"So this was why there was another permanent resident here?"
After hearing why Hasebe had started showing up in the Activity Room too, Sakayanagi sighed helplessly and picked up a snack from the table.
"Didn't you say you couldn't reveal your friends' secrets?"
Just when I thought Sakayanagi had lost interest in the matter, she changed tack and switched straight into her mischief-making mode.
"When did I ever say Hasebe and I were friends?"
"I see. You did emphasize that you'd only keep secrets from Sakura, right?"
"Of course."
Satisfied with the answer, Sakayanagi gave up on asking any more questions and turned to the manuscript I'd recently spent time writing for her.
"You wrote about love for Hiyori, and about human nature for me. I wonder what Masaryu will prepare for Ichinose?"
Sakayanagi placed the manuscript I'd given her into the beautifully crafted box she'd brought along and asked me curiously.
"I haven't decided what to write for Ichinose yet. I wouldn't feel like writing something that fell short. But if she can stay true to herself throughout her time at this school, I might have an idea."
After weathering countless storms, to remain true to one's original self—that was an incredibly powerful strength of spirit. To me, it was also a kind of "beauty."
"Masaryu, could you help Sakura and me with something?"
While Sakayanagi and I were chatting idly, Ichinose arrived at my desk with Sakura.
"What do you need help with?"
"We'd like you to be the referee. Sakura and I want to play a round of the event from this Special Exam."
Ichinose and Sakura showed me the cards in their hands.
The cards were about the same size as ordinary playing cards, but much thicker.
"Since it's just the two of you, decide who goes first with a coin toss. If it's a tie, toss again. Whoever has the higher score at the end wins."
I glanced at the Class C students seated at the large desk and saw Hasebe working on a test with them. So I agreed.
"I'll take heads."
"Then I'll take tails."
Once Sakura and Ichinose had chosen, I tossed the coin into the air. I tracked its descent, brought both hands up, and slapped it onto the back of one hand.
"Tails. Sakura will play first. Both of you, place all your cards face down on the table. Sakura, choose one card and hand it to me first."
I lifted the hand I'd used to cover the coin and showed it to them. Then, officially taking on the role of dealer, I began the game.
"How about this one?"
After hesitating for a moment, Sakura selected a white card from the nine in front of her and handed it to me.
"Next, Ichinose, choose a card from your hand and hand it to me."
I took Sakura's card but didn't look at its value. Instead, I set it down in front of me and continued with the game.
"For my first card, I'll play this one~"
Although Ichinose still looked composed once the game began, I could tell from her body language that she was nervous.
This was probably the first time either Sakura or Ichinose had played this game.
"Here are the results: Sakura wins. The score is 0–1, with Sakura in the lead."
Only after both of them had handed me their cards did I turn them over to face me. Sakura had played a 9, while Ichinose had played a 5. Playing a 9 in the first round was not a good choice.
"In that case, I'll play this one for my second card."
Sakura once again handed me a white card.
"Another white card for your second play? Then I'll play this one."
Ichinose chose a black card for her second play.
"Here are the results: Sakura wins. The score is 0–2, with Sakura in the lead."
Sakura had given me a 7, and Ichinose a 6. The score was now 0–2. Sakura seemed to have taken the lead, but the cards she had left would put her at a serious disadvantage for the rest of the game.
"Airi, you're doing amazing! You're two points ahead of Ichinose!"
Just before Sakura played her third card, Hasebe's voice suddenly rang out from behind her. Startled, Sakura dropped the card she'd picked up onto the table. It landed face up, revealing its value: 2.
"I'm sorry. I messed up again."
When Hasebe realized the mood had suddenly turned tense, she understood that she'd caused trouble again and apologized to Airi over and over.
"It's okay, Gaga. We're only practicing for the Special Exam."
Airi stopped to think and turned to reassure Hasebe.
"That card doesn't count. It's not an official match anyway. I'll shuffle the cards for her."
Looking at the black 2 that had fallen onto the table, I figured Airi was following the strategy Class D had settled on at their meeting: use high-value cards to make sure the 8 and 9 scored, and try to bait out as many of the opponent's high cards as possible the rest of the time.
The Special Exam involved four players, not two, so there would be many more variables.
"I actually came over to hand in my test. I did my best!"
Hasebe handed her completed test to Sakayanagi. After giving it a quick scan, Sakayanagi passed it to Hiyori, barely suppressing a smile.
From where I sat, I could clearly see Hiyori's mouth twitch. At that point, I was more interested in Hasebe's test than in continuing as referee.
"Carry on. I'll help Hasebe analyze her test."
Hiyori took a red pen from my pen holder and led Hasebe over to the desk nearby to go through the test with her.
"Hasebe's already finished her test? Then the others should be nearly done too. Let's speed things up a little, Sakura~"
"Okay. I'll play this for my third card."
Sakura chose a black card for her third play. Ichinose answered with a white one.
"Here are the results: Ichinose wins. The score is 1–2, with Sakura still in the lead. Ichinose will play first next."
The card Sakura had handed me was still the 2. Ichinose had played a 3. From this round onward, the scales had tipped completely in Ichinose's favor.
"Here are the final results: Ichinose wins, 5–3."
In the remaining rounds, Ichinose used her white 9 to catch Sakura's black 8, her black 8 to catch a black 4, and her white 7 to catch a black 6, earning three consecutive points. The score stood at 4–2.
At that point, Ichinose had already secured the win. The best Sakura could do was tie.
As long as Ichinose kept her white 1 from being countered, she was guaranteed to win. Even if Sakura countered it, she'd still need to win another round. With only the white 1, 3, and 5 left for Sakura, against Ichinose's black 2 and 4 and white 1, Ichinose remained in control of the game.
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