After-School Chat

Several days had passed since the start of the school year.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" Amasawa Yuto leaned against the railing by the artificial lake behind the dormitory building.

"There's nothing wrong with a quiet life. It's just like the days we spent last year, isn't it?"

Tsubaki Yuki gently brushed back a strand of hair blown across her temple, her gaze fixed on the same lake surface as Yuto.

The water rippled with tiny waves, and the twilight sun was kneaded into patches of dancing light.

In the distance, a few wild ducks paddled slowly, leaving two fading wakes behind them.

"That may be true..." Amasawa rested his arms on the railing, his chin propped against the back of his hands. "I'm considering whether I should test something lately."

"Test what?"

"Where the school's limit of tolerance for us lies."

Tsubaki didn't quite understand. "Do you mean like Ryuen from Class C?"

The wind blew, and her hair drifted up again. This time, she couldn't be bothered to tuck it back, letting the pale yellow strands brush against her cheek.

It was said that Ryuen Kakeru of Class C practiced an attitude of absolute supremacy within his class, using violent means to coerce everyone into submission.

Anyone who refused to obey him would be "disciplined" until they became compliant—at least on the surface.

"It's not quite that extreme, but Ryuen has caused such a scene, and yet their homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, hasn't said a word. That suggests the school maintains a certain level of tacit approval regarding internal class violence."

"That sounds truly repulsive," Tsubaki frowned.

"Isn't the White Room the same? Violence, as an obvious monopoly on power, is a viable tool. I don't think there's anything wrong with Ryuen's methods."

"I wonder how he managed to subdue that tall, dark-skinned guy. Is he even Japanese, anyway?"

Tsubaki was referring to Yamada Albert from Class 1-C, a tall, robust man with dark skin.

His massive frame was imposing enough on its own, and he always wore sunglasses; he felt like the kind of guy who would start dancing and rapping the moment he grabbed a microphone.

Yet, a giant like that was now submissive to Ryuen, following behind him like a dutiful bodyguard.

Wherever Ryuen pointed, he struck. With Ryuen and Yamada combined, it was likely only a matter of time before Class C was completely under Ryuen's violent rule.

If there were ever to be a physical competition between classes, they would have a massive advantage.

"I don't think Ryuen's physical fitness is all that high, either. I wonder how he managed to win him over," Tsubaki said.

She had crossed paths with Ryuen once while buying an eraser. While she admitted he had a ruffian personality, as for his combat ability?

Based on Yuki's intuition, he wasn't exceptionally strong. Perhaps he could take on several students like Yamauchi or Ike, or a bookworm like Yukimura Teruhiko, but when compared to the entire school...

"Physique doesn't mean everything. Someone with a weaker build isn't necessarily poor at combat, and someone robust isn't necessarily strong. To a certain extent, technique can completely bridge the gap left by brute force," Yuto replied casually.

"That may be true, but even accounting for technique, you don't think Ryuen could beat Yamada, do you?"

"Who knows? To me, they both feel like the kind of level I could take down in ten seconds. I really can't see much of a difference."

"Wow, that's so pretentious. But coming from you, Yuto, it's surprisingly convincing. By the way, you stayed there for another eight years after I left, right? Just how strong are you now? I remember you could already beat a martial arts instructor when you were seven."

"I'm not sure. After that incident, it's been hard to come across a situation that requires me to go all out."

A strange silence suddenly fell between the two. The reason, of course, was the "incident" Yuto had just mentioned.

It was the incident that led to the death of Kiyotaka.

As Yuto pondered how to restart the conversation, an unexpected person appeared to help him.

"Oh, Amasawa and Tsubaki, are you two here enjoying the view?" The person who happened to pass by and greet them was Ichinose Honami from Class B.

She was wearing her school uniform and looked like she had just returned from school, seemingly on her way back to the dorms to change.

Ichinose Honami was a social butterfly among the first-year girls, on par with Kushida Kikyo, and perhaps even threatening to surpass her.

They had added each other as friends after a chance encounter in the hallway; after all, they had already met on the bus on the first day of school.

"School ended a while ago, didn't it? Is Ichinose only just getting back now?"

"Ahaha... since I'm the class representative, I was helping the teacher with some paperwork at school."

Tsubaki Yuki was surprised. "Eh? There's a position like class representative? We haven't heard anything about that in our class at all."

"It's not a school rule or anything. It's just a class committee election organized by everyone in the class. It's not just the class representative; there are also sports representatives, study representatives, and so on."

"When it comes to the Class B representative, it really had to be Ichinose. She's the only suitable candidate."

"Haha, you're too kind, Amasawa. Since becoming the representative, I've unknowingly started to feel the responsibility everyone has placed on me."

"So that's why you were helping the teacher with paperwork today?"

"Yes, I hope to help everyone more, including Hoshinomiya-sensei."

"Everyone in Class B is so united. It really feels like a complete, cohesive class!" Tsubaki Yuki's eyes filled with longing, then she thought of her own Class D. "By comparison, the students in our class are a bit..."

"Ahaha... it's not really because I'm that great. It's mainly because everyone in Class B is very friendly. If I were put in Class D, even though I would do my best, I don't think I would do any better than Tsubaki. Actually, today, everyone agreed to go to the karaoke at the shopping mall together."

At this point, Ichinose suddenly clapped her hands together, as if she had thought of a good idea. "Oh, in that case, would Amasawa and Tsubaki like to join the Class B gathering? Do you two have time later today?"

"Eh? Is that okay? Even though it's a Class B gathering?" Yuki widened her eyes slightly.

"Tsubaki, you don't realize it, do you? You're actually quite popular among the girls," Ichinose said, flashing her signature, understanding smile.

"Me? Am I really that popular?"

"Of course! It's because Tsubaki Yuki has the aura of a refined young lady, and you're cute with a great figure. Even though your personality is amazing, for some reason you don't have many friends in class. You have this kind of melancholic, mysterious vibe."

Tsubaki Yuki felt a bit shy after what Ichinose said. "Wh-who, who are you talking about?"

"What's wrong with that, Yuki? Let's go together," Amasawa Yuto chimed in.

"S-since Yuto said so..." Tsubaki Yuki seemed to be floating on air from the compliments, so Yuto pulled her back to reality just in time.

"Then I'll go back and change my clothes too! Are Amasawa-kun and Tsubaki-san going together?"

"Yeah, I'll go back and change out of my uniform as well. Since it's a rare trip to karaoke, wearing a school uniform feels a bit out of place."

Yuto began brewing a plan in his mind—perhaps a plan that only Class B was capable of carrying out.