Chapter 3: Premonition of Defeat Introduction On a Saturday, which would have been a holiday in our school life, there are still lessons being held for the duration of the outdoors school. But even though I call them lessons, the timetable itself differs somewhat from the weekdays. What could be referred to as lessons ended with the morning and after that is our own free time. The special exam that began on Thursday too, is already on its third day. Discord began to occur within the group. It started around 5 o’clock in the early morning. “Aaaah, I’m fucking sleepy!” At the outdoor cookhouse near the school building, Ishizaki screamed. “Everyone’s in the same boat. Ahh, please measure it so you don’t mess up the amount of miso.” Keisei warns him while flipping through the paper on which the breakfast menu was written that the teachers had given us. “Shut it. Why do I have to participate in cooking the meals in the first place?” Even as he moved his hands to stir the miso, Ishizaki did not stop cursing. “It can’t be helped, right? There’s the possibility we’ll incur a penalty if everyone isn’t assembled here.” “Hell if I care, shit……ahh.” “What’s with that ‘ahh’ just now?” “……nothing.” “No way that was nothing. Where’s the salt you had in your hands!?” “I added it all.” Apparently, quite a bit of salt got added to the miso soup that Ishizaki was in charge of. Keisei panickedly put out the fire and checked the taste. And then he coughed. “You put too much in it, ugh! It’s not drinkable……” If you gave that miso soup to the senior students, you’d get bashed severely for it. In the first place, it’s bad for your body. “Nothing for it but to make it again.” “Don’t fuck around. If we’re making it again, then you start over from scratch. I mean, what about Kouenji?” “Hell if I know.” “You’re in the same damn class.” While glancing at the two of them quarreling over miso soup, Hashimoto skillfully handled a frying pan on top of the stove while cooking up an omelette. “You’re quite the dexterous one……” “It’s because I always cook my own meals.” Hashimoto said so without a hint of pride and briskly continued cooking. Albert approached Hashimoto silently. In his hands he carried a bowl with scrambled eggs in it. “Thank you. If you don’t mind, can I ask you to cut the vegetables too?” Despite his large frame, Albert began skillfully swinging a kitchen knife on the chopping board. Since there are a lot of mouths to feed, Hashimoto cooks the eggs one after another. It appears, as far as cooking is concerned, these two are set to be our aces. On the other hand, I managed to acquire the extremely undemanding task of preparing the raw vegetables and tableware. However, since I have to prepare everyone’s worth of vegetables, it’s still a lot. I can’t help with the china but I feel like I should help out with cutting the vegetables too. As I stood beside Albert, he looked at me silently and so I tried communicating with him via eye contact. “Can you handle it? Cutting vegetables, I mean.” “Probably.” Somehow, we managed to understand one another sufficiently enough and he handed over the kitchen knife to me. I’m glad I’ve utilized one before, even if only a little, since I had started living in the dorm. I cut the vegetables, keeping up with Albert’s proficiency. Still, I wonder exactly where that Kouenji went off to. It’s already been more than 30 minutes since he said he’d be going to the toilet. Class A and Class B students each sent a single student to look for him but seeing as how they aren’t back yet, it would appear they haven’t found him. In the end, Kouenji did not return until breakfast and even after he returned, he didn’t even try to persistently make the excuse that he was stuck in the toilet due to a stomach ache. As such, I should assume the relationship between Ishizaki and Kouenji has completely deteriorated. 1 3 o’clock in the morning of that very same Saturday, it happened while I was studying morals in the classroom. I could hear the cheerful voice of a girl from outside. When I peered out of the window from the 3rd floor, I could see the figure of Ichinose running energetically around the campus. She seemed to have had a difficult time putting together her group on the first day but the important thing is that she looks cheerful now. Sakayanagi had declared her intention to crush Ichinose but so far there’s no sign of that happening. Of course, that might only be on the surface. Gazing down from above, I could tell who Ichinose’s group members are to a certain extent. Surprisingly enough, I only spotted one person from our Class C among them. As for Class B, Ichinose’s the only one there I recognized. Perhaps just like the boys have done, they’re forming groups comprised of a majority class to maintain the four classes status quo and picked her from Class B to meet the minimum requirement. I don’t really know the students from Class A and Class B in detail but I also spotted the girl who collided with Horikita during the sports festival and sustained injuries as part of Ryuuen’s ploy. Fortunately, it looks like she’s made a complete recovery since she’s now running without much difficulty. By the way, the student from our Class C who’s part of that group is a girl by the name of Wang Mei-Yu. She had first come here from China back when she was an elementary school student and has remained in this country ever since. That’s what I heard from someone in class. Her nickname is ‘Mii-chan’. A nickname that those not close to her would find difficult to call her by. As for what else I know about her, her grades are nothing short of extraordinary and she’s particularly good at English…is the image I have of her.
Their overall grades may somewhat differ but no matter how you look at it, she’s just as good as Keisei when it comes to academics. And also, strangely enough, she’s similar to Keisei when it comes to sports as well. She’s desperately trying to keep up with the rest of her group members, but she’s by far the worst one. Even now, she’s breathing hard while looking up at the sky like she’s about to collapse. She’s limping and swaying. Ichinose noticed Mii-chan falling behind and slowed down. And while giving her support in the form of encouragements, she decided to run alongside her. And after a slight delay, yet another girl, Class D’s Shiina Hiyori, also linked up with them. She doesn’t exactly look like the athletic type but with a smile on her face, she kept pace with the other two girls. According to what Ryuuen and those around him have been saying, Shiina’s been acting as the leader of the girls of Class D. If that is indeed the case then the group I’m seeing right now would have the leaders of two classes in it. With this in mind, it wouldn’t be strange for Horikita and Sakayanagi to be in the same group as one another, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Now feeling a little curious about how exactly this group came to be, I took my eyes off the text I’m supposed to be studying and looked out the window. I could tell that the atmosphere in the classroom had become a heavy one due to the words that came from the teacher. “I’ll have the lot of you introduce yourselves now. However, I want you to keep in mind that this isn’t just simply a self-introduction you’ll be doing but that it’s part of your lesson here. Every day henceforth, you will be giving a speech. The theme of the speech will differ from school year to school year but the four main criteria you’ll be judged on are: ‘Volume’, ‘Posture’, ‘Subject’ and ‘Communicativeness’”. The word speech had been written in the materials we had been given on the bus as well. No doubt this is one of the subjects being examined here at the outdoor school. In all likelihood, everyone in this large group will have to come up with their own speech to give. For those with poor communication skills, this particular subject may seem nothing short of hellish. The 1st years are told to give their speech based on what they’ve learned so far throughout this year and what they wish to learn in the following years. The 2nd and 3rd years are to give their speech based on matters like their future course and employment. Basically, things that have to do with their futures. “Seriously? What a shitty exam……” I could understand why Ishizaki would say that disgustedly but his mutters are too loud. It appears the teacher heard that as well but he didn’t give any words of rebuke. Whether you choose to take this seriously or fool around, in the end your decisions will come back to affect the group. It probably means we’re free to do as we wish. After lessons, a certain man approached the 1st year group. Ishizaki had been resting his legs on the table but upon spotting that man, he spontaneously corrected his posture. He’s Kiriyama from Class B of the 2nd years as well as the vice president of the student council under Nagumo. He used to be in Class A but after having been destroyed by Nagumo, he seems to have fallen. However, he still seems to desire Nagumo’s downfall deep down inside as he’s made contact with me through the older Horikita. “I think you should fix your attitude towards these lessons.” “S-Sure. I mean, I wasn’t really making any noise or anything.” “I’m not just talking about Ishizaki. I’m also talking about you, Kouenji.” Despite desiring his downfall, on the surface he has to act the part of the dutiful vice president. He probably wants to fix whatever could have an effect on the way the whole large group is evaluated. “We’re only going to be judged in this special exam based on the test we’re taking on the last day, aren’t we? Whether or not we take these lessons seriously isn’t really that important, I think.” “The written exam isn’t everything there is to this special exam. Have you not given any thought to the fact that your attitude throughout the training camp and the impression it gives might have an effect on it too? Besides, how exactly are you going to get a high score on the exam if you don’t take these lessons seriously?” “The answer is ‘simple is best’, right? Because it’s me we’re talking about.” “I see. So you’re saying it’s easy for you to get a high score then? However, we’ll see after the exam whether or not you’ve managed to pull off a high score. As long as you’re part of a group, don’t you think it’s important for you to act to alleviate the concerns of those around you?” “If this is a group that would actually concern themselves over how I act, then I’d have to say this group isn’t worth much.” “You don’t get to judge that, Kouenji.” “Then who gets to make that judgement, may I ask?” “The collective whole. That’s something for every student here to decide.” Ishizaki sniggers while putting up with the vice president’s words. He’s probably rejoicing at seeing Kouenji being put down. However, Kouenji isn’t someone that sort of ‘common sense’ would work on. “Even if all of you were to be stacked on top of one another, I’m still worth far more as an individual human being. What I mean to say is that people without a good eye for things cannot hope to make a judgement like that.” “Looks like you’re far too immature to be a high school student. How infantile.” Kiriyama wields common sense as a weapon against Kouenji, who didn’t cower one bit before him. By the time I noticed, almost half the 2nd years are now crowding around where we 1st years are sitting. Ishizaki too, couldn’t afford to laugh forever and stiffened his expression. I could hear words that sounded slightly threatening coming from around us. “Besides, it’s not just Kouenji. I see other students here and there causing problems too.” Of course if we’re talking about problem students that would naturally include Ishizaki but I honestly can’t think of anyone else. Everyone else should’ve been taking the lessons seriously in their own way. Kiriyama’s probably lumping all the 1st years together with the aim of getting us to focus. He’s probably putting pressure on us by reminding us that we’ll be making enemies out of the senior students if we continue acting arrogantly like this. Kouenji’s just the straw that broke the camel’s back. “Leave them be, Kiriyama.” The 3rd year Ishikura saw the situation and offered a helping hand. “Guidance that goes too far may be interpreted as bullying. If rumors like that spread, you’re the one who’s going to be in trouble. The 1st years have a good grip on the situation, don’t they?” When Ishikura asked us that question, everyone aside from Kouenji, including me, nodded. “Bravo, Ishikura-senpai. You really grasped the situation well.” Nagumo, who had been silently watching this scene play out without joining the conversation, now happily started speaking. “You’re wasted on Class B. In the first place, Ishikura-senpai isn’t really lucky.” “Isn’t lucky, you say? I don’t want to admit it but it’s just that I wasn’t good enough.” “I don’t think that’s the case. Senpai, the only reason you weren’t able to climb your way up to Class A is because there’s a genius like Horikita Manabu there. I’m aware you’ve put up a good fight throughout these 3 years. The class point difference between Class A and Class B is 312. Graduation isn’t that far off but I think you’re closing in on them.” “Then are you saying you’re going to lead this group to victory?” “Yep. If Ishikura-senpai’s willing to entrust me with everything then we’ll beat this special exam. And that’s just a trifle because I’ll help you climb your way up to Class A. We may even be able to get Horikita-senpai expelled from this school, you know?” “Too bad, Nagumo. Horikita isn’t the leader this time. You’re the same too though, of course. There’s no way to pin something on him that’s good enough to get him dragged down either.” “It doesn’t matter whether he’s the leader or not. It also doesn’t matter if he can be dragged down or not. There are many ways to crush him.” Nagumo said so and laughed. “Sorry but I can’t trust you. Not to the extent that I’d entrust you with Class B’s fate.” “That’s unfortunate.” Nagumo spoke all that in front of everyone in the group. Innocent defenselessness. Or perhaps he’s deliberately making himself seem defenseless? There’s no way it’s going to be the former.
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