Chapter 8:
Ayanokouji’s Scheme
ONCE I ENTERED the classroom, Ichinose, still seated, gave me a kindhearted wave with a small motion of her hand, in a gesture of welcome.
“I didn’t think you’d completely shut Horikita down. Looks like you were able to fight a perfect battle,” I remarked.
“I got lucky is all. Everything was just going my way,” said Ichinose.
I sat down in an empty seat, gazing sidelong at my humble opponent.
“Guess we’ve got about four minutes or so left in our break. Would you mind having a little chat?” I asked.
“Not at all. That’d be more than okay. Actually, I’d like to chat with you too, Ayanokouji-kun.”
I couldn’t feel any enthusiasm for the upcoming battle from her at all. That was proof that you could create a feeling of just doing whatever it is you can do, regardless of who the opponent is.
“First, let me apologize for lying to you. Even though I said I wasn’t going to participate in the exam, I ultimately ended up appearing as a general,” I told her.
“That’s okay, that never bothered me. We’re enemies, so we can’t really talk honestly about everything, after all,” said Ichinose, readily handing me not just understanding but forgiveness.
“I really appreciate it.”
“But may I ask you one question? What’s on your mind right now, Ayanokouji-kun?”
“If anything, I’d say my mind is going every which way, thinking about how I can fight against the powerful enemy before me right now. I talked briefly with Horikita before I came here, but she was totally worn out,” I replied.
“Really, I totally just got lucky though, that’s all. I have no idea if things will work out that well for me again,” said Ichinose.
“I sure hope so.”
“Ayanokouji-kun, it…doesn’t seem like you’re feeling enthusiastic or nervous at all, or anything like that.”
“You’re looking calm too, Ichinose. We’re the same.”
“I…am nervous, though. Extremely nervous. I naturally start feeling like that just from being around you, Ayanokouji-kun.”
It was a statement that would make anyone do a double take if they heard it. In fact, even the examiner, who was standing erect with a straight face, had a puzzled look for an instant.
“But at the same time, I strongly feel a sense of security, too. I feel like it’s as if you’re supporting me, even though you’re the one I’m fighting. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s contradictory, don’t you think?” said Ichinose.
Which meant that my presence wasn’t a hindrance, but rather a help. There were less than three minutes left in the interval. I needed to make the most of the limited time.
“This is probably just my imagination, but I get the feeling that you don’t think you can lose, no matter who you face now. Do you?” I asked.
“I don’t know about all that. But I guess it’s not like I have no confidence,” said Ichinose.
“Yeah, that makes sense. But at the same time, I know that there’s one element you’re anxious about. No matter how confident you are in your superiority here, there is a possibility of a sudden upset in this special exam.” I spoke a bit vaguely, thinking it would be easy for her to understand what I was trying to say.
“Yes, you’re right. I think I probably don’t have any idea how to handle the traitor,” said Ichinose.
The system of having a traitor was something conceived and introduced based on the premise of how the school could incorporate it in a balanced manner, to leave the possibility of a sudden turnaround. The assumption was that, if possible, a traitor would want to lie for their own sake and their class. However, that didn’t necessarily mean that would increase the risk of expulsion. Even if someone with brash, shameless nerves risked expulsion and persisted in lying, could a representative come to a conclusion so easily? The answer to that would be “no.” The moment a representative declared a student was a traitor after they’d confessed to lying, that student would be expelled.
In other words, one student would be forcibly removed from your class. Few leaders would welcome such a thing. The rewards for the traitor were nothing but a sham; the role should be seen only as a job meant to provide uncertainty in the battle between representatives, to give even a disadvantaged side at least some chance. Ichinose, who had a keen eye for observation, might notice the existence of the traitor immediately, but even if she did, there was no hard guarantee that it wouldn’t lead to a development where that student was expelled from school. Even if it was 99 percent safe, it wasn’t 100 percent safe.
The traitor system. That was why she was wary.
“As we’re about to head into the competition, I have one suggestion for both of us before we do,” I offered.
“A suggestion? What is it?” asked Ichinose.
“It’s about the traitor, which you just brought up. Since we’re running out of time before the discussion begins, I wanted to make this clear: Only the student who is cast as the traitor in this special exam carries the risk of being expelled. And that’s fairly reasonable, since there’s such a big payoff for that role,” I explained.
“Yes, that’s true,” said Ichinose.
“This pointlessly places a heavy burden on the traitor. It’s a nasty rule that makes them try to fight harder for the sake of Class Points, even if they intend to confess. And I honestly think that this rule is a useless option for this battle,” I said.
“I’d have to agree with that. I’m terrified of being deceived by the system of having a traitor, and I’d like to avoid a situation that could cause trouble for everyone, if possible,” said Ichinose.
“But, as long as both of us recognize that it’s a powerful weapon, we’ll use it if we’re put at a disadvantage. If you don’t mind, Ichinose, then how about we agree to tell each other who the respective traitors are and exhaust our rights with dialogue so that they’ll be used up? That would be one less unnecessary thing to worry about, for both of us. By that, I mean that we won’t fight each other in the first discussion, but instead we’ll discard our nominations and use up our traitors,” I offered.
“That’s not a bad suggestion. But…the right of being able to use your traitor is important too. Are you okay with giving that up, Ayanokouji-kun? They’re indispensable for turning a situation completely around.”
It was also a mechanism that could allow the side that thought they were at a disadvantage recover from a hopeless situation. It was only natural for Ichinose to have her doubts about me trying to throw that away.
“Besides, is it even allowed under the rules for us to tell each other our traitors?”
“There shouldn’t be any problem with that, of course. If I opened my tablet and showed it to the other class to let them know who the traitor is, that shouldn’t be a problem as far as the rules are concerned, right?” I asked, calling out to the examiner who was watching us from the corner of the classroom.
“Y-yes, that’s correct. I don’t believe that would be a violation of any rules,” stammered the examiner.
I wondered for a moment if the examiner hadn’t expected anyone would try to take advantage of the rules in such a way, or if they simply didn’t expect to be addressed directly. The attending teacher nodded as well, though looking somewhat bewildered.
“Please check to be sure, just in case. I’m assuming it’s not an issue, but still,” I added.