Chapter 136: The Solution to This Exam; Class A Loses Another 50 Points!
It was 8:45 PM.
Hikigaya Hachiman pushed open the door to the Dragon Group's discussion room, with Ichinose Honami and Kanzaki Ryuji following behind him. The lights were already on, but the circular table was deserted. However, a new object had appeared: a gray mobile phone lying quietly in the center of the table.
Ichinose approached to take a look, her brow furrowing slightly. "Is this... the spare phone?"
"Yeah." Hikigaya picked up the phone and turned it over in his hands. "It's the one we left in the discussion room this morning."
Standing at the doorway, Kanzaki Ryuji said pensively, "It seems Ryuen has already been back."
Ichinose nodded. "He probably came to look for the recording device he hid. When he found out you'd taken it, he saw this phone."
Hikigaya didn't respond, simply placing the phone back on the table. His gaze swept through every corner of the room—under the table, beneath the chairs, by the windowsill. Everything looked exactly as it had when they left in the afternoon.
Having learned from the morning's experience, Kanzaki also searched everywhere for any voice recorders that might have been left behind, but found nothing.
Evidently, Ryuen and his group had learned their lesson; they knew recording wouldn't work, so they had given up on it.
"Hikigaya-kun," Kanzaki suddenly spoke up, explaining, "I received a message from a student in our class. Early this evening, Ryuen went to the gym to meet Koenji."
Hikigaya's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"Koenji?" Ichinose blinked. "Was it about the Monkey Group?"
"Most likely." Kanzaki nodded. "It's unclear exactly what they discussed, but Ryuen stayed in the gym for about twenty minutes before leaving."
"Oh." Hikigaya merely uttered a flat response; after all, this was something he had long expected.
"By the way, Hikigaya-kun." Ichinose suddenly remembered something and walked over to his side. "Did you notice? It seems the people from Class A stopped following us this afternoon."
Hikigaya turned his head and glanced at her.
Due to Sakayanagi Arisu's arrival, the students of Class A had been quite active, and Hikigaya was frequently under surveillance or being tailed. But this afternoon had indeed been very
relaxed. Specifically, when he went to meet Matsushita Chiaki in the evening, there had been no obstacles at all.
There was only one reason why Class A students would stop tailing a dangerous person like him. Hikigaya said, "This afternoon, I asked Kushida to help me check the locations of the Class A friends in her contact list."
Ichinose was slightly startled. "And?"
"From 2:00 PM until 7:00 PM," Hikigaya paused, "all twenty-plus Class A students in Kushida's contacts were gathered in the Class A rest area. Not a single one left."
Kanzaki's brow furrowed. "All of them?"
"All of them," Hikigaya nodded.
Ichinose's mind raced. More than twenty people gathering in the same place simultaneously for four straight hours—that was no accident. Class A must be doing something, and it was a major task requiring everyone's participation.
"Is it because the Monkey Group exam ended early?" she asked tentatively.
Hikigaya didn't answer immediately.
His gaze fell back toward the window, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint, almost imperceptible arc.
Sakayanagi-san, you really are a clever one.
The Monkey Group exam ending early, Koenji successfully guessing the VIP, Class A losing 100 points—in Sakayanagi's eyes, this series of events certainly didn't happen in isolation. She would think about the logic behind it, deduce Hikigaya's intentions, and wonder "why."
Question. Think. Then, she would reach a conclusion.
The VIPs follow a pattern.
Because only then did everything make sense—why Hikigaya wanted all Class B students to use spare phones, why he went to find Koenji, and why he let Koenji guess.
He knew there was a pattern to the exam and was trying to hide it. Yet, he wouldn't give up that advantage.
So, in Sakayanagi's view, he had grasped the pattern, but for the sake of accuracy, he still needed to verify it.
And if Sakayanagi thought that way, then throughout the afternoon and into the evening, she must have been leading all of Class A in a frantic search for that "pattern."
As someone who was always by Hikigaya's side, Ichinose naturally understood what was happening.
"Hikigaya-kun," her voice was soft, "Sakayanagi-san... has she already fallen into the trap you set?"
"She's a very 'obedient' person," Hikigaya said quietly.
The wording was a bit strange, making Ichinose pause for a moment, but she quickly realized—this "obedience" didn't mean submission, but rather... Sakayanagi was moving exactly in the direction he expected.
Standing to the side, Kanzaki watched the two converse and spoke thoughtfully, "So, all of Class A is currently trying to derive the pattern of the VIPs?"
"Yeah," Hikigaya nodded.
"What if they actually figure it out?" Kanzaki frowned. "Our Class B VIPs..."
"They won't figure it out," Hikigaya interrupted him. "In this exam, there is no pattern for the VIPs. I just made them believe there is one. And that is Class B's strategy for this exam."
Saying this, Hikigaya looked toward the surveillance camera in the Dragon Group discussion room.
At that moment, the lead proctor watching this scene in the monitoring room—Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima—wore a look of slight shock, followed by a sigh.
He knew that seeing Class B's Hikigaya in the gym at noon wouldn't lead to anything good.
Class A... was finished this time.
Because, according to Hikigaya's method of setting traps, the smarter a person was, the more "finished" they would be this time.
.
.
.
When 9:00 PM arrived, the Dragon Group room contained the same circular table and the same twelve people, but tonight the atmosphere was significantly more tense.
Everyone was present. However, no one seemed inclined to speak first.
After a moment's thought, Hikigaya's gaze quickly swept over the group, finally landing on Sakayanagi. He spoke up proactively. "Sakayanagi-san, the Class A people stopped tailing me this afternoon. Have you already given up on the exam?"
As soon as these words were uttered, the expressions of several people in the room changed slightly.
Ryuen raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting back and forth between Hikigaya and Sakayanagi, a grin playing on his lips as if watching a good show. Shiina Hiyori's eyes moved slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.
Sakayanagi, however, gave a quite lovely smile.
"Hikigaya-kun," her voice was as pleasant as ever, "whether we have or not, don't you know best? After all, it was you who went to find Class D's Koenji-kun and destroyed the balance of this exam."
Facing Sakayanagi's irony, Hikigaya showed no surprise. He simply shook his head gently.
"Sakayanagi-san, those words really wrong me." Hikigaya actually spoke with a slight tone of grievance. "I only went to catch up with Koenji-kun. After all, he invited me to join his company before, and I refused him directly at the time. I couldn't let the relationship get too strained, could I?"
"Catching up?" Ryuen sneered. "Hikigaya, who are you trying to fool with that crap?"
Hikigaya glanced at him but didn't speak. After all, Ryuen was the sucker who had supplemented the other 2 million points for Koenji's move.
Sakayanagi nodded gently, her tone seemingly carrying a hint of pity. "If one could be recruited by the Koenji family, it would indeed be a good thing. Joining such a company would mean a very bright future. For Hikigaya-kun, who comes from an ordinary family, encountering such an opportunity is actually a blessing. So, why did Hikigaya-kun refuse?"
Hikigaya was silent for two seconds.
On one hand, he realized that Sakayanagi hadn't been idle at school; she had likely investigated his records. But she actually spent her resources on that.
On the other hand, a sentence Matsushita Chiaki had said in the theater that evening flashed through his mind—"If I don't want to change classes and just want to find someone who can support me, would Class B take me in?"
Seriously, that girl Matsushita had really led his thoughts astray.
He pulled his thoughts back, looked at Sakayanagi, and said quickly, "I won't accept a job."
Then he paused and added another sentence, as if emphasizing a point: "I will absolutely never move in the direction of becoming a corporate slave."
Sakayanagi's expression changed slightly.
It wasn't anger or confusion, but a... subtle shift. A flash of complex emotion crossed her violet-blue eyes, and the smile on her lips took on an unidentifiable meaning.
"Is that so," she said softly.
Hikigaya looked at her, suddenly feeling a bit strange.
He had expected Sakayanagi to be like the others—expressing confusion or intense helplessness toward his "ideal of being a house husband"—much like Shiina, Ibuki, Karuizawa, Kushida, or Koenji had. But Sakayanagi's reaction was completely beyond his expectations.
She didn't question him, didn't mock him, and didn't even show any surprise.
Instead... she looked quite satisfied?
That wasn't right. Sakayanagi's reaction was all wrong.
Hikigaya frowned but didn't press further. He realized he still didn't understand the minds of girls well; in such a situation, it was better not to ask too much.
Thus, the room was quiet for a few seconds.
Then, Class D's Hirata Yosuke suddenly stood up, a hint of apology on his face as he bowed slightly to everyone.
"Everyone, regarding the Monkey Group matter, I want to apologize on behalf of Koenji-kun." His tone was incredibly sincere. "I know everyone probably hoped for Outcome 1, but Koenji-kun ended the exam early, causing the students in the Monkey Group to lose that opportunity. However, in the coming days, there are still chances for the other groups. Our class is willing to cooperate fully to strive for Outcome 1 in all remaining groups, so that everyone can get points."
After speaking, his gaze swept over everyone present, his eyes full of expectation.
However, no one responded to him.
This caused Hirata's smile to stiffen slightly, though he maintained his gentle expression as he slowly sat back down.
Watching this, Ichinose sighed inwardly.
As fellow "saints," she knew Hirata was absolutely motivated by the idea of doing what was best for the class and his peers. But it was precisely this that proved Hirata and herself... perhaps were both unsuitable as class leaders.
Sakayanagi finally spoke. "We appreciate Hirata-kun's kindness. But I'm afraid Outcome 1 is already impossible."
She paused and continued.
"Originally, Class B's defense was very solid. The Class B students in other groups knew nothing when asked; they didn't know their own VIP status and couldn't provide any information. Other classes had no way to proceed and could only wait passively. But now, the Monkey Group exam has ended early. In other words, the VIP list for the Monkey Group is in Koenji-kun's hands—this balance has already been broken."
Ryuen's eyes narrowed as he looked at Sakayanagi, his tone guarded. "Sakayanagi, what do you mean by that?"
Sakayanagi smiled gently and didn't answer directly.
But her meaning was clear. Class C likely already knew about the pattern because they had gone to find Koenji, and Class A knew as well. Therefore, Outcome 1 was impossible.
Shiina Hiyori sat next to Ryuen, but her gaze remained fixed on Hikigaya. Her eyes were focused and serious, as if waiting for something.
Hikigaya felt her gaze and turned his head slightly to look at her. Shiina didn't speak; she just watched him quietly.
Hikigaya had seen Shiina in this state seven or eight times already; he understood it perfectly. She wanted to eavesdrop on his "inner voice" again.
I say, how did you turn out like this, Shiina-san?
But it was fine. He could use this to his advantage. Previously, he had to be careful with the degree of deception, but now he could begin lying on all fronts.
Thus, he quickly began "transmitting" his inner thoughts.
First, for Sakayanagi.
'Sakayanagi looks so composed right now; it seems my information was correct. All of Class A was gathered in the rest area this afternoon—they really were deriving the VIP pattern.'
My move of going to Koenji to verify the Monkey Group list definitely caught Sakayanagi's attention. Sakayanagi Arisu is far too dangerous; she guessed the VIPs have a pattern so quickly. Looking at her expression, Class A must have already mastered the pattern.'
Sakayanagi's eyes indeed faltered slightly. Clearly, she had heard it. Hikigaya continued at full power.
'This way, both sides are temporarily keeping each other in check. Once I attack a Class A VIP, Class A can also attack a Class B VIP. Both sides have a large number of VIPs; a head-on collision would result in too great a loss—it's not worth it. Especially since the Monkey Group VIP was from Class A, so Class A's VIP count is already -1.'
He noticed Sakayanagi's expression had turned into a slight pursing of her lips.
Hikigaya's inner voice continued.
'Tomorrow afternoon, I'll have to ask Sakayanagi out for a private meeting. If she has indeed mastered the VIP pattern, then the only option is to cooperate with her to harvest Class C and Class D.'
The inner voice ended there.
Of course, these thoughts were entirely fabricated. However, Sakayanagi felt she had gained something.
Sakayanagi knew the Class A students had gathered all afternoon and evening specifically to find the VIP pattern. Finding the pattern was indeed very difficult; whether it was stroke counts, the syllabary, or something else, Class A had been trying, and so far, they didn't have a perfectly consistent solution.
However, Sakayanagi felt that making Hikigaya anxious enough not to start picking off Class A tonight (since she believed Hikigaya had already mastered the pattern and knew the full list) made her feigned confidence worthwhile.
And just as she thought: even if Class B mastered the pattern and could pick off the VIPs of other classes, Class B itself had a large number of VIPs who would also be picked off by other classes that mastered the pattern.
Therefore, as long as Class A could derive the pattern—or even if they hadn't yet, as long as they could make Hikigaya believe a stalemate existed—it would buy more time for Class A.
She felt her acting was quite good. Thus, the corners of her mouth tilted upward slightly.
.
.
.
Noting Sakayanagi's expression, Hikigaya knew he had just fed her false information. Now, it was time for the other listener.
He slightly adjusted his sitting posture and shifted his thoughts in another direction—toward the literature girl sitting next to Ryuen, her long silver hair glowing softly under the lights.
He still had a tiny shred of conscience, but at this moment, it vanished into the void.
Sorry, Shiina-san. I hope we can still read together in the future.
With that thought, Hikigaya continued lying.
'Actually, Shiina from Class C is also quite sharp.
I received a report from my classmates that they've already thought of contacting Koenji. Class C has the fewest VIPs, but to derive the pattern, you need at least four VIP samples. Class C doesn't have many, so even if they contacted Koenji, they still wouldn't meet the requirement... I can rest easy for now.'
Hikigaya's inner voice stopped there. He picked up the water cup on the table and took a light sip, his peripheral vision glancing toward Shiina Hiyori.
The effect was immediate.
Shiina's eyelashes trembled slightly. She maintained her posture of looking down at her book, but the fingers holding the page tightened ever so slightly. The movement was tiny, almost negligible—but Hikigaya noticed.
He withdrew his gaze and continued drinking his water.
Shiina Hiyori felt her heart skip a beat the moment she heard Hikigaya's inner voice, but the self-control she had cultivated through long periods of solitude allowed her to quickly suppress any ripples. She kept the motion of turning the page and even finished reading the current page as if nothing had happened before slowly raising her eyes.
Four.
It's actually four.
She chewed on that number repeatedly in her mind.
From Hikigaya-kun's inner voice, it was clear that to derive the pattern, one needed at least four VIP samples. Class C only had two, and even with the one Ryuen got from contacting Koenji, that made only three.
No wonder she had tried so hard to find the pattern for over two hours before coming to the discussion room, yet still had no clues. It turned out to be a lack of information.
But if that were the case, things were very troublesome. If they couldn't derive the pattern, then Class C's act of paying 2 million points to buy the Monkey Group VIP from Koenji would be a total waste.
What was even more terrifying was that from the conversation between Hikigaya-kun and Sakayanagi-san just now, she could tell Sakayanagi-san had spent the entire afternoon organizing her class to work on the pattern. Or rather, she should have known long ago that Sakayanagi-san could also hear Hikigaya-kun's inner voice.
Then Sakayanagi-san must definitely know this VIP exam has a pattern.
Looking at Sakayanagi-san's confident expression, did it mean... Class A had already derived the pattern?
Now, Shiina had zero expectations for tomorrow's group discussion. She felt it would turn into a joint slaughter of Classes C and D by Classes A and B.
Even if Hikigaya-kun might be soft-hearted because Class C owed him points and wouldn't take Class C's final free 100 evaluation points, it still meant Class C would gain nothing from this exam, and might even suffer a heavy loss.
Was Class C going to end the last exam of the semester like this?
She pursed her lips, the string in her heart tightening slightly. Then she took a soft breath, forcing herself to calm down. She looked at Ryuen.
Ryuen, at this moment, was also lost in thought.
Ryuen was indeed thinking. But he wasn't thinking about the "fourth sample" or Class C's impending failure that Shiina was anxious about. His thoughts were still stuck on the scene of meeting Koenji earlier that evening.
When he met Koenji, that narcissistic blonde bastard was leaning back on the gym sofa, looking as leisurely as a cat sunning itself. Seeing him enter, Koenji didn't even bother to stand up, only lifting an eyelid.
"Oh my? Ryuen-boy, you've come quite punctually."
Ryuen didn't bother with pleasantries, sitting directly opposite him. "The Monkey Group VIP list. What's the price?"
Koenji raised an eyebrow, a playful smile curling his lips. "2 million."
Ryuen nearly cursed out loud.
'A list for an exam that's already over and you're still charging that much?' But he held back, merely staring at the other man. "How did you know I would definitely buy it?"
Koenji chuckled and took a sip of a sports drink. "Hikigaya-boy came to see me today. He gave me 1 million to end the Monkey Group exam early."
Ryuen's brow furrowed.
"His actions piqued my interest," Koenji continued, his tone seemingly careless yet every word clear. "I think he was verifying one thing—whether the arrangement of VIPs follows a pattern."
Ryuen didn't speak, but his silence was an admission. Shiina had emphasized this point repeatedly; of course he knew. But hearing it from Koenji now carried completely different weight.
"I imagine you also know the situation with the Class B students in other groups. They 'know nothing' when asked," Koenji put down the bottle. "That is indeed a strategy. However, from the beginning until now, through three group discussions, the school has placed no other restrictions. That means the school has validated Class B's way of taking the exam. At the same time, it ignores the situation where other classes have no way to deal with Class B's method.
Thus, the exam would likely have to go toward Outcome 1. That's what I thought at first," Koenji said. "But..."
He looked at Ryuen, his wine-red eyes holding a hint of amusement. "Hikigaya-boy's visit today made me think. That is, he believes there is a pattern to the VIP arrangements this time. And he has already mastered that pattern."
Ryuen didn't reply. But Koenji understood from Ryuen's expression that Ryuen had already believed this information before coming to find him.
"In that case, how unfortunate, Ryuen-boy. You're going to be finished."
Koenji then said, "2 million, and I'll give you the Monkey Group VIP name. Do you think this deal is a loss? It's buying a 'hope' for your class."
Ryuen was silent for a few seconds.
If there was a pattern and Class B had already mastered it, then 2 million points was not a loss, because it was the first step for Class C not to fall behind and to start its offensive. But being led by the nose by Koenji like this made him extremely unhappy.
"Then why don't you derive the pattern yourself?" He stared at Koenji. "With your brain, you should have a better chance of figuring it out than me."
Koenji shook his head.
"Deriving the pattern? Too much trouble. And so what if I do? Scramble for those few points for the class? I, Koenji Rokusuke, never do such boring things."
He stood up and walked to the window, the sunlight casting a halo on his golden hair.
"2 million is just to give your Class C a hope." He turned back to look at Ryuen. "I think quite highly of you, Ryuen-boy."
Ryuen was stunned.
"Previously, I thought quite highly of Ayanokouji-boy," Koenji continued. "His hidden strength, his mind, the individual ability he showed in the island exam—all very interesting. But unfortunately, because of your leak, I've seen his other side as well."
He paused, his gaze falling back on Ryuen.
"Using a 'honey trap,' utilizing girls, video threats—I don't support such methods. But you, Ryuen-boy, although your methods are equally crude and unscrupulous, it's the only option available to you. And that resilience of a 'small person' climbing upward actually interests me a bit. Because someone I know also climbed up that way. Though it's shameful, he indeed reached a high position."
Ryuen's face changed several times. He opened his mouth to say something in rebuttal but found himself unable to speak.
He hadn't expected such an evaluation from Koenji at all, but Koenji's high-and-mighty tone made his whole body uncomfortable.
"You're too arrogant, Koenji," Ryuen said through gritted teeth. "One day, I will step on you."
Koenji laughed, a laugh that held no mockery, only a superior tolerance.
"Your personality is still too prickly; you need to train it. Use this exam to temper your character.
The exams in this school are actually not that simple. Perhaps the questions are simple, but the fellow examinees are not—" Koenji spoke in a condescending manner, as if giving guidance like a senpai.
These words nearly made Ryuen strike out at the time. But in the end, he gritted his teeth and threw over the card worth 2 million points in exchange for a name.
Morishige Takuro of Class A—the VIP of the Monkey Group.
-
-
-
Thus, tonight's Dragon Group discussion was once again fruitless. However, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But the reasons for the relief were different for Classes A, B, C, and D.
For Class B, led by Hikigaya, Hikigaya had learned to lie. He had just fed false information to Sakayanagi and Shiina, and was currently calculating when these two fish would take the bait.
Class A was prepared to go back and derive the pattern; they had to figure it out. They would likely stay up all night.
Class C... Ryuen was still thinking about Koenji's superior attitude.
As for Class D, Ayanokouji was no longer concerned about the exam at this point. He was considering the need to acquire some "tools" before the next exam. Directly grabbing Karuizawa had indeed "startled the snake." However, Hashimoto's girlfriend, Maezono from their Class D, might be someone he could contact. Additionally, there was Ryuen. Although Ryuen had intentionally smeared his reputation, it also showed that Ryuen's rule over Class C was not a perfectly monolithic block, so he needed to be on guard against him.
The time for the group discussion ended, and everyone prepared to leave.
However, at that moment, the broadcast on the ship suddenly rang out.
"Attention all students. The special exam for the Sheep Group has ended early. Members of the Sheep Group will no longer need to participate in subsequent group discussions. Final exam results will be announced collectively at 11:00 PM on the fourth day. Repeating—"
In an instant, everyone's eyes focused on the direction of the broadcast speaker.
Ryuen Kakeru leaned against the back of his chair, his half-closed eyes opening wide, his brow furrowing. He looked away from the speaker, scanned the people around the circular table, and finally landed on Hikigaya.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't look at the speaker; she turned her head, her violet-blue eyes also landing directly on Hikigaya's face.
Shiina Hiyori's reaction was a beat slower than Sakayanagi's, but once she realized what had happened, her gaze naturally turned toward Hikigaya as well.
—The Sheep Group. —Ended early.
These two keywords combined had an all-too-obvious meaning. The Monkey Group had just ended early this morning, and now another group had finished the exam early. If one time was an accident, then twice... could only mean someone was deliberately driving it.
And in this school year, who else could do such a thing besides that man?
Hikigaya instantly realized that the level of attention on him had reached a new peak once again.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting