Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Vol. 2: Chapter 8.1 - New Card

That night, I had to call Hirata on the phone.

"Ayanokouji-kun? It's rare for you to call. Is everything alright?"

"Hirata, I'll get straight to the point. Are you thinking about confronting Ryuuen?"

"What? What makes you say that?"

"It's just a hunch. You sounded a bit different when you called us earlier... I thought you might try to do something on your own."

Even if I couldn't see him I'm sure that Hirata was wearing a surprised expression.

"That's-... Ahaha, I guess I couldn't hide it from you, huh, Ayanokouji-kun... Yeah, I am planning to talk to Ryuuen-kun myself... I mean, what options do I have?"

"Well, you're doing it precisely because you can't think of any other options, right?"

"Yeah... Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun. I think it's the only way to save Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun."

"I see... Then, Hirata, can you leave it to me and Horikita? The two of us will be the ones who'll confront Ryuuen."

"You and Horikita-san? Are you sure...? I mean, I can come along with you guys if you want."

"No... I know you're worried, but it'll be fine. You can trust us on this one. We'll definitely save Ike and Yamauchi."

After a brief pause, I could hear Hirata sigh in resignation from the other end.

"Alright... Please be careful of Ryuuen-kun. Contact me if you ever need help."

"Yeah. Thanks, Hirata. I won't let you guys down this time."

"I never thought you did in the first place. You're doing everything you can."

After our call, I released a small sigh of relief. Now, I just have to rope Horikita in and have her take the lead role in a small show.

When Thursday came around, I asked Horikita to come with me. We called Ryuuen to the Special Building and he happily obliged.

He sure is confident. I wonder how he'll act once he's driven into a corner...

I gave Horikita the rundown of my plan and had her listen to the recordings on my phone. They were two separate voice recordings containing everything that happened during the incident. In other words, the truth.

"What... is this? This is the plan you were talking about? How did you get a hold of this?"

Horikita instantly stiffened upon hearing everything.

"Don't worry, I'll explain the details when the time comes. Just be sure to act like everything was your plan, at least, in front of Ryuuen."

"Alright..." Horikita replied while trying to fix her expression. "I'll act as instructed."

Finally, Ryuuen arrived along with Yamada Albert and Ishizaki Daichi.

"Oho? It's just you two in here, or was I interrupting something? It's not civil to make out on campus just because there are no security cameras, you know?" snickered Ryuuen.

"You're finally here, Ryuuen-kun." Horikita addressed him, appearing unperturbed.

"Why did you call me here, Suzune? And what's Ayanokouji doing here? Is he your bodyguard?"

Horikita gave me a quick glance.

"I told you to not call me by my first name, but your brain can't even comprehend that." Horikita sighed before giving me a glance. "Anyway, I guess you can consider Ayanokouji-kun as my convenient helper. I didn't want anyone else to know about this, so I just asked someone who isn't too relevant to come with me."