<h4>Chapter 266: 1.5</h4>


    Leaving Asahina in the infirmary, I returned to the gymnasium to check on Kanzaki, who I was curious about, and Ichinose, who I expected to have returned.


    If I stood out too much, it would result in the same situation again, so I walked farther away from the entrance.


    The fact that I couldn''t see Kanzaki in the line made me wonder if he was inside or if he''d already left. However, by the looks of things, it was clear that he would be waiting for Ichinose''s return.


    There was a bit of a panic when I exited with Asahina, who was acting oddly, so I don''t think Kanzaki, who was waiting for Ichinose''s return and my departure, would''ve missed it. Then I went to the infirmary and took about 15


    minutes toe back. I wouldn''t have been surprised if Ichinose was still inside if he had been in the vicinity, unless he returned immediately after that.


    While making overall observations, I decided to pay attention to the faces of the students leaving.


    A few minutester, Kanzaki slowly appeared from the exit. I wondered if he was still in the gymnasium, but what surprised me was what came after that.


    I thought for sure Ichinose was next to him, but Kanzaki was alone. She was notgging behind, nor did he seem to be concerned about what was behind him.


    I thought he was just going to walk away, but then he turned around and saw me.


    He then approached me after staring for a few seconds.


    "You''re back after all. It seems her injuries were not too serious."


    If it had been a big deal, it would''ve been hard to believe that I was just standing there like this, taking it easy.


    I guess that''s what Kanzaki deduced.


    "Are you wondering why Ichinose isn''t here?"


    "To be honest, a little."


    "I didn''t call her because I was worried about the possibility of bumping into youing back from the infirmary. Besides, there are still a few days left for the pre-opening."


    So Ichinose will be given time to observe the event, even if she doesn''t rush.


    To some extent, the direction of Ichinose''s ss booth seemed to be set in stone. If it''s only a trial run, then she may want to be present for it just to ensure everything runs well, but as I said before, there''s still time.


    "I want to continue where we left off earlier. Your ss seems to be doing quite well."


    It was clear that he was referring to the series of events from the uninhabited ind exam to the unanimous special exam, and if we went back a little further, to the start of the second-year.


    "We''re not unscathed. Unlike Kanzaki''s ss, we have vacancies. We''re also carrying a negative that you can''t see just from ss points."


    "You''re not the only ones with invisible risks, but you''ve made a big difference in terms of the positive points you can see." Rather than envy, this was Kanzaki''s honest opinion. "sses like yours will eventually have to fight against Sakayanagi''s ss."


    One thing that stuck out to me was Kanzaki''s somewhat optimistic, one-step-back assessment of his own ss.


    "Have you given up already? Moving up to ss A?"


    "I guess so."


    Kanzaki responded in the affirmative rather than the negative. It isn''t difficult to guess what he was thinking. Ichinose''s ss isn''t a disastrous one. It isn''t at risk of losing a lot of points for tardiness, absences, behavior issues, and the like, because they''re a serious crowd that almost never lose ss points and rarely make major mistakes in special exams. But in other words, they don''t have the opportunity to make big jumps on special exams.


    "No one has yet to notice how the ss is slowly sinking. It would still be endearing if they were just pretending not to notice, but they''re all genuinely oblivious."


    "Only you seem to be different."


    "That was until a little while ago; there''s no point in rebelling alone."


    "You mean you''ve given up on trying to change their minds?"


    "Our ss will never make it to ss A." Here, Kanzaki said it clearly.


    "If the possibility has been reduced to zero, the only thing left to do is to find another way. If we are going to sink anyway, we should give as many people as possible a chance to escape."


    "So you''re going to move to a different ss after umting 20 million points?"


    "Because Student Council President Nagumo Miyabi has actually implemented this and it''s shown to be effective. Concentrating private points on Ichinose is what we''ve been doing. If we execute this n to the limit, we can move at least two or three people to ss A. In addition, the existence of ss transfer tickets was shown for the first time at the sports festival. Of course, it won''t be easy to acquire them, but the increase in options is a genuinely pleasing factor."


    "Why are you telling me all this?"


    "I don''t know what I''m doing either."


    It was an uncharacteristic response. Kanzaki paused for a moment and began to search for a better answer.


    "I didn''t have a ce to vent. Maybe that''s why."


    If there''s a problem in daily life, it''ll be shared among those close to the student, regardless of whether or not they''re within the same ss, and a solution is found. However, when ites to ss problems, the only way out is to give up on achieving ss A and transfer to another ss. If someone were to say such a thing in ss, it would inevitably be met with discord.


    It would be impossible to get a consensus in Ichinose''s ss.


    "You''re the only person I thought was capable of understanding my thoughts without talking out of turn."


    I see. He believed I was the best outlet to express his negative emotions. Of course, that isn''t the only reason. It seems that he also holds resentment toward me, who has a strong influence on Ichinose.


    "I don''t care what happened between you and Ichinose or what kind of rtionship you two have. The fact that you''re having such a bad influence that she can''t even do a satisfactory observation of the third-year ss A''s exhibit is a


    major issue."


    "It''s a little harsh when you put it that way."


    "You''ll have to forgive me. I''m sure you understand how frustrating it is."


    Kanzaki then raised his hand and told me he''s leaving.


    The back of the ss strategist who had given up on winning looked one size smaller than usual. It''s a little wild to call him back here, but I can''t just let Kanzaki go home now.


    "Can we take some time soon? I''d like to have a little talk about the future."


    "Why not now? We can take some time to talk about what''s toe."


    "I''m sorry, but right now I need to do some research on the third-years.


    Besides, we can''t make any progress if we start talking about it now."


    In order to discuss the future, we need another piece of the puzzle that''ll allow us to step into it.


    "If that''s the case, well, okay. Call me anytime."