Chapter 144: Hiyori: Ugh, He's Still the Great Demon King Hikigaya!
In the Class C resting area, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than in Class A.
Ryuen Kakeru hadn't summoned all forty students—he found it troublesome and unnecessary. Currently sitting around him were only the familiar faces of Shiina Hiyori, Ibuki Mio, and Kaneda Satoru. Ishizaki Daichi and Albert stood at the door, acting as human security.
Ryuen leaned back on the sofa with his legs propped up on the coffee table, a soda can in hand and a triumphant smile on his face.
"Five groups left." He shook the can, his gaze sweeping over the others. "We still have one VIP in our hands who hasn't been exposed. How about we attack another group and snatch another 100 points?"
He spoke casually, as if 100 points were just pocket change lying on the ground.
Shiina Hiyori sat on the chair opposite him. As a "literature girl," she wasn't holding a book today, but a small notebook. Since returning to the lounge, she had been writing and drawing in it; words like "Sheep Group," "Error," and "Where did it go wrong?" were faintly visible.
Hearing Ryuen's words, Hiyori looked up, a hint of worry in her clear eyes.
"Ryuen-kun," she spoke softly, "I think... it's better to stop for today."
Ryuen's brow arched. "Stop? Why? The exam ends tomorrow night. Are we really going to just sit back and wait for 'Outcome 1'? Even if we wanted to, Class A won't give up. They've probably been docked a bunch of points and are desperate for a refill."
Hiyori closed her notebook and placed it on her lap.
"Did you notice Class A's performance just now?" She looked up at them. "Sakayanagi arranged for people to attack the Chicken and Snake groups. We don't know the result of the Snake group yet, but the VIP of the Chicken group—was a student from our Class C."
Ryuen's movements paused slightly.
Hiyori continued, "If Class A's pattern was correct, their attack on the Chicken group should have been aimed at Class B. But the result? The VIP was one of ours. What does that mean?"
She paused, looking directly at Ryuen.
"It means Class A's pattern is wrong."
The room fell silent for several seconds.
Ryuen stared at her for a moment, then scoffed.
"A pattern?" He set the soda can on the table and leaned back. "Those Class A nerds think high academic ability lets them derive a pattern for everything? What use is a good brain? This kind of thing relies on intuition and luck. It's only natural they got it wrong."
He smirked arrogantly.
"Didn't we guess right? Did you see Sakayanagi and Katsuragi's faces during the Pig group? Katsuragi, that bald guy, turned pale."
Ibuki Mio, standing by the window, couldn't help but chime in.
"Should we guess another one then?" Her tone held a hint of eagerness. "Strike while the iron is hot and grab another 100 points?"
Hiyori shook her head.
"It's not Class A I'm worried about," her voice dropped, almost as if she were talking to herself. "I'm worried... that our own pattern might be wrong too."
Ryuen frowned. "What do you mean? You don't trust the pattern you derived?"
Hiyori looked up, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
"We guessed the Pig group correctly, that's a fact," she said softly. "But the problem is, we only had that one chance to verify it. Just because Pig was right doesn't mean the pattern we derived is correct. Maybe it was just luck—there are thirteen students in the Pig group. Excluding the four from our class, there were nine candidates. A one-in-nine chance; we might have just gotten lucky."
She paused, her tone becoming more somber.
"If the pattern is wrong and we keep guessing, we are likely just handing points to other classes."
Ryuen was silent for a few seconds. He stared at Hiyori, a flicker of thought crossing his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by confidence.
"You're being overly cautious." He waved his hand. "Luck is part of strength. Besides, a pattern derived from four samples, even if not perfectly accurate, is better than blind guessing."
Hiyori didn't speak.
She lowered her head, looking at the notebook on her lap, but another image surfaced in her mind.
Hikigaya Hachiman's face.
If Class A's pattern was wrong—and if that was true—she might need to rethink many things.
It wasn't just that she could hear Hikigaya-kun's inner voice; she suspected others could too. For instance, Sakayanagi-san, which is why Sakayanagi went to derive a pattern. Hiyori had been doing the same. But the problem now was—
Class C had four samples, and the pattern derived was naturally wrong.
Class A had at least five samples, and their pattern was also wrong.
So, why was Sakayanagi so obsessed with deriving a pattern? Why was she so certain about launching an attack today?
The more Hiyori thought about it, the more she felt Hikigaya-kun's shadow behind it all. It was his "inner voice" that "told" them there was a pattern to the VIP arrangements.
Even regarding the fact that the VIP of the Sheep group was Matsushita Chiaki—there was some doubt at first. But as soon as his inner voice arrived, they believed it. Hiyori even used Matsushita Chiaki's name as a sample to derive the pattern. Sakayanagi likely used Matsushita Chiaki being the Sheep VIP as verification as well.
And those inner voices that she took as real intelligence, as Class C's hope for a comeback—
What if they were fake from the very beginning?
At this thought, Hiyori felt a tightening in her chest.
She considered another possibility.
If the VIP of the Sheep group wasn't Matsushita Chiaki at all, if that was just a trap set by Hikigaya Hachiman—
Then why did he let her "hear" that information?
No, he didn't "tell" her. He let her "hear" it.
Hiyori's body stiffened slightly. She knew that many girls should be able to hear Hikigaya-kun's thoughts—she had even asked Ibuki not to tell anyone after discovering Ibuki could hear them too.
But was it possible that other girls who heard his thoughts... told Hikigaya-kun about it?
Especially since... he was the class representative for Class B.
During the deserted island exam, a big reason he stayed behind was to ensure Class D's Hikigaya couldn't get back up and to attack Class A. If Class C hadn't taken him in, he might have had a much harder time on the island, but his willingness to stay alone proved he was a capable representative for Class B.
Therefore, once he knew this, as Class B's representative, Hikigaya Hachiman certainly couldn't let this continue.
After all, if his exam strategy was known by girls from other classes, it would harm Class B's interests.
So, what if he already knew people could hear his thoughts?
What if he had been exploiting this from the start?
Especially since Sakayanagi-san had specifically come by helicopter for this exam, he naturally had to be more cautious.
In that case, would he still leak his thoughts so carelessly?
Thinking of this, a chill ran up her spine.
She looked up at Ryuen. Ryuen was talking to Kaneda Satoru, his expression still confident. Ibuki was frowning slightly, seemingly lost in thought.
No one noticed her abnormality.
Hiyori took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
She couldn't panic. It wasn't certain yet. Maybe she was overthinking, but once the thought appeared, she couldn't suppress it.
What if Hikigaya Hachiman had been lying to her from the beginning?
What if he knew she could hear him and had been feeding her fake intel all along?
Hiyori's fingers trembled slightly.
She remembered the scenes of them spending time together—reading books in the ship's library, moments of shared thought and communication. Back then, she thought it was a certain rapport, a tacit trust.
But what if all of that was just a setup he arranged? Just to make her trust him, and trust the "content of his thoughts" even more.
Then, today was indeed too lucky. Because if the Pig group list had been wrong, Class C would have lost 100 points instead of gaining 100.
If she thought about it carefully, a wrong pattern would only lead to a massive amount of incorrect VIP guesses—or rather, it was because they had a "pattern" that they would recklessly attempt to answer.
So, was this Hikigaya-kun's ultimate goal? To make Classes A and C think there was a pattern, even leading them to derive a so-called pattern, and then participate in guessing. As long as they guessed enough times, they would bring about their own destruction.
She understood. She understood Class B's strategy for this exam.
A pattern? What pattern? It was just bait to lure other classes into guessing!
Thinking of this, Hiyori's body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"Hiyori?" Ibuki's voice pulled her back to reality.
Hiyori looked up and met Ibuki's confused gaze.
"What's wrong?" Ibuki walked over, looking at her. "You're a bit pale and you're sweating."
Hiyori blinked, instinctively touching her forehead. Her fingertips met icy skin and fine beads of sweat.
"It's nothing," she forced a smile. "Just thinking about something."
Ibuki looked at her, brow furrowed, but didn't press further.
Hiyori lowered her head, looking back at the notebook on her lap.
She thought of Hikigaya Hachiman's face, and those inner voices she had believed to be true.
What kind of man was he, really?
She thought she knew him. Thought she could see through him. Thought those inner voices were an ace up her sleeve granted by heaven.
But now she realized that from start to finish, she might have just been a piece on his chessboard.
Hikigaya-kun wasn't a fellow bookworm she could read with.
He was still... the Great Demon King Hikigaya.
Hiyori gently closed her eyes.
'Ugh ugh ugh...'
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Meanwhile, in the Class D resting area, things were a complete mess.
Forty people were squeezed into the not-so-spacious area, divided into two distinct groups. On one side were students from the seven groups whose exams had ended early; on the other were students from the five groups still taking the exam. The two groups stood facing each other, separated by an invisible battle line.
"Why do you guys get the money while we just watch?" Ike Kanji's voice was the loudest. Standing in the "finished" group, his face was red as he yelled at the opposite side. "We're all Class D students; it should be distributed equally! If you guys get 500,000 from Outcome 1, you have to share it with everyone!"
Opposite him, Yamauchi Haruki immediately exploded.
"Why should we?!" He stepped forward, pointing at Ike's nose. "I've endured this long and my group hasn't finished. Why should I give the money to you? Your group ending early is just your bad luck, what's it got to do with me?"
"Bad luck?" Ike sneered. "You think you're lucky? When the results come out, it's not even certain you'll get 500,000! If someone guesses early, you won't get a single cent!"
Sudo Ken stood next to Yamauchi, arms crossed, looking annoyed.
"What are you screaming for?" His voice was low and impatient. "The results aren't even out and you're starting to split the money? Dream on."
"Sudo, what's that supposed to mean?" A girl named Onodera from the finished group raised her voice. "If your group hits Outcome 1, 500,000 goes into your pocket. What about us? In our seven groups, some people might not get a single cent. It's not fair!"
"Fair?" Yamauchi Haruki sneered. "When has this school ever been fair? Just like the last exam, only Sudo and I failed!"
"Wasn't that your own fault?! You were given the answers and still failed, you deserve it!"
The two sides argued more and more fiercely, their voices loud enough to practically lift the ceiling.
Hirata Yousuke stood between the two groups, the smile long gone from his face. He tried to mediate, but every time he spoke, his voice was drowned out by the shouting.
"Everyone, calm down..." He raised his volume. "Listen to me..."
But no one listened.
Yukimura Teruhiko stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching the farce and sighing softly. He turned his head toward a quiet figure in the corner.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, expressionlessly watching the chaos. No emotion could be seen in those golden eyes.
Yukimura hesitated but walked over anyway.
"Ayanokouji," he lowered his voice. "Aren't you going to say something?"
Ayanokouji glanced at him but didn't speak.
Yukimura continued, "If they keep arguing like this, Class D is really finished. Do you have a way?"
Ayanokouji was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke. "If I can get enough names of the VIPs, I can try to derive the pattern."
The arguing stopped abruptly.
Everyone's eyes turned toward him.
Ayanokouji continued expressionlessly, "Seven groups have finished. Although the school hasn't announced who the VIPs were, you can find out roughly just by asking around. It's no longer a secret."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"If I get a few more samples, I can derive the VIP pattern. Then, we can turn around and attack the remaining five groups. Even if we don't attack, as long as we have the VIP lists of other classes, they'll be willing to pay points just so they don't lose any."
He looked at the people from the finished groups. "If we can get points from other classes, you guys can get money too."
Ike Kanji's eyes lit up.
"Really?" Ike stepped forward, grabbing Ayanokouji's hand tightly. "You can do that?"
Ayanokouji didn't answer, he just looked at him.
Ike scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Alright, I know you're capable. So, tell us, what do you need?"
"I need the VIPs to step forward," Ayanokouji said. "Class D definitely has VIPs. Whoever you are, step forward and tell me. I need samples."
The crowd went quiet for a few seconds.
But no one stepped forward.
Ike looked around. "Who? Who's a VIP? Step forward already!"
Still, no one responded.
Yamauchi curled his lip. "Maybe Class D doesn't even have any VIPs. The school knows our level. Giving us a VIP is just handing points to someone else, right?"
Many people nodded at this. Only they knew their own level best.
Sudo frowned. "Then what? If no one steps forward, how do we get samples?"
Ayanokouji watched all this expressionlessly without speaking.
Hirata walked to his side and asked in a low voice, "Ayanokouji-kun, is this plan... really feasible?"
Hikigaya glanced at him. "Whether it's feasible or not depends on whether anyone is willing to step forward."
Hirata was silent for a few seconds, then looked at the crowd.
"Everyone," Hirata's voice was gentle but firm. "I know everyone has their own considerations. But if someone is a VIP, I hope you can step forward. This isn't just for yourself, it's for the whole class. Hikigaya-kun is right; if we can get points from other classes, everyone benefits."
The crowd remained silent.
No one moved.
Hirata waited for a few seconds, the smile on his face stiffening slightly. He opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted by a burst of laughter.
"Haha—"
Hasabe Haruka leaned against a sofa and laughed outright. She pointed at the boys, her tone full of mockery.
"Hopeless, Class D is completely hopeless." She wiped away a tear from laughing. "A bunch of men arguing for ages, and in the end, not even one person is willing to step forward. And you still want to climb the ranks?"
"Why do you assume the VIP is a guy? It could be one of you girls, and you're the ones unwilling to step forward," Ike Kanji immediately shot back.
"It's you who don't want the money—" However, Ike was quickly cut short.
"Forget it. I'd rather worry about when I'm going to be attacked by Class C girls than trust Ayanokouji," Hasabe said bluntly.
Her statement was direct—referring to Ryuen's earlier announcement on the deck.
This matter was already known to everyone in Class D; some even knew that Yukimura had fallen out with Ayanokouji because of it. Ryuen's claim that "Ayanokouji used a Class C girl to attack another Class D girl" still weighed heavily on the Class D girls.
After all, for all they knew, the person Ayanokouji wanted the Class C "gyaru" to attack might be themselves.
Naturally, they wouldn't support Ayanokouji.
"How can you... forget it." Ike was going to argue, but he suddenly realized that Ayanokouji's move was indeed a bit outrageous.
Even if they fought with the girls in their own class, they never thought about going to another class to find girls to bully them.
For example, even though Yamauchi had become a class enemy, he wasn't being bullied.
In a way, the atmosphere of Class D was actually okay.
Watching the confrontation fall into silence, Sato Maya turned to Karuizawa Kei.
"Kei, what do you think?"
Karuizawa was leaning on the sofa, holding a cup of cold milk tea. Hearing Sato's question, she looked up, her gaze sweeping over the arguing boys, her lips curling into a slight arc.
"I think..." her voice was lazy, "do you really think there's any easy profit waiting for us to take?"
Sato blinked.
Karuizawa continued, "Seven groups have already ended. Monkey, Sheep, Rat, Pig, Chicken, Snake, Rabbit—seven groups ending early, what does that mean? It means the other classes already made their moves. They either mastered the pattern or had other methods. And us?"
She paused and chuckled softly.
"We don't even know who the VIPs in our own class are. By the time we react, we won't even be able to catch the 'scraps.' Well, something like that."
Sato's lip twitched, and she couldn't help laughing. "Kei, that's a bit crude."
"But it's the truth." Matsushita Chiaki nodded. "Given Class D's situation, I think that's probably how it is."
"Then... after this, we just watch?" Hasabe couldn't help but ask. "Do nothing?"
No one answered her.
Even though she was a member of one of the seven finished groups and couldn't get points anymore, she still hoped to gain a little something—if there was still a chance. Of course, as for forcing members of unfinished groups to go for Outcome 1 just to get money, she wasn't that shameless.
However, just then, a cool voice came from nearby.
"I believe there is no pattern to the VIPs."
The girls turned their heads simultaneously.
Horikita Suzune was standing not far away, her black hair glistening in the sun and her burgundy eyes bright. She was holding a reference book, clearly having just returned from the library.
Wait, at a tense moment like this, shortly after the group discussions ended, Horikita-san actually went to the library to borrow a book?
"Horikita-san?" Sato blinked. "What did you say?"
Horikita walked over and sat on an empty sofa.
"I said, there might not be a pattern to the VIPs." Horikita's tone was quite certain.
Hasabe arched an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
Horikita placed the reference book on her lap and looked up at her.
"If we follow the logic of the written exams where we study the old exam, we habitually assume every exam has a pattern to follow." Horikita paused, her gaze sweeping over the students. "But does the school really want to cultivate students who only know how to take shortcuts?"
Sato was stunned for a moment.
Horikita continued, "Especially given our class's atmosphere, if there really was a balanced number of VIPs—say, three for each class—the moment there are three, traitors would have appeared. Someone wouldn't be able to resist selling the info, and someone wouldn't be able to resist bragging about their luck. But now?"
She paused.
"There's no news at all."
Hasabe's eyes narrowed slightly. "You mean..."
"I mean, Class D might not have any VIPs at all," Horikita said. "Or, the number of VIPs is so small that they don't dare expose themselves. Because once exposed, they would become a target for everyone."
Sato blinked. "Then... Ayanokouji's plan?"
"I don't support it," Horikita Suzune stated clearly.
The girls fell silent for a few seconds.
Hasabe suddenly laughed.
"Horikita-san, are you challenging Ayanokouji?"
Horikita glanced at her. "I'm just stating my view. Whether you choose to support it is your business. Specifically, can you make all the students hand over their phones to confirm the VIP list?"
Hearing this, some students grew restless. Handing over phones? How could they do that? What if their privacy was exposed?
Hirata quickly stepped forward.
"Let's drop it for now, then," Hirata said. "According to the school rules, only the VIP themselves can decide whether to show their phone to others. No one should be forced."
Clearly, it wasn't just the privacy issue.
Hirata didn't want to bet on Class D having no VIPs either. Furthermore, representatives of other classes currently believed Matsushita-san was the Sheep group VIP, and he didn't want Matsushita to feel aggrieved by being forced to show her phone.
In fact, if a Class D VIP was confirmed and caused Class D to lose points, it might lead to other students attacking Matsushita-san.
That would destroy the class harmony, and that was his bottom line. Uncrossable.
There was one more thing: although Ayanokouji proposed deriving a pattern, based on Hirata's understanding of him, he felt Ayanokouji didn't want to trade points with other classes. It was more likely he was planning an attack to grab scores!
For the remaining five groups, even if none of them had a Class D VIP and could all be attacked to gain 500 points, that was nowhere near as valuable to the students as one person getting 500,000 points.
According to Horikita's "distribution by merit" plan, which the whole class passed, 500 points would only be equivalent to 25,000 monthly points for everyone, and it wasn't even certain they could hold onto them.
It wasn't as reassuring as 500,000 in hand.
And that was assuming the pattern was correct. Looking at the Dragon group discussion this morning, he felt Classes A and C's patterns didn't seem quite right either.
In that case...
The 500,000 points for the at least fifteen Class D students in those five groups would be gone too.
People would definitely riot.
So he had to play the peacemaker.
With Hirata's mediation, everyone stopped supporting Ayanokouji.
After all, Horikita said there might be no pattern, so what was the point? Many people also felt that if they could make money as a VIP, being caught and publicized now would mean they'd be forced to go public in similar exams in the future, losing the chance to make extra cash.
That wouldn't do. Who wouldn't want to be lucky, get points, and keep it secret?
Thus, Ayanokouji's proposal was quickly shot down amidst the chatter.
Soon, someone shifted their focus elsewhere.
"So according to Horikita, if there are written exams next semester, the school won't give us so many chances to take shortcuts?" a student asked.
It was Sudo Ken asking.
Clearly, his failure in the last written exam had left a shadow—he failed even with the answers. If they didn't get answers, wouldn't he be expelled immediately?
Horikita nodded. "It's possible."
"Does that mean..." Sato's face fell. "We have to study seriously too?"
"Yamerooo—" Shinohara Satsuki covered her face dramatically. "I don't want to!"
But the girls in Karuizawa's group burst into laughter again.
Because after laughing, they glanced at each other.
The "gyaru" team—Karuizawa, Sato, Shinohara, and Matsushita—all saw a subtle look in each other's eyes.
Because they had already started tutoring.
They all knew Karuizawa had been reading middle school textbooks in the library. Sato and Shinohara occasionally joined in, and they even went to Class C's Shiina Hiyori to "leech" some teaching experience.
Matsushita, needless to say, already had Class A academic ability and was just pretending to be a dummy to stay with her friends.
So if Horikita's prediction was right, they were actually ahead of the curve. They could face the potential written exams next semester much more smoothly.
Thus, Sato leaned into Karuizawa's ear and whispered, "Kei, did you already think of this when you told us to read?"
Karuizawa glanced at her, her lips curling into a slight arc, but she didn't speak.
But that smile said everything. In other words, Karuizawa had indeed prepared for what was to come. And she had dragged them along.
This made Sato suddenly feel that following Karuizawa... might actually be quite good?
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