Seeing Hiyori Shiina give that kind of answer, Ryūen's mouth twitched. He changed the subject, "So, what's the pattern for the VIPs?"
"How should I put it... the pattern is surprisingly simple..."
Hiyori Shiina chose her words carefully, then explained in a soft voice: "You sort the names of the group members by their pronunciation according to the Gojuon table. Then, you take the group names—Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig—and assign them numbers from 1 to 12, respectively. The VIP of the first group is the first person on the list, the VIP of the second group is the second person, and so on.
"The school already revealed three VIPs. Based on those answers, I used abductive reasoning to find a pattern that could explain it. After assuming the pattern was correct, I used it to identify the classes of all twelve VIPs and confirm if each class had exactly three VIPs. Once those conditions were met, the answer could be basically confirmed."
Ryūen was taken aback. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Aren't you worried you might be wrong?"
"I was," Hiyori Shiina said, looking at Ryūen with a smile. "But didn't you confirm one of the VIPs over the phone, Ryūen-kun?"
The pattern was sound, logical, and supported by a concrete example. Once these conditions were met, the result of the deduction gained practical value.
"I see. So it's not a guaranteed correct result, then?"
Ryūen stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Still, are you not considering Result 1? I was just thinking of using this list to threaten the other classes and take all their points."
"That won't work..."
Hiyori Shiina shook her head. "This special exam forbids answering against one's will. If you do that, some irrational person will inevitably submit a random answer, and all our efforts will be for nothing."
"Can't rule that out."
As he said this, Ryūen glanced at Airi, who was standing nearby, and said teasingly, "Speaking of which, it seems Class D only has 200 class points left. If this happens, they won't even be able to pay back their debt to me. Are you sure your little kitten will still have food to eat?"
"I... I'll be fine,"
Hearing this, Ryūen's lips curled into a playful smirk. "Oh? So Class D's little kitten is still..."
"Hm?" Ryūen looked at Airi and raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're a VIP too?"
"I... I'll be fine,"
Seeing the topic shift to her, Airi Sakura waved her hands in a fluster. "After that incident, ... some anonymous account transferred 500,000 points to me."
"Tch!" Ryūen couldn't help but scoff. "Hush money from the school or the store? As stingy as ever."
What can you even do with 500,000 points? It's just enough to cover Hiyori Shiina's salary for a month. Although, he couldn't figure out why on earth that woman spent money so quickly.
Symon: "It is a bit low."
"..."
Hiyori Shiina fell silent for a moment. Recalling the closet in her dorm packed full of dresses and skincare products, she said with a hint of grievance in her mind: "Mr. Ghost, is it possible... that 500,000 is actually a lot?"
Her current monthly expenses were around 200,000 points, the vast majority of which was spent on clothes and personal care. She had no idea where this ghost got his obsessions from.
Her current basic monthly income was around 200,000 points, a fact Ryūen was certainly unaware of.
While the two were chatting in her mind, Ryūen had already walked away.
About three minutes passed. Just as Hiyori Shiina and Airi Sakura were organizing their photos, an announcement came over the cruise ship's broadcast system:
"『This is an announcement for all examinees—the exams for the Rat, Ox, Rabbit, Horse, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig groups have concluded ahead of schedule. Students who have already finished the exam are asked to maintain discipline and not disturb the ongoing examinations.』"
"..."
Meanwhile—
In a temporary office, the four first-year homeroom teachers sat together. Ballpoint pens lay beside their hands, and in front of them were the student rosters for their respective classes. The "Teacher Evaluation" column on every list was completely blank.
Mashima-sensei sighed. "So, the exam is barely underway, and we're already down to just the Tiger, Snake, and Goat groups? They're all from Class C."
Chie Hoshinomiya slumped over the long table, looking unenthusiastic. "In the end, there shouldn't have been a pattern for selecting the VIPs in the first place."
"Well now..." Sae Chabashira thought for a moment, then turned to Kazuma Sakagami, using a phrase that wasn't particularly pointed: "Do you have any idea what's going on, Sakagami-sensei?"
"It was probably Shiina or Ryūen-kun," Kazuma Sakagami said, pushing up his glasses and suppressing the upward twitch of his lips. He feigned a calm tone. "I, for one, don't have a problem with individual heroism."
Of course he didn't have a problem with individual heroism. After all, the heroes were from his class, and he couldn't be happier. A class promotion meant a pay raise, after all.
After all, he wasn't lacking for anything, except for money—a sentiment from an unlucky fellow named Symon, who had been tricked out of his fortune by a bad woman.
Mashima shook his head. "We need to talk to the school. If this continues, the exam will turn into a complete bonus round. It'll be meaningless for the students' growth, and our plan to observe their actions and provide end-of-semester evaluations will be completely ruined."
Hearing this, the homeroom teachers glanced at each other and nodded. Only Sae Chabashira blew out a ring of smoke and said calmly, "It's useless. You all should know the school won't change the rules in the middle of an exam,"
"I agree~" Hoshinomiya raised her hand. "If we don't try, how will little Sae-chan know it's not possible?"
Kazuma Sakagami pushed up his glasses. "I'm indifferent."
"Fine, do as you wish..."
_____
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