That night, while I was relaxing in my room, Karuizawa called. We had exchanged contact information before, but I was still a little surprised to hear from her for the first time.
"I have something to ask you."
After answering the phone and putting it by my ear, Karuizawa said immediately:
"If I can answer. That should be fine."
"You've been confessed to by Satō, haven't you?"
I became tongue-tied at the unexpected question. How could she know that?
"Let me begin by saying that there are many girls in the class who already know."
"How quickly does your news network spread information? It's faster than the Internet. Who's the source of this information?"
"What do you mean who? The source is Satō herself. I was told in advance that she was planning to confess today."
Is it like insider trading or something? No, that doesn't seem right...
"Is that why you were looking at me earlier today?"
"...Did you really notice?"
"Who confesses to who is nobody else's concern, why do you report that kind of thing to one another?"
"Because girls are like that. It's troublesome to get in touch with one another after it happens."
Is that what it's like to want to write your name on your possessions?
Boys have a similar phenomenon, so maybe it's not inconceivable...
Even so, there's something I don't understand.
"If there's that much competition for the same person... Wouldn't it be better if you don't make a declaration to other girls since the outcome will be the same?"
"It's totally different. It's annoying if you suddenly declare that you're in a relationship. Letting others know ahead of time shows that everything is fine. Regardless, I'd like to ask what answer you gave her."
No, it's nerve-racking to be asked that kind of thing.
"No matter what my answer was, it has nothing to do with you."
"Well, it doesn't matter... but you can't say it's irrelevant. You threatened me and made me do a lot of things for you, so I might end up getting caught. The girl's information network is very wide. If rumors were to spread, it will be very nerve-racking for me. I'll be at an increased risk of getting involved in trouble. Do you understand?"
In other words, when Satō and I talk, there is a chance that information on Karuizawa will come to light and put her at risk. Alternatively, I could only care about Satō, and neglect to protect Karuizawa. Through some strange system of logic, she had managed to think of this kind of thing. No matter how I look at it, it is obvious that she's thinking about this way too much.
It seemed to make sense, but it really didn't pass for sound logic. Karuizawa's appearance, words, and actions were inconsistent with the theoretical thinking she would discreetly take part in, but this time she was kinda forcing it a bit too much.
"You don't have to worry about it anyway."
"Does that mean you're planning to accept the confession?"
"I didn't say that, did I?"
"You are saying it alright. Since you don't outright deny it you know. Ah-ah, I somehow think I can see through you right? Making use of that confession, you're probably just thinking of some perverted thoughts anyway right? Men are just that kind of creature after all."
Her ideas jumped in an exaggerated way. This is like a parent feeling so proud of their child winning for first place in a sporting event, that they proclaim to other parents that their child is ensured to become an Olympic athlete in the future.
"Even if men are that kind of creature, at least for now I don't have those type of feelings."
"Prove it. Explain to me the reason for your refusal."
"Prove? It wasn't even a confession. She just said she wanted to be friends and we exchanged contact information."
"...I see. It turned out to be that kind of feeling."
Why do I have to say such things to Karuizawa? It's so embarrassing.
"It's not a question of accepting a confession at all. It's simply ended with an exchange of phone numbers."
"Hmm... Well, that's where we'll leave things for today."
Karuizawa's attitude was very lofty.
Since I've got her on the phone, I'm going to get this thing settled.
"I want to ask you something now. You haven't had any interaction with those girls from Class C since the cruise, correct?"
"...Well, yeah, it hasn't been an issue. At least for now."
Her tone dropped a notch or two. For Karuizawa, this was an event she didn't want to bring up.
"I think I have taken the appropriate countermeasures, but if anything happens, you must let me know immediately. Even if you've been violently threatened to stay quiet, as long as you tell me, I'll fix the problem right away."
Karuizawa clearly held her breath over the phone. Were my words a bit too strong?
"...I know. What else should I say? If I'm not useful to you, it will become very troublesome for me..."
In order to survive in this school, Karuizawa must hold on to her current status no matter what.
To do this, she must first completely seal off the characters who know the truth about her.
However, it is impossible for the girls from Class C to understand the entire situation in the first place. The problem lies with Ryūen who works behind them. Depending on the situation, I may end up having to attack him instead.
No, I'm afraid that moment is almost certainly approaching.
"So, back on the topic of Satō, what do you intend to do? Because you exchanged contact information, there's a possibility things will move to the next level, right?"
"I'm taking a reserved attitude with it. At least, I don't know anything about Satō... I may never even be contacted by her."
"So, if Satō does stick around more than this, will you dump her?"
"What do you mean by dump her? We just exchanged contacts. Personally, I don't think I'm going to initiate contact."
I didn't have the guts to ask her out on a date, and I was not confident that I would be able to move the situation forward to a confession anyway.
"Yes, I see. So be it."
Looking somewhat satisfied, Karuizawa prepared to cut the call.
"Karuizawa."
"What?"
I thought maybe I wouldn't make it in time, but after calling out to her, the phone didn't hang up.
"Make sure to erase the records of our phone call from your cell phone."
"I've done that a long time ago. I even erase the emails."
"As expected. All right."
Even without instructions, Karuizawa seems to be doing a good job.
"If it's just these things, I'm going to hang up."
"Yeah."
I added in this statement to end the conversation and hung up the call.
To be honest, I was worried about whether I should say one more thing or not, but I gave it up.
I judged that if we were to discuss our assumptions at this stage, it would only become a burden for Karuizawa.
Even if the time comes, if it is Karuizawa, she should be able to deal with it at the very least.
It looks like I will inevitably have to take action soon.