Horikita had already joined the student council, but even after that, she couldn't provide me with any new information.
Putting aside personal opinions of Nagumo, the student council operated smoothly.
It was a week before the deadline for the formation of the small groups, and a situation arose.
It all started when I was called out by the Vice President, Kiriyama.
Kiriyama had been trying to stop Nagumo's rampage by supporting Horikita Manabu, the student council president who graduated last year, but the situation hadn't improved, and time was running out.
Maybe he had already given up.
Although that was what I thought, I didn't expect him to offer to meet up at this point.
Although, why did he call me out in broad daylight on a weekday after school?
If he wanted to keep this a secret from Nagumo, he could have chose to meet late at night or early in the morning.
If he was going to act cautiously, he would have done so.
However, I agreed to his proposal without any contention, as I had no obligation to do so.
And so after school, I went to Keyaki mall to meet up with Kiriyama.
"You're here."
"What does the Vice President want with me?"
"Don't be in such a hurry to get this done with, it's going to take some time today."
Saying that, Kiriyama guided me away.
"The large scale uninhabited island exam is coming at the end of the month, are you prepared?"
I thought he wanted to talk to me about the student council, so I was surprised when he started talking about the special exam.
"I feel I've done everything I can. How about you, Vice President Kiriyama?"
"I've formed a group of 3 without anyone from Class A."
This was to shorten the gap between Class A and the other classes, and to make the test less difficult.
For the 3rd year, the difference in Class Points with Class A was much greater than in the 2nd year. If there was any possibility left of reversing this situation, it was to get the higher ranks in the exam through your class alone.
"I know what you must be thinking, if our Class 3-B wanted to reach Class A, then it's a must to win first place with a team with only our class. Not only that, we would have to continue to win the following special exams by a landslide. However, that's not realistic."
If miracles like these happened ever so often, they wouldn't have been in their position in the first place
"I wanted to personally battle Nagumo in this special exam."
"Personally battle, huh."
"It's been a long time since we lost the battle with Nagumo and fell into Class B. After which, Nagumo became the student council president, and took control over the entire 3rd year, and eventually the entire school. It's safe to say that the battle of the classes has already been decided."
"I've been thinking the same thing."
The reason why most of the 3rd years followed Nagumo was because they gave up on their plans of reaching Class A.
"But based on my evaluation of myself, I don't think I'm any weaker than Nagumo."
The Class 3-B student, Kiriyama, had received high evaluations on the OAA. With an overall evaluation being above B+, it was understandable that he was confident in his ability. However, Nagumo's overall strength was even higher than his, so you could say that Nagumo's boisterous attitude was in line with his strength.
Nevertheless, the OAA wasn't indicative of one's ability. Not only were there students who weren't able to display their full strength, but there were mental elements that couldn't be expressed numerically, and there were also students with certain talents that couldn't be reflected by the OAA.
If Kiriyama thought he could take Nagumo on a one on one fight, he probably did have a chance of winning.
"You can form a big group of up to 6 people regardless of class. In order to win, you'll have to have an eye for talent and the ability to get people to join you— In that aspect, I don't think I can lose to Nagumo."
Even though this special examination is a battle between the years, it also contained elements that allowed you to fight within your year.
This exam was one of the few opportunities left for Kiriyama.
"I understand where you're going with this, but is it really necessary to specifically tell me this?"
What good would it do him to tell me about it?
"I don't want you to get in my way."
"I'm not interested in your duel with the President anyway."
"I know that, but what I'm trying to say is, I don't want to be distracted by any outsiders."
"Outsiders?"
"I'm referring to Horikita Suzune, who just joined the student council."
"I see. It looks like she's in your way, However I want to at least tell you that I sent Horikita Suzune to the student council on the wish of her brother, the former student council president."
Maybe this kind of thing didn't matter to Kiriyama anymore.
To be sure, I asked him outright.
"There's already no point to it. He's only got a few months left as Student Council president. If we could do something starting from now, it wouldn't be to take his presidency, but rather to settle a personal dispute with him."
"If that's what you want, then just do it, yeah?"
It's not surprising that he wanted them to have a fair fight.
The question was, what did it have to do with me?
"You wanted Horikita Manabu's sister to join the student council to monitor Nagumo, right?"
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't, but it was mostly for another reason. Just like Horikita said in front of Chairman Nagumo, it was to follow in her brother's footsteps."
"That means she won't get in Nagumo's way, right?"
"Unless Horikita thinks Nagumo's an obstacle."
"That won't work. Forget all thoughts about dealing with Nagumo. It'll only lead to unnecessary fights."
He withdrew what he had once said, and it was as if everything had come full circle.
It meant nothing to me, but I had a desire to personally witness Nagumo in action. If Horikita judged Nagumo's actions to be wrong, I was afraid she might face him directly. But it was a bit strange that Kiriyama was telling me not to do anything meaningless.
"I'll remember what you said, Vice President."
I listened to his advice and planned to skim over the matter with a lighthearted response.
Kiriyama showed a look of displeasure, probably because of my half hearted reply.
"To put it politely, don't do anything."
"I know, I've made myself clear on that, right?"
"Then, you swear you won't do anything. Can I interpret it like that?"
"How you interpret it is your choice, but I didn't make any promises."
As the conversation continued, Kiriyama's normally calm voice grew impatient.
"Nagumo was more or less aware of what I'd been doing with Horikita-senpai. But since I'd been following his orders, he remained calm and simply observed what happened. Horikita-senpai's sister joining the student council was annoying enough, so if you don't stop meddling in this—"
"Are you in trouble, Vice President?"
"…Yeah."
So that's why he called me out, to specifically tell me this.
On the surface, it was as if he was worried about us.
However, the truth of the matter was, he was protecting himself, putting his safety before anything else.
Of course, this was a normal move to make.
I didn't want to interfere in the relationship between Nagumo and Kiriyama, in which the winner and the loser had already been decided.
"Nagumo's idea, the one in which anyone can graduate from Class A. You want that chance."
"Well…"
It was the policy of the former student council president Horikita Manabu to continue on with the school's premise of winning by class.
No, I should say that this was the school's policy, until last year.
But relying only on that, there was no chance of defeating Class 3-A led by Nagumo.
In fact, Kiriyama seems to have resigned himself to the fact that he would graduate from Class B.
However, if he followed Nagumo's 'individual strength' policy, his position would certainly change.
If Kiriyama was strong enough individually, he may be able to move up to Class A.
Although he said he wanted to compete with Nagumo in the uninhabited island exam, in the end, he's just trying to gain private points, and occupy the top spots.
It was just a prettier excuse to keep Horikita and I out of his way.
He wasn't really going to challenge Nagumo.
"Is it really that strange… Wanting to graduate from Class A."
It really was nothing strange, but Kiriyama wouldn't spot talking.
He was trying to protect his dignity.
"What's the point in graduating from a class other than Class A, if you're in this school? I won't go down the same road as those who have talent but have given up fighting. I will never sink with Class B, which is full of strange and incompetent people."
If Manabu-senpai had heard those words, he would be disappointed.
Even so, Kiriyama was aware of this weakness, so would he really talk about this so calmly?
"Anyway, you should have understood what I want to say by now."
"I understand. When Horikita joined the student council, she was supposed to be introduced to the other members later on, but you came early, Vice President. I know the reason for that."
He was worried that Horikita and I would say something unnecessary.
"Say whatever you want-"
"Kiriyama."
While we were talking, a voice came from nearby.
Although Kiriyama's name was called, he didn't react immediately.
"Kiriyama. Can you not hear me?"
Once again, but this time the voice grew louder.
"Speak of the devil…"
After saying that to himself, he reluctantly turned towards the direction of the voice, with a subtle expression of disgust.
The girl who was sitting on the bench was a 3rd year student.
She crossed her legs and put her open hands on the back of the bench, in a relaxed manner.
Comparing this with the face, name, and various abilities shown in the OAA…
Class 3-B, Kiryuuin– right?
"What do you want from me?"
Faced with his own classmate, Kiriyama's disgruntled expression didn't change.
It seemed like the two of them didn't get along well.
"Fufu. You're with an interesting underclassman, so I said hello."
Kiryuuin said that, and then turned her attention to me.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, right? I heard you became famous after a perfect score on a difficult math test."
"It's none of your business, Kiryuuin."
Before I could speak, Kiriyama raised his voice a little and said that.
Kiriyama distanced himself from Kiryuuin and tried to force his way out.
"What are you doing, Ayanokouji? We're leaving."
Kiriyama said to me. I had no intention to do so, though.
"You won't get anything from being with a guy like that, you know?"
I was caught between two 3rd years.
Which side was the right one to listen to?
To be honest, I didn't want to listen to either of them.
"Staying with you is meaningless."
"Ayanokouji's the one who should decide that, right? Kiriyama, can't you leave any quicker?"
Kiryuuin made fun of him while maintaining her sitting posture.
"Would you like to join me in a meaningful conversation?
"…!!"
Seems like instead of being taken lightly, what Kiriyama didn't like was her interference at the last moment.
"You can ignore that woman."
He intensified his tone, and warned me.
"She's a third year just like you, Vice President. So that won't be too good."
"…This girl is Kiryuuin, a student of Class B and my classmate."
"I saw that from the OAA. She's a highly rated student, isn't she?"
"She's just a good student, but Kiryuuin doesn't have anyone supporting her, unlike Nagumo. She doesn't even have a single friend."
So that was why Kiriyama said that ignoring her wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Don't praise me like that, I'm getting embarrassed!"
It wasn't meant to be a compliment at all, but Kiryuuin laughed boldly.
"She's a lot like Kouenji from your year. All her words and actions, if you take her seriously, you'll just be wasting your time."
I didn't expect his name to come up here.
In a way, Kouenji Rokusuke was someone who had a unique personality, and if you were similar to him, you would be pretty strange too.
While I was interested, I also thought it was better not to get involved with her.
However, Kiryuuin's Academic and Physical Abilities were both rated A+.
She was the only student who had two A+ evaluations in those two categories in the school, out of everyone.
Her Social Contribution was a C+, which wasn't that low, and her only defect was Adaptability, in which she got a D.
If we simply looked at grades, you could say that she's the best in the school.
"What's wrong? Aren't you coming?"
"Are you calling for me?"
"If you don't come, I'll go there myself. But is that okay with Kiriyama?"
"… It's because of people like this, that I don't want to rely on Class B."
Kiriyama said in a low voice.
"Couldn't you oppose Nagumo, since you have these sorts of outstanding classmates?'
"I told you that she's the same as Kouenji, didn't I? She's already hopeless as a human being. In these 3 years, she didn't contribute at all to the class, except for her own grades. She always acts alone. Even though she lives among us, she's an alien in the class."
It was true that even that she had maintained her excellence in the OAA, I had never heard her name from other people's mouths. If she had been someone Nagumo or Manabu-senpai would pay attention to, it wouldn't have been strange to hear about her.
"Thanks for the compliments, Kiriyama."
"Huh!?"
Kiryuuin, who got up from the bench, whispered in Kiriyama's ear
She was surprisingly tall. Over 170 centimetres? You could tell just by looking at her that she was well built, reflecting her physical ability. There was actually a student like this in the 3rd year? I recalled the conversation I just had with Kiriyama.
There was no way he was going to sink with Class B which was filled with these kinds of 'strange' and 'incompetent' people.
This Kiryuuin was probably the strange person he referred to.
"If you want to say something, say it quickly.
"Of course, I'll do that. But you're in the way, Kiriyama."
"…Do whatever you want. I'm leaving."
It seemed like he didn't want to be with Kiryuuin, so Kiriyama started to take his leave.
"Don't forget what I just said, Ayanokouji. Depending on the situation, I'll become your enemy as well."
I received a warning from the Vice President.
By now, I would have gone back, but this time, I had to deal with Class 3-B's Kiryuuin.
"What are we doing, standing up? Why don't we sit down?"
"Sure…"
Kiryuuin invited me to sit on the bench.
I hope I'd be released soon.
"So, what did you want to tell me?"
"Anything is fine. It's enough as long as I can figure out what sort of person you are.
"Figure out? Vice President Kiriyama said that you don't contribute to the class, Kiryuuin-senpai. That means you're not interested in what happens to your classmates right?"
"Being interested and cooperating are 2 completely different things, aren't they? There are some interesting people in my class, and sometimes I want to have a friendly conversation with them, just like what I'm doing with you now."
I see. It was exactly as she said.
"I'm not interested in the system of aiming for Class A of this school. Although the biggest selling point of the school is that you can go to whatever university you want and find employment wherever you want, I believe I can achieve whatever I want with my own abilities. I simply chose to come to this school on a whim."
From her words, she did indeed seem very similar to Kouenji.
She has absolute confidence in her own abilities.
Besides, that can be justified by the fact that she had an A+ in both Academic and Physical Ability.
"Would you have chosen this place if you knew before you came here that the structure of this school is centered around cooperation?"
"That's not the case. I like this school. In fact, I haven't had a single complaint about life here since I arrived. The point system is also very pleasant."
Kouenji also seemed to like this school, and enjoyed all of its benefits to the max.
There's no need to cling onto the goal of Class A if you could achieve anything you want by your own abilities after graduation.
"It seems that you are fine with being hated by others."
"Other people's evaluations don't matter to me."
Kiryuuin gave a straightforward reply accompanied with strange laughter
"I wanted to ask you something, but instead you're the one asking the questions."
As if switching from defence to offence, Kiryuuin asked me a question.
"It's about time you told me about yourself."
"Why me? There are many students who excel in their studies."
"It's intuition. My instincts tell me that the person in front of me is no ordinary person."
Trusting her instincts with no basis at all.
If it wasn't for the fact that I knew they were alike, I might have mistaken her for Kouenji.
"Are you planning to get first place in the uninhabited island exam?"
"There's no student who doesn't want to be first. Except maybe, for people like you, Kiryuuin-senpai."
"Letting aside first place, I'm also one of the people who is aiming for a top spot. If I get a high position, I can get private points. I'm the type to spend whatever I have, so I'm always short of money."
Class Points and Protection Points were of secondary importance to her.
At the end of the day, Kiryuuin would only take the exam for her sake and for the sake of the private points.
"Nagumo and Kiriyama will obviously aim for 1st place, and it seems that there are some competent underclassmen, right? The upcoming special exam will determine the top student at the school."
"That does seem to be the case."
What was needed was not limited to just academic and physical ability.
If it was a battle where you had to fight with everything you've got, then what she said was true.
"Whether my interest in you disappears or not, it all depends on what you do in the uninhabited island exam."
"On the contrary, I hope that your interest in me disappears."
"I see. You say some interesting things, underclassman. I'm looking forward to fighting you, Ayanokouji."
With that, Kiryuuin waved me away as if shooing away a stray animal.
"I'll take my leave then."
Although I've met with a strange 3rd year, one thing is for certain.
If I wanted to secure a top position in the next special exam, I would have to defeat Kiryuuin.
And it might prove to be even more troublesome than defeating Nagumo and Kiriyama.