3.2

In the end nothing was settled, but at least we’d spent the hour in discussion like we were asked to. The announcement came that we were free to go. The students from Class A all gathered together and left right away.

“Well, you’re free to do whatever you like,” they told us.

After they’d marched out the door, silence enveloped the room once again. Ichinose had dismissed Katsuragi’s strategy, but hadn’t managed to reach a new resolution. Was she hiding something else up her sleeve? Or was she thinking of something else, perhaps? Let’s see what you’ve got, Ichinose.

“Well, we have five more discussion periods left. How about we bring this session to a close?” Ichinose spoke kindly.

The consensus seemed to be that it was better to spend some time on our own before meeting up again to discuss. We’d all taken in quite a bit of information and hadn’t had the time to process just yet. At the very least, the Class D members were exhausted. The Class C students seemed to be in the same boat.

“Well, I’m going to head back—Aaah?!”

Karuizawa, completely exhausted, got up to leave but accidentally pitched forward. Perhaps her legs were numb from sitting for so long.

“Ouch!” shouted Manabe.

In a panic, Karuizawa had attempted to correct her footing, but staggered and stepped on Manabe’s foot.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry,” Karuizawa mumbled, apologizing quickly before leaving the room.

“Hey, what the hell?!” shouted Manabe. She yelled at the rest of us as we left. I didn’t want to get caught in the middle of anything, so I averted my eyes and got out of there.

“Well, we’re heading back, too. I want to talk to Hirata about some things,” I said.

The other classes were already making their moves. Yukimura seemed like he wanted to hurry up and start a discussion about our own strategy. To be honest, our class didn’t boast a ton of competent planners, so it was a difficult decision. The Professor stood up slowly. In the end, the last people left in the room were the three Class B students and Ibuki.

“I’m hungry again. I wonder if there’s a lunch buffet,” mused the Professor.

How could he already be hungry again? What kind of body lets you digest all that food in just an hour?! Besides, if you eat that much, you’ll get fat. I kind of doubted that my heartfelt advice would reach him, though.

“Hey, Yukimura. Wasn’t Karuizawa acting strangely?” I asked.

“She’s always acting strangely,” he replied.

Well, that was a straightforward and honest response, but not exactly what I wanted to hear. I wasn’t sure what, but something felt off about her. Maybe I didn’t really know her at all...

The Professor didn’t seem to have noticed anything in particular. In fact, he forgot it’d even happened. My phone had been turned off in the room so I wouldn’t be distracted. I turned it back on as we left, and noticed an instant message from Sakura. She wanted to meet if we had time.

“Hmm. Perfect timing,” I murmured.

I wanted opinions from people other than Hirata and Horikita. I wanted to hear what they thought about this strange test. I’d probably gain insight after learning more about Sakura’s group.

“Let’s see, where should we meet?” I asked aloud.

I thought the same place as yesterday should be fine. When I pitched that idea to Sakura, I immediately received a confirmation. There were going to be lots of students around right now, but they probably wouldn’t pay any attention to us. Loners learned the art of dealing with crowds.

Since the first group discussion had just ended, the elevator was going to be intensely crowded. Because only about ten people could ride at a given time, it’d be faster to just take the stairs. I made my way toward the deck. On the way, I received a new instant message:

Since there are so many people around, I’m going to head to the bow instead. I’m sorry.

“Ah. Guess she couldn’t deal with the crowds after all.”

I made my way toward the bow. The ship’s interior had many luxurious facilities, but toward the bow there was only a large deck, which provided a good view of the water. Because of that, it was usually quiet.

There didn’t seem to be anyone else around, which meant I had the entire deck to myself. Sakura was waiting for me, standing behind a pillar in the corner. Deciding not to shout in case I spooked her, I approached slowly.

“I was thinking about it, but...h-how do I do it?” she murmured out loud.

Hmm? As I drew nearer, I heard Sakura muttering to herself. She spoke in a quiet voice, and it was hard to hear her over the wind. I couldn’t make out what she was saying too well.

“I-I...wanted to...d-d-d-da...” she stammered.

I thought she might be talking to someone, but there was no one else around. She didn’t seem to have her cell phone out, either, so the whole thing was a little creepy.

“Sakura? What’s the matter?” I asked, trying not to surprise her.

“Aaaieeeeeeeeeeee!” Sakura yelped, practically jumping out of her own skin. Seemed like I’d surprised her after all. “Wh-wh-when did you get here? How much did you hear?” she asked frantically.

“I didn’t really hear anything. I just got here now.”

No one else was around. She was like a frightened little animal.

Had Sakura been talking to a ghost, or had she lost her mind? I wasn’t sure which.

“Were you listening?! Did you hear what I was saying?!” Sakura shouted.

“I only heard bits and pieces. I have no idea what you were talking about,” I said.

Sakura appeared relieved.

“So, why did you call me out here?” I asked.

“Um, well. You see, it’s...ah... I was s-stressing out over the test!” she shouted.

Sakura, looking incredibly depressed, handed me a list. I read over the names written on it.

CLASS A: Sawada Yasumi, Shimizu Naoki, Nishi Haruka, Yoshida Kenta

CLASS B: Kobashi Yume, Ninomiya Yui, Watanabe Norihito

CLASS C: Tokitou Hiroya, Nomura Yuuji, Yashima Mariko

CLASS D: Ike Kanji, Sakura Airi, Sudou Ken, Matsushita Chiaki

It looked like the other Class D students assigned to the Cow group were...intense. Considering the boys in her group, like Sudou and Ike, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Sakura. During this test, you had to spend time with the other members of your group no matter what. I’d have liked to help her out a little bit, but there was nothing I could really do. Once it was time for the groups to come together, we had to be part of our teams. We couldn’t afford to be scattered. I could help her secretly, but if I acted unnaturally during the test, someone would immediately notice. In a test like this, breaking the rules could mean death.

“I thought I might know someone from another class but...amazingly enough, I don’t know anyone. No one who would remotely consider me a friend,” said Sakura.

I tried thinking about it, but the only people who could help were Ichinose and Kanzaki. But since Ichinose was already in my group, she was stuck. I couldn’t really leave it to Sudou or Ike to take care of Sakura, either.

“Sorry. I don’t really have any friends, either,” I said.

“Ah, it’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. It’s just that...I don’t have any friends!” Sakura responded.

This was a pathetic conversation, the two of us competing to see who was worse off. Rather than take pride in our lack of friends, I changed topics.

“By the way, there was something I wanted to ask you, Sakura.”

“Huh? Me? What is it?”

“Has Yamauchi gotten in touch with you at all since the discussion ended?”

“Yamauchi-kun? No, he hasn’t. Is something the matter?” she asked.

“Ah, I see.”

During the test on the island, I’d indirectly used Sakura while I was also using Horikita. I’d manipulated Yamauchi by taking advantage of his crush on Sakura, promising him Sakura’s email address. Of course, I hadn’t intended to give Yamauchi her email address without her permission, but I hadn’t talked to him about it yet. I was worried that he might’ve reached out to Sakura in the aftermath, but apparently it was all right. Since I’d planted the seeds myself, if Yamauchi made a move, I would have to act.

“For the time being, contact me if something’s bothering you. You can tell me anything,” I said.

“Is that okay?” asked Sakura.

“Yeah. That’s the least I can do.”

Even though I didn’t know how much help I’d be, Sakura’s eyes sparkled like a child’s. Maybe she was just glad to be able to talk to someone.

“I’ll definitely contact you!” she said.

“S-sure,” I responded.

Sakura was a little different from her usual self. She was overjoyed, and had a bit more vigor behind her words than usual. Maybe she was becoming a little more assertive or something? Even though only a few days had passed since the test on the island, Sakura was developing quickly. It had been an insane test, but maybe it changed her life in unexpected ways. She hadn’t transformed completely, but I sensed she had learned to stay positive and keep going in a tough situation.

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