hi ae, vẫn theo truyền thống thôi.

nay t vẫn lên bản eng máy dịch (mtl) cho ae đọc trc, có thể lên gg đọc vì trên đó có phần mềm dịch

ai phàn nàn t cx kệ, có thể qua chỗ khác đọc

đây là bản eng speedrun cực căng, mới ra 2 ngày đã gần full vol :v, còn t thì luôn lấy từ nguồn khác (còn chưa có c1) để làm.

ai ko thích thì có thể chờ bản dịch dù hơi lâu

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It is Monday, November 1, the beginning of autumn, and the weather is getting chilly.

The months go by quickly, and in two months it will be winter vacation.

The view from my new seat will end in the not-so-distant future.

The fact that I feel a sense of regret proves that the seat change was a good stem for me.

I don't know if there will be a seat change next year, but either way, I'm sure the scenery will be very different from before.

"Good morning. Everyone is here?"

A few seconds after the bell, Chabashira-sensei appeared in the classroom.

The school's unique system, in which all attitudes outside of class affect the evaluation of the class as a whole, has produced a serious and disciplined attitude.

Not that anything much has changed since last week, but it is certainly one more significant change than last week. However, I can certainly sense that they have grown a size bigger than last week.

Seeing such an appearance of the students who continue to grow day by day, Chabashira-sensei opened her mouth with deep consolation.

The monitor behind Chabashira-sensei lit up and the explanation of the rules reappeared.

Outline of the cultural festival:

Each class of 2nd year students will be given 5,000 private points to be used solely for the preparation of the festival, and they will be allowed to use them as they wish (first year students will be given 5,500 points, and third year students will be given 4,500 points for the initial cost).

Additional funds will be given for social contributions such as service to the student council and contributions through club activities (details will be announced for each class once finalized).

The initial cost and additional funds are not reflected in the final sales, and will be forfeited if unused.

Classes ranked 1st through 4th will receive 100class points Classes ranked 5th through 8th will receive 50 class points No change in class points for classes ranked 9th through 8th.

"That's all I've explained so far. You should have no problem getting this far in your head."

Without a word of question from the students, Chabashira continued on her way.

"The details of the 'additional funds' mentioned in this overview have been decided and I would like to announce them."

Additional Funding. The additional funds will be used to increase the number of points available at the festival for student council service, social contributions, club activities, etc. The details of the additional funds will be announced when they are available. The time has come to announce the details.

The lack of a finalized budget meant that we were unable to finalize the number, content, and scale of the performances.

Despite the inconvenience, this was not a problem as long as all classes in all grades were under the same conditions.

"First, I'll show you the total amount of additional funds to be given to this class, and then the breakdown, all at once."

As soon as she said that, she operated her tablet and a spreadsheet list was displayed. It turns out that one person in total was eligible for this additional funding.

Suzune Horikita, student council officer bonus of 10,000 points

Ken Sudo - club activity activity activity bonus of 10,000 points

Kayano Onodera - club activity activity bonus 10,000 points

Although only three students were able toreceive the large amount of additional funds, perhaps the maximum of 10,000points, nine other students received hundreds or thousands of points inrecognition of their contributions.

For example, Yosuke gets 3,000 points for the club activity activity activity bonus, and Akito gets 1,000 points.

The names of students who seem to be mainly active in club activities are given in this class.
In total, the class received 39400 points in additional funds, which is equivalent to the initial points of 6 students.

This fund is essential for the operation of the festival.

"I cannot give you a breakdown, but Sakayanagi's Class A received 18,800 points, Ryuuen's Class C received 17,000 points, and Ichinose Class D received 26,600 points. In other words, among the second-year students, this class received the most additional funds."

Ichinose's class is in second place, and Sakayanagi's class is in third place, narrowly ahead of Ryuen's class.

This is an unexpected result, but one factor may be the student council officer bonus.

The fact that both Horikita and Ichinose are awarded 10,000 points for their presence alone is simply significant.

Other students, such as Sudo and Onodera, seem to have made outstanding contributions in club activities throughout the entire school year.

Since individuals are not allowed to use any of their private points at the festival, the total number of students in Horikita's class plus additional funds must be kept within 229400 points.

Even one point more is better than nothing.

However, one should not be complacent based on this result alone. Although it is advantageous in the preparatory stage before the start of the project, the additional funds will not be reflected in the final sales, and if they are not well utilized, they will be a waste of resources.

The above seems to be the explanation of the additional funds, but this should not be the end of the story.

"We need to go on to the next step. Next, I will give you the details about the guests, which is very important for making sales"

How many guests and what kind of guests will come to the festival, and how much money they have, have not been disclosed.

"The guests of honor will be people who are involved in the school's operation and their families, but naturally there will be a wide range of ages, from the elderly to young children and elementary school students. It has also been decided that the people who work at the Zelkova Mall and convenience stores will also be invited as guests."

The tablet screen switched to a graph, showing the number of guests by age. The number of guests by age was revealed on the tablet screen. The 30s and 40s were the most numerous, followed by the under 20s and 50s.

"Each adult guest receives 10,000 points, while minors receive 5,000 points. Each adult guest receives 10,000 points, while minors receive 5,000 points. There were 283 adults and 202 minors.

 The total number of participants will be 485, and the total amount of points will be 38.4 million."

The ranking of one class for the entire school year depends on how much sales can be made from that total.

"I should also mention that the number of participants includes us, the teachers. Homeroom teachers are in charge. They are bound by the restriction that they cannot use the points in the same grade, but they are treated the same as other guests."

The binding that they cannot be used in the same grade would be essential. As homeroom teachers, they would normally want to drop money on their own class if they could.

"Is it possible to use more than the 1,000 points of pocketed?"

In response to Ike's question, Chabashira immediately shook her head from side to side.

It was a preemptive question as usual, but she answered without paying particular attention to the question.

Ike's never changed, and he seemed to be rather enjoying it.

"You can't use more than the points you've been given. The maximum amount is fixed."

It means that guests do not have unlimited funds available to them.

It is not a matter of trying to focus on a guest that has a lot of points to spend. It would've been inevitable that there would be competition and fighting for guests if that were the case.

"The school will adopt a system whereby sales are always monitored in real time via a dedicated cell phone app. Keep in mind that the app will be disabled the moment the festival ends at 4 p.m. The timing of accounting can be set freely by each student, but we recommend that payment be made in advance before the goods are offered."

If you have to pay after the meal, there will be cases where it will be after 4:00 PM.

That means there's a risk that we might not be able to collect the points.

"Now that we're done here, anyone with any questions, raise your hand."

A moment was allowed for remarks, and soon Horikita raised his hand.

"If the sales are the same amount, what would the ranking be? What would happen if, in a very extreme case, all the classes received the same amount of 32,000 points and were side by side?"

Since the total amount is neatly divisible, we can't say that such a case would not occur.

If we rely only on chance, the probability that all classes of sales will be aligned would be astronomical, but collusion is not impossible.

But collusion is not impossible.

If all of them are treated as number one, they can raise the class points equally.

I would have thought that some countermeasure would have been thought of.

"If they are all equal, treat them as equal in rank. If all 12 classes have equal sales as Horikita said, all classes will be ranked first and get 100 class points."

No. Maybe they have decided from the beginning that there will never be a large number of classes with the same percentage of sales.

"However, the total amount of sales can only be confirmed after the examination, and any manipulation of sales by a third party is not allowed. It is impossible for classes to discuss and make a plan to combine sales before the festival, or to make an agreement to divide the sales equally after the festival."

If the amount of sales cannot be manipulated later, it is unlikely that all classes will be in first place side by side. Above all, it is unlikely that they would join hands in a friendly manner, losing one valuable competitive opportunity.

"I don't think they're usually equal," he said. I don't think you need to worry about it."

Maezono voiced her doubts, not understanding the meaning of Horikita's question.

"As Maezono-san said, it is nothing to be concerned about if you are fighting in a normal way. But it's not a bad thing to know if it is accepted as a rule or not."

Horikita's statement is also valid. It's not a bad thing to know.

As far as collusion is concerned, it is still unclear. It is possible for certain grades and classes to collude to create a horizontal sales system.

There are several possible ways to do this, but it is not difficult to create a picture in which sold out = same amount of money if the final sales amounts of all products are aligned among the classes beforehand.

However, it is necessary to be prepared for treachery, unforeseen circumstances, and trouble. It would be no laughing matter if you prioritize selling out above all else and as a result, you end up in the bottom of the class in terms of sales. The hurdles to overcome in order to intentionally create a tie are far higher than we can imagine.

"Anyone else have any questions?"

After that, no one raised a hand, especially regarding the festival.

"That's all I have to say about the festival. Next, I would like to announce the results of the second semester mid-term exam that was held the other day. This time, some of the students achieved results that even I was surprised by."

The conversation moves on to the written exam and the announcement of the results.

The students, who are not good at writing, screamed.

Depending on how you look at it, "surprised" can be considered a bad thing.

However, since Chabashira-sensei's expression is not dark and hard, it seems unlikely that this is the case.

All at once, the names of the 38 students in the class are displayed, and they are lined up in order from the student with the highest overall score.

Keisei took first place. He had a seamless performance, scoring high in all subjects.

In second place, slightly behind, was Horikita. The difference in overall score was only 3 points, almost equal to Keisei.

The names of the usual honor student members followed, but the student who surprised Chabashira-sensei was the one who came in 11th place.

First place, Ken Sudo. He scored 73 points in Modern Japanese, 1 point in Chemistry, 70 points in Social Studies, 78 points in Mathematics, and 70 points in English.

He scored 367 points overall with a good balance of points in all subjects.

The top ranks are filled with honor students such as Yosuke, Kushida, Matsushita, and Wang. That is why Sudo's ranking was a surprise to everyone.

It was a well-known fact that Sudo was studying hard, but it was unexpected that Sudo, who was also involved in club activities until late every day, would come in at the top of the list.

"Ken is in 11th place..."

The ponds were almost side by side, or even at the top at the start, and the response was honest, or rather, stunned and unadulterated. A crazy turnaround, a leap beyond imagination. The difficulty level of this test was moderate, and the difference in total points between Sudo and the bottom 20 was only about 15 points, but even so, this result must have been a surprise to many of you. The person himself seemed to be running around with joy, but he only made a small gut-pose and did not seem to be boasting or making fun of others for passing him. He operated his cell phone to check the latest updated OAA.

Ken Sudo's Academic ability C+, physical ability A+, quick thinking C-, social contribution D. Overall, he maintains a near average level of physical ability. Moreover, if he maintains his test scores, he will be able to achieve a B+ in academic ability in the near future.

If he continues to maintain his test scores, he can expect to be near a B in academics in the near future. If he continues to refine his studies, he will be able to achieve an A or higher in both academic and physical abilities.

It seems that their efforts over the past year have borne more fruit than they could have imagined.

In his personal life, his problematic behavior has decreased, and his contribution to society, which was at its lowest level, has risen to a D-. I am one step ahead of the rest in terms of growth potential of OAA. By the way, my ranking is 14th. I got a perfect score in math.

I got a perfect score in Math, but I saved the rest of the subjects.

It would be fair to say that I cut corners, but in reality, I had a different goal in mind.

Showing up with an all-perfect scores on the mid-term test in the second semester will only cause unnecessary confusion.

It is many times more important to make students feel that they must grow and help the class as Sudo did, rather than reassure them of the existence of a student who can score high.

In fact, Sudo's first place result has generated a wide range of emotions among his classmates.

Almost all of them can only be positive.

While there are those who are in the top ranks, there are those who inevitably end up in the lower ranks.

These are, for lack of a better word, the regulars, but when compared to the average scores of the other classes, it is clear that they are changing little by little.

The number of students who are trying to improve their scores, although they are low, is increasing, and they are beginning to show steady and gradual results.

Of course, not all of them are as good as Sudo. But, as Sudo says, "I am not a student of the world.

Even when it comes to studying, there is a difference in the amount of talent that can be absorbed, and there is also a big difference in perseverance and physical strength.

In Sudo's case, the motivation for her studies was love for Horikita, who was teaching her how to study.

Anyway, because of Airi's withdrawal from school, they started competing with each other to stay at the bottom of the class.

PART 1

It was now after school that same day.

The main members had gathered after the people had been paid.

Sato, Matsushita, and Mii-chan. The only thing they had in common was that they were the inventors of the maid café.

Then there were me and Horikita, for a total of six.

After the initial presentation, meetings related to the maid café were mainly held via cell phone to prevent information leaks, but now that we had reached the stage of deciding on the layout and location of the stall, we needed to hold detailed meetings in the special building we planned to actually rent.

Given the concept and scale of the maid café, the outdoor line was crossed out first.
In other words, the box of a classroom was fixed from the beginning, but we are still unsure about the location of the stall.

Students from other grades and classes come to inspect and scout out potential stall locations on a daily basis.

Therefore, we are always trying to find the best place to open our stalls, and we are always trying to find the best place to open our stalls.

If it were true, it would be more effective to include boys such as Yosuke in the group, but unfortunately, they are busy with club activities at this time of the day.

But unfortunately, they are busy with club activities at this time of the day.

As soon as we froze and began to move, Matsushita looked at Horikita and me and asked us.
"What are you going to do about Hasebe-san and Miyake-kun?"

"What do you mean by what are we going to do?"

"She comes to school every day, but he won't talk to anyone. It means that she keeps looking at us, the whole class, as the enemy."

"I'm sure you are. Well, I guess it would be mainly against me."

Having her best friend Airi expelled from school, Haruka built a big wall.

Although she is now coming back to school, she has not removed that wall.

"I think Hasebe-san is going to try to get revenge on the class down the road."

I don't think Haruka called herout directly, nor was she told.

But if you look at Haruka now and sense that atmosphere, a person like Matsushita would guess.

"I think that might be the case, but it is also true that she has not shown any problematic behavior so far. She has been participating in the meetings for the festival."

Haruka knows about the maid café because she proposed it at an early stage. There is no reason not to include her in the group.

"Does that mean you approve of her revenge?"

"Of course not. I understand why she would be upset, but that doesn't mean that she can't cause trouble in class without question."

Interference without extenuating circumstances, such as unavoidable special exams, will be treated as outright evil.

As for Horikita, she must be very much hoping that Haruka will not be outraged.

'Yes, but we're not in a situation where that kind of logic is going to work. It shouldn't take that long."

Matsushita repeatedly directed only her gaze at me.

She seemed to be trying to get a word out of me while keeping the leader, Horikita, on her toes.
However, I did not give my own opinion on the matter at this point.

It is clear that Haruka is plotting revenge, but right now she is attending school, taking tests normally, and not acting in any way that would cause trouble in class.

Even if we don't know what will happen in the future, we can't question her at this stage.

"There is little we can do in advance. If you tell them to stop taking revenge, you'll only get on their nerves."

"Really?"

"If she is really looking for an opportunity for revenge, she certainly won't put it off for months."
I agree with that opinion.

It is hard to imagine that she will continue to live her life at school as she is now for the next six months or even a year.

In other words, the most alarming timing is.

"I can't deny the possibility that she will do something at the festival."

Matsushita nodded quietly, no doubt wanting to hear those words.

"Ayanokoji-kun told me that Hasebe-san has no intention of working as a maid. So I gave her and Miyake a general role while making them aware of the situation. If we were to withhold information or dismiss her out of hand, we would be giving her an open and shut message that we suspected her."

If by any chance Horikita and the others do something to disparage Haruka's side, even though they have no intention of taking revenge, the spark that extinguished the fire could start smoldering again.

"So you want to leave a line of defense, but avoid giving them an important role."

"Yes, I thought I should do that, just in case."

Of course, they may not have strong concerns about the possibility of a riot at the festival.
Still, as a leader, it is important to be proactive.

Many guests are coming to the festival.

If the bad reputation of the Horikita class spreads to the guests, there is no wonder that they may be penalized in some way. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.

"I know you're probably wondering about Haruka and the others, but we're about to arrive."
Matsushita was so engrossed in his conversation that he did not seem to notice that they were nearing their destination.

Many of the classes were still wondering where to set up their booths.

You never know where an unintentional comment might be picked up.

There are a total of eight classrooms in the three-story special building where stalls can be set up.

We are currently on the third floor. The closer you are to the entrance stairs, the higher the cost will be.

The third floor can be rented for 10,000 to 13,000 points, while the first floor can be rented for 50,000 points.

The difference of nearly 40,000 can be used for food purchases

The class is given a finite number of points, and it is inevitable that they will have to worry about how much to allocate to the cost of the stall location and how to come up with the money.

"It's farther than I thought it would be."

Mii-chan's first thought was also about the distance. I think all of us would agree on that.

"What do you think, Sato-san?"

Mii-chan asked Sato, who had not spoken so far today, but she did not respond immediately.
"Sato-san?"

Sato was asked again, this time from a closer distance, and she answered hurriedly.

"Oh, uh, it's a little far for me, too. I was also thinking that it was a bit far ...... yeah, I was thinking that."

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the two of you have been working together for a long time.

"I don't think all of us would travel this far unless we had a pretty good showing."

Perhaps because our opinions were generally the same, we did not stay on the third floor, which was a lower priority, for long.

After that, we all went downstairs to the second floor.

"I'd rather be on the second floor than the third floor. If I had to say more, the first floor would be ideal."

Maezono muttered as she looked out the window at the view outside.

"I guess so. But the ----1st floor is still quite pricey, isn't it?"

Mii-chan stares at her cell phone and makes a difficult face.

"But we have to make a decision soon. We're already pretty full."

Matsushita looked at Mii-chan's cell phone and said.

"I guess so. Two of the five places we've picked out are already occupied. However, there are still candidates for the first three floors, which is a bit of a problem, I guess."

Do we take convenience and pay high points, or do we abandon convenience and settle for low points?

"I think the first floor is the best choice. I think the first floor is the best choice, because if the second floor is blocked by other exhibits, you are at a disadvantage."

"Whether it's on the second or third floor, it doesn't really matter as long as people want to come."

Maezono, Mii-chan, and Matsushita discusses with each other .

Sato, who is always high-spirited and often speaks even when she is not being heard, has been quiet since earlier.

Her friends occasionally look at her as if they are concerned about her, but she seems to be out of her mind.

"She's been like that for a while now, hasn't she?"

Matsushita, noticing my concern, gently whispered in my ear.

"Come to think of it, she may not be feeling particularly well the last few days."

"I thought Ayanokoji-kun might know something about it, but I guess not."

Does Matsushita think I'm an esper or something?

Or perhaps she was anticipating Kei's close relationship with Sato, but either way, I had no detailed information about her.

"She didn't seem to be in bad shape, and I asked her if she had any problems, but she didn't say anything definite."

"Sometimes people just want to be left alone, don't they?"

"I guess so. But I don't think that's what's happening here."

"What do you mean?"

Matsushita, who was persistent, seemed to have an idea of what I was talking about, and continued the conversation.

"I want to talk, but I can't. I'm the type to store bad things inside."

I guess a year and a half of friendship can tell you that much.

"You can't just keep it bottled up inside and be done with it, can you?"

"Well... she'll talk to me about it."

"If that's the case, I guess we'll have to wait and see. If you're right, she'll come to us in the near future, won'ts he?"

"Maybe..."

Matsushita was not satisfied with the situation, but since it was not possible to have such a long conversation near Sato, she quietly withdrew.

I am somewhat concerned about the sky above us, but our first priority is to decide where to open the store.

It is time to finalize and move on to the next stage. After completing our inspection of the second floor, we were about to move to the first floor when we were met by a small group of other people.

"Hey, Ayanokoji. Are you also looking for a place to open a stall at the festival?"

It was Hashimoto, a member of the 2nd year A class, who called out to me. Shortly after that, Sakayanagi, who is the leader of class 2-A showed up with Kamuro.

If these three are moving at the same time, it can't be just a walk in the park.

"Who knows. Maybe we've already decided, maybe we haven't even decided whether we want to go indoors or outdoors."

"No decision? That's an easy lie to understand. You're taking Horikita and the others to wander around the special building of the school for no reason at all? Tell me what kind of show you're going to put on."

Sakayanagi did not join the conversation, but watched with a faint smile on her face.

"You can't ask him, he's not in a position to know everything about the class. "

Unable to remain silent and listen, Horikita intervenes and interrupts the conversation.

"So he's just enjoying his harem, is that it?"

He points out that how I am the only male of the six in our group and asks Kamuro to agree.

"You're pretty similar, Hashimoto-kun. Sakayanagi-san and Kamuro-san. You are the only boy in the group, even if the number of people in the group is different. Are you aware of the strange remarks you're making?"

Horikita dared to respond at the same level, showing a relaxed response.

It was a form of getting one over on him, but that doesn't help Hashimoto. Rather, he would change the subject as if the conversation had never taken place.

"Sato and Matsushita, and Wang and Mae? You guys talk a lot at school these days, don't you?"
Hashimoto turned his attention to the four maid café inventors.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have a good idea of what you're getting into.

"Don't try to get anything out of us." Matsushita said.

"I hope you've understood by now."

Horikita's glare was joined by Matsushita's, and the two girls bit Hashimoto hard.

"I didn't mean anything by it. No, it's true. It's just..."

The students other than me began to feel uneasy at the implied tone of the conversation.
"Oops, I shouldn't have gone any further, should I?"

Hashimoto smirked and looked at Sakayanagi for the first time.

You don't mind if I talk to you, do you? It seems as if he is asking her that.

"Hashimoto-kun, you look like you want to say something."

Matsushita, who was standing there protecting the three girls, asked in a somewhat irritated voice.

As if he had been waiting for her to say something like that, he became more talkative.

"I'm worried about your school festival. It looks like you and Ryuuen got along well in the sports festival, but do you really think you can trust him forever?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's the same story. He pretends to be an ally, but he's not afraid to stab you in the back."

"Athletic festivals are athletic festivals and cultural festivals are cultural festivals. Sakayanagi's class and Ryuuen's class are enemies to be defeated, of course. You can't trust us, can you?"

"If you are going to work together, be careful," he said, giving advice as if he were an old woman.

Matsushita, who was very perceptive, must have sensed the hints and hints behind those words.
I was tempted to ask her if she knew anything about it, but she held her ground.

"We're in a hurry, and I don't think we can play word games forever. Right everyone?"

She turns around and asks the girls and me to agree.

"I agree. We should get going, we're wasting time talking to him here."

"She doesn't like you, does he?"

Hashimoto let out a deliberate sigh when Kamuro played with the bad atmosphere.

"Maybe. I'm just asking for some reason. ..... Well, good luck with that."

In the end, Sakayanagi didn't say a word and went into the classroom where we had been watching her earlier.

"That was a little scary..."

Relieved, Mii-chan patted her chest and muttered to Sato, who stood to her left.

"...... Huh? Oh, um, yeah. It was."

Whether she was listening or not, Sato's attitude was unnatural here as well.

"Anyway, let's move on."

If we stand here and talk, we will soon run into the A class members again.

We all wanted to avoid that, so we decided to look for another potential location.

"Hashimoto-kun said something earlier... didn't you catch it?"

Maezono said crisply.

As we were preparing for the maid café, I and Horikita informed only this member of the group ahead of time.

They must have felt uneasy after being shaken up.

"We are going to cooperate with Ryuuen's class in the upcoming festival, isn't that a definite plan?"

"Yes. When we cooperated with each other in the sports festival, we also obtained permission from Ryuuen's side."

The content of our items should not be similar to each other's.

We should avoid similar or competing stalls in terms of location.

We will be prepared to efficiently exchange personnel, temporarily loan out staff, and follow up on each other's work.

It is a small agreement, but it is an agreement to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

"The sports festival went well, so I wasn't too worried about it, but when you say things like that, it really makes me uneasy."

"I am not sure if I can trust Ryuuen-san personally. That's why I brought Katsuragi-san into the discussion. I think it will be all right"

"I want to believe you too, but didn't Hashimoto-kun seem to know something?"

"I felt it, too. Even if he doesn't betray you, isn't it bad that the fact that you are working together has been leaked?"

"The only ones who know about this are me and Ayanokoji-kun. Then there are the four of you who started up the maid café. Then Ryuuen and Katsuragi's class. He may have told other major classmates, but there is no merit in leaking our collaboration."

Horikita explains to them that it is hard to believe that information will be leaked.

"I agree with Horikita. I think it was unexpected that Horikita and Ryuuen teamed up to put dirt on the A class after the gymnasium incident. I'm just wary that the next one will be like that. There may be similar contacts and probes in the future, but we should not worry about them."

I casually followed up.

"Yes, that's right. I understand."

Maezono and Mii-chan nodded their heads, and Matsushita and Sato once again tightened their belts.

After returning to the classroom, we gathered to make a final decision.

"I think we should make a majority vote among the members here to decide where to open the store. Is that okay?"

"What if there's an equal number of votes?"

"We'll figure it out then. Let's try it first. Rock for the first floor, scissors for the second floor, and paper for the third floor. Okay?"

Mii-chan recited in a whisper to avoid confusion, then looked at the palm of her hand.

"Here we go. Start!"

The six of us, including me, all expressed our desired floor with our hands at the same time.

At first glance, it was a clear decision. The result was four "rock", two "scissors", and zero "paper".

The third floor was eliminated because of the time and effort required to move to the third floor.

I chose to play scissors in order to reduce the initial cost, but it would not be a bad choice to choose the first floor for its convenience. The other choice was Matsushita.

Anyway, this is a step forward because the application for the first floor has been decided.

"I'll apply right away. There are still a lot of classes that are waiting to see what happens, and it would be troublesome if they were taken."

Using her cell phone, Horikita immediately began the process of applying for the first floor.

"Are we done for the day?"

"Before we go, let me tell you something."

I should mention that I have been gathering information about maid cafes.

"The main target of maid cafes is men. There are many families among the festival's guests, but basically, we are targeting male customers."

"I don't think there are any female customers at all, but in terms of ratio, there must be a considerable difference."

This is what everyone thinks from the general image, without needing to do any research.

"There are also butler cafes in the world, the opposite of maid cafes. The butler is not a maid that is a girl, but instead a butler dressed up as a man."

Matsushita and everyone had never heard of this information before, and were surprised and impressed.

"Maids and butlers are both a type of concept café, aren't they?"

"......You know a lot about this, Horikita."

"I'll at least gather information. Whether it's useful or not, you can decide after you learn it."

"The most important and indispensable thing is cleanliness. I think we should take that into consideration as well as hierarchy in holding the classes in the special building."

Some classrooms are used very differently compared to other classrooms.

"The floors, walls, ceilings, and even chairs are all damaged by age and deterioration. I would like us to check these points as well so as not to overlook them."

"That's important. Even if we clean up after ourselves to some extent, there are some things we can't fool ourselves about. The cleaner it is, the better it is for the restaurant."

Everyone here agrees and begins to look around the classroom again.

The consciousness that had previously been directed solely toward convenience and the outside landscape would begin to change.

"And as for the uniforms, we must not push the eroticism too far."

"What? What did you say ....?"

"Eroticism. Eroticism have been important elements in art since ancient times. Showing your underwear is out of the question, but it is also important not to refuse the hope that it might be visible."

Horikita, who had probably not thought of this point, was taken aback.

"Ah, Ayanokouji-kun. Aren't you becoming awfully knowledgeable?"

"The most important thing to remember is that you can't cut corners when you're in charge of running a maid café. I studied with as much help as possible."

It was also reassuring to know that there were several students in the class who were familiar with this kind of topic.

Of course, I avoided explicitly stating that I was going to have Horikita's class maid cafe, and approached her on the assumption that I was personally interested.

It was a bit distressing that some students who mistakenly thought I had awakened to the otaku world gave me an extraordinary amount of hospitality and instruction, saying that they did not want anything in return if I would increase the number of like-minded people.

"Can I continue?"

"Uh, yeah, go ahead..."

No one seemed to stop me, so I continued to talk about what it was like to be a maid for a while.
It is important for those who actually wear maid's uniforms to understand this.

It will also make it possible for them to be more conscious in their dealings with customers.

"Then I thought about sales strategies. In addition to providing food and beverages, we will also sell the right to take pictures, called Cheki. For a photo shoot with one maid, the price is 800 points, and for a photo shoot with two guests, the price is 1200 points. In order to reduce costs, I proposed to use a printer to print out the photos after taking them with a cell phone, but this was rejected by the person who was helping me. He said, "If you neglect quality for the sake of lousy profits, no one will even look at it."

If well utilized, sales can be as good as the food menu.

"But you're still worried about having to stock up, right?"

"No, I'm bullish on the film. I have a plan to sell out. Of course, the photos will not be made public. We have also begun setting up a food stall under the leadership of Horikita and the boys, but we should also link the ingredients of this stall with the maid café."

When I finished speaking, Horikita fell silent for a moment and then cleared her throat.

The competition will inevitably be high because there are signs of multiple restaurants being set up, including in other grades. So we'll specialize in snacks and keep the prices low.

"But won't make us much money will it?"

"Yes. That's why we are using it as a stepping stone to our main goal, the maid café. We will give half-price tickets for one drink that can be used at maid cafes to those who purchase the tickets."

We need to make people aware of the maid caféand even bring them to the special building. We need to advertise it outdoorsand secure a conduit to lead them there.

PART 2

After the meeting at the maid cafe, I went to the Keyaki Mall.

Today, I was going to do a price survey on foodstuffs.

Ingredients sold in the mall and those available on the Internet. It is important to be able to prepare high quality food at the lowest possible price.

If I invited Kei, it would turn into a date instead of a reconnaissance, so I chose to do it alone today.

On the way to the supermarket, I spotted a man staring at a map of the building. I was a little bothered by his rather grim face, so I decided to talk to him.

"You were the center of attention today, Sudo."

He looks back, a little startled, as if I he noticed until I got closer.

"What? Oh, Ayanokouji? What do you mean, the center of attention?"

"About the mid-term test."

"Oh, you mean that? I'm glad to hear that, but the best I can say is that it was almost the same as my own score, which I guess is ...... as good as it gets."

Apparently, after the mid-term test, he even took a detailed self-assessment.

"I'm sure you'd be surprised to see what you looked like when you first entered the school."

"Ha-ha-ha, no doubt about it. I think the old Sudo would be yelling at me, 'What's the use of studying and learning vocabulary and formulas, you should practice basketball more instead of wasting your time like that.'"

Sudo answered, imagining himself in the past.

I wanted to ask him a question, so I did.

"If your past self had said to you, 'You're wasting you're time.' What would you say to yourself?"
"What?... hmm.."

After thinking for a moment, Sudo put his answer into words.

"What can you be if you can't even memorize simple words and formulas?"

The answer is brilliant and uncharacteristic, but it is also true that the old Sudo is not a one-trick pony.

"I'm sure they'll respond with something like, "I'm going to be a basketball pro, so it doesn't matter.""

Sudo laughs as he wracks his brains.

"I have to admit that I'm getting impatient because it's getting harder and harder to understand. Up until now, once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy."

Sudo, who has been making up for how much he's been behind to this point by dashing as fast as he could, is feeling anxious and impatient.

It is as if he has restarted from the junior high school level, or in Sudo's case, elementary school level.

Did he realize that he had reached a plateau when he caught up to the level of a second-year high school student?

The grade of first place he took this time. Although he received that result, which exceeded half of the class, is something to be proud of, I fear that the momentum he had up until now will come to a halt here.

From here on out, it will no longer be a matter of simply increasing study time.

It will be more complicated and will require more than just effort; it will require understanding, efficiency, and talent.

"So what do you want from me?"

"I'm a little curious. Aren't you supposed to be at club activities today?"

The fact that Sudo is in Keyaki Mall at this time of the day is more than a little strange, as is shown in his face. Even though the cultural festival was approaching, club activities were still taking place.

"I've taken some time off today."

"That's unusual."

He didn't even look like he was in bad shape.

"I've got another problem.."

"Another problem?"

"Lately, my eyesight has been deteriorating to the point where I'm aware of it."

He stares off into the distance.

"I've had 20/20 vision ever since I was a young, but lately it's been going crazy," he said, looking into the distance.

So the adverse effects of devoting himself to his studies were changing Sudo's body.
For an athlete, eyesight is important.

If his eyesight were to deteriorate in the future, it would probably affect his performance. Of course, glasses and contact lenses can greatly compensate for this, but even so, good eyesight is better than bad eyesight.

"So, I'm looking for an optician to measure my eyesight. I've never been there before, and I was wondering where it was."

So that's why you were staring at the guide map.

If you are feeling a strong sense that your eyesight is deteriorating, there is a good chance that your eyesight is actually deteriorating.

"I'm going to keep studying even if my eyesight is going to deteriorate in the future. I mean, basketball is so important to me that I'm not going to stop. ...... While I dream of becoming a pro, I'm starting to think that it might be okay to have other options."

"Other options?"

"........ You didn't laugh?"

"It's fine."

"I thought I could go on to college and continue my studies. Even if you can force your way into the pros with the privilege of graduating in class A, if you don't have the ability, there is no way they will use you in the sports world. If that's the case, it is also possible to get into the university I want to go to and do my best there."

Studying, which he was reluctant to doing at first, has brought about a major change in Sudo's way of thinking.

"I can go to college and become a professional after graduation."

"That's right."

It's not that you have to branch off the path to a profession in high school.

Until now, Sudo had only thought of going pro after graduating from high school, but now he had the option of going on to college.

He will probably further subdivide the paths he is pursuing.

"Ah."

Sudo noticed something out of the corner of his eye and let out a voice.

I belatedly turned my gaze and saw Akito and Haruka's backs.

"They're not on a date, are they?"

"I guess not."

If you only look at the rear view from a distance, it would look like a couple of a man and a woman walking together.

But their classmates know exactly what they are going through.

"Can't you just leave them alone?"

"It's not like it's going to matter if we talk to them now."

"That may be true, but..."

Itching, Sudo clenched his fists tightly.

"I wasn't particularly close to Sakura, but I had similar experiences."

Sudo used to play with Yamauchi so much that they were called the three idiots, including Ike.

That must be why Yamauchi's expulsion must have been so painful for him.

"But I guess it's nothing compared to what I went through back then," he said. "I couldn't have said that I would drop out instead of him."

For Haruka, it seems that school life itself was of equal or even greater value than Airi's existence.

"If you have any trouble, you can always tell me," he said. "But I'm sure Ayanokouji doesn't need my help."

"I don't need any at the moment. If there is something I want to discuss with you, I will do so without hesitation."

"Oh, I'm heading out now. See you later, Ayanokoji."

I said goodbye to Sudo and headed to the supermarket.

PART 3

The next morning, I met up with Kei and we went downstairs to the dorm.

"Sorry, Kiyotaka, did you wait for me?"

"Shall we go to a big party?"

Kei took my hand without hesitation as we walked side by side.

Walking hand in hand like this was no longer unusual.

"Thanks for staying up late last night. I was very happy."

Kei squeezed my hand while blushing a little.

"But it'd be a problem if we get caught."

Although already past the curfew, Kei kept staying in my room last night. Fortunately, there seemed to be no witnesses when she left, so we would not be penalized.

"Ahaha, indeed."

For some reason, Kei's profile looked reliable. Can she change this much in half a day?
"Did it hurt?"

"...Do you even have to ask?"

"Is it wrong to ask?"

"No, but... how do I put this, I thought I was used to it."

Even though blushing, Kei was delighted.

"In a way, it was my first time so I had probably hadn't sorted my mind yet. However, I feel reassured that Kiyotaka hugged me close throughout and did not care about the curfew."

That's true, who knows what would have happened if I hadn't been there.

"I see."

Another one, Kei had taken a step up toward the stairs of adulthood after yesterday's experience.

Although she had support behind her back, she had succeeded in standing with her hands off the ground.

It was a long rehabilitation from the point where she thought she could never stand anymore.

Learning to get up on your own when you fall was important for Kei, a special case that didn't happen overnight like other students. It could be said that the prospect was finally here.

"G-Good morning, Kei-chan."

As soon as we arrived at the classroom, Sato, who had arrived early, spotted Kei and got up before running to her.

"Good morning, Maya-chan~!"

Kei gave me a look and started talking to Sato at a close distance without hesitation.

Although somewhat awkward, they soon began talking as usual, or even more friendly than usual, and the circle of happiness that began with the two of them began to spread to the other girls, even to students who were not usually involved, such as Shinohara, and Mii-chan, who had been in trouble at one point.

Horikita, who has gradually begun to show her power as a leader, is awakening her skills to unite the large group, but it is something different.

The ability to create, attract, and unite a small group.

Without a doubt, Kei possesses these qualities and qualities.

With all of these things that are essential for strengthening the class, the road to the festival seemed to be going well, but suddenly news of an incident that could become a major flashpoint arrives.
"Hey, is it true that our class is going to have a maid cafe?"

Ike burst into the classroom, shouting this as he made his first public appearance.

Maezono stood up as if surprised, since this was a matter that had been kept a secret from all but a few students.

The people who came up with the idea, including Sato, Matsushita, and Mii-chan, all looked at each other at the same time.

The only ones who knew about the maid café were some of the girls who had been confirmed as staff members and those who had been approached by others. Then there was Horikita, who was in charge of organizing the festival.

Horikita was calmly listening to Ike's story without showing any impatience.

If he overreacted, he would make the whole class realize that they were really going to have a maid café, and so will the other classes.

However, this meaning was lost when Maezono and the others reacted strongly.

And since he had said it was a maid cafe, it was highly unlikely that he had left it up to them.

"Where did you hear such a story, Ike?"

"Where did I hear about it, let's see..."

Ike was frightened and choked up when he saw Maezono's tense, angry face.

"I was in the lobby a few minutes ago and Ishizaki, Suzuki, ...... and Nomura were talking about it as loudly as they could."

"Hey, Horikita-san what's going on? Weren't you supposed to keep this a secret?"

Matsushita, who also remembers the contact from Hashimoto, came up to him yesterday.
"I didn't think it was possible, but I guess I was naive."

The answer was already clear when Ishizaki and the others were making a fuss.

"Does this mean that Ryuen-kun betrayed us? You said it would be all right, didn't you, Horikita-san?"

As Maezono angrily tried to get close to Horikita, the classroom door was opened and Sudo came in looking a little flustered.

"Oh, hey, Ryuuen and the others are coming this way."

"I guess we'll just have to go and just greet them... You guys stay inside the classroom."

Deciding that the conversation would become more complicated if outsiders were to join in, Horikita decided to greet them in the hallway and stood up awkwardly from her seat.

I sat up awkwardly.

"Hey, did you come all the way to pick me up, Suzune?"

Ryuuenwas in the lead, followed by Ishizaki, Albert, and Kaneda.

"I wondered what you were doing here with such a boisterous group of people."

"I had something to tell you today. What is it, Ishizaki?"

"Uh-uh."

With a slightly nervous look on his face, Ishizaki looked around this side of the room.
The students who had been told not to leave the class were also looking on, perhaps curious about the situation or unable to resist.

The actual "I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Maezono, in particular, was glaring at Ryuuen without hiding his irritation.

"The matter you've been making a fuss about since this morning seems to have caught their attention."

Ryuuen, sensing the atmosphere in the vicinity, replies with a laugh.

"I'm honestly surprised. You really don't care about unpredictable behavior, do you?"
"Kuku, predictable behavior is boring, isn't it?"

Ryuuen began to explain carefully so that Ike and the others, who did not understand the situation, could hear.

"At Suzune's suggestion, we formed a cooperative relationship with our class for the gymnastic festival, and we planned to join forces early on for this year's cultural festival as well."

To be precise, the request for cooperation in the cultural festival was made on my initiative, but that's a trivial matter here.

Horikita and Katsuragi then agreed to continue working hand in hand at the festival.

"We wanted to make sure that there will be no overlap between our exhibits. We will discuss the location of the stalls, and if necessary, we will be able to borrow students and follow up with them. Was it?"

"That's right. We had planned to follow up with the students a little further down the road. We were told early on what we were going to put on display, and we were told yesterday about the location of the stalls."

Kaneda smiles as he adds a few details.

"You were planning to betray us from the very beginning. But you hid it from us until today because you were waiting for us to tell you where we were going to open the stall."

"That's what I meant. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to call off our agreement to cooperate."

"That's quite a way to go back on a clean slate, isn't it? You unilaterally found out the location of the stall and even revealed the event."

"Reveal? Ishizaki and the others were just chatting. It just so happened that your class and the other classes overheard them. What kind of small people are you to listen in?"

The classmates gradually began to understand the situation.

" Is what you just said true, Horikita-san?"

Yosuke had not yet been informed them of the ongoing cooperative relationship with Ryuuen's class.

"I was going to tell you when everything was settled..."

The final stage was about to be reached, but has been overturned.

The classmates, including Yosuke, were informed of this.

Yosuke said, "May I ask you a reason? What is the advantage of betrayal? Did you reteam with Sakyanagi-san or Ichinose-san and the others?"

"I lent a hand in the gymnastic festival with the goal of destroying Class A, but you guys outright won."

We both picked up wins at the gymnasium, but we were 100 points ahead in class points.
"We were on equal terms. The same goes for the festival proposal."

"But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you crush A, because you B's have risen to the same position. It won't be for many class points, but we'll win the next school festival with the exact same show you guys putting on."

"Does that mean a maid cafe?"

Maenzono immediately responded to the key word "same".

"Well, I'll change the concept a little bit, but I'm going to do something similar."
If the event had been leaked, it would not have been so important.

However, the fact that they dared to put on the same type of activity that Horikita's class is performing would be a major fatal blow to the class, and the planners, including Maenzono, and their classmates must have understood this.

The declaration was to compete for the four seats that would earn 100 class points, from first place to fourth place.

"Why go to the trouble of competing in the same genre as us? I don't see the benefits for you."

"It's true that competing for customers is riskier than competing with other shows, but what does it matter? We have a plan to get to the top of the list after your sales."

I don't get the sense that he came all the way over here just to say that.

"So, let's have a hotter competition, Suzune."

".....Competiton?"

The commotion began to grow little by little, and even Kanzaki and other unrelated students in other classes heard Ryuen's declaration of war. I don't get the sense that he came all the way over here just to say that.

"The one who earns as many points as possible will receive 5 million points from the other class. Wouldn't that be an interesting match?"

"Are you serious? That doesn't sound like a very sane wager to make."

"It's only 5 million points if you ask me."

Class points cannot be moved without permission.

However, private points owned by individuals can be freely handled.

He proposed a "wager" to take advantage of this.

A one-on-one proposal, separate from the one-class competition.

Even if you don't make it to the top at the festival and lose, if you win this head-to-head matchup, you will receive 5 million private points.

If it brings in 5 million, it would certainly be a hot contest.

"Well, I would have preferred a more expensive battle with a different opponent, but Nagumo, the student council member, said he had no interest in the festival and ran away. The third-year students, except for the class A, are not interested in this event. It was not as if he was running away, but as long as he couldn't find a partner, he had no choice. Let's have a showdown in the second year."

"Don't just go ahead with your own ideas. I'm not going to accept such a reckless proposal."

"Are you running away too?"

"You unilaterally broke our contract, then leaked it, and now you're trying to make a deal with us by putting us on the spot with the same thing. It's an unreasonable proposal. I can finally see Katsuragi-san's true intentions in avoiding a penalty agreement."

"That doesn't matter anymore. You just don't have confidence in your ability to win a fight with me right?"

"I didn't say that."

"Oh?"

"I will not stand idly by while you do whatever they you to do. I will take your proposal into consideration."

"Kuku, you say. I'm waiting for your good answer, Suzune."

Perhaps finishing his business, Ryuuen pulls away as if satisfied.

It was a triumphant return, making way for Hashimoto and the others in the audience.

As Ryuuen and the others left, students from other classes who had been spectators began to pull up.

Hashimoto, whose eyes met mine, smiled thinly and cowered his shoulders.

It was as if to say, "Did you understand that we are going to join forces with Ryuen?" He looked as if he wanted to say so.

This was already known to the entire second-year students and to the entire grade.

The maid café's performance, including Ryuuen's surprise participation in the event, had put us in a difficult environment.

If other classes were considering doing the same thing, I would not be surprised if they decided to change courses.

But we have already started a lot of preliminary work.

"What are you going to do, Horikita-san? We're pretty well prepared, aren't we.....?"

"Is Ryuuen's class really planning on doing a maid cafe and battling us?"

Maezono and the others approached Horikita with their concerns and the frustration they were trying to hide.

"It's very likely," said Horikita. "I don't think it's just a threat."

"How about we shift to a different kind of presentation now?"

Yosuke suggested that they should consider that option in order to turn things around....

"I can't do that. Part of the budget has already been spent."

We've already ordered as much of the maid's uniforms as we can.

We cannot throw away the costs we have spent so far.

If we stop, we will be throwing away precious funds.

Hopefully we can re-evaluate how we are going to get around in the future with our dwindling time.

It could be said that we have fallen into a state of sunk cost bias.

"We should rather take advantage of this situation and turn it into an opportunity to get as many, if not as many private points as we can on the bet."

That is, of course, if her classmates agree to this proposal.

The reason is that in order to have a large sumof money available, the whole group must work together to raise it.

PART 4

In some cases, such as Horikita's class that was exposed through an act of betrayal, it is ostensibly unknown until the day of the event which class will have a stall and at what location, and what kind of presentation they will put on.

However, the bigger the scale of the event, the more preparations must be made in advance for the day of the event.

In fact, each of the classes had begun to steadily work on the points where they were expected to set up their stalls.

In the midst of all this, surprising information came to light from the 3rd year A class, led by Nagumo.

Rumors flew that they were going to rent out a large space in the gymnasium and put on a show that combined a "haunted house" and a "maze".

I should describe it as the style of a champion who does not have to compete to earn class points.

Perhaps it was not Nagumo's initiative, but the consensus of the class that made them do what they wanted to do.

The way they carried out the competition made me think that winning was secondary.

Just by looking at the props being brought in from a distance, one can see that a fair amount of money was invested in the event.

As if to show this, the third-year class A finally announced its own pre-opening yesterday.

The students who wanted to experience the maze haunted house were allowed to do so, and opinions were solicited.

I can't help but feel that the students are determined to put on a high quality show for the guests on the day of the festival.

As someone who is new to this whole cultural festival thing, I wanted to experience firsthand what the other classes were going to put on, no matter how it was going to be.

After school, I went to the gymnasium to participate in the pre-opening event.

Perhaps because the pre-opening was held over several days, there were not so many first- and second-year students in the gymnasium even on the first day.

The gymnasium, with its dimmed lights, had a slightly frightening atmosphere.

Not long after I got to the end of the line, I heard a familiar voice.

"It's amazing, isn't it, Mr. Student Body President? You're so proud to open the gym to the public."

"It's not easy to keep something like this under wraps when it's this big. It was a wise decision to release the information at an early stage if it was to be used for practice as well."

When I looked back, I saw Ichinose and Kanzaki approaching.

Apparently, like me, they had come to check on the situation as well as to scout the area.
"Ah..."

As I was about to line up with them, my presence naturally came into their line of sight.
The first to react hypersensitively was Ichinose, who bowed her head and averted her gaze, but only lightly.

Kanzaki silently glanced at Ichinose and me and got in line.

An awkward silence began to fall, and the line did not move as fast as I wanted it to.

The first day of the event, the third-year students also do not seem to be able to proceed smoothly.

"I was reminded of something I had to do. I'm sorry Kanzaki, but can I leave this to you?"

It was obviously a random request, but Kanzaki nodded his head in agreement without a hint of reluctance.

"See you later."

I guess you can't be ruthless at any time, or maybe it's just that Ichinose was so disciplined as to say a few words to me as well, and after she left the line, only Kanzaki and I were left, and the air was heavy.

Even students who don't know anything about our situation might notice the reason for it.

The situation is more obvious than it appears when it comes to Kanzaki.

"How are you doing?"

I tried asking him something, but soon Kanzaki's face turned grim.

"Do you think I'm doing good?"

There was no way that the Ichinose class, which had been slowly losing class points, could be in good shape.

It must have sounded like a half provocation.

After filling in our names, we were briefed on the rules.

The explanation was the bare minimum of manners.

-Cell phone use is forbidden in the class. No cell phone use in the room, always put your phone on silent mode.

-No loud chit-chat.

-Do not stay inside for no reason.

-Don't touch the productions with your hands.

By the time I finished reading the explanation, Kanzaki had left the line and turned his back to me.

They probably wait for Ichinose to come back. I was sure that Ichinose would be back by the time I left the gym.

After signing the agreement to leave Kanzaki alone, I took a step inside. The walled haunted house was naturally small and visibility was quite poor.

The light I bought at a discount store was wrapped in tape to reduce the light source, so it didn't do much to illuminate the room.

Recently, we often use the Internet to research cultural festivals, but I was surprised to see how high the quality of the festival was. 　

I was particularly surprised at the high level of skill of the 3rd years, or rather, the 3rd grade A class. 　

I ignored the presence of the ghosts and began to observe more carefully. 　

As a matter of course, the atmosphere is basically created by the decorations, but most of the important and frightening parts are done by human hands. 　

The long necks of the warriors are timed to coincide with the arrival of the guests by the students lurking behind them. 　

Naturally, someone else is responsible for the fallen warrior's leaping out of the way and drawing his sword. 　

There are several tricks that are clearly still in the process of being created, but they're sure that they will be completed and improved in quality during the actual performance. 　

While it may not be as popular with adults, it may be very popular with families, especially children.

High prices tend to put people off, but if that is what the children want, they will probably be willing to pay the price.

This will be an important factor in establishing a policy for maid cafes in the future. 　

I am about halfway down the road. 　

As I move to follow the "turn left" sign, a shadow moves in my field of vision. 　

It seemed to be trying to scare me again with a new trick.

"Ah, woah!"　

Ignoring me, who should have been the one to scream, the ghost that jumped out stumbled over a step in front of me and fell down in a heap.

This is Asahina Nazuna, a 3rd year class A student.　

I didn't help her because I thought it might be staged, but when I saw her fainting in agony, I was convinced that it was an unexpected accident.

In this darkness, It's not surprising that we lose sight of our footing. ......

"Ow, ow!"

"...... Are you okay?" 　

In a sense, It's a scary picture, offering a helping hand to a ghost that is already not supposed to be alive.

"Oh, thank you..."　

She seems to have difficulty standing up on its own, so she sits down on the spot. 　

I could not just leave her at this point, so I decided to lend her shoulder to lean on.

"Which way is the exit?"

"Hmm? The way of the exit.. Maybe this way... or ....?

"If you're worried, let's turn around." 　

Since I remembered how to get to the entrance, I should be able to get back there quickly, even with a little help.

"Don't worry, trust your Senpais!!!"

Although the instructions seemed unreliable, it was better to follow them maturely. 　
It should be faster than me groping my way to the exit from scratch. 　

After getting lost a few times, I reach the exit while accompanying my classmates who were scared by my senpai's threats.

I planned to leave with Asahina right away, but it seemed no one was available due to the open house.

"Don't worry about me. Thank you, Ayanokoji-kun. I'm sure you'll be fine after a short rest."
I crouched down to check Asahina's ankle.

"Huh, what are you doing"

"Let me have a look"

It's too early to say it's just a slight sprain, but it's starting to swell. 　

If she doesn't receive proper treatment, there is a possibility that it will affect her later on.

"I think it would be better to go to the infirmary. Wouldn't it be a disaster if you were eliminated from the school festival due to this?"

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I should do that."　

She gets up and tries to walk alone, but realizes that she is in pain, so she decides to stand only on her left leg, which is still safe. 　

However, every time she jumps a little, a vibration is felt in her right leg, and she shows an expression of anguish.

"I'll lend you a hand, after all."

"Ugh..... but ...... "　

I am sure that she is embarrassed and doesn't want it to be this way, but it seems that there are other reasons why she is reluctant to ask for my help.

"Is it because Student Council President Nagumo?"

".....You already know the reason don't you?"

"Well, I don't. It was just a feeling I had."

"I'm sure if he saw the mess Ayanokoji-kun has created with the with me, a class A student it wouldn't for you. I can't let you get in trouble because of me, can I?"

I don't want you to get in trouble because of me, she said.

"There's nothing to worry about. I don't need to worry about it. I'm sure Student Council President Nagumo doesn't take me seriously anymore. "

"Really? "

I decided to lend Asahina a hand and take her to the infirmary.

"Thank you."

It's a bit of a problem that she's dressed so conspicuously, but I guess that can't be helped. 　
I lend her my shoulder, and while some people look at me curiously, I make my way to the infirmary.

The doctor immediately took her to the bed to administer treatment. 　

Asahina was instructed to wait a little while to get ready. 　

As I was about to turn my back to leave, I heard a voice behind me.

"By the way, bad things started happening in Ayanokoji-kun's right?"

I miss the timing to leave the infirmary and begin to stand there talking to her.

"Is this about the maid cafe, or about the information leak?"

"Yeah."

The very same scheme that was carried out by Ryuuen this morning. 　

The whole school knew about our maid cafe that we had been secretly working on. 　

Naturally, there are basically many disadvantages to having our performance known at an early stage.

"Class C ...... Ryuuen's class also came forward to participate in a maid cafe as well."　

The simple fact that they we are competing for the same customers means that we will have trouble.

"We can only hope that by having two classes competing with similar stalls, there will be no others trying to do the same."

"If you have three or four classes doing the same stall, you will only end up fighting for the same customers."　

We can only hope that they won't follow suit. 　

It's not impossible to have a one-size-fits-all strategy, but it won't be easy to compete with those who have a lot of resources to devote.

Soon after, the doctor came with bandages and other treatment tools. In the end, we decided to wait and see how the treatment went.

The doctor told her that the treatment would be over soon and that she would be able to walk without any problems after a few days of rest.

When Asahina found out that she would be able to participate in the festival, she simultaneously expressed her relief and the pain she had been enduring.

"I'm so glad. I didn't want to trouble the class with this."

"The class advantage won't change, so why worry about it?" 　

If they get last place in the festival, they won't lose their position.

"That's not true. It's better to have a lot of class points. Nagumo's neglect this time has quite a few kids who are against it." 　

Asahina continued with a downcast look in her eyes.

"For students who haven't decided who they want to win, they need as many class points as possible, don't they? For example, at the cultural festival, if you win first place, you get more private points by the time you graduate." 　

Considering the rules of the third year, it was natural for Nagumo to want as many students as possible to graduate in A class. 　

It seems that even for Class A, it is unbearable to abandon those in Classes B and below.

"Well, they're saying that they're going to let non-A students compete and pick up one out of the class that wins first place, but that's just it." 　

If that is the case, the remaining three classes will not complain too strongly.

But even so, they cannot completely control them unless they show a determination to gain as many class points as possible.

The pressure on class 3-A, which has abandoned the idea of winning, will only increase in the future.

"Ayanokoji-kun, you said that Nagumo wasn't keeping an eye on you anymore right?"

"Yes."

"At first I thought that was true. But maybe that's wrong after all. "

"Why?"

"There wasn't a clear winner or loser with you and Nagumo, was there?"

"That's true. "　

I and Nagumo have never settled the issue through a head-to-head match.

"If that's the case, then I guess it's not over after all."

"I have no intention of doing so. I don't think I'll be tempted by any means."

It would be a waste of time for Nagumo to deal with me.

"I don't think that matters. Rather... it might go in a worse direction than it is now. It may not Ayanokoji-kun he's trying to target, but maybe someone close to you."

I think there are things that only Asahina, who has watched Nagumo closely for the past three years, can see.

As with former student council president Horikita, Student Council President Nagumo likes to compete."

"There's no doubt about that."

"Have he ever been clearly beaten by someone or something? Has he ever had a slight setback?"

Looking at Nagumo's attitude up to now, it is easy to guess.

"I wonder if Nagumo has ever stumbled ...... even once. At least as far as I know."　

The confidence of his classmates in Nagumo's ability to win is very high.

"There is no doubt that Student Council President Nagumo is an outstanding person. If he was really talented, he would never have been able to cheat OAA or become Student Council President."　

There are some aspects that cannot be solved by politics alone.

"He likes to be number one. That's why he fought so hard to become number one at this school as well. In the end, he even became the student body president, so he really does what he says he will do."

"However, if you ask me if Nagumo is the best human being, I will immediately deny it."

"How can that be.....? He's never been beaten by anyone in particular. "

"I think it's because he's never came across a good opponent."

It doesn't mean that Nagumo is weak. However, there is no doubt that Nagumo's opponents were weak.

"His greatest misfortune was that he did not have anyone in his grade who was equal to or better than him and who could compete with him. "

"You mean he didn't have a good rival ......?"

"That's right."

Unfortunately, competing against so many lower-ranked teams meant Nagumo was able to maintain his number 1 position without much effort.

Of course, his starting dash may have been second or third, but he quickly overtook them and became the sole runner. 　

After finishing the race, he looked back and saw that no one was chasing him. 　
They had given up on the idea that they could not beat Nagumo, and had simply walked or stopped.

There may have been people around him who had talent like Kiryuin, but if they did not try to catch up with and surpass Nagumo, they were no better than weeds and stones on the side of the road. 　

The fact that he did not experience the harshness and difficulty of competition and the frustration of losing while he was still a small child may be the cause of the distortion in Nagumo's thinking. 　

The fact that he is planning and carrying out his strange revenge against me is not out of any sense of inferiority, or being defeated, but rather just to bring me to the front stage. 　

Even when I was asked to compete in a one-on-one match at the sports festival, he never thought he would lose.

Of course, he didn't know everything about me, but even if he had seen my full effort up close, Nagumo would not have had any doubt that he would lose. 　

He is a man who has never known defeat in the true sense of the word. The downside of winning win after win after win.

"I wish we would stop fighting at this school."

"Is that so?"

"I wish nothing would ever happen to me..."

That's not going to happen. 　

The indirect impression of Nagumo's behavior changed blatantly at this cultural festival. 　
To the public, it may seem that Nagumo's belligerent side and curiosity have simply been suppressed. 　

But this was not the case. 　

This was the calm before the storm. 　

Nagumo will do something ...... else to me after this.

It may not be enough for one or two people to be expelled. 　

I should say that this is the price for having neglected Nagumo up to now. 　

If the bomb is left unchecked, the same development as I just mentioned will be waiting for us. 　

Horikita Manabu has said, "The way Nagumo is doing things, he is going to have to pay a huge price. Nagumo's way will bring misfortune to many people." 　

He was half right.

Of course, I don't deny that I played a part in that, but it was just that Nagumo's emotions and thought process were originally smoldering with those options. 　

The other half of the choices were off. 　

That is, because of Nagumo's method, students who should not have been able to graduate in Class A are getting a chance to do so.

Not only third-year students, but also first and second-year students have received class transfer tickets, albeit on a limited basis. 　

While its use is limited, it is a product that did not exist before.

Up until last year, I would have watched over Nagumo's actions.

"I've become a little more interested in Student Council President Nagumo."

"Hear what I just said?"

"Yes." 　

I've never felt such interest before, and it's rising up from the bottom of my heart.

"I knew you were different." 　

After casting a glance at the bandaged leg, Asahina gave a small smile.

"It may have been a coincidence that we met, but maybe that's why Nagumo wants to fight. "

Looking back, at this "coincidence" it was also a major factor in my making contact with Asahina. 　

Coincidence. I was able to formulate a logic in my conversation with her. 　

The coincidences I just mentioned are uncontrollable. 　

However, it does not mean that they are completely uncontrollable. 　

Coincidences can change the form of the conversation, depending on your point of view and the way you look at it. 　

Asahina Nazuna, the amulet, the existence of coincidences, and Masashi Nagumo. 　

This is not bad for a single test case.

Just as success awaits us after a series of failed experiments.

PART 5

I left Asahina in the infirmary and returned to the gymnasium.

The other reason was to check on Kanzaki, who was anxious to get back, and Ichinose, who was expected to return.

If he was too conspicuous, the same thing would happen again, so he moved farther away from the entrance. 　

Since I could not see Kanzaki's figure in the line, I wondered if he was inside or if he had already left. 　

However, it is clear that he will wait for Ichinose's return. 　

Since there was a bit of a commotion when I took the injured Asahina out, I don't think Kanzaki, who had been waiting for Ichinose to return while I was waiting for him to leave, would have missed it. 　

I went to the infirmary and returned in about 15 minutes. 　

If Ichinose had returned immediately after that, it would be different, but if she was some distance away, it would not be surprising if she was still inside. 　

While making an overall observation, I decided to pay attention to the faces of the students coming out. 　

A few minutes later, Kanzaki slowly emerged from the exit. 　

I wondered if he was still in the gymnasium, but what surprised me was what happened next.
I had expected Ichinose to be next to him, but he was alone.

He was not late and did not seem to be paying attention to what was going on behind him. 　

Kanzaki, who I thought was just going to walk away, looked around and found me.
After staring at me for a few seconds, he came closer.

"I see you're back after all. It seems your injuries weren't too serious."

If there had been a major incident, it would have been hard to imagine me standing around like this. 　

This must have been Kanzaki's guess.

"Was Ichinose's absence strange to you?"

"To be honest, a little."

"I didn't invite you because I was concerned about the possibility of you coming back from the infirmary. Besides, the Pre-Open showcase still has a few days left."　

So Ichinose will be given time to observe the event even if she doesn't rush herself.

It seems that the direction of Ichinose's presentation has been decided to some extent. 　

If it's a trial run, then we need to force the tour without any hesitation.

"I want to continue what we were talking about earlier. Your class seems to be going very well."

Obviously, this meant everything from the deserted island test to the unanimous special examinations, and even going back a little further, to the second year.

"It doesn't mean that we're unscathed. Unlike your class, we have openings. We also have negatives that you can't see just from class points."

"You are not the only ones with invisible risks. If you take into account that what you see is a positive, you have made up a lot of ground." 　

This is not envy, but rather Kanzaki's frank opinion.

"A class like yours will eventually have to fight Sakayanagi's class."

One thing that stuck out to me was Kanzaki's somewhat optimistic, one-step-back assessment of his own class.

"Have you given up on moving up to Class A?"

"...... Maybe so." 　

Kanzaki's reply was not a denial, but more of an affirmation. 　

It is not difficult to understand his feelings.

The class of Ichinose has not produced any disastrous results.

He is a diligent student who rarely loses class points for tardiness, absenteeism, or conduct problems, and he rarely makes major mistakes on special exams, so the risk of losing too many points is low.

In other words, they do not have the opportunity to make a big jump on special exams.

"No one has yet noticed that the class is slowly sinking. It would be cute if they were pretending not to notice, but that's what we all really think."

"Kanzaki, you seem to be the only one who's different."

"That was not so long ago. There's no point in rebelling on your own. "

"So you've given up?"

"We'll never make it to Class A."

Kanzaki seemed to emphasize that statement clearly.

"If the possibility has been reduced to zero, there is nothing left to do but to search for another way. If we are going to sink, we should give as many people as possible a chance to escape. "

"We'll have to accumulate 20 million points before we can move to another class."

"The Student Council President Nagumo has actually implemented this plan and it has proven to be effective. We have been concentrating private points on Ichinose for a long time. If we increase the ratio to the limit, we can move two or three students, or at least move them to Class A. In addition, for the first time, the existence of class transfer tickets was shown at the sports festival. Of course, it won't be easy to get them, but it's a nice addition to the plan."

"Why are you going to the trouble of telling me what's going on? I don't think you're "Why are you going to the trouble of telling me what's going on? I don't think you're just trying to distract me."

"I don't know why. I don't really know what I'm doing either." 　

That was a very uncharacteristic response from him.

While answering this question to myself, I began to search for the reason why the answer made me uncomfortable.

"I didn't have a place to vent. Maybe that's why." 　

If it is a problem in daily life, it can be shared among those close to the student, regardless of whether it is inside or outside of the class, and it will be resolved.

However, when it comes to class problems, the solution is inevitably sought within the class.

The only way out is to give up Class A and move to another class.

If such a thing is said within the class, it is inevitable that a dissonance will be created.

In Ichinose's class, it would be impossible to gain his agreement.

"The only person I could think of who could understand what I was saying and would not talk out of turn was you." 　

That's why he thought I was the best outlet. 　

Of course, that was not the only reason. 　

He seems to have an aspect of resentment toward me, who has a strong influence on Ichinose.

"It doesn't matter what happened between you and Ichinose, nor does it matter that you're having such a bad influence on me that I can't even do a satisfactory reconnaissance."

"It's a little harsh to say it like that. "

"I hope you will forgive me. There is a certain amount of frustration I'm having."

Kanzaki raises his hand lightly and announces that he is leaving.

The back of the class leader, who had given up on winning, looked a little smaller than usual. 　
I'm not sure if this is the right time to call him off, but I can't let him go home like that.

"Can we schedule a time to talk soon? I'd like to have a little talk about the future."

"Can't we do that now?"

"I'm sorry, but right now I'd like to do some more research on the third years,"　

Besides, starting the discussion now will not move us forward in any way.

In order to discuss the future, we need another piece of the puzzle that will allow us to move into the future.

"If that's the case, well, that's fine. Call me anytime."

PART 6

It was Friday on the weekend. 　

I had come to a place I don't usually visit to meet a certain student. 　

I knocked and opened the door to the student council room, and for a moment, Nagumo looked surprised. 　

There were no other students or teachers in sight. As Asahina had informed me, he was alone today. 　

Even for them, my arrival must have been unexpected. 　

He was holding a cell phone in his left hand as if he had been watching me until just now. 　
Although it should have been an unwelcome visitor, he didn't shoo me away but urged me to come in.

"Excuse me. "　

The door to the room closes with a bang, leaving the two of us alone in silence.

"If I waited for you because you insisted on taking the time, I would never have guessed it was you who had asked me. You need something from the student council?"

No. I have no business with the Student Council. I have come to speak with the president of the student council, Nagumo-san personally." 　

After saying that, he sat up deeper in his chair and put his cell phone on the desk.

"If that's the case, I can only compliment you for showing your face in front of me. Isn't that right? Ayanokoji."

"I assume you are referring to the sports festival, but isn't being out of shape a legitimate right that is recognized as a reason for absence?"

"Don't make me laugh. The day after the gymnastics festival was over, some guys saw you at the Keyaki Mall in good health."

"I got well in one day."

"That's a blatant lie."

"It might be true."

It was a play on words, but Nagumo seemed to realize there was no point in pursuing the matter any further.

"It doesn't matter if it's true or false. Anyway, let's hear why you're here." 　

His bothersome attitude must have come from the bottom of his heart. 　

He does not even try to hide his desire to quickly finish the discussion with me and go home. 　

However, such a transparent attitude is evidence that he is hiding his true feelings.

"Is it okay if I sit down? I think it will take a while."

"You said you had nothing to do with me as student council president. Then that also means that you don't mind if I refuse to talk to you, right?"

As the head of the student council, Nagumo was ready to listen to anyone, even if he didn't like them. 　

But if not, he didn't want to hear any more about it. 　

Well, it was only natural.

"If you don't listen to me, I will leave." 　

If the individual Nagumo has become too lazy to even talk to me, then it can't be helped.

I'm sure that's not going to happen. 　

If Nagumo has lost interest in me completely, that's a different story, but deep down, I believe the spark is still there. 　

In other words, they will never refuse. 　

This is why I took time out of my precious time to come here.

After a few moments of silence, Nagumo instructed me to sit down. 　

I moved my chair and sat down so that we could face each other.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have any drinks."

"No problem." 　

I could tell by him watching me that he didn't have the attitude to come to apologize. 　

I think they were just wondering what we were doing here after all these years.

"I had no idea that 3rd year class A would hold a pre-open event. It is normal for people to consider it a disadvantage to open their presentations to the public."

"Some idiotic class is talking about their presentation being exposed, and it's getting all the way over here."

"It's a painful story to hear, isn't it? I heard that Ryuuen visited you."

"He was trying to get me to bet tens of millions of points with him."

"I heard you turned him down."

"The game with you and my school life is over. As a result, the cultural festival turned into something that didn't matter. Then there is no need for me to go out of my way to give instructions. I'm just letting them do what they want as a memory until graduation."

So he switched to a stance of being open about what they were going to do, and instead enjoying a normal culture festival that could be found at any school? 　

Whether they won first or twelfth place, the solidity of 3rd year class A remained unchanged.
It doesn't matter to Nagumo whether Class B or below complains about it or not.

"But tens of millions? Even if we rounded up all the money from the class, it wouldn't be enough." 　

Ryuuen's class has a lot of income, but they also spend a lot of money, so their pocketbooks are not this crazy warm.

"You said you would give them the right to expel any student they want, including yourself." 　
"He was planning to use the students themselves as collateral for the funds he couldn't come up with.

Were students willing to pledge themselves as collateral for the funds they could not provide?

"If I'd been here last year, I might have taken him up on the offer. It would have been more interesting if I had gambled on expulsion, even though I had nothing to do with the school." 　

Nagumo says he had already lost his enthusiasm and interest in the school.

"If you want to compete, you're on your own. You are free to do whatever you want."

"I understood what the individual thought was. But there are many students don't agree."

"No one can complain about me. If I do that, I won't be guaranteed a place in Class A. As the show approaches, I, or rather the student council, will make a proposal that won't be bad. It would be a little help to the class that is desperately struggling to win."

"I see. You have given this a lot of thought, haven't you? "

"I'm the president of the student council, after all."

" Let's just hear what you have to say. "

"My desire is to just have a chat with Student Council President Nagumo. That's all."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Is that too far-fetched to believe? I'm a little surprised at my own behavior. I've been trying to keep my distance you until now."

Nagumo himself knows this very well.

But they probably didn't understand why, even at the root of it.

"Do you know why?"

"I don't know. I'm sure it's not because you're afraid of my ability."

"Unlike the previous Student Council President Horikita Manabu, you attract the eyes of everyone around. It's a little too bright for a shadowy person like me to be relative to him, that's one of the reasons."

"I see. But that's just a front, isn't it?" 　

The fact that he is a man of the cloth is a little too bright for a man of the shadows.
"I wasn't interested." 　

This is the only way to express his true feelings. 　

While acknowledging a certain level of ability, that's all there is to it. 　

That is why I thought that no matter what Nagumo did, there was no need for me to get involved.

"If someone else had told me what I just said, I might have gotten a little angry."

"I didn't know that I was rude to you."

"You don't need to apologize. You are free to feel the way you do. I'm the one who made you speak your mind." 　

Nagumo said so, but he then immediately added.

"But if you hadn't been the one who said that, I'm sure I would have changed my mind right away."

He would not have hesitated to entrap the speaker into taking an interest even if he didn't want to. 　

With Nagumo's power and strength, it wouldn't have been difficult.

"I thought that my term as Student Council President would soon be over and that I would be able to stay on as Student Council President of Class A and continue on with my graduation. I thought that would be fine. Until just the other day."

"You think you're different now?"

"I had a change of heart. I came here because I felt it was okay to face you directly." 　

There is no need for checks and balances, false flattery, false joy, or false anger. 　

It is better for the future if you say exactly what you are thinking. 　

As he waits for me to speak, I decide to tell Nagumo my main reason for coming here today.

"I have a proposal for you, Student Council President Nagumo, and this time I would like to propose a game to you." 　

Perhaps Nagumo had no idea that I was about to make such a statement.

"I don't like it. This isn't like you."　

Nagumo was not convinced by such an answer as a change of mind.

"I don't know when exactly this change of heart came, but it's too late. You ran away from the last chance I gave you at the sports festival. If I may borrow a word from your heart, you weren't interested. Isn't that right?"

"That's right. I think it's a convenient story."

"Yeah, that's right. There is no way I can give an honest yes when you ask me for a match now because of a change of heart, after having given up several opportunities to do so." 　

Nagumo did not change his posture and continued to show his attitude of not holding back in any way.

"It's the same with what you said earlier about the sports festival. Saying you were out of shape from start to finish is also a blatant lie. Besides, don't tell me you've forgotten about the incident on the deserted island."

"Then, shall we repeat the same thing you did then, only this time from the opposite position?" 　
If Nagumo can put a bullet in my gut here, he can make an apology as an action. 　

However, I don't think he would be convinced by such a thing and would not take action.

"If you think it's the same one shot, it's not funny. There is a big difference in value between you and me." 　

Naturally, there was no room for discussion. It is obvious that there is at least that much difference between Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Masashi Nagumo at this school.

One is an ordinary student in the 2nd year B class, while the other is the leader of the 3rd year class A and the student council president. 　

There is such a difference in our ability that we can't even compare them.

"I'm not going to discuss it right now, so I'm going to shelve it, but even if I'm allowed to challenge you to a match, you're not allowed to challenge me to a match. Do you understand?"

"I understand, but this is exactly what you're putting on the shelf. I am right here in front of you right now and I am saying that I am willing to fight with Student Council President Nagumo. Can't you just agree to that?" 　

The bloodthirsty wolf deliberately cuts off the tip of his finger and drips blood. 　

But the wolf in front of me doesn't bite so easily.

He is not defenselessly provocative, as he has been in the past; he is very wary.

If he had not thought of me as an enemy, he would have already had his fangs at his fingertips.

He may not realize it, but that is the proof that Nagumo recognizes me as an enemy.

"You're really strange. You're not timid at all when it comes to me. No, it's not just me. It's also true of Horikita-senpai."　

Nagumo looked out the window as if remembering the days of Manabu Horikita. 　 His original desire was to fight Manabu, not me. 　

That goal is the only thing that will not come true, but it is also true that there is no other substitute.

"If I were to compete with you, what would you do? The second semester is almost over, and it's almost the third semester. As you probably already know, I gave up all rights to compete for sales at the culture festival to my classmates. I can't ask them to give it back now, can I? On the other hand, if I wait for the next special exam, there is no guarantee that there will be a competition among all grades." 　

We can't just leave it to chance and wait, hoping that there will still be a full grade competition. 　
This is not impossible, but it is not very realistic.

"You know from your experience with the former student body president that it is difficult to have a full-scale competition between students of different grades." 　

Last year, at the sports festival and training camp, Nagumo was determined to compete with Horikita Manabu. 　

He was determined to win no matter what form it took, no matter how small the game was. 　

However, Manabu was able to evade Nagumo's provocations, and did not involve the whole school in the game.

More than anyone else. How hard do you have to work to adjust? It's not just this year. Last year, too, because of you, the competition with Horikita-senpai did not come to fruition. 　

In that sense, I am not always happy for Nagumo.

"Please listen to what I'm about to tell you and think about whether or not we can make this match happen."

After I said this, Nagumo sat back in his chair to adjust his posture a little. 　

Since many of the special exams offered by the school are unknown, we have a few patterns in mind. 　

No matter what form they take, there is always a way to make a showdown happen.

After all was said and done, Nagumo remained silent and thoughtful.

"I don't know if we can achieve a 100% match, but I think we have a realistic chance."

"That's for sure. But do you really think you can carry out your plan?"

"I am sure that the situation is already clear to Student Council President Nagumo. You have been observing them on a daily basis, haven't you? If that's the case, there's no reason why you don't know all the details."

"I see. I was planning to shake you up at the time, but instead of getting upset, you decided to take advantage of it."

"Do you accept the proposal or not?"　

It may have taken me quite a long time to talk about it. However, this work through conversation is necessary for negotiations with Nagumo.

"I'd be happy to take it..."

The reply was positive, but it had other meanings as well.

"But what is your real purpose?"

"You don't believe me? I just want to play a game with Student Council President Nagumo."

"I don't believe you." 　

As if he was convinced of it, he replied without a pause. 　

I was a little pleased, but decided to wait for Nagumo's next words.

"Get to the point. I'll decide whether or not to accept the proposal afterwards." 　

"I have a favor to ask of Student Council President Nagumo." 　

I explained the content of the request and how it will be developed. 　

After listening, Nagumo sat back down in the chair he had occupied for the past year.

"I understand what you want to say, but that's not what you're proposing because you want a match with me. You brought up the idea of a match with me out of necessity in order to get what you wanted. Am I right?"

"You're half right, but half wrong. It is true that I wanted to have a match with you because I myself have changed my view of Student Council President Nagumo. However, I also feel that it would be troublesome. "

"What an honest guy."

"That's why I'm asking you to accept my proposal."

You're a a joke. You asked for a match, and now you're being brazen about it."

"I won't deny that."

"Do you think I'm going to go along with your little game with you, including that?"

"If you refuse, that's the end of it. I will never fight with Student Council President Nagumo again. Even if you takes advantage of a classmate or someone in the same grade, or even if you tries to take someone hostage, I will thoroughly ignore you."

"I wonder. If it were a random guy, I'll probably just let him die, but how about if it's Kei Karuizawa?" 　

At this point, Nagumo made reference to Kei's name and tried to shake him up.

"I don't think that matters."　

The smile on Nagumo's face disappeared as I answered immediately without hesitation.

"It seems you don't want ...... to think it doesn't work by saying it outright,"

"I am not an omniscient and omnipotent God. I can't protect everyone 24/7, 365 days a year, whether they are my blessings or my classmates. If the president of the school, who has the most power and control over the majority of the students in the school, wanted to, he could expel someone from school without my supervision."

Of course, there is the risk of having to pay a corresponding amount of time and expense, but I don't care about that.

"I don't care who you expel, I'm not going to move again." 　

This is not a game. 　

It was pure sincerity, and Nagumo's smile naturally faded.

"If you want to do it, you have no choice but to swallow the current proposal."

"Of course, you are free to ignore this and go on to graduate with impunity."

"But if I don't help you, you're going to be in trouble, aren't you? I've already made other plans." 　
Yes, there was no need to go to the trouble of bringing this matter to Nagumo. 　

But that's half of the reason I mentioned earlier. 　

The feeling of wanting to fight with Nagumo was the reason I wanted to have this discussion. Everything will be decided by Nagumo's next reply. 　

"It's the moment of final judgment whether or not the match between me and Nagumo will take place."

"That's good. I'll take you up on your offer, Ayanokoji. I'll take your bait. I'm graduating from A class anyway. It's not bad to end up playing with you." 　

He doesn't think even for a moment that he will lose, he can't even imagine it. 　

A man who is proud of his continuous victories, and has an overwhelming confidence.

"Thank you very much."

"But are you sure about this? If I do what you suggest, then no matter how it turns out, people around me will suffer."

"Of course. In any case, Student Council President Nagumo will be involved."

Nagumo reacted strongly to these words.

"...... you ......" 　

At the last word, Student Council President Nagumo stood up and approached me.

"Did you understand?"

"I was not aware of the fact that the students were not in a position to make a decision on what to do next. I had an idea of what to do next."

I had already told him I didn't want to fight, but he had his sights set on me at all times. 　
I was not sure if he was going to take action at the right time.

"So you're saying that Karuizawa isn't the only exception to the rule about Honami?"

"As I said, it doesn't matter who it is. Whether it's Horikita or someone else, whether it's Megumi or Ichinose, it's all the same. It would be wise not to think you can sway me with that."

Nagumo's snickering laugh was quickly replaced by a serious expression.

"I take back what I said about playing around. You are the only one whom Horikita-senpai has recognized. I was able to confirm that."

"I'm glad to hear that. Then, I'll leave you here."

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"You're a thorough poker face, I'll give you that. I understand that you had to negotiate hard to get me out of here, so I'm going to ask you once what you really want. So, let me hear your true feelings just once. Even if I was serious about expelling Karuizawa, would you have stood by and watched?"

"Kei, no, I don't think it's desirable for anyone else to have someone expelled in our class. I was going to resist as much as possible."

"That's not an answer, is it? Your answer is for the lack of people in your class. I'm talking about the fact that you didn't feel any anxiety or uneasiness about the idea of the disappearance of Karuizawa, who is a very special person to you."

I look back. 　

Normally, the answer here would be obvious. I would just say something along the lines of, "I'm just bluffing so you don't know my true feelings."

However, I felt that this was not the best answer for an opponent like Nagumo.

"If she disappears, she will exist only until she disappears. She is neither more nor less than that. In fact, it would be a great help to me because it would make the cleanup easier."

"...... You're screwed up in the head."　

This is the first time I saw Nagumo upset, or rather, muttering his opinion on something he doesn't understand.

"I'll be in touch soon."　

I left the student council room, closed the door quietly, and walked out. 　

Nagumo described me as having my head screwed up, but that's not true.　

In my opinion, the person who makes the wrong decision based on temporary feelings is the one who is tightening the screws the wrong way.

It is the same whether it is a stranger, a lover, or a family member. 　

If the time comes for you to fail and drop out, that's the end. 　

Your first priority should be to protect yourself. 　

That is the unshakable "solution."