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Volume 4, Chapter 2: A Vast Array of Thoughts Part 4

Since it is a fact that only Class A is guaranteed \'any choice of further education or employment\' after graduation, it is certainly difficult for other classes to cooperate with them. Class B and Class D hold hands to defeat Class C and Class A. That also means, in reverse, Class C and Class A can form an alliance to defeat Class B and Class D. Keeping that in mind, when all these classes are forced into one group, what would happen? It\'s almost like trapping carnivores and herbivores in one cage. There is no feasible way to organize such a group.

However, by pure chance, it is possible for unity between even classes like that to occur. As long as its people with strong personalities like Hirata or Ichinose who take the lead. But even that is still a difficult task.

Class A did not participate in the second discussion period. But since Class A was deliberately keeping quiet, it was also impossible for the other classes to have an earnest discussion and time slowly passed in silence. I started to observe how the students from each class would react. It\'s not like everyone there had bad intentions, but most students were keeping to themselves in an attempt to stay on the safe side. "So for now, since it\'s the second gathering for us like this, I think we should get down to business as soon as possible since the number of times we gather like this is limited" Ichinose once again took the initiative. As expected of the peaceful Class B. Hamaguchi and the other Class B student were exactly the same too. Always attempting to start a joint alliance without hesitation.

It\'s almost like looking at Hirata. However, unlike Hirata, Ichinose and her group would definitely emphasize the victory of Class B in this exam. And since the other students were still on their guard, a heavy air fell upon us. Everyone was becoming increasingly suspicious, increasingly wary. However, the three students of Class A were freed from all worries since they were casually tapping away at their phones. There was no rule saying you couldn\'t contact the other groups after all.

Rich is rich and poor is poor, there\'s nothing else to it. Class A can afford to be lax since they were overwhelming dominating the competition after all.

I imagined their loss during the island test would cause a change in their behaviour but it seems Katsuragi is attempting to portray a \'calm\' image of his class to the other classes. And thinking about it carefully, it is indeed a very effective strategy.

And especially for a man who works alone like me, I cannot break through the wall that Class A had erected. "I don\'t particularly think we need a breakthrough now, but I do agree with the need for discussion. Class A may be trying to break away from all this, but I believe in the necessity of finding the "target" myself". Yukimura said that as if in agreement with Ichinose.

Indeed, if the "target" is in the other classes, this is an opportunity that cannot be wasted. Or perhaps this attitude is an attempt to camouflage the fact that Yukimura is the one who\'s the "target". "But can you really find them just by talking? I don\'t think so. The "target"\'s hard to find, or rather the exam itself is hard" Karuizawa speaks up. "I understand your worries, Karuizawa-san. But isn\'t this just a matter of perspective? Both the island test and this current exam, it\'s meant to come as a \'surprise\' to the students wouldn\'t you agree?".

"Surprise?" Karuizawa asks. "If it\'s sunrise then you can leave it to me. That\'s my specialty. Mo-e-a-g-a-r-e!!!" Sotomura suddenly shouts. It seems he\'s made a misunderstanding. It\'s not sunrise, they said surprise. "Living on a ship like this is fun isn\'t it? You can talk or play with your phone however you like, even if you\'re forced to attend discussion for two hours a day. You\'re still free to do as you wish". "Well...yeah it is fun".

"Exactly right? That\'s why we need to talk more comfortably, like a group of friends. You\'ll just suffer if you hole yourself up in a shell like Machida-kun there" Ichinose tries to convince Karuizawa.

Certainly if you consider it not as an \'exam\' but as a \'vacation\' it becomes easier to discuss amongst your group. It\'s just a matter of perspective like Ichinose said, but the more positive thinking you are, it\'ll be easier to clear the exam. But after hearing what Ichinose had to say, Machida just began to laugh. "You guys are free to do whatever you want, but you\'re very unlikely to find the "target" this way. I don\'t know where the "target" is but if they are not already cooperating with their classmates, they will surely make the decision to keep themselves hidden to gain points that way. And perhaps the "target" is actually within Class B. That is possible too. Can you really trust them?" Machida asks. He spoke those words as if intending to shake the hearts of the students gathered there.

"The same could be said for you too, Machida-kun" Ichinose tells him. "...of course". For a moment, Machida broke eye contact with Ichinose. To be more precise, his eyes wandered to a student named "Morishige" sitting beside him. But then he quickly returned eye contact and once again radiated the \'calm\' image of Class A to the group.

"We\'re not particularly hung up on who the "target" is, we get 100,000 points allocated to us monthly, there\'s no one in our class who\'d be interested in the 500,000 point reward for this exam" Machida finally tells Ichinose. "Really? So you\'re telling me you don\'t want even 1 extra point? It\'s not like the school imposes a limit on the amount of points you can have" she replies. "That\'s stupid. You can be delusional all you want, but don\'t accuse us unnecessarily like that" Machida retorts to her. Ichinose, who just kept smiling at Machida throughout the argument, gave off the impression to me of being a tough opponent.

Even though Machida claimed he would not participate in the discussions, he had still been baited by Ichinose into answering. And as long as he talks, information will inevitably leak out of him. By using Karuizawa and Yukimura to provoke Machida, Ichinose had been steadily collecting information from Class A the entire time. I wonder whether Machida has noticed it yet.

Meanwhile, Karuizawa just kept sighing and fiddling with her phone. There are no rules stating one cannot use their phone during the exam\'s discussion period but it is bad manners for her to do that while the consensus was to find the "target". Or is Karuizawa actually part of the CIA or FBI and is relaying information to Hirata via phone? If she is, I\'d respect her a lot...but I doubt it. Of course Karuizawa never puts much effort into anything so this behaviour should be normal, but ever since the exam started, I\'ve noticed something is off with Karuizawa. Karuizawa acting differently, and the reunion with Ibuki and her argument with Manabe\'s group.

And I realized something. None of her actions then were the \'usual\' Karuizawa. In Class D, whether her reputation is good or not, there is no denying that she, along with Hirata, brought the class together as one. She normally would bring us together as one to clear this exam, whether we had the capacity for it or not, but she never showed any sign of it. Hirata is Hirata no matter where he is, and Kushida is also always Kushida. But Karuizawa has definitely changed. Or perhaps she\'s feeling inferior to Manabe and her group, who rank above her in terms of the school\'s caste system. What we need right now for Class D to rise through the ranks is not just gathering more points. Compared to classes like A and B, Class D is still severely lacking in cohesiveness.

Karuizawa Kei, who will be indispensable for that cohesiveness, is an existence who controls the girls of Class D. That\'s my current assessment. That\'s why I\'m worried about her right now. I need to determine whether she will be a useful existence or a useless existence to me. I cannot afford to take my time in this case considering that the exam period itself is short. Depending on the circumstances, I might need to use force with her. Immediately once 1 hour had passed, Class A leaves the room. It seems they intend to keep their stance of keeping their silence to the end. Ichinose sighs and says "Well.....I suppose this is going to be a tough exam. How about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Is this tough on you?" she asks me. The one who called out to me like that, surprisingly, was the student named Ichinose Honami. The girl who rules Class B.

She\'s always calm, smart and collected. She seems to have noticed I have not yet given any opinions in particular about the exam and called out to me. If I happened to be in the same class as her, I would have fallen in love with her. She is just that charming. Not just Class B, boys from other classes must have definitely fallen for her as well. In popularity rankings, Ichinose and Kushida would be direct rivals.

"Honestly, I\'m the type to sit back and relax in an exam like this" I tell her. "It\'s still too early to give up, let\'s work together to point this in a positive direction!" Ichinose encourages me. It seems Ichinose is determined to fight hard now. "Even if we continue the dialogues, I doubt the "target" will simply give their identity up like that. The merits of hiding their identity outweighs the demerits of revealing it after all. If something goes wrong, Class A\'s worst case scenario prediction would come true" Ichinose says. Despite saying a negative remark like that, Ichinose\'s eyes did not lose their confidence. Amongst the various thoughts I had about her, I could not figure out how she was able to maintain this attitude through adversity.

"Either way, it\'s the end for today\'s discussion. Good work, both of you". "No such thing. We didn\'t do anything much". Ichinose switches over to her classmates instantly after that. I have observed her for today, but I was unable to ascertain what Ichinose\'s real aims are yet. But at least our group is still producing results this way. She might be concocting a strategy she cannot let anyone else know about for all I know. When Manabe of Class C and her friends stood up to leave the room, I chased after them. Once they reached the elevator, I casually called out to Manabe.

"Do you have some time?" I ask her. Once she noticed me, she quickly went back on her guard since she most likely was not expecting me to call out to her. "I overheard your argument with Karuizawa. Something about pushing over someone in a cafe or something." I tell her. "And what\'s wrong with that?" she retorts. Normally they would not show any interest in me, but when I brought that topic up, all three girls focused their attention to me. "I\'m not 100% sure, but I think I saw Karuizawa push over your friend at the cafe" I told them.

"R-really?" Manabe asked me stiffly. I nod. "Yeah. I didn\'t like how she acted back then, so I thought I\'d give you a heads up" I admit to them. I ignited the fires of argument between Karuizawa and the Class C girls deliberately. Truthfully, I didn\'t see Karuizawa do anything like that, but I lied to create this situation. Now, Manabe and the others are sure to take action against Karuizawa. I\'m very excited to see how Karuizawa will respond to that, and how she will change...