"Ayanokoji-kun? Why are you..."
Horikita's face showed surprise when she saw Ayanokoji-kun.
She had considered the possibility of being seen by others when meeting at the cinema, but what she never expected was to encounter Ayanokouji Kiyotaka here. When did he develop a hobby of going to the cinema alone?
"I just wanted to relax, so I chose a lighthearted film. Are Horikita-san and Classmate Shibata discussing something? If I'm interrupting you..."
"Ayanokoji-kun, what are you saying? How could you be interrupting? I just happened to run into Horikita-san and intended to say hello."
Before Horikita could speak, Classmate Shibata quickly stepped forward to explain.
Compared to Horikita's still somewhat hostile perception, Classmate Shibata was clearly more aware of Ayanokoji-kun's true identity.
Miyako Amane's eyes.
After Class B suffered a devastating defeat last time, Classmate Shibata began to ponder a question: if he were Class B's leader, could he defeat Amane-san?
After an entire night of deep thought, even when he was in a position of absolute advantage, he couldn't imagine himself defeating Amane-san.
Aside from her almost absolute overwhelming power, Amane-san seemed to know everything and understand everything.
At first, Classmate Shibata was a bit puzzled. No matter how strong Amane-san was, she was still just one person. There was no way she could be omniscient and omnipotent.
Unless... she had other eyes.
Classmate Shibata immediately remembered Ayanokoji-kun's solo visit to Class B's camp, deliberately escalating the conflict with Class B, and how he himself had sent information about Class B's weaknesses to Class D through Ayanokoji-kun.
Initially, he had thought Ayanokoji-kun was Horikita's partner, as he often saw the two of them acting together. Now it seemed Ayanokoji-kun was entirely serving as Amane-san's eyes.
This was thoroughly confirmed after Classmate Shibata inquired with Class A.
Totsuka-kun frankly stated that on the morning Class A was eliminated, Ayanokoji-kun had led people to occupy a Class A base, forcing Mashima-sensei to leave the scene, and then that very night, an unknown fire forced Class A out of the exam.
So when Classmate Shibata saw Ayanokoji-kun, he immediately became tense. Regardless of whether Ayanokoji-kun accidentally discovered them, he would undoubtedly report the situation to Amane-san.
Last time, Amane-san had already warned Classmate Shibata once through Albert. Classmate Shibata had only thought Amane-san had discovered his private contact with Horikita, which was why Amane-san warned him.
Could it be... that Amane-san had already discovered his information exchange with Horikita?
This thought from Classmate Shibata startled him.
Immediately, Classmate Shibata forced himself to calm down.
If Amane-san had truly discovered their affair, she would have probably already severely punished him, or ruined Horikita's reputation, or at the very least, she wouldn't have handed over Class D's power to Horikita.
So, it was highly likely that Amane-san still didn't know about the previous events.
Classmate Shibata comforted himself this way, but a hint of unease gradually surfaced in his heart.
"Well, that's quite a coincidence. The movie is about to start. Would you like to sit down and enjoy the movie together?"
Facing Ayanokoji-kun's invitation, Horikita and Classmate Shibata exchanged glances and both chose to accept.
Because leaving at that moment would seem like they had something to hide; two people meeting privately at a cinema, then rushing off without even watching the movie after being discovered.
Any person with a normal brain would detect the problem there.
So the two reluctantly sat down and accompanied Ayanokoji-kun to watch the entire movie.
However, the content of the movie made both Classmate Shibata and Horikita feel a sense of discomfort.
This was clearly not the "lighthearted film" Ayanokoji-kun spoke of. Wasn't this a horror movie? And it was one of the highly popular, phenomenal films in the horror genre.
Both of them were quite scared, but only Ayanokoji-kun watched the entire film expressionlessly.
"It was a good movie, but it didn't make me feel as relaxed as I imagined."
Ayanokoji-kun commented with some regret.
Regarding Ayanokoji-kun's comment, Classmate Shibata could only shake his head with a bitter smile, unable to say a word.
Frankly, he was quite afraid of those things. Being able to endure and watch the entire film without screaming could already be considered an exceptional performance.
"Your hobby is truly incomprehensible. Normal people wouldn't choose to watch horror movies to relax, would they?"
Compared to Classmate Shibata, who was somewhat reserved, Horikita's complaint was quite direct.
"Is that so? But Amane-san also seems to enjoy watching horror movies with girls to relax."
Ayanokoji-kun recalled Amane-san with girls on both arms going to the school cinema to watch horror movies. At that time, Ayanokoji-kun, who had just finished watching a serious movie with Hirata and his group, specifically asked Amane-san if she liked watching horror movies.
Amane-san had quietly told him then that watching horror movies could relax her mind.
From then on, Ayanokoji-kun developed a habit of watching horror movies alone, but he never found the relaxing feeling Amane-san spoke of.
"She's... never mind."
As soon as Horikita thought of Amane-san's unreliable style, she didn't want to continue the topic. However, Ayanokoji-kun's appearance fortunately completely dispelled the tense atmosphere between Horikita and Classmate Shibata, which could be considered an indirect help to her.
But thanking him was out of the question.
"Since the movie is over, let's all disband here. There's a discussion meeting later, and everyone needs to get some good rest."
Classmate Shibata saw that Horikita and Ayanokoji-kun's conversation had ended and quickly brought up the topic of disbanding. Otherwise, if things continued like this, the three of them might even have to eat together or engage in other group activities, which would severely delay his time.
Horikita checked her phone. Three hours had passed since the discussion ended. Although the upcoming special exam no longer concerned her, she still needed to get some good rest and recuperate, then begin preparing to face the large-scale actions that Class B might undertake.
"It's getting late, so everyone can disband here."
Seeing that Horikita-san also agreed to disband, Ayanokoji's remaining opinion was no longer particularly important. The environment here was like that; after the majority agreed, individuals, even with other ideas, would choose to obey the group rather than stand out.
Of course, Amane was an exception. For powerful people, their way of behaving was the rule itself, so they didn't need to care about anyone else's feelings or read the atmosphere.
If someone did this without strength, they would undoubtedly be seen as an idiot.
And thus, they would not be liked by others.
The most typical example was Karuizawa Kei, whose self-centered behavior easily angered others. After losing Hirata's protection, Class C didn't buy her act at all, even daring to openly declare they would retaliate against her.
But just as the three were about to part ways, Classmate Shibata, as if possessed, extended his hand to Ayanokoji.
"I hope to have the opportunity to compete properly with Ayanokoji-kun on the stage of a special exam next time. I also want to see what kind of strength a man valued by Horikita-san possesses."
Ayanokoji's gaze shifted, and he likewise extended his hand.
"Isn't this special exam a good chance to compete?"
"Hahahaha, not this time, because the exam might be over very soon."
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