493 6.4

After that, the round-robin tournament ended, and the 19 total games came to a close.

Kiryūin's group's final record was fifteen wins and four losses within the 19 games. My personal record was seventeen wins and two losses.

Our final ranking was fourth place. It could be described as a great success.

And Nagumo's group, which had been commended as the top contender from the beginning, came in first with eighteen wins and one loss.

The one defeat was due to a card game that was picked in the final match, and they were unlucky the whole time. They were defeated by a group that had only won three times so far, which was a fitting end to the game.

In the empty rest area, Nagumo and I were alone.

"Allowing me to lose up to two times was what caused your defeat, wasn't it?"

"Indeed, I'd like to say so, but since you were the only one who participated in more than twelve games and had two or fewer losses, it would be absurd to complain about that."

Nagumo could get detailed information from each group's leader at any point, so it wasn't strange that he seemed to know the individual results from all of the matches. Contrary to his appearance, he was very observant.

"Your most skillful player, Amasawa, had a great performance though. She hits her targets quite gracefully."

"Don't flatter me. You were purposely going third, weren't you? It was obvious that you were setting it up so that I could be somewhat satisfied when I faced you."

"I wish you would sincerely accept the intentions of a kōhai who's trying to praise you, Senpai."

"Then do it better. It sounds like you're just provoking me."

I see... Maybe I should've used a more natural and skillful way of speaking.

"I managed to win against Amasawa in the individual match, but in terms of the group match, we were completely defeated. Everyone in our group was giving it their all, but it was clear that everyone in your group was playing the game skillfully."

His group members thoroughly gained experience over the three days, directly leading to their victory.

"When I decide to win, I strive towards it without mercy. It's only natural. Well, we both got played by the card games, didn't we?"

"Indeed."

He showed up at an exchange meeting that he didn't have to come to, and even used his own money to make our personal match happen. Regardless of his victory or defeat, I couldn't imagine that it was satisfying for Nagumo.

"What do you think would've happened if you and I had been competing based on group performance from the start?"

"Knowing the conclusion, I don't think I could've won even if I had been in charge."

I honestly admitted defeat.

"Is that so? Couldn't you, with your ability to manipulate things behind the scenes, have proceeded in a more solid and reliable manner?"

However, the man in front of me didn't believe in my defeatist statement any more than I did.

"Your group won fifteen times without your interference, so you're doing great, but wasn't there a way to win the other matches? Or were you just not willing to take me seriously?"

"That's irrelevant. Even if I tried to pick up a win by buying my opponent's defeat, if you were serious, you'd buy it back. You could've also tried preventing it in advance. You have control over all the third-years, so you should be good at that kind of thing."

If I tried to influence things, Nagumo would naturally sense it and try to influence things as well.

I couldn't win even if I stood on my head in a battle of financial power.

"Even if we were able to buy out three wins, we would've been stuck in the 17th game of archery anyway."

"It doesn't sound like you're serious about that either."

"Well… if I was told to win at all costs, I might've manipulated Horikita and Yōsuke to miss the target so that I could win."

They were students who took it seriously, but depending on the reason, I might've been able to get them on my side.

Even if Nagumo had made a contract to ensure that they'd do their best, he couldn't corner them if he was betrayed at that point because there was no guarantee that they'd always hit the target.

"I guess so."

"But if you could foresee that, you would've switched the assigned members."

It was only natural that he'd select students who weren't affected by my negotiations.

"So what would you do on top of that—no, this is just unnecessary talk that doesn't mean anything anymore."

Feeling empty, Nagumo ended the conversation himself.

Looking at reality, this was just an exchange meeting.

It was nothing more than experiential learning that we didn't have to stress about, something that the school also acknowledged.

It wasn't something to invest a lot of money in or something that required a lot of negotiation.

This conversation was just a fantasy, something that never came to fruition.

"I enjoyed the experiential learning, seriously. If a fair fight couldn't be realized, I thought it would be polite to reveal the truth as it is."

Nagumo had always wanted to know my strength.

So, in some form or another, he must've been able to see my true self without any of my clumsiness since his group members, such as Takahashi, were glued to all the games.

He must've recorded and checked the matches.

"That's right. The game of archery was especially impressive. I could tell that your hands are unnecessarily dexterous."

"I don't know if you were satisfied with this approach."

"Satisfied? There's no way I could be."

Nagumo tilted his head in disbelief and laughed.

"But you've become quite talkative and more outspoken."

"I was blessed with a good senpai that allowed me to learn a lot."

Nagumo took out his phone and flicked the screen with his fingertips.

"I have no intention of belittling your victory. I've transferred the money. Check it."

"I trust you on that. But is it okay? Those funds could be used to save some of the third-year students."

"How long do you think I've been reigning at the top of Class A? I have several million yen just in my personal pocket. What's the problem with paying from part of that?"

As he put away his phone, Nagumo took a glance outside.

"Do you remember what I told you when I came here? About going to college."

"Of course."

"I was quite serious about inviting you. We can't have flashy battles at university like we do in ANHS, but on the other hand, we can do more things side by side, right?"

"Maybe."

"If you want, come to the same university. I'll make your boring personality a little better."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Saying that, Nagumo gently patted my right shoulder as he passed by.

"See you."

"Can I ask you to pass on a message for me, Nagumo-senpai, since you're graduating?"

"Huh? A message? To Horikita-senpai?"

"That wouldn't be bad, but no."

<Illustration >

When Nagumo stopped, I showed him the message for a certain person.

Having heard it, Nagumo, who still didn't fully believe it, listened to the end without making fun of it.

"That's a strange message."

"I hope you can convey that. After that, the decision is up to the other party."

"I certainly heard it, but is this your farewell gift to me? If you kept quiet, who knows what the outcome would've been. There are people who wouldn't be happy about me graduating from Class A as it is."

"At the very least, I think you've left enough achievements and qualifications to graduate from Class A."

That was the reason I entrusted Nagumo with the message.

"I'll go a step ahead and start the second phase at Horikita-senpai's place."

'Feel free to join if you feel like it.' Those last words contained a message from such a senpai.