After Kushida and Yagami left, I approached the convenience store.
I wanted to bring a little something for when I met with Keisei and the others later.
I also wanted to give the person who had been tailing me a chance to contact me.
So I decided to buy some snacks and drinks.
"Umm…"
I heard a long, drawn-out voice.
As I was about to pay, Tsubaki from Class 1-C who was standing behind me called out to me. She grabbed a lollipop, probably to bump into me under the guise of 'buying something'.
"Hello Tsubaki. What can I do for you?"
I asked without mentioning that she was at the cafe.
"I'd like to talk to you about something. Could you wait outside for me?"
She looked a little deflated and paid for the candy in her hand.
It was true that it wouldn't be easy to talk to her in front of the cash register, so I waited outside the store.
After waiting for a bit, I didn't notice any signs of her coming out, so I turned around and saw that she was talking to someone on her phone.
Keeping someone waiting like that, how brazen of her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Tsubaki peeled off the wrapper with her slim fingers, and walked over in the direction of the dormitory.
"So, what did you want to say?"
"There is something that we wanted to tell you, that's why I approached you."
What was it that she wanted to tell me?
I thought she'd say it right away, but she just licked her lollipop and didn't say anything.
Instead of being interested in me it seemed like she was focusing on what was in front.
"Is it Utomiya?"
As I spoke the name of the student I could think of, Tsubaki stopped licking her lollipop.
"Looks like I was right."
"He said he'd be right over."
The person she was talking to on the phone at the cafe was her classmate, Utomiya, after all.
As soon as Tsubaki said that, Utomiya came this way.
After he saw me, he nodded slightly, and joined us.
"Sorry. For having to talk to you like this."
"What did you want to say?"
Was it about Yagami, or the special exam?
"It's about Housen Kazuomi."
But from his mouth came the name of the student I wasn't expecting.
"Ayanokouji-senpai. In the April special exam, you teamed up with Housen."
Tsubaki was looking for a 2nd year to partner up with.
She had asked me, but I had turned her down.
"I never would've thought that you had a previous arrangement with Housen."
"What's so surprising about that?"
"By now you must know that getting Class 1-D to cooperate with anyone is a hard task. Even for this island exam they're showing a non-cooperative attitude until the end."
Housen should know by now that there was nothing to gain in this exam by isolating themselves from the other classes.
However, Housen didn't seem to be shaken by this fact, and had maintained his unyielding attitude.
"So what?"
"We want to take Housen by surprise on the uninhabited island exam."
His originally polite tone became sharp, as he tightly clenched his lips.
"However, neither the contents nor the complete rules of the exams have been made clear to us"
"Well… That's true, there's no guarantee that we'll be allowed to attack or ambush the other groups. However, since it's confirmed that we'll be competing with each other, then we should be able to plan something in advance."
There was no problem with that line of thought.
It's a sure thing that the groups will fight each other.
"Housen doesn't have many private points right now. In other words, if he withdraws from the exam. Even as a first year student who gets a lighter penalty, he won't be able to pay for his relief."
In which case, Housen Kazuomi would have to drop out from Class 1-D.
"Are you trying to force Housen out of the school?"
"Yes. Right, that's it."
Although he was mixing up his honorific language, Utomiya replied without hesitation.
"Can you tell me the reason for this?"
"In Class C, a boy named Hatano was expelled from the school. I think Housen had something to do with it."
If he could give out names, he must have gathered sufficient evidence.
"So this is revenge?"
"Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't hate him. Nonetheless, what's most important is to prevent another unprepared person from being expelled."
"Yes. Thanks to him, our class lost 100 points."
Tsubaki put the candy in her mouth and mumbled that.
"I guess I know the reason now, but what does it have to do with me?"
"Housen hasn't formed any alliances with people outside his class. However, he has formed a partnership with you, Ayanokouji-senpai."
So he thought there was a way to take advantage of Housen's weakness and came into contact with me.
From Utomiya's attitude, it really did seem like he wanted to obliterate Housen.
Tsubaki didn't seem to possess such an attitude, but she would probably help Utomiya.
If that hadn't been the case, she wouldn't have helped Utomiya contact me.
"Please lend me your hand."
"I can't give you an answer when we don't even know what's going to be on the exam."
"Then, could you keep this in mind? We're willing to pay you a large sum of points if you're able to get Housen expelled from this school."
He offered to buy my cooperation, but there are more than just a few aspects that made it difficult to accept.
"Did you ever consider that I might be Housen's comrade? Since we worked together it's only natural to assume that we have some sort of relationship. Don't you think I might just tell him what you told me right now?"
In any case, he had unguardedly revealed too much of his plans.
"That."
At that moment, Utomiya turned his attention to Tsubaki for the first time.
The lollipop was getting smaller, and Tsubaki had a lonely look on her face.
She kept staring at the lollipop. I don't know if she noticed that the two of us were looking at her.
After a short while, she said.
"Didn't you get that injury on your left hand after you fought with Housen?"
She licked the lollipop with the top of her tongue and said that.
"What makes you think that?"
"Because we were also aiming for the 20 million point bounty."
She admitted this without hesitation.
"I see. You're also participants in that special test, huh? That's why you previously approached me as if you were looking for a partner."
Even though Yagami had already informed me on this matter, I pretended not to know about it.
On the other hand, Tsubaki also didn't mention my contact with Yagami.
"That's right."
"But, even if I had partnered up with Tsubaki, you still wouldn't have been able to force me out of the school."
While it's true that I would've been expelled if Tsubaki gave up on the exam, but so would she.
"We can't answer that."
Up till now, I've thought that Utomiya was the one who came up with the idea.
As things stand now, it doesn't seem to be that way.
"I apologize for that. We've already given up on the bounty."
"Why is that?"
"If we get you expelled, news of that'll spread throughout the school. We'll be enemies with the 2nd year Class D. Them hating the people who got their classmate expelled is to be expected."
Utomiya only realised this after his friend Hatano had been forced to drop out due to Housen's actions.
"Then wouldn't it be the same if Housen was expelled?"
"No. The reason for that is because all the Class 1-D students are afraid of Housen. Rather, there're a lot of students who wish that he be expelled."
If you weren't worried about being hated by the others, you could do whatever you wanted.
"Anyway, remember. Please remember this. The only thing we care about is defeating Housen."
After emphasizing that part again, Utomiya and Tsubaki left, walking in the direction of the dormitory.
Although I've met them twice by now, the 1st year Class C didn't let me grasp anything.
But their relationship with the White Room Student is still opaque.
For the time being, I'll stay vigilant, and keep in mind what they said about Housen.