Volume 6, 2: "Paper Shuffle" Part 1

Volume 6, Chapter 2: "Paper Shuffle" Part 1

“I'm going to start a meeting, Ayanokōji-kun. Can you get Hirata-kun over here for me?”

Horikita stood up and said this immediately after the special test was announced.

“I understand.”

I answered briefly, then approached Hirata. Horikita went to Sudō at the same time. As of now, Class D has gradually started receiving attention from the other classes.

There have been changes for me as well.

I had been able to stick in the background before, but now I've made a name for myself by running in the relay race in the sports festival. I'll undoubtedly be in the sights of Ryūen or Ichinose as they look for the presence behind Horikita.

So, what should I do about that?

Keep my distance away from Horikita? Suddenly straying away from her would obviously raise suspicions.

In that case, should I wait around as usual for the situation to pass? As long as I'm around Horikita, I'm bound to be suspected.

I guess in the end nothing will change even if I do something.

The other side will probably be ignorant of my true thoughts and over-interpret my actions on their own.

Then, I shall aim to return to how things were at the start of the year.

Horikita has only made a few friends so far, so there were many situations where getting involved with her was inevitable. However, that should be different in the future. Starting with Sudō, her contact with people such as Hirata and Karuizawa should gradually increase.

And as that happens, I can slowly fade into the background.

I do want to get on better terms with her, but I do not intend to be at the mercy Chabashira-sensei.

If they can go about handling the class on their own, my burden will naturally be lessened.

That's how I see it. Chabashira-sensei shouldn’t be particularly attached to me being the one to cause Class D to rise. Logically, she should be satisfied with any student willing to take on the task.

As for why she did not hesitate to threaten me to reach Class A, I’m not interested in Chabashira-sensei’s intentions.

However, now is not the time to let go of Horikita.

If I let go of the reins here, Class D will spiral out of control and even potentially collapse altogether. I'm going to gather people around Horikita before quietly fading out of the picture.

The important thing is the procedure, followed by preparation and results.

"It seems he will be coming soon."

I called out to Hirata, who was talking to a classmate, and then went back to my seat.

"Same thing on my end."

Sudō left to go to the bathroom. He was the first person out the door.

"So, what should we think of this test?"

Horikita asked prematurely before people would start to gather.

"We just need to listen to the words of Chabashira-sensei to understand it. This should be a more difficult test than previous ones. The standard that needs to be met to avoid failing is easy, but if our goal is to beat other classes, our total score will have to be pretty high. Plus, the pairing system is tricky. Add to that the fact that another class is going to write the test for us, and we can predict that the degree of difficulty will effectively double. It will be particularly challenging if we’re up against a class that makes their questions more challenging than they need to be. Depending on how a question is phrased, even if the answers are the same, the response rate can change significantly.”

"Yeah… this time it's not just about reading strategies, it's also about testing our ability to create problems."

It is impossible to come out ahead in this exam if we only teach students who are worried about failing, as we had with the midterms. Ideally, we would look to grasp the weaknesses of other classes, but it’s doubtful that they would readily reveal those to us.

However, many of the things we have to do are the same as what we had to do for the midterms.

In that sense, this test could be considered less difficult than either of the summer special exams. Just as the sports festival tests the class’s physical strength, this test can be said to be a test of the class’s academic knowledge.

"If you can do something, you should do it. After all, we’ve been given hints."

"Well, I'm aware of that."

Horikita answered calmly and continued:

"You always pay attention to what the other person says and does. This school loves to hide hints in everything they tell us. The key facts that should be picked out from what Chabashira-sensei told us are that the results of these quizzes will not affect our grades, that the criteria for failing the overall grade has yet to be determined, and that who is chosen as our partner will be determined after the quizzes end.

I couldn't help but smile in the face of this perfect and delightful understanding.

Soon after, Hirata, who had been called over, came to meet with us.

“Thanks for waiting. This is to discuss our plans for the final exam, correct?”

He then calls over Karuizawa. Karuizawa stares at us with annoyance, but ultimately responds to his request and approaches Horikita.

"I'm sorry, I thought it would be better if we discussed this right away."

At the beginning of the school year, anyone would have been surprised to hear Horikita ask for anyone, but now that Horikita acted as a representative for the class, students had begun to take it naturally.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to start right away."

"What, here? I object. Since we’re just going to be talking, let’s go to Pallet. Shall we, Yōsuke?"

Karuizawa clasped Hirata's arm and pulled to indicate her presence. When I first met Karuizawa, she would often do things like this and act like a spoiled brat. Pallet, by the way, is a cafe on campus. It’s a vibrant place where many female students gather during lunch break and after school. When I looked at Karuizawa, our eyes met for a moment. I don’t remember saying anything in particular, but Karuizawa quickly detached from Hirata’s arm, although she remained visibly irritated.

"We don't know where the enemy's eyes will be, but… oh well."

It would be easier for Horikita to move with the group than for her to challenge Karuizawa here. Although Horikita herself is not self-conscious, this part of her has grown.

"Well, can I join you?"

The one who said that was our classmate - Kushida Kikyō.

"Will it cause you any trouble...?"

"I’m fine with it. Kushida-san knows everything about the class. And considering the type of test the final exam is, I'd like to hear everyone’s opinions on the matter first.”

Karuizawa's position was that everything was OK, and answered first. So, what will Horikita do?

"Sure, Kushida-san. I was going to call for you sooner or later anyway."

Horikita agreed at once, as if she was agreeing with Karuizawa to avoid trouble.

"Could you three please head over there first? I'll settle my affairs here and then join you."

The three of them agreed without any particular objection, and left to the cafe.

"Is it alright to let her join us?"

Kushida is a valuable fighting force for Class D, but her relationship with Horikita is complicated. Although the details are only known by the two of them, it is difficult to guarantee that Kushida will not attempt to obstruct what we do.

Moreover, Class D was put into a crisis during the sports festival because of Kushida’s betrayal.

"Wouldn’t it be strange to refuse in a scene like that?"

That is true. Did Horikita really accept this though?

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Suzune."

"Never mind that. The venue for the discussion has changed. They’re waiting for us at Pallet."

"Oh, so uh. I’m sorry, can I go to the club just to show my face? I just remembered that my seniors asked for me to attend. I think it'll be over in twenty or thirty minutes.”

"I don’t mind. Come and meet me as soon as you're done."

Sudō grinned, grabbed his backpack and hurried out of the classroom.

As she was late for the discussion, Horikita picked up her bag. I decided to head out as well.

"Then I'm going back home. Best of luck with everything."

"Wait a minute. You’re invited to this as well. As an intermediary between Hirata-kun and Karuizawa-san, you are indispensable. I don't have very much influence on them right now."

"…Of course it would be like this. Although you say you don’t have very much influence, I think you can control the class smoothly to some extent. Besides, the final exam is the accumulation of these upcoming quizzes. You handled the midterm exam without my help with your study group.”

As a matter of fact, she handled that entire situation on her own accord. These quizzes are just one step away from that.

"If you only look at that point, maybe so. But if Kushida is there, it's a different story. This is an exception. And I have something to tell you first. Can I at least ask you to participate in today’s discussion? Or, are you not interested in what she’s up to?"

That statement was very sly. Honesty is the best way to answer something like this.

"It would be a lie to say I’m not interested."

She treats everyone in the class the same, so why is it that she’s so hostile to Horikita?

For me, that is a very puzzling thing. I'm kind of interested in the situation.

"If you can accept that and attend today’s discussion, then I’ll tell you."

Horikita asserted. She seemed to have a reason for bringing it up at this moment.

"To be honest, I don't want to make a fuss about her past, but I think it's necessary to tell you first, so let me talk. Because I think the results should be useful to me. "

"I thought you weren't going to tell me about Kushida."

"On what basis do you think that?"

"You haven't said anything about Kushida so far, have you? It’s probably better to say that I can't imagine you of all people getting involved in a hostile relationship with somebody. When did you become involved with Kushida?”

I squinted to confirm Horikita's expression. She was stiffer than I thought.

"I can't tell you here. Do you understand?"

Though no one was paying attention to our conversation, there are countless eyes and ears in the classroom.

"...I see. I guess I’ll accompany you then."

I’m looking forward to a story worthy of this effort.

After we got out of the corridor and passed through the crowd, Horikita whispered:

“Where do you want me to start from?”

"From the beginning. Because all I know is that the two of you are not on good terms with one another."

And the dark side of Kushida. I want to know more about that. However, I have deliberately neglected to mention this because I don't know what Horikita knows or plans to say.

"Let me tell you first, I don't know much about Kushida Kikyō. Where did you and Kushida-san meet in the first place?"

This is probably a matter of confirmation. Let me reply earnestly:

"On the bus."

"That's right. Like you, the first time I saw Kushida-san was on the bus on the day of admission."

I remember that matter now. There was an old woman who had to stand because there were no open seats. Kushida reached out to the old woman and tried to get other passengers to give up their seats. It was a good deed in itself, a kindness that no one would reproach. But unfortunately, I remember that nobody had decided to give up their seat until Kushida had put in quite a bit of effort in convincing someone to give theirs up. I also had had no intention to give my seat up, so the entire situation had a lasting impression on me.

"It would have had to be then if she had begun to hate you... but if it was that interaction, it would be needless to say that Kōenji, who had refused to give up his own seat even after a direct confrontation, would be a far better target for her hatred than someone who simply watched the situation go down. This isn’t even considering that she would also hate me if that were the reason.”

I didn't mean to say that Kushida liked me, but she only showed this unusually strong hostility to Horikita.

"I didn't know Kushida-san at the time. No, I did not remember it exactly."

"Does that mean that you and Kushida interacted before you met on the bus?"

"Well, she and I are from the same middle school. That school is in a totally different prefecture, and this is a very special high school. She probably never dreamed that there would be people from the same place as her."

"I see."

As I heard this, it solved a great mystery. Before I met them, the bond between Horikita and Kushida had already begun.

In that case, I can understand. That I couldn’t understand before hearing this was inevitable.

"I thought of this after we held the study group in the first semester. My middle school was a big school with over one thousand students, and I don’t remember ever being in the same class as Kushida-san."

I would not at all be surprised to learn that Horikita was also like this in her middle school days.

She should have made no friends, spending every day quietly indulging herself in her schoolwork.

"What kind of student was Kushida during middle school?"

We didn't go straight to Pallet. Because we judged that the conversation might take some time, we walked around the school for a bit. The farther away from the cafe that you get, the less populated the area is.

"Who knows. Like I just said, she and I didn’t interact with each other. However, I can say that she was just as popular there as she is here, if not more so. In retrospect, she was certainly the centerpiece of her class during all kinds of events back then. She was a popular person, who was kind to everyone and always left a good impression. I don’t think that she joined the student council, but she would definitely have been invited to join.”

If she had held a position, Horikita would probably have remembered that she was in the same grade. Indeed, the Kushida I know has never held any position at all.

Perhaps, as Horikita testified, the perfect personality that Kushida demonstrates in high school is the same as the one she had in middle school.

The two seemed to have crossed paths, but in fact, they didn’t. I can't solve the mystery of why Kushida was so disgusted by Horikita. The answer is probably hidden in the follow-up to this topic.

"I don’t think she hates you because she can't be your friend."

It's not just a question of whether or not she can make one hundred friends. Even if it’s Kushida, nobody had the means to become friends with the entire school population.

"Well, the key is what I’m going to say next. But you have to remember that this is just a rumor. The full truth is something only Kushida-san knows."

Horikita got to the point and began to speak seriously.

"Something happened as graduation was approaching near the end of February where a class broke apart.”

"It wasn’t the flu, was it?”

"Well, the rumors reached me immediately -- it was said that a certain school girl had caused a class breakdown, and that class did not return to its original condition until after I had already graduated."

“I don’t even need to ask who that schoolgirl is, right?”

"It was Kushida-san. But I do not know the details as to how the class was driven to the point of collapse. I'm afraid the school is completely hiding the news as well. If the truth was made public, the credibility of the school would be reduced. Also, it would likely have an impact on the education process and the employment of faculty. Even so, the school couldn’t contain the fire. Rumors inevitably began spreading among the students based on all kinds of speculations.”

“Do you remember anything, even if it’s just a rumor?”

I wanted to know what kind of situation it was. Horikita spoke as if remembering the past.

"As soon as the incident came to light, some students from my class were talking about it. They had said that the classroom was completely ruined and the blackboard and tables were covered with slanderous graffiti."

"To be covered with slanderous graffiti... Is it possible to conclude that Kushida was being bullied?"

“I don't know, there were too many rumors. Things like someone from the class was doing the bullying, or that she was bullying someone in the class herself. I also recall there being rumors of serious acts of violence, but those are not as clear.”

In short, there seemed to be countless rumors going around.

"But I stopped hearing those rumors in the blink of an eye. It became impossible to talk about it. There was a class that had been disbanded, but it was treated as if nothing had happened in the first place."

There had to have been some form of external pressure.

"In any case, if the information is this limited, you not knowing that Kushida was the cause of the class’s collapse can be excused. I doubt you were very interested in things like that at the time."

“Exactly. At the time I was focused on the entrance exam for this school. I was certain about the academic ability required for the examination, so I did not pay very much attention to what was happening.”

To be expected. Even if her school’s ratings dropped, she would have been confident enough in her ability to get in.

An event, thought to have been caused by Kushida, had caused a class to collapse. I’m certain that is a serious matter that would have an impact on further education or employment. I can't imagine the Kushida I know now doing anything like this. If the rumors are accurate, it would be understandable that she could not spare anyone who knew the truth. If this were to come to light, I have no doubt that Kushida’s current position in the school will come to an end.

"If we put things in order, there was an incident caused by Kushida, and we don’t know the specifics of what happened. But Kushida herself doesn’t know that you don’t know the specifics. She thinks that since you are from the same middle school, you should know the details to a certain extent. Is that everything?”

"Actually, she isn’t exactly wrong because I do know that she was responsible for the incident."

She sighed. I began to see under what conditions Horikita had been placed.

In short, Kushida's one-sided misunderstanding and hostility is the cause for all of this. For Kushida, keeping her past hidden is important enough to her that she is willing to go to all of this effort to hide it completely.

Even if Horikita said she didn't know about the incident, Kushida wouldn't believe her. For Kushida, exactly how much Horikita knows may be trivial. The fact that we’re speaking about this in the first place is evidence that Horikita knows about her past. It's very tricky.

"Then again, I don't understand."

"Are you referring to the content of the incident?"

"Well, it's all a mystery, and it's even unpleasant. Do you think it's simple for a class that doesn't have any problems to suddenly collapse?"

Horikita shook her head.

"Kushida was the trigger, which means that she may have caused the class to collapse on her own. How serious a thing does a student have to do to cause that?"

If it was simply a matter of bullying, it wouldn’t be able to cause an event of that magnitude. If that were the case, I would only be able to remove one or two people from the class, at most.

"I think so too. To be honest, I can't imagine what would need to happen to cause something like that."

Even if I wanted the current Class D to disintegrate, it wouldn't be so easy to do.

"Powerful weapons would be required if the class is to disintegrate."

"Yeah..."

The weapons referred to here are not purely physical in meaning, but also include a variety of methods.

“If you were going to break up the class, which tactics would you use?”

"I'm sorry to answer your question with another question, but I feel like this one will get us to the point faster. Do you know what the strongest weapon in the world is? Let’s limit the question to things that can be manipulated by Kushida. Think about it.”

"I think I told you before. I think ‘violence’ is the most powerful weapon a person has. To be honest, ‘violence’ has a unique intensity. No matter how clever a scholar or exalted a politician, in the end, they will fall in the face of powerful violence. As long as the conditions are met, it's not impossible to disintegrate a class, because it's just a matter of sending everyone to the hospital."

Though dangerous, Horikita's example isn’t incorrect. The class would ultimately be broken up.

“Yes, I do not dispute that violence is one of the strongest weapons. That said, it’s impossible for Kushida to force everyone into desperation with violence. That would be an incredibly huge event.”

If Kushida came to school rushing around everywhere with a chainsaw, the school wouldn’t have been able to keep quiet about it. It would have caused a lot of drama and controversy on TV.

“What if there’s something else that doesn't lose out to the unique intensity of violence and can instead compete with it?”

“Did you think of something? How she disintegrated the class?”

“If, as a premise, it was up to me to execute it. My answer would have to be…”

“Wait a minute.”

Horikita interrupted me, she thought once again and said:

“I would like to say ‘authority’, but that’s difficult to implement in campus life…”

Though she thought of the answer, she seemed to have no confidence in it.

“Authority is a very capable thing if it can be exercised, except in this case. Even the student president of this school can’t help it. There is no way to break up a class with authority."

“Then what is it? The tool that anyone can manipulate and use as a weapon to disintegrate an entire class.”

“It’s not limited to Kushida, what kind of weapon can be manipulated by anyone? The answer would be a ‘lie’. Humans are inherently liars, so anyone can manipulate them. But depending on the time and place, a lie can even have the power to devour violence.”

Statistics clearly show that people lie two or three times a day. At first glance, it may seem impossible, but the definition of a lie is broad. “I’m just tired”, “I caught a cold”, “I didn’t notice the email” and “It’s fine”. All kinds of words contain lies.

“Lies… yes, maybe so.”

Lies are powerful. A lie can even kill someone.

“Well, then, I’ll speed this up. For example, assuming that you’re using your strongest weapons, ‘violence’ and ‘lies’, would you be able to break up Class D? Try to think about it.”

“I wouldn't say absolutely no way, but I can’t say for sure. Try to imagine, even if you have to rely on violence to fight, there are several people I feel that it would be difficult to defeat. To tell you the truth, I can’t imagine beating Sudō or Kōenji in an honest fight with my bare hands. On top of that, there are people like you whose strength is uncertain. Even if a weapon is prepared ahead of time, or I resort to attacking in the dark, if others adopt those strategies themselves it becomes a totally different story. This really is close to impossible to determine.”

Horikita seemed to take this more seriously than I thought, and she struggled to figure out the best way she could handle it.

“That conclusion is correct. Violence can be used by anyone, but the conditions get rather complicated.”

“Having said that, I also wouldn’t be able to control it completely even if I had to lie. Besides, there are many students in the class who are better at lying than they are at being violent, so there's no way around it. That fighting style isn't for me either.”

Horikita tried several simulations but seemed unable to give an answer.

“If we limited the situation to using one of the tactics, I don't think Kushida has the ability to be violent. In other words, it's a logical conclusion to think that she used a lie to break up the class.”

“Yeah…”

“But, can she do that?”

“I don't know. It might not be impossible, but it’s definitely impossible for me.”

It’s not that hard to force a single man into a corner. But if it’s the whole class, it’s a different story.

“Can Kushida manipulate violence or lies that we can’t even imagine? Or --”

Does Kushida possess a powerful weapon that doesn’t belong to either?

I don't know what weapon Kushida uses, but she does have a high chance of breaking up our class. If Kushida was also a victim of a class break-up, she wouldn't be so hostile towards Horikita.

“Kushida-san told me to my face that she would expel the people who knew about her past no matter what. If necessary, she will also go and make alliances with students like Katsuragi-kun, Sakayanagi-san, or Ichinose-san in order to force me into an adverse situation. As a matter of fact, she already joined hands with Ryūen-kun to try to frame me. As long as I stay in this school, even if Class D is in a bad situation, she won't ease up on her attacks on me.”

“It’s really tricky. It means she has made the conscious decision to break up the class for the sake of hiding her past.”

“There's no doubt about that.”

Since she has already made such a declaration to Horikita, it would be for the best to take her threat seriously.

After making such a declaration of war to Horikita, Kushida requested to take part in the discussions with Horikita and Hirata. Publicly, it looked as if she was looking to help with the influence she had in the class, but in the background, she’s been engaging in hostile acts… That is, the possibility of her being a spy is pretty high. However, even if there is the possibility of spying, we can not simply reject Kushida. Kushida has established a lot of trust in Class D, so if she was suddenly treated like an outsider, it may provoke a feeling of distrust from those around her.

"Let me confirm one thing, Horikita. What are you going to do about Kushida?"

“What am I going to do? I only have a few options to choose from in the first place. I can insist to Kushida and say ‘I don't know the details of your past,’ or I can say ‘I will never speak about your past to anyone,’ and hope that she accepts it.”

“It’s not that easy. Kushida will continue to hold doubts no matter what, and there is a possibility that knowing that she caused a class back in middle school to collapse is enough to consider you as an enemy anyways.”

Horikita asked me for advice like this, and Kushida should be fully aware of it.

With that in mind, it's no wonder that I was included in the list of people she wanted to drop out of school…

Let’s leave this be for now.

“There is no other way than to simply talk to her, is there not?”

“I agree. This is a matter of discussion and asking for assistance. As you said, getting her to accept it from the bottom of her heart would be the only solution.”

Even if she is forced to accept it at first, Kushida will eventually vigorously resist it if she hasn’t truthfully accepted Horikita.

"Then don't think about it."

“I hear what you’re saying, and I think I’ve come to a conclusion on what to do here. In order to reach Class A, it might be necessary to make the tough decision to give up on attempting to persuade Kushida.”

After I say this, Horikita glares at me with an angry expression.

"Do you mean… Getting Kushida-san kicked out of school?"

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I didn't deny it and nodded silently. It's tactical basics to strike before your enemy does.

Horikita didn’t object to it, despite showing a look of disgust on her face.

“I didn’t expect you to propose something on the level of getting her expelled ourselves. When I had resigned to let Sudō-kun fail the midterms and drop-out, weren't you the one who convinced me to do otherwise? But I understood. I understood that while it might be easier to let them fail, we would be sacrificing the strengths that they would bring to the class later on. In all honesty, if I had given up on Sudō-kun back then, the outcome of the sports festival would have been even grimmer than it ended up being. Plus, you could even see the improvement that Sudō-kun made during the midterm exams. Am I wrong?”

So Horikita, who finds friends unnecessary and thrives in loneliness has managed to change this much. Horikita had stopped living in her own world and the sudden change had left me surprised. Even though the change is good, her response was unrealistic. Horikita hasn’t always been the best at friendly dialogue, so I have doubts at how realistic it would be to try and convince Kushida. Although I would like to praise her for her results with Sudō, the situation at hand is very different.

"This situation is not comparable to teaching people how to study to avoid dropping out of school. To be honest, I didn't think that the reason behind Kushida’s actions would be such a one-sided hatred. I agree with your point that it would be better if we didn’t have to resort to measures like this, and I’m glad to see that your way of thinking has changed, but this situation is different. As long as you’re at this school, Kushida will keep getting in your way. In this way, the unity of Class D and the institution of the school system itself will collapse. If you don’t do something about it now, are you sure you won’t regret it later?”

In response to my opinion, Horikita did not appear swayed at all.

On the contrary, it seemed as though her own stance on the matter solidified even further. Her eyebrows rose quickly.

“She is very skilled. It’s needless to say that she has the ability to get others to work together, but she’s also quite adept at observing the abilities of others. If she were willing to work together with us, she would be a really strong addition to Class D.”

I’m not going to deny that. If Kushida honestly worked to better Class D, she would indeed be quite reliable.

Having said that, is that really possible?

“The matter with her is my responsibility to face. I can't just abandon her. I’ll keep talking with her and I’ll make sure she understands.”

Did she choose the path of misery herself? Horikita seriously seems to intend to face Kushida for the sake of the class. It’s clear that no matter what I say, nothing will change her mind on this.

“I understand. If you say as much, I’ll stand by and watch.”

If you show me such a firm will with your eyes, I’ll also want to believe in the possibility of getting along together.

I wonder if she’ll be able to turn Kushida into a partner, just as she did with Sudō.

“I wasn’t asking for your help on the matter. This isn’t a problem for you to solve.”

“Yeah, it’s entirely not a problem I should interfere in.”

We had talked for a long time and almost made a full lap around campus. We should be arriving in the area Pallet is at soon.

“I told you about Kushida-san because I know you won’t say anything about it to anyone, and because I thought you would understand and agree with me.”

"I'm sorry I couldn’t meet your expectations.”

Although she merely stated her straightforward opinion, we ended up disagreeing in the end.

“Now that I have provided you with valuable information, would you please answer a question of my own?”

“What kind of question?”

Horikita stopped and looked at me with the same firmness as before. It seems that apart from the matter of Kushida, she has another thing she wants to discuss.

“After the sports festival… What did you do to Ryūen?”

“What did I do?”

To be asked this question… Horikita was the one who dealt with most of Ryūen’s schemes. I don’t know exactly what Ryūen did during the sports festival.

If the situation played out as I had theorized it would, then there’s only one response I can give her.

“I only influenced what happened at the end. I stopped Ryūen’s plan from succeeding.

“You mean you recorded the conversation Ryūen had with the others from Class C?”

I affirmed her by nodding lightly.

“A recording of another class's strategy meeting isn’t something that’s easy to get your hands on. How did you get that kind of thing? Ryūen-kun had said there was a spy, but you don’t have a deep enough connection with someone who would expose Class C, do you?”

Of course, Horikita wouldn’t know about the incident on the cruise ship between Karuizawa and Class C’s Manabe.

"I used every means at my disposal. Getting that audio file was just exercising one of them.”

"There's another thing. I'm angry that you backed me up on your own, it means that you’re acting on the premise that I will fail. But, I guess it actually turned out how you expected, so I can’t really argue with it. Moreover, I was forbidden from looking into your affairs, so I can’t ask for the answer. It was a tricky situation… If you hadn’t done something, I would… Thank you.”

“That’s a very roundabout thank you.”

I thought I was going to be severely criticized and wasn’t expecting her to finally give her thanks.

“I had promised to cooperate to a certain extent, so I will at least do that much.”

“Although I think this may be an unnecessary intercession, is it okay to make such conspicuous movements? Because of this incident, Ryūen-kun should now be entirely convinced that there is someone in Class D working behind the scenes. Logically, you’re still a candidate on his list. I think the peaceful days that you like so much are going to be in jeopardy.”

Horikita is right. The situation is not what I was expecting.

But that wish is hard to imagine now anyways. Chabashira-sensei had vaguely brought up that man, plus there’s Sakayanagi who knows my past. Ultimately, no one knows what will happen in the end. In the future, the existence of Horikita may become a trump card.

In short, I’m desperately looking for what to do to stabilize my life moving forward.

Horikita waited for my answer with a look saying ‘What do you think?’

“Oh yeah… Hold on.”

“You think for so long and can’t even answer. I'm beginning to lose my understanding of you as a person.”

“You didn't know me from the beginning.”

“That’s true.”

In any case, Horikita doesn’t have the leisure time to concentrate on Ryūen or me.

If she doesn’t deal with the poison that Kushida has hidden inside Class D, there wouldn’t be any point in thinking of other things.

(Part 1 End)