'What's going on? Why did Horikita come straight to us?'
Saiki Kusuo was completely baffled by the situation. He turned to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka beside him, thinking, 'This guy must've done something!'
'This turn of events was likely within Saiki's expectations,' Ayanokōji thought to himself.
'???'
Saiki was utterly confused, having no idea what Ayanokōji meant.
'Saiki's way of thinking is very similar to mine, perhaps even superior. So, I need to think in reverse—what would I do if I were Saiki?'
'I revealed some of Saiki's actions to Horikita, letting her glimpse our true abilities.'
'This should make Horikita willing to cooperate with us, giving us another tool to exploit.'
'Hold on, that's a stretch,' Saiki thought, narrowing his eyes in disbelief. He hadn't expected things to escalate this way.
"You two, what exactly did you do behind my back? Explain yourselves," Horikita Suzune demanded the moment she entered the room.
"What did we do?" Ayanokōji asked, his expression unreadable.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Our class scored first place with a full 300 points. And that fever of yours was fake, wasn't it?"
'Honestly, I'm not sure how Saiki did it. Maybe he used some chemical to temporarily raise his temperature,' Ayanokōji thought.
'I'll just pretend I was actually sick. I don't want to get dragged into more trouble,' Saiki decided, preparing to bluff his way through.
"Actually, I—"
"It was my plan with Saiki," Ayanokōji interrupted.
"Saiki identified Ibuki's identity from the start but let Yamauchi bring her back. The goal was to use Ibuki to uncover D-Class's leader and feed them false information, leading them astray."
"What?" Horikita's eyes widened in surprise.
'What?' Saiki echoed in his mind, equally stunned.
Every word from Ayanokōji was unexpected. They'd agreed to help Saiki divert attention, but now Ayanokōji was revealing everything to Horikita.
'Saiki probably thinks the same as me. If we groom Horikita into a useful tool, she can act as our proxy in controlling the class,' Ayanokōji thought.
'Wait, I never thought that far!' Saiki protested internally. With no other choice, he had to play along with Ayanokōji's story.
"Right..." Saiki nodded.
"To mislead D-Class about their leader, Saiki and I staged this whole act."
"I see. I underestimated you both," Horikita said, her brow furrowing as she studied them.
'They clearly have exceptional abilities. I don't know why they're hiding their strength, but with their help, reaching A-Class isn't a dream. We've already surpassed B-Class, and with this momentum... maybe we can make it by the second semester of first year.'
Horikita's eyes gleamed with determination.
'Horikita likely believes Saiki and I have some abilities now. Her next step will be to figure out how to elevate the class to A-Class,' Ayanokōji thought.
'I suspect you're a psychic too,' Saiki thought.
"You two used me like a pawn, didn't you?" Horikita glared at them.
'This has nothing to do with me,' Saiki thought helplessly.
"Well, I can't deny that," Ayanokōji admitted, nodding.
"When did you two team up? From the start?"
"No, around halfway through the exam. We realized we were on the same wavelength and decided to collaborate."
"In previous exams, you didn't take any notable actions. Why now? What's your reasoning?" Horikita asked, her gaze sharp.
'Because I was threatened by Chabashira-sensei. I'm not sure if it's true, so I can't take risky actions yet,' Ayanokōji thought, but said aloud:
"Would you believe me if I said I was inspired by how seriously you took the exam?"
"That's a ridiculous lie. Normal people don't say things like that."
"In other words, I'm not telling you."
Horikita's brow twitched, but she turned to Saiki instead.
'I don't know anything. I wasn't planning to help in this exam, but...' Saiki had no idea how to respond and remained silent.
"Is that so?" Horikita sighed, then stepped forward, her gaze intense.
"Fine, I won't dig into your past or motives. Since our goals align for now... I'll reluctantly consider you both my allies."
Horikita's words, though reluctant, were a high compliment for someone of her personality.
'Just like Ayanokōji predicted... I'll go along with it for now. At least Horikita might be easier to deal with later,' Saiki thought. But as he prepared to speak, he heard Ayanokōji's inner voice.
'Horikita, from start to finish, I never considered you an ally. You and Hirata are just tools to achieve my goals.'
'Seriously? Why is a high schooler like you so calculating? Is it because of the White Room?'
'Nothing matters to me as long as I'm the winner in the end. Saiki probably feels the same.'
'Please don't drag me into this...'
'The only unpredictable person is Saiki. But for now, we're not enemies. That man will do anything to expel me. Maybe I can use Saiki to deal with them more easily.'
'This has nothing to do with me,' Saiki thought, filled with regret. He wished he'd never allied with Ayanokōji.
If he hadn't intervened, Ayanokōji might've set fire to the camp... Terrifying.
'At least the exam's over. Time to rest,' Saiki thought.
...
"Katsuragi, explain yourself!"
"You're responsible for this failure!"
"Because of your mistake, we not only lost the exam but also our personal points!"
Near A-Class's room, students surrounded Katsuragi Kōhei, accusing him. Though A-Class placed second, their 120 points and the loss of personal points to D-Class were unacceptable failures.
Katsuragi said nothing, only nodding. He knew his misjudgment had caused this.
Meanwhile, a laid-back student with slicked-back hair leaned against a wall, watching from afar.
Hashimoto Masayoshi, a key member of the Sakayanagi faction.
He'd secretly contacted Ryūen Kakeru during the exam, revealing A-Class's leader.
Seeing Katsuragi condemned, Hashimoto smiled, pulled out his phone, and called someone:
"Katsuragi's faction will be weakened after this."
"Indeed," a light, almost playful female voice replied.
"But C-Class—no, now B-Class—their performance exceeded expectations."
...
In D-Class's room:
"How is this possible? What happened?"
Ibuki Mio was baffled by their zero points.
"We guessed the wrong leader, and my identity was exposed. That's all," Ryūen said calmly.
D-Class didn't know the specifics of their deductions, so Ryūen couldn't pinpoint the mistake yet.
'Ibuki's photo was real. Kaneda didn't get physical evidence, but he wouldn't betray me. A-Class likely didn't give false info due to infighting.'
'C-Class took first place with 300 points, jumping to B-Class. They must've correctly identified the other three leaders, including me.'
'So... they likely uncovered Ibuki's spy role. The key card was probably a deliberate leak. Faking a key card is unlikely... Did they replace their leader? Climbing from D to B in one semester—that class isn't ordinary. There's probably someone dangerous there.'
Ryūen's calm expression turned grim.
"My goal was to get a contract from A-Class. The points were secondary. But someone interfered, and I'll find them!"
...
On the other ship, Shiina Hiyori analyzed the exam in her room.
"Zero points... We likely guessed the wrong leader, and someone identified ours."
"It was probably Saiki's class. They must've figured out Ibuki's identity and misled Ryūen..."
"Was it Saiki's doing?"
'They might've replaced their leader. Saiki was supposedly sick... Was that how they switched leaders?'
"Saiki was actually sick... or was he...?"
"Never mind! If Saiki's sick, I should check on him!"
Shiina smiled, her face lighting up at the thought of seeing Saiki.
"I'll bring him some sweets from the cafeteria!"
...
In the teachers' meeting room:
"I never expected Chabashira's class to take first place."
"How did they manage it?"
"They must have some extraordinary students."
The teachers were baffled by the exam results.
Chabashira Sae smiled. D-Class rising to B-Class in one semester was unprecedented.
"We'll need to update the school's tracking system."
"Agreed. That bug is too absurd."
"This has never happened since the school's founding. What's going on?"