Three days have passed since the announcement of the midterm exam results.

Since that day, it seems the atmosphere in Class D has only gotten worse.

But I don't regret it.

I'm not pretending to be righteous and claim I did the right thing, but it wasn't wrong either.

Everyone draws a boundary line within themselves.

Do not cross this line. If someone crosses this line, get angry. If someone crosses this line, retaliate. Protect this line.

The contents differ from person to person, but in the sense that everyone has such a line, all humanity is the same.

And the line I drew after coming here is to protect Class B.

If someone tries to harm my friends or trap them, then I will deal with it.

I should be grateful to them for making me feel that way.

* * *

After school.

I was heading alone toward the school's shoe lockers.

Since I didn't make any plans today, I would probably be able to spend a rare quiet evening at home.

Just as I was thinking that—

"Can't you just leave me alone already!"

A voice that could be considered a shout echoed through the hallway.

However, since no one else was around yet, the area remained silent.

I recognized the owner of that voice, so I decided to approach.

If my guess was correct—

"Hirata Yōsuke."

I called out the name of the person who had shouted.

After descending the stairs and turning the corner, he was there.

"What exactly is going on here?"

At his feet lay a small female student who had fallen over.

Her expression was dominated by pain with a hint of fear.

"You are the one from before... Are you going to interfere with me too?"

What is Hirata talking about?

Is he not understanding me?

I only asked for an explanation of the situation.

"I don't intend to interfere with you, Hirata. I heard your shout just now and came because it sounded serious."

I briefly explained how I ended up here.

"This has nothing to do with you. Just leave me alone already. I don't even want to see your face."

It seems I have been disliked.

Well, that is understandable.

From Hirata's perspective, I am the one who effectively eliminated those Class D students.

It would not be strange for him to resent me.

After all, this was the path I chose.

He quickly left the scene.

I extended my hand toward the female student left behind.

She gently took it and stood up.

"It seems Hirata dislikes me now. Did something happen?"

"Um..."

She hesitated slightly.

"Sorry. I should have introduced myself first. I'm Ayanokōji Kiyotaka from Class B."

"Ah, I'm Wang Mei-yu from Class D. It might be strange to tell someone from Class B, but... ever since the day the midterm results were announced, Hirata-kun has been acting strange."

"Strange?"

"He's not as kind as before and he's become a little scary. He keeps muttering things like 'Maybe I never had the right to save anyone.' So I tried to chase after him because I wanted to support him even a little..."

"And he pushed you away. I see. Then this is my fault."

I told her honestly.

It would be discovered eventually anyway.

There is nothing about this situation that could remain hidden.

If that is the case, it is easier to say it here.

"I also opposed saving the seven students who were going to be expelled. I didn't want the class money to be wasted."

When I said that, Wang nodded slightly.

"In this school, that seems natural. The students who didn't study are the ones at fault, but Hirata-kun keeps blaming himself..."

"I'm going after Hirata. What will you do?"

"M-Me?"

"Yes. Hirata isn't someone who should break down here, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to chase after him and face him properly. Will you trust me and wait?"

"Yes. We've only just met, but for some reason I feel like I can trust you, Ayanokōji-kun."

"I see."

Leaving behind Wang, who looked relieved, I chased after Hirata.

"So this is where you were, Hirata."

I spoke to Hirata, who was sitting on a bench beside the fountain.

There was no life left in his appearance.

It almost looked like a corpse sitting there.

"I told you to leave me alone. If you interfere, I won't show mercy."

Hirata glared up at me.

That look alone would be enough to intimidate most students.

"I don't regret what happened with the midterm exam."

"Did you come all the way here just to say that?"

"Who do you think is at fault?"

I looked directly into his eyes and asked.

There still seemed to be hesitation in them.

"The ones at fault... I want to think it's you and Kanzaki-kun. If you hadn't opposed it, maybe at least a few people could have been saved. But I still can't understand why you refused."

"That's just shifting responsibility. The ones at fault are the students who didn't study and were expelled and you for not being able to save them, Hirata."

I mercilessly presented reality to him.

Even so—

"I'm... at fault?"

"Yes. If you truly didn't want anyone to be expelled, then you should have collected more points from your class beforehand. You should have had them attend study sessions and raise their academic ability. You should have broadened your thinking and found the answer."

"The answer?"

He reacted to that word.

"There was a way for Class D to overcome the midterm exam together. That was past exam questions."

"Past... questions..."

"Yes. The small test at the end of April had an absurd level of difficulty. If you had predicted from that, you could have realized that the midterm exam would likely reuse last year's questions and could be passed by studying past exams."

In fact, I noticed it.

And from the class average scores that were later announced, someone in Class A had also realized it.

In other words, anyone could have noticed it.

"That's impossible... What could someone from another class possibly understand!"

Hirata raised his voice slightly.

But even that voice disappeared into the clear sky.

"Perhaps I pulled the trigger. If I had stayed silent and supported Ichinose, maybe they could have been saved. But I didn't give in because it crossed my boundary."

"Boundary?"

"Yes. My boundary is protecting my friends. In order not to cross it, I refused to defend potential future threats. Simply put, it's something like an unyielding belief within yourself. You have something like that too, don't you?"

When I asked that, Hirata lowered his head slightly.

Then he spoke.

"My boundary was protecting everyone in my class. But that was broken."

"Then you just need to change it. If you couldn't protect it, then it was simply beyond your capacity. Just changing your primary goal to protecting the classmates you have now should make a difference."

"That's just idealistic nonsense... I don't have the courage for that anymore."

Hirata.

Why won't you stand up?

Why are you looking backward?

Why—

"What are those legs of yours for?"

"What?"

"Those strong legs exist so you can look toward tomorrow and move forward. Never stop. Even if your steps are as small as an ant's, as long as you keep moving, you will surely approach your ideal."

Why am I saying things like this?

"Why... would you go this far for me? From your perspective, I'm just a pathetic clown from an enemy class."

"That's because..."

Because surely—

"You are someone I admire."

"Admire?"

Perhaps it was not the answer he expected.

Hirata tilted his head.

Even I can't understand myself, so it can't be helped.

"You bowed your head and desperately tried to save your classmates, people who were practically strangers you had only known for about a month. Seeing that made me admire you."

"It wasn't cool at all. It must have looked pathetic."

"No, that's not true. The back of you bowing your head wasn't pitiful or pathetic. It looked broad and great. To someone like me who has lacked emotions since birth, it looked dazzling."

Sacrificing yourself to protect someone else.

It sounds simple, but almost no one in this world can actually do it.

The only person I know who might fit that description is Ichinose.

"What I'm about to say is just forcing my ideals onto you, so you don't have to listen. But I'll say it anyway. Continue to embody my ideal. Because the hero who saves everyone exists only in Class D and that's you."

"You're strange. Saying something like that to someone from another class. But honestly... thank you. Because of you, I might be able to stand up again."

Even I am surprised by myself.

I want to know more.

I want to experience many different emotions.

This world really is full of things I don't know.