A Pawn of the Wicked

On the twenty-seventh, near the end of June, I got lost among the layers of buildings, all because I needed to deliver something a certain upperclassman had entrusted to me to one of their teachers. It was only after that incident that I realized how little I knew about the layout of this artificial island of a school, Advanced Nurturing High School.

For three months, I had confined myself to a handful of familiar places. I'd thought that an energy-saving lifestyle was just laziness, one of the seven deadly sins. It turned out to be a force that could wear away a person's wits. Learning from the pain of that experience, I decided to familiarize myself with the school's basic layout.

I left Kanzaki and the others, who were chatting happily in the classroom, and wandered alone through the school's "courtyard." Summer was nearly upon us, and the weather was stifling. Even at dusk, there wasn't the slightest hint of a cool breeze. All that remained was thick, unmoving air.

In no time, a sheen of sweat covered me. I began to regret my foolish decision.

Incidentally, this school's uniform didn't change with the seasons. In other words, there was only one type of uniform, whether it was the heat of summer or the cold of winter. Can you imagine what it felt like to wear something barely suitable for winter in the middle of summer?

It was the kind of scorching heat you felt when embracing the sun—

At least the classrooms were air-conditioned. Getting to and from school, however, was pure torture.

After surveying the surrounding buildings from the first floor, I hurried back to the air-conditioning vent beneath Building Three.

Ah, I'm alive again.

As I basked in the comfort of the cool air, I noticed the Special Building across from me. If I wanted to learn every corner of the campus, right down to the security cameras and the number of corners, then I'd have to visit every floor of every building. But if I really went into that much detail, I'd probably give up just looking at the building in front of me.

The Special Building housed facilities that weren't used very often, such as classrooms for special courses, home economics rooms, and audiovisual rooms. So, after classes, it was practically deserted, and unlike the other school buildings, it didn't have air-conditioning.

The heat in there could make anyone who stayed too long feel light-headed.

"I'll just head straight back..."

The moment I stepped out of the school building and caught a glimpse of the Special Building out of the corner of my eye, I abruptly abandoned that dull thought.

The odds of what I was seeing were about as slim as rolling ten dice and having them all land on six.

The Special Building wasn't made of one-way glass, but it did have coated windows. Coated glass let light through in one direction and reflected ultraviolet rays. Because it was so reflective, the glare distorted the view through the transparent sections, making it difficult to see inside.

And yet, under those circumstances, I saw someone on the third floor beating another person. In the chaos, I caught sight of a face that seemed familiar, though I couldn't place it.

Ishizaki from Class C, who often came looking for trouble with students in our class.

"Hey, I heard that Raku was kidnapped by people from Class D yesterday. What happened?" I hadn't even sat down at my desk that morning when Ichinose hurried over to ask me.

Because of the tedious Student Council interview and screening process, Ichinose still hadn't been accepted. She'd spent the previous day rushing around and wearing herself out over it.

But—

"'Kidnapped' is a bit much. I went willingly."

"Was it about that dispute between Class C and Class D?"

"Yeah. I happened to show up at the end of it. Ayanokoji and the others followed the clues and found me."

"So you were a witness, Raku? You should have told us sooner. If the people in Class C find out, you might get dragged into trouble too."

"I don't think that'll happen..."

"Why not? If you want to avoid trouble, there are things you need to prepare for in advance. Next time you run into a situation that might get you caught up in something, you have to make sure you tell everyone, all right? Like when Teacher Hoshinomiya asked about it at the morning assembly—you should have said something then. If you keep putting things off like this, Raku, you'll be a lost cause."

"I haven't reached that point yet?"

"You're unhappy about that?"

"No, no. I get it. I'm sorry..." Faced with the fired-up Ichinose, I had no defense. She'd taken my personal motto and diagnosed me with chronic laziness, yet I couldn't even stand up for myself. That was probably the sadness of being powerless.

And, Kanzaki, what was with the mocking look? Weren't we supposed to be brothers in hardship?

"Honestly... Anyway, who's this Ayanokoji you mentioned?"

"A pretty good friend of mine from Class D, I suppose. He helped investigate the witnesses, but this has little to do with him."

"You have friends in other classes, Raku? Did you know him before?"

"Not a chance. I'm the only one from my old school who came here. I only met him because of that cursed elevator."

"Haha, who thanks a friend for meeting them by saying they 'blame' something?"

Because I wasn't thanking him at all. I was cursing the elevator.

Still, Ichinose seemed to be having a good laugh, so I let it go.

"So, it's true that you were a witness, Raku? Are you planning to testify?"

"No." I shook my head without hesitation. When Ichinose gave me a look that suggested she'd expected that, I explained, "Strictly speaking, I can't really be called a witness. I just happened to pass by as the incident was ending. I don't know how it started or what happened in the middle."

"That sounds mysterious."

"It was nothing but trouble. There wasn't a mysterious thing about it."

"So you already know the whole story?"

"I never said that."

"But doesn't what you just said mean you've figured out all the mysteries of the case?"

"The school still hasn't resolved it. Do you really think an ordinary student like me could see through it?"

"You don't look ordinary at all. Honestly, I've never been able to figure you out."

"That sounds pretty cool... But I know I'm easy to understand, so you don't have to compliment me. If you inflate my ego, that'll be a problem."

"Then tell me all about what happened." Ichinose turned her whole body toward me, leaned over my desk, and watched me with interest.

She didn't even realize how cute she was!

"...Most of what I know came from Class D. You can judge for yourself how reliable it is."

Then I organized the information I'd gathered the day before and relayed it to Ichinose.

"So, in the end, Sudo refused the Class C students' threat to make him quit the basketball club, and then they fought?"

"At least, that's what the Class D students told me."

"I understand what happened, but the school's ruling..."

Right. If things really happened the way Class D said, the school's final ruling was anything but fair. But the injuries to the Class C students were far less serious than those suffered by Class D. Given that it was three against one, it was hard to imagine that kind of result coming from anything other than a one-sided beating.

"Let's investigate."

"If you're joking, Ichinose, I don't think it's funny."

"I'm not. I'm serious."

"..."

"This might be selfish of me, but I'm sure Class C is behind all this. I know it's another class's problem, but it'd be a shame if Sudo, who's about to be chosen for the official team, lost his chance because of this."

"At the very least, we should find out the truth and clear everyone's names."

"...Do whatever you want, Ichinose." I knew that no matter how much I tried to dissuade her, she'd do it anyway. That meant trying to stop her from the start was a waste of effort.

"Then it's settled. Let's go check out the scene after school."

"Wait, that doesn't sound right. Why 'let's'?"

"Isn't it? You just agreed."

"I never said I agreed."

"Perfect. If we find anything that leads to a breakthrough, we can quickly contact Class D."

"You have a way to contact Class D too, don't you?"

"If you handle it, we can trust the information. After all, you were a witness."

What a flimsy excuse!

The Evil One's Pawn

The girl was hiding around the corner where the incident had taken place, peering out at the corridor where people fought and cried out in pain. I crept up behind her.

It was a very dramatic scene, wasn't it? I could even imagine the two sides fighting over who would rescue the princess. And just as they were deciding, the princess was assassinated by me. It was a shame I didn't have a dagger or some sleeping potion on me.

The sounds of punches and muffled grunts filled the far end of the corner, creating a terrifying atmosphere that warned cowards to stay away.

I was about to say something when I heard the sound of a camera shutter.

"Click, click—"

Only then did I notice the digital camera in her hand. For a moment, I wondered whether the girl in front of me was the mastermind behind the whole incident. But when I saw her trembling, I realized it was only an unconscious reaction of the human body to fear.

"You've gone this far. Do you really think you can get away unscathed, Sudo?"

"Haha—cough..."

"I can't believe you're still laughing. Three of you couldn't beat me, and you still had the nerve to attack first. You should have thought about what I was capable of before making your choice. This is your only warning. If you mess with me again, don't blame me for being ruthless."

When neither side had a strategy, losing despite outnumbering the other was certainly embarrassing. But even winning wasn't worth bragging about. If you had the physique of a professional athlete... Wait, wasn't having a professional athlete's physique impressive for a high schooler?

After thinking it over, I was stunned by his ability to fight alone. At the same time, I quietly edged closer to the girl behind him.

"Heh, you're pretty full of yourself..."

"Full of myself? You're just too weak. You're lying on the ground and don't even have the courage to get back up and fight me. What a bunch of cowards. Next time, bring more people, or you might not be enough for me to beat up."

Listening to them, I couldn't help thinking of the passionate scenes where heroes and demon lords faced off. Mm, it wouldn't matter how many people they brought. They'd still be useless.

As I was musing over it, I heard footsteps—the footsteps of the victor.

An overreaction to stress.

When someone recognized a threat after assessing a stressor, their mind and body underwent changes. Negative psychological reactions could trigger excessive tension, impairing their ability to think and blurring their sense of self, among other things.

That was what was happening to the girl. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she couldn't move. Even from a fist's length away, with her back to me, I could feel her heart racing.

In this dangerous situation, I decided to take bold action to help her regain control of her body.

I slowly covered her mouth with my hand to keep her from making a loud, startled sound and to let her know what was happening. My sudden movement was bound to make her panic, but luckily, she was the type who wouldn't dare make a sound.

Then I quickly turned her around. She reacted and tried to struggle.

That was enough to count as a success.

Next, I made sure we were looking directly into each other's eyes, then pressed the index finger of my right hand against my lips to signal that she shouldn't make a sound.

The sudden shock brought tears to her eyes, and she raised her hands to her chest, unsure what to do. I felt a little guilty, since I could never resist a cute girl, but only a little.

Then I calmly pointed toward the nearby stairs and gave her a gentle push.

"We're not going to let you go, Sudo."

"Give me a break. Haven't you figured it out yet? Everything you're doing is a waste of time. Honestly, I'm already tired from club activities."

"...I'll make you regret this."

Finally, the girl understood what I meant and hurried toward the emergency exit. She didn't even manage to say thank you.

Maybe she did, and I just didn't hear her...

"Doesn't it embarrass you to bark like a beaten dog? You won't beat me even if you try again."

When he finished speaking, I looked away from the girl's retreating figure and turned around, coming face-to-face with him.

"...Who are you?"

"I heard a lot of noise over here. What happened?"

"Just a bunch of idiots coming to pick a fight with me."

"Um, there's blood on your fist..."

"Huh?" He raised his fist and glanced at it carelessly, then shook it as if he didn't care. "That has nothing to do with you. Don't stick your nose into things that aren't your business."

With that, he shoved me aside.

There was a faint smell of blood, but no visible injuries on him.

"Hey, you. Come over here." Just as I was about to give him a look of respect, the leader, lying at the corner, called out to me. He sounded like the one who'd been shouting just moments ago.

"Me?" I pointed at myself and approached them.

"You. How long have you been standing there?"

"You got into a fight with him? Are you all right?"

As I asked them with concern, I reached into my pocket and tried to help them up, but they slapped my hand away.

"Are you in cahoots with that guy?" he shouted, as if condemning my character.

"I don't know him. I just happened to pass by. So what happened?"