Coming out from the deep forest, a cave showed its appearance of what looked like a demon opening its mouth. There were two provisional toilets and one shower room near the cave.
âI canât see whatâs inside from hereâŚâ
It was near impossible to confirm while taking a distance in a hiding place. Both Horikita and I didnât know anyone from A class so planning to gather information while being hidden, even in a stealthily way, would lead us nowhere. I went ahead of Horikita who hid herself and stepped on a road that led to the cave.
âHey, wait a minute.â
âLetâs go. Itâs A class â of course weâll be frightened. But there isnât much to do about that.â
Together with Horikita, I headed towards the cave I thought to be A classâ camp base.
âWhat are you thinking? Thereâs no advantage even if we carelessly expose ourselves to them.â
âYou think being in hiding does? We can hardly see the facility and thereâs no one around. There are many things that cannot be seen unless we enter the cave.â
ââŚIsnât it too quiet? What do you think?â
âI donât think so. Please donât worry about it.â
âI donât get your half-assed responses, but okay.â
She was staring at me with terribly cold and scary eyes, but I pretended I hadnât noticed them.
Naturally, we were seen by A class students who were in a vicinity when we arrived at the entrance of the cave. Although I expected I could check the situation to a certain extent if I could see the interior of the cave directlyâŚ
A huge blindfold connecting the vinyls was spread out so I couldnât see anything inside.
âWho are you? From which class are you coming?â
This guy was for sure⌠Yahiko who was one of the two people who found the cave promptly on the first day. The other bright one â Katsuragi â seemed to be absent.
âWe came to snoop around. You have problems with that?â
Oh, as if she changed her way of thinking for a moment Horikitaâs response was imposing. Then she continued:
âNow that you revealed yourself as A class, no doubt youâre leading a tough lifeâŚâ
She sighed affectedly when she saw the entrance of the vinyl-covered cage.
âRather than being tough, itâs a makeshift. A coward method, right.â
âWhat?â Yahiko clapped back at with an irritated tone as if she got on his nerves although it was an easy-to-understand provocation.
âIâm Horikita from D class.â
âHuh, Iâd say myself youâre D class. Youâre a bunch of weak-headed.â
âWeak-headed, right. Therefore there wonât be any particular impact even if you show us whatâs inside, right? Or does it put you in an uncomfortable position by us just being able to see inside?â
âIt could be the case!â
âSo itâs not a problem if you show us inside? Sorry for bothering you.â
âWa-wait! Hey! Wait! Donât do things as you please!â
Yahiko cut in so he could stand in Horikitaâs way, but then Horikitaâs words jumped in like a knife: âIâll just look inside. That wonât be a rule violation itself right?â
âStop playing around, this is occupied by A class! D class has no permission to use it!â
âReally? You occupied this place? I didnât know that. Is the device inside?â
âY-yes. Therefore step back!â
âThere are no rules saying you canât go inside the cave without problems. Sure, you canât use the cave while being occupied, but itâs different from monopolization. We should also have rights to check out the inside or the device, right? Otherwise weâd be able to forcibly monopolize all stops. Thatâs not what the trial is about.â
âHuhâŚ!?â A sharp argument like this had stabbed Yahiko without problems.
Horikita tried to tear off the veil of the cave that was hidden in vinyl while seducing with her hair. HoweverâŚ.
âWhat are you doing. I donât remember approving to call guests.â
A large-statured boy passed me from behind and continued walking toward Horikita. Certainly, his name wasâŚ
âKatsuragi-san! Those guys came to snoop around our crib! They are a filthy bunch.â
âYouâre exaggerating stuff, itâs just vinyl. Show me just a little bit inside.â
Viewing back, Horikita wasnât even a bit frightened of confronting those guys.
âThen it should be okay to take a look inside. But be prepared. If you touch things even once, Iâll notify your actions to the school as an obstructive act toward another class. I canât be sure what will happen to D class then.â
Katsuragiâs words were probably a bluff. It was unlikely to be disqualified from touching vinyl. And yet, him saying heâll sue us invoked the slightest danger.
âIâve explained to him as well, but this is an overbearing monopoly act. It isnât a right protected by rules.â
âNo doubt thatâs right. That point is certain. But I think this is like an implicit rule. You guys from D class have a spot near the river. B class has a well. Iâm occupying the land so that is monopolized partly. Have you used force on someone trespassing your land?â
The calm and hefty words of Katsuragi stopped Horikitaâs legs without prevention.
âOne class holds one occupied spot. And they keep on protecting it while continuing to obtain points until the end of the test. If you break this implicit rule, havoc will happen. Of course, A class will step into the D classâ base camp as a retribution. Troubles should be avoided.â
It was possible to ignore these words, but we couldnât. As Katsuragi was saying, the other classes unconsciously seized a spot forcefully as well. Troubles could arise with breaking that rule. Horikita turned around and passed by Katsuragi while going away from the entrance of the cave.
âWell then. Iâm looking forward to seeing the results of A classâ ability.â
âItâs very powerful. We as well anticipate D classâ useless resistance.â
After the short conversation, Horikita sank. Or should I say, it killed her enthusiasm. If Katsuragi hadnât showed up, Horikita would have stepped into the other side of vinyl.
âYahiko, donât jump on cheap provocations. It is her goal to forcefully steal a glance of the inside. It is the other side that goes down if you thrust your dominance and righteous in their face.â
âS-sorry.â
So, they managed to put Horikita who instantly settled for retreat out of the way. Splendid.
âIt seems there is no other option beside leaving A class alone. Itâs impossible to investigate.â
They built up impregnable defenses once the exclusive spot of the cave was seized. However, no matter how much they tried to hide the interior we could figure out it was something providable.
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