"Pass me the phone."
"Give it to His Royal Highness Kure Ragna?"
The moment those words were spoken, Yukimura and Toimura exchanged troubled glances.
It wasn't surprising. Given their personalities and interests, the two of them were loners, outsiders in the class. That's putting it politely. To be blunt, they were socially isolated.
At least within the class hierarchy, their paths had never crossed with Kure Ragna's. Their conversations had never gone beyond recognizing each other's names.
And now, out of nowhere, he was asking for their phones?
A little suspicious.
"Just a reminder," Mashima Tomonari, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"Forcing others to hand over their phones or attempting to steal them is a serious violation of school rules. If confirmed, it could result in expulsion."
Kure Ragna glanced at him, unimpressed.
"Teacher, do you think just because we climbed up from Class D and shaved Class A's head in the last uninhabited island exam, that we're a bunch of troublemakers?"
"No," Mashima said flatly. "I do not hold prejudices against any student, regardless of their class."
He maintained eye contact while saying this, but it was clear he had left out the second half of his thoughts.
—But you are definitely a problem student.
He probably wanted to say that.
"Relax." Kure Ragna suddenly chuckled. "That was an exception. I was doing a favor for someone, so I had to take it seriously. But this special exam is different. It's actually quite interesting. Since it's about testing our thinking abilities, wouldn't it be boring to brute-force our way through it? No flying bricks this time. So look—I'm actively communicating with my classmates."
"I see." Mashima's response was stiff. "But if you want to communicate, you can do it after the exam. Once you confirm that all exam questions have been addressed, you may leave. However, you must keep the two pieces of paper in your hand. You can take notes, but photos and videos are strictly prohibited."
"Got it." Kure Ragna nodded. "But I have a few questions, teacher. Did students in other groups also receive this?"
"No comment."
"After we leave, will the next group in this room be from the Dragon faction?"
"No comment."
"Is there really a 10-minute gap between each group?"
"No comment."
Mashima was as unyielding as a rock. No matter how many ways Kure Ragna asked, the teacher maintained a stone-cold silence.
Like a Werewolf game where someone immediately says, "Villager, pass." Absolutely no value in that response.
But Kure Ragna only smirked, as if Mashima had given him all the answers he needed.
He raised his right index finger. "Got it. First question—the answer is yes."
Mashima didn't react.
Kure Ragna lifted his second finger. "Second question,the answer is no."
The corner of Mashima's eye twitched slightly.
He raised a third finger. "And for the third one,it's another yes."
Mashima remained silent, but by now, his lack of denial was as good as confirmation.
"Alright, that's enough for now." Kure Ragna casually took the exam manual from Karuizawa Kei, folded both his and hers, and handed them to the Class A teacher. Then, he stood up and walked to the door.
Karuizawa, as if moved by some unseen force, silently followed. Seeing them leave, Yukimura and Toimura hesitated before trailing after them.
Once the door shut behind them, the group walked through the empty corridor. It was Yukimura who finally broke the silence.
"How did you figure out those answers? Mashima-sensei didn't say anything."
Kure Ragna stopped and turned. Kei Karuizawa, still silent, halted as well, standing slightly behind him, eyes unfocused.
"Oh, that?" Kure Ragna smirked. "Simple. When I got the papers, I noticed they had already been handled by multiple people. That means others had been here before us."
"I'm not sure of the exact starting time, but I know it had to be before six o'clock."
He waved a hand. "As for my second answer? No real evidence. Just intuition."
A small interrogation trick, nothing more.
He then drew an imaginary circle in the air. "And the 10-minute gap? That one's obvious. If each class has four teachers administering this, and there are twelve groups in total, then distributing them evenly means four groups per teacher. If each session takes 10 minutes, that totals about four hours."
"We were in the early batch at six o'clock. I've heard that some were scheduled close to nine. Assuming this started at five and went on until nine, well, that's exactly four hours."
"Isn't that just a waste of time? Wouldn't it be easier to call everyone together?" Yukimura frowned.
"Who knows?" Kure Ragna shrugged. "But I bet it has something to do with how they grouped us. Maybe there's a pattern, so they spread us out intentionally. Just a guess, though." He then grinned. "But c'mon, if this was Werewolf, wouldn't it be boring to play outside the game?"
"Kure Ragna."
Yukimura took a deep breath, looking as if he had just made a difficult decision.
"About the phone… I'll do it."
There was more he wanted to say, but instead, he simply took out his phone and handed it over without another word.
Kure Ragna stroked his chin, nodding approvingly. "Even I have to admit, His Royal Highness Kure Ragna's deduction was brilliant. So let's do exactly as His Highness says."
Somehow, he managed to say "Big Boss, please take charge" with a straight face.
Soon, two phones were handed to him.
Then, finally, he turned to Kei Karuizawa. She had remained silent the entire time.
Without a word, she pulled out her own phone—a sleek, feminine design—and placed it in his hand.
Kure Ragna took it.
Karuizawa turned and walked away without another glance.
Not a single word exchanged.
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