"It's finally over." My body felt as though my spirit had been drained, and I slumped in the wooden chair. Spending an entire study session surrounded by a group of girls while enduring other people's inscrutable stares had been a truly painful experience.
Everything had a first time, but why had my first time been so tense and unpleasant?
"Raku, it's time for dinner."
"You don't need to remind me about that. I'm not a child."
"That's because you're so lazy, Raku."
I should apologize to the very concept of laziness.
After parting ways at the library, Kanzaki and the others and I had dinner in the school cafeteria, then returned to the dorms. The May weather wasn't hot enough to leave me drenched in sweat, but I still decided to take a shower.
I carefully studied my body in the mirror. The scars left by the branches that had pierced my skin a few months earlier had healed completely. Not a trace remained on the surface. Even now, I still had a perfect body. That habit had never changed from the very beginning.
I put on my yukata and returned to the living room, which also served as my bedroom. With nothing else to do, I watched an entire movie by myself.
The movie had been wonderful, showing things I couldn't even imagine. I'd never given a film such a high rating before. The only thing I regretted was that I hadn't watched it as part of a couple. After all, movies didn't seem like something meant to be enjoyed alone.
Thinking of that, I opened the boys' group chat.
They were talking about an online idol named "Shizuku." Following the links they'd posted, I casually opened a swimsuit photo. Then, unable to stop myself, I clicked on Shizuku's official website and admired pictures of the energetic idol.
I'd thought it was just a meaningless way to pass the time, but I stumbled across some unexpected news. For instance, "Shizuku" was a student at our school... Maybe it was a coincidence, but the background in her latest photo shoot looked exactly like the layout of the dorm room I was in.
Maybe she was a new first-year student. I might even be able to get her autograph or something.
I tried to imagine how such a chance encounter might unfold, but I couldn't work out how it would begin. With a self-deprecating laugh, I tossed my phone onto the single-seat sofa and opened the window, its presence making me feel strangely separated from the world.
Insects chirped outside, and a night breeze stirred the air, carrying a sense of serenity. I began to think about everything that had happened recently.
It had all gone smoothly.
I'd happened to meet Ichinose, happened to end up in her class, and happened to sit in front of and behind the right people. I'd successfully introduced myself, made friends, and fit into the class... No, it was more like the class had successfully "fitted me in." I'd also gotten to know two students from Class D.
It had all gone too smoothly. Class B had far too much of an advantage to start with.
Even so, even in a class like this, I could still notice the flaws in him. I was still just like I'd been during that team activity back then: unable to empathize, unable to make it feel like it had anything to do with me.
"We're... teammates, aren't we...?"
I remembered the contorted expression on his face as he died, every pore seeming to radiate an indescribable bewilderment.
Ah, at least I'd always believed that keeping one's true abilities hidden was an exceptional talent.
So no matter what, I'd make sure I did just that.
Outside, the insects and wind had fallen silent at some point. The streetlights quietly cast shadows, and their mottled, interwoven patterns seemed to mock the meaning of my existence without end.
Maybe I shouldn't sleep tonight.
I closed the window and turned away from the world that made me feel so distant.
The Nonexistent Eavesdropper
I couldn't remember when I'd forgotten what it felt like to be tired. Perhaps because of the medication, the only time I could feel that heavy, deathlike bliss was during endless sleep.
Being alive meant suffering, and I was no exception. I tried my best to pursue the very roots of suffering, but I'd never managed to reach the end.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I'd wandered through dark alleys late at night. Maybe I'd do that tonight.
Sitting alone in a swivel chair, I looked out at the endless darkness and thought as much. The dorm handbook didn't strictly lay down any rules about curfews; it only advised us not to go out late at night. So I wouldn't be punished outright for doing so.
I'd always been the sort who acted as soon as I made up my mind. I grabbed my key card, walked through the lit corridor, and pressed the elevator button. The elevator rose to the fourth floor, just as it always did.
It rose to the fourth floor, just as it always did...
"Huh?"
Watching this familiar routine play out, I couldn't help feeling a terrifying possibility rising from deep within me.
No way. That was far too strange, wasn't it? That couldn't possibly happen.
I desperately tried to reject the answer I'd come to, but the moment the elevator doors opened, my fantasy shattered.
"...No way?" The person inside the elevator was the first to voice his disbelief.
"Why aren't you asleep at this hour?" I complained, following up on his words.
"It's a little stuffy in my room, so I couldn't sleep. I thought I'd go downstairs and buy a drink..."
"That's just too weird."
What was this? Pressing the elevator button to summon Ayanokoji Kiyotaka? Either I'd gained some strange ability, or something was definitely wrong with him. I couldn't believe such a coincidence existed in the world.
"I'm just as confused. It feels like you're following me."
"Please don't take me for a pervert. If I could, I'd do my best to avoid you, too."
If this really was a coincidence, what could possibly make two unrelated people have almost identical routines and thought patterns?
I covertly studied him, a warning bell ringing in my mind as if I were being watched by a hunter. He definitely had some connection to me, though neither of us could figure out what it was. But who, exactly, could possibly be connected to me?
While we were still wondering, we reached the vending machine and each bought a drink. Then we lounged against it like juvenile delinquents.
"Did your class do all right on the quiz?" I casually broke the silence, which had been filled only by the chirping of insects.
"Is Raku trying to find out how our class is doing?"
"You could think of it that way, I suppose. But I was just asking. If you feel like you're getting the short end of the stick, I can tell you how our class is doing, too. Though I don't think there's much to talk about when it comes to academic performance."
"You already know the answer, even without asking. This school sorts students into classes based on their abilities, so it shouldn't be hard to guess how Class D did on the quiz."
"So it'll be tough, then? Are you going to be all right?"
"My situation's dangerous, too. If I make a mistake, I might get expelled. Just keeping my grades up is already hard enough... Since you're in Class B, your grades must be pretty good, right?"
"Sorry to disappoint you. My grades this time were near the bottom of the class. That's why I had to attend the study session organized by my class. Class B's grades are only good overall, though I guess there aren't many students at the bottom."
"Are your grades in danger?"
"Maybe, but I can still take care of myself. The people in Class B are just worried about students falling behind... By the way, I looked at this month's Class Points. Class D has zero, which means you didn't get any points this month. Do you have enough left?"
"A hundred thousand points is a huge amount. It should last one person several months, right?"
That was true. The school had probably taken that into account when it set the starting amount at a hundred thousand points.
I leaned my weight comfortably against the vending machine's hard frame and casually shook the peach juice I'd bought from Fujiya. Ayanokoji leaned against the wall, staring at the light beneath the streetlamp, lost in thought.
We sat like that for who knew how long. At last, the silence ended when I finished my drink and tossed the can into the trash. It clanged against the other metal cans inside.
"Are you going to stay here?" Ayanokoji asked when he saw me still standing by the trash can.
I hesitated briefly. It didn't seem like the right time to keep hanging around.
"No, I was going back, too. Let's go."
When we returned to the elevator, it wasn't waiting for us as we'd expected. Instead, it was already on its way up, going straight to the seventh floor. That was the girls' floor.
"More people than I expected are awake tonight."
I turned to look at the electronic display beside me. When the elevator doors opened, a woman with long, straight black hair and a modest bust came into view.
"I remember that woman's your personal tutor... You weren't planning a date, were you? Did I interrupt?" I asked Ayanokoji, looking at the woman on the screen, Horikita Suzune. I thought he might brag, but he immediately denied it.
"If I had a girlfriend, she'd be the least likely person. Besides, she doesn't seem to consider me important at all... Sorry, I think I need to hide."
"Hmm. Feeling guilty?"
"If I ran into a classmate at this hour, I'd feel awkward. She might misunderstand our relationship, too. She could even accuse me of 'betraying the class' or something equally groundless."
"...She doesn't sound very friendly."
"Anyway, I'll get out of the way." After saying that, Ayanokoji hurriedly hid in the shadow of the vending machine. It was an excellent hiding place for a short time. I didn't think anyone would notice him without looking carefully.
It wasn't as if I wanted anyone to know I was wandering around at this hour, either. But it seemed that had been exposed from the start, so I might as well give up trying to hide it.
When the elevator doors opened, I passed the girl who tutored Ayanokoji. She always had a cool expression, but the moment our eyes met, I saw a hint of fear on her face.
I hadn't done anything to startle her, so the only possibility was that she didn't want anyone to know where she was going. Even so, she quickly suppressed her panic and made no attempt to threaten me.
I casually pressed the button for the third floor and stepped out as soon as I arrived.
"My shoelace is undone..."
And, unusually, both of my shoes had come untied. I bent down and slowly retied them. When I got to the second shoe, the closed elevator doors began moving again. To save power, the lights in the dorm corridors were voice-activated and only stayed on briefly. By the time I'd finished tying my laces, the corridor was already pitch-black.
The elevator was moving, rising from the first floor. I staggered to my feet, failed to steady myself, and slammed my shoulder hard against the wall. The impact made the corridor lights flash on, completely overpowering the glow from inside the elevator.
Honestly, if there weren't cameras in the corridor, and if the electronic display showing the inside of the elevator weren't only on the first floor, I wouldn't have had to go to so much trouble.
I swiped my key card and went back to my room.
I
My seatmate was a beautiful girl named Horikita Suzune, and her older brother was Horikita Manabu, the student council president of this school.
I'd followed Horikita's suspiciously cautious behavior and successfully stopped the student council president from assaulting his younger sister. Then, unable to contain my own burning sense of justice, I'd made a pact with Horikita.
Strength, equality... I'd come up with the reason I'd come to this school before I'd even thought it through. But hadn't I only wanted to escape that man's control and gain my freedom?
I sat on a wooden chair not far from where the incident had taken place and sorted through my slightly muddled thoughts.
Once I'd calmed down, I got up, circled around the street corner, and continued to the other side of the wall. A row of landscaped shrubs stretched along the far end, with a broad lawn beyond them. Moonlight couldn't penetrate this area, and the only light came from the dim lamps, whose brightness had been reduced several times over.
I turned on the flashlight on my phone and carefully examined the soil for signs of pressure and the branches for creases.
There were no traces. Had I imagined it?
Then I checked again where the security cameras were positioned. This spot was completely out of their range, but they covered the routes leading to and from the intersection.
After looking over everything, I returned to the dorm lobby. When I'd escorted Horikita upstairs, I'd already checked that the elevator had been on the fourth floor at the time and that the piece of paper wedged in the elevator doors hadn't moved.
"The double doors to the emergency stairwell haven't been opened, either..."
Had I been too suspicious after all?
I quietly waited for the elevator to come down from the seventh floor. Then I retrieved the piece of paper wedged in the doors. Once I'd confirmed that there were no electronic displays on any floor except the first, I returned to my room.
Only then did I start thinking about the decision I'd made on impulse. Perhaps I'd made a pact with the devil after all.
The Death Stare from Shiranami Chihiro
"Welcome to a school where ability comes first."
At the start of May, Teacher Hoshinomiya ended the morning assembly with those words. It was then that I began thinking about what "ability" really meant.
What was ability?
At first glance, the question seemed simple enough. The dictionary defined it as "actual strength."
At the national level, scholars divided ability into hard power and soft power. Hard power meant coercive power: a country's economic, military, and technological strength. Put simply, it was tangible, material power that could be directly observed and measured. Soft power, on the other hand, was intangible. It was a kind of influence, achieving one's aims through attraction rather than threats or inducements.
At the individual level, though, the concept of ability became somewhat vague. Some scholars applied the same framework used for countries, but even then, they couldn't clearly distinguish between the two. If I had to, I'd classify them as physical and mental.
Of course, in the most obvious sense, ability could be said to be a reflection of strength and intelligence.
Pulling power, grip strength, pushing power...
Technology, innovation, deduction...
Individual contests could be treated like wars: strength was firepower, intelligence was strategy. In a war, you generally needed both to win every battle. But that brought us back to the same question. What did firepower and strategy look like at the individual level? What did things like guns, troops, blueprints, and routes represent?
I was still considering the answer when a loud conversation abruptly dragged my wandering thoughts back.
"I remember now. It was Francis Bacon!"
"That's right."
I was pretty sure one of the library rules was not to speak loudly. Not far away was a study session organized by Class D students. I knew it was Class D because half of them were people I knew.
Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Kushida.
They were tutoring each other... So they'd decided to tackle it all together, then. I'd thought Ayanokoji might get lucky and have a beautiful girl tutor him one-on-one.
"Don't they know they're supposed to be quiet in the library?" Shiranami complained from my right.
Her full name was Shiranami Chihiro, and her grades were near the top of the class. She was one of the students assisting Ichinose with the tutoring.
"Shiranami, you could skip the study session and still be fine, couldn't you?"
"But if I don't come and help, the burden on Honami is just too heavy. Don't you think so, Raku? It makes me feel bad for her."
"It's not that much trouble. Everyone's good at studying, aren't they? They'll catch up soon enough." Ichinose smiled as she replied.
Before you continue