A few days had passed since the four of them went to karaoke.
Mamoru had no idea what kind of conversation took place while he was out of the room that day, but Arisu and Fuka seemed to have settled into a reasonably stable relationship, even if it wasn’t entirely harmonious.
Since then, Arisu hadn’t probed into things any further.
If anything, what bothered Mamoru was the fact that Kamuro had suffered a miserable fate that day—having her drink swapped with a bizarre concoction from the penalty menu and being forced to eat a piece of Russian roulette takoyaki.
In any case, today was finally the day of the midterm exams.
Mamoru and Arisu were walking side by side down the path to school.
“The exams are finally here.
How confident are you feeling, Mamoru-kun?” Arisu brought up the topic as mere small talk, showing no signs of actual concern.
Mamoru replied in a casual tone, equally unbothered.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I won’t fail, at least.
You seem as relaxed as ever, Arisu-san.” “Indeed.
There were a few unexpected developments, but I believe I can get through it without any major issues.” “Unexpected developments?” Expecting a simple, direct answer like ‘of course’ or ‘naturally,’ Mamoru tilted his head at her somewhat loaded response.
“Yes.
Regarding that game of ours, Katsuragi-kun made a rather unexpected move.” “Huh…” It seemed Katsuragi hadn’t opted for a head-on clash and had devised some sort of scheme instead.
And judging by Arisu’s tone, it was likely a move she found somewhat undesirable.
Mamoru had no intention of getting involved in the class feud, but feeling a slight tug of curiosity, he asked her anyway.
“By the way, is it alright for someone uninvolved in the game like me to hear about it?” “It’s fine.
Today is the day of the exam, and you’re strictly neutral, Mamoru-kun.
Knowing the situation won’t cause any harm.” Saying that, Arisu began to explain.
“Shortly after the changes to the exam scope were announced, several members left Katsuragi-kun’s group and declared their participation as a new group.” “So he created an elite group of top scorers to secure a win.” That was the plan Katsuragi had previously pitched to Mamoru.
Mamoru deduced that Katsuragi had likely appointed another student as the representative to carry it out.
However, Arisu shook her head.
“Not quite.
What he aimed for wasn’t a victory through a small, elite group, but the division of his own group into two.” A division—meaning that instead of creating a single group concentrated with firepower, he split the group evenly.
Hearing those words, Mamoru vaguely grasped what Katsuragi was aiming for.
“A division…
don’t tell me he split the groups based on their strong subjects?” “Fufu, the fact that you understood so instantly means you had thought of it as well, right, Mamoru-kun?” “Well, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad move if someone wanted to win efficiently.” It was a plan Mamoru himself had pondered in the back of his mind, wondering what he would do if he were trying to win.
In this intra-class battle, the victory condition dictated that the faction securing higher scores across the majority of the five subjects would win.
Therefore, by dividing the groups according to their subject strengths and focusing their studies on those specific areas, their win rate would naturally rise.
Above all, this tactic offered another major advantage for Katsuragi.
“So he realized it, then?
That there might be a mole.” It meant the risk of a mole could be split between the two groups.
The spies Arisu had sent in were likely three people at most.
If someone attempted to drag the group down, a single person’s sabotage could still be overcome.
Even if all the moles happened to end up in one group, the other group could engage in the contest safely.
If one were merely aiming for victory without factoring in the presence of a mole, the previously mentioned elite-group plan offered a higher chance of winning.
However, the drawback of that plan was that pulling out top-performing students drastically lowered the remaining group’s win rate, and it couldn’t eliminate the risk if the moles happened to cluster within the elite group itself.
Choosing not to do that meant Katsuragi had realized a mole existed.
“Fufu, whatever could you mean?—is what I’d like to say, but I’ll refrain from playing dumb with you, Mamoru-kun.” Saying that, Arisu placed a finger over her lips with an ‘it’s a special exception’ gesture, letting a mischievous smile float onto her face.
‘If the topic weren’t about this, I’d genuinely think she looks a little cute…’ Though she wore a triumphant smile, what she was talking about was a method to undermine an opposing faction.
Mamoru was almost impressed by how seamlessly she could wear such a beautiful smile without a hint of remorse.
“Still, Katsuragi-kun took quite a drastic step.” Splitting the group wasn’t without risk.
Even if they won, disputes over the distribution of rewards could arise.
Furthermore, since the high-achieving students were split up, the teaching efficiency for other subjects would drop, even if their strong subjects were covered.
Fundamentally, scores improve more by overcoming weak subjects than by pushing strong subjects further.
In other words, a strategy focusing heavily on strong subjects carried the inherent risk of lowering the overall class average for the sake of victory.
Mamoru didn’t claim to understand Katsuragi deeply, but it felt somewhat surprising for a steadfast person like him to make such a move.
However, Arisu shook her head at Mamoru’s words.
“No, it seems this isn’t a strategy Katsuragi-kun came up with himself.” “Meaning…
someone else in his group?” “Wrong again.
It appears a student from another class offered him this advice.” “Another class?” Since no gag order had been issued regarding this intra-class conflict, it wouldn’t be strange for students outside Class A to know about it.
Still, it was genuinely surprising that someone would go out of their way to interfere.
“So—” Just as Mamoru was about to ask what kind of person it was, he noticed something and closed his mouth, shifting his attention forward.
They were currently walking along a tree-lined path near the school building.
Within the tranquil scenery illuminated by the morning sunlight, Mamoru picked up on a prickly, hostile gaze that felt completely out of place.
‘Looks like someone troublesome is here.’ It wasn’t quite as dangerous as actual bloodlust, but it was an aggressive, predatory stare, as if sizing up prey.
Arisu often held a similar gaze, but feeling a hostility far more direct than hers, Mamoru turned his eyes toward the owner of that look.
Sensing the shift in Mamoru’s posture, Arisu turned her eyes in the same direction.
Standing there were three male students whom Mamoru recognized.
One was a long-haired boy sitting on a bench with his legs crossed in a pretentious manner.
Standing on either side of him like escorts were a giant Black student and a boy with short hair.
‘If I remember correctly, that’s Ryuen-kun…’ Recalling the student he had briefly exchanged words with shortly after enrollment, Mamoru furrowed his brows, sensing trouble in the air.
He doubted they would cause a physical scene out in the open like this, but just to be safe, Mamoru subtly shifted his position to shield Arisu as they walked.
And as the two attempted to pass by them, Ryuen opened his mouth, right on cue.
“Hey, fairy-tale boy.
Out escorting a kid today instead of hunting for cats?” Mamoru hadn’t expected to pass by without incident, but he hadn’t anticipated such a blatant provocation right out of the gate, either.
The moment he heard those words, Mamoru felt a wave of resignation as a belligerent look surfaced on Arisu’s smiling face.
The two stopped in their tracks and turned toward Ryuen.
“You must be Class C’s Kakeru Ryuen-kun, correct?
While the nickname for Mamoru-kun piques my curiosity, who exactly are you referring to as a ‘kid’?” “Ah?
You need me to spell it out for you?
It’s pretty damn obvious if you look at where you’re standing.” “Fufu, my apologies.
Indeed, that wasn’t a question I should have asked someone currently being protected by two burly gentlemen.” Arisu was indirectly calling him the childish one.
Despite standing before three men who looked every bit like delinquents, she showed not a single trace of fear.
Given the time of day and the presence of onlookers, the chances of them resorting to violence were low, but even taking that into account, her boldness was almost reckless.
“Ha!
That line sounds pretty pathetic coming from someone hiding behind a guy, Sakayanagi.” “Mamoru-kun is a gentleman, you see.
As a lady, he takes good care of me.” Watching the two of them drop into an adversarial atmosphere within seconds of meeting, Mamoru felt thoroughly exhausted, though the fact that they knew each other’s names caught his attention.
“…Wait, do you two know each other?” “Calling us acquaintances wouldn’t be accurate.
This is the first time we’ve actually spoken face-to-face.” “Even for me, it’s surprising that you know my name.
I thought the high-and-mighty princess of Class A didn’t give a damn about the lower classes.” “Fufu, you are, after all, the person who offered such a scheme to Katsuragi-kun.
I hold a certain level of appreciation for that.” ‘A scheme?
Him?’ The person who had suggested splitting the group to Katsuragi—realizing it was the man in front of him, Mamoru felt a strange sense of conviction before surprise could even register.
“Kukuku, so you saw through it.
Which means, just as I thought, you’ve got a spy among Katsuragi’s faction.” Even Katsuragi couldn’t openly advertise that he had borrowed wisdom from another class.
Naturally, he would enforce a minimum level of information control within his group, so the fact that Arisu knew about it was an implicit admission of a spy’s existence.
“My, whatever could you mean?
We are classmates, after all.
Even if we belong to different groups, isn’t it natural to have friends to talk to?” “Ha!
Friends?
You mean pawns.” Ryuen snorted at Arisu’s words.
This was supposed to be their first face-to-face meeting, but perhaps he had heard about her from Katsuragi beforehand.
He seemed to grasp Arisu’s true nature quite well.
Or perhaps he sensed a kindred spirit in her.
In fact, to Mamoru, Ryuen and Arisu shared a remarkably similar nature, albeit in a different way from Fuka.
“My, how slanderous.
More importantly, interfering in another class’s game…
you must have a great deal of free time on your hands.” “Unluckily for you, I’m not as free as you think.
But man, I just couldn’t stand watching a grown man mope around with a miserable face.
I merely lent him a little bit of wisdom.” Hearing Ryuen explain it like that, Mamoru felt that relying on students from another class was somewhat out of character for Katsuragi.
While it was certainly possible he had been that desperate, Mamoru suspected Ryuen had been the one to actively initiate contact.
“If you aren’t free, what business do you have here today?
The exams haven’t even started yet.
Isn’t it a bit early to declare victory?” “Nah, I just happened to spot you guys, so I thought I’d drop by and say hello.” He claimed it was a coincidence, but sitting around in a spot like this during the morning commute made it blatantly obvious that he had been waiting in ambush.
“To be frank, I don’t give a damn who wins or loses your little game.
I’ve just been interested in the person who proposed it ever since I heard about it.
Splitting a class right down the middle…
that’s quite an amusing hobby.” It seemed Ryuen understood the underlying intention behind Arisu’s game as well.
Though, if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to offer Katsuragi such a plan in the first place.
Mamoru realized this guy was exceptionally sharp, and at the same time, felt a pang of sympathy for Katsuragi.
‘Katsuragi-kun is probably going to get used by him in the future…’ This was just wild speculation on his part, but Ryuen had likely helped Katsuragi this time to earn a degree of trust—demonstrating his usefulness as groundwork to manipulate him conveniently down the line.
In that sense, his claim of having no interest in the outcome of the game was probably true.
Contacting Katsuragi and offering a useful plan was enough to achieve his objective.
While Mamoru was processing this, Arisu offered a smile in response to Ryuen’s words.
“I have no intention of destroying the class, either.
It’s simply that in order to rearrange a disorganized puzzle, one must break it down first.” “I agree.
Though if it were me, I wouldn’t even bother breaking it.
I’d just discipline the pieces to line up themselves.” Saying so, Ryuen stood up, stepped forward, and gestured with his thumb toward the two standing behind him.
The giant Black student wore sunglasses, making his expression hard to read, but the short-haired boy—whom Mamoru remembered as Ishizaki—showed no signs of discontent.
When Mamoru had seen him previously, he had looked like a ball of pure rebellion, but now he stood like a loyal subordinate.
“While you guys were playing around among yourselves, I took control of my own class.
For now, I plan on playing with Class D and Class B, but eventually, I’ll come play with you guys in Class A too.” It was a grand declaration of war, yet Arisu merely deepened her smile with amusement.
“Is that so?
We shall hope that isn’t mere bravado on your part.” “Ha!
Keep talking.” Saying that, Ryuen flashed a similarly aggressive smirk.
The two glared at each other for a moment before Ryuen shifted his gaze toward Mamoru.
“Hey, fairy-tale boy.
What about you?” “What about me?” Faced with the sudden question, Mamoru tilted his head, unsure of his intent.
“I’m asking if you plan to play along.
Word has it you spout nonsense about having no interest in class rivalries, but I wonder how serious you actually are about that.” It seemed Ryuen hadn’t quite settled on how to evaluate Mamoru.
He had drawn some attention due to his blunder on the first day and his suspicious movement in the alleyway, but because his personal motives remained unclear, Ryuen was withholding judgment.
Understanding this, Mamoru thought of an answer that would sound as uninteresting as possible before speaking.
“Even if you ask me ‘how serious,’ I really have no interest in class rivalries.
I’m scheduled to help out with my family business in the future.
It doesn’t really matter which class I graduate from.” “Ha!
So that’s why you spend your school days chasing after cats and girls’ tails?” “Girls…?
If you’re talking about Arisu-san, she’s just a friend.
As for the cat, I only ran after it because I happened to see it that day.” As he answered, Mamoru felt a slight sense of discomfort at Ryuen’s phrasing.
The cat story was something Mamoru had made up on the spot that day, but it shouldn’t have been a topic worth dragging up repeatedly.
Ryuen’s attitude—calling him ‘fairy-tale boy’ and bringing it up again—made it seem as though he was completely convinced Mamoru was lying.
Facing Ryuen’s probing gaze, Mamoru looked straight back into his eyes without letting a single crack show in his expression.
“Ha, a coincidence, huh…
Well, whatever.
If you’re going to play lapdog to Sakayanagi, I’ll play with you all the same.
Let’s go, Ishizaki, Albert.” “Got it.” With that, Ryuen turned and began walking toward the school building, the other two following behind him.
His objective had likely been to size up his target while throwing them off balance right before the exams.
Mamoru breathed an internal sigh of relief that they had backed off so easily without further incident.
Waiting until the three had put a decent amount of distance between them, Mamoru called out to Arisu.
“Shall we get going, then?” “Yes, let’s.” Even though the actual exams were about to start, he felt mentally drained before the day had even properly begun.
If their contact was intended to shake them up, it could be said to have succeeded in a way.
“By the way, Mamoru-kun, did you know Ryuen-kun beforehand?” Arisu asked as they walked.
Since there was no reason to hide how he had encountered him, Mamoru explained while weaving in the lie he had used before.
“Well, just once.
I saw a cat in town, and when I randomly followed it, I ended up in an alleyway right as they happened to walk by.” “I see.
So that’s why he calls you ‘fairy-tale boy.’ Do you like cats, Mamoru-kun?” “Yeah, I guess I do.” Though not to the point of chasing one down an alleyway, to be completely honest.
No matter how understated Mamoru’s usual reactions were, he hadn’t lost the basic human sense to find cute things cute.
“Fufu, then if the opportunity arises, why don’t we go to a cat cafe together sometime?” The smile Arisu wore as she said this wasn’t her usual suggestive grin, but one that seemed to come from genuine lightheartedness.
“You’re surprisingly fond of cute things, aren’t you, Arisu-san?” Given her calculating and mature personality, it might have seemed unexpected to others, but Mamoru, who spent a lot of time with her, understood that she actually liked cute, stylized animal designs.
Sensing Mamoru’s gaze—the kind one gives to something endearing—Arisu suddenly suppressed her smile, stepped closer to Mamoru, and looked up into his face with somewhat narrowed eyes.
“…Do you also think of me as a child, Mamoru-kun?” It seemed Ryuen’s provocative remark earlier had gotten under her skin more than she let on.
While Arisu likely didn’t dislike her own appearance, she clearly loathed being looked down upon by others due to her physical limitations or appearance.
Or perhaps that was precisely why she had developed such a competitive nature.
Taking that into consideration, Mamoru thought about what the right answer would be before speaking.
“…I don’t really know the exact definition of a child versus an adult myself, but high schoolers are children, aren’t they?
Everyone becomes an adult eventually anyway, so shouldn’t you just enjoy living as a child for now?” Telling Arisu she was an adult would be a lie.
Setting aside her appearance, in terms of her inner self, she was still an immature child in Mamoru’s eyes.
Still, telling her that directly felt inappropriate.
Besides, if it came down to inner immaturity, Mamoru thought that applied to every single student in this school, himself included.
At his words, Arisu remained in her posture, gazing quietly into Mamoru’s eyes.
‘Wait, did I mess up my answer?’ Seeing Arisu stare at him in silence without changing her expression, Mamoru felt a sudden wave of panic, wondering if he had said the wrong thing.
After a moment, Arisu lowered her gaze and spoke quietly.
“I suppose so.
Both you and I are still children, after all.” For a second, Mamoru thought she was upset, but the next moment, Arisu raised her head and offered a soft, gentle smile that Mamoru had never seen on her before.
“You mustn’t forget that you are a child as well, Mamoru-kun.
You were the one who said it, after all.” “Ah, right…” In the end, Mamoru didn’t know what thought process had gone through her mind, but it seemed Arisu hadn’t taken offense and was satisfied with his answer.
“Well then, shall we go?” And so, Mamoru and Arisu resumed their walk toward the school building once again.