Ike and Komiya

Intro

It was the morning of August 4, the day after the completion of the special test for uninhabited islands. For seven days, from today until the end of August 10, the students will spend their holidays on a luxury cruise ship. They are promised that there will be no special exams at all, like the zodiac exams held last year.

The ship has a swimming pool, fitness gym, movie theater, concert hall, bathhouse with a view, shopping area, cafeteria, and various other entertainment facilities.

In other words, from today, I had the right to enjoy all of them.

On this long-awaited first day, where am I?

I'm relaxing in a four-person room assigned to one of the students, cell phone in hand.

There's no need to rush out and play just because it's a day off.

In fact, it's not a bad idea to leave all entertainment behind and spend some time resting.

In contrast to the hard comfort of the dormitory, a first-class bed gently envelops your body.

And after living in a tent on a deserted island, the feeling is even better.

That's about all I can say about my first day.

Based on the results of the desert island test, the class points for August were determined and announced.

Normally, the announcement is made on the first day of the month, but this time, the beginning of the month was during the desert island examinations, so the announcement was made irregularly late after the results of the special examinations were reflected.

For the students in the school, the beginning of the month starts with checking their class points. As well as their individual rankings, class points are directly related to their private points, which in turn is directly related to their monthly allowance.

If we don't have enough money to spend freely, our holiday on the luxury cruise ship will be a waste of money.

August Class Points for 2nd Year Class A

Class B Class C Class D

led by Sakayanagi led by Ichinose led by Horikita led by Ryuuen

1206 points 578 points 571 points 551 points

As a result, our class stopped at C class by a small margin.

There was a chance that we could have risen to B class at one point, but unfortunately we couldn't get there.

However, there was nothing to be pessimistic about, and the result was rather good. 11

Kouenji earned 300 class points for his first place finish.

I'm reminded of the destructive power of this overwhelming score.

Kouenji had been perceived as a hindrance by many in the class, but people around him had to change their view of him. However, I'm skeptical about how long that view will last.

In exchange for the huge amount of class points he has earned, he has been given a "no cooperation" card until he graduates. If this fact were to be made public, there would be fewer people who could be honestly happy. However, I think this is a good thing.

If it weren't for Kouenji's 300 points, we would have had to fight for a while against the uncertainty of whether we would be able to catch up with the higher classes.

But now that the three classes are side by side, it will be a big help mentally.

Now we can move on to the next step, which is to get a head start and move up to B class by ourselves, and then close the gap by winning the direct competition with Sakayanagi's class.

This upward trend also applies to Ryuuen's class, which dropped to D class.

The addition of Katsuragi to the class will raise the level of the class' low academic performance and give the class a sense of stability. Ryuuen had some kind of dealings with Sakayanagi. Whether it was related to private points, class points, or something else I hadn't thought of, it's hard to say at this point, but it could be something that changes the course of the battle.

There are some uncertainties, but the momentum is not declining, but it will continue to increase, so it is safe to say that it is the scariest class right now. The fact that they have fallen to D class is just a formality, and I'm sure they don't care one bit about it.

On the other hand, Ichinose's class, which was re-instated to B class, did not do too badly if you only look at the results.

Thanks to Sakayanagi's lead, Ichinose was able to gain some points for her class.

The difference between class B and class D was only 27 points.

With only 27 points, it won't be surprising if the rankings changed on September 1st due to minor behavioral issues during the period when the special exam was not held. Depending on the results of the uninhabited island exam, Ichinose's anxiety must have been quite strong because she could have fallen into D class. No, she must be worried. This is where the real moment of truth will come, Ichinose.

In my heart, I send her some words.

I don't think there will be a series of tests like the uninhabited island test, where all the classes in all the grades participate.

If that's the case, then the next special exam will most likely be a battle of grades.

If she easily fall behind the C and D classes, the future of Ichinose class will be bleak.

In other words, the next round may decide the future of ....

The situation of the three classes in the side-by-side line is pretty simple, but that's about it.

Last but not least is Class A, led by Sakayanagi, who is still not letting us close the gap easily. Their stability is outstanding, and they were able to slip into third place in the uninhabited island exam this time, accumulating a lot of class points.

There are many excellent students, and Sakayanagi's ability to control them is perfect.

In addition, Sakayanagi's strategy is not limited to righteous or evil ways. She is adept at using both.

12

Sakayanagi is the leader of the A-Class, and she deserves it.

At first glance, there seems to be no gap between the two, but if Horikita's class gains momentum from here on out, it's not impossible for them to catch up. That's right, there's no room for error.

Of course, in order to do so, they need to break down the A class, which continues to run alone, in some way.

The shortest route is to get rid of Sakayanagi, but it's extremely difficult to get rid of her, and even if she didn't have protection points, it wouldn't be easy.

Rather than crushing the head, it would be wiser to crush the limbs.

It would be wise to eliminate not just one or two, but many more.

If Kamuro, Hashimoto, and Kitou are absent or dysfunctional, Sakayanagi will be limited in what she can do. There are many unanswered questions about Kitou, but the first two seem to be people with a lot of problems.

Well, well. I'll leave you with my analysis of the other classes for now.

With the official start of the summer vacation, all the grades have temporarily stopped fighting and are in a state of truce.

From now on, it's my turn to be a student and have as much fun as I can. Until the other day, our pockets were cold, but with the announcement of class points and the payment of private points for August, our wallets were suddenly flush with cash. Our class received 571 class points, or the equivalent of 57,100 yen in private points for each of us. We didn't get any extra bonus because we couldn't rank high enough in the special exam to get extra rewards, but it was still a good amount. In order to spend quality time on this luxury cruise ship, private points are indispensable. This is because the system requires a minimum number of private points to enjoy a movie or a meal of your choice. The rules have become stricter in terms of money as well, since last year all the facilities on the ship were free to use. Of course, it doesn't cost anything if you spend a week locked up in your cabin penniless, but it's no different than being holed up in a dorm on holiday.

PING. There was a short pinging sound and a text message arrived.

It was a text message from my returned cell phone, informing me that the detailed results of the special uninhabited island examinations would be released in the resting area by the fitness gym on the ship for two days starting today. Since only the top few groups had been announced, many students would be interested in the results.

As for me, I'll be sure to check it out so that I can keep an eye on things in the future.

However, it would have been easier to send the list to student's cell phones, but since they didn't do that, I wonder if they don't want the students to take the exam results home and analyze them for a long time. Since Tsukishiro was in the dark behind the scenes this time, it could be considered as a measure to avoid leaving unnecessary evidence.

There's a part of me that wants to go see the results right away, but there's also the possibility that the students will come in droves, so it's probably safer to give them some time.

I decided to forget about the exam results for the time being, and finish my other business. On my cell phone, I sent a message to Ichinose, simply asking if we could meet in the evening in three days' time. Of course, she could easily imagine that this was in response to her spontaneous confession on the uninhabited island.

She would have liked to see him right away, but the grueling uninhabited island test had just ended. First of all, she needed to regain her strength, and then she could spend some time with her good

13

friends.

I turned off the screen of my cell phone for the time being, as I hadn't received any messages yet.

I decided to see what my roommates, Miyamoto Soushi, Hondo Ryoutarou, and Miyake Akito, would do.

"Hey Ryoutarou, I heard that the exam results have been announced. Wanna go check it out?"

"Hmm, ... pass. I'm a wreck and can't walk. Now I just want to surrender myself to the bed. ..."

Not only was it about being tired, but this bed was also taking away the energy to move. We were all tempted by the bed, including me.

Hondo, who was particularly exhausted, weakly turned to his left and turned away. "You've been like that since yesterday, haven't you?"

"I worked myself to death on the last day, you know, and I really wanted to eat some food, but I couldn't even get it down my throat."

He turned his back and rolled himself up, pulling the covers over his head. For now, it seemed, he just wanted to lie down and sleep.

The trip on the luxury liner would last a week. It would be wise to wait for him to regain his strength without panicking.

"What about Miyake and Ayanokouji? Aren't you a little concerned about the rankings?" Akito only turned his gaze to Miyamoto as he played with his phone.

"I'm good. I can kind of see where we're ranked. Honestly, I think just avoiding expulsion is enough for now. Just like Hondo, I'd like to take it easy for the rest of the day."

It wasn't hard to imagine that Akito, who was working with both Haruka and Airi, must have had a lot of trouble following up as the only boy. He must have been hit more on the mental side than the physical.

"Tsukasa, you were in the same group as Sakura and Hasebe, weren't you?"1

Miyamoto asks Akito this as he sits on the bed.

"What the hell, man?"

"I was in a group of three bastards, so it was a hell of a sweaty time all the time, but you must have been in heaven surrounded by girls, right?"

"What's heaven? If you ask me, it was hell because there was so much to take care of. It's definitely better to be with a bunch of guys."

Both of them were in different shades of the group, so each claimed their own heaven and hell.

From what I heard, I was honestly glad I didn't join either group.

It's better to be alone in that kind of test, unless you have a good friend.

Anyway, now that the two of them had refused, Miyamoto's gaze turned towards me as well.

Unlike Hondo and Akito, I had regained a lot of the energy I had lost on the uninhabited island by sleeping well in bed. It's not perfect, but it's enough to get around the ship.

1 「つかさ,おまえって 佐 倉 と 長 谷 部 と同じグループだったんだよな?」 the first word is Tsukasa, i don't know what it is.

14

However, there was no need to panic, we could check the test results later. And even if Akito didn't go to see the results, other members of the Ayanokouji group could take his place.

"I'll take it easy today. I'm sure everyone is worried about the ranking, and I don't like crowds..." Boom, boom, boom!

When I tried to say no as well as the former two, the door of the guest room was slammed multiple times.

The momentum of the banging was unbelievably strong, as if an abnormal situation had occurred. Akito jumped up and hurriedly opened the door to see Ishizaki coming out of it.

The air was almost tense as we wondered what was going on. ...

"Ayanokouji! Let's go see the test results together!"

They were all taken aback by his beatific smile and the content of his words. Akito turned around and looked at me, losing his voice.

"No, I'm ...."

"What the hell, you're bored anyway, right? Let's go, shall we?"

He strode into the room and grabbed my arm forcefully as I sat on the bed.

"When did you guys become such good friends?"

The one who was most surprised by the situation was Akito, who spends a lot of time with me on a daily basis. Ishizaki, who was in my rival class, was also a problem child, so it was understandable that Akito would show caution.

In fact, the other two were also somewhat stiff, having been taken aback by Ishizaki's appearance. "Well, it just happened."

There was nothing more to answer than that, but it wouldn't be satisfactory to Akito.

The pressure of Ishizaki's smile is so strong that he decides to decline, pulling back a bit.

"I'm a little tired today."

"What do you mean you're tired? I'm sure you'll be fine. Let's go, shall we?"

He doesn't seem to give up, as if he's trying to drag me out of the house without understanding my feelings.

"... Okay. Let me change my clothes for now."

"Oh, I'll wait for you in the hallway then!"

Ishizaki walked out of the guest room, as if he was satisfied with my answer to go.

"You've caught the attention of a troublesome person, too. Let me know if you need any help, okay?"

"Thanks, Akito. Well, Ishizaki's not a bad guy, so I'm fine."

"Not a bad guy, huh? I don't have a good impression of him. It's possible that Ryuuen is behind this. You'd better be careful."

I've had repeated clashes with the delinquents led by Ryuuen. It was natural for those who didn't know the inner workings of the other class to think that way.

Ishizaki is not a person who can hide things or play games. However, if he is not aware of this and 15

is being manipulated behind the scenes, he can be a nuisance. However, now that we are not in the middle of a special exam, I can assure you that there is no such case.

After changing into my uniform, I raised my hand to Akito and left the room.

Ishizaki seemed to be the only one waiting in the hallway, and there was no sign of the other students.

"Come on, let's go~"

"There's no need to be in such a hurry, is there?"

"Eh? Why not?"

"There's no need to rush, the exam results are open for two days, it's something we can look at later, right?"

"Why don't you want to see it sooner? I'm the type of person who can't wait to see a new movie and go see it right away."

Even if he explained that he was that type of person, there was no way I would understand.

I have a hard time imagining Ishizaki going to the cinema with enthusiasm on the day of release.

"I went to see 'World Domination 16' the other day, too."

I've never heard of this title before, but it sounds like a title where guns and fists are flying. It's also a very long movie, 16 in the series. However, I don't know why the title doesn't attract me at all.

"I'm wondering, what was the ranking of Ryuuen-san's group?"

But then again, Ishizaki shouldn't not be the type of student with few friends in the class.

He probably wouldn't have bothered to invite me from another class.

"Are you sure you didn't invite Ryuuen and the others who are concerned about the ranking?"

I asked, trying to find out the truth behind it.

"That guy will call on you when he needs to. If he's not calling on you now, it means he doesn't need you."

"That's easy to understand."

"Right? Other than that, most of them are just tired of being on a uninhabited island, or they're just passing."

It meant that many of the students, like Akito and the others, wanted to rest for now. "You are fine Ishizaki, Aren't you tired?"

"Me? I recovered after I slept."

"I see."

The answer was surprisingly simple, so easy to understand. It's not that I'm particularly athletic, but maybe my resilience is better than others. However, the fact that he came to talk to me as a result of the process of elimination seemed to make sense.

"Ayanokouji is easy to talk to."

"... Is that so?"

I'm not really good at socializing, so that's a little surprising. "You're a lot easier to talk to than the eccentric Kaneda."

16

I didn't know much about Kaneda, but it somehow complicated the subject of comparison. On the way, I passed by a store.

"Wow, they're selling flags!"

Ishizaki's eyes lit up with excitement as he picked up the flags from all over the world that were in the store. When I looked at him curiously, Ishizaki rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger and replied.

"Well, you know, when I went to Albert's room before, he had a collection of flags. Maybe it was because I was inspired by that, but I started collecting them too."

So one person's hobby influenced another person, and then it spread.

So they have a common interest in flag collecting, which seems to be a bit rare nowadays.

"I don't know Albert that well, but he seems like a nice guy."

"Yeah. Yeah, he is. We had a lot of conflicts when we first started school, but now we're best friends."

It's true that Ishizaki and Albert are seen together relatively often.

"So it's been smooth sailing as far as friendships go."

I said with honest admiration, but Ishizaki's face hardened slightly as he walked beside me. "Not really. It's not like I'm the most popular guy in class."

"Is it because you're under Ryuuen's thumb?"

"I don't know if that's a good reason, it happened right after I started school. But after the fight with Ayanokouji on the rooftop, I was supposed to have defeated Ryuuen-san and taken back the class. I got to hang out with a lot of people I hadn't really gotten to know before."

He spoke up and choked on his words.

Indeed, Ishizaki's position may be complicated.

There were more than a few students who had hoped that Ryuuen would be defeated, and they thanked Ishizaki.

But now that he had fallen into Ryuuen's arms again, it was inevitable that he would face opposition.

"I guess that means I'm part of the cause."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Ayanokouji was responsible for anything. It was a fight we started. It's true that many of my friends have left me, but I don't mind because I've become friends with you in return."

Ishizaki turned to me and smiled powerfully.

The only thing was that the smile seemed to be somewhat fragile and dangerous.

"Don't think that you can solve the problems of the class by yourself."

"I know. I'll solve the class problems with the class members, and Ryuuen-san is ready to come back."

Ishizaki believed this and followed him with all his might.

1

"Whoa, you're an amazing person."

Sure enough, the rest area near the fitness gym where the test results were being disclosed was crowded with students. There was a large sign next to the monitor that read "Photography is strictly prohibited," and two adults who seemed to be related to Tsukishiro were keeping a close eye on the students.

The rankings and scores were displayed on the monitor, which seemed to be scrolling automatically. Right now it's showing the 50th to 60th place group members and their scores.

"Nn...?"

An inexplicable feeling of discomfort that I suddenly felt all over my body.

What is it?

The cause of this feeling is not immediately clear, and I feel a kind of unspeakable weirdness.

"I was going to look at the results carefully, but I don't think I can concentrate at all with this."

Ishizaki doesn't notice this uncomfortable feeling, so he looks at the monitor and mutters in disgust.

"It can't be helped. I'm sure a lot of people would have liked to know the detailed results of the uninhabited island test."

Clicking his tongue in frustration, Ishizaki had no choice but to stare at the results from his spot. Although he had a bold personality, he couldn't seem to push his seniors to the front.

One of the third-year students reached out and started to operate the monitor, which was an auto- scrolling monitor, but could be fixed by touching it with his hand and viewing any rank.

One of the third-year students reached out and began to manipulate it, so it was unlikely that Ishizaki would be able to see the top results he wanted to see any time soon.

"What do we do now?"

Even if they waited like this, it would probably be a while before their turn came around. "I'm curious, but let's not overdo it. It's something we can look at later."

That's what I said a few minutes ago. ... Well, as long as he understood, I guess.

"By the way, do you notice anything?"

"Huh? What?"

Ishizaki didn't seem to notice anything as he tried to turn back.

This strange atmosphere.

The number of gazes directed at me.

It's not something that can be dismissed as a mere imagination.

It's not that Ishizaki, who is standing next to me, is dull and unaware.

It's not Ishizaki or the other students, it's just that they're looking at me.

They were watching at me without hiding, sure to catch my every move.

All of the students watching us had one thing in common: they were all third-year students. I don't know the details yet, but I'm pretty sure Nagumo is involved in this.

18

I guess the case I put off for the uninhabited island exam started working today.

"What's wrong?"

Apparently, he was so lost in thought that Ishizaki was worried about him.

"No, it's nothing. It looks like a lot of other students are coming to see it, so let's head back." "Oh, yeah."

I had imagined that he would eventually set something up, but this is a bit tricky.

It would have been much easier if Nagumo had come directly to me and set something in motion.

He did something I didn't like to be hit with from the very beginning.

"Hey, you haven't had lunch yet, right? Let's eat together."

"Huh? Yeah, I haven't eaten yet. ..."

I started to walk away, but the third-year students didn't seem to be following me.

It seems that they were only looking at me.

It's not a good feeling to be watched relentlessly.

"What's wrong with you? Don't you want to have dinner with me? You're so rude."

"No, I'm not. I was just thinking about something unrelated."

I knew I couldn't involve Ishizaki in a bad way, but if he didn't follow me, I guess it was okay.

"It's also rude to be thinking about unrelated things."

Indeed it was. Let's just forget about the third year for now.

"Are you sure it's okay with me?"

"It's fine or nothing, we're just going to have dinner together."

I can't deny that I feel the pressure, but it's not that I feel bad.

I just can't get over the fact that Ishizaki is treating me as a friend.

"I don't know if I've said this before, but I'm not asking you out like this because I want to bring you into my class. It's because I like you as a friend."

Without hesitation, Ishizaki said a line that made my teeth stand on end. But then he turned around as if he had realized something.

"... are you bothered by any chance?"

"No, not at all."

"Right!"

For a moment, Ishizaki looked as if he suspected that his actions were selfish, but he soon laughed with a kerotic face. Well, I knew that he had this kind of personality.

It's not that I feel bad about it, so I think I'll go along with Ishizaki.

As the two of us left the place and started to move, we heard footsteps coming from behind us, running towards us.

"Ayanokouji-senpai!"

The owner of the footsteps was Nanase, who had been working with me throughout the first half of

19

the uninhabited island exam.

"So senpai came to see the test results too?"

"Yeah. But I don't think I'll be able to look at them slowly, so I gave up."

"I see. The third-year students are all working on the monitors now, and it was going to be a while before we juniors could freely view them."

It seems that Nanase also wanted to know the details of the results, but decided against it. Ishizaki was looking at our exchange curiously.

Oh, Ishizaki didn't know Nanase directly, did he?

"Hey Ayanokouji, when did you get to know such a cute girl?"

"There's a lot going on."

It's very troublesome to explain everything from scratch, so I tell him so in summary.

"Hey, you're not going to tell me you're going out with your junior at ..., are you?"

"That's too much of a leap, it's just a relationship between a senior and a junior."

It was a rare occasion when I was confronted with this kind of thing.

I thought Ishizaki wasn't deeply interested in heterosexual issues, but apparently not so much.

"Do you want something from me?"

"No, I just felt like talking to you when I saw you."

Her straight eyes shine, and she says without hesitation something that might make me feel somewhat embarrassed.

"I'm sorry to bother you. Excuse me!"

Just as I thought she was approaching me at a small run, she was going somewhere at a small run again. The inside of the ship is the same as the corridor, and I don't think it's a good place to run, but I guess she's just barely running.

"That was a cute girl. And that thing was pretty cool too." I'm sorry, but I'll let the "thing" part go.

"You're not really going out with her, are you?"

"No, we're not dating."

I don't want to cause a misunderstanding and expand the conversation.

That's why I once again firmly denied it to Ishizaki in the form of a reminder.

2

When I came back to my room after the dinner with Ishizaki, I found Ike standing in front of my room.

He was looking at his cell phone restlessly, but when he looked up and looked left and right, our eyes met.

"Oh, Ayanokouji, thank God, I've been waiting for you!" Ike? That's another unexpected thing I've seen.

20

"Actually, I'm thinking of going to visit Komiya now, and I was wondering if you could join me." "Me?"

Ike said as he approached me and leaned in as if to lend me an ear.

"What the heck ...? I'm just a little uncomfortable going to see him alone."

"Why?"

"Why? .... I mean, you know. I've been going out with ...Shinohara. We were on our way back to the ship after exams, and there was a moment when we were alone, and..."

It seems that he confessed his feelings to Shinohara, and Shinohara gave him the okay. I had thought that things might progress, but this was more than I had expected. "Well, congratulations."

I congratulated him honestly, and he looked away embarrassed.

"Oh, thank you. But from ...Komiya's point of view, I think I might have been cheating." "I don't think so, though."

"No, I don't think it's fair. It's like ... sneaking a head start."

It is true that Komiya was injured and had to retire from the uninhabited island test early. It's not that he couldn't be described as a loose cannon, but that could be said of anyone. Komiya was planning to confess her feelings to Shinohara at the uninhabited island test.

"I was actually thinking of waiting until after Komiya's injury was healed, you know? But when I was relieved that the uninhabited island test was over, and Shinohara was beside me ..., I felt like I didn't want to give her to Komiya ...."

So he confessed his feelings to her without thinking.

Of course, there was the risk of being rejected. It would have made things even more awkward after Komiya and Shinohara got together.

"That's why I thought I had to report it to Komiya. If he was planning to confess to Shinohara too, it would have been complicated, right?"

"If I don't make the first move, I'll be in trouble if Shinohara decides to go for Komiya." "...! Why are you doing that ...?"

Ike exaggerated and got upset.

Half of him wanted to give a report, and the other half wanted to stop him from confessing. "You're prepared to get hit at least once, aren't you?"

"What? I'm going to get hit?"

"Wouldn't you do that if the person you love was snatched from your side?"

"... Gulp."2

Ike looked frightened, as if the thought of it scared him.

Komiya is not a big guy, but he doesn't play basketball just to show off.

Ike, on the other hand, is small for a boy, so it's safe to say there's a good size difference.

2 how do you write a sound effect...anyway it's a sound effect not something he said. 21

"Well, he has an injured leg right now, so he can't step on it. It shouldn't hurt that much." "Yeah, that ain't the problem, but ... I'll be ready."

He seemed to have made up his mind to some extent, so I had no reason to oppose him.

I had been wondering about Komiya's condition, and this seemed like a good opportunity. "I heard that Komiya is still sleeping in the infirmary."

"I'm sure he's having a hard time in the guest room."

It was no wonder that I would be spending most of my days off in the infirmary.

Ike and I arrived in front of the infirmary. Ike took a deep breath and went in to calm himself down. There was no point in rushing him, so I waited quietly, and then a loud laugh came from inside. "Hey, what's that? Let's go in."

Surprised by the unexpected laughter, Ike opened the door and entered the doctor's office, unprepared. He was surrounded by Komiya, who was sitting upright, and several of his classmates, including Ryuuen.

Albert, Kaneda, Kondo, and Yamawaki.

Ryuuen stood up without a second glance as someone outside of the class showed up.

"Sorry to interrupt, Komiya."

As if the conversation was already over, Ryuuen left the infirmary with his friends.

I looked at Ryuuen lightly, but he didn't look at me in particular.

"He's still scary as ever, Ryuuen.... I mean, what did he want?"

Ike, on the other hand, couldn't look directly at Ryuuen and muttered to himself.

Komiya, who overheard him, nodded in understanding and replied.

"Well, he's powerful, isn't he? He looks like he's visiting me."

Then, on a small table placed near the head of the bed, there were some sweets and juice that seemed to have been brought in.

"Oh, so he's visiting you. ... He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would do something like that."

Komiya agreed with Ike, who said what he honestly felt.

"If it was this time last year, well, it would be unthinkable."

Komiya smiled nostalgically as he thought back to a year ago.

"But something has changed, Ryuuen-san. It's not the same ..., he's become amicable." Komiya said, somewhat confused but happy.

Ryuuen had taken control of the class as soon as they entered the school and treated everyone as if he were going to use them without mercy. It was no wonder that most of his classmates had a strong rejection in their hearts.

"I feel like I can honestly follow that guy now, you know?"

"You want to follow Ryuuen? ... I don't get it."

Ike's body shook exaggeratedly as he didn't seem to understand at all when he heard.

22

"Well, Ike and Ayanokouji, don't just stand there, sit down."

Komiya gently welcomed the rest of the class and encouraged them to sit down without hesitation.

We took him at his word and sat down together in the chairs.

"You're looking good."

Looking at the fixed leg, I checked Komiya's condition.

"As you can see, I'm fine except for my legs. But it's frustrating to think that everyone else is playing behind the door, so I hope it gets better soon."

"When will you be able to go out?"

"I'm just asking for permission to walk out on crutches."

Although they were rivals in love, they were surprisingly able to talk on their own.

I guess my presence was a bit superfluous.

"I'm..... just a little worried."

"Worried? What for?"

Ike, who was sitting in the chair3, put his arm on the backrest and asked Komiya.

"No, Ryuuen-san, it's like he's trying to figure out who pushed me down. Like I told Ayanokouji, I don't even remember being attacked or anything."

There didn't seem to be any difference in his memory since then.

Now Ryuuen's class is gaining momentum day by day, and it's time to focus on the second-years' battle to get to Class A. Of course, that's what our class is doing as well, but we shouldn't go too deep into this.

If Amasawa, another White Room student, or anyone else from Tsukishiro is involved, there's no guarantee that even Ryuuen will be safe.

"Ryuuen-san, I hope he won't overdo it."

"It looks like he's going to beat the culprit half to death, right?"

There was no way the two of them could envision a vision of Ryuuen being beaten. Instead, it was natural for them to worry more about the culprit.

"So? It's not like you're just here to visit me, right?"

Komiya asked Ike, as if he had sensed something.

At that moment, Ike stiffened as if surprised.

"Oh.... no..., that is...."

He choked on his words, as if he wasn't ready yet.

Perhaps seeing this, Komiya waited for his words with a serious face without prompting. The atmosphere of a place changed in an instant.

There was no trace of the relaxed atmosphere of earlier.

"... me ... what can I say ... so ...."

3 椅子に対し反対向きに座った池が, he's sitting opposite to/facing the Komiya OR he is sitting in a opposite way in the chair as in facing the backrest of the chair. One of those two I guess

23

Ike's former talkative demeanor faded, and he was unable to articulate well.

"Ike. I don't know what you're going to say, but if it's important, look me in the eye and say it."

He must have guessed what he was about to say.

Still, Komiya pretended not to know, and only urged Ike to speak clearly.

It was hard to believe that Ike had noticed Komiya's intuition, but he must have felt something as a fellow man.

He felt that it was not something to be reported lazily.

He slapped himself on both cheeks, forcing himself to wake up.

"I confessed to Shinohara!"

Ike told him in a simple but loud voice, having made up his mind.

Shin...4, and the silence that immediately follows.

I found Ike swallowing heavily next to me.

"So? What's Satsuki's response?"

"She gave me the okay. We're going out now."

"I see. ..."

Ike continued to stare at Komiya's face without averting his gaze as he answered shortly. As he had mentioned earlier, he couldn't help but complain about the fact that he had been left out.

He could even pop out a surprise shot, or so he thought.

"Did you think I was going to hit you?"

"Huh?"

"It's written all over your face that you think I might hit you." "No, it doesn't ... well, not for a second."

"Well, then you're ready. I can't move right now, so why don't you come over here?"

The look on Komiya's face as he demanded he come over did not reveal his true intentions. But from the power of his words, Ike seemed to have made up his mind.

Scared, he stood right next to Komiya.

Immediately after, Komiya's right arm reached out and grabbed Ike's shoulder.

"Ah!"

Komiya raised his aching body to the limit and looked into Ike's eyes.

"If you make Satsuki cry, I won't forgive you."

He said as he lightly pressed his left fist against Ike's chest with a thump.

"Ko, Komiya...?"

Komiya's devilish expression changed to a smile.

"Nah, don't act so sullen. Satsuki chose you, that's all, isn't it?"

"But ... if you hadn't gotten hurt, it might have been the other way around ...."

4 シン, a sound effect which means it's a pin drop silence, don't know how to translate this one. 24

"Sorry, but I don't think so. Satsuki has had her eye on you for a while. That's why she said ok. Don't think you won because you were the first one. It's just ..."

"Just?"

"If you hadn't faced Satsuki and stayed away, I might have had a chance."

Komiya is right. I don't think it really mattered whether he confessed first or later.

He had an accident where he was seriously injured, and Ike happened to be nearby, which created a connection and gave me a big boost, and he was able to face Shinohara.

Without a doubt, this was the most important factor in his relationship.

If Komiya hadn't been injured, if Ike hadn't been by her side at that time, if either of their fates had been different, it might have been Komiya who would have been next to Shinohara.

"In that sense, this injury was a bad thing."

Komiya looked radiant, even though his love life had not been fulfilled.

"Thanks, Komiya."

"Study hard, okay? Satsuki... No, Shinohara was worried about that too."

"... Yeah, I know. I can't just be expelled from school, you know."

This love affair may have been a pivotal turning point for Ike, giving him the opportunity to struggle for himself and for the person he loves, just like Sudou.

At first, the report from Ike and the exchange with Komiya in response settled down.

"I'm sorry, Ike, but can Ayanokouji and I talk alone for a moment? There's something I need to go over with him about my injury."

"Okay, I'll see you later, Komiya, and Ayanokouji."

Ike said goodbye to us and left the room without hesitation.

Once we were alone, Komiya spoke up.

"Sorry about that. Didn't Ike bring you here as support?"

"No, I was wondering about Komiya's condition too. It was more like I interfered."

"Is that so. I mean, I don't know what to say...?"

"Hmm?"

"Me and you guys are in different classes and we're fighting each other, but we've started talking normally. It's like that kind of thing is fading away. Last year, things were pretty bleak."

If you're in a different class, you're supposed to be the one to beat, the one to kick down. There are not many advantages to getting along with them, except for strategy.

"The uninhabited island exam was a competition between different grades, and we've been in the same school for a long time, isn't that how it is?"

"Hmm, maybe."

"So? What do you mean, the injury thing?"

It was obvious that this conversation was preliminary chit-chat, and there should be a main topic beyond that.

"I mentioned a bit earlier that it was about Ryuuen-san." 25

"You said it sounded like he was trying to find the culprit."

"I'm against it. To be honest, I'd rather just say this was an accident caused by my own mistake."

"But Shinohara actually saw the person who attacked her."

"I know. But I have a bad feeling about this, and I don't think it's going to end well."

Maybe it was because he had been attacked that he felt the danger firsthand.

"Would you mind keeping an eye out for that, Ayanokouji?"

"I don't think there's anything I can do about it."

"I'm not expecting you to do anything directly. Just let me know if you start to feel uncomfortable."

Komiya asked me with a strong look in his eyes.

We'll exchange contact information formally, and I'll be able to contact him anytime.

"Okay, for now, Komiya, you should focus on healing your injury as soon as possible."

Resting was the only shortcut to a full recovery, you know.

"Thanks, man. Yeah, let me thank you sometime if you want. And give a shout out to the other guys who helped me."

"I think they'll be glad to hear it. Ike might even let Shinohara be there."

"I don't want that. I'd cry if I had to see the two of them making out with each other."

Komiya smiled bitterly, but he was more heartbroken than he looked.

It was a mistake to include a teasing phrase in his speech.

Anyway, it wasn't a good thing that he got hurt, but I think I'm getting closer to Komiya, if only a little.

"See you around, Ayanokouji."

"Yeah."

After saying goodbye and leaving the doctor's office, I suddenly had a strange feeling.

My classmates Sudou and Ike, and the rest of the class, Ishizaki and Komiya.

Little by little, the number of people around me that I can call my friends was starting to increase. It's not that I was trying to make friends, but that's what I'm doing.

"How to make friends is not something you can put in a textbook."

I thought, stupidly serious.