Hello, Reality (End of Volume)

In fact, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Karuizawa Kei was struggling at this moment. After all, there was a gap in physical fitness between her and Horikita Suzune, and she was in a predicament where Horikita Suzune was carrying her along.

This was a rather uncomfortable position; several times, before her right foot could even step out, Horikita Suzune's left foot had already stepped out for the next round.

Karuizawa Kei's right foot almost slipped as she moved forward.

During previous training, the girls in Class 1-D couldn't stand this and that's why they gave up on partnering with Horikita Suzune.

However, Karuizawa Kei kept telling Horikita Suzune, "It's okay," "You can go faster," and "I can keep up."

For her now, even if she has to fall, she has to fall across the finish line.

Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori caught up with the previous gap, but the sudden acceleration of Class 1-D made it impossible for them to overtake, and the two sides seemed to have returned to the starting line and were neck and neck.

"Now it depends on whether Karuizawa's speed falls behind first, or Kitagawa's stamina falters first."

Sakagami Kazuma, who had thought Kitagawa Ryo was about to achieve great success, now looked Sakagami Kazuma. This change of pace by Class 1-D was a very risky choice. If Kitagawa Ryo didn't have enough stamina, he could put Shiina Hiyori and the two of them could return to their normal three-legged stance and continue moving forward. However, if Karuizawa Kei had a problem and fell, according to the rules, they would have to start from the starting point again and would have no chance to overtake.

The students in the room barely dared to breathe, their eyes glued to Karuizawa Kei's feet.

After all, compared to Kitagawa Ryo, who still seemed to have plenty of energy, Karuizawa Kei's situation was undoubtedly fraught with danger.

Everyone was speculating when she would fall—at seventy meters, eighty meters, or at the crucial ninety meters where she would fail miserably?

She stumbled forward, Karuizawa Kei falling, but quickly tapped the ground three times with her right foot, managing to regain her balance.

However, this still affected the overall speed, and Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori quickly caught up and soon created a gap between them.

"Tsk."

With the finish line in sight, less than fifteen meters away, being overtaken by her opponent at this moment caused even the usually composed Horikita Suzune to become somewhat anxious.

She can admit defeat, but she won't accept it.

Admitting defeat means there's always a chance to win again; passively accepting defeat will only prevent you from ever surpassing your opponent.

Throughout her life, she both acknowledged that she was inferior to her brother and accepted that she was inferior to his personality.

Therefore, she could never surpass her opponent.

However, while Kitagawa Ryo Horikita Suzune would acknowledge her defeat to Kitagawa Ryo, she wouldn't accept the fact that she lost to him forever.

Like in those hundred nets, even if you only catch one fish in the end.

That would also... result in one being caught.

Horikita Suzune reached out and put her arm around Karuizawa Kei's shoulder. She was determined to try and learn Kitagawa Ryo's running style. Karuizawa Kei instantly understood Horikita Suzune's intention and immediately lifted her right foot to cooperate, maintaining the minimum level of not falling. The two practically hopped towards the finish line.

Because of the large range of motion, Karuizawa Kei, who was on the right side, inevitably brushed past Shiina Hiyori, who was on the left side of the track next to her.

This extremely minor, almost negligible physical contact did not constitute a foul, so the referee did not stop the game.

Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters.

All eyes were focused on the finish line.

The battle Class 1-B and Class 1-D is about to be decided.

As the audience in the front row stood up, Horikita Manabu also stood up and looked at Horikita Suzune in the audience.

At this crucial moment when victory was imminent, Shiina Hiyori seemed to suddenly lose focus. Her right foot buckled, causing her center of gravity to shift, pulling Kitagawa Ryo to the right. Kitagawa Ryo, caught off guard by Shiina Hiyori's sudden mistake, instinctively shielded Shiina Hiyori's head as he sprinted towards the finish line. The two lost their balance instantly and crashed heavily onto the asphalt track of the playground.

"Ah?"

The entire audience gasped in unison as Karuizawa Kei and Horikita Suzune from Class 1-D crossed the finish line, much to the disbelief of many.

"Hiyori? Are you alright?"

The moment Kitagawa Ryo fell, he quickly untied the straps binding their legs. He quickly checked Shiina Hiyori's condition. Since they were already quite fast, and the asphalt track was covered with small pebbles, their knees, covered by tight pants, were inevitably worn and chafed. Along with their elbows, there were about three or four noticeable abrasions.

"Sorry, Liang... lost."

However, Shiina Hiyori seemed completely oblivious to her still-bleeding wounds; she only felt annoyed and guilty, and even unusually flustered.

How could that be?

"That's alright, I'll take you to the infirmary next door first."

Kitagawa Ryo simply shook his head upon hearing this. He bent down, put one arm around Shiina Hiyori's waist, and reached the other hand under the girl's legs, lifting her Shiina Hiyori and carrying her towards the makeshift infirmary next to the playground.

The students from Class 1-B quickly gathered around, following Kitagawa Ryo with tension and worry. Because Shiina Hiyori was injured, no one even cared about the result of the race for a moment. The faster ones had already gone to call the medical staff to come over.

After crossing the finish line, Karuizawa Kei turned around and saw Kitagawa Ryo picking up Shiina Hiyori.

Class 1-D defeated Class 1-B in the three-legged race (boys and girls not restricted), winning 4-3.

The broadcast came at just the right time.

Horikita Suzune waved proudly at Horikita Manabu in the audience.

The students from Class 1-D rushed over and surrounded Karuizawa Kei and Horikita Suzune.

It was as if time had slowed down; everything around me, including the smiles on my classmates' faces, felt unreal, and I couldn't hear anything.

"Yes! We won!"

The brief pause was like a program that had been paused being restarted.

Karuizawa Kei shouted loudly, and she rushed over to give Horikita Suzune a big hug.

Leaving Horikita Suzune aside, she turned around and looked at Hirata Yosuke, who had just come out of the restroom, his face pale but also smiling:

"You've had a great day!"

Karuizawa Kei gave Miyake Akito a thumbs up:

"Excellent performance!"

She hugged her best friends:

"I told you we could win!"

Just like any other day, with enthusiastic movements and a bright voice, the students of Class 1-D generously applauded and cheered for their Leader had led them to victory over Class 1-B.

Karuizawa!

Karuizawa!

Not only the students in Class 1-D, but also students from other classes and grades in the audience, all remembered this girl and were exchanging and discussing her.

After all, she had defeated Kitagawa Ryo, who had just crushed Miyabi Nagumo that morning.

The first person stood up and clapped, and then more people joined in.

In this ecstatic atmosphere, tears welled up in my eyes involuntarily.

It should be a... perfectly reasonable thing to do.

Right?

Chapter 81: Hello, Reality (End of this volume)

[The Twenty Rules of Detective Fiction, Rule Eighteen:]

In a mystery novel, the ending absolutely cannot be an accident or suicide. Such an anticlimactic conclusion is tantamount to playing an unforgivable joke on the reader. If someone pays for the book and discovers its contents are such deceptive nonsense, and requests a refund, any fair court will side with them and severely punish the author who deceived their loyal readers.

"It's over."

Kitagawa Ryo sat on the bed in the infirmary, bent down, and used iodine and cotton swabs to apply medicine to the wound on Shiina Hiyori's knee.

Since it was just a minor abrasion, and the medical staff learned that the two were a couple, at Kitagawa Ryo's insistence, they simply handed over the task of applying the medicine to him. Before leaving, they thoughtfully drew the curtains and closed the door, giving the two of them plenty of space.

"Actually, it would have been better if I had just fallen at the end."

Kitagawa Ryo said with some heartache as he carefully cleaned the grit from the wound and the small pebbles clinging to the skin.

"That's so fake."

Shiina Hiyori, however, seemed unconcerned about the pain during the application of the medicine, and chuckled softly while covering her mouth:

"Given Liang's physical condition, for him to suddenly lose strength and fall near the finish line is like a third-rate detective novel where an omnipotent detective is first established and then killed by a murderer in the most foolish way."

"But it doesn't look very good right now."

Kitagawa Ryo pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow as he said:

"The invincible Kitagawa Ryo has failed."

"Isn't this the result Liang wanted to see?"

Shiina Hiyori stretched out her arm so Kitagawa Ryo apply iodine to it, and she looked at his profile:

"Otherwise, why would Ryo conceal the fact that he already knew Karuizawa would attack Class B?"

"You were found out?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

Shiina Hiyori sighed deeply, much like she would normally offer her opinion on a terrible detective novel that had high expectations but ultimately fell short of expectations:

"Because in the first six rounds against Class 1-D, Ryo, as the Commander, spoke much less frequently than when facing Nagumo this morning."

"Could it be interpreted as me being stunned by the sudden betrayal from Class D?"

Kitagawa Ryo tilted his head.

"Oh, I believe you."

Shiina Hiyori and took the bottle of iodine from Kitagawa Ryo's hand, shaking the liquid inside:

"If Liang doesn't tell the truth when it's just the two of us, I won't hesitate to force this down your throat."

"... All right."

Kitagawa Ryo nonchalantly took the iodine back and nodded, saying:

"I did know about this in advance."

"Ryuen had actually considered this operation by Class D before, but he trusted his spy planted in Class D too much, so he didn't receive the news until noon. However, his reaction speed was quite fast, and he managed to outmaneuver the other side."

"Hui carried out this operation alone from the very beginning, without telling the students of Class D. Because she was the Commander of Class 1-D, she had the power to choose the opponent. Once the deed was done, the students of Class D would have no choice but to be tied to the same boat and fight against our Class B."

"But while her plan might fool many people in Class D, it certainly won't fool the person who plays the most important role in it."

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."

Kitagawa Ryo recalls the Matoba on the Uninhabited Island, where he used the videotape as a threat to expel Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to help Karuizawa Kei. In fact, the videotape that Karuizawa Kei regarded as a kind of tight rein on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has a huge logical flaw.

The rules of the Uninhabited Island Special Exam include that anyone who commits violence against members of other classes will be expelled.

It was precisely because of this that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hesitated to act rashly, because for him, who had escaped from the White Room, dropping out of school meant losing his freedom and returning to that empty white space.

However, Karuizawa Kei overlooked the fact that the two parties involved in the violent act in the videotape were Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kitagawa Ryo.

When Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei were on the same side, this video could easily have hit Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's weak point.

"But if my position and Hui's position were reversed, this videotape would actually lose its threatening function."

"Because as the victim and the person involved, all I have to do is deny Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's violent behavior and say that it was just me and Ayanokoji exercising. In this kind of violent incident, catching someone in the act is the most effective thing to do. Two months have passed, and the school can't make a judgment at all. And if this gets out of hand, how will Class 1-D view the class Leader exposed the [crimes] of their students?"

"So, Ayanokoji's rise in status within Class D over the past two months is also..."

"Yes."

Kitagawa Ryo readily admitted it locally:

On the surface, Ayanokoji's every move seemed to be helping Megumi, but in reality, it was also helping him build connections and prestige within the class.

"The situation had escalated to the point where even Megumi, as the Leader, could not easily use public opinion and evidence to expel Ayanokoji from school."

In fact, during those few days on the cruise ship, Kitagawa Ryo secretly contacted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and after returning to school, he also arranged for Ryuen Kakeru to communicate and exchange information with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"It was during the divination session."

Shiina Hiyori spoke as if she had remembered something.

"Um."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded:

"Because they want to target our Class 1-B, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is Class D's most powerful weapon. Megumi probably uses him as the core of her strategy, since from her perspective, Ayanokoji is at her mercy."

"I understand now."

Shiina Hiyori nodded thoughtfully, her light, silvery-white hair swaying slightly with her movement, shimmering with a captivating luster in the sunlight streaming through the window.

"Why did Liang lose to Class D?"