Everyone has reasons to fight.
In this type of exam, the final scores will be extremely close — likely within 50 points of each other.
"Is that so?" Manabu said, "About the special treatment exam I mentioned — Nagumo, you might not have grasped its implications. This exam actually has an optimal solution. I couldn't solve it back then because I hadn't met you yet. But now, I believe Oreki can solve it. Nagumo, you probably still don't understand, since he likely copied your strategy."
Hm? Miyabi couldn't comprehend this statement.
What did he mean by Houtarou copying him?
And so, the intense exam continued aboard the luxury cruise ship.
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At 3 PM.
Ship's Restaurant, Private Room #3.
Eight students had assembled: Houtarou, Kōhei, Honami, Ryūji, Kakeru, Kikyō, Suzune, and Yōsuke.
This would have been the Dragon Group's roster if Tomonari hadn't altered the list at the beginning.
However...
"I overslept a bit." Houtarou said.
He arrived at the private room shortly after 3 PM.
He'd only intended to take a quick nap, but having slept poorly the night before, he'd dozed off longer than planned.
Everyone else was already present.
"Well then..."
As he entered the private room, all eyes turned to him.
"Ryūen, still haven't retrieved your phone?" He addressed Kakeru first, who sat at the room's edge with his hands in his pockets.
"You know my phone situation better than anyone, don't you?" Kakeru laughed, then shot him a glare.
He had apparently discovered at the counter that a replacement phone would cost 500,000 points — putting him in debt.
"Then you must understand what needs to be done." Houtarou said.
"Hmph!" Kakeru snorted and closed his eyes.
While the others remained confused about this exchange, Suzune seemed to understand.
"Oreki-kun, regarding what you mentioned about knowing our class's VIP student information..." Honami ventured.
In this exam, both Kakeru and she were under significant pressure. Their class had 970 Points, but Class D had caught up, and catching up to Class A seemed impossible.
Something had to be done.
"Regarding this point — Horikita-san, are you ready?" Instead of answering her, Houtarou turned to Suzune.
Among the four classes' representatives, only Class D had three people present.
This didn't mean Class D was the strongest. Rather, Class D was divided, requiring multiple people to confirm decisions.
Everyone noticed that Rokusuke from Class D, who had performed impressively in the island exam, was absent.
Could this mean he wasn't actually Class D's representative?
Suzune, who had arrived first at the private room, opened her folder and pulled out about ten documents — no, they looked like contracts.
Kikyō recognized this scene. It reminded her exactly of when they had tricked people into signing contracts for the bubble tea store.
However, she clearly couldn't participate in splitting the money now; she could only pretend to know nothing.
After all, she had betrayed Class D last night and been caught by Houtarou — enough to destroy her reputation.
Suzune distributed the agreements.
"I'm a member of the Rabbit Group. During our first discussion, Ichinose-san suggested everyone choose the first outcome, where every student openly receives money from the school. I think this is an excellent plan, so I suggest extending it to all groups." Houtarou said.
Honami was surprised to hear him mention her initial proposal, but she didn't think this was positive.
With so many class representatives summoned, she sensed something significant was coming.
Yōsuke and Kikyō, who had been suddenly called over, already understood.
Was he suggesting all students choose the same outcome?
Everyone would submit their privileged student information to the school between 9:30 and 10:00 tomorrow night. Each group member would receive 500,000 points, with the VIP getting a 1 million point reward.
This arrangement meant shared prosperity without affecting Class Points.
However, this wasn't what Class B wanted.
By guessing another class's VIP information first, they could close the 100-point Class Point gap. They couldn't let that opportunity slip away.
Yet now everyone held the agreement, containing just two simple lines:
{ I agree to represent all students of Classes A, B, C, and D, and unconditionally transfer half of the reward points received from the school in the privileged student exam to Houtarou Oreki.
Sign and seal. }
These two lines carried enormous weight.
"Talking about choosing outcome 1, but really dividing up all the students!" Class B representative Ryūji protested.
He had barely accepted the island exam, but now in the VIP exam, he'd been assigned to the Dragon group, tormented by Kakeru repeatedly, and told to surrender half of everyone's points.
His composure was crumbling.
"That's correct." Houtarou replied without emotion, "I've already obtained the Monkey group's VIP information through cooperation with Kōenji."
Ah, Rokusuke.
Though absent now, his performance in the island exam had left quite an impression. He had nearly captured all the bases single-handedly.
This showed he had already seized the advantage.
In other words, this VIP exam had a pattern — and Rokusuke was involved again?
Both Honami and Ryūji clearly knew he was in the Monkey Group, and this group had suddenly ended their exam yesterday evening. At the time, they couldn't understand Rokusuke's reasoning.
Was this what had happened?
His impressive solo score of 600 Base Points had put significant pressure on Class B.
Honami and Ryūji exchanged glances, their expressions turning serious.
Suzune: "..."
Kakeru: "..."
However, two people present had different thoughts.
Suzune knew the Monkey Group had ended the exam because Houtarou had already figured out the VIP pattern — their action was merely verification.
And Kakeru knew Houtarou had cleverly tricked Class D from the start, obtaining all their VIP information.
According to Hiyori's explanation, one needed at least five VIPs' information to deduce the rules.
Even with Rokusuke's single VIP information, they couldn't have derived the pattern. Houtarou was letting Rokusuke take the blame.
But Kakeru would let Houtarou say what he wanted. He knew his own struggle was finished — he had found no advantages and still carried a 500,000-point debt.
Lost in thought, he noticed Houtarou's gaze. At first, it seemed directed at him, but no — not quite.
Kakeru glanced at the agreement before him.
Wait. There appeared to be something written on the back. Could it be...
He flipped the agreement over.
{ I will get Ichinose and the others to drop their plan to report to the Student Council about you hitting Ibuki and the others when we return to school }
The handwriting matched the "You've been fooled, Ryūen" message he'd found in the safe last night. This was definitely Houtarou's writing.
Kakeru: "..."
Damn it. He knew this guy was devious and exceptionally good at predicting his moves. And this offer wasn't something he could refuse.
This exam meant both lost points and benefits, and upon returning to school, Honami's report would cost him 100 points.
Moreover, it would restrict all violent actions — the Student Council would watch him closely. That would be pure torture.
If he could keep those 100 Points, he would still have room to maneuver.
Houtarou continued, "Finally, through calculations by my classmate Sakayanagi, we obtained all classes' VIP information."
"Sakayanagi, huh—"
Kōhei, one of Class A's representatives sitting to the side, frowned slightly.
Arisu was absent due to physical discomfort. So she had been helping behind the scenes?
"Then..." Kakeru had already made his decision, "Since this is your approach, Class C will sign."
"Kakeru, have you lost your mind?!" Ryūji couldn't understand why he surrendered so quickly.
This meant essentially forfeiting the exam and letting half their points be taken away.
Wasn't Class A the only winner here?
"I'm just looking out for my class." Kakeru said, "I admit defeat this time. But I won't leave empty-handed. Though it's frustrating, I still have that 500,000-point debt to repay, and since the Monkey Group's VIP is in my class, we've already lost 50 points even if it hasn't been announced yet.
However, we might still turn this around. Class D's phones were confiscated, so getting their VIP information is impossible. And Class A has allied with Oreki, so they won't betray him.
So, Kanzaki-san, want to work together? This might be our only chance."
"Absolutely not." Ryūji refused immediately.
Of course — even the ever-gracious Honami wouldn't accept Kakeru as an ally again.
After all, who signs a Base Points exchange agreement only to send in spies?
If Class B shared their VIP information with him now, he might just betray them again. They couldn't risk losing.
"Then there's no chance of victory." Kakeru said, "So let's discuss what we can gain and lose. I'll sign and guarantee all Class C students follow outcome 1. But I have one condition — Ichinose, you took photos of Ibuki and the others being hit, right? I want you to drop the Student Council report. If this doesn't happen, I won't sign."
"Why?!" Ryūji stared at him.
They had already consulted with their teacher Chie about reporting this to the Student Council, which would guarantee Kakeru's Class C would lose 100 Class Points.
This also served as leverage by threatening to expose their class VIP.
"Class A students agree." Kōhei picked up the pen and signed without hesitation.
"..." Hmm.
Since Kōhei represented Class A and outcome 1 wouldn't affect Class Points, their position remained secure. With everyone getting points, they had no reason to object.
"I agree for Class D." Suzune said, "We originally planned to choose outcome 2 and simply pass the exam, but additional points make this worth accepting."
"Getting some points..." Yōsuke, Class D's resident nice guy who was brought in to make up numbers, considered carefully.
Class D currently had 730 Class Points, and based on what they knew about Rokusuke ending the Monkey Group exam early, that meant another 50 points.
Even if they had to share with Rokusuke or Suzune like in previous exams, everyone would still have at least 40,000 points guaranteed monthly for living expenses.
Under outcome 1, everyone would receive 500,000 points. Even after Houtarou took half, they'd still have 250,000 — enough to live comfortably at 50,000 points per month.
This 250,000 would provide five months of security.
These guaranteed living expenses would benefit everyone and help maintain class stability.
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