"I would rather have been third than second. Being third is like barely passing the exam. Being first is like acing it, and being second is like missing the 100 points by just 0.5 Points." -?

》》Bonds and Betrayals《《

As we just ended the second event we participated in with a comfortable second place, we received several points again. Pushing it up to around one million again.

The event wasn't anything spectacular, and we lost to the Sakayanagi-duo by 1 point. Due to this being an academic exam and we couldn't prepare at all, I could comfortably adjust my score to an 80.

Alya scored on Geography 100. On History an 84 and on Biology, she did well with a 72 point result.

Even though we were insanely good on average.

Sakayanagi smashed Alya on average. So did Hashimoto win against me as well?

And that was the only duo being close to us. The third was off by 6 points, so we had a comfortable run.

The wind wasn't strong anymore, and we could easily run again. However, the heat was also paying a toll on our stamina.

It wasn't too hot. Rather just a warm wind frying our faces.

"That was nice Suou-kun. Second and first place. In events event we participated, we haven't dropped below second."

Certainly, it was true, but that is nothing impressive. The fact that there are still going to be around 3 or 4 other events in addition to the events today, it will be a little harder to maintain that podium's streak.

We decided to miss out on three events yesterday and decided to get a lot more serious today.

We couldn't possibly win against Sakayanagi in an academic exam, well, that only goes for Alya and the rest.

Maybe not Horikita and Koenji, but these two probably participated in another event.

Ah right, Koenji. Maezono, a girl who is Koenji's partner probably realized that she was just a minor annoyance to him and retired. Since basically, that guy is taking this seriously.

First place. All by himself.

And just as I expected, as soon as there were penalties for losing and missing out, Class D gained huge momentum and was pushing its way to the top of the leaderboards.

The same couldn't be said about Class B though, since the fact of them losing a lot more due to the other classes starting to suddenly participate actively, their duos fell a lot of places.

Out of the Top 15,

There were 3 Class A duos. 2 Class B duos, 5 Class C duos, and 5 Class D duos.

Classes C and D are a lot stronger than the other classes in terms of physical ability. Thus we were dominating, taking up ⅔ of the entire top 15. And ⅔ of the top 25.

Brutal dominance.

However, now is when slowly, many students decided to force themselves to drop a gear or two and go this exam on with comfort, to save this energy for the second week, which is going to be a lot more intensive in the leaderboards.

"Alisa, Class D, and C seem to win this exam for them. Well, that is as of now."

"Haah~ That's refreshing..." She muttered as she heard what I said.

She regained her smile again and got a lot friendlier to me, probably since we will become strangers again and she wants to make the last good memories together in peace.

But sadly, I have other plans for you, Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou. There is no peace in my life.

"That's great. Slowly, Class D is building its fundaments. It took a lot of time, but we are slowly uniting more and more as a Class, sharing one big goal."

That's certainly true, but weird, as to why it took that long.

"Now that this class is united, the leader will have a lot more control."

"Right~ I am grateful for that present you gave me back then."

"...?"

"You made me the leader of this class, and I never thought it would change a lot inside me, and the class. You trusted the process a lot hmm~?"

Not only the process. But I trusted her precisely as well.

As a person, she is worth trusting. She is a great leader, and in combination with Hirata, Kushida, and Horikita, she will lead this class up to the point we will graduate from Class A without me.

"I can't remember that much."

"I love you."

"..."

Somehow, I freeze every time I hear that sentence. I don't know why, but this was the first reaction when I heard that sentence from her.

Honestly, I rarely hear that sentence. Sometimes from Mom, sometimes from Yuki.

But never from anyone else.

"Ara~ Did that shake you a little?"

"Of course, it did, who on earth says that so casually in a conversation? What if somebody heard?"

"If I had a microphone, I would have said it out loud in front of a mass of 90.000 people with pride~"

"No, you wouldn't."

"...Maybe not~ But maybe if you accepted my confession..."

"Alisa, let that topic go for now. Once we are back-..." I cut myself off.

She forced a smile, and damn, I never felt such...pain? Is this how it feels when you are losing an important person for the first time and that life?

I should stop avoiding this topic since it doesn't make sense. If I rejected her, she had the right and should at least know the reason.

And she still doesn't know the exact reason.

Leave that aside for now, what will you tell Yuki and Kiyotaka?

After all, she was the most excited after discovering the fact that I have a girl who isn't a family member of mine as a friend.

Yuki was speechless after I told her about Alya for the first time. Since that day, she went on to ask me every single day if we were already a couple.

And the same reply.

'Sadly not.'

But if I tell her that the reason for that is because I rejected her confession...

Yuki would get mad and sad. After all, it was like it toyed with the feelings of both.

"Alisa. Can you...Not tell-"

"Yuki-san? Ah, I am sorry, but there is a problem. I already told her. You didn't know she also was in the event? Have you slept well? Are you feeling unwell?---"

As she kept on questioning my condition, it felt like 600-ton walls were squeezing my entire body from both sides.

Why did you tell her?

"---Maybe you have not drank much-"

"Alisa. Are you seriously in your right mind currently?"

"H-Huh? You mean there could be something wrong with me?!"

She suddenly panicked and looked down and checked if everything was fine.

"No. Not that. I meant it seriously. You have lost your mind. Why?"

"B-Because she asked me!"

"And just because she asked you think there is a need to answer such questions or what?"

"Yeah! Because it would be unfriendly to not answer a friend with honesty!"

Here we go again.

Our third argument since yesterday. During our last two weeks, we constantly argued daily, heating our friendship, and since night, it reached its peak.

I am not surprised anymore. I wouldn't wonder if we would argue over things like a walnut.

"Sometimes lying is the better option."

"Spreading lies is always the worst! Everything built on a lie will one day collapse on its weight!"

"(No wonder our relationship collapsed.)" I didn't intend to say that out loud.

But it seems like she didn't take that hit well.

Alya's expression was losing up a little, her smile came back. And apparently, she misunderstood what I meant by that.

Or it could be the other way around and she just accepted it.

"I guess that's true~ But do you think I regret our friendship?"

"..."

"I would never regret knowing you. You helped me a lot. But well, objectively, that is just another delusion of mine."

"No. I don't think that you don't regret that. I regret it a little myself, not because I don't like you, but rather because things will get awkward from now on. Alya, let's say the future holds something good for you."

...Or something bad. Depends on how you are going to receive it.

Because what will happen, will drastically change reality, it's as if a time traveler is changing her fate.

From this point on, Alya will fall even further down, until she reaches the point of expulsion or barely surviving it. As a leader, she is incapable.

Currently.

But at this school, there could be many things that will change, I can't afford to expel her, which means, I need to protect her at all costs.

For that, I have no other choice than to ask the other leaders for help. My sister would have killed me if she saw that I was seriously in need of help.

It is what it is.

Maybe Sakayanagi and Ichinose have a good heart? Who knows? But the fact that Sakayanagi knows about something that others do not know, is a little worrying.

"Alya, can I ask you for some advice again?"

"Every time."

"What would you do in my situation? Put yourself into my body and think what you would have done. I am still unsure."

The advice of an ordinary human is also helpful, I am not capable of doing something like that. I cannot relate to anybody at all.

I don't know what they think about being in my position.

"Hmm~? It feels like you are rubbing salt into the wounds, Kiyotaka. But well, I assume that this is going to be of use to you.

In your situation, I would have probably done the same, I confessed at a terrible timing, making the rejection almost confirmed before even receiving the answer.

You have a lot more to concentrate on, than I would ever have~. You are on the verge of expulsion if Class D loses the exam. Even second place isn't enough."

She then closed a little distance to me. It felt comfortable again when talking to her like this, but in all seriousness, I will never understand what love is.

I don't know if I love her. I don't know if I even like her.

The only person I am certain about my feelings is my mother, that man, and Yuki.

I love my mother because she is caring. Just like I love my sister as well.

And the story is different about my father. I appreciate his efforts. He made me who I am, and there is a saying, like father, like son.

"So, I think I would have rejected my confession, not because of any emotion, but also just because of the effect that I am worthlessly caring about, in comparison to the real problems.~"

She forced a smile, one that hurt watching with his own eyes.

"Don't think of you as worthless in comparison to others. These 'problems' you are talking about, aren't hard for me to overcome. Besides, my mother taught me to never start things without ending them."

And, we just started, Alisa. This is a one-time opportunity for me. I doubt that I will find anybody like her ever again. The closest to her is Horikita, and Horikita is not an option.

In all honesty, Horikita would have rather killed herself five times than be my girlfriend.

"B-But..."

"But I don't care about these problems that much. These are my problems alone. Not yours or anybody. But you are a problem that also affects me. So getting this over with is a top priority currently."

"Я влюбляюсь еще глубже...[I am falling even deeper in love...] Then please let me assist you for the very last time. Or maybe also the first time."

As much as anybody would accept that help, I don't need it, I brought myself into this and need to get myself out of this.

Without any help. Because if I involve her, it's only getting worse.

》》Bonds and Betrayals《《

Our next event is going to be in one hour and 26 minutes. But this time, I want to hurry up and leave the east for the north.

North is mostly occupied by Class-C members, being the majority in the events. It's less populated there anyways, since most are in the east, west, and south due to the terrain being a lot more open and less dangerous for injury.

What Alya noticed and informed me about, is a new danger zone being marked red on the map, it's not that big, but apparently, already 12 students got disqualified there.

And that in 48 hours.

Honestly, I am fairly impressed by how tightly populated the higher and lower rankings are compared to the average.

I mean, only 120.000 Event points are separating first and us. And we are currently in 8th place.

And you can easily achieve much higher than just 120.000 in one event. During the night, there will be even more changes, the top teams and the lower are going to fight during nighttime as well since the middle class can pause a little since the probability of them falling is low.

"Alya, we need to hurry up a little. We need to pass by the center and then reach the northern events."

But something was off. Even though I configured my compass to direct me to the north, the event suddenly was a lot further to reach.

'In current pace:
North - 48 Minutes. Danger zone: Unidentified injuring terrain ahead! Keep care, slow down.

It showed me a new route, avoiding the deep cramped jungle, to follow the water stream.

It was already a good idea to follow the water stream since you couldn't lose your direction. But now it's highly suggested to do so.

And injuring terrain? Is there some kind of problem?

After all, this area was marked dark red. Staff was on the way to stabilize the safety in that area, but until that happens, we can assume that it would take some time.

"S-Sure! But are you sure? Aren't we supposed to follow the water?"

"Yes, but actually no. If we do that, the probability of the danger zone shifting to our location is way too high. The students passing to the north will all take the same route, and conflicts will be inevitable."

Besides, if everyone was told to not enter that zone, 99% would follow the suggestion. Resulting in it getting emptied, making it a lot safer for us.

And if something happened, staff would pass by eventually, just like they said.

"Ah...Seems reasonable. But what if something happens? After all, if something happens there, we will get half of the fault automatically since we ignored all the warnings."

"That may be right, but then we will catch the person creating that safe zone at the same time."

I am sure that it's not the terrain. If it was, they would have fixed that before the exam even started.

And the fact it's unidentified is confirming it. Something different was causing that problem.

And I may have an idea as to who it is.

"So, you plan to cross it in the hope nothing happens? Seems dangerous~"

"Just stay close enough, we should be safe then, also have your hands free in case."

"...I-I thought you were joking...I don't want to get problems with that as well."

But I want to. Because then I may find some material for our class to inspect. The zone is pretty much emptied by the minute we pass it.

And we weren't that far away, which is a strong saving in terms of time and energy passing through it, rather than taking a roundabout way with the water stream.

However, just as I expected, the zone was...moving.

It shifted by five meters into the east, only 100 meters until it reached and occupied the water stream.

Just as I expected.

However, I am also impressed, not a single duo was disqualified, but there were now 13 solo participants.

I don't know if I want to be one as well, I easily could food poison Alya, and send her back to the ship, or 'accidentally' injure her, after all, I strongly believe that she wouldn't dare to say anything right now.

And I don't believe anybody would believe that I would be capable of seriously injuring somebody.

Except for my sister, Sakayanagi, and Sudou. That's it.

But they would certainly not be able to understand why I would do that and probably sell it as a coincidence that Alya mysteriously got injured out of the blue.

The new question is, how do I want to do that? Maybe I shall let others do the work? Maybe a bit of violence will do the job well.

If I asked her, it would be the worst decision ever made. There is a chance that she would decline the option of retiring, which means if she then suddenly falls into high physical danger, all the suspicion will fall on me.

But let's put that aside, I will think of it more carefully once it is necessary.

"Kiyotaka, why do you want to move to the north though?"

"I just want to check it out, and since most of the students will leave it due to safety reasons, it will start to get a lot less populated, making it safer at the same time."

"Huh? Does that mean our events will get easier?"

As if we didn't dominate from the beginning already. A percentage of being on the podium is... 100%

Well...we only participated in two events until now, no wonder we have a high success rate.

"Not particularly, but there is a higher chance of us winning up there. The fact that 37 out of 160 students are located in the north right now, means we need to beat fewer students than in the other previous events."

"Your brain is way too fast Kiyotaka... Like your words are coming out with no delay~"

Hear me out. The longer I see her in this sports uniform, the more I regret it.

She is beautiful, even when a little depressed, she is peak human beauty.

I wouldn't be surprised if somebody told me she is 20 years old. Because in comparison to everyone else, she and Horikita could easily be my mother.

I mean, Horikita and my mother surely look similar, except for the facial expression and hair color.

"You want me to delay it?"

"No. I am just impressed by you again. I was always impressed by you in some way. But well, back to business right? We are finally here..."

We finally arrived at this newly discovered area. It was the northern event hut. Here, Mashima-sensei was having most of the control. However, what impressed me, was how many students got there additionally.

Additionally, I mean that on top of those 37 students, there are 4 additional duos, which just arrived.

And it makes this a lot more difficult than originally assumed. Perhaps they thought the same as us or returned here from the center.

"Kiyotaka-kun!" Suddenly I heard a voice which I was fairly familiar with.

And no, it wasn't Yuki or Kushida.

It was Haruka. And to be honest, I haven't seen her the past few days since we left for the cruise ship.

In the end, everyone has their struggles. There is nothing to worry about.

"Oh no! What if they think this and that when looking at me?"

In all seriousness, nobody looks at what your problems or insecurities are. Everyone has their problems and insecurities that they are trying to maintain.

"Hasebe? Ah. You as well, Akito. I didn't know you two were on the same team."

Honestly, the duo of these two will work with a lot of chemistry, and I am sure that these two are far from the expulsion spots.

"You and Kujou~san. Dehehe~ The pairing everyone has waited for.

I will leave that uncommented for several obvious reasons. Hasebe was rubbing salt deep into the wounds right now, after all, she was innocent and didn't know about Alya's rejection.

Perhaps she even thought that we were already a couple or that I got rejected instead of Alya.

But the reality is something only I and she know. And Yuki of course. She is my cloud of information after all.

"Haruka, don't talk too much, after all our pairing