I exited the room. I organised my thoughts and messaged a certain someone.
Arisu still haven't seen the bigger picture. Anyways, it won't be long before she completely grasps the rules, but without knowing the potential hidden outcomes, she won't be able to figure out my motive.
And the moment she realises it, it will be too late. Or atleast I hope so. Losing this segment is inevitable anyways, and if my predictions are correct, it boils down between Ryuen and Honami.
I speculate Ryuen would win. Anyways, what should I do now? I looked very confident infront of Arisu, but we both know that without knowing completely about this exam, the result will truly be random.
That is unless you don't form an alliance. From the looks of it, I am sure Honami and Arisu will be joining hands. It's highly unlikely but I do believe they can find a common ground.
Afterall, there's no other way to gain an advantage in this exam. Considering my group, persuasion is out of the question, or so do they believe.
What kind of strategy is ideal for this 'game'?
Is there even an ideal strategy?
Well in ideal situations, I do know the perfect strategy. But the situation isn't ideal isn't it? Psychological factors are a pain in the ass.
(Time Skip)
I entered my room to see all three of my room mates discussing something. Well at least two of them were discussing. Maya was seeing some kind of tutorial video as usual.
"Kiyone why are you so late? Didn't your meeting end before mine?" Chiaki asked me, writing something on a piece of paper.
"Well, our group discussed a bit afterwards, and once again I was captivated by the ocean.
Those curvy waves,
The contours,
The Navier-Stokes equation-"
"""What?"""
"What?"
"Ignoring that, what are you writing Chiaki?" I diverted her attention.
"Before that, why is your nose a little red? Are you catching a cold?"
"I think so..."
"Are you able to breath?"
"Chiaki, don't overreact, I am fine. It's just a mild cold."
"Just take this tablet"
"Then answer my previous question."
"Oh!? I am thinking of an optimal strategy to maximize the winning chances mathematically, if by chance I am not able to 'predict' what my opponent does."
So she is trying to rely on her ability to cold read a person. And if it fails, consider the mathematically best strategy.
That makes sense, I mean, since the exam looks chaotic, being able to predict if the Q and R class are lying and then accusing them based on your skills to decern lies is a decent strategy.
That feels like a Koenji kind of strategy though. Since 'a perfect existence such as himself can easily identify a liar'. He does depend on cold reading often.
"Not a bad strategy. So what did you come up with in case you are not able to find the liar? *Achoo*" I asked her, noticing Kei being deep in thought.
Suddenly Chiaki pulled a tablet from her bag and took a water bottle. This girl won't answer till I take this.
I took the tablet, hoping it's not poisonous.
"Now answer me."
"That's the problem, well I do guess the correct strategy is to always turn a traitor if I get Q and R class. I have a 50 chance of getting a traitor class, so... I don't know about the other 50."
Chiaki scratched her head with the back of the pen with which she was writing.
I took a peek at the paper and saw some potential mappings and threads of outcomes. Truly a dedicated individual.
Well should I point out the error in her half-strategy?
"Chiaki... I understand why turning into traitor works-"
Kei started to speak. Did she find the obvious mistake Chiaki made? That's unexpected. Not that she is an air head like Maya, but I didn't expect her to contribute or participate much in these special exams.
Did something happen? I don't see any discrepancies, but I do feel something.
"Wait Kei, explain why 'Always turning a traitor is a viable strategy'?" I asked her.
I want to know her thought process. Precisely, I want to know if someone or something influenced it as of recently.
"Well... I mean, look at the outcomes, even if they don't turn into traitors, whether they get accused or not, they suffer consequences."
That's true, but her argument is lacking. This is not enough to reach a conclusion.
I locked eyes with Kei, not looking away.
"*Sigh* You want me to continue? Fine... Think like this, if my strategy is to always become a traitor, possible outcomes are 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8. For traitors, the best case is outcome 5, which widens the gap by 120 CP and worst case is outcome 4, where the gap widens by 150CP, not in their favour."
Well, everything so far is easily inferable by average ANHS students. And Chiaki nodded her head along, so no doubt; she didn't miss this sequence of thoughts.
The key is that, if you think everything as a random choice and event, 3 events are in favour of them, 3 are against them (Q, R class).
Even though the worst case scenario outweighs the best case by 30 points, the other two worst cases are actually neutral where everyone loses 50 CP.
So the expected values of class points, should be positive for Q and R class if you consider them becoming traitor and random choices for everything,
This overall gives a pretty good Mathematical reasoning that 'If you get a Q or R class, always become a traitor' is a good strategy.
"Kei, you are only backing up what I am saying, why did you think this partial strategy won't work?" Chiaki asked her.
I can understand Chiaki's point of view. Considering ideal scenario of random choices in a complicated set of rules is a common strategy.
If she is able to come up with a similar strategy for A-class, combine these two and hope that the opponent hasn't figured out.
Then everything boils down to 'luck' or probability, which is fine.
And by the math, she is choosing a positive expected value strategy, hence has a slightly more increase in the chance of winning rather than being 50 50.
With similar reasoning if the opponent is able to see through this, they will opt for a similar strategy, nullifying, making everything truly random.
"Yea, after you showed me the math, it became much more clearer, though I didn't understand this 'Expected value' concept right away, it made sense, but..." Kei fiddled around.
She most likely intuitively understood Chiaki's flawed logic, so I guess she is not able to tell how and why. Expressing your thoughts using words is difficult, most of the time.
"But what?"
"Isn't your strategy and being completely random matches almost? I don't see any big benefits.
In fact this leads to much more complications such as them accusing you after realising it, or playing mind games.
Isn't being completely random yield similar results?"
Kei's question made Chiaki to stumble. Good.
"That's..."
I couldn't have said it any clearer. That's exactly correct, Chiaki's strategy only complicated things without yielding any better results than being random.
At the same time it's not even complete, she still has to think for A-class, which is much harder.
Not a lot of outcomes favours them. It will be a different story if the last three outcomes were in the favour of A-class instead of being a neutral outcome where everyone loses.
This just means that the distribution of the roles for classes should be equal for every class. If the roles had equal leverage against each other, then random selection across all 12 groups was possible.
12 groups, 4 classes. Each roll is achieved thrice. Across all the 12 groups, our class gets the role of either Q or R, 3 times. Can't bet on that, can we?
"Really unfair for A-class right?" I pointed out.
"Yea, really unfair... Though I think there are some hidden outcomes." Chiaki mentioned.
"Hmm, the wordings were specific, but at the same time it felt like a diversion."
"A diversion?"
I gave a small clue to Chiaki. People by now probably learnt the subtle hints that are given to us. But doesn't it feel like this one is pretty obvious? What if it's a cover up?
"Nah, just a feeling. Well I am not the leader anymore, I gave the mantle to Horikita."
Chiaki nodded her head.
"Wait Horikita?" Chiaki asked in a mild shock.
"Why her?" simultaneously Kei asked curiously.
"Why not? Also why are you shocked?" I aimed my latter question towards Chiaki.
"No, I am not surprised you chose her, rather I am surprised she accepted."
I felt slightly disappointed that Chiaki didn't fight me. I hoped she would, at least asking why not make her the leader.
She clearly knows that the Horikita right now is much more suited as a leader than her.
"Well, she wants to be in class A when he graduates, maybe more than anyone right now."
Both of them hummed. It's not a secret that Horikita is a bro con.
"Well, I am still willing to help in this exam. If you want to clarify something, then ask."
"No need for that Kiyone. We all relied on you so much. It's our turn to help you." Chiaki said with passion brimming in her eyes.
"Cringe" Kei spoke.
"Not as cringey as when she asked me out" Kei burst out in laughter hearing that.
Chiaki was fuming, both from embarassment and anger.
"Chiaki, I was bullied" Chiaki did her best ... Kei impression?
Suddenly the laughing halted, when Chiaki gave her a smirk.
"Well well Chiaki, you know... I can show Kiyone our 'chats' before you guys started dating-"
"Wait wait wait, that's cheating." Chiaki suddenly panicked.
Chats? Is this about me?
"Oh Kiyone, are you curious?" I nodded my head.
While Kei took her phone out, Chiaki ran and grabbed it like her life depended on it, exiting the room as fast as possible.
Well, I will ask about it later anyways. Even if she deletes it, a single kiss will make her spill all the secrets.
"Kei, regarding this exam; don't try too hard"
"Huh, why? Is there any particular reason?"
"You may get in trouble. Ryuen will make his moves, if he sees as a threat in the particular group you are in... You know what I mean right?"
Kei sighed tiredly.
"Do you think I can contribute that much for the other class to take notice? Don't joke around Kiyone. I am just helping as much, which is very little."
Very little huh? I don't know about that. The information Ryuen has on class D in the first month, Kei's sudden change of character, her being close to me.
All these are enough of a reason for an enemy to keep an eye on her.
"Though I didn't expect you to warn me about it"
What does she mean by 'didn't expect'?
"What do you mean by that?"
"*Pftt*, we both know what I meant. Think why you spoke those words." Kei folded her arms, probing me to think.
I already know what she means. For someone who don't care about others, I spoke something entirely out of my character.
Do I look like robot that only does what's necessary? I don't deny the latter, but even I make small unnecessary talks all the time. It's one of the key points of understanding friendships, isn't it?
Also it's not the first time I spoke something 'unnecessarily'.
"Even I make small talks Kei. I feel offended by your claim."
"Yea I can clearly see that in your poker face, *pfttt*"
"*Sigh*, well whatever, I need a help from you."
"A help? Should I be shoched that you need help, or that you are asking for help?" Once again Kei mocked me.
"Not funny"
"I see, it seems Kiyotron doesn't laugh"
Did Haruka say that nickname to her? Ignoring is the best way to proceed.
"I want you to recruit these 2 people." Saying this, I showed her pictures of 2 people.
"What? Recruit? You mean like as a spy?"
"Can't you shout any louder?"
"Shit!! I am sorry, what exactly should I do? Do you think it's possible for me to do it?" Kei whispered.
"I will give you certain weapons to aid you in this mission."
Saying this, I approached Maya and removed her Earphones.
"Huh? What's up Kiyone-chan?"
"Listen carefully Maya, you are going to aid Kei in a top secret mission."
Maya's eyes lit up like a child seeing toys.
"Yes yes yes, I will do it, I will definitely do it!!!!"
"What?" Kei was flabbergasted.
"Behold Kei, this is Maya, a top secret weapon on the list of weapons I give you" dramatically I picked up Maya and dropped her infront of Kei.
"Are you ready for this Maya?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Good"
"What the hell is going on? Kiyone, explain. Also one of them is a girl, how can I use Maya?" Kei was getting more and more distressed.
Did she thinks I added Maya to seduce that guy? What the hell Kei? Is that all Maya worth for?
Ignoring her remark, let's see how these two will tackle this task. I mean it's not too hard, they have plenty of time, literally months.
"*Achoo*"
"Are you really catching a cold Kiyone? Guess you are human afterall"
Kei made a comment.
"Ignoring your rude remark, yea... I slightly felt it in the morning, never did I think that I will catch a cold."
"Have some tissues with you all the time."
"Yes I will, anyways it's only very mild.
Now back to our topic, Here's what you have to do...."
(Time Skip)
"Well Chiaki, we only have 10 mins for the exam, see you later."
"Bye, don't think too much or your mild cold will become wild." Saying this silly line, Chiaki kissed me in my forehead.
With this, we both parted ways towards our designated rooms.
Surprisingly, I didn't see Horikita the entire time. Rather she didn't approach me for anything. I can only guess that she is trying to win this exam without my help.
At the same time, it seems like she convinced almost 80 percent of the class, of course not without any help.
Seeing the Horikita struggle, the Ayanokouji group helped her. Which might seem random, but I guess by making her a leader, they can divert the classmates who want me to be a leader, thus helping me.
People like Hirata followed by his harem naturally supported them. Kushida on the surface, accepted.
There are only a few strays that didn't accept her.
This in and itself is a pretty big achievement, or my classmates were simply desperate. I mean, it seems like she convinced them in just under 20 minutes.
Not that I attended this small insignificant meeting. At times like these, my informant Kushida comes very handy.
I was surprised that people showed up for a class meeting after yesterday. That's Kushida for you. Well good for Horikita, but I do wonder if she will be able to really control Kushida.
While walking towards the destination, I saw a beige haired girl across, laughing with a group of girls. Speak of the devil.
Seeing me, her smile faltered for a second, which she masked pretty much instantly.
"Oh Kiyone, let's go together, we are going to the same place after all."
We both met at the intersection, 4 of my class girls halted, seeing me their eyes searched for somewhere to look, avoiding eye contact.
"Umm, we are headed in this direction... So.. umm, see you after the exam Kikyou-san and all the best for the both of you" Inogashira spoke.
Well, if I don't say anything, will it be awkward?
"Yea good luck. Remember, the key for winning is to turn a traitor, always"
I gave them a piece of advice.
"Huh what?... Yea, we will keep that in mind."
The four of them left in a hurry.
"Shall we go now?"
I asked the confused Kushida.
"Yeah.... So what you told earlier, is that really a good strategy?"
The ever cautious Kushida asked me in a slightly tired voice.
"Loosen up, I am not gonna eat you. As I said earlier, don't be so nervous around me, it's a dead giveaway"
"Okay, I will try" she cheered up instantly. What an insane skill.
"Say Kushida, do you think there is a winning strategy for this exam?"
Kushida was startled by my sudden question. Nonetheless we didn't stop walking.
"Well, I don't think so. This exam rules are pretty fucked up. The rules are so goddamn confusing, they are messy like ungroomed p*ussy hair"
She whispered. Everyday I learn some kind of new way to swear from Kushida.
"Well I do agree on it."
Hearing my comment, she eyed me suspiciously.
"I am talking for people like me. You would've understood the rules the moment you heard them right? You monster." She murmured the last part.
Well, we both know in this quiet hallway, it's pretty audible. Being nice to Kushida these past few weeks made her like this.
She openly expressed her angry at me. But I realised yet another thing, she won't hesitate to take down Horikita the moment she gets a chance, even if it means exposing her true nature to a few.
Her deep rooted hatred, and Horikita's lack of awareness, is something to take note of. She hates Horikita completely, especially her character. And now that Horikita is changing for the better, her hatred has risen further.
"It's the tip of an ice berg Kushida. You haven't really seen what I am capable of"
Without any warning, I pulled her hand and took a small shortcut.
"Wha-"
*Thud*
I pushed her towards the wall, both of her hands restrained by my left hand.
"W-what the fuck are you doing? Let go of my hands bitch"
"Shhhh, keep quiet Kushida, I don't want to make you learn sign language."
Saying this I gripped her throat with my right hand, slightly increasing the pressure little by little.
She for was squiggling like a worm for half a minute.
"That's enough" *Achoo*
Shit, did my intimidation tactics fail because of a mere cold?
Anyways, she wasn't in the right mind to notice such things. My voice made her stop struggling.
"Good girl" saying this I released her.
"*Gasp* I-i cou-ld d-ie"
You could've died? So what?
"That's a you problem. Now listen carefully Kushida. You will do exactly as I say"
She gasped for air, eyes teared; darted around, her ears perked up. Her instincts kicked in and she nodded profusely.
She doesn't even realise what I am saying. I mean, she was cooperating excellently so far, why did I do this then? That should be her question.
We have a solid 6 minutes before the exam, the room is not even half a minute away.
"Kushida, come back to your senses before I slap the shit out of you."
She jolted, looked around, after locking eyes with me, her eyes widened, she suddenly checked her neck and winced in pain.
"You good now?"
"Y-yeah"
I approached her, my face caressing her cheeks, sweeping the single drop of tear away.
"Then listen carefully-"
I slowly helped her stand up, patting her dress.
"-From now on, there is no relationship between us.
I won't disturb you for any information-"
I whispered in her ears.
"-You can do whatever you want. Join hands with anyone, expel anyone, destroy our class or whatever-"
Backing up a little, I locked my eyes with her.
"-I won't interfere with anything, you are free. But... If you try to expel me, I will kill you the moment you make your move."
"Got it?"
I took my hands off her shoulders.
"I-i would never"
"Any questions?"
She hesitated for a moment.
"I-i thought everything was fine up until now *Cough* *cough*. Why did you do this?"
Except you, there exists no other perfect pawn anyone could gain to try to topple me.
"One day you will realise, siding with me is the best decision you've ever made and ever will be."
Sooner or later, after a couple of special exams, she will once again target Horikita. She will be back to the original Kushida, afraid of no one, except me that is.
"Don't be like a child, holding a grudge against me. I wanted to free you, at the same time I don't want you to try to expel me. This is just a safety measure of some sorts"
Her eyes twitched.
"Do me a final favour Kushida"
Her eyes widened, maybe she really believed I will let her go, I mean I do, but I need a small favour.
"What is it?" Her voice was a little raspy.
"Did anyone mysterious approach you anytime recently? Like anyone, like you felt weird talking to them, or any weird messages, prank calls and such?"
My question confused Kushida, she tilted her head looking up, recollecting her memories.
"No..."
She shook her head, looking straight into my eyes.
"Good, forget what happened here. And if someone does approach you, remember what happened here"
"...Yes..." She gave a nod confusedly.
"Let's go, here put this scarf around your neck."
She looked at my hand, which conveniently had a scarf.
"Don't give me that look. It's just a coincidence. See my nose is a little red? I have a cold... I guess I do, that's why I have it.
Don't worry I haven't used it yet."
She took the scarf and wrapped it around her neck, concealing the mark. I don't think she will be able to speak in this exam, hopefully Horikita takes the lead.
We both walked together.
I made small chats with her, while she simply nodded her head, giving one word answers.
"Can you even believe that? Right now she believes Nagumo is gay"
Kushida didn't reach much except nodding.
Let's see how they fare against this.
Unexpected line of thought process can be a good way to confuse meticulous opponents.
It's like playing chess with an engine that uses brute force. Using closed positions gives a long term advantage where the engine won't be able to evaluate such positions or plan 100 moves ahead.
Well I lost interest in this exam the moment I heard the rules, no one interfered in my plans.
This either means, they don't exist, or they are hiding well, playing the long game. They didn't get caught in any of my traps, how formidable.
While I was in my own dilemma, we both entered the room. As usual, everyone except Ryuen is here. Well we do have like 15 more seconds left.
One noticeable thing is a masked man? standing on a corner of the room. Guess he/she is the instructor.
Kushida went towards her seat, not greeting people back, only nodding her head.
Before I went towards my seat beside Horikita, I sensed a danger aimed towards my head, making me duck a little.
I turned around immediately, to see a wild Ryuen aiming a punch towards my face. I dodged it.
He aimed a kick, now straight at my abdomen. Well time's up anyways, we only have five seconds.
Instead of dodging, I caught his leg, shortened the distance between us, making his stumble.
I pushed him lightly, made him fall on his chair without overdoing it. In the blink of an eye, I ran and sat in my chair, one second remaining.
"Wha-"
Before anyone could talk about what happend right now, a voice interjected.
"Good afternoon, Zeus group, students of ANHS. I am your temporary instructor just for this special exam. The time is 1 pm, we will start this segment of the exam." The instructor's voice was robotic.
Having met with a deafening silence, she encouraged us to ask questions. It's definitely a female right? I mean, she ain't flat.
Only her eyes were visible in her face, and I have to say it, they were absolutely beautiful.
On another note, she gave away the name of our group which was meant to be a secret. Well it wasn't too hard to guess that our group would be Zeus.
"Well well, there are no penalties for talking or asking me questions. Ask away."
Even though her demeanor feels joyous and enthusiastic, the mask and voice changer says otherwise.
"Why are you wearing a mask... Sensei?"
Honami was the first one to speak.
"Oh that? I just like cosplaying. I always wanted to do this, but there are certain rules for teachers.
Luckily this special exam gives us much more flexibility, for reasons I can't say.
Well anyways, that's one of the many reasons. Another is, as you might know, this segment has mystery elements in it."
Her answer kinda made sense...?
"May I ask for your name? Sensei." This time, it was Katsuragi.
"It's Tanako Misaki."
While saying this, she turned off the voice changer.
Her voice felt ethereal, with melodic timbre and velvety tones. It felt like she was singing softly. It is a sin to try to hide this voice.
"Well, if you guys are uncomfortable, I can remove my mask. It's not part of the exam, so don't worry too much."
None of them made any comments about this weird teacher. Well the whole ANHS is weird, this is nothing out of the ordinary.
"Let's see, before we begin the exam, the questioning Q and R class must be selected isn't it?"
Hmm? I thought they would select after giving the crime scenario. Well whatever, I hope it's random.
"The selection process is up to the teachers, ....so should we play a game? or make it random? Though the other teachers will most likely lean towards random choice"
This made most of the people widen their eyes. This school never gives unfair treatment, well this is indeed shocking.
Kanzaki was the most nervous, he side eyed me multiple times. Chill dude, I said I won't participate, remember?
Ryuen turned his eyes towards me and smirked. Guess he is excuted huh.
I closed my eyes and folded my arms, leaning back in my chair.
"Random. Make it random." I said.
"Huh, why Ayanokouji-san? Random is boring, don't you guys agree?" Tanaka sensei asked them.
"Well, random makes it fair" Honami made her point, agreeing with me.
"Kukuku, random sucks, maybe a fighting game? Choose one from each class, make it free for all, whoever is knocked out is the loser, winner gets to choose."
Ryuen cracked his knuckles.
"Hehehe, as much as I would love to give you guys physical tasks, this segment is 'Critical thinking' isn't it? So I am bound to give tasks that use only your brain."
She cackled like a child. Cute.
"Let everyclass write a number, pick the class which has the nearest value to the average of those 4 numbers." Once again I suggested a 'mini-game' that yields random result.
Though I can throw this game by making my class pick a very large number.
"Fufufu, that's the same as random choice Kiyone."
This is frustrating, just start the exam already. I want to sleep in Chiaki's thighs.
"*Sigh* Just say what you have in mind sensei."
Horikita spoke instead of me. Good, that's exactly what I wanted to say.
"Hehehe, I have thought of the best way. You see... I am a math teacher, so I will ask simple arithmetic questions, whoever answers first will get the privilege to pick their role."
This made me open my eyes, to see the reaction of others. Everyones eyes were glued to me.
I smirked.
"Well well, sensei. It feels like you are helping me. Don't you think it's unfair for others?" I commented arrogantly.
Arrogance is one of the most common traits among geniuses'.
"Yes, shouldn't a teacher be fair?" This time Kanzaki spoke, clearly fearing the possible outcomes.
"Unfair? If Ayanokouji is able to win this, that just means that the effort she made in the past is helping her. She is just savoring the fruits of her labour, don't you agree?
That goes for everyone."
"Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. The chances and opportunities should be equal.
So in this case, I do believe this is unfair that you are picking something that someone is exceptionally good at." Surprisingly Horikita spoke.
Isn't the situation in her favour? Or she doesn't want my help. I am sorry Horikita, I am sure that by now, you would've figured out that there are some hidden criterias to enter the third optional segment.
I have to enter it. Even I don't know the criterias completely, but to be on the safe side, this exam has to go according to my wishes.
"Kukuku, what happened to my pathetic Suzune who relies on the monster all the time?"
Horikita ignored Ryuen's statement, waiting for a reply from sensei.
"Don't give me the silent treatment Suzune-"
"I absolutely agree with you Horikita-san. You are Manabu-kun's younger sister, aren't you?-" sensei cut off Ryuen.
Horikita's eyes twitched, she clutched her hands tightly.
"-He is a favourite student of mine. For your question, life is unfair Horikita-san, efforts do get wasted sometimes.
Take your year as an example. I am sure other classes make their efforts. But the 39 people in your class D, including you, reap the reward of Ayanokouji-san's efforts, without lifting a finger.
While the remaining classess' efforts gone to waste."
This statement made Horikita ashamed of herself, she looked down at her thighs. I mean she can argue back, Sensei left some openings in her arguments which she can use.
"Tha-"
"Well I am not saying it's completely wasted. You do learn and improve a lot, even not accepting this unfairness is fine. You don't have to.
But make it as a reminder to improve yourself instead of whining like a baby."
She went teacher mode on that one. Her leacture felt habitual. It seems she likes to teach whenever she gets a chance.
"Fufufu, whatever you said are absolutely correct sensei. But at least the rules should be fair, don't you agree?
Equal opportunities are embedded into the construction of rules of any kind.
I don't think I have to provide an example, if you ignore the corruption, mostly the rules are made as fairly as possible." Arisu made a point.
She was clearly enjoying this debate.
I do feel like sensei is using this opportunity to assess our thought process and capabilities to make valid arguments to back up our beliefs.
Beliefs that can't be backed up can be easily broken. It's a shallow belief if you are not able to make validating points regarding it.
Whether it's a fact, truth or turns out to be false is completely secondary.
"Absolutely correct. But you are missing the point. My rules of selecting the roles is fair.
This whole exam is based on thinking abilities. Mathematical thinking is a part of it.
This school is fair as a whole isn't it? It's not like you will have 'Critical thinking' as the theme for every exam."
"Fufufu, I can't argue with that logic.
Can I ask why did you give away the name of our group? which I don't think the other group instructors will do."
"Hehehe, that's just a small bonus for the brilliant minds of ANHS students.
Anyways, if you guys don't have any oppositions, I will begin the selection.
A maximum of three questions will be asked. If a class answers the first question, they pick a role, and the next question is for the other three classes and so on.
Let me ask an example question so that you guys know what kind of questions will be asked.,
Answer up to the first 6 decimal places of the number... Square root of 70."
"8.3666"
"8.3666... fufufu it's my defeat."
Well Arisu answers a little delayed. Maybe she did 4 iterations of Newton-Raphson? Three is enough right?
(AN: if you don't understand the math (it's just an iterative algorithm to find the roots of a function), just skim through those parts.
It's not important to the story line. This is just showcasing Kiyone's abilities.
But I might use this OC teacher in the future, so the dialogues and Kiyone's internal monologues are important)
"Don't you think the question is too hard?" Katsuragi questioned her.
"Well, that was just an example question, I didn't think they both would answer it" Her eyes glimmered in joy.
Guess she really is a math nerd.
"Anyways Kiyone is the winner as she answered a teeny tiny bit faster."
"How can we infere anything from this example if you ask such questions?" Kanzaki asked, a little agitated.
"Well, you can guess that she will ask us to find roots and such." Deafening silence.
Nobody laughed, it seems like my joke went right over their head.
"Kukuku, now I understand what Suzune told. Monster's weakness is her inability to be funny when she actually wants to be."
Hmph, this sucker. He is salty about not being able to win.
"Ayanokouji, are you going to win in this selection?" Suzune whispered near me.
"Well... Do you want me to?"
Horikita hesitated at my question. If she gives up her pride a little, there's a higher chance of winning this exam.
I am sure she made strategies on the note that we will recieve the roles randomly, but loosing such opportunities just so she could overcome her defects is just selfish.
I mean, she is a leader right now. As a leader, should she give away this opportunity?
Without any responsibilities, I am sure she will say no. But what about the leader Horikita?
Depending on the answer, I can see if she is taking this role seriously.
"Oka-"
"But if I win, I will be the one to choose the role."
This statement made Horikita raise her eyebrows in confusion. There's no other better choice than class Q, then why did I make such a proposal? That's what Horikita must be thinking.
"Well here comes the first question-"
"Hurry up and decide Horikita."
"-tell me the value of-"
"Yes, you can"
Perfect decision.
"167 times 8753"
"1,461,751" "*Achoo*"
....
"...1,461,751..." "fufufu, how unlucky."
"That's a little too late Ayanokouji. Sakayanagi is the winner, so she gets to choose."
I slowly turned towards Horikita, who looked like her soul had been sucked out of her. A deadpan face. Surprisingly it suits her.
"All the running on the island must've caught up to me."
"Kukuku, is that an excuse I hear, Monster? Are you playing a 12-d chess or did you really catch a cold?"
"Say whatever you want. I wasn't serious to begin with, anyways I was the one who asked for a random selection. Nothing changes."
"Fufufu, whatever you say Kiyone"
Arisu was laughing at me, mocking me.
"Ayanokouji-san. You shouldn't give excuses and accept your fault. There's nothing wrong with catching a cold.
While you were unlucky this time, you are also partially responsible. One should take care of their own health, especially during the time of exams."
Tanaka sensei went into teacher mode again.
Well her scolding voice is very soothing. I could hear this all day long.
"-Are you listening? Well, Sakayanagi-san, choose a role."
Hearing this, Horikita jolted and composed herself.
"Horikita-"
"It's fine. No need to apologise. Nothing changed. I didn't expect to get to choose the role before coming here. So everything is fine."
She talked faster.
"Apologise? Why would I do that? Well Ignoring that delusional statement, I was gonna say, I am not going to answer the next question."
Horikita glared at me and then sighed.
"Fine, I wasn't expecting your help anyways."
"Kukuku, what are you gonna pick loli?"
"Fufu, wait for a moment Dragon boy. I have to discuss with my classmates."
Saying this, she eyed Katsuragi, while Ryuen was fuming in anger. To be fair, he did call her a loli first.
"I suggest you pick the class that has the privilege to ask the question" Katsuragi gave his opinion.
"Fufufu, why Katsuragi? Is there a specific reason."
Katsuragi confusedly stared Sakayanagi.
"You already know why-"
"So you choose class Q" Sakayanagi asked Katsuragi.
"Yes"
"Fufu, sensei, we choose class Q"
Sensei clapped her hands enthusiastically.
"Excellent choice. Now onto the next question. What is 7831 times 37"
""289,747""
Surprisingly, both Ryuen and Honami answered simultaneously.
"Huh? That's cheating, why are you using your phones Ryuen-kun and Ichinose-san?" It was Hirata who asked the question, standing up from his chair.
A valid question from his point of view. Even if she didn't mention the restriction of using your phone, it should be a well known rule in mental arithmetic battles.
But Hirata is missing the point here. Once again, the exam emphasizes thinking skills. Thinking outside of the box and finding such small loopholes are also included in it.
"No Hirata-kun. I never mentioned calculators aren't allowed.
While it's common sense that they are not allowed in a mental arithmetic battle, that's not the case here.
This exam is based on thinking skills.
There were many clues. Like me asking very difficult questions was also a clue.
Just because those two answered, doesn't mean it was possible to answer that quick to begin with.
Moreover my answer to Katsuragi's question clouded your thought process. I did say it was a test run, but actually it was a test run to convey a message that the questions will be a little difficult, and you have to look for other ways to win.
I hope you learned your lesson."
Nodding his head, Hirata sat down.
"Kukuku, goody two shoes. Why didn't you do this in the first round?"
"I could ask the same question to you."
Well they both know that I will be faster. Since now me and Arisu are not in the competition, they took their chance.
Horikita widened her eyes. She was narrow minded and already accepted that she won't get Q or R class. So this thought never came to her mind.
"Well since you guys tied. I will ask another question."
Horikita hurriedly took her phone out.
"Up to five decimal places, what is 981 divided by 667?"
"1.47076"
"*Ping*""*ping*""*ping*"
"1.47076"
"1.47076"
Ryuen's class, and Horikita, all looked towards Honami, making Arisu's class to look at her.
Horikita widened her eyes after hearing the sounds from Ryuen and his classmates phones.
"Ichinose is the winner."
"Kukuku, that was really a wtf moment. I didn't expect you to play dirty goody two shoes. I didn't even think of it."
"Hehe, I will take that as a compliment. Well it was Mako who sent you guys the messages."
Messages to distract them. Even though it's not much, they gained a small advantage.
While it was truly in her luck that none of them had their phones muted, it's still a pretty 'out of box' thinking.
I am surprised that Honami used this tactic. While it's completely fair, from a 3rd person perspective, it is like playing dirty.
"Tch, I didn't even consider it. How did she have my number anyways." Horikita is frustrated with... herself?
Shit, I was the one to give her Horikita's number. I did remember saying to her that if she wants to ask any queries regarding Horikita Manabu, then ask her sister.
She didn't use it then? But I am surprised she has Ibuki and Shiina's number. As expected of a social butterfly.
"Tch, how do you even have my number?" Ibuki mumbled under her breath.
"Hehe, don't you remember? You transferred me some points for toppling my food plate by bumping into me in the cafeteria."
"Tch"
Ryuen kukued hearing this. That was probably Ryuen's instruction. Maybe he was assessing Honami's character.
"Well Ichinose-san. Choose a role."
"The class that hears the answer. R class." Kanzaki sighed in relief.
It's been going smoothly for him, till now.
The collected and cunning Kanzaki has changed a little, he's been like this after hearing the way I won the Island exam.
"Well, so it's been decided. Class A is Q class, Class B is R class, and Class C and D are accusing class."
Well, technically we are class A, but whatever, it seems like they won't update it till the start of next month. Hope the rankings won't change by then.
"Now onto the next phase. This is where the real exam begins. In this screen besides me, a full animated video will be displayed of the crime scenario.
The animation is just for visual representation. All the clues and the potential suspects are already confirmed by the detectives in the imaginary scenario.
The culprit will be among the suspects, no twist and turns in the questions or any other out of box answers. Don't think too much, the answer will be obvious with simple reasoning skills.
Wordings will be displayed in half of the screen. I recommend you focus on the wording, I will say this frankly, the animation is just a distraction."
Well that was quite frank.
"Though we had to make them in one single night, *dramatically cries*"
That statement made everyone in the room confused. Before anyone can question her, she snapped her fingers. Suddenly the lights were turned off and they projected something on the screen.
In a drone shot, a building's top was focused. Well it's animated good enough I guess. When the camera rotated and focussed on the front of the building, we realised it was a museum.
"No need to take notes children. I will provide a paper in the end with all the key points."
Well that's convenient.
A title appeared on the screen:
The stolen Masterpiece
Sakayanagi fufued.
"I believe it's a museum." She spoke.
"Ooooh, I already like this. Gives off the feeling of a home theatre." I commented.
Obviously, we both got ignored.
The Vincent van Gogh masterpiece, "Sunflowers in a Vase," has vanished from the prestigious Van Gogh Museum overnight.
They showed a photo of the famous painting.
Security footage reveals a brief power outage during the critical timeframe (1:30 AM - 1:35 AM), but no suspicious activity.
They just showed some random animation of police and the detective talking. Well as sensei said, the animation is pretty much for aesthetics.
Here's the available information:
The Painting: "Sunflowers in a Vase" is a renowned van Gogh masterpiece with a value exceeding $100 million.
Once again they showed the expensive painting.
Security: The museum boasts cutting-edge security, including motion sensors, laser grids, and retinal scanners for authorized access. The power outage triggered an automatic lockdown, but no breaches were detected upon system reboot.
A bunch of laser grids were shown. That's some high tech security. But they still had a power outage for 5 minutes. Well it's an imaginary scenario anyways.
"Well moving onto the suspects." Tanaka sensei excitedly spoke.
Even her excited voice is alluring.
Suspects:
They showed a lady in her early thirties.
Ms. Eleanor Vance: A disgruntled museum employee recently denied a promotion.
"Erenoa Vansu"
I said, exactly like how an anime girl will pronounce it.
At least Tanaka sensei, Honami and Mako laughed a little at my joke. All other people are cold hearted.
Next the camera swiftly moved towards a guy.
Mr. Charles Dupont: A notorious art forger with a history of targeting high-value paintings.
"Sharuru Dyupon"
Another women. She looked rather wealthy.
Ms. Sophia Petrova: A wealthy art collector rumored to be secretly amassing an illegal collection.
"Sofia Petorowa"
The next guy looked like an art nerd, wearing glasses, having a book in his hand.
Dr. Henry Cavendish: A renowned art historian known for his controversial theories about van Gogh's mental state.
"Henri Kyabendisshu"
Finally they showed a security guy in his fourties, looking like he is done with his life.
Mr. Thomas Greene: A security guard with a gambling addiction and mounting debts.
"Tomasu Gurin"
Nothing interesting so far. I will think when we discuss.
"Well that's all of the suspects. Hehehe, your imitations are on point Ayanokouji. You can either become a v tuber or even become a voice actor."
"Thank you for the compliment sensei"
"Kukuku, as expected, monster is multi talented." Ryuen complimented me?
Maybe he is a closet otaku?
"Now moving on towards the clues found."
Clues huh, usually taking notes is better, Ryuen not believing the words of sensei took pictures every few seconds.
Horikita didn't take any. Either she trusts the words of our instructor, or she is confident in her memory.
Clues found:
1. A single, muddy footprint (size 10 men's shoe) was found near a rarely used fire escape on the museum's roof.
2. A janitor working the night shift claims to have overheard a muffled conversation about "sunflowers" near the exhibit hall shortly before the power outage.
3. Security footage from a hallway near the vault captures a blurry image of a figure carrying a large, rectangular object shortly after the power is returned (1:37 AM).
4. A dropped paintbrush, with a rare shade of yellow paint used by van Gogh, was found near the empty exhibit.
5. Ms. Vance's access badge was deactivated the day before the theft, but her fingerprint scanner is still functional.
Well that's interesting. It's not as hard as I thought it would be. I mean it makes sense, the exam is more focused on other aspects, rather than focusing on this small detective game.
"Aaaand that's it. Here are the sheets, they have every wording that appeared on the screen.
Now a time period of 30 minutes is given for discussion. Discuss whether you are going to ask a question. If yes, then decide and agree upon a question."
As sensei said this, she sat down in a chair and started reading some book.
The only person who looked enthusiastic is Shiina. Guess she likes mysteries.
"Fufufu, very interesting scenario. Don't you agree with me Katsuragi-kun?"
"Yes, it is interesting. At first glance, all suspects appear suspicious. However, a closer look reveals certain inconsistencies"
Inconsistencies he says. I looked at Horikita who nodded her head.
"The disgruntled employee Ms. Vance, while her access badge is deactivated, she wouldn't risk using her fingerprint scanner after working hours, knowing it would trigger an alarm."
Horikita pointed out. It seems like she can handle this discussion just fine.
"Fufufu, I agree."
"Kukuku, Suzune's right. Not only that, that dipshit art forget Dupont is an expert in forgeriy, not stealing original shitty paintings.
And if he wanted to make a duplicate, the power outage won't benefit him in that process"
An inference was made by Ryuen. He used the fact that sensei told us not to overthink.
Should I annoy him?
"Well he could've stolen it to do the forgery."
My words came as a surprise to some people. I did say I won't participate, but annoying Ryuen takes priority.
"What? I am not participating actively, I just wanted to know why Ryune thinks what he said." I said defending myself from their scrutinizing gazes.
"Kukuku, you monster. Don't try to confuse people. For dumbfucks who are considering her words, art forgery is not done like that."
Well that was a good try. But I did lose some of my credibility. My following interventions will be less impactful.
"Not only that, why would Ms. Petrova risk a public heist? Considering her resources allow for more discreet way of getting the pointing." Honami made her point.
"I don't think you can exclude Sofia (Petrova) from the list of suspicions based on that." I said to her.
"I agree Kiyone. We still haven't discussed about the clues as of yet. I am just saying that it reduces the chances of her being a culprit."
Honami with her angel smile explained to me.
I nodded in understanding.
"Umm.., Dr. Cavendish motive is unclear, do you think stealing would further help his research?" An angelic voice made debut.
It was Shiina Hiyori, she looked straight in my eyes, asking that question.
"I agree-"
"I too thought the same, Shiina-san." I interrupted Horikita.
"Kukuku, you Simp. Simping for some other girl other than your girlfriend, kuku a disgusting monster."
"So it leaves us Mr. Greene alone. He is the most likely suspect as of now." Kanzaki spoke.
It feels like he just pointed out the obvious just for us to take note that he is alive.
"Yea, Mr Obvious" I mumbled under my breath. Unfortunately he didn't hear me. I wanted to start a drama.
"Fufufu, what do you think Kushida-san?"
When this question was asked, the room fell silent. Ryuen started laughing like a madman.
"*Cough* I am sorry, my throat is sore *Cough* I can't talk much."
"Fufu, you were fine until this morning."
Kushida suddenly turned towards me, asking for my help.
"Kuku, sore throat? Did you-"
"Ryuen-kun, if you finish that sentence, I will make you lay on the table and drop kick your testicles" Tanaka sensei made a very scary remark with her soothing voice.
"What a scary lady, kukuku, I like you more now sensei" what a masochist.
"Fufufu, leaving that masochist aside. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable Kushida-san.
Well so are we on the same page? Mr. Green is most likely the suspect. Let's review the clues and check if our assumption is correct or not"
Sakayanagi led the conversation.
"The first clue is the foot print."
Sakayanagi said.
"Fufu, this muddy footwear suggests an external entry point; that is, the fire escape and a potential change of footwear." She continued her inference.
Well these are fairly obvious, no need to think too much. But I am feeling bored.
"What if someone else, like a female, used that shoe and deliberately left a track? It could be a misleading clue."
A collective sigh could be heard in the room. I eyed Mako pleadingly, asking for help.
"Why are you all sighing? What's wrong with her question?" She tried to defend me.
"Mako you idiot, she is just playing around. First of all, if we go by that logic; any clue could be misleading.
Second, leaving a convincing fake muddy footprint is challenging.
If not done meticulously, it could raise suspicions and lead detectives to suspect foul play.
Actually, It's risky to manipulate evidence at a crime scene, as it can ultimately backfire.
You could potentially leave more evidence pointing at you, if you try to do that." Honami made a remark.
Well, that is true I guess. But Honami sure does know a lot about crimes.
'You spoke as if you stole something before.' That's what I wanted to say, but refrained myself.
"Fufufu, your attempts are futile Kiyone. We are going on the right track."
Sure you do.
"The next clue is the conversation. It doesn't tell much other than the perpetrator knew the name of the painting." Machida spoke.
What is this? I thought he was a simp. Well he looked like one. Guess class A students are class A for a reason.
He does think a little, or maybe I am overreacting, he only made a very simple point.
"Fufufu, what do you think Masumi? Were you even listening to the conversation?" Arisu tapped her cane.
Kamuro irritatedly looked at Arisu.
"During the power outage, the blurry figure carrying the large object is obviously the painting." Kamuro gave her input, albeit grudgingly.
But is it really the painting. What if it was the tools that used to bypass the security? Nah, just kidding. Though I am going to make that into a real argument.
"Next is the dropped paint brush with a rare yellow shade. They might have artistic knowledge to a certain extent. Reducing the likely hood of a thief's assignment."
Well I gave my own input, without any shenanigans.
"Kukuku, it could also mean they have access to such specific materials."
"Fufufu, since we reached the finale, should I conclude this crime?"
Saying this Sakayanagi stood up. Epic. Except she looks like a grade schooler.
"Fufufufu. By the process of elimination, and by sensei's word of 'keeping it simple', I declare Mr. Greene as the culprit.
Mr. Green, the security guard with gambling debts, has a motive and potential access, using his deactivated badge to access specific areas before the power outage.
The muddy footprint could be his after entering through the fire escape and changing shoes inside.
The power outage, possibly caused by Mr. Greene tampering with the system, provided him with the necessary opportunity."
She stopped, turning around to look at all of us. Is this some 80's detective movie?
"What about the dropped paintbrush?"
I stood up, asking about the obvious.
"It simply suggests Mr. Greene might have some artistic knowledge or access to such specific paints, perhaps from a past hobby or connection.
In my opinion, this clue and the overhearing of conversation, both are simply misleading. They both fit for any scenario that you can think of.
But ultimately, 'Tomasu Gurin' is the only one who is desperate and has a clear motive to steal the painting"
She tapped her cane, slowly walking towards me, stopping in the center.
"I will give you a much better answer, Sakayanagi Arisu"
"Fufufufu, I am ready anytime Ayanokouji Kiyone."
"Not now, let's discuss what question to ask, I will debunk your theory in the next discussion."
"Is that so? Fufu, I am eagerly waiting for it.
Now...
The question we should ask is,
'Does Mr. Greene owns a distinctive, heavily used backpack with a broken zipper, capable of holding a large framed painting?'"
"That's oddly specific." Kanzaki remarked.
"Let me enlighten you why.
The blurry figure was carrying a large object, suggesting a backpack for transporting the painting.
A broken zipper could explain the dropped paintbrush during the escape.
Owning such a distinctive backpack would link Mr. Greene to the blurry figure caught on camera.
This might all sound like nonsensical, but this is the best logical argument we have and considering how this segment is constructed, we all know the school only wants us to give the best possible logical conclusion.
This is the answer that the school hopes for.
The one with the strongest motive is him, and I do believe he is the culprit, if the culprit is one of the suspects."
The room fell into a silence.
"Kukuku, I am more interested in monster's theory."
"Fufufu, we can simply decide on vote, whether should we ask this question or not."
"Well ... Kiyone still hasn't said her theory yet" Honami, even though she agreed with Arisu's logic, wanted to hear my part.
"No need Honami. Ask whatever question you guys want. I already know the culprit. The clues are not incomplete, the question is unnecessary."
"Fufu, they are incomplete."
We both didn't back down from our claims. While Arisu had the most support, people started to become skeptical.
I have much more credibility to my abilities than her. But at the same time, my character is a bit questionable from a 3rd person perspective.
"We'll see about that.*Achoo*" curse this cold.
My voice became a little raspy too. This is slightly uncomfortable.
"Sensei, we would like to ask the question. Our discussion is over." Arisu sat down in her chair.
"Students, I want the majority to accept what the question is to be asked. Raise your hands up, if you agree with Sakayanagi's question."
Everyone except me and Ryuen raised their hands. He didn't stop Shiina and Ibuki, well I guess he too agrees with Arisu.
"Do you really have such a theory? I think Sakayanagi-san's theory is pretty solid." Horikita whispered to me.
"I do"
I don't.
Horikita eyed me suspiciously.
"It doesn't actually matter what theory we come up with. It just has to be logical and doesn't omit any clues all the while being simple and straightforward." I told her.
"Then why are you rejecting her claim?" The ever so curious Horikita wanted to know what exactly I am thinking right now.
"I just don't trust her. She will turn into a traitor for sure."
Horikita started thinking about my words.
"Great. Now class A, you guys have the chance to turn into a traitor and ask a different question."
Saying this, sensei and the whole of class A went into a different room, attached to ours.
"What do you think she will do Kiyone?"
"Honami, I did say I won't participate but did it anyway because of Arisu's provocation.
I will say this once, I don't trust either one of you. I will accuse Arisu no matter what she chooses, and I will convince Ryuen to accuse your class no matter what."
My statement caused Honami's smile to falter.
"Don't bother with her Ichinose-san. I will be the one deciding that." Horikita said.
"Kukuku, you monster. I want to accuse the loli. You accuse the power of friendship class."
"Nah, it's riskier for me. Also now that we learnt that decision is based on voting if we don't agree, that just means the chance on 'who gets to accuse who' might also turn into that.
Our class has 4 members, yours only has 3. I don't think the other two classes will participate in the deciding of their demise."
Ryuen smirked at my words.
"You monster. You want to bring me down that badly, kukuku. We both should co-operate. You should do what I say."
That's not cooperation.
Before I could argue back, all five of them came out.
"The question has been asked, and the answer has been sent to you three. She pointed to Honami and her classmates."
"What? It got deleted the moment I opened it? I only saw it in the notification." Mako frantically spoke.
"Well, that's obviously to remove evidence. What if you use it to prove that you are not a traitor?"
"Kukuku, just say it already. Or should we count down?"
"The answer is 'Yes'"
"Fufufu, see? I told you. Geniuses' don't get it wrong."
"Genius my ass, that was the easiest deduction ever possible. Kukuku, the real question is..."
"Are you both conspiring together and turned into a traitor?" I finished Ryuen's sentence.
"Fufufu, rather than proving our innocense, can you prove us guilty?"
"That's not how it works Arisu"
"I didn't know that."
"Fine, I will give you a more convincing theory as I promised.
Then that means if you asked the agreed upon question, the answer should have been a 'no'. So thereby Honami will be guilty.
I will accuse you anyways Arisu."
Horikita didn't interfere. She was much more interested in my theory.
"The culprit is Ms Sofia Petrova."
"But as we said earlier, wouldn't a public heist be risky for her reputation?" Hirata asked me.
"Nah, not really. Reputation is secondary. Focus on the power outage.
It could be seen as an opportunistic strike.
The "sunflowers" conversation could be a codeword unrelated to the painting itself."
"What about the blurry figure? Isn't that likely the painting?" Mako made a dumb point.
"Not necessarily. It could be a large duffel bag containing tools for disabling security.
Ms. Petrova, with her resources, could have had someone else transport the painting discreetly." I made a dumber argument to counter her.
"Kukuku, I like this theory much better monster. The painting should belong to a dominating rich woman such as herself, instead of a half baked bald ass gamble addict drunken security sucker."
"Exactly"
"*Sigh* I am not going to argue with this kind of logic. Fufufu, I will just make three points, the decision is upto everyone.
Ms. Petrova's usual methods of acquiring art contradict the messy break-in scenario.
The "Sunflowers" conversation could simply be a reference to the stolen painting.
Finally, if stories like this can be made, I can write a 'logical' theory that 9/11 didn't happen and everything was an illusion-"
Well it could be.
"- That's all. Though I have to say Kiyone. Aiming for hidden outcome while you don't even know what it could be is delusional."
Says the self proclaimed natural loli genius.
"Is that so? I don't need those hidden outcomes Arisu. I am going to accuse you anyways."
Arisu smirked challengingly.
"Do your best"
"Sensei we, class D would like to accuse-"
"No sensei, we don't."
Horikita stopped me.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't think she is a traitor."
Horikita declared.
"How can you be so sure?"
"I mean, until the very last second she was very confident, not a single bit of nervousness."
"That's called acting Horikita. A-c-t-i-n-g."
"Kukuku, this is getting interesting. Loli, so you really didn't turn into a traitor?"
"Maybe she turned into one depending on your response"
This point from Shiina Hiyori stopped all of our bickering.
"Well... The Q and R class can turn into a traitor just by not doing what was agreed upon right?"
"Kuku, you are a genius Hiyori.
So that's what loli's plan is. If we don't accuse her, she will answer something else other than what we agree as our final answer, and then become a traitor."
"Fufu, well even so, that just means I am innocent as of now."
"But wait, that means there's no way to win against the Q class?" Horikita questioned.
"Kukuku, No Suzune, there is one."
"Just accuse her Horikita. I think she is just straight up lying. She already turned into a traitor-"
"Aaahhhhh, can you all please stop. You all are screaming!" Mako shouted.
"Students, co operating is also a key in this exam. Amikura san, shouting like that is reprimandable, please don't do that again." Saying this, Tanaka Sensei flipped a page.
Her reading speed is pretty good. It is consistent, so I don't think she is faking it. Her eyes did observe us for a moment whenever someone made a point.
"Oh...um, yea, sorry sensei." Mako apologized shamefully.
"Kukuku, before deciding on the answer of this silly game.... Why don't we go back to the topic of 'traitors'"
Ryuen wasn't satisfied with the choas.
"Fufu, go ahead and feel free to accuse me."
"While it may be impossible for me to prove my innocence, just like Sakayanagi said, feel free to accuse me too"
Ichinose declared. Both being very confident. I don't think they are lying. I turned around to see a conflicted Horikita.
I can't blame her, it's risky to accuse them, but it's much more riskier to not to do so. The best option is to accuse the much more cunning Arisu, but that's not longer possible because of what Shiina said.
So in the end was it fully based on luck? Is there nothing we can do? Should we just accept defeat? This is what Horikita must be thinking.
Well, she is too narrow minded for such a broad exam. Can't ame her, she didn't have enough time for preparation.
This exam clearly mentioned that you have to co-operate with other classes. All outcomes are based on such cooperations. Well not really, but it's kind of.
So what would happen if it was the complete opposite.
"Sensei, can we still accuse after solving this crime?" Horikita asked.
"No Horikita. In fact since you asked this. Since this is a discussion based exam, I hope both A-classes reach a conclusion on whom to accuse beforehand.
If you both accuse the same class, it will be nullified, so please see to it."
That's just unnecessary. Horikita's last hope is shattered. It's still unclear whether Arisu can turn into a traitor after this, what Shiina said may or maynot be true.
If it's allowed to accuse later on
"Kukuku, I am going to risk accusing."
This came as a shock for a few people. Especially Katsuragi and Ibuki.
"Same here..." Horikita mumbled out loud.
"Fufu, now shall we decide on the final answer."
While she said that, I started writing a detailed explanation of the case given. I pointed out some extra improvements and complexities that can be added.
I hope this earns me some extra private points.
"-kouji"
Oops, I concentrated so much on writing that I didn't listen what was happening.
"Horikita what is it?"
"Mr Greene is guilty. That's what Sakayanagi is claiming."
I looked around the room. It seemed like everyone agreed with it.
"Why don't we vote and decide? I am saying it's Ms Sophia."
"Fufufu, Kiyone-san, everyone agrees with me, why should we even vote? Even your classmates agree with me."
"Doesn't hurt to vote. Who agrees with Arisu, please raise their hand"
Slowly every student of class A and B raised their hands.
"Horikita, Kushida and Hirata. Don't raise your hands and do as I say."
"Now please raise your hand if you agree with me."
7 in my favour 7 in hers.
Arisu's eyes widened.
"What's so shocking Arisu? Ofcourse I teamed up with Ryuen. Wasn't that obvious from the start?"
"Fufufu, no no. That was obvious. But I am quite shocked at my inability to understand how and why"
The how part doesn't matter.
"Well since it's tied, what should I do?"
Sensei scratched her head.
"Sensei, you mentioned how the teachers were given extra flexibility in this exam right?"
"Yes, I did say that."
"I wonder if you can participate in this voting"
"Hmm what!!??" Sensei looked quite flabbergasted, so does everyone.
"Let me rephrase it. You are allowed to make the decision. Either conduct another game, or choose on random... Or give us time to convince the other party.
But what if you were to select personally? What if we persuaded you. I think it's a plausible setup. Don't you agree?"
Sensei made a thinking expression.
"True... You people don't know much about me. Persuading someone whom you only met a few hours ago is a very crucial aspect in negotiations.
So as Ayanokouji-san said, try to convince and persuade me."
Arisu clenched her cane. After all, I already won.
"Kukuku, that monster already 'persuaded' you into agreeing this 'game'."
Sensei looked at me.
"Hehe, that sure is clever of you Ayanokouji-san.
Ms Sofia is the agreed upon answer.
Please write the explanation. I will collect that paper in 5 mins."
Arisu is still confused on why I am doing this. Since none of them are accused, this is just balantly helping her. I won because she doesn't know what I am doing.
Can't blame her, she never focused on the hidden outcomes. Well there weren't enough clues to begin with.
But if she really wanted to know that, knowing this sensei's personality, she should've tried to bargain that knowledge.
In the end, she isn't as formidable as I thought. Either my standards are high... Or I expected much from her cuz of the Chairman's words.
"Each class submits only one final answer."
"Horikita, submit this."
Seeing what I wrote, she widened her eyes.
"I will explain everything later on. Just go with the flow."
She nodded her head.
"The results will be officially announced at 8 pm.
On another note, if you guys are willing to not leave this room for the next hour, by which every other group's exam will be over, I will announce this exam's result in 10 minutes.
After all, the results are quite astounding."
"What's the catch? Sensei"
"Hmm? There's no catch Ayanokouji-san. Well for you this must be unnecessary."
That statement felt almost threatening. She must be following my movements. The question is, how long? Am I simply unaware of it?
"I agree."
Not wanting to continue that conversation, I agreed with her proposal.
Many people nodded their head.
"Wait for a few minutes, I will read the explanations."
....
The 10 mins flew by in an instant. At least Horikita didn't pester me for an answer.
She understood that my explanation is something that the other class leaders will be looking for.
"Annnnnnd done."
"Kuku, monsterz what would you do if I didn't write the answer that we both discussed?"
Ryuen asked a hypothetical.
"That's an interesting question-"
What would I do if Ryuen betrayed me?
"The result is-"
"Even then-"
It doesn't matter.
"Outcome number-"
"I already got what I wanted"
This whole exam...
"0 : Everyone turned into a traitor and answered correctly"
...is my idea.
The world's a stage, Ryuen. You're merely a player, I hold the pen.
In this marionette theater, I pull the strings.