Hirata could cut down Hamaguchi’s Life Points if he nominated Yukimura and identified his role, now that he had come forward. Of course, Hamaguchi would probably nominate Yukimura as a graduate as well, but in that case, they would cancel each other out. It was possible that the match between them could be settled in the fifth round, coming up next. With his back against the wall, Hirata immediately nominated Yukimura as a graduate as soon as the discussion ended. However…
“Both Hamaguchi-kun and Hirata-kun have nominated erroneously and lose one Life Point.”
Yukimura was ejected from the room, making it clear that he had not been cast into the role of graduate after all. Yukimura was only pretending to be the graduate in order to push through the stalemate in the discussion so that he could find the model student. A false role, which Hirata might have figured out if he had been watching Yukimura more carefully. However, Hirata had been too flustered and impatient to make a calm decision and was convinced that Yukimura was the graduate who could identify the model student.
Hirata was saved by the fact that Hamaguchi got caught up in it too, but even so, their Life Points were now four to one. Hirata had ended up being pushed all the way to the edge. Shortly after the discussion began, Hirata was feeling somewhat flippant, unable to sense the weighty significance of this End-of-Year Special Exam. But it was here, in this moment, that the pressure made itself known all at once. The battle between representatives, which began with these two cautious vanguards, had turned into a wait-and-see situation for both sides.
The participants, now suspicious to the point of hypervigilance over the fact that Yukimura was not a graduate, all went quiet in unison. With no new information coming out, they chose to put things on hold. As a result, when it came time for the representatives to exercise their right to nominate, both decided to pass. The remaining model student made nominations one after another, forcing Oonuki, Makita, and Azuma to leave the room. Without meeting the conditions to bring the discussion to an end, the participants suddenly realized there were only six of them left. The discussion proceeded into the eighth round.
Then…
“Because Hirata-kun has nominated erroneously, he will lose one Life Point. Since Hirata-kun’s Life Points have been depleted, we ask that he please leave the room at this time.”
A cold, mechanical announcement unceremoniously came over the speakers. The discussion had reached a dead end, and the participants were getting flustered and impatient with the lack of progress, so Hirata decided to try something, but his attempt had ended in failure. Hamaguchi, whose nomination of Nakanishi was successful thanks to luck, and who chose to pass again in this round, was the winner.
5.4
THE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN the representatives was structured in such a way that their conversations were not revealed publicly, so the students participating in the discussion were naturally in a similar state of mind as the center and general representatives waiting on standby. In fact, if anything, considering the fact that their cue to take their turn came unexpectedly, it could be said that the strain on the students, mentally and physically, was even greater.
The waiting room had fallen completely silent. The only information being disclosed was the decrease in Life Points between the representatives as they fought. As Horikita stared intently at the monitor, the notation on the screen started to change. Immediately afterward, an announcement began to play in the room where the other representatives were waiting.
“Hirata-kun is leaving the room as a result of Hamaguchi-kun’s victory. Center, please prepare for your turn.”
A classmate’s defeat, which Horikita hadn’t wanted to face if at all possible. After hearing the announcement telling her as much, she let out a small sigh.
“Off I go,” said Horikita brusquely to Ayanokouji, who had been sitting next to her.
“Hope you put up a good fight,” replied Ayanokouji.
To Horikita, it sounded like he didn’t care whatsoever, like this wasn’t his problem. But she didn’t let herself get irritated. That was because she had learned quite well over the past two years that Ayanokouji was just that kind of person. She felt that, while his words might sound cold, he contributed to the class in his own way—and he would likely do so in this special exam as well. He’d asked for something in return, yes, but as the general, he had taken on the task of leading the class to victory. That was precisely why Horikita could take on this battle with all of her might, without hesitation. Above all else, the person sitting next to her was dependable. Even if, hypothetically, she was to lose against her opponent Hamaguchi, she was sure that Ayanokouji would be able to defeat all of the other class’s representatives, all the way through Ichinose. However, that was baseless intuition, and she reminded herself once again that she couldn’t let those unfounded feelings get the better of her.
Horikita left the waiting room and made her way over to the classroom where the exam was being held. On the way, she ran into Hirata, who had left the room.
“I’m sorry, Horikita-san… I wasn’t any help at all…” said Hirata.
“I can guess what the situation is, more or less. You don’t need to be discouraged,” said Horikita.
Everyone had things that they were and were not suited for—the two of them were simply cut out for different things. Hirata was a student who was able to observe those around him quite well, but he was most definitely not the type who was suited for this type of exam, where one had to be suspicious of others. Horikita understood this well.
There was a ten-minute interval. The school would have likely assumed that the students from the losing class would pass by each other when they switched places. If that was the case, then that meant that there wasn’t a problem to trade opinions, as long as time permitted.
“Was there anything you noticed?” asked Horikita.
“Let’s see… Well, we can’t control the content of the discussion, but I think maybe the timing of when the representatives attack, whether you go first or second, likely makes a significant difference in determining the outcome,” said Hirata.
Horikita listened intently as Hirata recounted the events he experienced.
“I suppose that means the situation can change all of a sudden then, depending on the participants,” replied Horikita.
It was certainly true that there was nothing they could do if the conversation progressed to a point where they couldn’t control it. However, Horikita believed that it wasn’t necessarily impossible to deal with any possible situation, regardless.
“Thank you. Take it easy and rest,” said Horikita.
After nonchalantly watching Hirata’s back as he returned to the waiting room, Horikita also turned and headed toward her destination. After she arrived at the classroom where Hamaguchi was waiting, she placed her hand on the door.
“Ahem.”
She lightly cleared her throat and then briefly removed her hand. Once she opened it, there was no turning back. She took a deep breath and emptied her mind for a moment. Then, she drew out the information that she had organized in her mind and slowly opened the door.