COTE V10 - Chapter 5 (Revised)

The Good And The Evil

Those students’ eyes were gathered at me all at once, when I entered our classroom in the morning. But they turned their gaze away immediately.
And again, they suddenly turned their gazes towards me out of nowhere. That kind of action was happened repeatedly.
Make me drop out of school. In fact, they had begun that kind of movement.
It seemed this fact was the source of the sense of discomfort that I felt yesterday.
I couldn’t see any unusual expression from the Ayanokōji group’s members, such as Akito and Keisei. I think those 4 persons’ acting skills aren’t really so brilliant that I couldn’t notice it.
Since the other party has also formed a group, naturally they were trying not to show anything unusual.
And I also shouldn’t burden those 4 persons with an extra anxiety.
Since it would be obvious to them that I even have a relationship with Kei, if I disclosed it to them recklessly. I have no choice but to deal with it myself.
“Good morning, Ayanokōji-kun.”
“Ah, good morning.”
Horikita, who seemed to know nothing, has arrived at school.
“Morning.”
It seemed Sudō was also arrived together with her, and he was greeted me almost at the same time.
“I will tell you in advance, but it was a coincidence.”
“I didn’t ask you.”
Sudō snorted proudly for some reasons, and headed to his own seat.
Perhaps Sudō wasn’t involved in this matter either.
Perhaps he was feeling that he wanted me to drop out of school, but it will greatly affect his valuation from Horikita later, if he got involved in Yamauchi’s scheme.
Besides, his acting skill isn’t really that good to keep a poker face either, right.
“……By the way.”
Horikita began to talk with me with a low voice, at the moment we both were alone.
“What.”
“Did you do something?”
“Did you neglect to mention a few words? Please ask me after you explained what it’s about.”
“Did you do something related to my situation?”
It was still an abstract way of asking too.
“I don’t know what you wanted to say to me, but I didn’t do anything. Since I have no time to concern about you, you know.”
“You have no time to concern about me? What do you mean?”
“Please don’t mind what I said.”
Our class session will begin very soon.
Judging from Horikita’s attitude, she hasn’t got in touch with her brother yet.
Well, it seemed she would take action in the afternoon.

1
It’s Friday at lunch break, and the exam will begin tomorrow.
I, Horikita Suzune, was recalling the last night’s incident.
1 e-mail was delivered to me, when I was thinking that it was about time for me to sleep.
I was recalling that my heart was pounding, when I saw the sender’s name.
It was an e-mail from Nī-san.
There was only 1 sentence written there.
“I wonder if you have nothing to regret.”
His message simply felt like he was asking me a question.
I read that message over and over again, and then I thought about it.
I wonder what I can do for myself who was at a loss.
However, this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that has come around.
If I missed this opportunity…… the next time I can hear Nī-san’s voice will be at his graduation ceremony.
“Can I talk with you?”
I made up my mind and wrote that kind of message.
All I had to do was send out that message, but my fingers felt heavy and I simply couldn’t press the send button.
“Phew……”
I caught my breath and sent out that message. All I had to do was waiting for a phone call from Nī-san.
Will he really respond to me?
That kind of anxiety was almost disappeared. The response from Nī-san was returned to me in the form of a phone call.
I was relieved instead.
I was glad that this was through a phone call. Since he wouldn’t see that my hands began to tremble.
“……It’s me. Suzune.”
“You said that you wanted to talk with me, right.”
“Yes……”
“What’s the subject of the conversation?”
“……Um, why did you send that kind of message to me……”
“Is that important matter now? Is that kind of matter what you wanted to talk with me about over the phone?”
“No, no, that’s not true.”
I felt like he was about to end the phone call, and I denied him hurriedly to prevent him.
“If only it’s fine with Nī-san…… I wonder if I can meet you in person.”
“You said in person?”
“Yes, yes.”
“I had ended my relationship with you, when you enrolled into this school and didn’t accept my suggestion to quit from this school. You have understood about that fact, right?”
It’s a harsh reality. I think that I could even get in touch with him like this, was nothing but his whim.
The distance between me and Nī-san is so far away.
I really wanted to talk about a lot of things with Nī-san. About what had happened so far, and what will happen in the future.
But…… Nī-san didn’t ask me about that kind of things.
“It’s something that I wanted to ask you in person.”
Nī-san was silent.
I continued to talk slowly.
“It’s for the last time…… I will stop getting involved with Nī-san ever again.”
That’s the only pledge I can offer to him.
“I see, I suppose it’s fine.”
──That was our conversation last night.
And now, I’m going to meet Nī-san.
Our meeting location was at a special building where no one would come near, in order to avoid other people’s attention.
Nī-san was already at that location, when I arrived at the destination.

2
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting……”
Manabu stood still quietly, and from Suzune’s viewpoint, he was the same as always.
He is the end point she has been chasing the whole time.
“Well, I wonder how long it has been since you and I, the two of us were talking alone like this.”
“……It has been about 3 years, if we didn’t include the incident right after the school enrollment.”
“Well, I guess. Perhaps it has been about that long.”
Manabu recalled when Suzune was a 1ST grade student of junior high school.
Manabu kept away from Suzune, when he decided to proceed to Kōdo Ikusei Kōtō Gakkō.
He had never thought at that time that his younger sister would follow in his footsteps.
However, Suzune was really standing right in front of Manabu.
“You said that you had something to talk with me, right. I will listen to it.”
Their conversation will be ended right away, if she still said that she wanted to reconcile with her brother at this moment.
Manabu would only tell her about the minimum information, and was going to leave without hesitation.
It wouldn’t be surprising, even if Suzune replied that way, if it was her former self.
 “It’s about the additional exam. I believe that Nī-san also knew about the 1ST grade students’ situation.”
“Yeah. It was an exam where you were being forced to choose one person for school expulsion, right.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
He urged Suzune to talk.
Suzune, who has been talking quite smooth so far, was hesitated to say it.
“Most of my personal Private Points has been spent at the Training Camp. You are wasting your time, if you were trying to rely on me.”
“It’s not that. I had never thought about trying to ask for your help…… in that kind of form.”
Suzune strengthened her resolve in order to overcome her hesitation.
“What I wanted to talk about with Nī-san today, that’s…… please── give me courage.”
Suzune said that way. And then she continued to say like this.
“I wanted to take this exam head-on. Other people have formed groups, and they were trying to control the votes. In order to prevent themselves from dropping out of school. But, they will definitely regret that someday in the future. That’s why── I wanted to stand up against it.”
Manabu stared back at her calmly, accepted that remarks and the eyes in front of him.
At the same time, he recalled what Ayanokōji had told him yesterday. About what her younger sister was trying to do.
That’s absolutely not an easy way. However, she was trying to do what no one else could do in her own way.
She came to meet with her brother and made up her mind in order to prepare herself for the worst.
“Do you have time?”
“I have no plan after this, but……”
“I see.”
Suzune was slightly confused after being asked for confirmation unexpectedly.
“I wanted to ask you a few questions, before I listened to your problem in detail. What do you think of this school?”
“Eh?”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“Ah, well…… yes, yes.”
Suzune, who had never thought that she would be asked about that kind of things, was clearly panicked.
“I, I’m sorry. That’s, um……”
She couldn’t answer his question, but Manabu didn’t do anything like criticize her.
“I honestly don’t know…… whether I enjoy it. But, I’m not bored.”
“I see.”
Suzune couldn’t understand the intention of Manabu’s question.
She recalled that it was a long time ago since she had a normal conversation like this with her brother.
“It seemed you have overcome one of your shortcomings, right.”
“My shortcomings……?”
“That’s right. You focused too much on yourself that you couldn’t see your surroundings. In other words, you are breaking free from your boring day, since you have broadened your horizon.”
“Somehow, it doesn’t seem like Nī-san’s usual self……. you know”
To Suzune’s knowledge, Manabu’s figure was a person who has a serious commitment and didn’t show that kind of smiling face.
Since she thought that he was that kind of person who wouldn’t negligent in improving himself.
It’s impossible for him to consider that the school was something to enjoy, that’s what she had thought.
“You only paid attention to my academic achievements. Since you have been obsessed with getting high scores in the tests, you know.”
“That’s── since Nī-san is the eternal goal for me.”
Suzune has been saying so many times that her brother is her goal to date.
And Manabu would show a grim-faced whenever he heard that.
“Goal, huh……”
“……I knew it already. It’s absolutely impossible for me to catch up with Nī-san. But even so, it shouldn’t be a bad thing to work hard in order to get closer to you endlessly.”
Even though she was ashamed of her own arrogance, but she still wanted him to see her stance who was trying to catch up with him.
Manabu didn’t respond to Suzune’s feeling, but he closed his eyes quietly for a moment.
“How do you consider Ayanokōji from your viewpoint?”
“……How do I consider, huh?”
“You can say honestly what you thought about him.”
“He is my classmate who I dislike. I dislike his attitude who didn’t try to make use of his ability, even though he has enough ability to be acknowledged by Nī-san. However, I’m thinking that I will catch up with him someday and I wanted to surpass him.”
“Unfortunately, but you can’t catch up with Ayanokōji.”
“Ugh……”
“But there’s no need for you to catch up with him at all. You should grow at your own pace.”
“At my own pace……”
Manabu came just a little closer to his younger sister.
It would be a distance within Suzune’s reach, if she moved a little bit more closer to Manabu on her own.
However, Suzune was hesitated to do that.
“Are you scared?”
“……I’m scared……”
Suzune couldn’t shorten that distance since childhood.
This distance was so close, yet so desperately far away.
“You have to take 1 more step forward in order to shorten the distance.”
“What should I do…… what I should do, I wonder how I can shorten this distance……”
“I will tell you the solution for that, since you immature now. So, tell me what question you are going to ask to your class after this.”
Suzune nodded, and began to think carefully about what she wanted to say to her brother slowly.

3
The time was after school, the day before the voting exam.
We will decide the person who will be expelled from school from this class tomorrow, and will be leaving his/her seat.
Although everyone felt anxious, but they were relieved and still believed that they will be safe in their mind.
That’s right, since they have decided the person who they will target and got rid of as their victim.
Make ‘Ayanokōji Kiyotaka’ drop out of school. Half of those students have agreed on that course of action.
I suppose most of my classmates were definitely feeling guilty towards me now.
But that sense of guilt was a trivial matter, if they can save themselves.
Their sense of guilt will be faded away over time.
After a year, they will be saying something like we also had such a student, you know.
On the other hand, I obviously won’t be acting like I was holding a grudge against them.
Since anyone would think hard desperately to take a measure in order not to drop out of school.
It was just me who was being targeted by them coincidentally.
He pleaded with Kushida and successfully persuaded her to help, and he brought up the voting topic due to her sympathy.
They couldn’t refuse bluntly the request from Kushida who was trusted by friends to consult about their secret matters.
Yamauchi’s strategy wasn’t bad. He did well as the mastermind who was in danger.
Unfortunately, it was me who was being targeted by him.
He should have targeted Ike or Sudō, if his action was only intended to avoid himself from dropping out of school. I suppose those 2 persons didn’t have enough ability to get away from it.
Well, that’s why the situation would never be like that, since it was Sakayanagi who manipulated Yamauchi behind the scenes.
Anyway, I also had no choice but take action in order to get rid of someone, since they would get rid of me that way.
But, it isn’t me who will stir up the trouble this time.
I’m just a low-profile student who was being targeted by Yamauchi, not the type of student who can overcome the current situation.
It’s another person who will bear the responsibility for it.
My neighbor girl’s facial expression had changed far more than I had imagined.
Her body was wrapped in an unusual aura, as if she had found her life purpose.
“Well then, our homeroom session has over. You have an exam tomorrow even though it’s Saturday, don’t oversleep, you know.”
It told us that the school is over, along with such remarks of Chiyabashira.
At the moment everyone intended to begin their preparations for returning to the dormitory after this. At the moment we were surrounded by silence.
Come on── Horikita, get moving. I believe the current you should be able to act.
My neighbor pushed back her seat and stood up.
“I wonder if everyone could give me some time.”
Horikita, who raised her voice, said like that and appealed to all the students in our classroom.
What happened, and naturally she had drawn everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, I’m sorry, but I want all of you to remain in our classroom for a moment.”
Even Chiyabashira, who was curious about Horikita’s expression, had also stopped her footsteps for a moment.
“I wonder what’s wrong, Horikita-san.”
Hirata responded faster than anyone else at a moment like this, since he was more alert than anyone else towards our class’ changes.
“There’s something that I definitely have to tell you about tomorrow’s special exam.”
“Concerning tomorrow’s exam?”
“Hey, what, what about it── But I have plan to go hang out with Kanji after this──”
“That’s…… that’s right, you know.”
Yamauchi and friend said like that, and made an excuse that they have no time.
“Well, both of you are extremely relaxed, you know. I can’t believe that both of you made an appointment to go hang out, even though perhaps someone will be expelled from school tomorrow.”
Yamauchi turned his gaze away in hurry, when she turned her gaze towards him.
“That’s…… I mean I decided to prepare myself for the worst, since there’s nothing we can do, even if we panicked.”
“Really. Wow, a splendid mental attitude, you know. Well, but unfortunately, it doesn’t mean that everyone is as splendid as you. This conversation will be meaningless unless I have everyone to remain in our classroom. Can I ask for your cooperation?”
“What the heck the conversation is about.”
“It’s about tomorrow’s exam, and who will be expelled from school. I wanted to talk about a serious matter with everyone.”
Horikita began to walk and stood in front of the podium.
I suppose she wanted to stand in a position where she can look on everyone’s face clearly.
“You said the conversation is about who will be expelled from school…… eh, what about it.”
Obviously, Yamauchi began to speak faster than usual.
I suppose he showed it unconsciously, since he sensed an alarming sign and also mixed with his own guilty conscience.
“I have been thinking about al lot of things in my own way for the last few days. I wonder who should remain and who should drop out of school. I wonder what we should do to draw that conclusion. And today, I could find the definite answer for it. So let me tell you about my answer in this classroom.”
“Wait a moment, Horikita san.”
It wasn’t Yamauchi but Hirata who stopped her.
“There’s no one in this class should be expelled from school.”
“Is that so? Perhaps there’s someone, you know?”
“That, such thing……”
“I have had a huge suspicion from the moment we were informed about this exam. We should evaluate each other in our class and choose the person who will be expelled from school as the result, but our school didn’t even provide us the time to discuss it in our class. This will be a battle to form a group and control the vote. As the consequence, there’s even a risk that those outstanding students who obviously should remain in our class, will be forced to drop out of school. We can’t call something like that as an exam.”
Chiyabashira was the first person who was being impressed by her. And then it was Kōenji.
“I don’t know what has happened to you, but you looked like a different person, you know. It was truly accurate remarks.”
Kōenji continued to say again while applauding her.
“I wonder if you could let me hear it. I wonder what you want to do about it.”
“Normally, we should discuss it with everyone, and narrow down the person who will be expelled from school. But, I know it will be difficult in reality. Therefore── let me nominate the person who should be expelled from school.”
“Wait, wait a moment, Horikita-san.”
“I’m sorry, but let me say it now. Since I will explain it properly to everyone later, the reason why I nominated the person.”
Horikita tried to speed up the conversation, in order to save the time.
“You can’t do that. I’m against you to act like this to throw everyone into confusion.”
But Hirata still refused to give in. Hirata has Hirata’s way of doing things.
“I suppose she at least has the right to speak. You can oppose it later.”
Sudō interrupted him in order to prevent his intervention.
“Red Hair-kun was right. I have even spared some of my valuable time after school, and you will waste more of my time in hindering her remarks, you now.”
Kōenji, who was also interested in this discussion, gave his support to Horikita.
“But, but……”
Horikita took that opportunity to speak up.
“I had concluded that…… Yamauchi Haruki-kun should be expelled from school in the special exam this time.”
Horikita explicitly stated the student’s name while all of our classmates were paying attention to her.
So far, many students have become the targeted candidates for the Criticism Vote behind their backs.
However, Horikita was the first person who spoke up to nominate the candidate directly in order to gather the vote in this way.
You wonder why no one did it that way.
That’s obvious, since it will provoke the resentment from the student who was being nominated one-sidedly.
More importantly, there’s a high possibility that the first person who nominated the candidate was being targeted, if his/her recommendation was failed.
“Hey, why, why it was me, Horikita?”
Obviously, the first person who reacted to her remarks was none other than Yamauchi.
Yamauchi will be targeted for the Criticism Vote, if Horikita’s reckless action was being approved by our classmates. It will be an inevitable death for him.
“I certainly have the reasons. First of all, your contribution to our class is extremely low in this 1 year period.”
“That’s, that’s not true! My test scores were even higher than Ken the whole time!”
“You were overtaken last time.”
“That’s, so…… it was only last time, right〜!”
“Fine, let’s suppose your academic ability is still higher than Sudō-kun. But you are also 1 or 2 levels inferior to him in terms of physical ability aspect.”
“Hey, I think Kanji is very similar to me as well! That guy was in last place last time!”
Naturally, Yamauchi refused to admit it desperately.
Any student will be desperate, if they were being nominated as the target for the Criticism Vote at this moment.
“Indeed, there are groups of a certain number of students with similar capabilities. Your argument is proper too.”
“That’s, that’s right. You shouldn’t nominate me, please give me a break〜……”
“However, you are still slightly inferior to them, even if we compared you with them side by side. You will be in last place, if we judged it by our class priority based on your strong and weak points, your lateness and absence, and your attitude during the lessons so far. Next is Ike-kun in the 2ND place, followed by Sudō-kun in order. I had concluded that way as of yesterday.”
“I, I’m also a candidate for dropping out of school, huh!”
Sudō was being panicked.
“You certainly had improved both your mentality and academic ability recently. However, it doesn’t mean that it can undo those many times you had burdened our class before that. Don’t you think so?”
“……Yeah, well, that’s true.”
Sudō was confronted with those facts, and he accepted it honestly.
Ike’s expression was gloomy, and perhaps he also accepted it just like Sudō.
“Seriously, how selfish the way you talk! Both of you are offended, right! Kanji, Ken!”
Yamauchi tried to provoke them both who were being identified as the candidates for dropping out of school just like himself, but they didn’t have enough arguments to deny it.
“Besides, I’m such a likeable person. Someone like Kōenji is the troublemaker who was even skipped out the special exams!”
“It’s also true that there are times when Kōenji-kun should change his behavior drastically. But he can understand the meaning of our discussion this time. There’s a huge difference that I don’t need to compare him with you in terms of the ability scores. At least he isn’t the student who should be expelled from school in the exam this time.”
Kōenji, who looked pleased, showed a bold smile and folded his arms.
“I said I don’t agree with you! I don’t know why yet, but I don’t agree with you!”
“In that case, should I tell you the decisive argument why I had chosen you particularly, even among those inferior people?”
Horikita calmly pressured Yamauchi who made commotion.
“De, what’s the decisive argument?”
Yamauchi hesitated for a moment due to her unusual aura.
“You should have something to feel guilty of and you haven’t told anyone in the exam this time. Am I wrong?”
Yamauchi was being pressured by Horikita who said it sternly.
“I have nothing to feel guilty of……”
“I will say it for you, if you have no intention of saying it with your own mouth. You manipulated Kushida-san to act as your mediator with various students, in order to make Ayanokōji-kun drop out of school, right?”
“Huh?”
Noisily, and our classroom made a commotion.
They shouldn’t have known that the main culprit was Yamauchi, even though half the number of students in our class knew about the vote manipulation.
“You were trying to make Ayanokōji-kun drop out of school……?”
Hirata was one among those who were shocked, besides the Ayanokōji group members.
It’s impossible that they would convey the conversation this time to Hirata who was safeguarding our class and always neutral.
“Yes. It’s an undeniable fact. It’s true, right, everyone.”
Many of those students were invited into the group by Kushida, who was requested by Yamauchi as the mastermind.
Of course they would be shaken when they remembered what they did, even if they didn’t make an eye contact with her.
That was enough for Hirata to realize that half the number of the students in our class were the members of Yamauchi’s group.
“That’s why…… everyone was calmer than I imagined, that’s what you mean, right……”
“You plan was begun from a small group and has expanded steadily. Perhaps that person will definitely be expelled from school, if you could gather up the majority of the Criticism Vote for that person. It was like that, right?”
“That’s, that wasn’t me!”
Yamauchi denied that it wasn’t him, but he couldn’t continue his words for an excuse.
“Then who is it?”
“I, I don’t know! However, that’s…… I was told to cast the Criticism Vote for Ayanokōji!”
It wasn’t reasonable, since he was lying in desperation.
“Tell me, if you don’t know who the mastermind is. Who has told you to cast the Criticism Vote for Ayanokōji-kun?”
“That’s…… so……”
“It’s true that you also heard it from someone, right? It’s impossible that you don’t know that person, you know.”
Yamauchi, who almost didn’t know what to do, looked around his surroundings.
“……Kanji, I heard it from Kanji! Right?”
And then he chose his best friend to take the blame.
“No, eh? It wasn’t me!”
Of course, Ike denied it.
“Is that true? Ike-kun.”
“No, no, no, it wasn’t me, it wasn’t me. I……”
Ike didn’t know what to say at that moment.
I suppose that’s obvious. The other party who had contacted and proposed that idea to him was Kushida.
He couldn’t betray her recklessly.
“That means you couldn’t answer me, perhaps you are the mastermind, as Yamauchi-kun said?”
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me! So, well…… Um, I was requested by Kikyō-chan who asked for my help…… and she asked me to cast the Criticism Vote for Ayanokōji, since there was a certain person who was in troubled.”
Ike shifted the blame to Kushida this time.
Of course, it’s impossible that Kushida would even accept this situation quietly. After all, she would have hated it more than anyone else, if she became the target for criticism.
“I can’t believe it, are you the mastermind? Kushida-san.”
Horikita would interrogate one person after another to the last.
It’s not a problem even if she couldn’t identify who the mastermind is, if she was targeting a specific person like now.
Since she will eventually reach the truth, if she interrogated one person after another like this.
“I…… um…… I was requested by a certain person who wished for my help…… and I couldn’t refuse him at all……”
“Who is that person who you defined as a certain person?”
Yamauchi shifted the blame to Ike in order to escape from trouble, but it will eventually come back to him again.
But Yamauchi, who was panicked, tried to throw the next accusation hurriedly.
“That’s, that’s right! I was persuaded by Kikyō-chan! She told me to make Ayanokōji drop out of school!”
Nobody knows when the series of interconnected blaming that started from one lie will end.
“Me…… me?”
“Everyone was told by Kikyō-chan too, right? Right? Right?”
Indeed, the mediator was Kushida who was entrusted with the role of intermediary.
But most of our classmates have known it. Kushida Kikyō was a student who would act for her friends, and not the type of girl who would frame anyone.
It showed the difference in our classmates trust in her that had been accumulated through the amount experience.
“You are so cruel, Yamauchi-kun…… I…… since Yamauchi-kun asked me to help him, even though I actually didn’t want to betray Ayanokōji-kun…… that’s why, I did the best I could do, but……”
Kushida lied face down on her desk and made an anguished voice.
I suppose that was enough for our classmates to see it too. The scene where Yamauchi pleaded with Kushida to cooperate with him in order to ask for her help.
Yamauchi’s situation was getting worse steadily.
Of course, perhaps it hurt Kushida’s feeling, but the only thing she has to avoid is being targeted for criticism in this situation.
It was she who will be expelled from school in the worst case scenario.
“……Kushida-san.”
Horikita called out to Kushida, who covered her face.
I suppose everyone thought that perhaps she would say 1 or 2 words of comfort to her.
“What you did was also a serious mistake.”
Horikita criticized Kushida in a stern tone of voice.
“You are equal to Hirata-kun and Karuizawa-san in this class…… no, you are a student who has a much stronger influence than them. Many students will follow you, if someone like you appealed to them to cast the Criticism Vote.”
“I, I didn’t mean it that way, I just wanted to help Yamauchi-kun……”
“Stop your deceptive arguments. You aren’t that kind of stupid person. You should have known from the start, what would happen if you helped him.”
Kushida, who was being criticized by Horikita’s remarks, stood up while crying.
“I didn’t think that far! But, I just couldn’t ignore Yamauchi-kun who was in troubled…… It was distressing…… I wanted to do something for him……!”
“No, you have known it. You have known this would happen and ignored the problem.”
“Ugh……”
Kushida, who was being criticized severely by Horikita, was trembling.
Kushida couldn’t talk back harshly to Horikita, even if she thought that she wanted to do it in this situation. Since it was impossible for her to take off her angel mask in this kind of situation.
It’s impossible that Horikita didn’t know that.
“It was your misjudgment in the incident this time. You should have taken an action at a much earlier stage.”
“That’s, I don’t know what to do about it either……”
“You should reflect on this incident, and make sure that your action will benefit our class from now on.”
Horikita concluded by saying that way without any intention of listening to Kushida’s excuses.
“However, it seems it’s true without any doubt that the main culprit was Yamauchi-kun.”
Her criticism was directed towards Kushida for one moment, and she began to stare at Yamauchi once again.
“Wait, wait, Horikita. I told you that it wasn’t me……”
“Ay ay, it was a very interesting discussion. However, it shouldn’t be a very strange thing for his course of actions itself to try to get rid of someone. This exam is also something for the unpopular students to compete and fight for their own survival, if we get rid of the hypocrisy. Or do you have any reason why you blamed him only intensely?”
Kōenji’s remarks were completely neutral, from the beginning to the end. Those remarks entirely turned into a statement for Horikita’s benefit.
“Well, that’s true. His action to form a group and tried to get rid of someone. It’s not something to be praised, but I think that it was inevitable in order to survive. Well, if it was nothing more than that.”
“Oh?”
“Yamauchi-kun. You didn’t try to get rid of Ayanokōji-kun just to protect yourself.”
“Wait, I said wait! That’s why I told you that it wasn’t me!”
“Hey, you are despicable. Everyone in this classroom has already believed without any doubt that it was your doing. Well, let us know. I wonder why he targeted Ayanokōji Boy, you know.”
Fine, and Horikita was nodded.
“Since he- Yamauchi Haruki-kun was secretly connected with Sakayanagi-san, and he was working under her instruction.”
Yamauchi’s truth was exposed to everyone in our class.
“That was a worrisome problem, you know. It’s troublesome if you were connected with A-Class’ students.”
Perhaps it’s the reason why Kōenji was really interested in it so far.
I suppose Kōenji has the intention of avoiding the danger by supporting Horikita, since it didn’t change the fact that he was also the target for dropping out of school.
He intended to expose the unneeded students, and our class will put them on trial.
It didn’t change the fact that Yamauchi was 1 of the most unneeded students in our class, even if he didn’t team up with Sakayanagi to target a certain person in the exam this time. It would eventually be a similar course of events.
However, I suppose we can say that I could skip quite many steps in order to trap Yamauchi, since he gave in to Sakayanagi’s temptation.
“Hey Haruki, you are connected with Sakayanagi-chan, what are you going to say……”
Besides he was even hiding the fact that he was the mastermind, his connection with A-Class has also been exposed.
I suppose even Ike couldn’t calm down.
“That’s, that’s nonsense! I mean where that sort of evidence is!”
“In that case, I wonder if you could show me your cell phone right now. You should have saved Sakayanagi-san’s contact address.”
“That’s…… I mean there’s nothing particularly strange about it, since we are friends!”
There’s nothing strange about it, if it was just a friendship.
However, it’s still fresh in Ike and friends’ memory the incident where Sakayanagi openly came into contact with Yamauchi recently.
I suppose Horikita also expressed her remarks just now in order to remind everyone about that incident.
“Are you really connected with Sakayanagi-chan?”
The remarks from Ike, who was his best friend, sounded like he sneered at Yamauchi.
“That’s, that’s why…… I mean there’s no way I would team up with A-Class! There’s no reason for me to betray my comrades, right! I really didn’t think about it! Please give me a break already……!”
Yamauchi, who held his head, pretended to be a victim.
“No. You should have received an instruction from her to gather up the students in our class and targeted Ayanokōji-kun. We know that she is much smarter than you, and she would teach you how to make Ayanokōji-kun drop out of school, right.”
“Eh, no, no, not at all!”
“In addition to that, perhaps there was an agreement as well, since Yamauchi-kun gladly cooperated with her, right. For example, there was also a temptation to date with her, or something like that.”
“Ugh!”
Bull’s eye. She has disclosed the truth that Yamauchi wanted to hide, and he looked upset once again.
I suppose that part was entirely her speculation. However, judging from his reaction, that speculation was proven to be true.
“You can’t make the student who was even better than you to drop out of school for such a worthless reason. This is the main reason why I nominated you for being expelled from school.”
Horikita asked the question not towards Yamauchi, but towards the students in our class.
“I hate to lose any comrade from our class. However, you conspired with our enemy to betray our classmate earlier than anyone else. You were trying to get rid of one of your friends…… then it proven out that you are really the unneeded student to our class.”
“That’s, that’s……”
Yamauchi was thinking hard desperately. In order to change the current situation for the better.
“Even, even if what you said just now was true…… why you were blaming me only! My action is some kind of justifiable self-defense for trying to protect myself, even if I teamed up with other class! I don’t want to drop out of school!”
“I see. You wanted to say something like what’s wrong with protecting yourself, right.”
It was a lame excuse, but Yamauchi stubbornly refused to admit his mistake.
“Indeed, it’s important to protect yourself. However, I absolutely don’t appreciate that kind of student who framed his friend in order to protect himself, and even betrayed his friend to our enemy.”
Horikita won’t be convinced, no matter how hard Yamauchi tried to resist.
“Ah, you will persistently protect Ayanokōji, since you have a good relationship with him, right!”
“You were wrong. It was the result from an objective and calm judgment. Ayanokōji-kun and Yamauchi-kun began from the same starting line. And now both of you have an obvious difference in contribution to our class, when we evaluated it from the same starting line. Moreover, there’s no room for discussion any more, if you have a connection with A-Class.”
“I have no objection. I decided that I prefer to accept Horikita Girl’s recommendation. Indeed, we can’t spend the time together with a student who has the possibility to betray our class. I suppose I will support you.”
Kōenji said so, and he was the first person who supported Horikita’s recommendation.
“I say wait a moment! Hey, I didn’t betray our class! I’m ready to lose my life for it!”
He said that he wasn’t lying and ready to lose his life for it, as if it was already his last resort.
It was doubtful at this moment how far that remarks could convince our classmates.
“Anyway, then why it was Ayanokōji!”
“I wonder what you mean by that.”
“I suppose I should get rid of those worrisome guys in C-Class without making someone like Ayanokōji drop out of school, if I were really teaming up with Sakayanagi-chan.”
I suppose perhaps Yamauchi himself felt suspicious about this matter, when Sakayanagi proposed this idea to Yamauchi.
He thought why it wasn’t our class leader, such as Hirata or Karuizawa, but Ayanokōji.
“I guess the answer to that question is, since he wasn’t someone who stood out and neither good nor bad. It won’t be easy, if you thought that you wanted to make an outstanding student drop out of school. That’s why she randomly chose him who was a low-profile student. Perhaps the most important thing for Sakayanagi-san wasn’t something like making someone in C-Class drop out of school, but since she wanted to have a spy who will make a move under her control.”
There’s no way someone at Yamauchi’s level could resist against her skillful speech strategy.
“I suppose even some of you aren’t pleased with what I said. In that case, those people can write my name, if they wanted to write it. Both of those people who wanted to write Yamauchi-kun’s name, and those people who wanted to write Ayanokōji-kun’s name. Or even someone other than these 2 persons. However, I thought that I should tell everyone about my opinion. That’s why I have been talking with you like this. Make your own decision based on that properly.”
Horikita declared she prepared to risk herself to fight. I suppose this would be effective.
However, Sudō raised his voice at this moment.
“Suzune, please wait a moment…… I understood well the context of this discussion. Haruki, that idiot had also done a bad thing.”
His expression was gloomy. Sudō, who always followed Horikita’s instructions, stood up against her desperately.
“I’m against you to expel Haruki from school.”
“Since he is your friend, right. I understand well your emotional attachment to him.”
But Horikita has already known that Sudō would defend Yamauchi that way.
However, Sudō wouldn’t give up easily too.
“I suppose that’s an obvious thing for me to defend him, since he is my friend. I think that it was horrible information, if he was teaming up with A-Class, but…… Even so, I suppose you don’t need to make him drop out of school for that reason. Therefore, I suppose we can let him reflect on it and contribute to us properly from now on.”
“In that case, there’s no need for Ayanokōji-kun to be expelled from school, since he didn’t do anything.”
“That’s, that’s──”
“Sudō-kun, what I was talking about just now wasn’t the discussion about our viewpoint like that.”
Horikita breathed out, and then worked up her remaining courage she had mustered in her heart. She was facing the battle where she prepared herself to be hated by all of our classmates.
“We will have to get rid of someone, if we wanted to protect someone. That’s why this exam isn’t about that kind of sentimental arguments, but we had no choice but to bring it to a conclusion logically.”
“Ugh……”
Sudō said nothing anymore.
He has expressed his thought to everyone that he wanted to help Yamauchi. But we have to make someone drop out of school for that.
Forming a group to control the vote. That kind of action itself is wrong.
Our each and every classmate has been acting their own way until the day before the exam.
That guy should be expelled from school, and it’s inevitable even if that person would be dropped out of school. Everyone’s mind has been filled with that kind of negative thoughts.
That’s why they have come to realize it by themselves. They realized that they didn’t take that kind of action for our class, since they just wanted to save themselves.
I suppose it wouldn’t show the result this far, even if she raised the issue to everyone like this time on the day the exam was announced.
More importantly, it wouldn’t have any effects, even if Horikita raised the issue to everyone when the exam was in the situation where they didn’t face each other.
However, everyone supposed to understand it now. Just how difficult and scary it was to take the initiative to make our classmate drop out of school.
“I’m sorry Haruki…… I can’t do anything for you……”
Honestly speaking, I was surprised by how much Sudō has grown. His nature is still remained gotten provoked easily and getting angry easily, but he has broadened his horizon little by little.
He made the judgment calmly, even though he has to choose between Yamauchi who was his close friend, and me who relatively have a close relationship with Horikita.
“It seemed it has been decided, right.”
Kōenji and others as the spectators were trying to make their decision.
“Hey, wait, wait, wait a moment!”
Yamauchi shouted to stop that decision.
“I told you it’s ridiculous to cast the Criticism Vote for me!”
“I have made up my mind. There’s no one more suitable for the Criticism Vote than you.”
“Hey, even if you thought so! I have already made an agreement with everyone! They said they will cast the vote for Ayanokōji!”
“……I, I take back my words……”
“Ah……?”
Kushida, who cast her eyes down, muttered softly.
“I have made a mistake…… I didn’t consider anything just because I wanted to help Yamauchi-kun. I withdraw what I had requested to everyone in order to cooperate with me……”
Kushida also had no choice but to support Horikita in order not to lower her own evaluation at this moment.
“Hey, wait a moment. What are you talking about! It’s despicable to break your own promise like that, right!”
“Hey, it’s you who were despicable, Yamauchi-kun…… I can’t believe you betrayed our classmate…… like that……”
Yamauchi was completely alone now.
He should have sensed it clearly more than anyone else, the fact that most of our classmates’ criticisms have turned towards himself.
“You are the least capable person in this class. And you are the person who betrayed your own comrades.”
She simply stated it calmly and coldly.
“That’s all my opinion.”
Horikita, who said like that, tried to conclude the discussion.
It seemed that there’s no one who could oppose Horikita anymore.
“Finally, I wonder if could hear everyone’s opinion at this moment. I wonder what everyone thought about it.”
However──
“I want you to wait a moment, Horikita-san.”
“……I wonder what you wanted to say.”
One male student raised his hand and stood up.
If only there was someone who Horikita had disregarded in this situation, it would be none other than this figure, Hirata Yōsuke.
“I was asked in order not to interrupt the discussion, but I’m against you to influence the vote in that kind of way and approach. It’s wrong to get rid of each other like that amongst our comrades.”
He is neither emotional type like Sudō nor theoretical type like Horikita. It was the resistance from Hirata, who has been distressed, since he couldn’t find a solution.
“We have no other way than that. There’s no loophole in this exam. It’s an unreasonable exam where someone in our class should definitely be the victim. Haven’t you accepted that yet?”
“It can’t be accepted, right. I…… I don’t want to lose anyone. It’s different if they wanted to drop out of school, but whether Yamauchi-kun or Ayanokōji-kun really didn’t wish to drop out of school.”
“Didn’t wish to drop out of school? There’s no way we could find anyone who wished to drop out of school anywhere. Oh well, in that case, I will deliberately ask everyone that pointless question. Any student in this class who was thinking that you don’t mind, even if you would be expelled from school, could you please raise your hand? So, we don’t need to argue about it with each other, if someone like that showed up. Everyone unanimously will gather the Criticism Vote for that person, and we will end our discussion.”
None of those students who raised their hands. He/she has already announced his/her candidacy, if that kind of student was existed.
“I wonder if you understood now.”
“You can’t do that. There’s no way I would approve this kind of horrible discussion.”
He is a flawless honor student. A fine person in both academics and sports.
Hirata Yōsuke’s weakness was exposed just like that. He was overwhelmed and couldn’t do anything about it, in a situation where he was forced to make a choice.
“No matter what you think, I will fight in the way I believed in. Let’s take a vote now in this place.”
“It’s pointless for us to take a vote like that. There’s no guarantee who will vote for whom on the exam day.”
“That’s not true. It’s important, even in a sense to determine our classmates’ course of actions.”
“We can’t do that. Everyone…… everyone is trying to make someone expel from school, such thing……!”
To Hirata, he was afraid that it would trigger disputes amongst our classmates. Since it will expose the fact about who hates who.
“Well then, let me hear your opinion.”
Horikita, who ignored Hirata, was trying to take a vote.
No one could stop Horikita anymore.
So, it was time for us about to make the decision.
“Horikita-san!”
Boom! And a loud sound was echoed across our classroom.
I wonder if anyone had imagined that scene even once.
The desk, which Hirata kicked hard, was rolled over and flew forward violently.
“Wait, eh, Hi, Hirata-kun?”
I heard a voice from the girl who said it in disbelief.
Even I felt the same.
This kind of incident made us wanted to think that he got carried away and his foot accidentally bumped into his desk.
It was similar, even for Chiyabashira.
It was an unbelievable action from the guy who was extremely unexpected.
“Would you stop it, Horikita-san?”
Even his tone of voice was low, as if he was trying to intimidate the other party.
“……What do you ask me to stop?”
Horikita brushed her bangs and asked Hirata a question in return in order to hide her shock.
“I’m telling you to stop taking a vote.”
“You have no right to do so……”
Horikita was also intimidated by the other party’s remarks, and her voice was slightly trembling.
Hirata right now was so intimidating.
“This discussion is wrong.”
“What the heck do you call as the correct solution, if you said that even this discussion is wrong? You had spent your time until today without doing anything, since you didn’t know it either, right?”
“……So what.”
“……That’s why I’m saying that it’s a problem. It’s not a proper evaluation.”
“Shut up……”
“No, I won’t shut up. I──”
“Horikita…… shut your mouth for a moment.”
Hirata stated coldly to Horikita who was talking back to him.
He stopped Horikita’s words with the coldest and harshest remarks so far.
I suppose this was what we would call as if the air was frozen.
“All right, everyone listen up.”
Hirata changed his tone of voice as if he was a different person, and he gave an instruction to our classmates.
“It doesn’t matter whether the conversation just now was truth or lie.”
“……It’s a lie! It’s a lie, Hirata! I’m a victim!”
Yamauchi, who was always being suppressed, took the opportunity and shouted.
“A victim?”
“Ugh……”
Hirata’s eyes pierced and saw through Yamauchi’s mind.
“So many facts have been exposed. There’s no way you had nothing to do with it, right.”
“That’s, because……”
“I feel disgusted with the conduct of you guys who didn’t even feel anything to get rid of our comrades.”
His anger wasn’t only towards Yamauchi, but also towards all of his classmates.
“Hey, this is the exam, and it’s an inevitable thing.”
“Even so, it’s wrong to manipulate the vote.”
“The exam is tomorrow. It’s the same as you even tolerated Yamauchi-kun’s betrayal, if we face the exam without any countermeasures like this.”
“What’s wrong without any countermeasures, huh? We have no right to judge our classmates.”
“What are you talking about……? Isn’t that what we have been was looking for in the special exam this time? In fact, many students were expecting it.”
Horikita was standing on the podium and receiving those students’ gazes, that’s why she has noticed it.
But Hirata wouldn’t admit it.
“──Don’t you think that you were being wrong?”
His low and heavy voice was echoed in our classroom. Our brains still refused to acknowledge that this cold voice was belong to Hirata.
“Indeed, the exam this time is obviously too cruel and too ruthless. I have never been able to accept it. However, it’s nothing more than a natural voting form, if we still could tolerate it somehow. It’s absolutely not something in order to influence other people and get rid of each other like this.”
“Well, it’s an empty talk. Almost everyone in our class has formed a group in secret, and they have been repeatedly discussing about who they should get rid of and who they should protect. It’s just that their target was Ayanokōji-kun.”
“That’s true. That was a horrible conduct too. Even so, it’s different from the action like yours who openly requested everyone in our class in this way.”
“It’s the same. It won’t change anything. You even should have stopped that action, if you wanted to maintain your hypocrisy.”
No one could interfere in the conversation between them both. I suppose someone like Horikita who could talk to Hirata who was in despair now.
“Besides, I have conveyed my thoughts to everyone, even if we didn’t take a vote at this moment. The natural form that you expected, has already gone without any traces, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s right…… the incident has already happened. Therefore, I can’t take back what has been said.”
Hirata suppressed his anger, and then he continued.
He regained a little bit of his composure, but his cold expression didn’t changed.
“Therefore, I will specifically write Horikita-san’s name tomorrow. I won’t tolerate you who have created the unwanted situation in this class.”
Hirata himself was well aware that he has many contradictions. Even so, he got along well with everyone in our class, and he had valued peace more than anything, that’s why he was suffering.
“Fine. Do as you like.”
Horikita didn’t express any dissatisfaction, and she prepared for the consequences, if we agreed with Hirata.
Chiyabashira, who has been watching the confrontation between those 2 persons to the end, had approached the podium quietly.
“You are done, Horikita.”
“Yes.”
She yielded the podium to Chiyabashira and returned to her own seat.
The class session has already ended, and a teacher shouldn’t interfere with this matter either.
However, Chiyabashira has deliberately interfered in students’ issue.
“I suppose you guys said that this exam is unreasonable and spoke ill of the school. However, this kind of situation will definitely happen where you have to get rid of someone, once you entered the society. At that time, the person who was the top executive or managerial position has to make that tough decision. The students, who studied at this school, have been nurtured to become a great figure for Japan in the future. You won’t grow up, if you considered the exam that was being held at this moment as a mere harassment by our school.”
Those people who were a hindrance in the society will naturally be terminated in order to protect the company.
I suppose they were also influencing other people by making an agreement in secret and bad-mouthing their target as what had happened today among those series of incidents.
We could say that this special exam certainly has contained the elements in order to make people grow up.
However, it’s definitely not a pleasant thing for many of the students who are immature children both physically and mentally, were being forced to make that judgment.
Perhaps some of the students would be distressed by the impact of this exam.
“I absolutely have no intention to interfere in today’s discussion. I think that everyone’s proposal had their merit. Furthermore, you should consider it properly to cast your vote.”
Chiyabashira, who had heard our entire discussion, said like that and left our classroom.
Whether it’s me, Yamauchi, Horikita, or Hirata, or any other student.
It’s completely unknown who will write who in the voting tomorrow.
In short, sometimes they could even change their response just before the vote and even at the last minute.
We don’t even need to blame anyone for it. This special exam is that kind of exam.

4
Haruka and friends in-group immediately came to me when school was over.
Both Horikita and Yamauchi have left our classroom early.
“You have free time after this, right?”
“Um? Yeah.”
I actually wanted to talk with Hirata for a moment, but…… Hirata alone left his seat quietly without showing any emotion.
I suppose it’s also not a good idea to ignore my group, since the news has spread.
“Let’s go to the café.”
We left our classroom by forming a group openly after we agreed to such suggestion.
No one tried to change that stance even after we got out of the hallway.
“I wonder if you guys don’t mind it. You will be targeted by Yamauchi’s group if you are being careless.”
“Just bring it on, if they intended to target us, right. I will never let anyone from our group drop out of school.”
Haruka, who was different from her usual self, was slightly angry and didn’t change her stance.
“I have the same opinion as you. There’s not even 1 reason for Kiyotaka to drop out of school.”
Keisei agreed with Haruka’s opinion, and followed by Akito and Airi who also nodded resolutely.
“I had thought that it was really strange, since we didn’t even receive any information at all. Of course, it was reasonable, since it was someone in this group who was being targeted by the other party, right.”
We couldn’t even notice the sign of their target, no matter how long we took an action in order to investigate it.
It seemed Keisei has understood after he knew that reason.
Haruka began to talk, as soon as we arrived at the café and finished getting our own drinks.
“I think that Yamauchi-kun is our first excellent choice for our Criticism Vote. Rather, we should do so.”
“I have no objection, but what about the other 2 votes.”
“Not only Yamauchi-kun, we can also choose from those people who still took his side.”
“Don’t you think that the number of those guys who publicly took side with Yamauchi have decreased drastically, after knowing the fact that he was connected with Sakayanagi? I suppose even Ike and Sudō can’t say it openly to support him.”
“But as his friends, I think that they will cast their Praise Tickets of their sympathy for him.”
I suppose Haruka’s prediction was correct.
Yamauchi only took an action in order to protect himself, even though we said that he was a traitor.
We can even interpret it that he was only being manipulated by Sakayanagi, if we changed our viewpoint. It doesn’t mean that there’s no room for sympathy.
Well, it was Horikita who provoked our class in order to direct the hatred towards Yamauchi…… No, it was me who caused it though.
Yamauchi was the mastermind, and there was Sakayanagi behind the scene.
I told Horikita’s brother about this fact, and I asked the brother to tell his younger sister.
But I even would personally have done the same thing as Horikita, if she didn’t take an action in the worst case scenario.
“Well, I wonder how many Criticism Votes actually will be gathered for Kiyotaka. From the boys, first on the list are Yamauchi, Ike and Sudō, and then those who are close with Yamauchi, such as Hondō, Ijuin, Miyamoto, and Sotomura, have a high possibility of it.”
We could consider no more than 7 Criticism Votes from the boys.
“What about the girls?”
“I think that Horikita-san will definitely cast the Praise Ticket for Kiyopon, and the Criticism Vote for Yamauchi-kun. Well, but I don’t know what those other girls will do…… Airi, do you know about that?”
“……I think that perhaps Satō-san and Karuizawa-san won’t cast the Criticism Vote for Kiyotaka-kun……”
“What’s the reason?”
“I have no reason either way, but……”
“It’s the thing called a woman’s intuition, you know.”
“Well, we can’t rely on it.”
Keisei didn’t intend to take that into his consideration.
“That’s not true. But I believe she is surprisingly accurate. If it’s what Airi wanted to say.”
“What do you mean? It’s what she wanted to say. Leaving aside Satō, but we don’t know anything about Karuizawa, right.”
Keisei, who didn’t understand clearly, looked confused.
“It’s fine, never mind that. Anyway, that means we can exclude those 2 persons.”
“It’s sloppy, you know……”
“However, I mean that we don’t know anything about those other girls, even if we excluded 3 persons.”
“Well, I guess so. But, there are many girls who don’t like Yamauchi-kun. I guess they will write Yamauchi’s name on the Criticism Vote, even if they faithfully kept their promise to write Kiyopon’s name.”
“Well, that’s true, if we considered it psychologically. It was safe for those guys who wanted to survive, no matter who they will get rid of, if they listed up and wrote those students who have a strong possibility to drop out of school for now. Kiyotaka, I suppose we can conclude that it will be a one on one battle between you and Yamauchi. Well, I suppose the remaining votes will be scattered, right.”
Keisei expressed his conclusion, after he listened to the information.
Kōenji was the main candidate for gathering up the Criticism Vote, but I suppose it would be slightly decreased too.
In short, those who cast the Criticism Vote for Kōenji means that they disregarded his true ability.
Kōenji’s position dropped to around 4TH place or 5TH place, since there are several students who have been a hindrance to our class.
“Kiyotaka-kun, you are definitely safe.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
There should also be a certain part in the mind of Airi, who was anxious and wondered if the remaining 1 in 3 names for the Criticism Votes will be turned towards herself. But she gave me a very encouraging word without showing it.
“Anyway, Kiyopon, you are the calmest person, you know.”
“My mind was filled with anxiety, since there’s simply nothing I can do.”
“Don’t worry about it. Your situation isn’t bad with Horikita’s help, and on the contrary, it seemed you have been saved.”
Without Horikita’s recommendations, many students would have faced the exam day knowing anything.
And they would have filled in my name, since they wanted to save their own selves without thinking deeply.
It’s easy to imagine such a possibility.
“But…… I wonder how Horikita-san had found out about Yamauchi-kun’s betrayal.”
Airi suddenly raised that kind of question.
“It was normal for our group not to receive that information, since we are close friends with Kiyotaka-kun, right? I thought that perhaps Horikita-san’s situation should be similar to us as well……”
“Well, that’s certainly true…… Horikita didn’t even show any particular actions to form a group.”
I suppose Yamauchi was also feeling angry about that matter at this moment.
He should be thinking that someone in the group that he had formed had betrayed him and leaked that information to Horikita.
But I suppose he didn’t have time to notice and mention that matter during the incident just now.
“We don’t know who it was, but that means there was a fellow who didn’t want Kiyopon to be expelled from school, right?”
“Well, that’s true. It’s a reasonable conclusion.”
No one noticed that the fellow was Kei and myself.

5
On our way back to the dormitory. We noticed Hirata, who was sitting on the bench without any expression.
I suppose anyone else would be hesitated to call him out, if they saw that expression.
Since he was in an unusual state that we had never seen before, that’s all.
“It seems he is very annoyed, right.”
“Yeah. It’s unlike Hirata’s usual self.”
Both Haruka and Akito immediately understood his strange behavior.
“I think that I should talk with him for a moment.”
“Hey, don’t do that, Kiyotaka. Don’t you think we had better leave him alone for now?”
“I guess. However, there’s something that I’m slightly concerned about.”
“What you are concerned about?”
“I’m sorry, but please go back to the dormitory first. I have a feeling that Hirata won’t be pleased at this moment, if I talked with him, along with many people. I’m better off alone, if he would even hate me in the worst case scenario.”
“……I understood, but tomorrow is the voting day. You had better not recklessly provoked him too much. Honestly, since Hirata is the most unpredictable person at this moment, he will cast his Criticism Vote for whom, you know.”
I nodded in response to Akito’s advice and separated myself from the group.
Everyone understood the situation, and I was grateful for their decision to return to the dormitory without delay.
I took a photo of Hirata, who looked dispirited from a distance before I came in contact with him. And then I sent it to Kei with few words.
“Hirata.”
I didn’t waste this opportunity and called out to him immediately after that.
“……Ayanokōji-kun.”
“I wonder if you have some time.”
“Certainly. Me too, um. Well, I wanted to talk with you.”
Perhaps Hirata has been waiting for me. Otherwise, it would be pointless to keep on sitting in a cold location like this.
He wasn’t sitting in the middle position of the bench either, but close to the edge. We can even interpret it that he had made a space in order to welcome someone.
I sat down on that vacant bench.
“The warm spring will be coming soon, right.”
“Well, that’s right.”
“I…… I believed that we could welcome the spring with everyone. No, I still believe it somewhere in my heart.”
Hirata still said that way, even though there was an incident where our class was nearly collapsed.
He hadn’t changed his belief, even though he had shown his foolishness and unpleasant image to everyone.
“I don’t want to lose anyone……”
“It was a hopeless problem. Either me or Yamauchi, or someone else will definitely be the victim.”
Hirata’s side face didn’t show any emotion.
“I wonder if I can entrust it to you.”
“What you wanted to entrust it to me.”
“It’s about our C-Class. I want you to lead everyone in place of me from now on.”
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense. I can’t do such a mighty task. Hey Hirata, you should do it yourself, if you thought that you wanted to protect those people in our class.”
“That’s impossible. I…… can’t do it anymore.”
He felt disgusted with himself who couldn’t make a decision.
I suppose he has even though that way. However, it wasn’t only that.
“I made the same mistake again. I should have regretted it at that time, but……”
His eyes were filled with tears of his regret.
I wonder how much Hirata has been tormented by anxiety during the exam this time.
“But I will also be relieved to entrust our class to someone like you, you know.”
Phew── and he exhaled out a white breath.
It entirely wasn’t the face of the central figure of our class who looked dazzling and admirable.
“You can write my name, Yamauchi’s name, and then Horikita’s name in the special exam this time.”
“You mean that I should leave the decision to those other students, right.”
There’s no need for Hirata to take an action to narrow down from these 3 persons to 1 person. Those remaining 39 people will do it on their own.
“Just as I thought, you are amazing, Ayanokōji-kun.”
“I’m not amazing at all.”
“Horikita-san and Yamauchi-kun had come to me separately while I was sitting here. Horikita-san asked me to cast the Criticism Vote for Yamauchi-kun, and Yamauchi-kun asked me to cast the Criticism Vote for you. Well, although each of them has a different way of request. But you are the only person who didn’t try to get rid of our comrades. It’s not something everyone can do.”
Since that was sensible based on my strategy.
It’s not a good idea to forcibly take 1 vote from Hirata at this moment. I just came to that kind of conclusion.
“I’m glad I could talk with you. I also felt like I slightly found the solution.”
“Really.”
Hirata stood up.
You had found a way to overcome this exam on your own, right. However, I can’t approve it.
“Let’s go back to the dormitory.”
He reminded me like that, and Hirata and I returned to the dormitory without exchanging any words.