“Good morning, Amemori-kun! It’s a wonderful morning!”
Hearing my name called, I glanced in the direction of the voice.
Black hair that reached her waist, emerald-green eyes like gemstones.
Her skin was pale to the point of being colorless, and her face was filled with a confident expression.
A girl who exuded an aura that seemed to say, “I’m full of energy!”
She was also in her summer uniform today, but I wasn’t interested, so I averted my gaze.
“Ah, did you not hear me? Good morning, Amemori-kun! It’s a wonderful morning!”
“Shut up. I heard you. Stop talking to me, you’re annoying.”
“My name is Asahina, Amemori-kun! Come on, repeat after me, A-S-A-H-I-N-A!”
A vein popped on my forehead.
Ignoring me, Asahina greeted the others around her.
“Good morning, everyone! It’s a wonderful morning!”
“Good morning…… Asahina-san.”
“Yo. You’re late today. Did you oversleep?”
“Good morning, Asahina-san! The summer uniform suits you!”
Hoshina-san, Sakuma, and Karasuma quickly responded.
However, upon hearing their greetings, I turned my gaze back to the figure outside the window.
“Hey, Karasuma… [Asahina-san], you said?”
You just called Hoshina-san [Tsubomi-chan], didn’t you?
The distinction between family names and given names. On top of that, the difference between [-san] and [-chan].
…Weird. What’s with this difference, Karasuma Toji?
“Ah, crap.”
Karasuma seemed to sense something and quickly hid behind Sakuma.
“Hey, wait, you! Explain yourself. Depending on the circumstances…”
“…It’s almost homeroom time. Get back to your seats, you guys.”
Perhaps wanting to avoid getting involved, Sakuma swiftly abandoned Karasuma.
After all, Karasuma Toji sits right in front of me. Returning to his seat means… well, accepting his execution right in front of me.
“W-wait, Sakuma! You’re really abandoning me!? We’re friends, aren’t we!?”
“That’s right! You haven’t even greeted us back yet! And what’s with this Asahina thing…!?”
The two of them were being noisy. Sakuma, whose seat was farther away, returned to his own.
“Well then, Amamori-kun… see you later…”
Next, I reluctantly bid farewell to Hoshina-san and shooed away the noisy Asahina.
Then, I firmly grabbed the shoulder of Karasuma, who had reluctantly taken his seat in front of me.
“Let’s… have a little chat, shall we?”
“I-it’s not what you’re thinking, okay!? It’s definitely not what you’re thinking!?”
Just as Karasuma shouted that, homeroom time arrived.
He visibly let out a sigh of relief, and I clicked my tongue.
…Well, whatever. It’s not worth getting hung up on the small details.
It’s Karasuma, after all. I’ll let a bit of his carelessness slide.
Thinking that, I propped my cheek on my hand and turned my gaze back to the window.
The usual routine. The ordinary life.
And the unyielding school rules that never change.
By now, the entire class was seated.
Lately, about 90% of the students return to their seats ten minutes before class starts.
The remaining 10% are usually people like Asahina, Karasuma, and Hoshina-san…
Even scenes that would be unthinkable in a normal school become part of everyday life after just a month.
As I gazed out the window, Sakaki-sensei eventually entered the classroom.
She was holding a stack of papers in one hand.
–An unusual sight.
Combined with Sakaki-sensei’s serious expression, an uneasy feeling pierced through me.
Facing the slightly restless students,
she stood at the podium, looked around, and announced:
“Everyone, Class B has formally issued a [conflict battle request].”
Those were the words that marked the end of our everyday life.
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“…That’s quite sudden.”
Asahina, now in serious mode, muttered this, completely different from her earlier demeanor.
I couldn’t help but wonder what that earlier behavior was about. But personally, this version of Asahina was much more manageable. After all, she didn’t bother me.
“Yes, Class B just declared war. I’m surprised myself,”
Sakaki-sensei replied, placing the stack of papers on the podium.
“Given the circumstances, I’ll use this morning’s homeroom to explain Class B’s proposal.”
“Ah, Sensei, I’ll hand out the papers!”
Kurashiki, pretending to be helpful, raised her hand and, with Sakaki-sensei’s permission, stood up.
As she began distributing the papers, Sakaki-sensei started speaking.
“From what I’ve heard, this conflict battle request is… quite large-scale.”
–conflict battle request.
A limited in-school system that easily breaks through school rules and common sense.
At times, it can even render laws invalid.
No, not invalid—ignore them entirely.
“The school will prepare the stage, but for three days, you’ll be playing [Hide and Seek] there.”
“Hide and Seek?… What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sakuma muttered irritably.
If it was a conflict battle request from Shinzaki Yasuhito, I had expected it to be a no-rules death match. Instead, it was something as innocent as a child’s game, yet filled with malice.
Hide and Seek? Even I didn’t see that coming.
Looking at Asahina, she too was deep in thought, her hand on her chin.
…It seemed this was unexpected for her as well.
“To be honest, even we teachers were caught off guard. But for now, everyone, just listen. It’s your choice whether to decline. You won’t lose anything by hearing it out.”
“…That’s true. Sakaki-sensei, please continue,”
Asahina replied after a brief silence.
Sakaki-sensei nodded and turned her attention back to the documents in her hands.
“First, as a premise… even though it’s called Hide and Seek, it’s different from the [thing] you all know. For three days, with nothing provided, it’s a survival game on a deserted island. Within that, you must find the enemy and render them incapacitated. Only then will you have [found] them. In a way, you could think of it as tag.”
“Ugh, he’s totally trying to kill us…”
Karasuma forced a strained smile.
In other words, Hide and Seek is just the name.
The reality is finding the opponent and incapacitating them.
Only after going through that process will you have [found] the opponent, and the incapacitated student will be eliminated. Repeating this, the last remaining class will be the winner.
As if to confirm this speculation, Sakaki-sensei added more details.
“The victory condition is finding all members of the opposing class. Additionally, each student has the right to retire on their own.”
“I see. With survival elements, there’s always some degree of life-threatening danger, depending on the location. In some cases, just surviving for three days would be difficult… It’s a reasonable rule.”
For now, at least.
There’s a bit—no, quite a bit—of danger involved, but it’s still within acceptable limits. Given that Shinzaki intends to [crush Class C head-on], we had already anticipated this kind of [unpleasant scenario].
Looking at Asahina, she didn’t seem too shaken either.
Like me, she must have already anticipated this to some extent.
…Still, the next words did seem to surprise her a bit.
“And the special rule: [Both classes can, after discussion, invite one third party to join the conflict]… That’s what it says.”
A question mark floated above the heads of many classmates.
They didn’t understand what was being said. Or if they did, they didn’t understand the motive behind it.
Depending on how you look at it, it’s not unreasonable to think Shinzaki is up to something again.
However, those of us who know Shinzaki’s mindset—me, Kurashiki, and Asahina—understood immediately.
“Shinzaki Yasuhito is looking for the leader of the Night Banquet… It seems that’s true,”
“…N-no way… That’s gotta be a lie, right? The Night Banquet is practically just a rumor,”
Sakuma exclaimed in surprise.
Sakaki nodded and raised the document in her hands.
There, in large letters, was the name.
“The leader of the organization [Night Banquet]—known as [Yatagarasu]. That’s the name of the guest Class B has specified.”
Yatagarasu.
Whoever named it, that name.
Cloaked in a crow-black robe, its appearance changes depending on who sees it.
Unknown identity, unknown abilities. On top of that, appearing and disappearing like a specter.
To anyone who sees it, it’s clearly not human—a true monster. Hence, Yatagarasu.
Well, I think it’s a bit cliché, but it’s cool, so I don’t deny it.
In fact, maybe I’ll officially declare it. I was thinking of asking an acquaintance to name it, but I feel bad piling more work on them.
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