Section 045: Next Month's Clear Guide / Section 046: [Chance Encounter] in the Elevator, Staking a Claim

It was so I would never again be that man's puppet.

So should I give up on winning?

My failure would mean that man's failure, and I would have welcomed that outcome.

But actually having to taste the bitterness of defeat... I couldn't do it.

Whenever I thought of the word "failure," the faces of those who had failed in the White Room appeared in my mind.

I... didn't want to become like them.

I didn't want to lose. I didn't want to lose. I didn't want to lose!

"You don't want to lose, do you?"

His words pulled me out of the chaos of my tangled thoughts.

My gaze focused on his face. He seemed to have seen something amusing, and his smile grew even brighter.

"If you don't want to lose, then keep winning. Winning so you don't have to taste the bitterness of failure—that's a thought even an ordinary person might have."

"Congratulations, Kiyotaka. You've taken another step toward becoming an ordinary person."

"...But when it comes down to it, my thoughts haven't really changed."

"No, no, those are completely different. Before, you were pushed into winning; whether you won or not had nothing to do with what you wanted. But now, you want to win because you don't want to lose. You're doing it for yourself."

"If you don't believe me—"

He took a chess set from the desk and laid it out on the low table.

"Give it your all and try to win. Then taste the bitterness of defeat."

"Some things only leave a deep impression when you experience them for yourself."

He was challenging me... no, rather, he was inviting me to challenge him.

So, should I take him up on it?

...As if I could possibly refuse.

Being so blatantly provoked was a first for me.

And it was also the first time I'd felt the desire to win.

He was right. Something about me had changed. I'd never been this fixated on victory before.

My emotions were stirred. That wasn't a good thing; it meant I might make rash decisions in certain situations and lower my chances of winning... but I didn't want to suppress this stirring inside me.

This feeling was new. I'd never experienced anything like it before.

I picked up the white piece he'd pushed toward me and made the first move.

Thirty minutes later—

He really was amazing.

I'd played chess against many professional players in the past, but none of them had put even a fraction of the pressure on me that he did.

My body grew tired, my vision blurred, and my fingers gradually lost their strength around the pieces.

Even though none of those sensations felt good, the corners of my mouth kept rising.

In the end, I spotted an opening and won.

I'd still won. He hadn't made me taste defeat like he'd said he would, but the feeling of victory was completely different from before.

That was it. Those were the feelings he'd been talking about: excitement, emotion, and joy.

This feeling—was amazing!!!

"You really are incredible. No wonder that girl is still so fixated on you."

Though he'd lost, there was no bitterness on his face. Instead, he wore a satisfied smile.

I couldn't understand his reaction.

"En, you lost. How can you still look like that?"

He'd clearly given it his all. I could still see the veins in his forehead, raised from the intense concentration he'd put into the game. So why could he still smile so brightly?

Did he not care about winning or losing? If so, why had he tried so hard?

"Because I got what I wanted."

As he tidied up the pieces and put away the board, he gave me some advice.

"Kiyotaka, do you understand now? When you're deciding what you want to do, the first thing you should look at isn't other people's wishes or orders. It's what you want. That's what true freedom is."

"Take me, for example. Of course I care about winning, but more than that, I wanted to see you change. Now you can even smile genuinely with that poker face of yours! That's what makes me happiest."

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 49: Next Month's Strategy

"Kiyotaka, I'm walking Kushida back to her room. You should head back to your room and get some sleep, too."

After putting the chess set away, Hoshino En returned it to its place on the desk, then sent Ayanokoji Kiyotaka back to his room next door.

As for himself, he headed toward the elevator in the floor's lobby with Kushida Kikyo.

Seeing him being so considerate made the girl feel a little awkward. She tried to wave him off.

"Honestly, you don't have to walk me back. The girls live on the floors above, so there's nothing to worry about."

"I know that, which is why I'm only walking you to the elevator."

Hoshino En said something so thoroughly mood-killing without a hint of hesitation.

Though the night had been clear, Kushida Kikyo felt as if she'd been struck by lightning. A tingling numbness shot from her spine to her limbs.

"...(quietly) I can't believe you'd say something like that. I wonder what's wrong with the girls who fell for you."

Bzzz—

Along with her quiet mutter came a notification on her phone.

Anyone contacting her at this hour usually had something they didn't want others to know, so she normally kept her phone on vibrate.

Who was about to share a little secret with her?

With a hint of gleeful anticipation, Kushida Kikyo checked her phone, only to find... a message from Hoshino En!

She looked at the message that had popped up on her phone, then at Hoshino En beside her, who had just slipped his phone back into his pocket. She was speechless.

What the heck? You're standing right in front of me. Why go out of your way to message me?

"Open it. There's something you want in there."

Just as she was about to turn into a "human radio" and start chattering, Hoshino En's reminder stopped her.

Had he sent her the leverage he had on her?

She immediately opened her phone. But instead of the video recording from that day, there were photos of several exam papers.

At the top of the test paper in the first photo, the words "Advanced Nurturing High School, First-Year First-Semester Midterm Exam, Test Six" were clearly written.

...Hadn't he been bluffing them at the Yakiniku Restaurant?

"Of course not. Do you think I'm the kind of person who'd go out of his way to give someone false information? You underestimate me."

He'd called out the thought in Kushida Kikyo's mind, and she immediately felt uneasy.

He really could read minds!

"That's just Cold Reading. It's a psychological technique. The library has books on the subject. You can borrow one and read up on it."

Hoshino En had once again voiced Kushida Kikyo's thoughts.

The girl felt as if she were standing there naked.

Hoshino, you—!

"Then what was the point of everything you said earlier?"

After a brief meltdown, she decided to ask him directly.

"What was the point? Isn't it obvious? Sakayanagi wanted to pull me into the whirlpool of class competition. I just went along with her, while making the waters even more turbulent."

Smiling in front of people, then probing each other behind their backs... that sort of thing was too much trouble. Hoshino En had no desire to get dragged into it.

But because of Sakayanagi, he had no choice but to get involved. To reduce the trouble, there was only one thing he could do: flip the table.

Tell every class representative the exam content and the strategy for a perfect score, forcing all four classes onto the same starting line. All the secret schemes and maneuvering over class competition would become meaningless.

That would also buy him a little peace and quiet. At least for now, nobody would have the time to provoke or test him.

Faint moonlight filtered through the lobby windows and fell along the dimly lit corridor. The silver strands of the curtain and the warm yellow lights complemented each other, lending a touch of softness to the quiet, deep night.

They reached the elevator.

It was late, and most students had already fallen asleep. The elevator had stopped on the first floor.

Since the fourth floor wasn't far away, the elevator arrived soon after Hoshino En pressed the up button.

The elevator's bright lights spilled into the dim lobby, crushing the earlier warmth and serenity and leaving only the clear yet indistinct shadow of a man.

"As for the test paper, whether you want to use it to win your classmates' favor, pretend it doesn't exist, or use it just for yourself... that's up to you. As long as you don't cause me any trouble, I won't interfere."

With the elevator lights behind him, Kushida Kikyo couldn't see Hoshino En's expression, but his unconcerned attitude came through clearly.

Even though he'd said that, Kushida Kikyo saw it as him helping her—and refusing her possible thanks with a touch of tsundere pride.

"Why would you do this?"

She couldn't understand Hoshino En's way of thinking.

Was it, as he'd said earlier, simply because he liked her?

"I'm just acting on my desires, just like you want to become close friends with everyone."

He stepped aside and ushered Kushida Kikyo into the elevator.

"I hope you have a good dream tonight."

After seeing Kushida Kikyo off, Hoshino En returned to his room.

He quickly washed up and showered, then lay down to rest.

Kiyotaka was way too good at chess.

He rubbed his temples. They still throbbed faintly. He'd just forced himself to keep up his act with Kushida despite the discomfort.

He'd already done his best to estimate Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's chess skills, but his actual level was far beyond what he'd expected.

He'd anticipated losing, but after boasting that he'd make Kiyotaka taste defeat, he'd gone and suffered a rare defeat himself. Tsk, his boast had blown up in his face.

But judging by the result, this seemed to have worked even better than making Kiyotaka lose. So he really could smile like that. His handsome face hadn't gone to waste.

As for the test paper he'd given Kushida, he'd gotten it from the upperclassman in the Chess Club.

Calling it "getting" it was probably a little inaccurate. While making soup just now, he'd casually sent the upperclassman a photo of a little test, hoping to confirm his suspicions. Unexpectedly, the other guy had launched into a whole spiel, spilling all the inside information about next month's exam, along with this first-year test paper. In the end, he'd even asked Hoshino to keep the recording from that day from getting out.

Honestly, was there any need to be so nervous? The recording hadn't captured anything important, and Hoshino wasn't some unforgivable villain.

Or had someone behind the scenes told him to do this?

Whatever. It had nothing to do with him. All he had to do was make sure no first-year student caused him trouble.

As for the upperclassmen... he'd step in himself, or have someone who could act do it for him, and chop off any hands they stuck out.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 50: An "Encounter" in the Elevator, Declaring His Claim

The next day, May 1.

After finishing his morning exercise, Hoshino En once again ran into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka outside his room, freshly washed and ready to head out. He wore the same calm mask as always, but a few subtle gestures still betrayed his mood—he seemed excited.

"Why are you so excited this early in the morning? Did something good happen?"

"No. I just figured some things out after I went back to my room last night."

When he saw Hoshino En, a faint smile appeared on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face.

"I've figured out what I want to do from now on."

Hoshino En's guidance the previous day had been like opening a door to a new world for him. After returning to his room, he'd spent a long time thinking in bed: about his freedom, and about what he wanted.