It was Sunday, when the special exam was temporarily suspended.
That day had no classes whatsoever, serving as a time to rest the body.
Voluntary training was permitted, and the facilities within the forest school, including the bathhouse, could be used freely.
However, even on such a holiday, the only opportunity to interact with female students was during this dinner time.
The cafeteria, crowded with students from the first to third years, had already become a familiar sight.
I waited near the cafeteria entrance while utilizing my intelligence operative talent.
Soon, I was able to spot the target female student.
Her hairstyle featuring two distinctive buns hadn't changed since I saw it at enrollment.
I suppressed my presence even more and followed behind her. Once I confirmed she was sitting alone at a table on the edge of the cafeteria, I released the intelligence operative talent.
"Hello, senpai."
"Fwah!? Eh!?"
It was the natural reaction when an unfamiliar man suddenly sat across from her without her noticing.
She caught the chopsticks she nearly dropped in a juggling catch and release.
Once she managed to grab them, she puffed her cheeks and glared at me as if to reprimand me for startling her.
It seemed she still had some spirit remaining.
"You already know the reason I've come here, don't you?"
There was no need for a lengthy preface. She understood the matter herself.
"Horikita Manabu instructed me to help you. Please explain the current situation."
"...I'm not in any trouble. Please tell Horikita-kun that."
She desperately hid her guilty expression and informed me in a strong tone.
She didn't doubt I was an ally because communication had already been established.
This alone made it clear she trusted me far more than her friend Fujimaki-senpai.
"It looks like you're in trouble to me, though?"
"No, that's merely your misunderstanding. If we continue the exam as is, my group will smoothly clear it."
"Do you think such a worthless lie would work on me?"
"...It's not a lie. It means that senpai is also maneuvering in places unknown to you."
Tachibana-san desperately presented a stubborn appearance, but seen through my super analytical ability, it was nothing but bravado.
"Let's change the phrasing. Do you truly believe that sacrificing just yourself is the right thing?"
"...!? How do you know that..."
"You and Nagumo Miyabi underestimate me far too much. There are countless elements to infer from."
Among the upperclassmen, it's undeniable that I'm recognized as an extremely outstanding student.
All upperclassmen I've interacted with so far had gathered at least some information about me. My talents were famous to that degree.
But in the third years there's Horikita Manabu, and in the second years Nagumo Miyabi.
They probably made the arbitrary judgment that an excellent first-year student couldn't prevail against the grade representatives.
That's why it's too lenient.
"Listen, Akane Tachibana. Horikita Manabu told me to help you, but in truth, I don't want to help you. Do you understand why?"
"...I don't know. Isn't it because you dislike me? You tricked me right from our first meeting."
"No, it's because you're boring."
I directed the pressure of the Super High School Level Hope toward her.
Tachibana-san twitched and shook unnaturally, but I had no interest in observing that response.
"In class, you don't want to cause trouble for Horikita Manabu. That's why you've fallen into Nagumo Miyabi's scheme and are trying to get by with the minimum points lost.
Why must I save a human who performs such an act of resignation at its extreme that anyone could do? That conclusion is merely a boring little drama of a puppet and the man who adores that puppet. No unknown is born from it."
When I saw through her true intentions, she let out a dry laugh as if resigning herself.
Her final measure when cornered was to turn all the hate toward herself and get expelled.
That way, she wouldn't cause trouble for Class 3-A.
Then, Class 3-A could challenge the final special exam with perfect preparation.
"...No, graduation is near for us. If we use points for rescue, we'll have no savings left for the next exam.
That's why Horikita-kun will abandon me. If it can be settled with just that, then my actions..."
The light faded from her determined eyes, and her gaze dropped downward.
"Without consulting him at all. You can't even consider his feelings while pretending to be a tragic heroine?"
"I considered it. This minimizes the damage the most."
Nagumo Miyabi is targeting Akane Tachibana and has already deployed his assassins.
If this continues, she will definitely be expelled.
However, she understands what will happen to her and realizes that doing nothing will result in less damage overall.
Graduation is only a little ways away for the third-years. Rather than reducing points here and troubling the class, she'd sacrifice herself.
She had already steeled herself with that resolve.
"Really, this way Horikita Manabu won't be rewarded either. No, does that mean Horikita Manabu, who discovered someone of your level for the student council, was only worth that much after all?"
"...Please don't insult Horikita-kun. You who know nothing."
While faltering from the pressure, Tachibana-san showed anger at my words.
She was growing haggard, but her spirit hadn't died yet.
She was dissatisfied enough with the situation to feel anger.
"Then show me. Prove through your actions that there was no mistake in that man choosing you."
"...Th-that is..."
Her expression clouded as if her returning spirit wavered.
Precisely because she couldn't trouble Horikita Manabu, and because she couldn't do anything on her own power, she had stopped resisting.
However, if she abandoned that will here, she would trouble the class and Horikita Manabu.
That conflict dulled her decision-making.
"We have prepared several plans to save you. However, the method with the least risk that wins without using points is for you yourself to surpass the school's border in the exam.
In other words, what is required is your will. Decide. So that no regrets remain."
For this exam, I've prepared various countermeasures.
Since Nagumo Miyabi is aiming for Akane Tachibana, I'll definitely make adjustments to the test on the final day of the special exam.
There, among those who don't reach the school's border and where the responsible party is expelled, she would be nominated as the one taken along.
It may seem hopeless from the stage of initial group formation, but there are ways to handle it.
The easiest among them is for Akane Tachibana to act according to her own will to remove herself from the companion target and leave results.
Nominating the responsible person isn't something anyone can freely do. As long as she doesn't contribute to falling below the border, Nagumo's scheme will be wasted.
If she can overcome the hardships this way, it will be the easiest and also damage Nagumo Miyabi.
"I'm looking forward to your choice."
I told her only that and departed from her seat.
Frankly speaking, my expectations were around twenty percent. It could really swing either way.
That's why I've prepared several backup plans.
And if she becomes nothing more than a puppet worth saving.
At that time, a boring future awaits me.
...
After warning Tachibana-san, I left the cafeteria.
The mixed exam had continued with this unfamiliar lifestyle, but the holiday on the fourth day served as an excellent cushion.
The students who had faithfully followed my instructions had built up a decent amount of fatigue, so today was likely a good day for them to properly rest their bodies.
With four days remaining until the main event, physical recovery had been achieved as well.
I had mostly grasped the exam's content too. Everything was proceeding perfectly.
"Um… K-Kamukura-kun."
The stammering greeting came from Manabe-san, with whom I'd been interacting more frequently lately.
We were at the end of a sparsely populated hallway, away from the girls' bathroom.
I had deliberately waited for the moment she went to the toilet alone to make contact.
Nagumo Miyabi had placed reasonable surveillance on me, and he was also keeping tabs on the Class C girls I directed.
However, when they went to the bathroom, that surveillance naturally dropped off.
So, if I used my intelligence operative talent to evade the watchers, a secret meeting was perfectly set up.
"Um, since there weren't any classes today, I don't have any particularly notable reports… Nothing really.
B-but, just like you said, Kamukura-kun, that person did seem a bit low on energy."
Her speech with pauses that weren't like her usual self, but it was considerably better than her previously terrified state.
The fear she held toward me had faded quite a lot.
Even if someone overheard our conversation, they wouldn't understand the crucial parts.
"I see. Thank you for going out of your way."
When I expressed my gratitude, she let out a relieved sigh.
During this exam, I've been testing various things with her as a trial run too, but so far she's been faithfully obeying my commands.
"Starting tomorrow, her behavior will change, so please follow the instructions exactly."
"Y-yes."
She nodded obediently two or three times in a single reply. Given her personality, it was clear she was putting in desperate effort.
It seemed she was genuinely trying to change.
The two instructions I'd given Manabe-san were simple.
The first was to monitor and report on the upperclassmen in the same group, especially the third-years.
The second was to throw herself fully into the exam to raise her ranking even a little.
Since Ichinose-san was in her group, there was a solid possibility that cooperating with her could produce results beyond their actual abilities.
This way, if they could raise the large group's average score even slightly and somehow avoid last place, Akane Tachibana could be saved.
Nagumo Miyabi's scheme to drag Akane Tachibana along as a sacrifice started from the premise of making their large group's average the lowest.
Within the lowest-ranking large group, only students whose small group's average failed to exceed the school's border—and were judged to be a contributing factor—would become targets to be taken down with them.
Therefore, two simple solutions presented themselves.
One was for the group Akane Tachibana belonged to to avoid finishing last.
The other was for her to be removed from the list of potential sacrifices even if they did end up last.
"Aim for perfect scores on the test. If you work with Ichinose-san, you should be able to pull out points close to that."
"I-I think I'm getting along well with Ichinose-san. I'm also making an effort not to cause any friction in the group. Maybe that's why the group's practice sessions feel quite high-quality."
Ichinose-san had various areas of immaturity, but when it came to drawing out the maximum potential of those she worked with, she surpassed any other class leader.
Her communication skills that even exceeded Kushida Kikyou's, combined with her excellent observational abilities, allowed her to elevate the entire group's power. So Manabe-san's assessment was likely accurate.
Even so, escaping last place would still be difficult.
After all, every second-year in this group was under Nagumo Miyabi's influence.
During the actual exam, they would deliver results right at the school's border line.
The third-years would also deliberately hold back just enough to avoid becoming sacrifice targets themselves while keeping the average score barely acceptable.
If two entire school years cooperated in holding back, even high scores from the first-years wouldn't be enough to meaningfully raise the average.
"Um, you mentioned there would be changes starting tomorrow… What kind of specific changes are you expecting?"
"Around tomorrow morning, I expect her to confront her classmates quite aggressively. She'll throw herself desperately into exam practice and try to show that she's not dragging the class down.
But how long that will last is another question. You will observe that treatment."
"T-treatment…?"
"Yes. You'll witness something even more vicious than what you did to Karuizawa Kei."
The third-years planned to turn Akane Tachibana into the villain so they could justify dragging her down with them.
This exam had no cell phones, no surveillance cameras, and no recording devices allowed. Only the teachers' eyes could be relied upon.
That was exactly why the ugly, vicious side of humans would be on full display.
In front of the teachers, they'd act diligently while framing Tachibana as the bad guy. When the teachers weren't looking, they'd resort to bullying-like behavior without hesitation—just like Ryuuen-kun.
"…Wouldn't reporting it to the supervising teacher be one way to solve this?
If we involve the teachers, the hidden treatment might get even worse, but at least we could hint to the school that 'that person is being made into a scapegoat.'"
Manabe-san voiced her opinion with considerable courage.
It wasn't a bad observation. Having once stood on the side of the bully herself, she understood exactly where such danger came from and where it led.
"Naive. In the end, if all the upperclassmen unanimously paint Akane Tachibana as the villain, the majority opinion will prevail."
"B-but, Kamukura-kun. If we could find some solid evidence…"
"Yes, if we obtain solid evidence, then victory would indeed be ours."
Manabe-san was speaking while reflecting on her own past actions.
When she had bullied Karuizawa-san, she had moved carefully to leave no evidence—only to have Ayanokouji-kun seize that very evidence.
If one was going to commit such evil, they must never leave any proof behind.
Violence and foul play could become powerful moves, but neutralizing them wasn't particularly difficult.
Evidence meant being caught by the rules.
That was why, if there was irrefutable proof, stopping Nagumo Miyabi would be child's play.
"Then let me—!"
"Unfortunately, your abilities aren't sufficient for that."
It was unfortunate for the motivated Manabe-san, but she was lacking in several areas.
Even if she worked behind the scenes, the information she could gather would be minimal. She also lacked the quick thinking needed for unexpected contact with the enemy.
Rather, her overly strong ego made it more likely that she'd start a fight and ruin the entire plan.
The Class C students capable of this role were those with high communication skills like Yajima-san or Kinoshita-san.
Even then, they paled in comparison to Karuizawa-san or Kushida from Class D.
"S-sorry for speaking out of line…"
She apologized, thinking her opinion had been mistaken.
"There's no need to apologize. It is one possible method. Besides, I've already assigned that role to someone else."
"…Ichinose-san?"
"Yes. Correct."
Ichinose-san wasn't particularly suited for covert operations either, but her influence when presenting evidence was overwhelmingly powerful.
That's why I chose to use her. I'd originally considered having Sakayanagi-san handle it, but Ichinose-san worked just as well.
"Th-that's really incredible! With this, at least one of the plans is bound to work!"
"Who knows."
"…Eh?"
The expression on Manabe-san's face, who had been trying to praise me, turned into a blank, dumbfounded look.
"Certainly, the chance that one of them succeeds is high. But he is no fool.
If he correctly identifies me as an enemy during this exam, he will definitely prepare countermeasures. In that case, we'll have to deploy some rather forceful plans—and even the final measure."
Her face twitched at the word "forceful."
She was probably imagining the kind of methods Ryuuen-kun favored.
"I-I see. Because the opponent is… right, we still can't let our guard down yet.
B-but, forceful plans… Even for you, Kamukura-kun, wouldn't violence or something like that be a bad move in this exam?"
"Do you really think that?"
"B-because this exam separates boys and girls, doesn't it?
A-and Ryuuen-kun always said that forceful methods require strong leadership, and they're easy to slip up on, right?"
Manabe-san voiced her thoughts. She was trying hard to properly fulfill the task I'd given her.
As expected, while her overall abilities were average, her suitability as a loyal piece was high.
She obeyed those stronger than her and worked desperately to carry out orders exactly. Easy to handle, and she always delivered reasonable results.
In shogi terms, a pawn. However, if I continued fostering her growth, she had the potential to promote into something far more valuable.
"If you can think that far, then you've passed. However, that concern isn't an issue either. I've already prepared proper countermeasures."
The inability to freely communicate between boys and girls—this was the real crux of this exam.
It seemed she'd noticed that point as well, probably by coincidence.
"I-I understand."
Manabe-san nodded slowly.
Further questioning was impossible time-wise, so we went our separate ways.
If she managed to produce good results in this exam, it might be worth giving her a personal reward.
***
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