Chapter 247 Collaboration with Class B falls through / The eliminated group / Choose one of three dates
Finding that one unknown VIP among forty people is far less statistically likely than finding them within a single group.
Shimizu Akira didn't consider himself to have some magical "True Sight" capable of identifying a liar at a glance. However, if it were the "Special Ops" Ayanokouji, there might be a slim possibility.
But before the discussion in the group chat could escalate further, Hirata Yosuke immediately stepped in to stop it, pulling the topic back. He clearly didn't want the students to turn on each other due to suspicion. This was perhaps an implicit evaluation by the school regarding class unity. If they couldn't even identify their own three VIPs and instead spent their time suspecting one another, there was no point in even trying to guess the VIPs of other classes.
As things stood, Class D had clearly failed this test, while Class B and Class C were doing well. Class A was simply still in a state of civil war.
"I've thought of a breakthrough," Ayanokouji said, looking up after a few seconds of thought. "Collaborating with Class B."
"That's a good idea." Akira understood his intent almost instantly.
If Class D and Class B shared the VIP information they held, they would have five VIP identities. This would provide a sufficient sample size to deduce the pattern set by the school.
"But there are two problems to solve," Ayanokouji's tone shifted. "The first is information asymmetry. We currently only know two VIP identities, while Class B can provide three. Cooperation requires fairness; they have no reason to trade three pieces of information for our two."
He paused before mentioning the second concern: "Yesterday, I went to Yukimura's dorm, and Hirata told us about the Dragon Group meeting. Ryuen Kakeru seems to already know that Class D has two VIPs, and it didn't sound like he was guessing. I'm worried Class B will be wary because of this and refuse to cooperate."
Akira raised an eyebrow. No wonder Ayanokouji was back late last night; he had been digging for intel with Yukimura and Hirata.
Ryuen's move was indeed clever—leaking the fact that Class D know only two VIPs, whether intentionally or not, would disrupt any potential collaboration between D and B by planting seeds of doubt.
"You're worried Class B will suspect we have a mole reporting to Ryuen?" Akira followed his logic.
"Cooperation requires transparency. Once we tell Class B we have two VIPs, they'll inevitably link it to Ryuen's words and suspect Class D has internal issues."
Even the win-win advocate Ichinose couldn't ignore her class's interests. If they collaborated with a class that might harbor a mole and their VIP info leaked to Ryuen, the exam would be over for them. Unlike the leaders in the island exam, VIP identities are fixed and cannot be changed. Since reports can be sent to the school 24/7, a group's exam can end at any time.
"It's about avoiding the 'what if.' Class B doesn't need to take that risk," Ayanokouji nodded.
"However, Hirata, Horikita, and Kushida have already agreed to approach Ichinose after the third meeting to propose the collaboration," Ayanokouji added.
Low probability is one thing; willingness to try is another. Perhaps Class B would value their previous cooperation and agree despite the risks. If it worked, the exam would become much easier.
"This wasn't mentioned in the class group, right?" Akira confirmed.
"No, it was Hirata's last-minute idea last night. Only five of us know: me, Yukimura, Hirata, Horikita, and Kushida," Ayanokouji replied.
Akira checked his phone and saw messages from Horikita and Kushida confirming exactly what Ayanokouji said. If the deal went through, Ayanokouji's intellect could easily crack the pattern.
However, Akira felt things wouldn't go that smoothly. Class D still had three unresolved variables:
Kushida Kikyo's movements (though Akira decided to let her do as she pleased). The unknown third VIP who hadn't come forward. Koenji Rokusuke.
He wondered if Ayanokouji had noticed these risks. But Akira decided not to overthink it—he would leave everything to Ayanokouji!
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After breakfast, Akira went to the ship's supermarket. While public facilities were free, swimsuits and gear required rental fees, and supermarket goods required private points.
While queuing, he noticed a group from Class C—Ishizaki Daichi, Komiya Kyogo, and others—buying decks of cards. It seemed Class C planned to spend their meetings playing cards. Akira recalled Ryuen's claim that he was stopping cooperation to prevent Akira from deducing the VIPs. Akira didn't believe it for a second; Ryuen just wanted to hog the info and used Akira as an excuse.
As he left the supermarket, his Daily Intelligence updated:
At 1:45 PM, Koenji Rokusuke of Class 1-D had 50,000 personal points deducted by the school. Kushida Kikyo of Class 1-D has a vague suspicion of who the third VIP is. Sakayanagi Arisu of Class 1-A intentionally assigned her classmate Kamuro Masumi to the Rabbit Group.
'50,000 points deducted? Koenji?'
Akira didn't understand. Was it a foul?
Regarding the second piece: Kushida's guess was too vague to be actionable.
The third piece was significant. If Sakayanagi intentionally placed Kamuro, she must have known the exam contents in advance.
She was definitely up to something.
Akira suspected Kamuro's articulate arguments yesterday were scripted by Sakayanagi. He wouldn't say this to Kamuro's face, though—he'd likely get a sharp retort.
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The atmosphere of the third meeting was identical to the second. The three from Class A were glued to their phones. On the Class C side, Manabe and Yabu were also on their phones, while Shiina Hiyori quietly read a mystery novel. Ibuki Mio, bored out of her mind, occasionally chatted with her.
Ichinose Honami, not bothered by the cold atmosphere, pulled out a deck of cards. "Would everyone like to play? It's boring just sitting here."
Class A remained silent. Hiyori was the first to react, closing her book.
"Sure, Ichinose-san. What do you want to play?"
"Shiina! Ryuen forbade us from talking to others!" Manabe warned.
"Ryuen-kun only forbade us from advancing the VIP exam. Playing cards shouldn't count," Hiyori said calmly.
Ibuki was curious.
"Hiyori, why do you want to play? This isn't like you."
"Remember when Ryuen-kun asked me to find the person 'renting cameras'?" Hiyori explained.
"Ichinose-san helped me several times then. Playing cards is the least I can do."
"Oh, right," Ibuki said, energized. "I'm in too! I'm bored!"
"Shimizu-kun, would you like to play?" Ichinose invited him with a smile.
"Sure," Akira agreed. Better than wasting an hour.
Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, and Matsushita Chiaki joined in as soon as they saw Akira agree. The group of nine played Old Maid. Because there were so many players, they used two decks.
After several rounds, Akira and Hiyori won most frequently. Old Maid isn't just luck; it involves tracking the deck and reading micro-expressions—strengths for both of them.
Halfway through, Ichinose's phone rang.
Her smile faded.
"I see. Okay."
She hung up and explained: "News from the Monkey Group. Class D's Koenji Rokusuke got annoyed by Class C's Ishizaki and the others playing cards, saying they were too loud. He told them to shut up, and they almost came to blows."
"Koenji?!" Karuizawa exclaimed. "Ishizaki-kun?!" Hiyori was worried.
"Don't worry," Ichinose added. "The school warned them via loudspeaker. It was a first warning; they both had 50,000 points deducted. Any further trouble will result in class point deductions."
Akira realized this was what the morning intelligence referred to. He checked the rules—fighting wasn't explicitly grounds for expulsion unless it involved extortion or affected the exam directly. Ishizaki was bold to challenge Koenji, considering Koenji's family backing.
Akira then saw messages in the Class D group from Sudo Ken:
Sudo: Crap! Koenji just stood up! He's trying to leave the room!
Sudo: F*ck! He was quiet on the island, but he's blowing up now!
Ike: Stop him! Leaving the room is a rule violation! We'll lose class points!
Onodera Kayano updated:
Onodera: Sudo tried to stop him, but it didn't work.
Onodera: Koenji said he already knows who the VIP is and wants to end this "boring exam"! Onodera: He just walked out with his mirror!
Immediately, everyone's phone buzzed with a system text:
'The Monkey Group exam has ended. Monkey Group students no longer need to attend meetings. Please act carefully and do not disturb other students.'
"What?! He actually reported the VIP early?!"
"It's only the second day!"
"Did he just guess to end the meeting early?"
Even the Class A elites were stunned. How could Koenji report accurately while everyone was being silent?
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Horikita looked at the time: 2:30 PM. Hirata, Yukimura, and Ayanokouji were with her.
She suspected the cooperation plan was Ayanokouji's idea, not Yukimura's. Why was he so serious now? Was he doing it for Akira?
'And why didn't Akira ask me instead?' she wondered.
Ichinose arrived, looking apologetic. Hirata proposed the deal: "D and B share all VIP info. If we deduce others, Class B gets three spots and Class D gets two."
Before Ichinose could answer, Koenji Rokusuke strolled around the corner, humming.
"Koenji!" Yukimura snapped. "How can you be humming after what you did?!"
"I'm free from a boring exam. Why shouldn't I be happy?"
"Are you even sure you're right? If not, we lose 50 class points!"
"Calm down, Yukimura-kun," Hirata interjected. "If he dared to guess, he must be sure. It's my fault for not making the rules clear."
Koenji laughed. "Since I'm free, I'll tell you: My guess was undoubtedly the VIP. It's just a game of finding a liar; is it that hard?"
"Who was it?"
"Shibata-boy," Koenji said casually. "I'm going back to the dorm to rest. No need to thank me for the 50 class points. I just wanted the school to pay me back tenfold for the 50,000 personal points they took. Hahahaha!"
He walked away, leaving them stunned. He had reported the VIP just to get the 500,000 point reward.
"Who is Shibata?" Horikita asked.
Ichinose's face was pale. She forced a smile.
"Shibata is from my class. His full name is Shibata Souta."
"He's sure he's right? Could it be..." Yukimura realized.
"Yes," Ichinose sighed. "Koenji was right. Shibata Souta was Class B's VIP in the Monkey Group."
"What?!"
"So, about the cooperation... can we put it on hold? Sorry," Ichinose said helplessly. "I need to discuss this with my class."
"It's our fault. We understand," Hirata apologized.
As Ichinose left, Ayanokouji felt a wave of exhaustion.
His plan was ruined.
Ichinose's class would never agree to collaborate with the class that had just "sniped" their VIP. It was back to square one. He now understood why Akira had tried to handle Koenji on the first day of the island exam.
"Why is this exam so exhausting..." Yukimura complained.
Class D had been lucky until now, but without Akira's intervention, their inherent weaknesses were showing.
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'Kushida Kikyo is the mole.'
Akira stood on the deck, certain of his conclusion. His intelligence didn't lie, and she was meeting Ryuen tonight. She had likely leaked the two VIP identities to Ryuen already.
Since Kushida was good to him, Akira decided not to expose her, but rather quietly clean up any tracks she might leave.
"Good afternoon, Shimizu-kun."
Matsushita Chiaki stood behind him, looking thoughtful.
"I'd like to hire you to go all out in this exam," she said seriously.
"I have terms prepared."
Akira smirked. 'Again? Is it points?'
"How many points, Matsushita-san?"
"Points might not be enough," she shook her head.
"My offer is: you can choose one of us three—me, Kei, or Sakura-san—to go on a date with. Plus 200,000 personal points. If that's not enough, we can negotiate."
"Huh?" Akira froze.
'A three-way choice for a date? What kind of situation is this?'
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