Yōsuke thought it was acceptable. Hoping for class harmony, he signed his name.
Then it was Kikyō's turn.
She should have opposed having half of everyone's Points taken away, but given her recent betrayal of Class D, she followed Yōsuke's lead and signed. At least this way, she wouldn't shoulder the blame alone.
As a Class D student choosing the first outcome, she would receive 250,000 points, plus the 200,000 that the detestable Suzune had promised her. Being a VIP of the Dragon group would bring even more points.
From her perspective, there was no reason to refuse.
Now only Class B remained.
Kakeru had been clear: he would sign if Class B agreed not to report his assault. The decision now rested with Honami and Ryūji.
"I need to think about this." Honami said.
"Are you serious, Ichinose-san?" Ryūji couldn't understand.
"..." Honami remained silent, pursing her lips.
She had already figured out Houtarou's intentions.
When she initially chose the first outcome for the Rabbit Group, it was because his presence made finding the VIP information nearly impossible.
Given that reality, they might as well choose the most advantageous option. If Class Points were out of reach, they should at least secure a substantial number of Points.
If all students chose the first outcome, even with the Monkey Group's early exit and only three Class B students there, the remaining Class B students could still bring in 50 × (40-3-3) = 17 million points after excluding three VIPs.
Even with half going to Houtarou per the agreement, Class B would still accumulate 8.5 million.
They knew that 20 million points could advance a class or exempt one expulsion punishment, so 8.5 million points would provide numerous options.
Correctly guessing other classes' VIPs could directly reduce the Class Point gap by 100 Points.
But that would only work if their guesses were correct. Currently, they couldn't even identify the VIP in their own Rabbit group.
With Class A avoiding discussions and Class D students acting as backup machines, identifying VIPs had become significantly more difficult.
"Ichinose-san, if you want to sign, then sign." Ryūji said, "I can't accept this. If we miss this chance, advancing will become nearly impossible."
"No."
Honami was about to persuade him — this wasn't the time for opposition. The situation demanded a different approach.
Suddenly, Honami noticed Houtarou taking out his phone and dialing a number.
The call connected quickly.
"Hashimoto, proceed with the answer." He said.
Just five short words.
Within seconds, a notification sound rang from the newly installed speaker in the room.
[The Ox Group's exam has ended. Ox Group students no longer need to participate in the exam. Please act freely, but do not disturb other students' exams.]
The VIP in the Ox Group was from Class B.
Worse still, this Class B student was Chihiro, their previous island exam leader. If guessed correctly, Class B would lose 50 points.
"How could this happen..." Ryūji was stunned.
He never expected his outspokenness would cost his class a VIP position. Now their Class Points would drop by 50 while Class A gained 50 — making their goal of surpassing Class A even more distant.
Honami: "..."
Though dazed by this sudden turn of events, she understood what was happening.
Houtarou had access to all classes' VIP information — something they couldn't fight against. Teaming up with Kakeru was their only alternative, but he wasn't trustworthy. If he betrayed them, they'd lose even more than half their points.
This was precisely why she had wanted to sign earlier. They had no other choice.
Now that the Ox Group's VIP information was revealed, Chihiro would likely cry again. Despite it not being her fault, she kept finding herself in these situations. Before anyone realized it, their class would lose more Points.
Honami felt helpless.
"Have you woken up a bit?" Houtarou said, "Sometimes surrender is necessary, especially in this school where strength is everything. I wanted to end this efficiently, but you all kept dragging it out. I don't like complications. I want to protect the remaining two VIPs' information and achieve shared prosperity through point acquisition. So sign quickly. Also, regarding the Ox group's missing points... Class B will bear that responsibility."
Each group had 13-14 people, with the Ox group having 14. Choosing the first outcome, plus the VIP's share, would generate 8.5 million points. Houtarou would take half, earning 4.25 million from this group alone.
And Class B had to shoulder this burden?
They were already struggling — their VIP had been identified by Masayoshi from Class A, pushing them back by 100 Class Points.
"Oreki-kun, please stop." Honami said hurriedly.
She could see Ryūji was in shock.
This wasn't good. After being tormented by Kakeru in the Dragon Group these past few days, he would surely regret this once he calmed down.
After such a loss, she worried his resolve might become even more extreme than during the island incident when she was caught in the rain. He might even consider dropping out.
This wasn't what anyone in Class B wanted. Their class was gentle — no one wanted to see their classmates fall behind or disappear.
Given these circumstances, they had only one option.
"We accept your conditions." She said, "We'll cancel the report about Kakeru's assault, and have Hoshinomiya-sensei delete the photos of Ibuki and Ishizaki."
She felt regret creeping in. During the island exam, despite everyone achieving acceptable scores under her leadership, she had felt inadequate.
And now, even though she had realized Houtarou possessed the VIP information — making resistance futile — she hadn't prevented Ryūji's outburst. The situation had only deteriorated further.
Ah. While coming to this school had blessed her with many friends and felt like a rebirth, it kept teaching her harsh life lessons.
"However, we cannot bear the cost of the Ox Group's losses. If you accept this, then I will sign." Honami said.
"Alright." Houtarou nodded, "Then I won't make you compensate for the Ox Group's losses."
Ryūji: "..."
Looking at the signatures already there, he finally wrote his own name.
Kakeru had signed his name as well.
"Well then..." Houtarou looked at everyone's signatures with a slight smile, "Please notify everyone to wait until 9:30 tomorrow night. I will arrange for people to send the correct answers to your respective groups. And of course, this includes the Ox Group students — don't forget to take the exam together."
"Eh?" Honami noticed his mention of the Ox Group.
"Wasn't their exam already over?" Ryūji snapped back to attention.
"You're all so naive." Kakeru interjected, "Oreki is interested in even the 800,000 points I have — how could he casually sacrifice an entire group? One group can create over 4 million in value for him. Of course he wants that."
Ah. So the Ox Group's VIP information sent by Masayoshi to end the exam... was fake?
"The cost was 100,000 points, inviting Mashima-sensei to record and install new speakers." Houtarou said.
And Suzune had already removed the speaker.
Indeed, it wasn't school equipment — just a newly installed speaker. This had been nothing more than a strategy to break down Ryūji and Honami's psychological defenses.
In other words, he had thought this far ahead.
Honami suddenly felt that Class A was even more distant.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
The next day, at 10 PM.
The Student Council continued working overtime due to their duties.
Manabu, as Student Council President, immediately received information from the chairman when the VIP exam ended.
"..."
The results were so shocking that he could only stare in silence.
"Nagumo." Manabu looked at the accountant who was working, "The VIP results are out."
"Oh, they're out? So how many points did Houtarou and his group get this time?" Miyabi asked, eyes fixed on his computer screen.
"A number you couldn't imagine."
"Heh." Miyabi laughed. "How much could it be? Twenty million? If he earned another twenty million, I'll eat this computer — well, this monitor!"
Even a quick analysis showed this exam had been extremely brutal. All four classes had been fighting for their own interests.
So how much could Houtarou get alone?
"Well, maybe not." Manabu said, "He didn't get twenty million."
"Oh." Miyabi felt relieved, "Then how much?"
"Forty million."
"..."
?????????
He thought he must have heard wrong.
⍟⍟⍟
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