'What's going on? Why did Horikita come straight to me?'
Saiki Kusuo couldn't quite understand the situation and could only turn to look at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka beside him.
'This guy must have done something!'
[I'm sure this situation is also within Saiki's expectations.]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka thought to himself.
'???'
Saiki Kusuo was filled with confusion, completely unaware of what Ayanokoji was talking about.
[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 told Horikita about some of the things Saiki did, making her aware of a small part of our abilities.]
[This way, Horikita should take the initiative to cooperate with us, giving us another tool to use.]
'Hey, hey, hey, that's going too far.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, pursing his lips slightly. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
"What exactly have you two been doing behind my back? You'd better explain yourselves."
The moment Horikita Suzune entered the room, she immediately confronted the two of them.
"Doing what?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at Horikita Suzune with no expression.
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
"Our class got first place this time, with a full 300 points. How exactly did you do it? Was the whole fever thing fake too?"
[To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how Saiki Kusuo pulled it off. Maybe he used some chemical substance to temporarily raise his body temperature.]
Ayanokoji thought to himself.
'I'll just pretend I was really sick. I don't want to get dragged into more trouble.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, preparing to bluff his way through.
"Actually, I..."
"That's right, it was part of Saiki's and my plan."
Before Saiki Kusuo could finish speaking, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke up first.
"Saiki discovered Ibuki's identity from the start, but he still let Yamauchi bring her back. The goal was to use Ibuki to find out about Class D's leader and feed them false information, misleading them."
"What?"
Horikita Suzune's eyes widened, a hint of surprise in her gaze.
'What?'
Saiki Kusuo's eyes also widened slightly as he screamed internally.
Everything Ayanokoji said was completely unexpected.
Originally, they had agreed to help divert attention away from Saiki Kusuo, so why was Ayanokoji now revealing everything to Horikita Suzune?
[I'm sure Saiki's thoughts align with mine. By nurturing Horikita into a suitable tool, she can act on our behalf, becoming our proxy to control the class.]
'Hey, hey, hey, I never thought that far ahead!'
Saiki Kusuo screamed internally, but at this point, his only option was to go along with Ayanokoji's story.
"That's right..."
Saiki Kusuo nodded.
"To make Class D guess the wrong leader, Saiki Kusuo and I deliberately put on this act."
Ayanokoji continued.
"I see. I really underestimated the two of you."
Horikita Suzune frowned, her gaze sweeping over Saiki Kusuo and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
[I already had a feeling something was off, but now it's clear that these two have exceptional abilities! I don't know why they've been hiding their strength in class, but if we can get their help, reaching Class A won't just be a dream. We've already surpassed Class B, and although there's still a significant gap to Class A, if we maintain this momentum... we might even achieve it by the second half of the first year.]
As she thought this, a glimmer of light seemed to flash in Horikita Suzune's eyes.
[I'm sure Horikita now believes that Saiki and I have some level of ability. Next, she'll be thinking about how to move the class up to Class A.]
'I suspect you're a psychic too.'
"You two used me as a pawn this time, didn't you?"
Horikita Suzune glared at Saiki Kusuo and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
'This has nothing to do with me.'
Even though Saiki Kusuo thought this, he couldn't say it out loud.
"Yes, I can't deny that."
Ayanokoji nodded.
"When exactly did the two of you start colluding? From the very beginning?"
"No, it was around halfway through the exam. We realized each other's intentions and started communicating."
"In the previous exams, neither of you showed any special actions. Why did you take action this time? What's your philosophy behind your actions?"
Horikita Suzune's gaze held a hint of confusion.
[Because I was threatened by Chabashira-sensei. For now, I'm not sure if her words are true, so I can't take too many risks.]
Ayanokoji thought to himself but only said:
"What if I said I was moved by your seriousness during the exam? Would you believe me?"
"Such an absurd lie isn't something a normal person would say."
"In other words, I'm not planning to tell you."
Ayanokoji replied.
Horikita Suzune's eyebrows twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she turned to look at Saiki Kusuo.
'I actually don't know anything. I wasn't planning to put in any effort during this exam, but because...'
Saiki Kusuo didn't know how to respond and could only remain silent.
"Is that so?"
Horikita Suzune sighed but then took a step forward, her sharp and serious gaze falling on the two of them.
"Forget it. I don't want to dig into your past, and I don't want to know why you did this. But since our goals align for now... I might as well consider the two of you as my allies, for the time being."
As she spoke, Horikita Suzune pursed her lips slightly. For someone of her personality, these words were the highest form of praise.
'Just as Ayanokoji predicted... I'll just go along with it for now. At least Horikita might become a bit easier to deal with in the future.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself, but just as he was about to speak, he heard Ayanokoji's thoughts.
[But Horikita, from start to finish, I've never considered you an ally. Whether it's you or Hirata, you're all just tools to help me achieve my goals.]
'That's going too far. Why do you, a high school student, have this kind of personality? Is it because of that White Room thing?'
[For me, nothing matters as long as I come out on top in the end. I'm sure Saiki feels the same way.]
'Really, don't drag me into this...'
[The only person who's hard to control is Saiki. But for now, we're not enemies. That man will definitely try everything to get me expelled. Maybe I can use Saiki to deal with them more easily.]
'This has nothing to do with me.'
Saiki Kusuo was now filled with regret. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have teamed up with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in the first place.
If he hadn't intervened, maybe Ayanokoji would have set the camp on fire... How terrifying.
'But this exam should be over now. I can finally get some proper rest.'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.
...
"Katsuragi, explain yourself!"
"You're responsible for this exam's failure!"
"Because of your poor decisions, not only did we perform poorly in the exam, but we even lost our personal points!"
In front of Class A's room, the students surrounded Katsuragi Kohei, blaming him for everything.
Although Class A had secured second place in the exam, the mere 120 points and the subsequent transfer of personal points to Class D were an unacceptable failure for Class A.
Katsuragi Kohei didn't argue back. He simply nodded silently, fully aware that his poor judgment had led to this outcome.
Outside the crowd, a boy with slicked-back hair leaned against the wall, watching everything from a distance.
Hashimoto Masayoshi, a key member of the Sakayanagi faction.
During this exam, it was Hashimoto Masayoshi who secretly contacted Ryuen Kakeru and leaked Class A's leader information.
Watching Katsuragi Kohei being blamed by everyone, Hashimoto Masayoshi smiled and took out his phone, dialing a number.
"It seems the Katsuragi faction's influence in the class will be severely weakened after this."
"That's right."
A light, almost amused female voice came from the other end of the phone.
"But this time, Class C—no, Class B now—their performance was beyond expectations."
...
Meanwhile, in Class D's room.
"How is this possible... What exactly happened?"
Ibuki Mio's eyes were filled with confusion. She still couldn't believe that their class had scored zero points.
"We guessed a class leader wrong, and my identity was also guessed by someone else. It's as simple as that."
Ryuen Kakeru's expression was calm.
Class D had scored zero points in this special exam, but they weren't sure exactly where they had lost points. For now, Ryuen couldn't figure out which name had been wrong.
[Ibuki's photo is genuine. Although Kaneda didn't get physical evidence, he wouldn't betray me. The likelihood of Class A deliberately feeding me false information due to their internal conflict is also low.]
[This time, Class C—no, Class B—got first place with 300 points... They jumped straight to Class B... Without a doubt, they must have guessed the leaders of the other three classes, including mine.]
[That means... they probably saw through Ibuki Mio's spy identity... So the keycard might have been deliberately leaked. It's unlikely for ordinary students to forge a keycard... Did they use some method to change the leader's identity? To go from Class D to Class B in just one semester... This class is no ordinary group. There must be someone troublesome among them.]
Ryuen Kakeru's mind raced, and his previously calm expression turned serious.
"My goal was always to secure a contract with Class A. The points from this exam were just a bonus—but I didn't expect someone to interfere. I'll definitely find out who that person is!"
...
Elsewhere on the ship, Shiina Hiyori was in her room analyzing the results of the exam.
"We scored zero points... It's almost certain that we guessed a class leader wrong and had our leader guessed by someone else."
"Judging by the scores, it must have been Saiki's class. They probably figured out Ibuki's identity early on and fed us false information, misleading Ryuen..."
"Was it Saiki's doing?"
Shiina Hiyori sorted through the details of the exam in her mind. Although she had withdrawn early, she could still gather useful information from what others had said.
"The most likely possibility... is that they changed their leader. I heard Saiki was sick earlier... Could that have been their method of changing leaders?"
"Was Saiki really sick... or..."
"Forget it, never mind! Since Saiki's sick, I should go check on him!"
As she thought this, a happy smile appeared on Shiina Hiyori's fair face, as if she was delighted at the prospect of seeing Saiki Kusuo.
"I'll grab some desserts from the dining hall for Saiki!"
...
In the faculty meeting room.
"I never expected Chabashira's class to take first place."
"How did they do it?"
"It seems Chabashira's class has some remarkable students this year."
The other teachers were discussing the exam results, completely baffled by how things had turned out.
Chabashira Sae, however, wore a smile on her face. For a class to jump from Class D to Class B in just one semester was unprecedented in the school's history.
"But in any case, the school's tracking system needs to be replaced."
"That's true. The bugs in the system are just too ridiculous."
"This kind of problem has never happened since the school was founded. What exactly went wrong?"