Chapter 4.10 - Gaze

Day 3, 01:58 PM.

There was nothing extraordinary about our race, or at least that was my personal opinion. The venue was an active river, so we had the advantage of swimming in the currents direction. A good news for me, because I didn't have to waste more energy on fighting against the flow.

As we didn't carry a measuring tape with us all the time, we couldn't measure the distance of our course. We ended up picking a random oak tree for our finish line, which was approximately forty meters ahead of us. Our wristwatch also had a stopwatch function, so we decided to use that to capture our time.

There were multiple factors we needed to be mindful of. For instance, the topography was nothing like a swimming pool. Some parts of the river were deep, some parts were shallow. It was much desirable that we didn't randomly sprain our legs by hitting a boulder or pebble.

Also, a waterfall was less than a mile ahead of us. So, if we got too excited, or careless during the race, there was a good chance we could end up getting pulled by the current.

I think I've had just about enough free fall experience for the day, so I'll pass.

"On your marks." One of the girls began chanting.

I swiftly inhaled and exhaled a few times, trying to ventilate as fast as I could. During times like this, anyone would normally do the opposite and take deep inhales in an attempt to store more oxygen. Of course, that definitely works.

But by doing so, they end up putting more pressure on their lungs. Obviously, the air would try to get out of the body, causing extra pressure. So they can't help but forcefully keep it inside from busting out. And on top of holding the air, they also need to constantly push their body against the water; which rapidly eats away their stamina.

"Get set!"

Using a breathing technique however, makes things much easier. Our body automatically adjusts itself for receiving less oxygen. The body feels lighter when you don't have to deal with the extra lung pressure. Blood rushes to all parts of our body, preparing them for what's about to come. You can also think more clearly because of this. These are the main differences between the former and the latter.

*Inhale *Exhale *Inhale *Exhale *Inhale *Exhale *Inhale *Exhale *Inhale *Exhale *Inhale *Exhale

This feels very wrong for some reason...

"Go!"

I kicked the ground with all my might, and threw myself forward. The other's did the same, causing a massive discord in the river. My body slashed through the heavy layers of cold water. The cheers probably got even louder; but I could barely hear any of it. The very last bit of connection I had with my surrounding vanished. My vision blurred as I began to focus on only what was in front of me.

After what happened during our first swimming class, I came to a grave realization. The body I was currently in possession of was undoubtedly different than it used to be. My curiosity got the better of me; so I attempted to do some track and field activities one day, only to return with eye opening results.

"Go! Levent-kun!"

My build itself was the same as usual; if anything, I had gotten even slender. However, my abilities improved drastically. The sprints were much faster; and I felt less exhausted after each interval. My stamina increased, so did my flexibility. If a thing called 'body enhancement magic' existed, then this would be a prime example. No wonder why I aced the swimming competition? I was more confused than excited...

My question remains... How did this happen?

*spazzle *spazzle

The noise of our body clashing against the water. The rush of adrenaline. The nervousness of the competition. Regardless the results being predetermined or not, I felt an inexplicable sense of thrill and excitement at that moment.

Speaking of which, almost forgot. I looked at my right just to check if I was being had again.

He's there.. Great!

But he was holding back a lot; and he didn't even try to hide it. His movements were sluggish and unsightly. I'm sure he was simply adjusting to my speed in order to satisfy me. To be honest, I never expected him to take this seriously to begin with. Even during the swimming class, he was trying to be ambiguous. However, this time if he thinks that he's the only one who's holding back...

well, he's wrong.

*splash! *spazzle! *splash!

My movement increased as I accelerated forward. The sudden rush in my velocity seemingly caught him by surprise. He also began speeding forward. But I didn't give him a chance to catch up to me. I used the headstart as effectively as possible.

"Thanks for the headstart." I managed to blurt out... while swallowing a bucket load of water in the process.

*spazzle! *spazzle! *spazzle!

The sluggish movement from before became more smooth and refined, like a professional athlete. It seemed like Ayanokouji was now taking me seriously. I didn't need to look back anymore. The sound of him rapidly approaching me was the evidence. The taunting actually worked?

!!!!

The Oak tree! I can see it...

We were getting closer and closer to the finish line; so did the distance between the two of us. He really wasn't holding back this time. Which is why I also decided to take this seriously. I accelerated to the best of my abilities

"How the... hell are those guys so fast?!!" someone screamed.

Left... Right... Left... Right... Left... Right... Left... Right... Left... Right... Left... Right... Left... Right... Left...

In a chaotic rhythm, I slapped the water and pushed forward. I was swimming furiously. No, it would be more accurate to say that I was continuously thrashing and wiggling. It was ridiculous; as if I was a disemboweled bag of meat; blood spazzing out from my stomach, winching and writhing in extreme agony, desperately trying to hold onto the last bit of hope of survival.

"....."

I don't mean it rhetorically or metaphorically or for the sake of narrative. I really mean it. This time...

I truly went... ALL OUT.

•••••

Day 3, 02:01 PM.

"Whoooooa!"

The race ended with screams louder than ever. We stopped a few inches ahead of the finish line before regaining our stability.

"A-ayanokouji-kun, you took... 16.79 seconds!" Announced Inogashira.

Sixteen second for a forty meters course was... understandably absurd, unrealistic and attention worthy. But for some reason, the fact that we just broke the world record didn't seem to affect me any longer. As for my time...

"Oh my god! Levent-kun! It took you 14.87 seconds!" shouted Shinohara in disbelief.

"Hmm.." that's all I could muster out of my throat. If sixteen wasn't impressive enough already, mine was simply out of the scale.

Therefore, I would like to sincerely apologize to all swimmers out there who are reading this horseload by accident.

I stood there in awe beside Ayanokouji who was blankly staring at me. I expected him to say something. However, he chose to remain mute. Not a single word came out of his mouth. I couldn't speculate what he was thinking at that moment.

But if I were to throw the knife blindly, I'd say he was curious about what had happened. He was analyzing me, my stature, my abilities; as if I was the subject of his curiosity. The air became uncanny between us. That's why I simply decided to ignore his gaze for now.

I waited for the other two competitors to catch up to us. Much to my surprise, it took them more time than I expected. Seven more seconds for Sudou to catch up to reach us, whereas it was ten for Onodera. The difference in time speaks for itself. That's how fast we were compared to the other two.

"Wow! You... you guys are something else, huh?" huffed the perpetrator who initiated the whole spectacle!

"F-for real! *inhale... You two *inhale... really *inhale... handed our *inhale... ass *inhale... right back at us!" Sudou blurted while breathing heavily.

Breathe normally. It's not like we're going anywhere.

"Now, if I recall correctly, one of you called me a chicken before the race, didn't you? And the other claimed that they would beat me with a record time, huh?"

"Ehehe..." Onodera nervously chuckled while Sudou scratched his head in embarrassment.

The pure looks of embarrassment on their faces made the whole thing worth it...

"So, how does it feel to be humbled by said 'chicken'?" I inquired smugly.

"How mean~! You're still holding a grudge about that?" Onodera pouted.

"Of course I am." I deadpanned.

Isn't it obvious?

"Now, don't let it get to yer head, ya hear me? I swear, one day I'm gonna pull ya down from that high horse of yer." Sudou shouted.

"You tell him Sudou-kun!" Onodera nodded in approval.

Yeah, good luck with that.

"I'll be looking forward to it." I replied.

"Shouldn't we head back?" Ayanokouji remarked. "Sakura and the other's are probably waiting."

"Now that you mention it." I mused.

Thus, the four of us began moving against the current. While we could simply go on the land and walk there, it would've been a killjoy and wouldn't be as enjoyable as swimming.... Though I literally just swam like my life depended on it.

"The three of you are amazing, you know?" Onodera remarked.

"Wait, why're ya complimenting me? Those two were way ahead of us. And I barely took third place..." Sudou replied.

"You managed to beat me by three seconds even though you're not part of the swimming club."

"Well that's obviously because of the differences between our genders." he replied.

"Well, you're not wrong." Onodera smirked. "But don't underestimate me just because I'm a girl. You may not know this, but I beat most of my male clubmates when I was in junior high you know?"

"Oh, I get ya." He understood the point she was trying to make.

"Guess you simply had poor matchmaking today, huh?" Ayanokouji mused.

"True that! But wasn't it obvious from the very beginning? After all, Ayanokouji-kun and Levent-kun were tied for the first place in the swimming class. They had to do a rock paper scissors to get the result..." Onodera suddenly gleamed at me "...which was interesting in it's own way."

Oh, please have some mercy on this soul.

"Ahem... T-that was obviously a little harmless prank. I'm sure Horikita-san didn't mind it at all." I coughed.

*Stare~ Ayanokouji was blankly staring at me for some reason.

Oi, it's rude to stare, you know?

While we were half-swimming, the four of us engaged in trivial talks. Nothing serious, mostly Onodera trying to bond with us. If I remember correctly, she was part of Kikyou's group. No wonder she was such a socialite. However amidst of our conversation, Onodera said something interesting.

"You know, the three of you are really good at swimming. I think you should all join the swimming club. Especially you Levent-kun."

"I'll have to pass." Ayanokouji immediately shot her down.

"Yeah, I'm already part of the basketball team, y'know? How do ya expect me to join there?" Sudou replied.

"Huh? Don't you know? You can join up to three clubs at the same time." she added.

"What? I didn't know that!" Sudou exclaimed in astonishment.

"Well, I do remember seeing a rule like that. So, it should be fine." Ayanokouji replied.

"But my hands are already full with basketball practice. And even if I did join the swimming club, it'd be too damn hard for me to juggle between two clubs! Ain't it impossible? Besides, I wanna be a pro basketball player, not a swimmer." He replied.

"Well, at the end of the day it's up to you to decide what you want to do, Sudou-kun. But let me ask you this. I'm not saying that it's going to happen, but let's just say you didn't manage to get recruited into one of the professional teams. In that case wouldn't it be better if you had prepared something else as a backup? You seem to be passionate about athletics. Wouldn't it be better for you if you chose to be a swimmer? Or do you perhaps want to be an office worker as a failsafe?" I added.

After listening to my ramblings, Sudou seriously pondered for a few moments before answering...

"I hate how ya think that I won't be able to make it. But damn, you're right!"

"So what do say, Sudou-kun? You wouldn't have to worry about going to club everyday. I'll tell my senpais to make special arrangements for you. That way you won't have to come everyday unless it's absolutely needed." Onodera suggested and waited for Sudou's reply.

Sudou seemed to be seriously contemplating whether or not he should agree with her, but couldn't really come to terms with it. I guess I understand where he's coming from. It could potentially influence his entire life after all. It isn't recommend to make haste decisions (even though I'm the one who pushed him into it) during times like this. I'm speaking from experience here.

"l... I guess I'll think about it." Sudou said while scratching his head.

"I see. In that case, you can tell me when you've made your mind." a big sincere smile took over Onodera's face, which interestingly made Sudou blush a little.

Hoh? I guess he'll be changing target in the future...

"Then Levent-kun? What do you say?"

And of course, Onodera would now switch to her primary target. Me, obviously.

"I'd like to decline. I don't think I belong in a swimming club to be honest." I side-glanced while trying to think of a logical way to reject her.

"Well you do!" Onodera suddenly closed in on me, barely giving me any personal space.

Too close!

"I seriously think you should consider joining the swimming club! No, I want you to aim for the national teams! Who knows? Maybe one day you'll get us the next gold medal in the Olympics?"

No.

•••••

Day 3, 02:02 PM.

"Did you just see that? I think we just witnessed something far more impressive then we thought it would be." Kikuchi remarked.

"Yeah. I know that they're fast but, how in the hell are they that fast? That was inhuman!" Okitani mused.

"Didn't they also come first in the swimming class?" Miyamoto remarked.

"They did! If I remember correctly, they were tied for the first place, weren't they? They had to do to a rock-paper-scissor to decide who's first." Hondou replied while looking up trying to recall everything.

"Then I guess it was to be expected for them to be like that again, huh..." Miyamoto replied in amazement.

"They really make swimming look like a literal walk in the park, haha..." Okitani commented.

"I'm sure they must've gone through some sort of training to pull off stunts like that. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense." Yukimura replied.

Yukimura's words had a point. Back at Tokyo Ikusei Kyoudou High School, they completed a fifty meter course within twenty one seconds, which was only one second away from the current world record. Even for an adult pro athlete, that was a commendable feat. Yet, two high schoolers did it like it was nothing. And then in the current race, they were swimming at an absurd speed. It didn't take a stopwatch to tell how fast they were...

"Yeah. That speed... No matter how you look at it, it was way too fast for a high school level swimmer. Not that I really know what's considered normal to begin with." Ike added.

"Look, there's nothing weird about being a bit fast. I'm sure they're just more athletic than they seem." Kikuchi added.

"That's right. Something like that is nothing to me. I'm sure I can swim even faster than them." Yamauchi boasted. Everyone narrowed their eyes in reaction.

"Dude, quit it! I remember how you were coughing like an idiot for a whole minute after you swallowed some water during the complementary lesson. Wasn't it because you came dead last? Hahahaha!" Hondou wheezed.

"Wha- You still remember that?" whined a flustered Yamauchi.

"Of course we do, idiot!" Ike deadpanned.

"Ahem... well... That's because I wanted to swim with Sakura-san. She's bad at athletics, so I wanted to cheer her up. That's why I simply held back. Definitely." Yamauchi replied while puffing his chest.

"Did they ever mention anything about being part of a swimming club in their middle school or something?" ignoring Yamauchi, Minami moved the discussion forward.

"Hmm...."

Everyone tried to recall their conversations with them. But no matter how hard they tried, all they could come up with were vague, already known information.

"To be honest, I don't really know them enough to tell." Ike replied while scratching his head.

"No, I don't think anyone does. They always keep things to themselves after." Miyamoto replied.

"Now that I think about it, they're loners, aren't they?" Yamauchi added.

"I wouldn't call them loners per say. I usually see them hanging around with Horikita-san all the time." Kikuchi pointed.

"That's true. They just prefer to be left alone from the other's. Not like anyone has any problem with that, right?" Miyamoto added.

"But Horikita-san has been actively leading the class since the beginning. And by the looks of it, Levent has also shown to be potent at leading the class too. Could it be that they're more capable than they show?" Yukimura pointed out.

"Isn't he simply doing what Horikita-san is telling him to do?" Minami shrugged.

"Is he really though? I think he's pretty capable himself. We've witnessed his logical reasoning when dealing with Shinohara-san and his decision making skills on different situations. Do you really think it was all instructed by Horikita-san?" Yukimura narrowed his eyes.

"Well, he did say that himself. He'd been lying if that's the case..." Minami added from behind.

"Ugh! So many mysteries! Just how mysterious are they?" Hondou whined.

"Seriously guys, don't you have anything better to do besides holding a secret discussion behind your classmates' backs?" Kikuchi sighed.

"Crap! You're right. We were totally backtalking about them now!" Okitani said while making a shocked face.

"Is it considered backtalking though? Whatever, Kikuchi's right. Look, they're coming back anyway." Ike waved at them.

"Let's go ask them in person." Miyamoto suggested.

Little did they know that this small discussion was only a scratch of the proof of just how inconspicuous, mysterious and unpredictable they truly were...

•••••

Day 3, 02:04 PM.

"Good job Levent-kun! You did even better then the last time." Maezono complimented the moment she saw me.

"Yeah, even after getting injured too. I think that's amazing!" Kikyou added.

"You were amazing too, Ayanokouji-kun. You almost caught up to him." Satou added which felt more like a consolation prize than a congratulation.

"They're both amazing. Didn't you see how fast they were compared to... um... err... Nevermind." Karuizawa stammerd.

Now, I feel bad for Sudou and Onodera.

"Your speed was too much! Are you even human?" Ike exclaimed.

"Yeah, what was that speed?! You were simply woozing past them like it was nothing!" Onizuka added enthusiastically.

Those were the general reactions we received in the aftermath of that race. We were immediately showered with a mountain load of praise and attention. For better or worse.

"Well, we were swimming with the flow. So it naturally accelerated our speed." I replied.

"That's one thing. But those two were also swimming with you." Yukimura suddenly pointed at Onodera and Sudou. "It would've been negligible if it was anyone else. But Sudou is probably the most athletic student in our class. And Onodera-san is part of the swimming club. And yet they were so far behind from you. So how?" Yukimura persisted for answers.

"It may not seem like that, but we're both considerably good at athletics. We used to compete with each other when we were at junior high. So our competitive spirit simply went overboard." I lied.

The moment those words came out of me, Ayanokouji side-glanced at me, his eyes burning with curiousity. The contents of my statement were too important for him to shrug off. He'll pester me about this before long. I'm sure of it!

"Wait, you two are from the same school?" Kikyou widened her eyes.

"Yes." I replied. "We were classmates for two years."

Even though Ikusei Kyoudou was a nationwide prestigious school for the elites, it wasn't uncommon to see multiple students attending from the same junior high being admitted together. For example, Kikyou and Horikita were from the same middle school. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

"But still, that doesn't explain how you're-" Miyamoto was about to say something, but didn't get to finish the sentence.

"Hey! Why are y'all questioning em like that? What's this, an interrogation?" Sudou snarled from behind.

"Huh? No, no, this is-"

"Yeah, what's going on? Why are you all circling them like they're criminals?" Onodera came out of the water, followed by everyone else.

"This isn't like that! We're just curious about how they managed to swim that fast." Miyamoto explained.

"There is no secret. We're able to swim faster. That's all there is to it. I don't really understand what you all want from us." I replied.

"That's...." Yukimura muttered to himself. "Well, if you're saying it that much, then I guess we don't have the right to question it anymore."

"Glad that you understand. In any case, the fun's over. Let's go back to the camp. Hirata and the others must be waiting for us." I replied, dissolving the current discussion.

The crowd dispersed. After drying ourselves and changing into our gym uniforms, we also headed back to our camp.

Sigh.

As we had exposed some of our physical prowess, our athleticism was now a fact. That must've created a barrage of questions in the minds of my classmates, and it did. I'm sure they were curious about our past, our background. Perhaps they had realized it by now, about how little information they had about us.

So was it a good outcome, or a bad outcome?

From a rational way of thinking, it would've been more logical to hide my abilities if I didn't want to stand out more. After all, the limelight attracts all sorts of attention; even the bad ones. In which case, pushing Ayanokouji toward the spotlight wasn't necessary either.

So what did I benefit from doing all that?

Maybe I was a bit too impulsive at that moment? Maybe at that time my competitive spirit took over my rationality and ended up doing something stupid? Did I start being more carefree after coming here?

I wonder...

For now, let's just keep it in the back of our head. The future will tell whether I was completely in the right...

Or, was I gravely mistaken...

••••••

Day 4, 08:36 AM.

The fourth day was our turning point. Not only everyone got slightly accustomed to the environment, but also unbeknownst to them, the line between the third and the fourth day would turn out to be the most crucial part of this entire journey.

This reminded me of a certain scene from that story. My mind's eye played a certain imagination clip where I could see multiple class D students reluctantly boarding the cruise ship, exempting themselves from the exam. Of course, Ryuen was obviously not among them.

Speaking of Ryuen, that guy would continuously prove to be the most persistent obstacle in our way. Now that we've triggered him, he'll probably turn out to be an even bigger obstacle. After this exam ends, another event will follow, and then another and repeat. Zodiac Exam, Sports Festival, Paper Shuffle, Manhunt for 'X' etc... In all of these upcoming events, I would have to directly counter his cunning proceedings. Unfortunately, I'll get more and more complicated as the time progresses. And just for your information, I'd much rather not engage in a physical confrontation with him and his goons.

Yawn~

Speaking of which, I was standing near the river, blankly staring into the space. My eye lids kept trying to shut down as I was deeply pondering about the reason why I had such an immense hatred for myself. I wouldn't keep doing stuff like this if I didn't.

*pop!

I stretched and twisted around, a few bones cracked because of it.

"Hahhh~" a tingling sense of relief crept all over my body.

I still couldn't figure out a way to fix my insomnia. Old habits are hardest to fix. And on top of that, I was going out to capture spots every single night. Just how much fatigue I've been piling up recently? At this point, I might as well send an early invitation to the grim ripper.

"Three more days till the end, huh?"

*rustle *rustle *break!

The sound of a twig breaking.

At some point I heard someone walking at my direction. When they neared me, I looked toward the person only to be blown away by a heavy wind of disinterest.

"Hello." I greeted nonetheless.

"Let me guess... You slept 'well' last night." he asked.

"Of course. As a matter of fact, the most I've slept in years. Thanks for asking." So much that I couldn't stop myself from yawning every two seconds. Ayanokouji simply stared at me, I could sense pity in his gaze.

"Why is your sleeping schedule so bad?" he asked.

"I don't know the specifics. But I have a lingering doubt in my mind that I absolutely hate myself." I sighed.

And then, out of the blue he suddenly puts his arm on my shoulder. His face looked... pathetically ridiculous. I guess he was trying to look like or give off an impression of a motivational speaker giving a motivational speech. But in truth, he looked someone who was having a hard time due to constipation.

"Don't die, Levent. Class C and Onodera's swimming club needs you!" he said.

"Oh joy~" I replied, trying to sound a bit enthusiastic to at least pay for his efforts. But it must've come out as a bit sarcastic for him.

Or, maybe I intended to do that to begin with?

"So? I assume something interesting happened." he inquired.

He seemed genuinely curious to know what the results of my pain and misery was. I initially wanted to give him a solid answer. But...

"Don't worry about it."

...it wouldn't be fun it I simply gave him what he wanted.

"No, tell me. I really want to know."

"Nothing remarkable.".

"Why are you doing this?"

"I wonder..."

The series of vague responses made him let out a heavy sigh. I guess I can be satisfied with this.

"I'm not sure if we have the same definition of 'remarkable'. But I take it that it went exactly as you expected?" he concluded.

"Of course, everything went exactly as I intended. Now the only thing we have left to do, is to write the epilogue."

"Obviously." he slumped his shoulder before standing straight. "So, when are we leaving?"

"Now would be a good time. But before that... we need someone who'll tag along with us. Someone unreasonably reliable."

"And, who do you have in mind?"

I looked at him with dead eyes.

"You know who..."

•••••

Day 4, 09:54 PM.

"Everyone. There's something we have to report to you all."

I wanted to be the one to break the news.

"What is it?" Ike ushered me to speak.

"It's about class D. I'm... not sure, but I think their entire class is dropping the exam."

"Huh?" Multiple voices rang out in unison as a reaction to my words. Even though it was an expected outcome, there was still confusion lingering around their minds.

"Wait, for real?" Karuizawa asked.

Hirata who had been standing next to me alongside Ayanokouji nodded in affirmative. "We went for a hike near the beach earlier where we saw a large group of class D students boarding the ship." he added.*

[E: *In the anime, the entire class C dropped out on the third day in the evening. But here, I decided to stretch that to day four because your's truly had absolutely no idea how to make that scenario make sense. And a random fact, he was almost about rip his hair off due to how he was agonizing over his writer's block.]

"Is that even possible?" Kikyou asked.

"It is. If they simply claimed that they're severely injured or psychologically damaged and gave consent to dropping the exam because of it, the school would be obligated to let them board the ship." I replied.

"Wait.. Hold on for a sec. This is so confusing. Why would they do that?" Hondou asked.

I side glanced at Horikita. She closed her eyes and nodded in acknowledgment.

"I may have a brief grasp on what could have been their reasoning for such a mass drop out." she stood up. "Remember when I went to scout class D's camp with Levent-kun two days ago?"

"Yeah. You did tell us that they were spending points on excessive things. Could it be that they simply ran out of rations?" Miyamoto replied.

"Well, duh." Hondou added.

"I really think they've lost their marbles after losing all their points." Okitani voiced his speculation.

"Y'know, I actually think that's the case lol." Ike snickered.

"But isn't that just... too easy?" Yukimura mused.

"Yeah, I don't think they're the kind of people who would do things like this for no reason." Kikuchi added.

"I agree with Kikuchi-kun. From our last conflict, I think we can all agree that class D are a tricky bunch. They even went as far as to retort to underhanded tactics to expel Sudou-kun. So I don't expect something like this to be end of them." Horikita remarked.

"Well, this entire 'exam drop out' ordeal may or may not be superficial. But we're all missing the obvious point." Hirata spoke up. "All the students of class D are now on the ship. They lost their chance of participation the moment they stepped off the sand. So wouldn't it be safe to assume that they aren't a threat anymore?"

"Well, you aren't wrong to assume that, Hirata-kun. But there's totally something weird about their movements." Karuizawa replied.

"Though I certainly don't agree with some parts of his statement, he did make a valid point. All the students from class D dropped out from this exam today."

She paused and took before closing her eyes before continuing. "All, except for one."

She opened her eyes and glared at a certain girl. In an instant everyone's gazes fell upon a single soul. I was no different from. Even though I was the one who instigated the whole play, even though I already knew what the answer was, I was still curious about her reaction would be.

How would she salvage this situation?

"Ibuki-san, what are you going to do now?"

[E: Okay, I know this is a long one. And I know I promised you guys that this chapter would be be the finale. But... *wheeze! Damn! I suck at writing haha *wheeze!

In any case, this was quite a long one wasn't it? Approximately six thousand words! I mean holy shit! I'm sure I've been writing a lot of gibberish here and there. That's because I kinda grew impatient. Trust me. I'm also agonizing in anticipation on when I could write the finale..

Next time... Definitely next time. *Nods.

My fourth semester is now in motion. Five more to go including this, before I'm finally set free from this hell called architecture... only to be met with another hell called employment life lol. But hey, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!

(Hopefully all the female readers can guess how I, E, am the manliest of the man among the other authors! There's no other man here who's as perfect and as manly as me! Hwhaha! There's no need to be shy, just hit me in my dms and then... maybe we can get things sorted out~... you know what I'm saying, right? *wink *wink ;)

All jokes aside, thanks for reading this chapter. There's been some changes to my plan. The next chapter would definitely be the end of season 1... After that I would probably go for a mass cleansing for a week!!! And who knows, maybe I'll drink lemonades while I'm at it 😏

I've actually re-read my book recently and realized how god damn cringe some parts were haha! Grammar mistakes, 'forgor' some words, logic error on some parts, yada yada... I wanna die! >_<

Anyways, that's why I appreciate you all for reading this, regardless all the cringe. I'm going to try my best. Looking forward to see your comments! Ciao 🤞;]

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