500 E.2

With the end of the exchange camp, time was slowly but surely passing.

Sakayanagi was quietly spending time while waiting for someone to come, sitting on the sofa in the career counseling room.

Next to her stood her homeroom teacher, Mashima, with his arms crossed in confusion.

"What are you planning to talk about? And with whom?"

Mashima, who had been brought here without being told anything, sent a quizzical glance.

Even though he didn't understand the situation, he definitely sensed something unusual.

"You seem restless, Mashima-sensei. Don't worry, you'll understand soon."

"But..."

More than ten minutes had passed since the two of them entered the room.

"...Here he comes."

Sakayanagi sensed it immediately after.

The moment a hand was placed on the door, she knew that man would appear.

"You're five minutes late, Ryūen-kun."

"The star of the show always makes a late entrance."

The one who opened the door to the counseling room was Ryūen Kakeru.

And behind him was the figure of his homeroom teacher, Sakagami.

"What's going on here, Mashima-sensei?"

"Well... I'm also trying to gauge the situation."

The two teachers who ran into each other couldn't understand the situation and looked at each other, puzzled.

Ryūen sat down in front of the sofa where Sakayanagi was sitting, spreading his legs wide.

An odd situation was created—two students were sitting and the teachers were standing.

"Even if you were to deceive Hashimoto-kun, you made him do something quite bold."

When Sakayanagi asked, Ryūen immediately responded.

"He must be feeling insecure under you, can't blame him."

"That would be fine. But he must've been tempted by a cunning villain's sweet words. He believes lies to be true and truth to be lies. He might be another victim."

The exchange of words between the two began, leaving the teachers behind.

"You seem energetic for someone who's sunk so low."

"I indeed felt emotions I had never experienced before, but if you thought that was the end, it's too early."

"Heh, Ayanokōji did something unnecessary too."

Ryūen naturally grasped that Ayanokōji had approached Sakayanagi at the exchange meeting.

After the meeting, Sakayanagi had returned to her usual self.

No complex reasoning was needed to connect the dots.

"As you say, I was saved by him… by Ayanokōji-kun."

Taking Sakayanagi's gaze head-on, Ryūen felt it on his skin.

A change in her gaze, which until now had only looked down on others.

Sakayanagi also felt it.

The man before her had a conviction that had grown even larger than when they first met.

"So you were also saved by Ayanokōji-kun."

"Huh, don't make me laugh. We'll never get along. I don't remember being saved by Ayanokōji. Rather, what I got was hatred. Hatred for revenge."

His trampled strength and pride.

He had been defeated miserably in the ring where he had absolute confidence.

"I see. Hatred—so that's what drove you here."

"Are you any different?"

In response to Ryūen's counter-question, Sakayanagi inadvertently smiled.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry. If my smile seemed rude, I apologize. I was simply happy that you've come to recognize Ayanokōji-kun's strength in the process of getting here."

Unlike her fury towards Hashimoto, which was not based on personal experience, the Ryūen before her had directly experienced the cause of his emotions.

She thought he was qualified.

No, Sakayanagi immediately revised her thoughts. It wasn't just that.

She felt a change in her emotional switch within her, starting with the incident involving Kamuro and Yamamura.

"Are you saying you had your eye on him earlier?"

It was a well-known fact that Sakayanagi had been paying attention to Ayanokōji from the start.

But Ryūen didn't know where their first contact was, so he tried to find out.

"Yes. You unfortunately only learned of his existence at this school. However, unlike you, I've been following him with my own eyes since childhood."

At such a triumphant attitude, Ryūen stopped moving.

"...Quite an interesting statement, isn't it? You know about his childhood?"

"I know it well. I consider him as something like a childhood friend."

Upon hearing that statement, Mashima also remembered the story Sakayanagi had told him before.

And there was nothing ruder than interrupting the two of them.

"I lost to Ayanokōji. I thought it was okay to lose as many times as I wanted as long as I won in the end, but that man mercilessly crushed that indomitable spirit. I was so drained."

But over a year later, he was trying to return to that stage.

"Although our motives are different, it seems that our final goals are the same, Ryūen-kun. I have been wishing to fight him since long before you. We only have one year left in our school life. I need to get rid of any obstacles before then."

"I completely agree. I'll defeat you quickly and take my revenge on him."

Sakayanagi, who had always looked at others with cold eyes, certainly felt her heart warming up.

Not towards Ryūen. She was thinking of Ayanokōji, who was waiting ahead.

Ryūen felt the same way. His emotions were surging to defeat Ayanokōji, who was waiting beyond Sakayanagi.

"Your revenge will not be fulfilled. You will stumble just before it."

"You're probably planning for a showdown on the throne, but that scheme will fail."

Unable to remain silent in the face of the escalating exchange, Mashima intervened.

"You seem to be moving the conversation along on your own, but could you explain the situation?"

"I apologize."

In response to the slightly indignant Mashima, Sakayanagi apologized softly and started speaking.

"It would be better not to waste any more time. Shall we get to the point?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Sakayanagi lined up the two teachers and turned them towards her.

In front of Sakayanagi, who stood up on her cane, Ryūen also stood up and turned around, facing the teachers.

"We're about to make a big bet. Normally, we would make some kind of verbal promise for ordinary matters, or if we couldn't trust each other, we would make a contract. This time, however, because of the nature of its content, we decided it would be safer to have the teachers in charge of both classes present."

From the course of the conversation they had heard, both Mashima and Sakagami felt tense.

"What are you planning to decide among yourselves?"

Sakayanagi announced the details of the bet.

"For the end-of-year exam, the loser will leave this school—that's what it's about."

"The loser will leave...? What are you talking about? The content and rules of the exam haven't been announced yet. We don't even know if there's a way to expel students within the exam yet."

Confused, he answered sternly, explaining that there was no guarantee of a method to expel the opponent.

"Mashima-sensei, what are you misunderstanding? The content and rules are irrelevant. We are only betting on the outcome of the end-of-year special exam. As a result, the loser will voluntarily drop out. That's all there is to it."

"You teachers were made witnesses to this exchange just to ensure certainty. Even if Sakayanagi cries and screams, proceed with the expulsion process according to the contract. Of course, if by any chance I lose, the same applies to me."

Both parties accepted the dangerous condition—accepting expulsion—upon defeat, cutting off 100% of their retreat.

Due to its coercive power, the school's cooperation was essential for the bet's smooth execution.

Mashima, who had taken in the situation, tried to speak, but the words didn't immediately come out.

"Do you really intend to make such a bet? You have a Protection Point—"

Compared to Mashima, the calmer Sakagami voiced his doubts.

"A Protection Point is meaningless if we're voluntarily withdrawing. For fairness, it's been decided that we'd request additional private points to fill the difference that the Protection Point makes, but the amount is kept to a minimum. If we take away his money, his class will really have nothing left."

"It's like counting your chickens before they hatch. If you lose, there's no need to calculate money."

Mashima understood that this wasn't a joke. The contract was serious.

He straightened his posture and made a stern expression.

"Are both of you really okay with this? If we agree, we will have to enforce the expulsion forcibly based on the end-of-year results. Both of you are in important positions; you two play the leader role in your classes. Major disruption is inevitable."

"Yes. It will be virtually impossible to repair the defeated class, and it will be impossible to avoid dropping out of the four-way battle before advancing to the third-year."

As she said these words, Sakayanagi thought of Ayanokōji again.

The competition between the four classes that Ayanokōji idealized had become impossible when the bet with Ryūen was decided. Even if Ayanokōji transferred and steered towards balancing the forces, considering Ichinose's declining class, there wouldn't be enough players.

"Please don't hope for a draw to invalidate the bet, okay?"

"I won't recognize a draw. If that happens, we can decide by lottery, just like how you abandoned Kamuro."

"That's also fun. Let's look forward to it."

Both parties cut off their method of retreat. Though, since the beginning, they didn't anticipate a draw occurring.

It could only be victory or defeat.

A relationship similar to the two sides of the same coin.

The bet was officially established when Sakayanagi and Ryūen acknowledged it, and both homeroom teachers understood it.

The loser would disappear.

The end-of-year special exam, with stakes set on expulsion and no escape… was about to begin.