Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e - Volume 18 - Chapter Ep1

E.1

The meeting was then dismissed, but Horikita called some members of the group to the Class B classroom. They were the three maid cafe planners, with the exception of Matsushita, who was absent due to illness.

“Actually, I have something I have to apologize to you guys for.”

“What? Apologize for what? What is it?”

It had been a tough day, but there had been no particular occasion in which Horikita had shown any fault.

Since Satō and the others had absolutely nothing in mind, they tilted their heads curiously. 

“You remember how Ryūen-kun leaked the maid cafe and how it spread throughout the school, don't you?”

“Yeah. That was a bit of a panic, wasn't it?”

“Actually, it was already decided from the beginning that he would leak the maid café.”

The story stemmed from my suggestion to somehow join hands in order to cooperate with each other and win the top positions at the festival.

“What do you mean, the leak was set in stone? What do you mean?”

“It was all planned. Ryūen-kun and I would work together, he would betray us and make the maid cafe's performance known.”

“What? No way!”

Of course they would be surprised. Horikita and I were the only ones in the class who knew about this.

“So you also knew about the bet where the winner gets private points?”

“That was Ryūen-kun's idea. I was a little nervous when he suddenly said it. Hashimoto and the others, who had been looking forward to the result of the bet, must have been decisive in the betting.”

“Yes, Sakayanagi-san heard a lot of information from third parties. I’m sure that Hashimoto-kun and other spies must’ve told her about this as well. The two classes were supposed to cooperate with each other, but they got into a dispute, and Ryūen-kun unilaterally betrayed them.”

“Then what about the one million points you’d get if you won first place?”

“I'm sorry, but we've also confirmed that in fact, no matter who won, no points will be handed over to either of them. He was willing to do it himself, but I think he's a bit chilled by now. I kept this fact a secret from our classmates, including Kei, with the exception of Horikita. And no one in Ryūen's class, except Ryūen and Katsuragi, had heard about it.”

Even close associates such as Ishizaki and Albert were no exception.

That was why I could only take it as a sign that Ryūen was serious about keeping the agreement.

“One of their strategies was to put up a Japanese-style concept café as a rival. Besides appealing to the public that we were enemies, it was also to keep other rivals out.”

Rivalry. The higher the excitement, the more responsibility and money down the drain for the adults.

If they knew that there was a battle we couldn’t lose, it would be natural to want to let the ones who have the better shoulder win. On the other hand, other classes and grades were not in a fight to the death. Of course, many classes wanted class points, but the heat was a notch or two lower than the Horikita vs. Ryūen battle.

“I'm really sorry. I even kept quiet to you guys, even though I was trying to win.”

Horikita was always feeling guilty because she wanted to reveal the plan as soon as possible.

I'm sure the three of them could tell that she was sincerely sorry.

“It's okay. We were first in the results, hey?”

Not particularly blaming us, Satō happily confirmed to Mii-chan and Maezono.

“Well, you know. If you do well, I guess I don’t mind so much.”

“Yes. If I had been told beforehand, it might have shown on my face.”

Mii-chan replied honestly, “I'm not even sure I'm confident enough to act.”

“Good for you, Horikita.”

“Yes, it's a weight off my shoulders. You guys can tell Matsushita-san about this. And as soon as the private points are transferred to us, we'll pay you all.”

“We did it!”

The three of them high-fived each other.

“Was Chabashira-sensei becoming a maid also discussed from the beginning? That was probably the biggest surprise.”

“That was amazing… we were on top of the scores within an hour.”

“I know you have a lot to talk about, but we're going to end today off. Thank you so much.”

The class found a strategy in the suggestion of a maid cafe and was able to win first place. I was grateful that other uncalculated factors also worked positively.

After seeing the three of them off, only Horikita and I were left in the classroom. A slightly stronger wind came through the open window and shook the curtains.

“Are you sure you’re okay with it? Most of the plan was your own idea. You could have claimed more of the credit, you know? Staging the confrontation and making Chabashira-sensei the maid, it was undeniably your ability that contributed to the first place.”

“It was only possible because of Horikita's stand as leader.”

“If it had been you in the past, you wouldn't have included me in this scheme, would you?”

In the empty classroom, Horikita muttered without looking at me.

“I guess so.”

“You don't deny it, do you?”

“It's a fact, so it can't be helped. You knew it too, that's why you asked me, right?”

“Well, yeah, that's probably true.”

It's not that I, Ryūen, and Katsuragi couldn't have forced the issue by ourselves. But when I made this proposal, I told Horikita at the same time without hesitation.

I wasn’t sure if she could play the role or not, but it was not something that could be done without the leader.

If the proposal had been completely rejected, I would’ve been fine with it.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to consider deceiving my colleagues if it’s an effective means to win. When it's time to proceed, I will proceed, even if it's at a risk. Do you understand?”

The idea of creating strategies herself became more ingrained in Horikita's body.

“Maybe now I can understand. I think I'm starting to see it, little by little.”

It may not be a very strong feeling yet, but she was definitely getting a feel for it.

“That's enough for today. The sun will be setting soon.”

“Wait. Ayanokōji-kun, I really need to ask you something right now.”

I had a hunch that Horikita would refuse to leave when I tried to encourage her to do so.

I had a feeling that Horikita and Ibuki’s presence in the student council room was not a mere coincidence. It must be because they had arrived at that place by following some sort of thread.

“What is it?”

“Today's cultural festival. The serious incident that was happening behind the scenes. Are you...”

Just in time or not, my cell phone rang.

“Sorry, hold on a second.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I looked at the screen and saw that it was an incoming call from an unknown number.

“Hello?”

“Are you still in school? I'd like to talk to you for a minute if you'd like.”

The voice sounded familiar: It was Tsubaki Sakurako, a student in first year Class C.

I didn't care how she got my number, as there were so many different ways to get it, but she was an unexpected person.

I’m not surprised as to why she made contact today. 

“Are you alone now?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“Then why don't we meet up?”

“Where are you?”

“I just left the front door. You're still on campus, right?

“Give me five minutes.”

“Okay.”

After a short call, I told Horikita, “I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to step out for a bit…I'll be back in about 10 or 20 minutes. Then we'll continue our conversation.”

“Okay, I'll wait here.”

I promised to come back here and left the classroom. Once I was alone, I decided to call the person who had helped me the most today.

“The third-year’s information network is top-notch; whether it was Kushida Kikyo or Hasebe Haruka, you’re able to find them immediately. I've once again realized the power of Student Council President Nagumo.”

“Did you call me to say that?”

“I just wanted to thank you in advance. You were very helpful in today's search.”

The number of eyes and the leadership among the third-year students who quickly located Haruka and Kushida were magnificent.

“I never thought you'd use the strategy I used on you for your own benefit.”

“It was helpful that you were able to tell me what was going on in the student council room. Thanks to you, I was able to respond quickly.”

“At first, I thought it was Yagami's crazy delusion, but was there actually a trick to that letter?”

“It seems to be a love letter to Student Council President Nagumo, but as Yagami complained, it had a somewhat complicated anagram in it. If someone deciphers it, they arrive at the sentence, ‘I have an important meeting in the student council room after 3:00 p.m.’ I also mixed in a few other words that I thought would be interesting. If he had a strong interest, he would naturally take me up on the offer.”

In addition to the anagram, the love letter had a few other little touches.

The envelope used for the letter and the stickers that held it together were made available to anyone at any time at the Keyaki Mall. If they had been custom-made and bought on the Internet, Yagami might’ve hesitated, fearing that the contents might be seen and evidence would be left behind. However, if you inspect the Keyaki Mall, you’d notice that all but the handwritten letterhead could be substituted.

That’s why he could check the contents without hesitation.

Furthermore, by writing directly, I could give Yagami information about the handwriting. White room students were thoroughly trained in calligraphy, so their handwriting was sure to be professional. The love letter prepared in this way was passed to Horikita through another girl using Kei. Then, she was led to hand it to Yagami, giving him time to examine it. Since there was a possibility that Horikita would hand it directly to Nagumo, I had him act like he was in a bad mood that day so that she couldn’t hand it over immediately.

“I didn't think he was the guy who went rogue on the island. How much did you know about him?”

“I don't know anything. Yagami just confessed on his own.”

“What kind of a trick was used for Komiya and the others to name Yagami? Was it a coincidence that the teacher showed up?”

“I just told them that the person at the center of the trouble might be lured out. They couldn't identify the culprit, and Ryuen's side wanted a hint. I asked them to take the suggestion knowing the risk that no one would come to the student council. Or even if they did, nothing would happen.”

“I see? Well, I wonder how much you're telling the truth.”

I left it to his imagination. What I did was really nothing but trivial. Nothing of note.

“Oh well. Now you're ready to make good on your promise, aren't you?”

“Of course. I'm looking forward to it, President Nagumo.”

As I approached the front door, I ended my call and reached for my shoe box.