Chapter 8 : Identity Revealed

The morning of the seventh day came. The total score I had accumulated so far was 67 points.

Even if a group of four people participated in zero tasks, just picking up all the designated areas would give 92 points. That would imply I was currently in a tough spot with a score of 67 points. But the exam wasn't that simple. I currently ranked 51st and was steadily improving my position. It was far from easily moving through this exam, though, with endless difficulties always looming ahead.

Suppose about half of the entire group fought at an all-out pace for three or four days until food and water supplies at the start were exhausted, and then stalled around day five, which forces them to rebuild back at the port.

However, it wasn't easy for the group to get back to full strength. The stress and exhaustion that continued to build up were inescapable, and it was inevitable that long-distance travel would affect their mental state.

Since the designated area had to be reached somehow, there will be a discussion among them and someone would have to go through the area on their own. Even supposing that one could reach a designated area by doing all this, they wouldn't get any arrival order rewards, and the only point they would get would be the one arrival bonus point.

Luckily, I kept my fitness level as high as possible ever since the first day.

To avoid falling to the bottom, I had to do something crucial during the second half of this taxing exam.

Despite it all, Kouenji showed no signs of slowing down and continued to make blistering progress.

He was currently in second place, just eight points behind the leading victor, Miyabi Nagumo—within striking distance of the top.

In addition, another group from the second-years, the Ryuuen- Katsuragi coalition group, had moved up one place to snatch 9th.

After washing my face in the river, I looked back at the tent behind

me.

For the past few days, Nanase, who had her act together, always got

up early.

But for today, she didn't show up, even though it was about to be

6:50 AM.

Was she still sleeping, or was she starting to show signs of a change

in her condition?

She would have suffered quite a bit of strain from day after day of

tough traveling and participation in intense tasks.

I wiped my face with a towel, returned to the tent and took out my

tablet.

Hearing my presence, Nanase finally emerged from the tent. "...Good morning, Ayanokouji-senpai."

"Yeah, good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. I'm perfectly fine."

But that wasn't the case. Her exhaustion was reflected on her face,

and there was no liveliness in her speech or movements.

It seemed like she wasn't sleeping well, and I could see dark

shadows under her eyes.

"I was checking the rankings just now. There's a group of first-years

who have been fighting hard from the start. There was an announcement today that the rankings changed."

I looked at the scoreboard on my tablet. The top 10 groups included six third-year groups, three second-year groups and only one first-year group.

The current standings showed the sheer strength of the students from higher grades.

"The first-year group that is doing well is Utomiya-kun's and Yagami-kun's group, right?"

As of yesterday, they were ranked seventh, and as of this morning, they were ranked sixth.

"Yes. Their group is a particularly elite one among the first-years."

By describing them as "elite", Nanase was crystal clear about their status. The members of the group were Takahashi Osamu from Class 1- A, Takuya Yagami from 1-B, and Riku Utomiya from 1-C.

"As a Class D student, there's a part of me that is unable to wholeheartedly support their hard work."

"I see. Indeed."

In a case like this, it would've been more beneficial for Class 1-D to have students from other grades to take the top 3 spots away from Takahashi's group.

"But the third-years are amazing. The groups in the top 10 all range from Class A to Class D."

"I'm impressed with that, too."

The number of third-year groups in the rankings had now grown to six. At the head was undoubtedly the top-ranked group led by Miyabi Nagumo. They were the top in terms of the number of tasks they had tackled, and a majority of their results were by far in first place.

"But Ayanokouji-senpai is also amazing. Even though you're going solo in this exam, you're still getting as many points as possible."

"But it's not easy to get into the upper ranks from here. After all, if you don't get in the top three, you won't get any big rewards."

Avoiding expulsion and getting the top 50% of the rankings will not be enough.

I wouldn't even be able to pay back the money borrowed from Horikita.

"You say it won't be easy, but you're in no hurry, senpai."

"I'm expecting a storm to come. It wouldn't be surprising if the number of retirees soon increased."

"...Right."

With nothing more to say to each other, we both looked up at the sky at the same time.

We had been blessed with good weather for the past six days until yesterday, and things were going to be very different after today.

Thick gray clouds covered the sky, appearing as though they were about to cry. The forecast said that it would start raining in the morning, meaning we only had two or three hours to go.

Unfortunately, I hadn't devoted any points for rain gear. If my clothes and shoes got soaked during the exam, the weight of the water and coldness would rob me of my energy. If my feet were muddy, my movement speed would slow down.

The tablet didn't provide details on any group other than the top 10 groups and the bottom 10.

Would Horikita, who was acting alone, be okay? We hadn't seen each other even once since our conversation at the start of this exam. If she were injured, or she got sick, she would be out of luck big time.

Anyway, I wanted to win the first designated area before the weather changes.

After packing up, we received the area designation at 7 AM and started moving.

Thankfully, our first area in the morning was C3, which was very close.

From here, it wouldn't take much time before we reached it.

Just as I was going to head off, a message appeared on my tablet. As I recall, the school said that all students may be contacted by the

school while the exam went on.

Depending on the weather conditions, there is a possibility that the

basic movement and tasks may be suspended. Please check your tablets regularly.

Apparently, the school was planning to make a decision based on the weather.

The loss of an opportunity to score points could be fatal for the lower-ranked students.

"I'm sure they won't formally decide until the last minute, but I have to keep that in mind."

"Alright, let's go."

After taking a few steps, I noticed that Nanase wasn't following me. When I turned around, she was standing there in a daze and didn't even seem to notice that I had started walking.

"Nanase?"

She didn't seem to realize that I called out her name, and only reacted after a few seconds.

"Sorry, I'm coming!"

She hurriedly catched up with me, apologizing.

If she was in good physical condition, was it a mental issue?

There was a clear change in her conduct between yesterday and

today.

Her interactions with me shouldn't have been any different. However, I don't think there was any interaction with a third party

to cause this behavior.

1

I was waiting for tasks to appear in the vicinity, but there were fewer of them than yesterday, partly due to the inclement weather conditions, so I didn't have a chance to participate.

In the end, we passed the extra hour and a half of time we had left by relaxing.

At 9:00 AM, we moved to E2, the second new randomly designated area we'd visited today.

Considering it was a random designation, we were lucky that a relatively close area was chosen.

I'd have liked to pick this place as a stopping point, but...

"We need to think a little about moving from here."

"Yeah."

If we wanted to get to our destination in the shortest amount of time,

it'd be faster to go over the mountains in D2/D3.

I would have chosen that route without hesitation had the weather

been in the same condition as yesterday.

But the current weather conditions were about to get out of hand. Once it started raining, a normally passable path would turn into a

difficult one.

"What should we do?"

"I guess it's safe to go around and aim for E2."

If you decided that it was dangerous to travel, it was easy to give up

on the way.

"Understood. Depending on the weather after this, we will not be

able to move effectively."

Nanase didn't look convinced, despite saying that she understood. "But... I want to cross the mountains."

"Once it starts raining, it will be difficult to travel, and there's a high

chance that your foothold will give way. It's quite dangerous".

There was no guarantee that you wouldn't slip and fall.

"I think many of our rivals will make a detour in anticipation of the

weather, but that's why we should be able to score first place here using that route. Let's head up the mountain before the rain starts coming down."

There was not a single complaint about my decisions from her in the past few days.

Almost as if it was the minimum etiquette you should have when accompanying someone.

Of course, Nanase understood that and cut it short.

I didn't think she wanted me to twist her will forever.

"What if I don't choose to go over the mountain?"

I decided to ask this question to make sure what her intentions were. She made a little gesture of hesitation as to show whether she should

answer it or not, but then looked up and stared directly at me.

"...In that case, I'll try to cross the mountain by myself."

"That's a very reckless decision. There's no guarantee that Housen

and Amasawa will be at E2."

Even if Nanase reached the designated area as fast as possible, there

was no guarantee that she'd be able to receive arrival order rewards. Even if she made it over the mountain before the weather changed, it would be worth nothing if her other two group members didn't have similar timing. Why did she insist on a close, meaningless mountain

crossing this time?

I was fine with letting her go, but it was quite dangerous for a girl to

cross the mountain alone.

It wasn't like I was responsible for her, but I had to make sure she

was safe at least.

And it was still unclear why Nanase asked me to accompany her.

If I chose to part ways here, I would never know the answer.

"I understand. If you're ready to do that, then I'll go with you over

the mountain."

"Thank you."

Looking at Nanase's face as she answered me, I realized one thing—

she already knew that I was going to go with her over the mountains. "Once the route is set, we act immediately."

We walked east for a while, and as we stepped onto the steep slope,

the wind started to pick up.

The sky was turning a darker shade of gray, and the possibility of

rain beginning to pour down loomed over us.

I checked my position on the tablet, with the GPS indicating that we

were about to reach the D3 region soon.

"I want you to hold it until we reach the designated area".

After giving her the tablet, I could hear Nanase breathing slightly

faster as she traveled behind me.

Today, we hadn't gone through a particularly difficult route, but it was too early to stop and catch one's breath.

Was it because of the accumulated exhaustion from yesterday?

If you weren't feeling well, it was wise to set up your tent and wait for the rain clouds to pass. If you caught a cold, your wristwatch would send data to the school indicating your symptoms.

I noticed that Nanase couldn't keep up with my current pace. I intended to stop here if Nanase gave the signal, but I was sure she wasn't the type that gave up so easily.

If she slowed down further from the current pace, I'd have to force her to stop.

We stepped forward on the sloping surface, step by step. The temperature dropped significantly and the humidity was increasing. Nanase and I were wearing ordinary running shoes. It's hard to say if they were suitable for this kind of walking or not. In fact, the more we walked, the slower Nanase's pace became. It was time to make a decision. I stopped moving.

"Wait, I can still climb..."

"Lend me your backpack."

"What?"

"You can't keep up with my current pace if you carry your backpack

on your back."

"But I can't trouble you, senpai."

"That's the line of a person who can keep up the pace. At this rate,

I'm going to have to give up points in the standings for being late. I'd rather have you walk faster, even if it means carrying your stuff."

"But the luggage is quite heavy. No matter how strong senpai is, I'm sure it will be tough to carry."

"I'll know that when I have it in my hands."

"...Understood."

Reluctantly obeying, Nanase pulled the backpack off her back, and

then apologetically handed it to me with both hands. Her backpack weighed about the same as mine, although the contents may have been different.

This wouldn't interfere with my initial pace of walking.

Normally, I would support myself with my hips to lighten the load, but in this case, I had no choice.

I held it in both hands and began walking again.

"Huh, are you really okay?"

"Move your feet before your mouth."

Nanase accepted my advice and stopped talking.

Then, sticking only a couple of meters behind me, Nanase started to

walk.

2

The surroundings were growing dim and the visibility was worsening. The winds became stronger, with the occasional fierce gusts

blowing.

Though the conditions were unfavorable right now, the good news

was that we're almost finished climbing up the sloping mountain.

The only thing left to do was to go downhill on a slightly flatter path. Of course, you'd have to be careful upon descent as well in order

not to trip, so you couldn't be too careless.

"If we make it this far, we'll be fine. Your luggage... I'll carry it." "Are you sure you're okay? I don't want to lose time by you handing

them over again."

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

After checking on her condition, I complied with her request and

handed back her gear.

After holding it in her hands, Nanase stared at it, not even carrying

the backpack on her back.

"Is it okay if I start walking?"

Even after I told her that, Nanase showed no signs of answering. She

wasn't trying to move at all.

"Ayanokouji-senpai. I have a question for you."

"You look like you've been thinking about something all morning." No, she seemed to want to know something, precisely from the

moment she had asked to accompany me.

"You... knew all along?"

Without being strongly surprised, Nanase nodded and continued. "There's a reason why I've been following Ayanokouji-senpai's

side for the past few days."

Nanase, who stopped walking, said this and started to explain why.

It was obvious that it wasn't simply because we shared the same table.

It would mean that she'd finally be able to tell me the answer to that question.

"But before that, let me apologize for one thing."

When I turned backwards, Nanase leaned her backpack against a large tree beside her.

"Today, senpai won't reach the next designated area, E2."

"That's funny. Didn't we decide to head there in a hurry?"

"The reason I wanted to cross the mountain was to get senpai to this

place."

In other words, Nanase's destination was not E2, the designated

area, but here in the northern part of D3.

"The only ones in this area, if I'm lucky, are probably just us." "Yeah. I think so too."

Leaving her backpack there, Nanase started walking towards me. "I've seen a lot of things from Ayanokouji-senpai's side for six days,

including today. Senpai has made a lot of friends at this school, gained a lot of trust, and is slowly but surely demonstrating his abilities."

Nanase began to give a summary of my movements by looking back on our life on this uninhabited island.

"And I would like to pay tribute to the insight and physical prowess you showed from time to time."

"I don't remember doing anything special."

"If so, wouldn't that be even more amazing?"

Nanase was praising me, but her facial expression wasn't conveying

the same thing.

"But Ayanokouji-senpai, you're not someone who should be in this

school."

This was where the atmosphere changed. Obviously, this was

different from Nanase's familiar calm tone.

"Can I hear your reasons as to why I shouldn't be here?"

After nodding once, Nanase slowly stood up and looked back at me. "That's because you're from the White Room."

This was where the word "White Room" finally popped up from a

third party.

The number of people who knew this word was extremely small. Normally, at this stage, it would've been enough to determine that

she was the assassin sent by Tsukishiro.

"As you may have already guessed, I was ordered by Deputy

Chairman Tsukishiro to come to this school. And the content of that order was—to expel Ayanokouji-senpai from the school."

She said it all with such boldness that it was hard to believe she had been working under the surface thus far.

"You could have set it up anywhere in the last few days, but why did you choose this place? Is there any reason other than avoiding the public eye?"

"Here I will take down and injure Ayanokouji-senpai, which would activate the emergency alert. You will then be ordered to retire by the arriving teacher and expelled from the school. That's how it works."

"The point is, the same method used on Komiya and the others, right? Don't tell me it was you who retired those two?"

"Well...what do you think?"

"I don't think you could have made it back and forth in that very short amount of time, but I might just lose my argument if you tell me that a White Room student can do it."

Still, her answer didn't matter at the moment.

"What if I tell the exam proctor that I've been beaten by you?"

"I don't think I can excuse myself. Because it's been decided that

it's Deputy Chairman Tsukishiro who's coming here."

That's no excuse. No matter what I said, Tsukishiro was going to

take Nanase's side.

"I see. In other words, my defeat here equals expulsion from

school."

I slowly dropped the backpack I was carrying on my back.

Then, I placed it by a suitable tree and turned to Nanase once again. "If Deputy Chairman Tsukishiro sent you with the expectation of

being able to defeat me, it's inevitable that it will be a tough fight. That said, if I raise my hand to a girl, that will be a big deal."

It wouldn't be just a cute little fight, like a squabble among children.

If it developed into throwing strikes at each other, I would be subject to a corresponding penalty.

There was no guarantee that Tsukishiro wouldn't decide to forcefully retire or expel me from school with either a win or a loss in this fight.

That said, a draw would also mean defeat.

"The only choice you can take is to throw away your baggage and run away."

"Right."

"I'm sure that's no use either."

Continuing the exam on an uninhabited island without a tablet or

tent was suicidal.

For Nanase, that meant she could handle any of the options.

"What are you going to do?"

"Since it has come to this, there's only one choice I can make here." Relative to Nanase, she was determined to fight.

"So you're going to fight and defeat me. But does that give you

hope? It may be taken as unfair, but my loss is also Ayanokouji-senpai's loss."

"Maybe."

During the course of the conversation, I created an opening that was easy to set up at any time.

However, Nanase was clearly wary of the gap that had been created and did not jump in immediately.

She wasn't not the type of person who fought recklessly, but an orthodox one who chased her opponent down steadily.

It was the right choice not to go at the opponent's pace.

"Here I come."

It also proved that she wasn't very good at backstabbing, as she went

out of her way to mention the beginning of her attack sequence.

Of course, there were times when even that could be bluffed.

The ground was soft, but it seemed to serve as a sufficient foundation

for us. "Ha!!"

Kicking off the dirt, Nanase closed the distance at once.

Would her attack primarily consist of using her arms or her legs? Or would it be both?

Normally, I'd start by assessing Nanase's fighting style.

If I struck back unwisely, Nanase could be severely injured.

As I said before, that would only cost me.

Then I thought about my next move, which was to seize her by force

and restrain her.

Nanase probably also had that in mind. But—that was not a wise choice either.

Even if Nanase's testimony alone was weak, I could sense the presence of people from the rear of our "group" all day today.

It was clear that there were people who were keeping a considerable distance and monitoring us.

If they weren't reinforcements for fighting, it was best to assume that they were responsible for recording conclusive evidence with tablets and the like.

So the only choice I could make here is—

Nanase feinted to the left and extended her hand straight toward me. That hand was not a fist, but a soft, open palm. A technique to grab

the enemy right away.

When I saw through the move, I surpassed the speed of Nanase's

outstretched arm with a delayed initial move.

My arm overtook Nanase's as if to cross it, and placed a direct strike

in front of me.

My tightly gripped fist stopped just a centimeter before it touched

Nanase's eyes. "Huh!"

Her body unconsciously stiffened at the impending impact due to every human's instinctual kinetic vision.

"That's the first strike."

Had I really connected it, the current blow would have completely settled this matter.

Her consciousness was blown away in an instant, and Nanase had no choice but to collapse in the spot.

"Are you tired? Or is it hesitation? Your potential is higher than that, Nanase."

Nanase's sharpness, which she had shown for the past few days, was still a notch or two better.

She had a weak resolve to come hunting here seriously.

"Do you think you can defeat me without hurrying up and fighting back?"

Without answering, I pulled back my fist. At the same time, Nanase retreated by two meters. Then at once, just a little stronger than the previous time, she kicked off the ground again. She was aiming for attacks that could worsen my condition. This time, she gripped her left hand forcefully.

I counterattacked just before that, and this time my fist was aiming

at Nanase's cheeks.

Of course, I left a gap of about a centimeter in between her cheek

and my fist as before.

"Two shots with this. Again, if it had been a direct hit, it would have

been a knockdown."

"But it's not a direct hit."

She didn't look as frightened when she saw my second fist stop in

front of her. "Sure."

"You can talk about dominance all you want, but if you don't fight back, you won't stand a chance."

"Won't you still win even if I fight back?"

"That's right. What are you doing now?"

Nanase didn't seem to be getting serious about it yet either.

She was trying to observe how I would come out with an attack

while staying a safe distance away to avoid getting hit.

"I'm thinking about it."

"I hope you get the answer while you're still standing there safely." The fist of my right arm that was stopped in front of Nanase's eyes. She made a move and grabbed me by the arm. This was the first time

Nanase had gotten serious. It looked like she was going to push me down to the ground, but she instead tried to use the momentum of the strike to launch a direct attack.

"It didn't work—!?"

Nanase became impatient and was then struck by an upsetting realization.

This physical art was an excellent technique that could be used to control stiffness with softness, regardless of gender and body size differences.

However, that was only if the opposing stiffness was no match for the softness.

With nowhere to go, Nanase's power was dispersed and I raised my fist through the created gap. My left-handed uppercut swung up to a centimeter from her lower jaw and sent Nanase's hair flying up into the sky.

"Huh!!"

Her wide-open eyes turned to me after seeing my fist. "That's the third shot, to tell you the truth."

Nanase's eyes wavered for the first time when she looked at me.

"Your abilities seem to live up to those rumors, Ayanokouji- senpai..."

When a counterattack wasn't even allowed, the only means I could take right now was to "break Nanase's will without hurting her."

It was to make her realize that I was an opponent she could never beat.

"I understand what senpai is trying to do..."

It seemed that Nanase figured out my strategy.

"It seems like I'm not going to be much of an enemy if I fight

normally as it is. I'll admit it."

Had her resolve broken already...? No, that wasn't the case.

There was still a certain amount of heat and hatred in her eyes.

"'I' won't be able to win."

In this stalemate of a fight, Nanase's slight impatience finally

showed. Or, should I instead say that her whole demeanor had begun to change? Perhaps she had achieved spiritual unity?

After a few moments of silence, Nanase silently kicked off the ground, delivering a high-speed strike.

I didn't have time to calmly watch the situation, and was forced to take emergency evasive action. Her movements were now twice as fast as before. I'd been able to get a good distance between us to avoid it, but it was nowhere as much as in previous attacks.

Her sharp, piercing eyes stared directly at me.

I wasn't sure if it was the same person staring back at me anymore. If you received a decent blow, you would also receive a fair amount of damage. This was a situation where one could control the hard and soft aspects of the fight.

This sharpness of hers was clearly different from the previous one. "I am here to stop you."

'I' and 'I'.

A mere change in first person couldn't possibly have changed her movements that much.

So much so that the level of attack was different immediately before and after.

"Who are you?"

I had to ask that back in response to the situation.

"I came back here from that place to stop you."

That place? For a moment I thought it was the White Room, but it's

not.

"From that dark place... I'm back."

I couldn't for the life of me understand what she was talking about,

but I couldn't let my guard down either.

Nanase, who referred to herself as 'I', shifted from a jujutsu-based

attack to karate. The quick thrusts that were delivered as she stepped forward again were so powerful that even a grown man would lose consciousness from the pain if they got hit directly.

While calmly judging each thrust, I considered the mystery of the change in Nanase's persona.

"How long will you keep dodging?"

If she repeated the attack 10 or 20 times endlessly, it would surely hit home one day.

I was sure that Nanase had that conviction inside her, and that's why she was throwing away her hesitation and launching a series of strikes. Probably, if any students witnessed this fight, they would have felt

the same way.

You couldn't continue to avoid it indefinitely.

So, in order to protect yourself, you had no choice but to turn and

fight back. "H-huh—!!"

Nanase's breath gradually picked up as she continued her onslaught of strikes.

Of course, there was no way she could continue with high-speed strikes for an extended period of time.

Still, as long as she didn't receive a counterattack, she could regain her strength at any time.

"H-hah..."

Nanase, whose breath staggered just as I thought it would, stepped away and regulated her breathing.

"Absolutely... I will absolutely defeat you... I'll definitely defeat you..."

While as if reciting a prayer, she glared at me as if gazing at a murderer.

"I... I came back to defeat you..."

"Came back? What are you talking about?"

I didn't understand what Nanase was saying from earlier.

"That's to be expected, because we've never directly met before." If I didn't know her, I'd be even more uncomfortable with this

hatred.

If a White Room student had a grudge against me, I could imagine

it, even if I didn't know them.

But was Nanase really a White Room student?

The tone of her voice was slightly different from that of the usual

Nanase, with whom I had regularly interacted with.

It's as if she's still a woman on the outside, but inside she's become

a man.

"If you don't fight back, then do whatever you want. I'll just repeat

the process until I defeat you—"

It took her less than 20 seconds to recover, but it seemed that it was

enough time to regain her agility. "Huh!!"

The feeling of hatred seems to be inspiring Nanase more and more, showing it with her fastest thrust yet.

A white, thin arm loomed in front of me, and her fist lightly grazed my bangs.

On the outside, it was Nanase, but had the inside been replaced with someone else?

One thing came into mind from this.

Multiple personalities, also known as dissociative identity disorder. Simply put, it was a condition in which a person had more than one

personality.

If Nanase had this disorder, then the situation would be easy to

explain.

This disorder was not just a change in personality. There were rare

cases where a person has a chronic illness in one personality and when they change to another personality, the illness is temporarily "lost."

In other words, the 'I' in Nanase's other personality may have more than enough physical abilities to be better than the original Nanase.

And if her other personality was a man, she could show the same strength as one.

"You don't sound like Nanase."

Upon being interrupted by my words, Nanase stopped in her tracks,

as if to show her annoyance.

"You still don't get it?"

With shaking fists and an unsteady voice, she resumed in her

fighting stance and glared at me.

"I'm not Nanase. The one standing here right now is...me, Eiichirou

Matsuo."

"Eiichirou Matsuo?"

At least I'd heard of his last name. It wasn't exactly an old memory.

It was a name I heard from that man's mouth when he appeared at the Advanced Nurturing High School. From this, I could deduce a few things.

"I am the son of the man whom your father has killed."

When I still didn't understand, she continued irritably.

"This body is borrowed. I'm in front of you now to take you down." "Borrowed? That's an interesting joke."

It was impossible for the personality of another person who actually

exists to be transferred to a different person.

"If you think it's a joke, then be my guest."

With her hands trembling, Nanase leaped forward again.

This unorthodox attack method gradually became sloppy and

changed to a brute force one.

"I'm here... in order to defeat you!"

Unlike the swift and flexible movements she showed before, right now Nanase's movements were rough.

Though there was wasted movement, she tried to overwhelm me with raw speed.

Attacks are the same once they hit regardless if they were proper or not—was what she was likely thinking

"You will get what you deserve!"

Even if her movements looked like they were improving, I hadn't taken a hit. Nanase, having come this far, must have also understood that to a sufficient degree. She was pretending to be calm, but the one with their back to the wall wasn't me, but Nanase.

It was clear from the rising and falling of her shoulders that she was nearing her limit, even if she had been recovering her stamina in small increments.

But there was no point in trying to wait for that limit. Nanase was never going to back down and would continue to challenge me to fight

forever and ever. What I had to do is to break her resolve.

"This is the first time I've been able to avoid an attack so far... But it won't last forever. As long as it is me—if I am the one attacking—

then I can definitely defeat you... I can do it."

Even though she was slowly taking mental damage, Nanase

continued to bare her fangs.

"I understand what you're trying to say."

I didn't know the full details of the situation, but there were several

things that had come to light.

I had finished sorting it all out after just a few minor thoughts. "Nanase, you don't have multiple personalities, nor has another

personality taken over."

"I told you. If you think I'm joking, feel free to do so. But I'm here." She continued to deny me and stomped hard on the ground.

But unfortunately for her, I would prove that such a thing didn't exist

within her.

"No, I'm afraid I don't believe you. If it had been a third persona

that was no one else, I might have been able to believe it at a hundred paces. But you're saying that the real 'Eiichirou Matsuo' has taken over. I'm sorry, but that's just too unrealistic."

"T-Then, how would you explain this?!"

If that were the case, then there was no need to think about anything complicated at all.

"It's simply a matter of forcibly creating another personality in your mind. The reason you dare to use 'I' and 'I' differently is because you have to tell yourself that."

Nanase was basically an anti-violence person.

That's why she didn't want to directly commit the act of bringing her opponent to her knees with violence.

If she still had to fight, she had no choice but to create a personality that can fight.

No, more simply put, she had to "act."

"This power is proof that I am myself, more than anything else!" The fist that was thrust out was indeed increasing in speed and

power.

"This is only showing a swing within the range of abilities that

Nanase originally had."

Nanase, who was supposed to have lost her color after being hit by

the core of the problem, looked upset.

"T-thats wrong! I'm... I'm Matsuo!

"If it's really that Matsuo, there's nothing to be upset about when

you hear this story."

All you had to do is laugh off the reasoning that was lost as Matsuo. "I also felt uncomfortable when your usage of first-person pronouns

changed conveniently. It's simply a form of coping."

She just changed herself to be aggressive with 'I' as a trigger. "That's wrong!!"

"I want to believe that you have Matsuo's personality... no, even I

can't believe it."

I'm desperately trying to suggest the notion to myself, but I'm not

completely satisfied.

"Waaaaaaaahhh!!"

Nanase leaped at me, perhaps because she couldn't bear listening to

my words anymore.

It was no longer as skillful as it was earlier, and at a level where I

could avoid even if I closed my eyes.

"Give up, Nanase. You can't beat me."

"I can win! I have to win!"

Her outstretched arm grabbed my chest.

Nanase, judging it to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, swung at

me.

Perfect range. It's a position that would be absolutely impossible to

avoid under normal circumstances.

I attempted to avoid the right arm that was released with the

intention of shattering my face, while being held by the chest. "Huh?!"

Another fist flew in immediately. And I attempted to avoid that as well.

"Why! Why won't it hit you!! It's not hitting you at all!!"

I had managed to avoid all of those attacks another three, four—five times.

Numbed by the fact that none of them connected, Nanase forcefully reached to grab my hair.

She must have decided that if she held my head, she could certainly hit me.

I caught her right hand.

"L-Let go!"

"Letting you go won't change anything."

"Let go of me!"

She forcefully ripped away her arm from my grip and repeated the

same futile actions again.

An uncountable number of fist strikes cut through the empty air

again.

"Huh, huh, huh...!"

Her mind had reached its limit, along with her physical strength. "Why, why... I'm so close... I'm so close, and yet!"

Nanase no longer had the determination to continue pouncing on me. She tried to force her trembling knees to move forward, but her body

refused to fight.

"If you keep attacking, you'll eventually hit me—that's the mistake

you made in the first place. With your level of ability, even if you keep attacking until you die, you'll never hit me once."

Of course, it was a bluff.

It's impossible to avoid attacks forever.

But those words resonated in Nanase's mind as she was confronted

with the fact that she hadn't connected an attack even once.

"If you really want to expel me from school, the best thing you can do is pretend to be a victim of an attack here right now. If there's any

disturbance in your clothes, that alone could corner me."

It's an act of sending salt to the enemy, but Nanase didn't operate

like that.

She claimed to really want to expel me from the school, but it didn't

seem that way to me.

"I am... I am—!!"

While shouting, Nanase collapsed on her knees and fell on the spot. Even if she tried to bare through the exhaustion, her willpower had

long been broken.

3

I was diligently tracking a certain pair of people in the woods as the sound of the wind echoed around me.

One could easily see how hard I had to work to get to D3 this morning...

I should be almost there soon—or so I told myself as I stepped out on shaky legs, step by step.

If they found out that I was following them, all the effort I had put in up to this point would be meaningless.

If you're following a target, you'll need to keep your target in your field of vision at the very least so that you don't lose sight of them.

That means they could very well see me too. Pursuing someone is quite risky, after all.

However, my tailing would never be exposed, no matter what kind of person I was following.

Why? Because I didn't even have my naked eye fully tracking the back of Ayanokouji, who was my objective.

The key was the transceiver in my jersey pocket.

This transceiver kept me connected to a certain person, who was observing the location on the other side.

Starting on day six, all students were allowed to perform a GPS search by spending points.

With it, you could get a rough idea of where your target was.

No matter what kind of hands they threw at you, you could definitely track them down.

If the worst happened, you'd spend your points through your own tablet to hunt down your opponent.

Conclusive proof.

I had to somehow get enough evidence to expel Ayanokouji.

There was no time left for me. The person I had to beat first was not

Horikita.

Although I felt that faintly, I was strongly ashamed of looking at it

in a somewhat negative light.

Looking back, I should have been suspicious of Ryuuen's decision

to stop looking for the Class D's mastermind—X.

Ayanokouji was involved in that sequence of events. Even though I

understood that, there was a part of me that still found it hard to believe. That's because at first glance, he looked like a harmless and dull man, the likes of whom could be found anywhere.

I received a message from the transceiver that I kept in my pocket. The voice came directly to my ears via an earpiece, so I could listen to

the transceiver without stopping to pick it up.

"Please stop for a moment, Kushida-senpai. It looks like the two

people in front of you have halted."

"Hahh, hahh, hahh... finally? So they're finally taking a break..." After receiving that instruction, I stopped to relieve myself. Now I

could rest a bit.

"I know you are tired, but we have to hold on. Soon the decisive

moment will come. Then there will be nothing tying you down."

He shouldn't have been able to hear me, since I didn't press the send button, but he made such a statement as if he understood everything that

was happening.

"I know, I know, I know..."

It was like dangling a carrot in front of a horse, and it was utterly

depressing that I'd fallen far enough to use this method.

I was taking a big risk over here, wasting the whole day going solo

for this mission.

All just to see those planted seeds finally blooming...

I took a short five-minute break to rest my body, when the

transceiver sounded again:

"They seem to have stopped completely. Please proceed slowly,

hiding in the northwest and breathing as silently as possible. Oh, and don't forget to record it on your tablet."

The polite explanatory tone of each statement was irritating, but right now I wanted to get it all done as soon as possible.

Resisting the urge to run, I picked up my tablet from my backpack and walked in the direction I was told to. Finally, out of the corner of my eye, I caught two small figures.

Nanase, who had stopped, turned around and was talking to Ayanokouji about something.

Neither of them seemed to be carrying their backpacks, which made me wonder whether they were taking a break after all.

I launched the camera app from my tablet and switched it to recording mode.

But the sound of the wind was so loud that no matter how hard I concentrated on listening, I couldn't make out anything.

An irritated feeling ran through my whole body.

Hurry—hurry up... beat each other up already! Such emotions sprouted, making me feel even more irritated and frustrated.

If only I could listen to the conversation, I might've been able to understand the situation in more detail, but it was risky to get close.

If I moved from my current position, I would become visible to Nanase, who was facing my direction.

I tried to calm my impatient self. It's all a big gamble, but I had no choice but to calmly walk around.

I start moving quietly, breathing hard.

Keeping my distance, I circled the perimeter to get a better view. "Huh—?!"

I almost screamed out loud as someone grabbed my right shoulder

from behind where no one was supposed to be, and pulled me back without any hesitation.

The other hand of that person immediately covered my mouth.

My mind went into a panic at that unexpected event.

Then a pair of glossy lips came close to my ear.

"Shh. You must be surprised, but we have to be quiet. Ayanokouji

and Nanase—you'd be in great trouble if they noticed, wouldn't you?" The voice of a person who seemed to be able to see through my mind. The person who approached me was Ichika Amasawa, a Class 1- A student. We hadn't yet had a conversation together before. This is

quite literally the first time we've actually met.

And yet Amasawa recognized me.

I was half-dragged away from Ayanokouji and the others, until

finally I was released from my restraints.

"Well... why are you here, Amasawa-san?"

Somehow, I managed to stay calm and started a conversation to get

past Amasawa.

If a fist fight began during this time, everything would be ruined.

My patience was being stretched thin.

Even so, I didn't lose my composure.

"I happened to pass by and saw Kushida-senpai sneaking around." "I'm not sneaking around. Just... I'm just going for a walk by

myself, I guess."

I know it's a pitiful excuse. I'm on my own, away from my group as

well.

It'd be obvious to anyone that it was a suspicious situation. Besides, Amasawa just said that if Ayanokouji and Nanase found us,

we would get into trouble.

It's not surprising that she knew something about me.

Already, according to that guy, some of the first years knew about me.

"Hmm?"

With a somewhat suspicious look in her eyes, Amasawa approached me. But still, how could this Amasawa girl—this woman, without a backpack, let alone a tablet—be in a place like this...

Smack!

A dry sound echoed through the forest. Of course, the sound was drowned out by the fierce wind.

As I was lost in thought, I felt a sharp pain in my right cheek after the sound and pressed my hand down on it.

"What?!"

"What were you going to do, coming all the way up here to the mountains by yourself and sniffing around?"

"What do you mean? Amasawa-san, what are you talking about?" "I can't wait to see how long you can keep wearing that mask."

I pretended to be horrified by the sudden smack, as she closed the

distance again.

"Argh, stop!"

"I won't stop~"

Saying that, she raised her left hand again.

I showed a defensive posture in the spur of the moment, but

Amasawa forced her way in. Smack!

This time she slapped me hard on the other cheek.

I had intended to prevent it somehow, but I couldn't keep up with her speed.

"Jeez, do you even know what you're doing? You can't do this!"

"I'm still trying to be nice, you know? It shouldn't even hurt that much."

"Why?! I don't know what you mean!"

"You don't get it? I see... so, if I hit you harder, will you understand what I mean?"

"What?"

Thud! My vision warped and distorted as my mind was still trying to process her words.

The sound of the punch on my cheek came soon after, and before I

knew it, I was looking up at the cloudy sky.

Oh, did I just get punched...?

It was as if I was bleeding, with warm blood flowing out of me. My cheeks began to feel hot and painful.

"Ah...!"

"That was a bit painful, wasn't it? You don't normally experience

getting hit by people."

I can't keep up with the situation. Why did this girl, who appeared

out of nowhere, get involved with me?

And the fact that she was so violent made no sense.

"Well now, how about I try hitting the other side?"

Saying that, Amasawa closed the distance between us.

That was definitely not a joke.

I didn't want to get unreasonably beaten up, and in this hot sensation

of pain running through my cheeks, I'd rather die than get hit again.

I forcibly pushed away her outstretched hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry. But you hit me suddenly, so I just had to—" "You're still wearing that mask? I know you well, Kushida-senpai.

You are an ugly two-faced parasite who thinks of yourself as cute and charming. You love other people's secrets, and when you fall into a tight spot, you end everything by bringing down everyone along with you. You're a total minefield of a person."

"I don't understand, Amasawa-san... But you must never do anything violent... right?"

"Going to cry to the school because I'm being a bit violent now, aren't you? Perhaps you can get me kicked out of school that way. But you'll have to sacrifice something for that. I'm going to reveal all the dark things from middle school that you're trying to hide and keep away from this world."

"How do you..."

The empty-handed Amasawa that suddenly appeared out of nowhere... something was wrong, as this was not a mere coincidence.

"How do you know that secret? Did you ask Ayanokouji-senpai? You look like you did."

She looked at me with eyes that seemed to miss nothing.

"It's just a little skill of mine. I'm so special that I can see everything."

"Everything as in...?"

"For example, I heard that you tried to rein in Student Council President Nagumo, but was rejected at the door. Despite making progress after Horikita-senpai joining the Student Council, you can't expect Nagumo-senpai to back you up now."

"Why... Why do you know that?"

"Why indeed, I wonder~?"

My patience was at its end as Amasawa smiled at me like she was

playing with a toy.

"Who... Who told you?!"

"You're finally showing your true self, I see. But shush, alright?

There doesn't seem to be anyone out there at the moment, but even though it's a big uninhabited island, you never know when someone might be around."

Amasawa poked me lightly on the tip of my nose and warned me ever so gently.

That rotting attitude she displayed at me was the biggest insult of all. "Damn it, you bitch, stop it!"

An uncontrollable voice came from deep within me.

Something that would have been surprising if one only knew the

surface of the person called Kikyou Kushida.

Seeing this, Amasawa was not surprised, but rather smiled happily. "A-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh yeah, that fits you much better, Kushida-

senpai."

After all—this girl knew me well.

Compared to Ayanokouji, she seemed...

"Wh-What the hell are you!"

"What the hell is what? I'm just... yes, I'm just here to save

Ayanokouji-senpai."

"Save him? Huh?"

"Don't play games with me, Kushida-senpai. I know exactly what

you're planning to do. You were going to use that tablet you dropped there to capture Ayanokouji-senpai's fight and expel him from school, right?"

"I don't even know what that means. Capturing a fight on my tablet? Huh?"

It's no good. This girl saw through everything... I knew that my resistance meant nothing. Still, I had no choice but to resist and not acknowledge the fact.

"You may have been in class together for more than a year, but you don't understand him, not even a shred, Kushida-senpai. There's no way you'd be able to corner Ayanokouji-senpai with that level of shallow wit."

Amasawa turned her gaze in the direction where Ayanokouji and Nanase would be.

"Oh, I was really looking forward to spectating in this special seat. Ayanokouji-senpai, you'll definitely win against Nanase without even touching her, won't you? I really wanted to see that~"

Mumbling, Amasawa turned to me.

"I don't know who asked you to do this, but you were way too easy to discover. No matter how bad the conditions are, I'm sure Ayanokouji-senpai saw through your plan to tail him. There's no way he wouldn't notice you, because you're an amateur."

"But I'm staying far enough away from them...!"

"What? Far enough away? Hmm? So you admit you were following them?"

"Well, that's... I just thought the two of them were suspicious..."

"Did you follow them out of curiosity? All alone on this tough mountainous road?"

I wasn't going to make excuses anymore. That's what I thought, but I had a habit of looking for loopholes. You had to treat the person in front of you as a powerful enemy.

"It's none of your business."

"Yeah, yeah, I think it's better to open up. But I think you have a misconception here, as it is my business. You see, Ayanokouji-senpai is a very special person to me, so it would only be natural for me to get involved."

"What? What's that about? Do you... do you mean you actually like him...?"

"Don't compare my feelings with such lowly words. I don't like him, but more as in love...? No, I think it's much more than that... perhaps, it is something that goes even beyond love!"

"What?"

"So, that's it I guess. I've learned a lot from you, so why don't you just get off the mountain and go back to your group. The weather is going to worsen soon, so now is the time to turn back."

"...Don't joke with me."

I grabbed a fistful of damp dirt and threw it at Amasawa's face as a sign of rejection.

"Even if it's underhanded, I'll bring about Ayanokouji's downfall and expel him from this school...!"

"The situation won't be solved by only expelling Ayanokouji- senpai. You know that, right?"

I'd been following them to this point in desperation.

I couldn't possibly back down just because of this girl.

"I'll say it again—Ayanokouji-senpai is a very special person to me.

I can't let an outsider like you expel him from school."

Amasawa approached me and grabbed my bangs without mercy. "Argh—let me go!"

"I'm not gonna do that~"

Amasawa's eyes, which seemed to lack any color and sensibility,

almost made her look like a lunatic.

My body began to tremble as if my instincts were telling me to run

away.

"You... you're a monster."

"Oh? And you find it strange? That a younger girl, like me, is

stronger than you? Look, you're even shaking! Even so, I believe you should appreciate how fragile you can be, Kushida-senpai."

Amasawa was praising me for my irregular behavior.

She continued without a care for what I was thinking at the moment. "I'm prettier and cuter than others. I'm better than everyone else!—

you can't help but love yourself very much, right, Kushida-senpai? You want to become popular, so you can get a hold of other people's secrets. It's a habit, and you don't like to be mocked, so you can't forgive people who know your secrets. I don't dislike that kind of crazy, chaotic, and unbelievable thought process."

I resisted the urge to retort and instead analyzed the situation. Obviously, this girl knew more about me than I dared to admit. Why, why?—I needed to get rid of that question once and for all. I stood up, speaking to my mind to calm myself down. "Earlier... what were you trying to say just then?"

Having sorted myself out a bit, I regained my composure.

The more I cried out in a hurry, the more I got caught up in Amasawa's pace.

"At any rate, you've made it this far on your own. Even if you have

a tablet and reinforcements, it doesn't change the fact that you're walking around on your own. And it's not easy to lie to the others in the group. I mean, it's a big risk to be out of a group, isn't it? If your score goes down, you risk expulsion..."

Amasawa pushed me away again and looked down at me from a higher point.

"But you aren't foolish. Even when you've sacrificed your group's score and fell to the bottom ranks, you'd still have the minimum amount of private points stored to nullify the penalty, don't you?"

This went without saying, of course.

I'd secured the minimum amount of 2 million points before going about this expedition.

In addition to the 1.3 million points that I set aside on my own, the shortfall would be provided by that guy.

"I will never lose... no matter what, I won't give up until the end." "So how can you resist? Right now, you are playing into my hands." That's the reality, as Amasawa tells me.

"—So what? Even if you were messing around with me, what have

I lost?"

To that extent, the willpower in my eyes would never disappear. My own emotions calmed down instead of wavering.

There was no need to panic. I could erase Amasawa too. It was just

a matter of erasing all of the obstacles in the way.

It wasn't just that, however.

"Heh... Maybe you are more than I imagined. You may be a filthy

person, senpai, but I'm impressed with one thing. You have quite the strong spirit. You're not scared of me, but instead overflowing with hatred. It's not just me either, but also with the people who told me your secret."

Yet again, I stood up from where I fell.

If I needed to, I'd punch Amasawa in the face right here and right now—

"You can't do that. Even if you stand on your senses, you're no match for me. So long~!"

I leaped at Amasawa, who turned her back on me after saying that.

I didn't even think about what I was going to do; I just wanted to push her down.

But she already anticipated my move ahead of time, and she evaded

my arms without a care in the world. I was quickly swept off my feet, and fell to the ground for the umpteenth time.

"Ugh...!"

"I just don't think we're a good match, don't you agree? Kushida- senpai and I. You use other people's secrets as a weapon, but I don't have any such secrets. And even if you try to force me to do something violent, I'm stronger than most boys. You can't even take a hostage, because I don't have any kind of important friends. If I had to say, Ayanokouji-senpai's existence is a weak point of mine, but dealing with Ayanokouji-senpai is just as difficult as dealing with me, right?"

Amasawa explained it in a light-hearted tone, so full of condescension.

"Okay, enough of this. Can you back off now? I have to go see Ayanokouji-senpai."

"...What are you going to do? Do you want to tell him that I was following him?"

"No, I won't. There's no point in doing that. But maybe things will turn out the way Kushida-senpai wants them to. Ayanokouji-senpai might end up dropping out of school. Wouldn't you be happy?"

"...If Ayanokouji leaves the school, then I will crush you instead."

"Kushida-senpai, it was decided even before the game began. The only way to protect yourself is to expel the person who knows your secrets, but that method only works against a gentleman like Ayanokouji-senpai, who doesn't go around spouting off those secrets like a fountain. If it was someone like me, I wouldn't hesitate to spread every tidbit of those secrets before dropping out of school."

"Ha... Don't make me laugh. Sure, a bitch like you would just blurt out all my secrets. But no one will believe a word you say. I'll just brush it off like it's a joke only told by the likes of a student who's cornered and soon to be expelled."

"Are you sure about that? There are few kids who believe everything I say. But even so, I can make a crack in the image of a superficially perfect human being known as Kikyou Kushida. Wouldn't that be enough?"

As if she had no intention of playing with me anymore, Amasawa disappeared in the direction where Ayanokouji would be. It wasn't that I couldn't follow her there.

She wouldn't have any hesitation in telling the secrets I hold.

That meant a complete and utter defeat.

I sat there in the forest now that Amasawa had disappeared, and looked up at the sky.

Faint raindrops fell from between the dense leaves.

They fell on my cheek and slipped directly down my chin.

What am I doing...? What am I...?

I had no words for myself. I was so empty I couldn't even get angry

anymore.

First Ayanokouji, and now Amasawa. One after another, the people

who disrupted my peaceful life appeared.

No—it wasn't just those two.

Those two weren't the only reason I ended up crawling on the

ground here.

I began to remember how this happened and the origin of the

circumstances of this time.

4

On the fifth day living on the uninhabited island, I met up with a single person from a first-year group.

Meeting with someone in and of itself wasn't an unusual thing. Since people were moving left and right in this large uninhabited island, there were many incidents of passing by classmates and upperclassmen. But those are completely based on coincidence. This one was a bit different. I received a signal from my transceiver, signaling my pre-planned meeting with that certain first-year student.

Due to certain circumstances, it made it easy for us to meet in person. When that first-year found me, they greeted me with a smile. I also smiled in return and drew closer.

Then, after confirming that there was no one in our surroundings, we began talking.

"I heard your report through the transceiver this morning, but you'll explain it to me in further detail, right?"

That certain first-year's name was...

"...Yagami-kun."

The closest thing Class 1-B had as a leader figure—Takuya Yagami.

"Thank you very much for taking the trouble to come all the way here."

"It's fine. I'm asking you to explain, though."

After seeing how I was hurrying him, Yagami, as if troubled by something, turned his gaze away.

Then he turned towards me again.

"The essence of this situation is outside of my previous expectations, Kushida-senpai."

The way he spoke, as if it were someone else's problem, really pissed me off.

As expected, it didn't seem like I would be able to keep pretending he was a good boy and treat him as such.

"Outside of expectations? Are you referring to how you, a first-year student, was able to find out about my past?"

Yagami, who contacted me and came here, was pressed for answers from Takahashi Osamu of Class 1-A, Tsubaki Sakurako and Utomiya Riku of Class 1-C, and Kazuomi Housen of Class 1-D; thus, he was forced to confess. Those four had been harboring suspicions about our relationship from an early stage, and so it seemed that he wasn't able to escape.

Alas, there was no helping it—and I was supposed to be satisfied with just that, apparently.

"About that matter—I apologize."

"Even if you apologize, it's hopeless already. Really."

With this, the number of people who knew the truth of my past had

increased by four.

Even after coming this far, there's nothing I could do within my own

power.

"Tsubaki-san and the others are keeping the information well under

the wraps, despite expectations. It was a miscalculation from me." "Despite expectations? Please don't screw around."

"Please calm down, Kushida-senpai. What's important right now

isn't Tsubaki-san and the others." "Huh?"

"Their objective is only to have Ayanokouji-senpai be expelled. Something like what kind of past Kushida-senpai has had honestly doesn't hold any meaning for them."

Whether or not it held any meaning for them wasn't the problem.

The actual problem here was the fact that I had to live with people who withheld information regarding my roots.

Why couldn't anyone understand that?

"Besides, those four are only first-year students. Them making contact with Kushida-senpai wouldn't happen in the first place."

"Ha. Please, don't make me laugh. Aren't different school years fighting on this uninhabited island right now? When we have to face the first-year students, this will become a weak spot of mine that they can hold on to."

It was inevitable that this would handicap me.

Since everything could be released publicly, I would have to submit obediently even to first-year students.

"Th-That's right. For Kushida-senpai, that's what's important, right?"

When he finally understood, Yagami acknowledged that fact.

"But as I've said before, having those four expelled right now is next to impossible. Isn't that right?"

"Are you talking back to me? Don't get carried away with looking down on me."

"...I'm sorry. But I only meant to choose what was for the best." Was selfishly blabbering on about secrets considered "for the best?" As I was suppressing the urge to bury him, I lent an ear to what

Yagami said next.

"Details of the strategy for expelling Ayanokouji-senpai was

discussed back on the ship, I believe."

Of course I remembered the plan.

For the sake of having Ayanokouji expelled, Yagami prepared a

secret plan that was to be executed on the uninhabited island.

But just receiving the transceiver call didn't mean the details were

already nailed in my head.

"For Kushida-senpai's sake, I'll add a little bit to my plan."

"Add to the plan?"

"After Ayanokouji-senpai is expelled, I'll definitely try to have

those four who are disturbing you withdraw."

If that was the case, then the problem would be resolved, wouldn't

it? Yagami was saying that without a hint of shame.

"Now, let's think about how we can outmaneuver those four. Even

if the plan to expel Ayanokouji-senpai goes well, the credit would go to

Tsubaki-san from Class-C. We wouldn't get the 20,000,000 points." "I don't want points."

"I understand. But if you were to receive that huge sum of points, it

could act as a big safety net in the future."

Since there was no choice but to go with it at this point, I joined

Yagami-kun's plan.

Because even if I didn't want to join in, it was a situation where I

had no other choice but to do so.

However, that was the absolute limit for me. I couldn't afford to be

dawdling in a sinking boat any longer.

"Let's end this. It already looks like I'm on the losing side."

I didn't come all the way here today just to follow orders.

It was clearly to move away from Yagami.

"We can still celebrate."

"I told you, it's already too late."

"No, it's not too late. In fact, an opportunity just arrived." "Huh...?"

"Right now, Nanase-san is sticking closely to Ayanokouji-senpai." "Nanase? Nanase is the girl from 1-D, isn't she? To think that even

she—"

"Rest assured, Nanase-san doesn't know anything about Kushida-

senpai's past."

"You know I can't completely trust you on your words, right?"

"I apologize for betraying your trust. However, please listen to what

I have to say."

At this point, even when I showed more irritation, Yagami didn't

stop talking.

"We already know that she's related to Housen-kun and is trying to

get Ayanokouji-senpai expelled. But this time, I have an idea on what the content of their plan is."

"...So? What is it, then?"

"Since it's definitely his plan, there's no mistaking that violence will be a big part of it, right?"

"Violence? That might be problematic, but the Deputy Chairman did say small skirmishes between students is allowed. Still, I don't think that would lead to his expulsion, right?"

"If they just lightly bumped shoulders against each other and passed over, then it wouldn't be a problem. But what if it escalated to a bloody,

brutal sort of fight?"

"That certainly sounds cruel. However, even if he could one-sidedly

one up Ayanokouji like that, wouldn't Housen-kun be the one getting expelled?"

If something like that were to happen, it would be unthinkable for Ayanokouji, who suffered a great injury, to be treated as if he failed the test and expelled.

"This time, Housen-kun probably won't be directly facing off Ayanokouji-senpai. As Kushida-senpai said, he's notoriously evil, after all. If a fight between those two broke out, most of the suspicion would be placed on Housen-kun."

"So then..."

"Yes. The one to fight Ayanokouji-kun will be Nanase-san. If she attacks, then of course, she won't be counter-attacked at first. However, if they face each other off seriously, then we must somehow stop them. Whether she tries to get him to hit back or push him off his high horse— whichever one it is—it'll surely be hard to see if you're not paying attention."

Indeed, if Nanase hit Ayanokouji... it went without saying that it would be a big problem.

"If they say that Ayanokouji hit Nanase, the school would report it as such... is that their strategy?"

"That's why we will aim for when they'll execute their plan and intervene at that moment."

"Even if this talk about their plan is true, we don't know when they'll execute it, so we won't be able to do anything. Hovering around them for 24 hours isn't something we can do, after all."

"If that's the case, then I've already identified when they'll strike. A certain person had the pleasure of telling me which day they'll execute their plan, after all."

"A certain person...?"

"I cannot say who it is, but it's someone I trust. Nanase-san will move on to their plan on the 7th day of the exam. The exact range of time is unclear, but it will probably be at a time when there is no other presence nearby."

At that very time, a violent incident would occur...

"Now then, what's your plan on outmaneuvering them, in more concrete terms?"

"Our tablets have a recording app installed in it. As long as that functions, then it'll just be a matter of pinning down some decisive evidence by recording the incident."

If that footage containing evidence were presented to the school, expelling someone would indeed be sufficiently probable.

"But even if evidence is pinned down, we can't be sure that it'll result in expulsion, can we?"

"Material to threaten them with is enough. There's a chance that he'll choose to drop out of school on his own, after all."

I understood the gist of what Yagami wanted to say.

If it really developed into something like that, then the things we could achieve with such footage would let us reap a huge advantage.

"I think entrusting that role to Kushida-senpai is the right path." "Huh? Why should I take such a risk... Isn't it fine if you do it?" "If it's Kushida-senpai, even if you were to accidentally be

discovered by them, it wouldn't be too unnatural."

"That's not the case. Ayanokouji is still on guard around me." "Look here. As a young man myself, if I see such a scene, I'm liable

to think that I should step in to intervene. But Kushida-senpai is a feeble young woman. Even if you were to become so scared that you wouldn't be able to do anything, you should at least be able to open your tablet to try to get some evidence. Besides, you could also reason that you couldn't tolerate such unjust treatment towards a classmate."

"I'm not sure if that's considered justice, but there is a possibility that they would buy my act of frowning upon their actions."

"If that's the case, then I won't mind if you just send me the footage. There's no problem with sending it anonymously either."

Yagami strongly insisted on that. Personally, if Nanase and the others had Ayanokouji expelled on their own, I wouldn't mind. But in order to increase the odds, even by one percent, it'd be better to have as many moves as possible.

"As I've said, I would hate sinking any lower than I have already."

[T/N: Instead of sinking, she literally says "riding on a mud boat."]

"Of course."

"What will you do? Do you plan on leaving it to me just like that and not do anything at all?"

"Of course not. On that day, I'll be backing up Kushida-senpai through the transceiver. I'll use the GPS search that will be unlocked

starting tomorrow and tell you their locations as needed so you can safely keep your distance while tailing them. And besides..."

"Besides?"

"There's a possibility that Tsubaki-san is also planning something. Chances are, she might be starting something at the same time as us, so I intend to watch her movements."

"What about your groupmate, that guy called Utomiya?"

"He is nothing more than Tsubaki-san's pawn. There's no need to worry about him in terms of his intellect."

It was necessary for me to draw the line on how much I trusted Yagami's words.

However, it was also a fact that I didn't have the power to make a choice right now.

"Please do it, Kushida-senpai."

"I have no choice, do I?"

I couldn't postpone this any longer. This was for the sake of protecting my current position in this high school.

I wouldn't tolerate any blunders piling up past this point.