Volume 6, Epilogue: "Contrasting Decisions" Part 3

Name：Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e Author：
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Volume 6, Epilogue: "Contrasting Decisions" Part 3

“……Fuu.”

Horikita sighed and slowly looked up at the ceiling of the classroom.

“You look like you’ve done everything you can.”

“I’ve never considered studying to be a pain, but I studied more than ever before for this exam.”

“What score would you give yourself on the math exam?”

“100 points…… at least that’s what I want to say. Since there was one particularly unclear question, at the very least I can say that I scored 98 points. There were some questions with a reasonably high degree of difficulty mixed in.”

She instantly asserted her self-graded score without any hesitation.

“It’s also possible that you made a mistake or omitted an answer. Is there a chance of getting anything lower?”

“None. I’m absolutely confident that I’ve overcome this exam, at the very least. I think that I managed to get nearly perfect scores in the other three subjects as well.”

“That’s great…”

“I challenged Kushida-san to this bet on the assumption that she would manage a score of 100 points. I was thorough in my approach in order to not make even the slightest of mistakes. As a result, however, it’s just shameful since I might have failed to score the final two points.”

Humans make mistakes. It’s also possible that she scored below a 98.

This is because the problems that Kaneda created weren’t easy ones.

I don’t know if even someone like Keisei would manage to score above a 90.

Regardless, It’s not possible to say for sure right now.

If she did, in fact, take a perfect score, she would undoubtedly get the top grade in the class.

Despite tutoring many of her classmates, Horikita managed to overcome everything with her own willpower and spirit.

“Suzune, I have something I’d like to report. Do you want to head back together?”

Finished with the exam, Sudō came over with his bag in hand, a little low-spirited.

“Something you want to report? I’m sorry, but could you please say it here?”

“Today’s exams… I don’t think I reached 40 points in every subject. I’d like to apologize for that. My bad.”

It seems that he planned to apologize to Horikita on their way home, but he ended up apologizing here.

“It’s not a bad thing. The difficulty of the exam changes every time. Considering what was on today’s tests, you’ve done a good job.”

This exam was more difficult than usual, so getting lower scores is inevitable.

“I have some plans, so you can head back with your friends.”

“Are you staying too, Ayanokōji? Going home together or something?”

He gave the two of us a look, skeptical about whether or not we were going to do something.

“It has nothing to do with him. I have an appointment with Kushida-san. Is that also a problem?”

“With Kushida? No problem.”

Sudō withdrew immediately after he realized that she intended on meeting with another girl.

“I’ll head home and study then.”

“Yes, but considering tomorrow, please go to bed early.”

“I know. Kanji, Haruki, let’s go back together.”

Sudō offered to head home with them with a calm attitude, nothing like his usual harsh appearance.

You can naturally avoid the risk of failing if you learn to study. And because we can respond to each test separately without panic, a clear mind is born as well.

“By the way, what’s your arrangement with Kushida?”

“It’s not that important. Both of us should have put forward the effort to keep track of our scores, so I intend to confirm things with her.”

There’s some free time until the results of the test are announced.

If their self-evaluated scores make it clear enough, the winner of the bet could be decided without the need to wait for the official results.

However, I’ve already been convinced.

Horikita Suzune has won.

There isn’t any need to ask about the results. The outcome is clear just from looking at Kushida’s shaken appearance.

Kushida stood up and unsteadily walked out of the classroom.

“I wonder what’s wrong with her……”

“She’s probably realized that she scored lower than she expected to, right?”

“I hope so. However, he’s also pretty whimsical, after all.”

“Are you wondering about what’s going on with Ryūen?”

“In the event where he gives her the answers, there’s a possibility that she’ll score perfectly on the exam. In which case, my only options would be to lose or to draw. You and I would also have to voluntarily drop out.”

“In that case, do you intend to prostrate yourself to Kushida and beg for forgiveness?”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Horikita ran to catch up with Kushida, and I decided to follow in her footsteps as well.

“Kushida-san.”

As Horikita stepped into corridor she called out to Kushida, who slowly stopped walking.

“What, Horikita-san?”

Her face was tired and weary.

“Is right now a good time? There’s something I’d like to confirm. There will be people coming and going here, so can we change places?”

“It depends on what you want to talk about, but this location may be an issue.”

“Before you make your decision, do note that Ayanokōji-kun will be coming along as well. Since he’s been dragged into all of this, you don’t mind, right?”

Kushida didn’t say anything, but she also didn’t refuse.

She checked the time on her cell phone and nodded.

She should have arranged to meet ‘somebody’ after this.

There were still a lot of students in the school. To be on the safe side, we moved to the special building.

“The thing you want to confirm with me is, of course, our bet on the final exam, right?”

“Yes. Even though the results won’t be released until later on, we should have been keeping track of our scores.”

“Yeah…… I did.”

In this bet, Horikita gambled her future at the school, whereas Kushida gambled a substantial amount of her dignity.

Whatever the form, it is impossible for her to not have kept track of how many points she will get.

“I’m confident that I got at least 98 points. How about you?”

Although it’s small, there was anxiety and doubt in Horikita as well.

If Ryūen lends a hand to Kushida, it will have a significant impact on our fate.

Kushida wasn’t surprised to hear Horikita’s results. No, it’s as if she already knew.

“The outcome is clear even if we don’t wait for the results.”

She muttered, a slight amount of self-mockery in her voice.

“I couldn’t have scored better than 80. No, probably not even 80. So… it’s your victory, Horikita-san.”

“Is that so……”

Since Kushida’s score was lower than she expected, Horikita felt a little puzzled.

“I thought you would place higher if you focused on your studies.”

“This is just the kind of person I am.”

She answered disparagingly, and then sighed.

“Officially, this lasts until after the results are released…… I wonder if it will become my win?”

Since the school announces the results of the exam, there’s no room for mistakes.

“That shouldn’t be necessary. You won this bet. Are you satisfied, Horikita-san?”

Kushida also understood that even if Horikita made a mistake in her scoring, there wouldn’t be an error of nearly 20 points.

“Can I believe it then? That you’ll cooperate with me in the future?”

“I’ll fulfill my promise. No matter how much I disagree with it. Do you want it in writing?”

“No need. Let’s start by trusting each other.”

As Horikita spoke, she held out her hand.

She wanted to come to an agreement with a handshake.

Kushida was completely motionless. She stared at Horikita’s hand with colorless eyes.

“I hate you, Horikita-san.”

“I know. But I think I can work hard to change that.”

Horikita received her emotions head-on.

“It seems that I’m beginning to hate you more and more.”

Kushida walked past Horikita without so much as an attempt at taking her hand.

Horikita’s outstretched hand grasped at the air in vain.

ILLUSTRATION: https://imgur.com/YTBzwqE

“I won’t interfere, but I will never cooperate with you. Don’t forget this.”

“……Is that so? It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped. Those are the conditions, after all.”

“Don’t forget, Horikita-san. The only condition is to refrain from getting in your way.”

While her gaze was weak, the dark color of her eyes still latched onto me.

“That’s-”

Kushida left without another word, as if she was saying that she didn’t want to face Horikita for even one more second.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Horikita was no longer her target, but does that mean it’s now my turn?

It seems like an argument for argument's sake, but my safety was definitely not included as a term of the bet.

“I should have weighed the stakes of the bet a bit more carefully.”

That said, it’s likely that nothing will change with this.

I had come to a single conclusion. Kushida won’t keep her promise forever.

Because this isn’t something that she can easily come to terms with. In order to protect her own existence, Horikita and I are absolutely in the way. For Kushida, we’re just foreign substances.

As long as we’re still around, Kushida won’t be able to embrace a secure future.

The most that I can expect is for this temporary rest to last a second longer.

***

After parting ways with Horikita, I thought about the future.

The Ryūen Kakeru of my imagination is not the type of person to leave things unfinished like this.

Horikita certainly did a good job this time. She confined Ryūen, who manipulated Kushida, with a well placed preemptive strike.

Originally, her approach wouldn’t be very useful during a class conflict where it’s difficult for allies to betray each other, but it’s truly an effective strategy when a traitor is already lurking. However, her method can’t always be used. It’s limited to situations such as the sports festival and exams like this one.

That’s why she took the initiative to secure her brother as a witness, effectively creating a one in a million opportunity. Class D studied intensively for the month before to the final exam, so it shouldn’t be possible for us to lose to Class C. Overall, this could be considered to be a complete victory.

My phone began to vibrate.

[What are you scheming?]

I received such a message.

It’s not just me. Aren’t you scheming something too, Ryūen?

[I’ll make you pay the price for using me.]

He sent another short message, followed by another one shortly afterward.

There was a file attached this time.

It was an image file. After I opened it, it turned out to be a single photograph.

There was no text included in the message because the image alone says it all.

“As expected, Manabe and the others confessed after all.”

Although I already knew this the moment Ryūen came into contact with Hiyori.

Even if I don’t see how he handles things, I can easily imagine.

He probably utilized threats similar to intimidation and extortion in order to get to the traitor.

And now, names like Keisei’s and my own will be on his mind, deepening his suspicions.

However, he has no evidence. He also can’t come to any conclusions, given the possibility that the mastermind might still be lurking.

That being said, Ryūen’s move to corner me here undoubtedly has to be for that reason.

It isn’t necessary for me to think very hard about what his intention is with this photograph.

The fact that he has this photograph in the first place means that her background is known to a certain extent.

Depending on the situation, Ryūen’s fangs will also turn towards the person pictured in this photograph.

No, it’s more like hanging the bait in front of him is a declaration of war.

“He should've stayed silent after all.”

To think that he would reveal the information he obtained so easily. Is he enjoying this?

I was already getting somewhat tired of his obsessive searching.

I closed my cell phone and hardened my will at the same time.

It seems that there’s no reason to go about this half-heartedly if my goal is to dampen his mental strength.

If he’s intent on waging war, I’ll match up with him.

“Come at me with full force so you have nothing to regret afterward. I’ll play this game with you on your own playing field.”

I was reluctant, but I couldn’t help feeling a little excited.

***

“You're late, Kikyō. Were you having trouble slipping away from your classmates?”

“What do you mean by that, Ryūen-kun?”

Kushida appeared on a remote rooftop. She drew closer to Ryūen without trying to conceal her true nature.

“Ah?”

“The questions and answers you gave me turned out to be completely different from the ones on the exam.”

“Oh, yeah. I switched out the questions right before the deadline. What about it?”

He laughed a bit scornfully before taking a drink of mineral water from his plastic bottle.

“Like I told you. I will force Horikita to drop out no matter what I have to do. Solely for this reason, I betrayed my classmates and secretly submitted Class D’s exam questions. The condition was that I’d get the questions and answers for Class C’s math questions in return. If you had kept your promise, Horikita would’ve voluntarily withdrawn herself from school by now. And yet, you betrayed me.”

“What? Are you mad about something like that?”

“Something like that? You come out ahead against Class D, and you’re just going to end it with that?”

“You’re fundamentally misunderstanding the situation, Kikyō. The questions you made weren’t used on the exam.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I turned in the exam questions as soon as possible just as you instructed. I also confirmed everything with Chabashira-sensei. There were no mistakes.”

“You haven’t noticed yet? Suzune took the steps ahead of time to prevent your exam questions from being formally adopted. Thanks to that, we not only failed to come out ahead, but also narrowly avoided expulsion. The whole class was depending on this strategy.”

“Wait a second…… Ahead of time? Such…… No way……”

“Just wait for the results of the exam if you don’t believe me. Ten to one, Class C lost to Class D. In other words, our agreement is invalid. I can’t afford to show you the correct answers to the exam questions if I don’t receive anything in return. That’s the natural turn of events.”

“Tsk……!”

“Though I’ll tell you this, Kikyō. You have no right to bear any grudges against me so how about thanking me instead?”

“Thanking you!? I lost to Suzune, you know!? What do you want me to thank you for!?”

She thought back to the humiliation of being forced to declare defeat before Horikita. It was enough to make her blood boil over in anger.

“For you to get caught in this trap without even knowing it, you sure take things easy.”

Ryūen drew close to Kushida and grabbed her uniform.

He then forcibly unfastened the button of her blazer and began to reach inside.

“Hey! What are you doing!?”

Ryūen smiled as Kushida pushed away from him in a panic.

“Jeez, I’m not going to do anything. Search inside your pocket.”

“……Inside my pocket?”

While still on guard, Kushida slowly reached into the inner pocket of her blazer.

There was a paper feeling that she wasn’t expecting to come across. After taking it out, she found a folded piece of paper.

“What is this……”

Ryūen shouldn’t have had the time to put something inside just now. In other words, it had already been placed there beforehand. When she opened the paper, she found a list of questions and answers for the recent math exam.

However, these weren’t the questions that were on the exam that was given today. Instead, they were the ones that Ryūen originally said he would submit.

“Why is something like this in my blazer……”

“There’ll probably be more than that. There should be several cheating materials scattered throughout your personal belongings. You’ll find them if you try looking for them later.”

“I don’t understand what this means.”

“Someone in Class D was prepared to take you out. What would happen if you were accused of cheating during or shortly after the exam? What if I decided to use those questions after all? What do you think would happen if they found that paper on you after you had done well on the exam?”

“I’d be expelled? Even if I didn’t cheat? That’s stupid!”

“There should be some way to prove it if you’re truly innocent, but it’s also true that you got the answers beforehand by joining forces with me. So even if you’re determined to be guilty, it can’t be helped.”

Of course, it’s possible for her to claim that the situation was designed by somebody else. Although she’s more innocent than guilty, she’d still be tainted with suspicion. This is because of the undeniable fact that Ryūen had supplied her with the questions and answers for Class C. Even though it’s not against the rules to give these to another class, the suspicion still wouldn’t disappear. Even if she managed to avoid expulsion, suspicions of guilt would still remain and the results of the exam would become invalid. Even though these suspicions would never be anything more than speculation, Kushida would’ve also jeopardized Class D’s position, and the trouble would downpour onto Class C as well.

“When did this cheat sheet manage to……”

“You don’t have any idea? Have there been any strange things going on around you recently?”

“It’s possibly…… no, but…… I went to the final strategy meeting with Horikita and the others at Karaoke last week. I suppose something a little strange did happen then. It’s not clear why, but a girl began to throw accusations around and then poured her juice on me out of anger. After that, she insisted on taking it to the dry cleaners to make up for it. It’s understandable given the situation…… and I don’t think there’s any connection…… but it’s somehow still on my mind.”

“I’ll take a guess at who that girl is. Karuizawa Kei, right?”

“……How do you know that? Don’t tell me you saw it?”

“How could I have possibly seen it? The reason is simple.”

Ryūen tapped his finger against the side of his head to emphasize his deductive capability.

“Explain it in detail, starting from the beginning.”

Though Kushida still felt dissatisfied, she fully explained the details of the incident at the Karaoke box. That Horikita and Hirata summoned everyone together, that she had been seated at the table with Ayanokōji, Sudō, and Karuizawa, and that in the middle of the discussion, Karuizawa had picked on her and ultimately poured juice onto her blazer.

Having listened to her in silence, Ryūen connected the reasoning a step further.

“No doubt, that was a set-up.”

“Not possible. I gave my blazer to the laundromat, but I definitely checked the pockets when I handed it over. Besides, the store would have told me if there was anything I missed when I came back to get it. So even if Karuizawa had tried to set a trap back then, wouldn’t it have been meaningless?”

“Indeed, that feat would be next to impossible to pull off at that point in time. However, that wasn’t her goal. Didn’t someone want to know whether or not you had a spare uniform?”

“Spare? Even if that were the case, it’s still impossible.”

“What makes you so sure about that?”

“Are you saying that everyone there had set a trap for me and I wasn’t able to see through it? I’m not an idiot. I’m always observing the behavior and conduct of the people around me. I definitely would’ve felt something out of place if they were all lying to me.”

“Well, that’s probably right. However, the number of people who were lying to you was one or two at most.”

“Haa? How did something like that-”

“There’s nothing to worry about. If there was someone who read the situation perfectly, deceiving you is just par for the course. Someone able to trace everyone’s thought patterns, characteristics, habits, and reactions to what’s going on around them. What kind of remarks you would make. Someone who managed to completely predict everything. Someone who planned out the script to your story as you wrote it.”

As Kushida thought back to that time, she began to think all of this might be possible. In particular, Hirata’s had a way of thinking that was consistently pacifist. He would be concerned if the blazer got stained, and he would also want to deal with Karuizawa’s unreasonable anger. Since it was just before the test, he would definitely want to ask whether or not she had a spare uniform as well. She began to think that might just be the case.

“Once they learned that you only had one blazer, the only thing left to do is plant the cheat sheet in it during gym class or something. It isn’t strange that you didn’t check the inside pocket of your blazer during the one or two days after you got it back from the cleaners. I suppose that there were a lot of other times where they could have tampered with it too. Nevertheless, the important question here is who thought of it. Not Suzune or Karuizawa, at least. They’re not the type who could do something like that.”

“So you’re saying that I was ensnared by them?”

“Not long before the exam, there was a letter that charged Ichinose with illegally getting her points, right?”

“It’s the one where you set her up. Why was that? There didn’t turn out to be anything illegal after all.”

“It’s a strategy that adequately shows what type of person the mastermind is.”

“What?”

“I’m not the one who sent out that letter. The guy in Class D who set you up did.”

“I don’t get what you mean.”

“Do you think I would bother putting a letter preaching of Ichinose’s suspicions in every first-year student’s mailbox and print my name on each one? No, I wouldn’t, but since my name was written on the letters, it’s only natural that everyone will think I’m the principal offender.”

“You should’ve denied it if wasn’t you.”

“Do you think I would?”

“……No.”

Kushida understood right away. Ryūen has always had a tendency to pursue the exciting. He would’ve definitely found the situation amusing if someone sent out letters in his name. Furthermore, since he’d never heard of the suspicions against Ichinose, he’d also want to know the truth.

Then, why did they specifically write Ryūen’s name as the sender of the letter? Because if the sender is unknown, the credibility of the message would be greatly reduced. This doubt might cause the situation to be handled even more irresponsibly.

“But what was the point? They leaked out strange information, and also put you on guard.”

“I don’t know…… I’ve thought about it, but it’s unclear. Did he simply want to know for a fact about Ichinose’s large quantity of points? Or…… No, that’s not possible. It can’t be for such a stupid reason.”

Ryūen was about to say it, but then he stopped himself. It was simply too out of touch with reality.

“Hey, Kikyō. I don’t know about your past, and I’m not really interested in that sort of thing. However, if you continue persistently trying to have Horikita drop-out of school, you’re going to be wiped out.”

This strategy was prepared with great care and executed without mercy. This was definitely the character that Ryūen is looking for, X.

“Things aren’t looking good for you either. Isn’t it bad for Class C to lose this special exam?”

“That’s right. With this, your Class D is now within reach of promoting to Class C.”

“How do you feel about getting dropped down by that defective Class D?”

Ryūen didn’t feel anything in particular, even in response to Kushida’s relentless question.

This was because he never had any interest in such trivial matters from the very beginning.

“It feels fantastic. Whether it’s with class A, D, or whatever, the showdowns so far have only scratched the surface of what there is to reveal.”

“……What does that mean?”

Of course, Ryūen wouldn’t answer. However, his objective still hasn’t changed since he entered the school. While there’ve been times when things haven’t gone according to plan, preparations for promotion to Class A have been well underway.

“Do the best you can and aim for the upper class.”

Ryūen said this and then turned around, intending to leave.

“This cheat sheet……!? Wait! Isn’t there something a little strange!?”

“Kuku……”

Kushida had noticed something inexplicable after looking at the cheat sheet.

“Tell me what’s going on, Ryūen.”

“You noticed?”

Some contradiction. Something that shouldn’t be there. A new problem had swelled up.

“Why does someone in Class D have the test questions that only you and I should have? I can’t think of any reason.”

“That’s right. The reason why X was able to use these questions is because I gave them to him.”

“So you betrayed me.”

“That’s not true. It was a necessary deal to make with him.”

Ryūen took a look at his cell phone. There were pictures of the questions and answers before he changed them out.

Ryūen sent these pictures to someone’s unidentified email address.

“However…… He understands me well.”

Before Ryūen sent the pictures, he had received several messages from X.

The first one had a title that read ‘Transaction’. The content of the message was this:

[Provide Class C’s finalized questions and answers for the end of term exam.]

[Otherwise, make significant changes to the questions and answers you provide Kushida Kikyō.]

This was the message that Ryūen had received.

Usually, Ryūen wouldn’t respond to something like this.

However, X had given him useful information that benefited Class C with no strings attached.

The information was that Horikita Suzune had seen through Ryūen and Kushida’s tactics, and had made a preemptive strike. This had come out of the blue for Ryūen, who had been anticipating complete success with Kushida’s replacement of the exam questions.

If not for this information, some of his classmates who were behind in their studies might have had to drop-out. Knowing this, Ryūen had three options available to him as to how to proceed.

The first was to disobey X and let Kushida win. However, this was something that Ryūen, who didn’t want Horikita to drop out of school, wanted to avoid as much as possible. The second was to not change out the exam questions and let X expose Kushida for cheating and make her drop out of school. However, it wasn’t fun to abide by X’s ideal progression of the situation, so he didn’t consider this option.

Ryūen’s final option was to change out the exam questions and let Horikita win the exam.

“So he managed to protect Suzune, while sealing off Kikyō’s options at the same time?”

Suzune was fighting on the surface, and someone else was controlling things behind the scenes.

Ryūen couldn’t help but laugh as he thought about how his strategy of using Kushida was in turn, used against him.

“But I’m about to push him over the edge. If he doesn't show his true colors-”

He opened up the image file that he sent to X once again.

“At that time, I’ll just have to destroy him.”

Ryūen was convinced that the person in that photograph is an important piece to the puzzle of uncovering that person’s identity.

(Volume 6 End)