401 5.1

The peak of the snowfall had passed, and the thickly piled-up snow painted pictures as it melted.

There was still some snow left in the shadows, but it was probably just a matter of time.

However, getting called by Ryūen around the end of the year like this…

There was a chance for him to converse with me at the school festival, and we even coincidentally ended up in the same group for the school trip, but we shouldn't have had any interactions after that.

In the midst of winter break, it was hard to imagine any conversation related to exams.

Not knowing what the matter was, I arrived at the Keyaki Mall's north entrance almost exactly at the promised time.

Ryūen wasn't there, but instead, another person was leaning against the wall with their arms crossed.

"Katsuragi? This isn't a coincidence, is it?"

Keyaki Mall hadn't opened yet. There was no reason to be there at that time unless you needed to be the first person in the store.

"You got a call from Ryūen, didn't you? It's the same for me."

If Katsuragi was also being called, it didn't seem to be just some small talk.

"It's a bad habit of Ryūen to unilaterally call us out whenever something happens."

Since transferring from Class A to Ryūen's class, Katsuragi had been active with Ryūen in many instances.

"You've become quite the strategist. It seems that even Ryūen trusts your abilities."

"That would be nice."

While he didn't show a happy expression, it didn't seem like he was completely displeased either.

"So, what's the reason for the call?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask Ryūen directly."

It seemed that even Katsuragi, who was likely called out in the same way, wasn't informed of the details of the conversation.

"You must have guessed it would be some unpleasant scheme. I'm sure you're aware of that as well."

"Well, there's a possibility of it being a troublesome matter."

"Then you could have ignored it."

"Wouldn't that just make it more troublesome later?"

"That's limited to ordinary students. Your name comes up occasionally, but he mentions it with the highest praise. It's proof that he understands that you're an opponent he can't beat now."

"Praise? ...I can't imagine."

"Erase him, crush him, kill him. Any of them would be a great compliment, right?"

"That's not a compliment. It's a disaster."

Half of it might've been Katsuragi's teasing, as he slightly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

"There's no one outside of the class who's equal or better than him. And there's no one who can truly talk to him. In that sense, your existence is also important to him."

Sakayanagi would also be fine in terms of being his equal or better, but she was the opponent right in front of him that needed to be taken down.

We didn't have a relationship where we could honestly talk to each other.

"Still, it's amazing that you were able to defeat Sakayanagi, even though it was a special exam where you had advantageous elements. It would be nice if this broke her pride a little."

"Sakayanagi did what she could and lost, so the impact of the defeat will be limited. We were just riding the wave that was coming along due to multiple things lining up to our advantage."

"Riding the wave, huh? But it's also a special exam where you can't win without having strengths, even if you do handstands."

Katsuragi praised that our victory was undeniably due to the strength of the class.

"On the other hand, your class seemed to be far behind Ichinose's class."

"That class takes on any special exam with a positive attitude, adheres to the basics, and holds itself together."

It wasn't an opponent that could easily be defeated, Katsuragi analyzed.

"Our class's task is clear. Our academic ability is overwhelmingly inferior compared to other classes. We have to do something about it; otherwise, we'll have to face several unfavorable battles in the future."

The challenges were visible, but improving them would be incredibly difficult.

Academic ability wasn't something that could be acquired overnight.

"In the last special exam, I told them to give up short-term gains and raise the academic ability of the entire class, but Ryūen didn't seem to want to listen."

If they couldn't win with a straightforward approach, they tended to rely on underhanded tactics and surprise attacks.

"However, just leaving it alone won't lead to a breakthrough or resolution to the current situation. People are interested in that they unconsciously choose their opponents. Ryūen uses all the members of the class like his limbs, but even so, there will always be students that he values and those that he hardly uses."

"It's not just about abilities, is it?"

If there were obedient students like Ishizaki and Albert, who tended to get involved in trouble easily, and those who were rebellious and disliked wrongdoings, it was natural for Ryūen to value the former.

"Yes. It's not just about abilities. You can see signs of it elsewhere. Strange, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"That's why I think those students, who Ryūen doesn't often use, have extra time and can actively learn to study. Of course, without him knowing."

If Ryūen heard about this, would he berate Katsuragi for doing unnecessary things? Even if he showed anger on the surface, he might not actually stop Katsuragi's actions. Ryūen, who had grown this far, should judge it as a necessary measure. It was also one of the reasons he paid a large sum of money to poach Katsuragi.

"Is it okay for me to hear something so important?"

"It's strange, but by sharing a secret with someone, it can sometimes help with your mental well-being."

"As a result, I might tell Ryūen."

"If you were that kind of person, I'd only have to reflect on my mistake in judging you."

He expressed his trust in me in such a way.

And he artfully applied pressure to prevent a betrayal.

At that point, Katsuragi interrupted the conversation and turned to face my back.

"Here comes the brazen man. He doesn't seem to be reflecting on his tardiness."

Following Katsuragi's gaze, who backed away from the wall exasperatedly, I saw Ryūen slowly approaching us.

On his left wrist was a plastic bag, perhaps from stopping at a convenience store.

"It seems we're all here."

"Shouldn't you apologize to Ayanokōji at least?"

"I don't know. Just be grateful that you weren't called out during the New Year's holidays."

Despite Katsuragi urging him to apologize, he ignored it and started walking. For a brief moment, Katsuragi and I exchanged glances that seemed to express, 'We're in for some trouble.' Ryūen pulled out a hamburger from a plastic bag and placed the empty bag into his pocket.

He tore open the wrapping paper and started eating as if he missed out on breakfast.

Katsuragi looked at him with a baffled expression, wondering why he couldn't at least have finished his meal beforehand.

"I'd like to hear why you called both me and Ayanokōji out."

Although he was asked with a strong tone, he had no intention to answer immediately. Instead, he continued to silently chew his food.

After repeating this several times, he finally began to speak once his stomach was satisfied.

"I heard interesting news from the third years. Apparently, a big obstacle awaits us in the third term where we'll face others from our same year."

"A big obstacle? You're talking about the final exam, right? It's nothing surprising."

Preparations for the more intense final exams were confirmed several times and in various forms.

It was hard to believe that Ryūen called us out just to tell us something we already knew.

"Isn't it possible that it's not just the final exam?"

In response to Katsuragi's reply, I cut in after a slight delay.

"We've been focusing on the end of the third term, but there might be something else."

"Did you hear something too, Ayanokōji?"

"I heard that there might be a special exam at the beginning of the third term that could result in some students being expelled. I don't know how true it is though."

Ryūen might've heard the same thing, and upon hearing this, he grinned.

<Illustration>

"By the way, when did you hear this?"

"On December 25th, three days ago. The source was Kiryūin of Class 3-B."

"On the same day, my source was Class 3-D's Ibeyama."

"If there truly is a risky exam, how come both of you heard about it at almost the same time?"

"Just a coincidence... or perhaps—"

"Or perhaps the school controlled the information and released it at that time."

As this idea began to appear more certain, Ryūen forcefully bit into his hamburger.

Horikita's Class B heard it from Kiryūin in Class 3-B.

Ryūen's Class D heard it from Ibeyama in Class 3-D.

The fact that the information sources matched our classes intrigued us.

If Sakayanagi heard from Class 3-A and Ichinose from Class 3-C, then our assumptions would be correct.

"However, can we really be sure of this? Couldn't someone just be spreading false rumors after talking to the third-year students? Besides, we're in the middle of winter break right now."

"Heh. That's precisely why it's credible."

Students naturally lose their sense of urgency during the break. The relaxed atmosphere made their days enjoyable. If this was a false rumor, making the students prepare for battle early on wouldn't accomplish much. Any mental strain causing unease couldn't be expected either.

"A warning to be prepared for a shock—it's natural to think that way."

Given the situation that both Ryūen and I knew the same thing, Katsuragi calmly analyzed it.

It was a message aimed at a specific class of third-year students, and the information flowed smoothly.

"Has anyone else heard something similar?"

Upon Katsuragi's question, I shook my head from side to side, and Ryūen didn't react, but he likely shared the same answer.

If Ishizaki and the others had heard it, they would've immediately reported it to Ryūen.

"Should we assume that it was announced to one representative from each class?"

"We can't be sure, but it's probably safe to assume that Sakayanagi and Ichinose have been notified as well. They wouldn't be so stupid as to miss this kind of information, no matter how indirect."

"But then a question arises. Why was Ayanokōji chosen for class 2-B? If we were to consider it in order, wouldn't it be Horikita? Or maybe you being chosen was just a coincidence, and there's a possibility that someone other than Sakayanagi and Ichinose was chosen... No, that's unlikely."

Halfway through making a new hypothesis, Katsuragi denied himself.

"The school's ultimately neutral. If they're going to give a warning, they should've prepared the leaders in advance. It was necessary to select someone who could understand and accept the third year's warnings, at least."

"Suzune has been getting more powerful, but it wouldn't be surprising if the school and third-year students interpreted Ayanokōji as the leader and chose him. It's not particularly shocking."

Indeed. Recently, I've had many opportunities to talk to Nagumo and Kiriyama when dealing with the student council.

Still, Kiriyama likely would've chosen Horikita.

More importantly, why Kiryūin had made contact with me wasn't resolved yet.

If I had to interpret the situation, I'd say that the third-year leaders were instructed by the school to deliver the message to the second-year leaders.

Kiriyama intended to inform Horikita, but Kiryūin, who had overheard the conversation, volunteered and chose to approach me and deliver the message—

I couldn't tell if this interpretation was correct, but since I had come to know the content of the message, it was my duty to inform Horikita.

"If we assume that the same thing happened last year, there might be a special exam hinted at before or after the mixed training camp."

Katsuragi muttered and then organized his scattered thoughts once more.

"There will be several special exams in the third term—one in early January and the other in late January—and another one in early March with the class voting special exam. This will be followed by the final exam for a total of four."

Adding to the three first-year exams, there might've been a total of four second-year exams, meaning there were more possible exam opportunities.

However, this was all mere speculation, and I mustn't forget that.

Apparently, the class voting special exam was an unexpected event that wasn't held every year.

If it didn't exist, there would be a total of three special exams conducted in the third term.

In the end, last year was last year. It was merely a reference.

There was even a possibility that no special exams would be held, but this was highly unlikely.

It couldn't be said for sure that there weren't or couldn't be cases where there were more than four exams.

"Class voting, huh? You had Totsuka expelled by Sakayanagi, didn't you?"

"...Yes."

As Katsuragi's expression darkened, perhaps recalling last year's bitter incident, Ryūen, who had finished his hamburger, cheerfully added.

"Depending on the situation, it won't be just one or two expulsions, right?"

As he casually said, it was better to be prepared for the risks that came with the truth.

"Expulsions, huh? I'd prefer not to have any."

"Don't say such soft things. There are still too many students in our year. It won't be interesting unless we have an exam that can thin out even five or ten students."

Against Katsuragi, who would likely be thinking about his classmates, Ryūen expressed the opposite idea.

"Don't forget that you also have the risk of being targeted, Ryūen."

"Bring it on. Whether it's Sakayanagi or Ichinose, if they come after me, I'll just crush them."

"It's fine if it's an obvious enemy. But there's no guarantee that someone won't come and kick you from within."

Within—that meant his own class.

Ryūen, who always took a stand against his enemies, surely had many foes.

However, he wasn't the kind of guy who would feel anxious about such things.

"It'll be easier to talk if we don't have to choose someone to cut from here."

"Indeed... But I must say, if you arbitrarily decide to abandon your own people, I'll resist."

"Do as you like."

Even if Katsuragi, who previously intervened in the class vote, seemed to be a hindrance, Ryūen would have no mercy. However, he still functioned as a stopper to a certain extent. 

Yet, the mystery didn't fade away.

Katsuragi, who walked next to him, must have harbored the same concerns since his expression remained stern. 

There was no need for the three of us to gather and converse like this if the sole purpose was to iron out our differences in the face of the impending special exam. 

"In the next special exam, if the rules allow a one-on-one battle, I'll take on Sakayanagi."

Those were the words that came out of Ryūen as if he'd seen through both my and Katsuragi's thoughts.

"What's your intention, Ryūen? Isn't a direct confrontation at the final exam enough for you?"

"It's not enough. I want to see that woman's face covered in humiliation at least one more time."

Naming the opponents he wanted to fight meant that he was telling us not to interfere.

"Even without a warning, there's a low possibility that Horikita would actively desire a confrontation with Sakayanagi's class. Currently, unless the special exam places a heavy emphasis on teamwork, there's no merit in fighting against her class, which has a higher overall ability."

If she had to choose between the lowest-ranked class and the top, she would probably opt for Ichinose.

"It's not advisable to nominate Class A at this point. If the special exam revolves around academics like the previous one, we would be facing a formidable opponent."

Indeed, there was no need to nominate at this stage.

But Ryūen seemed ready to fight, even if it meant taking risks.

"Sakayanagi probably thinks I'm the one she can defeat anytime. I'll correct that misconceived notion."

"...I don't want to agree."

"So, Katsuragi. Will you go with Ichinose? Ichinose has become quite a troublesome opponent."

It seemed that even Ryūen had noticed that Ichinose was beginning to change. Though Katsuragi might have to revise his understanding, he would still object to naming Sakayanagi.

"Evaluating Ichinose as troublesome isn't bad. But overall, she still falls short compared to Sakayanagi. Even if the assessment was overturned, they were still incomparable. For now, we should wait for information to be disclosed in the third term."

Katsuragi, who didn't underestimate Ichinose, suggested that they should choose who to fight after learning about the special exam's contents.

"Does the reason even matter? Ryūen simply wants to fight Sakayanagi."

"That's the problem. A leader should choose the most promising method and pick the best option. Confirming a fight with a powerful enemy at this point is like throwing away victory."

The three of us continued our stroll and discussion around Keyaki Mall without stopping.

It seemed my release wouldn't be granted anytime soon.