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Part 7

The first day's mealtime, in other words, the first opportunity to make contact with the girls since getting off that bus in the morning has come.
The spacious cafeteria looks like it can fit quite a lot of people in it and if you go up the stairs, you get a nice view of the first floor.
From a cursory inspection, it looks like it'd fit about 500 people and there's also a considerable number of students occupying it.
"It's not easy to meet up with someone now that we don't have our phones".
Horikita and Kei are probably looking for me but I didn't make a move.
 
In this case, even if those two happened to find me, their reactions would be polar opposites.
Horikita would unreservedly call out to me but Kei would wait and see. Because she'd understand that I'm not looking for her, in other words, that there's no need to make contact with each other right now.
On the very first day, making contact with various students is something to be expected. I don't think I'm being marked in particular but there's a good chance that I'll attract attention from Sakayanagi and the student named Nagumo.
 
Hirata and Satou had been accompanying us at the time, but Nagumo still saw Kei and I together.
As such, I'd like to avoid clumsily making contact. I'll go solo and observe, to a certain extent, who's making contact with who.
However, the meal comes first. The mere one hour we had been allocated is precious time after all. Holding a tray in my hands, I sat alone.
If this had been a normal school day then the different school years would have been separated into different areas to a certain extent but this time around, since we're being divided up into groups instead, students from across all school years intermingle and eat their meals together.
 
They mostly gather in groups but there are also quite a few students moving around for the sake of gathering information.
There are also a lot of those who are doing so because this is the only place you can make contact with the girls too.
There are also couples who are spending time together because said time together happens to be limited to this period as well.
 
"Haaaafuuuuuuu".
I heard a cute voice close by that sounded exhausted.
It's the leader of the 1st years' Class B, Ichinose Honami. There were many boys and girls crowded around her.
I took a seat on a vacant chair nearby and decided to eavesdrop. Right now, I'm confident that my surroundings won't notice me, more or less.
"...it's pathetic that I'm proud of not having much of a presence though".
Anyway, Ichinose and the others didn't react at all even though I'm sitting not too far away. Well, there are about 500 students in the cafeteria so they're probably not going out of their way to identify each and every student near them.
 
"Good work out there, Honami-chan. Was it difficult?".
"Nyahaha. If you ask me whether or not it was difficult then I'd say it was difficult. I thought we'd be able to decide on our groups more smoothly---. But when you've got to quarrel, you've just got to quarrel I guess".
"It can't be helped. The other classes are enemies after all".
"But according to what Kanzaki-kun said earlier, it went pretty well on the boys' side though".
"Ehh~? Really~? It took us past noon though".
 
It's not like it went smoothly for the boys either but it appears the girls had quarrelled even further. Perhaps the teachers didn't schedule any lessons today for that very reason?
 
"Hey, do you think somebody will get expelled in this exam.....?".
"It'll definitely be fine, is what I'd like to say but so far there hasn't been a single expellee from amongst the 1st years. Still, I don't think we should let our guard down".
She seems like she's able to take on this special exam with an appropriate awareness of danger.
 
"What should we do if we get dragged down......?".
"It'll be fine, Asako-chan. As long as you put in serious effort, it won't come to that".
"You think so......?".
"Besides, if it ever does come to that, we can just save you after all".
Ichinose said that to console the despondent Asako. Out of all those members, Ichinose seemed to be the most exhausted one but she was the most stouthearted one there.
"I'm exhausted".
 
Ichinose leans her upper body on the table. Catastrophically enough, that ended with her noticing me sitting not too far away from her.
"Ayanokouji-kuuuun yaho~".
Ichinose? I didn't notice you there. Answering with that would make it feel unnatural on the contrary.
Considering that despite the distance, I could hear her voice well enough, it would be best if I gave an honest answer.
"You were having a good time".
 
"Girls' chats may or may not be their source of power".
Saying something I don't really get, Ichinose once again leaned on the table. Since she usually doesn't show this defenseless side of hers, it was quite the unexpected sight.
"Ahh, can't I do this?".
She said that as she tried straightening herself up and so I stopped her.
"It's normal to do something like that when you're tired".
 
"Sorry---. For making it slightly uncomfortable".
It's not uncomfortable at all. I said so internally since I couldn't put it into words.
"It's become quite the difficult group, hasn't it?".
"It was difficult until we formed this current group, is perhaps how I should put it. Girls know very well what they like and dislike, or more like, there are more than a few girls who are willing to say they don't like another girl straight to their face. In that regard, when it comes to personal feelings, aren't they a lot of boys who like to muddy the waters?".
 
"Ryuuen's openly disliked though".
"It's bad to laugh at that but that really couldn't be helped, could it? But isn't Ryuuen-kun tired too? To be disliked by everyone must be tiring".
That way of looking at it isn't wrong but that probably doesn't apply to Ryuuen. Because it looked to me that he's able to relax now that he no longer has anything to shoulder.
"Don't get too fired up".
I concluded that it's pointless to overstay my welcome here and so I stood up from my seat.
 
"It's fine, it's fine. Being energetic is about the only thing I have going for me. See you later, Ayanokouji-kun".
Ichinose waved at me and saw me off. One hour per day. That's the rule this time around concerning opportunities to make contact with the girls.
Boys and girls can't meddle with each other directly but I imagine this hour's clearly meant to let us share information with one another.
In all likelihood, we're meant to gather information here, give out instructions and fight our fight.
This is probably where students who are trusted and who possess high communication abilities shine.
 
"I'm not suited for this at all".
 
Just like that time on the uninhabited island, there's basically nothing I can do here.