"Ayanokōji-senpai, Ayanokōji-senpai!"
It was the middle of the night, and everyone had gone to sleep when I heard someone call out my voice. I opened my eyes. The voice was extremely quiet, so it definitely couldn't be heard by the others. It was coming from outside my tent.
I looked at my watch and saw it was 2:30 A.M.
"It's me, Nanase!"
I immediately got out of the tent, and by the faint light of the tablet, I saw the somewhat panicked figure of Nanase.
"What's wrong? Why are you here at this hour? You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine, after all, I was in the I9 area just like you senpai. I actually saw senpai from afar in the evening, but I didn't come to say hello because Hōsen-kun was next to me at the time."
"So why are you here?"
"There is something I need to tell you as soon as possible... Today...
well, the date has already changed, so it was yesterday to be exact, but Hōsen-kun told me that on the twelfth day, the first years will make a great move to take down Ayanokōji-senpai."
"A great move? Did they invite you to join them?"
"Ah well you see... no, how should I put it... let me tell you in order."
Nanase said as she started to control her breath and calm down.
"Although I don't know which day it was, Hōsen-kun ignored the invitation to a meeting set up by Takahashi, Yagami, Tsubaki, and Utomiya.
However, on the ninth day, a student who appeared to be an errand boy for one of the group members showed up with a walkie-talkie and again asked for Hōsen's help."
Nanase continued on.
"The plan was to make you drop out on the final stage of the uninhabited island exam. And they're also planning to target the seniors who are acting alone, trying to get them to drop out as well. They are going to contact him on the day of the plan, since now Hōsen-kun has the walkie-talkie with him. But, Hōsen-kun told me that he didn't care about their plan at all, he's just pretending to assist them so he can use them."
I was sure that they were planning to target me in the final stages of the exam. Luckily, I had been preparing in advance.
"I suppose they did the right thing by not informing me too early about the implementation date and the specific contents of the plan."
It's true if I had known the date and specifics, my comeback would have been much easier.
"It's not just me though, Hōsen hasn't even received the details of the plan yet."
"Who's in charge?"
"I don't know. But it was mostly Tsubaki-san who spoke on the radio transceiver."
"She doesn't seem like the type to show her face."
"I agree with you, because I had the impression that Class C was mostly centred around Utomiya. But Utomiya and Hōsen don't get along, and when it comes to arguing, they quickly get into quarrels, so Tsubaki may have been deliberately chosen to act as an intermediary."
There is also the possibility that someone like Yagami or Takahashi is pulling strings behind the scenes.
It's valuable knowing they had a meeting. It's good to know what's going on.
"Even if you don't know the details, just telling me that they had a meeting is of great value. I appreciate it, but you shouldn't stay here too long.
If they know you leaked information to me, it'll get very troublesome for you."
Leaving aside my business for the moment, if things were to fall through, it would greatly impact Nanase's future school life. For better or worse, she was in the same class as Hōsen, and that couldn't be changed.
"Alright, I'll come back to you if there's any more developments."
"No, I'm grateful, but you've done enough for me on the uninhabited island exam. Even if you notice any suspicious movements in the first year, you don't have to inform me, and you don't have to think about helping me all the time."
"But..."
"Nanase, you have given me enough information. Now you need to act like a part of Hōsen and Amasawa's group."
If they start to suspect Nanase because of this, I won't have a source of information for future first-year issues that may arise.
If that happens, Nanase's value will be reduced.
"If Ayanokōji-senpai says so, I'll obey...."
After bowing deeply to me, Nanase disappeared into the moonlight.
After I couldn't see Nanase's figure, I took out my tablet to start thinking.
My sleepiness was long gone at this point.
The information that Nanase told me I assume is accurate, but would it actually go according to plan? Although I wasn't sure about the status of the first-year Class D, Hōsen was a man similar to Ryūen, and their method of suppressing the class is nearly identical. However, the difference is that Hōsen tends to take the initiative to try to overcome obstacles. In the midst of the first-year special exam to get me expel ed, Hōsen has kept Nanase by his side.
It's true that Nanase has a strong and tough mindset that most high school freshmen do not have. With her academic ability and physical prowess, there is no question that she's a valuable asset.
However, the extent to which Hōsen trusts her is completely unknown.
If he didn't trust her, would he let her know about the surprise attack that the first-years are planning? I don't think Hōsen alone can sustain the idea that Nanase is on my side, but I wouldn't be surprised if he felt some kind of discomfort.
If Amasawa is advising him, there is a chance that he may see the truth...
In any case, the first-year student's plan of attack was not something that should come as a shock. I had thought from the very beginning that someone would attack me since I still had a bounty on my head.
Although I was grateful for Nanase's report, my plan was still going perfectly.