"...It's still wet," I said as I lifted my shoe, the inside still soaked with water.
I don't think it's healthy to wear it like this. I definitely won't be comfortable.
I had made sure to dry all of my clothes, even my socks, but my shoes were still wet.
I placed it back on the floor and looked around the room. I hadn't brought another pair of shoes.
I noticed a sandal that had apparently been left in the room. I didn't know whether I was actually allowed to wear it or not, but I had no other choice.
I slipped my feet into the sandals and wiggled my toes inside them, feeling the comfort.
I had to attend today's final meeting, so I had no choice.
I left the room, dragging my sandals across the ship's floor. With every step, they produced a summery little rhythm beneath my feet, but it didn't suit the atmosphere I was about to enter—or even my formal school uniform.
I really looked like an idiot.
All because of that stupid green-haired guy.
I approached the designated room as quietly as possible, trying not to make any noise with my sandals, although that was completely out of my control.
Every time I passed by a group, they stared at my sandals.
What?
Didn't they know this was summer fashion?
I entered the meeting room reserved for the Pig Group and found that most of the students had already arrived.
I sat in the empty chair beside Yukinoshita, who was staring directly beneath the table at my sandals.
Instinctively, I tried to move my feet away, but there was nowhere to hide them.
"Hikigaya-kun, I knew your taste was terrible, but not this terrible."
Yukinoshita finally raised her eyes from the floor after staring at my feet for long enough.
"Hahaha... You know, this is the latest fashion these days..."
I replied with a dry laugh.
"Fashion, huh...? This has nothing to do with you being thrown into the pool yesterday, does it?"
Yukinoshita rested her hand against her chin.
I quickly turned toward her, staring at her in alarm.
Had she transcended the limits of human ability and started monitoring the entire ship or something?
"Ah... Well, who told you?"
I asked dryly, glancing at her from the corner of my eye.
"Matsushita-san."
Yukinoshita pointed toward the girl sitting beside her, who was smiling while playing with her hair.
"So it was her..."
I sighed in resignation as I looked at her.
Yukinoshita hadn't been there yesterday, but Matsushita had.
Why did people have to spread news like this?
It was a violation of my privacy.
"Hikigaya-kun, I heard what happened. You don't hold a grudge against him, do you?"
Hasabe said, discreetly pointing toward the boy sitting across the table.
The green-haired guy was glaring at me, his face twisting with anger without even bothering to hide it.
I glanced beneath the table.
He was wearing athletic shoes.
Tch...
He had prepared himself well.
I turned away again, ignoring his idiotic sneakers.
"Well, if I held a grudge against everyone who treated me badly, I would've destroyed the world by now..."
I puffed out my chest proudly.
"Ha..."
Unfortunately, neither girl seemed impressed by my words.
They continued staring at me with blank expressions.
"Yes. For Hikigaya-kun, even people looking at him counts as harassment."
Yukinoshita tilted her head.
"Yes, yes. Harsh looks are obviously harassment."
I crossed my arms.
I wonder why they haven't made legal penalties for staring at people.
That alone deserves prison time.
Although I might be willing to settle if they offered me a respectable amount of money.
"That's only natural, considering you're used to people's contemptuous looks. Why don't you tell us how it felt to swim in your clothes?"
Yukinoshita looked at me with a teasing smile.
"Ugh..."
Why couldn't she just stop?
And what was with that smile?
It was distracting me.
"For your information, that wasn't my first experience..."
I shrugged indifferently.
"Yes, you're right."
Yukinoshita nodded.
So she hadn't forgotten the day she threw me into the pool at school.
The two girls stared at us from the side with their mouths half-open, as if they could no longer keep up with our conversation and had decided to simply stare blankly instead.
Suddenly, the sound of clapping drew everyone's attention inside the room.
"Everyone, since it's time, let's begin the meeting."
Kanzaki spoke as he tried to take charge of the meeting once again and ensure that everything proceeded smoothly.
...
An hour passed quietly inside the closed room where the members of the Pig Group had gathered.
Kanzaki continued trying to steer the discussion toward a meaningful solution to the exam, but as usual, it was all in vain.
The students began leaving the room one after another.
I remained seated in my place without moving.
Even Yukinoshita hadn't left. She was staring at the notebook in front of her on the table.
I raised my head and looked at Kanzaki, who was rubbing his temples as if he were suffering from a headache after crashing into the same wall once again.
A dead end.
There was no solution.
Now I could simply impose whatever solution suited me.
Any solution I mentioned would be like a lifeline thrown to someone trapped at a dead end.
"Kanzaki, could you wait a moment?"
I adjusted my posture in the chair.
All the students who had been trying to leave stopped, as though the subject had caught their attention.
"Ah... sure."
Kanzaki returned to his seat.
The others continued staring at us, question marks practically floating around the room.
Since the matter had nothing to do with them, they eventually began leaving one after another, especially since we hadn't said a single word while they were still there.
Kanzaki looked around the room as if making sure there was no one else left.
"So... what is it?"
Kanzaki asked seriously as he looked at us.
"We're here to determine the outcome of the special exam."
Yukinoshita said it with her usual confidence.
"Okay?"
Kanzaki waited for her to continue.
"We want to achieve the first outcome in this exam."
Yukinoshita announced it as though she were placing our proposal directly on the table.
"Case One..."
Kanzaki muttered to himself.
"Then why didn't you propose this from the beginning?"
It seemed that Kanzaki wanted to test our intentions first.
Especially after all the arguments that had taken place between us.
Perhaps that was the reason he was being so cautious.
"The exam would've been boring otherwise."
I answered indifferently, tapping my finger against the table.
"Boring...?"
Kanzaki sounded as though he hadn't expected that answer.
He silently played with his fingers, as if considering every word before saying it.
"Then you're the VIP."
Kanzaki stared directly at me.
"Not necessarily."
I shrugged.
Kanzaki nodded deeply and looked down at the table in silence, as though reviewing what he should do before finally making his decision.
"Fine... But I have to tell Ichinose-san first. She's the class leader."
That was expected.
Kanzaki might effectively be Class B's number-one man, but there was still an official leader standing before everyone.
Making a decision without her blessing would be like starting a rebellion.
"That works for us. If there are no problems, I'll accompany you. Let's go see her."
Yukinoshita said it as though she intended to speak with her personally.
I didn't expect this to cause any difficulties.
Ichinose seemed like the type who preferred outcomes that benefited everyone.
"Fine... But can I ask whether you've already spoken with the other classes?"
Kanzaki didn't hesitate to raise his concerns before taking the next step.
He was right.
Without everyone's agreement, the desired outcome couldn't be achieved.
"Ryuen's class has already agreed."
I stared straight ahead.
"Ryuen agreed?"
Kanzaki sounded somewhat surprised by the result.
"Then only Class A remains."
"Exactly. All we have to do is talk to them, right, Hashimoto?"
I put my hands into my pockets, preparing to leave.
Yukinoshita was also calmly gathering her belongings.
But Kanzaki stared at me for a moment as though he still hadn't fully processed what I'd just said.
Then we heard footsteps at the entrance of the room.
Kanzaki quickly raised his head.
"Hashimoto, you..."
Hashimoto, that idiot with the blond hair, stood there with a smug smile.
Didn't he know spying was bad?
One day he'd get punished for this.
I stood up to leave, then walked toward him and gestured for him to come outside.
He walked beside me calmly, as though he had been waiting impatiently for me to say something.
"You heard everything, didn't you? So there's no need to waste time."
I said as I walked beside him.
He probably already knew what I wanted to ask him.
He didn't seem like the type who needed much explanation.
But without warning, Hashimoto stopped.
He pulled out his phone and started fiddling with it before placing it against his ear.
I stared at him, trying to understand what he was doing.
Then he began speaking.
"Just as you told me, she came to me..."
Hashimoto smiled slyly at me.
The situation continued for a moment before he extended his phone toward me.
My eyes moved between his phone and his face for a moment before I reluctantly reached for it.
I glanced at the name displayed on the screen.
It clearly read:
Arisu Sakayanagi.
I think I understood.
Hashimoto had been doing his job perfectly, relaying everything that happened during each session to her.
I wouldn't be surprised if it felt as though she were living alongside us, session by session.
That was probably how she had managed to predict what was happening.
Perhaps Hashimoto had been waiting for the moment I would come looking for him.
This had gone from persuading Hashimoto to dealing with Sakayanagi herself.
"Don't follow me. Stay here."
I said as I walked away from him down the corridor.
I didn't want to see his face beside me right now.
"Ah, but that's my phone..."
Hashimoto tried to step toward me.
"One more step and I'll break it."
I said aggressively, raising his phone above my head.
Hashimoto didn't react.
He merely smiled, as though he knew there was no way I would actually do it.
He could report me to the teachers for what I'd done, and I'd be in serious trouble.
I loosened my fingers around the phone.
It slipped from my hand and began falling from above.
Hashimoto's expression changed from relief to wide-eyed shock.
I caught the phone with my other hand just before it hit the floor, staring directly at him.
"Ah, sorry. It slipped out of my hand..." I said, pretending to inspect the phone to make sure it hadn't been damaged.
"Tch... Fine, fine, I get it..." Hashimoto said, raising both hands in surrender as he backed away.
I gave the phone one last glance, taking a breath before putting it to my ear.
"Yo..." I said casually as I walked away down the corridor.
"Ah, hello, Hikigaya-kun. It's been a while..." I heard Sakayanagi's familiar voice from the other end of the phone.
Her tone sounded almost excited about what was about to happen.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on your victory in the island exam..." Sakayanagi said in a friendly tone.
"Mm, sure..." I replied, wondering if she was actually being serious.
She was really trying to get on my nerves.
I looked down at my sandals, trying my best to keep myself composed. I even started tapping them lightly against the ship's floor to calm my nerves.
"I heard you visited Class A's camp, but they treated you rather disrespectfully. I'm truly sorry about that, Hikigaya-kun..." Sakayanagi said, and I could clearly hear her laughter through the phone.
She was still trying to make fun of me.
"That's understandable. I was basically an outsider trespassing on their territory. Their reaction was expected. In any case, there's no need to bring that up now. It's already over..." I said, pressing my fingers tightly against the phone.
That was all because of her stupid subordinate, Hashimoto. He might very well be the biggest troublemaker in Class A.
"Fufufu. It seems you're really eager to get straight to the negotiations..."
Negotiations?
What kind of negotiations was she talking about? Was she trying to twist my arm or something?
"But coming here yourself like this... wouldn't you say that was a mistake? You've reduced the circle of suspicion from fourteen people to only four," Sakayanagi said, trying to point out my mistake.
She was right. Acting this way could turn what should have been a favorable outcome into a crushing defeat.
"I think the probability of guessing the correct name is only 25%. We're still far from having our identities exposed..."
If we assumed the participants didn't know that the school had established a method for determining the VIP in each class, then to them, this was still nothing more than a guessing game that could cost them fifty class points.
"Oh, you're right about that. But it's still a risk worth taking..." Sakayanagi said, as though she was enjoying the gamble.
If she had been present during this exam, I'm sure she would have solved it herself as well. But things were different now...
This was Katsuragi's grave.
She wouldn't allow him to earn any class points.
That would ensure his permanent downfall.
"From what I understand, the first condition requires everyone to write down the correct answer. So even if you convince Hashimoto-kun, there's still Katsuragi-kun's subordinate..." Sakayanagi said, as if she wanted to lay out the difficulties in front of me before making any demands.
"Really? But wouldn't this be a good opportunity to see which of them is better? I wonder who would defeat the other—Sakayanagi's subordinate or Katsuragi's?" I said in as sarcastic a tone as possible, making sure it reached her through the phone.
Hashimoto was, without a doubt, the type to lurk in the shadows and deceive others. I doubted he'd have any trouble crushing that other idiot. It might even be nothing more than a game to him.
"Fufufu. You certainly know how to choose your words, Hikigaya-kun. I'll admit, you've piqued my interest a little..." Sakayanagi said cheerfully, as though the thought of making them compete had genuinely excited her.
Perhaps she saw this as an opportunity to prove the superiority of her faction over Katsuragi's.
"Very well. Give Hashimoto-kun one million private points, and he'll help you achieve the outcome you want," she said, attempting to negotiate on behalf of her subordinate.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, pulling the phone away from my ear for a moment.
"Isn't it obvious? Your class will earn three and a half million points from this, while Hashimoto-kun would only receive five hundred thousand..." Sakayanagi explained.
She probably knew that the other rewards the Class A students would earn from our group wouldn't go directly into her own pocket, so she wanted to secure at least a decent amount for herself.
That made sense.
"Fine. Then we'll settle for the five hundred thousand points for the VIP, and Hashimoto can enjoy getting nothing," I said, shrugging.
I had no intention of paying for the result from the beginning. If they refused, then that would be the end of it.
"Oh? Why is that?" Sakayanagi asked, as though she hadn't expected my response.
"We never asked Hashimoto to convince all the classes. He only needs to convince his own classmates."
Even if he were going to convince everyone, I still wouldn't pay him one million points.
"That's true. So how much are you willing to pay him?" Sakayanagi asked, almost as though she were pushing the decision back onto me.
"I won't pay anything. If you refuse, then this ends here. Or, if you'd prefer, why don't you simply guess the VIP yourselves?"
She knew that option wasn't really available to her now, so there was nothing wrong with exploiting the situation to squeeze a few private points out of me.
"Hmm... So you intend to achieve the outcome you want for free?" Sakayanagi asked, her voice becoming serious this time.
"Yeah."
Silence fell for a moment, as though Sakayanagi was carefully considering her next words.
"Then what about owing us a small favor?" Sakayanagi asked, still trying to get at least something out of this.
I sighed heavily as I listened to her.
Unfortunately, I had no intention of owing anyone anything.
"Sakayanagi, I've told you what I'm offering. Refuse, and I'll hang up. Then this will be over," I said, leaning against the wall behind me.
"You really are a difficult negotiator..." Sakayanagi said with a resigned sigh.
"Fine. Hashimoto-kun will help you with this. But can you guarantee that Class A will lose this exam, at least?" Sakayanagi asked without hesitation.
I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at the screen, unable to say a word.
Was she asking this without the slightest hesitation?
Was she really serious about taking down Katsuragi by any means necessary?
She was genuinely terrifying.
I tried to regain my composure before putting the phone back to my ear.
"Ahem... Don't worry about that. Ryuen will take care of it..."
He already knew the VIP from outside our class. It wouldn't take long for him to solve the exam and figure out the rest.
"Ryuen-kun, huh..." Sakayanagi muttered, as though carefully considering the name.
"Very well, I agree. Could you give the phone to Hashimoto-kun?" Sakayanagi said, signaling that our conversation was over.
I pulled the phone away from my ear in relief.
Finally, I wouldn't have to listen to her voice anymore.
I headed back down the corridor, where I had left Hashimoto standing alone, watching the passing students like an idiot.
"Hashimoto..." I called out as I approached him before tossing the phone toward him.
Hashimoto quickly moved toward the phone flying through the air, catching it nervously before giving me a smug smile.
I had to desperately restrain myself from picking up my sandal and hitting him in the face with it.
Then I turned around and walked away.
I was done here.
But I couldn't get Sakayanagi's voice out of my head.
Was she really willing to sell out her own class just to secure her throne?
Class A might still be ranked first...
But there was no doubt that it was in the worst position it had ever been in.