The fourth day of the Special Exam.
At sunset that evening, just as Chiba Yu was getting ready to rest, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pulled him outside.
He claimed they could explore together and get in a little post-dinner exercise, but who knew what his real purpose was?
Chiba Yu hadn't wanted to agree. But after thinking it over, he realized there wasn't much to do at camp, and if he stayed, he might get caught slacking off and assigned some other chore. Looked at that way, he might as well go out and take a look with Ayanokoji.
As the sun sank in the west, the sky gradually took on a soft amber hue, and the earth seemed draped in golden silk.
Ayanokoji and Chiba Yu wandered aimlessly through the woods, without even knowing where they were headed.
Seeing that Ayanokoji wasn't speaking, Chiba Yu didn't make the first move either. They were like two kids playing a game of chicken: whoever spoke first lost.
"What do you think the outcome of this exam will be?" Ayanokoji spoke first. Chiba Yu was silent for a moment, then slowly replied:
"...You lost."
???
Ayanokoji stared at him with his usual deadpan expression, but Chiba Yu could practically see the confusion and disbelief on his face.
"Is this some new way of making conversation?"
"...Never mind. Just assume I'm going crazy."
"We won't know the results of this exam for another couple of days. We worked really hard this time, and Hirata and the others helped us out. How could things turn out badly?"
Ayanokoji listened quietly without arguing, then asked again, "Horikita seems a little off lately. Any idea what's going on?"
"Horikita's always with you, isn't she? If you don't know, there's no way I would."
"But from the way you put it, you sound pretty concerned about her. That reminds me of one of the rumors going around class."
"I heard you and Horikita are secretly dating. With how assertive she is, I bet it's hard work keeping up with her."
"That's not true. Besides, you're hardly one to talk. There are plenty of rumors about you and Karuizawa, too."
Who would've thought the human chatbot had learned to clap back?
Chiba Yu shrugged. "I don't really care. Those rumors are only going around our class. You, on the other hand—I heard it's not just our class. The whole year knows there's a clingy shadow who keeps respawning at Horikita's side. Guess who they're talking about?"
"Horikita forced me into it. If I had a choice, I wouldn't be doing this either."
"I get it, I get it. Forced romance. That's how it always goes in novels."
"What do you make of the incident where Sudo was accused last time?"
Was he trying to sound him out, or just changing the subject? Chiba Yu leaned toward the former.
"You mean when Sudo got into a fight with those guys? Didn't Horikita already take care of it? Is Ryuen planning something again?"
"...No. Horikita handled it perfectly. I just wanted to know what you thought of it."
"What do I think? I think with my eyes. If I hadn't been dragged in to help, I probably wouldn't have bothered with it at all. Not that I did much, anyway."
The two kept up their halfhearted conversation until the sun sank low and was almost completely gone. At last, they emerged from the woods.
Chiba Yu looked around. The place seemed familiar.
"This is Class C's camp, isn't it? They've taken everything away, but you can still recognize it if you look closely."
Only after hearing Ayanokoji say it did Chiba Yu realize it. Suddenly, he glanced into the distance. "Look. Aren't there still people over there?"
Ayanokoji followed the direction Chiba Yu pointed and spotted two familiar figures in the distance.
At that moment, the two standing nearby noticed them as well.
They turned and waved. Chiba Yu could now make out who they were.
"Is that Ichinose and Kanzaki?"
"Yeah, it's them."
As the two approached, Ichinose greeted them with a smile. Chiba Yu and Ayanokoji returned the greeting, while Kanzaki simply nodded.
"You two out scouting, too?" Kanzaki asked, hands on his hips, more out of politeness than anything else.
"No, we were just exploring the woods and happened to end up here," Ayanokoji replied.
"I have to say, you've changed a lot. At least since coming to this school."
"...If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything. Thanks."
"Kanzaki and Chiba seem to get along really well," Ichinose said with a smile. "Have you ever thought about joining our class, Chiba?"
Chiba Yu shook his head. "No, I'm doing pretty well in Class D right now, so I'm not considering a transfer for the time being."
"Besides, if I could choose, I'd want to transfer to Class A. I'm the kind of person who just wants to live a quiet life, so Class A seems like the best choice for someone like me."
"Oh? So you really would consider transferring if you had the chance. Is that right?"
At that, even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned to look at him. Chiba Yu suddenly felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"...If I could actually pull it off, maybe I'd consider it. But right now, I don't have enough points, so I'm just talking big. I'm still very much a team player."
Ichinose just smiled at Chiba Yu's answer and said nothing more. As for Kanzaki, he'd gone quiet as soon as Chiba Yu mentioned the possibility of transferring. His expression turned strange, as if he were thinking about something he shouldn't.
"...Let's talk about Class C first." Chiba Yu just wanted to change the subject. He'd always kept his distance from being the center of attention.
"Ah, what a shame. I was hoping to guess who Class C's leader was," Ichinose said with a sigh, crouching down and resting her cheeks in her hands.
"The point of this exam is to keep accumulating points. The moment Ryuen gave up on that, he'd already lost." Kanzaki crouched down, picked up the empty bottle by his feet, dusted it off, and set it on a nearby table.
No. Sometimes, what you saw was only what the enemy wanted you to see. This exam was just like that. Perhaps somewhere no one knew about, a lone lion was quietly gathering its strength, waiting until the very end to emerge and sink its teeth into you.
That was how a lion hunted a rabbit: it still gave its all. But who was the real lion, in the end?
Watching Ayanokoji Kiyotaka chat with Ichinose about Class A's intelligence, Chiba Yu thought...