The Eighth Question

Answer the following question with a 4-worded common phrase.

You lose hope and kick yourself around in despair.

In addition, you blame the reasons for your unhappiness and disappointment for the rash actions you take, and many more.

Kirishima Shouko:

"Giving up on Oneself"[1]

Teacher's comment:

Correct answer. [2]

To avoid the long spear my enemy’s swinging at me, I let my summoned beast jump backwards. Then, its foot’s caught in the sliding door rail, causing it to stumble and lose its balance.

3-B, Takahashi Ken, Biology, 131 Points

Vs

2-F, Yoshii Akihisa, Chemistry, 33 Points.

Because of this, I can’t dodge the attack, and I feel a blunt pain on my shoulders, and my points are deducted. What a mistake…!

“Fall back, Akihisa! Nakamura and Tozawa are to follow up!”

“Sorry, got to leave it to you two.”

“We can’t hang on for long!”

After switching over with the 2 others coming in, I retreat to a corner of the cla.s.sroom. To be honest, that was really dangerous. I actually made such a rookie mistake; what am I thinking…!

“Sorry for that, Yuuji. I made a mistake. Let me hurry up and replenish…”

“There’s no need for that, just rest all you can while you regain your concentration.”

“Eh? Rest?”

I can’t help but parrot his words.

“What rest are you talking about at this moment? We don’t have the time…”

“You’re the one who doesn’t understand the situation.”

Yuuji stares intently at the door as he says,

“It’s better for you to rest and regain your concentration rather than to replenish your points.”

“Ah…”

Now that Yuuji says this, I finally realize how tired I am.

It’s true that if we aren’t focusing on beating our opponents, our scores aren’t that important, and my attack power is rather lacking anyway. Rather than that, it’s more important to concentrate and dodge the enemy’s attacks agilely.

“And if you go take the replenishment tests, there’s no one to cover you when we’re in a pinch.”

“Okay then. I’ll accept your goodwill and sleep well for now.”

“Ahh.”

I sit on the rather luxurious chair appropriate for B cla.s.sroom, and let out a large breath. I see; I seem to be rather tired now, just like what he said.

“Yuuji, how’s the situation now?”

I turn to Yuuji and ask him while trying to change my mood.

“Basically, I’m using this little hope to distract them and divert them from looking at despair.”

That’s a rather pessimistic line…but there’s something I’m concerned about.

“There’s hope?”

“Sorta.”

“What about it?”

If there’s something positive we can take, there’s a need for me to be certain.

“We’re forced into a dead end now, but the enemy base is right in front of our noses. If we think of it differently, that means the head of the enemy general is right within our range.”

“That really sounds like some positive joke here…”

“But there’s still a chance of us winning. The enemy will definitely not let us wait around here until our deaths.”

It does make sense when he says this. If there’re enemies in front of Kirishima-san, we’ll crush them without mercy even if they have low scores.

“The 3rd years have to send in some fighting strength just to crush us, and we’re stuck in a stalemate while being caged up.”

“In other words, they’re sending quite a bit of forces at us?”

“That’s right. Also, this meant that we managed to lure in a group of enemies that were supposed to battle at the courtyard. We aren’t taking part directly, but we still managed to provide cover for the rest.”

The ones we’ve been fighting since just now are basically all B cla.s.s members, with a few A cla.s.s members here and there. Our hard work here definitely isn’t meaningless if we consider how we’re able to hold off a few B cla.s.s and A cla.s.s members.

“While we continue to defend here and fight for a stalemate, if the second years can get an advantage, they can send in reinforcements, and the situation will change.”

The B cla.s.s members on our side are forced into a tight spot because of Nemoto-kun, but they’re not completely defeated. The A cla.s.s members should be able to provide support too, and we still have a chance of winning this courtyard battle. If we work hard, we probably can give an advantage to our allies.

“In the end, I’m not sure if the strategy HQ can grasp the situation and intention and make decisions.”

Yuuji says in a self-depreciating manner, but it’s much better than doing nothing.

“Let me ask again, what’s this despair…?”

“An overwhelming lack of fighting strength.”

I got a crystal-clear answer.

“To be specific?”

“First, because of 2-B’s retreat, our strength’s weakened by 20%, and our remaining strength was weakened by another 30% when we escaped here.”

“…Oh.”

“Also, from the moment we’ve been defending this place, Himeji and Shimada lost 60% of their scores, while the rest lost about 40% or so.”

“In other words, we have less than half our battle strength in the beginning…?”

“Less than 20%.”

“20%!? You didn’t make any mistakes in your calculations, did you!?”

“I’m very angry that you’re saying this about me, but I really hope that you’re right.”

Even with this weak fighting strength, you want me to rest? I’m still confident that I can use my few points to buy time.”

“We actually ended up like this…to be honest, it’s really an incredible situation that we aren’t taken to the detention room forcefully…”

“Yeah, I had this thought too. This really is a weird situation.”

Yuuji nods with a complicated look on his face; his response does exceed my expectations a little. I only said ‘it’s really an incredible situation’ only as a hyperbole here.

“What do you mean by incredible situation?”

“What do you mean by that? Didn’t you realize it?”

“No, I’m not thinking too far ahead. To be specific, what’s weird?”

“Well, to be specific—”

Yuuji checks the situation on the corridor as he continues,

“—There’re too few enemies.”

“…”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what Yuuji just said.

“What about this situation causes you to say such things?”

The number of enemies right now is already more than what we can handle. He still thinks it’s not enough?

“No, I’m not talking about the difference in battle strength, but simply that the number of people don’t match.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah. The other cla.s.ses of the 3rd years are pursuing 2-B, but 3-B and 3-A are still here, right?”

“Un.”

“In that case, the enemies we saw just now are probably the same ones as before, and returned back to the battlefield after replenishing their points. This is really suspicious.”

If it’s a normal situation, it may be nothing, but it’s certainly weird to have only a few selected people take part in the battles.

“So that means 3-B and 3-A aren’t attacking us with full strength?”

“Yeah. If that’s not the case, it’s unreasonable that we’re still barely alive when we’re already this weak.”

That truly is the case now that he says it. Even if it’s a limited place, it’s overly unrealistic that we’re not completely defeated with 3-B and 3-A against us. If it’s not because of some tactic they’re using, it’s more natural to use the difference in fighting strength and break through.

“How much of their fighting strength are they using to attack us?”

“Most of B cla.s.s is still here, but I guess there’s not even one-quarter of A cla.s.s attacking.”

“Are they saving their strength to protect the commander?”

“Even if we consider that, well, in the end, there’s an enemy setting base right in front of the general’s eyes. If it’s me, I’ll send forces to crush them without hesitation.”

It certainly makes sense. Even if the enemy’s weak, we can’t just leave them relaxed in front of the commander like that; we have to eliminate them immediately. Besides, Yuuji’s leading this enemy squad; no matter what happens at this distance, they can come back to defend no matter what, and there’s no reason for them to be stingy with their strength.

In that case…

“Something happened in 3-A?”

“That’s possible, but it’s hard to imagine…”

Yuuji folds his arms as he sighs.

“…”

And then, he ponders for a moment,

“…Or maybe the fighting strength of 3-A is divided into groups and scattered everywhere…”

He mutters.

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“I’m not too certain here.”

Yuuji continues with this as a premise,

“The match between 3-E and 2-B before this; don’t you find it weird that 2-B, the higher ranked cla.s.s, was forced back?”

Yuuji’s talking about the battle we just had in the courtyard.

“We’re dealing with 3rd years, so there’s nothing weird about it, right?”

“No. There’s a major difference in control skills, but us second years have already gone through quite a few summoning war. The experience alone can’t possibly make up for the difference in fighting strength between B cla.s.s and E cla.s.s.”

And the difficulty of the test questions are based on the levels, Yuuji adds. With the Center Test as the standard, only a few test subjects will be affected, and the difficulty of the questions are still set according to the 3rd years and 2nd years’ level. There shouldn’t be any difference in this.

“Also, 3-E was certainly forced back right at the beginning. It’s impossible for such a difference to be covered without some a.s.sistance if 2-B’s still forced back.”

If we want to stop these opponents that are on a hot streak, we need a stronger power than usual. If we can do that, that means—

“We can simply think that 3-E’s fighting strength managed to surpa.s.s that of 2-B’s. That makes more sense”

No matter what situation our F cla.s.s is in, the biggest reason why we can survive on the battlefield like this is because of Himeji-san. There’s an A cla.s.s level overwhelming power in the middle of this weak F cla.s.s.

“In other words, there’re some in 3-E.”

“There’s a possibility that A cla.s.s members are amongst them. In that case, everything makes sense.”

It’s not that the enemy’s holding back and not finishing us F cla.s.s off, but that they can’t get the fighting strength to finish us off!?

“No, this doing…it’s not just 3-E. There should be a few other A cla.s.s members hidden in the other cla.s.ses. In that case, the difference in battle strength amongst the cla.s.ses will be overwhelming, and our chances of winning the courtyard battle is slim.”

Yuuji said out words of such despair. Then, we won’t get reinforcements even if we struggle here, and we’ll end up in complete defeat!? Are you kidding me!

Upon hearing this confusing bad news, I’m immediately confused.

“…There’s no way to escape from here…and not enough fighting strength…even if we manage to escape miraculously, we need to get those guys to listen to me, regroup and pa.s.s through…the level of vocal rights I have right now is…”

Yuuji, who’s sitting beside us, seem to be muttering something, but what he said didn’t enter my mind at all. All I feel is some anxiety rising in me, that I have to do something.

“…In the end, what happens if the strategy repeats itself again…they won’t be able to take action in time even after I tell them…whether it’s time, fighting strength, power to talk, none of it is enough…”

We’ll lose if this keeps up. What do we do? What shall we do? What can I do?

“An-anyway, we have to find a way to get back to Kirishima-san…!”

I first thought about the logical thing of reporting our current situation.

“Ha…haha. Hahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Yuuji suddenly puts his hand on his forehead and starts laughing in front of me while I’m in this state.

“…We can only give up and surrender here.”

He said coldly.

Huh…? What’s this guy, saying…?

“Yuuji…?”

“That’s right, isn’t it? In the end, we’re just F cla.s.s, and we have a higher ranked B cla.s.s as our opponent, completely trapped in the middle of enemy territory. Do you think we can possibly escape from here, pa.s.s through enemy ranks and get back to our allies?

Yuuji looks completely broken as he explains to me the disadvantages we’re in right now.

“And even if we go back, the situation of the battle has changed. If we want to reverse this situation, we need to have some strategy to resurrect ourselves and the fighting strength needed to do this. But in the end, I don’t have the right to speak up here. What can I do at this moment!?”

My reply probably doesn’t matter here, and Yuuji continues to list out the current disadvantageous situation clearly.

“We have an almost negligible amount of positive materials to work with, and way too much negative material. Don’t joke around. It’s impossible to overcome so many disadvantageous conditions even if it’s me. The outcome of this war’s already decided.”

And then, Yuuji admits that he has really given up—showing an expression he has never shown others before.

“…”

Looking at him like this, I start to think.

I realize that this guy will show abnormal looks from time to time. If something causes him to be unable to think properly and execute his plan, he’ll start to feel frustrated.

A lot of things must have happened, things he’s angry about, things he’s regretting about, things he’s depressed about, and other things.

But Yuuji has never explained such things to us. He feels that there’s no need for us to know about them. In other words…this guy never thought about letting me or anyone else hear him out on why he’s like this, or to hear us give him some consolation.

That’s to be expected of us. The relationship between us isn’t that gentle.

“Yuuji.”

“What is it, Aki—GUAH!”

Yuuji lets out a weird voice as he’s punched right in the face.

“Akihisa, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! What’re you doing out of a sudden!?”

Yuuji, who took a punch from me, growls.

“…I’ll……solve this.”

“What!?”

Yuuji lets out a threatening voice in response to my words.

“Well, I’m saying, since you’ve already given up, Yuuji, it’s time for me to find a way to break through this current situation.”

I answer back with a tone, not showing any weaknesses on my side.

“You’re saying that you’ll think of a way?”

Yuuji narrows his eyes at me. Right, I did say that.

“Isn’t this the perfect chance?”

“A chance, you say? Are you an idiot!? What nonsense are you saying!? We’ve nowhere to go, and we can’t hope for any reinforcements. What sort of chance do you think we have here?”

“What nonsense are you saying now? The 3rd years’ general’s right in front of us, and he has the minimum number of guards with him. There won’t be a second chance for us in this situation, right?”

“Stop kidding around! We can’t even break through 3-B in front of us. How do you expect us to beat the general sitting deeper in!?”

He’s being different from usual after all. The normal Yuuji will definitely think the same way as I do.

“You’re wrong Yuuji. If we can solve this problem, won’t the chance to beat the enemy general land in front of us? Normally, when the other cla.s.ses should be trying their best protecting 3-A, we can’t do anything, but if there’s only one obstacle in front of us here. If this isn’t a chance, what is a chance to you?”

“…”

Yuuji’s unable to reply to my words.

“…Can…you do it?”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking now.”

I continue to rack my brains as I look around 3-B cla.s.sroom.

All I can see are a wide cla.s.sroom and a large blackboard.

There’re people gathered at the entrances, a complete difference from the inside of the cla.s.sroom.

And there’s also a high-cla.s.s equipment, air-conditioning, that we had never used before.

“Our members are gathered here, they can’t tell what we’re doing in the cla.s.sroom; maybe, in this case…”

“…I see. Since you have a plan, I’ll leave it to you.”

Yuuji’s planning to move away from me while I’m still in deep thought.

“Wait. I need you to join in for this plan, Yuuji. I hope you can help me.”

I stop Yuuji and look at him with eyes full of confidence.

“I’d say, Akihisa, you’re talking about the snacks packets or the disposal chopsticks you see on TV.”

“Got it. Thanks Hideyoshi.”

After hearing a suggestion from Hideyoshi, who’s helping me out in this, I start to look through the cupboards and tables in the cla.s.srooms. I find quite a few snacks some 3-B students brought, probably from 3-A cla.s.sroom. Very good, there’re disposable chopsticks here. Now this can work!

“Highest temperature is 29°C, huh…?”

I set the air-conditioning to its maximum temperature, and switch it to heating mode. Immediately after, there’s a stuffy hot air blowing through the vents of the air con.

“Huh…? Did anyone hear something…?”

Hideyoshi then times this moment perfectly and says this unnerving line.

This line pa.s.ses through everyone, and there’s silence all around; I use this chance to rub the packets and break several of the free chopsticks.

Pach Pach…PAK!

Some sort of cracking sound rings around us.

It sounds like the noise made when a bonfire’s being lit.

“O-oi oi…isn’t this?”

Someone on the corridor mutters nervously.

After that, I quickly toppled the blackboard cleaner to the feet where the crowd’s gathered.

With the hot air of the air conditioning blowing, white smoke rises.

“““A fire!?”””

I don’t know who said this first, but the lit fuse to our momentum’s spreading.

“Everyone!”

I give the signal to my cla.s.smates in the room.

Everyone from F cla.s.s nod in silence, and we charge out from the cla.s.sroom while using this commotion as an opportunity.

“A fire? Everyone, please move aside!”

The teachers nearby appear with fire extinguishers in hand. That’s a nice uninitiated follow up from them! Thanks! “Over there will do. Please use the fire extinguisher!”

I call out to the teachers holding the fire extinguishers.

Several seconds later, the fire extinguishers let out dust that danced about, forming a veil of smoke that coverly covered their sights.

“Aki, your thoughts are still as underhanded as before.”

“Please call this knowing how to adapt to the situation.”

The moment Minami says this, I suddenly recall the first summoning war we had, when we used the fire extinguisher. I think I pushed the blame to Minami that time and ran away. Well, that’s certainly memorable.

“Though it’s almost illegal, our side never shouted out ‘fire’ at all, so this is still within the rules.”

I can hear Hideyoshi’s voice from beside him. (S)he really is a member of F cla.s.s, to be able to think of it this way.

Then.

“I bought some time for us all; let’s go.”

“““…(Nods)”””

Once our preparations are complete, we sneak by the enemy in the midst of the smoke and start moving to the 3-C cla.s.sroom where the enemy’s base is.

If Takashiro-sempai notices this commotion and comes out here, I’ll just have to use Yuuji’s bracelet to open a field and fight. If the subject’s health education, we’ll send in Muttsurini, while Himeji-san will handle the other subjects. Minami, Hideyoshi and I will then go in for the win. This is the plan I came up with.

“…”

I glance behind to confirm the situation, and see Yuuji follow me while looking unconcerned with this. This strategy won’t work with that guy around, so even if he has his own thoughts, I can’t let him act on his own.

I look for Takashiro-sempai amongst the crowd on the corridor…nope.

In other words, he should still be inside 3-C cla.s.sroom. I’ll charge in just like this.

If I say too much here, I’ll expose my intention to the people around us, so I didn’t say my actual target while continuing to move to 3-C cla.s.sroom silently.

“—What—this situation!?”

“Isn’t—escaping—more—”

“—Wait, Aki—! The situation’s—not—!”

I can hear everyone muttering something in the midst of this panic.

We start to scatter around to prevent our surroundings from finding this suspicious.

And just like that, even though we lost a bit of time going against the people moving against us, we still reach the 3-C cla.s.sroom.

Everyone…good. All of them are near me. Now all I have to do is to attack quickly.

“Come on…let’s battle!”

Just when I exclaim this and enter the cla.s.sroom.

“Wait, Aki! Something doesn’t feel right!”

Minami catches up to me and warns me. Eh…? Weird? Where?

“Isn’t that uppercla.s.sman someone easily fooled? He’s still remaining inside the cla.s.sroom even in this situation.”

“Miss Himeji Mizuki and everyone else, welcome.”

This voice came from the cla.s.sroom, interrupting Minami’s explantion.

This voice is—

“Takashiro, sempai…!”

I look over at the source of the voice, and see Takashiro-sempai, lounging on the chair as he looks over at us.

“h.e.l.lo, Yoshii Akihisa-kun. This certainly is a leisurely afternoon.”

He doesn’t look frantic, doesn’t look like he has any intention to escape, and shows no signs of being confused. He doesn’t seem surprised by the fact that we’re right in front of him at all.

“So you set a trap back on us…?”

“Yes, unfortunately for you.”

Takashiro-sempai says this with a pitiful voice. d.a.m.n it…!

“Yuuji! In this case, let’s go—”

“Oh yes, I’ll advise you to stop, Yoshii Akihisa-kun.”

Takashiro-sempai warns me just when I’m about to activate the field and challenge him.

“Because if you activate the field here, you’ll lose.”

He says this as he looks behind us.

“Everyone, please do not remain behind there. Come in.”

Unknowingly, Kogure-sempai and who looks like the other 3-A students are standing there.

“…Looks like you let a teacher standby there beforehand already…”

Minami grits her teeth as she mutters. Now we can’t use the bracelet to fight against them now.

In that case, the only path for us is complete elimination. Besides, if we do not accept the duel challenge, we’ll be deemed as running away from battle.

Even so,

“Now I can finally have a proper chat.”

Takashiro-sempai gives no indication to attack, but merely smiles at me. He actually says that he can have a proper chat now?

“What ridiculous words are you saying? We’re in the middle of a summoning war here!”

“Yes, I know this all too well.”

Takashiro-sempai nods to us in a pretentious manner.

“But there is someone I want to have a chat with no matter what present here.”

“—”

Upon hearing this, Himeji-san, who has been standing beside me, shudders.

I see. So this is what Takashiro-sempai meant when he said, “I’ve prepared the stage for us to talk”…he really got us here.

“Himeji-san, please fall back. We need to find a way to run away no matter what here.”

“With this scenario I’ve created now, do you think I’ll allow that to happen?”

Takashiro-sempai says that, intending to make us give up on resisting, and looked around the cla.s.sroom.

The exits are blocked, the switches are being watched, and they won’t allow us to approach the windows even though this is the 4th level. It seems that Takashiro-sempai is sufficiently prepared.

While I’m still desperately looking for an exit, Takashiro-sempai says,

“There’s no need to be so cautious. There’re just a few questions I want to ask. If you can answer me honestly, I can make an agreement with you and release everyone present.”

He’s going to release us to safety even after doing this? How stupid that is.

“It’s amazing to have the others accept your actions when you’re doing so on such personal reasons, sempai.”

“That’s how it is. What you said is absolutely correct. I’m the student representative, so the others obey my instructions like what they’re doing so. This action of mine will most likely damage the trust everyone has towards me.”

“In that case, why…”

“But to me, Miss Himeji Mizuki is someone I really have to have a proper talk with, one who I have to make such a large risk for.”

Takashiro-sempai puts his hand in front of his chest and firmly declares.

Upon hearing him say such resolute words, I can’t help but be at a loss of words.

“What do you think? Are you finally willing to listen to me now, Miss Himeji Mizuki?”

Takashiro-sempai proposes a question to me, asking if we want him to send us to the detention room or to listen to his words with a gentle voice.

“…”

There’s no room to choose here, Himeji-san seems to be saying this as she bites her lower lips.

“…What do you want to say? Takashiro-sempai?”

She looks really unhappy as she looks up to Takashiro-sempai and says this.

“I’m extremely grateful that you’re finally not going to run away here. May you please listen to what I have to say?”

Takashiro-sempai nods his head in a satisfied manner, and walks towards Himeji-san.

He then holds her hand,

“Miss Himeji Mizuki. I, like, you.”

He made a proper confession while everyone’s looking at me.

“Please be by my side. I’ll definitely be able to bring you happiness, and I’ll release you from that dirty and battered cla.s.sroom.”

Takashiro-sempai continues to say such cheesy lines.

“I-I…already have someone I like.”

“But can that man really bring you happiness? Can he provide the best facilities for you?”

“We were so close to getting A cla.s.s! Even now, we’re working hard—”

“This working hard is simply about putting the gentle you on the frontlines.”

Takashiro-sempai says this as he continues to approach Himeji-san, and then uses a handkerchief to pat the chalk off her face.

“His method is really too crude, and it’s a mistake. If it’s me, I won’t allow you to have such suffering, and I’ll bring you to a better environment.”

I already know Himeji-san has someone she likes, so her reaction didn’t surprise me at all.

“…Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes. I’m sorry for taking your time, but I do want to express the love in my heart to you no matter what.”

What I’m surprised at however is Takashiro-sempai’s action. Of course, I already knew, even without him saying things so clearly, that Takashiro-sempai really likes Himeji-san, and he’s willing to bear such risks and express his love to her. From his actions, I can tell how earnest he is when he says this.

To be honest, I do feel that his direct method is very cool too.

“Takashiro-sempai, I—”

“It’s okay, Miss Mizuki. There are still many moments awaiting the relationship between me and you.”

He interrupts Himeji-san’s words, showing a gentle smile on his face.

“…Sorry. Let’s go.”

Himeji-san gives up on saying anything as she heads to the entrance. Minami, Hideyoshi and Muttsurini then follow her out.

“…”

Yuuji stares at Takashiro-sempai for a moment before going out of the cla.s.sroom as well. Maybe he probably understood Takashiro-sempai’s actions from his own viewpoint because of Kirishima-san.

“You aren’t following them out as well, Yoshii-kun? You don’t have to be so cautious; I’ll keep to my side of the bargain and won’t hurt you here.”

“Of course I will. It’s rare of you to show some mercy here.”

“Hahaha. I do feel that your honest att.i.tude is a virtue.”

“However, since the strategy I thought of failed, I have to be in charge of covering them at the back.”

In this situation, no matter what the enemy says, I can’t guarantee that they won’t attack immediately after we leave the cla.s.sroom.

While I’m thinking about this, Takashiro-sempai seems shocked in response and asks,

“Please hold on for a moment. That attack just now…wasn’t something thought by Sakamoto-kun?”

“Eh? You really think so?”

“Yes. That’s an audacious plan that n.o.body other than him can think of.”

Is that so? If you really think of it this way, that’s a really grave mistake.

“This plan is something I thought of.”

“Is that so? I apologize for this.”

Takashiro-sempai gives a bow, and then mutters as he looks at my face,

“Speaking of which, Yoshii-kun, it’s really shocking to me that you have such a unique way of thinking like Sakamoto-kun.”

“No, that’s not the case.”

“There’s no need for you to be so humble.”

“This isn’t being humble.”

“But to be able to actually think like Sakamoto-kun—”

“If it’s that guy thinking of a strategy for real, you won’t be able to stand here like this, sempai.”

“…………Oh?”

Upon hearing my words, Takashiro-sempai narrows his eyes.

“That truly is an exaggerated saying.”

“Because what I said is the truth.”

I said what I really thought.

Right now, my strategies can’t match Takashiro-sempai. This level of planning I have now is going to be unable to beat him.

But even if I can’t, that guy can definitely do it. That guy can definitely do something I can’t do, that guy has countless things I don’t have—because he’s someone I admire.

“How unfortunate. If you’re the one actually making the strategies, I wonder if Sakamoto-kun has given up the desire to win now?”

Takashiro-sempai shows a taunting look in his eyes.

“Please don’t worry. I’ll give him the all-use method of repairing a TV set pa.s.sed down since ancient j.a.pan.”

I’ll kick that back that’s not moving forward. I’ll use the most effective method I can think of now. After that, there’s no room for me to interfere.

“Normally speaking, that violent method will cause the television to break down, you know?”

“Will it, I wonder? From what I see, letting us free here will cause you to regret this for the rest of your life, sempai?”

Upon hearing my declaration, Takashiro-sempai answers me with a relaxed smile.

“Is that so? I’m looking forward to it then.”

In this situation, Takashiro-sempai’s smile will not waver. But I said what I wanted, and it’s meaningless for me to remain here

“Please excuse me now.”

“Yes, farewell, Yoshii Akihisa-kun.”

I turn around to leave the cla.s.sroom.

I enter the corridor, arrive at the stairs, and find Hideyoshi watching out for any enemies hiding downstairs.

“So it’s Akihisa? You’re slow here. What did that Takashiro say to you?”

Hideyoshi looks back at me and asks,

“Nn, a little. He told me that my method’s still a lot less despicable compared to Yuuji.”

“If that’s not enough, what else is…”

“I have a pure innocent heart after all. That seems to be my limit.”

“…What causes you to say that?”

“Seriously.”

They seem to be laughing it off as if it’s a joke, but I’m very serious here…

“Huh? Speaking of which, where’s Yuuji?”

I can see Himeji-san at the stairs platform, observing the situation downstairs, but I still don’t see Yuuji around here.

“As for Yuuji, he should be right at the back…eh, what’s going on here? Isn’t he there?”

“Hm?”

Now that this is mentioned, I turn around, and find Yuuji standing in front of me without me knowing.

“Yuuji, you’re late. Did you notice anything strange?”

“…”

Even with Hideyoshi asking him, Yuuji continues to head downstairs wordlessly. What is it? He looks a little…

“What’s with you, Yuuji?”

I’m a little concerned, and lower my head to look at his expression. And then…

“Ku…kuku…”

“Yu-Yuuji…?”

“HAHAHA…! HAHAHAHA!!!”

Yuuji again puts his hand on his face and starts laughing, just like the time before we went out to attack. What’s going on!?

“I’m unhappy…really unhappy now. To think that I can still remain silent after being beaten up by someone.”

Yuuji suddenly says such vague words. I-is he alright…?

“Good grief. I’m seriously, really really unhappy deep inside now. I never thought I’m—actually being viewed as the same level as you here.”

Yuuji ignores my worry as he says out the frustrations from inside his heart, and starts laughing away for some reason.

“That’s absolutely true. I’m the only one who can handle the entire situation in this predicament, instead of you, instead of that person. Even if you guys can’t do it, I can definitely do so.”

Yuuji stops laughing and murmurs,

“What’s with this me, pushing my responsibility to someone else after just a few disadvantages? This is the situation where I should be the one stepping up rather than anyone else, right!?”

He says that, and suddenly grabs his face. Wha-what!? What’s going on!?

“Sakamoto. What exactly, are you…?”

“Ah, it’s nothing…sorry. Looks like I’m dazed after dosing off just now.”

Yuuji answers Minami’s concern and lifts his head that had been looking down.

His eyes that are looking up—again show the strength he had before.

What’s going on? I really don’t know what happened to this guy.

“Let’s go everyone! The commotion just now hasn’t calmed down yet! Let’s use this chance to escape the new building!”

That’s an arrogant voice that came from deep within him. I really don’t know what’s going on…but well, it certainly does sound like his usual flair now, right?

“Yuuji, even if you say so, how do we actually escape from here?”

“Yeah. The 3-B uppercla.s.smen who just evacuated should be back soon, right?”

“…We’ll meet up on the way.”

“First, we’ll meet up with the F cla.s.s guys downstairs. We’ll discuss the strategy there!”

Yuuji hurries down the stairs and agilely heads to the temporary base we were just in. It looks like he has his own thoughts. I’ll believe in him and follow him then.

Our F cla.s.s cla.s.smates, who evacuated the seniors and understood the truth after entering 2-B cla.s.sroom, are waiting for us there.

“Ah! How’s the situation, Yoshii!? How exactly did it fail!?”

“It’s s strategy you thought of anyway! We already knew it’ll fail!”

“Anyway, we need to regroup somewhere— ”

“““—Sakamoto!!”””

Everyone’s stare naturally gather upon Yuuji.

…Speaking of which, is it really a given that my strategy would fail?

“Oi Sakamoto! What do we do!?”

“We’re going to be completely annihilated at this rate!”

“Alright! Leave it to me! We’ll abandon this cla.s.sroom immediately! Everyone, escape from the new building!”

“Escape, you say!? Are you an idiot!?”

“There’re still 3-B guys on the way, you dimwit!”

“If they’ve already finished meeting up, there might be other 3rd year cla.s.ses around, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

“I know these already! Please believe in me and head on courageously!”

In the face of the questions and scolding from everyone, Yuuji makes a formal response.

Upon seeing Yuuji answer with such a confident look,

“““Understood!”””

They charge out of the cla.s.sroom and run down the stairs.

“Mizuki, let’s hang on!”

“Yes!”

“No, we’ll remain a little further behind from the rest. Don’t move too far away from me.”

Yuuji stops Himeji-san and Minami who were intending to head out, and we continue to move forward while being slightly behind everyone else in our cla.s.s that’s attacking.

And after walking forward for a little while,

“You guys sure have guts to trick us here…!”

“You better be prepared here, you second year b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”

“Don’t you dare think you can walk out of here alive…!”

It’s just like what we expected. The 3-B members meet up with our F cla.s.s comrades as we return to the first level.

“Sakamoto, what do we do now!?”

“It’s about time for us to hear your strategy!”

I can hear the expectant voices from everyone in our cla.s.s.

“OH! LISTEN UP, YOU GUYS!”

Yuuji faces them,

“—ALL OF YOU ARE TO FIGHT TILL YOUR DEATHS HERE.”

And simply says this to them.

“““……….Huh!?”””

“Sorry! There wasn’t any plan right from the beginning! Please help act as bait for the few of us to escape; I’ll let you guys decide on how to protect yourself! Looking forward to see you fight till the bitter end!”

“““YOU! YOU BETTER REMEMBER THIS, YOU BASTARRRRDDD!!!”“

“SHUT UP! I’LL SHOW NO MERCY TO THOSE WHO CALL ME AN IDIOT, DIMWIT, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

Th-that’s the worst…! What I did is extremely underhanded, but this operation itself is just as despicable as how Nemoto-kun abandoned us. It’s really despicable. Because of this, we’re exchanging insults and countering over the issue of saving and betraying our comrades.

In other words, things are just as usual.

“Right, we can finally handle this thanks to everyone’s sacrifice! Everyone else is to head to the courtyard!”

“Yuuji, charging out is no problem, but how are we going to break through the 3rd years on the courtyard!”

“Look for a health education territory, and break through there using Muttsurini’s strength! If he’s weakening, Himeji and I will step up!”

“You sure that’s enough?”

“If things get worse, I’ll betray some other people!”

Yuuji says this as he points at our cla.s.smates who’re making n.o.ble sacrifices. Though he can’t use it too many times consecutively, and can’t maintain this for long, but we might be able to break through with the power of the bracelet.

“Then after meeting the main team?”

“I need to first know the battle strength of the second years. For that to happen, Nemoto’s existence is a hindrance.”

“Fm fm. In details, please?”

“The dead can’t talk.”

“Wahhh…”

How is this guy able to say such a horrifying line?

“Well well, look at me now. It seems that my thinking process has become a lot sharper while I’ve been focusing on my studies.”

“…”

I feel there are so many things I can argue back here, but it’s best for me to remain silent.

“There’s no need to worry about trivial things like vocal rights or working together. If n.o.body’s going to accept me, I’ll make them obey me, whether it’s by threat or by a.s.sa.s.sination. This is my—our F cla.s.s modus operandi.”

Yuuji declares this as he continues to run, with no signs of any doubts in his eyes anymore.