Narrator: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka
After everyone boarded the ship, I tried to escape the crowd of classmates celebrating their unexpected result.
Everyone had been certain we'd earn 73 points. Getting 100 more was shocking for them in a good way.
But Horikita chased after me.
"Wait!" she shouted, running after me. She was still recovering from her illness, and her stamina had been completely depleted. She was panting just from climbing the stairs in a hurry.
"What happened on the island?" she asked.
I showed her the leader card with my name displayed on it.
"You weren't the leader of our class, Horikita," I said.
"Just before the exam ended, I changed our class leader. You cannot change the leader without a legitimate reason. Conversely, if there is one, then we can. Declining health is one such reason. I wanted to fool both Sakayanagi and Ryuen with this, force them to commit to their guesses early, then invalidate their information. However, Sakayanagi was disqualified before she could act, and Ryuen made Ibuki follow me to the medical camp. As a result, Ryuen had a correct guess of the leader regardless of my plan."
I had calculated the probabilities carefully. The leader change was a solid counter-strategy that should have worked, but it seems Ryuen's plan of changing the leaders at the last day allowed him to see that I had also planned the same.
"But how did you know she would steal the keycard?" Horikita asked.
"She had a camera, which meant she needed conclusive evidence of our class's leader. I decided to damage her camera to ensure she would steal the card instead. That part went as expected."
"But wasn't your plan a flop? We were supposed to get 123 points. How did we still end up with 173?"
This was where things became interesting.
"Shikakoi had a camera. Using it, he identified Class A's leader before their disqualification. For that information, he bought a canister marked 'Class D.' Using it, he disqualified Class A."
"What? How?"
"Totsuka and Sudo fought before the exam, and Katsuragi stopped it. But Totsuka had been holding back his anger at that moment. Shikakoi placed the item, a canister, in Totsuka's path. When Totsuka arrived, he vented his anger at it, triggering the disqualification. Totsuka didn't know Shikakoi had a camera, which is what led to this."
"You mean Shikakoi used Totsuka's anger against him?"
"Yes. Class A's disqualification accounts for the 50 points we lost from Ryuen's correct guess of our leader. But Shikakoi gave me the information regarding Class C's changed leader for free."
"And why is that?"
"He said he wants Sakayanagi to be put in Class D."
She stared at me intently for a moment before asking, "And how did he know that Ryuen didn't change leaders?"
"He knew who the leader was after the change... Ishizaki."
"How?"
I looked at her for a moment.
"The only place a leader change would be accepted is the medical center."
Horikita's eyes widened.
"He placed his camera there," I said.
I paused, considering the implications.
"I calculated the probability of someone preparing for leader changes at the medical camp... but I underestimated how thoroughly Shikakoi had thought it through. He didn't just predict one or two moves. He accounted for the entire decision tree and positioned himself at the only point where all outcomes converge."
It was rare for me to encounter someone who thought that far ahead.
My plan had been sound.
But he had assumed mine.
Horikita was stunned. But before she could say anything more, everyone came surrounding her, thinking she was the one who pulled this off.
Narrator: Kaneda (Class C)
Ryuen and Souta were at a self-service bar without alcohol.
Ryuen said, "You weren't the least bit surprised after figuring out Ibuki was a spy."
Souta replied, "Kaneda was also a spy, though he failed miserably. He even followed me to the medical camp on the last day, but couldn't figure out my plan at all."
Ryuen's eyes glinted with recognition. "Oh. So you set up a camera there."
They just looked at each other for a moment.
"I caught that Ibuki was compromised early. Her behavior was too convenient. I thought I'd adapted well enough by confirming the leader through her anyway."
He leaned back slightly.
"But you're saying you were ready for that too."
Souta smiled faintly.
"But still," Ryuen continued, "why tell Class D?"
"I had a bet with Sakayanagi about who would do best in this exam. But since she challenged me, I decided to go all the way."
"You sure are ruthless. You want to see her in Class D."
"Yeah. She brought it upon herself by trying to put one over me."
Ryuen let out a quiet laugh.
"We'll get along well."
"Maybe," Souta replied. "But I'm still a little disappointed in you."
"Huh?" Ryuen said, the smile fading slightly.
Souta sighed.
"How do you think I had Sakayanagi disqualified?"
Ryuen's expression sharpened.
"Hey... you mean to say that if not for Sakayanagi, you would have..."
"Used Kaneda to disqualify you," Souta said calmly. "No matter the reason, he used Class B's supplies. That alone would have been enough."
Silence followed.
Then Ryuen leaned back, a slow grin returning, but this time thinner.
"So I was already walking into a trap."
Souta said nothing.
"Then why spare me?" After a pause, Ryuen continued... "Sakayanagi, huh?"
Souta stood up.
"You're naive if you think just having dark methods changes the rules. You need to see every angle, not just the violent ones."
And then he left.
Ryuen watched him go, still smiling.
But this time, there was something sharper behind it. Being spared was not something Ryuen could digest so easily...
Narrator: Sakayanagi Arisu
I was in my room, playing chess with myself. But the way I held my pieces now was not calm.
I was frustrated.
After all, no one had humiliated me like this before.
I could accept last place as a simple loss.
But zero points?
Completely unacceptable.
Losing is acceptable.
Being made irrelevant is not.
To understand the full picture, we need to examine my true strategy.
Katsuragi had planned to use Ryuen's class points to secure food and water and, in return, gain information about the leaders of Classes B and D, for 800,000 private points per month.
But Hashimoto, on my orders, told Katsuragi to stop. Katsuragi still wanted to strike the deal, but Hashimoto explained that draining private points for three years for a risk wasn't worth it.
If Katsuragi had actually signed the deal, then Ryuen would have made his whole class retire, and stay himself on the island after sending Ibuki and Kaneda to spy.
However, Hashimoto used this opportunity to strike a new deal.
I would guide Souta to Ryuen's base by creating a scene. In the background, someone would deliberately mention the location of Ryuen's base near Shikakoi.
In return, Ryuen would share conclusive evidence of Class B's leader.
The plan was elegant.
It leveraged Ryuen's aggression, redirected Souta's attention, and secured information without long-term cost.
However, it failed.
In the end, Class A was disqualified.
Ryuen failed to get information about Class B's leader.
And Souta overturned the board itself.
I thought Shikakoi would use Totsuka, and that is why he was always with Katsuragi...
Despite this, Souta's plan succeeded...
x-x-x
Narrator: Shikakoi Souta
Watching Ayanokoji drift away from his class, I decided to do the same...
After all, peace and quiet are the true luxury.
Or so I tried...
When I thought I was alone, Ichinose's voice rang out... "Shikakoi-kuuun..."
I turned around to see both Ichinose and Kanzaki approaching me...
I guess a luxury remains just out of reach...
She said, "The results... You were the one who caused them..."
"If you know it, then why bother me?"
"Because I want to understand... How?"
Kanzaki was just watching...
I just sighed, and started to explain...
"Did you hear about the fight between Sudo and others vs Totsuka?"
"A little."
"I used the result from that fight..."
"Ehhh?! That does not tell me anything..."
"Let's say Totsuka were to find a stray canister labelled class D, no one from other classes is visibly present to matter. And there is no evidence to blame him, do you think he would crush it?"
"You recorded that..." Kanzaki interjected
I nodded...
Ichinose took a moment to recover...
She seemed content with this, but Kanzaki raised the main doubt...
"But how did you know Ryuen wouldn't change the leader?"
If he did not ask me this, I could have just gone on my merryway...
I sighed in resignation... Ichinose also seemed pretty surprised that someone could try this...
"To change leaders, you need a good reason."
"And the reason must be medical, so just by putting a camera there and watching the recording afterwards..." I continued...
"You can know who the leader is without doubts..." Kanzaki said in awe...
"But didn't Kaneda use our resources too. You could have gotten class C disqualified as well..."
"It would draw too much attention from seniors..."
It's not like I can tell her that the reason was the bet with Sakayanagi...
"Oh!" Ichinose said in realization...
"You sure have been busy..." Said Kanzaki...
"I guess..." I said, leaving...
x-x-x