“Oh, about the favor I mentioned earlier? The truth is—”
After some small talk, Isago finally got to the real reason she was here: distribute the tickets.
Judging by the excited reactions of the upperclassmen around her, it looked like she’d have no trouble.
“She’s the type… other girls probably hate, huh. Isago.”
“Nah, not really.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, if she acted like that all the time, then yeah, people would probably hate her. But Isa knows how to read the room. She doesn’t act like that in class or anything. That’s what makes her kind of scary.”
“Scary…?”
“If she really wanted to, Isa could charm anyone—girl or guy—just with pure technique.”
“…………”
“That’s what her ‘talent’ really is.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say.
Eventually, Isago came back, smiling brightly. “Sold ‘em by the dozen!”
Looked like we’d have no trouble hitting the target number.
As far as setups go, it was perfect.
Leaving my thoughts about Isa for later, I turned to Minase and asked:
“I can leave the student council part to you, right?”
“Yeah. I know both the president and the vice president personally, so I can at least get the conversation started.”
Isago chimed in with a grin.
“Then that just leaves Kimiya-san. Kagekun, you’re handling that, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Okay, then here’s a little tip!”
And with her usual cheerful expression, Isago told me:
“──I don’t think Kimiya-san wants to sabotage the project at all.”
It took less than ten minutes to finish distribute the fifty required tickets.
6
After parting ways with Isago and Minase, I returned to the classroom alone.
It was almost 6 p.m. Since it was still early spring, it was fairly bright outside, even at this hour. But the empty classroom, quiet as it was, felt oddly dim.
“…No, I’m just imagining things.”
I shook my head hard, trying to clear away the pointless sentimentality.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the date again.
The wall clock only showed the time, so I needed the calendar app. Looking at the numbers, I realized it had been nearly two months since we started school.
Was that enough time to start calling this my “everyday life”?
I pocketed my phone.
──That’s when a voice echoed through the room.
“Did I keep you waiting?”
The person who appeared was a classmate—Kimiya Nazuki.
She must’ve come straight from club activities or something. Instead of her uniform, she was wearing a tracksuit.
I smiled.
“Should I say I just got here?”
“If this were a date, that would be the smooth thing to say, wouldn’t it?”
She raised a lightly clenched fist to her lips and chuckled. Still as graceful as ever.
“Sorry for calling you out so suddenly.”
“Don’t worry about it. So, what did you want to talk about?”
She tilted her head slightly and looked up at me,
There was nothing out of the ordinary in her expression.
Maybe that’s just how she is. Maybe that’s better.
I spoke.
“It’s about Shiranui, of course.”
Kimiya’s expression didn’t change.
Her smile didn’t even twitch, so I just kept going.
“Just so you know, the ban’s already been lifted. Minase contacted me earlier. The student council’s actually supporting us now.”
Kimiya kept smiling.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“…………”
“You didn’t expect me to play dumb?”
“Yeah. …Honestly, it didn’t even cross my mind.”
“I would’ve liked a bit more of a dramatic confrontation, you know?”
She gave a little shake of her head, like she was disappointed.
This didn’t feel like the scene where the detective corners the criminal.
“Well, still… I’ll give you a passing grade.”
“…Is that what this is?”
“Who knows? But I will say—this was the fastest outcome I had anticipated. I figured it would take a little longer. As expected of you, Sou-san. You’re sharp.”
“Sharp, huh…”
“Starting by securing the audience was a clever move. Well, since the tickets are free, it’s kind of cheating, but pulling others in like that is very you. …Especially with Isago helping, she could get as many as she wants.”
“…It’s like I was being tested.”
“No, that wasn’t the intention.”
Yeah, I figured. That’d make no sense.
Still, Kimiya’s reaction was unexpected. Way more than I’d anticipated.
I thought she’d have her reasons, sure. But the way she spoke—like she knew it would all get reversed—was completely beyond my expectations.
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“What’s your goal here?”
“…………”
“You’re… not against Shiranui starting a drama group?”
“That’s right. At the very least, I’m not actively in favor of it.”
“…Why?”
“Because I don’t like her.”
────
For a moment, I was speechless.
I never thought they were close, but hearing it said so bluntly still caught me off guard.
That said, she wouldn’t have gotten involved without a reason. So in that sense, this was an answer I had expected. And yet, Kimiya’s attitude threw me off entirely.
“You didn’t like her, so… you tried to get in her way?”
“No.”
Kimiya shook her head calmly and continued.
“I didn’t mind interfering because I dislike her. But I’m not the kind of person who’d go all out just to sabotage her. It just… rubbed me the wrong way, that’s all.”
“Why do you… hate her that much?”
“That’s personal. I only answered because you asked, but I’d rather not bring personal emotions into things if I can avoid it.”
“…………”
“Because if I blurt that kind of thing out, and you end up hating me for it… that’d be too sad.”
I didn’t get it. I could only shake my head.
I came here thinking I’d persuade her. But Kimiya clearly wasn’t open to persuasion at all.
Then she added:
“I’m more surprised by you, actually.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I didn’t think you would help Shiranui.”
“…………”
“I thought you’d hate her, too.”
She tilted her head slightly, as if asking, Am I wrong?
I answered.
“That… never happened.”
She smiled a little more deeply and nodded.
“I see. I guess things never go quite how we want them to.”
“Kimiya…”
“But Sou san, are you really okay with this? Is what you’re doing really for Shiranui’s sake?”
“────────”
“I don’t know the answer. But I do know you came to this school because you believed it wasn’t.”
“You know… about my past…”
Yeah. I had told Kimiya why I chose this school.
But I don’t remember ever telling her how I came to that conclusion.
Still, she said to me:
“Because all your close friends betrayed you, right?”
The mistake I made back in middle school.
The experience that taught me being a ‘good person’ was worthless.
“That’s why you started trusting calculations. Why you chose logical, transactional relationships over vague concepts like kindness or friendship. ──That’s why you picked this school, where a lot of students think the same way. Isn’t that right?”
“…How do you know that…?”
“There’s not much you can’t find out nowadays. Especially since that incident you were involved in—even if it was minor—was reported in a local newspaper. It’s not hard to look up.”
…So it was in the paper.
I didn’t even know that.
Wait. Maybe that’s why Minase brought it up that time—she must’ve researched it and told Kimiya.
She did say, ‘I won’t tell anyone else.’
That line stuck with me. The way she phrased it implied she’d already told someone.If that was her hint… it makes sense now.
Still…
“That was kind of a secret I didn’t want getting out… Turns out, everyone pretty much knew already.”
A dumb middle schooler who got himself nearly killed after covering for a friend caught up in some petty crime—only to get betrayed by that same friend. Not exactly a feel-good story.
My sister even laughed, called me a ‘modern-day failed Selinuntius.’
None of my friends turned out to be Melos. It was just that kind of obvious, mundane story.
“…Are you really okay with that?”
Kimiya asked softly.
Just how long had she known about me?
“Then nothing will have changed from before. You might end up making the same mistake again. —Am I wrong?”
Kimiya Natsuki’s clear, transparent gaze pierced through me.
She was right. It wouldn’t be strange if she thought that way.
But I shook my head firmly at her question. I denied it head-on.
“That’s not true. I’m not the same as before.”
“You’re trying to help Shiranui, even though you get nothing in return, aren’t you?”
“There is something in it for me.”
“…And what is that?”
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