The sixth day of the mixed training camp exam arrived—Tuesday. In just two more days, the final exam would take place, and then, finally, this hellish ordeal would be over.
However, it seemed that patience had reached its limit for some of the boys, as strange noises started to emerge from the group.
Not quite… heat—but rather, a longing for the opposite sex.
To put it plainly, they were talking about girls.
Even during morning cleaning duty, dinner discussions had already begun—who to invite, who might be willing to join them.
After all, that was the only time they could interact with the girls… Hmm. Somehow, it didn't feel real to me.
As I wiped the floor, I reflected on everything that had happened over the past two days.
So far, things have gone quite smoothly. By now, Igari was likely drowning in doubt and anxiety. No matter what Ishikura said, it probably wouldn't help anymore.
Unless Ishikura could transfer the full twenty million on the spot, there was no way to regain her trust.
Unfortunately, all of our phones had been confiscated, so that was impossible.
Speaking of which, Horikita's words last night made me realize something—I might not have been adequately prepared for this exam.
If I had asked Horikita, Kushida, or Matsushita to bring a voice recorder, it would've given me a lot more room to maneuver… though, well, asking Matsushita might have been a stretch.
If I wanted to take it to the extreme, something like a laxative could also work…
No, no, no!
Why was I even thinking about such drastic measures?!
But then again, this kind of thing wasn't exactly uncommon.
Back in school sports teams, whenever we traveled for competitions, the coach would always emphasize the importance of being cautious about what we ate.
Especially food or drinks given by strangers—off-limits. It was to prevent any chance of being drugged.
At international competitions, doping scandals were even more frequent.
The pursuit of victory was humanity's eternal theme.
Even if it meant resorting to underhanded methods…
"Excuse me, Hikigaya. Can I interrupt you for a moment?"
Just as I was lost in thought, someone suddenly called my name.
Turning around, I was met with an unexpected sight—Katsuragi.
That was rare.
Technically, this was still class time. While others would often chat while cleaning, Katsuragi was the only one who diligently focused on his tasks.
"Sure, I guess… But, are you okay?"
"What do you mean?" Katsuragi asked, puzzled.
I pointed at the broom in his hands instead of answering.
Understanding immediately, he shook his head. "I appreciate your concern, but it's nothing. I used to do a lot of housework back home, so I'm used to this."
Cleaning duties were evenly distributed among everyone. Even though the area we had to cover was fairly large, there were fourteen people in our group, so it wasn't too bad.
However, when combined with daily meditation and long-distance running, the overall burden became significant.
Some students were nearing their physical limits.
To prevent them from collapsing before the final exam, Katsuragi had taken it upon himself to shoulder part of their cleaning duties.
Four or five people's worth of extra work—it wasn't a small amount.
"I see… If it gets too much, let me know."
"Ah, I'll count on you then." Katsuragi nodded in thanks. "Anyway, I wanted to ask—have you heard any strange rumors in our group, or about this exam in general?"
I frowned. "Strange rumors? About what specifically?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but it's something about Ichinose. It seems to have originated from the girls' side."
"Ichinose…"
The moment I heard her name, my heart sank.
Countless thoughts ran through my mind.
But in the end, I simply shook my head. "I don't know. Honestly, I haven't spoken to her lately."
"I see… I thought you might know something, but I guess I was overthinking."
"…Why would you think I'd know?"
Katsuragi's expression turned oddly amused.
…What's with that look, you bald bastard?
"Aren't you and Ichinose pretty close? I figured she might have confided in you."
"Even if you say that, isn't she close with everyone?" I retorted.
Even someone like Ryuuen—if he needed help, Ichinose would go out of her way for him. She was practically an angel.
"Still, relationships have degrees of closeness. But… she seems like the type to endure things alone." Katsuragi paused before sighing. "Forget it. I shouldn't speculate too much."
He was trying to brush off the conversation.
"Anyway, if you hear any rumors about this, come find me immediately. I'll put a stop to it."
"…Got it." I nodded slightly.
So that was it—Katsuragi was worried that I might get angry and disrupt the group, so he was preemptively stepping in.
But… this was strange.
Ryuuen had also said something similar before.
Why did everyone assume I'd be angry?
There's an old saying that rumors don't last long. Any high-profile person in school was bound to be the subject of strange gossip. But generally, as long as the person involved didn't react, the rumors would die out on their own in a few days.
It was like when a new anime aired, and people would start calling the female characters their "waifu."
There was no need to take it seriously.
Besides, Ichinose had already… So she should be fine, right?
"Katsuragi, I think you should be more concerned about Kanzaki rather than me. I'm not in Class A, after all."
But the bald idiot shook his head. "No, Kanzaki is far more composed than you. I trust that even if he hears the rumors, he'll handle it properly. He's an excellent student."
"…Huh? I can handle things properly too!"
"Still, your point isn't wrong."
Ignoring my complaint, Katsuragi spoke with some concern. "Even if Kanzaki can keep himself under control, the rest of Class A might not. I just hope this doesn't cause any conflicts before the exam."
…This guy.
I felt somewhat annoyed at being dismissed, but there wasn't much I could do.
That aside… was I someone who couldn't handle things properly?
What did "handling things properly" even mean?
Katsuragi's words sparked some unexpected introspection.
Since entering this school, I have always followed the principle of not causing trouble unless trouble comes to me. But sometimes, I wondered if my responses had been excessive.
At the start of the school year, Ryuuen had tried to make an example out of me by having his men beat me up.
I hadn't retaliated with violence. Instead, I set a trap that turned all of Class C into debt slaves.
Was that excessive?
Then there was Sakayanagi—she blackmailed me with a photo of me celebrating Haruno's birthday, forcing me to destroy Katsuragi's faction.
In response, I not only crushed her faction but also caused her to temporarily drop to Class C. Even now, I was still draining their private points.
Was that excessive?
And now, Ishikura and Igari hadn't done anything to me. They were simply trying to defeat Third-Year Class A in their way.
But just because I was closer to Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane—and because I hated Nagumo—I had gone out of my way to obstruct them.
Was that excessive?
These thoughts consumed me, even during my afternoon run through the mountains.
I realized that I no longer knew what it meant to "handle things properly."
…Oh well. At least I wasn't as bad as Ayanokoji or Nagumo.
When it came to them, I felt no guilt whatsoever.
If anything, I hadn't gone far enough.
Sigh, if only everyone could be like the masterpiece.
That way, there wouldn't be any mental burden.
While entertaining such impossible thoughts, Hikigaya slowly made his way to the turnaround point at the top of the hill.
With the exam approaching, the groups no longer ran together but instead trained at their own pace.
As a result, Hikigaya, who had been lost in thought the entire time, naturally ended up alone. He had no idea whether the others were ahead or behind him… but it didn't matter.
"Hikigaya, most of your group has already turned back. Hurry up."
Chabashira-sensei stood at the turnaround point, holding a clipboard and marking down the names of students as they arrived.
From this alone, it was clear that slacking off would undoubtedly affect the final results.
While she was marking names, Hikigaya glanced at the clipboard, trying to confirm something.
But before he could get a good look, Chabashira-sensei blocked him.
"What are you sneaking a peek at? Hurry back before you miss dinner."
"Sensei… Has Ayanokoji been marked off?"
Hikigaya hesitated for a moment before asking.
Chabashira-sensei blinked in surprise, then chuckled. "He's not in your group, is he? Do you need to check?"
"I'm just a little curious."
"Too bad. That excuse won't cut it."
"…I see."
Since he wasn't going to get an answer, there was no point pressing further. After resting for a short while, Hikigaya set off again.
But before he had gone far, he ran into Ishikura.
Their eyes met instantly.
Hikigaya considered ignoring him and continuing his run, but soon, he heard hurried footsteps from behind.
"Hikigaya, wait a moment."
It seemed Ishikura had chased after him from the turnaround point.
"…What is it?" Hikigaya turned his head slightly.
Although he had no real reason to entertain Ishikura, the guy was still a senior. Basic courtesy was necessary.
"What exactly did you mean yesterday?" Ishikura got straight to the point. "And can you stop meddling in our class's affairs? I already talked to Nagumo. He agreed to let us handle it ourselves."
Hikigaya nodded. "Yeah, the student council president also told me to handle things my way."
"Then you—"
"So I'm just acting according to my ideas." Hikigaya cut him off. "Ishikura-senpai, why don't you understand my good intentions? Abandoning Igari-senpai is a huge benefit for the entirety of Class 3-B. If you're struggling with this decision, how about this—I'll personally sponsor you ten million points. What do you say?"
"…This isn't about money—wait, what did you just say?" Ishikura froze.
"I said I'll personally sponsor you ten million points. If you don't trust me, we can have Nagumo-senpai act as a witness."
Hikigaya reassured him that he wouldn't go back on his word—but, of course, it was an empty promise.
"Why… why would you do this?" Ishikura looked utterly baffled. "The third-year power struggle has nothing to do with you, right? Why are you going this far? Are you like Nagumo, just trying to see Horikita crash and burn?"
"Hmm, how should I put it… Senpai. I had pretty decent grades in middle school."
Hikigaya suddenly veered into an unrelated topic, confusing Ishikura.
"Especially in Japanese. I consistently ranked in the top three for my grade. And my school had a pretty high deviation value."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Hold on, don't rush me." Hikigaya gestured for patience. "But I wasn't particularly smart. My grades were only that high because I attended cram school regularly. No matter how much effort I put in, even in my best subject, I never once made it into the top two."
"…That's still an impressive rank, though."
"Yeah. But the problem was, the two students ahead of me never even attended cram school. One of them was even on the soccer team—every day after school, he was either playing soccer or hanging out with friends."
Hikigaya paused and smiled wryly. "So at that time, I realized I would probably never catch up to them. Effort alone wasn't enough."
Ishikura patiently listened, though he still didn't get the point.
But then, Hikigaya revealed the connection.
"It's the same for you, isn't it, Ishikura-senpai? When you face Horikita-senpai, you feel a sense of inferiority—no matter how hard you try, you can't surpass him. If this were an ordinary school, in both academics and sports, you'd probably be stuck under his shadow forever."
Hikigaya didn't hold back, even as he said things that were undoubtedly cutting.
"But this school is different. Grades aren't everything. Even lower-ranked classes have the chance to defeat the higher-ranked ones. Likewise, ordinary people like you and me have a shot at overturning geniuses. Ah, my apologies for lumping myself in with you, Senpai. I hope that doesn't offend you."
"You sure have a low opinion of yourself." Ishikura sounded surprised.
"It's just the truth." Hikigaya shrugged. "Anyway, if you stick to your original plan, even if you get another twenty million points, you won't be able to beat Horikita-senpai. You should know that better than anyone."
"…And what makes you so sure?"
"Ishikura-senpai, you can lie to me all you want. I don't mind being deceived. But don't deceive yourself."
Hikigaya's expression practically spelled out contempt, though his tone carried an air of self-mockery.
"People like us, who are neither academically nor athletically exceptional, have no way of defeating geniuses except through underhanded tactics. Don't tell me you've never considered abandoning Igari-senpai."
"I have not!" Ishikura snapped, clearly agitated.
"Then why wasn't the twenty million points given to Igari-senpai?" Hikigaya exposed his lie in an instant.
To be fair, Nagumo's strategy was undeniably nasty.
But its one flaw was that the twenty million points weren't transferred to Igari. That gave Hikigaya an opening.
"If you truly trusted Igari-senpai, you would have transferred the points to her beforehand. She's the one taking the risk, after all."
"N-No! That was Nagumo's—"
"Don't shift the blame." Hikigaya didn't give him room to argue. "If you trusted Igari-senpai, nothing Nagumo said would have mattered. The reason you didn't do it… is because deep down, you suspected she might run off with the money."
"You… You're talking nonsense!"
Ishikura finally lost his composure and grabbed Hikigaya by the collar.
But at that moment, a chilling scream echoed from the forest.
"Help! Somebody, please!"
Both of them turned to look, startled.
Before they could react, a figure bolted out of the woods at breakneck speed—pale as a ghost.
It was none other than White Room's ultimate masterpiece.
"A-Ayanokoji?" Hikigaya stared at him in shock. "What the hell happened? Was that you screaming? And why are you coming from that direction?"
"No, it wasn't me."
Ayanokoji pointed toward the forest, his expression composed. "Kouenji ran into the woods. I went to bring him back, but then a wild boar started rampaging, so I had to run."
"…A boar?"
Hikigaya's expression darkened as he recalled Saturday's events.
"So, who was screaming? Don't tell me it was Kouenji?"
"I wouldn't know." Ayanokoji shook his head calmly. "I was too busy running for my life to pay attention."
"You…"
Even though Hikigaya knew Ayanokoji was lying, there was nothing he could do about it.
Was this guy the Simpson of deception?
He had set everything up so he wouldn't be implicated.
No wonder he mentioned the boar so openly—this was a provocation.