Hearing Ayanokōji's words, the expression on Horikita Manabu's face slowly faded.
To think even Ayanokōji was like this.
This year's first-years really didn't give anyone a moment's peace.
"Buying exam papers and yet claiming it has nothing to do with the exam? Ayanokōji-kun, don't you think your argument is rather flimsy?" Kiriyama voiced his doubts about Ayanokōji's explanation.
The very act of purchasing exam papers was undeniably for tackling the exam.
And to be perfectly honest.
Everyone present, including those from Horikita Manabu's Class A, had bought practice exam papers back in their first year, hadn't they?
The specifics were an open secret.
To Kiriyama, Ayanokōji's rebuttal was pointless.
It even felt somewhat like a childish tantrum.
"And you are?" Ayanokōji looked coldly at Kiriyama.
For some reason, Kiriyama's brow furrowed deeply. For a moment, he'd actually felt unsettled under this first-year's gaze.
Just a new student… nothing to be afraid of at all.
Kiriyama reassured himself, then struggled to maintain his composure.
"Kiriyama, Class B, second year. Currently serving as the Student Council's Physical Education Coordinator."
Ayanokōji nodded slightly, his eyes appraising Kiriyama.
"Have you eaten yet, Coordinator Kiriyama?"
Faced with this seemingly random question, Kiriyama was taken aback. But he answered instinctively nonetheless.
"Not yet. I planned to eat after this meeting."
Kiriyama was thoroughly confused. He couldn't grasp any special meaning behind Ayanokōji's question.
"Do you like green peppers, Coordinator Kiriyama?"
Ayanokōji followed up with another question that seemed almost childish.
Kiriyama smiled. He thought this was just Ayanokōji stalling for time to think. But he didn't mind. After witnessing the clash between Nagumo Miyabi and Amane earlier, he rather fancied showing off a bit in front of Horikita Manabu himself.
But as he prepared to answer, he hesitated.
Do I like green peppers?
Ask anyone privately in a situation like this, and they'd all say no.
But giving that answer in a formal setting… only a child could say that and get away with just a lecture about not being a picky eater.
But he was at Advanced Nurturing High School.
A place that upheld strength and results above all.
Here, in a meeting that could easily decide whether students from another class get expelled…
Was he supposed to say he doesn't like green peppers? Become a laughingstock, branded a kid, and be mocked all the way until graduation?
That was absolutely unacceptable to Kiriyama.
But was answering 'yes' really the right move? Just like 'not liking green peppers' was the universally understood private answer, stating you liked them in public would seem immature.
Especially the type who claimed to genuinely enjoy them.
They'd be seen as unreliable.
Since when has eating green peppers become something to boast about? If he did that, people would still think he'd dropped out of kindergarten.
A faint sweat began to bead on Kiriyama's forehead.
A simple question about eating green peppers, something that sounded like small talk, was using social conventions to trap his possible answers.
Horikita Manabu couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
Even Class D had quite a few promising sprouts.
A pity they faced such trials right from the start. It was hard to imagine their future achievements being particularly great. Perhaps reaching Class B would already be a stroke of luck from heaven.
His own foolish little sister was going to have her hands full.
But with Amane there…
Originally, Horikita Manabu had intended to entrust Suzune to Amane after his graduation. But Amane's earlier remarks had shocked him.
Now he needed to reevaluate whether Amane was truly someone worthy of that trust.
After all, he still hoped to see his little sister wear a white wedding dress someday.
If her life's path got derailed by Amane's influence…He'd have nowhere to go to even cry about it.
As Horikita Manabu sank into his thoughts, Kiriyama grew even more tense.
He had heard Horikita's sigh.
Misinterpreting it as displeasure at his hesitation, he immediately clenched his fists in anxiety.
"Ayanokōji-kun, whether I like green peppers or not has nothing to do with this meeting, right? And even when eating, one doesn't necessarily have to eat green peppers, correct? There's no inherent connection."
The moment the words left his mouth, Kiriyama felt something was off. But thinking back over what he'd said, he couldn't find anything wrong.
So why did it feel so strangely familiar?
"If there's no inherent connection between an ingredient in a meal and the act of eating, then how are the exam papers inherently connected to the midterm exam?"
"You're twisting the logic! How can eating a meal be compared to an exam?" Kiriyama began to fluster.
He finally realized why it felt so familiar.
Ayanokōji had been trying to lure him into this trap from the very beginning, attempting to mislead him with a logical fallacy.
If he were rendered speechless by Ayanokōji's argument, the other might just luckily escape punishment for buying the papers through this very sophistry.
Horikita Manabu gave a slight nod.
The fact that Kiriyama could snap out of it at this point showed he wasn't mindlessly following the other's train of thought.
However…
Horikita Manabu glanced at Amane, who was smiling.
A bad feeling stirred within him.
He knew that somehow, Ayanokōji and Amane had formed a united front without any explicit communication.
In such a situation…could their goal really just be to mislead Kiriyama?
To prove their fallacy-swapping method was effective?
No.
It shouldn't be just that.
Interesting.
Come on, my young juniors. Let me see what you're truly capable of.
"Coordinator Kiriyama, is the food you eat for dinner the same every night?" Amane suddenly spoke up from the side.
Damn it!
Why another question like this?
"Please refrain from topics unrelated to the exam."
"Answer me!"
Smack!
Amane preempted him sharply, slapping the table hard with her palm. Her whole body leaned forward slightly, poised like a leopard ready to strike.
Faced with Amane's sudden, stern, and severe interrogation, Kiriyama felt as if something had suddenly gripped his throat.
Nearby, Nagumo Miyabi took out his phone, looking down and fiddling with it, seemingly utterly unconcerned with Kiriyama's increasingly desperate, pleading glances.
"Miyako…"
Tachibana Akane started to tell Amane to sit down, but a single icy sweep of Amane's gaze cut her off mid-sentence.
Ahem.
Horikita Manabu's light, warning cough sounded.
Only then did Amane shift her gaze back to Kiriyama.
Tachibana, as if granted a reprieve, quickly retreated a few steps to hide behind Horikita Manabu.
But at the start of the school year, she was the picture of a proper, well-mannered young lady from a good family… How could she possess such an intense, almost suffocating pressure?
And this feeling… she had only ever caught the barest hint of it when Horikita Manabu was in a raging fury…
Seeing he had no way out, Kiriyama had no choice but to face the question head-on.
"Of course not! Who eats the exact same meal every day?"
"Coordinator Kiriyama, you understand that meals aren't the same every time. So tell me, who's to say the midterm exam will be the same?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.