7.3

It was after school, and the time had already passed 5 p.m. Due to the second year's special exam, club activities were canceled, and only a few students remained on campus.

Sakayanagi was seated at Kamuro's desk, which had yet to be cleared away, quietly waiting for the time to pass.

As the promised time approached, the classroom door opened.

"I've been waiting for you, Hashimoto-kun."

"Why did you want to meet me in such a place and with just the two of us?"

"It's a reflection meeting."

"Well, that would be a little scary."

"This special exam turned out to be a great disappointment. It was my failure."

"I agree. It was disappointing, but I can't blame you. No matter how I think about it, the class's information must have leaked to Ryūen."

The newly entered Hashimoto gently placed his hand on Kamuro's desk and looked around the classroom.

"The traitor caused Masumi-chan's—Kamuro-chan's—expulsion. It's unforgivable."

"I thought you didn't care who got expelled as long as it wasn't you, Hashimoto-kun."

"We were comrades for two years, weren't we? Even I would feel angry."

"Yes, I suppose. But how do you think the class's information was leaked?"

Sakayanagi asked Hashimoto, as though to seek his opinion.

"Normally you would think it was leaked via a phone. Simple and effective."

"I think the same."

"If that's the case, why didn't you take countermeasures when Morishita spoke up?"

"What do you mean by countermeasures? Confiscating everyone's phones?"

"Yeah, exactly. Wouldn't that have minimized the damage?"

"The traitor isn't stupid. I assumed they had some sort of countermeasure in place. I thought that if we started a clumsy investigation, it would only create confusion."

"So, you chose to wait and see as you saw ahead. A strategy only you could've orchestrated."

Slowly, Hashimoto walked between the rows of desks and advanced toward the podium.

"However, didn't it pain your heart to cut off Kamuro-chan, even if it was the result of the lots?"

"Pain my heart?"

"You were good friends. If it was me, I would've bent over backwards to get Toba or the others expelled instead."

"That's impossible. She isn't a special existence to me."

"No matter what, you've been together for two years, facing highs and lows. It's strong of you not to waver. I kind of liked Kamuro-chan, and I don't think I'll be able to get over it any time soon."

(Illustration)

From a distance, Hashimoto answered with a complicated look on his face.

"Who do you think is the traitor that caused Masumi-san to be expelled?"

"You keep on asking questions. Unfortunately, I have no idea. But do you have any clues?"

Sakayanagi laughed and then slowly stood up from her chair, leaning on her cane.

She then signaled for Hashimoto to join her.

Walking away from the podium, Hashimoto did exactly that and made his way towards Sakayanagi.

"Hashimoto-kun, you're the traitor who leaked our internal information, aren't you?" she asked.

Hashimoto scratched his head and sighed heavily in response.

"I figured that's why I was called here. It's not unreasonable to suspect me, after all. As you probably know, I have always been exploring the possibility of transferring to another class. I admit that. But think about it, would I jeopardize my position in Class A? It doesn't make sense."

Although acknowledging that the suspicion was inevitable, he strongly rebutted against it.

"That would be the typical view. I myself believed no overt betrayal was probable."

It was normally hard to imagine a Class A student resorting to an inexplicably self-risking course of action.

Not even someone like Sakayanagi, with meticulous attention to detail, could ever foresee and counteract betrayal from a comrade.

"I won't do anything to jeopardize the class. What's the point if the person expected to betray actually does?"

Fully aware he was the most likely suspect, Hashimoto asserted he wouldn't betray the class.

"I will pitch in to find the traitor; then, I will prove my innocence."

"Then, shall we have you start assisting immediately?"

Sakayanagi took out her phone and gently placed it on Kamuro's desk.

The screen showed Hashimoto walking with Ryūen at Keyaki Mall.

"You met with him before this special exam, didn't you?"

"That was Ryūen approaching me on his own accord. He just dragged me around," Hashimoto retorted with great reluctance. "Who on earth took these photos? Was it your personal assistant, Yamamura?"

Before she could respond, Hashimoto asked with a sense of preemption.

"Can we end this farce now?"

Sakayanagi said in her typical tone to Hashimoto, who had been denying everything.

"I assume you won't believe me, no matter whatever I say."

"If you insist on justifying it with excuses, would you show me your phone's history?"

She countered Hashimoto's defense with a rebuttal. Her suspicion was evidently strong.

"I suppose you would drop your suspicions if I did that?"

"Well, it's worth a try, don't you think?"

"Indeed, if you were to leak information during the exam, it would be quickest to keep your phone on and secretly texting and emailing. So, the one with traces would be the traitor. But are you okay with that? If you check my phone and find nothing, you'll have to apologize accordingly."

He had been suspected so far, and he wouldn't let it slide; he was confident enough to say this.

"If I'm mistaken, I'll meet your expectations. But what I'm asking for isn't a call history or chat history. You can easily erase those, after all."

After school, Hashimoto had plenty of time to himself.

Erasing these histories would be easy.

"So, what history do you want to see?"

"What I want to see is your use of private points, not the call or chat history."

Having said this much, would he admit it?

At Sakayanagi's words, Hashimoto choked up in the back of his throat.

"You seem easygoing, but you're actually cautious. You can't guarantee that Ryūen-kun won't trap you, even if you join hands. If you were eliminated, you would take on the risk of being expelled. You can make a contract with Ryūen-kun in writing to protect yourself, but that leaves physical evidence that you want to avoid as much as possible. Therefore, it's no wonder you may have taken a large amount of Private Points as a way to guarantee things. If the promise is fulfilled, the full amount would be returned. If not, you could seize the Private Points. This way, there would be no betrayal unless something very serious happens, right?"

Hashimoto took out his phone and grimaced with a bitter smile.

"Gosh. It won't be as simple as I thought. I admit it. I've surrendered."

Sakayanagi's observation was right. Using his classmates, Ryūen collected a large amount of Private Points to give to Hashimoto. It was his insurance from getting eliminated.

"How much did he buy from you?"

"The information fee wasn't high. About 500,000."

"That's a cheap price for betrayal."

"I kept it at that level. Private Points aren't a problem, but that's not why I betrayed you."

Hashimoto emphasized that Private Points were not the main goal.

Normally, it wouldn't have been strange to immediately pursue his real intentions, but Sakayanagi didn't.

She already understood why he'd betrayed her.

"Should I praise Ryūen-kun, who led you to betray me this time?"

"Don't make me laugh. As the information broker, I deliberately chose him on my own. I chose him because he doesn't hate betraying anyone, and if he benefits, he'll accept it without hesitation. Horikita and Ichinose wouldn't have accepted it, would they?"

"Even if you say that you were passing information to other classes as an informant, whether the other class leaders would accept it is a different story. He's the only one who would easily accept it."

"Yeah. So, for today's special exam, I initially bet on the two-thirds chance that our class would go up against his class."

If Class A was placed on a diagonal line with no attack and defense with Ryūen's class in the special exam, Hashimoto said he was going to watch without making a move.

With that decision, the situation would've dramatically changed.

It wouldn't have been strange if the first half's ranking settled it.

"Do you not think of scolding me at least once?"

"I am not a teacher. I don't feel like guiding you correctly."

Hashimoto shrugged his shoulders and put away his phone in his pocket.

"Shouldn't you have searched me at least?"

"It's pointless. You didn't do anything illegal like leaking information on your phone, right? It's too dangerous to spy on your own phone. Instead, you borrowed a phone from a student in another class ahead of time and hid it somewhere in the classroom, didn't you?"

"Did you read through me that much?"

"You won't gain anything by testing me."

Hashimoto, who tried to pull one off, was quickly counterattacked.

If he was suspected, he would've pulled out his phone without hesitation.

No evidence would have been found even if everyone's mobile was checked during the exam.

Sakayanagi, who knew that it was just a waste of time, decided early to continue using it to capitalize on the defensive aspects instead.

The feeling that those around her were in a hurry was just a misinterpretation.

"The hiding place must be in the classroom, but it takes time and effort to find it. There could be a spy in the hallway, someone pretending to be ignorant and making a fuss, and while there's an opportunity, forcefully taking out the phone wouldn't be destroying evidence. "

Sakayanagi, who had mobility impairments, couldn't make nimble movements to catch them red-handed.

If she showed signs of whispering to Kamuro or Kitō, Hashimoto would have hesitated.

"When the special exam came to an end and you were going home, you left the classroom with Yoshida-kun, who you weren't so close with. Did you put it in his bag?"

"Aha, you're watching well, Princess. So, I was the most suspicious after all."

"There were elements in your recent remarks that made me realize."

"But why? Instead of asking me to show my Private Points history the moment I arrived in the classroom, why'd you take the time to coax me into confessing?"

Sakayanagi didn't immediately confront Hashimoto when he showed up in the classroom.

If she hadn't yet made up her mind, it would be a different story, but Sakayanagi clearly held a firm belief.

"It's an act of mercy towards the traitor, including the fact that I didn't do anything during the exam."

That was why Sakayanagi created two moments for him to confess.

She was asking him to reflect on his actions and stay put.

"It's unfortunate that you didn't notice it. Colluding with other classes and plotting a transfer—I can overlook those as a harmless prank—but this act crosses a different line."

"That's right. It can be said for many special exams—being betrayed by your comrades is a fatal blow. A class functions as a community of shared destiny. Although there may be some dissatisfaction, and they may not follow instructions, they wouldn't betray the class. This is because it directly affects the class's disadvantage and their own disadvantage."

That was why even students who had complaints kept their frustrations in check and endured their daily lives.

"You crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed."

"I won't deny it."

Hashimoto, standing against Sakayanagi, acknowledged the truth without flinching.

"The people around me won't understand. They'll say, 'What's the gain in bringing down Class A?' But no, that's wrong, this class had no chance of winning from the beginning. Even if I didn't betray you, the class is destined to sink below Class B in the future. So I had to create a winning chance, even by betrayal."

"So you're fighting your own battle."

"It was hard for me too. But this special exam was a good opportunity to send a warning. The loss of class points isn't a matter of despair. Only the ones who lacked ability were eliminated. I thought it was a golden opportunity. I didn't betray this class because I wanted to. The temporary betrayal was because I wanted to win."

"You being discovered was part of the plan. Rather, it was included in your plan."

"I didn't think it would be today, though."

He thought it would be revealed in a class gathering, or something close to it.

Hashimoto wanted to avoid being forced into a situation where it was just the two of them if possible.

"The moment you noticed my betrayal and found out my plan, you probably already knew the reason, didn't you?"

"That's why I created this setting."

To take a big gamble, even at the risk of exposing himself to danger—that was the reason.

"Unless I did this, I couldn't convince you that I'm serious. At the end of winter break, I again suggested my idea to you. I want to pull Ayanokōji into our class."

"Yes, I've already heard plenty of your passionate speeches."

The poaching of Ayanokōji and the act of betrayal.

Other students might tilt their heads as they couldn't connect the two.

However, Hashimoto understood very well the essence and nature of Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Even if we lost class points this time, even if I turned out to be the traitor, and even if you have to expel me, I've decided that it doesn't matter. That's the resolution I had made."

This wasn't the end, it was the beginning.

The threat of repeating the betrayal until Sakayanagi adopted Ayanokōji.

"You seem to genuinely believe that you can't graduate as Class A with my guidance."

"I acknowledge that Princess is excellent. But still, I'm convinced that we won't be able to stop Ayanokōji's class's rapid progress in the near future. Class A's and Class B's positions will eventually be reversed, and we won't have a chance to outdo them afterward. In other words, our current position is just an illusion."

He passionately continued.

"The best strategy to graduate as Class A is for Princess and Ayanokōji to be in the same class. With that, we will become a solid, unbeatable class."

"I guess it was the right decision to not let you say this in front of others."

"Won't you admit it? I think my idea is right."

"I can't agree."

"Sorry to break it to you, but Ayanokōji is undoubtedly the strongest in our year—"

"What do you claim to know about Ayanokōji-kun?"

With a clatter, the tip of her cane firmly struck the floor.

"...!"

Clear anger was leaking from the previously calm Sakayanagi.

"It seems you're pretty wrapped up in him. Have you noticed your fanatic statements?"

Under that extraordinary pressure, Hashimoto was intimidated by the petite Sakayanagi.

"You're angry at being told you're not the best?"

Indeed, this was Sakayanagi's anger.

But, it wasn't because Ayanokōji was judged superior.

It was unbearable to see this man, who blindly believed in Ayanokōji, before her.

What could a man, who isn't even aware of Ayanokōji's background, say about him?

"Drop your pride and pull Ayanokōji to your side. It'll be the worst if Ryūen surrounds him."

"The possibility of Ryūen-kun pulling in Ayanokōji-kun is zero. If he has the capabilities you've evaluated, he'd rather persist as an enemy to defeat him directly."

"Maybe it's like that now, but what about when he can't win? If he keeps antagonizing him, and he loses his chance to reach Class A, his thoughts might change—"

"They won't change. Ryūen-kun and I both wish to fight a worthy adversary. The obsession with graduating as Class A is practically nonexistent."

Upon hearing these words, Hashimoto closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

His own remarks were proven wrong. The reason for Sakayanagi's previously unseen attitude was that she had rated Ayanokōji highly for much longer than Hashimoto had realized.

Simultaneously, it was reaffirmed that Ayanokōji's skill was, without a doubt, genuine.

"He might be tired of your behavior. When I enrolled in this school, I intuitively thought that you, or Ryūen, would be the leaders to graduate from Class A. However, I always felt an odd sense of discomfort. Now, the reason is clear. Neither of you has a true passion for graduating from Class A."

Winning against rivals, and subsequently remaining in Class A.

If anything more important than being Class A were discovered, it would easily be tossed aside.

"On the other hand, Horikita and Ichinose possess passion. It's strange. Classes who can't win, who lack power, have this passion, while a class capable of winning doesn't. However, if Ayanokōji and Princess team up, passion won't matter. It would certainly lead to the birth of a winning class."

While looking at Hashimoto, Sakayanagi spoke indifferently, as she was satisfied with her own understanding.

"I understand you're saying that bringing Ayanokōji to our class is the absolute condition for victory. However, isn't getting a class exchange ticket and transferring to the class he's enrolled in the simplest and safest method? In addition to having Ayanokōji, Horikita-san's class also has a fixation on reaching Class A.

"Was such a position possible for me?"

"Of course. If you had pleaded for the class exchange ticket because you wished to transfer, I would've gladly given it to you."

"I guess I've a regrettable decision then."

Sakayanagi immediately pointed out his deliberately regretful behavior.

"You're joking. You wouldn't have accepted the ticket in that situation."

"...Why is that?"

"Your intentions are transparent. Even though the future is unclear, you wouldn't want to give up this class that currently holds the A position. However, Ayanokōji-kun scares you. You want to change classes, but there's no guarantee after going to Class B. That's why you won't use a ticket. If you can't move yourself, the only option left is to move someone else."

Students who frivolously switched classes could hardly gain trust.

The hurdles to get the next ticket were much higher than before.

They lost the means to escape from the sinking ship in case of emergency.

"We have no intention of keeping you, the traitor, in our class from now on. You can't escape now, you know? I'm sure you're trying to negotiate with your surroundings, but you're not worth 20 million points. No one will seriously pick you up. Even if you try to get the class transfer ticket, I will never let you get it as long as I control Class A. Of course, the same applies to letting in Ayanokōji-kun."

In other words, Hashimoto was at a deadlock.

But he didn't retreat. From the moment he decided to betray his class, Hashimoto faced it with firm determination.

"I wanted you to understand, but it can't be helped. I will continue to do the same thing. I will definitely convince Princess to bring in Ayanokōji."

This was Hashimoto's big gamble.

If something came along that would allow the entire class to expel one person, he would be in a desperate situation.

But if such a thing didn't come, it wouldn't be easy to expel Hashimoto.

"The special exam isn't the only chance for expulsion. You understand that, don't you?"

"You insist on not accepting my offer. Then, in the worst-case scenario, I have no choice but to get you expelled. After that, I will control Class A and bring in Ayanokōji."

At his words, which could be described as a complete parting, Sakayanagi applauded dryly.

"Well said. That's the most brilliant line you've said today, Hashimoto-kun. If you're going to expel me, let's welcome it. Please show me."

The complete break within the class.

It was the beginning of a battle that would not end until one of them was defeated.