"What are you doing, Ryuen?"
Ibuki Mio frowned and quickly stepped forward to help Ryuen Kakeru up.
Due to the commotion, the nearby students all turned their attention to Ryuen Kakeru, making the situation quite embarrassing.
"Damn it."
Ryuen Kakeru cursed under his breath, wanting to kick the chair hard. However, considering the number of people around and the possibility of losing a large number of points for damaging public property in front of everyone, he ultimately stopped himself. He then hurriedly left the area with Ibuki Mio.
"How pathetic. The great Ryuen Kakeru can't even walk properly. Do you need to go back to kindergarten and relearn how to walk?"
Horikita Suzune called out to Ryuen Kakeru's retreating figure, but this time, Ryuen didn't respond and simply left.
'Yare yare, is it finally over? Can I leave now?'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.
"Now that the troublesome guy is gone, let's continue discussing the matter."
"..."
...
At 1 PM, Saiki Kusuo arrived at the meeting room door as scheduled.
'Although I already know who the Privileged Student is, for now, I'll pretend I don't know anything... I'll try to keep a low profile. It seems like I can just coast through this exam, so I'll play the role of a background character.'
As Saiki Kusuo thought this, he pushed the door open.
The moment he opened the door, he saw a familiar face.
"Saiki-kun!"
Upon seeing Saiki Kusuo, Ichinose Honami greeted him warmly.
The moment Ichinose Honami called out his name, Saiki Kusuo knew his plan was completely ruined.
"Saiki-kun, your class scored 300 points in the last exam! That's really amazing! Congratulations!"
Ichinose Honami's face was filled with a pure smile as she spoke to Saiki Kusuo.
'Oh no...'
Although Saiki Kusuo knew Ichinose Honami's words were sincere, the moment she called out his name, he became the most noticeable person in the room.
[Saiki? Who's that? There's someone like that on the list... Saiki Kusuo...]
[Ichinose is the beauty from the former Class B... now Class C... She seems really close to this Saiki guy.]
[This Saiki guy looks so ordinary. How is he so familiar with Ichinose? It's kind of annoying.]
'Yare yare, even before it started, I've already become a target for a few people.'
Saiki Kusuo sighed. Although he had seen the list of their group members yesterday, aside from the few people he recognized, he didn't want to remember the others' names.
"Saiki-dono, you're here too! I ate three eel lunch boxes for lunch, and now I'm so full. I was planning to diet, but I failed, desu."
Sotomura Hideo patted his round belly as he spoke to Saiki Kusuo with a smile.
'Can you at least talk normally?'
Saiki Kusuo felt a bit helpless.
[So gross.]
[I definitely don't want to have any contact with this guy.]
[Is this guy a fat otaku or something?]
Almost instantly, Sotomura Hideo became the lowest-ranked person in the group in everyone's eyes.
'If I engage with the Professor now, others might think I'm his friend, and my image in their eyes would plummet. But I can't really refuse either. Besides, sitting next to Ichinose would make me a target, so it's better to sit next to the Professor.'
Saiki Kusuo could only nod at Sotomura Hideo and sit next to him—Ichinose Honami then sat next to Saiki Kusuo.
'???'
Saiki Kusuo hadn't expected things to turn out this way. From any angle, he was now in a dire situation.
[Ichinose sat right next to Saiki! Damn it, I wanted to sit next to Ichinose too! She's one of the top three beauties in the entire grade! So jealous!]
'I don't want to sit here either.'
[He's so close to that fat otaku? This guy must be no better!]
'I'm definitely not an otaku. Definitely.'
[What a troublesome guy. Just looking at him is annoying.]
'Yare yare...'
Saiki Kusuo didn't know what to say for a moment. He had undoubtedly become the most noticed person in the room.
Not just by strangers, but even by those he knew.
[This guy was the original leader, but he switched identities. He tricked me!]
This thought came from Ibuki Mio.
Soon, the remaining students filed into the room, with Karuizawa Kei being the last to enter.
Once Karuizawa Kei entered, the attention of a few people shifted elsewhere.
[Is this Karuizawa Kei?]
Saiki Kusuo heard a slightly hostile thought. The source was a girl from Class D, sitting next to Ibuki Mio.
It took Saiki Kusuo a few seconds to recall that her name was Manabe Shiho.
[Karuizawa Kei, isn't she the one who had a dispute with Rika?]
[I'm not sure if it's her, but if it is, we need to teach her a lesson!]
The other two girls from Class D, Yabu Nanami and Yamashita Saki, also seemed very concerned about Karuizawa Kei's arrival.
Meanwhile, Ibuki Mio's thoughts were completely different.
[Karuizawa, even though she looks all glamorous... she doesn't change her clothes much... Isn't that a bit too sloppy for a girl?]
As she thought this, Ibuki Mio couldn't help but show a look of disdain.
During the previous deserted island exam, Ibuki Mio had deliberately stolen Karuizawa Kei's underwear to cause chaos in Saiki Kusuo's class—but Karuizawa Kei acted as if she hadn't noticed.
This left Ibuki Mio puzzled, and she even repeated the act several times, almost stealing all of Karuizawa Kei's underwear. Yet, Karuizawa Kei still didn't react.
This led Ibuki Mio to conclude that Karuizawa Kei hadn't been changing her underwear, which was why she hadn't noticed.
'Yare yare...'
Saiki Kusuo shifted his gaze elsewhere, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
To subtly counter Ibuki Mio's actions, Saiki Kusuo had been using his telekinesis to return the underwear every time Ibuki Mio stole it.
'This misunderstanding will probably never be cleared up...'
Saiki Kusuo thought to himself.
"Now, let's begin the first round of group discussions."
Just then, the intercom sounded.
There were no teachers, no organizers, and no additional rules. This exam was entirely left to the students to manage.
However, in this meeting room, no one was willing to speak first. An eerie silence filled the room...
But in Saiki Kusuo's ears, it was a completely different story.
[Ugh, I don't want to be the first to speak.]
[These guys are all enemies.]
[If only someone would reveal themselves as the Privileged Student.]
No one wanted to speak first.
For Saiki Kusuo, this exam was already meaningless because he already knew the identity of the Privileged Student.
If the Privileged Student were from another class, it would be fine. But since it was Karuizawa Kei, a classmate, Saiki Kusuo couldn't submit the answer early to end the exam.
If the exam didn't end, he'd have to attend these meetings for the next three days...
What a hassle.
[This won't do!]
Just then, someone stood up.
It was Ichinose Honami.
"Hello, everyone. Although I already know most of your names, the school has instructed us to introduce ourselves. After all, some of us might be meeting for the first time."
Ichinose Honami took on the role of the moderator.
"Is there really a need for introductions at this point? And I don't think the school is serious about this. Let those who want to introduce themselves do it."
A boy named Machida Koji spoke up.
He was from Class A, and his demeanor carried a hint of arrogance typical of Class A students. Among the earlier thoughts Saiki Kusuo heard, Machida Koji was one of the most critical of him.
"If that's what you want, Machida-kun, I won't force you. But there might be microphones hidden somewhere in this room. If we don't follow the introduction protocol, we might lose points. And if that happens, it'll be your responsibility!"
Ichinose Honami maintained her smile.
"Tch..."
The Class A students seemed to comply after hearing Ichinose Honami's words.
[For now, we'll follow Katsuragi's instructions to stay silent and not share information with other classes. But if it's just introductions, it should be fine.]
'Yare yare, so that's their strategy?'
Saiki Kusuo narrowed his eyes slightly. Using his telepathy, he understood Class A's tactic: stay silent and adopt a defensive stance throughout the exam.
This way, no matter what happened, their class could avoid losing points.
"First, I'm Ichinose Honami. Nice to meet you all!"
Ichinose Honami introduced herself with great energy. If there were others present, they might have been captivated by her vibrant presence.
[What a beauty.]
[She could totally be an idol. It's like she stepped right out of an anime!]
[Damn it, I should've picked that seat.]
Next was Saiki Kusuo.
"My name is Saiki Kusuo. Nice to meet you."
[Ichinose is so beautiful.]
[I wonder if I can exchange contact info with her during this exam.]
[I really want to sit next to her.]
'Hey, hey, I don't like being the center of attention, but my introduction was completely ignored, wasn't it?'
[Saiki's introduction was even more awkward than mine during the entrance ceremony.]
This thought came from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
'You're the last person who should be saying that!'
Soon, everyone took turns introducing themselves. After the introductions, Ichinose Honami continued:
"Now that we've fulfilled the school's request, the next question is how to proceed with the discussion. If anyone doesn't want me to be the moderator, please speak up. I'm ready to step down at any time."
[Ugh, she's just pretty. Why is she acting all high and mighty?]
[Being the moderator is such a hassle. Let her do it.]
[I'm too lazy to get involved in this anyway.]
Unlike the boys, Manabe Shiho and the others were slightly dissatisfied with Ichinose Honami's approach, but they didn't voice their complaints directly.
"In that case, I have a question for everyone. From my perspective, I'd like to ask this under the assumption that none of us are the Privileged Student. Do you think the best outcome for this exam would be for everyone to pass, aiming for Outcome 1?"
Ichinose Honami's stance was clear. She hoped for a perfect outcome where everyone succeeded.
"Of course."
"It's only natural to aim for a win-win situation since we're all in this together."
"I'm personally very short on points, so if possible, I'd definitely prefer Outcome 1."
Many people expressed agreement.
However, Saiki Kusuo knew very well that this was impossible.
[A win-win? How? This is about class points. If we can figure out the Privileged Student's identity, it's a chance to widen the gap between our class and the others.]
Saiki Kusuo followed the voice and saw a Class A student named Morishige Takuro.
Not just Saiki Kusuo, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also knew this.
[The possibility of a win-win is low. For the sake of class points, anyone could become a traitor. But Ichinose's move is also clever. If someone takes her question at face value, it means they're not the Privileged Student. She can confirm whether everyone is proactive and united, while also forcing the Privileged Student to lie. She might even find a flaw this way.]