The night completely shrouded this Forest School hidden deep in the Mountains.
In this place far away from the hustle and bustle of the city and without neon light pollution, the starry sky is particularly bright.
Cafeteria li.
The aroma emanating from the huge Insulated Bucket is mixed with the smell of steaming white rice. For the students who have just ended a day of physical and mental torture, this is the ultimate salvation.
During this short one-hour dinner time, a relaxing feeling called "life" filled the air.
Kazehara Tetsu was holding the half-empty plate, not rushing to add more food or bragging to his companions like other boys.
He walked through the noisy crowd and scanned the slightly crowded area.
Although everyone is wearing the same Sports Uniform with no sense of beauty at all, there is a figure who still looks out of place in the sea of Sports Uniform.
She did not huddle with other girls and chatter, but occupied a corner of the long table by herself.
Next to the table, leaning on a cane.
Sakayanagi Arisu.
Opposite her, Kamuro Masumi was chewing a piece of Fried Pork Cutlet with an unhappy look on his face.
Kazehara Tetsu walked straight over.
Kamuro Masumi raised his head and glanced at him, and the "go away" he had prepared was stuck in his throat the moment he saw it was Kazehara Tetsu.
She snorted softly and reluctantly moved her butt to the side, giving up the position next to Sakayanagi.
"Can I sit here?"
Although it was a question, Kazehara Tetsu had already sat down calmly and placed the dinner plate next to Sakayanagi Arisu's dinner, which was only a third of the way.
"Ah, isn't this Tetsu-kun?"
Sakayanagi Arisu did not turn around.
"Of course. If you don't mind a little noise here."
"This curry tastes better than expected, doesn't it?"
Kazehara Tetsu took a bite of the slightly cold rice and casually started the topic.
"Is this kind of big pot rice with only spicy flavor considered 'good'?"
"Haha..."
Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled. She put down the spoon and turned sideways to look at Kazehara Tetsu.
"The value of food does not entirely depend on the expensiveness of the ingredients, but on the timing of its appearance. On a cold winter night, having a hot meal to fill your stomach is a kind of fire-fighting in itself."
"And, like you said, it tastes really good."
"So..."
Kazehara Tetsu put down Chopsticks, and his eyes stayed on Sakayanagi's still pale cheek for a moment.
"How was the day?"
"Although I know you have privileges in certain projects, this kind of high-intensity collective life should be a big burden on your body, right?"
Sakayanagi Arisu gently stroked the cane leaning on the table, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes.
"It's okay."
"Although I can only regrettably be absent from rough physical labor such as cleaning and long-distance running due to physical reasons, it does not mean that I can sleep peacefully in this cold place."
"I also have to be present for most of the classes."
"Watching everyone sweating while I can only sit on the sidelines and 'spectate', this feeling... is actually more boring than participating in person."
At this point, she sighed slightly.
"Especially meditating."
Kazehara Tetsu nodded.
For people like Sakayanagi Arisu who have congenital heart diseases, this environment itself is a kind of torture.
"It would be great to participate."
"As long as you don't fall, you have already won against most people."
"Haha, Tetsu-kun really knows how to talk."
Sakayanagi Arisu picked up the spoon again and drew circles in the sauce.
"Well, let's skip these boring pleasantries."
Kazehara Tetsu leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice.
"How's the situation? It's about Small Group."
"Did... everything go as planned?"
Hearing this question, Sakayanagi Arisu's smile deepened.
"Of course."
"Your vision has always been accurate."
"Although the process is a little tortuous, the result is just as you expected."
"Shiina and Kushida are very interesting friends."
"Class A, Class C, Class D."
Kazehara Tetsu sketched the prototype of this girl Large Group in his mind.
Three classes have been covered.
"So, where's the last piece of the puzzle?"
Ichinose Honami.
Leader of Class B.
In Kazehara Tetsu's plan, if we want to achieve the highest ratio of four-shift mixed operations, people from Class B are indispensable.
"Just as you said."
Sakayanagi Arisu shook his head with some regret.
"Ichinose... is indeed a 'good person'."
"When I extended the invitation to her, she still declined."
"The reason is exactly as you predicted."
"'In order to take care of more classmates'."
Sakayanagi imitates the tone of Ichinose that is full of positive energy and Self-Sacrificing Spirit.
"She is worried that if she joins our group, the remaining girls at Class B will be leaderless, or they will be in trouble because they cannot find a good team."
"So, she chose to stay."
Kazehara Tetsu had expected this.
If Ichinose Honami would abandon her companions for so-called benefits, then she would not be Ichinose Honami.
"So, who did you find to fill the vacancy of Class B?"
"Kobashi Yume."
Sakayanagi Arisu gives a name.
"Although that girl is not the core in Class B, she is still an active member. She is relatively obedient and has no independent opinions."
"I briefly explained to her that this is the 'Ichinose and Tacit Approval strategy', and hinted that if she joins us, we can bring back more Points for Class B..."
"She came here without any psychological burden."
"The combination of Four Classes..."
"In this way, regardless of gender, we Class A have the core control over the two Large Groups among This Exam who can theoretically obtain the highest scores."
"This is double insurance."
"Speaking of..."
Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to have thought of something, and moved his eyes slightly upward, looking towards the boys' area.
"Although everything is going well on my end."
"But I heard that the commotion over there is quite big?"
"Of course."
Kazehara Tetsu did not deny it.
"Since you have to do something, you must do it to the extreme."
In the following time, the two continued to exchange some details about what happened today.
Although the course content for boys and girls is slightly different...
For example, girls do not engage in crazy marathon training like boys. In terms of the time and intensity of meditation, girls are also slightly gentler.
But overall, the core logic is consistent.
"Starting tomorrow, we will take turns cooking."
Kazehara Tetsu reminded me.
"The same goes for girls, right?"
"Yes."
"But don't worry, there will naturally be the 'right person' to do this kind of thing."
"In this Small Group, I am responsible for thinking, and those household chores that require hands-on work... naturally people who want to express themselves rush to do it."
"Very reasonable distribution."
Kazehara Tetsu stood up.
At this time, a prompt tone sounded just right on the radio.
"Dinner time is coming to an end. Please quickly pack the tableware and prepare to return to Dormitory."
"Well, see you tomorrow."
Kazehara Tetsu picked up the dinner plate and looked down at Sakayanagi Arisu.
"It's cold in the mountains at night, so keep warm. If you, as the coach, catch a cold and fall down, I will be very troubled."
"Thank you for your concern."
Sakayanagi Arisu also picked up the cane and even made a slight ladylike salute when he stood up.
"You too, Kagihara."
"I look forward to seeing you triumphant on the final day."
The two went in opposite directions.
Kazehara Tetsu walks towards the large group of boys.
And Sakayanagi Arisu led Kamuro into the crowd of girls.
The night is getting deeper.