"If you're saying that Kouenji is the person who sent the answer in the Monkey Group…"
Yukinoshita said, crossing her arms in front of her after I told her what had happened yesterday.
I suppose all four classes were shocked by this news. How could someone send their answer on the very first day of the exam so casually?
"Yeah, it was him indeed," I said, leaning my back against the wall beside me as I waited for the first session of the second day to begin.
The students had already started entering the room designated for our group, but we were waiting until exactly the agreed-upon time before joining them.
"Let him do whatever he wants. We were divided into groups for this exam, and each group should rely on itself," Yukinoshita said, convinced of her own reasoning.
"You don't intend to provide any help?" I asked, staring at her in confusion.
Although I only understood half of what she meant, perhaps she had chosen the best option for the future. Blind guidance right now would create an unacceptable atmosphere of apathy within the class. If the students became complacent, the results could worsen no matter how high our ranking among the classes was.
Therefore, it was acceptable to let the class students work on their own for now…
"Yes. This is an exam that depends on the efforts of every individual within their group to achieve the result they are aiming for, although I don't think Kouenji's answer was random…" Yukinoshita said, her voice almost disappearing at the end of her sentence.
That made sense. Kouenji didn't seem like the type to act randomly or recklessly. He might be an arrogant bastard, but he was certainly not someone to be underestimated.
"So, did you figure out the system?" I asked, leaning against the wall beside her while Yukinoshita nodded.
I had already seen her scribbling in her notebook yesterday and writing down the names of the students in the Pig Group…
There was no doubt there was a system for choosing the VIP. The school wouldn't leave something like this to chance.
"Well, although I'm not certain yet, we need to make sure that the system also applies to the rest of the classes."
A guess was still just a guess. There wasn't enough evidence to determine whether it was right or wrong, but reaching the conclusion itself was already an achievement.
"Hello, Yukinoshita-san…"
Suddenly, Hasebe's voice interrupted our conversation.
"Oh, hello…"
Yukinoshita returned the greeting to the girl walking in front, and also greeted the brown-haired girl following her.
"We have another long day ahead of us…" Matsushita said, stretching tiredly.
I left the girls at the door and headed inside the room. I sat in the empty chair beside Albert, while Hasebe sat beside me, and Yukinoshita and Matsushita sat beside her.
Although I still preferred sitting on the sofa after trying it yesterday. It was actually comfortable, unlike this rock-hard chair.
The doors to the room closed, and with them, the timer began counting down a full hour for the Pig Group meeting.
Kanzaki quickly stood at the head of the table this time. It seemed he had no intention of wasting any time this time around.
"Hello again. I hope this hour passes without any problems this time…" Kanzaki said in a friendly tone as he looked at everyone.
Well, there were plenty of troublemakers here. Why didn't they just shut up? Seriously.
"What do you say we start with yesterday's idea, namely the voting?" Kanzaki said as he raised a piece of paper and a pen again.
"That sounds good, at least…" Matsushita said as she reached out to take a piece of paper and handed one to each of the two girls beside her.
The guessing game, huh…
I reached out to take a piece of paper and a pen, then began thinking. This time, I wanted to write down at least one name.
But who…
I couldn't think of anyone who might be the VIP.
I raised my head and looked toward the opposite side of the table, and my eyes immediately landed on a bastard with striking blond hair.
That's him.
I began scribbling on my paper, writing Hashimoto's name before quickly folding it and placing it in the container in the middle of the table.
I looked around at the others to see what they were doing. Hasebe was folding her paper with extreme concentration, as though she wouldn't be satisfied unless all the corners of the paper met in exactly the right place.
After everyone had submitted their answers, Kanzaki collected the papers in the bowl before pushing it toward Yukinoshita.
"Yukinoshita-san, why don't you count the votes this time? I think you're someone we can trust," Kanzaki said as he returned to his seat.
Yukinoshita stared at the bowl for a moment before sighing and reaching toward it.
She began opening the papers one by one, counting the names written on them until she had gone through all of them.
"Hikigaya—three votes…"
I rested my cheek on my hand as I heard the results.
Am I really this popular in this group?
"Hashimoto—one vote…"
"Huh, me…?" Hashimoto muttered, pointing at himself, unable to believe that he had been dragged into this as well.
Well, I suppose whoever wrote his name is pretty smart.
"Kanzaki—two votes, and the rest are blank…"
Yukinoshita finished counting the votes, then pushed the bowl away as if she wanted to get rid of it.
"It seems I've attracted attention in an undesirable way…" Kanzaki said, scratching his cheek.
Even he hadn't expected to be dragged into the spotlight.
Two votes.
That meant more than one person was considering him a suspect.
"Well, even I don't understand why my name was written here…" Hashimoto said with an annoying laugh.
"Hmm. It seems to me that everyone whose name was mentioned is considered a suspect. Do you two have anything to say about that?" I asked, holding the pen from the table and alternately staring at the other two.
"Well… I think everyone has the right to write down the name of the person they suspect. Don't forget that your name was mentioned too, yet you're still insisting that you aren't the VIP," Kanzaki said, trying to justify himself.
So this was how things would go.
The votes would change after every session, and each time, some people's opinions of one another would change.
"Hikigaya-kun, it seems you were dragged into this because of your argument yesterday…" Hasebe whispered quietly beside me.
"Oh, yeah."
Well, that made sense. There was nothing new about it.
But why was this girl attracting my attention so much?
"Even I don't see any reason for my name to be mentioned here. It's simply a misunderstanding, and I'm ready to clear it up…" Hashimoto began defending himself as well.
As someone who had been dragged into this for no reason.
"In fact, I disagree with you. I don't think your name would be mentioned for no reason. As long as you've shown any unusual signs or suspicious behavior, you become a suspect as well…" I said, putting my hands together to support my head as I leaned backward.
Hashimoto seemed like an arrogant, opportunistic bastard to me…
I really didn't like him.
Actually, I didn't really like anyone.
Perhaps my standards were too high.
"Really…? Then why don't you justify yourself first?" Hashimoto asked with a sly smile.
Was he trying to make me look like an idiot searching for flimsy reasons to defend himself, just like they were doing?
"There's no reason for me to defend myself. Didn't I admit the truth yesterday? I'm the VIP," I said, drawing a wonderful smile across my lips as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Huh, that's creepy…" Hasebe suddenly said from beside me.
"Hey, girl, what are you saying…?" I said, quickly turning toward her.
"Ah, sorry. Well, I don't know. I just felt like your smile was creepy. Was it a sinister smile or something...?" Hasebe said, tilting her head.
I was starting to think this girl was rude.
But seriously, was my smile really that bad?
"I understand perfectly what you mean..." Yukinoshita said, nodding carefully.
I wish the ground would swallow me right now. I really wanted to go home.
"Hey, Hikigaya, you're just fooling us, aren't you...?" Ishizaki said, slamming his hand against the table like an idiot.
Couldn't he avoid yelling at her like that? She had feelings too.
"Believe whatever you want..." I said, looking at the ceiling while ignoring everyone around me.
"Then... then show us your phone!" the green-haired guy suddenly shouted as well, as if he wanted to corner me with the others.
"Hmm..." I lowered my eyes to stare at him.
All I could say was that his request was naive.
But whatever.
"Fine... but everything has a price," I said, placing my offer on the table in front of everyone.
"Hey, hey, Hikigaya, you're not actually going to do this for money, are you...?" Hashimoto said, leaning forward as if he hadn't expected things to develop this way.
"Then how much are you asking for?" Kanzaki asked seriously, as if he was genuinely willing to pay and bring this exam to an end.
"If we look at all the possibilities, the biggest profit goes to the VIP in the first case..." Yukinoshita said, sitting in her place with her eyes closed.
"Exactly. One million points. And since I'm only selling the answer to one person, whoever pays the most gets it..." I said, pushing my chair backward as I leaned away.
Matsushita stared at Yukinoshita and me, unable to understand whether we were serious or not, while Hasebe was simply frozen in place.
"Tch, this is a scam..." Ishizaki said, crossing his arms.
"No idiot is going to pay for that," Hashimoto said, shaking his head dramatically.
Meanwhile, Kanzaki remained staring into the air, clenching his teeth in frustration.
Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if someone paid. I would just tell them that Yukinoshita was the VIP and end everything.
For now, though, if they even wanted to write my name down, that was an acceptable result, even if it was far from the truth...
Silence once again settled over the room, announcing that the situation had become tense again.
The silence itself didn't bother me, but the looks coming from beside me did. I was really starting to feel itchy.
I turned toward the other side, where a huge guy wearing sunglasses sat with his arms crossed in front of him, showing no intention of making a move.
His muscles were seriously huge... I wonder what kind of training he does.
I heard that bodybuilders eat insects, so where was that mosquito that had been bothering me this morning? I'd give it to him as a present.
He could make a good world-famous actor. Maybe he would suit the role of the protagonist's friend... no, perhaps the final villain.
He would be a huge discovery in the world of movies...
Wait a second. If I could become his talent manager, I could make a lot of money and wouldn't need to leave the house. I could manage everything through my phone.
This is my chance.
"Hey, big guy..." I said in an almost-whisper, so nobody would steal my idea.
Albert didn't turn toward me, but he moved his head slightly, as if he was ready to listen.
"How about this? We'll introduce you to the world as an action movie actor. I'll be your manager and take only 90 percent..." I said, waiting eagerly for his answer.
He gets the fame, and I get the money. A win-win deal.
He didn't respond to my offer at all. It seemed like he was hiding a first-class negotiator behind those sunglasses.
"Fine, fine. How about this... I'll take 95 percent," I said, moving my head dramatically.
I don't want to take all that money, but I shouldn't leave it to him either. I heard that young people who have too much money are more prone to addiction.
Albert remained silent, as if he still didn't like my offer.
This was really difficult.
"Nee, Hikigaya-kun, what are you doing...?" Hasebe said, pulling me by my shirt.
Seriously, stop that. I'm going to suffocate.
"Ah, nothing. I'm just securing my children's future..."
If I save enough money, I won't have to work.
Suddenly, a loud sound of something hitting the floor rang out, causing everyone's attention to shift toward Yukinoshita, who had dropped her pen.
She quickly bent down to pick it up while nervously fixing her hair.
Hmm... What's wrong with her?
"Hikigaya-kun, you really are strange..." Hasebe said before returning her attention to her phone.
She really doesn't understand the meaning of investing in talent. I'll show her.
I turned back toward Albert once again. This time, he turned toward me and stared without saying anything.
Did it work? Did it work?
"So..." I said, waiting impatiently for his answer.
"Hey, stop that. Albert is from our class..." Ishizaki said, jumping out of his seat.
Was he spying on us?
"Yeah, but I'm the one who discovered his talent..." I said, pointing at him with my finger.
I wasn't going to let anyone steal my little treasure.
"He's from our class. He belongs with us, so just give up..." Ishizaki said, pulling Albert's huge arm toward him.
Was he trying to steal my idea now?
"You..." I began, trying to scold him for what he had done, but Albert stretched his arms between us and uttered only one word.
"Enough."
He spoke in a serious voice, preventing any further argument about this.
I quietly retreated to my chair, clenching my teeth.
If it weren't for that bastard Ishizaki, I would have won.
Damn it.
I reached for a piece of paper and a pen, then wrote down my contact information and secretly pushed it toward Albert.
"If you change your mind, you can contact me..." I said, moving my fingers away from the paper.
Albert looked down at it, but before he could do anything, Ishizaki quickly reached out, grabbed it, tore it into tiny pieces, and went to throw them into the trash.
"You..."
Why was he doing this? Was he trying to steal my idea like this...?