Vol. 4: Chapter 13 - Ideal Results

2nd Day, 8:00 PM.

[The fourth group discussion begins now.]

"Anyone up for a game?" asked Ichinose. "Katsuragi-kun, Ryuuen-kun, if you're not interested in having a discussion, why not join us for some card games?"

"I'll pass." Katsuragi gently refused before looking at his classmates. "You can join in if you want."

"We're fine with just chilling here, Katsuragi-kun," replied Matoba.

Yano and Nishikawa nodded in agreement.

"Maybe later, Ichinose. I have some business with Class A, after all."

Ryuuen purposefully set off Class B and C's alarm meters.

"Oh? What kind of business?" Ichinose's smile didn't disappear, but her eyes narrowed into a sharp stare.

"Heh. We're not in some kind of spy movie, so you don't have to play dumb. It's obviously about the exam," he replied.

"Alright, since you want to get straight to the point, I'll just ask you directly. Are you planning something with Class A?"

"Of course, I am. But if you want to know the specifics, go ask Katsuragi."

Ryuuen didn't feel afraid at all. He casually revealed his motives to everyone. All of us reflexively turned towards the calm Katsuragi.

"I'm not obliged to tell you anything. Class B and Class C are already colluding, anyway."

"Hm, I guess that's fair. But you're not so dumb as to give him the names of Class A's VIPs, right?" asked Horikita.

"I was inclined to say nothing at first, but I've taken that as an insult, Horikita. I'm not careless enough to make that mistake. Are you looking down on me?" replied Katsuragi.

"I see. I apologize, then. My statement was influenced by your blunder during the island exam,"

Oi, oi, is a fight about to break out...?

"If things are gonna be the same as our previous discussions, then so be it." Ichinose mediated the situation in an instant. "Let's just spend the hour in a fun way, as per usual. It wasn't my intention to force Class A or D into doing anything."

"Now, now. Even if we're in the same group, a conflict of interests would be inevitable. I think it's fine if we just mind our own businesses without any troubles." Hirata backed her up without much delay.

"Maybe everyone's interested in playing a different game? We can look something up on the internet!" followed Kikyou.

In the end, we spent our time frolicking around with the cards. However, before the hour-long meeting ended, we decided to talk about the exam.

"How's your progress with the pattern, Horikita-san...?" asked Ichinose. "We only have three names, so it's still pretty hard to notice any patterns."

"I'll be honest. Despite having four names to work with, it's not that easy to find a pattern. The assigned students should have something in common for them to be chosen... but I still can't find what that is," replied Horikita.

"I'm surprised that you're just as stuck, Ichinose-san. One of our hypotheses is that the VIP is decided based on something that only the person or the people close to them knows. So we thought that one requirement was to know the VIP," said Hirata.

"We've thought about that as well. However, even if I was close friends with everyone in my class, I still couldn't find the common factor that made them the VIP..." answered Ichinose.

"That's right. As things stand, the exam might just end in a stalemate. Of course, I'm worried about Ryuuen's sudden team-up with Class A, but if we're betting on Katsuragi's resolve to not reveal their VIPs, then no one should figure out the pattern soon," said Kanzaki.

"What do you think, Kiyotaka-kun?" asked Kikyou.

"Hmm... I think Horikita can win this race. Having another name is a huge advantage, after all," I replied.

"I think I agree with you..." said Ichinose. "If that happens, then I'd be glad about your accomplishment. And although it's certainly troublesome for our class, please don't hesitate to submit the names of our VIPs. After all, I would certainly do the same if I found the pattern. In the end, we're all doing this for the sake of our class."

"..."

My classmates couldn't respond to Ichinose's genuine words. Even Kanzaki and Tsube didn't rebuke her. "If you figure out the pattern, please don't target our class." Even if we were in an alliance, Ichinose Honami would never make such a selfish request when she had nothing to give back. Horikita would've figured out the pattern using fair means, and her classmates understood that.

"How about another proposal then?" I spoke up.

I'll offer my last bit of help to Ichinose.

"Ayanokouji-kun?" Horikita muttered my name.

"A proposal?"

"This is in conjunction with what my prediction of the results is going to be."

All of them started to listen attentively. Throughout the course of the exam, I never really contributed much apart from getting Minamikata's name from Kouenji. So coming out with a "prediction" should be quite surprising.

"This is under the impression that Ryuuen has figured out the code already."

Apart from Horikita, all of them appeared shocked.

"Ryuuen-kun...?" muttered Kikyou.

"Did you believe what he told us before, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Horikita.

"We can't be too complacent. What if Katsuragi was lying and he already gave away Class A's VIPs in exchange for Ryuuen not targeting his class?"

"That's a big possibility. Katsuragi-kun has the luxury of ignoring gaining class points. In return, he'd cooperate with Ryuuen-kun to take our classes down. Since Class D's position isn't a threat to Class A, he would be satisfied with giving away VIPs to Ryuuen-kun as long as our class points get cut down," mused Ichinose.

"But one thing doesn't add up. If you Ryuuen really knew about the VIPs, why wouldn't he finish us off the moment he figured out the pattern?" Kanzaki contemplated with a grave expression.

"He told us his reason, right Horikita?"

"According to Ryuuen-kun, "I'm still having fun playing around"..." answered Horikita.

"That's quite unreasonable, isn't it?" Hirata commented with a bitter smile.

"It is unreasonable. That's why I'm inclined to pass it off as a bluff. But still..." replied Horikita.

Then again, Ryuuen was known for being unreasonable. Everyone thought of that, especially after the island exam.

"Well then, this is where my proposal comes in. The purpose of this plan is to act as a countermeasure against Ryuuen's attack. However, this requires Horikita to figure out the code before the exam ends. Then, we'll secretly submit our answers before Ryuuen does," I explained. "It will have similar details to our previous contract. If Ryuuen submits the last two VIPs from Class C, you guys will lose 100 class points. For that, we'll give you two VIPs from Class D."

"Then we'll get back the 100 class points that we lost, huh? If you're mirroring our previous deal, you'll give us the two names in exchange for the two 500,000 private point rewards, right?" asked Ichinose.

"Yes," I nodded. "After our previous contract is complete, we'll also have two targets left for Ryuuen. Our class will lose 100 class points, too. However, if this plan succeeds, we'll have three VIPs from Class A plus the other VIP from Class D. We'll gain an additional 100 class points as a result while Class A loses 150 class points. It's a win-win situation for our classes, isn't it?"

"So you've arranged this plan to help Class C hold their ground. At the same time, we'll surpass Class A while obtaining large amounts of private points..." Horikita summarized my plan beautifully.

"Yep. To be honest, it's the second-most ideal outcome overall. We're still working on nothing but assumptions and speculations. If you figured out the code and it turned out that Ryuuen didn't know who the VIPs were, Class B would gain 200 class points while Class C would gain 100. That's the best result we could hope for."

"But in order to do that, Class B would need to figure out the pattern," said Kanzaki.

It all comes down to that.

"Yep. So in the end, our victory is still up to you three, especially you, Horikita," I nodded.

If Horikita can work better together with Hirata and Kikyou, they might get an answer sooner. Regardless, I believe they'd deliver good results before the exam ends.

*Beep*

As soon as I finished explaining everything, my phone vibrated twice in succession. When I checked, two people had sent me a message.

(20:59) [Ayanokouji, it seems like Manabe and her friends are planning something.]

Yukimura was the sender of this message. I see... Them acting now was within the range of my expectations, though I expected them to act tomorrow during the rest day.

(20:59) [You don't have to follow them. Karuizawa's not in trouble. This is all part of our plan.]

Of course, that was a lie, but I can't afford to have him around.

(20:59) [Help.]

A single word. This was Karuizawa's message for me.

I glanced at Hirata and saw him looking at his phone. Karuizawa must've sent him a similar message.

"I'll go," I said.

Hirata nodded in reply. When my phone's clock hit 21:00, I immediately stood up and ran out of the room.