“Since Nishino-san’s Life Points have been depleted, we ask that she please leave the room at this time.”
“What the hell?! I don’t get this at all!” snapped Nishino.
Though she was irritated with herself over what happened in this exam, Nishino was ordered to leave the room before her frustration could set in.
“Phew… I’m glad that my opponent was Nishino-san…” said Sanada. In the end, he had won just by passing, without ever having to make a nomination. “At any rate, I think that the best way for me to win is to take it nice and slow.”
After watching several discussions, he realized that it wasn’t easy to detect truth and lies over the monitor. While Sanada readied his mind, so that he could deal with the next opponent calmly, he waited in the same room for the next battle to come. During the interval, however, Sanada began to find himself assailed by mixed feelings. He couldn’t wholeheartedly be happy over the fact that he had won a complete victory over Nishino. It had been two years since he had come to this school, but he still honestly couldn’t get used to the idea of winning. Light and shadow. On the other side of it, there was always a loser. Sanada had never been good at directly confronting that reality.
“No, this won’t do. I need to…put in my best effort, for the sake of the class,” said Sanada.
After another five minutes or so, the center from Ryuuen’s class set foot inside the classroom. Sanada, shaking off his feelings of gloom, stood up and smiled at this new arrival.
“Katsuragi-kun, hello. Let us both give this our best effort,” said Sanada, addressing Katsuragi with the same polite manner that he’d used with Nishino. “It’s been quite a while since the two of us have spoken like this.”
“Yes. I suppose it has been a long time since we last spoke,” replied Katsuragi.
The two of them faced each other. When they were together in Class A and learning in the same classroom, they weren’t particularly close friends, but they weren’t at odds with each other either. They were just ordinary classmates, so to speak.
“When I heard the rules for this special examination, I thought for sure that you would be a representative,” said Sanada.
Katsuragi stopped walking once he heard those words, and, looking at Sanada’s facial expression, he sensed his intentions.
“It would seem you defeated Nishino with ease,” said Katsuragi.
“I don’t know if I’d say ‘with ease,’ really,” Sanada replied. “I didn’t do anything in particular. It seemed more like she was simply overwhelmed by the exam is all. I would like to ask you one question before the discussion begins, though. Why was Nishino-san chosen as a representative? I thought that surely there are some students a little better suited for the role in your class, Katsuragi-kun. Oh, Nishino-san did try very hard, of course, and I’m sure that she has many good points, but…”
Sanada tried to emphasize the fact that he certainly didn’t think less of Nishino by any means, but he still had doubts, thinking that there were others who were more suitable. He had considered the possibility that she had been a substitute representative, but since there wasn’t a single student absent from Ryuuen’s class, he’d dismissed that idea.
“Well, now. Even if you ask me, I cannot answer your question. It was Ryuuen who chose the representatives,” said Katsuragi.
“I see. So, I suppose that means if I defeat you, Katsuragi-kun, then I will be able to hear the answer,” said Sanada.
“It does indeed,” replied Katsuragi, walking to his seat and slowly sitting down. “However, you should know that it won’t be easy. Just as you want to ask Ryuuen why he appointed Nishino, I have business with Sakayanagi above you.”
It was a clear declaration that he intended to defeat Sanada, as well as Kitou, who was next in line after him.
“Please go easy on me,” said Sanada, humbly.
From that point on, there was no more private talk between the two representatives whatsoever, and the room was silent as they waited for the signal for the discussion to begin.
Discussion No. 1
Participants
Class 2-A
Satonaka Satoru, Tsukasaki Taiga, Sugio Hiroshi, Morishige Takurou, Tanihara Mao, Tsukaji Shihori, Yamamura Miki
Class 2-C
Ibuki Mio, Inoue Toa, Okabe Fuyu, Suzuhira Miu, Morofuji Rika, Yajima Mariko, Yuube Yoshika
“Please begin the first round of discussion.”
When the representatives had prepared themselves, a voice over the monitor broke the silence, announcing the start of the discussion. Both representatives stared silently at the multiple monitors, listening intently to the discussion among the fourteen participants captured from various angles.
All of the participants were different from those who had been there previously, and these new participants were discussing for the first time. In other words, the situation was exactly the same as in the first discussion, with the proceedings going awkwardly, with everyone fumbling to say something. For that reason especially, it wasn’t easy to determine who was assigned what role.
Five intense minutes of diversionary tactics, shows of force, and sounding each other out. There were particularly few clues to be gleaned in the first round of discussion, but even so, the representatives watched intently, reluctant to even blink. Sanada had focused only on the students from his own class in the second half of his battle with Nishino earlier, but this time, he chose to go back to the basics and observe the whole group. The long-yet-short discussion period ended, and the representative’s time had come.
“Please nominate or pass, starting now. You have one minute.”
Their first nomination. As long as no explicitly blatant information was revealed, Sanada had decided to stick with the same strategy he had used when he had completely shut out Nishino. If he rushed to make a nomination carelessly, there was a good chance that he would self-destruct and lose points, just like Nishino. Sanada remained unscathed, with five Life Points.
While vanguards had less leeway than centers, he still had a good number of Life Points left, which was a significant factor. Even in the unlikely event that Katsuragi were to correctly identify the model student, Sanada would still have two points left. With that much, he would at least have a chance to counterattack against his opponent. However, even so, he wasn’t going to hurriedly enter his choice to pass.
He decided to take his time and think things over, to give the impression that was going to make a nomination. On the other hand, although it was his first battle, Katsuragi stared intently at Sanada, without making any attempt to hide his gaze.
“You have an advantage because you experienced the exam first, don’t you?” asked Katsuragi.
“I’m not sure. But I think there must have been some information that could have been gleaned from the discussion we just observed,” said Sanada.
With his response, Sanada tried to make a show of indicating that he had taken a few clues into his decision. However, perhaps the fact he was unaccustomed to acting was his undoing, as Katsuragi’s only response was to narrow his eyes. He seemed to notice Sanada’s attitude, what he was thinking, and what kind of strategy he was using. Neither of them had entered their choices on their tablets, and the clock was ticking.
“Are you agonizing over the decision of whether to nominate someone or not?” asked Katsuragi, pointing out that Sanada’s fingertips weren’t moving across his tablet’s screen.
“I suppose so. There are some participants that I have thoughts about, and I was wondering if I might simply take the plunge and make a nomination,” said Sanada.
Sanada was going to use as much time as he possibly could and continue to act the part of a student considering making a nomination. He was hoping that would provoke Katsuragi, make him flustered, and get him to rush to make a nomination of his own.
“Have you decided what you are going to do, Katsuragi-kun?” asked Sanada.
“I cannot answer that. But I’m sure you understand what to do better than I do, since you fought Nishino before me. I’m sure you can nominate without hesitation,” said Katsuragi.
Katsuragi urged Sanada to go ahead and make the nomination, in a special exam where if someone got a preemptive hit on their opponent, it would make things more difficult. Did he still not understand the essence of this special exam, or did he understand it and make that statement anyway? Sanada thought about it, but once the time limit approached, he relaxed his shoulders.
“No, I think that I will refrain. It seems like it would be difficult to narrow things down now, at the very least,” said Sanada.
Moments after Sanada entered ‘pass’ on his tablet, Katsuragi had finished making his choice as well. Sanada nodded internally at his decision, telling himself that he shouldn’t panic, and just enter his choice in the second round or later. However…
“I see. In that case, I suppose I will not hesitate,” said Katsuragi.
“Huh?” said Sanada, blinking.
“Announcing the results. Katsuragi-kun identified Morishige-kun as a position holder, so Sanada-kun loses one Life Point.”
Sanada had expected Katsuragi to be on the defensive, but he pressed ahead and made a nomination in the first round and succeeded. An announcement was made, and Sanada lost one Life Point before the second round.
“How…did you know?” asked Sanada.
“Actually, I should be asking you, how did you not, Sanada?” Katsuragi replied. “Morishige is a student in your class.”
Katsuragi, as he stared at the monitor, had focused his attention for the first five minutes not on the students from his class, but only on the students from Sakayanagi’s. Sanada knew very few of the students from Ryuuen’s class, and it was difficult to detect a student’s quirks and habits in a span of five minutes. Sanada had broadened his perspective, as he believed that looking at the whole group at first was surely the correct move to make.