we could congregate.

Since I couldn't let Ichinose exert herself like that, I crossed the river to the north.

"I, fin-finally, finally caught up… Wait, I'll come to your side."

Did she feel responsible due to calling out to me first that she kept chasing after me like this?

"Ah."

Ichinose fell, and I caught her in a hug.

"So-sorry! Ah, heheh? Why? My feet… They aren't obeying me…"

She panicked, and wanted to leave my touch, but her knees were trembling, as if she couldn't stand up.

"What's going on, Ichinose?"

Ichinose looked up at me, and spoke, desperately trying to sort the situation out.

"I, I have something I have to tell you, no matter what, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Something you have to tell me?"

"I've been troubled, troubled. I've always been troubled… to protect my friends and classmates…"

What exactly was she trying to say? I didn't know specifically, but her desperate effort was real.

"But, despipte this, I'm still worried about your safety, Ayanokouji0kun, no matter what…"

In this special exam, Ichinose and I didn't have a consistent point of contact.

Did something unexpected happen?

In order to tell me about this, Ichinose spent more than 4 hours walking to me, desperately.

"I, my watch broke, so I wanted to go back to the starting point to change it… And then, Acting Director Tsukishiro, and Shiba-sensei, those two, they were there…!"

Ichinose was so tired that her breathing hadn't even stabilized yet, as she stammered along

Although I didn't know when this was, I guess she had been distressed about this for a few days now.

"If you're safe in the last day, Ayanokouji-kun, you'll be called to I2 and be buried." Words such as "I2" as well as "bury". Indeed, just hearing those words would fill one with dread. The reason why Tsukishiro and Shiba were overheard by her was because her watch was broken, so the GPS didn't respond?

"Saying that you wanted to protect your classmates, were you threatened by Tsukishiro?"

Ichinose seemed to be surprised for a moment that I had guessed it, but nodded then after.

"If I told this to you… Acting Director Tsukishiro would make my classmates drop out… But I can't turn my back on you no matter what, Ayanokouji-kun…!"

"You should give up telling me this, without caring about the consequences. I'm your enemy."

If only she could think in such a way of the plan could be carried out to make me drop out of school.

Ichinose shook her head strongly to express her disagreement after hearing something I said.

"It can never be like that! Ayanokouji-kun, Ayanokouji-kun…. Is not my enemy!"

Ichinose clutched my shirt near my chest.

"I think I'm an enemy."

"Because….Because to me, Ayanokouji-kun is…"

The hand that was clutching my shirt tightened once more.

"Because I, because I like you, Ayanokouji-kun…!"

Those are words that Ichinose herself probably didn't expect to say out loud.

As soon as those words came out, Ichinose averted her eyes, as if she was trying to shut herself up.

"No, that's not right! That, eh, just now, why did I, eh, ehhhhhhhh!?"

She herself probably didn't understand it, and fell into panic, shaking her head repeatedly.

"What did I, just, say?!?"

It was like the memory of what she just said had suddenly disappeared and fell into a panic, not understanding.

"Can I say something? About what you just said to me."

"Um, um ... ah, no, no! Ah, so I haven't said it yet and I remembered wrong!!!"

"–Thank you, Ichinose."

"Eh? Eh? Ehhhh!?!"

I expressed my gratitude to Ichinose once again.

She gave priority to me rather than her classmates, and her group that was formed for the purpose of winning.

I won't belittle that sentiment of hers.

"If you hadn't told me of something like that, Ichinose, I don't know what would have become of me."

I guess this was a big watershed moment for me.

If I hadn't met Ichinose here, I wouldn't have thought that Tsukishiro would have gone to I2. Tsukishiro had threatened Ichinose, but even so, she was here, right before my eyes.

Despite the danger, she told me everything.

"Did you mean what you just said?"

"That, that, so, um, it's not, that, that, right?"

"If not, deny it now, it'll be my misunderstanding."

"…That…. misunderstanding… it's not a misunderstanding…"

Ichinose originally wanted to deny it, but she felt that she couldn't run away from this anymore.

"…..I like… you…"

She admitted in a faint, hoarse voice, that sounded as if it was about to disappear.

"I think, I probably just noticed this myself too…. S-sorry." She didn't need to apologize.

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised that you would think that, Ichinose."

"So-sorry…. It's a pain, isn't it?"

"Nothing of the sort, I just can't respond to your feelings this right now."

"Well….well, my words, aren't worthy of Ayanokouji…"

"That's not it. I think that there's still a few things that has to be addressed, and I don't think someone can answer yes or no in this state."

And it's also necessary to avoid telling her about Kei right now.

Even though she would be hurt if she found out afterwards, this was the climax of the uninhabited island exam.

Since there was still a bit of time left, it wasn't worth taking away energy for the battle because of it.

"It may not be acceptable, but that's the answer I can give you right now."

"Well….I understand."

Ichinose nodded, neither disdainful nor dissatisfied.

"I'm going to go to I2 now, there are things that have to be done there."

"No, you can't! It's dangerous!"

"If I don't do that, I won't be able to protect you, Ichinose, and your precious classmates, right?"

It's because she herself had been so troubled that she understood.

Since Ichinose contacted me and told me about it, it wasn't hard to imagine that Tsukishiro would also know.

However, it's necessary for me to tell Tsukishiro, that it wasn't the end of the road for me. Rather, it'd be akin to coming back from the dead. "You get some rest, and then rejoin your group, alright?" I patted her head, and headed to I2.

2

There was a rock field next to the border of I2 and I3, with knee high bushes nearby.

"So it's somewhere here?"

I was carrying a heavy backpack.

As long as I didn't know what awaits me, carrying the backpack would only get in my way. I decided to put everything, including the tablet, into the backpack. If I walked along the coastline, I wouldn't get lost and would be able to get back to this rock field.

Ichinose said that this was the place where Tsukishiro prepared to bury me.

Groups that had the same schedule as I was probably assigned a completely different designated area. I would have liked to confirm this, but I also wanted to avoid losing one point from using the GPS search.

Since I knew that Ichinose was involved in the matter, I had to go. If I decided not to, Tsukishiro would mercilessly attack her class. I couldn't imagine what kind of punishment he would inflict on her.

After those preparations, I began to walk towards I2.

"Ayanokouji, what a coincidence."

Nagumo, holding the tablet, looked over with interest.

Given my situation, it was unnatural for anyone to be in the area.

Was this guy also involved with Tsukishiro apart from the matter of the bounty?

No, the title of the student council probably didn't mean much to Tsukishiro.

It didn't seem necessary to connect his appearance here with the matter, but I still kept wary.

"President Nagumo, why are you here?"

I looked around slightly but didn't see any of Nagumo's group members.

"Don't worry. We are the only ones here."

Maybe he had used GPS search, as he wanted to remove the wariness within me.

"There aren't any events nearby. Why are you here?"

Nagumo approached from the southeast direction.

"I was having fun on the beach at I4. Life on this uninhabited island is coming to an end, after all."

On the last day, while almost all the students focused on collecting points, he was playing on the beach.

"Is this the so-called calmness of a king?"

Nagumo laughed and did not answer the question.

"But I'll ask you the same thing, Ayanokouji. This place is not a designated area and doesn't have an event, so why did you come here? Did you meet up with Honami?"

It's not surprising that her name popped up. Even if he didn't see Ichinose directly, it would be obvious that she was nearby if he had done a GPS search.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No. If you two are still together now, you would have spoken about quite a bit. But you are here by yourself, so it means you have a different objective. What's there at I2?" I decided to ignore the question. Nagumo changed the topic and continued.

"The uninhabited island exam is coming to an end, right? I just wanted to talk to you once, as there aren't many situations at school where you and I, the student council president, can talk to each other."

"That's true."

I was just an inconspicuous student.

On the other end was the student council president that could make a child cry without even uttering a single word. This was not an appropriate match up.

However, I didn't think he had come all the way over here just to engage in small talk.

"You seem to be aware of the attack on me by the 1st years."

"Your critical thinking ain't bad."

It was about the bounty. The person who got me expelled would be awarded 20 million points.

Although Tsukishiro was the one in control, it was true that Nagumo was also involved.

If it were a man like Nagumo, it was not surprising for him to observe my situation through GPS at any time.

From looking at the movements of the first years and me, it was obvious that I had been attacked.

Nagumo saw the big picture of this special exam on the same level as I did. No, even more so than me.

It was also because he had a grasp of my movements that he was able to show himself so easily here.

"Don't blame me for the bounty. It wasn't my proposal in the first place."

"It was Acting Director Tsukishiro's."

"Since you know this much, I'll be blunt. The money's all from the Acting Director. I just lent the name of the Student Council president to him."

It didn't matter whether he wanted it or not; as long as it was an order from the Acting Director, Nagumo couldn't disobey.

"It's an order from the Acting Director, so you had to accept it. But if it's the Student Council President I know, I think you would have refused such a proposal, right?"

"If it's about the matter of the bounty, I wouldn't have accepted it, if it were a student other than you. But the one which he named was none other but you, the only man that Horikita-senpai trusted."

So Nagumo did indeed see me as one of Horikita Manabu's people.

"Answer me, Ayanokouji. What do you plan to do next?"

[Don't concern yourself with such an insignificant existence like me] It would be easy to say this.

But Nagumo wouldn't take that for an answer.

Since I didn't know what awaited me ahead, it's all the more important to cherish the time I had now.

"This has nothing to do with you, President Nagumo. Shouldn't you be concentrating on the end of the exam? The score difference between you and Koenji should be small. If you don't go back, you won't get the arrival points, you won't be able to participate in some events, and that situation will stay the same."

That was, he left open the possibility of him being overtaken.

"Don't worry about it. On this last day, I have completely overwhelmed Koenji." Saying this, Nagumo took out a transceiver from his back pocket.

Even if he was separated from his group, it would be enough to give instructions.

"Although I do care what you're going to do, if you won't answer, then I'll change my question. Let me see if you, who hold the expectations of Horikita-senpai, have the strength worthy of my expectations, which of course means that you'll have to get serious."

So this was the biggest reason for him to come here.

"Does it mean that I have to fight with the Student Council President right here?"

"I don't hate brawling, but I prefer a serious fight. Even if this uninhabited island exam is over, there'll still be a lot of inter-year battles afterwards, and I want you to be my opponent."

The student council president directly called me out.

"Isn't the winner between us already decided from this uninhabited island exam?"

Nagumo had steadily maintained 1st or 2nd place in the exam up to now.

Although the fierce Koenji still had a chance of reversing it, this was undoubtedly a tough battle.

"You are one person, and I've got 7 people. It's a strange way to have a match like this, right?"

"Wouldn't Koenji be a better fit? Although he's a weirdo, he's a powerhouse. On the other hand, I haven't been in the top ten even once."

If you wanted a strong opponent, go to Koenji. I urged him like this.

"Well, he certainly exceeded my expectations, as he was the only one who made me take an offensive move in the exam. "

Admitting that about Kouenji, he shrugged his shoulders as if he was amazed.

This offensive move was referring to the transceiver he's using right now.

"Managing the entire third year to take all the arrival bonus points and the events. This is something only the student council president can do."

Unlike the first-years and second-years, almost all the third-years were under Nagumo's control.

If he wanted to completely block off Kouenji, he would surely be able to do so by mobilizing all the third-years.

No matter how much physical strength he had, it was useless if he couldn't complete events over a long period of time.

All the other years that show off by being in the top 3 ranks will be erased.

As a result, Kouenji could only get arrival points.

Meanwhile, Nagumo's groups will widen the point gap by continuously gaining points.

"So you indeed see through this much. When did you notice?"

"I've felt suspicious ever since the beach flags event. The vacant space Vice President Kiriyama left intentionally open was reserved for you."

However, since I arrived first, they had to register with a vacant space.

Nagumo was playing leisurely while waiting for Kiriyama and others to finish the event.

"I thought you and Vice President Kiriyama were rivals, but it seems different."

"That guy teamed up with me, even though he hates me, just to get into Class A."

"Let's put aside Koenji, who's a special case, for now. I wouldn't want to do anything to your average student."

Upon hearing my response, Nagumo seemed to think something was funny and laughed.

"Did you really just call me that? You don't think I am strong at all."

"That's not—"

I wanted to deny it, but Nagumo interrupted.

"Maybe you thought I won by just mobilizing all the third-years, but that's not the case. I will show you my superpower now."

"Superpower?"

"Let me guess your group's ranking at the end of the 12th day."

Only the rankings of the top 10 and bottom 10 groups were public. Excluding those 20 groups from the 157 groups in total, there were 137 groups. Of course, I was the only one who knew my exact ranking.

At the final moment before the date changed, I was ranked 16th.

"You're ranked…11th, right?"

Nagumo said so confidently, but he was slightly off.

However, I couldn't just point that out with a smile. On Day 12th, as a response to the attacks of the 1st years, I repeatedly used GPS search. It was plausible that I would be 11th without using those points.

But it was part of the rules. He couldn't know the rankings of all the groups.

Essentially, there's a basis for what Nagumo said.

"A little off? Then you're ranked around 15th or 16th right?"

"Yeah. Truly admirable of you."

If I admitted this straightforwardly, Nagumo would just calmly accept it.

"I joked around with that superpower stuff. I just guessed, assuming that you really have hidden your strength."

It seems like this man Nagumo was much better than I thought.

"In order not to attract attention, your ranking is a bit lower than 10th, but still, you've maintained an upper-ranking position. If I lose the battle against Koenji, then you'd have a chance to make a comeback.

In order not to attract attention, I would lurk around this rank before Day 12.

As fatigue settled in for everyone, the upper ranks would lose momentum. Depending on the circumstances, you could build up your points, and in a flash, aim for the top 3. Unfortunately, I had planned to stay at my current ranking.

"Have you noticed? From the very start, this wasn't possible."

The strategy we developed was rendered useless by Nagumo from the very start.

"Kurona from third-year has been keeping the 10th place, right? I had him maintain that rank to block those who had been secretly saving points and aiming to make a comeback."

Although there was quite a point gap between the 9th and 10th place, it became harder for me to aim for the top places day by day.

This was all according to Nagumo's plan.

Forcefully eliminating those invisible enemies, he limited his gaze to those visible to his eyes.

"I've always doubted whether you were strong enough, but now I understand. You've been granted the right to be crushed by me, so rejoice."

"Was it part of your plan? Your command of the attack on Koenji on the last day?"

"If I want to earn points, whether that's 400 or 500 points, I can earn them. However, that's not interesting, right? Now there's hope that he might beat the second and firstyears. Besides, if he lost in the battle with me, we might be able to see his regretful expression."

Nagumo, as part of the strongest group, went through the two weeks of battle totally relaxed.

Then, on the last day, he would defeat Kouenji, becoming the first placed existence.

If Nagumo became serious, he would know the points of particular groups. From GPS searches and Nagumo's partners' eyewitnesses, he would be able to know whether arrival points were gained and the results of the events. Even today, when the exact points of the rankings was unknown, there's no doubt that Nagumo had an accurate grasp of Kouneji's points.

In other words, it was possible for him to direct a dramatic victory of winning by just one point.

"Anyway, Kouenji's matter is whatever. The last thing I will do at this school is to defeat you, Ayanokouji."

Nagumo, who had been chasing after Horikita Manabu, wanted to see his shadow on me.

He wanted to completely beat him, to decide the winner and loser, no matter the format of the battle.

"Unfortunately, the leader of Class 2-D is Horikita. Even if there's a special exam that competes with the third-years, I won't fight you."

"Then I would have to force you to appear on the front stage, which includes using the bounty."

In other words, he wouldn't hesitate to say expose my situation.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry. Let's continue with this topic next time."

"You think you can escape this easily? I won't let you go before you agree to a fight with me."

Nagumo seemed to want to follow me and caught up from behind.

If something awaited me ahead, Nagumo would be affected. Since the opponent was Tsukishiro, in the worst-case scenario, Nagumo could lose everything he had built up and be expelled under his name.

If I tried to persuade him with my words here, Nagumo wouldn't accept it no matter what.

Of course, I couldn't get away with a lie either.

I stopped walking and looked back.

"You want to fight me—"

As Nagumo misunderstood, delighted, I pushed on his chest, forcefully, without warning.

Nagumo probably didn't expect a kouhai attacking him, so he fell on his butt without any resistance.

The tablet he was holding, and the transceiver in his pocket fell to the ground.

"What—"

Nagumo looked as if he didn't comprehend what just happened to him.

I'll do what I need to do before he can comprehend what happened.

"President Nagumo, although your abilities are different from President Horikita's, it still allowed you to brilliantly stand at the top of this school. You maintained a top ranking in this special exam with ease, and it's no exaggeration to say you had complete control over it. Even so, I plan to beat you."

Before he calmed down or got angry, I continued.

"It's just that there are certain areas where you shouldn't step into. Please understand."

"Huh?…. Don't be ridiculous. You presume to give me orders?"

"It's because you have the status of being a senpai worthy of my respect that I am not going to be lenient here."

"Ah? What are you doing—"

I looked into Nagumo's eyes with all my killing intent.

"Urgh….!?"

"Don't you understand what I said?"

Nagumo stood up powerfully as if to not admit his fear.

"Stop while you're ahead? You're the first person to underestimate me to such an extent, Ayanokouji…"

Right then, the transceiver that fell on the ground next to Nagumo received something.

[Nagumo, I've gotten in the way of Koenji's event three times in a row. Please give me your next instructions.]

The cheerful voice of a certain 3rd-year student could be heard.

Their strategy to obstruct Koenji seemed to be going well.

Nagumo didn't react to that voice at all and just stared at me.

[Hey, Nagumo, if you don't give instructions, your subordinates can't act. In order to drop Koenji down to 2nd, isn't it necessary to continue with the attack until the end?]

"You sure you're okay with not answering that?"

Hearing those words, it was clear that this should be important to Nagumo.

Nagumo silently picked up the receiver and then switched the power off.

"What's important to me isn't Koenji."

Without even brushing the dirt off his body, Nagumo walked over.

"I will defeat you completely. This is my last job as the student council president."

Letting his emotions affect his decisions? The student council president steeled his resolve, shrugging off the pressure coming from my side.

"I…!?"

I punched Nagumo in the chest without hesitation.

"Ah, you…!!!"

In a flash, he was unable to breath, and fell to the ground, seemingly having lost his consciousness.

I caught Nagumo, and let him lean under a tree in the shade.

Since he didn't listen to my clumsy advice, this would be the only way to deal with it on this occasion.

Nagumo's watch probably detected his abnormal status, and sounded the warning alarm, which rang for 5 seconds.

It shouldn't be long until he woke up.

20 or 30 minutes.

No matter what, Nagumo wouldn't get involved with what came after this. Of course, other problems would inevitably arise after this uninhabited island exam was over. But right now, this was but a trivial matter.

If I didn't solve the issue of Tsukishiro, I wouldn't be able to open a path to the road of the future.

3

On the last day of the exam.

It was after 10:00 a.m., and I, Horikita Suzune, was heading north along the border between I4 and I3, with I2 being my destination. This was the last day of the special exam, and so I was about to use up the remainder of my strength. Fortunately, at least until 12:00 a.m. last night, no group in Class 2-D had fallen into the bottom 10.

The bottom 5 groups in the expulsion range were all 3rd years.

But we still couldn't relax now. At the end of the day, if those 5 groups merged with other groups, scores were bound to go up, and rankings might change. In that case, it'd be inevitable for them to switch rankings with the groups in 6th or 7th place. In the extreme case, if the bottom 10 groups all merged with top groups, then all 10 of them may be able to get out of their current predicament.

The tablet showed my assigned region as I7. The exact opposite of I2, where I was headed.

This was because I would be ignoring the designated area that I should be going to.

Why would I do that? The answer to that was written on a piece of paper I was holding on my right hand. It was folded up and I found it this morning when I woke up in my tent.

When I opened it up, the words "Noon", "K.A", "Expelled", and "I2" were written on it randomly.

When I first saw these words, two things came to mind.

First, the person who wrote this had such beautiful handwriting that I could use as a model.

Secondly, the paper and pen were not part of the freely distributed items.

"How many points would I need for this notebook and pen…"

Although I vaguely remembered it in the uninhabited island exam manual, I judged it to be worthless then, so I didn't remember the exact price. If the tablet ran out of power, or malfunctioned suddenly, you might need to take notes. Basically, some random person bought this notebook, and sent this somewhat coded message.

"No, it's too simple to call this coded."

I2 referred to an area on the uninhabited island, and noon was the time. Since this was the last day to be able to send a note, this was the 14th day. But what was in here? A mere prank? But this wasn't the case with the remaining two words.

"Expelled", and "K.A". Let's first pay our attention to the latter.

If the other students had seen this note, they wouldn't necessarily understand the meaning of it.

I grasped the meaning the moment I saw it. It was the initials of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"If we consider this to be the meaning, then at noon today, Ayanokouji will be expelled at I2…"

I thought this was a joke.

So when the designated area was announced at 7 a.m, I was going to ignore this.

But the fact that Ayanokouji-kun's GPS signal was on E3 made me a bit worried.

However, as time passed, he got closer and closer to I2. Maybe this was more than a joke.

Thinking about it, I decided to use GPS search. If it was a trap to make me use that 1 point, then I have undoubtedly fallen for it.

As a result— Ayanokouji-kun advanced from F3 to G3.

If he went to I2 like this…

Driven by this hunch, I decided to head north in order to confirm this.

After all, he was the target of a bounty. So I couldn't discount the probability that this could be a hint from someone else.

There was still some time before noon, and I didn't know where he had gone.

Of course, this could just be a coincidence, and maybe he had already gone somewhere else.

The urge to use GPS search came over me, but I resisted. My score would have been well in the top 50%, but from here on out, discarding arrival points and events, and using the search function again, that wouldn't be guaranteed. If this was going to be a waste, then it would be better just to head there.

"Ah! Finally caught up! Wait, Horikita!"

As the view gradually opened up, and the river could be seen, this voice came from behind.

"…Why are you here?"

Ibuki appeared, glaring at me, panting.

It wasn't a coincidence. She probably used GPS search.

"Score, show me the score."

"Wait, what are you on about?"

Suddenly appearing and asking me, her enemy, to show her my score was incomprehensible behavior.

"Didn't I say? I'm not going to lose to you in this special exam." She jabbed her index finger at my eyes.

"There's no need to confirm it now though? The exam isn't over yet."

"After the exam is over, nobody will know if the school will publish all the scores, right?"

"Maybe so. After all, it's only the top and bottom ranking groups that really matter."

There was no guarantee that the students would be able to view the rankings of all the groups.

Of course, there was a possibility that they would be made public.

"So, let me confirm it now."

On the last day, she wanted to decide who's the winner, who had more points.

"This is so stupid, I can't believe it… You purposely came here for this, seriously? How many times did you use GPS search?"

"… 3 times. Because you were right next to me, I thought this would be the only time where I could do this."

The farther the distance, the harder it was to meet up with the person you wanted to find.

It seemed like Ibuki used her GPS search 3 times to get to me here.

"Poor you."

"I don't need your sympathy, tell me your score, I've got 131 points!"

As if to say, "How about it, I'm strong right?", Ibuki forcefully declared her score to me.

"Thanks for telling me so casually. But I want to say two things. First, I can't guarantee that you're telling me your real score."

"Huh? Then why don't you look at it?"

I stopped Ibuki, who was about to take her tablet out of her backpack.

"Second, even if you disclose your real score, I won't tell you my score."

"Huh? What did you just say? Are you saying the same thing as that bastard?"

That bastard…? Although a little concerned, I continued on. (it's ayanokouji)

"Although we're both 2nd years, we're enemies. I don't want to risk leaking information."

I didn't think I was in the bottom 10 groups right now.

But, the score might still change, until the end of the end.

Even if it was the last day, the possibility of being tricked by Ibuki-san's information was not 0.

"I know now. You're scared after hearing my score? You're losing, right?"

"As for whether I'm winning or losing, I'm not going to answer that either."

Although I repeatedly said that I was not going to give her any information, Ibuki said this with a straight face.

"How about you just admit it? Admit that you can't beat my score."

"Fine then, just go back to your exam."

I'll try to just go along with Ibuki, if she's satisfied with that.

"… You're so irritating. Come on, just show me your score!"

"I've conceded defeat, aren't you satisfied?"

"I want to know your real score. I want to know by how big of a margin I beat you."

"How dull…"

"It's important to me."

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry."

"Are you running away?"

"I'm rushing to get to my designated area, so it would be a bit strange to describe it as running away."

I was hurriedly rushing to I2.

Probably thinking I was running away, Ibuki followed closely behind.

"Do you have a designated area in the north? Or are you just chasing me?"

"What I want to know now is your score. If I know that, I will go back to my designated area too."

She was dead set on following me.

Being trapped here like this was honestly pretty bad.

I was already being led by the nose by a piece of paper, and I didn't want to waste time.

"…I lost to you."

"Ah, admit it? You finally admit to losing?"

"No, I mean I lost to your persistence. My score is 145 points. It's a pity that even though you came here in person, I still win."

Bringing that out into the open, that information that was supposed to be hidden.

That's the reason I declared it my loss.

"You won against me? If you won, give me proof, proof." Of course it would turn into this.

But I was not going to stop.

To confirm his safety, I wanted to go to I2 as soon as possible.

"—I know."

This should be the most efficient… No, I don't think it was the right choice.

Even if I let Ibuki know my score on the last day of the exam, it wouldn't make much of a difference, right? But every minute was precious now.

Putting down my backpack, I reached for the tablet that was placed in an accessible area inside.

Ibuki was waiting with a serious face to see my score.

Just as I took out the tablet and was about to press the power button, Ibuki and I raised our heads almost at the same time as we felt the unmasked intensity of the scent in front of us.

"Found you."

It was an innocent voice, like a child meeting their playmate.

"Hello, Horikita-senpai!"

Seeing the female student who appeared at some point, Ibuki unabashedly expressed her displeasure.

"…Who are you?"

"Class 1-A's Amasawa Ichika."

Although it was possible that she appeared here by chance, it was strange.

Keeping my guard up, holding my tablet, I gave Amasawa a look.

Considering the matter of the bounty for the 1st years and what was written on the paper— could it be her?

"You guys don't need to mind me, just continue doing your own thing, okay~~?"

"That's not okay, we're talking about something personal."

I wanted to tell Amasawa about my reluctance to reveal the score to her, and Ibuki understood it fully. If I showed my score on my tablet here, Ibuki would also understand that this wasn't the time to decide who the winner and loser was, right?

I wanted to politely urge her to leave, but Amasawa didn't budge.

Perhaps impatient from watching, Ibuki said something.

"You're a nuisance."

"Is Sudo-senpai okay? Horikita-senpai."

"Huh? Ignoring me?"

There was no way Amasawa didn't hear Ibuki's question, but she ignored her.

She put her backpack down and twisted her shoulders around, as if she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"….Well, thanks for saving him, I'm grateful."

She smiled faintly, with no intention of apologizing at all.

Did she feel there was no need to apologize to me for the way she treated Ayanokoujikun, and the things she did?

Or was it a general premise that she didn't feel bad for what she did?

"Didn't I say that you're a nuisance? I have business with her, so get out of here."

"Business? Didn't Ibuki-senpai run over here without permission?" It was almost as if she had heard of our conversation from a while back.

Maybe that was true.

"Even if that's the case, it's still fine." "Nuisance, go away". Ibuki's tone hardened.

If this continued, Ibuki might make a move.

Even after being threatened like that, Amasawa just laughed, amused.

"What's your purpose, Amasawa-san?"

I temporarily let my attention off Ibuki, and turned it to Amasawa.

Although I didn't want to waste any more time, this couldn't be helped.

"Fine."

Although Ibuki was impatient, she waited for me anyway.

"I want to ask you a question. Where are you going, Horikita-senpai?"

"Right now, I'm standing and chatting with Ibuki-san, so when I finish with her, I'll immediately rush to F3."

That's a lie. I was going to give up on going to my designated area.

However, it wouldn't do any good to tell Amasawa that.

She was colluding with the other 1st years, discussing a plan to get him expelled in order to get the bounty for it.

It's best not to say anything unnecessary about Ayanokouji-kun.

Although that was what I thought, I soon realized that it wouldn't work.

"It's not good to lie, Horikita-senpai! Your designated area isn't in this direction right?"

"What do you mean? Are you trying to make me fall into a trap using strange methods?""

"Misleading is useless though. The designated area you were supposed to go to is I7, isn't it?"

The designated area that Amasawa immediately responded with was undoubtedly the correct answer.

This wouldn't make sense if it were a mere coincidence.

Judging from her expression, I can only assume that she was trying to find me from the start.

"We 2nd years have a way of fighting as 2nd years, and so not everything can be told as

it is."

Saying that, I continued.

"Isn't it a given to be wary of the people trying to frame Ayanokouji-kun?" It was necessary to switch the subject smoothly here.

Since the 1st years were enemies, there was no need to act timid.

"Oh, so that's it. Perhaps."

Saying that, I didn't actually feel as if my words had reached her ears.

At this time, her attitude made it seem like she had already reached a conclusion.

"Where are you planning to go, Horikita-senpai? It's not I2, is it?" It seems, that this was going in a bad direction, I thought.

"You've seen through a lot, huh. But I decided to go to I2 because of what happened this morning. You're really observant, aren't you?"

Even if she used GPS search to accurately observe my location, it would be impossible to get a head start like this.

If that's the case, the piece of paper I got today should be related to Amasawa.

I hesitated to ask a question about this, as Ibuki walked away/

"Are you guys ever going to stop talking?" I felt a similar kind of anxious feeling.

If this continued, the time spent replying to Amasawa will make me even more impatient than Ibuki.

"Ibuki-san."

I mentally prepared myself to divulge the information, opening the tablet and showing Ibuki my score. In any case, it's possible to see the score and the 3 boxes to add members, but I wasn't going to end up using it anymore, so there was no real harm.

To her, it didn't matter what the maximum number of members of the group was.

The moment she saw the score, Ibuki clicked her tongue.

Scratching her head, she translated her fretful mood into words.

"Ah, seriously? Well that sucks."

It was a brutal response to her efforts over the last two weeks.

Although, I thought that Ibuki had worked hard.

It was an admirable result for her, with a low learning ability, to compete with me.

"If you're satisfied now, go along to your designated area. On the last day, the score you'll get is twice as high, so you still have a chance to bounce back." "Yeah, but… What do you mean by abandoning the designated area?" Perhaps a little concerned with what Amasawa had said, she asked.

"Ibuki, this is a great opportunity. I'm in a state where I can't score right now."

From the start, I didn't need to explain it for her to understand. I told her using my eyes.

"Indeed, the winner and loser will be decided at the end of this uninhabited island exam. If you say you're going to stop now, I won't hesitate to make a comeback for good." Ibuki froze up for a second, and then seemed to accept it, turning away.

Me and Ibuki separated then.

As I put my tablet back into the backpack, I thought of how I would respond to Amasawa.

"I'm going to I2 now, what are you going to do?"

"Why are you going to such an irrelevant area as I2? There's not even an event there. Is this something you should be doing during a special exam?"

"Don't tell me you don't know why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, what's the purpose in throwing this piece of paper in the tent when I was asleep?"

I held the small piece of folded paper between the thumb and the forefinger of my left hand, and handed it to her.

"…Paper? Is that for me?"

Acting like this is some sort of monkey show. The paper was no longer useful anyway.

I handed it to her, the one who I thought was the original owner.

Amasawa took the letter, and opened it up to confirm the contents.

"It's a string of irregularly arranged words… "Noon", "K.A", "Expelled", "I2".

Reading it once more, then closing her eyes.

"I really hate… how you like to play games, even to this extent…"

"Games? What are you planning to involve me and Ayanokouji-kun in?"

"This, I don't know. Because I'm just one of the bystanders, just like you."

"Don't misunderstand. You appearing in front of me is the best proof that you wrote this."

Amasawa flashed a difficult smile, and tore the paper to bits.

Tearing it 7 or 8 times, shredding it, throwing it away.

"Looking at those 4 words, what kind of bad feeling are you experiencing?"

"Ayanokouji may be expelled. It's not hard to understand it like that."

"Well-"

Her tone seemed to be clearer than mine.

Anyway, playing word games with her again was a waste of time.

I put my backpack on, and walked towards her.

"What a bummer. You obviously don't know anything about Ayanokouji-senpai. You're just acting like his partner because you're in the same class." When I reached her, Amasawa uttered that.

"About Ayanokouji-senpai's situation. You don't know anything about that, right, Horikita-senpai?"

I stopped in my tracks, as I cared about what was just said.

"So, are you saying that you know him better than I do?"

I looked over at her. She stiffened up and met my eyes for a moment, smiling smugly.

"That's right. I know Ayanokouji-senpai very well. Why is he so handsome, so smart… and so much stronger than anyone else?"

I didn't think a 1st year who just started school would know Ayanokouji well.

So, they knew each other before highschool?

Just like how Kushida and I were in the same middle school?

Amasawa continued, unconcerned. "Then, what do you know, Horikita-senpai?" What did I know?

In this school, he….Ayanokouji was my first…friend.

That's right, he could be considered a friend.

We talked a lot because our seats were right next to each other…

At first, I thought he was just an average student, but he was actually much smarter than I thought.

He was recognized by my brother early on, and his fighting ability was good.

But he usually always hid that part of himself, wanting to live a quiet life on campus.

Very few people knew about his strength, but other than that, there's no much difference in the information that others had on him.

"Yeah, it's true. I probably know nothing about him. I can't deny that."

Thinking about Ayanokouji-kun again, it was natural that I came to that conclusion.

Maybe Amasawa was well aware of that.

Hearing those words that could be interpreted as a declaration of defeat, Amasawa smiled happily.

"But…"

"But?"

That wasn't the point.

I thought that it didn't matter how much I knew about him right now.

"from now until graduation, I want to continue understanding him better, as my classmate… As a friend, more than you are now." That was my wish now, free of lies.

I have been helped by him more than once.

He was an indispensable person to the class, an important comrade who we can't do without.

If he was in a dangerous situation right now, it would be impossible for me not to run to his side now.

That was the reason why I was going to give up on my designated area, and run there.

Now, I realized once again what I had to do.

There was nothing wrong with this choice.

It would have been better if it were just me worrying about nothing.

"Do you think you can help? Horikita-senpai."

"Maybe I'm not strong enough right now, but I intend to help him when he's in trouble." After all, my school life had just taken a turn for the worse.

This conversation, which at first I considered a waste of my time, might have a great meaning within.

I must thank her for making me realize this.

I was about to walk away when Amasawa stretched her right hand out and blocked me.

Seeing her face again, her smile had disappeared, and she looked at me with an intense killing intent.

"There's something I got out of our conversation. Something's gonna happen at I2. Otherwise, you wouldn't try so hard to stop me here." I couldn't waste any more time here.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't you understand? I'm going to I2 to help Ayanokouji-kun."

This was the first step for me to become an existence that could help him when he was in trouble, as I said earlier.

"Don't kid me, how could Ayanokouji-senpai need your help?" She said this, as if to correct what I said.

"That's true, at least for now."

"So you're saying that it'll be different in the future?" I nodded, and gave her a look.

"One more thing, I learned that you genuinely don't want me to go to I2, which means you're not the one who wrote that."

I tried to walk past her right hand, avoiding it, but once again, Amasawa got in the way.

"I can't let you go over there, Horikita-senpai."

"The more you try to stop me, the more I must go to I2. From your tone of voice, shouldn't he be having a hard time now?"

This has nothing to do with how much I knew about the situation.

It was obvious that something was happening around Ayanokouji-kun right now, of that I can be sure.

"Do you think you get past me?"

"Yes, I do think I can get past you."

Even if I had to forcefully clear the obstacle in front of me now.

"Well~ Your determination has been conveyed to me. I'll only wait until you put your backpack down."

In other words, she was going to overpower me with force.

I didn't think this was just a verbal threat.

I accepted that, honestly, and slowly put my backpack down by my feet.

"Let me tell you something first. I have experience with martial arts."

"I already knew that."

"…Ah, you really are an information warrior."

Not just about Ayanokouji, but she also understood me.

"Let me also say right now that I'm super powerful, so you better keep that in mind."

From the moment she unleashed her anger on me, I could tell firsthand that she was no ordinary student.

That must not have been a lie.

The fatigue from the uninhabited island exam has accumulated.

Even the Amasawa in front of me is the same.

There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her body, so as far as physical state, it can be said that we were evenly matched.

In that case, I wouldn't be defeated so easily.

I slowly got into my stance, watching Amasawa's movement in front of me.

She didn't go into a particular stance, instead opting for a strange expression.

"Since you said you're going to meet up with Ayanokouji-senpai, I'll play with you for a bit."

Amasawa's left foot left the ground.

"Huh?!"

I was obviously on guard, but I felt the danger immediately, and jumped backwards. Her extended arm didn't have any force behind it, maybe she wanted to grab me.

I needed to avoid the first blow, that was what I thought. But the moment I returned to my senses, she had already grabbed my shirt near my chest.

"Impossible…"

As I muttered those words, I felt my vision turning around in a circle.

It was only after feeling the pain in my back that I had realized that I had been hit with a body throw, landing on my back

"What's impossible, huh?"

"Kgh-!"

It hurt so much that I couldn't breathe, as I spit out the air within me.

"Oh no, you can't take this lightly. Okay, I'll give you some time to recover, stand up." Amasawa looked down at me with an evil grin on her face.

I didn't need to elaborate on how humiliating this was.

It only took one encounter with her to fully understand that Amasawa was extremely strong.

It was reasonable to say that even if there was a difference in strength, it would only be a small one, as we were both girls.

Hard work, resourcefulness, agility, luck. With those elements, it would be possible to beat her.

But I was probably too naive in thinking that.

Anyway, the damage to my back wasn't light, it was enough to make the average person yield straight away.

Fortunately, there was dirt beneath me, but it still took some time to recover from the damage.

If my opponent prided herself on being in a position of absolute superiority, then I had to use that. I decided to stand up by taking a few dozen seconds for each step of the way.

"I'll wait for you, don't worry. It's okay to take a 5 or 10 minute break just like that."

"I'll do that, as long as your motive isn't to stop me from going to Ayanokouji-kun."

"It's best to give up with the fighting, right? At least for you, Horikita-senpai."

That was true. If I started a fight in the final stages of the uninhabited island exam that had been going smoothly until now, it might be bad enough for me to withdraw from the exam, or maybe I'll even be expelled.

"….Again."

When the pain in my back had almost disappeared, I once again assumed a fighting stance.

This was the same kind of fighting as earlier.

I merely had insight into martial arts, but I'm not very good at fighting.

I can only play to what I have learned, and unleash my strength like that.

The speed of Amasawa's movements was surprising, but if she was just good at Judo, I had some ideas. There was once a karate teacher who taught me what to do if a boy grabbed a girl, pushing her down.

As I recalled that in my brain, I practiced the moves in my brain.

It would be dangerous, but if the other person was Amasawa, there would be nothing to worry about.

Give up on the fact that she was younger than me, and convert it to the mood similar of fighting with a master.

"Yahahahah!"

What I noticed was not Amasawa's face, but the subtle movements of her feet, and shoulders. She seemed to find this amusing, and laughed out loud.

"Uhuh, I get it, Horikita-senpai, I do understand how you feel. Buuuuuuuut~?!" I couldn't play word games with her.

Now, I needed to give my full attention to see through her moves–

I realized after an attack and pain that I had managed to deal with her right foot, but the left foot approaching me at high speeds hit me directly above the side of my abdomen.

"Ah!"

Close to tears from the pain, I was kicked to the ground.

My arm didn't have the time to defend myself, as I was kicked in the body. I rolled twice or thrice on the ground, threw into confusion, even though I knew what just happened.

"You thought I just used judo, didn't you? That's too naive of you."

"Huff, hu….huuu….!"

As I subconsciously pressed on the right rib that was kicked, I closed my eyes.

The pain was so intense that my heart instantly surrendered to it.

This was the second time where I had felt such desperate pain.

Since the confrontation with Housen-kun…

That was something that happened only recently, and if this kind of thing would happen regularly, it would make me lose confidence.

"The 1st years this year, they aren't cute at all…"

"So you're saying that last year's Horikita-senpai was a cute kid, unlike me?" Although I thought she asked the question trying to be mean, it still stung.

Although we were different types, her uncuteness was comparable to me.

I tried to stand up, but when I tried using my leg, there was a sudden feeling of disengagement.

Because of the body slam and the kick, my strength was slashed beyond imagination.

"Who are you? You seem to know the Ayanokouji-kun in the past…"

One thing was certain. Amasawa had incredible strength, just like him.

When he fought against my brother, and when he fought against Housen-kun, Ayanokouji-kun showed us his true strength.

"How do you expect me to tell you about these things, senpai?"

"True, you don't seem like the kind of person who would respond honestly to that."

In any case, her willingness to match me in delaying the fight was one of the few pieces of good news I had.

Her objective was to block my way to Ayanokoouji. It didn't seem to matter how much time she took. In order to move forward, I had to let the damage to my back recover a bit.

"How should I say this? You really are a disappointment. You aren't as good as I thought you are, Horikita-senpai. It's because of this that Ayanokouji-senpai didn't seek your help."

Amasawa's eyes gazed at me, as if she were peering straight into my heart.

"When you say you want to help him, it actually is to find out what Ayanokouij-senpai thinks about how you aren't being trusted by him."

"…Maybe so."

"I also just said, Horikita-senpai, you aren't worthy for Ayanokouji-senpai to rely on."

"Even so, this shouldn't come from your mouth, but his."

"Do you know what I mean by that?"

She didn't hide her agitation, and walked over to me.

"Still, even Kushida-senpai is more discerning."

"Kushida-san? Why did you say her name?"

"Stand up, Horikita-senpai. I no longer want to talk to you. It's annoying me. So let's end this."

At least she gave me a sort of mercy, as she gave me the time to get back to my feet.

But, even I couldn't give up on the fight until the end.

Mercy was shown, to say the least, as she gave me the time to get me back on my feet.

Then, even I, in the end, could not give up on this fight.

Standing up, I focused everything into seeing Amasawa's attacks clearly.

Again, as this was all that I could do. There was no other way.

"Alrighty!"

Amasawa ran over, with a brisk pace.

Defend? Evade? Neither would work, surely.

In that case, I'll try and get my revenge–!

Boom! The sound of a fist rang in my ears.

But there was no pain. A figure appeared in front of me, blocking my view.

"You, why…."

A student grabbed the fist in front of me, and said, without turning around.

The short figure's back belonged to Ibuki, who was supposed to have left.

"Ahah…. Do you call that fighting?"

"Good catch~ You startled me, with that slightly unexpected entrance."

I hadn't understood the situation yet, my body still couldn't move, and Ibuki, who turned around, glared at me.

"The one who beat you is me, and so I don't want you losing to some first year I don't know in front of me."

She said, releasing a tightly clenched fist. Once away, Amasawa pulled away.

"I'm Amasawa Ichika. Please remember my name, Ibuki-senpai."

"I've got a bad memory. If you want me to remember, you'd better impress me a little, yeah?"

"Ahaha, that seems a little interesting."

"I'll have fun with her, so you go where you want to go."

"What are you talking about? You worked hard in this special exam just to beat me, right?"

"Aren't you going to give up on the designated area as well? In that case, even if I comeback and get the W, there's no point in it.

[Is that the sort of thing you came back for?] I swallowed those words back.

"She's incredibly powerful. You might regret it later, is that okay?"

"What? Are you saying that I'll lose?"

"She's a formidable opponent."

"I don't see me losing to Ibuki-senpai at all."

"…Huh, isn't that great?"

My clumsy warning seemed to backfire, instead igniting Ibuki's emotions.

"Even if you defeat Amasawa, if you go too far, or raise an emergency alarm, you'll likely be withdrawn from the exam. You might even be expelled by yourself."

"You're the same, right?"

"Ah? Well, yeah."

"I have faith that I'm stronger."

Saying this, she waved her hand at me, indicating that I should leave quickly.

"Who's going to fight? Hurry up and decide~~"

"I will fight her."

"You really saying that? The person who just almost lost? You're going to be a hindrance, back off."

"This is my fight. It's none of your business."

"Talking about how strong your opponent is and now you're messing around like this?

Did you bang your head or something?"

That's—"

No, there was no way to stop Ibuki with such a half-hearted statement. But I can't just leave this to her now.

I grabbed Ibuki's shoulder, and forced her to back up.

"What the hell!"

"I've thought about it, and if you ask me, you can't win against her."

"Stop joking around. Don't decide before it even happens."

"That's the truth. I couldn't do anything, so there's no way you can win against her." Since she was already angry, I'll just ignite the flames of her rage till the very end.

"Then prove it, right here in front of me…." I stretched my left hand out to Ibuki.

"What for?"

"If you don't want to lose, if you want to break this stalemate, show me your resolve. Form a group with me. If something happens to one of us and have to withdraw, the group will still survive. That's the only way to effectively prevent the withdrawal."

"Are you kidding me? Why would I form a group with someone like you?"

"Didn't I just say? I need you to come to an understanding. If you haven't yet, then don't join this fight."

"So annoying…"

"It's alright if you don't like it, but I'd like to rely on you if you're going to join the fight."

"This sucks. But it wouldn't be much fun if you'll be forced to drop out because of some 1st years."

Although we both knew that our minds were completely incompatible with each other.

But, each of our watches were crossed in an overlapping position.

10 seconds was needed to complete the formation of the group.

Amasawa would be able to stop it if she wanted to, but she showed no sign of taking action.

Amasawa looked down on our side, in a god-like manner, seemingly enjoying it.

"It's not a bad strategy. If separate students form a group, it's true that if something happens to one of them, they can still avoid being expelled." Amasawa turned her back to us, quietly keeping her distance.

This 2 vs 1 situation didn't make her feel any sense of danger.

After moving some distance away, she stopped, looking back our way.

"But there's just one thing you thought incorrectly, Horikita-senpai."

"Incorrect? What exactly do you mean?"

"It's alright for one person to withdraw, which means, it's okay for me to break one of you."

She showed a smile I had never seen before, a smile of pure evil.

"Made you angry, huh? Isn't that great?"

Ibuki had directly felt the opponent's power, but acted happy.

At that moment, the signal of the end of group formation sounded.

"So which one should I destroy first—?"

The expression of Amasawa, who ran up to us in one breath, was excited.

She didn't make any sort of stance, just coming our way, with her hand outstretched.

"Hahahah! Hahahahhahaha!!"

A high-spirited smile emerged on her face, looking too distorted to be human.

Was it me? Or Ibuki?

Although from her perspective, I was the problematic presence, I couldn't assume that it was me who was being targeted.

"Let's go, Ibuki! You go to the left!"

"Don't order me around!"

Ibuki said, while moving to the left.

I moved to the right, in order to confirm who Amasawa's target was.

Amasawa, who was running straight towards us, had no intention of playing any tricks.

Not going to let me make a judgement at the last second?

Even then, I could slowly see it clearly.

As both sides took action, the distance was instantly closed, and collided.

Because my fists and Ibuki's could not possibly work in tandem, the timing of our attacks would naturally diverge.

But even so, it would be impossible to respond to it easily.

Nonetheless, Amasawa dodged as easily as if it were training.

We kept attacking, bringing out the most out of our consecutive attacks.

"Alrightly, let's stop for a while."

In response to our consecutive attacks, Amasawa calmly accepted them and stopped us.

"What's going on, this 1st year….!"

"Seriously…"

We stood together, panting, looking at Amasawa in front of us.

Despite her being only a temporary partner, it was still 2 against 1.

If it were a normal situation, we should have been able to overwhelm her, but instead, we were being overwhelmed.

Within the framework of common sense, she was an unrecognizable existence.

It was like a sharp blade pressed right against us. If we did as we pleased here, we might be forced to withdraw.

"Ibuki, don't get too careless."

"Let go of me!"

Perhaps being unable to bear being pinned down, Ibuki used her soft body to show off her kicking ability to the max. As if she were waiting for it, Amasawa grabbed it with her flexible arm to counter, grabbing her.

"Ah!!"

"Didn't I tell you to stop?"

In that moment, I felt an indescribable sense of uneasiness during this inhibited battle.

There was a clear battle gap. Was Amasawa engaging in this battle like a game?

It looked like she was fighting using minimal movements just now.

It was the same when fighting with me one-on-one. What if she wasn't just waiting for me to recover?

But this can't be considered the right answer.

With her power she could easily suppress us both.

I came up with a strategy that I wanted to try.

But first, we had to break out of this situation.

"Ha!"

I swung my left fist at Amasawa's side, but she easily avoided it, just like she avoided Ibuki.

"Okay, let's start over."

Amasawa looked down at us with a slight smile, and pulled away once more.

"Aren't you the same as me?"

"I'm not like you, I went for it knowing that it would turn out that way… In order to reassess my strategy."

"Excuses, how lame."

Probably anyone would say the same about me if they looked only at our current situation.

"Since you don't believe me, I'll tell you."

She climbed up, so I grabbed Ibuki's arm to stop her from acting alone.

"What are you doing?"

"Now that you're my partner, follow my instructions. You can do that, right?"

"Huh? Impossible."

"If you don't then there's no point. You should understand how strong Amasawa-san is. Neither you or I cannot beat her alone."

"Even if that's the case, I won't follow your instructions." I was thinking.

What's the best way to deal with Ibuki?

If Ayanokouji-kun was here, in the same situation as I was, what would he do?

How should I get us two, who didn't get along well, to work together in this situation?

"Ibuki-san."

"Didn't I tell you that I don't want to?"

"I am aware that our relationship is like water and oil. Although it turned into this due to the dispute we had in last year's uninhabited island exam, there's one thing that I approve of you."

Yes, that's what I needed to do now, without hesitation.

"Your fighting sense is comparable to me. No, I think you are slightly better than me."

"Huh, so sudden. So you gonna admit losing?"

"However, your fighting style is specialized for one-on-one fights, and I am more familiar with how to fight with strong opponents two-on-one. The word cooperation may be unsuited for you, but lend me your strength."

After listening to those words, for a moment Ibuki looked at me..

"You are equal or stronger than me in terms of fighting, but that's it. In other areas, we are not on the same level. You are not good at academics, you can't lead your class, and you can't cooperate with others. I don't want to be mean, but calling yourself my rival is just you being narcissistic."

Although the words may make her angry, I would not stop talking.

"It's about time for you to change yourself as well, isn't it? Mio Ibuki-san."

"…What was that all about?"

"If you keep fighting alone like this, you will surely be in danger of expulsion at some point."

"Not a big deal, if that happens."

"Which means it'll be your complete loss to me. Is that fine?"

"Huh?"

"If you get expelled halfway, you can't be considered my rival. You need to persist til the very end, and grow into a rival that can pose a threat to me."

"Arghh, I know, I know, so shut up. I will only listen to you here. That's enough, right?"

"Good."

"So, what should I do?"

"Like before, we attack Amasawa-san at the same time. However, actually hitting her is of secondary importance. I want you to dodge her attacks, make sure not to get caught, and continue to attack."

"Hitting her is of secondary importance? What use would that be?"

"If my guess is correct…that will be our chance to win. When I give you the signal, attack with all you've got."

Although Ibuki didn't quite get it, she still left to assume her position.

" Meeting time ended? Then, why don't we start the second round?"

We started moving at the same time, heading towards Amasawa from both the left and the right.

In order to not get caught, getting too close to her was forbidden.

I judged the timing to extend my fist, according to the distance of my reach,

Of course, if Amasaka didn't do anything in response, the attacks would hit her.

Therefore, she had to exhaust energy in order to deal with the continuous attacks.

I didn't rush, stayed calm, and put distance between us when I sensed danger.

If I were alone, I wouldn't be able to escape. However, now that her attention was split in two directions, this fighting style worked.

Not yet.

Before I got out of breath, faster, faster—!

Due to our dangerous continuous attacks, Amasawa's movements began to slow down.

Although she was still smiling, she was obviously breathing quicker.

"—Now!!"

In order to not miss this perfect chance, I swung my right fist at Amasawa with all my strength.

She stopped my attacks easily with one hand up until now, but she took a defensive stance.

Although my fist didn't hit her body directly and was blocked by her, Ibuki who moved behind her stomped at the ground, her tightly clenched fist hitting Amasawa, who was turning around to respond, in the face.

An attack hit her for the first time, and Amasawa's body started shaking.

"Ah! Ah!"

I crouched down deep, unleashing a punch on her undefended abdomen.

Spitting out some air, Amasawa went down.

I straddled her body in the next instant, rendering her immobile.

"Ah… That worked really well…"

"Hah, hah…. Heheh, Amasawa…. I'll admit that you're strong, but it seems like your stamina isn't infinite."

I caught her out on this surprising weakness and finally turned the tide.

"Ahhhhh, have I been exposed? My physique is actually unexpectedly weak then."

Despite the situation now having been reversed, she stuck her tongue out, smiling.

As I absentmindedly stared at Amasawa's gym clothes, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Her skin was faintly exposed from underneath her outfit.

I couldn't help but grab her uniform, and forcefully pull it above her navel.

"What is this…"

It was a mark like a bad bruise. You could tell that she had been hit several times already.

It was a completely different kind of damage from the one clean hit that I managed to land.

It was an injury that had been sustained before the fight had begun.

"I just had a fight, before I fought you senpais."

Normally, in such a situation, her expression would have been distorted in pain, and her walking would have been affected.

And yet, she was still stronger than the two of us in this near crippled state.

She was not without stamina.

From the beginning, she fought, on the verge of collapse.

She was fighting in a condition where she needed more recovery than I did.

This fact made me feel lightheaded.

Someone who faced Amasawa in perfect condition and was able to injure her so much.

Even if I considered the boys, I could only think of Housen-kun. "Do you want to know who caused it? Could it be Housen-kun—?" There was no doubt that Housen-kun was strong.

He would be able to gain an advantage even against Amasawa who had unrealistic strength.

However, her personality was easy to understand if you just put a little thought to it. She wouldn't answer honestly.

In the end, she only offered me one convincing answer that I would accept.

If that's the case—there's someone else that could beat Amasawa?

Even if we considered every student in the school, I couldn't think of someone.

If it was Yamada…. No, he wouldn't gain anything from this.

"Sorry, but I can't believe you. Who is it?"

"That's not something I can answer….. Ah!"

Seeing that I was careless because of the shock, she didn't let this moment pass.

"Oi, what are you doing!"

"…Yeah, I was too careless."

It was clear that this was our only chance, and yet I let Amasawa escape.

"Nice going, we're both back to square one now."

Although our opponent had already taken a lot of damage, the situation has now been reversed again.

Could I overpower her again… Honestly, I wasn't confident.

But that was the only thing I could do.

And now, not knowing what she was thinking, she walked to her backpack and took out her tablet.

"It seems like it's over. It's a bit interesting, but it's going to be a while again."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's that. If you guys want to pass, feel free~~"

Saying that, Amasawa opened up the path that she herself had strongly defended, not letting us pass.

Was this some kind of trap? Before I could grasp the situation, Amasawas was already getting ready to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"Where? Well, to the designated area i guess. After all, there's still a special exam going on."

In any case, if she was hear to buy time, I should go and confirm Ayanokouji-kun's status—

"Ah, by the way, I don't think you need to go after Ayanokouji-senpai anymore."

"…Why?"

"It's all over. If you think I'm lying, go ahead and see for yourself."

"—What about Ayanokouji-kun?"

Hearing that question, Amasawa closed her eyes slightly.

"Why don't you go and confirm it yourself? But it might be too late for you to regret it by then, though."

It seemed like Amasawa really was planning to walk back, passing us.

Could it be that he had been injured by someone?

"What are you going to do? You going to go after Ayanokouji? That's why you fought with Amasawa, right?"

"Yeah, I'll go."

Having already come to this place, it was even more impossible to go back without confirming the situation now.

"Then I'll go too."

"Why?"

"I'm thinking, if Ayanokouji's in danger, I can taunt him next to you."

"You really are a bad person."

We hurriedly put on our backpacks and ran towards I2.