"Crap... I didn't sleep for shit..."

Kawahara refused to be a reasonable person about the fact that he lost I don't know how many games of Fifa and willingly made me stay up all night inside King George's room while playing Fifa on Rayazaki's PS4.

Can I just mention that I had to lose on purpose just for him to give me my belonging?

Of course, I couldn't just lose on purpose... I had to make it look like I was in a pinch and then lost on purpose. Because, to Kawahara, that was a believable occurrence. Nevertheless, I wasn't actually serious about it.

As a result, I ended up going to bed at like 5 am. I could've just lost on purpose from the start but that would not have worked out. I got my belonging back and that's what truly mattered.

"Hey, what do we do about this?"

Well, this was predictable. After Kawahara's declaration of being the King of the dorm, there was no way in hell that he would do nothing.

No dinner yesterday and no breakfast today.

By the way, I was the one who asked that question to Hyunda, who was sitting next to me. Right now, we were pretending to have breakfast, but realistically, almost no one was here.

I suppose I should explain how we normally get our breakfast. King George, at exactly 7 am, cooks an equal portion of food for everyone in this dorm to eat. Basically, he leaves each portion on the kitchen sink.

And no, there was absolutely no way for us to steal other portions and that's because King George would always remain vigilant about it. In other words, he was there.

Now, that's a different story. He isn't here. King George said that we should cook for ourselves but the main problem was that there was absolutely nothing to cook with.

That was a problem, hence my question to Hyunda.

"Was I wrong about it? I really don't think so..."

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, yeah. But, it's just... I'm ashamed to admit this but I didn't think that this event could happen."

"Just so we are clear, which event are you talking about?"

"This one, of course. Why is Hinagiku being this nice to Rayazaki? She's not showing any signs of pursuing him through the usage of manipulation from the looks of it. Rayazaki's one thing, but Hinagiku? Did I expect way too much out of her? I thought that since Rayazaki is an individual with little to no intellect that he would be the perfect target to squeeze information out of, but Hinagiku and Rayazaki are just... normally in love with one another? What a huge disappointment."

Ah, so that's what he was talking about.

Right, I should mention. As I walked to the cafeteria this morning and sat on my usual spot, Hyunda approached me and asked me how the progress was going.

By 'progress' he was referring to Hinagiku and Rayazaki's conversation.

For someone who refuses to take responsibility, he involves himself quite a lot. However, never directly.

"I'll insist on this again, but, are you not going to take action?"

"That again? Do I really have to? I know you said that the situation, if not fine, then it's best for us, but--"

"Wait, that wasn't correctly emphasized. What I meant by that was that you should not act on the premise of the quality of the situation."

...What?

"Hold on, I don't get that."

"Are you stupid? Just reach out to Rayazaki already."

"Meaning?"

"Bro. I... Lol."

He just said 'Lol' out loud.

Also, I can't help but feel mocked whenever I speak to Hyunda. It's as if he roasts every person he speaks with regardless of whether or not that's his actual intention.

"What? Is it another thing that's easy to understand and that I'm somehow not understanding?"

"You have no idea."

"Then do it yourself. I don't wanna do it."

"Seriously though? You're gonna be whiny about this for no reason? Aren't you still pissed off about it?"

"Pissed off about what?"

"How the girls just one-sidedly won that argument. Do you not want revenge against them?"

Hyunda was speaking some interesting words.

"And you're saying that I can get revenge on them by using Rayazaki?"

"I didn't say that. I was just sorting out your feelings about it."

"Then what? Didn't you imply that there was a connection between Rayazaki and a way to get revenge on the girls?"

"There is if you think about it. But it's not Rayazaki only. I'm saying that Rayazaki is an alternative here because he is, without a doubt, connected to one of the girls."

"But you said 'only', does this mean that there are other alternatives?"

"The other alternative is the traitor. He is, without a doubt connected to the girls. I don't need to explain to you why that's the case, correct?"

"Yeah."

Although I and Hyunda didn't know who the traitor was, we concluded that the girls could not have gotten the information they had without an outside source. By outside source, I mean how there was obviously someone who, from our dorm, was present in the previous events.

For some goddamn reason, this fucker was deliberately handing out free information to those girls.

Also, Hyunda wouldn't stop cracking his fingers. He has been doing that for the last minute too.

How the hell do you crack the same fingers you have cracked just a while ago?

"Well, do you need any more clues?"

"About what?"

"Are you being dumb on purpose or is it natural? I can't tell the difference."

Oi. That hurts.

Don't verbally abuse your real-life anime protagonist powers on someone like me, damn it!

"Just tell me already."

"It's obvious. Manipulate Rayazaki into getting information about the girls."

Does Hyunda truly take me for someone who is dumb?

I already knew that... That's not really the problem though.

"Okay, but how?"

"What do you mean 'how?'? It doesn't matter how it's done, but don't you think it's a little too dumb to have such a huge opportunity to freely get your hands on some good information now that it is possible?"

Of course, Hyunda's words sound reasonable from a theoretical point of view.

But...

"You said 'now', does this mean that it will expire?"

"My initial thoughts about it were that Hinagiku would attempt something, but at this rate, she probably won't. I'm not overruling the possibility of Hinagiku trying something in the future, but as we are speaking, they are in the middle of developing their romance. And that's why I said 'now'. Because once this development is closed, whether it works or not, they will either grow closer or distant. Regardless, you will not be able to extract any information from both scenarios. Hence the time now is the ideal and perfect one for it."

For the record, I'm trembling over the shivering cold that is being inflicted on this cafeteria atmosphere yet Hyunda is just standing right next to me like it doesn't affect him.

"Also... Rayazaki's extremely easy to influence. And that's because he holds Hinagiku in a very high position. Plus, his memories are gone, for whatever reason. Oh yeah, about that. What happened?"

"I don't know."

No reason for me to tell him.

"Well, it doesn't matter. That's all I had to say. Whether you actually use this chance or not is up to you. It also doesn't matter how you do it, but as long as this virgin texting keeps rolling, you could strike a nice deal with Rayazaki. Because he's shit at this. Look at these virgin messages..."

"Dude, I know... I know..."

I really do.

It's been bugging me. Not because he's blooming, but because he's shit at what he is doing.

Whatever the case, Hyunda was ignoring something that was important right now.

"Why are you acting like you aren't bothered by the situation?"

Returning my phone back to me, Hyunda yawns out loud before speaking. Hyunda was with my phone because he had asked me to check the messages between Hinagiku and Rayazaki.

I've thought multiple times to intervene and just tell Rayazaki how to properly flirt, but that's not my aim. Right now, I need to let Rayazaki feel like he can bloom.

"What situation exactly? I thought you were referring to the virgin texting."

"Dude, I'm talking about the fact that we didn't eat breakfast. Aren't you bothered by that?"

It's far more bothersome than that, actually.

"I've got some money with me. I can eat something elsewhere. Kawahara's rebellion is not a problem."

"Lucky you. You have money. Did you get them from your parents when you left school at the beginning of the month?"

"What are you talking about? None of us left at the beginning of the month. We were enduring slavery during that time, remember?"

"Oh yeah. How could I forget..."

Maybe the experience was just that bad for me that I wanted to forget it as soon as possible.

"But, if that's the case, then how do you have money?"

"It would be convenient to not have money around, right?"

"Yeah, but how?"

"Always carrying at least a few pocket changes is quite logical, after all."

Ah, I see.

He's not telling me how he got it.

"What? Are you poor or something?"

"Yeah, I am poor right now."

To be honest, I'm not someone who always has money around. I always waste it way too fast.

"Need a penny to eat something? I don't mind lending one to you if you're truly hungry. I can understand someone else's hunger. It's never easy."

"Hyunda... You..."

Maybe he really does understand me.

"You don't have to say it. Just extend your hand, I'll lend you something."

I can't believe this. This guy, who I perceived as a manipulator and cold-hearted is acting out of kindness for someone like me.

Maybe I truly need to change my mind about him.

"There. This should do it. Eat what you can with it. Don't hold back. Ah, but only open your palm in ten seconds from now. I don't want you to be shocked about the portion I just gave you. Also, the class is starting. I'll be going on ahead!"

Thus, Hyunda leaves while sprinting out of the cafeteria right into the hallway.

Well, I was officially looking forward to today now.

"Alright, ten seconds have passed, let's see what I can do with it this--- Ah..."

Why is there a mini penny in my palm?

Hey, isn't this the lowest of all economical values in terms of pennies?

Why?

"Hahaha..."

Oh, I see.

I bet you're laughing right now, aren't you, Hyunda!?

Classroom, morning time.

While I didn't want to make it obvious, I was somewhat mad at Yulia for acting like such a little bitch. No, the wounds on my fists weren't even the main source of my anger. It was just the simple fact that I needed her to cooperate in this yet she literally refused to do so yesterday.

"Sensei, can you expel Kawahara?"

"Ohh?! You've got a lot of balls to be saying that, Tsudo!"

I hate to be the one who always takes the initiative first, but it must be done. I'll talk to her. Nevertheless, I refused to look in Yulia's direction. Plus, my facial expression wasn't showing any signs of visible frustration, so that's fine.

"........I'm pretty sure that what you are doing isn't allowed..."

Also, my table partner was really curious about my fists for some reason. Sure, it would attract attention, but I figured since we are all criminals that it wouldn't be such a weird thing.

Regardless, I must say, what I did yesterday was pretty dangerous. I'm aware that verbal interaction is forbidden between students of class F and other classes yet I simply assumed that the only way for someone to get caught was through the cameras or just any witnesses in general.

"I don't care about your quarrel. I'm not your homeroom teacher anymore. Ask your homeroom teacher that instead. Also, shut the fuck up. One more unnecessary word from any of you and I will practice pin-point throws with sharp pencils on you."

Without any vigilance cameras around, there was no way for me to get caught, which means that the only way for me to get into trouble was for those three retards to tell a higher force that I was the one who did it. But, I made sure to completely erase that possibility.

Worst case scenario, if, for some odd reason, I am told on, I will follow the words I said to him religiously.

Crap, I can't remember his name. It was actually so awkward of a name.

"Y-Yes! Sorry for the interruption!"

Class was going normally. Basara-sensei was teaching us some subject that I could not afford to give a damn.

As it stands, I have way too many things to consider.

However, it was rare for Tsudo to be making a complaint. Then again, considering what happened, it was pretty normal.

Today was February 21st.

Only 4 days until the exam was left.

P.E class, 2 hours later.

"Sensei, I have a complaint to make!"

"Not now, Tsudo. Later."

"Okay! Later, then! You said it! Later!"

Tsudo was acting like he was on his man period and man periods don't even exist in the first place.

Surely enough, his complaints about Kawahara would be reasonable, but I don't think anyone has the balls to tell Yuka-sensei about Kawahara for one simple reason.

Kawahara will most likely kill you.

As a matter of fact, Kawahara was silently staring at Tsudo like a mad man.

By the way, we were officially holding P.E classes every day until the exam.

I'm thankful for that.

"Aye aye! Well, I'm glad no one forgot to bring their P.E clothes! Otherwise, we would definitely have some problems!"

Hey, why are you cracking your knuckles like that?

It's just P.E clothes.

"Sensei, what will we be doing today? We even skipped the normal classes just to have P.E. Or will we have P.E classes every single day too? Please no..."

And of course, Sana complains. Girls hate P.E, what else is new?

"Not every day, but just until the special exam. Remember what I said earlier?"

"Ah true... You said something like that... But what for?"

"For partner practice, of course!"

That much was obvious. If P.E classes are being held until the special exam then it comes with a reason behind it.

"Therefore, I suggest you all team up with your partner and figure out a winning strategy for the upcoming special exam! I will not intervene, so you are all free to take independent action. P.E is over when it's lunchtime. After lunch, we will resume P.E once again! How fun, isn't it?! Back in my day, I used to always want to have P.E class all day! I couldn't stand having lecture classes or anything like that!"

Yeah okay, boomer.

"Yes..."

Why the massive sigh though?

Oh right.

The partners each of us had were contradictory.

In the end, Yuka-sensei went to her office.

We were officially alone. Also, something worth mentioning was that none of us took the immediate initiative to reach out to our partners.

This is what happens once you put a bunch of sociopaths/psychopaths who have hidden personas together.

Unfortunately for me, that sort of behavior would not benefit me at all.

There was absolutely no reason for me to follow this trend.

"Let's talk."

Well, shit.

How awkward.

I was the only one who broke the silence and no one else followed up. Previously, before reaching out to where Yulia was, my resolve was steadily firm yet now, it was wavering like a pendulum swing.

No one, Yulia included was speaking a single word. They were just staring at me like I was a complete outcast.

...................

"Hey, are you there...? Can you see me? No...?"

I had to make sure that I wasn't under some sort of supernatural invisibility spell or something.

This silence could be the work of an enemy stand, of course.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here... Hahaha..."

Hey, don't you dare look down when talking to me.

Are you saying that the ground is more appealing!?

Now, what do I do? It's a very awkward moment for sure. Being surrounded by people who give you constant glances have a tendency to shaken someone's mental core to the absolute maximum.

But---

"Let's practice, shall we?"

"Yeah..."

She says 'Yeah...' but she isn't showing any signs of moving.

I can't tell if she's doing this on purpose or not. She's not the type of person to be antisocial or shy to this extent, I think.

Yesterday's Yulia was passionate about her words yet for some reason, she seems extremely negative now.

Yulia's psychological pattern would usually be beyond my caring, but not right now.

Because I need her to perform well to actually win.

Also, since she wasn't showing any signs of moving, I had to do the obvious thing.

"Come on, let's go."

"Y-Yes..."

No need to make this even more awkward, Yulia.

Why are you acting embarrassed? Just because I'm holding your hand?

Oh please, like it's your first time. I never understood why holding hands is considered a courageous act. Is it really that hard to take hold onto someone's hand?

Also, I wasn't just randomly taking her away. I had a plan in mind. If you can even call it a plan that is...

While the field was huge, I would need something that would be convenient for what I had in mind.

As far as my knowledge about the areas that we could utilize for training goes, there is the field, the gymnasium and other areas such as the volleyball field, basketball field, and so on.

Knowing such, I was holding on to Yulia's hand while taking her to the gymnasium.

But it seems that I wasn't the only one who had the same idea.

After all, the ones that were following us were...

"Do you think we will do well...?"

"Don't talk to me."

Rayazaki and Yukishiro.

In my mind, this would not be such an odd combination because they both seem rude individuals at firsthand, but since Rayazaki lost his memory, he was affected by the white knight maneuvering.

However, the most interesting part was how they even came into an agreement about this.

If I recall correctly, Rayazaki ran fast as hell.

Probably because he wanted to impress Hinagiku. Hinagiku must've run equally as fast, but that would obviously have contradicting results. If Rayazaki's aim was to be together with Hinagiku then he should've just talked to Hinagiku and arranged things first.

Let's say that Hinagiku would purposely score terribly and that Rayazaki would score absurdly high. Then, chances are, they would be paired up together.

But, more importantly...

"Why did you act like that yesterday?"

"What do you mean...?"

Well, the gymnasium was like a block away. Furthermore, it was a public one, but from the looks of our surroundings, the majority of the students would be in class right now.

"I just wanted to talk about the exam... Why go through such lengths? Why didn't you just talk to me straight up?"

I felt it was also meaningless to pursue her through messages so I didn't text her any further.

The unreasonable 'silent treatment' seemed like the thing that would come into play in this scenario...

"I'm disappointed. You didn't find me."

"That's because you said that you went to your dorm..."

"Yes, I know. But still, before that, you could've found me."

What is this shit? Am I supposed to feel something here?

"No, that doesn't make any sense. Why should I have to find you to speak of such triviality?"

"Are you mad?"

No, not really.

"I'm not. It was just a shame to waste a day like that."

"But, it's fine, isn't it? We get to talk now."

Not my point, damn it.

But, whatever. No use crying over spilled milk.

"That's true."

We had arrived at the gymnasium. I was avoiding looking behind because of Rayazaki and Yukishiro. Not because I had something against them but because I had literal zero interest.

In addition to that, the gymnasium had a nice smell to it. It seems that it was cleaned recently. It was open since it was for public use.

Yet...

"Ahh.... Ahhh..."

I had no idea that there was someone using the bodybuilding machines.

Furthermore, what caught my attention was not the fact that a man was doing muscular exercises, but the fact that the man who was doing that was the very figure I mysteriously crossed yesterday in the rain.

This time though, he didn't have his glasses.

Plus, I avoided crossing glances with him as well.

I don't know why but I wasn't feeling exactly secure with a person like him present. Maybe I was unconsciously feeling insecure because I almost killed three people yesterday?

"So... What are we going to... do...?"

I'll just be blunt from here on out.

"Do you have any experience in physical activities?"

"E-Eh... You mean...?"

Oi, why are you blushing?

I can't believe you interpreted my question so wrongly!

"Just so we're clear, I'm talking about physical exercises..."

"Oh... No, not really..."

Though so. Well, it wasn't that hard to figure it out.

Nevertheless, there was a huge problem with this exam...

How exactly was I going to make Yulia perform well in this exam?

It's at times like these that I wish I had some sort of moral motivation inside my soul, but all I wanted was for Yulia to somehow perform well. But, in just 4 days?

Probably less, actually...

Still, it's pretty unrealistic.

"I'm being a nuisance, aren't I...?"

"Yeah, you are."

I wasn't going to lie to her. Because, for starters, she needs to understand the gravity of the situation. Also, my mood dictated that I wasn't going to sugarcoat her.

Yet, it was already obvious that the weakest element would be the main source of problems.

"Sorr-"

"But that's alright."

"It is?"

Somewhat. For now, it isn't. But, accordingly, if progress can be made then Yulia won't have to be a problematic source, in all likelihood.

"By the way, did you understand what Yuka-sensei explained?"

"I think so. So, according to what I understood, we need to split each task or just the tasks as a whole so we will get a 50% percentage, correct?"

"Yeah, that's it. So I was thinking... Since each task implies that, we should leave the bigger percentages to me. I'm no expert in Math, but it would be well if we simply went with the most basic strategy, which is for you to do 51% of the task, alright?"

"But... I don't think I'll be able to do it..."

That's what I'm worried about, essentially. I'm fairly aware that Yulia will most likely just fail to do it.

"That's fine. I will complete the other half. Listen, we will most likely not be able to score the maximum but we will not fail the exam."

"Oh, I see. But, can you do it?"

"I should be able to. Still, you can't score terribly. And that's why we will need to work this out together."

Let's go over some simplicity, real quick. If Yulia doesn't get at least 1% of the her performance then my 49% will not matter at all.

Oh, I know. How unrealistic huh? I mean, Yulia should be able to score the minimal that's asked, but, is it that simple though?

Underestimating how bad someone can be at physical exercise is something that should not be done in the first place. Yulia probably has never practiced physical exercise in her whole life, so that's saying something.

I'm also not saying this because she is fat or anything like that. No. Surprisingly, she's the exact opposite. She's got a model figure, but that doesn't mean much in this regard.

"Also, why were you acting so shyly back then?"

"Ahh, it was just... awkward. Everyone was making silence..."

So you went along with it?

By going along with it, you are just making the progression even worse, you know?

"I see."

He's been looking in my direction for a while, but I really made sure to not cross any glances with him.

Also, what the hell are you even doing here at this time? Is your schedule this free where you can just go to the gymnasium during your free time like this? Not only that, but shouldn't you be in class?

Meanwhile...

"Please talk to me! Also, drop the phone! I really need to pass this exam!"

"Blah, blah, don't care."

Rayazaki was in for something. He's been trying to reach out to Yukishiro who does not leave her phone for one damn second.

Tough luck, huh bloomer?

"Since we are doing this together, do you, um..."

Ultimately, from what I could tell, he was about to leave the gymnasium. Although I wasn't looking directly at him, any human being only has access to 70% of the field of vision that their eyes grant them. Right at the end of the field of vision that my left eye transmitted, I saw a figure looking right at me for a while. Nonetheless, he had taken his leave.

Why the hell can't I shake this feeling off?

"Would you like to t-train me.....?"

"Yeah, sure thing."

I'm not sure why I'm feeling like this. Perhaps I'm going over simple things and I'm not noticing something obvious but why would someone be in the middle of the rain, torrential rain at it, just like that? I'll admit being a rain lover, but even that amount of rain makes me want to go home straight up.

Back on the person at hand, Yulia had asked me to train her.

I see. That's perfectly understandable. After all, I am---

Wait a second.

"What did you just say?"