Lilac Petals (Classroom of the Elite)

Chapter 1

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka

Fortunately, the graduation ceremony and the closing ceremony both concluded without incident. Spring had just arrived, and everybody welcomed the break with open arms. Since this school was government-funded, every student had access to a number of facilities, meaning that as long as you had enough points, you could still make the most of your holiday.

Speaking of points, it seemed that no one in my grade would be running low. Even Class D, the lowest-ranked class in the competition, would be receiving a decent amount of points on the 1st of April. If you considered the average allowance of high schoolers, it was obvious that we had too much money.

While everyone enjoyed their free time, I had things to think about. With the older Horikita already out of the picture, Nagumo would move on. By now, he had probably noticed the older Horikita's high opinion of me, meaning I would most likely be his next target. So I was going to get dragged into his games, whether I liked it or not.

And there was also that contract with Kushida. As part of that contract, I pledged to give her half of my income. I wasn't a particularly big spender, so for the most part, I was fine. However, things were starting to change, and there were some decisions to be made. Should I just stick to the original plan? Or should I go about another plan?

Anyway, right now, I was at the entrance of the library. A few hours ago, a certain someone had invited me to play another round of chess. So, here I was, hanging around our designated spot, about ten minutes ahead of schedule.

I had nothing to do, so I gazed off into the far distance, not bothering to check the time or anything. I nonchalantly watched students from different grade levels wander about, casually talking to each other as they did so. It was also a little bit hotter than usual, but the temperature was probably going to drop once evening rolled around.

"You've arrived quite early."

After a few minutes of waiting, a petite girl with lilac-colored hair showed up. She was the person I had agreed to meet with.

"I guess so. Good afternoon, Sakayanagi."

"Good afternoon, Ayanokouji-kun. I hope I haven't kept you waiting for long."

"No, you're alright. I'm the one who arrived early."

"Fufufu, I see. Once again, thank you for accepting my invitation." She then shifted her focus to the library. "Now, then, shall we get going?"

After exchanging brief greetings, we stepped into the library. No one was there today, so it felt like we were walking into an abandoned building. I also half-expected Hiyori to be present since she normally spent most of her free time reading books, but she was nowhere to be seen in her usual spot.

I took the chessboard from a nearby shelf and placed it on a table for two. After we settled in our seats, we both arranged our respective pieces in their starting positions.

"Are you ready?" she asked, picking up a piece.

"Yeah," I replied.

And so, our game began. Sakayanagi placed her pawn in D4, while I responded by placing my knight in F6. The library's stillness was somewhat calming, only broken by the clacking of our chess pieces.

After several minutes, our game took an unexpected pause. I had just made my move, but Sakayanagi looked at me intently instead of countering.

"Ayanokouji-kun, do you recall my words regarding 'warmth,' following our initial match in the library?"

"Mhm, I remember."

"Have you been able to discern the meaning behind those words?"

Instead of resuming our game, she looked at me with expectant eyes. I supposed she wasn't going to continue unless I gave my answer.