"Are you leaving already? You haven't even responded to the young maiden's love, and you're just going to leave so heartlessly? After doing something so awful to Ichinose."
"T-Teacher Hoshinomiya! Please stop joking around!"
"You're no fun. Isn't this kind of thing entertaining?"
"It's not!" Ichinose replied indignantly, and I offered an excuse to make my escape.
"...As you can see, Ichinose still has something she needs to discuss with you. I'll leave you to it."
"Ah, that's right. Honami still has something to tell me about the Student Council."
"Yes."
"I see... The faculty meeting is about to start, so I guess we'll have to leave it at that. Damn, I was this close to succeeding. Anyway, I'll leave Raku in your hands from now on, Honami."
"I-I'll be careful."
Compared to Teacher Hoshinomiya, if Ichinose was the one I had to deal with from now on, I might have a lot less trouble. After saying goodbye, I left the teachers' office victorious.
Ayanokoji followed me out soon after.
"..."
"Just curious, but did your homeroom teacher pull you aside to lecture you about your grades?"
"...You heard?"
"No, I just figured you might be in the same situation as me..."
"If I'm supposed to improve my grades, that's asking a little too much."
After he said that, Ayanokoji and I sighed in unison. Then we stepped forward in perfect sync—and stopped just as neatly.
"You're not going straight back to the dorm, are you?"
"...Don't ask. Let's just go."
I refused to answer. I couldn't explain the inexplicable connection between us. If fate had arranged things this way, there wasn't much I could do about it.
"Do you think we'll end up living together someday?"
"Please don't curse me with something so dreadful. I had nothing to do with you before we entered this school. At least this ill-fated connection of ours will end once we graduate." Ayanokoji and I stepped forward at the same time again, which made me add, "...Probably."
"That's not very convincing... But are you sure we've never met before?"
"There's no reason to think we have... You don't remember seeing me, do you?"
For the few months before the school year began, I often wandered through the alleys late at night. There was a good chance someone might have seen me then.
"I just think you look familiar."
"Maybe some of my features resemble someone you know. I don't remember ever meeting you, and I don't think I've done anything to attract the attention of strangers."
"It's just a feeling. I don't remember meeting you, either."
"What kind of feeling is that? Please try to think of me as a stranger. Otherwise, you'll scare me."
"That's fine, isn't it?"
What kind of person is he? If Ayanokoji and I really did share some ill-fated soul connection, would he follow me when I died?
The thought sent a chill through my soul. But that fear was soon thoroughly erased, just before we reached the dorms. It was because of a particularly rude female voice.
"Ayanokoji, wait!" A beautiful girl with a frosty air hurried after him.
"Who's that...?" I asked Ayanokoji, puzzled, and he quickly answered.
"Did you need something, Horikita?"
"Of course. I still have questions about what happened earlier." As she spoke, Horikita glared at me with a look that said, Get lost if you don't want to die. I immediately wanted to retreat, but my pride as a man kept me from doing so. I only swallowed nervously.
"She's my classmate, Horikita Suzune. Since her grades aren't very good, our homeroom teacher assigned her to tutor me."
Damn, even that's similar? Isn't this girl just like Ichinose?! Is this universe some bizarre fusion of parallel worlds, splitting my soul in two and placing one half in Class B and the other in Class D? This is ridiculous!
"...Well, that sounds rough. I'll leave you two to talk." I waved awkwardly and escaped the awkward scene.
"Those scores just now... Were they really a coincidence?"
As I entered the dormitory, I heard Horikita ask Ayanokoji that question.
Damn coincidences, following me everywhere.
Chapter Fifteen: In This World Full of Alienation
The Selected Works of Mao Zedong once included a definition of unity.
"Unity means bringing together those who disagree with you, look down on you, disrespect you, have had disagreements with you, have struggled against you, and have gotten the better of you."
Clearly, this wasn't something that could be accomplished easily. At this point, how to achieve unity had practically become a field of study in its own right. Not only were there too many factors to learn, but unity also involved changing people's minds. The human mind was the hardest thing to shape, and few people could fully control the way others thought. I certainly couldn't.
Yet Ichinose could take the profound subject of unity and play with it like a set of building blocks in a child's hands. Class B was now a regular shape assembled from all kinds of irregular pieces. It hadn't been forced into shape through violence; the pieces genuinely fit together.
If I tried to do the same, I could hardly imagine how it would turn out.
Would it be a complete puzzle? Or would only a single piece remain?
I didn't know. But I did know this: the puzzle was whole.
"Pay attention. This is a test."
"Sure~"
That was a mistake.
I picked up the pen I'd dropped because I'd been daydreaming and quickly filled in my answers. Ichinose had organized the study sessions to help our classmates improve their grades and avoid expulsion due to poor test results. As the seventh-lowest scorer, there was no doubt I'd be taking part in this great undertaking.
If only there were a regret pill. Then I could travel back in time and get a nice score. It might not be perfect, but at least I'd be free of this torturous study session.
"Ichinose told me why you got sixty points, but just to be safe, you should show us your true ability so we can see where you stand."
"Even fifty points would be enough to keep me out of danger. Why do I have to aim for such a high score...?"
"Could you at least take this seriously?"
"Ah—don't smack me on the head. That hurts."
"Maybe now you'll remember. Who else would come up with such a weird excuse for getting a score like that?"
"Tch... Here, I'm done." I quickly handed over the five tests. "This should be the last one, right?"
"Not necessarily. We've been at this for five days, but it's still uncertain whether we can completely get through to you."
"Why does that sound so weird? A grown man getting through to another man..."
"If you've got nothing better to do, read your textbook. Even if you give it your all, that doesn't mean you'll get a good score. We've done twenty tests, including today's five, and I don't even know if you'll reach eighty."
"Seventy is already a pretty good score... By the way, did you volunteer to tutor me, or was it out of a sense of duty as vice class representative?"
"I volunteered. I didn't consider my responsibilities as vice class representative at all. Ichinose takes care of everything in the class; I only play a supporting role."
"You're really full of energy."
"I'm nothing like you. I'll do anything to save myself trouble."
"No, I do have my limits."
"I look forward to the day I see them."
"You make it sound like the end of the world... So why are you doing all this?"
"To prevent anyone from being expelled. You know the S System decides changes to Class Points. If we understood every detail of the system, we'd obviously have a huge advantage. The problem is, we know practically nothing about it. Right now, the best way to deal with that uncertainty is to prevent any mistakes we might make."
"You're planning to reach Class A, aren't you?"
"I guess it's a competitive streak. I don't want to be judged a loser. Ichinose also plans to lead everyone to Class A, so I hope I can do my part."
He called it a competitive streak, yet he was still able to think rationally.
"Helping Ichinose reach Class A, huh..."
"Yeah. I know I don't have what it takes to be a leader, but Ichinose should be able to do it... At least for now."
As Kanzaki and I talked, I glanced over at Ichinose, who was tutoring a girl nearby.
"I really don't see myself doing that."
"Just try not to cause trouble for us."
"You make me sound like I'm always getting into trouble."
"Anyway, the results are in." Kanzaki didn't respond to my teasing. Instead, he carefully compared the five tests in his hands with my previous records.
"How'd I do?"
"Seventy-three, seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven... Your scores are pretty interesting this time. Are you sure you're actually trying? From the way I marked your tests, it almost seems like you're choosing the right answers."
"Do you think I'm a god? I can't just write the right answer whenever I feel like it. And your tests didn't even show how many points each question was worth."
"Of course I know that. That's exactly why it seems strange... Anyway, I've figured out where you're weak. Now we just need to work on those areas. As for that habit of yours... I'd recommend correcting it as soon as you can."
"You've figured it out already?"
"Five days is enough to spot a few clues. Now that I know what the problem is, things should be easier. Wait, there's still Okabe and the others... Hey, you guys, stop messing around!"
"Sorry, sorry. The tests were just too easy."
"If you get such a dangerous score on the next test, I'm not going to save you."
"Haha, sorry. We really are studying."
Although Okabe had earned the title of lowest scorer on the quiz, every student in Class B had strong academic skills, and Okabe was no exception. This time, his poor result was simply because he'd had too much fun in April.
"Kanzaki, how are things going on your end?"
"Pretty well. Most of them have already scored over seventy. We just need to reinforce the basics and do some targeted practice."
"Are we on schedule?"
"We should just about make it. As for tackling everyone's weak points, I've only finished compiling Raku's results so far. The others will probably take another two or three days."
"Maybe this is a bit too much for you... Then I'll take over tutoring Raku."
"...You're going to let Ichinose tutor Raku? But—" Kanzaki frowned, rubbing his chin with his right hand.
I didn't know what he was hesitating about, but whatever he did, he absolutely shouldn't hand me over to someone else like I was a piece of merchandise. If he'd agreed to tutor me, the least he could do was take responsibility for me.
"Things will be much easier that way. I have fewer students to tutor than you do, and Chihiro's helping me, too. We've already figured out Raku's weak points, so he should be easy to take over, right?"
"Stop talking! This is just the devil whispering in your ear. Kanzaki, don't let yourself be tempted!"
"Yeah, Raku's mistakes are pretty easy to spot."
"Raku, you aren't slacking off again, are you?"
"I'm working hard."
Come on, you couldn't erase the results of more than forty minutes of hard work with a single remark. I'd worked my butt off for that score.
"I can vouch for that. I watched Raku while he was taking the tests. He wasn't slacking off, though he did get distracted quite often."
"If you're giving evidence, it'd be better to leave out the last part. It's unnecessary."
"That's impossible. There's no way you could focus for long."
"That's harsh. I can focus sometimes, you know?"
"Then you can focus all you like under Ichinose's command."
Hey! You're the one sending me straight to hell!
"Kanzaki agreed, so you're fine with it too, right, Raku?"
"Of course I don't mind. Haha."
How could I not mind? No matter how I looked at it, it was a bad idea for a boy like me to join a group of girls!
"These are the notes I just put together about Raku. They should be easy to understand. If they aren't, come ask me."
"No problem. All right, Raku, let's go."
"..."
I glared resentfully at Kanzaki. He looked completely unconcerned and didn't even glance at me. Ichinose, meanwhile, was smiling brightly. When I noticed that, I sighed from the bottom of my heart, dreading the difficult days ahead.
Before you continue