Chapter 163: 2.3
"Phew...I was about to break into a strange sweat."
No, it was safe to say I was already sweating.
Less than 30 seconds after Himeno left the room, I also slipped out of the demonic room 5034. It may be heaven for some people, but for me, I'm sorry, but it was a painful place to be. I couldn't say I was very good at interpersonal relationships after all. If I had committed to that kind of thing from the start, it might've been a different story, but I decided to play the role of an inconspicuous high school student. Suddenly changing that was no simple task.
However, since I hadn't had much contact with Ichinose's class before now, I think I was able to close the distance to a certain extent. With Ichinose at the centre, I was able to get a vague idea of the students surrounding her. What do they have and what are they missing? At this point, I knew the strengths and weaknesses of Ichinose's class.
The presence of students who could speak up was essential, no matter who was in charge in future. The only person I could think of who could do that right now was Kanzaki from the boys in the class. However, in a class that revolved around Ichinose, the girls seemed to have just as much influence as the boys.
Kanzaki was the type of person who could speak up against Ichinose, but whether he could appeal to the whole class and control the girls was an entirely different matter.
"Hmm?"
Himeno complained about having a headache and said she was going back to her room, but she walked in a completely different direction from the guest cabins. I only caught a glimpse of her as she turned the corner, but I was sure I didn't mistake her for someone else, as she had a very distinctive hair colour.
Himeno, the one who seemed to be a bit out of place during the girls' party earlier. She was acting a little suspicious, so I decided to follow her.
It was already late at night when we arrived at our destination, the stern of the ship, so there was no sign of life. I watched her profile from a distance and recalled Himeno Yuki's OAA scores.
Second-Year Class B Himeno Yuki:
Academic Ability: B- (63)
Physical Ability: C (51)
Adaptability: C+ (58)
Social Contribution: C+ (58)
Overall Ability: C+ (57)
Except for a high level of academic ability, they were neither good nor bad, and as far as I could tell, she didn't possess any outstanding abilities. However, that was just from what the school had decided. It was possible for students to have hidden strengths and weaknesses that couldn't be seen from the school's perspective. I'd like to keep digging a little more. The fastest route would be to speak with her directly.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh...? What?"
She averted her eyes with a slightly displeased look on her face. It was unnatural for her to be here since she left the room claiming she had a headache.
"Is your headache gone?"
She muttered a few words which were mostly drowned out by the wind, but I thought I made out the word 'annoying'. There certainly were a few boys and girls who used abusive language, but in Himeno's case, rather than to be offensive, it seemed she spoke like that so that others would keep their distance.
However, perhaps concerned about how others would view her, she cleared her throat once and turned her gaze in my direction.
"I thought that the breeze might help it ease up a little, so I was just stopping by."
"Do you get headaches often? You said something along those lines earlier."
I planned to ask her for more details, but she kept quiet, as if she didn't want to continue this conversation any further. She hadn't said a single word during the party, except for when she was leaving. In addition to that, the other girls basically never approached Himeno.
It wasn't like she was being bullied as Ichinose would never tolerate such a thing. Also, if their relationship was so bad, they wouldn't want to show it to someone from another class like me. In that case...
They must've half forced Himeno to come to the party. If I thought about it as them desperately trying to get a classmate to have fun, even if just a little, I could see the connection.
"It's because I get migraines."
She gave a short reply, in a cluttered manner.
"If it's a migraine, cooling it down is the correct response."
Migraines are caused by the dilation of cerebral blood vessels due to changes in hormones, fatigue and lack of sleep. Blood vessels dilate less when cooled, so exposure to a cold breeze wasn't a bad idea.
However, that was only if it really was a migraine.
She was about to start speaking, but I cut her off.
"Isn't your headache just an excuse to get out of an unpleasant situation?"
"Huh? Are you saying I'm a liar?"
Himeno had been relatively calm up to this point, but when I suggested she might be lying, her face changed. She was a rare type of person for Ichinose's class, where there were so many mild-mannered students.
My intuition wasn't wrong after all.
"I can see you're pissed off, did I hit the nail on the head?"
"You're wrong. Oh, what's this? Ah, my head is starting to hurt again...I'm going back to my room."
"I'm sorry if I upset you. It's just, could you listen to me for a moment?"
Holding her forehead, Himeno looked back in displeasure. "My headache is getting worse though?"
"I'm sorry."
"'I'm sorry' you say...you think it's a given that I'll listen to you?"
"You don't seem to like this."
"I don't."
The conversation flowed like a game of catch, and I could see it. This one seemed to be her true self.
"Ah well, guess I have no choice." Do you understand now? I shrugged my shoulders in exasperation. "I guess I have to go back to the party now and let them know that Himeno might be faking her condition."
"H-huh? Don't go treating me like this is a fake illness. You liar."
"Liar? I'm just saying you 'might' be faking your condition. At least that's the impression I got, so I've got the right to throw an accusation. You can just prove whether or not it's true or false in front of everyone later."
"There's no way to prove a headache, is there?"
"Maybe."
"What the hell's up with this? Everyone kept on praising you but you've got a nasty personality."
"At the very least, I don't believe they ever praised me for having a good personality, did they?"
I didn't really want to say it myself, but all they did was thank me for helping Shiranami.
"Is that right...?"
"In any case, you're a strange one, Himeno. How to put it? It's kind of unlike a member of Ichinose's class."
"Strange? If you ask me, the people in my class are too good-natured. Our class tends to get together in large groups to do everything. Well, I don't mind that in and of itself, but the problem is that these meetings take too long, and nobody ever wants to leave."
If I had to repeatedly go to meetings I didn't like, I'd get fed up with it. However, Ichinose's classmates enjoy these gatherings. That was why nobody wanted to leave, which of course resulted in the meetings taking too long.
"If you don't like it, you don't have to participate, right?"
"Do you really think I can do that? Even if I think it's irritating, it's important to stay in line."
"Well, I guess so."
Their class as a whole was a cohesive unit, and there was an especially strong sense of unity among the girls. Even if you were secretly unhappy, it would take a lot of courage to throw a stone and cause a ripple.
Himeno. Perhaps my encountering her would be the one factor that would change the path her class was headed on. Normally, I wouldn't get deeply involved with Himeno, a person of the opposite sex, unless there was a special situation.
However, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take a step forward here. Of course, if it ended up troubling Himeno, then so be it.
"If you want to relieve stress, isn't screaming the best thing to do?"
"Screaming...? Even if I wanted to, I'd get in trouble if I screamed here."
"Not many students come to the back of the ship, and when you consider the sound of the engine and the wind, even if you screamed, it wouldn't be heard. It would immediately be drowned out and disappear."
"But..." She looked puzzled, as if she had never screamed with all her effort before. "Well, why don't you go ahead and scream first?"
"...Me?"
I couldn't help but feel flustered by her unexpected response.
"I don't really know much about you, but you seem rather quiet...You don't seem like the type to scream out. If you show me how it's done, I'll try it myself."
I was in trouble. I don't remember ever feeling a strong sense of stress in my life, so if you were to ask if I had ever screamed out loud like I was suggesting, I'd say no.
"If you can't do it, hurry up and leave."
If I were to back out now, this would probably be the last time I'd speak with Himeno.
"I understand──"
Having made up my mind, I screamed out into the ocean while Himeno watched.
"Ah───── Okay, now it's your turn, Himeno."
"...Are you kidding me?"
"Not at all?"
"Your voice didn't have a shred of volume. Seriously, you're messing with me."
"Then show me how it's done."
"I won't give you an example or any other shit after that."
I spoke at Himeno's back as she tried to leave in disgust. "I thought you said that if I did it, you would do it too, Himeno?"
"No, no, I don't care if you think you've done it, you're just annoying."
"Whatever the volume, I did respond to your request. But if your voice is just as low as mine, you have no right to make fun of me."
To make sure she didn't just scream in the same low voice, I pre-emptively shut her down.
"Ah, shut up...I know, I know. I just have to do it once, right? Then you'll leave me alone?"
After taking a breath, Himeno put both her hands up in front of her mouth as if she had no choice.
"WA────────────!!!"
The sound of the ship's engine and the wind drowned out the rest of the world, so no one aside from me could hear it. However, a voice, twice as loud as I had imagined, echoed inside my ears. I felt like the ship was rocking...but it was only a feeling, it shouldn't actually be shaking.
Her usual speech and demeanour were that of a downer, her tone was low and her voice was subdued. However, in actuality, she had a tremendously powerful voice.
"Hah...That felt refreshing."
Himeno nodded in satisfaction, seemingly unconcerned by my surprised reaction.
"Right? I also felt better after screaming."
"No, no, you didn't scream at all."
She poked and prodded me while sending me a cold glare, like she was looking down on me.
"Well...I think I could've done better if I was under more stress."
"Yeah? It really didn't look that way to me though."
"You were much better than I thought you'd be. You must've been under a lot of stress."
"Ha? I'll kill you, you know?"
She gave me a very sharp look. Even when she was angry, she would always use her mouth before her hands and feet.
"I went a little too far."
I honestly apologized for my behaviour, but she didn't seem to be offended. Maybe this Himeno had a fearless side to her too.
"I'm going back to my room."
"Ah yeah, I'm sorry I held you up with all this."
"If you know that you were in the wrong, that's better yet."
After saying this, Himeno returned to the ship.
"I think I'll head back to my room too."
The party was supposed to be a celebration, but I felt unusually tired. It seemed I was going to have a deep sleep today.