episode_0007
by fnovelpiaGarbage was pouring out of lockers that were close together.
“······.”
“······.”
Neither of us could say anything, we just stood there.
-Hey, over there…
-Just pass by.
The students around me looked at me and muttered. But no one helped me and I just passed by.
“Ha.”
L let out a small sigh and turned around.
“Where are you going?”
“Go to the place where the cleaning tools are. Shouldn’t we clean it up?”
“···Is this not your first time?”
“This is my first time experiencing something like this. As for cleaning supplies, you just need to know where they are.”
Not long after L left, who answered like that, he brought cleaning supplies.
“Junior, I will do the cleaning.”
“Yes?”
“I pretend to be oblivious, but in fact, I know how to read the mood and have a good sense of humor. Only a fool would know that I am responsible for something like this happening to my junior.”
El said calmly. The body that came up to about my collarbone seemed to have shrunk a little.
“Where is your fault here? It’s wrong to do such childish things.”
I looked around at the cleaning supplies El had brought and grabbed a broom.
“Let’s just finish quickly and go eat together. Didn’t you also decide to explain the flag drawing or something?”
I answered as if it was no big deal and started organizing my locker with cleaning supplies.
L didn’t say anything to me, but quietly stood next to me and cleaned up his locker.
***
“Senior, do you have any friends?”
“Hmm, the sandwich tastes good today.”
“Don’t change your mind.”
I’m not stupid either. After cleaning, I saw it when I was buying a sandwich at the restaurant. The hostile gazes that are focused on you.
There were eyes on me too, but they were more borderline rather than hostile. Because I was a bit of a unique case.
But the gazes on L were different. There was clear hostility.
L didn’t seem to want to answer, so she brought up the cleaning job earlier.
“I didn’t know that my junior was an expert at cleaning. Where did you learn it?”
It was something I got tired of while working as a cleaner. In a way, what I learned was correct.
But to explain this, I had to bring up trivial details. While I was thinking about it, L seemed to feel that the atmosphere had become cold and tried to compliment me.
“My son is good at cleaning. Parents would have loved it.”
“My parents are not there.”
“Sorry.”
L suddenly stood up, probably because he thought he had unintentionally touched my painful spot. I was about to hit my head on the ground.
“I really don’t have any thoughts, so you can just stand up.”
“···Thank you.”
Me and L were sitting on a bench in the vacant lot where we first met. In the same condition as then.
“Perhaps I have been eating here all along and there is no one to eat with me…”
“······.”
The life disappeared from L’s eyes as she tried to put the sandwich in her mouth. It seemed like he had stabbed a painful spot. I felt like I had to tease him more to provoke him, so I changed the topic.
“So, what is the group flag drawing?”
“Well, it’s not that complicated.”
Elle, who had already finished eating her sandwich, picked up a tree branch near the bench and started drawing on the floor.
“There is a forest a short distance from the academy. It’s a forest owned by the academy, and the exam is held there.”
“The flag is planted on a hill in the center of the forest. And each flag has a number written on it.”
“Nos. 1 to 10 are A. 11 to 20 are B. 21 to 30 are C grade. The rest are similarly calculated sequentially with DE.”
“And the most important point here…”
Phew. El took a deep breath.
“This is a group competition.”
“···Is that the most important thing?”
“Yes.”
It’s a group event. I thought it was worth it, but L’s face was full of dissatisfaction.
“The number of people is limited to 4 per group. This exam is taken jointly by first and second year students, so there are a total of 60 students. 15 groups will be created.”
“How is that group formed?”
“The group is grouped by the academy itself. They are trying to achieve their own balance based on their own evaluation standards.”
Swish! El seemed annoyed and threw the branch she was using to write on the ground.
“However, factors such as friendships are not taken into consideration. If you are someone who is ostracized, like my junior and I, it becomes a bit difficult.”
“···But wouldn’t it be okay if the group was well organized?”
“I don’t know about our juniors, but at least for me, there is no chance of being in a good group.”
“Why?”
“Because I am the top freshman.”
“Yes?”
I thought back to what I just heard. Being the top student meant that he was the most outstanding first year student at the academy.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s not an act of self-aggrandizement, but there is no one who can compare to me, even second graders. Unless our junior is hiding his incredible skills.”
L’s face was filled with confidence without the same wrinkles as before. It was an incredible feeling of confidence that there was no one who could compare to it.
“So, in the group I belong to, there are probably a few idiots. People who won’t even listen to me. How are you supposed to lead those guys…”
ha. L sighed deeply and stood up, shaking his hands.
“Well, there is nothing to be gained by worrying in advance. In the end, only when the group comes out two days later can we come up with a strategy or anything.”
That was correct. There was no help in worrying about the future here.
As I was about to straighten up and get up, El opened her mouth.
“Oh, there is one thing that bothers me.”
“What is it?”
“Records about the student council.”
Both Sonia and Benny were officers of the student council. The word student council naturally caught Revan’s attention.
“So far, no student council officer has ever failed to achieve an A grade in the flag drawing.”
“···Does that make sense?”
It was something that made no common sense. They can’t choose the group as they want, so how can they always aim for A grade?
“Until now, there was a tradition that both the valedictorian and valedictorian of the grade would join the student council.”
“You didn’t go in, did you?”
“That’s right. That’s why the student council members kind of hate me. I didn’t say it because I wasn’t sure, but the fact that the trash was put up today probably had a big influence on that.”
The longer I went, the worse my impression of the student council became. Sonia. Benny. Going one step further and throwing away trash.
“···Well, records are meant to be broken. Don’t you think that my junior and I could break the student council record?”
L shrugged his shoulders and moved on as if it was no big deal.
El and Revan left the clearing and parted ways. Revan wanted to look around the academy, but chose to just return to his dorm.
‘You’ll be trashed again.’
The gas mask was already attracting attention, but considering the locker incident, I didn’t think I could expect favorable attention.
And two days passed. In the meantime, Revan didn’t do much. Still, I didn’t want to sit still, so even though I didn’t really need to eat anything, I went to a restaurant and bought a sandwich and tried it. It’s been a while since I chewed food, but it wasn’t too bad.
Two days later, Revan headed to the auditorium instead of the Golden Dragon classroom.
“···There are so many.”
The auditorium was bustling with all first and second year students gathered together. The number of 60 people was not that many in absolute terms, but doubling the number made me feel it more than I expected.
And even in the meantime, people around were looking at Revan. Not only among first-year students, but also among second-year students, many eyes turned to Revan.
“Tsk.”
Revan clicked his tongue without hiding it. It was a little strange to wander around looking for L in this atmosphere.
And not long after Revan came in, Ned stood on the podium.
“Have you finished preparing for two days?”
yes-! The answers were loud enough to make the auditorium cry.
“Well, you all know this because you have looked into it, but we evaluated you and organized the team fairly.”
“And anything more than this would be a no-brainer. I’ll show you what you want. Take a good look!”
match! With Ned’s applause, Joe and his team members appeared in the air on the stage.
Revan read the letters in the air one by one. Unfortunately, L was in a different group.
Well, it was something that could not be helped. While reading through the letters, Revan found the group he belonged to.
Group 9: Sonia Bismuth, Benny, Revan, Werner Chilwell.
“······.”
They were the worst group, unable to even speak.
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