Chapter 6:Things that Are Lost, Things that Aren't Lost Part 3

Our last dinner before the exam tomorrow. I spotted Ichinose walking while carrying a tray and called out to her. It's not like this is an attempt to extract information from her or anything.

But something felt off about Ichinose.

"Are you in any trouble?".

"Ehh? Ayanokouji-kun. No, not really. It's just I was thinking about this and that".

"You're struggling with a difficult problem, aren't you?".

Ichinose was about to leave, but that stopped her.

"The exam's finally taking place tomorrow. What do you think about this exam, Ayanokouji-kun?".

"That's a rather vague question".

"I want you to give me your honest impression".

"It's a little bit tougher than the exams we've had up until now, I guess. I feel like there's a high risk of expulsion".

"I guess that's true.....but we're already in our 3rd semester so isn't it natural that the level of difficulty also increase?".

"Maybe".

"Speaking of risks, there's the 'leader' system and all right? Becoming the leader of a group".

"Yeah".

"Becoming a leader is a very risky thing to do but.....to become the leader for the sake of winning. That's also important, right?".

I didn't deny that and lent my ear to what Ichinose has to say.

"Even if you say there's the risk of expulsion, that's still up in the air and there's no telling. Honestly, there are a lot of unseen factors. But what I'm really scared of is not losing class points or private points. At least that's what I think".

".....you're talking about your classmates?".

"Yeah. The risk of losing a friend is unfathomable".

"If, by any chance, a classmate of yours is about to be expelled, what do you intend on doing then?".

"What I'll do, huh?".

Ichinose slowly lifted her head and laughed thinly.

"Ayanokouji-kun, you really are a smart one".

"Why do you say that?".

"I mean, normally there's nothing you can do if an expulsion occurs, right? But you know that there's an 'after' to that".

"That was just a hypothetical question though......".

"If it truly were a hypothetical question, you wouldn't have used the word 'intend', would you? 'What will happen?' or in a different sense, asking 'Is your class alright?'".

"Sorry, but you're really overestimating me here. It's just I can express it well".

"Still, I think that's some respectable 'intuition' you've got there".

I said too much, was what she said before she left. Because after all, Ichinose also has things she'd think over on her own. As I bid farewell to Ichinose, other students also called out to her. Being popular must be difficult.

Even if you try to think on your own, the people around you just won't leave you be.

Ichinose usually always has a smile on her face but that just doesn't seem to be the case today.

"Yeah......sorry, I just don't feel like it today......".

Ichinose, who is clearly no longer energetic, pretty much ignored two of the girls she's close with and walked off.

"Sorry. I have a couple of things going on right now and I want to be alone for today".

It's also clear that she's not simply acting.

It's almost to the point that you could say she's a completely different person than she was when the training camp first started. I realized after seeing that.

That Sakayanagi has made her move.

The storm that will befall in this special exam might not be limited to just the boys, but also the girls as well.