2.5

It was just after 10pm when the hectic day before the special examinations seemed to be coming to an end.

I was in bed looking at my phone when I got a call. Although I don't have the contact saved, I recognized the 11-digit phone number.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry it's so late at night, can I have a moment now?"

"It's all right. It's been a long time since I've heard from you, Chairman Sakayanagi."

Yes, the owner of this phone number is the director of the Advanced Nurturing High School.

"I'm sure I've caused you a lot of anxiety too, but everything's okay now."

"I'm glad to hear you're doing well."

"It must have been tough for you too. But I'm amazed that you've been able to stay in this school without any problems in that very unfavourable battle."

"It just so happens. If he had been serious, I wouldn't still be here right now."

It is not necessary to mention his name to know that he is Tsukishiro, who had been filling in as Acting Director for Chairman Sakayanagi.

"When it was all said and done, I had a few questions about his behaviour too... But let's not talk about that today. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be following up with you in the future."

That's how Chairman Sakayanagi continues his story.

"You have heard about the unusual festival, to which government officials and their families have been invited, haven't you? Once I had approached them, there was nothing I could do to stop it."

If you've already notified the people involved, it's understandably difficult to withdraw.

"It's nothing for the chairman of the board to apologise for. I'm sure the students are looking forward to it."

It's a bit like a special exam, but it's in the realm of student fun.

Whether it will end up being just a cultural festival for me is another story.

"About that... Actually, there is something that hasn't been announced yet, but I'm going to tell you about it first."

"What is it?"

"As well as the cultural festival, the sports festival in October is a precursor to it. First of all, it was decided on short notice to welcome certain guests here."

"Guests of honour at a sports festival?"

It's something I never thought I'd hear.

"If you go back to the beginning, sports festivals are for the parents of the students to come and watch. In that sense, the stance of welcoming the guests of honour itself is not dissimilar..."

"I see."

It is true that when we watch TV, we often see families with cameras and lunchboxes prepared for sports events.

"This is an unprecedented event, and we are concerned about the security implications of allowing guests to come and go as they please at our school's festivals."

It was a test, a preparation for the arrival of a large number of guests in earnest.

"The selection of people is entirely up to the higher-ups, and the teachers in charge can't rule out the possibility that... your father may be involved. So, in view of the danger to you, I would like to have a few observers by your side."

"That's very kind of you, but I'm just one of the students at this school.

I don't want any special treatment."

"Then how are you going to cope when you encounter the people that Sensei sent?"

"I know it's a difficult issue."

You can't use violence to get through this, of course. It's easy for me to do so if I'm in a secluded area, but if I'm in the presence of friends and acquaintances and I'm instructed to show up with a school official following me, there's no way to refuse.

You are imposters, you are his assassins, aren't you? I can't ask that question.

"I already understand that you are such a person. But if you are expelled from this school in any way... I am sure I will regret it. I want to avoid the regret of not doing what I could to prevent it."

"Even if I were to follow Chairman Sakayanagi's instructions, it would be unnatural for a student to have a monitoring officer."

"So I'm going to have to ask you to sit out the sports festival."

"Be absent..?"

That's not what I had expected in my head.

"We understand that when it comes to exams that can only be held on a certain day, such as sports and cultural festivals, there will of course be inevitable sick leaves."

"Yes. Although the class will be disadvantaged, there are no compulsory measures such as expulsion, right?"

We are all responsible for our own health, but there are still inevitable problems.

If it was a smaller special exam, we could wait until all the students were in each year group and take emergency measures, but if it was an all-school sports festival, we couldn't do that.

"I'm going to ask you to stay in your dormitory on sick leave on the assumption that you've had a medical check. Then I can place my trusted observer outside the dormitory with confidence."

If you are sick and have been ordered to stay in the dormitory, your classmates will agree that you have no choice.

Even if there is a watchman wandering around the dormitory, the other students will only see one guard.

"Surely, then, you might be able to escape the hands of that man."

"Of course there is another risk. As you said, the students in the classes you're enrolled with are at a disadvantage because they're going to be challenged with a lack of students."

The fact that he's prepared to lie about taking a sick day shows the generous support of Chairman Sakayanagi. It's also nice to know that he's not trying to be a favoritist and wants to keep the special treatment to a minimum. I'm grateful for the offer, but the moment I heard about it I knew I had to say no.

But at the same time, I had a new idea.

"Can you give me some time to think about it?"

"Of course, I can't force you to do anything, so I'll leave the final decision to you. But..."

"I know, I know. I'm seriously considering the option of accepting sick leave now, too, so..."

"Yes. I'll ask you to answer a week before the sports festival. We have some preparations to make too."

It would take at least that long to arrange the personnel.

After the call, I thought about the possibility of the class having a sports festival without me.

Of course, it is quite possible that other classes or grades will have students absent on the day of the event. In fact, it is not easy to get all the students to sit every exam.

"No, I should concentrate on the special exam in front of me first, right?"

This special exam - I think it might be more difficult than any other special exam I've ever had. All the exams I've taken so far have been ones that I could have taken any form of preparation for. However, there is no such thing as a "sure-fire" strategy in this particular test.

We are expected to believe in our classmates and to work together as one.

P.E. and cultural festivals. There are new things to worry about that weren't there last year, but it all starts with getting through the special exam tomorrow.