Chapter 3 Part V

I left the room. The corridor is covered in darkness but I could hear faint footsteps. I followed. The person holding the light turned out to be Horikita Manabu.

"To think you'd be the one to initiate contact. Isn't it a bit conspicuous?"

In order to place a memo on my bed like that, he'd have to know where I sleep. In that case, there's only one person that comes to mind. It's either Ishikura or Tsunoda, the 3rd years Nagumo brought with him to play cards with us on the very first day. If he asks either one of them, he'd know which bed I'm using.

"There's no shortage of students meeting secretly at night like this. Because at least two or three strategies are being implemented for this special exam after all."

1st years, 2nd years and 3rd years are all using what knowledge they possess for the sake of winning. But even so, there's no way people who'd meet the way we're meeting now would be up to any good.

"Do you know why I called you out at this time?"

"Because Nagumo's up to something. That's the only reason I can think of."

"It's exactly that. I called you out here because I thought you might know something about that since you're in the same large group he is. Besides, I wanted to answer that mail you sent me on the bus."

"Let me say this beforehand. You're off the mark. There are no signs of Nagumo being up to anything."

There's a number of things to worry about in that regard but I lied and told him I have yet to grasp anything. Nagumo had challenged the older Horikita. As long as that challenge took place in front of a great number of people, losing this easily would set a bad example for the 2nd years and in the future, he'll be doubted by both his seniors and juniors. If you're going to fight, you should do it only after making absolutely sure of your victory. But I can't sense that here. Since the older Horikita had instructed him to fight fair-and-square, I had expected him to put in effort during our lessons and manage us strictly but there's no sign of that happening either.

That must have worried Horikita Manabu. If that's not the case, he wouldn't have taken the risk of calling me out here.

"Then you're saying Nagumo is going to take the actual exam without having tried anything?"

"I don't know. I don't think it's possible to accomplish much without dragging a third party in though."

Even if one doesn't talk or doze off during class, even if they're never late and even if they make sure to stay healthy it's not like that would make their test scores go up dramatically. At best, they would only act to ensure one doesn't get any demerits.

"Currently, I've assessed that our large group is the more united one."

The older Horikita calmly made his analysis. Certainly, he's got the Class A-focused group from the 1st years as well. If they take the exam in this state, their chances of winning are extremely high. That is precisely why he's worried about Nagumo, who has yet to make a move.

"What are the chances of him breaking his promise? No matter what form it takes, he may want to leave a mark on you."

"Nagumo certainly doesn't show any mercy to those who go against him. And he's also used underhanded methods in a manner similar to Ryuuen more than a few times. And that's the cause of the 2nd years' abnormally high dropout rate. However, he has never once broken a promise he's given. Not even once."

"So you're saying he's going to keep his word about not involving a third party in this?"

"That's right."

As far as that's concerned, the older Horikita nodded without any hesitation at all. It's probably one of those things he knows precisely because they've been in the student council together for two years now. After having heard those words of absolute certainty, I felt doubt at first. But then I arrived at the answer to that. That's something that applies to the older Horikita before me right now and probably all the 2nd and 3rd year students as well. I may be able to offer the older Horikita another piece of advice here.

However, it might not make that much sense. Because he's already determined that he'll only be able to ward off attacks by taking the words of his enemy at face value.

"Looks like this has been a waste of time."

Turning his back on me, the older Horikita began walking back to his room.

"It's about that thing you've been wanting to know but…the student council can exert an influence on the special exams. Things like modifying the rules and penalties. Because they're supposed to represent the students' point of view and their opinions. But it's not like they can do whatever they want."

"I see."

After answering my question, the older Horikita left.

"He might lose."

Before I realized it, I ended up muttering that. No, I suppose 'lose' isn't the best way to put it. The older Horikita won't make any mistakes. He'll properly manage his group and overcome this. He won't slip up. It's just…even so, it's clear that this alone isn't all there is to it.

Starting with this exam that kicked off the 3rd semester, a major change might be at hand.