"The results of the special exam are as I've reported. The gap is overwhelming, even compared to Class B, which came in second with 140 points. Are you satisfied?"
On the night the exam ended, I was called by Chabashira-sensei and went to the theater. The day's performances had already ended, and there wasn't a soul in sight other than us.
"Yes... Combined with Class D's current 95 points, that's 450 class points. It doesn't quite match Class C's 542 points, but it's well within striking distance. I'd love to know what magic you used to resolve that worrisome deal with Class C."
Since she had guaranteed the contract, she knew about the contents of the deal with Ryuuen.
"You're talking to the wrong person, Chabashira-sensei. I didn't do a thing in this exam."
Besides stealing Totsuka-kun's key card, all I did was scrounge for food from Kamuro-san.
"I see. Well, no matter. It seems Ayanokoji also did a good job."
After a moment of contemplation, Chabashira-sensei crossed her legs and spoke with satisfaction. The fact that she made a point to correct herself and mention Kiyotaka-kun, even though his name was never brought up, shows what a good person she is.
"...Well, I'll be taking my leave now. We went through a lot of trouble for this. Please keep your promise."
As frustrating as it was, there was no benefit in resisting, so I decided to back down quietly.
"Yes. You've worked hard, Saito."
I left the scene, receiving her insincere words of praise.
---------
Three days have passed since the special exam on the uninhabited island ended. A peaceful time was maintained on the luxury cruise ship carrying the students of Advanced Nurturing High School, with nothing out of the ordinary happening.
There's no need to mention that surviving on an uninhabited island would cause students, who are in the prime of their youth, to lose their composure. I was no exception, and I ended up doing things my old self would never have imagined.
"So a facility like that, something you'd read about in a story, actually exists."
---------
The memory comes back to me from three days ago.
I told Horikita about my origins. And of course, I told her about the White Room, the place where I was born and raised. Tsugumi looked at me in surprise, but I was just as surprised myself. I had revealed my own weakness. And to be honest, I wasn't sure if they would even believe me. "I was an experimental subject in a facility to artificially create geniuses, and I've lived there since before I could remember," I said.
"Yeah. You don't believe me?"
"No. It's just hard to believe that an experiment that ignores human rights like that was actually conducted in Japan... But somehow, it makes sense. The story of how you became so strangely contradictory."
Horikita wasn't that surprised, and she even seemed to accept it. I wanted to protest and say, "I'm not that far removed from a normal student," but Tsugumi seemed to agree with her, so Horikita must have been right.
"So, why did you choose to reveal this now? Honestly, I think it would've been a smarter choice to keep quiet."
"...I'm certain that I would do the same thing again if a similar situation arises in the future. But I thought that if you knew my purpose, you could help me avoid such situations. That's all."
"In short, you don't want to hurt Suzune-chan as much as possible. Is that right, Kiyotaka-kun?"
I was offended by the way he made me sound like a tsundere, but since he wasn't wrong, I stayed silent and nodded. I knew what a selfish thing it was to say after hurting her, and I was fully aware of my own self-centeredness. I was ready to take a slap if it came to it, but once again, Horikita's reaction was completely beyond my expectations.
"...I'm speechless. You really are an idiot, Ayanokoji-kun."
"...Huh?"
Once again, Horikita's reaction was completely unexpected. As I stood there in a daze, Horikita continued.
"After hearing your story, I can't believe that you were just manipulating the exam behind the scenes for no reason. This is just a guess, but you must have been in a situation where you had no other choice, right?"
"...That's not the point. I hurt you for my own sake. You, my friend..."
She had hit the nail on the head. I couldn't tell if it was because I was still tired from the exam, or for another reason, but the usual carefully crafted words wouldn't come out.
"It's okay to just admit it now, isn't it, Kiyotaka-kun? Suzune-chan is still recovering from being sick."
Tsugumi's flippant words came from beside me. I could tell he was enjoying my predicament without even looking at his face.
"If you're going to say it, say it clearly. 'Please help me, Horikita-sama.' I'll consider it then."
"...Could it be that Suzune-chan has that kind of... Ow, sorry, don't hit me!"
"A careless word can bring ruin. Remember that well."
Her words had a certain sharpness to them, reminiscent of when we first started school, but I wasn't so dense that I couldn't feel the warmth hidden within them. Tsugumi's bad habit of immediately taking things in a strange direction was at work, but for now, I was grateful for it.
"Both of you," I muttered to the two who were playing out a comedy routine in front of me.
"Hmm?" "What is it?"
"...Thank you."
I wanted to say something a little more clever, but my brain wasn't working as I wanted it to. And I've finally figured out the reason for that.
"Haha. Don't you think that's a little late, Suzune-chan?"
"I agree. I don't think friends normally say 'thank you' for something like this."
"...You never had friends before either, so—" "You seem to be feeling quite well now, Ayanokoji-kun?" "...I'm sorry."
My grumbling was silenced by Horikita's hand chop. And Tsugumi laughed at our exchange. I was relieved, feeling like our usual daily life was back.
"You're so busy, crying and laughing, Kiyotaka-kun."
"Quiet. I'm not crying."
"Right, right."
---------
It seems that when it comes to these two, my mind just doesn't work properly.
"If you're done, can you leave? Don't blame me if you catch my cold."
"Horikita-san, you're pretty bad too—"
"Did you say something?"
"Hmph... Come on, Kiyotaka-kun, let's go!"
We left the room as if we were escaping. It was such a silly exchange, but even such a small thing felt fun to me.
"Alright! I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep! Let's have dinner together tonight, Kiyotaka-kun. I'll contact you later."
"Okay."
---------
But I didn't think there was anything wrong with that in the slightest.
"I'm so lucky," I thought, and resumed reading in my room, in a good mood.
If anyone found it strange that I brought a book on the ship, their intuition was right. Horikita had lent it to me, saying, "You probably don't have anyone to hang out with anyway." While a sick Horikita was a different story, I was planning to spend my time with Tsugumi, so I didn't expect to finish this book. But it seems...
"...Is this the final chapter already?"
It was a single paperback novel, but there were hardly any pages left. Incidentally, this was the second time I was rereading it.
"Huh? Have you been in your room the whole time?"
As I sighed and watched the ending I already knew, Hirata, my roommate in the same cabin, spoke to me.
"There's no reason to go out, and I don't really have anyone to hang out with... Well, that's not true."
"Right. You have Horikita-san and Tsugumi-kun."
Yes. I have friends I can easily invite... I should.
"Horikita has been dragged around by the other girls, and Tsugumi has been with Sakayanagi the whole time."
"Ah..."
Hirata's face showed that he had realized something. Please don't look at me like that. It hurts.
I had told our classmates that the results of the uninhabited island exam were due to Tsugumi and Horikita's achievements. Hirata was no exception. It was only natural that Horikita, whose thorny personality was now gone and whose tsundere character was solidified, would become popular after saving the class with her wit in the exam. Horikita herself was aware that communicating with her classmates was important, so she was actively engaging with them without a second thought. It would only be a matter of time before she had more female friends.
"Horikita-san was amazing. She worked so hard even after Tsugumi-kun dropped out."
Her stoic personality probably worked in her favor. Horikita's stock was now soaring. I was a little worried that Kushida might have a breakdown, but even if she did, it wouldn't be a problem.
"...Yeah. She's impressive."
"But I think you worked just as hard in the exam, Ayanokoji-kun. You took the initiative on a lot of things."
"They were just simple tasks, though."
"Even so."
He was being considerate. It's not like I was dissatisfied with not receiving words of praise, but...
"They're both busy right now, but I think if you invited them, they'd come. It's just my two cents."
...He sees right through me too. It's not that I'm dissatisfied with them not inviting me... No, to be honest, I'm a little bit dissatisfied.
"Well, until then, I'll just keep reading my book."
With that, I finished the epilogue for the third time. I considered going to borrow another book from Horikita, but I decided against it for the sake of my mental health, as it would make me seem like I had no friends and too much free time.
"Hey. How about you and me get some lunch?"
We were the only two people in the room, sitting next to each other on our beds. Hirata was looking at me with a serious expression. Just like Tsugumi, he was one of Class D's two most handsome guys, and he had a very good-looking face.
"That's a surprise. I thought you had plans with someone else."
I brought my thoughts back from the strange direction they were heading and asked Hirata.
"Ah... I was originally invited by Karuizawa and the others, but I can always eat with them. But you and I are roommates now, and we've hardly had any chances to eat together."
He said that only because I asked. He wanted to eat with me so much that he was willing to hide the fact that he was invited by someone else... I see.
"Alright. If you're okay with me, let's go together."
"Really! Thank you, Ayanokoji-kun! The timing's perfect, let's go now."
My rationality whispered that there was an ulterior motive, but after three days of being a lonely recluse while Tsugumi and Horikita had fun, that voice was no match for my excitement. I cheerfully followed Hirata out of the room. Maybe this meal would be the start of a new friendship. I went to the restaurant with such an optimistic thought.
"It's crowded... Let's grab a seat quickly."
When we arrived at the restaurant, more than half the seats were taken. We blended into the crowd and secured two seats that were still empty. As soon as we sat down and looked at the menu, Hirata began to speak with a slightly apologetic tone.
"Actually... I have something I want to talk to you about."
...So there was an ulterior motive after all...
============
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