“Kasumi-chan, fight on! If you give up, the match is over!”
“Y-Yes……that’s right! I’ll do my best!”
While Kurashiki offers insincere encouragement, Asahina-san manages to squeeze out her next words.
“But, Amamori-kun. It’s not about profit. If we set the opponent’s expulsion as a condition, it’s no different from what we’re doing with Netsuhara-kun and Shinzaki-kun. I don’t want to abandon anyone. Even if we could expel Shinzaki-kun, I wouldn’t want that.”
……I know. That’s why I forced out a reason that Makibi might accept, just to avoid expelling Shinzaki. You could at least thank me a little.
“……Hmm. What a shame. If someone hadn’t interrupted, it might’ve worked.”
This time, Sakaki-sensei looks at me. Her eyes clearly say, [Does anyone else have an opinion?]
……Normally, Kurotsuki would be the one saying this. He’s the one who handles these things.
But since he’s down, I can’t complain too much.
“That’s true. How about changing the [Knockout] rule?”
At my suggestion, Karasuma in the front seat claps his hands, saying, [That’s it!]
“That’s great! For example……attaching something like a glowing [target] that lights up when hit! If it lights up, you lose, something like that? Anyway, it’ll drastically reduce the chance of dangerous things happening! What’s up, Amamori? You’re unusually active today!”
“It’s just that I’m scared of Shinzaki. I’ve been beaten up a lot.”
Starting with Karasuma and me, many opinions spill out from the class.
Among the mixed bag of ideas, Sakaki-sensei picks out a few that stand out and writes them on the board.
Of course, we won’t be able to add all of them as rules.
But we should be able to introduce about half of them.
It’s finally starting to take shape, I think, as I let out a big sigh. Even though the conflict hasn’t officially started yet……I’m strangely mentally exhausted.
Maybe it’s because I’ve spoken in front of people for the first time in a while.
Or perhaps……it’s because I anticipate this fight will be far more grueling than expected.
Either way, this time, I’ll fully lend a hand.
Not as the leader of the Night Banquet, Yatagarasu.
But as a student, Amamori Yuuto, as an individual.
☆☆☆
After school that day, I headed to the hospital.
……Well, to be precise, it’s more accurate to say [we] were heading there.
“Huh, Amamori, you’re the type to visit people in the hospital? That’s unexpected.”
“Am I being made fun of?”
When I ask the girl walking next to me, she waves her hands in a fluster.
“No, no, no! It’s not like that!”
“That’s your fault, Higarashi. Choose your words better.”
“Shut up, Manabe! I don’t want to hear it from you!”
The red-haired girl, Higarashi-san.
And the glasses-wearing otaku, Manabe-kun, who’s complaining about her.
The three behind us watch their interaction.
“Those two get along well, huh…… Are they from the same hometown?”
“Yeah, well, we’ve been friends since middle school. Higarashi-san, Manabe-san, and I.”
“Wow……! This school has such a high acceptance rate…… It’s amazing that all three of you got in and ended up in the same class……!”
The girl? No, the unmistakable boy, Ishino.
The high schooler still stuck in his chuunibyou phase, Tendou-san.
And our wonderful angel Hoshina san.
And me, making a total of six. All members of the Literature Club, walking to the hospital.
Today’s goal is to visit Kurotsuki, who still hasn’t regained consciousness.
I had set aside my after-school time for this, but unfortunately, I got caught by them.
They didn’t have to come along……
Hiding my inner thoughts, I join the conversation of the three behind me.
“Students gather here from all over Japan. ……It really is an amazing probability.”
“That’s right! For me, there are……let’s see, four people from my hometown……”
“Four!? Hoshina-buchou, that’s an even more amazing probability! It feels like Destiny, doesn’t it!?”
Destiny. The moment I heard that word, Hoshina-san blushed and looked up at me.
“Eh? What’s with that reaction? I’m feeling the destiny too, you know?”
If it weren’t for me, someone else might’ve seriously misunderstood and proposed marriage right then and there.
Phew, that was close. The sheer preciousness of it all almost made me die of shock.
“Hey, Amamori, your eyes are bleeding… are you okay?”
“Ah, my apologies.”
I wiped the blood tears with a handkerchief and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.
“But… I wonder what criteria this academy uses to select its students.”
“Well, you can’t just brush off the blood tears… but yeah, I get what you’re saying.”
Higarashi-san, who had been giving me a look of disbelief, seemed to agree with the sentiment.
“It’s not based on academic ability, right? Just looking at our class, at the top you have Kurotsuki, and at the bottom there’s Kirido… well, Kirido might’ve actually been smart academically, who knows?”
[That’s definitely not it…]
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
Everyone except Hoshina-san chimed in, overlapping their voices at Higarashi-san’s suggestion.
Kirido… was actually smart?
No, no, no, no. That can’t be right.
From every angle, that guy was an idiot. If anything, I wonder how he even got accepted in the first place.
“Um, about Kirido… he’s…”
“Ah, sorry! He’s not even worth mentioning to Hoshina-san. Don’t worry about it!”
Higarashi-san spoke harshly of Kirido, who was no longer with us.
Not that I’d correct her since it’s the truth… but kicking a dead man is a bit harsh, don’t you think?
Though I’m the one who got him expelled, so I guess I can’t talk!
“There’s probably some condition, but maybe it’s just completely random among those who meet it? I didn’t think I’d get in with those odds…”
“No, Ishino-san! I’m sure there’s some grand conspiracy behind the student selection! For example… yes! Only those with exceptional compatibility for special abilities are chosen—”
“Ah, the hospital’s in sight now.”
Tendo-san’s wild theory was shut down in a single sentence by Ishino.
She looked visibly dissatisfied, but listening to her delusions wouldn’t get us anywhere.
“No! My intuition tells me! There’s definitely some horrifying conspiracy swirling around this academy! No doubt about it! That kind of setting is way more interesting!”
“Tendo’s intuition is usually pretty spot on, though. Maybe today’s just an off day.”
As we chatted like that, we soon arrived at the hospital.
As usual, we entered through the main entrance.
The heat outside felt like a lie as the cool air conditioning inside the hospital greeted us.
Relaxing in the pleasant coolness, we headed toward the elevator. We could’ve taken the stairs, but… Tendo-san was with us. She’s about three to five times more fragile than the average person, so there’s no way she could handle climbing stairs.
When we reached the elevator, the doors were just about to open.
The person inside stepped out.
Suddenly, my feet stopped.
Seeing that person, my heart almost stopped in shock.
“…Oh my.”
“Ah, Principal Yagumo!”
Hoshina-san called out to the man.
His pure white hair was slicked back with wax,
and he wore a black suit with perfect elegance—a man who epitomized adulthood.
He wore the same annoyingly gentle smile as before, but he seemed slightly surprised to see us.
“You’re… from Class 1-C, right?”
“Y-yes… You remember us?”
Ishino asked cautiously, and Principal Yagumo chuckled cheerfully.
“Of course. I was thrilled to have so many new students, so I made an effort to memorize all your names.”
As he said this, he looked at each of our faces one by one.
“Ishino Makoto. Manabe Satoshi. Higarashi Chacha. Tendo Yuji… and Hoshina Tsubomi.”
He called out everyone’s names, and finally stopped in front of me.
“…And Amamori Yuto.”
The man looked down at me.
Behind his gentle smile, his narrowed eyes seemed to swirl with suspicion.
“…Have we met somewhere before?”
“I think this is our first meeting. I don’t recall the name Yagumo Yorihito.”
“Is that so? Well, that’s good then.”
I thought that would be the end of it…
but the man remained standing in front of me, staring intently.
“…Something wrong?”
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