It was a Friday, with winter break just around the corner.
Some classes had already wrapped up their curriculum early, so there were more advanced problems or recreational activities that felt closer to games tied to the lessons.
Winter break itself was less than a month long, but long vacations were what students craved most.
During breaks, the conversation never ran dry on what everyone planned to do over the holidays.
For instance, the topic during today's lunch period was—
"Hey, Kamukura-kun. Was there really nothing going on with Matsushita-san? Like, weren't you two supposed to go on a date on the twenty-fifth or something~?"
Romance. It went without saying that spending Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with someone of the opposite sex was the kind of trendy topic these students loved.
"Yajima-san, this is the third time you've brought this up. It's getting old."
"Ehh~? Then do you have any plans for the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth?"
"No, I don't."
While casually deflecting her enthusiastic chatter, I continued eating my lunch.
The classmate I was speaking with was Mariko Yajima.
A member of the track and field club, her athletic ability was top-tier among the girls in Class C.
She had a bright, cheerful personality and looked every bit the archetypal athletic girl.
When I ate alone at lunch, she'd approach me like this two or three times a month.
Thanks to the increased interaction during the sports festival training period, she no longer feared me and spoke to me freely.
In a class where it was rare for anyone to still consider me more suitable as leader than Ryūen-kun, she stood out.
"Heh~ So you're completely free. Don't you want to meet someone?"
"I don't."
When I answered, she laughed as if to say "Of course."
"If you joined the track club looking for romance, I could introduce you to some seniors~"
"I've turned down joining the track club multiple times."
"No way, no way! I can't just let a talent like you slip away so easily! At least try a trial session!"
"Trial session rejected as well. It would only add more troublesome obligations."
Honestly, her persistent recruiting attempts during every casual conversation were a hassle.
That said, she was valuable precisely because she never acted timid or hesitant like the rest of Class C.
"Don't be like that~"
Yajima placed both hands on my desk and leaned forward, bringing her face closer.
Even though her body was still developing, she was undeniably a girl. From my seated eye level, her neck and collarbone came into view.
The top button of her white shirt was undone, but the school-issued ribbon was fastened at the second button, so this posture didn't expose her chest.
Still, it was a rather careless stance.
I was just about to seriously shoo her away for becoming a nuisance when someone suddenly grabbed the back of her neck.
"Mariko… are you at it again?"
The girl with the exasperated expression was our classmate Minori Kinoshita.
Like Yajima, she was in the track and field club and shared the same cheerful, athletic vibe.
"What's wrong with it, Minori? Recruiting is allowed no matter how many times I try."
"Put yourself in the shoes of the person who gets recruited every single time you talk to him. Kamukura-san looks troubled."
Kinoshita released Yajima's neck and let the words hang.
Yajima had no real comeback; she just laughed awkwardly, scratching her head to gloss over it.
But Kinoshita was used to that reaction. After a sigh, she let it drop and moved on to her original purpose.
"Here. The documents the upperclassmen said we needed."
"Oh! Thanks! You saved me a trip!"
It was a single sheet of paper.
From the brief glimpse of the text, it appeared to be related to the winter training camp.
Something caught my interest, so I asked.
"Is the camp far from here?"
"Ah—y-yes. The tournament is held in another prefecture for three days, so we'll take a bus."
Kinoshita answered with a slight stutter.
That kind of nervous response was the standard reaction I received from her.
Known as Ryūen-kun's right hand and labeled a bizarre person with incomprehensible behavior, normal conversation was possible, but there was always a wall—a polite, distant tone.
"During that camp, is there any free time for sightseeing or anything similar?"
"I don't think so. We had one camp in the summer, and contact with the outside world was almost completely cut off~"
Yajima answered quickly, and Kinoshita nodded in agreement.
"How strict was it, specifically?"
"Hmm… really, only the bare minimum contact. You could talk a little with students from other schools between matches, but otherwise we were completely separated by school staff.
It felt like we were constantly under VIP protection or something."
"Free time was limited to the grounds of the lodging facility. As for outside contact… well, if you tried to sneak out, you might manage about a minute.
Also, phones were confiscated whenever we went outside, so there was no way to communicate. They were extremely thorough about information control."
"Yeah We could barely talk to people from other schools, couldn't touch our phones, and it was hot. It was honestly pretty brutal"
Each of them gave concrete details about their experiences outside school grounds.
From this information, one thing became clear.
"…The school is meticulously preventing any contact with outsiders."
When we enrolled, they had told us external contact would be difficult, and they truly meant it.
Considering the reason was likely to keep the school's highly unusual system from leaking out, it made sense.
Yet even so…
The man I met the other day was unquestionably an outsider.
He wasn't wearing the uniforms of this school's staff; he was dressed in an extremely expensive suit.
I had never seen him on campus, and he left the grounds in a limousine—there was no doubt.
In other words, while contact initiated from inside was nearly impossible, contact initiated from outside might still be feasible.
And taking the man's words into account, his connection to Kiyotaka Ayanokōji was obvious.
Was contact permitted for family members or the like? Or was that man simply a special case?
"…Kamukura-san?"
Kinoshita's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"My apologies. I was recalling something troublesome."
"Troublesome?"
"It's nothing that concerns you."
"S-sorry…"
There was no need for her to apologize, but even if I told her that, her attitude wouldn't change—I had already confirmed as much with Manabe-san.
Since Kinoshita wouldn't alter her behavior, there was no point in saying anything further.
"Thank you for the useful information. The next class will start soon, so you should prepare."
Just then, the pre-bell signaling the end of lunch rang, and the two of them returned to their seats.
After briefly seeing them off, I began preparing for the next lesson as well.
...
After finishing the walk home, I arrived at the dormitory.
I headed straight to my room, slipping inside the neatly organized space as if drawn in.
I took off my shoes, freshened up, and placed my school bag in its usual spot.
Turning on the electric kettle and changing into loungewear while deciding on tonight's dinner had become a familiar routine.
It wasn't a boring problem.
"…Maybe I'll have cup ramen tomorrow."
As I took out the ingredients for tonight's dinner from the fridge, I noticed my stock was running low.
Tomorrow was Saturday—a day off with no plans—so I had no desire to go out.
That meant making extra for dinner tonight to cover tomorrow as well.
But there still wouldn't be enough for tomorrow's dinner.
Hence, a long-overdue cup of instant ramen: easy to prepare and a nice change of pace.
While I was thinking about that, the intercom buzzed.
I paused the simultaneous prep—seasoning the chicken, chopping vegetables for miso soup and stir-fry—and went to check.
"From the first floor?"
If it were a classmate, they would ring the doorbell directly at the entrance.
Curious about the visitor, I went to confirm without pretending to be out.
An unexpected face was waiting there.
"Hello. This is Kamukura-kun's room, right?"
I answered quickly.
"Yes, it is."
"Oh, great! Is now a good time? I wanted to talk about something~"
"I don't mind. I'll be waiting in the room."
"Thanks!"
I released the auto-lock and let her—Kikyo Kushida—into the dormitory.
Since we lived in the same building, she could unlock it herself, but it was no trouble.
And while I was at it, I decided to prepare some tea as well.
I poured freshly boiled water into the cups to warm them, then took out a slightly expensive tea bag (paid for by Ryūen-kun).
Soon enough, the doorbell rang.
"No need to stand in the hall. Come in."
"Thank you for having me!"
I invited her inside and told her to sit wherever.
She neatly aligned her shoes, glanced around the room as if inspecting it, then sat politely on a chair.
While she did that, I discarded the water used to warm the cups, poured fresh hot water, and added the tea bags I'd already opened to release the fine leaves.
After doing the same for both cups, I placed small plates on top to let them steep.
"So, what is it you wanted, Kikyo Kushida?"
I called out to her from the kitchen while continuing dinner prep.
She glanced around my room once more, then abruptly relaxed her posture and replied.
"You keep it really clean. The casual vibe isn't bad either, huh?"
The softness in Kikyo Kushida's demeanor had vanished.
Her tone was sharp and flat. The smiling lips twisted roughly, and her cute, wide eyes narrowed into slits.
This wasn't the universally popular Kikyo Kushida everyone knew at school.
This was her true personality.
"Those curtains were bought by Albert for parties. The rug is Ryūen-kun's taste. The many cushions were left here by Ibuki-san and Ishizaki-kun."
"…What a tragic collection of hand-me-downs. I take back my compliment."
Kushida crossed her legs and rested one arm lazily on the desk.
I didn't mind her making herself at home, but seeing her this relaxed was a little novel.
Eventually, she even started rummaging through my room while waiting for the tea.
"So what was it again? You said you had something to talk about."
She continued the conversation while opening each desk drawer one by one.
"There are two things~ The debt, and you."
"Me?"
The debt referred to the one incurred during the Paper Shuffle.
The current amount was 400,000 private points—a considerable sum.
But what caught my attention was the latter.
Me. Quite a vague topic.
"What's this? …A hairpin?"
In the middle of that, she found something in a drawer.
She held it delicately between her fingers, examining both sides carefully.
It was a hairpin modeled after a fighter jet.
A personal belonging I'd had since entering this world.
Something I'd tried to throw away many times but never could, so I'd sealed it away in the study desk.
"Please don't touch that."
I carried the tray with the two cups over, approaching her as I spoke.
I placed the tea—tea bags already removed—on the desk and gestured for her to drink.
"Heh~ So this is something important to you."
I set the tray down on the desk and took the hairpin back from her.
After confirming there were no noticeable scratches, I returned it to its original place.
"What's the story with that hairpin? Tell me a little about yourself."
"Even if you knew my past, it wouldn't be interesting."
"Maybe. But you know my personality, don't you? Someone like you has never told anyone about yourself, right?"
Kushida asked gleefully, demanding I reveal my secrets.
Why so gleeful? Because this girl sipping her tea was a monster driven by the need for validation.
For her, standing out and being adored was the top priority in life—being needed by others was her reason for living.
A secret told only to her would be proof that she was trusted.
In other words, a secret I'd never shared with anyone was nothing less than a gourmet feast to her.
But of course, I had no intention of telling her.
"Tell me about yourself. That's one of the reasons I came here today."
"Why are you interested in me? I'm the one who cornered you and made you suffer multiple times.
To you, I'm nothing but an enemy."
"Not exactly. I'll never, ever forgive you for cornering me… but because of that, I learned a lot and grew."
She snorted and declared bluntly.
Growth.
Her mind had become strong enough to withstand intimidation from Ultimate-level despair talent. Through the sports festival and Paper Shuffle, she learned how to face her own desires and reflect on herself.
The fact that she could still talk to me normally right now was proof of that growth.
"I'm not thanking you. What you did to me is plus-minus… at best zero, even giving you a hundred steps.
But even someone like you is part of what made me who I am now."
"And?"
I already knew what she'd say next, but I pressed anyway.
"I got curious. I wanted to know what kind of person changed me."
"You already know plenty. That I'm scum who threatens high school girls."
"Hah, no argument there.
But that's not what I want to know. It's not just one side of you."
"You're being roundabout. What you want is information to satisfy your need for validation. In other words, secrets like my past.
And I have no intention of telling you anything."
Curiosity. The instinctive desire to know.
At the same time, it had become a piece to fulfill her need for validation.
I had already grasped her thought process—she acted to satisfy herself.
"Well, you're not the type to open up easily. Then how about an exchange? You wanted to know my past. If I tell you what happened in my past, will you tell me about yourself in return?"
"I refuse."
I made my firm resolve clear.
Her past did intrigue me, but it held no equal value to mine.
I had no intention of agreeing to a deal that put me at a disadvantage.
"Then—"
"—You're awfully persistent, aren't you?"
To seize control of the conversation after rejecting her twice, I pushed back aggressively.
But she merely snorted at my pressure and fired right back.
"Anyone could analyze a girl taking the initiative with a boy, right?"
"That's a boring joke."
My ultimate analytic talent detected no trace of affection.
For someone whose goal was to satisfy her need for validation, learning my secrets might bring her great pleasure—but she had to know the risks were high.
If she only wanted to satisfy her desires safely, she could just ask the other students in Class D.
There was no need for it to be me.
A contradiction. Something inexplicable had crept into her behavior.
If there was something beyond her need for validation driving her to want to know about me, what could it be?
I accelerated my thoughts and arrived at one conclusion.
"Did someone ask you to find out about me?"
The search for X in Class D was still ongoing under Ryūen-kun's direction.
If X—Ayanokōji-kun—was gathering information to counter that, it would make sense.
But that would be a foolish move.
It was practically handing over clues he had gone to such lengths to hide.
Which left the possibility of contact from someone else.
Yet—
"…Huh? What are you talking about?"
She lounged back in the chair, looking genuinely baffled.
No deception registered in her mannerisms.
Meaning either she truly wasn't acting under anyone's orders, or her performance was skilled enough to fool even my ultimate analysis.
"Look, there's no conspiracy or anything like that.
I just genuinely want to know about you. No shady motives."
Still wearing her true face, she spoke with a steady, resolute voice.
I could tell immediately that those were her honest feelings.
My ultimate analysis could instantly detect whether someone was using fraudulent talent.
She wasn't.
Which was precisely why I couldn't fully grasp why she had brought this topic here.
Fulfilling her need for validation was undoubtedly one goal. Arrogantly, she was trying to use me for it.
But if there was another purpose beyond anything shady, then she truly just wanted to talk to me.
"Why me…?"
I considered every possibility.
Several came to mind, but before I could voice them, Kushida continued.
"That's what I've been saying! I'm not calculating anything! Though… if we became friends and you paid off my debt for me, I wouldn't complain."
In her unmasked state, she laughed cheerfully as she said it.
"…You really just want to talk with me."
"Yeah, that's what I've been telling you. There are things I can't accept until I know more about you.
Your talent, your past, that terrifying aura… and that janitor who looks exactly like you."
"…A janitor who looks exactly like me?"
I didn't let that bombshell slip past.
She had definitely said he resembled me. She had once asked if I had any siblings, and now, at last, the true meaning behind that question clicked.
And the existence of this supposed janitor was something I couldn't ignore either.
"Tell me the details right now, Kikyo Kushida."
I swiftly grabbed the front of her shirt and yanked her up from the chair.
The sudden pain twisted her expression.
But almost instantly, a smirk curved her lips—as if reveling in the fact that her reflection filled my gaze completely.
It highlighted her abnormality, twisting as though she were savoring the thrill of victory.
"…Just as I thought. That information is something you want badly enough to reach for it with everything you've got.
Then let's make it a trade. I'll tell you everything I know in exchange for hearing your secrets."
At her proposal, I paused.
To think—
"…You'd try to negotiate an advantage against me?"
"Thank you for the compliment, super-genius-kun."
Her coaxing, feline voice brushed past my ears.
This was unexpected. I had underestimated her growth.
I released her shirt.
After straightening the wrinkled fabric, she downed the rest of her tea in one gulp.
"Then let's talk, Kamukura-kun! I'm not letting you sleep tonight!"
Thrusting her empty cup toward me for a refill, Kikyo Kushida was utterly shameless.
Yet right now, she was nothing but unpredictable to me.
There was no need to refuse.
On the contrary, from the depths of my heart, I wished for her to show me even more of the unknown.
***
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