Chapter 125: A Gathering of Heroes, or Just a Meeting of Radishes!
The time quickly reached nine o'clock.
Hachiman, Ichinose Honami, and Kanzaki Ryuji walked down the corridor toward the designated room for the Dragon Group. There were significantly fewer students in the hallway than in the morning; only a few hurried figures could be seen occasionally, all rushing to their respective group discussion rooms.
"Dragon Group..." Ichinose looked at the notification on her phone and read softly, "Room 207."
Kanzaki nodded, his gaze landing at the end of the corridor. "That's the one up ahead."
Hachiman didn't say anything, simply following behind the two. The lights in the corridor were somewhat dim, mixing with the natural light filtering through the windows to cast dappled shadows on the floor.
When they reached the door of Room 207, it was already open.
There were already people inside.
Hirata Yosuke stood near the window, a gentle smile on his face as always. Kushida Kikyo sat on a chair to the side, looking down at her phone. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka leaned against the wall, staring out the window, his thoughts unknown.
Hearing footsteps, Hirata was the first to turn around.
"Hikigaya-kun, Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun." His tone was warm and welcoming. "You've arrived."
Hachiman nodded in response.
Ichinose, on the other hand, greeted them with a smile. "Hirata-kun, you guys got here early."
"We just arrived a short while ago," Hirata said, his gaze landing on Hachiman with a hint of sincere gratitude. "Hikigaya-kun, regarding the uninhabited island exam, I've been looking for a chance to thank you. If it weren't for you, Class D wouldn't have been able to secure stable living expenses so smoothly."
Hachiman shook his head. "It was just a normal transaction. No need for thanks."
But Hirata said earnestly, "To you it was a transaction, but to Class D, it was a lifesaver. And regarding the previous business with Sudo and Yamauchi, it's also thanks to the points you lent. I've kept that favor in mind."
Hachiman opened his mouth to say something but ultimately just nodded.
This guy Hirata... is too serious. It was clearly a matter of mutual benefit, yet he insists on remembering it as a debt of gratitude. Though, it's probably because of this personality that
he's the easiest to scam. I hope he doesn't end up being sold fake health supplements when he's old.
Standing to the side and watching Hirata's sincere expression, Ichinose felt a slight surge of emotion. As someone who was also a "holy mother" type, she felt that having someone like Hirata in Class D was both a blessing and a curse for the students.
The blessing was having a classmate willing to protect them; the curse was that protecting everyone without reservation wasn't necessarily good for the class as a whole.
Of course, as Ichinose Honami, she couldn't bring herself to abandon anyone either. If Class B had to have an expellee, she hoped it would be her.
Sensing the intense "holy mother" aura emanating from Ichinose, Hachiman turned his attention to another student from Class D.
Kushida Kikyo.
Just then, Kushida, who had been looking at her phone, looked up. Her eyes met his, but she quickly looked away after only a second.
Today's Kushida-san seemed quite cold.
Of course, he wasn't demanding she be enthusiastic. In the eyes of outsiders, it was actually better if they appeared distant. After all, many people probably knew that Karuizawa or Horikita were on good terms with him now; Kushida... could probably hide this connection a little bit as well.
.
.
.
At that moment, a cacophony of footsteps echoed from the corridor.
The voice arrived before the person.
"Heh, everyone's here early."
Ryuen Kakeru's figure suddenly appeared at the door. Hands in his pockets and a defiant expression on his face, he strode into the room. Behind him followed Kaneda Satoru and Shiina Hiyori.
Kaneda Satoru still looked like the studious type, pushing up his glasses, while Shiina Hiyori followed quietly behind, her silver hair shimmering softly under the lights.
She carried an atmosphere vastly different from Ryuen and Kaneda.
Ryuen's gaze swept across the room, lingering on Hirata for less than a second before skipping over him to land on Ayanokouji.
He stopped in his tracks.
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
Ryuen was staring at Ayanokouji with undisguised hostility. He walked toward Ayanokouji, each step carrying a sense of pressure, finally stopping less than a meter away.
"You," Ryuen spoke, his voice low and dangerous.
Ayanokouji looked at him without speaking.
Ryuen narrowed his eyes. "In the uninhabited island exam, the person who wrote down my name... was you, wasn't it?"
It wasn't a question; it was an assertion.
Ayanokouji remained silent.
"Stop pretending," Ryuen sneered. "That bald guy Katsuragi doesn't have the courage. Even if he knew I was the leader, he wouldn't risk writing it down. The only one capable of doing that is you."
Ayanokouji looked at him expressionlessly, neither admitting nor denying it.
Ryuen took a step forward, closing the distance. His voice was low but carried a bone-chilling coldness. "In this exam, I'll make sure your Class D doesn't get a single point."
"Not a single point."
The words were spoken softly, but they sent a shiver down one's spine.
Anyone could sense the sword-drawn tension in the air.
Hirata's expression changed instantly, and he stepped forward. "Ryuen-kun, please calm down. We are all members of the same group now—"
"Group?" Ryuen interrupted him, turning to Hirata with a gaze full of mockery. "You don't actually think the school put us in one group so we could get along, do you?"
He looked over everyone present, raising his voice slightly.
"Guessing the identity of a 'VIP' adds a hundred points. What does a hundred points represent? In the island exam, after struggling to hold a spot for a week, you only get a dozen points. Now, just by guessing one person, it's a hundred points."
He paused, his lips curling into a cold smirk.
"The school put us people from different classes together specifically so we would kill each other. Expecting us to set aside our grudges? Keep dreaming," Ryuen said cruelly.
Though his words were harsh, no one present could deny them.
Hirata opened his mouth but found he could say nothing.
However, Ryuen was attacking Class D after all. Even if she felt great seeing Ayanokouji under fire, staying too indifferent wouldn't fit her "White Lotus" persona in Class D. So, Kushida waited a few seconds before standing up, a sweet, lotus-like smile already on her face. "Ryuen-kun has a point, but the exam has just started. It's not great to have such a tense atmosphere, right? We have to stay together for four days, after all."
Ryuen glanced at her, scoffed, and stopped talking.
Just then, more footsteps came from the doorway.
It was Katsuragi Kohei, whose name had just been mentioned.
Though his bald head was conspicuous under the lights, his expression was steady and calm. Following behind him was Class A's handsome, tall, and thin blonde, Hashimoto Masayoshi. However, Hashimoto seemed exceptionally low-profile today; he didn't even look at anyone upon entering, silently following behind Katsuragi.
Without looking closely, one would simply take him for a member of the Katsuragi faction.
Entering the room, Katsuragi's gaze quickly scanned the area, lingering for a second between Ryuen and Ayanokouji before withdrawing.
"Ryuen, your attitude is a bit too poor," he spoke, his tone steady with a hint of disapproval.
Ryuen turned to face Katsuragi, the mockery on his face deepening.
"Katsuragi, stop acting like the good guy," he said. "Are you any better than me? Have you already forgotten the miserable situation of the island exam?"
Katsuragi flinched slightly.
Ryuen tilted his chin toward Ayanokouji. "I'm attacking our common enemy, Class D's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He also wrote down your Class A's Totsuka Yahiko, and he wrote down my name for Class C. Both our classes were played by him."
Katsuragi's gaze fell on Ayanokouji, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
Although Class A had been targeted by B, C, and D simultaneously regarding the leader identities, why Class D had specifically written his name was indeed something he couldn't accept.
So, he remained silent for a few seconds and ultimately didn't speak.
"..." Hachiman watched quietly.
As an observer of humanity, he didn't take the initiative to speak, and his presence was actually quite low.
However, Ryuen's move was quite clever. By pointing the spear at Ayanokouji, he both diverted Class A's attention and found a common enemy for himself.
Based on what Karuizawa had said, Ryuen was indeed a master of psychological manipulation.
At that moment, the light sound of footsteps and a cane echoed from the doorway. There was only one person in the entire school who used a cane.
Sure enough, Hachiman looked over to see Sakayanagi Arisu entering.
She wore the school's red blazer uniform paired with a pleated skirt, her left hand gripping the cane and a black beret on her head. Her steps were slow but composed, elegant enough to make it hard to look away.
This was Sakayanagi Arisu, the cutest girl in the entire grade.
Sakayanagi's gaze swept the room, finally landing on Hachiman.
"Hikigaya-kun," she spoke, her voice sweet and soft. "What a coincidence, we've been assigned to the same group."
Hachiman looked at her. Out of all these people, she greeted him first upon entering. He said, "The fact that Sakayanagi-san hurried back from school to participate in the exam and we ended up in the same group is indeed quite surprising."
"Hehe—" Sakayanagi laughed softly, a hint of playfulness in her smile.
"Surprising? I think this grouping is quite interesting." She paused, her gaze once again scanning everyone present. "Look, Class A has me, Katsuragi-kun, and Hashimoto-kun. Class B has you, Ichinose-san, and Kanzaki-kun. Class C has Ryuen-kun, Kaneda-kun, and Shiina-san. Class D has Ayanokouji-kun, Hirata-kun, and Kushida-san."
She recited the names like she was reading a menu.
But.
"Everyone here is a core figure of their respective classes," she added.
As soon as she said this, the room fell silent for a few seconds.
Standing behind Katsuragi, Hashimoto Masayoshi's expression stiffened slightly.
Core figures?
He instinctively looked at Sakayanagi, then at Ryuen, and finally at Hachiman.
Sakayanagi, Katsuragi, Ryuen, Hikigaya, Ayanokouji... which of these people wasn't a genius? What was he doing mixed into this group? So, was he considered... a core member of Class A? Was he worthy?
He remembered his betrayal of Class A on the uninhabited island. The transaction with Ryuen for two million points...
And now, if these people suddenly started comparing notes—
He didn't dare think further.
If that bastard Ryuen let something slip here...
Hashimoto took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. He couldn't panic; panicking would give him away. Sakayanagi's words might have just been offhanded. She probably wasn't pointing him out intentionally.
Just then, Hachiman spoke up.
He had originally thought he could just watch the show, but since Sakayanagi had called him out, his low presence was useless. He might as well start some trouble proactively.
Since everyone was attacking each other anyway.
So.
"Speaking of which, Ryuen," Hachiman said with deliberate casualness, "has Class A paid you for that two-million-point deal with Katsuragi yet?"
Ryuen turned to Hachiman, a hint of wariness in his eyes. "Why are you asking that?"
"Just curious if Class A has given you the money yet." Hachiman shrugged.
Curious?
Believe you? Like hell. You're a crafty old fox.
However, Ryuen remained silent for two seconds before pulling a piece of paper from his pocket and waving it.
"An IOU. It hasn't been cashed yet."
Katsuragi nodded. "The transfer will be made once we return to school. That was the agreement."
Hachiman looked at the IOU and nodded thoughtfully.
"It seems your Class A is full of ambition for this exam," he said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't delay it like this."
Ryuen frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple. Transferring back at school is reasonable, but if someone is in debt and can repay it quickly, most people aren't willing to stay in debt," Hachiman said. "So, Class A wants to accumulate their remaining points to use for this exam."
Hachiman continued, "Sakayanagi-san seems to be offering large sums to buy info on Class D's VIPs, doesn't she?"
I see.
Ryuen understood. So Class A had the same idea as him: using points to harvest information from the poor, class-loyalty-lacking Class D.
From this perspective, Class A was indeed ambitious for this exam. Even with a pile of debt, they were still planning to spend money.
However, since Ryuen himself needed to borrow points from Hachiman, he temporarily shut up. After all, Class A still had points, while he truly had none. He couldn't even manage a buyout.
Though Shiina Hiyori was standing behind Ryuen, her gaze was fixed on Hachiman.
She felt that Hikigaya-kun's words... were meant to test something. Did he feel that buying information with points was inappropriate? Or was it because he himself was the person with the most points, so if information was to be bought, he naturally had the most financial power? Thus, the price of one million points from others had no competitiveness in his eyes—was he going to use financial power to clear this exam?
As she was thinking, she suddenly felt a gaze on her.
Looking up, she met Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes.
Sakayanagi looked at her with a faint, indiscernible smile.
Hiyori was slightly stunned, feeling inexplicably uneasy.
Why was Sakayanagi-san staring at her?
Actually, back at school, when she discovered Sakayanagi-san looking at her book list, she had a faint feeling that Sakayanagi had her eye on her. Being stared at directly like this now made her even more anxious for some reason.
While Hiyori was thinking, Sakayanagi indeed spoke up proactively. "Shiina-san, have you been spending these days reading in the library?"
Hiyori nodded quickly, her cheeks flushing slightly as she said reservedly, "Yes, I go there occasionally."
"Oh? That's a pity." Sakayanagi shook her head gently, her tone carrying a hint of regret. "Next time you could try reading Beneath the Wheel. The one you were reading before, No Longer Human, that kind of plot about unrequited love is too cliché and uninteresting. Your taste is indeed not quite up to par."
Hiyori was stunned, then realized—it seemed Sakayanagi also frequented the library and had noticed the books she read. She just hadn't expected the books she liked to be "cliché" in Sakayanagi's eyes. She lowered her head awkwardly and whispered, "I'll give it a try. Thank you for the recommendation, Sakayanagi-san."
Sakayanagi gave a soft "Mm," withdrew her gaze, and said no more.
Just then, a broadcast echoed through the corridor.
"Attention all students, the first group discussion is about to begin. Please start the discussion in each group promptly at nine o'clock. The content is unrestricted, and the duration is one hour. Repeating—"
Ichinose glanced at her phone. "It's nine o'clock."
The group took their seats around the circular table.
Sakayanagi sat by the window, her cane leaning against the back of her chair. Katsuragi sat next to her, with Hashimoto beside Katsuragi. Ryuen sat brazenly across from Sakayanagi, with Kaneda Satoru and Shiina Hiyori on either side of him. The three from Class D sat on the other side.
The three from Class B took the remaining seats. Ichinose was on Hachiman's right, and Kanzaki was on his left.
Twelve people, forming a circle.
The round table wasn't large; everyone could clearly see the expressions of everyone else.
After a brief silence, Ichinose was the first to speak.
"Alright, the time is about right. We should begin our discussion." Her tone was gentle, a sincere smile on her face as she took the lead. "Even though everyone here is a familiar face, to make our future cooperation smoother, perhaps we could start by introducing ourselves and briefly sharing our thoughts?"
Ryuen scoffed. "Self-introductions? Ichinose, are you serious?"
Ichinose looked at him openly. "Is there a problem?"
"Of course there's a problem, because it's a waste of time!" Ryuen leaned back, crossing his arms. "You don't actually think we haven't already figured out everyone's background, do you? What's the point of self-introductions?"
Katsuragi's brow furrowed slightly.
He obviously knew what Ryuen was talking about—the fact that Hashimoto had arranged for people to watch Class B and C this morning had indeed been discovered by Ryuen.
"Ryuen," Katsuragi spoke steadily, "what do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean?" Ryuen sneered. "You know very well. Arranging for people to hang around our Class C area this morning—wasn't that just to see if we were making any moves? Katsuragi, you look steady on the surface, but you're not clean behind the scenes."
Katsuragi was silent for two seconds before slowly saying, "Arranging to observe the movements of other classes is a normal strategy. Compared to your method of forcing students to hand over their phones to show school messages, it's at least compliant."
"Forcing?" Ryuen acted as if he'd heard something hilarious. He pulled his phone from his pocket, clicked a recording, and placed it on the table.
"Ishizaki Daichi, voluntary."
"Albert, voluntary."
"Kaneda Satoru, voluntary."
"Tokito Hiroya, voluntary."
The recordings played one after another, the voices clear and the tones varied. Some spoke loudly, others reluctantly, but every segment ended with "voluntary."
Ryuen put his phone away and looked at Katsuragi.
"Did you hear that? Voluntary. I didn't force anyone. Besides, this is the only way to ensure accurate information." He paused, his lips curving into a mocking arc.
"What about your Class A? Relying on students to report voluntarily? If someone intentionally hides something, can you, Katsuragi, even know?"
Katsuragi's expression flickered, but he quickly regained his composure.
"I trust the students in my class. They wouldn't do anything to harm the class's interests," Katsuragi said firmly, though a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.
Because despite saying that, he had already been betrayed once.
And Ryuen clearly didn't miss Katsuragi's expression.
"Trust?" Ryuen laughed out loud. "You trust them? Then tell me, in the island exam, how was your class's leader information leaked?"
As soon as those words were spoken, the room fell silent.
Swish!
The face of the genuine Class A traitor, Hashimoto Masayoshi, turned nearly pale as he cursed Ryuen in his mind. However, relying on his superb acting skills, he quickly returned to normal, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
Sakayanagi Arisu opened her water bottle and took a light sip, saying nothing.
Katsuragi was silent.
Ryuen looked at him, the mockery on his face deepening.
"What? Nothing to say? You trust your students, and what happened? The leader info was leaked, the spot points were all gone, and you're burdened with tens of millions in debt. That's the result of your 'trust'."
Katsuragi slowly began, "In that exam, there were indeed oversights. But that was my responsibility—"
"Enough."
A sweet voice interrupted Katsuragi.
Sakayanagi set down her water bottle and looked at Ryuen calmly.
"Ryuen-kun, what's past is past. Class A has accepted the results of that exam and borne the corresponding costs. What is the point of bringing up old grudges now, other than wasting time?"
Ryuen looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Sakayanagi, you're actually speaking up for Katsuragi. I thought you two never got along?"
Sakayanagi smiled lightly. "Whether we get along is an internal matter for Class A. Right now in this group, I simply don't want outsiders to see a joke."
Ryuen scoffed and didn't speak further.
Was Sakayanagi speaking for Katsuragi? No, she was maintaining Class A's overall image. It was fine for the two factions in Class A to fight, but they couldn't let outsiders see it. Moreover, she was protecting Hashimoto. There was no way she was completely ignorant of Hashimoto's involvement. But exposing it now served no benefit for Class A.
Of course, it was also possible... she was taking note of the grudge to settle later.
Hachiman knew very well that Sakayanagi-san was someone who held a serious grudge. In the original story, because Yamauchi bumped into her and mocked her for not looking where she was going, she unhesitatingly had him expelled in the next volume.
That was where Sakayanagi Arisu's attack power came from.
So if that were the case, Hashimoto's betrayal of Class A would certainly be brought up by her when needed.
The only thing needed was to obtain evidence of Hashimoto's betrayal.
It seemed he wouldn't even need to proactively sell the evidence of Hashimoto's betrayal to Sakayanagi; she already had intentions in that direction.
Looking at it this way, the two of them were actually somewhat "mentally connected."
Thinking this, Hachiman noticed Sakayanagi's gaze had quietly fallen on him.
Her eyes were violet-blue and quite beautiful. Noticing him looking back, she even smiled.
Her smile was indeed cute. It could make one's heart race.
Ugh.
Hachiman quickly looked away.
In contrast to the pinkish atmosphere between the two, Hashimoto felt only the room falling into a brief silence again, making him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles. Hashimoto could feel that although no one mentioned spies anymore, an unusual atmosphere seemed to permeate the air, making him uncomfortable all over.
Just then, he seemed to notice a detail and quickly spoke to break the silence. "By the way, Kanzaki-kun, why is your phone case different from everyone else's?"
At this, everyone's gaze landed on Kanzaki, then on the phone beside him.
Following his line of sight, everyone indeed saw the phone Kanzaki Ryuji had placed outside his pocket; it had a gray case, different in style from the others.
Hashimoto felt secretly relieved that he had finally steered the topic elsewhere. He quickly added, "Actually, I happened to pass by and see this morning—Class B seemed to have unified and confiscated all students' phones before eight o'clock, then gave them backup phones. So the phones Class B students are holding now should all be backup phones, right? And I heard that Class B students don't even know the VIP information; only Ichinose-san and Hikigaya-kun are aware of it."
As he spoke, he observed everyone's reactions, feeling a sense of relief—as long as the topic didn't involve him, anything was fine.
This information had already been reported to Katsuragi and Sakayanagi, and other classes would find out sooner or later, so there was no harm in saying it now. Instead, it put Class B on the hot seat.
"There's actually such a way of taking the exam?" Hirata Yosuke said in surprise, his eyes full of disbelief.
Clearly, he had understood the meaning behind Class B's operation.
Since everyone was divided into 12 groups to discuss protecting or guessing the identities of other classes' VIPs, there could be chaotic actions that brought losses to the class. But this way, Class B could completely prevent their students from taking any action.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's gaze also fell on Hachiman, falling silent for a few seconds.
Backup phones. No notifications received.
This way, the people in Class B wouldn't know if they were the VIP. Without pressure, they wouldn't show any flaws. They would be completely ignorant, making all intelligence useless to other classes. Furthermore, they couldn't answer prematurely even if they wanted to—because they didn't even have their phones.
This line of thinking... was exactly like the Zero-Point Operation during the island exam. Directly removing one's own class from the exam, turning them into a blank sheet of paper.
This Hikigaya Hachiman's style of doing things was somewhat similar to his own.
"..." And with Class B operating like this, the range of moves he could make became smaller.
Ayanokouji became somewhat silent.
At this time, Kushida-san couldn't help but be surprised. "From this perspective, if everyone in Class B doesn't know the VIP info, then isn't attending the discussion just... a simple gathering?"
Clearly, the Class B students in the other groups would probably be the most relaxed students in this exam.
But Ryuen's gaze became dangerous. He stared at Hachiman, his tone carrying a hint of wariness. "Hikigaya, so your class is planning to just rot together?"
Hachiman shook his head. "We just didn't want everyone to be too tense."
"Not tense?" Ryuen sneered. "You're good at finding excuses."
Shiina Hiyori watched this scene quietly and suddenly spoke.
"Hikigaya-kun." Her voice was soft, yet it made everyone fall silent.
Hachiman looked at her.
Hiyori asked, "Do you have any thoughts on this exam?"
Hachiman was silent for two seconds.
Was Hiyori testing him? Did she want to know Class B's strategy, how he would play this exam?
Or rather, not just Hiyori, the other girls probably wanted to know as well.
Hachiman knew that currently, Ichinose, Shiina Hiyori, Kushida Kikyo, and even Sakayanagi Arisu in this room could hear his inner voice.
But Hiyori was being too direct; the fact that she desperately wanted to know his inner thoughts was practically written on her face. Do you want to win that badly, Shiina-san!
To ensure Class B's victory, Hachiman indeed needed to feed them some correct or slightly deceptive inner thoughts from time to time.
After all, soldiers are trained for a thousand days to be used in one.
So he looked at Hiyori and quickly replied, "Ichinose's thoughts are my thoughts."
But internally, he was quickly transmitting half-true thoughts:
'Hiyori, Sakayanagi, and Kushida probably don't know yet—Class B can only aim for Outcome 1 this time because we have the highest number of VIPs.
Ichinose's proposal is to go for Outcome 1, common prosperity, so everyone gets points.
Because Class B is restricted by having too many VIPs, if we choose to participate in guessing or have our VIP identities guessed, the risk is too high. It's better to take the points steadily.'
Hearing Hachiman's inner voice, Hiyori's expression changed slightly.
She subconsciously looked at Sakayanagi and noticed a subtle change in her expression as well—at that moment, Sakayanagi's hand holding the water bottle paused slightly.
It seemed true; not just herself and Ibuki, but even Sakayanagi-san could hear Hikigaya-kun's thoughts.
Thinking this, Hiyori looked at Kushida. Kushida still had her head down, but there was no major change.
It seemed Kushida-san couldn't hear Hikigaya-kun's thoughts.
But looking at it this way, the competitor this time would be Class A.
Sakayanagi-san was very likely to use Hikigaya-kun's inner voice to take the exam.
In that case, Hikigaya-kun's intelligence was no longer unique. Thinking this, she quickly seized the content Hachiman's inner voice had just revealed.
Hikigaya-kun said Class B had the most VIPs.
Mm.
Class C only had 2 VIPs; Ryuen had already told her that. Ryuen always trusted those he used, so the exam plans were shared.
The fact that Class C only had 2 VIPs had surprised her.
Now she saw that the VIPs were concentrated in Class B. But exactly how many? 5? 6?
Sakayanagi Arisu sat by the window, her expression still composed, but her mind was turning quickly. She was thinking something similar to Hiyori.
However, she wasn't surprised by Hachiman's claim that Class B had the most VIPs.
Because she had already deduced that the VIPs were concentrated in Classes A and B. Since Hikigaya was a "transmigrator" who knew the plot, he likely knew this long ago.
To protect Class B, he could only... come up with this plan of using backup phones to keep Class B students completely in the dark.
However, if he really wanted to fully control the students and prevent them from acting against his orders, simply confiscating everyone's phones would have sufficed; that would have achieved his goal without the redundant step of paying points to the school for backup phones.
Even if he had many points, there was no need for such waste.
So, this was a "plugging one's ears while stealing a bell" (deceiving oneself). There must be something he was hiding.
Sakayanagi thought to herself.
Ichinose also received Hachiman's signal, so she began to propose what Hachiman had just called "her thoughts," and her idea was simple.
"Actually, I have a proposal," she said. "Since we are all students of the same grade and will be spending over two more years together, why must we fight to the death in every exam?
In this exam, is it possible the school wants us to go for Outcome 1—?
Outcome 1: Everyone guesses the VIP correctly. Each person gets 500,000 points, and the VIP gets one million. With forty people in a class, that's twenty million points. For any class, that's a significant income."
After finishing, she looked at everyone with anticipation in her eyes.
Hirata Yosuke was the first to speak. "I think Ichinose-san's proposal is very good. If everyone can get points, it's good for everyone."
Ryuen sneered. "Hirata, have you become addicted to being Mr. Nice Guy?"
Hirata was stunned. "Ryuen-kun..."
"Outcome 1?" Ryuen leaned back, his tone full of mockery. "Going for Outcome 1 gives everyone 500,000. Do you know the situation of our Class C? We are over forty million in debt! What's the point if we can't even pay it back?"
He looked at Ichinose with a sharp gaze.
"What we need is points—class points. Only by adding a hundred points here and there can we pay off our debts and climb up. Outcome 1? What a joke."
Ichinose pursed her lips and didn't speak.
Sakayanagi Arisu also smiled lightly. "Ichinose-san's proposal is very kind, but not very realistic."
She paused, her gaze landing on the sea outside the window.
"Class A is currently burdened with over fifty million in debt; that won't solve the problem. Although Outcome 1 allows everyone to make money, this is an opportunity to gain class points. How many points can a class get? If the whole grade goes for Outcome 1, it's only about 20 million for a class. For my Class A, that wouldn't even pay off half of our debt.
So on this point, I agree with Ryuen-kun. We need points—class evaluation points. Only when the points go up can we offset the pressure brought by the debt."
Saying this, she withdrew her gaze and looked at Ichinose.
"Therefore, Class A will not accept Outcome 1."
Ichinose was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "I understand."
Hirata wanted to say something more, but seeing the expressions of Ryuen and Sakayanagi, he ultimately remained silent.
Katsuragi sat beside Sakayanagi and hadn't spoken from beginning to end. He simply watched the scene, his gaze shifting between Hachiman and Ayanokouji several times.
Hashimoto Masayoshi kept his head down, trying his best to minimize his presence.
Good, good. No one was mentioning that two million points anymore. That bastard Ryuen nearly scared him to death just now.
Hachiman sat in his seat, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
Sakayanagi's refusal was expected. She hadn't traveled all this way just for those twenty million points.
Ryuen's refusal was also inevitable. Class C's points couldn't withstand any more setbacks; he had to seize points.
Katsuragi didn't speak because he knew it was useless. Sakayanagi had already stated her position; there was no need for him to repeat it.
Hirata wanted to agree, but he couldn't represent Class D. Ayanokouji wouldn't let Class D just lie flat like that.
Hiyori—she was observing. Observing him, observing Sakayanagi, observing everyone.
Kushida, well... she was acting. She played it so well she even fooled Hiyori; truly a veteran Best Actress.
Thus, the first one-hour meeting of the Dragon Group ended without any effective plan being formed.
With the broadcast announcing the end of the morning meeting, it simply concluded.
The others didn't linger and began to leave.
Hachiman and the others didn't move. When the other students had left the room, Ichinose suddenly asked Hachiman, "Our Dragon Group discussion didn't seem to discuss who the VIP is at all."
True.
Kanzaki also realized it. The atmosphere just now was too heavy for him—sharp, confrontational, with talk of spies and such—so he was very uncomfortable.
He felt extremely exhausted.
But.
It seemed no one had discussed who Class A's VIP was at all.
"The people in this group are all geniuses. It won't be that easy to squeeze information out of them," Hachiman said.
True enough.
Ichinose recalled the scene where the core representative figures of the four classes gathered. Even Shiina-san had given her a sense that she needed to be watched. So, she felt this truly was a "Gathering of Heroes".
"Mm, so Hikigaya-kun—eh?" However, after Ichinose spoke, she realized there was no response.
She then looked at Hachiman.
She found that Hachiman was no longer looking at her; his gaze was fixed on Ayanokouji, who had already left and was now just a silhouette.
He seemed to be pondering something.
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