Seeing that Hiyori Shiina had taken his words to heart, Symon finally spoke with a smile: "However, from my perspective, I actually find this special exam quite interesting."
"First, they use a rule where the payoff from competition far outweighs cooperation, fostering an environment that encourages conflict. Then, they use expulsion as a deterrent, eliminating collective coercion as much as possible, amplifying mistrust between individuals, and creating fertile ground for suspicion to grow limitlessly."
"From the looks of it so far, the design of this exam is quite ingenious. It not only upholds the school's educational philosophy but also allows for maximum observation of the students' reactions under these circumstances."
"Hinting that there might be a pattern to the VIPs, while adding some uncertainty, also heightens the students' tension. It's a bit of a trade-off."
"If I had to find fault, it's that they've overlooked the students' subjective agency and failed to provide proper value guidance. It could easily devolve into a 'gu' ritual."
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head. "Is that so? Do you have any ideas, Mr. Ghost?"
"Nope. As long as you have fun," Symon replied casually.
He wasn't bored enough to go looking for trouble. Even though they weren't his brain cells being used up, it still pained him to see them go to waste.
Seeing he had said as much, the girl didn't press further. She took a set of pajamas from her suitcase and went into the bathroom.
The night passed without incident...
The first day of the special exam.
At seven in the morning, "Hiyori Shiina," avoiding the morning light streaming through the window, snuggled into the air-conditioned comforter, dozing comfortably.
Inside the body, the girl felt the warmth emanating from her form, peacefully awaiting the awakening of a certain ghost.
In the pitch-black darkness, time seemed to lose all meaning. An unknown amount of it passed:
Pat, pat~
Hiyori Shiina: "..."
—This must be a residual instinct of the body.
Squeeze, squeeze~
Hiyori Shiina: "..."
—This is probably a residual instinct of the soul.
Drawing circles~
—It seems I can't pretend not to notice this time.
The girl whispered softly, "Mr. Ghost, you can't be too naughty."
Symon shrank back. "My mistake."
During their exchange, control of the body shifted. The girl got up and stretched, and just as she was about to get ready to wash up, her personal terminal by the pillow chimed with a "Ding-dong~!"
『After careful consideration, you have not been selected as a VIP. Please act with the awareness of a group member and challenge the exam. The exam will officially begin today at 1:00 PM. Students of the Dragon group are to assemble in the Dragon room on the second floor.』
Symon: "This isn't esoteric at all!"
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"
Symon feigned seriousness. "With your luck, you didn't even manage to snag a VIP spot. Don't you think that's unreasonable?"
"That's not right~" Hiyori Shiina put down her personal terminal and sat on the edge of the bed, combing her slightly messy hair with a smile. "The lucky one is you, Mr. Ghost."
"Makes sense. How else would I have met you?"
"Mhm, that line gets full marks."
...
After taking some time to wash up and get ready, around half-past eight, Hiyori Shiina arrived at the ship's popular buffet restaurant. At Symon's enthusiastic recommendation, she got a bowl of seafood congee and sat in a corner of the dining hall.
A moment later—
Hiyori Shiina glanced around stealthily and carefully picked up a crab leg from the bowl, which now contained only seafood.
Symon complained silently in his mind: "Hiyori, it's not that serious, really. 'People are iron, food is steel.' Just forget about your image for a bit; we can always pick it back up later."
Hiyori Shiina: "Dame yo~!"
"Um... Hiyori..." The voice came from Airi Sakura behind her.
Hiyori flinched and, with the speed of lightning, put the crab leg back into the bowl. She turned around with a smile and asked, "Is something the matter, Airi-chan?"
Airi Sakura hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Um, I saw you hesitating for a while. Do you... need me to peel it for you?"
Hiyori blinked her eyes, then shook her head repeatedly.
A moment later, Airi Sakura sat down next to her and started helping peel the shrimp and crab. While carefully feeding her, she spoke in a soft voice, "Hirata-kun posted the Dragon group list in the group chat. I saw your name on it, Hiyori."
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head. "?"
Airi Sakura understood what she meant and offered a somewhat forced smile. "I'm in the Ox group."
Noticing the girl's expression, Hiyori Shiina thought for a moment before asking gently, "Are you having some difficulty?"
"Ah... it's nothing... I'm just not very good at getting along with everyone."
As she said this, Sakura woke up her personal terminal, which was placed to the side, and showed Hiyori a photo she had taken. It read:
[Ushi](Ox Group)
Class A: Kyomi Sawada, Naoki Shimizu, Haruka Nishi, Kenta Yoshida.
Class B: Yume Kobashi, Yui Ninomiya, Kiji Watanabe.
Class C: Yūya Tokitō, Yūji Nomura, Mariko Yajima.
Class D: Kanji Ike, Airi Sakura, Ken Sudō, Chiaki Matsushita.
Symon spoke up in his mind: "Hmm, Yume Kobashi is an enthusiastic girl, and Mariko's personality is pretty easygoing. This group seems fine."
"Mr. Ghost, you've probably forgotten that this boy named Sudō was suspended for a month for fighting."
"'Fine?'" Symon was a bit exasperated. "The hardest person to get along with in the group is from her own class."
"I can pretty much imagine how this child feels..."
Hiyori reached out and patted Sakura's head. After a moment of thought, she said softly, "In that case, I'll try to finish the exam as quickly as possible."
"I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but I can't pretend I didn't hear such a bold declaration."
Kōhei Katsuragi was holding a tray, seemingly just passing by. Looking at the two girls who had turned towards him, he spoke in a calm tone, "I have made full preparations for this VIP special exam. I look forward to your challenge, Shiina-san."
Symon was shocked. "Wait, who did you say is the challenger?"
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head, equally confused.
No matter how you looked at it, Class A didn't seem to have much of an advantage. Although Class C's advantage wasn't reflected in their class points, making it less obvious, their total real value of over 1300+ was something no other first-year class could currently compare to.
At the same time, Katsuragi, who was across from them, thought for a moment before speaking, "By the way, are you the VIP, Shiina-san?"
Hiyori Shiina tilted her head, then shook it. "I'm not."
Katsuragi shook his head with some regret. "What a shame. If you were the VIP, Shiina-san, the Dragon group might have had a chance at achieving a win-win outcome."
Among the first-years, the only person with the ability and qualifications to coordinate all four classes was Hiyori Shiina. If she were the Dragon group's VIP, given the group's composition, it was likely no one would have minded doing her a favor.
Unfortunately, the VIP couldn't be changed.
...
_____
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