Deep in the night, the mountain forest was eerily quiet. Only the two men's faint breathing broke the silence.
Horikita Manabu didn't look at Kazehara Tetsu. His gaze seemed fixed on the dark forest outside, its depths impossible to see.
"As for what happens in the future..."
"I no longer have the time to deal with it, nor the chance to change things myself. It's not just because my term is over. It's also because... objectively speaking, my era has come to an end."
It was an exceptionally clear-eyed assessment of himself.
For a man like him, who had once stood at the very top, admitting he was powerless often took more courage than defeating a formidable opponent.
Kazehara Tetsu leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
"You've stepped down, after all, haven't you?"
"That's only part of it."
Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses and turned to face him, meeting Kazehara Tetsu's eyes.
"And besides, shouldn't the people of the future be the ones to shape it...?"
"If we keep holding to what those before us did, trying to confine a new era's development with outdated ideas, wouldn't that be irresponsible toward those who come after us?"
"Whether it's Nagumo's reforms or the emergence of an outlier like you... these are inevitable developments This School has to face."
The amusement in Kazehara Tetsu's eyes faded a little.
If Nagumo Miyabi had been the one to lose at the card table, he probably would have been thinking about how to win at all costs in the next round and how to save face.
But Horikita Manabu was different. He saw the bigger picture.
"As expected of you, Horikita Senpai..."
Then Kazehara Tetsu shifted the subject.
"And... you feel the same way about your sister, don't you?"
Horikita Suzune, who