[Asking Class B!
Survey: What Do You Think of Kiriha-kun?] * Honami Ichinose: Friend, vigilance * Ryuji Kanzaki: Friend, vigilance * Chihiro Shiranami: Terror “After careful consideration, you were not selected as the VIP.
Please act with awareness as a member of the group and approach the exam.
The exam will begin today at 1:00 PM.
This exam will be conducted over 3 days starting today.
Those in the Rabbit group, please assemble in the 2nd floor Rabbit Room.” 8:00 AM on the first day of the special exam.
According to the email sent by the school, it seems I wasn’t chosen as the VIP.
While I won’t get to experience the thrill of whether I can hide it or not, it can’t be helped.
Having finished breakfast early, I wandered casually around the ship while organizing in my head the parts from yesterday’s explanation that had been bugging me.
First, choosing the Zodiac for group designation.
Since there are 12 groups, you could say the Zodiac was just convenient…
but if they made 12 groups specifically to use the Zodiac, that’s a different story.
It’s strictly a possibility so I shouldn’t get too fixated on it, but I’ll keep it in the back of my mind.
Next, as an absolute prerequisite, we were told to ignore the relationships between Class A through Class D, but she didn’t say a word about cooperating.
In fact, given the content of the exam, there’s not a shred of intent to make us cooperate.
That’s because even if we hold hands and play nice while tackling the exam, Outcome 1 won’t affect essential Class Points in the slightest.
Therefore, this exam comes down to whether you can see through and target the VIP faster than anyone else.
If so, why did Sensei say something like that…?
And finally, the VIP is adjusted fairly and strictly by the school.
Since fairness between classes was thoroughly maintained as much as possible in the previous exam, it’s safe to assume there are likely 3 VIPs per class, but there’s probably some rule to how VIPs are chosen rather than it being completely random.
If so, the fact that the groups are the Zodiac and the prerequisite to ignore class relationships might be hints to deciphering that rule.
Using these clues as a foundation, a few theories regarding who the VIP might be come to mind…
but no, there are too few clues and it all stops at speculation.
To roughly confirm my deduction, I’d need to know every single VIP in my own class at minimum, and to be even more certain, I’d need to grasp at least 1 VIP from another class.
But even if they’re classmates, there’s bound to be some hesitation in revealing oneself as the VIP.
The ones with the advantage in this exam are those like Hirata-kun or Bankai-chan who naturally gather VIP information, or those like Ryunkel who can forcibly extract it from classmates— “Oh?
Speak of the devil…” At a cafe on the deck, I saw Ryunkel bothering Horirin and Cozy.
The girl trailing behind him was…
Ibuki-chan, I think?
It’s a bit far from here, but my curiosity gets the better of me, so I approach them.
“Heyyy, Ryunkel~ What are you up to~?
Man, we’ve been running into each other a lot lately~” “Honjo…” Even though he had been bothering Horirin with an extraordinarily evil grin until a moment ago, the moment he sees my face, it turns into an irritated scowl.
Why though?
“You bastard, don’t go sending me stupid emails the instant we exchange addresses.” “Calling it stupid is impolite!
Are you mocking the 2nd installment of the daily email novel ‘A Urashima Taro-esque Tale’ that Arisu and I started yesterday, you fool?!” “A story where Urashima Taro dies at the start of chapter 1 isn’t Urashima Taro in the first place, goddammit!” “What on earth are you doing before a special exam…” “Is that so…
If it was really that much of a nuisance, I’m sorry.
I’ll stop sending it now.” “Ah?
Hey, don’t screw with me, hey!
Getting canceled like that makes me even more curious!
If you started it, take responsibility and finish it!
Did Kamesaburo manage to escape Otohime’s evil clutches or what?!” “You’re reading it pretty thoroughly, aren’t you?
And why is Otohime in the final boss position?” “…Honjo, I’m curious too, so could you send that novel to me as well?” “Ayanokoji-kun, don’t you jump on board too!” “I’m…
a bit curious too…” “Ibuki-san, you too?!” Oh my, Horirin—who was elegantly sipping coffee until just a moment ago—instantly plummeted into the exhausted caretaker position.
Serious people really draw the short stick at times like this.
“It’s getting pitiful for Horirin soon, so to get back on topic: what were you guys arguing about this early in the morning?” “We ain’t arguing about shit.
I just came out of the goodness of my heart to drop a warning via Suzune to the guy pulling the strings in the shadows of Class D.” “…I see.
A declaration of war saying you’ll expose them no matter what means it takes and pay back your debt from the deserted island exam, huh.” “Kuku, thanks for being quick on the uptake.” That’s what he says, Cozy.
Since he’s using such a roundabout way of phrasing it, looks like Ryunkel hasn’t realized it’s Cozy yet.
“I understand your frustration at being outsmarted by me, but why are you so obsessed?
Aren’t there other people to be wary of?
Ichinose-san, Katsuragi-kun, Sakayanagi-san who I’ve heard rumors about…
and that playful guy over there.” How rude.
“Katsuragi and Ichinose have already shown their true capacity.
I can crush either of them whenever I feel like it.
…Honjo and Sakayanagi are what you’d call the main dish.
It’d be a waste to devour them this early.” “Hey Cozy, I’m apparently the main dish.
Tofu Salisbury steak, apparently.” “That’s a surprisingly austere choice.” “Could you please just be quiet, Honjo-kun?
Whenever you’re around, any sense of tension—or rather, the serious atmosphere—just completely dies.” That was quite an unreasonable claim, but perhaps Ryunkel felt the exact same way, as he left alongside Ibuki-chan with a thoroughly subtle expression.
Really, how impolite.
“Looks like Ryunkel has his eye on you, but do your best not to let the mastermind get exposed.
I’ll keep quiet for you.” “From the way you talk, it seems you believe Ryuen-kun’s talk about a person behind the scenes.” “It’s the person who was being scouted by the former Student Council President the other day, right?” When I answered without missing a beat, Horirin showed a slight hint of agitation.
Did you think I didn’t notice you eavesdropping outside the Student Council room back then?
And Cozy, you really don’t get flustered at all, do you?
Not cute at all.
“…What are you talking about?” “Sorry, but lies and secrets don’t work on me.
…Well, because of that, this exam has degraded into a farce for me, though.” “Kh!
You…
could you also be the VIP…?!” “Unfortunately, I’ll probably be able to see through it right away.
But well, I won’t betray you, so rest easy.
Because in this exam, Katsuragi needs to fall as far down as he possibly can.” Leaving those words behind, I left the area.
In this exam, Ryunkel, who rules his class with fear and violence, stands at an overwhelming advantage.
Forcibly looking at other classes’ phones means expulsion, but doing it within his own class is a gray area.
If he gathers information on 3 VIPs, he can probably decipher the rule for choosing the VIP as well.
I have two things to do this time…
enjoy watching how Cozy moves behind the scenes, and observe how Bankai-chan tackles this exam.
Since I was honestly disappointed during the deserted island exam, I’m expecting her to redeem her honor—precisely because it’s Bankai.
After eating a lunch that didn’t differ a single bit from yesterday’s, I entered the designated location…
the room on the second floor with the plate labeled “Rabbit.” All 11 other members besides me were already gathered, sitting in chairs arranged in a circle grouped by class.
Showered in glares of vigilance, hostility, and affection, I sat in an open seat…
next to Class B’s Hamaguchi-kun, if I recall correctly.
Before long, the start time for the exam arrived, and an announcement for the commencement of the group discussion was broadcasted.
“Alright then, let’s start with the self-introductions instructed by the school.
MC Honami Ichinose-san, please proceed with facilitating!” “Nya?!
Me?!” “Yes, you.
Take a look around: who else is here that can manage this besides you?” “No, Honjo-kun, who took the initiative to speak up, could probably do it too…” “Listen here, if I loved taking charge, I wouldn’t be quietly obeying Arisu.
Stop making excuses and let’s get it over with quickly.” “So pushy…
But well, I guess it can’t be helped since it’s Honjo-kun.
Then, since I’ve been entrusted with it, I’ll do a proper job~!” Alright, successfully passed the buck.
As expected of someone who voluntarily applied for the Student Council, she doesn’t seem to mind bringing people together.
However, our tone-deaf classmate Machida expresses disapproval here.
“Is there any need for self-introductions at this point?
Only those who want to should—” “Alright everyone, feel free to call this guy ‘Dog-Vomit’ starting today~” “HUH?!
Honjo, you bast—!” “Don’t butt in uselessly, you idiot.
People who can’t even introduce themselves don’t have human rights.” “I wouldn’t go that far, but…
since the school specified it, you can’t complain if Machida-kun receives a penalty, right?
Besides, it might end up being the responsibility of the whole group.” Admonished not just by me but by Ichinose as well, Machida backed down meekly, and thus began the self-introduction time.
While safe self-introductions continued (though Cozy’s was terrible), it became super lively when I performed a magic trick alongside my self-introduction where balloon art popped out from everyone’s pockets.
“Now then, since we’ve fulfilled the school’s instructions with this, what should we do next?
I was forcibly assigned the facilitator role by Honjo-kun, but if anyone dislikes it, please don’t hesitate to speak up.” Even if she says that, in an exam where the golden rule is not talking too much to avoid making unnecessary blunders, hardly anyone wants to play the facilitator.
Bankai-chan, who doesn’t even make a annoyed face after having the buck passed to her by me, is the weird one.
“In that case, I’ll proceed.
First, there’s something I’d like to ask everyone, so let me pose a question.
For my part, I think clearing the exam together with everyone…
in other words, pursuing Outcome 1 is the best option, but what does everyone else think?” Yep, doubt.
Perhaps because she doesn’t usually lie, it’s super easy to tell.
Granted, she isn’t showing it in her posture at all, so I doubt anyone besides me would notice.
While almost everyone around agrees with Bankai-chan, I analyze their—Class B’s—policy If Outcome 1 being the best is a lie, then Bankai-chan…
no, Class B is aiming for Outcome 3 or Outcome 4.
As expected, while Outcome 1 nets a massive amount of Private Points, it doesn’t affect Class Points—which are necessary for overtaking the upper classes—at all.
Class B, which has a relatively comfortable margin of Private Points, wouldn’t consider Outcome 1 to be the best.
…That said, if she aims for Outcome 3 here, her image as a pure, blameless good person that she’s built up so far would crumble.
If that happens, at worst, it could crack Class B’s unity—which relies on her moral character.
So through process of elimination, the best outcome for Bankai-chan is Outcome 4…
To be more specific, making Class A or Class C—preferably Class A—betray the group and miss the answer.
…But will it really go that smoothly?
“Isn’t that question a bit unfair?
If you’re not the VIP, it’s only natural to expect a reward.
Besides, no one is going to declare out loud that they’re going to betray the group.
This makes it sound as though you’re saying it’s wrong not to confess to being the VIP.” “Isn’t it a reasonable question for an exam?
If you dislike it, you just don’t have to answer.” Machida remains unphased by Hamaguchi-kun’s counter.
In fact, if Katsuragi filled his head with all sorts of things yesterday, this much was probably within expectations.
“That’s certainly true.
In that case, we in Class A will remain silent.” Machida crosses his arms to express refusal, and Morishige follows suit, adopting a stance of remaining silent.
Since Katsuragi is taking command of this exam as well, it isn’t particularly strange for Morishige—who was actually part of the Sakayanagi Faction—to obey.
Still, Katsuragi, to think you’d prioritize cautious and solid tactics even in your current cliffhanger situation…
Choosing the class first over holding onto the leader’s seat?
At that point, it goes past disbelief and straight into admiration.
…Me?
Who the hell would follow such a boring plan?
To beat a dead horse, I wasn’t even told about that plan in the first place~ Some bald guy left me out of the meeting~ –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Author’s Note: Ryuen-kun is becoming more and more of a comedy character…
What would you like to work on next?