Chapter 23: The Intuitive Merchant
The room felt smaller than it actually was.
Not because of the walls.
Because of the people inside it.
Ichika. Shinko. Kenji. Ryōichi. Satoshi. Fourteen upperclassmen I didn't know.
Twenty people trapped together for five hours.
Five hours with nothing to do except think.
That alone was dangerous.
Ichika folded his arms with that irritating smile of his.
"You know... it doesn't have to be this way. All you have to do is give up. Simple."
Shinko was lying on the floor with his hands behind his head as if this were some vacation instead of a special exam.
"As if I'd ever do something so pathetic."
"There are more Class A students than anyone else in this room," Ichika continued. "You can't beat us. It's impossible."
Ryōichi barely looked up.
"Do as you please, Ichika. I have nothing to do with your little games."
I ignored the conversation and walked toward the wired telephone.
If the school gave us phones...
...then they wanted us to use them.
Everything here existed for a reason.
I dialed Room 43.
After several rings, someone answered.
"...Hello?"
Hina.
Not the voice I wanted.
"Is Nozomi there by any chance?"
There was a brief pause.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Wrong room."
The line went dead.
I stared at the receiver.
No.
That wasn't a wrong room.
She lied.
The problem was...
I had no idea why.
Only two calls remained.
I sighed and dialed another room.
Room 17.
Someone answered almost immediately.
"Yes?"
It was Ryohei.
"Ryohei? It's Shuto."
"I need your help. We can't solve our riddle."
A short silence.
"Why should I help you?" he asked calmly. "I barely know you."
"The school wouldn't let us contact other rooms unless cooperation benefited somebody."
"If you help me, I'll help you."
"It benefits both of us."
"It could also be a trap."
His voice never changed.
"How do I know you're not manipulating us?"
I clenched the receiver.
"...Just trust me."
"Even a little."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not my concern."
Click.
The line went dead.
"...Great."
I leaned against the wall.
"I'm screwed."
Two calls wasted.
The temperature suddenly dropped.
I rubbed my arms.
The air conditioning wasn't malfunctioning.
It was intentional.
"They're lowering the temperature..."
"They want us uncomfortable."
"They want us exhausted."
"They want us thinking worse."
Satoshi suddenly stood.
"I have an idea."
Everyone looked at him.
"I have a die with only three numbers."
"If it lands on one..."
"We endure the five hours."
"If it lands on two..."
"We solve the puzzle together."
"If it lands on three..."
"One person solves it alone."
He tossed the die into the air.
I watched it spin.
Not the result.
The movement.
Something...
...felt off.
It landed.
One.
"I guess we're enduring the five hours."
I smiled.
"So..."
"That's how you do it."
Everyone looked at me.
Satoshi frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
I shoved my hands into my pockets.
"Before this exam, I spoke with your classmate."
"Nozomi."
"I paid her one thousand private points."
"She told me something interesting."
"In Games One and Two..."
"You used lotteries."
"You rolled dice."
"You pretended everything was random."
"But somehow..."
"The student you disliked always lost."
Satoshi's shoulders stiffened.
"...Coincidence."
"Maybe once."
"But twice?"
I shook my head.
"Out of dozens of students..."
"The exact person you disliked?"
"No."
"I don't buy coincidences that convenient."
His fingers tightened.
"I think I know your goal."
"You don't want anyone solving the puzzle."
"...Why?"
His silence answered for him.
"...Because you don't want other classes gaining class points."
Bingo.
His expression gave it away.
Ichika suddenly laughed.
"Excellent deductions."
"But you missed something."
He pointed toward Satoshi.
"The phone."
I blinked.
"The what?"
"Before entering the facility, we surrendered every belonging."
"I watched Nozomi hide a small phone inside her shoe."
"When they gave us the white shoes..."
"She switched one with Satoshi."
"They've probably been communicating this entire time."
Kenji nodded.
"That's also why their shoes don't match."
"One's larger than the other."
I frowned.
It fit...
...but something bothered me.
"Close."
A lazy voice interrupted everyone.
Shinko.
He hadn't moved from the wall.
"You're all only half right."
Everyone turned toward him.
He looked directly at me.
"You noticed it too, didn't you?"
I nodded slowly.
"When they accused Satoshi of contacting Nozomi..."
"He relaxed."
Shinko grinned.
"Exactly."
"That tiny expression."
"It means they were close..."
"...but wrong."
I stared at Satoshi again.
Shinko continued.
"There's no way two Class D students smuggled phones through security."
"Too risky."
"I only saw one student carrying one."
The room became completely silent.
"And that student..."
"I know for a fact..."
"...is the Phantom Bishop."
My heartbeat skipped.
"You know who they are?"
I stepped forward.
"Tell us!"
"Nah."
He waved dismissively.
"That ruins the surprise."
Kenji crossed his arms.
"Maybe Satoshi knows too."
"As if."
Shinko laughed.
"The Phantom Bishop wouldn't trust someone like him."
"I'll give you one clue."
"They aren't from Class D."
"They also aren't one of Class A's student government members."
I quickly organized the possibilities.
"So..."
"That leaves most of Class A..."
"Class B..."
"...and Class C."
Shinko walked over until he stood directly in front of Satoshi.
"You've got tricks."
"I'll give you that."
"But you got trapped in a room..."
"...with one of the worst people possible to fool."
He smiled.
A smile that wasn't friendly.
"We're not solving anything."
"Not yet."
"We endure."
"And while we wait..."
"We'll keep playing with the Phantom Bishop."
Ichika nodded.
"Very well."
I folded my arms.
Waiting wasn't my style.
But rushing without enough information...
...was even worse.
Five hours.
Twenty students.
One sealed room.
And somewhere inside this school...
The Phantom Bishop was still making moves.
I hated not knowing.
Maybe that was exactly what they wanted.