Chapter 9:
An Awaited Opponent
WHILE IT WAS ONLY BY ONE, Katsuragi had reduced Sakayanagi’s Life Points, down to nine. With only about five minutes remaining before it was time to start, Ryuuen opened the door somewhat aggressively and entered the room.
“Welcome. Please, have a seat,” said Sakayanagi.
Sakayanagi remained seated as she greeted Ryuuen and politely gestured toward the empty seat with her hand. Ryuuen gave Sakayanagi just a glance with his eyes, and plopped down in his chair and crossed his legs without once opening his mouth to speak.
“Today is the day of your new beginning, as you depart from here and start anew. Please spend your time here in such a way that you do not have any regrets,” said Sakayanagi.
“Yer the one who should heed that advice, Sakayanagi,” he snapped. “I’m the one who’s gonna win.”
First, they began by making a show of force. They lightly pushed each other’s buttons, to play on their emotions.
“Even if you do beat me,” said Sakayanagi. “I do not know whether you are even qualified to go up against Ayanokouji-kun.”
“Heh, ain’t no one else suited for the job except for me. To defeat that guy, you gotta be willin’ to get your hands dirty, without hesitation,” said Ryuuen.
“I see. So you are under the mistaken notion that you are an antihero,” replied Sakayanagi.
“Huh?” Ryuuen balked.
The character who plays a heroic role in a story was called a “hero.” Heroes were, essentially, ethical people with high moral standards and values, who embodied goodness and justice, who helped the weak and punished the wicked. However, among such beings known as heroes, there were those who possessed an opposite, wicked nature at the same time. An antihero was defined as a hero who took the lives of the wicked without mercy, who acted violently without hesitation in search of money and assets, and who didn’t fit into the framework of common sense or morality.
“If you are the villain, once you are defeated, that is the end. However, antiheroes are also given the position of hero. In other words, they are also main characters,” added Sakayanagi.
Sakayanagi continued speaking to Ryuuen, trying to convey something to him in a somewhat roundabout way.
“However, you are not worthy of being a main character. I will teach that to you, starting now,” said Sakayanagi.
“You’re one to talk. Ain’t you got the mistaken notion that yer a leading lady?” replied Ryuuen.
“Please rest assured. I am no love interest. I am a main character,” said Sakayanagi.
It was a childish provocation, but at this level, it was almost gentle, sort of like an extended greeting.
“Is this special exam unlucky for you? Or is it lucky? Because the contents of the exam were not revealed to us ahead of time, it was not possible to prepare a cunningly vulgar strategy in advance. At the same time, Hashimoto-kun, who was supposed to have been operating as a spy and a traitor for you, was not able to function properly. On the other hand, you were able to avoid a competition in a category that requires knowledge and academic skill, which you are not proficient in. That’s something to be grateful for, is it not?” said Sakayanagi.
Seeing Sakayanagi smile like that, Ryuuen suddenly remembered something.
“You said somethin’ ’bout you and Ayanokouji bein’ like childhood friends, yeah?” he replied.
“Yes. What of it?” asked Sakayanagi.
“I can’t imagine what that guy’d look like when he was a little brat. What kinda little shit was he?” asked Ryuuen.
Ryuuen couldn’t possibly picture it, despite repeatedly trying to imagine it. Not only was Ayanokouji a fighter with immeasurable strength, but his mind wasn’t that of an ordinary person. Furthermore, he was able to remove his limiters without hesitation and coolly perform actions that would make anyone else waver.
“I suppose it is understandable that you’d be curious. Ayanokouji-kun is a special person, after all,” said Sakayanagi. Her eyes were squinted in delight, looking as though she was even happier than if she were being complimented herself. “But I will not tell you. It is my own precious secret.”
Ryuuen glared a little at Sakayanagi, who had happily refused to give him an answer.
“However, in comparison, it is easy to imagine your childhood. You rebelled against everyone and everything around you, you mistakenly believed that you were the center of the universe, and you ruled over everything with violence. You dismissed things such as intelligence and reason as weak nonsense. And no matter how many times you suffered defeated, you thought that so long as you win in the end, that’s all that matters, and—”
“Yep, that’s me,” said Ryuuen.
“Heh heh. I am not saying that it is bad. That is precisely why you are trying to fight Ayanokouji-kun a second time. An ordinary person whose spirit is easily broken wouldn’t even have the motivation to do so. I, of course, simply do not have a loser’s disposition,” said Sakayanagi.
“So you think you can beat Ayanokouji? Sorry, but it doesn’t look that way to me,” said Ryuuen.
“That is unexpected. Despite how it appears, I think that I am superior even to him. And to prove it, I must make you, who stand in my way, disappear,” said Sakayanagi.
Sakayanagi was persistently trying to greet Ayanokouji from above, from on high. On the other hand, Ryuuen was crawling from below, trying to drag Ayanokouji down. The positions they stood in were completely opposite. The interval countdown reached zero, and it was now time for both sides to choose their groups. Looking at the list of five groups on her tablet, Sakayanagi eliminated one group.
That was the group to which Hashimoto Masayoshi belonged. She had also reminded her vanguard and center not to choose that group. As long as Hashimoto, whose betrayal had been established, wasn’t put into action, there was no way he could betray them. From that perspective, you could say that the rules of this special exam were something of a tailwind for Sakayanagi.
“I will exercise my right to send in a traitor,” she announced.
In a contest between generals, Sakayanagi made her attack in the first discussion. Was it because when the match started, she had nine Life Points and Ryuuen had ten, which would meant things were slightly in Ryuuen’s favor when looking at the numbers alone? Or did she have another aim in mind? At any rate, from Ryuuen’s point of view, it was a preemptive strike made selfishly while taking advantage of the fact that he didn’t yet know how this special exam worked.
“Heh. You sure are full of murderous intent, ain’t ya?” said Ryuuen.
“I do not intend to drag this out for too long. I will settle this in the first discussion,” said Sakayanagi.
“Hey, didn’t ya know? The theory goes that the first one who uses a trump card like that loses,” said Ryuuen.
“Well, then, please allow me to overturn that theory,” replied Sakayanagi.
With sharp focus, Sakayanagi looked toward the monitor, where things were about to begin.
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