Chapter 2: Ancient Ruins
One week later. The day of the conflict request with Class B.
I leave my dorm room and step into the elevator.
Inside, I take out my phone and check my messages.
[To the leader of Yaen (Night Banquet), Yuuto Amamori. A conflict request has been made by Class 1-B. There will be no rewards for participation. Do you accept?]
This is the message I received right after the rules were established a week ago.
The true identity of Yatagarasu is kept completely secret.
It’s as hidden as my true identity and my original abilities. So, unless they can uncover my true identity or my original abilities, they’ll never reach Yatagarasu.
Well, they might be able to deduce which class I’m in, but they shouldn’t be able to go any further than that. That’s why it’s incredibly easy to figure out who sent this message.
As of now, the only person who knows about my abilities is Sakaki.
And the only person at the academy who is certain of my true identity is Sakaki.
Therefore, I can confidently say that this message was sent by her.
From the conversation we had the other day, even the principal only had a vague suspicion that “Yuuto Amamori might be suspicious.” So, apart from Sakaki, no one else can fully equate my existence with Yatagarasu.
The question is, has Sakaki reported my existence to the principal?
I could eliminate Sakaki based on the principle of “guilty until proven innocent,” but if some strange teacher were to take her place as the homeroom teacher, that would be even more troublesome. So, even though Sakaki has figured out my true identity, it’s better to keep her in her position for now since she hasn’t taken any action.
“…What a difficult school to live in.”
How many times have I thought about just quitting and dropping out?
I could handle the issue of students who’ve dropped out going missing.
But even if I were to drop out, there are still things I need to confirm…
Hmm, what a dilemma. I want to quit, but I can’t. This school is like a bag of shrimp crackers.
I put away my phone as the elevator arrives on the first floor.
As I step out of the dorm… I catch a glimpse of long black hair in the corner of my vision.
“Oh, Yuuto-kun! What a coincidence, meeting you this early in the morning!”
I turn my gaze toward the voice.
A strange girl is walking over from the neighboring girls’ dorm.
I don’t recognize her, so I ignore her and start walking.
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“Hmph, ignoring me isn’t nice, Yuuto-kun! Didn’t your mother teach you to respond to greetings by looking someone in the eye?”
“I was taught to ignore strange people,” I reply.
The girl—Asahina-san—stammers in response to my words.
“Ugh…”
“You really must be bored. Chasing after someone like me… Are you perhaps a stalker?”
“Wh-what? I’m not a stalker! I’m completely normal!”
Normal girls don’t usually wait around for male students, though.
I don’t think she’ll admit to stalking me no matter how much I press her, so I give up and start walking. Naturally, Asahina-san follows me.
“Still, it seems like you’ve finally remembered me…!”
As we head toward the school, Asahina-san says this happily.
I sigh, realizing that I can’t keep pretending anymore.
“…Sigh, I guess I couldn’t keep up the act.”
“Yes! You were pretending not to remember my name…”
“Actually, I remember your face, but I can’t recall your name.”
“…Oh, I see. Sorry for saying something strange.”
Seeing Asahina-san look so dejected, I feel a little worried inside.
…Just so you know, I’m the one saying strange things, Asahina-san.
What kind of idiot can’t remember your name after talking to you this much?
You should probably start being a bit more suspicious of Yuuto Amamori.
I let out a deep breath and deliberately change the subject.
“Kurotsuki… still hasn’t recovered, huh?”
“…Yeah, that’s right.”
Kurotsuki, who got beaten up by that guy Shinzaki.
There’s still no sign of him waking up.
According to the doctor, while his injuries have been completely healed by the abilities of Tenzai sensei, his brain is still under the illusion that there’s lingering damage from the supernatural events.
It’s likely he’ll wake up in about a week.
So, this time, the conflict will have to proceed without Kurotsuki.
“…I’m not happy about Kurotsuki-kun’s absence, but with Hoshina-san also missing, the opponent is down to 29 members. Whether it’s good or bad luck, it’s fair in terms of combat power now.”
Though whether Hoshina-san can fill Kurotsuki’s role is another matter.
Speaking of Hoshina-san, is she okay?
Lately, there’s been a rumor going around that “once the survival game starts, we might not even be able to eat properly.” So, the class has been in a mood to stock up on food while they can. In fact, when I saw Hoshina-san yesterday, she had food in both hands, saying, “I-I have to eat now… ugh. I’ll do my best!”
But… overeating isn’t good either.
Even though it’s a survival game, the academy should be providing food according to the rules.
They wouldn’t do something like “Food? The bare minimum would be one meal every three days,” right? …Actually, that sounds like something they might do. I’m suddenly worried.
But stocking up on food probably won’t help much.
After all, what goes in must come out.
I won’t say what, but you can figure it out, right?
“The problem is Yatagarasu, Yuuto-kun.”
Suddenly, she mentions that name.
I glance at her profile and get the feeling that,
surprisingly, Asahina-san is more wary of Yatagarasu than she is of Shinzaki.
“Yatagarasu? Do you believe in those rumors?”
“Yes… I’ve never met them personally, but apparently, Hotaru-san and Dojima-senpai have seen them. Hotaru-san… it was back in the infirmary. As for Dojima-senpai, he fought… and lost. He’s been stubbornly refusing to talk about it. So, that’s what it is, I suppose.”
I see… So Dojima is keeping his mouth shut for now.
As expected of a hero of justice, his lips are sealed.
Thinking this, I decide to go along with the conversation for now.
“…Ah, the infirmary. I saw them too. Before Dojima-senpai came in, I woke up to Shinzaki’s yelling… and that’s when I saw a figure in a black robe.”
“That’s…!”
Asahina-san moves to block my path.
She looks at me with a mix of surprise, expectation, and…
for some reason, a hint of disappointment.
It’s probably because she was hoping that Yatagarasu was Yuuto Amamori.
…Really, are you some kind of wild beast?
Like that cat-loving girl – Kurashiki , Asahina-san has a knack for unconsciously seeing through lies and secrets.
She’s like the embodiment of justice,
a woman born to be a deterrent against evil.
“…Though, they didn’t seem particularly well-built. But if Dojima-senpai lost to them… they must be quite formidable. …Can we win?”
“…I don’t know. We have too little information about them. And… to be honest, I’m still not fully in control of my abilities.”
I widen my eyes at this. …Wait, that’s new information.
From her movements during the sports festival, I thought she was holding back, but… could it be that she just hasn’t mastered her abilities yet?
I’ve always thought that, in terms of potential, she might be the strongest in the academy.
Even now, she’s this strong. If Asahina-san were to train under a proper teacher for a few years… she might even reach my level.
Not that I plan on losing, even if she does reach my level.
“I see. I’m not particularly interested, but… if there’s a lightning user stronger than you, it might be worth studying.”
“Eh, yes… I don’t think there is anyone like that, though. If there were, I’d want to invite them to the self-defense squad. Oh, but don’t worry! I’ve saved the position of vice-leader for you, Yuuto-kun!”
“Stop joking around, you damn stalker.”
With that, I start walking.
She follows me, laughing happily.
It feels like I’ve been adopted by a wild animal…
Thinking this, I glance at the school building in the distance.
In front of the building, there’s a large bus parked.
It’s still before 7 a.m., but there are already a few students around.
There are students in both classes, but it seems like there are slightly more from Class B.
As I walk, I suddenly spot a familiar face.
A girl with golden hair that reaches her waist, wearing fashionable colored contacts.
She stands with her arms crossed, surveying the students.
—Shiki Iroha from Class 1-B.
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