Third Person's Point of View

THE FINAL DAY OF THE exam had begun. Unlike on the island, time passed quickly aboard this ship, surrounded by luxury. While Ryuen focused on his united frontal assault, and Katsuragi continued ahead with his iron fortress strategy, Ichinose Honami from Class B had not come up with a countermeasure.

"Waah. I pulled it again! Maybe I'm just bad at Old Maid?" Ichinose cried.

Ichinose once again suggested playing cards. As Kiyotaka has sent the photos to Manabe, she and her friends stop approaching Karuizawa, who is also acting normal.

"Is it ok for me to stay here like this?" Yukimura hesitantly asks.

"You're being gloomy, Yukimura-kun. This is where you play your heart out and shake out your anger. Rematch. Rematch!" Ichinose cried out.

"I'll pass on that. I don't feel like it anyway. More importantly, is this fine, Ichinose-san? Ending the exam like this. I thought you were the one holding the reins to this group and guiding us all through the dialogue." Yukimura said while shaking his head.

"Isn't that being too convenient for you, Yukimura-kun? If you really want to win, don't rely on someone else to do it for you and use your own power to win."

"I understand that much."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

"AND WITH THE NEXT MEETING, the exam will be over. How are things on your side, Ayanokouji-kun, Arison-kun?" Horikita asks the two boys beside her.

"No particular change on our side. It looks like the VIP will be able to safely escape. How about you?"

"I will win." Horikita pointed out.

"Are you sure you haven't made a mistake?" Axel asked while munching his food.

"I don't know who's listening in on us so I cannot tell you the details yet, but, I won't mind if you believe in me. Everything will go well. Did you perhaps want to consult me?"

"There's no need for that. You make your move however you like." Kiyotaka said, shaking his head.

"So, you two said you needed to talk to me about something, what is it? I would like to avoid careless contact if possible."

"Judging from that tone, can I assume you have a plan?" Horikita continues as her eyes go to Kiyotaka.

"We've pulled Hirata over to our side. We can build a cooperative relationship with him in the future." Kiyataka replied, making Horikita look away with a sigh of disappointment.

"I don't really want any of that. I don't like this. I don't like you two moving around like that behind my back."

'It really shows how cautious she became from the both of us.' Axel thought as he bit into his food. He looked at Kiyotaka who remained unfazed by what Horikita said.

"Then show your face when we discuss things. Even if you can't force yourself to say something, you can keep up with the discussion so there's no problem there right?" Kiyotaka asked.

"I guess so."

"Including Hirata too, there's a person we'd like to introduce you to. Please free up some time before the end of the exam."

"I still don't like it. Don't include more people than needed."

"Please consider it a consequence of you standing on the front lines. Besides, that person will surely be useful to us." Kiyotaka said, signing after what he heard from Horikita.

"I think I can more or less understand what's going on...but fine. Let's meet here right after the exam ends then." Horikita nodded her head.

After that they look at the time on their phones. The last discussion will take place in 30 minutes.

"In this exam, I wonder how many groups will be decided by traitors." The two boys hear Horikita murmuring.

"Who knows? I was surprised the test ended so suddenly for the Cow group, but I can't imagine we'll see a repeat of that. In the end, the likeliest outcome will be that the VIPs escape, and time will run out." Axel said to ensure Horikita.

"I suppose so. I think that too." Horikita let out a small sigh. Kiyotaka notices Horikita being a little distracted by how she said her words.

"Is there something wrong, Horikita?"

"Nothing. It's just, I just sensed something wrong with the way this exam developed. But there shouldn't have been any errors. I definitely shouldn't lose." she said and looked away.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

Axel's Point of View

THE RABBIT GROUP WAS ABOUT to enter our sixth and final discussion period, still without any hope of making a breakthrough. I and Kiyo headed to the meeting area.

Since there was still about half an hour until the discussion started, I assumed no one would be there yet. However, my expectations were dashed by someone's presence.

"She must have gotten here early, huh?" Kiyotaka said. I also thought of that. I looked around the area and saw a girl sleeping on the couch.

Ichinose slept soundly on the couch. Why should the mere sight of her tickle a man's heart in such a way? Ah, this was dangerous, it was really bad. Since she was lying on her side, I could see her plump thighs more clearly than usual.

I looked at Kiyotaka who is also starring, my eyes widened and I put my hands on his eyes. This type of scene, he should see this.

"Why are you covering my eyes?" Kiyo asked me.

"Y-You should see this! You're a man." I whisper to him.

"But..you're also a man.."

"Ah yeah...ahem." I said and removed my hands from his eyes. He sighed and looked at me.

"It's fine. I don't have really interested in that." Kiyo said...wait. He somehow reassured me! I just nodded my head and looked away.

Looking back on Ichinose, something near the back of her head grabbed my attention. It was Ichinose's cell phone. She must've been using it just before she fell asleep.

Our assigned phones held quite a bit of information. Not only did they play a vital role in this test, but they also allowed you to confirm details, like how many points someone had. Of course, in order to confirm this, you needed an individual's ID and password. But in order to avoid the hassle of having to log in each and every time, some students just saved their information. In other words, if I snuck a peek at Ichinose's phone right now, it might be possible to find out all kinds of information.

"Ooh...ah..."

Eh?

"Mmm..."

Eh??

"Ooh...um..."

EH!? Why is she creating that forbidden sound..well not really forbidden! This wasn't good for me and for Kiyo. Every time I moved, Ichinose began to wake up. I'd assume she was an exceptionally light sleeper.

While I'm trying to wake her up, some cute-sounding music played throughout the room. It came from Ichinose's phone.

Ichinose, eyes still closed, grabbed her phone. She unlocked the screen and stopped the music, which apparently was her phone's alarm. Ichinose, still looking rather sleepy, started to sit up. Almost immediately, she noticed us.

I'd wondered if she would be disgusted by our presence, but she wasn't concerned in the slightest.

"Oh, good...*yawn*...to see you, Arison-kun and Ayanokouji-kun. Sorry, did my alarm startle the two of you?" she asked. The two of us immediately shook our heads.

"Oh, no. Looks like you slept well." Kiyo replied to her.

"Ha ha ha, sorry about that. I just passed out. I slept like a log. You're here early, though. Don't we have twenty minutes until the discussion?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. When did you get here?" I asked her.

"An hour ago, I think. I wanted some peace and quiet. Since my friends are going in and out of my room, it's kinda noisy." she answered. I just nodded my head. Apparently, this was the best place for a nap.

"Besides, I wanted to gather my thoughts." she said. Rather than looking refreshed by her nap, she seemed struck by sudden inspiration.

"Any results?" Kiyo but in.

"More or less." She stood up. Then, for some reason, Ichinose walked over and sat down next to us. The three of us were the only people in the room. Ichinose looked at us.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

Third Person's Point of View

"THERE'S STILL TIME LEFT before the exam so shall we have a little chat? If I'm not annoying you guys, that is."

"You're not annoying us, Ichinose-san." Kiyotaka said, Axel also nodded about that.

"Then it's decided. The truth is there's something I wanted to ask Ayanokouji-kun and Arison-kun. I've also asked this of all my classmates, including the boys like Kanzaki-kun too. But I haven't heard the opinions of the other classes too, so I got curious. Ayanokouji-kun, Arison-kun, have you ever strongly wanted to rise to Class A?" she asked the two boys.

"Of course, I do think about that. No...More than wanting to rise to Class A, it's more that I need or have to aim for Class A. That would be a more appropriate way of putting it." Kiyotaka is the first to reply.

"In other words...because of the guarantee of a good career and job placement?"

"In this day and age, after graduation you won't be able to keep up with your life and job, especially when it comes to being employed."

"I suppose that's true. I think so too. But having too much faith in the system is also dangerous, don't you think? In 99.9% of the words they say, there are invisible pitfalls that our eyes cannot see." Ichinose nodded slowly.

"But even so this school...if you think about it, has massive influence doesn't it? And many people have succeeded in life because of its assistance. Or are you saying you're not interested in it, Ichinose?" Kiyotaka added her statement and eventually asked a question.

"No such thing. Even I have a dream, to graduate from Class A. And also a dream I want to fulfill. The school system is good and all, but if you cannot graduate from Class A, your prospects are dim. Because the school operates on realism, if you cannot win using your own talents, there's nothing you can do about it. And most importantly, students are assigned to classes based on their merits so right now, between me, Arison-kun and Ayanokouji-kun here, only one of us could achieve their dreams by moving to the top. Aah, but there are also cases where neither of our dreams can be fulfilled though." she replied.

"That's true, besides I just want to have fun and do anything I want." Axel said. Ichinose smiled and also nodded. Well who doesn't want a peaceful and happy life? No one.

"Oh, Did you hear there are also exceptions to those rules that I mentioned earlier?" Ichinose begin again the conversation, making Axel snapped on his daydreaming.

"Hmm? Is that where individuals accumulate 20 million points?" Kiyotaka asked Ichinose.

"Yep. It seems no one has achieved something like that in the history of the school, but there are Ultra C's like that too." Ichinose replied.

"Yeah, yeah. If we factor that in too, it's possible that the three of us can graduate from Class A."

"The problem is whether you can save up 20 million points or not in the first place, even if you save up points in the exams, the system's already set so it won't reach 20 million." Axel said, reminding the two.

"I suppose that's right. If you start saving up your points, by only reaching half of that amount, you would already raise suspicion." Ichinose said.

"That's true. The financial situation in Class D, especially, is terrible. Even though Horikita is doing her best for us, the points earned from the uninhabited island are still far off." Kiyotaka agreed.

"No, it's even possible that we may lose those points in this exam. Ichinose, are you saving up points? It doesn't seem to me like you're the type to work hard on getting points." Axel said, making Ichinose tilt her head.

"I wonder. I don't know about the others, but I use points sometimes and save them too sometimes I guess. Even though I'm in Class B, I still don't have that many points you know. Ayanokouji-kun, Arison-kun."

"Hmm?" the two boys turn to her. Ichinose suddenly closes the distance with them and turns to face them while staring at their faces.

"Looks like you saw it after all that time." she grinned.

"Sorry. While you were using your phone earlier, we just happened to see the screen. We got curious and just wanted to ask you." Kiyotaka slowly moves his head back in the distance.

"It's not like I'm blaming you for it. Certainly that's a large amount of points, right?" Ichinose assured Kiyotaka.

"Have you been able to find a way to win?" Kiyotaka asked.

"I guess so. I think I've found a hint."

"Then this fight becomes a battle to see whether A will win or B will end." Axel said as he put his head on the table and yawned.

"I won't know that until the curtains fall. The victory I'm aiming for is—" But before Ichinose could finish, the other members of the group arrived for the last meeting.

Yukimura looked a bit suprised at the early arrival of the two boys.

"What? You're already here, Ayanokouji, Arison?"

"Together with Ichinose-dono. Just the three of you. What kind of secret rendezvous were you two planning here?" On the other hand, Sotomura gave them a stink eye. Hamaguchi looks around the room.

The two boys shook their heads.

"This is the final one, huh? Have you found any hints?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. We haven't been able to establish proper dialogue at all." Kiyotaka shrugs his shoulders. Axel didn't bother to respond as he put his head on Kiyotaka's shoulder and started dreaming. The other two boys in Class D just glared at Kiyotaka.

'Lucky bastard.'

"Good evening, let's get along!" Ichinose said with a smile.

"If everyone's ok with it. There's something I'd like to say." she continued. Both Kiyotaka and Hamaguchi look at each other as they say something at the same time.

"Excuse me, please go ahead Ayanokouji-kun." Hamaguchi offered while Kiyotaka shook his head.

"No...by all means, you first. I'm fine speaking later."

Hamaguchi then coughed on his fist and started "Then, with your permission. For the past three days, I've been constantly thinking on how best to achieve the first outcome. And finally I came up with only one conclusion: that it's possible for the entire group to aim for the first outcome and a way to make it possible."

"Is that really true, Hamaguchi?" Yukimura asked.

"Of course. It's an idea I came up with after listening to everyone here, including Ichinose-san and Machida-kun."

"There's no way the first outcome can be achieved through dialogue alone." Machida repiled.

"Let's hear him out first. Hamaguchi-kun isn't the type to speak before thinking." Ichinose said softly. Hamaguchi nod before he begin.

"I will now proceed to show you all, my phone. Naturally, there is an email sent to me by the school. I'm sure you understand what I'm getting at. Since it is prohibited to falsify or alter the mails from the school in any way, there's no risk of being deceived this way. That's why it's a simple matter, just by showing each other our mails, we can find who the "target" is, and that is my way of finding the truth."

"This is stupid. Who would show their mail like this? We still don't know that someone won't betray us the moment we show our mails, there's no one who would go along with this." Machida scoffed.

"Indeed, because they know there is the possibility of betrayal, the "target" will not show the mail on their phone. But looking at it from the perspective of those who are not the "target", there is little risk in showing the mail. The exam will soon be over, if we don't make our move now, we will not win. If a class were to collaborate to protect the "target", none of them would show their mails. Through this, cornering the "target" is possible."

"Even if you know the identity of the "target" or the class they belong to, if somebody betrays us it's over. The problem won't be resolved. Are you planning to play a game where the quicker one to betray wins?" Machida argued back. With that Hamaguchi felt his eyebrow twitch.

"Then please shut up. It'll be fine if Machida-kun doesn't participate after all." Hamaguchi proceeded to show them the mail on his phone. One Class B student agreed.

"I agree with Hamaguchi-kun's idea. I'll show mine too." Ichinose smiled.

"I think this is unexpectedly a good idea. I have no objections to showing my phone too." Matching the actions of the others, Ichinose also reaches to take her phone out.

"I've been pondering this for a long time now but I finally understand now after hearing what Hamaguchi-kun said. Sorry I've kept this hidden until now but..."

"You're serious aren't you, Ichinose? If you're going to bet on that, then I'll take you up on that offer." While some are concerned about it, others start to follow suit and show their mail, including Kiyotaka. However, he has switched his phone before that with someone else.

"Ayanokouji-kun, are you fine with that? " Ichinose asked.

"Yeah. After listening to Hamaguchi, I think there's no other way than this. Since I'm bad at communicating, the only thing I can do is show you the truth, so that's what I'll do." Kiyotaka said, he patted Axel's shoulder making Axel fix his seat and grabbed his phone in his pocket.

"Well, then me too." Axel then also places his phone on the table.

"Wait Ayanokouji, A-Arison. I object. There's no way this kind of blunt strategy is going to go well." Yukimura tried to stop them, but they simply showed their mails.

"Then I'll show mine too." Ibuki said as she grabbed her phone. Manabe turns to Ibuki.

"Are you insane? There's no profit for us in doing this."

"The ones who are not the "target" themselves, nor belong to the same class as the "target", gain no advantage in keeping the status quo. Class B understands that too. If we do nothing, we will never catch up to the classes above us. That's why they are showing their phones. And I'm thinking the same thing as them. That's all."

"But that's..."

"Or perhaps, are you the "target" then?"

"N-no t-that's.." Manabe flinched while looking at her phone.

"Then you should be able to show it too, your phone that is."

Manabe and the others then also brought out their phones. Karuizawa also takes out her phone and hands it over in front of everyone.

"Karuizawa, you're also going with Ayanokouji and Arison? Are you going to follow this strategy too?" Yukimura asked Karuizawa.

"I'm just doing this for myself, because I want private points too." Karuizawa was considered clear too. Sotomura scratches the back of his neck.

"Ehhh. What should I do?"

"Think for yourself, Sotomura. This isn't a compulsory check but a voluntary one, you know." Axel said with a smile, making Sotomura immediately agree.

"Okay.." Sotomura also moves to show his phone. However, Yukimura quickly stopped him.

"Do you really think showing it is the right move?"

"Since a while ago, why are you butting in? Perhaps you're the "target" then?" Ibuki asked.

"No. Yukimura isn't the "target"." Kiyotaka replied directly after Ibuki said that.

"Do you really expect us to believe just your words? You might be lying." Manabe said and glared at the boys.

"It's still too soon to draw a conclusion. Because Yukimura-kun also has a point. I got caught up in the flow for a bit, but I'd also like to show my phone." Ichinose said.

"Wait, Ichinose. Earlier, you said there's something you wanted to tell us. You said you've been keeping quiet about it the whole time?"

"That? It's just the fact that I also always had the same idea too, that's all." She replies to Machida.

"The same idea?"

"I say the same idea, but as the leader of Class B, I was just regretting having been beaten to the punch by Hamaguchi-kun." she said, making Yukimura sighed.

"Fine, I understand. I'll show you. I just have to show you right? " Yukimura took out his phone as well.

"But before I do so, I want you to promise me just one thing." Yukimura stopped and looked at Ichinose. She tilted her head in confusion.

"Promise? What do you mean by that, Yukimura-kun?"

"That nobody here is a traitor. Especially Class A, I want you to take out your phones and place them where I can see them. No, everyone does too. Everyone put their phones where I can see them."

"I don't understand what you're getting at. What do you mean?" Machida raises his brow.

"Exactly what I said." Yukimura said.

"Fine. If it's just placing them there."

The rest of the class A students accept and put the phones in front of him. Yukimura pulls his phone out of his pocket, and then he opens the mail sent to him from the school.

"I'm sorry for lying to you, Ayanokouji, Arison... " Yukimura opens up the mail sent from the school.

"I am the target(VIP)..."

On the screen was a letter different from what everyone else had received.

Sotomura gasped.

"W-what Y-Yukimura-dono was the VIP all along?" However, Yukimura is the person who Ayanokoji exchanged phones with in secret.

"If I knew things would end up like this, I would have talked from the start." Yukimura continued as he played the role. Karuizawa also seemed shocked and her expression showed unease. Machida then stood up and peered at the mail on Yukimura's phone once more.

He then confirmed. "It seems the mail is real. All the other personal mails also seem to be Yukimura's without a doubt."

"There's no way it would be a fake. After all, you know the rules the school put in place. In regards to the mails sent by the school concerning the exam, copying the mail and transferring it are explicitly forbidden. As long as the mail is sent from the school's address, the possibility of it being fake is zero." Ichinose said and nodded her head.

"That means it's definitely Yukimura-kun then." Ichinose gave an apologetic smile to Yukimura.

"I'm sorry Yukimura-kun. I thought of this as a last resort."

"No. I think this is the right thing to do. I tried to somehow lie my way out of this. But that was wrong. I'm sure Ayanokouji, Arison and Sotomura, and also Karuizawa would feel this is the right thing to do. Everyone should know the VIP is me. So you should've all arrived at an answer." Yukimura said and shakes his head.

"Please. Let's not waste Yukimura-kun's courage. Please cooperate with us."

"We were just following Katsuragi-san's instructions from the start. We won't do anything on our own." Machida said.

"I want to believe. I believe in everyone." Yukimura said while looking down. However, Yukimura's phone suddenly rings. The caller is Ichinose. She looked at Yukimura, and then Kiyotaka and Axel with serious eyes.

"What are you doing, Ichinose? There's no point in calling Yukimura's phone at a time like this." Machida looked at Ichinose confused.

"The school said that 'altering or copying the mail' is forbidden. That's why we believed the mail in front of our eyes was undoubtedly real. That much is certain. But there's no rule saying you cannot deceive someone with the phone itself. Do you understand what that means?"

"The person who owns the phone with the VIP mail written on it, it's you isn't it, Ayanokouji-kun? Because just now, I didn't call Yukimura-kun's phone, but Ayanokouji-kun's after all." Ichinose says while picking up the fallen phone and giving it back not to Yukimura, but to Kiyotaka.

"B-but isn't it strange? Yukimura was able to unlock the phone's password in front of our eyes. I also checked his private mails and history in front of everyone's eyes." Machida asked.

"That's fake. He could easily know the password just by asking Ayanokouji-kun or Arison-kun beforehand. Also, all call history, mail and even applications can be replicated even though quite a bit of effort must have been needed for that." she said. Machida then quickly grabbed the phone that had been returned to Kiyotaka.

"People can't lie so easily, you know. Especially when the goal is in sight, they will inevitably become anxious and openings will reveal themselves. Yukimura-kun lied, and that's why his gestures and attitude appeared different from usual and appeared suspicious." Having heard Ichinose's deduction, Yukimura's face had already turned pale.