4.3

I was waiting with my back against the wall in the hallway outside the guest room, ready for my appointment with Horikita.

"Sorry, I'm a little late."

Horikita appeared while voicing an apology, but it wasn't a problem since she wasn't too late.

"I'll get right to it..."

"Are we going to have a long talk here?"

Students were constantly entering and leaving various rooms nearby.

It was one of the least suitable places to talk about things you don't want to be overheard.

"It's certainly not a good place to talk. It can't be helped, I guess. Let's go to the vending machine for a drink. It would be nice to talk while we walk around, wouldn't it?"

That was probably the safer thing to do. I agreed since I had no objection.

Standing around talking attracted a lot of attention, but I didn't have to worry about that if we were chatting while walking.

"There is a vending machine in front of the baths that sells fruit milk. It's delicious."

It was something to drink after bathing, and I thought that it tasted very nice.

"Thanks for the childish comment. But I don't think it's something to drink in the middle of the night."

Was it something specific to a time of day?

Maybe that was only the case from a girl's point of view.

"But it's farther to the vending machines in the big bathroom, so let's go that way."

Horikita's steps were slow, but she wanted to prioritize talking anyway.

"About the cultural festival the other day. I'm sure I didn't get a chance to talk to you about it. It's been nagging at me for a long time, but I couldn't find a good time until today."

"I guess I was just too tired at the time, and it looked like you were exposing your defenseless sleeping face to the world."

"Do you want to be kicked?"

Her spirited upper body posture immediately pushed me to raise the white flag.

"Give me a break."

" I can't believe a boy saw me sleeping. You've just tarnished my reputation."

"Why do you care so much?"

"It's something to worry about... But that's not important right now. What I want to hear is regarding that day."

Shrugging off her own shame with a hand gesture, Horikita adopted a stern expression.

"The events that happened that day in the student council room–weren't you involved in those series of events?"

'The festival', 'that day', 'the student council room', there was only one event that she could be referring to.

"Did you arrange it so that Yagami-kun was expelled?"

"Why do you think that?"

I was interested in the reason why she came to that conclusion.

"I'm not sure if you knew, but there was a possibility that Yagami-kun was trying to get you expelled. In fact, his words and actions in the student council room were enough to support that."

Horikita, in her own way, seemed to have a few pieces that I didn't know about. I wouldn't be surprised if she had discovered some things in the process of putting them together.

"I didn't know about Yagami, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You knew firsthand that Hōsen was trying to get me expelled, didn't you?"

"Twenty million private points, that was the prize."

"And Yagami was in on it, and was vigilantly watching and hoping for an opportunity to win it?"

"I thought about that too. But there were too many peculiar points. Above all, he didn't seem to be approaching you because of a reward."

It seemed that Horikita, who was present at the scene, knew more about this.

"I'm curious about the answers to each of my questions. But that's not what I want to know most."

"Then what do you want to know?"

"Who you are. I can't possibly think of you as a normal student like the rest."

"That's a very troubling question. What kind of student would I be if I wasn't normal?"

"I don't understand. I'm not talking about whether you're brilliant or not. I just can't imagine what kind of person you are at all. I just don't understand."

What kind of person is Ayanokōji Kiyotaka? Is that what you want to know?

"There's nothing special to talk about. I don't have anything that's worth mentioning."

"Well, if I ask you, will you answer my questions, one at a time? Where are you from? Which elementary and middle schools did you graduate from? Have you participated in any competitions or other events in the past? Have you studied on your own, or have you received tutoring or private tutoring?"

I'm sure people wouldn't even ask for this much detail on a blind date.

"I see what you mean, but I don't think I'm ready to tackle that many troublesome questions."

Horikita looked away, her lips pursed blatantly showing her frustration.

"I'll disclose some information."

"What kind of information?"

"For example, I was involved in the Yagami case that you're so interested in."

"You're not kidding, are you? Because Yagami-kun was trying to get you expelled from school?"

"I didn't know it was Yagami, to be precise. It would be more correct to say that I set a trap for a student who was planning to expel me, and Yagami fell for it. I was the one who set the whole thing up. I had it all set up so they wouldn't be able to make any half-hearted excuses."

Until now, I wouldn't have found any meaning in telling this to Horikita. But by indirectly showing her what kind of person I am, I could give her information.

When we meet again, I will have the opportunity to make use of it.

"By the way, there's no connection between the student council president and Ryūen. I approached them individually."

"I think I know what it is... That made me feel so uncomfortable at the time."

We took the stairs up to the second floor where the large baths were located, arriving at a rest area with vending machines thereafter. There were two female teachers monopolizing the two massage chairs.

They were giving themselves over to the massage with relaxed expressions and didn't seem to notice us.

*Illustration

They made eye contact with us. I could've ignored them, but Horikita chose to call out to them.

"You two seem quite at home."

"Huh? Ah, it's Horikita-san, isn't it~"

Hoshinomiya-sensei replied, raising only her wrist in a flutter.

"Isn't it still before the students' bedtime? Aren't the teachers on duty?"

"Too bad~ Tonight we're kind of on a half day off~ Right, Sae-chan?"

"It's as she says."

Chabashira-sensei surrendered herself to the rattling massage chair and closed her eyes in comfort.

"Does it feel that good?"

I had always been interested in using it, but since it was adjacent to the main bathroom, I couldn't due to the stares from students who frequently came and went.

"As you get older and more mature, massages become indispensable. There are a lot of hardships that you young people wouldn't understand."

It's said that along with physical decline comes the need for equipment to compensate for it.

"Especially in Sae-chan's case, her shoulders are very stiff."

"There's no need for you to say anything unnecessary like that."

For a moment, the teachers exchanged sharp glances.

"By the way, Horikita-san, you've totally become a leader. Are you still comfortable in Class B? Ah, how could a former homeroom teacher of Class B ask you such a question?"

"It isn't good. What I'm aiming for is Class A. This is merely a checkpoint."

"I see."

I put the conversation aside and picked up the remote control connected to Chabashira-sensei's massage machine.

There seemed to be five levels of intensity. Naturally, the stronger the intensity, the better the effect. Somehow, I was curious about how the fifth level of intensity would feel, so I tried adjusting it.

"Nn, hya, nn, nn!"

The machine began to make a strong sound.

I thought it was actually about a 40% increase in functionality, but it might be more than that.

"Ah, Ayanokōji, what are you doing, nnnn! No... Put it back down!"

She reached for the remote control, clearly panicked.

The remote fell out of my hand as she forcibly yanked on the cord.

"Ugh! Hya, ha... Make it stop, quick!"

I picked up the remote control and decreased the strength from level 5 back to level 3.

"Haa, haa... Haa, haa... What the hell were you doing?!"

"I was kind of curious. I thought the stronger the better it would be."

"Of course not! There's a strength that suits each person!"

She scolded me angrily, her face bright red, with a devilish expression I had never seen before. Apparently, the stimulation was much more than she had expected.

"What are you playing at?"

I was also warned by Horikita for the noisy exchange.

"Sorry to interrupt you during your break. Let's go, Ayanokōji-kun."

"Are you two going to take a bath now? You can't go in together."

Horikita tried to turn away, ignoring Hoshinomiya-sensei's comment about something stupid.

"Wait, Horikita-san."

Hoshinomiya-sensei, who had been joking until just now, found herself switching to a serious expression.

"Indeed, I think Horikita-san's class is making remarkable progress; Class B is just a stopping point, and you need to aim for Class A. It's obvious, but I think that's wonderful and very admirable too."

Her words sounded like praise, but there were other implications.

"Chie, don't say anything unnecessary."

"It doesn't matter. I'm just trying to say what I think."

"I don't know what you want to say, but you're not free to say whatever you're thinking."

"Please say it."

Horikita urged, as if she was curious about Hoshinomiya-sensei's earlier words.

"Then I'll speak freely. As a homeroom teacher with a class, I have always thought that teachers from Class A to Class D are also competing with each other. If I were to use an analogy, you could think of it as if the teachers were playing Daifugō with each other."

"Daifugō...?"

"You know the rules, right?"

"Yes, well…"

"You play a hand of cards that you've been dealt, and you fight for three years to determine who comes in first through fourth. The cards are numbered from 1 to 13, and the players play them against each other. Leaving aside the local rules and special rules, basically, the cards with larger numbers are stronger and the cards with smaller numbers are weaker, right?

If a student with only 3s clashes with a student with 6s, of course the student with 6s wins. In Mashima's Class A, the cards in his hand are all in order, and he is dealt more 10s and 11s.

On the other hand, the further you go down to Class D, the more 3s and 4s there are. Well, it's just like the usual school tradition."

Saying this, Hoshinomiya-sensei picked up the message machine's remote control and increased the strength of the vibration by one level.

It was only at level three.

"Of course the students change from day to day; I'm sure some who were worth 3 or 4 will grow up and become 12 or 13, or in rare cases, the strongest number, 2. So class fluctuations do happen, and sometimes Class D can move up to Class B. Well, it's extremely rare though. But the important thing is to fight equally. Every class is always fighting within the numbers 1 through 13. You don't want there to be any unfairness or cheating in any particular class, do you?"

"Yes."

"But you know what? Don't you think there's one card in your class that shouldn't be mixed in?"

"The card that shouldn't be mixed...?"

Hoshinomiya-sensei laughed and turned her gaze to me.

"Yes, it's cheating. Sae-chan's class is the only one with a joker."

[TL Note: The joker is the strongest card if included, otherwise, 2 is the strongest card]

Horikita also noticed her pointed stare.

"Chie. Stop it already."

"You must be tempted to argue. Even if I'm trying my best to use my head and fight, a single joker will turn the situation upside down.

No, it's much worse than playing Daifugō. Because you can play the joker over and over and over again, unlike the other games where you use it once and it's gone from your hand. There's no way we can win."

As a homeroom teacher, this could be seen as a declaration of defeat for her class.

"Regardless of whether your statement is right or wrong, what are you going to do if the Class D students hear it?"

This was an admission of defeat. If the students in Ichinose's class were to hear this, they'd be shocked.

"I see. Sorry, sorry. Maybe I got a little drunk from the massage."

With that, she powered it off.

"You got the joker because you and Sae were lucky. It's not cheating if you use it to reach Class A, right?"

It was obvious to everyone here that she was bitter.

"Mhhh~."

It was a voice like no other I'd ever heard before, almost seeming frightened. Perhaps her drunkenness cooled off for a moment after that, as she jumped up in a hurry.

"I'm going back to my room! Sayonara!"

Slightly peeved, Hoshinomiya-sensei waved her hand and walked down the corridor with long strides.

"I'm sorry for everything. As she said herself, she must've had a little bit of alcohol in her system."

Chabashira-sensei said as she got up from the massager, as if defending Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"That's fine. I'll consider it as the ramblings of a drunk."

Horikita replied in a casual, harsh tone, and Chabashira-sensei coughed, a little flustered.

"That's pretty harsh."

"Sensei, you seem to be a little concerned about what she said earlier."

"It's not that I don't think about it, to be honest. The situation is too different from that of the class I taught three years ago."

It's true that Horikita's class had a strong hand.

"I don't know whether or not Ayanokōji-kun's a joker, but there's no denying that he's a powerful classmate. However, I'm not going to hold back on that."

Without even looking at us, Horikita conveyed her thoughts to Chabashira-sensei.

"As long as it's a card that was dealt to the class, I will use it to fight with all my might. The place we're aiming for is Class A, you know."

"That's right. I would expect nothing less..."

However, I'm sure Chabashira-sensei herself was thinking that she still may not have the upper hand.

Class A, led by Sakayanagi, also has an abundance of solid cards available. Even if we could win just one match, there's no telling what will happen if we play 10 or 20 rounds.

"Well, I'm going after Chie. If I let her go like that, she might drink heavily until the sun rises."

She couldn't seem to give up on her former classmate, so she followed after her.

"That's all for today, Horikita."

"I still have a lot more to ask you, though, don't I? Mr. Joker."

"I've come this far, and I want to take another bath. Besides, more people are coming."

A few students were beginning to show up to enjoy the hot tub before going to bed.

"You'll answer my questions later. Am I correct in assuming that?"

I nodded my head, and then passed through the curtains that led to the men's bath.