Classroom of the Elite

Chapter 3

The Unexpected Witness

The next morning. Part of the class, which consisted of Hirata and Kushida's groups, was in a hurry to exchange information. Ike and his friends hated Hirata due to his popularity with the girls. That being said, they were idly chatting and enjoying themselves due to the girls that clung onto Hirata. However, as I listened to their conversation, it appears that they didn't get the information they wanted. They were just recording the names of the people they directly asked, occasionally writing memos on their phones. It would be too good to be true for someone to actually come after school.

As for me, I was naturally alone. Although I can talk to Kushida, I still couldn't handle groups. So, I asked her to tell me what happened later, and stayed away from the group.

Meanwhile my neighbor, who had rejected Kushida's invitation, was preparing for class with a nonchalant expression.

The person actually involved in the matter, however, was not at school.

"Hah… Can we actually prove that it was class C's fault…?"

"If we can find a witness, it's not impossible to prove. Let's do our best, Ike-kun."

"Before we start 'doing our best', is there actually a witness in the first place? All Sudou said is that he vaguely recalled there being one, right? Isn't that just a lie? After all, he's violent and tends to provoke people often."

"If we keep doubting him, we won't be able to get anything done. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah that might be true, but… If Sudou is at fault, all of our points will be revoked, won't they? We'll be back at zero and return to our difficult lives without any pocket money. Our goal of being able to play to our heart's content will remain a dream."

"Then we can start saving up again. It's only been three months since the beginning of the year."

The girls in the class blushed while listening to Hirata's honest words. The hero of our class, as always, gave splendid advice without wavering. Karuizawa looked proud of her wonderful boyfriend.

"I think our points are precious. It's tied with our motivation, right? So, I think we should do anything to defend those class points. Even if we're defending only 87 points."

"I understand how you feel. However, I think it's dangerous to be so adamant about defending points and losing sight of reality. The most important thing for us is to cherish our close friends."

Ike looked at Hirata with a suspicious gaze.

"Even if Sudou was at fault?"

It's natural to feel horrible if an innocent person was punished.

However, Hirata nodded without hesitation. It looked like he was saying that such a self-sacrifice is a trivial matter. Because of Hirata's upright morals, Ike looked down, feeling overawed.

"What Hirata-kun is saying is completely natural, but I still want my points. Every month, the class A kids always get around 100,000 points a month. I'm really envious. There are people who buy a lot of stylish clothes and accessories. Compared to them, aren't we just pitiful?"

Karuizawa was sitting on a desk while dangling her legs. Our classmates seemed really bitter when she pointed out the large difference between the classes.

"Why couldn't I have been in class A from the start? If I was in class A, I would be having the time of my life right now."

"I wish I was in class A too. I could be playing around with my friends all the time."

I realized that the people who met for the sake of saving Sudou had practically given up.

No one noticed other than me. Horikita, on the other hand, couldn't stifle her laughter because of Ike and Karuizawa's delusions. It looked like she wanted to say that they wouldn't have been able to start in class A even if they tried.

Horikita immediately took out a library book and started reading, trying not to be distracted by the noise. I looked at the cover; it was Dostoyevsky's Demons. A good choice.

"It'd be great if there was a trick to get to class A in an instant. It's so difficult to save up class points."

The difference between our class and class A is a thousand points. Needless to say, it's a massive difference.

"Luckily for you, Ike, there is a way to become class A in an instant."

A voice called out from the entrance of the classroom. It was Chiyabashira-sensei, who had come 5 minutes before the start of class.

"Sensei… what did you say?"

Ike, who had practically fallen off his chair, composed himself and asked.

"I'm saying that there is a way to get up to class A, even without class points."

Even Horikita looked up from her book, wondering if she was lying.

"You're kidding~. Sae-chan-sensei, don't make fun of us."

The usual Ike would've taken the bait, but he laughed it off this time.

"I'm being serious. There are such special methods in this school."

However, it didn't seem like Chiyabashira-sensei was joking around.

"It doesn't seem like she's lying to cause chaos…"

There are times when Chiyabashira-sensei omits information, but she usually doesn't lie.

Ike's laughing gradually stopped.

"Sensei, what are those 'special methods' you speak of…?"

Ike asked in a polite tone, trying not to offend her.

All the students that were in the classroom were also looking at Chiyabashira-sensei.

Even the students who didn't care about getting to class A are probably thinking that it wouldn't be bad to know the method.

"On the first day of school, I said that there's nothing you can't buy with points. In other words, if you use your private points, you can force a class change."

Chiyabashira-sensei glanced at me and Horikita. We put her "special method" to the test by buying a point for Sudou right after the exam, and it worked.

Our class points and private points are linked. If we don't have any class points, we won't get any private points every month. But that doesn't mean they're strictly the same thing. Since we're able to transfer points, in theory, we can get private points even if we don't have class points.

"S-Seriously!? How many points do we need to make that happen!?"

"20 million points. Do you best to save up. Then you'll be able to get to the class you want."

Hearing the absurdly high number, Ike completely fell off his chair.

"If it's 20 million… isn't that just impossible!?"

The whole class started booing. Everyone's hopes were crushed.

"It's usually impossible. But since it's a surefire way to get to class A, it's only natural that the price is high. Even if you reduced the number by a single digit, there would be a hundred class A students graduating every year. Then there would be no point in having a 'class A'."

Even if we were able to maintain the monthly 100,000 points, it's not a number that can be easily achieved.

"I'm just curious, but… has there ever been a class that successfully bought their way out?"

An obvious question to ask. Koudo Ikusei High School has been in existence for about ten years. Thousands of hundreds of students have struggled their way through this school. If anyone accomplished it, there would still be word of it today.

"Regrettably, there has never been such a case. The reason is as clear as day. If you save up for three years by maintaining the initial value, you'll get about 3.6 million points in three years. As class A, you can maybe get up to 4 million points. Ordinarily, it's not something that can be done."

"Isn't that the same thing as being impossible…"

"It's very close to being impossible. But that doesn't mean it is impossible. It's a big distinction, Ike."

However, about half the class had already lost interest.

For class D, who wished for 100, maybe 200 points, getting 20 million was a far-fetched dream. It was outside the reaches of our imagination.

"May I also ask a question?"

It was the observant Horikita who raised her hand. It seems like she decided it would be helpful to know more about the details.

"Ever since the founding of this school, what is the highest number of points that a student saved up? I would like to know for reference."

"A very good question, Horikita. It was about three years ago, but it was a class B student that was close to graduating. He saved up about 12 million points."

"T-Twelve million!? And a class B student on top of that!?"

"But before he could reach 20 million, he was forced to leave the school. He was expelled because he was carrying out a large-scale fraudulent scheme."

"Fraud?"

"He went to the new first-year students one by one and scammed points out of them. It was probably so that he could gather 20 million points to get to class A, but the school couldn't overlook his actions. Although his objective wasn't bad, the school had to punish his actions that broke the rules."

Far from being a point of reference, it was a story that made the feat sound even more impossible.

"So you're saying that even if you resort to shady methods, 12 million is pretty much the limit."

"Give up on this method and try to cooperate with your class to move up."

Horikita resumed reading, as if she felt like an idiot for raising her hand.

In this world, offers that seem too good to be true are really too good to be true.

"Oh, right. None of you have gotten points from club activities, huh."

Suddenly remembering something, Chiyabashira-sensei started talking about a different topic.

"What do you mean?"

"There are cases where points are given to individuals for participating in club activities and for their contribution to the club. For example, if a person in the calligraphy club wins a prize in a competition, the school will award them points that correspond to the award."

The classmates were taken aback from the new information.

"W-We can get points for participating in club activities!?"

"That's right. The other classes probably know about this already."

"Hey, that's mean! Why didn't you tell us earlier!?"

"I forgot about it. However, clubs don't exist just for you to get points. So, learning of this fact earlier wouldn't have helped."

Chiyabashira-sensei said without any shame.

"No no no, it definitely would've helped. If you said so earlier, I—"

"Are you saying you would've joined a club? Do you think you would've been able to achieve anything by joining a club and going out to competitions with such a weak will?"

"That's—that might be true, but…! It might've happened!"

I can understand what both Chiyabashira-sensei and Ike are trying to say. In the first place, if someone joined a club just for the sake of earning points, they would probably be unable to create any results. Also, joining a club and putting in half-hearted effort would just hinder the serious club members.

On the other hand, someone might join for the sake of earning points and then find that they have a talent for that activity.

What I can say is that our homeroom teacher is being deliberately mean.

"Thinking back on it, it was pretty obvious."

"What do you mean? Hirata-kun."

"During swimming class, our PE instructor Higashiyama-sensei said that the student who got first place would receive 5000 points, right? Even that hints towards the fact that doing club activities give points."

Ike said "I don't remember~", and shrugged his shoulders while scratching his head.

"If we got points, I probably would've done calligraphy or some kind of art class."

It seems that Ike is only looking at the positive side; in reality there's obviously something else involved.

If someone didn't participate seriously and slacked off, there might be a case where they're negatively assessed; going the easy way will only destroy you.

However, it's great that we learned that results in club activities also gave points.

"Horikita. Doesn't this show that there's some worth to saving Sudou?"

"Are you saying that we should save him because he plays basketball?"

"You heard the other day that he was the only first year being considered as a regular, right?"

Horikita made a small nod as she thought back on it.

"If he was speaking the truth…"

Somehow, it looks like she's still in doubt.

"It's better to have a lot of points. Right? We can support our own grades, and help others like we did with Sudou's test."

"I don't really think you're the type of person to spend your own money for other people though."

"I'm just saying that it's beneficial to have a lot of points. You understand, right?"

It's good to have a lot of points, both class and private.

It's never harmful.

Also, we don't know many methods to get points in the first place. If our chances of getting points increase with Sudou being in the class, then it would definitely contribute to our class effort. Horikita sank into silence because she couldn't think of any other way to increase our class points.

"I'm not going to say that I'll help, but it is necessary for me to recognize Sudou's existence."

Horikita was being harsh, but she recognized and understood her own interests.

The facts should be accepted as facts.

I didn't think I needed to say much more, so I stopped talking.

For a short while, I looked at Horikita ponder over the issue and passed the time in silence.

1

The class was temporarily excited but quickly returned back to reality. Like yesterday, they were trying to get information about witnesses.

On the other hand, I was standing in the back of a room like a ghost, feeling admiration for Ike's group and Kushida for being able to casually converse back and forth.

It was as clear as day that I, who can't even talk coherently, wasn't fit for the job of looking for witnesses. How can they talk so easily to strangers? They're monsters.

During the investigation, they gathered not only names but also asked for contact addresses. Kushida's presence probably prompted them to tell her their addresses immediately after being asked. That's also a great talent…

Even though Kushida and her group were walking to the second-year classrooms and asking all the upperclassmen, there haven't been any leads.

As time kept ticking, the number of students left after school was rapidly decreasing. When we stopped passing by other students, we decided to call it a day.

"We didn't find anything today either…"

In order to revise our strategy, everyone returned to my room.

Soon after, Sudou came by and joined in the discussion.

"What happened today? Was there any progress made?"

"Sadly, no progress was made. Sudou, was there actually a witness?"

I understand Ike's feelings of doubt. Even after the school reported the same information, there was no indication at all that a witness actually existed.

"Hah? I never said that there actually was a witness. I only said that I thought there was a witness."

"Is… is that so?"

"Certainly, Sudou-kun didn't say 'I saw'. He said that he thought someone was there."

"Couldn't that just have been a hallucination? You must be doing some strong drugs."

No, that's a bit too far… Sudou put Ike in a headlock.

"Hey—! I give, I give!"

While the two fooled around, Kushida and Yamauchi were still puzzling over the situation.

After the discussion continued on for ten minutes, Kushida spoke up, having come up with a new idea.

"I think it might be better to change the direction of our efforts. For example, let's look for a witness that might've witnessed the incident."

"Look for a witness that witnessed the incident? Isn't that kind of useless?"

"Are you going to look for the people who went into the building that day?"

"Yeah. What do you think?"

The idea's not bad. There might've been a few people that entered the building on that day, but the entrance is pretty easy to spot. In other words, if someone says that they saw a person entering the special building, we would be getting closer to finding the witness.

"That sounds like a good idea. Let's do that immediately."

When I noticed, Sudou was using up his stamina on a mobile game he got addicted to recently. It looked like it was called the "Generation of Miracles" something, but I didn't really know what was happening. After winning the match, he made a triumphant pose.

Even though Sudou really couldn't do anything in the present situation, Ike and Yamauchi look disgruntled. However, since they were scared of Sudou's counter-attack, they decided not to point out their own dissatisfaction. Both of them stayed silent, pretending not to have seen anything.

It's almost Friday already. It'll be difficult to get anything useful on the weekend.

In other words, the actual time we have to find a witness is very short.

The bell rang and a visitor appeared at my door.

The small group of people that regularly visit my room have already gathered, so it was probably that person.

"Has progress been made?"

Horikita asked with a condescending attitude even though she probably knew the answer to her own question.

"No… not yet."

"I'm only saying this because it's you, but I have something—"

While she was talking, she realized there were a lot of shoes lined up at the doorway.

She turned around and held herself back in a panic.

Kushida popped out, probably worried that she would head back quickly.

"Oh, Horikita-san!"

Kushida waved at Horikita with a smile. Looking at her cheerful attitude, Horikita naturally let out a sigh.

"You can't run now, you know?"

"Seems that way…"

Horikita entered the room reluctantly.

"O-oh, Horikita!"

Of course, Sudou was the happiest to see her. He put his game on pause and looked up.

"Did you decide to help? I'm glad you decided to join."

"I don't intend to help. After all, you haven't found the witness yet, right?."

Kushida nodded her head dejectedly.

"If you didn't come to help, why'd you come?"

"I was wondering what kind of plan you guys had."

"I'm happy even if you're only going to listen to the plan. I wanted advice as well."

Kushida then told her about the plan that she came up with a short while ago. Horikita's expression was stiff throughout the whole explanation.

"It's not a bad plan. It might even produce results with enough time."

Time is definitely the issue here. It's doubtful if we'll be able to get anything done in the few days we have remaining.

"Now that I've checked up on the situation, I'll be leaving."

In the end, Horikita decided to leave without even sitting down.

"Did you think of something?"

When she was standing at the door earlier, she clearly had something to say.

She's not that amicable to have come to my room for no reason.

"…I'll give one piece of advice to help your weak efforts. It's hard to see what's right in front of you, after all. If there really is someone that witnessed the incident, then that person is most likely close by."

The information that Horikita gave us was much more significant than I thought it would be.

She's talking as if she already found the witness we weren't sure existed in the first place.

"What do you mean, Horikita? Are you saying you found the witness?"

Surprise and doubt came first before joy for Sudou. It's understandable.

Everyone, including me, was in disbelief until she replied.

"Sakura-san."

An unexpected name came from Horikita.

"Sakura-san, from our class…?"

Yamauchi and Sudou exchanged glances. They looked confused as to who Sakura was. That was probably expected, though. I also had to think about it for a bit.

"The witness is that girl."

"Why do you say that?"

"When Kushida-san was asking the class for witnesses, she looked down. A lot of the students were looking at Kushida-san, but she was the only one that looked uninterested. She wouldn't have acted that way if she actually was unrelated to the incident."

I didn't notice at all. Horikita's powers of observations are really impressive.

"Since you're one of the people that were staring at Kushida-san, it's only natural."

What a sarcastic tone.

"So, you're saying that this Sakura, Kokura something person is probably the witness?"

Sudou said something reasonable, unlike the role of a boke.

"No, Sakura-san is definitely the witness. Her actions made it obvious. Although she may not admit it, she's who you're looking for."

Horikita was acting like her usual self.

All of us were moved that Horikita was doing this for the class.

"Did you really do this for my sake…!"

Sudou looked especially moved.

"Nope. I just didn't want to waste this time and look shameful to the other classes. That's all."

"Um, so in short, you're saying that you helped us right?"

"You can interpret it however you want, but I'm just saying that you're wrong."

"Don't lie~. You're just a tsundere, Horikita~"

Ike hit Horikita's shoulders playfully, but she threw his arm onto the ground.

"Ouch!"

"Don't touch me. There better not be a next time, because I'll despise you until we graduate."

"I-I won't touch… even if I tried to touch… Ow, ow!"

She pinned him down in a headlock. Unfortunate, but he deserved it.

At any rate, those weren't the movements of a normal girl. Since her older brother does karate and aikido, does she do martial arts too?

"My a-arm is…!"

"Ike-kun."

Horikita talked to Ike, who was on the floor in pain. Isn't this just overkill?

"Should I revise it to, 'Despising you until we graduate won't cut it?'"

"Uu! Sho cruel!"

Ike was defeated by those final words.

But Sakura, huh… Of all people, it was a class D student.

It's hard to say whether or not this is a good thing.

"Isn't that great, Sudou? If it's a class D student, we definitely have testimony!"

"Yeah. I'm happy that there is a witness, but who is this Sakura person? Do you know her?"

Yamauchi replied in surprise.

"Are you being serious? She sits right behind you."

"No, that's wrong. She's diagonally in front of you to the left, right?"

"Both of you are wrong… she's diagonally in front of Sudou-kun to the right."

Kushida corrected them with a pout.

"Diagonally in front to the right… I don't remember. I do know that there is someone though."

That's obviously a given. If the seat diagonally in front to the right was empty, that would be strange.

This girl, Sakura, certainly doesn't stand out. It's a big problem that we don't know who she is.

"I probably know her, but I don't exactly know where I've heard her name."

I can't quite put my finger on it.

"Tell us how she looks like."

"Well, would it help if I say that she has the biggest b.o.o.b.s in the class? Excessively big, you know?"

Ike, who looked lively again, told us her physical characteristics, but I don't know who she is with that explanation.

"Oh, that plain glasses girl, huh?"

How'd you understand with just that…? I drew back a bit.

"It's bad to remember people like that, Ike-kun. That's pathetic."

"N-No, it's different, Kushida-chan. I'm not trying to be offensive. You know how you might remember a tall person by their height? It's just like that! The only difference is that I'm remembering other people by a different characteristic…!"

Ike tried to smooth over the situation when Kushida quickly lost faith in him. But it's too late.

"Damn it! It's different, it's different! I don't like a plan girl like her! Don't misunderstand!"

No, I don't think there are any misunderstandings here.

Everyone else shifted the topic towards Sakura as Ike broke down crying.

"Then the next step is to find out how much Sakura-san knows. Does anyone know?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. We'll have to ask her directly."

"Can't we go to her room right now? We don't have much time."

The proposal from Yamauchi seems safe, but it also depends on her personality and character.

Sakura is an unusually shy girl. If people she didn't know very well suddenly appeared at her doorstep, it's easy to imagine that she would be confused.

"Then should we call her?"

Speaking of which, I forgot that Kushida has everyone's contact addresses in the class.

Kushida was on the phone for 20 seconds, but she shook her head and put her phone away.

"No, it didn't connect. I'll try again later, but it's a difficult matter."

"What do you mean?"

"She told me her contact address, but I think she'll be annoyed if I try to contact her, especially since she doesn't know me very well. Also, I don't think she was actually there to pick up the phone."

She might also be pretending to be gone.

"So she's kinda like Horikita?"

Why would you even think to ask that in front of the person herself, Ike?

She probably wouldn't mind. Rather, it didn't seem like she was interested in what Ike was saying either.

"Goodbye."

"Ah, Horikita-san!"

Looking like she was caught off guard, Horikita quickly stood up and walked towards the door.

By the time I got up and chased after her, I heard the sound of the door closing.

"Tsundere."

Sudou looked happy as he laughed, scratching his nose with his index finger.

She doesn't have tsun, nor does she have dere. I think she's a lost cause… No tsun, no dere.

Since we couldn't do anything about Horikita's absence, the conversation continued without her.

"I think Sakura-san's just a shy person. That's the impression I get from her."

It's strange to talk about a person's character without ever having talked to them before.

"Anyway, she's plain. It's a complete waste of what she has."

While talking, Yamauchi gestured towards his b.r.e.a.s.ts.

"Yea, yea. Her b.o.o.b.s are super big, though. That's cute by itself!"

Ike seems to have already forgotten the regret he felt a few seconds ago and started to get excited.

Ah, but Kushida had a strained smile. Noticing her expression, Ike regretted his words once again.

This is a perfect example of a living being that keeps repeating its mistakes.

The problem is that even though I'm staying quiet, I feel like I'm getting treated the same way as Ike and Yamauchi. Kushida expression seems to say, "You're also obsessed with the b.o.o.b.s, right? You pervert." Of course, this is my own persecution complex.

"Um, about Sakura's face… Nope, don't remember anything."

I can barely match the name to the face. I remember seeing her face back when we were doing the bets. I also remember her b.r.e.a.s.ts, though. Somehow, it seems like I'm just the same as the others…

Sakura gives off the impression that she would always be alone and hunched over.

"Which reminds me, I don't know if she actually talks to anyone. How about you, Yamauchi? Wait, wait a second… Yamauchi, you said that you confessed to her before, right? Were you able to talk to her?"

Oh right, Yamauchi did say that he confessed.

"Ah, ah. Well, I don't remember if I did such a thing."

Yamauchi pretended to have forgotten.

"Was it a lie…"

"Bah. No, I wasn't lying. It was a misunderstanding. It wasn't Sakura, it was a girl from the neighboring class. A girl who isn't as ugly and gloomy as Sakura. Oh, sorry, give me a sec."

Yamauchi dodged the question and took out his phone.

Sakura may be plain, but she's not ugly. I've never looked at her face directly, but she has pretty nice facial features.

But even then, I can't say with confidence because she has such a thin presence.

"First of all, I'll try to talk to her by myself tomorrow. She might be wary if there are a lot of people."

"That sounds good."

If Kushida isn't able to get through to her, probably no one can.

2

"…It's hot."

This school doesn't change uniforms with the seasons, and so we have to wear blazers for the whole year. The reason is simple; every building is equipped with heating and cooling systems. The only drawback is that it's hot whenever we go to and from school.

It was the morning commute. My back started sweating in the few minutes that it took to get from the dorms to the school.

After making my way to school, I took refuge in the cool building.

It must be hell for the students that have morning training. In the classroom, the boys and girls with morning practice were all surrounding the air conditioner. It looked like moths crowding around a light source. Is that a bad analogy?

"Ayanokouji-kun, good morning."

Hirata called out to me. Like always, he had a refreshing face. I could also make out the faint smell of flowers as well. If I was a girl, I'd probably beg to him and, "Please hold me!"

"Yesterday, I heard from Kushida-san that Sakura-san was the witness."

Hirata looked at Sakura's seat, which was still empty.

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"Me? No… I'm only going to greet her. I've wanted to talk to her because she's always alone in class, but I can't be pushy and invite her, especially as a boy. Also, if I asked Karuizawa-san to talk to her, it would also be problematic."

It's hard to imagine a conversation between the super assertive Karuizawa and Sakura.

"For the time being, I think we'll wait for Kushida-san."

"That's great and all, but why are you talking to me? Talking to Ike or Yamauchi is probably better."

There's no reason to tell me, who wasn't really part of the "team" we had.

"There's no particular reason, but… if I had to say a reason, it's because you're related to Horikita-san. She doesn't talk to anyone but you, so I thought I should tell you."

"I see."

Is that the only aspect where I'm better than the other two? While Hirata was nodding, he had a cute smile on his face.

If I was a girl, my kyun-kyun points would've reached a hundred and my heart would be beating fast.

"Oh, right. We should hang out sometime. Are you free anytime soon?"

Hey hey, are you no longer satisfied by girls and trying to make my heart throb now?

It would be a grave mistake if I accepted his invitation without any consideration.

"Well, it should be fine."

Ah, I said the exact opposite of what my mind told me to say. Damn this defective mouth.

I definitely wasn't waiting for Hirata to invite me or anything.

That's right, that's right. This is the problem with Japanese people. Since we're unable to say "no", we're unable to directly reject an invitation.

"Sorry, do you not want to hang out?"

Hirata sensed my uneasiness.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll definitely hang out with you."

I replied, sounding a bit disgusting.

I tried acting pridefully, but I really did want to go, so I gave up in the end.

"But are you fine with my girlfriend coming too?"

"Huh? Oh, Karuizawa-san? Yeah, that's fine."

My response came surprisingly quickly. Well, there are various types of couples.

Since they still called each other by their surnames, I guess they're not that close yet.

Reluctantly parting with Hirata, I waited for homeroom to begin as I held my phone in my hand.

Then I noticed that Sakura was at her seat.

She was sitting down, waiting for the time to pass idly.

I wonder what kind of student Sakura is.

In the three months I've been at this school, I've heard nothing about her other than her last name.

It's probably not just me, but the whole class as well.

Hirata and Kushida are active and outspoken. Horikita doesn't feel the pain of solitude.

Then what about Sakura? Does she like being alone like Horikita? Or is she suffering because she doesn't know how to talk to people like me? That's the question Kushida will answer soon.

3

After homeroom ended, Kushida got up from her seat and walked over to Sakura, who was quietly preparing to go back home. Kushida seemed strangely nervous.

Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou noticed and looked towards Kushida.

"Sakura-san."

"…W-What…?"

(Ill.u.s.tration: imgur.com/vaIKuhi)

The girl with the glasses and the hunched back looked up listlessly.

It looked like she didn't expect someone to call out to her, since she was panicking.

"Do you have time, Sakura-san? I want to ask you something about Sudou-kun's case…"

"S-Sorry, I… have plans, so…"

She averted her eyes; it was obvious that she was feeling uncomfortable. Talking to other people does not seem to be her strong point. Or rather, it felt like she didn't like talking to other people.

"Can you make some time? I really want to talk because this is important. During Sudou-kun's incident, were you nearby by any chance…"

"I-I don't know. I already said this to Horikita-san, but I don't know anything…"

Her words were frail, but she denied it strongly.

Kushida, also seeing how unwilling she was, probably didn't want to push it too far.

Although she looked confused at first, she immediately went back to smiling.

But even then, she wasn't willing to withdraw so easily.

After all, this person will greatly affect Sudou's case.

"Is… it fine if I go back now…"

But something feels strange. She's not simply bad at talking to people, but rather, it looks like she's trying to hide something. That much is obvious from the way she's acting.

She was hiding her dominant hand and wasn't making eye contact with her. Even if she may be uncomfortable with looking at her eyes, Sakura refused to look at Kushida's face.

If it was either me or Ike talking to her instead of Kushida, it would make more sense. After all, Kushida was able to get her to exchange contact addresses. Interacting with Kushida is a completely different experience. I don't think Horikita was wrong in sensing that something was off. I also felt the same way.

"Can't you just give me a few minutes?"

"W-Why? I don't know anything…"

If Kushida failed here, their conversation would amount to nothing.

The awkward conversation naturally gathered more attention as it dragged on and on.

But this situation seems like a complete miscalculation from Kushida. Since they were acquaintances that had exchanged contact addresses, she expected this conversation to go much smoother.

If she wasn't expecting to be rejected, then this situation would make sense.

My neighbor looked over the situation attentively, then looked at me with a slightly smug expression.

It seemed like she was saying, "I know that your powers of perception are exceptional"…

"…I'm bad at talking to people… sorry."

She was speaking in a strained voice, trying to keep Kushida away from her.

When we were talking about Sakura earlier, Kushida said that she was an ordinary girl, despite being shy.

Looking at her current behavior, she's clearly not normal. Kushida probably thought the same thing, because she looked completely confused. Even though she's good at getting people to open up, she couldn't do it this time.

Horikita, also watching the situation, came to a conclusion.

"Too bad. Looks like she couldn't persuade her."

It was as Horikita said. If Kushida wasn't able to do it, I don't think anyone in the class would be able to start and maintain a conversation with Sakura.

Kushida is good at creating an atmosphere where unsocial people can easily socialize.

However, everyone has a "personal space".

The anthropologist and cultural researcher Edward Hall further categorized this idea of "personal space" into four parts. One such part is the idea of an "intimate zone". The "close phase" is about hugging distance—if an outsider tries to enter this area, they will be strongly rejected. However, if it was a significant other or a close friend, the person wouldn't feel uncomfortable. If an acquaintance entered Kushida's "close phase", she normally wouldn't mind it. That is to say, she doesn't use this idea of "personal space".

However, Sakura clearly rejected her.

No… rather, it looked like she was running away.

The first time around, she said that she "had plans", but she didn't say it the second time. If she really had somewhere to go to, she would've said it again.

Sakura stood up and took a few steps away from Kushida.

"G-Goodbye."

Seeing that she couldn't end the conversation, Sakura decided to run away.

She grasped the digital camera that was on her desk and walked away.

However, she bumped shoulders with Hondou, who wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as he texted his friend on his phone.

"Ah!"

The digital camera fell out of her grip and clanged onto the floor. Still focused on his phone, Hondou waved it off, saying "My bad, my bad", and walked out of the classroom.

Sakura picked up her camera in a panic.

"No… it won't turn on…"

Sakura put her hand over her mouth in shock. Somehow, it looks like the camera broke from the impact. She kept pressing the power button and tried taking out the batteries and putting them back in, but it didn't turn on.

"S-Sorry. I was being too pushy…"

"No… I was being careless, so it was my fault… goodbye."

Unable to stop the despondent Sakura, Kushida looked frustrated and couldn't do anything but watch her leave.

"Why is a gloomy girl like her the witness? How unlucky. She doesn't even want to help."

Sudou leaned against the chair and crossed his legs as he let out a sigh in resignation.

"I'm sure there's a reason. Also, Sakura-san didn't say that she was the witness herself."

"I know. If she was going to say something she would've said it. It's because she's an a.d.u.l.t that she stopped herself."

"Sudou-kun, it's actually better that she's the witness."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's not going to give testimony as your witness. This case will be treated as your fault. As a result, class D won't be able to completely escape the consequences, but we can think of it as fortunate. In an incident like this, it's unlikely that they'll be able to penalize us by 100 or 200 points. We're lucky since we can only lose 87 points. Also, since you said that you were innocent, the school can't ignore it and expel you. We'll be affected more than class C, though."

Horikita relentlessly said all that she wanted to say at once.

"Don't joke around. I'm innocent, innocent. The violence was legitimate self-defence."

"Self-defence isn't as helpful as you think it is."

Oops, I accidentally spoke out loud.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun."

When I turned around, acting aloof, Kushida's face was super close. Even when I look at her this closely, she's cute. Rather than feeling uncomfortable about the invasion of my personal space, I wanted her to come even closer.

"You're Sudou-kun's ally, right?"

"Well… yeah, but why are you asking again?"

"It's looking a bit iffy right now, since everyone's willingness to help Sudou-kun is diminishing."

I looked around the classroom.

"Seems like it. They probably think that whatever we do will be useless."

If the key witness Sakura denies it, there won't be any progress made.

"It doesn't seem like a perfect solution will appear. Let's give up, Sudou."

Ike mumbled halfheartedly.

"What's wrong with you guys? Didn't you say that you'd help me?"

"That's… huh?"

Looking for approval, he appealed to the remaining classmates.

"Even your friends don't want to help you. That's too bad."

The other classmates didn't say anything to deny what Ike and Horikita were saying.

"Why is no one on my side? Man, all of you are useless bastards."

"How interesting, Sudou-kun. Have you noticed that everyone's turning on you?"

"What are you trying to say?"

The class becomes tense often, but today was even worse.

Since Sudou was talking to Horikita, it looked like he was trying his hardest to hold back.

However, the blade came from an unexpected direction.

"Don't you think it's better for us that you're expelled? Your existence isn't a beautiful one. Rather, it's quite ugly, Red hair-kun."

The one who spoke was fixing his hair with the hand-mirror he carried around everyday.

It was the particularly conspicuous boy, Koenji Rousuke.

"…What did you say? Try saying that again."

"It's useless to keep saying it. It's nonsense. Since I already know that you're dumb, it doesn't matter if I say it one more time or not, does it?"

Koenji didn't even look at Sudou and replied as if he was performing an a aside

The desk flew into the air and crashed onto the floor. The students still felt hopeful, but the whole room froze. Sudou stood up and walked over to Koenji in silence.

"Alright, stop right there. Calm down, you two."

The only boy to move in this difficult situation was Hirata. My heart pounded.

"Sudou-kun. You're part of the problem, but Koenji-kun, you're also in the wrong."

"Fu. I don't think I've ever been wrong since I was born. You're mistaken."

"Hah, that's just fine. You better kneel down right now or I'll beat you up and smash your face in."

"Stop it."

Hirata tried to hold Sudou back by grabbing his arm, but he wasn't showing any signs of stopping.

It seems like his intention is to vent all of his frustration by hitting Koenji.

"Please stop already. I don't want to watch my friends fight each other…"

"It's as Kushida-san says. I don't know about Koenji-kun, but I am your ally, Sudou-kun."

You're too good, Hirata. I think you should change your name to "Hero".

"I'll end this here. Sudou-kun, you should act more like an a.d.u.l.t. If you made another big uproar here, the school's impression of you would only turn worse. Right?"

"…Tch."

Sudou glared at Koenji and left the room. After the door slammed shut, a loud voice rang out from the hallway.

"Koenji-kun. I'm not going to force you to help, but you were wrong to blame him."

"I'm sorry, but I have never been wrong in my life. Oh, look at the time—it's about time for my date. Please excuse me."

While watching their strange interaction, I realized that there was no class unity.

"Sudou-kun isn't m.a.t.u.r.e, I see."

"Couldn't you also have been friendlier, Horikita-san…?"

"I won't have mercy on anyone that doesn't listen. He's done great damage and doesn't have a single advantage."

It's not like you have mercy on people that do listen.

"Yes?"

"Uu…"

While shrinking back like a sharp knife (gaze) just stabbed me, I made a small rebuttal.

"There's a saying that 'great talents m.a.t.u.r.e late'. I think Sudou has the possibility of becoming a future NBA player. He might have a chance of making a big contribution to society. The power of youth is infinite."

I used a catchphrase that felt like it came straight out of a commercial.

"I'm not saying that he won't become good in 10 years, but I need the strength to get to class A right now. If he doesn't have the talent now, he has no use to me."

"Yeah, that's true…"

Horikita had a consistent opinion, but the rest of the classmates were wavering.

The situation doesn't look very good.

"You get along with Sudou, right? It seems like you guys eat together often."

"I don't think our relationship is bad. But it feels like a burden. He's the person who skips class and fights the most. I have to draw the line there."

I see. It looks like Ike has his own opinions.

"I'll try my best to persuade Sakura-san. Afterwards, things will surely take a turn for the better."

"Hmm, I wonder. Under these circ.u.mstances, I don't think that Sakura-san's testimony will have a big effect. Also, I think the school will be suspicious that the witness suddenly appeared from class D."

"Suspicious… you mean that the school will think that this is a fake witness?"

"Naturally. They'll probably consider the testimony along with the circ.u.mstances. It won't become absolute proof."

"That's… what kind of evidence would be soundproof?"

"If you believe in miracles, the best evidence would be a witness that the schools trusts from a different class or a different grade that watched the event from the very beginning. There definitely isn't someone like that though."

Horikita said with confidence. I also thought the same thing.

"Then… no matter how hard we try to prove that Sudou-kun is innocent…"

"However, if the fight happened in a classroom, things would be different."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, those cameras record the classroom, right? So if anything happened, those recordings would serve as evidence, and crush the lies of those class C students in a single blow."

I pointed at the two cameras in the corners of the classroom.

The cameras were small and blended into the walls, but it was unmistakable that they were there.

"The school uses those cameras to check if we're whispering or nodding off during class. Or else they wouldn't be able to do those monthly class assessments."

"…Seriously? I never knew…!"

Ike looked at the cameras in shock.

"I also just learned of this… that there were cameras in the room."

"It's hard to spot. I also didn't notice until they started talking about the points."

"Well, ordinary people don't really care about where cameras are located. They probably wouldn't know where the cameras are in a convenience store, even if they always visit that store."

If someone did know, it would be someone who was either overly paranoid or felt guilty about something. Or they might've accidentally seen it and noticed.

Alright, shall I head home since we don't have to look for a witness anymore?

Kushida and the others might talk about looking for another witness. It'll be a bother to get involved in that.

"Ayanokouji-kun, want to go home together?"

"…"

Hearing Horikita's invitation, I reflexively put my hand on her forehead. Her forehead felt cool, but her skin was still warm and soft.

"…I don't have a cold, you know? I just wanted to ask you about something."

"O-Oh. Well, I guess it's fine."

It was strange for Horikita to invite me. I wonder if it'll rain tomorrow.

"As I thought, haven't you two gotten closer? Yesterday, you looked like you would kill me when I only touched your shoulder…"

Ike looked a bit dissatisfied as he gazed at my hand on her forehead.

Horikita's facial expression didn't particularly change.

"Can you take it off? Your hand."

"Oh, my bad, my bad."

I was relieved that Horikita didn't counterattack, and drew back my hand. I didn't notice at all.

The two of us walked out into the hallway. I think I know the general gist, but I wonder what she wants to talk about.

"Oh, right. I want to go somewhere before we go back; is that fine?"

"Well, as long as it doesn't take too much time."

"Yeah, it'll take about ten minutes."

4

It was hot and humid after school. I made my way towards the club building where the incident happened a few days ago. The area didn't look any different; after all, it wasn't like it had to be taped off because there was a murder case. Now that classes were over, I couldn't see anyone around since the home economics and the audiovisual rooms were rarely used in the first place. This would be one of the most ideal places in the school to call out Sudou.

"Man, it's hot…"

This weather is pretty abnormal. I guess this is how summer should usually feel, but I didn't think it'd be this hot and humid inside the building. Well, this is the effect of getting used to air conditioning every day. It felt even hotter because I was so used to the cold air of the A/C.

The air conditioning was probably on during classes, but I couldn't tell from how hot it was.

"Sorry for bringing you over here."

Horikita, who was standing next to me, didn't look like she was feeling the heat as she looked down the hallway.

"How strange of you to stick out your own neck for this case. Since we've already found the witness, there's nothing that can be done anymore. What more are you trying to do?"

"Sudou's the first friend I made. I want to help him out a bit."

"Do you think there's a way to prove he's innocent then?"

"Hmm, I don't know. I can't really say anything yet. I'm just acting by myself because I'm not very good at interacting with a larger group of people. It seemed like some responsibilities would be pushed onto me if I stayed, so I ran instead. After all, I like to avoid trouble."

"Yeah, clearly. But even then, it's contradictory for you to say that you want to help because he's a friend."

"Well, human beings are mutually interdependent creatures."

I've talked about this subject to Horikita before, but she seems pretty open-minded about my way of thinking.

Horikita usually acts by herself, so as long as it doesn't affect her negatively, she's fine with it.

"Well, your way of thinking doesn't really matter to me, so you're free to do whatever you want. Also, I think it's fine to avoid those two."

"I mean, that's just because you hate them."

"Having common enemies leads to cooperation after all."

"No, just because I'm bad at dealing with them doesn't mean I hate them. I'm not like you."

By all means, I do want to get closer to Kushida and Hirata.

But Horikita has a broad interpretation of my thoughts and is trying to say that we are similar.

I walked down the hallway, scanning the corner between the wall and the ceiling.

Horikita suddenly noticed something and started looking around.

"Hmm, there aren't any here. That's too bad."

"Huh? What isn't here?"

"Cameras like the ones in the classroom. We would have solid evidence if those cameras were in the hallways, but there aren't any."

"Oh, right. Those cameras. The case would be solved instantly if they were here."

There were outlets near the ceiling, but weren't being used.

The hallway doesn't have any obstacles, so if there was a camera, it would've been able to record the whole incident.

"In the first place, does the school usually have cameras in the hallways?"

The other buildings probably don't have cameras in the hallways as well.

"I mean, they probably wouldn't be in the bathrooms or the changing rooms, right?"

"Yeah, probably not."

"…It's not something to be sad about now though. If there were cameras, the school would've checked them first and this wouldn't be a problem."

I shook my head, feeling ashamed that I got my hopes up for a split second.

For a short while, we wandered around aimlessly without getting anything done.

"Did you think of a plan to save Sudou-kun?"

"Of course not. It's your job to come up with a plan. I won't ask you to save Sudou, but it would be nice if you could put us in the right direction."

Horikita shrugged her shoulders in exasperation. She's probably trying to find a way to respond to that. However, she found the witness, so at least she's considering helping out.

"You want me to help? Right now?"

"The witness doesn't really help the situation because she's in class D. I think it's better to go look for something else."

Horikita probably told the others even though it wouldn't help much. If she didn't want to tell them at all, she probably wouldn't have listened nor replied to their request.

However, she was calmly wandering around as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"There are a lot of unpleasant things about Sudou. However, I want him to take less responsibility for the incident. Having a few points left over is the best possible outcome, even though it's a loss if the impression of class D gets worse."

I think she's saying her honest feelings, even though she's not usually upfront.

That's not a bad thing. However, most people are weak to loneliness. That's why some people hypocritically act to stick together. That isn't the case for Horikita, though.

And unlike Kushida and the others, she definitely gave up on trying to prove Sudou's innocence.

"Like I said earlier, unless a perfect witness shows up, it will be impossible to prove that Sudou-kun is innocent. Well, it might happen if class C admits that they lied. Do you think that'll happen?"

"Definitely not. Class C won't do that."

Since the other class also doesn't have any evidence, the lie won't go anywhere.

We also don't have anything to believe other than Sudou's words. The whole situation is in the dark.

"There's no one here after school."

"Obviously, since this building isn't used for anything other than clubs."

One party called out the other to the roof. Afterwards, as if by fate, the two quarreling parties fought. In the end, Sudou injured the other party, and they complained about it.

I wouldn't bother coming to this hot place unless someone else called me out here.

The humidity is oppressing. I feel like I'm going insane in this heat.

"Is it not hot for you, Horikita?"

As my body was suffering from the heat, Horikita was looking around with a cool expression.

"I'm pretty good against the heat and the cold. You look… not so good."

I was out of it from the heat and moved towards the window in search of some cool air. I opened the window to save myself from the heat… but I immediately shut the window right after.

"…That was dangerous."

As soon as I opened the window, the hot wind burst into the room. It would be an even bigger disaster if I kept the window open.

When I think about the fact that it'll get even hotter until August, I feel depressed.

However, there were results from coming here today. It's not impossible—

"What are you thinking about right now?"

"No, nothing much. Just that it's hot… I've reached my limit already."

It looked like nothing more could be done right now, so the two of us started heading back.

"Ah."

"Oops."

As I turned the corner of the hallway, I accidentally bumped into another student.

"My bad, are you okay?"

It wasn't that strong of an impact, so neither of us fell over.

"Yes. Sorry, I was careless."

"Me too. Oh wait, are you Sakura?"

As the girl apologized, I recognized who she was.

"…Ah, um…?"

From her fl.u.s.tered response, it seems like she doesn't know who I am.

After she looked at my face for a few seconds, she recognized that I was one of her classmates. Then again, it's kind of pointless if you can only recognize someone by looking at them carefully.

Sakura was holding her phone tightly in her hand.

"Ah, um. My hobby is taking pictures…"

She showed me the screen of her phone. I wasn't really planning on asking in the first place.

After all, it's not unnatural to use a phone while walking.

Sakura was probably wondering why we were in this building.

"What pictures were you taking?"

"Things like the hallway… and the view out the window."

As she finished her explanation, she saw Horikita nearby and cast down her eyes.

"Ah, um…"

"I have something I want to ask you, Sakura-san."

Sakura looked uncomfortable, but Horikita took a step forward.

She stepped back in fright. I held back Horikita lightly, gesturing for her to back off.

"G-Goodbye."

"Sakura."

I quickly called out to Sakura, who was already running away.

"You don't have to push yourself."

I didn't really have to call out to her, but I did.

Sakura stopped walking but didn't look back.

"You don't have to come out as the witness. There's no meaning to forcing a testimony out of you. However, if there's someone scary trying to threaten you, you can talk to us. I don't know how much I can help, but I will help the best I can."

"Are you talking about me?"

Let's just ignore the possibility that a scary person exists and let her go.

"I didn't see anything. I'm the wrong person…"

She kept insisting that she wasn't the witness. After all, we are only working off Horikita's insight, and nothing else. There is a possibility that the actual witness may be someone else.

"Then that's fine. If someone else tries to press you, though, tell me."

Sakura gave a small reply and headed down the stairs.

"That was a once in a lifetime chance right now, you know? She probably walked away because she knew something was going to happen."

"Since she denies it herself, there's nothing more we can do. Also, you know that a witness from class D is pretty weak."

"Well, I guess."

She'll act based on her thoughts. Then again, I don't know what she's thinking.

That's why we're not really investigating right now.

"Hey you guys, what are you doing here?"

Both of us turned around, not having expected someone to call out to us. A strawberry-blonde haired girl was looking towards us.

I've seen her face before. She's Ichinose from class B, but I've never talked to her before. Also, I've heard that she's an amazing student from the rumors floating around.

"Sorry to call you out so suddenly. Do you have some time? Oh, but if you're here on a date, please get out quickly."

"It's nothing like that."

Horikita immediately denied it. It's only times like these when she's fast to respond.

"Ahaha, I see. This place is too hot to be a date spot anyway."

Ichinose and I have never talked before. I'm saying this without any proof, but she probably doesn't know my name. After all, I'm only one of the many students she sees every day.

Is she Horikita's acquaintance or friend? …Nah.

If they suddenly went, "Hey, long time no see~ How are you doing~?" "I'm doing well~!", I'm sure I would collapse while foaming at the mouth.

"Do you have some business with us?"

Of course it probably wasn't something like that, but Horikita became immediately wary of Ichinose, who had just appeared. She probably thinks that this isn't coincidence.

"Business… well, something like 'what are you doing here?'"

"Nothing much. We're somewhat wandering around."

It would've been fine to answer honestly, but the pressure from Horikita's gaze made me answer differently.

"Somewhat, huh? You two are in class D, right?"

"…You know us?"

"I've met you two times before, even though we haven't talked. Also, I remember seeing him in the library before."

Somehow, it seems that she remembered my figure (guess I look pretty cool).

"I have a good memory, after all."

Are you trying to say that you wouldn't have remembered me if your memory wasn't good?

I was a bit happy, but my good mood disappeared from that jab.

"I thought that there would be something here that would be related to the fight. When I wasn't at school yesterday, it seems like some information about the witness had reached class B. I only heard later that the students of class D were trying to prove him innocent."

"If we're doing investigating here because of the incident, then how does that affect you?"

"Hmm, how does it affect me? …well, it doesn't. But, I had a few doubts when I heard about the story, and so I decided to come here to check things out. If it's fine with you, would you tell me about the circ.u.mstances?"

Is it fine to chalk it up as "curiosity" then?

After a few moments of silence, Ichinose spoke apologetically.

"Does that mean no? If other classes were interested…"

"No, it's nothing like that, but…"

"I can only think there's something else to this."

I tried to go about things peacefully, but Horikita immediately shot down that plan.

Ichinose tilted her neck and smiled, interpreting the meaning behind Horikita's words.

"Something else? Do you feel like we're going to make a secret move to interfere with class C and D?"

She looked like she wanted to say, "Oh, that's disappointing".

"I don't think you have to be that wary, though. I'm really just curious."

"I don't want to answer someone who's 'just curious'. Just do as you please."

Horikita answered, trying to get her to back off, and looked out the window.

"Please tell me something. All I heard from my friends and the teachers were that there was a fight."

Although I hesitated for a bit, I knew that there wasn't much information out there and decided to explain how the three class C students called out Sudou, got beat up, turned it around on him, and how two versions of the story were reported to the school. Ichinose listened to the whole store seriously.

"I see, so that's what happened. That news hasn't come to class B yet. I see, I see… Hey, isn't this a huge problem? It doesn't matter who lied, since it's a case of violence anyway. Shouldn't you discover the truth?"

"That's why we're here in the first place, but we haven't discovered much."

It's not a murder scene, so I didn't think there were any hints left over, but we did get some results, contrary to our expectations.

"So, you're believing Sudou-kun because he's your friend and your classmate. And therefore this case has become a case of false accusation to class D."

It would be hard for Ichinose, a third party, to understand that it wasn't because he was our friend or because he was our classmate. But I'm not going to explain that much.

"What would you do if Sudou-kun was the one lying? For example, what if there was evidence that clearly proved he was guilty?"

"I would honestly report it. After all, such a lie would only bite us in the back later."

"Yea, I agree."

It's not like Ichinose would be affected anyway.

"Then we're good, right? Since you got what you wanted."

She spoke quickly, as if she wanted to turn her away as fast as possible.

"Mmm. Hey, is it fine if I help? I can help look for the witness. It's faster if there's more people, right?"

Obviously, the more people the better. That's true. But it's not like we're saying, "Please listen to our story, it's a disaster!".

"I wonder why a class B student is offering to help."

"Are class B and class D completely unrelated? We don't know when and where these kind of cases will pop up. Since the classes are competing against each other, there's always of a risk that these troubles appear. This time was just the first such case. It'll also be a huge issue if the party that lied wins. Also, I personally can't overlook this after hearing what happened."

I couldn't tell if she was being serious or if she was joking.

"If class B helps in finding a witness, don't you guys have more credibility? Well, it's possible that class D is the one that suffers damage after the truth is revealed…"

If Sudou's words are proven to be a lie, that means class C's claim is the correct one. Sudou would be suspended, and class D would take some heavy damage, perhaps fatal.

"What do you think? I think it's a pretty good proposal."

I looked over at Horikita. However, she was still facing out the window with her back turned to me. I wonder what she thinks about her proposal.

Naturally, we were most worried about our merit. If the students of class D tried to prove Sudou's innocence by ourselves, the credibility of our proof would be low unless the evidence completely solved the case.

If an unrelated class B student got involved, the situation would be completely different.

"You may think I'm being a hypocrite, but I also don't intend to carry such a heavy responsibility."

I weighed the positives and the negatives of her proposal. Obviously, we still couldn't trust Ichinose yet. After all, she's a student from class B, and there's no clear benefit for her in choosing to help. If helping other people repeatedly was related to the class and private points, then her actions are understandable. She probably won't give up such valuable information so easily… but there's no other way but to ask.

"Let's accept the help, Ayanokouji-kun."

Horikita must have determined that the merits were greater than the risks.

I was thankful that she came to a decision quickly.

In the first place, I didn't really have any power to decide; it was all up to Horikita.

Ichinose smiled, showing her white teeth.

"Then it's decided. Um…"

"Horikita."

Horikita readily gave her name; it looks like she approves of this cooperative relationship.

"Nice to meet you, Horikita-san. And Ayanokouji-kun as well."

By an unexpected turn of events, we became acquainted with Ichinose and formed a cooperative relationship, but it's still up to chance whether or not this is a good thing. Either way, it'll bring change.

"We already found the witness, but sadly, they're in class D."

Ichinose let out a sigh, facepalming.

"Well, that means a witness isn't in any other class, right? At least, the probability would be low."

A very low chance, but a chance is a chance.

"Even then, your friend is being considered as a regular, right? That's awesome! Even if he's holding you guys back right now, he'll be a great asset later on. If he goes out and does great, he'll get points and so will the class. Wait… did you not know? Did your teacher not tell you?"

We were only told that our private points were affected.

"It's my first time hearing that it affects our class points… I'll have to bring up a complaint with Chiyabashira-sensei later on."

Horikita mumbled in dissatisfaction.

Either way, Sensei omitted something once again. I wonder if it was their teacher that told class B about the class points…

As usual, Sensei doesn't even try to pretend that we're all equal. I'm feeling the extreme discrimination.

"There's something strange about your homeroom teacher."

"In the first place, she just doesn't have any motivation to tell us and is apathetic to the students. There are those kind of teachers."

I didn't think it was something to be surprised about, but Ichinose took a step back.

"Did you know that the homeroom teachers are evaluated when their class graduates?"

"No, first time hearing it. Are you sure?"

I wasn't interested; rather, I had to be interested. An important distinction to make.

"My homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei, says it like it's her favorite phrase. She always says that she has to do her best because the teacher in charge of class A will get a bonus at the end. It seems like it's different for you guys."

"I'm envious of your homeroom teacher and your class."

It feels like our homeroom teacher has no sense of ambition and no d.e.s.i.r.e for money.

Rather, it feels like she would say, "You guys are failing—great!".

"I think it would be great to meet up and discuss things sometime."

"I wasn't expecting to be helped by the enemy."

"I mean, it feels like this is a problem before we can compete. After all, we're not on even playing ground."

We were being pitied, even by the other classes.

It shows the lack of enthusiasm Chiyabashira-sensei has for her students.

"I wish we could switch teachers."

"No, I think there are a other problems with that."

I thought back on the time I met Hoshinomiya-sensei. She seems like a whole different set of troubles.

"Ah, it's so hot here."

Ichinose took out a handkerchief with a cute panda on it and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Our thick uniforms trap the heat well.

"A school that turns on the air conditioning 24/7 even when the whole building is empty is bad for the environment and is detestable."

"Ahahaha, I guess. You're an interesting one."

Ichinose laughed even though the line wasn't meant to be funny.

"I don't think there was anything to laugh at…"

"How about we exchange contact addresses to make sure things go smoothly in the future?"

Horikita sent me a look of, "I don't want to, so you give her yours".

"If you're fine with mine. I'll reply when you contact me."

"Okay, I got it."

I only realized after we exchanged addresses, but wow, I have a lot of girls' contact addresses.

Granted, I only have seven addresses (three of which are girls'), even though it's the beginning of July.

Somehow… I may have been enjoying my youth without even knowing it.

This is unrelated, but Ichinose's first name is Honami.

5

According to her mail, Ichinose seems to be planning a strategy so that we would come to trust her. She decided to ask for permission every time she would do something, but I didn't think it was necessary for her to restrict herself that much. After having returned to the dorms, I thought that Horikita would go her own way, but she followed me to my room.

"Sorry for intruding."

She said politely, even though there was no one else in my room.

I wonder why I feel nervous even though it's only Horikita in the room with me.

"Oh, by the way, do you also have a key?"

"To this room? Ike-kun asked me if I wanted one, but I refused."

As expected of Horikita. It seems like she's the only one with common sense around here.

"After all, it's rare for me to go to your room. Going to your room is like a shame, a disgrace. You understand, right?"

That reply was also within my expectations. I'm totally not hurt.

I totally didn't think, "It's harsher than I expected".

"Why are you tracing out characters on the wall with your finger?"

"To hide the unrest in my heart or something like that."

The most terrifying part is that she doesn't have any ill intentions.

If I brought it up to her, she'd probably go, "I only said the truth".

"I want to hear what you think about Sudou-kun's case again. Also, I think Kushida-san's actions are a bit troubling."

"Wouldn't it have been better to have participated from the beginning if you're worried about the situation?"

"That wasn't possible. I couldn't accept the person in the beginning. I'm only helping for the class right now—frankly speaking, I still think it's better to abandon him."

"Even if you pitched in and helped Sudou during the midterms?"

"That's a separate matter. Even if we manage to miraculously prove him as innocent, do you think he'll be helpful later? I think that it's quite likely that our help will backfire."

Her eyes said, "Do you know what I'm trying to say?".

"Is it for Sudou's sake that you're giving up on proving him innocent and letting him take the punishment?"

Horikita had a discontented expression, but then looked like she understood something.

"You already knew from the beginning that it would be very difficult to prove Sudou-kun innocent considering his personality, right? It makes it easy to think that it would be better for him to get punished. Especially for those who hate him."

It looked like she wanted to say, "You're thinking the same way, right?"

I feel like I've been cornered, unable to get away. If I try to force my way out by denying it, she'll just deliver the final blow.

"Well, isn't that obvious to anyone with a bit of thinking?"

"Probably. It's not like Kushida-san's group hasn't noticed. It's just that they believe Sudou-kun and working with the class to try and disprove the lie. They don't understand why this incident happened and the urgency of the situation at all."

Her remarks concerning her classmates were considerably harsh.

"At least Kushida is trying to help after understanding the situation already."

"After understanding the situation? Is that something she realized by herself?"

"Huh? No, that's…"

"You told her, right?"

It felt like I was being interrogated. Scary.

"Getting old test questions, buying points on a test… I'm not surprised because you seem to be quite cunning but even then… I'm discontent."

I guess she's learned that I'm a cunning person.

"Don't overestimate me."

She laughed—that's not what I meant to do. However, she immediately stopped.

"Honestly speaking, you're a mystery. You're the hardest person to predict in the class. Tactful yet idles often, and is never constant. It's like you're in a separate category of 'cannot be categorized'."

"All of those are questionable descriptions. Not what you'd say when you praise someone…"

I mean, there are better ways to put it, right? However, Horikita looked at me with distrustful eyes

"In other words, you're hiding your true ability. You make me feel the most disgusted."

…I see. I wonder if it's normal to not know what those five words mean together.

Somehow, I fell straight into Horikita's trap. A slight blunder on my part.

"At any rate, saying that I make you the most disgusted is too much. Koenji is somewhat similar too."

That is, without a doubt, a seasonal good. If she related him to me, I would feel hurt.

"He's surprisingly easy to understand—after all, he's smart and athletic. His behavior is the only problem, which is explained by the two words 'self-conceited'."

Actually, it's fairly easy to understand. Certainly, Koenji's way of life is pretty simple.

"I think you'd be a good teacher."

If I became a teacher… I feel like I'd be just like Chabashira-sensei.

6

On this campus, there are four dorms. Three of them are for the students; the students stay in the same dorm they were assigned to in their first year for all of high school. In other words, this dorm was used by last year's third-years. The last dorm is for the teachers, and for all the live-in employees that work at the shopping mall.

In other words, since all the first years were in the same building, it was inevitable that people from different classes would get to meet.

I locked eyes with a person who had been a complete stranger until now.

"Thank you very much."

The girl who said her thanks to the dorm manager noticed me and called out to me.

"Yaho, Ayanokouji-kun. Good morning. You're early."

Long, wavy hair and wide eyes. C.h.e.s.t straining the second button of her blazer. Her posture matches her personality, and what charms me is how cool she is, rather than her looks. It was class 1-B's Ichinose Honami.

"I woke up earlier than I expected. What were you talking about with the manager?"

"A few people from my class wanted to make a request to the dorm. So, I gathered all the opinions and relayed it to the manager. Things like water usage and noise."

"You did?"

Usually, complaints or issues about the rooms were handled individually. I wonder why Ichinose collected their opinions.

"Good morning class rep~"

Ichinose replied to the two girls who walked out of the elevator.

"Class rep? Why class rep?"

I've never heard of that before. There are no positions like that here.

It doesn't look like they call her 'class rep' because she studies too much.

"I'm the class rep for my class."

"Class rep… do all the other classes have one?"

Normally I'd be surprised, but our homeroom teacher would've probably decided to leave that out.

"No, we just made it on our own. I think it's good to assign a few roles."

I understood what she was saying, but it's not like we were going to assign a class rep anyway.

"By any chance, do you have any positions other than class rep?"

"Pretty much. Whether or not they're useful is a different question, but we do have other roles like vice class rep and secretary. It'll be useful whenever we have some kind of festival. It would be fine to decide things on the spot, but that might become troublesome."

I remembered that Ichinose was studying with a group of boys and girls at the library some time ago.

She was probably fulfilling her role as class rep back then as well.

Usually, most people wouldn't want to be part of a class committee. They're forced to do troublesome things and have to participate in discussions from time to time.

However, with Ichinose taking the initiative, things probably went a lot smoother.

"I guess you're like the leader of class B then."

My honest feelings leaked out.

"Are you thinking of something strange? Everyone's doing this for fun. Also, there are a surprising amount of people who cause trouble. There are a lot of issues."

As she said "There are a lot of issues", she laughed in delight. Taking advantage of the current situation, we were walking to school together.

"Do you usually leave later? I never see you at this time."

Ichinose asked a harmless question, as if she was following a template.

I felt somewhat accomplished when I heard those words. My relationship with Ichinose will surely grow with small talk like this.

"There's no need to leave so early, so I usually stay in my room for 20 minutes."

"Then I guess you get there just on time."

As we got closer to the school, the number of students multiplied.

Oddly enough, a number of girls turned towards us with jealous looks. Is this my popularity phase that's rumored to come three times in a lifetime? Since it's never happened to me, I feel like this is just about the right time for it to come.

"Good morning, Ichinose!"

"Good morning, Ichinose-san!"

Ichinose monopolized all of the gazes of the girls.

"Wow, you're popular."

"Since I'm the class rep, I just stand out more. That's all."

Instead of being humble, it seems like that's what she truly believed.

It seems like she naturally attracts the attention of nearby people.

"Oh, right. Did you hear about summer break?"

"Summer break? No… isn't summer break just summer break?"

"There are rumors that our vacation will be on a tropical island."

Speaking of which, something else crossed my mind.

I forget when, but Chiyabashira-sensei said something about a vacation.

"I can't really believe it, but do we really have a vacation?"

It probably isn't just a trip… Look around and seriously think about.

It isn't an exaggeration to say that this school goes all out. Going to a tropical island during summer vacation and an onsen during the winter.

…It's very suspicious. I don't think the school is that nice. There's definitely something else lurking around. I wonder what Ichinose thinks.

Without having to ask, I could tell from the bitter smile on her face.

"It's suspicious. I think that's one of the turning points."

"In other words, this might cause a huge change in the class points?"

"Yea, yea. This might have more influence than the midterms and the finals. Otherwise, the only difference between the classes would be these test scores. This trip is so that the school could separate us."

It wouldn't be strange for a big event to happen soon…

"What is the gap between class A and B?"

"We have about 660 points, so around 350."

It was a given that the number would've dropped since the beginning of the year, but it's amazing how many points they held on to.

"There haven't been any other methods of getting class points other than the midterms, so it was unavoidable that we lost some points. After all, class A also lost a few points in the beginning."

However, class A was able to gain a net positive with the recent midterm.

"You don't seem very worried about your class points."

"I do care about it, but there I think that we have a chance of making a comeback. I'm only going to gather my thoughts in preparation."

I think that the first part that statement is correct.

However, that's only possible because they have a solid foundation.

We've only got 87 points. We're not close to even competing with the other classes.

"I wonder how much this event will change things."

It probably won't be a measly 10 or 20 points.

However, it's also difficult to imagine that the totals would change by 500 or 1000 points.

"We're also in a pinch. If the gap widens, we might not be able to catch up anymore."

"I guess we both have to work hard."

Actually, it's Horikita, Hirata, and Kushida that have to work hard.

"At any rate, it doesn't look like the situation will get much worse."

I don't want to start complaining already, but it seems like a troublesome event will happen soon.

"But if it's actually a vacation on a tropical island, that would be super amazing!"

"I wonder…"

"Huh, not looking forward to it?"

Only people who have friends and interact with others can enjoy their break.

There's nothing that feels as uncomfortable as traveling without people you're close to.

Even more so if traveling with a group. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

"Do you hate traveling by any chance?"

"I don't hate traveling. I think, at least…."

While talking about this and that, I imagined what it would feel like. After all, I've never traveled with a friend.

Speaking of travel, I've been to New York with my parents when I was very young. None of it was fun. I felt weary by the bitter flashback I had.

"What's wrong?"

"I just recalled a certain traumatic memory."

My dry laughter echoed along the hot road.

No, no. If I spread my negative aura, then Ichinose would be troubled as well.

However, my worries were for naught, and Ichinose continued to talk, looking like she didn't mind.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

Ichinose was a dazzling existence, though different from Kushida.

It seems like she's acting sincerely for her own satisfaction.

Even when she's talking to me, it seems like she's giving it her all.

"The whole grade is separated into four classes, right? I wonder if that's actually by ability."

"I know that the results of the entrance exam don't directly correspond to the results. There are people that deserve to be in the top class based on test scores, so I figured about that much."

Horikita, Koenji, and Yukimura would definitely rank highly in the grade.

"Isn't it something like 'overall ability'?"

I gave a vague reply. I've also thought about it many times, but couldn't come up with an answer.

"But I always wondered. People might be good at studying and bad at sports, or vice versa. But if the students are ranked by overall ability, doesn't that mean that the lower classes are at a severe disadvantage?"

"Isn't that how societal competition works? I don't think it's strange."

Ichinose crossed her arms and paused. It looked like she didn't understand.

"If it was an individual match, then maybe. But this is a class competition. If you put all the good people in class A, isn't there absolutely no chance of winning?"

I mean, that's pretty much the current state of the class points.

However, it seemed like Ichinose's thoughts were different.

"There's definitely a difference between class A and D, but I think that's because they're trying to hide something by using something so trivial."

"Your reasoning?"

"Ahahaha, nothing much. It just came to me for some reason. If that wasn't true, it would be accurate to call this situation harsh. I think that there are people who can study and do well in sports in class D for a reason."

Is that different than the usual system?

If the classes were separated using only our academic ability, there would be no way to beat the other classes, no matter how hard we tried.

An important factor to this system is being an expert in many fields.

"…Shouldn't you keep quiet about this?"

I advised Ichinose, feeling slightly worried.

"Hmm? About what?"

"About your thoughts right now. Horikita said it early, but you're helping out the enemy."

I might get some new ideas and try to do something with it.

"I don't think that's true. It's important that a lot of ideas are circulated. Also, since we're in a cooperative relationship, it's completely fine."

It wasn't the complacency of being in class B… but rather, it was a characteristic of Ichinose. Somehow, I could understand what she was thinking. Anyway, she's actually a good person—and doesn't have two sides to her.

"My brain isn't good enough to exchange ideas and such. I can only say 'I'm sorry' to that."

"It's fine even it's just me talking. If you think it's useful information, you can use it."

Ichinose seemed to remember something and stopped in her tracks.

As I wondered what it was about, I turned my head and saw her serious expression.

"You know… I wanted to ask you something. Is that okay?"

I could hardly imagine the cheerful Ichinose from a few seconds ago. My body stiffened up.

"I'll answer to the best of my ability."

There's nothing I can answer with my brain that has the knowledge of a hundred million books (a big lie).

"Have you ever been confessed to by a girl?"

Um… That wasn't in the millions of books I read…

"Do I look like a person who hasn't been confessed to before…?"

Is this when she calls me disgusting, a v.i.r.g.i.n, or makes fun of me? I'll cry, you know?

I'm only a first-year high school student! It's way too early for that. Hey, hey. Don't you think so too?

I'm pretty sure that the proportion of people who have confessed to those who haven't is very small. I have no proof to back it up, however.

The number of people who die in solitude, hidden away from the rest of humanity, cannot be counted.

"No, no. Sorry, it's nothing."

That's not a face that says "it's nothing". However, it looks like she's more worried than anything else.

"Did someone confess to you?"

"Huh? Oh, yea. Something like that."

Somehow, it seems like a lot of people are trying to become a couple just like Hirata and Karuizawa.

"If you have time after school, I want to talk to you about confessions. I know you're busy and all about the current issue, but if you have time…"

"It's fine. I don't really have much to do."

"Don't have much to do?"

"I don't think there's any use to find evidence or look for a witness. It'd be troublesome to waste my time doing something like that."

"But you went to the scene of the incident yesterday, right?"

"That was for something else. Anyway, it's fine."

"Thanks."

But I wonder what this has to do with me.

Is this the pattern where she makes up a lie and says "This is my boyfriend"? However, I immediately pushed that thought away since it would be better to use a more reliable ikemen instead.

"After school… I'll be waiting at the entrance."

"A-Alright."

It's the natural that I felt somewhat excited, even though I knew nothing was going to happen.