A large-scale assassination plan ended in failure and while feeling exhausted and hollow, we returned to the hotel.

“Ritsu, did you get it on record?”

“Yes, as much as possible, in high-speed recording.”

“That helps. Was he already in that form by the time Chiba and the others’ shots landed?”

“No. Chiba-kun and the others’ shots had their momentum killed by ultra-fine tentacles and never reached Koro-sensei. He reached that form during Ayanokōji-kun’s second shot.”

“Tentacles so fine you can’t even see them, huh. Ritsu, with the footage, can you make it visible even to the naked eye?”

“Yes♪ Leave it to me.”

I’d planned to kill him in this assassination and through Ritsu, I’d also planned to learn emotions like the joy that comes from a sense of accomplishment…

But if he can manipulate tentacles so fine you can’t even see them, then assassination is starting to feel truly impossible.

Since I couldn’t achieve either goal this time, it’s a complete loss for me.

And yet, strangely enough, I don’t feel bad. There’s a part of me that’s enjoying challenging an overwhelmingly superior opponent.

As I was thinking that, Chiba told me he wanted to talk and called me to the back of the hotel.

When I went there with Chiba, Hayami was already waiting.

Looks like this is about the assassination.

“Sorry, Kiyotaka. The moment I fired, I knew. With this round, I can’t kill him.”

“………”

I didn’t say anything, just listened to the two of them.

“I was confident. Rehearsal, of course and even when I practiced somewhere less stable than that, I didn’t miss. But when it came to that moment, my fingertips froze and my field of vision narrowed.”

“...Same here.”

“The pressure of absolutely not being allowed to miss, the crucial moment where there’s no second chance. Even now, I remember that tension and the trembling.”

“I didn’t think it would be this different from practice.”

“Sorry to throw words back at you, but apparently your shots were being ‘killed’ before they could reach Koro-sensei and of course, mine too. So sniping accuracy has nothing to do with it and you don’t need to beat yourselves up over it. He was just several layers above us.”

I meant that as encouragement in my own way, but even so, their expressions didn’t brighten.

They were probably carrying all the responsibility on their own.

Deciding it was better to leave them alone so they could sort out their feelings, I returned to the lobby.

Back in the lobby, maybe from exhaustion, most of my classmates were slumped over the tables.

“Man, I’m wiped. I don’t feel like doing anything anymore.”

“What the hell’s wrong with you idiots? You missed once and you’re already dragging, we’ve done what we needed to do, so tomorrow we can play all day, can’t we?”

“Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow, I’m finally gonna fill my eyes with swimsuit gals. No matter how tired I am, I’m gonna go all-out with the nosebleeds!”

“I don’t have that kind of energy…”

Something’s off.

Even if we failed, everyone’s way too exhausted.

As I was thinking something had to be going on, my clothes were tugged from behind.

“Kiyotaka-kun, can you lend me your shoulder for a bit? I want to go back to my room and change, but my body won’t move.”

Yukiko was standing there, her face flushed and clearly looking unwell.

She was barely staying upright and she started wobbling like she was about to fall, so I instinctively supported her.

Looking around, I saw the others starting to collapse the same way, so I hurriedly contacted Karasuma-sensei.

“T-this is… You, where is the hospital on this island?”

“Um… it’s a small island, so…”

“Tch!”

Even though there were many patients, there was no hospital on this island.

If it were something like food poisoning, it could be an option to fly them by helicopter to a hospital in Tokyo, but as I was thinking that, Karasuma-sensei’s phone suddenly rang.

“Hey, sensei. Your cute students look like they’re suffering pretty badly.”

“Who are you?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter. It’s not just brats who are after a wanted man.”

“Don’t tell me this was your doing?”

“Good instincts. It’s an artificially created virus. Once you’re infected, in about a week, cells all over your body necrotize and you die. And the cure is a one-of-a-kind original too and unfortunately, I’m the only one who has it. Handing it over is a pain, so why don’t you come and get it yourself? There’s a hotel at the top of this island’s mountain. Your gift is the wanted man there. Bring him to the top floor within one hour. But sensei, you sound dangerous since you’re supposedly skilled. So have the two shortest, one boy and one girl, among the students who can still move, bring him. And don’t you dare contact the outside. If you do, I’ll blow up the cure.”

The call ended there.

But the fact that he specified two people, one boy and one girl, bothered me.

One hostage is easier to handle and carries less risk, so why would he do that?

* * *

“Karasuma-san, like we thought, it didn’t work. Even when the government contacted that hotel, they just kept repeating ‘privacy protection’…”

“Just as I expected.”

“Just as you expected? Do you know something, Karasuma-sensei?”

“Yeah. That mountain-top hotel is apparently an illegal negotiation site that even the government has been keeping an eye on. Since they’ve got connections to important government figures, it seems even the police can’t act carelessly.”

“Huh. So there’s no way a hotel like that would ever be on our side.”

“What do we do!? At this rate, a lot of people are gonna die. We didn’t come to this island to get killed!”

“Calm down, Yoshida. Raising hell won’t change the situation.”

“Ayanokōji’s right. And it’s way too dangerous to just do what they say. Ignore their demands and move everyone to a city hospital—”

“I don’t agree.”

“What the hell, Takebayashi.”

“If it really is an unknown virus artificially created, no major hospital will have an antiviral that can handle it. If we transport them and it ends up being a wasted trip, we’ll only increase the patients’ risk. We should do emergency treatment here and hurry to the deal.”

“Looks like we have no choice. The enemy’s objective is him, but will they really return the students we send without trouble?”

“There’s a good way, Karasuma-sensei. Perfect timing too, it looks like the preliminary investigation I asked Ritsu-san to do is finished, so let’s move right away. Alright, anyone who’s still healthy, come with me and wear something you don’t mind getting dirty.”

* * *

After being told that, we arrived in front of a steep cliff towering behind the hotel.

Apparently, since it’s terrain that would be impossible to infiltrate under normal circumstances, there’s no security posted there.

“If you don’t want to be led around by the enemy, there’s only one way. Leaving behind ten patients and the two people staying to nurse them, all of us will infiltrate from here, ambush the top floor and seize the cure!!”

And so, the special summer vacation lesson begins.