Soon all the other students had arrived, making this the last time we'll be meeting like this. Quite the long wait, it felt like months, but in reality it was only a couple of days.
Many different classes were aiming for different outcomes. However, the outcome for this group will most likely be the first one. The one that Ichinose and Kushida wanted.
But is that really true?
One thing that stood out was that from I see neither Kushida or Ichinose were aiming for the Outcome #1, or Outcome #3. It's clearly obvious for Kushida, but I had never expected it from Ichinose, from the start that is.
While I expected her to be passive, she never really made any moves to obtain the first outcome. Maybe that was why Kanzaki technically betrayed her. Like all things in life, not everything goes as expected.
Truthfully speaking if I hadn't made certain connections, I wouldn't have been able to get this far. This is the reason why Kiyotaka isn't doing anything, or he just doesn't want to.
Anyways, with all of us being present, I took a deep breath and one out. I patiently waited for the meeting to be over. Most of us were doing the same with the occasional talking.
Once the final group discussion had ended in an anticlimactic way, I gathered everyone's attention.
"I will send an email to everyone in one hour and thirty minutes containing the identity of the VIP, so make sure to not miss it," I said, grabbing my things and leaving.
While on my way back, my phone played a unique sound. It played four times quickly. A smile crept onto my face.
"I'm finally going to see the results," I muttered, putting my phone back.
The test had ended for the Rat, Horse, Rooster, and Pig groups. They'd all had traitors. This meant that the VIP, Minami from Class D had been guessed. That's the least that I expected.
Let's gather everyone to make a bigger commotion.
Unknown POV
The final group discussion had ended for this particular group. Surprisingly, the VIP themselves had revealed their identity. The surprise part wasn't that, but because they were told in advance. This meant that his strategy did work?
However, this couldn't be possible with this certain person. Three students headed out, two of them treated each other like friends while the other was somewhat left alone.
One of the male students suddenly grabbed his classmates, pushing him against a wall.
"H-Hey!? What's your deal?" he shouted, confused.
"Hand over your phone."
"W-Why? There's no reason to—"
"I said hand over your phone!"
The student pressed him even further. The other male student pleaded to the one next to his attack to stop. This didn't work as he made no moves to help him.
Having no choice he handed his phone to the other two. "Violence is prohibited, what makes you think this will go unnoticed?"
"Will you report your fellow classmates, Morishige?"
He had a point if he reported this to the school, only Class A would end up being harmed. A good example was the incident with Class D and C.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Unlock the phone," he ordered.
"Fine," muttered Morishige.
"We can't have you disrupting Katsuragi-san's strategy. Don't think we didn't suspect you doing something like this as a member of the opposing faction."
"Plus you're only getting a taste of your own medicine," he grinned.
"You...!"
"Don't look at me like that, if you made the right decision this wouldn't have happened."
"Machida and Takemoto," called out a familiar voice.
"Yahiko." Both of them said at the same time.
His voice was familiar because he was the most loyal one to Katsuragi. While he may be short tempered sometimes, he may be called the second in command due to being a natural leader and having unusual worldly wisdom.
"Now all we have to do is play the waiting game."
Mochizuki's POV
Our ship floated on the dark, lonely sea. As we got closer to 11:00, more and more people began to gather. The café, which had been completely silent, started filling up with people. Hirata, Horikita, Karuizawa, and surprisingly Kushida were sitting together. While I called Karuizawa ahead of time, I didn't expect to see Kushida. I thought she was the type of person to see the results at the comfort of her home. Well, that analogy doesn't make much sense, but you get my point.
I was accompanied by both Sudō and Miyake. I invited them on a whim, and both of them accepted. I guess both of them are curious about the result. The three of us sat at a different table near the others. I fiddled around my phone, finishing my business and looking up.
"I'm surprised you accepted," I said to Miyake.
"You could say I'm interested in the results you've been talking about."
I had told both of them about how the results were going to be interesting, but I never clarified as to why. The main group of Class D students had been discussing something when a certain person appeared.
"So. You're here after all, huh?"
Ryūen had arrived alone, Sudō seeing him only glared at him. Ryūen ignored our table as he grabbed a vacant chair, forcefully slamming next to Horikita before taking a seat.
"I thought I'd enjoy finding out the results with you all. Thanks so much for gathering in such an easy-to-find-place," he mockingly said.
Before Horikita could retort, I interrupted her. "Then you ought to thank me as I invited some other people. They should be here anytime soon," I nonchalantly replied as if what he said was meant for me.
As to prove me right, two students had appeared.
"Huh? You're all here already?"
Ichinose and Kanzaki from Class B.
"Go ahead and sit down," I politely said.
The two sat down on empty chairs, Kanzaki being next to me and Ichinose next to Kanzaki as Sudō was next to the other side.
"Unfortunately I couldn't get anyone from Class A, you know how they are. But as the saying goes 'the more the merrier'," I smiled.
"The more the merrier, eh? Heh. That's right, and the crowd is almost the same except for the gloomy guy missing. I wonder where he is?"
"Don't worry about Ayanokōji, he's busy chasing skirts," I teased.
"Doesn't that fit you more? You know, I love chasing skirts, but you're on another level. First Ibuki, now Ichinose. You're always sniffing around some chick, aren't you?" he said.
"Hahahaha! What can I say? Great minds think alike."
We both laughed, making the situation more awkward for the people surrounding us. This was nothing more than stalling time until the results were made public.
Once I stopped laughing, I made an attempt to soothe the tension. "This exam was supposed to be pure chaos. As such, why can't we enjoy the results? The last time everyone was shocked."
When the clock struck eleven, we received notifications at the exact time.
"What...?" I barely uttered.
All of us, save Ryūen, checked the results:
Rat: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Cow: Outcome #4. The traitor answered incorrectly.
Tiger: Outcome #2. The VIP's identity was not discovered.
Rabbit: Outcome #1. The entire group answered correctly at the end of the test.
Dragon: Outcome #1. The entire group answered correctly at the end of the test.
Snake: Outcome #2. The VIP's identity was not discovered.
Horse: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Sheep: Outcome #2. The VIP's identity was not discovered.
Monkey: Outcome #4. The traitor answered incorrectly.
Rooster: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Dog: Outcome #4. The traitor answered incorrectly.
Pig: Outcome #3. The traitor answered correctly.
Based on those results, the increase or decrease in class and private points are as follows. "Cl" and "Pr" are used to denote "class points" and "private points" respectively.
Class A: Minus 150 cl; Plus 3 Million pr
Class B: Plus 150 cl; Plus 5 Million pr
Class C: Plus 150 cl; Plus 7 Million pr
Class D: Minus 150 cl; Plus 5 Million pr
"Class C...and Class B came out on top?" muttered Horikita.
"Wait, does that mean..." mused Hirata.
How?
I—what? W-w-what's going on here?
It can't be! When did it change! Shit, I messed up! This wasn't supposed to happen. The rankings look way too controlled. I didn't do this, who in the world did this!?
Who the fuck messed with this?
Calm down, calm down. Nothing is wrong in the slightest...
I had a slightly shocked face as the rest of the people. Everyone was stunned looking at how suspicious each score looked.
This was by far not in my expectations. This was the first time in a long time that I had been outsmarted and I didn't like it one bit. Trying to calm down, I observed the situation. An uneasy feeling swelled inside me.
Everyone turned to the two Class B students. Normally, they would confront Ryūen. However, it was indeed strange that Class B had gotten that many points.
It was as if they...
"Did you two team up with Ryūen to win this exam?" asked Horikita, almost glaring at them.
"Class C and Class B...it's unexpected to think of two polar opposite classes teaming up," Miyake said, surprised.
"N—" When Ichinose tried to deny the claims, Ryūen interrupted her. Causing even more problems.
"Kukuku. Of course. Reading the email sent by the school should be enough to prove that some sort of alliance was made." Ryūen watched all of our reactions with amusement.
"Stop lying, Ryūen. We haven't done anything at all during this special exam. All the differences were due to another class trying to guess our VIP's," said Kanzaki, rebutting the claim.
"Is that so?" He smirked.
He then got up, but not before mocking us one more time.
"Ask one of the defective people here, maybe then you'll understand why."
Leaving us, Ryūen's figure could be seen farther and farther away. A moment of silence as everyone processed his words.
Damn Ryūen, he took the best approach to this situation. Instead of staying and mocking us, he chose for us to discuss this over in the hopes of more conflict between Class D and Class B.
Like I thought, I shouldn't underestimate Class C's leader.
"Then does that mean Class D betrayed Class B?" Ichinose wondered out loud, a finger on her chin.
Heads started turning towards a certain someone. The person in question made a somewhat confused expression.
"What?"
It was none other than me.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Stop fucking acting like I'm guilty. Haven't you heard the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty'?"
"Yet there's the phrase 'guilty until proven innocent'."
"Basically what you're saying is you want proof of my innocence?"
"Precisely."
Shit, they really think I did something like that? All because the plan failed! If I wasn't alone, I would immediately start punching things out of anger. However, now isn't the time to make an irrational decision.
As such, I complied, taking out my phone and showing my points balance. An uneasy feeling began forming inside of me.
"Look? The only reason why I have 1 million private points was due to the deal we all made, no?" Indeed my current point balance was around 1 million.
"So you weren't lying when you mention being in dire need of points," said Ichinose.
"Since when did you get that many points?" Miyake questioned, bewildered.
"Don't worry about it," I quickly said before paying attention to them again.
"Why in the world would I betray the class when I gain nothing from it?"
"Then you'll backstab the class the moment the opportunity appears?" Horikita accused me, still glaring at me.
Don't blame me for your incompetence. Either way, I didn't say that since I don't want to fuck my chances of getting out of this problem.
Still, I'm on your side, for now.
"Of course not! But with this I prove my innocence."
"How? How did Class C guess the VIP's correctly?" Hirata muttered words to himself.
"In the first place it doesn't make sense—"
I interrupted him. "Don't you think it's best for us to discuss this later? I think being in the heat of the moment won't help us come up with the most logical solutions," I reasoned.
"Mochizuki is right, it's better to get some rest," said Kanzaki, nodding at my statement.
It seems with the support of Kanzaki, the others listened and we separated. I went back to the dorms with Miyake and Sudō.
"Do you think that Class C and B worked together?" Sudō asked, somewhat irked.
"We don't know, at least that doesn't seem like the case," I said, slightly scratching my hand.
"Why is that, Mochizuki?" Miyake inquired.
"I mean, the others didn't seem that bothered. They know more than we do. All we can do is leave it be," I sighed.
"You were right, the results are interesting. But not the best for our class."
When we arrived at the rooms, Sudō departed from us. A ping could be heard.
"Hm?" I grunted.
Ah...
It's about time.
My acting skills were top tier as always. It takes a bit of energy, but it's worth the effort. Only more perceptive people would have noticed, making it even more believable.
I even gained some important things filled with potential.
I took my phone out, which pinged once in a while like a slowed down tune.
Once it finally stopped, I blankly stared at my phone.
The amount of private points I have:
Changed.
7,753,263 PPt
Ha, quite the amount, huh?
It was fun while it lasted.
These points are the foundation.
A/N
I have finally finished volume 4!
I know my update schedule is even worse, the reasoning behind was a burnout of this fanfic...
Of course, this is no excuse or me saying I'll discontinue the fanfic.
Because no matter what, I want to finish it instead of dropping it like so many other ones.
As such, instead of outright stop writing, I focused more on another fanfic.
Now that my time has been off from this fanfic for a weeks, I made a recovery, with my passion back!
So look forward to more frequent updates! (It's not about to be every week, but the usual two weeks or less, depending on my free time)