5.3

We left Keyaki Mall, strolled leisurely along the school route, and returned back to the mall's vicinity, taking our time as we walked along a road with a view of the sea.

It wasn't unusual for three boys to casually walk together during winter break, and that scenario wouldn't attract attention under normal circumstances.

However, adding a conspicuous presence like Ryūen, a strategist Katsuragi, and the oddity of myself, we carried some risk of standing out.

Even so, Ryūen didn't choose to be anonymous, refusing means such as indoor facilities or phones.

Considering the content of the special exam, it was somewhat reckless.

Any observer's evaluation would greatly depend on whether they deemed this group's meeting as carelessness or an intentional act.

"Can I assume that the discussion is over? We're just going around in circles now."

As we neared the spot where we had met up, Katsuragi, who had stopped walking first, checked in with us.

We couldn't figure out the number or content of the special exams, and he wouldn't permit Ryūen's request for a match against Sakayanagi.

Continuing to waste time like this wouldn't be meaningful.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. It's fine then."

Without looking back, Ryūen slightly raised his left hand and conveyed his agreement.

"I owe you a lot, Ayanokōji. If you have any problems, feel free to consult me. There are things I can help you with besides class competitions."

I nodded my head in gratitude at his unexpected consideration, and Katsuragi turned his back and started walking ahead.

Well, I should get going too.

"I'm going to stop by Keyaki Mall now. What will you do? If you want us to hold hands and go on a date, I might consider it."

Ryūen grinned and gently held out his left hand in a welcoming gesture.

Shopping together with just Ryūen would be much more eye-catching than we had expected.

Above all, Kei and Satō were likely to be at the mall at this time.

"Well then, I'll be off."

Accompanying Ryūen on a hand-holding date to the Keyaki Mall wasn't part of my plan, so it was time to return home.

There was no sign of him stopping me, so I started walking.

"Our match will be in the third year. Don't forget that."

As I moved farther away from Keyaki Mall, those were the last words Ryūen said to me.

I didn't forget, but whether it would come true was a different story.

Even so… just a short walk had left me feeling strangely tired.

Feeling more exhausted than after sweating for an hour in the gym wasn't just my imagination.

Having lost sight of both Katsuragi and Ryūen, I continued walking.

I returned to the dormitory and, as initially planned, holed up for the day.

But before that, I had to clear up something that had been bothering me.

After walking for several tens of seconds, I stopped as I sensed someone approaching.

I stood right in front of a vending machine that was installed along the exterior wall of Keyaki Mall.

Looking at the displayed items, to a third party, it would seem like I was just considering buying a drink.

I directed my gaze between the foliage that was likely put out by the employees as the store opened.

"What are you doing in a place like that?"

"Eh!?"

I called out to Yamamura, who was hiding in a shaded blind spot.

"You've been following me for about 10 minutes, right? Earlier, you seemed to be hiding behind a tree on the other side of the road."

It was easy to hide with the thick-trunked trees planted along the tree-lined road.

It was quite impressive that she managed to follow Ryūen and his group without being noticed.

"No, not at all..."

Yamamura tried to answer deceptively but was quick to give up, perhaps due to my accurate answer.

"How... did you know?"

"How did I?"

At first, I thought nothing of it, but if it was the old me, I probably wouldn't have cared about Yamamura's presence.

Now that we had spent time with each other on the school trip, she was already in my consciousness.

It was like a single image. At first glance, you saw only Shape A or Composition A, but once you know that changing your perspective would reveal Shape B or Composition B, your brain will recognize the image as B.

This might've been similar.

From just being a female student in Class A, she was now Yamamura Miki. That was all. I knew I was being followed and that my conversations were being overheard, but I didn't stop her.

Yamamura was a student from Class A and a friend of Sakayanagi.

If I had reported her stealthy actions to Ryūen and his group, it would've been seen as taking sides.

Of course, whether or not I took sides was up to me, but I didn't think it was the best strategy for the moment.

"You can relax. There were no signs of Ryūen or Katsuragi noticing you."

"Really? I felt like Ryūen-kun was trying to lure me out..."

It seemed that Yamamura's intuition was right. He didn't stay in one place and deliberately moved around conspicuous locations. Perhaps he was waiting for his prey to be trapped.

It didn't seem like Yamamura was just accidentally drawn into such a lure.

"Then why not just tell me without making me ask if they found out or not?"

Yamamura was probably convinced that no one had noticed her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have looked so surprised when I found her.

"It seems that you've been tailing not just today, but yesterday as well."

She didn't confirm, but her silence spoke volumes.

Despite being closely watched, Yamamura skillfully tailgated them.

On the other hand, Ryūen probably had no choice but to give up the chase, seeing no results from his schemes.

Even after parting with me, there were no signs of Ryūen following me.

That was probably why I felt comfortable enough to call out to Yamamura.

"I was honestly hesitant whether to call you out or not, but since we were in the same group during the school trip, I thought I might as well greet you."

To me, who knew of her existence, not calling out to Yamamura would've felt like ignoring her.

It was a strange feeling to ignore a familiar face in this unpopular place.

In fact, Yamamura thought that she'd go unnoticed, and I thought she would've wanted to be ignored.

"You're not going to ask why I was following you?"

The final exam was coming up, and Ryūen wanted to fight Sakayanagi. As for Sakayanagi, she would want to know his every move and scheme, so it couldn't hurt to gather information.

"There's no need to ask that."

"Is that so?"

"And after this, I have no intention of reporting you to Ryūen, so you can rest assured."

I added that, thinking Yamamura probably wouldn't be reassured by mere words that those two hadn't noticed.

"But you all seemed very familiar with each other. At the very least, you don't recognize him as an enemy, do you? If you turn that around, wouldn't that make you an ally of Ryūen-kun?"

Yamamura's questioning tone was mixed with doubt.

"Unfortunately, I'm not Ryūen's ally. That's not to say I'm an ally of Class A either. Anyway, I have no intention of divulging that we met here to anyone. You can trust me on that."

"Really?"

I was about to nod to dispel her anxiety, but a faint sound of footsteps stopped my head from moving.

Immediately after, dry applause rang out several times, slowly repeated.

"You're amazing, Ayanokōji. How did you find the rat?"

Yamamura was no longer looking at me—her gaze was fixed on Ryūen.

Ryūen, who was supposed to have disappeared, reappeared now of all times... I see.

"I guess Sakayanagi asked you to gather information about me?"

"It's not like that..."

Yamamura denied it, but she couldn't hide her poor acting skills.

"Kuku. It's a good thing I decided to follow Ayanokōji just in case. Even if you're sensitive to being watched, you would let your guard down if there's no one following, isn't that right?"

He was correct. I was confident that I would notice his or anybody else's presence if they were obviously tailing me, but it seemed that Ryūen had already taken that into account.

From where we split up, there were only two paths for me to take: one which went straight to Keyaki Mall, or the other that led to either the school or dormitory. In practice, Ryūen disappeared into Keyaki Mall.

If he started following me at a distance after waiting for time to pass, there was a high probability that he would naturally catch up with me. No matter how sensitive I was, if no one was tailing me, there was no way to prevent being tracked.

The reason for his remarks that kept me from going to Keyaki Mall was to narrow down my route choices.

Moreover—

As I watched Katsuragi come back from the front, I felt even more apologetic to Yamamura.

"So there was a connection between Yamamura and Sakayanagi."

Katsuragi, who seemed to have been scouting, was surprised by Yamamura's presence.

He pretended to go home and was looking for people lurking around.

"I apologize, Ayanokōji. I just got word from Ryūen a few minutes ago and came back."

If Ryūen was going to track me anyway, involving Katsuragi would increase the probability of success. That was Ryūen's plan.

He had kept it a secret from his ally so as not to arouse suspicion.

"Is it surprising that this girl has a connection with Sakayanagi?"

"Yes, it is. At least while I was a member, I've never seen her have any relationship with Sakayanagi. I think she's just one of many reconnaissance units."

This was something only an insider like Katsuragi could understand.

Yamamura was clearly struggling more than she had a while ago.

"Even though I went through all this trouble, I only caught a small fish. I thought Hashimoto might be up to something... Or maybe it's precisely because you're trusted by Sakayanagi that you were assigned this task?"

Ryūen's sharp gaze, full of suspicion, pierced through Yamamura.

As she didn't expect to be surrounded like this, her expression couldn't hide her anxiety.

Unexpectedly, this expression helped answer any question Ryūen may have had.

"Anyway, your ability to notice things is quite impressive, Ayanokōji. But your role today is over."

He lost interest in me and told us that frightened Yamamura was his only target now.

"If Sakayanagi thinks she can beat me just by snooping around, she's easy to read."

Even if I didn't find Yamamura this time, and Yamamura was able to continuously collect information, whether it was able to pass as useful info to Sakayanagi was another matter.

If there was contact that you wanted to keep hidden, it was naturally not done outdoors.

A room belonging to a trustworthy friend, a karaoke room, or a restroom, if the individuals were of the same gender, would work. It would be easy to proceed secretively, depending on the purpose.

However, there was also an unavoidable aspect for Sakayanagi.

Information was needed, and Ryūen was supposed to investigate Class A in the same way.

However, unlike Ryūen, who could gather information by himself, it was difficult for Sakayanagi.

She couldn't gather information without using students like Yamamura, Kamuro, and Hashimoto.

"Being investigated doesn't feel good, does it?"

"Are you in a position to say that? You're watching Sakayanagi in the same way, aren't you?"

It seemed that it wasn't a one-way surveillance from Sakayanagi's side.

Already, they seemed to be watching each other in preparation for the final exams.

"So, do you want to try another move? I'm willing to listen if you have a brilliant idea, Katsuragi."

Ryūen suggested an attack on Sakayanagi, but Katsuragi denied it.

"I have no intention of making a big move. Monitoring Sakayanagi is the only hand we can play right now."

Katsuragi seemed to think that keeping their distance and simply having a staring contest was the best strategy.

"Don't forget that the final showdown should take place in the special exam, not outside."

"Sheesh. You're stubborn."

Ryūen and Katsuragi's basic policies were almost polar opposites, but Ryūen listened to Katsuragi's words with a smile.

"Why don't you guys stick around with us for a bit?"

"Drop it."

"Huh? Drop it? It would be such a waste not to grill her now that we caught her."

"Are you planning on threatening her? It should be enough that you've figured out Yamamura's involvement. You should go."

As he said that, Katsuragi gestured for Yamamura to leave immediately.

"Ex-excuse me..."

Wanting to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere, Yamamura hurriedly tried to leave.

"Wait."

"Huh!?"

However, Ryūen called out to stop her, leaving her petrified as if she was a frog facing a snake.

"We'll keep the fact that we noticed you a secret."

"Why...?"

"Because we feel sorry for you. It goes without saying what would happen if we reported that we found you."

"That's..."

"You weren't found by us, huh? If we don't report it, your value won't be lost. Well, whether you believe me or not, it's up to you."

While she was in a tight spot, Ryūen said that, as if dropping a lifeline.

"If you can't keep quiet about it, then tell her this: if you want information, come visit me alone in my room anytime you want. That's only if you and that girl have the courage to do so."

Yamamura nodded slightly and began to quietly leave the scene.

It seemed like she had planned to return via Keyaki Mall as she headed in that direction.

When Yamamura was far enough away, Katsuragi approached Ryūen.

"Ryūen—you bastard."

"What?"

"This hobby of yours isn't something to be praised."

"Huh?"

"I won't say you shouldn't be interested in the opposite sex. But Sakayanagi is a child. You can't lay your hands on her."

Thinking he was being serious, he warned him against doing anything outrageous.

It was an interpretation of Ryūen saying to visit the room.

That was just Ryūen's joke, but Katsuragi probably didn't understand it.

"There are plenty of girls in this school. Don't rush into anything."

"What kind of nonsense are you saying? Do you think I'd be excited by such a cheeky brat? It's obviously just a provocation."

"Huh? No, but just now you said to visit your room alone. That's what it means, right?"

While shaking his head, Ryūen tossed a fundamental argument at Katsuragi.

"You're right. She's not my taste at all, but Sakayanagi's technically our age too."

He contradicted himself by saying that it was fine to touch people of the same age, but not Sakayanagi.

Katsuragi, who hadn't noticed this, froze, lost in thought for a while.

Finally, he picked up on the meaning of Ryūen's words and began to speak.

"...You're right. No, but at her size, she doesn't look like we're the same age at all. She's even smaller than my sister, so it's really—"

While recognizing her as a formidable enemy, Katsuragi was also a brother. He probably let his protectiveness get ahead of him, not wanting her to be seen as a sexual object because of his younger sister that he hadn't seen in a while.

One thing was for sure: if Sakayanagi heard these two talk, she'd be angry.

They clearly treated her like a child (though, only in appearance).

"For women, it's best for them to be normal in everything. Neither flashy nor plain and neither big nor small—that's my taste."

Though I didn't want to know, he seemed to prefer very ordinary women.

It wasn't just an arbitrary preference—it sounded like a conclusion that came from experiencing both the bitter and sweet.

I don't know about his high school life, but during middle school, he seemed to be quite into women.

"I'm relieved that you haven't reached the level of falling for her."

On the other hand, Katsuragi seemed to feel reassured by something completely irrelevant.

"Well? Do you still have some business with me, Ayanokōji?"

"Using me for your own convenience and then saying such harsh things is quite unfair, isn't it?"

"It's your fault for being used. If you want to blame something, blame your own wild intuition."

Indeed, there was no point in holding a grudge about being tricked here.

It was just difficult to use this experience as a lesson for the future.

Tailing someone without actually following them closely.

Even if the same method was used again, it would be difficult to prevent.

Being cautious without feeling someone's presence was just restricting one's own actions.

However, keeping in mind that I might be followed every time would be even more stressful.

There's no point in staying here.

Besides, there's still something I want to talk to Yamamura about, and I might be able to catch up with her now.

"Weren't you going home?"

I was asked as soon as I started walking towards Keyaki Mall.

"There are countless routes inside the mall. I don't want to be chased around by you anymore today."

Informing him that, with multiple escape routes, I could avoid him, Ryūen snorted.