The Keyaki Mall was bustling with students spending the weekend relaxing after a tiring week of classes.
Together with Hiyori, I had co to the mall's large bookstore. Free from the savage battles between classes and the troubleso duties of the student council, this peaceful ti spent with her was one of my greatest comforts.
"Ah, Sousuke-kun. It looks like the new volu of that mystery novel I've been searching for is finally out!"
Hiyori happily hugged a paperback novel to her chest.
"—I see. Your pursuit of unexplored knowledge is truly admirable. As for , I've just found an intriguing foreign classic."
I showed her the hardcover novel I had picked up.
"Wow, it has such a beautiful cover. Fufu, once we've both finished reading them, let's lend them to each other again."
"Indeed. I shall also partake in the fragnts of truth your eyes uncover."
While maintaining the outward appearance of a solitary demon king who loved knowledge, I nodded calmly.
(So... adorable! Hiyori is precious as always today! This simple, student-like exchange of lending books to each other is absolutely wonderful...!)
After purchasing the books we wanted, we moved to a quiet café tucked away in a corner of the mall.
We sat across from each other. I ordered black coffee, while Hiyori ordered a fragrant Darjeeling tea. As soon as the drinks arrived, she opened the novel she had just bought and imrsed herself in its world.
The gentle sunlight streaming through the window made her silver hair sparkle.
Her slender white fingers turning the pages.
Her focused gaze.
The way her expressions changed so vividly in response to the story.
(Ah... this is perfect. Could ti stop within this space alone? I could watch Hiyori's profile while she reads for hours...)
As I tilted my coffee cup, I desperately suppressed my inner excitent and enjoyed the peaceful afternoon.
Then, as if to shatter that blissful mont, soone suddenly called out to us.
"Hello, Aizen-kun, Shiina-san. You two are as close as ever."
Hearing the familiar voice, I looked up.
Standing there was Nazuna Asahina from the second year. Wearing her usual friendly smile, she stopped beside our table.
Hiyori inserted a bookmark into her book, closed it, and stood up to bow politely.
"Hello, Asahina-senpai."
I slowly raised my gaze and looked at her.
"—What is it, Asahina?"
When I asked calmly, Asahina shrugged slightly and confird that no one was nearby before lowering her voice.
"It's actually about Miyabi. Ever since the mixed training camp, he's been acting really strange. I was wondering if you knew anything."
Hearing her words, I inwardly nodded.
(If it's Asahina-senpai, who's always with him, then of course she'd notice such a drastic change.)
I placed my coffee cup back onto its saucer and answered with a poem-like evasion.
"—Who knows? But if a bird that mistakenly believed it could rule the heavens were to glimpse the true height of the sky and realize the fragility of its own wings... then that would rely be the natural order of things."
After listening to , Asahina narrowed her eyes slightly and let out a small breath.
"Hmm... I see."
"...So you really did do sothing to him."
She had completely figured it out.
Yet there was no anger in her eyes. If anything, she looked sowhat relieved.
"Miyabi was getting a little too full of himself. After becoming student council president, nobody could stop him anymore. I think he needed to be overwhelmingly defeated and broken sowhere along the way."
"...Thank you."
(She's genuinely worried about Nagumo. She's a good person. She must have been concerned that he couldn't continue down that path forever.)
While inwardly admiring her sincerity, I quietly narrowed my eyes.
"Sorry for interrupting your date. See you later, you two."
As Asahina turned to leave with a casual wave, I decided to offer one warning.
"—Asahina. Tell that man this: Even if a bird has fallen to the earth, so long as it does not violate the laws I have established, I have no intention of plucking out its wings. However, continuing to tremble in fear of the sky's height is exceedingly unsightly. His excessive fear rely stirs unnecessary disturbances in my garden. If he truly understands his own insignificance, then even a bluff will suffice. Let him at least pretend to fly as he always has."
Asahina stopped in her tracks and turned around with a puzzled expression.
Imdiately, Hiyori smiled gently and provided her translation.
"He says, 'As long as he follows the warning I gave him, I won't do anything to him, so he doesn't need to be so afraid. If he keeps acting obviously terrified, it just makes everyone around him uncomfortable and creates unnecessary trouble. Tell him to go back to handling student council work normally like before.'"
"Ah... ahaha, I see! Got it! I'll tell Miyabi exactly that!"
Thanks to Hiyori's perfect translation, Asahina imdiately understood. She smiled brightly and finally left the café with a wave.
After watching her depart, Hiyori chuckled happily.
"Sousuke-kun really is kind. To go out of your way to worry about Nagumo-senpai like that."
(No, that's not it, Hiyori! If the student council president stays in that broken state, my workload as vice president increases, and that's incredibly annoying! I need him functioning properly for the sake of my peaceful school life. Besides, if he's serious about his work, his administrative skills and leadership abilities are the real deal.)
"—Even an ant crawling upon the earth serves so purpose in maintaining my garden. If it ceases moving and withers away pitifully... it rely increases the burden of cleanup."
"Fufu, I suppose that's true."
Hiyori accepted my poetic nonsense warmly and returned to her novel.
As I finished the rest of my coffee, I silently prayed that this peaceful everyday life would continue for as long as possible.
That Evening — Special Building
In a deserted corridor far removed from the students' usual bustle, the rhythmic sound of a cane echoed through the silence.
Clack. Clack.
The crimson glow of the setting sun stretched the shadows of two people facing each other.
"—What do you want, Sakayanagi?"
The one who spoke in a heavy voice was Kouhei Katsuragi.
His sturdy stance and folded arms revealed both caution and tension.
Opposite him stood Arisu Sakayanagi, holding her cane with both hands and smiling calmly.
"Fufu. Surely you've already guessed why I asked you to et here."
"...You want the students who still support to formally submit themselves under your leadership."
At Katsuragi's low response, Sakayanagi slowly shook her head.
"After the uninhabited island exam and the cruise ship exam during sumr vacation, you had already fallen from power, and control of the class ca into my hands. The civil war within Class B was settled long ago."
"However..."
She deliberately paused and looked directly into his eyes.
"The students who support you obey on the surface, but they do not truly submit to from the bottom of their hearts. Our class cannot yet be called completely united."
"...You want to persuade them?"
"Katsuragi-kun... do you truly believe that this incomplete Class B can ultimately graduate as Class A?"
"Hmph. Of course it's possible. We have sufficient ability."
"No. Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, it is impossible."
Her calm voice delivered reality without hesitation.
"There is Class A, perfectly united under Honami Ichinose's virtue. And above all else, there is Sousuke Aizen, an absurd genius beyond reason."
"In our current state, we wouldn't even be able to put up a proper fight against them."
"You'd go that far? Certainly, that man is dangerous, but..."
"During the mixed training camp, the boys' and girls' exams were held separately, so I entrusted you with leading the boys. In the end, both you and I achieved second place within our respective groups."
"Considering the presence of second- and third-year students, that would normally be considered an excellent result."
"But Aizen-kun was different."
"He was placed in a group largely composed of Class D students from the upper years—a clear disadvantage. Yet through overwhelming ability and charisma, he led the entire large group to victory."
"The difference in our ability to control the board is simply on another level."
Sakayanagi smiled self-deprecatingly and lowered her gaze to her thin legs.
"Even though the Red Team lost during the sports festival, Class A itself still ranked first in the year."
"The only true defeat they've suffered was our victory in the Paper Shuffle exam."
"...Yes. That's true."
"Indeed."
"After that exam, I personally approached him because I wanted to see how he would react to his first defeat."
"But he wasn't worried in the slightest."
"If anything, he declared that even this defeat would beco a catalyst for the class's evolution."
"And in reality, despite facing a class packed with academically specialized students like ours, they ca within a hair's breadth of victory."
"Yes... even that defeat was entirely within the palm of his hand."
The mixture of enjoynt and faint frustration in Sakayanagi's voice caused Katsuragi to draw in a sharp breath.
"I cannot control everything alone."
"By myself, I cannot defeat Class A while Aizen-kun is there."
She paused and then quietly bowed her head.
"...I sincerely apologize for the many discourtesies I've shown you, Katsuragi-kun."
"Although it was all done to win our internal class struggle, I belittled your steady thods and even sabotaged your efforts."
"I am truly sorry."
"...!"
"You? Apologizing to soone?"
Katsuragi's eyes widened in shock.
The Sakayanagi who had always been praised as a genius and trusted only her own intellect was now openly acknowledging her mistakes and bowing her head.
She, too, had grown.
No longer rely an arrogant prodigy, but soone who had matured through fierce competition.
"Yes."
"It seems I'm more competitive than I realized."
"If defeating them requires it, then I can cast aside any amount of worthless pride."
"...No, I think everyone already knows you're extrely competitive..."
"Hm? Did you say sothing?"
At Katsuragi's muttered remark, Sakayanagi tilted her head innocently.
"...Nothing."
"I see."
"In any case, I want us to join hands and unite the class completely."
"I want you to support Class B as my right-hand man."
Smiling gently, she looked at him with complete sincerity.
Bathed in the evening sunlight, Katsuragi closed his eyes and thought deeply.
Then—
He opened them firmly.
"...I understand."
"If you're willing to face your mistakes and reality to this extent, then I have no reason to remain stubborn."
"It's for the class."
"I'll cooperate with you, Sakayanagi."
"Fufu. Thank you very much."
"However, I have one condition."
"You tend to favor high-risk strategies in pursuit of victory."
"If I judge one of your plans to be too dangerous, I will speak out against it."
"Allow to beco the stopper that prevents you from going too far."
Hearing Katsuragi's steady, weighty words, Sakayanagi nodded with satisfaction.
"Yes, that's perfectly acceptable."
"My spear and your shield."
"Combining those two strengths is the minimum requirent if we hope to defeat Aizen-kun and his class."
The mont Katsuragi nodded firmly, the final traces of discord vanished.
Class B beca truly united.
Sakayanagi's ability to oversee the entire board and Katsuragi's powerful leadership had joined forces.
It was the birth of the strongest alliance capable of threatening Class A's throne.
That Night
Lying on his bed in the darkness of his room, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji silently stared at the ceiling.
The image occupying his thoughts was that man who had recently visited the school.
His father.
(Before, when that man personally ca to this school, it proved that Chabashira's threat had been a complete lie. I no longer have any obligation to aim for Class A.)
Freed from Chabashira's shackles, Ayanokōji had gained not only relief, but certainty.
(At that ti, I tested him with one question.)
("'Do you rember Sousuke Aizen?'")
(The mont he heard that na, his expression twisted ever so slightly with unmistakable displeasure.)
Sousuke Aizen had once been part of the White Room.
Yet he had personally been expelled by Ayanokōji's father.
The White Room's ideology was to create artificial geniuses through extre education.
A naturally born genius who transcended reason itself was an absolute anomaly that denied the institution's very purpose.
(That man would never use the genuine genius he discarded as a tool to retrieve now.)
His father's reaction had made everything clear.
The possibility that Sousuke was a White Room agent was now completely zero.
His presence at the school had nothing to do with his father's plans.
(Then what should I do from here...?)
Next year, a genuine White Room operative would undoubtedly enroll as a first-year student under his father's direction.
(Should I ask Sousuke for help against that threat...? No. There's no guarantee he'd cooperate with .)
Sousuke was far too unpredictable.
Touching him carelessly could easily bring disaster upon himself.
Ayanokōji shifted his thoughts toward the current class conflict.
(I no longer need to aim for Class A. Then what about Class D's current situation?)
After the Paper Shuffle and the mixed training camp, Class D had clearly changed.
Horikita had begun to stand on her own as a leader.
Kushida and Hirata's leadership remained strong.
And Kōenji remained an absurdly powerful piece.
The quality of their personnel was far from poor.
Yet—
(Even so, defeating the current Class B or Class A is nearly impossible.)
The calculations were rciless.
The class point gap was enormous.
Furthermore, in terms of average academic ability, athletic ability, judgnt, and overall quality, Class D was significantly inferior to both A and B.
If he and Kōenji acted seriously, they could compete in isolated special exams.
But winning the broader class war through conventional ans was impossible.
(And I can't use underhanded thods either.)
The school's system allowed attacks against other classes and exploitation of loopholes.
At tis, it almost seed encouraged.
However, Ayanokōji had noticed sothing while observing Sousuke.
Despite possessing overwhelming strength and intelligence, he stubbornly adhered to legitimate thods.
He showed no signs of relying on dirty tricks.
As long as such a person sat in the position of student council vice president, any dangerous tactics employed by Class D would be crushed completely by rules and logic.
(Still... Class A isn't completely invulnerable.)
A silver-haired girl smiling beside Sousuke appeared in his mind.
Shiina Hiyori.
Sousuke constantly spoke in poetic, incomprehensible language.
Combined with his overwhelming presence, he should have been isolated within the class.
Yet Hiyori perfectly understood the true feelings hidden behind his words and translated them into language everyone else could understand.
Class A's ironclad unity and trust existed largely because she served as the lubricant holding everything together.
(If Hiyori Shiina were expelled, the connection between Sousuke and Class A could be severed, drastically weakening them...)
His mind imdiately arrived at the coldest and most efficient route to victory.
And imdiately rejected it.
(No. That's the worst possible move.)
If he did such a thing, there was no telling how Sousuke would respond.
Until now, Sousuke seed to be voluntarily restricting himself to fair thods, almost as though it were a ga.
But if Hiyori were hard, those restraints would disappear.
To win—
No.
To utterly destroy Ayanokōji—
He would abandon all rcy.
Moreover, no matter how carefully the trap was laid, no matter how perfectly evidence was erased, fooling Sousuke would be impossible.
He would instantly discover Ayanokōji's involvent and retaliate without fail.
The peaceful life Ayanokōji desired would be shattered into pieces.
(Conventional thods won't work. Underhanded thods invite retaliation. Targeting his weak point provokes his wrath.)
(...Then what do I do?)
Naturally, his thoughts began searching for the next move.
His abilities were already partially known by Horikita, Sakayanagi, Ryūen, and the other class leaders.
Continuing to hide behind the facade of incompetence would beco increasingly difficult.
(And honestly... continuing to lose to Sousuke one-sidedly isn't very interesting.)
If a single class could not reach Class A, then only a few strategies remained.
(I'll need to form an alliance and create a siege.)
However, involving Class B—the class currently closest to Class A—was unrealistic.
Even if an alliance were possible, negotiations would require enormous concessions.
(That leaves Class C, whose interests align with ours in bringing down the higher-ranked classes.)
(But can Ryūen and Horikita really cooperate honestly with each other...?)
At that point, Ayanokōji suddenly ca back to himself.
He exhaled softly and closed his eyes.
(...No. What am I even thinking about?)
(All I wanted was a peaceful high school life.)
Now that Chabashira's threat was gone, he had no obligation to involve himself in class warfare.
There was no need to create a complicated battlefield himself.
He understood that logically.
Yet the instincts carved deep into his subconscious continued searching for the optimal path to victory.
Even while desiring peace, whenever a ga board appeared before him, he could not help constructing strategies.
Perhaps that contradictory nature was the greatest uncertainty awaiting him in the future.
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