Ichikanon... that precious? nickname I received from Hasebe-senpai—after exchanging contact information with the Ayanokōji Group members and parting ways, I resumed my original goal for the day off, searching for Kiyotaka-senpai, but...

"Ah! Kiyotaka-senpai~! I’ve been looking for you~!"

"Amasawa..."

Surprisingly, I found Kiyotaka-senpai quite easily...

"So... what do you want this time?"

"Hmm, since our class got first place in the second special exam... what would you do if I said I want you to praise me~?"

I already know, you know?

You’ll probably make an exasperated face and say ‘go home’... I knew that much, but I still asked just in case.

"Well... I heard about the content and progression of your first-year special exam from another junior... you seem fairly capable. You should take pride in achieving results worthy of someone from the same White Room as me..."

"Huh? Kiyotaka-senpai..."

...Hey? It’s okay to interpret this as Kiyotaka-senpai indirectly praising Ichika-chan, right?

I never thought Kiyotaka-senpai would actually praise me, so I was really surprised~!

"Well... knowing you, that’s not your only reason, is it?"

"Of course not~! But this place is too noticeable... shall we move somewhere else?"

"Got it... we’ll go to my room for now. Follow me..."

"Yay~! I get to visit Kiyotaka-senpai’s room again~!"

"I’ll say this in advance, if you try anything weird, I’ll throw you out."

And just like that... Ichika-chan ended up visiting Kiyotaka-senpai’s room~!

* * *

"Hmm... another special exam on an uninhabited island during summer vacation... and this time it’s across all year levels..."

"Of course it wouldn’t be that simple, right~?"

After entering Kiyotaka-senpai’s room... Ichika-chan began talking about the uninhabited island survival exam that would likely be held during summer vacation.

I did have knowledge from the original world, but just to be sure, I confirmed with Acting Director Tsukishiro, and since it’s scheduled to take place on the same day with no rule changes... I was able to confidently tell Kiyotaka-senpai~!

"The bottom five groups get expelled... Tsukishiro has really set up a troublesome special exam..."

"Kiyotaka-senpai~! I have one proposal~!"

"What is it? Let’s hear it."

The proposal I’m about to make is a gamble... if things go wrong, there’s a risk that the White Room side might discover my betrayal.

And on top of that... there’s also the possibility that I won’t be able to use knowledge from the original world anymore...

"About the uninhabited island survival exam... I was thinking that you, me and one other person could cooperate and overcome it together... what do you think?"

"This ‘one other person’... who are you referring to?"

"From Class 1-D... Nanase Tsubasa-chan."

I proposed forming a group with myself, Kiyotaka-senpai and Tsubasa-chan.

"And why Nanase?"

"Well~? It’s a bit of a long story, but please listen until the end~!"

I began explaining Tsubasa-chan’s past...

That she had been in a relationship with Eiichirō, the son of Matsuo, who helped Kiyotaka-senpai escape...

That because of Kiyotaka-senpai’s escape, Eiichirō was indirectly driven to death by the White Room side...

That she was then targeted by the White Room and sent as an agent to expel Kiyotaka-senpai...

I told Kiyotaka-senpai all of it...

"So that’s why Nanase held something like hatred toward me..."

After hearing everything, Kiyotaka-senpai initially seemed convinced, but soon his expression shifted as if he had questions.

"It’s not that I doubt you now, but... if what you said about Nanase Tsubasa’s background is true, there are several inconsistencies."

"Well... there’s no solid proof, and I only heard it from Acting Director Tsukishiro myself..."

In reality... what I said about Tsubasa-chan’s past is, according to Kiyotaka-senpai from the original world... merely her own claim.

So there’s no definitive proof that her past is true.

"First, is Matsuo Eiichirō really dead? If that death is real... then Nanase should be directing her hatred toward the White Room adults... especially that man. There’s no reason for her to hate me..."

"I was wondering about that too..."

That’s right~! From Kiyotaka-senpai’s perspective, being resented for this would just feel completely unreasonable...

"There are other things that bother me as well... Amasawa, what do you intend to do with Nanase?"

"Of course, I plan to win her over. Ideally, I’d like to make her into something like a loyal dog... no, more like a knight for you, Kiyotaka-senpai... shall I arrange a meeting between you and Tsubasa-chan soon?"

"I see... if possible, I’ll leave it to you. As for the matter of cooperating..."

Kiyotaka-senpai gave his answer to the proposal I made earlier.

From Ichika-chan’s perspective, it’s half satisfactory... and half unsatisfying.

"Well then, Kiyotaka-senpai! Thank you for today~!"

"Wait a second..."

Just as I was about to leave his room, he suddenly stopped me.

"Hey, Amasawa... can I assume that you really do have romantic feelings for me?"

"Yes! Of course! I’ve been saying it for a while now~!"

"I see... then that’s fine. Go home."

Asking something like that out of nowhere... what a strange senpai~!